Karen had kept her word to Rob and had taken two days sick leave off of work. She had also kept Jess at home as they had decided. Both Karen and Rob knew that it was probably Jess that had made Karen decide to take the time off. They both knew that Jess needed time out of school as well as some time with her Mum. They had lots to discuss.
There had also been a decision made by everyone that Rob and Aiden would stay for the rest of the week. The police had phoned Karen to let her know that Maria had been bailed, and while she was suspended from school and had a court order keeping away from Jess. None of them were completely convinced that they would have Charlie, Maria or the pair of them bashing the door down. Everyone felt safer with Aiden and Rob there.
Jess sat on the sofa with a hoody over her pyjamas. There didn't seem much point in getting dressed and even she had to admit that it was nice to be able to slob and not worrying about getting her hair and make up perfect for school. Despite having some time off she wasn't able to stop herself from waking up at half seven to get ready for school each morning, meaning that she was seeing much more daytime tv than she had planned. She heard a noise from the landing above, her Mum was up and coming down the stairs. She had known that part of the reason for them both taking the few days of school was so the two of them had a chance to talk. There was lots they needed to discuss and it needed both of them concentrating fully.
"Morning sweetheart." Karen walked through the living room and into the kitchen where she flicked on the kettle. "Do you want a tea?"
"Sounds good." Jess got up from her seat on the sofa. She had been sat there too long and it was time to stretch her legs. She wandered into the kitchen and pulled out one of the chairs around the circular table.
Karen looked towards Jess. She knew that she hadn't been sleeping, but she wasn't sure that it was the right time to broach the subject of the doctors. They needed to talk and make some decisions about the next few steps before anything else could be decided. She made the two cups of tea before putting one down infront of Jess and sitting on one of the other chairs with the other. "How long have you been down here?"
Jess shrugged. "A couple of hours maybe...by bodies still working on school timing." She stopped and took a deep drink of the warm tea. "On a positive I haven't been sick yet this morning."
"Well you are just over the twelve weeks mark, and that's supposedly when it all dies down...I can't promise that it wont appear again at some point. I got caught out with all three of you, you think that it's all done with and suddenly your heads in the toilet again." She leaned forward and stroked Jess' face. "I know it's hard...but try and enjoy this." She pointed towards the bump. "It'll go so quickly and before you know it someone will be handing you a baby."
"It seems so far away right now...there's so much else that needs doing before then." Jess put both of her hands on her small bump. "It's grown again." She pulled up her hoody so Karen could see the bump pushing out her tight pyjama top.
"Trust you to have a dainty bump..." Karen laughed before taking her cup over to the sink. "Have you decided whether you're going to find out whether it's a boy or a girl yet?"
"I think I will...it will just make buying things easier...there's only so much cream and yellow you can buy."
...
Rob pushed open the front door. He hadn't quite got used to having a key to Karen's house, but she had insisted. She had used the line about in case something happened and Rob hadn't been able to resist. Since he had the key he had decided that it would be a good idea to pop back at lunchtime to check everything was ok. He knew that he was being protective but it didn't bother him, and he knew that Karen would tell him to back off it anything moved too quickly. "Hello?" He shut the door behind him before walking into the living room.
Karen looked up at him from the sofa. "What are you doing back?" She tried to keep a straight face but couldn't help but grin at him.
"I thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to check up on someone that means quite a lot to me..." He walked towards her and slipped his hands around her waist.
Karen shrugged and looked at him. "Anyone I know?" She looked up at him. She loved the fact that he was taller than her without towering over her. She smiled at him before slipping her hands into his jean pockets.
"Not sure...she's rather lovely though, and when she smiles she gets beautiful dimples that make me want to kiss her." He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Breaking off he watched her smile and the dimples appear before he kissed her again. "I did warn you Mrs Fisher...if you keep smiling like that then I will have to kiss you again."
Karen nodded as she sunk into his kiss. "I'll see if there's something I can do about that then." She took her hands out of her pocket and ran them up his back and into his hair. She could feel him shiver at her touch.
"Karen...." He was trying to stop himself carrying her straight up the stairs. She knew exactly which buttons to press. He ran his hands down her sides before resting them on her bum, he gently squeezed and it was her time to groan, two could play at that game. He gently pulled away. "I have to go back...but we'll finish this later." He kissed her again before grabbing his coat and walking out of the door.
Karen stood watching him go, it still amazed her how amazing a simple kiss from Rob made her feel. She almost hated herself for feeling it, but she couldn't help but wondering if this was what love felt like?
