Here for You Ch. 09-10

As there was still some time before Karen's arrival, they all went out to the front yard. The weather was getting warmer, signaling the approaching summer. Ben and Elle sat on the porch swing, watching River played with Colt. Ben couldn't help thinking what a pretty picture this was: his son was nearby playing with the family dog and a beautiful woman that he adored sitting beside him.

He glanced sideways at Elle who laughed occasionally as she watched River and Colt's antics. Yes, Ben admitted to himself that he adored Elle. She was fun to be around with and he felt relaxed with her. River liked her and she was genuinely fond of him, too. Maybe having River around every weekend wouldn't be impossible after all. Elle could take care of River while he worked at the nightclub and over time, maybe he could get her to stay, too.

"River, are you okay?" Elle called out, bringing Ben's thoughts back to the present. He turned to see his son picking himself up from the grass and dusting his pants.

"I'm okay!" he called back and continued to run around the yard with Colt trailing behind faithfully.

Without thinking, Ben reached out to take Elle's hand, making her look at him. "About what River said earlier, are you cool with babysitting him?" he asked.

"It's okay, I guess. I mean, I wasn't very confident that first time, but turns out he's a pretty easy-going kid. I enjoyed taking care of him," she said.

"You do realize that would mean sacrificing your weekends sometimes," Ben reminded.

She laughed. "Trust me, spending time with River and Colt aren't much of a sacrifice." She tilted her head to look at him. "Besides, you still have to ask River's mother if she agreed to the plan, though."

"I think she won't have a problem with it," he replied. "She trusts me to know what's best for River." He squeezed her hand lightly. "And I trust you."

Elle's lips curved into a small smile. "Thanks. That means a lot." She leaned against him and he put his arm around her, enjoying the warmth of her body against his.

When Karen arrived, Ben pulled Elle up from the swing and they walked down the porch steps together as River ran to hug his mother. Karen pressed a kiss on her son's forehead and her brilliant smile faltered at the sight of Elle standing beside Ben. She quickly looked back down at River.

"Did you enjoy yourself today?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I did. I helped Daddy to make guacamole for dinner," River said. "And he lets me eat ice cream, but I only ate a little bit."

"I bet you did," she said wryly and turned to look at Ben and Elle again and the smile remained on her face. "I didn't realize you guys had plans today."

"We've been hanging out this weekend," Ben replied.

Karen nodded. "Thanks for putting up with River, Elle," she said.

"It's not a problem at all," Elle assured with a smile, glad that Karen didn't seem to mind that the three of them had spent two days together without her knowledge.

Karen whispered into River's ear and he nodded. He went to Ben to give him a hug. He leaned in close to Ben's ear and whispered, "Daddy, remember to ask Mommy about me sleeping here every weekend, okay?"

Ben chuckled and pressed a kiss on top of River's head. "Okay, I'll do it," he promised.

River gave Elle a hug and a kiss and made plans to hang out again. Then he patted Colt before climbing onto the car, closing the door behind him.

Karen turned to Elle. "Um, I don't know if Ben told you about this," she began. "This is very embarrassing, but when he told me that you babysat River the other night, I was pretty pissed off." She laughed once, awkwardly. "But I realized I was being petty and unfair and I had apologized to Ben for not trusting him, which I should because it was obvious to everyone how much he loves River." She shook her head once and looked at Elle in earnest. "You had no obligation whatsoever and yet you've helped to care for River. I've been an ungrateful person and for that I'm sorry."

Elle was taken aback by the apology. "Oh no, you don't have to apologize. I mean, I would be pissed off too if a virtual stranger took care of my child. So I understand your concerns. Maybe Ben can, you know, give you a heads up if there's ever a need for me to babysit River."

Karen directed her smile at Ben. "No, he doesn't have to do that now." She looked back at Elle. "I have no reason to worry. I just hope my father won't have to take another emergency trip to the hospital. He'd scared the shit out of us last time."

"I hope he's feeling better," Elle said. "Did he fall ill?"

Karen looked at Ben again. "You didn't tell her?" Ben shook his head and she smiled. "Always the trusted confidant, Ben," she told him before turning back to Elle. "My father has cancer and he was hospitalized that night because he was sick from the chemotherapy. I didn't want to tell River that his grandfather was dying. They are close, you see, and I don't want him to be sad. So he thinks it's just normal sickness."

"I'm sorry," Elle said sympathetically.

"Yeah, me too. He's in a hospice now so now I can work on telling River about his grandfather's condition." She flashed a grin at Ben. "Ben has been so good to my dad these past few weeks, helping us with the move and visiting my dad and keeping him company." She nudged playfully at Elle. "You should consider keeping this one."

"Maybe I will," Elle played along.

"Hey, I'm still standing here," Ben protested and they all laughed.

"Well, we'd better get going," Karen said. "It's almost River's bedtime."

Ben and Elle waved goodbye and watched as Karen backed her car down the driveway and out to the street. After they left, Ben turned to Elle. "Well, that was unexpected."

"You mean when Karen confessed to hating me and then apologized for feeling that way?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ben said. "I thought we had it resolved between us." He shrugged. "But then Karen has always hated conflicts. If she knows she's in the wrong, she is not too proud to own up to it."

"I'm sorry about her dad," Elle said.

"Yeah, it is terminal so there's nothing much they could do now but to pray for a miracle," he said.

"You're close to him," Elle said. It was more like an observation than a question and he nodded in agreement.

"Next to my grandfather, James is the closest thing I have to a father and he still treats me like his son even though I am not with Karen anymore," he said. Elle didn't say anything else, so he decided to change the subject and took her hand. "But that's beside the point," he said with a grin. "I bet you're feeling relieved that River is not averse to us being together."

"What are you talking about?" she pretended not to understand as she headed back towards the house with Colt at her heels.

Ben laughed, seeing right through her act. "Stop pretending, baby. I know you're worried about not getting River's stamp of approval."

Elle stopped in her tracks and pretended to glare at him. "Oh, and I suppose you weren't nervous about the possibility that your son might hate me."

"Okay, I admit it: it was kinda nerve-wracking," he said and took her other hand so that they are facing directly from each other. "Are we cool?"

Elle rolled her eyes. "We were never un-cool," she muttered as Ben pulled her closer.

With his hand cupping her jaw, he stared directly into her eyes. "Good." He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her slowly, gradually deepening. When they parted, both were breathing heavily. "God, you don't know how much I wanted to do that all day."

Elle giggled. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

"You want to come in? I can make coffee," he suggested.

"I would love to," she said with a smile.