And Then There Was You (Chris Evans AU)

October: Baby Day Part 2

Chris POV

   I complete a sixteen hour shift without another word from Daphne. Not a call, not a text. It's not that I haven't tried. It's the fact that she won't answer or respond.

   My whole drive home I'm bracing myself, unsure exactly of what I'll be walking into when I get home. I know it won't be good, but to what extent, I'm not positive.

   I don't open the garage, but choose to park the truck in the driveway instead. It's after eleven at  night. I'm sure she's asleep so I unlock the door quietly in an effort  not to disturb Dodger who would then bark and wake up Daphne. I stop right at the door to take off my boots, leaving them instead of walking them to their normal spot. I'll deal with them during the light of day.  I go into the guest bath to clean myself up a bit more rather than going into our shared bathroom and risk waking my bride.

   Once I've readied myself for bed I turn off the light and make my way to our bedroom. The door is shut, not unusual, but to it is a taped note. On a yellow, legal pad, piece of paper I find the following words:

     "I'm too upset to talk to you tonight. Please stay on either the couch or in the guest room. There's blankets in the closet. Hope your shift went well. Love ya. ~ D"

    It's not the fact that she's asking I not sleep beside her tonight. It's not even the fact that she's still upset. It's the words 'love ya' that break my heart more.

     As I was leaving the station I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous colors beginning to rise as the sun woke from its slumber.  I pull through a drive-thru quickly, grabbing Daphne's coffee before by passing my apartment, and heading straight to her house.

    It's the Sunday after the homecoming game. Daphne and I are 'official' even though in my opinion we've been exclusive since our first date. I didn't mind the fact that she needed to hear the words. It really made it all that much sweeter.

I knock softly at her door, unsure if she's awake or if she forgot about our morning coffee date. She surprises me by opening the door, sleepily, but smiling none the less. She looks cozy in her soft grey plaid pajamas and slippers.

"Good morning, gorgeous," I say as I hold the coffee cup out to her.

"Good morning to you, handsome," she counters, leaning in for a small kiss as she takes the coffee from my hand. "Thank you."

   I hold my hand out to her, signaling she can go over to the swing first.

We sit down next to each other. She doesn't tuck herself into my side just yet, choosing to sit upright a little longer until she drinks at least half of her cup of coffee. "You're a bit more awake than normal for a weekend?"

"What can I say? I had something great to look forward to." And that's when she lifts my arm up and moves into my side, my hand resting along her arm. "How was your night?"

   I take a swallow of the warm liquid before answering. "It was a bit brutal to be honest. As soon as we got back from one call we'd get another. In one night we transported a heart attack, a baby in respiratory distress, two car accidents and a woman in labor."

"That definitely sounds like a lot," she says. "I'm sure you're exhausted. You can go home and go to bed, maybe we can go to a movie later?"

I appreciate the fact that she's concerned for me, but I don't want to leave this moment. "I'd like to hang out with my 'girlfriend' a little longer if that's alright?"

"I like the sound of that," she whispers.

We sit in silence a bit longer, just enjoying the colors painted across the sky. "Chris?"

"Yeah." I lean my head down to place a kiss on the top of her head.

Daphne straightens up again, seemingly nervous. "I want you to know, you're very special to me. What you've done for me in my life over the past few weeks...it's truly amazing. I'm not saying that ' I love you' but I want you to know that you're more than just some guy. I want you to know what you mean to me. So if it's okay I'd like to start saying 'love ya' to you, because if something were to ever happen to you I would want you to know that you are special to me. No matter where this goes, for how long we are together, I know that you have made a significant impact in my life."

   "Wow, that's a pretty big deal," I tell her, bringing my hand over my beard.

   " One day though, I feel like it's going to change. So when you hear me say 'I love you' instead of 'love ya' then you'll know that we are officially out of a normal boyfriend girlfriend relationship." She lifts her head and looks at me curiously, trying to gauge my reaction to her statement.

    I meet her gaze, nodding to her. "Sounds good."

   So in another relationship a simple 'love ya' may not mean much, but in ours it was how we felt about each other as friends. So my heart breaks a little as I see it written on the note from the woman who is now my wife.

   My brain debates with itself, my heart poking it's opinion in as well. Leave her be, give her time, sleep on the couch and hope she's okay by morning.  Go in, crawl into bed, try and hold her and apologize some more, get it over with now.  I take a step back, inadvertently stepping on one of Dodger's toys causing a loud squeak to echo.

   "Chris?" I hear Daphne call out to me from behind our bedroom door. 

   "Yeah, babe. It's me." I don't open the door, still trying to feel out the situation.

   "Are you coming in?" There's a sadness to her voice, more so than anger.

   I slowly open the door. The television casts a glow across our room as my eyes fall upon my wife, snuggled into the bed, covers up to her chin. "I wasn't sure you wanted me to," I say as I remove the taped note.

   "Please," she sighed, moving towards her side of the bed rather than the middle. 

   I crawl under the covers and move directly next to her, pulling her closer towards me. I hear her let out a whimper, and her body softly shakes. "I'm so sorry, baby. So sorry." 

   "I can't keep doing this, Chris," she turns her body fully into mine, burying her head in my chest. "I know I've been a witch with a capital B since starting these meds. I'm an emotional disaster, and I can't keep doing this."

   I squeeze her tighter against me. "It's okay. We'll make due, it'll be okay. I'll try and be more considerate. We'll get through it, baby. I promise."

   "It's not just my hormones." She lays back just a bit, her eyes full of tears as she looks at me. "My vision is acting strange. It didn't start until this evening, right before bed. But I know it's not normal so I looked up the side effects. It's a rare side effect, but it happens. It's just another reason why I can't keep doing this."

   I hold her face tenderly in my hand, cupping her cheek. "Whatever you want to do, we'll do. I want you healthy more than anything, Daphne."

   "I have two more pills to take. I'll call Dr. Kallen tomorrow and see what he says. But, if I still can't get pregnant, I won't take this medicine again, Chris. I can't." She begins to whimper again. 

   "Okay, okay, sshhh...it's okay." I do my best to comfort her. "If this doesn't work this round, we stop. We do our best to let nature take its course."  

   We lay there, holding each other, comforting one another as the television plays in the background. I gently run my hand through her hair as I feel her body begin to relax more, the shaking ceases.  I only know she's still awake because she's faintly running her fingertips over my bare chest.

    It's when her lips find my chest that I know her emotions have changed once again. "Daphne?"

   She turns her stare to my face. "Please." Her eyes are no longer sad, but longing.

   I bring her lips to mine. "Always."