One of the Good Ones ✓

Surprises Make For the Best Beginnings

*5 Years Later*

I hear movement coming down the hall from our hotel room into the en-suite kitchen as I quickly try to finish up on the birthday breakfast I insisted on surprising him with. Dodger, who was situated on the floor next to me, begging, barked a little. "Shh, Bubba. He can't know we're in here." I whisper quietly.

"And why can't he?" I hear Chris whisper into me ear as his arms slide around my waist. I smile as I turn around to face him and his beard scratches my cheek as he places kisses on them.

"You weren't supposed to be up yet." I whine a little before laughing.

"Well, the bed felt very empty all of a sudden and I couldn't sleep. And my alarm was going to go off soon. I have that interview this morning."

"I guess now's a good a time as any." I say before turning back around and grabbing the plate of specialty waffles I made for this breakfast. "Happy Birthday love." I say quietly.

"Thank you Lexi." He says, kissing me on the lips. "These look amazing!" I blush and look to the ground. Even after all this time it was still hard to accept that this man chose me, over everyone else. "Hey, I can see the cogs turning in your head sweetheart. Remember, shh. We don't need it, not today." He says, pulling me to him and holding me close.

"I know." I say, breathing in his scent. It always managed to calm me. "So 41. How does it feel?" I laugh a little. At 7 years older than me, I was happy he was hitting all these milestone birthdays before I would. I had a crisis anytime I noticed a new gray hair.

He laughs a little. "Are you calling me old?"

"I mean, everyone's obsessing over the gray in your beard. Don't worry, the general consensus is that now you're actually entering your 'daddy' era."

"I don't know what that means and I don't think I want to know." He says with a concerned look on his face.

"Don't worry about it. It's a compliment. You've joined the ranks of Pedro Pascal and Oscar Isaac."

"Oh, well, as long as I'm in good company."

"Are you ready for tonight?" I ask, referring to the premiere we'll be attending in a couple of hours.

"I don't think I'm ever ready for these."

I'm silent for a moment. "I was going to save this for after the premiere but maybe you need it now." I say with a smile before I go to the hall closet and pull a present bag out.

I set it in front of him and pull my phone out, hitting record. "Go ahead, open it."

"Why are you recording?" He's apprehensive and I guess that's fair. I'd been known to join Scott in the scare war going on between them.

"Because I promised your mom I would get your reaction."

"That does nothing to calm my nerves."

"Just open it." He pulls out the tissue paper, revealing a picture and a piece of clothing at the bottom.

"What's going on?"

"Why don't you pull them out and see?" He pulls out the picture first, a sonogram. The shirt follows next that says, "Mini-Avenger in Training" with the shield beneath it.

"Lexi... Are you?"

I nod. "13 weeks. I wasn't sure for awhile. You know we've had moments before. I didn't want to say anything until it was past the danger point. And with all the press for Lightyear I didn't want you to stress over anything you didn't have to."

He comes over to me, and picks me up, spinning me around. "A baby. We're having a baby." He says excitedly.

"We're having a baby."

💫💫💫

"So Chris, it's been awhile since your wife has joined you on the red carpet. How does it feel having her here?"

"She's always been my rock and these events can get pretty stressful so having her by has just really helped my nerves about the whole thing." Chris answers, tightening his grip around my waist.

"And Lexi, what does it mean for you, being here tonight?"

"This has been such a long time coming. Not just through the making of the movie but if there's something to know about Chris is his love for Disney and Pixar. Anytime over the last couple of years that he's been brought back to work on this is the happiest I've seen him in a while, there's just this pure joy that radiates from him, so I'm glad that everyone else can see it now."

"She's the sweetest." The interviewer says to Chris.

"She really is." But Chris isn't looking at the interviewer, he's looking down at me with such love.

"Well, I'll leave you too it. Enjoy your night guys."

"Thank you. You too." Chris says before Megan guides us down the line.

💫💫💫

I pulled the heels from my body and chuck them across the room. "God I hate wearing those to these type of events." I say, rubbing my feet before I go to take off my dress. I struggle reaching around to get the zipper and start growling in frustration.

I hear Chris enter the room, chuckling as he stands in the doorway and watches me struggle a little. "Would you like some help?"

"Please." I answer, defeated. "I swear I'm not even big yet and I already can't function like normal."

"You're also incredibly tired and have been going since early this morning." He says, matter-of-factly.

"True, but so have you and you seem to be having no trouble getting undressed."

"I'm not growing another human, so I don't think we can accurately compare experiences right now." He says as he unzips the dress and it falls to the floor, pooling at my feet.

"That's probably true." I say as I breathe out in relief.

"Of course it is. I said it and as it's still my birthday for the next minute and a half, I get to be right."

"You're hilarious." I say as I grab one of his shirts that still swallow me and move to get in bed. He joins me and places his head and one of his large hands on my stomach. "It's still too early for he or she to be moving."

"Shh, I'm listening."

"For what?" I ask with a laugh.

"Yep, mhmm," he says, ignoring me and conversing with my stomach. "They agree with me."

"And what's that exactly?"

"You're going to be the best mom in the world."

I blush and look away. "Don't let your mom hear you say that."

"I think she'll allow me this one. I wish you could see yourself the way I do."

"I know, and I'm getting there. I love you."

"I love you too." He says, placing a kiss on the top of my head as we settle in to sleep. Today was perfect.

"Happy Birthday Chris." I whisper before he turns out the light.