As the girls brought refreshments back to Mike and Cassandra, they realised how late it was.
"Are you sure you're okay to stay here with me? It's getting pretty late," Olivia looked at her girlfriend with uncertainty.
"Of course," Emma gave her girlfriend a side hug as she tried not to spill the coffee. "I told you, I'm here for you through thick and thin,"
"You know I'd do the same for you, right?"
"I know, babe. And that's why I love you," Emma smiled. "Although...are we going home tonight? I heard the doctor say that only one person can stay with your mother,"
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't want you to have to go home so late," Olivia said solemnly. "If your family's asleep, I wouldn't want to risk you getting in trouble by waking them up on accident. You should probably head back soon,"
Emma shook her head. "No, babe. It's totally fine. How 'bout we go back to your place?"
"Really?" Olivia's eyes sparkled. "You w-want to spend the night...at my place? What about my dad?"
"Well, he's probably going to stay with your mother anyway. And Cassandra already knows about us,"
She had a point. Olivia gave in, agreeing to let Emma spend the night at her place.
•••
"Mmm, this coffee is delicious," Cassandra said, downing half the cup in a second.
"Isn't that hot?" Olivia asked, scrunching her nose.
"Yeah," her sister replied simply, shrugging.
Emma laughed at their interaction, sipping on her own coffee.
"Mmm," Olivia took a sip of her drink. "Where's dad, anyway?"
"He went home to get a bunch of things for my overnight stay,"
Hearing this, Olivia choked. "You're staying overnight? Why isn't dad staying?"
"He's got this big board meeting at his company tomorrow. That's probably why," Cassandra pointed out. "Why are you getting so worked up about it, anyway?"
"I was supposed to spend the night," Emma replied. "She didn't want me going home so late and risk waking my family up,"
Cassandra nodded her head in understanding. "I'm sure it'll be fine. He seems to really like you, Emma,"
"Really? You think so?" the brunette's eyes lit up when she heard what Cassandra had to say.
"I know so,"
Emma smiled warmly. She was glad Olivia's family seemed to be coming around. Even if progress was slow, it was progress nonetheless.
"He's probably on his way back. He should be here soon,"
As if on cue, Mike walked into the room, duffel bag in hand. "Hey honey, I got your overnight bag. Clothes, toiletries...and a couple of books,"
"You're only going to be here for a night. How can you even read so many books?" Olivia asked, looking at the three books her father had packed.
"Hey, don't doubt her," Emma nudged Olivia. "Let her do her thing,"
Cassandra nodded. "Yes! Thank you, Emma. See, she gets me,"
Mike laughed. "Alright, mija. I'm going to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he turned to Olivia. "You girls need a ride home?"
Emma shook her head and politely declined his offer. "No thank you, sir. We're good, Olivia's car actually parked downstairs so we'll just drive back on our own,"
"Are you spending the night, Emma?"
"I am, sir," the girl nodded. Not wanting to seem like she was intruding, however, she decided it was best to get Mike's permission too. "If that's okay with you?"
Mike smiled warmly. "Of course. It's the least we can do, especially since you came all the way down here to accompany my daughter,"
Olivia looked between her father and her girlfriend. "Thanks, dad. We'll see you at home,"
•••
Well, that was something. The girls drove home shortly after Mike had left the hospital, mainly because they wanted to spend a little more time on their own before having to act like they were 'just friends' back at Olivia's place.
Although the circumstances weren't exactly ideal, the girls made the most of their time together. They stopped by a convenience store and grabbed a bunch of snacks, because watching movies as friends, wasn't exactly prohibited, right?
Spirits were high.
"Dad, we're home," Olivia called out to the empty house. It was weird, being back here; Olivia had gotten so used to seeing the furniture in Emma's home that her own seemed foreign to her.
"Hey girls," Mike said, coming downstairs. "You're back early. I'd expected you to stay a little longer,"
Emma shrugged. "We've had a long day, we're kinda tired,"
Olivia nodded her head in agreement.
Mike laughed. "Well, mija, you know where everything is. Show Emma a good time, will you?"
Emma giggled and Olivia immediately knew where her mind was. She prayed her father didn't catch on.
"Before that," Mike said, leaning against the banister. "Olivia, may I talk to you? In my study?"
The green-eyed girl gulped, almost audibly. She pointed to her room. "I'll see you in a bit," she told Emma.
Her girlfriend nodded her head in understanding and took their stuff upstairs, greeting Mike for the last time that night.
As the Jauregui's watched Emma go upstairs, Mike gestured for Olivia to follow him.
"Mija, could you close the door behind you, please?"
Olivia did as she was told. She wasn't sure what she was in here for; all she could was to obliged with whatever her father wanted of her.
Not wanting to be kept in suspense, Olivia spoke up first.
"Dad," she said, taking a seat in the chair opposite of her father's own. "What did you call me in here for?"
Mike looked at his daughter, gaze unnerving. After a few agonising seconds, — much more on Olivia's part, really — he finally answered.
"I know you and Emma are together,"
Olivia scoffed and tried to play it cool. "Yeah, I know. She's in my room,"
Mike raised an eyebrow at her attempt to brush his statement aside. "Mija..."
It was always like this: her father never had to complete his sentence, but she and Cassandra knew exactly where their conversation was going.
Even though she hadn't been around him for quite a while now, Olivia couldn't deny that he still had the same effect on her as before she left home.
The raven-haired girl sighed. "Sí, papa. She's my girlfriend," she finally responded, giving in.
Her gaze was on everything but her father.
That, however, didn't last very long.
"Mija, look at me," Mike's voice was firm. Surprisingly enough, it didn't seem too stern.
Olivia shifted her gaze, looking into her father's eyes.
"I want you to know that I'm okay with it,"
Did she hear that right?
"I'm sorry?" she asked, not believing what she had heard.
Mike chuckled lightly. "Olivia. I want you to know that I'm okay with you...and Emma,"
Olivia could tell that he wasn't exactly sure about how things worked or how sentences like these were to be phrased.
But she got the message, crystal clear.
"It's just like any normal relationship, dad," she said, more sure of herself. Now that the initial fear was thrown out the window, Olivia felt like she'd finally found her voice. "I love Emma and she loves me,"
"I can see that. I really like her,"
Olivia couldn't believe this was happening. Her father, — Mike Jauregui, man of the house and all 'round macho man — was telling her that he was okay with her being in a relationship with a girl.
"What about mum?"
"She's working on it," Mike placed his hands over Olivia's.
Oh, how she missed this feeling.
"We don't always get it, but we're trying. We just really miss having you around here,"
"What made you guys change your mind?"
Mike shrugged. "Cassandra did. She explained everything we needed to know- well, hear, really. Anything and everything to clear our doubts,"
Huh. Olivia really had to thank her sister for this one.
"Thank you, dad," she smiled.
Mike nodded his head. "At the end of the day, we realised that nothing was more important to us than our children's happiness. I'm sorry we didn't see this sooner,"
"It's fine, dad. Point is, you're trying. I get it, it's not exactly easy to wrap your head around it at first. But thank you," she nodded her head and smiled warmly. "Thank you for trying,"
Her father stood up and so did she. They shared a quick hug.
"Alright, Emma's probably thinking I killed you or something," Mike joked. "Go,"
Olivia laughed. "Goodnight, dad," she said, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
She leaned against the doorframe, trying to process what had just happened.
Her parents were finally coming around.