And Then There Was You (Chris Evans AU)

December Part 1

  When the pledge is over I take my spot in my rocking chair on our little rug with all of my friends circled around, clutching their gifts to me with smiles on their faces. I take my time with each one, showing just as much excitement on my face as they have on theirs even when I open one that includes a couple of rotten strawberries. I choose to breathe through my mouth at that point but plaster a huge smile across my lips with a heartfelt thank you.  A couple more pass before I open one that includes my favorite scented candle, a sigh of relief within my chest as I take a deep inhale of the Clean Linen scent. 

   Imagine my surprise when it smells nothing like what I have at home in our master bath. A cough escapes me and my stomach churns. I swallow thickly, as I look over the candle again. It must be mislabeled. But I give a tender hug to the sweet child who gave it to me.  I finish with my gifts and get the students started on their first craft of the day before moving my gifts into my office. Still able to smell the mislabeled candle I decide to put it over my desk inside my pod behind the cabinet doors. I still shudder at the memory of the smell. 

~~~~~

  Third Person POV

  "Daph, wake up sweetheart," Chris says to his bride. Daphne had practically collapsed into her father's recliner the moment she got in from work. 

  "Don't want to," she says simply causing Chris to chuckle softly.

  "Well, dinner's ready." He watches her stir awake a bit more. "Your mom has already called three times for you to join them at the table."

  Daphne pushes the recliner down with her feet and starts to stand up quickly. She drops back into the seat from the dizzy spell. "You okay?"

  She hums a quiet yes as she gets up slower this time, wrapping her arms around her husband's thin but muscular waist. "Kiss?"

  "Don't have to ask me twice," Chris answers as he dips his head just enough to meet his wife's lips. "How was your day?"

  "Obviously exhausting," she laughs out following him into the dining room where her parents are already sitting and waiting. "Sorry about that."

  Her parents both wave it off, knowing how tiring this time of year is for their daughter. "Any big plans for your first day of Christmas break tomorrow?" her mother asks the couple.

  "Sleep," Daphne yawns out. "Assuming Dodger doesn't wake me up too early." 

  "I'll deal with Dodge, babe," Chris offers. "I'm off tomorrow. My last until the day after Christmas."

  "You working Christmas this year?" Adam asks his son in law.

  "Yes sir. I pulled the short straw unfortunately. Scott's gonna go to North Carolina to see my sisters and meet my niece."

  Laura begins passing around the dishes, allowing everyone to dish their own food out. Daphne grabs three pieces of fried chicken off of the platter, causing Chris to look at her questioningly. "Don't look at me like that. I skipped lunch." He nods without speaking and takes the platter as Daphne passes it to him. He keeps the same look to himself when he watches her put ketchup on her mashed potatoes next, knowing he's never seen her do that before. 

  "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I wasn't able to get by the store today. Maybe we can stop together after dinner?" 

  "Sure, I guess sleep can wait a little longer," Daphne responds before adding salt to her green beans. "Why are these so bland tonight? Did Mr. Danny forget to season them?"

  Laura practically chokes on her own bite of green beans, noticing they're plenty seasoned, and looks strangely at her daughter.  She casts a glance at Chris. He gives a simple shoulder shrug, admitting his own confusion.

 ~~~~~

Chris POV

  Daphne and I decide to grab a handful more groceries before heading back to the house.  We split up with her going towards the produce department. I make my way over to the dairy department to pick up our coffee creamer along with the cookie dough and spicy cheetos Daphne requested via text message.

  Once back home I can tell she's about to fall over asleep while letting Dodger out to take care of his business for the last time of the day. I come to stand behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist, nuzzling into her neck. 

  "Did you shower at all today?" She asks before taking a step away from me.

  Taken aback by the question I can't help but laugh out loud. "Yes babe. Twice actually to get the smoke smell off of me from that house fire." 

  "Well, you stink. Please shower again before coming to bed." She moves past me, covering her nose with the collar of her shirt as Dodger follows her back into the house and to the bedroom. 

  I can't help but feel a little irritated, considering all I want to do is slide into bed next to my wife and sleep. Instead I strip down, again, and shower in the guest bath, leaving our bathroom open for her to prepare for bed as well.

   While showering I think back over the last couple of days, and begin analyzing them a little closer. Today, Daphne mentioned the coffee creamer was rancid, but when I tried it after I got off shift it seemed fine. She woke up mentioning she was dizzy like a vertigo episode and again when she got up from her dad's chair tonight. Yesterday, she complained of her breasts being sore and asked me not to hug her as tightly as normal. 

   "She's pregnant," I say out loud for no one to hear. I finish the shower quickly, excited to tell her my thoughts knowing this is what she's been looking forward to. 

   I walk into our bedroom, met with the sight of her already asleep, snoring slightly with Dodger wrapped around her feet. Instead of waking her up I move into our bathroom and notice that she left the toothpaste on the counter, along with her toothbrush resting on the side of the sink still with toothpaste. 'Forgetfulness already apparent,' I think to myself as I look around the room and see what else she started and forgot to finish. 

   I see the light still on over our toilet and realize that she didn't flush. This isn't completely uncommon since she won't flush if Dodger is already asleep in our room. I remember hearing a story of a man knowing for certain his wife was pregnant before she knew. I go over to the closet and grab the last pregnancy test, immediately tearing it open. I can't help but chuckle to myself seeing what I'm about to do. Carefully and quietly, I dunk the test strip into the toilet, holding it there for about fifteen seconds before pulling it back and placing the cap over it. I set it down on the counter while looking at the box. Directions reading to wait five minutes before attempting to read the results. 

  My heart races as I set the box down on the counter, next to the test that is already showing two very distinct pink lines.