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The voice seemingly comes out of nowhere, catching him in that state of limbo, almost asleep, kind of still awake.
They'd said their goodnights, shared their last kiss of the day, assuming their positions, with Liam on his side, one arm tucked beneath his pillow, his other loosely draped over her waist. She'd had a stressful day, and drank a few extra glasses of wine than usual, hence the closeness. She never had to ask for it. He just knew it would help her sleep soundly tonight. So he was surprised, after he had thought he'd heard her breathing even out and fall into slumber, that she was still awake.
"Do you think I'm gonna make a good Mom?"
The question shocks him.
Not because he doesn't know how to answer it, but because no topic of the evening even touched close to that being something that should be whirring around her head right now. Which of course, means that it's been playing on her mind for a while now, and she's only just allowing the question to come to the surface. Liam knows that something has happened to trigger it, likely something from the events of today which has tired her out so much. Perhaps someone has cruelly said, or done something, to make this insecurity wake up in her.
It brings him violently out of that almost-sleep state, his brows furrowing, his head lifting from the pillow, only to get the view of her golden curls in his peripheral.
"Why are you even questioning that?" He asks, his voice raspy, "has someone said something to you?"
There's a pause.
He watches the back of her head intently for some sort of sign.
"That doesn't matter," she eventually returns. "I just need your honest opinion."
He sighs softly as he contemplates how to go about this sensitive topic.
"Honey," he nudges her slightly, "hey, look at me."
She turns slowly, her blue eyes meeting his, giving nothing away.
"I just need you to answer the question," she says, stubbornly demanding his answer.
His heart is breaking at the mere thought that she is looking for validation on this right now and contemplates how to navigate this sensitive topic.
He decides that she shouldn't be feeling insecure at all, but that she should trust in herself and screw whoever has made her feel this way.
"Has someone said something to you?" He questions, trying to get to the root cause.
He watches as her eyes drop from his gaze, the contact breaking, almost as if she is ashamed.
"You know what? It doesn't matter." She returns bluntly, and attempts to turn back over, but Liam stops her, using his position to prevent her from turning away from him.
"Fal, hey," he says softly, "hold on." He waits until she stops attempting to turn, her body going slack against the mattress again, and ignores the pout on her face when he continues. "Do you really think I would have agreed to have a baby with you if I thought you wouldn't be a good Mom?"
"I guess not," she mumbles, still unable to look him in the eyes. It's clearly not the answer she needs right now.
"I don't know who has made you doubt yourself, but you shouldn't listen to them, baby."
Her sapphire eyes finally flicker up, meeting his baby blue's, clearly interested in what he has to say now.
"And you don't need me to tell you this, because you already know how much you deeply care for the people you love..."
"Caring and being a good Mom are two different things," she interrupts.
"Are they?" He questions, challenging her. "Did my Mom care about me... Ever? Did Alexis care about you when she left you at a time when you needed her the most? If they had actually cared, would it have made a difference?"
She shrugs, "Yeah, Probably. But what if they had made things worse somehow?"
Liam shakes his head subtly, "Honey, becoming parents..." He lets out a small breath, thinking carefully how to phrase the next part, "Look... We are going to make mistakes, both of us. But I think that as long as we agree that no matter what, we will put our children first, we will care about them, above all else, and we will show them love and respect, then all of those little mistakes won't matter."
She huffs out a small laugh, the tiniest of smiles forming on her lips, "You're such a writer."
"Yeah, yeah, alright," he says, rolling his eyes at her teasing. "But I did mean it."
"I know you did," she returns, her smile growing wider for a moment. "I just..." She sighs, going back to the issue at hand, "I want to prove everyone wrong."
"You will, Fallon," He says with a sense of finality. "I have every faith in you that you will be an amazing mother."
He brings back that sweet smile on her lips, and it makes his heart skip a beat. She leans forwards, invading his space as she comes closer, pressing her lips softly and chastely against his. He savours the feeling for the brief moment, his hand travelling from her waist to cup her cheek.
His fingers gently run through her hair as she pulls away, smoothing a strand behind her ear so that he can see her features better.
"Thank you," she whispers to him, her head settling back against her pillow.
"Don't ever thank me for doing my job as your dutiful husband," he returns, making her chuckle. "So, are you going to tell me who has managed to convince you that you won't be a good Mom?"
"It isn't important," she returns.
"That's very mature of you," he states, pausing momentarily in thought, "it was Blake, wasn’t it?"
The look in her eyes confirms it, but she doesn't let him ponder for too long before she is turning, resuming their earlier position.
"I'm not telling you," she repeats.
"I just want to have a real quick word, that's all."
He hears her chuckle softly, still not giving in to him, "Goodnight, Liam."
Admitting defeat to her, he settles back against the pillow, close enough to smell her shampoo, a small smile on his face in amusement before he closes his eyes too, his thumb absentmindedly caressing her hip, lulling her back to sleep.
He’ll still speak to Blake in the morning, regardless.
"Goodnight, Fallon."