Not Set In Stone

To Be Better (Epilogue)

You were frantic. Rushing around the room you didn't slow down and it was evident by the expression on your face that you were under a lot of strain and pressure. As a result of all this rushing, there was a lot of noise and Lizzie could only watch with concern on her face as you rushed back and forth across the room. She tried to find the best words to help you calm down.

"Maybe you should take a break" was what Lizzie eventually said, it was just about all she could come up with as she saw the fatigue on your face. But you refused to take a break, you refused to stop your work now. "I can't rest yet, there's still too much for me to do, everything needs to be ready" you spoke frantically, looking around the room for what needed to be done next. And all this was as Lizzie watched with a concerned frown on her face.

"There's plenty of time left; the baby isn't for another two months" Lizzie assured you, trying to assuage you, as she held a hand over her stomach. It made you pause for a moment, looking over towards your partner as she tried to give you a comforting smile to ease your thoughts. But still you said there wasn't enough time.

What if the baby was premature? What if everything wasn't ready before then? The predicted time frame for the birth of your child was closing in and you had been frantic in trying to get everything ready. Lizzie had watched you bend over backwards to set everything up in time as well as tending to her to make sure she was comfortable, gestures that she should be grateful for but you were overdoing it. Even the most minute of things couldn't be wrong.

"Everything has to be perfect, everything needs to be ready, I have to..." You started to ramble as you were seemingly, actively looking for something that was out of place. You only paused when Lizzie exclaimed your name, snapping you back to focusing on her as you asked if something was wrong, rushing to her side to check her over.

Lizzie caught your hand as you placed it on her forehead, closing her fingers into your palm as she gave you a soft smile. "Deep breaths, take some deep breaths,'' she whispered as softly as her smile, a simple gesture that seemed to calm you down a little. You still seemed fidgety, as if you were wanting to quickly get back to work, but Lizzie didn't let go of your hand and pulled you to sit with her.

"I know you just want everything to be ready, I know your worried, I mean, I have a person growing inside me so I understand stress, but you need to relax and rest" she comforted you, again reminding you (as she has said it many times by this point) that the baby wasn't due for another two months. And that was at least.

In response to this you said again that there was a chance of a premature birth, you wanted to be ready if that was the case. "I just want everything to be ready and perfect for my child, heaven knows I didn't have the best upbringing" you blurted out and Lizzie finally understood your frantic behaviour; you were so desperate to not let your child have the same early years as you had.

Even though several years had passed since then; you still remembered clearly how things used to be for you. Before Lizzie, when you were a part of J.C's gang, when you were a delinquent, when you didn't have the kind of relationships you have now. You could never forget those days as they were so ingrained in how you were brought up. You just didn't want your child to ever have to go down the same path you did. You didn't want your child to need to struggle to redeem himself later in life because he turned out like you had before.

"Those days,; I look back and I hate the person I was back then, but then you came into my life and you gave me my escape, you fixed me, Lizzie" you spoke with a heavy sigh as you looked at her. "I want to make things easy for you, I want to make sure everything is ready for our child, I...I want to be the father I never had" you finally admitted, Lizzie's response being to immediately wrap her arms around you in her loving embrace.

She pulled you closer, pulling you against her as she understood more just why you were so frantic and rushing to make sure everything was ready. Lizzie of course knew that you never really had a father; he left when he found out your mother was pregnant herself, abandoning you and leaving you to find a father figure in J.C as home life was no easier. It was because of the history you had, the upbringing you had, that you just wanted everything to be perfect.

"And I love you for it, out child will love you for all you do; you are not your father, you didn't run when I told you I was pregnant, you bent over backwards to make sure I was comfortable, you are not your father" Lizzie comforted you, assuaging your concerns as she looked you dead in the eye, finally understood just why you were behaving as you were. She finally had you in a place you weren't rushing around.

There was a silence for a moment before you spoke again. "I owe so much to you, Lizzie; you got me to this point in my life, a point that I have friends, a family, a more stable life and now a child on the way, before you I had nothing and nobody who really cared" you said as you were laying your head in her lap. Lizzie had pulled you to lay like this, her hand stroking through your hair as she gave you another gentle smile.

"I care, Y/n, I. Care. About. You" she accentuated each word, sending a flash of a memory through your head. This moment reminded you of that day you finally broke down in front of her, when she stopped you from pulling an armed robbery for J.C. That was the day Lizzie had finally gotten through to you and helped you find your way home after a;;.

You closed your eyes as you thought about that day, asking Lizzie if she remembered and she answered that she did. "You always insisted you weren't a good person at heart, but I proved you wrong, just look at you now" she said and you chuckled. "Yeah, you always were a stubborn, bleeding heart" you said and Lizzie laughed in turn as she stroked your head before you sat yourself up to look at her.

"I love you, Lizzie, for everything you have done and given me, I love you for being my escape" you said and cupped your face in her hands and pulled you into a gentle and loving kiss. It was a kiss you returned and held for a few seconds before Lizzie pulled away to say she loved you too.

"You are a better man than you ever gave yourself real credit for; a man who loves his family, old and new, and would put himself at risk for them, you are not your father" she encouraged you, in a way reminding you about how you really only agreed to go through that robbery to get some money to see if you could buy your way into your mother's heart. But Lizzie stopped you and helped you build a relationship with your mother without having to commit crimes.

There was another brief silence as you looked into Lizzie's eyes, eventually managing a whisper. "Thanks, Lizzie, I needed to hear that" you said and she nodded, then she pulled you closer. "And I'll say it again, over and over, you don't need to prove anything so just take a break, and come to bed" she said and you looked out the bedroom window.

It was late; you had been working hard all day, rushing around that you barely noticed it was so late. Seeing this made you realise just how tired you were and you finally relented, laying with Lizzie as she held your hand over her stomach to feel your child.

"There's still plenty of time; our child will come soon but just relax in the meantime" Lizzie said as you fell asleep with her.

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The two months that remained of Lizzie's pregnancy soon passed. The day had eventually arrived and finally your child was born, your son was finally in your arms and you could only look down at his face as his tiny hand held your pinky. There were a lot of emotions to run through, for both you and Lizzie, but at the same time there was something cathartic about the day finally being here.

You looked between your child and Lizzie as you held her hand also, seeing her smile at you as you turned back to your child. The only words which you could manage next was a single promise, one to both of them.

"I promise; I won't be my father, I promise to be better".

A/n and that the epilogue chapter, the initial oneshot that spawned this story as it demanded an expansion at the time. So what better way to finish the repost of the story than an epilogue of what the initial idea was. Thank you all for taking the time to read the story, I really hope you enjoyed it. Anyway hope y'all enjoyed and as always till next time peace out.