The more he talked, the more her stomach tumbled and the faster her heart felt like it was racing. She wasn’t sure she was ever going to be ready to go through this nightmare again, but at least if she did, for some reason, change her mind, she had proof that he’d be there for her when she did. He was willing to do that; she wasn’t even his responsibility and he’d taken it upon himself anyway, which was probably only compounding his problem to begin with, for which Lydia felt a little guilty more often than not.
She opened her mouth to respond and promptly snapped it shut again. Nerves or morning sickness? Don’t you dare throw up right now, Lydia Martin, don’t you dare, she told herself and her eyes slipped shut as she waited for the wave of nausea to pass. It was still a little early; it could pass if she tried hard enough. Right?
For a long moment, she stayed incredibly still like that, moving only to lift a hand to hold him off, because she was afraid that if he moved on the mattress to reach for her to make sure she was alright, that tiny movement would be the end of it. Finally, it passed, and she let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, her eyes opening slowly again and her hand lowering. “It’s getting to be that time of the night for me...I’m sorry,” she said, looking apologetic, if for nothing else than the God awful timing of it. “I know you’re here,” she added to address what he’d been saying before the wave of nausea had hit her. “And I appreciate that probably more than I can actually say.”
A look came over her quite suddenly that worried him, and Isaac was just about to move towards her when her hand lifted to signal for him to fall still. He did, recognizing that gesture right away as the ‘I don’t know if I’m about to throw up’ gesture, and when it finally passed he looked at her sympathetically before shaking his head. “You don’t have to say it. And it’s fine, here,” Isaac moved slowly to avoid shaking the bed too much, reaching out for her with a gentle touch to her shoulder so he could guide her to lie down. “Here, just, lay down, let me make you tea or something. Where did you put that ginger I gave you, I can soak it in some water and maybe it’ll help.” He wasn’t really trying to hover, this had just become second nature to Isaac. Despite how difficult it was and despite how much he struggled with keeping up and doing everything he needed to, moments like this still came naturally to him because it happened so often. Especially with Malia, considering she got sick more often.
“Yeah, if I did this again it would be with you,” he mentioned once more as he got out of bed, looking around to see where Lydia would have kept her things. He wore a crooked smile. “But I’m pretty sure you and I are never going to ever do this shit again. Ever.”
Isaac touched a hand gingerly to her shoulder to guide her back on the bed and she actually gave a soft laugh as she did so. “Honey, you don’t have to do that,” she told him. “It’s your night off. I’ll be fine, I’ve got another like half an hour or so before it actually really gets bad. But it’s over, there,” she said, gesturing to the left of the bed.