The rest will follow

When Laila arrived at Steve's home, she was really impressed with what Maria had managed to put together in that short amount of time. She had truly outdone herself in the design, having created a replica of her dress design out of molding chocolate, knowing she did not like fondant or marzipan.

"How did you manage to make this in less than an hour?? This looks amazing Maria!" But Maria just answered her question with one of her own. "Well, how did you manage to make a dress from scratch in just a little over a day?" Laila laughed and said, "Touché", before they sat down at the table beside Steve and Laila was given the honors of cutting the cake that had just been made for her. With a shred of guilt over cutting up something that should be considered a piece of art, Laila put the knife into the tasty celebratory treat and placed a piece on each plate for all three of them. Once tea had been served and cake had been handed out, Laila turned to Steve to ask him how he was doing.

"Well, I am still a bit sore, and Maria is not letting me slack at all with the mandatory rest and alternating exercise schedules, despite my begging and pleading, but overall I am doing well. I am taking slow steps to recovery." With a weak smile he added, "I certainly won't let something like this hold me down.", before he shifted the topic back to her and Noah. "How are you with the pregnancy? How is that husband of yours? He won't tell me anything at all. He just dismisses any of my concerns and tells me to worry about myself instead."

Laila chuckled as that was a dead on impression of Noah and said, "It is a bit hard for him. Having to do it all alone and having to worry about me on top of it all, but he is managing. I make sure to check-up on him from time to time and I have made him promise that the long days will become less long starting next week." Steve nodded and said, "Good. Don't let him try to play superman. We did what we had to do when we were building this company up from the ground, but that does not mean that we should return to those workdays and work-habits. It was an unhealthy way of living, and I don't want him to go back to living that way because of me. So, tell him that if he doesn't want to make me worry about him, he should dial things down. Whatever is lost because of this, I will help get back as soon as I am ready to work again."

Immediately Maria glared at him and said in a strict voice, "Which won't be the case until at least week 4 of your at-home recovery." This caused Steve to dramatically roll his eyes before he sighed and said, "Yes, yes. 4 weeks. I know.", before all of them bursting out in laughter. They sat there and chatted for a bit more, as they enjoyed the delicious cake Maria had made, before it was time for round 2 of the celebrations. Laila offered to help Maria in getting things ready, which she accepted. As they headed in the kitchen, Steve began singing the lyrics of Mr. Lonely by Akon. His dramatic reaction to them leaving for a brief moment, caused Laila to laugh and Maria did the same while she shook her head from how silly the man she loved was being.

Once the door was closed, Laila revealed the reason for why she had offered her help, aside from actually wanting to help her friend who had done more than enough in her eyes. With a bit of a worried look Laila said, "Steve said he was doing well, but how is he really doing? Is he okay? He looked a bit worn-out when we talked, and that smile is far from the smile I remember from him."

Maria glanced down at the food she was preparing and softly said, "Yeah, well, I am not going to lie, it has been tough for him. He has only been back from the hospital for a few days now and everything is painful. He is stubborn and wants too much too soon, so he causes himself to feel even more pain from his wounds. Just the other day, he had pulled himself towards the kitchen, holding on to anything and everything on his path, just to tease me."

Laila couldn't help but let out a snort at that last sentence, despite the serious nature of their conversation. But that revelation from Maria, also made her a bit more optimistic. "Well that is comforting to hear. If he is feeling strong enough to tease you, I am sure the rest will follow."