In Just One Night

Our baby

Yasmine was busy making dinner for herself. She had passed out cold the second she got home that afternoon and only woke up five hours later because she was hungry.

Amelia had left her place to go visit her grandparents the night prior, so it was just her left at home.

Yasmine swayed her hips lightly and hummed to the music playing from her phone. Her favourite comfort song. The night was still young, albeit dark and cold, so she decided to make her favourite: chicken soup and rice.

Just as she was prepping the ingredients for dinner, the sound of the doorbell ringing made her stop dead in her tracks. "Who could it be?" She wondered.

Wiping her hands and taking off the apron, she went to open the door. "Who is it at this time of... night." Her words trailed off the second she saw who was standing at her door. "Mr. Lee, what Uh, what brings you here?" She awkwardly asked. Out of all the people she expected to see, James wasn't one of them. "How did you know where I live?"

"Uh... I brought you home before some months back, and I still remember the address." He replied.

"Oh, so that you can remember?" Yasmine didn't know why she said that or why it came out so rude. She was just feeling snappy that day.

"I'm sorry about that." James was quick to apologise.

She could tell he was nervous, probably more nervous than she was at that moment. He didn't look like the stoic, cool, and composed James she knew. Instead, he seemed vulnerable and closer to reach.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"You have every right to."

Realising they were still standing by the door, Yasmine quickly ushered him in before they caught a cold. "Please, come in." As she closed the door behind them, she took notice of the white plastic bag James carried with him.

"I wasn't sure if you had eaten, so I bought something on the way here." He explained after catching her looking at the bags questioningly.

"I was just about to make dinner, but thank you." Yasmine suddenly felt self-conscious of how she looked, with James being there. She hadn't been expecting anyone, so she just threw on some sweatpants and a white t-shirt that looked three sizes too big for her. It even still had the mustard stain from the burger she had yesterday. 'Impeccable timing, boss.' She sarcastically rilled him in her head.

James, who was oblivious to all that suddenly turned to her. "How are you feeling?" He was hesitant to ask, not sure if she would feel defensive and kick him out.

Feeling conscious of the way James was looking at her tiny bump, Yasmine subconsciously covered her stomach. "I'm fine." She gave a brief response.

"I'm glad." James cleared his throat and peeled his eyes away from her stomach before he made her uncomfortable. "I was wondering if we could talk."

If it wasn't for the situation they were in, James's shy and nervous display would have gotten a chuckle out of Yasmine who wasn't used to seeing him look so disoriented.

"Go on." She gave him the go-ahead.

Earlier that day, she was the one in the hot seat, struggling to find the words to say, but now it was his turn to know how that felt.

"Ehem," James awkwardly cleared his throat. "I'm here because of what you told me today." He started.

Yasmine said nothing and just nodded, giving him time to say what was on his mind.

"I'm not here to point fingers at you or call you a liar. I can tell all you told me was the truth and nothing but the truth."

Yasmine was relieved to hear he believed her but also worried to know what that belief would cost her.

Noticing the panic in her eyes, James quickly spoke up to ease her worries. "I'm not going to take the child from you, don't worry."

She looked at him with doubt in her eyes. "How can I trust you?" She asked, still clinging on to her stomach for dear life.

"The same way I trusted you."

She looked at him for a minute. He didn't look like someone was planning on double crossing her - at least, not yet, but then again, Yasmine had always been a bad judge of character. "Since you claim you have no plans of taking the child from me..."

Her emphasis on the word 'claim' didn't go unnoticed by James. "It's not just a claim, miss Palmer, I assure you of that."

"Fine then," Yasmine couldn't help but roll her eyes - it was a habit after all. "Since you're not taking the child away from me, what do you plan on doing then?"

"If it's fine by you," James started, ignoring the obvious sass from her, "I'd love to be part of the baby's life once he or she is born, that is."

Yasmine stared at him in shock. "You want to be part of the baby's life?!" She failed to mask the disbelief in her voice.

"I'm quite offended by the fact that you thought I wouldn't. " James tried to mask the hurt on his face with a smirk.

"Can you blame me? You never struck me as the type to settle down, much less raise a kid."

"I never thought so either..." James admitted that more to himself than to Yasmine. "But I'm not that heartless of a guy to let my child grow up without a father."

Hearing those words oddly made Yasmine happy. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't want her child to grow up fatherless- like she did.

James, too, felt relief wash over him once he saw Yasmine's tense shoulder relax. "I know you're more than capable of raising the baby on your own," James continued, making sure to choose his words carefully. "But if you'll allow me, I would love to be part of our baby's life."

For someone like him, he didn't have to ask for her permission to be in his child's life, and yet he did. He didn't have to be gentle with his words so as not to hurt her, and yet he was. It was the bare minimum, but it made her smile. 'Our baby.' She liked how he said that. Not his baby, not hers, but theirs.

"It takes two to tango." She remembered Amelia's words.

"We'll have to come up with a workable schedule, but I'd very much like it if you were present in our baby's life." She threw his words back at him with a smile.

James, too, cracked a smile, marking the first time Yasmine saw him without a frown on his face.