Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

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  Opal POV

  Everyone's eyes are blurry between lack of sleep and tears over the birth of little boy, Giovanni. Rae pushed for almost two hours before he made his grand arrival, wailing at the top of his lungs. He was positively perfect and definitely carried his father's Italian features. 

  I'd spent the last two hours practically ignoring Chris, focusing mostly on conversations with Lily or walking the hallways. Walking the hallways of this hospital was never a good idea, too many memories of moments past, both happier days and those that still linger in sadness. 

  When Lily didn't want to talk, or began ignoring me so that my focus would have no other choice than to be redirected towards the men, I'd just lay my head back and close my eyes. While childish, it was still effective. 

  Why am I acting the way I am? Maybe  because after my 'Let it go' message, he really had done just that. He stopped his pursuit, just like I knew that one day he would. 

  And yet, with the task Rae and Anthony has placed on both of us, made me want to leap into his arms in excitement. Knowing that our friends placed their trust in the two of us as a couple to help raise their son. But then, I reminded myself. We aren't a couple. And that was my choice, he just held the finality to it.

  I need a vacation from my brain.

  Lily and Jameson had their very quick turn with the baby, giving more congratulations to the mom and dad than actually tending to the new little one. I cast a quick glance to Chris, as Lily hugs me goodbye, silently asking if he now understands why Lily wasn't chosen as Godmother. He gives a small nod and a shrug of understanding.

  "So, who wants to hold him first?" Rae asks, shifting between Chris and I. 

  My arms are itching to hold that precious boy, but I motion to Chris. Always the generous man, he of course insists that I hold him, taking a step back from his place next to the bed. I lean over Rae, scooping Giovanni up into my arms, before walking over to sit in the chair that Anthony just vacated. 

  The room is quiet, only the sound of the blood pressure cuff running, Rae's eyes slipping closed every few moments. But my attention cannot be pulled away from the little man snuggled up against me. "I'm your Auntie Ope, little love."

  "That looks good on you."

  "Huh?" I ask, still enamored by the little boy.

  "Holding a baby," Chris answers, his words pulling my gaze away. "I always knew you would."

  There's a look of sorrow across his features, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't attempting to rip my heart into smaller shreds than I had managed myself when I placed my ring in his luggage. 

Flashback

  Chris and I managed to work through my small tirade of fear over him leaving me like my father, like Pops. However, he only thinks that I worked through it. It's still overly fresh in my mind, and painful. 

  I'd put my best face forward, testing my acting abilities, up until the moment we said goodnight. Chris took his spot on the couch while I've laid awake for hours in my room alone. I've tossed and turned so much that the sides of my pillow never even have a chance to get cool again. 

  Tossing back the covers I sit up right, staring at the door across from me. My fingers fumble aimlessly with the ring that sits on my left ring finger. I slip it off, holding it in the palm of my hand. 

  The love I have for Chris is immense. It's scarier than I could've ever imagined. 

  But the words of my father replay over and over in my mind, clouding it from letting me see the wonderful direction my life is headed in. 

  Grabbing an envelope off of my desk, I take quiet steps to the door, opening it before quickly entering the guest bathroom where Chris left his bag.  I just stand still, right in front of the mirror, unable to recognize the woman looking back at me. 

  I hold the ring against my lips, praying silently that he will one day forgive me and see that I saved him from making this choice himself.  With a shaky breath I drop the symbol of our relationship into the white envelope and seal it quickly. Lifting up a few items that I know he won't mess with until he's back home, I place the envelope between two shirts before making it look like it's been untouched. 

  

   "Hmm..." I hum out before averting my gaze again, thinking back to the dream Chris told me about, comparing it to the one Pops had. Neither of them gave me many details, just the word babies. 

  "Alright, quit hogging him," Anthony mumbles, urging me to pass his son off to his Godfather. "You each get a couple minutes, then we all get some sleep."

  "Thank you, daddy," Rae says, a twinkle in her eye.

  I shake my  head quickly. "Nope, nope. Don't like hearing that out of your mouth. It's weird." The joke causes all of us to give loud, but equally tired laughs. I stand from my spot, letting Chris take my place before passing him Giovanni. "Watch his head," I instruct him. I expected him to look at me as I passed him the child, but yet he's just like the rest of us in this room: completely taken by the sleeping baby. 

  Anthony stands behind the chair that Chris sits in, his hand rubbing Chris' shoulder. "Meet your namesake."

  Chris head snaps up, looking quickly over his shoulder at Anthony before looking at Rae. 

  "Giovanni Evan."

  Tears spring to my eyes before I'm able to even think about stopping them. Chris, still shocked by this proclamation, stutters out a one word question. "Why?"

  "Well, we wanted a part of the two of you," she points at myself, "to be a part of him as well."

  "But-" Chris starts to say. 

  I know what he's going to say before Anthony interrupts him.

  The Evans name isn't a part of the two of us.

  "I'm tired of buts. The only but I want to hear is the one with two T's when I'm being told to change his," Anthony announces, motioning to his son. "Now, we love y'all, but the little lady needs some sleep and I just want to stare at this beautiful boy." He takes the baby from Chris' arms. 

  Things feel very awkward as we walk out of the room together. I don't want to be rude or nonchalant with him anymore, but I don't know how to speak to him. What can I say that won't be turned into something worse? How can I control the conversation to stay off of us as a topic?

  We reach the elevator and walk right on as a nurse steps off. He leans against the wall, pushing the button to the bottom floor. 

  "Where are you staying?" I ask, thinking it's a safe question. 

  He shifts on his feet, looking up at the ceiling. "Oh, I got a room at the Holiday Inn."

  "You didn't have to do that."

  "Well, I had canceled the rooms at Magnolia after my last trip," he admits, still averting my gaze.

  Rooms? For this weekend? What rooms?

  Before I can ask anything the elevator stops, the doors opening into the overly silent lobby. We walk side by side towards the exit. Chris pulls his phone out, and with a quick glance I see he's on the Uber app. "You didn't drive?"

  "No. I flew down. Couldn't actually cancel the tickets and they wouldn't let me change destinations so it worked out well that Rae was scheduled for today."

  He takes a step towards a bench, but I grab his arm turning him towards me. "Okay, what do you mean? Canceled rooms? Flights that couldn't be canceled?"

  He looks over my head, still not wanting to look at me. I watch as he licks his lips, takes a deep breath, "You forgot."

  "Forgot what?" I ask annoyed, my grip remaining on his forearm. 

  He finally drops his eyes to mine, revealing the pool of liquid resting in them. "Tomorrow was suppose to be our wedding."