Mia's Open Heart (Choices Open Heart AU)

Chapter 42: Facing the Wolves

The next morning, Mia awoke, harshly shutting her eyes when the morning light became too harsh to bear. Her head rested atop Ethan's chest, rising and falling with his every breath. As she started to move as she awoke, a sound came from the man below her.

"Hey." he said quietly, placing his hand in the small of her back, gently caressing it as she slowly woke. She pulled away slightly, just enough to see his face.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked, tilting her head almost accusingly.

"Not long, I just didn't want to wake you." he said, knowing that she knew that. Usually, in such situations she would burst out of bed, finally forcing him out of bed. Instead, she placed her head back against his chest, her arms wrapping around his torso as she squeezed tighter. He knew this was different, that she wasn't acting like herself, but who could blame her.

"Shall we go grab some breakfast?" he asked, as they both started to get up after a couple minutes. "We should probably discuss what's going to happen."

"Yeah." she said quietly, getting up.

"I'm just going to take a look at some work, and then I'll make some breakfast, alright?" Ethan said. Mia's eyes slightly widened, unnoticed by Ethan. She got up, making her way to the kitchen.

A couple minutes later, Ethan came walking out of their bedroom into the kitchen, holding his laptop in one hand and a little sticky note in the other. He came up to Mia, looking at her as she avoided his gaze, sipping from the cup she held in her hand as she looked at the ground.

"What is this?" he asked her, putting the laptop on the counter in front of her as he held the sticky note up. Mia simply shrugged in reply. On the laptop was the paperwork that he originally had to type up and was deleted the morning before, however now the entire document was back. On the sticky note were the words 'I'm sorry'.

"Mia..." he said, placing the sticky note down as he quickly went and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her as he surrounded her with his embrace. "I was going to do it while you went today."

"I know." she said quietly, her voice muffled by still being in his embrace.

"And that must've taken forever. When did you go to sleep?" he asked, pulling away slightly to meet her eyes.

"6 AM." she said, looking back towards the ground. "I tried to sleep, I promise. I tried, and I couldn't, so I thought that I could type up the paperwork instead of doing nothing. I know I have to get good sleep for them, but..."

"Its okay." Ethan said, once again placing his arms around her, one hand rubbing her hand softly, as tears started to form in her eyes. Being pregnant caused her to be incredibly tired and exhausted, usually making her fall asleep far earlier than she was used to. For her to not be able to sleep, was a testament enough that she had a lot on her mind, rightfully so.

"I'm sorry." she mumbled, and the guilt from the day before instantly took Ethan over. "I'm sorry I'm a hormonal, sleep deprived, sad piece of shit. And I'm sorry about messing up your work."

"Hey hey hey, don't be." Ethan said, leaning his face down to kiss the top of her head before hugging her closer. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, and making you think all those things. I know I already apologized, but I'm sorry."

"It's okay." she mumbled, pulling back to wipe her eyes as she forced a small smile on her face. Ethan turned to go on the other side of the kitchen island where Mia was sitting, this side closer to the stove and other appliances as he got ready to make breakfast.

"What are we thinking for breakfast?" Ethan asked.

"Waffles?" Mia asked, her big eyes looking pleadingly at him, making him nod as he turned to get the things he needed. "We really have to settle with waffles since Daddy Ethan still can't make pancakes." Ethan rolled his eyes at her words, making her quietly giggle. It made him realize just how badly his heart ached to see her smile. As he made the batter for the waffles, Mia continued to stare at the counter, sipping from the cup in her hands as she was deep in thought.