The Brightest Stars ✨

Chapter 8

On Sunday, when he had to go train with the team at school, Gabe insisted that Natalia came with him. Natalia wanted nothing more than to mooch around the house, lazily but she also didn't have the energy to argue. All that arguing in the week had tired her out. She agreed after a brief stand-off that Gabe settled with a kiss to her temple.

Natalia had brought some marking with her, and got on with the thankless task of marking all her students' exercise books, essays and classwork. She updated her lesson plans and also scoured the internet for new teaching aids, videos, memes and experiments. She loved bringing science to life and spent most of her time thinking outside the box of new ways to bring relevancy and pop-culture into the classroom.

She could see Gabe demonstrating how to execute plays that they were practicing on the field from the science office, she saw him throw the oblong shaped ball far into the air and it sailed in a perfect arch landing into the arms of their assistant coach.

How he did that, using the arm he had been shot in was beyond her. But she was glad his shoulder had healed up. She had been worried it was going to affect his career but hadn't dared to bring it up. And more selfishly, being held in his arms just hit differently now. The feeling of being completely enveloped and surrounded by him never got old.

When Natalia got bored of her work, she made her way to the field. Practice was still going on but it was winding down, but what she saw surprised her.

Gabe was standing with a child in his arms. A cute brown, cherubic faced baby girl with adorable puffs on her head. She was sucking on her thumb as Gabe spoke to one of the players. He was dressed in street clothes and he held onto the handles of a buggy.

Natalia hung back, watching the interaction. "I understand you might have scheduling issues, Lawrence and we'll make it work. Just keep me updated, don't disappear on me."

The boy nodded sombrely. "You can join the others for the last couple of minutes, I'll hold onto this one, I'm sure you need a break."

The boy jogged further upfield to join his team mates. Gabe was left rocking the baby girl as she offered him her sticky, spit covered thumb, Gabe dodged her offering, tickling her in the ribs instead. She squealed loudly, her squeals turned into the cutest baby peals of laughter.

"Hey, you seem to have acquired a child?" Gabe turned around, with a wide smile that showed his dimples.

"Yeah, I went from coach to nanny, never let it be said that this job is boring."

"What's the story?" Natalia shifted closer to play with the baby's hair, she squeezed Gabe's bicep in the process, in lieu of a more physical greeting since they were surrounded by teenage boys.

"His mom's gotta work and he's the eldest, something's going on there that I haven't figured out, but childcare isn't an option for them right now."

"It's a shame." Natalia commented.

The cuteness of the situation was overwhelming and more than she had bargained for on a Sunday afternoon. He was so good with the toddler from the way he had her settled in his arms, how she snuggled into his chest and how he soothed her with little rocking motions.

He'd make such a good dad. The kind you didn't have to ask to babysit their own kids. She was in awe and if she stared anymore her ovary was going to release an egg by pure force of will. When their eyes met she knew they were both thinking of the same moment that they were peering down at a negative pregnancy test.

"Don't look at me like that or I will give you one," Gabe quipped, turning away from her. Half truth and half snark.

Beneath his rough alpha male exterior was someone who yearned for a family, and Natalia wanted to give him one, God there was nothing of her that she wouldn't give and that's what scared her the most.