Rachel patted the empty spot beside her, Ethan left a little over four in the morning. The fact that he could thrive on so little sleep was beyond her. She’d be grumpy as hell, in desperate need of either coffee or tea. She stared at the ceiling for a minute, trying to wake up. It then hit her that her little girl was awfully quiet this morning. She rolled to her side and grabbed the baby monitor off the bedside table. She stared at the screen, a smile spreading across her face as she realized that her baby girl was still fast asleep. She placed the baby monitor back on the bedside table, sitting up to get ready for her morning. Once she was freshly showered and dressed she’d focus on her little girl
She’d go to work, focusing on keeping herself together while Ethan was taking care of whatever problem occurred in Boston. She hoped he could handle the situation and come back home. He wasn’t gone that long, but the mere thought of him being miles away from them made sadness spread throughout her entire body. She needed to keep going to keep her mind off things.
Climbing out of bed, Rachel took the baby monitor with her into the bathroom and started her morning routine. She brushed her teeth, took a quick shower and dressed in her silk white robe. Once the robe was secured around her waist the first little cry of Ava reached her ears. The little girl was awake, ready to start her morning as well. It surprised her how smoothly everything was going even though Ethan wasn’t around. She should have known she’d be capable of taking care of Ava on her own.
Placing the baby monitor back on her bedside table, she made her way to Ava’s room. She changed the little girl’s nappy and freshened her up, dressing Ava up in a blue onesie which was covered in white polka dots. The little girl smelled of apples, being quite cheerful this morning.
“Let’s get you something to eat.” Rachel took Ava in her arms and strolled to the kitchen, putting Ava in her high chair while she prepared Ava’s breakfast. When she glanced at her little girl she noticed how excited Ava was, kicking her feet in the air, “Someone’s in a really good mood this morning.” She chuckled.
She fed Ava her breakfast and then let the little girl play in her crib while she got dressed. She chose a simple white tee and dark jeans, she slipped into a pair of sneakers and pulled her hair up in her famous messy bun. Once she was ready for her morning she let their driver know they were ready to leave the apartment. It was quiet without Ethan around and she did notice Ava glancing around the room, in search of her daddy. The little girl didn’t cry, but she could tell that her baby was missing someone. She made sure to pay Ava a lot of attention, hoping the rest of their week would go smoothly without Ethan present as well.
“Maybe we don’t need to have daddy around after all.” She told Ava. She laughed when Ava made a face at her, “Don’t give me that look.”
Apparently, her little girl disagreed with her. With a smile spread across her face, Rachel dropped Ava off at daycare and then headed to work herself. It wasn’t as busy as usual at Emma’s Haven which gave her time to experiment with her baking. She was full of energy herself that day. To her surprise when she picked Ava up from daycare later that day, Valerie and Gabriel joined her, going home together with her. The couple wanted to spend some time with Ava, she loved their company so she eagerly agreed to have them over. She prepared them a simple meal while the couple entertained Ava.
“With Ethan in Boston Gabriel wanted to spend as much time as possible together with Ava.” Valerie let her know, “He is taking advantage of Ethan’s absence.”
Watching Gabriel being cuddly and cute with Ava made a warmth spread through her body which she could not put into words. Instead, she reached for her sister and pulled Valerie into a hug. It was the only way to express how happy she was. Valerie was surprised by the sudden display of affection. Her sister blacked out, not even returning the hug. Laughing Rachel pulled away and smiled at the surprised looking Valerie.
“I’m just so happy you two are staying for dinner.”
Gabriel’s chuckle reached her, “I think you’ve broken Valerie with your affection.”
“It appears so.” Rachel jokingly agreed, “I’m going to set the table, you going to help me, Valerie?”
Her sister snapped out of her daze, “I’m not broken.” She muttered, “Rachel just surprised me, that’s all.”
Rachel kept her words to herself, not wanting Valerie to get even more flustered. She set the table and called Gabriel and Valerie to the table. Gabriel placed Ava in her high chair, the little girl didn’t look happy about that. She made crying faces, voicing out her displeasure to Gabriel. She made little fists of her hands and kicked her feet angrily in the air. Her face was getting all red and puffy.
“Ava, calm down. You can play with Gabriel after dinner.” Rachel told her little girl.
That actually made Ava cry, she was throwing a little tantrum not wanting to have her own dinner. Her phone going off made things even worse. She grabbed her phone answering it since it was Ethan checking up on his family and then moved to Ava, trying to get her out of her chair without hurting her. She must have looked ridiculous trying to do both at the same time because Valerie got up and took Ava from her instead.
“You talk to Ethan, I’ll make sure she eats something.”
“Thanks.” Rachel then focused on her phone call, “Sorry, Ava is throwing a tantrum.
“Gabe and Valerie are there?”
She smiled, “I invited them over for dinner.”
“Ava sounds angry.” Ethan laughed, “I’m missing her little tantrum.”
“Be glad you’re missing it.” Rachel muttered, “How is Boston?”
“I want to come home.” Ethan sounded pouty which made her heart melt for him, “It’s boring as hell and I’m not sure if I can fix the damage. A lot of sucking up is involved.” He sighed tiredly, “I hate it.”
It was the first time she heard Ethan talk about his work like that. From time to time he got stressed but he never voiced out his displeasure. He made things work, it was his company he built together with Gabriel, he’d do anything to keep Hunter and Starr up and running.
“Ethan?” He didn’t respond which made her blood run cold, “Ethan?!” She called louder now which alarmed both Gabriel and Valerie, “Are you there?” She shot a glance at Gabriel who was by her side the minute he picked up that something was seriously wrong, “He isn’t responding anymore.” She whispered.
Gabriel took the phone from her, “Ethan?” He called loud and clear.
By the looks of it, her fiancé didn’t respond to Gabriel either. She buried her fingers in her hair, worst possible scenarios popping up in her head. Gabriel ended the call on her phone, placed it on the table and took out his phone, making a few calls in Boston. She watched him carefully, hoping to hear some good news. She didn’t pay much attention to Ava and Valerie, but her little girl wasn’t crying her lungs out so she assumed Valerie managed to quiet down Ava.
Gabriel started pacing the room, quietly talking to someone who worked closely together with Ethan. The man sounded calm and collected, he wasn’t losing his mind like she was. Gabriel had control of the situation, yet it did nothing to calm her chaotic mind. She needed to know about Ethan’s wellbeing She needed to know what happened to her fiancé. After a few minutes, Gabriel ended the call and faced her, a determined look in his eyes.
“We’re going to take the first plane to Boston, Ethan collapsed. They’re taking him to the hospital. They’re not sure what’s wrong with him, but I assume he’s just exhausted.”
“Okay?” She nodded, the words not fully sinking in yet, “Okay.” She repeated.
Gabriel stepped to her, grabbing onto her shoulders to make her look him in the eyes, “Valerie is capable of taking care of Ava by herself. Your little girl will be fine. You’re going to pack a bag while I arrange for us to take the first plane to Boston, okay?”
She nodded, “Okay.”
He squeezed her shoulders, “You don’t mind if Valerie stays at your apartment?” He asked, even though he probably knew the answer to that.
She turned to look at her sister, “Thank you.” She told Valerie, “I owe you.”
Valerie rolled her eyes at that, “Shut up and start packing.” She glanced down at the little girl who was smearing baby food all over Valerie’s shirt, “Ava and I will be fine.” She assured her, “I do have Caroline’s number, so I could always ask her to come over if I need someone to help me.”
Rachel’s lips curled up into a smile, “Thank you so much!”
She then hurried to her bedroom and started packing a bag. She had no idea what to take with her. She tossed clothes into her weekend bag without really thinking about it. She made sure to also pack a makeup bag filled with essentials and her toothbrush. Throwing a tube of toothpaste into her bag as well, she assumed she had everything she needed.
She wrapped herself up in a fluffy jacket and wrapped a scarf around her neck, grabbing her bag and joining Gabriel and Valerie in the living room. She told Valerie everything which came to mind about Ava, hoping she prepared her sister enough to take care of Ava for a few days. If she wasn’t so damn worried about Ethan and his wellbeing she’d be making a joke about Valerie practicing being a mommy.
Right now no one in the room would appreciate that kind of joke. She patiently waited for Gabriel to get everything ready for Boston. Once the man set everything up he said his goodbyes to Valerie and Ava. They made their way to the airport, both of them praying that Ethan was fine.
***