Lᴀsᴛ Nᴀᴍᴇ (2)
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Conrad had gotten a call a little while ago that Liz was staying with Dakota and River. A whole rundown of what happened with her dad was enough for him to understand that she needed a little time with her brother and her best friend.
He hadn't really expected it to go any other way. He knew her dad was gonna give her a hard time. He had been making things difficult for her for a while because of things not being done "the right way". So, he called Megan. If doing things the right way was what was going to make this right, then that's what he was going to do.
As he walked into the diner, the only thing on his mind was making Liz happy. Because that's all that mattered.
Conrad eyed Ben as he sat across from him, "Thank you for coming."
Ben nods before the waitress walks over with a smile, "Can I get you guys anything to eat?"
"No, thank you." Ben says
Conrad picks up a menu, "Uh, yeah. I'd love just the... cheeseburger and fries. And, uh, two coffees, please."
"Alright." She says
"Thank you." He says before she walks off. He then turns back to Ben.
"So, why'd you call me here?" Ben asks
"I wanted to talk about Liz."
"She told you about this afternoon?"
"Yeah." Conrad nods, "And I know you're not exactly... thrilled about it."
"That's an understatement." Ben scoffs
Conrad looks down. He clears his throat and looks up, "I love your daughter. I've loved her for as long as I can remember and there's no one I can ever imagine spending the rest of my life with. I know that we're young and I know that's one of the main reasons why you're not on board with this. But we've done everything right. We graduated college, we have jobs, we have a home together and I don't intend on letting any of that go."
"Most people don't."
Conrad nods, "I know."
"So what's your point?"
"Liz has done a lot for me and I will forever be grateful. She's my entire life. She's the only reason I can get up some days." Conrad says, "I'm not close with my dad, at all and I don't have my mom anymore. Despite whatever may have happened, she wants your support. She wants her parents there for all of it. I'm here because she wants you there and I will do anything to see her happy."
The table goes silent as the waitress walks over and sets the coffees in front of the men, "Thank you."
"Mhm." She mutters before walking off
Conrad pulls the cup toward him, "If you're not there for her, you're going to regret it."
Ben nods to himself as he sits up, "So, you're gonna marry her no matter what?"
"It's not like that." He pauses, "Liz spent the last four years telling me that I make her happy. For a while, I didn't believe her." Conrad says looking down at his cup, "But Liz has never lied to me and she's never told me any different. Marrying her won't only make her happy, but it'll make me the happiest I've ever been."
It goes quiet again. Conrad sips from his coffee as Ben looks out the window. As he sets his cup down, Ben speaks up, "I want what's best for her."
"I do, too."
"And I still don't think you should be doing this, this early, but.." Ben says, "I love my daughter."
"So do I."
"I can tell." He says. Conrad smiles lightly as he looks down at his cup. Ben sighs, "I will call her. I'll do the right thing."
"Thank you." Conrad says. Ben nods before sipping from his cup.
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River looked back as Liz pushed the cart slowly. Her eyes wandering around the clothes in the aisle. River sighs, "Come on, Liz. Look at how cute these are."
"We're in the aisle with baby clothes."
"Exactly." She says holding up a onesie with flowers all over it, "Look."
"We don't even know what it's gonna be." Liz chuckles
"And? We can still shop." River says, "Buy for both."
Liz steps closer, "These are really cute."
"I know." River says as she turns to her, "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Liz nods
River nods, "Okay, are you like actually fine or is that a "I'm just trying to put on a brave face" fine?"
"I'm fine." Liz says. She sighs as River tilts her head, "Okay, yes, I'm stressed out and annoyed, like, all the time. And I'm terrified because I don't know what to expect or where to even start."
"All of that is normal. You're a first time mom. It's not gonna be easy." River shrugs, "Have you talked to Conrad about it?"
"There's not a single day where he hasn't asked me about how I feel." She says, "His therapist is rubbing off on him."
"First of all, that's a good thing. Second, you have nothing to worry about." She says, "You tried talking to your dad and he won't give in. It's not on you anymore. The only thing you should be worried about is yourself."
"Yeah, I know." Liz says turning back to the rack
"I'm sure once you get back to California, it'll be easier. You'll be away from your dad, away from Belly's wedding drama, and you can finally relax."
Liz sighs, "Cousins is supposed to be the most relaxing place on planet earth."
"Not with these families, it's not." River says grabbing another onesie. Liz chuckled, "This is so fucking cute. Oh my god."
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The next morning, Liz walked into the beach house. As she shut the door, she noticed how quiet it was, "Connie?"
She walked into the kitchen and set her bags on the counter. She looked around before turning and heading upstairs. She entered the room and her heart dropped, "Conrad?"
Conrad grunts as he looked up at her. He was sat on the side of the bed. His hair dripping wet and his face was pale. Liz rushed over and kneeled in front of him, "What happened?"
"I'm fine. I just got cut by a fin."
"You're pale, Connie." Liz says, "Did you clean it?"
"Yeah." He nods, "Belly helped. I'm okay."
Liz let out a shaky breath, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." He says blinking slowly, "I'm gonna take a nap."
"I'm gonna get you some water, okay?" She says standing up and pushing him to lay back. He groans as his head hits the pillow, "Don't fall asleep yet."
"Okay." He mutters before she walks out. Liz rushed down the stairs. She lets out a sigh as she approaches the fridge, "Belly, oh my god, thank you so much for helping him."
"Yeah, uh, it's- it's no problem." She says tucking her hair behind her ear as she stood near the table
Liz turned hearing the tremor in her voice, "Are you okay? It wasn't a lot of blood or anything, right?"
"It kind of was." Belly says as Liz stepped closer, "But I'm okay. Is he sleeping? He said he was gonna take a nap."
"Not yet. I came to get him some water." Liz says. Belly's eyes widen as Liz pulls her into hug, "Thank you."
Belly wraps her arms around her, "Of course." Liz pulled away and smiled. As she walked away, Belly took a step forward, "Liz."
"Yeah?" She says turning back
"I have to tell you something."
"Okay." Liz frowns, "Is it bad? I told Connie I'd be right back-"
"I almost kissed him." Belly blurts making Liz freeze in her spot. Belly's heart raced as Liz's face dropped.
"What?"
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