Chapter One Hundred and Six

Chapter One Hundred and Six
Ezra 

I’ve been at Alana’s for a couple of days now. I feel a little better, but still hurt. I don’t know where I would be without Alana. She has been taking care of me. 
I haven’t decided how long I will stay, but I am in no rush to return home. 

I reach for Alana next to me in bed, but she isn’t there. Where is she? I check the time to make sure I haven’t overslept, as she might have left for work. I notice it’s only eight, so she should still be here. She’s working from ten to two today. She didn’t go to work the last two days because of me. I tried to get her to go, but she refused and got her shifts covered. She will need to go back today. 

I take a moment to wake properly before I drag my ass out of bed. I go to search for her, and as I walk down the hallway, I hear someone vomiting in the bathroom. I rush to the door and knock on it. 

“Alana, are you okay?” I ask, worried. Alana isn’t one for getting sick. The only sound coming from the room is the sound of more vomiting. I try the handle, luckily, the door is unlocked. I head inside and find Alana hugging the toilet. 

“Bright eyes, what’s wrong?” I crouch down next to her. I use one hand to hold her hair away from her face and the other to rub her back. She only manages to answer me with a grumble. It takes a few minutes, but she finally stops heaving and moves to rest against the wall. She has vomited on her tee, and it’s in her hair. Her eyes are watery. 

“Can you get me a bottle of water, please?” she whispers.

I nod, doing as she asked, and return to her, handing her the bottle before kneeling in front of her. I brush her hair away from her face before she takes a sip. 

“Are you okay? What is causing you to be sick? Are you not feeling well?” I ask softly and rest the back of my hand on her forehead. It doesn’t seem to be too warm. 

“Let me clean up, and then we can talk, okay, my love?” She smiles wanly, her brown eyes seem dull. 

“Should I be worried?” I panic. Why can’t she tell me right now rather than making me wait?

“No. You go through. I need to brush my teeth and change.” 

I sigh, but do what she asks. I don’t sit, though, I pace the living room. It feels like forever until I hear her come out. 

“Ezra, can you please calm down and take a seat?” she asks softly. 

I nod and sit on the couch. Alana takes the spot next to me and rests her hand on my knee. 

“Alana, what is going on? I am freaking out,” I say honestly. 

She takes a deep breath and makes sure to look me straight in the eye. I brace myself for what she’s about to say. I have no idea what it can be. I have terrible thoughts running around in my head. Is she sick in some way? 

“I was sick because,” she says before pausing and taking an inhale, “I am pregnant. We are pregnant,” she finally says, exhaling loudly.

“Y-y-you’re pregnant?” I stammer.

“Yes. I found out a few days ago. I wanted to tell you, but then you showed up completely heartbroken because of what Bella did. I didn’t want to be insensitive to you,” she says softly and squeezes my hand. 

“Are you sure?” I don’t want to get my hopes up too soon.

“Well, the six pregnancy tests I used told me I am.” She laughs. “But I have a doctor’s appointment first thing tomorrow morning to confirm,” she adds.

I try to speak, but no words come out. I am in shock. Alana suddenly pulls her hand away. 

“Ezra, are you not happy with the news? I am sorry. It is too soon. I should have waited to tell you.” She whimpers, her bottom lip quivering. 

The sound of her whimpering snaps me back to reality. I fling myself around to face her. She is staring at me intensely, tears brimming in her eyes.

“W-w-we are having a baby?” I finally manage to stammer out. 

“Yes, we are,” she whispers. 

“This is amazing!” I celebrate and kiss her repeatedly. 

When we part, she smiles brightly. “Are you happy about it?” 

“Yes! Of course I am! I am going to be a daddy for real this time, and with the woman I love. What isn’t there to be happy about?” I gush and rest my hand on her stomach. 

“Yes, you are.” She smiles and places her hand over mine. 

“Can I come with you tomorrow?” I ask softly. 

“You'd better be coming, or I won’t be a happy bunny. Bubs and I want you there.” 

I chuckle and kiss her softly. “I can’t believe you are pregnant. What made you take a test?” 

“My period was late, and I wasn’t feeling too good.” 

The typical first signs that make a woman take a test. 

“And how are you feeling about it? Are you happy?” I am thrilled, but I also need to know how she feels. Yes, we talked about it, but I am sure none of us were expecting it to happen so soon. Though I do find the entire thing strange, how it all worked out. Bella takes Cora away from me, and then Alana tells me she is pregnant. Perhaps it’s the universe’s way of letting me know everything will be okay. It’s a way to help me heal. 

“At first, I won’t lie, I was in shock and stressed, but after a couple of hours, when my thoughts slowed down, I was happy. How could I not be happy? I am carrying your baby. I wasn’t sure how we were going to make everything work, but I knew we would find a way, somehow,” she says brightly. 

“I am sorry you had to wait to tell me, Alana, and went through the first few days of processing this alone.” I sigh and pull her onto my lap. 

Alana strokes my cheek. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You were hurting, and it would have been too much to take in at once.” 

“I know, but I would have been fine if you told me, but I understand why you hesitated.”

“How are you doing today?” she asks softly. 

“Better now. I won’t lie, it still hurts, but it’s easing. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised after everything she has done in the past.” 

I haven’t told her about Bella’s threat and the money I had to send her. It hasn’t been the right time, and now, after the news, I don’t think I want to tell her. I don’t want anything to get in the way of our celebration. 

“I really am sorry she did what she did to you. The bitch had better not come near me again, I swear I will not be held responsible for my actions.” 

Alana’s entire body tenses as she speaks of Bella. 

“Alana, relax, sweetheart. Bella isn’t worth your stress. We can forget about her. She is out of our lives. We don’t need to hide anything. We can be together without worrying,” I say and rest my hand on her face, stroking her cheek. 

Alana closes her eyes as she moves into my touch and kisses the inside of my hand. 

“Yes, we can concentrate on us and our baby,” she whispers. 

I smile when she says it. Our baby! I press my lips to hers in a gentle kiss. “I love you so much, bright eyes,” I mumble into her lips. 

“I love you too, Ezra.” When we part, I hug her to my chest. I can’t stop smiling.

I hope everything will be okay with Alana and the baby. We still have a lot to work out. Where will we stay? Scotland? Move back to LA or move somewhere new? I don’t mind what we do. If Alana wants to remain in Scotland, I will be happy to pack everything up and come here. It doesn’t matter where we are as long as I have Alana and our baby.  

“What time is your appointment tomorrow?” 

“Nine.”

“Okay, we can get up early and have breakfast beforehand,” I suggest. 

“It depends on how I feel in the morning. I might not manage breakfast if I am sick. I will try to eat something light and hope it won’t make me sick.” She pouts. 

“Aww, angel, hopefully the morning sickness will pass soon. We will work out what you can eat. Don’t worry, I will take care of you both. I am not going anywhere.” I smile and kiss her forehead. 

“Yes, we will work it out. When do you need to go back?” 

“I am in no rush to leave,” I reply. Work and everything else can wait. I have people who can take care of things for me while I’m gone. 

“What about work and whatnot?” 

“None of it matters, Alana. I want to be here every step of the way.” 

“I would happily keep you here with me, Ezra.” She grins. 

“It can be arranged. I don’t want to miss anything with you and our baby.” 

“I should probably start to get organized for work. I still need to eat.” 

“Okay. You go get ready for work, bright eyes, and I will make us a light breakfast.” I smile. 

Alana pecks my lips before she climbs from my lap. “I won’t be long.” 

“Please be careful in the shower, okay? It can be slippery.” 

“Ezra, I will be fine, my love.” She snickers. 

“I would apologize, but there will be no point because I am sorry to inform you, I am going to be a pain in your ass now and overly protective.” I am sure in the future there will be times she’ll want to kill me! 

Alana shakes her head. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, love. I promise to be careful.” 

Alana disappears for her shower, and I head into the kitchen to see what I can make for breakfast. I decide on an omelette with a little cheese, not too much, because it might be too heavy on her stomach. 

I have an extra spring in my step as I saunter around the kitchen cooking. I don’t think I will ever stop smiling. I know with Alana, the baby is mine. There is not a single doubt in my head. I can’t wait to meet the little one. Yes, it is a long time away. We don’t even know how far along she is yet. 

It doesn’t take long until Alana joins me. She is wearing a dressing gown, and her wet hair is down. 

“See, all good, still in one piece,” she says brightly. 

“Yes, I do see. Now sit your sexy ass down, breakfast won’t be long.” 

“I need coffee first,” she huffs. 

I raise my brow at her. “Coffee?” 

“Yes, Ezra, coffee. I am allowed one cup a day. You try to take my coffee away, Mr and you will regret it,” she teases and wags her finger at me. 

I hold my hands up. “Fine. But only one.” 

Alana rolls her eyes at me. “Yeah, yeah.” 

I chuckle and kiss her before I turn back to breakfast. I plate it up once it is ready and make us a coffee, but I make sure it isn’t too strong. I join her at the table and set a plate down in front of her. 

“Thank you, my love. It looks delicious. Fingers crossed it stays down.” 

“Hopefully, sweetheart.” I smile. 

Once we have breakfast, I will walk her to work after she’s ready. She will need to slow down a little as she will be exhausted the further she gets along with the pregnancy. It will need to be her choice, though. I won’t pressure her into it. I would never dream of it. 

I will support her in every way I can.