Raura's Daughter

forty six.

Ross' POV

"Are you ready to go babe?" I called out to Laura from the kitchen. I was quickly wiping away the excess baby food that covered Isabella's mouth with a napkin and trying to scoff down a bowl of cereal at the same time. I won't lie, becoming a parent has at least taught me how to multitask - or attempt to, at least. "Laura!" I called out again, sighing a little this time as Isabella gurgled and smiled at me in her high chair.

"I'm coming!" She snapped back at me. Our bedroom was just down the hallway from the kitchen and I could faintly hear her muttering to herself and grunting as she attempted to change into what I assume to be her fifth outfit. "I'll be out in just a second!"

I glanced at Isabella with a quick roll of my eyes and put one last spoonful of cereal into my mouth. "We both know what that means."

After about five minutes of me sitting on the couch repeating the word, please, to Isabella, Laura finally emerged from the bedroom dressed in a floral dress and knee high boots which were accompanied by a denim jacket. She exhaled gently and placed her hands on either side of her hips. "Are we going?"

I stood up from the couch and handed Isabella to her before pulling the car keys out from my pocket. "Bella's seat is all set up so just strap her in and-"

"I know how to put our daughter into a car seat, Ross." Laura muttered as I locked our apartment door behind us and lead them both downstairs to our garage. I decided to ignore her snappiness and played it off as nerves for meeting her Aunt Rosa - or attempting to, for the second day in a row. Once she'd sealed Isabella up in her car seat she made her way around to the passenger seat and childishly poked her tongue at me as I started the car up. "See? I told you I could do it."

"Laura, I will stop this car right now and go straight back into the apartment if you don't cut this attitude." I firmly said, holding my hands tightly on either side of the wheel and staring straight at the road ahead of me which I hadn't yet driven on.

She sulkily wrapped her arms around her waist and turned her head to face the window to avoid my gaze. "I'm just worried."

"Yeah?" I asked with a shake of my head as I pulled out onto the street and began to drive the car slowly into the city. "I am too. I have no idea who the hell this woman even is so we're in pretty much the same boat."

Laura didn't answer me after that, she continued to stare out of her window and kept her mouth shut for the rest of the journey. The more time we'd spent together as a couple, the more we'd learnt about one another. When the other person was acting up a little we decided to give the other space otherwise we'd both be down each other's throats and that's not healthy for anyone, especially two teenagers with a one year old kid.

It was our way of avoiding arguments - or the unnecessary ones at least. Laura usually had mood swings due to her postpartum depression and also from the loss of her father so I tried my hardest to take care of her on the days when she wasn't feeling so good and in turn, she would do the same for me.

It was all a big, messy process and still continues to be but somehow we get through it and I'm pretty sure the key ingredient to all of that is to simply be happy and content with one another.

After what felt like an endless amount of driving around our busy local city, I finally found Aunt Rosa's house - or should I say apartment complex. The car came to a halt as I reached the somewhat posh intercom and with a quick squint of my eyes I buzzed the forth number to talk to Rosa.