Third person POV
At around 5 o'clock Chris and Daphne decided to head back to the west side of the county. Daphne noticed Chris's eyes were getting heavier as time went on at Scott's so she offered to drive home and let him grab a few winks.
As they're loading up the car to leave Daphne asks if he's sure he wants to continue the day or call it a night. "It's really okay if you just want to go relax at the house," she says. "We can finish our Christmas tomorrow."
Chris shakes his head as he loads Dodger in the back. "No ma'am. We are going to have 'our' Christmas tonight. I'll be fine, I promise," he assures her.
Not even five minutes into the thirty five minute drive and Chris is asleep with his head resting on the window. Daphne laughs ever so softly as not to wake her Prince Charming. She's starting to feel the effects of the early day as well and turns on the radio. It was left kind of loud but Chris didn't stir. However, Dodger did and woke up with a bark. This stirred Chris.
"I'm up! I'm up!" He says as he startles awake.
"Babe, it's okay. The radio just scared Dodge. Go back to sleep," Daphne tells him while caressing his shoulder.
"Nah, I'm good now. I'm not sure my body knows what to do with more than a few minutes of sleep at a time after this week," he says sitting up straight.
Daphne thinks of a way to kill time on the drive back. "Tell me about your craziest call this week."
Chris thinks for a minute. "Have you ever seen National Lampoons Christmas Vacation?"
"Of course! It's a Christmas classic."
"Remember when the tree went up in flames? Well, we actually had a call like that. From two different houses. And unlike the movie we actually did have injuries. As we were headed to the hospital after the second one like it Hayden actually asked if we were in a remake of the movie. Ya know kind of like Candid Camera. Luckily the burns were minor," he tells her.
The conversation continued the rest of the ride home. Chris filled Daphne in on some more wacky calls from the week. He never told her who the patients were but she's pretty sure that she has a good idea of a couple. Having lived in the town since she was 13 she's gotten to know a lot of people and their personalities.
"How do you feel about going out tonight and looking at Christmas lights," Chris suggests.
"Ooh that sounds fun! I just need to stop and get gas then," she tells him.
"No, that's okay. We can take the truck. We can unload your car and I'll drop Dodge off and get him fed. Then we can head out?"
"Okay, sure," Daphne says as she turns onto her road.
Chris POV
Finally. I think this is going to finally happen. Thankfully she's fine with taking the truck since I need it for part of our evening.
"Oh! We haven't done our Christmas gifts to each other," Daphne says.
"We'll bring them with us. What do you say?" I ask.
She nods and says "okay."
I hop out of the car once she's put it in park. I transfer Dodger from the car to the truck. Quickly I help Daphne move the gifts into her house. With a quick kiss on the cheek I head back to the truck.
"Hey!" She calls after me. "Can I change?"
I nod and smile. "If you want to, yes. Be comfy. See you in a few."
As soon as I unload the truck I quickly feed Dodger. I locate all of the items I had previously put in the truck last week and repack them. I run to place the stuff in the bed of the truck keeping them covered so Daphne doesn't get any ideas. I shoot Hayden a quick text telling him to go ahead with what we talked about last night.
I know Dodger has ran around enough today so I take him just out back to our small patch of grass for him to do his business. I try not to let my excitement rush him.
In the short drive back to Daphne's I find myself mimicking her breathing exercises she was doing on the way to meet my family. Desperately, I want to keep myself calm as not to give away any hints to the night.
This time when I pull in she's not waiting for me on the steps. Checking the knob I see she left it unlocked. Rolling my eyes I decide to let it slide for now. Although it would certainly take my mind off of other things.
"Babe?" I ask as I walk in. I hear rustling in the kitchen so I head that way.
"Almost ready!" She calls to me before I reach her.
I find her leaning down into a cabinet looking for something. I notice she's changed into leggings and a baggy sweater. "Take your time. I'm enjoying the view just fine," I tell her as I lean back on the counter.
She laughs at me, realizing her sweater had been pulled up and I was getting a great view of her backside. She pulls it back down. "I knew I should've kept my mouth shut," I say as she stands back up and adjusts her sweater more.
She just shakes her head at me while slightly grinning. "Hot chocolate? We can take it with us," she says. "Sounds good," I say. "Do you have anything that needs to go in the truck?" She points to the couple of gift bags on the table by the door. "Just those." I go over and grab them as she continues to fix the drinks. "I'll go put them in the truck," I tell her. They're small enough to go in the cab so I just place them on the seat.
My phone alerts me of a message from Hayden. I read it and respond quickly. He's telling me he's got the generator running and sends me a photo showing me of the set up. I type back a thanks. I look up at the sound of Daphne approaching me. "Ready?" I ask taking the cup she offers me.
"Almost," she says. She pulls me to her and kisses me deeply. "I've wanted to do that all day." I just stare at her. She gives me one last peck and jumps up into the truck. "Now I'm ready," she says. I fall back to reality and move to close her door.
"Which neighborhoods have the best displays," I ask while turning the key.
She thinks for a moment. "The neighborhood by the school is pretty good. Oh! But there's a really cool display at a house out River Road," she tells me.
"Okay, cool." I'm thankful she mentioned the one out River Road because otherwise I'd have to figure out a way to tell her I already knew about that one as it's an imperative stop tonight.
We drive slowly through the neighborhood closest to the school. I learn that she prefers colored lights outside but enjoys white lights on her own Christmas tree. She gets a kick out of it when I tell her about the palm trees we use to decorate outside the station in Miami.
It takes us about twenty minutes to go through the neighborhood. "So, River Road?" I ask as I'm coming back to the entrance. She nods and gives me a mhmm. "You know where that is, right?"
"I do. We've had several calls out that way since I moved here," I tell her. "In fact, we had gone out that way under the impression that we were needed. We weren't, but on our way back a guy flagged us down. Hayden and I helped him get his cows back onto his land."
"Seriously?" Daphne laughs. "Bet that was a first for you, huh?"
"It was in fact," I laugh. "There are several things I've done since moving here that are 'firsts' for me."
"Oh really," she says with a look on her face. "Tell me more."
I've got to be careful here with my answer because some of them haven't come to fruition yet. "Let's see. The cows were one. Umm, tried liver and onions. Not a fan. Had my first tomato and Mayo sandwich. It was okay, but I'd much prefer to add bacon and lettuce."
"You forgot one," she tells me as I pull up to the house she specified. I look over at her wondering what she means. "You took a girlfriend to your family's Christmas get together."
"That I did," I tell her while nodding my head.
"This house is always incredible. The lights actually play along to the music on a specific station," she says as she fumbles with the radio dials. We sit and just watch in silence, taking it in.
"Let's exchange gifts while we're here! Nice ambiance and all," she suggests breaking the silence.
"If you want to," I say giving silent praise that she mentioned it instead of me. Another step closer.
She hands me one of the bags to open. "You first," she tells me. "There's multiple things in this one."
I begin pulling out the tissue paper and come to the first item. I unwrap a t-shirt that says "I drive the wee woo bus" with the picture of an ambulance. I can't help but let out a huge laugh. "This is awesome," I say. "I may have one for you to give Hayden too," she tells me with a grin.
I go through another layer of paper to discover a little teddy bear dressed in medic gear. "Smell it," Daphne says. Odd request, but I put it to my nose and inhale. It smells like Daphne. "I love it babe. It'll sit in my locker at the station." I lean over to give her a kiss.
"Now this one," she tells me as she hands me the smaller bag. "Open the card first."
I do as instructed. It's a sweet and simple card. But then I open it to find two tickets to the Florida Panthers game for January 3. "Are you serious?" I ask her excitedly. She's nodding at me with a huge smile. "Already talked to the chief and you are off that day and the following day. I figured you could take Scott if you want."
I finally look up from the tickets and see her face. "No way. You're going with me. I'm introducing you to hockey."
"If you want me to," she says. "Always," I tell her. I can't control my excitement so I give her another kiss. "There's still one more item in the bag."
I carefully pull out a small white box. Upon opening it I see a leather key chain embossed with numbers. I look at Daphne quizzically. She takes the key chain out of the box. "These are the coordinates of where we first met, where I had my accident."
"Oh Daphne," I say quietly.
"I told you at Thanksgiving that I was thankful for my accident because it brought me you," she says with tears in her eyes. I pull her across the bench into a hug. "I love it. And I love you." I give her a simple kiss before letting her go.
Here we go. "Okay, um, your gift is in the glove box." She wipes the tears from her cheeks and opens the glove box. She pulls out a handkerchief. Holding it in her hand she gives me a funny look. "Uh, thanks..." she says.
I take it from her and begin folding it the way I need it. "So while it is a gift, it's necessary for your next gift. May I?" She slowly nods, seemingly unsure of what I'm doing. I bring it around to cover her eyes and securely tie it behind her head. "How many fingers am I holding up?" I ask. "Fingers? I can't see a thing!" She says.
"Perfect," I tell her. "Think you can buckle up on your own?" She gives it a successful try. I put the car in reverse and start to pull away. "No peeking. Understood?"
"Uh, okay," she says laughing.
"I'm serious Daphne," I say sternly. She responds with a "yes sir" but I know she's rolling her eyes at me from under the cover of the handkerchief.
I drive down the road another five minutes before pulling off onto a dirt driveway. Another thirty seconds and I come up to the set up Hayden finished for me. I put the truck in park. "I need you to give me another five minutes. Think you can do that?" I ask her.
"Only if you give me a kiss," she tells me.
I take her cheeks in mine, careful not to disrupt the handkerchief, and give her a soft kiss on the top of her nose. She frowns as I open my door. "That's not what I meant," she says. I just chuckle and set to work.
Quickly I turn on the pump to blow up the air mattress I have laid out in the bed of the truck. Once it's blown up I cover it with multiple blankets and pillows. Looking around I see the multiple strands of white lights Hayden hung for me. I take my phone out and press play as I walk over to Daphne's side of the truck. The song My Person by Spencer Crandall starts to play.
"Chris," I hear Daphne say. "I'm coming, love," I tell her as I place my hand on hers. She finds both of my hands and follows my instructions getting out of the truck. I close the door and turn her so that her back is to me. I take the handkerchief away from her eyes. "Go ahead. You can look," I whisper in her ear.
Daphne opens her eyes and lets out an audible gasp. Her left hand covers her mouth that has fallen open in shock. I come walking up beside her, taking her hand in mine. "Dance with me," I say almost as a command although I know she doesn't take it that way. I hold her close to me as we begin to sway. She's still speechless as I rock her in my arms in the middle of hundreds of twinkling lights.
My person
My heartbeat
My slow dance
My Sunday-mornin-sippin-on-coffee in bed
My know-when-you-know- best friend
The stealer of my t-shirts
My reason for speedin home from work
My saving grace, My everything
Ive never been more sure that you're my person.
Even when you blow the punchline
Nobody makes me laugh like you
Every minute is a long time
If I ain't holdin on to you
You're my stay-in on the weekend
You're my come undone
You're my call home, sayin it's more than love
Mama she's the one
As I'm about to sing the chorus to her, Daphne rests her head towards the crook of my neck, her lips just below my ear. She starts singing to me. I close my eyes enjoying this moment. In this moment, she is fully opening herself up to me, letting me know where she stands with me.
The song stops as another starts. I pull away from her and lead her to the bed of the truck. Apparently she hadn't noticed this part of the set up as she's taken aback again. I put my hands on her hips lifting her up on the tailgate. She sits there for a moment, her legs dangling off the end. I stand between her legs with my hands resting on her thighs. Tenderly she strokes my cheek with her thumb before meeting my lips with hers. Leaning back away from me she just studies my face for a moment, as if she's trying to memorize something. As if the assignment is done she slips off her flats and moves backwards to the air mattress. Using my hands as leverage I jump into the bed of the truck. I follow her and lay down where I've propped up pillows. Daphne comes next to me, laying the back of her head on my arm, playing with my hand.
I'm quiet, taking it all in. I'm about to say something meaningful when she turns to look up at the sky. "It's a beautiful night. Like the stars all came out to witness this moment between us." She turns resting her head and hand on my chest. "This spot, right here, is my home," she says as she snuggles in closer. "I feel a completeness with you that I've never felt with anyone. I feel whole."
I run my hand through her hair as I kiss her forehead. The music coming from my phone changes and I wait to see if she recognizes it. She begins to hum quietly. "We had our first slow dance to this song, right next to this truck if memory serves correctly," she says as she rests her chin on my chest to look at me.
I nod my head slowly as I bite the corner of my mouth. "That's the day I breathed a sigh of relief when you told me about the ring on your finger. I was scared you were gonna tell me you were separated or a widow."
"Nope, just a virgin," she says chuckling quietly. "You told me you admired my conviction. I'd never been told that by a man. In that moment I knew you were different."
Another song begins. I'm almost positive she won't realize what part of our relationship it played a part in. I give her a minute but she doesn't say anything. "This song," I began, "was playing at the part of the movie when I kissed you 'officially' for the first time."
"Are you serious? How did you know that?" She asks me.
"Simple. It was a moment with you. You were so flustered while talking about the mishap kiss that it was all just ingrained in my brain I guess."
"Oh Christopher, what am I going to do with you?"
"I can think of a few things," I say with a wink. Playfully she rolls her eyes at me. I sit up completely and move towards the tailgate.
"Where are you going?" She asks me as she sits up.
I hold my hand out to her waving my hand in a come here motion. She scoots over to me as I pick up her shoes and place them on her feet. "The slipper fits," I whisper. I help her down and throw my arm over her shoulder. She holds onto my forearm as we walk.
It's dark but the area is lit enough from the lights for her to question where we are. "Well," I start as I clear my throat, "we are standing on 5 acres of land."
"5 acres! Oh that's a dream of mine. Neighbors aren't sitting on top of you," she tells me as though I don't already know.
Daphne takes a few steps away from me as I point out where a creek runs along part of the property. "I bet it's so serene," she says walking towards that direction.
"And then over here, in this direction is something I hope you'll be even happier with," I say as I call her back towards me. "Oh you think so, Mr. Evans," she sasses me before she turns around.
"I hope to return that statement with a Mrs. Evans one day," I smile. She comes to meet me, where I hold her hand in mine. "I answered a call on August 10 that changed my life, I just didn't know it at the time. You surprised me, Daphne. I found you in a very unexpected way. You are a caring daughter, an inspiring teacher, a loving sister and aunt. But you're an exceptional woman. A woman that deserves the world," I say as I get down on one knee. "Daphne, you make my heart smile. I want you to have my last name. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want you. All of you. All of you to be all of mine. Marry me, Daphne. Let me give you the world you so deserve."
I think my heart is going to thump right out of my chest at my declaration. But I mean every word of it. She looks at me with that wide smile, the one that can stop wars, and says "yes! Always, yes!"
I stand and envelop her into my arms. I hold her face the same way I did for our first kiss and kiss her with so much passion that I'm breathless when I pull away. "Really?" I ask. She nods emphatically and puts her arms around my neck and kisses me again. "I guess you might like this then," I say as I reach into my pocket pulling out a diamond ring.
I take her left hand. The hand that has held her purity ring since she was 14 years old. "I chose this ring because of the way it's intertwined. It reminds me of our path to when we finally met at the school. Even though our paths had been mingling with each other without us realizing it. I thought it fit our story."
"It's absolutely gorgeous. And I love the reason behind it even more," she tells me. I watch her let go of my hand. She takes her ring off and moves it to her right hand. Then, she gives me back her left. I slide the ring onto its home. She holds her hand out in front of her admiring it. Squealing she wraps her arms around me again as I lift her off the ground and twirl her in a circle.
"Are you ready for your Christmas gift?" I ask. She looks at me confused. Holding up her hand she asks, "wasn't this it?"
I shake my head no. "You're standing on your gift."
She looks at me confused. "Wait. What do you mean?"
"I mean, I bought this land, for us. We are going to build a home right here, where our future begins."
I didn't expect the reaction she gives me. She lets out a full sob as the realization hits her. "I knew you wanted a large property. I told you Daphne. I'm going to give you the world. The world you imagine for yourself."