#eli 003

[jamesxxsirius]

“There’s no point in you being here -- they won’t even let me go in Teddy’s room. Trust me, I’ve tried everything. They’re only letting Dad in because he’s his godfather.” With a sigh, James looked away and stared at the floor. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound so pissy, I’m just...” He trailed off and shook his head, trying his hardest to not cry again. “Everything is so fucked up. Why did this have to happen and ruin everything?”

[thesunlightout]

do you understand that we will never be the same again?

So maybe having all that homemade mac and cheese hadn’t been her best idea to date. But in her defense, she didn’t get to have Vivian’s holiday reserved dish often, and well, she didn’t exactly have any say over what her baby (the baby) wanted to eat. And eat they had, forgoing turkey, mashed potatoes, and all of the other dishes prepped for the special day.

The kids had found it funny, even funnier when she and Auggie sat to eat with them at the kids table. But that big a mountain of mac and cheese should only belong at the kids table.

It was delicious.

Except too much dairy now made her stomach hurt. So she found home in one of the corners of the couch. Thank her hero dad beside her for sitting there and just rubbing her belly. She didn’t even have the energy to talk him down from getting too attached to the baby.

That, she was more focused on what a treat it was watching everyone around the room. It was the first Thanksgiving in over three years that Quincy and Cecilia had actually joined them after everything that’d happened, and the first Thanksgiving they all got to enjoy having Eleanor around.

It had been a long time coming getting to have this; If only Jude were here to see it all.

She smiled over at her dad as he chatted with his wife, before grabbing her phone as the screen lit up. Her grin widened as she sent Oliver a text, wishing him good luck at dealing with some of his family. She was kind of glad her own family was limited to the group present. She wouldn’t know what to do if she had to deal with crazy aunts and uncles.

Or rather, she wouldn’t have known if she could hold her tongue.

She threw in a ‘be good' and swiped the message away. She liked having him around, she could admit that much, and kinda wished he’d stuck around for Thanksgiving. But she more than understood his need to be with family, and would never keep him from that.

As she went to put her phone back down and the screen lit up again. This time, her eyes widened a bit.

Eli.

Fiona had insisted they needed to keep their distance, for things between them had become increasingly difficult to keep platonic.

As it seemed, their attachment hadn’t exactly been reserved for frenzied instances in secret hotel rooms. Or moments of weakness after seeing each other again. Or odd, quiet nights at the bakery. And as things with Oliver began to grow, she further implemented that distance between them.

It hadn’t stopped him from showing up at the shop last Saturday night either. Or stopped her from taking him to see Jude’s grave.

But she wasn’t going to hurt Oliver because of Eli, and she wasn’t going to allow herself or Eli to continue falling for one another when he had a wife. ‘Hey, do you have a minute to talk?’

Fiona pressed her lips together. That never ended well. Talking was what they were good at. They could talk for hours. About everything and nothing. The problem always came in what happened after the talking. How two people like them could know in their bones just how perfect they were for one another, and fall right into it.

But they couldn’t do that now.

She glanced down at her phone, reading, and reading the message before typing out a response. ‘Everything okay?’

She could have said no. But who was she kidding?

Biting her lip, she glanced back around the room. Quincy and Cecilia were off on a walk goodness knew where. They’d been acting like teenagers after a few sips of the spiked jug of piña colada Andi had made for her earlier that day. She could faintly hear Waverly talking on the phone outside the door. ‘I’m actually in my car outside your place...’

Perfect. Just, great.

“Daddy, I need some air.”

After a full ten minutes worth of arguing with her dad ( “Fiona, hon, it’s 25º outside. Crack a window.”) and agreeing to put on a hat  along with her coat, she was out the door.

This wouldn’t be long. Couldn’t be long, and on her way out, she told Waverly she’d only be a minute, and pressed a kiss to Eleanor’s cheek before making her way down the stairs.

She needed a second before she had to face him, and figured this would be the best way to do so. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so nervous, but she figured it was all that lingering feeling between them.

Fiona had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the man standing at the door on his way outside, and it wasn’t until they bumped into one another as she nearly lost her step that he caught her eye.

He gripped her arm hard and pulled her up before she could fall forward, and she was so grateful as her hand flew to the swell of her belly, cradling the baby for what she thought was an inevitable fall.

“I’m so sorry!” she quickly apologized, fixing her now askew hat as she found her footing. “I...”

Her blood ran cold. Freezing like ice cold. And she thought she might’ve passed out for a second, because one second she was staring at familiar blue eyes she hadn’t seen in three years and the next, she was trying to find her footing again.

“Fiona.” This time he’d been even more aware, paying closer attention to her and caught her before she could even move. “Fi, wake up, I’ve got you.”

“I...” she blinked up a few times, coming to with his hand tapping her cheek. “Jude?”

“I... yeah...” He too looked as though he’d seen a ghost.

She might pass out again. She shouldn’t have had all that mac and cheese.

“Is this for real? Are you serious?” she reached up with both hands, touching his face to make sure he was really standing in front of her. That she wasn’t completely imagining any of this.

He breathed a shaky laugh as her hand covered most of his face over his nose. “It’s me, it’s... it’s really me. I’m... yeah.”

“Jude,” she sniffled, eyes welling. She was crying at the drop of a hat lately, though in this particular situation was definitely not unwarranted. Her best friend was standing right here in front of her. Alive. “Oh my god, Jude, are you kidding me?”

She wrapped both arms around him, her belly making it difficult to get him closer, but she tried anyway, hugging him tight.

If this was a dream, a horrible dream, she had no interest in waking up right now, but it was so cold outside, it couldn’t be a dream. Dreams weren’t cold. “Oh, Jude...”

“Yeah, Fi,” she heard him sniffle in her ear, wrapping both arms around her, practically engulfing her in his arms. “It’s really me.”

They stood there for a long beat, and she’d forgotten for a moment what she’d come out here for. And somehow it didn’t matter all that much, because her best friend she’d thought dead for so long was standing right here in front of her.

"Wait, wait...” she pulled away to look at him. “How are you here? How... we...”

“I can explain just...”

“Does Waverly know? Quincy?”

“No, no, they don’t know. You know... and...” he sighed, pulling away and running a hand over his hair, longer than she’d ever seen it. “Wait, tell me something.”

“Anything,” she gave his arm a squeeze.

“I was going upstairs... I was going to see you all, but... I... Fiona, I have a daughter?” His expression was harried, like he’d seen a ghost, like he couldn’t believe it.

It mirrored hers, she supposed. “Yeah...” she smiled a little breathlessly, not bothering with the tears on her face. “Eleanor... she... you have to come up, you have to come inside.”

“Fiona... I...”

“No, you have to come upstairs,” she shook her head, grabbing both his hands in hers. “I don’t know where you’ve been or what’s happened, but you have to come upstairs, you have to--” she gripped his arm then, cutting herself off as her eyes widened. “Oh no...”

“What? What’s wrong?” Jude looked to her, concern written over his features. Fiona let go of his arm and reached up for the zipper of her coat, pulling it down. “Fi, what are you doing? It’s freezing!”

She didn’t answer, instead zipping the long parka all the way down, and finding exactly what she’d been hoping not to find. “Fuck... okay.” She sighed, closing her eyes and zipping up her jacket.

“Fiona, fill me in here.”

“I’m... my water just broke,” she said and glanced up at him.

“What?”

“Yeah, listen... see that car over there,” she motioned across the street to where Eli was parked, glancing over at them and clearly confused. She’d almost forgotten. She’d have a lot of explaining to do. “I need you to help me walk over there and get me in,” she told him, sniffling and wiping at her eyes.

“Is that why you were coming down here?! You’re in labor? And you stopped to talk to me?!”

“Jude, focus.” Fiona grabbed his hand and laced their fingers. “No, I wasn’t in labor. I’m in labor now. Early labor. Very early. But I’m trying to stay calm right now. Car, take me there,” she motioned across the street.

"Okay, okay,” Jude nodded quickly and helped guide her across the street. Her heart began to race as she realized what this meant, what time it was, the day she’d been dreading this whole time. But Jude was here, and that somehow made it better. She just... didn’t know how she was going to get through this.

Jude pulled the door open and Eli furrowed his brows at them. “Fi...? What’s going on?”

“Hi,” she managed a small smile. “This is Jude,” she motioned to him with her head and Eli’s eyes widened. “Yes, that Jude. Dead best friend Jude. Long story for a later date. Jude, this is Eli. Baby’s dad. Um, my water just broke and we should probably get to the hospital?”

“Your water... what?!” Eli’s eyes were like saucers, and he nearly popped up in his seat.

“Yeah, just now,” she nearly laughed at herself, feeling slightly delirious at the moment. “Um, I’d love to chat some more, but it’s 25º out...”

“Oh my god, get in, get in,” Eli unclipped his seatbelt and lifted some to help her into the car while Jude helped from the other side. Together, they helped her get her seatbelt on and she managed a shaky breath.

“I’m coming with you,” Jude said firmly.

“Jude, you need to get upstairs, she needs to see you,” she said, reaching for his hand again.

“I will see her. I promise, but not until you have this baby. I’m not leaving you alone for this, I don’t care.”

“Jude.”

“Fiona.”

Well, that argument was moot.