Settling in Seattle

Chapter 40- Better

The alarm pierced through Mike's ears exactly when it was set to, but it somehow still managed to catch him by surprise. He looked around puzzled, turning it off as quickly as he could, pressing down the button precisely. His eyes then turned to Rachel, who was stirring but wasn't going to wake up just from that. Mike had an hour and a half before Rosalie had to be at nursery, and he'd decided to take her in, to take at least some stress off Rachel for the day. After watching Rachel's chest rise and fall for a moment, Mike got out of bed and dressed himself efficiently, and as quietly as he could. He then made his way in to Rosalie's room, already knowing she'd be awake. If he was honest, Mike was slightly confused as to how she didn't jump onto their bed and wake them up.

"Hey Rosy, let's get you ready for nursery today." Mike spoke in a soft and suppressed voice, making sure he kept everything lowkey. He was trying his best to sound happy for his daughter, who was sat on her little bed playing with her cuddly toys. She looked up and smiled at her dad, proceeding to wiggle out of her duvet whilst he picked out an outfit for her.

"Here you go," He passed her the teddy she'd been playing with and tapped the tip of her nose, "Go downstairs for me, I'm just going to go and say goodbye to mommy, then I'll get you breakfast, okay?"

"Yea." Rosalie nodded and skipped over to the stairs, before starting to dismount herself. Mike supervised her until she got half way, before pushing open the door to their bedroom. His eyes were met with Rachel, who was still asleep, so he shut the door again.

A pen was taken from the pot in the office, along with a post-it note. Mike scribbled on a small message that read, Taken Rosalie to Nursery, will be back soon, I love you so much xx. He ran back up and placed the note on her bedside table next to her phone without waking her and proceeded to help Rosalie finish her cereal. Once done they left, and Mike dropped his daughter off without any fuss, she was being surprisingly easy.

"Thank you for dropping her off." Rachel leaned into the kiss Mike planted onto her forehead. He could see that she'd been crying but avoided bringing it up.

"Of course, do want anything?" She shook her head as he sat down onto the edge of the bed, moving the TV remote closer to her.

"I'm so tired!" She tried to make a joke out of it, but it didn't sit well. Mike placed his hand on the side of her face, using his thumb to smooth her cheek.

"It's okay, how's the bleeding?"

"I think a lot of it came out yesterday, it's still pretty heavy, but it's almost like a period now..." Rachel rolled her eyes at herself, before welling up again, "Oh my god, I can't even speak for a minute," She seemed so frustrated with herself, "Thanks for not being weird about it."

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me. Rachel you're not blaming yourself, are you?  It's not your fault, you did everything right, trust me. These things just happen. It'll make both you and I stronger, it will." Mike's eyes welled up too, as a single tear dripped down Rachel's crimson face, he wiped it away.

"I was so happy... You were so happy."

"Hey, it's going to be alright. Do you want to get up and distract yourself, or do you want to stay here with me all day?" For a question that could've been loaded, it didn't sound remotely expectant.

"I want to just stay here." Mike agreed and nestled into the headboard with her, silently hoping it would get just a tiny bit better.

Two Weeks Later

"Hey, god... I've missed you so much!" Mike slung Rachel into a hug whilst a small child clung to his legs. He kissed her forehead, and they encased each other.

"I've missed you too!" Rachel spoke into his shoulder, before pulling away, letting him see her smile gently at him.

"Mommy! I miss you." Rosalie stepped out from her hiding and began pulling on Rachel's coat hem. She looked down and her face lit up almost immediately, greeted with her little daughter genuinely happy to see her mother again.

"Come here baby." The two-year old's feet rocked on the floor as Rachel swooped her up and spun Rosalie around. She planted a kiss on her cheek, before manoeuvring her around onto her side, taking Mike's hand into her free one. They began wandering out of the arrivals and into the main airport, where they could begin to head home. They were reunited once more, happily and lovingly.

"So, are you up for a yummy pastry?" Mike suggested, aiming to both his girls.

"Yeah!" They said in unison, the bakery almost calling out their names.

"Good, now... how was your mom and dad?"

"They're good, my mom is thinking about retiring, I told her it was a good idea. Dad's still working as hard as ever."

"Oooh, maybe then she can come visit more often... and... How are you?" Mike rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand whilst Rosalie writhed in her grip.

"I'm good. I needed the time away, but I'm good now. Better." Rachel looked up lovingly at her husband, she stuttered slightly as he reached into his pocket for the car keys before reciprocating the glance. Not quite sure of herself and three quarters meaning her answer, she shook the question off.

"What about you guys, what did you get up to?" Rosalie was put into her car seat and buckled up as Rachel looked over the top of the car, met with the smirk of Mike stooping into the driver seat, "Oh no, did you just have so much fun?" She looked into the rear-view mirror at Rosalie who also seemed to be amused.

"Don't you worry about us. We had a fun time!"

"I swear, if we get back and the house is trashed, you will be the one tidying it all up."

"Nope, it's all tidy. Mike smiled as he turned on the engine and reversed out of the parking spot.

"Then what have you got to hide?"

"Nothing!"

"Come on! Rosy," She looked back to the giggling toddler, "Are you going to tell mommy?" She shook her head and scrunched her eyes shut. Rachel laughed and mirrored her child, shaking her head nonchalantly.

"I'll fill you in later, I promise." Mike put his hand on her thigh.

"Okay, I'm glad to be home." She sat back in her chair and relaxed her muscles.

"Good to have you back."