*March 2013*
*Dan's POV*
Lugging my suitcase up out of the lift, I stepped into the apartment hallway and sighed, happy to be back home after finishing the tour. Slowly I put the key into the lock and stepped into the apartment to be greeted by Freddie who was stood at the kitchen counter, setting out two mugs of tea. Looking up, she smiled and wandered over to me, and putting her arms around my shoulders.
"Evening love," I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her waist and lifting her onto her tiptoes "How you doin'?"
"Good, missed you" She pulled back and quickly pecked me on the lips.
"Missed you too" I brushed some hair out her face.
"How was the rest of the tour?" She asked, slurping her tea, her dark eyes watching me intently.
"So much fun, I wish you could've come" I began describing some of the highlights of the tour while we washed up the mugs before sitting down on the sofa as Freddie finished editing one of the photos she had been working on while I was away. "You know what we're gonna do" I began, breaking the thoughtful silence that had fallen around us. Freddie looked up at me questioningly. "We're gonna go out for dinner" I reached out my hand and pulled Freddie to her feet.
"Any particular reason?" She asked, laughing quietly.
"Well, I haven't really seen you over the last month and you're going to France next week for work. Why? Can I not take my girl out for dinner without a reason?"
"Of course you can." Freddie smirked before heading to the door "Well, I'm gonna go and change. Meet back here in 30?" I nodded and Freddie disappeared across the hall.
Half an hour later, we were strolling down the street, making our way to the restaurant. Once we arrived, we were shown to a table and started reading the menu, after a minute, a waiter approached and took our order. We waited for a while and Freddie told me about her plans for her work trip to France until the waiter returned with our starter. We looked down at the bowl of nachos and array of dips and I clapped my hands together excitedly "Right, where do we begin?"
Freddie laughed and picked up a nacho and scooped up some sauce "Well, I'm gonna hog all the mild dip because I have no spice tolerance what-so-ever"
"Ah come on! Be adventurous," I loaded some of the spiciest sauce onto a nacho and hovered it in front of Freddie's face. She stared at it for a moment before raising a skeptical brow. "It's not that hot, I promise"
"I'm just smelling it and I can feel a sweat breaking out. There's no way you're getting me to eat it" Freddie explained defiantly. I rolled my eyes sarcastically and sighed disappointedly. "Go on then, Spice Master, you try it if you're so brave" Nodding obediently, I popped the whole crisp in my mouth and chewed for a minute before swallowing without a single sign of discomfort.
"See? Not that bad" Then I felt a fierce warmth spread across my lips and burn all through my body. Quietly, I cleared my throat and took a drink of water. "It's got a kick, I won't deny that" I explained as Freddie watched, her mouth pulled into an I-told-you-so smirk. A minute passed and the heat wasn't going away; I could feel drops of sweat collect on my forehead and my tongue prickled relentlessly. On the other side of the table, Freddie was giggling unsympathetically.
"Feeling the heat over there daredevil?" She asked, emptying the dish of mild dip and dropping the nacho in her mouth triumphantly.
"As a matter of fact: I feel fantastic. The pain is all apart the fun" Both of us sniggered amusedly and after another moment, the heat began to subside. We tucked into the rest of the starter before moving onto our main courses and then splitting a dessert.
It was dark by the time we left the restaurant; the streetlamps cast the pavement into a sea of gold, giving our misty breaths a yellow glow and Freddie tightened her scarf and rubbed her hands together in an attempt to keep warm. Drawing closer to her, I enclosed her hand in mine and stuck them into my coat pocket (which was definitely not made for two hands but neither of us seemed to mind). It didn't take long before we were stepping into the warm apartment building and making our way up to our floor.
We stepped into the hallway and something made me stop in my tracks.
Something made my heart race and my jaw drop.
A familiar face; dark, flowing hair. Light brown eyes eyes and olive-toned skin. But right now, the face I knew so well was hidden under a mask of red, bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks with hands resting protectively over a bulging stomach.
"Dan. Hi." Her voice was quivering uncertainly. I took an intake of breath to try and talk back but no sound passed my lips, instead, I stood in shocked silence.
"Dan?" Freddie tugged gently at my sleeve.
"Uh, Freddie, this is... This is Liv."
Even as I said her name, I still didn't believe myself. I couldn't believe that Liv was stood in front of me, a begging look spread all over her face.
"I, uh, should probably head home, give you two some-"
"No!" I turned to Freddie and took hold of her hand. Quick. Think of a good excuse why Freddie shouldn't leave. "Your apartment is-is quite far away," Freddie raised her eyes questioningly "I'm sure Liv won't mind you being around" Looking over my shoulder, I looked at Liv and she shook her head. Turning back to Freddie I silently pleaded her to stay. She quietly agreed to stay and relief crashed over me. I unlocked the door to my apartment and we all stepped in.
"Anyone for a drink?" Freddie asked, moving over to the kettle. I'm gonna need something stronger than coffee to get through this Freddie; vodka, tequila, anything.
"Just a glass of water please" Liv replied, her voice still shaking nervously. Well, it's good knowing I'm not the only feeling slightly anxious about this.
"Make that two" I added. Freddie nodded and filled to glasses of cold water while I offered Liv to sit on the worn, two-seater sofa. Carefully, she lowered herself into the right hand corner and I perched on the left-side arm, knowing that if I sat on the actual cushion, it would be too close for anyone's comfort.
"Right, I'm gonna go into the bedroom and get on with some work" Freddie announced, wrapping her hands around the hot mug of tea. I nodded, understanding how uncomfortable she must have felt. Quickly, she disappeared filling the room with an awkward silence.
"She seems nice" Liv commented, her small voice barely breaking the silence.
"She is" I confirmed, taking a sip of water. "Liv, what's going on? What are you doing here?"
Liv exhaled deeply and for the first time since we stepped out of the lift, she looked at me. "It's uh, I'm here because of... Well I'm sure you've already seen..." Her eyes moved down to her belly where her hands were still resting. Panic rose inside me, my hands went cold and clammy and my heart began beating at a hundred miles an hour.
"Yeah, I noticed." I spluttered, running my hand through my hair "How-how far along are you?"
"Six months. And a bit." I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that was building up in my throat. Six months. We broke up six months ago. But what did 'and a bit' mean?.
Getting rid of all my nerves in one sharp exhale, I plucked up the courage and asked "So, it's- is it ours, our kid?"
"Maybe... Um, towards the end of our relationship, I uh, I met this guy and we became quite close and uh, things happened-"
"Liv. You don't have to downplay anything okay? You slept with another guy, I get it. I kinda guessed anyway" Suddenly, a stab of guilt radiated through me. I had never told anyone I thought Liv had cheated, I had always just said she left me but saying it out loud sounded harsh and spiteful "Sorry. I didn't mean that"
Liv shrugged it off and waited for a minute before speaking again "So basically, there's a 50/50 chance that the child is yours but, I need your help" Liv began explaining what had happened over the last few months; how her mum kicked her out, how the other guy cut off any help and how she might lose her job because of her maternity leave. By the time she finished telling me everything, her eyes were brimming with tears and her voice was on the verge of breaking into worried sobs "Look, I know I didn't treat you right Dan and I understand if you don't want any part of this either; it's all a huge mess that no-one deserves to be wrapped into and-"
"Wait, Liv, slow down: This is a difficult situation to be in on your own so, I'll help you out... for the next few months. I'll help you find a place to stay, I'll drive you to appointments and stuff like that but the minute the baby is born, I want you to do a DNA test and... if the kid's mine then I'll do as much as I can but if not then... I'll have to stop helping. I know that sounds selfish but I've spent the last six months trying to get over you, trying to forget how bad you made me feel-"
"Dan I completely understand. All I'm asking is for you to do as much as you want to and believe me, just letting me into your apartment and listening to all of this is more than anyone has done so, thank you" Liv finished, taking hold of my hand appreciatively. Months of memories between Liv and I flashed in my mind, making me hastily recoiled from her touch. Silence fell once again.
"It's getting late, I'll pull out the sofa bed- I mean it's not ideal but-"
"It'll be fine. Thanks" I nodded and made my way to the airing cupboard and grabbed some clean sheets before returning and making the bed for Liv. "Thanks for this Dan, see you in the morning"
"Yeah, see you" I left her to get comfortable and headed into my bedroom where I found Freddie curled up under the quilt with her head stuck in a book, glasses almost slipping off her nose "Hey, whatcha reading?"
"I don't actually know, just something I picked off your shelf," She closed the books slightly and admired the cover "It looked kinda tatty, guessed you read it a few times" I laughed and dropped onto the bed, pinching the bridge of my nose exhaustedly. "How was your talk with Liv?"
"Long... interesting... tiring. I dunno if you noticed the bulging pregnant stomach on her"
"Kinda hard not to see it"
"Yeah," I sat up and turned so I was looking Freddie directly in the eye "there's a chance that that kid is- is mine, and I said I'd help her out up until the baby arrives, if he- or she- is mine then I'll stick around, if not then... I shouldn't see much of Liv again... Is that okay with you? I'm guessing your plan wasn't to play happy families when you decided to be with me huh?"
"Not exactly but I don't mind, I'm glad that you didn't just slam the door in her face." Freddie answered, smiling reassuringly before leaning in and gently pecking my lips.