Lean on Me

Part Two - Chapter Nine: Back in London

“I love you,” Fernando murmured tiredly laying down next to Cassidy, his arm wrapping around her as he drew her close; they had just settled the children down for bed after their flight back from Madrid.

“Love you too,” Cassidy whispered cuddling into his arms, she was wearing a grey dawn print chemise for bed and could barely keep her eyes open as she felt Fernando hold her close to his warm body; they were cocooned in their bed sheets and it was difficult for them to stay awake.

Fernando closed his brown eyes as he relaxed, they hadn’t told Cassidy’s parents about their engagement yet but the couple planned to travel to their home in Denham so that they could break the news to them during a family meal with the children.

The couple laid relaxed for a moment before a cry sounded through the monitor making Cassidy groan as she carefully moved to get out of bed before Fernando stopped her; he shook his head before climbing out of bed and heading for the nursery to settle the child that was crying.

Fernando sighed as he moved to collect Leia from her cot, he carefully picked his daughter and held her close; she cuddled into his bare chest as he carefully rocked her back and forth knowing that it was a noise that had woken her.

“It’s okay papa is here,” Fernando said moving to sit in the chair that was set up in the nursery, it had been a gift from Cassidy’s parents and he grinned as he carefully rocked Leia back to sleep.

Fernando yawned carefully as he looked down at his daughter, he had been considering getting a dog for the family since he had loved having two when he had lived in Liverpool.

Fernando had only gotten rid of his two bulldogs because Olalla didn’t like them and had thrown a fit when they’d had Nora that they had to go.

***

“I’ve been thinking… how would you feel if we got a puppy?” Fernando asked curiously wrapping his arms around Cassidy, they had the twins but he liked the idea of having a dog to look after the children and to guard the house when he was away.

Cassidy looked at him as she wondered what had brought this on, she watched him for a moment as she pushed herself up and watched him as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“You want a puppy?” Cassidy asked to be sure that she had heard him right, she knew they were going back to the original custody arrangement for Nora and Leo but with the twins, she didn’t know if they would have time to train a puppy as well as raise them and find time to plan a wedding.

Fernando nodded his head as he ran a hand through his blonde hair, his eyes looked at her hopefully making Cassidy sigh as she watched him; she didn’t like talking about his life in Liverpool but she was curious.

“Didn’t you have two English bulldogs back in Liverpool?” Cassidy asked recalled watching him, she didn’t know why he didn’t have them anymore but she had a feeling that it was something to do with Olalla.

Fernando ran a hand through his hair as he looked at his fiancée, he knew that she was curious and that he had nothing to hide; the two had gone to good homes and he just missed them.

“Pomo and Llanta… Olalla didn’t want them in the house after we had Nora, she forced me to give them away,” Fernando said softly making Cassidy’s heart ache about how much he had sacrificed for his ex-wife and still it hadn’t made her happy.

“I’m sorry,” Cassidy said cuddling into Fernando’s side, she allowed him to wrap his arms around her before she smiled as a plan started to form in her head; she knew what she could do to make him happy.

“It’s okay… they went to good homes, though I had to ask Stevie to do it for me,” Fernando said making Cassidy nod her head as she started to form a plan, she hadn’t really spoken to Steven Gerrard before but she knew that she would need his help if she wanted to surprise Fernando.

The footballer sighed as he pulled back from his fiancée and kissed her softly before he climbed out of bed and padded into the bathroom.

Cassidy waited until she heard the shower running before she quickly stole his mobile and headed out of the bedroom and downstairs so he wouldn’t hear her on the phone.

Cassidy headed downstairs and into the utility room, she made sure that no one had followed her before she closed the door behind her; the brunette shifted her feet off the cold floor as she searched Fernando’s mobile for the right number before she called it.

“Hello?” said a voice laced with a scouse accent as someone answered the phone, Cassidy took a deep breath wondering how to go about this since she had never spoken to the Liverpool player before and she wasn’t sure if he knew who she was.

“Hi Steven… this is Cassidy, Fernando’s fiancée,” Cassidy said softly she had several minutes before Fernando got out of the shower and noticed that she was missing; she just hoped that the scouser would be able to help her in some way.

“Hiya… is there something wrong with Nando?” Steven asked concerned wondering why Fernando’s fiancée would be calling him at this hour of the morning; he hoped that nothing bad had happened to his friend.

“No nothing wrong… Fernando was telling me about his two English bulldogs that he had to give away because of Olalla and I was wondering if you knew if it were possible for us to get them back,” Cassidy said glancing up at the ceiling; she was standing directly below their en-suite and she didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

Steven chuckled as the brunette heard him moving about, she was curious if he would be able to help her or not; she almost laughed when Steven answered her.

“Of course… I’ve had them since he handed them over, I knew how much he loved them,” Steven said moving around the room so he didn’t disturb his wife; he couldn’t bring himself to give Pomo and Llanta away since he knew how much they meant to Fernando and how devastated he had been when Olalla had made him get rid of them.

“So what is your plan?” Steven said knowing that there was no way that Fernando knew about this call; the brunette was being a little too secretive and he had a feeling that he knew where this was going and he couldn’t help but be excited.

“I’ll come up to Liverpool in two weeks and collect them,” Cassidy said knowing that she couldn’t do it this week since she was going to have dinner with her parents.

Cassidy was quick to make arrangements with Steven so that she could collect the two dogs without Fernando knowing before she hurried into the kitchen to make some breakfast as she heard her fiancé coming downstairs.

“You didn’t have to do that amor,” Fernando said wrapping his arms around her waist and kissed her softly as Cassidy flicked the kettle on; Cassidy smiled knowing that this would be a perfect surprise for him especially since she knew how much he missed Pomo and Llanta.

“It’s nothing,” Cassidy replied kissing him again, she hoped that she would be able to sneak away with ease without having to worry about him; she had a feeling she’d have to drag someone else into her plans to distract him.