Chapter Text
Raquel Murillo was a logical woman.
So when she first noticed the symptoms, her instincts kicked in.
She had been pregnant before, after all.
Here, in their little isolated paradise, there wasn’t exactly easy access to a pregnancy test, but sometimes experience spoke louder than any stick could.
And now, it seemed, there was a little life growing inside of her once again.
Her heart swelled at the thought of having a baby with Sergio.
She supposed some of the signs could be attributed to menstruation or even a hormonal imbalance, but Raquel knew better.
Even though she was in her early forties, she was still an active woman in the prime of her life. She was healthy – healthier, in every sense, now that she was here with Sergio and far away from all that damaged her back home – and her period still came like clockwork every month.
But not long after they began, the symptoms didn’t let up. Instead, they deepened.
And it all became totally clear.
A baby…
Now, the question was – how would she tell Sergio?
What would he say? How would he react?
A dark thought stopped her in the tracks.
What if he didn’t want a baby?
They had never talked about it.
They never discussed of possibility of having a child together…
So what if… No!
Regardless of his reaction, Raquel vowed this child would be welcomed and loved.
Leaving the bathroom that was annexed to their room, where she’d just violently expelled the contents of her breakfast for the fourth day in a row, she went out in search of Sergio.
She found him in the large living room, looking out at ocean that adorned their view every day.
“I was thinking,” he began when he saw her approach him. “Maybe the three of us could go on the boat tomorrow afternoon. Paula has been asking to out on the water, to see the dolphins.”
Raquel supposed there was no time like the present.
“Four of us,” she amended.
But, clever as he was, the strange comment went right over his head.
Instead, he thought she’d meant her mother.
He softened.
“Raquel, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for your mother to join us. She hasn’t been very stable lately, maybe another time. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not talking about my mother.”
Sergio frowned.
“Well… I’m sure Maria would appreciate an extra day off, especially on a boat,” he said, referring to the nice local lady they’d hired to take care of Mariví. “But I don’t think she would enjoy having to follow us around all day and–”
Despite being incredibly intelligent, sometimes he could be completely clueless.
It seemed she would just have to spit it out.
“Sergio, I’m pregnant.”
The man in question, who had single-handedly orchestrated the most complex and daring heist in history not too long ago, froze like a deer in headlights. Raquel frowned at his still form, but he just stood there like that, staring at nothing, completely petrified in time and space.
“Sergio?”
He still wouldn’t move.
She’d been cautious – no, straight up terrified was more correct – of his reaction to the news.
But, this… this was unexpected.
Not knowing what else to do, Raquel gently coaxed Sergio to one of the nearby lounge chairs and helped him sit down. It was clear that he, too, needed a moment to process the information.
The look on his dark brown eyes told her as much.
It seemed as if his mind had frozen along with his body.
Raquel crouched down next to him and put a hand on his knee.
“Sergio, sweetheart,” she murmured softly. “Are you alright?”
No reply.
Then, when she had straightened and decided to leave him alone with his thoughts, Sergio re-gathered his wits about him, snapping out of it; he finally spoke again,
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Pretty sure. I mean, 99% sure. I haven’t taken a test yet or anything, but the symptoms don’t lie. They’re the exact same ones I had with Paula.”
Then, his lips formed the biggest goofiest smile she’d ever seen on him and he let out a laugh.
“A baby?” he asked, his voice full of wonder.
Raquel’s eyes filled with happy tears of relief and she nodded again.
“Yes! We’re having a baby.” Then, she was the one that froze as something occurred to her. “I– I hope it’s just one baby. You don’t have twins or triplets in the family, do you?”
Sergio shook his head, pensively. “No, not that I know of.”
“Good,” Raquel sighed and grinned. She sat on his lap and rested her head against his chest, lounging back with him on the chair. “Because I don’t think I could handle that.”
He smiled and dropped a warm kiss on her forehead.
“You can handle anything.”
Raquel looked up at his adoring face and reached up to take his face and kiss him passionately. After they parted, she snuggled back against him.
“Boy or girl?”
She laughed. “It’s too soon to tell.”
“I know,” he smirked. “But what do you want?”
“What I want… is a happy, healthy baby. I don’t care about the gender. Hell, it could be a magical unicorn with wings that sprinkled stardust and I would still love our child just as much.”
Sergio laughed loudly. He could feel his heart triple in size inside his chest.
Their child.
Then, he moved into action.
“I’ll call for the doctor right away,” Sergio announced, straightening from their seat and lifting them both from the chair.
One of the privileges of being filthy rich was that you could have a private doctor on call whenever you needed it, while also counting with his utmost discretion and professionalism.
He continued, “You need a check-up to make sure everything is alright and to… confirm.”
The goofy smile returned.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her as he left the room.
Both of them had the same silly lovey-dovey expression on their faces, like they were falling in love all over again.
As he walked to the house phone – the only one they had on hand to use, for safety reasons – Sergio’s mind considered the news he’d just gotten and what all of this meant.
This new life he and Raquel had made was proof of their love.
A sign. A new beginning.
Now, all that was left was for him to follow through with his plan.
Sergio thought of the engagement ring he had safely tucked away in one of his drawers. He’d bought the damned thing even before she’d come to Palawan, back when he could only hope that she would come to him and give their love a chance.
But, like a coward, he’d kept it hidden all this time, just basking in their together and trying not to ruin anything, too afraid to lose her again.
Well, enough was enough.
This baby marked a new stage of their life and their relationship, right?
It was time.
He was going to propose to Raquel. Very soon.
***
The next day, as planned, they set out on their boat with Paula in the afternoon, to search for a much desired sight of dolphins.
The little girl wandered the edge of the boat and nearly perched herself on the railing, trying to see any animals that might be swimming underneath the surface of the water. But Sergio was always close by, keeping an eye on her and warning her not to go too far.
He was so careful and caring.
Raquel smiled as she remembered the doctor’s visit the previous day.
Only two hours after Sergio had sent for him, the doctor had arrived at their home. And given them the best news of their lives by confirming Raquel’s suspicions.
She was indeed pregnant.
Six weeks pregnant, to be exact.
The doctor knowing it was a case of a possible pregnancy had been kind enough to bring a small but very effective ultrasound machine, so he could get a look at the fetus and confirm its existence. They had even been able to hear the faint yet steady thumping of their baby’s heart. Sergio had held Raquel’s hand all the while, their eyes shining bright with tears.
That night, they had made love until the sunrise in celebration of their new child.
On the boat, Raquel finished setting the food for their little picnic-style dinner on the deck and called for them. Paula came running in a bee line toward the waiting meal.
“Paula, don’t run,” Raquel instructed sternly.
Paula pouted, not liking being admonished.
But Sergio had Raquel’s back.
“Don’t make that face. Your mother’s right,” he told his step-daughter. “Running on a boat like that could be very dangerous.”
At that, Paula shrugged, not impressed, and turned her back to them to look back at the dolphins as she ate her sandwich.
Sergio and Raquel, on the other hand, were pleased.
Together, they made one hell of a parenting team.
Smirking at each other, they quietly high-fived before delving into their food.
After eating and putting everything away, they sat together like that – as a family – on the deck of their boat, watching the sunset while Paula gazed lovingly at the dolphins that jumped and played in the water.
Raquel leaned her head against Sergio’s shoulder and he placed a strong arm around her, bringing her in closer.
He placed a hand over Raquel’s still flat stomach.
Their little family.
The four of them.