Shattered Glass

[Louise_2983]

Chapter 42

“What do you think are you a Serena?” Aden whispered softly against Belle’s bump as he reached the third name on the final shortlist they had compiled together. Curled up on the sofa together they were enjoying a relaxing afternoon, just the two of them.

“No, no reaction” he craned his neck to look up at her before crossing the name of the list.

“Clearly not a Serena”

“Here’s an idea. Why don’t we just we just wait until she can talk and let her choose her own name?” Belle giggled at his tactics. He had already dismissed Sami, her choice, and Beth, his own, for the

same reason.

“No, that would just be silly” he announced rolling his eyes upwards as though her suggestion was a million times more ludicrous than his own method.

“How about Amelie baby girl?” he continued just as she awoke and gave a firm kick against the hand he had rested, fingers splayed, over Belle’s tummy.

“We have a winner!”

“There’s the rest of the list yet! That was only one kick, she might be more enthusiastic about some of the others” Belle protested, her hand covering his.

“You don’t like Amelie anymore?” he sighed in frustration.

“Well of course I like it but I’m not really sure that it goes with Jefferies”

“Belle, we’re never going to decide on a name if you change your mind about names that have made it to the final shortlist!”

“Well you know which one is my favourite!” she pouted as he rested his head on her tummy and she ran her fingers through his tousled hair.

“And you know which one is mine but we have to at least make some effort to agree”

“Well not necessarily” she murmured hesitantly.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” he questioned, raising his head from her tummy and instead resting his chin on her shoulder so he could look her in the eye.

“Well I love my favourite name but I like yours too and you don’t hate my favourite right?”

“Of course not, it’s really cute I just prefer mine” he reassured her, pressing his lips gently against the bare skin of her shoulder.

“And it’s important to both of us that Jamie accepts that baby and knows we both still completely adore him right?”

“Right” he nodded against her soft skin, not quite comprehending what she was hinting at.

“Well, then how about we wait until she’s born and then we let Jamie choose between the two names? That way he’s involved and he’ll feel important but we won’t end up with a daughter called Minnie

Mouse Jefferies!”

“You are such an amazing mother” he smiled genuinely.

“I would never have thought of that”

“It’s a gift” she grinned as he gently brushed his lips against hers, his hand running through the stray tendrils of hair framing her face.

“I love you” he murmured softly, his nose nudging her cheek.

“I don’t blame you” she joked as he chuckled against her soft skin.

“Are you ok with all this Aden?” she questioned quietly, averting her gaze to avoid his piercing blue eyes.

“With all what?” he replied clearly confused, his hand finding hers and turning it over so he could gently trace circles over her palm with his fingertips.

“Everything” she sighed softly.

“With the baby. I mean I know you love her, I do, that’s not what I’m saying so don’t take this the wrong way”

“Belle, why wouldn’t I be ok with the baby?” he asked in utter disbelief that she would even consider he would feel that way.

“Well it’s not as if we planned her and I had a choice whether to keep her not, not that I would ever have not kept her, but I still had a choice. You just had this thrust on you and it’s not exactly the ideal

time when we’ve just got back together an-”

Suddenly his lips were on hers, her words spoken directly into the gap between his beestung lips as they trailed off into his tender kiss.

“Belle” he sighed as he pulled away, his temple resting against hers.

“I love you and I love our baby and this is no wrong time for this to happen because I’m never happier than when I’m with you and Jamie and creating another little life with you is amazing. Our children

are my biggest achievement in life Belle and I still can’t quite believe that I got to make them with someone as amazing as you”

“You always know the right thing to say” she smiled softly, warm tears stinging her eyes as he brushed his lips over her cheek.

“I know what I just said probably sounded really smooth and rehearsed but I mean every word Belle. There is no where I would rather be, no situation or circumstance than I can imagine being happier

in than I am right here, right now with you”

“Are you scared?” she whispered and she instantly saw him hesitate as he tried to form an appropriate response in

“And don’t give me the sugar coated everything’s going to be ok answer to make me feel better, I know you only do it because you care but we both know that the chances are she’s going to arrive way

too early and then on top of that there’s everything that happened last time” she took his hand in hers and squeezed gently before continuing.

“You ended up alone, holding the baby last time we did this and I know we’ve moved on from that but it must cross your mind sometimes that it could happen again and I don’t want you to gloss over

that to make me feel better or to talk about it to someone else and avoid the topic with me. We’re in this together Aden and that means we share everything even if is that sometimes you want to run

away and never come back. I want to know...”

“Sometimes I want to run away and never come back” he admitted with a small, polite nod. Her stomach plunged as she felt bile rise to the back of her throat, the thought of him wanting to leave her

even if he would never actually do it, petrified her to the very core.

“But I always want to take you and Jamie and our baby with me Belle. Sometimes I wish we could run away and live in our own little bubble just the four of us but life’s not like that and we have to face

it head on. Yes I’m scared Belle, I’m scared it’s going to happen again and I’m scared for our little girl and most of all I’m scared that one day you’re going to wake up and realise that you deserve

someone so much better than me. Belle, there are some days when I can hardly breathe I’m so petrified of what life’s going to throw at us next but just one happy moment with you, even if it’s only for

a fraction of the second, where I can breathe easy and believe that everything will be ok, that makes it all worthwhile”

“Aden” she sighed with a soft smile as he finally took a breath and gazed at her with expectant eyes. She raised a hand tenderly to cup his cheek and placed a soft, kiss on his lips before beginning to

speak.

“There are probably thousands of guys out there more perfect than you. Better looking, not as stubborn, not as annoying, not as volatile, not”

“Gee Belle, remind me why you’re with me again?” he interrupted her character assassination.

“Because I love you” she whispered with a smile.

“I love you despite the fact that you’re not perfect in fact I love you because you’re not. You’re flawed and your real and you may not be the most perfect man in the world but you’re perfect for me and

I don’t want or deserve anyone other than you because I’m kind of flawed too” she chuckled softly at her understatement.

“And I think that makes us perfectly flawed for each other”

“And you say I’m the smooth talker” he grinned pulling her closer for a kiss.

“I’m scared Belle but I’d rather be scared than have nothing to fear and not be with you. Whatever happen we’ll deal with it the best we can, together, and we just have to hold on to the hope that that’s

going to be enough. Because something will go wrong, whether it’s next week, next year or in another decade. Life won’t be perfect but it’ll be pretty damn good as long as I’m with you”

“Thank you” she whispered barely audibly as she shifted her body closer to him so that she could snuggle into his chest.

“What for?”

“For being honest and giving me the unedited version. For not pretending to be a macho man who doesn’t know what fear feels like because you’re scared that you being scared will make me even more

so”

“I know you’re scared babe” he murmured into her hair as his lips brushed across the top of her head.

“But in a way that’s good. Because you wouldn’t be scared if you didn’t have anything to lose and for a long time you didn’t”

“And now I’ve got you and Jamie and the baby” she smiled against his chest, rubbing her hand over her bump and raising his to place both hands over her tummy.

“Exactly” he nodded.

“And that’s what being a parent is about. If being alone with Jamie all those years taught me anything it’s that it’s scary and exhilarating all at the same time”

“It is scary” she whispered against his chest as he caressed the soft skin covering her knuckles with his fingertips.

“Sometimes I dream that I wake up and Jamie doesn’t want to call me Mummy anymore or that he hates me because he knows I couldn’t love him when he was newborn or that somebody takes him

away from me and no matter how much I fight for him I can’t win him back”

“Belle, none of those things are going to happen”

“But in all of those dreams” she continued, ignoring his interruption.

“You’re with me. Right by my side, helping me, supporting me”

“That’s where I’m always going to be”

“I know that” she grinned.

“Even my subconscious knows it!”

“Belle, I know I’m still married but when the baby’s here and the divorce is through do you think one day we might get married again?”

“Aden Jefferies is that a proposal?!”

“No” he shook his head softly.

“I would never do something as thoughtless and tacky as proposing to you whilst I’m still married to Kirsty”

“But impregnating me was fine huh?” she joked, nudging him gently.

“Well at least I got some action out of that” he smirked.

“We both know what marriage does to your sex life”

“We didn’t seem to have a problem last time” she grinned suggestively.

“Stop avoiding the question” he chuckled before hesitantly continuing.

“It wasn’t a proposal but it could be a promise of one in the future if you’d want that?”

“I can’t think of anything I’d want more” she sighed pulling him closer to her by grasping the soft material of his t-shirt and edging him closer.

Her lips instantly found his as she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

“Except you. Right now” she murmured seductively in between the warm, greedy kisses she left in a trial down his neck.

“Is that right?” he grinned into their kiss, his fingers running up and down the length of her back before settling on the soft skin just above her strapless, cotton maternity dress.

“Uh-huh” she sighed as her hands slid down his chest and slowly rolled his t-shirt upwards, inching it slowly to reveal his toned, muscular chest.

She licked her soft lips in anticipation as he raised his arms to allow her to remove his t-shirt, before his lips were on hers again, his eager hands roaming over her body and through her loose hair.

“Bedroom?” he murmured, his lips never leaving hers.

She shook her head gently.

“Right here” she ordered, breaking away just long enough to lay back on the sofa as he manoeuvred his body so not to crush her.

“That’s where you said you’d always be”

[leah1234]

aaw that was so cute!!!!

Their talk was perfect- everything seems so much more open now

update soon

xxxxxxx

[Taniya_K]

That was just a sweet chapter. I loved their talk; I hope they do get married again.

Loved the ending, of course

Can't wait for more!

xoxo

[bradyell]

AW!!!!!! That was too lovely! They just love each other so much

brill update can't wait for more

[xknomex]

Louise that was beautiful!! I really have no idea what you were worrying about cause that was just.... WOW

it was perfect, i'm glad they had that talk, they know where they stand in their relationship and the future.. just brilliant

the ending was hehe

Brilliant

xxx

P.S Belle is wrong, there is no one more good looking than Aden!!!!

[LAURZY!]

That wa absolutely gorgeous, you had me in tears... again!

I loved how honest they were with each other!

Brilliantly written

Really cant wait for more!!

[MrsL]

Brilliant, I LOVE this fic and this chapter was amazing as always. I have tears in my eyes (thats a good thing)

[zifiso]

Great update as usual!!

Loved the talk and the fluff at the end

Update soon.

[KaiyaBlake]

So very very cute

Can't wait for more

[Inactive User]

Awww loved it!! Update soon