Elias #2
“She’s not my patient,” Elias insisted, “She’s my girlfriend.
” Saying that out loud, after spending the last month apart, felt strange.
Was she still his girlfriend, or his partner?
Hell, he didn’t care what she called herself in relation to him, as long as she ended up going home with him when this whole ordeal was over.
The resident turned back to Aliza, not seeming to know what to say to Elias’s declaration. “What you’re experiencing is likely stress-related spotting. It can happen at any point in your pregnancy. Have you been under a good deal of stress lately?” he asked.
He wanted to laugh at just how much stress she had been under these past few months—and he had helped to cause a good deal of it.
That ended now. He was going to get Aliza to listen to reason and come home with him so that he could take care of her and the baby.
It was about time that he put her first, and that time was now.
“I have been under a lot of stress, but that was mostly my doing,” she almost whispered. “I’m so sorry that I’ve been stubborn over the past month. I needed time, and instead, I ended up putting the baby in danger.”
“We can talk about all that later,” he insisted.
Dani’s cell phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her scrubs.
“I have to go,” she said. “I’m sorry, Aliza, but I’m on call.
Are you going to be all right here?” She looked at Elias, as though asking Aliza if she’d be all right staying with him, and he wanted to protest, but thought better of it. Aliza nodded and hugged her friend.
“Thank you for everything. I’m sorry to put you through all of this,” she said.
“Anything, anytime,” Danni insisted. “That’s what friends do for each other.” She shot Elias a stern look, as though telling him to go easy on Aliza, and he nodded. He knew that she was in a fragile state, and there was no way that he’d put her or the baby in any more danger.
Once they were finally alone again, he stayed close to Aliza, refusing to let go of her hand. He needed to touch her and to know that she was really there with him. He had dreamed of this moment for weeks now, and he finally had his chance to tell her everything that he hadn’t before she left.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t want to cause all this trouble and put you through all this.”
He barked out his laugh. “I’m the one who should be apologizing, honey,” he said. “I was the one who told your father about the baby. I was the one who caused him to storm over to the house to confront you. This is all my fault,” he admitted.
She nodded, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.
“But you’re not totally to blame in this,” she assured.
“I should have dealt with my father long before I even met you. I was the one who let him control my life, and honestly, walking away from him was the best decision that I’ve ever made.
The second-best decision was agreeing to move in with you, Elias,” she almost whispered.
“You’ve changed my life for the better, and I’ve destroyed that by walking away. I’m so sorry,” she cried.
“Where did you go, honey?” he asked, still holding her hand in his.
“I left,” she said softly. “I felt that I had no other choice, but I was wrong. I stayed with Dani’s mom in Upstate New York.
I needed quiet to think, and I got plenty of that.
I just needed to figure a few things out for myself with no pressure or expectations.
” His chest ached at the image of her alone and hurting somewhere he couldn’t reach her.
“I’m sorry that I made you feel that way, honey,” he breathed. “I never wanted to pressure you or make you feel that you needed to run from me.”
“I came back to Dani’s last night,” she continued. “I thought I was ready to talk to you, but it was late, so I decided to wait until the morning. And then this happened.”
“And you came here,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she breathed, “I guess I was scared of just showing up at your place in the middle of the night. I was afraid that you’d be angry with me because I left the way that I did.
I didn’t want to tell you that my leaving had everything to do with me and nothing to do with you.
I needed to figure myself out before I could be with you, Elias.
I just hope that I didn’t waste too much time, and that it’s not too late. ”
Elias tightened his grip on her hand. “It’s not too late,” he whispered. “I would have waited for you forever if that was what it took, honey. I’m just so glad that you’re home now. I’m glad that you’re both home.” Silence settled between them, heavy but no longer hostile.
“I was so scared,” she admitted. “I thought I’d already failed at being with you, and at being a mother.”
“You haven’t failed at anything,” he said fiercely. “You’re carrying more stress than anyone should. Your body just reacted to the stress, but you’re both all right now.”
She looked at him then, and something fragile but hopeful flickered in her eyes. “I didn’t know if you’d want to see me again.”
Elias laughed softly, brokenly. “Aliza, I’ve wanted to see you every second of every day since you left.”
Her breath hitched. “I never stopped loving you,” she whispered.
Neither had he, but he had never given her those words either. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently to hers, careful of the wires and monitors that they had her hooked up to. “I love you too, honey,” he breathed.
She smiled up at him as tears ran down her beautiful face. “That’s the first time you’ve said that to me,” she said.
“Well, you should get used to it,” he insisted, “because I plan on saying it a whole lot more. That is, if you’ll come home with me, honey.”
“I’d love to come home with you, Elias,” she whispered. “Being on my own taught me that I can do it myself, but being with you showed me that I don’t have to do everything alone. I choose you, Elias,” she said. Hearing her say that gave him hope that he hadn’t felt in a damn long time.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said quietly.
“Together. But no more running. And I promise no more trying to control the situation. It’s just us working through life together, got it?
” Aliza nodded, and for the first time in over a month, the distance between them felt smaller.
As the monitors let out a steady, reassuring rhythm beside them, Elias let himself believe that they still had a chance at making this thing between the two of them work.
It had to, because now, there was going to be three of them, and he’d do anything for his new little family.