Older || Sequel To SOS

Fourteen

22 Weeks

"Why is it taking so long?" Elodie glances at her phone again, Lily and her had left over an hour ago. And although in control of her emotions again finally, she's still anxious as fuck.

"The entire court proceedings?" Lily laughs, "It takes a bit, but Luke knows where we are and he will come find you as soon as he's done."

"I can't believe he stayed..."

"He needed to protect you and your family. Plus, he knew I had you taken care of, especially after I texted him to tell him that I did."

"I hope he did okay, I hope he found the right words. I can't believe I left him to fend for himself in a room with my mom, Julie and Carly."

"Luke can handle himself, and he will always protect his girls." Lily smiles, reaching across the table to squeeze Elodie's hand.

"Ya, he is good at that." El sighs, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her hand over her stomach softly.

"Are you excited, El? To be a mom?" Lily asks softly.

"Ya." El chuckles, "I love her so much already, and I cannot wait to give her a beautiful life. She's never going to know the type of childhood I grew up with, and I love that I can make and keep that promise to her."

"She's going to have a beautiful life, El. You and Luke, you're the perfect match and the two of you are only going to become better as you become parents to this little one. I know it. She is so lucky to have the two of you."

"She's lucky to have the amazing aunts she does too, you, Amber, Sadie. You three are going to be so important to her life."

"We plan to make sure we are her best role models, a girl needs her aunts."

"Good, I'm counting on it." El grins, turning as a warm hand is placed on her shoulder, smiling small as she sees Luke standing over her.

"How'd it go?" Lily asks before Elodie can.

"They'll make their choice by the end of the night, or early tomorrow morning. Should we get out of here, pretty girl?" Luke answers before turning back to Elodie who nods quickly.

"Take care of my sister, Luke, and my niece." Lily smiles.

"Thanks for taking care of them both while I was busy taking care of my family in a different way." Luke nods, helping El out of her chair.

"No problem, I kinda like my big sister."

"I'll call you later, Lil. Thanks for being here today, and for calming me down." Elodie steps around the table, pulling her sister into a tight hug.

"Anytime. Love you, El."

"Love you too, Lil." Elodie sighs, letting her sister go after a long moment, linking her hand through Luke's and letting him lead her out of the restaurant.

***

"So," Luke slips his suit coat off as they enter their hotel room, starting to unbutton his shirt, "Are you okay, El?"

"Embarrassed, and my stomach is still in knots, but I'll be okay." She nods, sitting down to take her shoes off.

"Embarrassed?" Luke asks with a frown.

"I couldn't even handle being in the same room as her..." She shrugs, dropping her sandals to the floor as she lays back on the bed.

"You have dealt with a lot of trauma due to your mom, it's not that surprising that you panicked being in the same room as her." Luke sits down beside her softly.

"Not my mom, I had for the most part resolved myself to that fate. It was definitely hard, and I was not comfortable, but then Carly walked in... And Julie, but mostly Carly, I was not prepared for that one, and I couldn't breathe. I had to get out of there before I lost it. I should have been able to handle that. I was there to fight for our family and I failed..."

"You were faced with your abuser out of the blue, and you were already stressed from having to deal with your mom, and you're pregnant. It's not like you were having an easy day to start. It's fine, El, and I defended our family, your mom heard everything you wanted her to."

"Thanks, Luke, for taking such good care of me and my insanity."

"You, Elodie Stewart, are not insane. You are perfect, and beautiful, and you are the strongest person I know. But even the strongest people break sometimes, and you found one of those breaking points today. I'm just grateful your sister was there to save you while I stayed to protect our growing family."

"Me too." She sighs, "Lu?"

"What's on your mind, pretty girl?" Luke brushes a lock of her hair back.

"I want to start planning our wedding, for real. I want to know what day I will get to be your wife, I want to start looking through catalogs of wedding dresses and pick out a venue. I want to plan our future, Lu."

"Then let's plan it, El." Luke lays down beside her, propped on his elbow as he looks down at her.

"Where are we going to get married?" El asks first, "LA, Sydney, Berlin, a tropical island in the sand?"

"I'd marry you in our living room, baby. Wherever you want is where we will do it."

"I want it to be small, so incredibly small."

"Fifty people max?" Luke smiles.

"Rebecca, Peter, Sadie, Amber, Lily. That's practically my entire list, plus the band and their girls."

"My family, mum, dad, brothers. My grandparents too."

"Of course. Your family is definitely invited." She nods.

"Small, intimate, and elegant."

"That is exactly what I want." El nods.

"Indy Kay and our little girl can be the flower girls. And we'll put Peter in charge of the rings, I don't trust any of the other guys."

"Probably smart." She laughs.

"I've missed hearing you laugh, I love your laugh."

"I'm sorry, Luke. I've just been so stressed with this stuff going on with my mom."

"I know, but I need you to remember that whatever happens with her, I am going to keep you and baby Hemmo safe. Okay?"

"Okay." She nods, sliding herself closer to him, letting her head rest against his chest as he falls against his back.

"She's not ruining this year for us, El. Not the baby, not planning the wedding, nothing. She's insignificant."

"Can we go home, Lu?"

"Our flight home is tomorrow, and then we can plan the wedding, and I can get to work finalizing your birthday surprise." He smirks.

"My birthday is two months away." El laughs, "Actually, both our birthdays are two months away."

"I know, but I'm making that week special for you, and for us. Our last vacation before our baby girl joins us."

"We're going on a vacation for our birthdays?" She bites her lip as she holds back a grin.

"I think they call it a baby moon, but whatever it is, it's going to be me and my girl and some special time together. I'll let you know what to pack once I decide where we are going. Your birthday is on Monday and mine is Friday, so I think at least Sunday to Sunday will be necessary."

"I like the thought of spending a vacation with you this summer for our birthdays, and to celebrate us before baby girl gets here."

"Me too. That's why I'm planning it." Luke chuckles, turning as his phone pings, pulling it out to see the message on his screen.

"She's getting parole." Elodie sighs, reading the message as well.

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~M =)