TW: brief mention of suicide
Four days. It had been four days since Daphne made a complete idiot out of herself. The last date she had with Chris had been incredible. Definitely one for the books. And then she had to ruin it. She was thinking back to that night while driving to work Friday morning.
Flashback
When the song ended Chris took her by the hand and walked her to the front door of her home. Daphne reached up to place her arms around his neck to hug him. He cradled her in his arms. Chris goes to turn his head and Daphne pulls back. "Oh, I was going to kiss," Chris says but is interrupted as she quickly pecks his lips, says goodnight and walks into her home shutting the door.
They hadn't seen each other since that night. There had not even been a mention of that complete flub during their text or phone conversations. But Chris was coming to Daphne's tonight for dinner and a movie. Surely, it'll come up. Or something crazier will happen like burning the house down.
~~~
After an insane shift the night before, Chris was thankful to see 8 am roll around. They'd had calls for two motor vehicle accidents, a heart attack and an attempted suicide.
He was over by his locker packing up the last of his bag when Hayden walked in. "No football game tonight, away game. Wanna go play pool?" Hayden asked.
"Can't. I've got a date," Chris responds while closing his locker.
Hayden quirks a brow at his friend. "I'm sorry, a what? You finally giving Sophie another chance? That's great man! She's gorgeous."
"Definitely not Sophie, man."
"I need details brother," begs Hayden.
Chris rolls his eyes at his partner. "I uh, I started seeing Oliver's sister, Daphne."
"Wait a minute. The teacher?" His eyes grow wide.
"Yeah. We've gone out a couple of times now," Chris tells him as he zips up his bag and heads to the door. On his way out he hears Hayden yell, "keep me posted!"
Chris took a quick swing through a drive thru to grab something to eat before heading home to walk Dodger and crawl into bed. Checking his phone he saw a text from Daphne.
Daphne- are we still on for tonight?
Chris- yes ma'am. Six o'clock okay? I'll bring the movie snacks?
He knew she was with her students but figured she'd respond when she was able to.
"Come on Dodge, let's go for a walk." He headed in the direction of Daphne's house. Stopping at her driveway he thought back to the precious moment he had with her dancing in her yard. While the night did not quite end the way he expected he still left with a full (and smiling) heart. "Alright bubs, let's head back. I'm exhausted."
~~
With pasta boiling, sauce simmering and chicken baking Daphne rushed to her bedroom to quickly change. Deciding on a casual look of shorts and a top she gave herself a quick look in the mirror. 'It is what it is,' she thinks to herself.
At five minutes to six there's a knock on the door. "Come on in, it's unlocked!" She yells in the direction of the door.
Making his way into the kitchen Chris places a bag down on the counter. Turning away from the stove Daphne opens her arms for a hug. "I've missed you," she says quietly. "Mmm, ditto," Chris responds with a tight squeeze.
Daphne turns back to the stove to pull the chicken out of the broiler. She throws a glance over her shoulder at Chris. 'Blue is definitely his color. Have I told him that rolled up sleeves make my heart pitter patter?'
Chris, oblivious to Daphne's inner monologue, is pulling the movie snacks out of the bag. "So we've got raisinettes, junior mints and jellybeans. The essentials."
"Good choices, Evans. Dinner is ready."
They fall into easy conversation as they enjoy the meal. Daphne tells about her oldest niece's new found love for gymnastics. "She watched the Olympics over the summer and begged her parents to put her in a class. Now that the baby is a couple months old they figured it was something they could manage now." She notices a look of sorrow over Chris's face. "Talk to me. What's going on?"
Chris talks about his most recent shift and the toll that it has taken on him. "We received more back story on the man's attempt. He suffers from PTSD, former military. Served three tours in Iraq." He rubs his forehead almost in effort to erase the scene from his mind. "He's alive, but the family has some tough decisions to make. It's heartbreaking. Our soldiers deserve better help when they return." He feels a hand on his back as Daphne rubs comforting circles. "I'm so sorry," she whispers. When her hand comes up to his shoulder he reaches across his chest to hold it in place. "This makes it better," he says taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. They stay that way for a few moments, content in the silence and presence of one another.
"So, I'll clean up while you pick a movie? Anything but horror please, I'm hoping to sleep tonight," she says.
"No ma'am. I'm helping you clean up and we can choose together," Chris tells her as he starts clearing the plates.
"Chivalrous. I like it," she winks back at him.
In no time the dishes are put away in the dishwasher, leftovers packed up and the table wiped down. Chris grabs the candy and sets them on the coffee table in front of the couch. Daphne grabs the remote and sits on the left side of the couch against the armrest. Chris sits down next to her. "So, what'll it be?"
"Fun idea! Let's do Netflix. You pick a number and I'll pick a number. Your number will be how many we go down and mine will be the across. Whatever it lands on we watch. What do you say?" Daphne asks with excitement.
"Sounds like this could end up badly," Chris chuckles. "Okay. I choose 6."
"And I choose 12. Here we go!"
Daphne uses the remote to go down six movies and across twelve. It lands on 'A Walk to Remember.' "Looks like a romance movie. You okay with that Christopher?"
"Works for me," he says as he leans back into the couch making himself comfortable.
Daphne tries to allow herself to relax but her brain won't shut up about that awful "kiss" from Monday night. 'Maybe I should just say something about it. You know, rip that bandaid off.' She grabs the raisinettes and pops a few in her mouth. Chris watches her from the corner of his eye. She appears tense but he has no clue why. "You okay there Daph?" His question is met with a short "uh huh, sure," eyes glued to the television in front of them.
Chris puts his left arm over the back of the sofa, gently around Daphne's shoulders in the hopes she'll relax. As if on instinct her body leans closer in to his side, tucking herself under his arm. They stay this way for a bit before Daphne breaks the silence.
"Okay, so, elephant in the room," she says, not looking away from the television. Her statement is met with a furrowed brow from Chris. "The kiss. It was definitely not what I had expected or hoped for."
Chris sighs a quiet chuckle. Daphne pulls back away from the home she found within his side. "It was crap, right? I know it was. You can be honest with me," she tells him with her eyes cast down. She's fiddling with the ring on her finger.
"I need to be honest about something," Chris started. "When you hugged me and I said I was going to kiss you, I was about to say kiss your cheek."
Daphne stared at him wide eyed. She face palms herself. "Oh my gosh! I'm so stupid!" She leans over her lap and places her head in her hands. "Can you tell this whole dating thing never goes well for me?"
She casts a glance at Chris out from her hands. She sees him giving her a side smirk. "Not only that, but I kissed you first! Hello, desperate party of one your table is ready," she groans.
Chris reaches over and pulls her hands away from her face. Daphne sits up straight again. Her eyes are filled with a mix of embarrassment and sadness. Reaching over, Chris gently places his hand on her cheek and guides her to him until their lips meet. It's sweet and gentle but yet full of passion. Prying himself away from her soft lips he sees that her eyes are still closed. When they open he's met with a precious light, a spark you could say. Almost as though something just clicked for her through their kiss.
Once she allowed herself to float back down to Earth, Daphne slowly opened her eyes. Looking back at her were bright blue eyes, filled with an unknown excitement. She wonders if he could read her mind right now if he'd be scared off. Because deep with in her she realizes she's just been kissed the way she'd always wanted to be but never had been.
"One in a million, Christopher. That's what you are. One in a million," she says as she finds herself back under his arm, tucked in to his side as they finish the movie.