Powerful Impact [a Roman Reigns story]

21 My knight in shining armor

Roman POV

Tired, I dragged my suitcase behind me and set off to look for Larissa and Clementine. They were going to pick me up from the airport after they had been at the pediatricians office.

As always, I could hardly wait to see my girls again. It had been a long week without them. Maybe I could convince Larissa to take a long nap with me. I was sure we could both use it.

When I reached the arrivals hall, I looked around the crowd but couldn't see them. I went further to see if they were waiting towards the back, but found nothing. With a furrowed brow, I took out my phone and switched it from airplane mode back to normal and then dialled her number.

It rang for a while until Larissa finally answered.

"Hi Ro. Oh, I'm so sorry. We'll be right there. I've only just arrived." she said immediately.

"Hi baby girl. No need to panic. I'm coming out. Stay in the car." I replied and went outside.

It wasn't long before I spotted Larissa's car. Smiling, I opened the door and leaned in to give her a quick kiss.

"Hi." she said.

"Hi my darling. How are you?" I asked before checking on the baby.

"Don't ask.... Come on... load your luggage and let's go home." Larissa replied, exhausted.

I did as she said and then went to the driver's side.

"Let me drive. I can see how tired you are." I said quietly so as not to wake the baby.

"Thanks baby..." she replied as she got out and gave me a quick hug.

I gave her a kiss before we got in the car and headed out.

"So tell me... What's going on?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

She sighed deeply before she started to tell me what was going through her head.

"I was more or less awake all night. At first Clem was hard to calm down... And then I must have pulled something in my back. Everything hurts and that's why I couldn't sleep. No matter which position I tried, it hurt. It's a little better now, but not gone yet.

And then it took forever at the pediatrician. She got another vaccination. Of course she didn't like it and it took me a long time again to calm her down. I am glad that she fell asleep. But since all that wasn't quite enough, I was pulled over for a check on the way to the airport by the cops.

You should have seen the smug grin on that young officer's face... ugh... Luckily they didn't find anything to complain about. Otherwise it would probably have taken even longer. I'm sorry you had to wait." she replied.

"Hey, relax... I didn't wait long. When I didn't find you, I called you straight away. You really don't have to worry about it. And even then it's not the end of the world." I explained to her.

"Maybe not... but still... " she replied before yawning.

"What do you think about a nap? I could use one myself." I then asked.

"That sounds good... But I'm afraid Clem will be awake again soon. Besides, I haven't even had time to open my mail yet. I got a letter from the landlord and I don't think that can mean anything good," said Larissa.

"Don't stress about it... Maybe it's just about some trivial information... What I wanted to ask... Do you have any idea what we're doing for Mini Miss's first birthday?" I replied.

"Ro, it's still three months away." she laughed softly.

"So what? You can never start early enough. It's her first birthday after all. It should be something special." I said.

"I think we can talk about it." she replied.

*****

"Do you want a coffee or something?" Larissa asked me as I sat on the couch with Clem and watched TV with her.

The little one snuggled up to me and sucked on her pacifier while we both relaxed. I could tell she was still tired. Maybe she would fall asleep soon.

"No... Come to us, baby girl," I replied.

Larissa sat down with us and cuddled up to my other side for a few minutes. She sighed contentedly as she stroked Clem's hair.

But after a while I noticed that she was getting restless again. Obviously the letter was bothering her. So she got up and went to her purse. She pulled out the letter and sat down with us again.

"Oh God no..." she said after reading it.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.

"The building has been sold. And the new owner wants to convert all the apartments into condos. They're offering us the chance to buy our apartments. I can't afford that. They're giving us two months to make a decision. Damn!" she explained to me and then started to cry.

I immediately pulled her to me with my free arm. Larissa laid her head on my chest and broke into sobs.

"Shh....shh... It's not a problem, baby girl. You're going to move in with me. That makes the most sense after all. You're always here anyway. And I don't have to let you go anymore. To be honest, I've been wanting to ask you to move in with me for a while, but I didn't want to move too quickly again... Well, after you know..." I replied.

"Are you really sure about this?" she wanted to know as she lifted her head to look at me.

"You love me, don't you?" I asked.

"Of course I do. You have no idea how much I love you." she replied.

"You see? And I love you. We're a family and it's time for the family to live together," I said and gave her a kiss on the nose.

"Do you have any idea how great you are? My knight in shining armor." she replied and smiled at me.

"Is that a yes?" I wanted to know.

"Yes, Roman. That's a yes!" she said, pulling me and our daughter into her arms and hugging us tightly.

Clem laughed joyfully, almost as if all tiredness had disappeared.