Came for the Low- Revised

Untitled Part 25

9 MONTHS LATER

The consistent hushing coming from across the bedroom slowly pulled Christine from her sleep until she opened her eyes, moaning softly in protest to being woken up.

    "I'm sorry... I tried to let you sleep." Zemo whispered when her eyes opened. It seemed his quieting attempts had worked nicely on the baby in his arms, but had the opposite effect on his wife.

    She watched Zemo's silhouette pacing slowly, the faint blue backdrop of the early morning sky framed by the large windows behind him. He was in his robe and nothing else and Christine's smile spread slow as she watched her boys, her dear husband and child —The Honorable Ansel Zemo as was his title— heir to his father's empire and love. The baby was a cherubic bundle of curiosity and wonder. At six months Ansel had the beginnings of soft curls like hers and big brown eyes the same color as his father's.

    "It's all right" She whispered sitting up slowly. Christine had fallen asleep immediately after feeding the baby, but that must have been over an hour ago. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she watched Zemo kiss his son's head as he inhaled deeply. Not even he was immune to the sweet scent of a new baby.

    "What time is it?" She wondered reaching for the clock only to find the bedside table empty. "Did you move the clock?"

    Zemo looked up and smiled at her. "You're not allowed to look today."

    "Why?" She frowned but had an inkling that made her giddy.

    "You don't need to worry about anything. Not on your birthday."

    Christine grinned feeling her cheeks warm with a blush. "You remembered?" She sighed.

    He walked across the room letting the baby rest in his arms. "Of course." He whispered looking nearly offended. "I would never forget." He nodded towards the nursery "Let me put him down. I want to give you your presents."

    She nodded, her face aching from the smile by the time Zemo came back from the smaller room off of their own.

    He came and sat on the bed next to her and she sniffed. "You smell nice."

    He smiled "We had a bath already"

    "You and Ansel?" She asked grinning with curiosity. She always thought he'd been too nervous to bathe him alone, but this wasn't his first venture into fatherhood either.

    He nodded. "After you fell asleep I thought it would be good to get a head start on the day."

    Christine caught her bottom lip with her teeth tugging hard at her smile... it's the little things in life. She leaned over and kissed him.

    "I'm sorry I woke you, I really did want let you sleep in." He said stroking her face as she eased back.

    "It's alright, I think my internal clock runs on baby time now, not much that can be done about it. But I appreciate your attempt. Sleep is a gift these days."

    "Ah, gifts. I did promise didn't I?" He said with a sly grin.

    Eyes wide, she sat up in bed nearly bouncing with excitement. "What is it!" She asked when he turned away and opened the drawer to his own nightstand. Turning back to her, Zemo sat two packages down at her knees. "Open them and see."

    "Them!" Christine's excitement was infectious. His face was beaming as he watched her reaction to the stacked items, one small square on top of a larger rectangle. "Did you wrap this?" She asked running her fingers over the large white flower in the center, its stem had been tucked into the twine that held the packages together.