Co-parenting

Chapter 14

"How much longer is this going to take?" Veronica whines. They have been sitting in the ER for almost two hours. She sits next to Archie who has their sleeping daughter on his lap.

"I don't know Ronnie"

"I didn't want an answer" she mumbles. She holds her wrist. Her hand is killing her.
She leans her head against his shoulder and bites her lip to keep the tears from falling.

"It really hurts and I'm so tired"

"I know Ronnie. Just look at our little baby. You'll feel better then"

She giggles. She lifts her head back up and turns a little to Valerie. She's snuggled into Archie chest. Her hand holds Archie's finger.
Her lips are slightly apart and her cheeks are in a soft pink. Valerie's cheek always blush when she's tired or asleep.

"She's so cute" Veronica whispers.

"Mhm, we did a good job"

She nods. She looks up, into Archie's eyes. They look just like Valerie's.

"Veronica Lodge?" a woman calls out.

Veronica gets up. She looks to Archie. She doesn't want to go alone and he understands her just by the look on her face so he gets up too. Valerie's head falls onto his shoulder. She shifts "Dada"

"Shh honey, it's okay" he whispers and kisses Valerie's head while he follows Veronica.

She walks in and sits down in a chair, Archie next to her. Valerie is asleep again. Just a few seconds later the doctor walks in.

"Good evening. My name is Dr. Johnson" he smiles "Show me your hand Miss Lodge"

Veronica holds her hand towards him. Dr. Johnson carefully removes the bandage and looks at the deep cut. Veronica wince in pain.

"You need stitches"

Veronica eyes widen. She look to Archie and then back to the doctor. "No, no please not"

"Miss Lodge you need stitches" Dr. Johnson laughs.

"Right now?"

"Right now. There is no need to be afraid though. This will only take a few minutes and you have your boyfriend and daughter with you"

Veronica doesn't say anything she just turns to Archie. A few tears are in her eyes. He takes her other hand and smiles.

"Okay Miss Lodge, I have to sanitize your hand first. It will burn a little"

Veronica nods. Archie squeezes her hand. "Hey, look at me" he whispers "or Valerie"

Veronica giggles. In that moment she feel a strong burning. She shuts her eyes and bites her lip.

During the whole procedure she keeps her eyes closed. She squeezes Archie's hand tightly. He runs his thumb over her knuckles. His heart races.
After just 15 minutes Veronica has a new bandage around her hand.

"Your hand will be numb for a few more hours. I'll see you next week to check on the wound. Sanitize it once a day and then you'll be fine"

"Thank you Sir" Archie smiles. Veronica is still too emotional to say anything. She's shaking and still holding on to Archie's hand.

"Of course. Take care of your girlfriend"

Archie blushes "I will. She's not my girlfriend though, just the mother of my child"

"Oh really?" Dr Johnson asks. "You two seem close"

•••

'You two seem close', the phrase repeats in Archie's head over and over again. It makes him happy that a stranger thinks he and Veronica are dating. He knows it doesn't change anything but still. He opens Veronica's apartment door, Valerie is still asleep in his arms. He walks to her room and lies her down in her bed, Veronica follows behind him. "Good night princess" Archie whispers. Veronica leans down and kisses Valerie's head. "Te quiero, mi amor"

When they are back in the living room, Archie helps Veronica out of her jacket. "Thanks" she mumbles and blushes.

"Of course, is there anything else I can do for you"

"No I'm good thanks though"

"Okay" Archie smiles "I'll leave now"

"Wait!" she says "okay this may sound weird and you don't have to do it but my hand is still numb. Can you help me change?"

Archie blushes deeply. His heart starts to race and his hands get sweaty. He can't even say something, he just nods.

Veronica giggles. She doesn't hate him anymore but she will never admit that, especially not to him. She still can't trust him and she doesn't want to trust him. She's happy though that he's always ready to help. He adores Valerie and Veronica thinks that's really cute.
She grabs his hand and pulls him into her bedroom.
She goes to her closet and gets some pjs which she then throws onto her bed. She turns to Archie. His cheeks are still red. He takes a step closer and reaches his hands out to unbutton her jeans but she slaps his hands away. "I can handle my jeans just help me with my shirt"

He blushes even deeper which makes Veronica giggle. She lifts her arms up and Archie pulls the shirt over her head. When it's off Archie has his eyes closed.

"Why did you close your eyes?"

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable"

"I don't Archie, we made a baby. You can open your eyes"

"Are you sure? It's been a while"

"Yes I'm sure but you can keep your eyes closed if you want" she giggles.

He slowly opens his eyes. His heart skips a beat when he sees her. The last time he saw her like this was the night Valerie was conceived. She's just as beautiful as he remembers. She looks exactly the same even though she had a baby. She just looks a little bit more feminine.

"Don't stare!"

"Sorry, sorry"

She hands him her silk pyjama top and holds her arms up again. He puts it on and wipes her hair out of her face.
She unbuttons her jeans and lets them fall to the floor. She grabs Archie's arm before she steps out of them. She's struggling a little to put her shorts on but Archie doesn't dare to say anything.
When she's done she lets go of his arm and walks out. He follows her. She walks to the front door and opens it. He understands. She wants him to leave. As he walks past her, she puts her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you Archie"

"Always"

He stares into her eyes. He's so deeply in love with her. He always has been and he always will be. There is no one else for him, she's his one and only. If he can't date her he won't date at all. He rather stays single for the rest of his life.
He takes her hand into his and places a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"Bye Ronnie"

Veronica's heart flutters when his lips touch her skin. It's been so long and she misses it. There's just one problem. She can't trust him. He broke her and she doesn't know if she can ever forgive him.

"Bye Archiekins" she whispers but he's too far already to hear.