Blindside

Episode FOUR

Noah

Clearing his throat, Noah's mind raced to backpedal when he saw Roni's excited smile wane. He'd spent most his day chiding himself for snapping at her that morning, and here he'd been ready to do it again. "I mean you said they hadn't been able to get you in any sooner than almost a month away."

Try as he might, Noah hadn't been able to get that last part out as nonchalantly as he'd hoped. He blamed Hector's stupid remark now when he'd told him about how far out Jack's first appointment had been. Seriously? So, whose dick to you have to suck to get in sooner? Clearly, it was the last thing Noah was thinking when he heard her announcement. But he had to wonder now if there was any other motivation for the sudden special treatment. This doctor being on high demand and nearly impossible to even book with, was something she'd gone on about months ago when she finally got the first appointment.

"They had a cancellation." Roni's demeanor had taken an obvious dive, and Noah could kick himself now, damn it. "I told you I'd practically begged the receptionist to call me if there were any."

"Yeah, you did." He pecked her as soon as he reached her then remembered and rushed back to his car. "I got you something."

Glad he remembered because he sure as fuck nearly blew it again, he reached into the backseat for the box of Almond Roca candies she loved so much. "But you'll have to hide them from Jack, or he'll be bouncing off the walls." He kissed her again when he reached her and handed her the bag, murmuring against her lips. "And I want him in bed early again tonight."

She smiled again, taking the candy and thanking him. Just like that, she was back to her excitable self. "I'm just so glad this might be over sooner than later." They walked back into the kitchen together. "Ever since I stopped googling for symptoms and whatnot, I've calmed a lot. Truth be told I was doing it too much and it was driving me crazy. The doctor sounded confident enough that Jack is fine. If he's not worried, why should I be, right?"

Noah kept to himself that, since day one when she first brought it up, he hadn't been worried either and he'd told her so. But he wouldn't be petty. The guy was a doctor after all. He was just glad she'd referred to him as the doctor and not Mateo. For whatever reason, that had grated him to no end when he first heard her call him that. Just like when he'd first heard the guy refer to her as Roni. He was also glad this would be over sooner than later, and this might be the last Noah would have to hear of him.

"But you do remember I won't be here Thursday, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile when he pecked her again. "I asked, but the receptionist said you didn't need to be there."

Deciding to get off the subject, Noah told her about his day as he helped her put dinner together. It was the second week in a row they were trying the dinner delivery service. The kind that came in a box with everything you needed to make a healthy dinner for two. In their case two-and-a-half. He'd promised when she'd first decided to try the service that they'd put the meals together as a team. It was a reminder of their very first Thanksgiving way back when he realized just how bad he had it for her. So, there was no shortage of groping, kissing, and giggling as they worked together.

As promised after dinner, he wrestled with Jack for a good amount of time to make sure he tired him out early. By the time they were done, and he was in and out of the tub, Jack's weary little eyes were already giving in. The moment Noah saw Jack was down for good, he headed back to his bedroom to start with some more delicious groveling.

~*~

Roni

With Noah gone for the week, Roni took advantage of the toddler gym at 5th Street to get some work done. Jack loved going, and even Bianca, who was in charge of the toddler gym, had assured Roni more than once that, as far as she could observe, Jack was fine. Bianca worked with special needs kids, some of whom were autistic. So, it was added relief, now that Roni was almost certain she had been overreacting to Jack still being as non-verbal as he was. She hated to admit it, but Mateo had been right about one thing. In hindsight, her real worry started when she began comparing him to Reina, Abel and Nellie's little girl. Roni had started researching, and of course every symptom she read about she was suddenly looking for in Jack.