Jiley Oneshots

Love Worth Saving (i) [a]

"Hello James and Riley. My name is Mary and it's lovely to meet you. What is it that brings you here today?"
The middle aged woman smiled kindly. Her question could have sounded patronising but she managed to maintain a sincere tone. She seemed genuinely caring.

"We've been, er, struggling in our marriage recently" Riley confessed as a small tear escaped her left eye. "I love James very much but we just don't work anymore" She brushed the tear away quickly, avoiding eye contact with her husband. Instead her eyes watched her fingers and landed in her wedding ring.

"How long have you been married?" The therapist asked them, following Riley's eye-line to her left hand.
James sniffed loudly, "almost 6 years. We got married at 19 when Riley found out she was pregnant with our daughter"
The therapist smiled, "tell me about your family" she requested, lowering her notepad and looking at him directly.

"We have a daughter, Ava who is going to be 6 in June. And a son Finley who just turned 2" He answered, risking a side glance to his wife. "Ava wasn't exactly planned and realistically we were too young to suddenly become parents, but we were, and we couldn't escape that. We struggled but made it through her first years. We waited several years before deciding we were stable enough to give her a sibling and we had Finley"

"And Riley" the older woman smiled, "why is it you say you and James 'just don't work anymore'?"
Riley gulped, "we just don't. We've started drifting and spend less and less time together. We've been together since we were 15, got married at 19 and now we're 25. I think we've just grown apart"

She heard James sniff again beside her but refused to look at him. They needed to be honest but if she looked at him she'd see his pain and end up lying to save his feelings. Despite the chasm between them, she still cared for him deeply and never wanted to hurt him.

"And James, what do you say to that?" Mary asked, making notes according to what Riley had said.
"Um" he started, fiddling with a bracelet on his wrist that Ava had made him in craft at school.
'It's a good luck bracelet', the little girl had told him, 'it will keep you safe and happy daddy'. He had worn it today because he predicted he may need the extra strength. Courage he only received from his children.

"It's true, mostly" he admitted, shooting another glance at Riley. She was trying to wipe the tears off her cheek but failing to catch them all. In any other circumstance he would've finished the job for her. But not now. "We're different people to the ones who fell in love at 15. We used to fit together like two perfectly matched puzzle pieces, now it feels like we just clash"

"When did you first notice a change in your relationship? When did you first feel the distance between you?"
"When Finley was sick" Riley whispered. She trailed off and was grateful when James stepped in.

"Finley spent the first year of his life in and out of hospital" he said, clearing his throat as he began to get choked up. "Ri had a tough pregnancy with him too. Now he's doing better but his health took a significant toll on our relationship. At the time were constantly apart, one of us was at home with Ava and the other was at hospital with him"

"And why are you here today?" The older woman probed, repeating her first question of the session.
James frowned, "I, we, just told you"
"No, why are you here today, in my office? You obviously want to fix things. You wouldn't be attending couples therapy if not. Riley why don't you answer?"

The small girl nodded, using the back of her hand to wipe away some tears. "I want to still love James and I want to fight for our relationship. I want to fight to keep my kids in a happy, stable home"
Beside her, her husband smiled softly. He reached out and entwined their hands carefully.