Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Just a Little Introduction

Chris' 39th birthday was spent incredibly low-key. There was no big birthday bash, no fancy dinner party. There wasn't even a simple luncheon had with family and friends, just their little family of four in their big beautiful home above Laurel Canyon. Initially Denise wanted to plan something for him, a party as amazing as he'd been for the past twelve months; her entire pregnancy plus Jack's first four months of his life. But Chris changed her mind, telling her to "save it for the big four-oh" arguing that it made more sense to go all out then. She obliged because as long as her husband was happy, she was happy. If she had to be honest, she was glad Chris opted for something low-key. She liked the bubble they'd been in since Jack was born, with no talk of work as Chris was on hiatus and she was still on her maternity leave. It was ending on Monday, but she'd thoroughly enjoyed the last four months with her little family.

It got a little much at times, both she and Chris admitted that. There were a number of sleepless nights and a few days in the months where Jack would throw a tantrum like any other baby. He'd relentlessly cry and scream despite their best efforts to soothe him, driving the three other members of the household insane. It was never long until Denise started crying too because Jack's crying stressed her out. Then there was her messed up hormones, and really- she just cried a lot more than she'd like to admit. Chris would then have his work cut out for him because he'd have both Denise and Jack to soothe. Usually he'd delegate Dodger to Denise while he worked on Jack because once Jack stopped crying, Denise would too. Chris kept a good handle on things, like Denise had expected him to. He was freaking out on the inside, but he played it cool so she'd remain calm too. It was a sweet notion; one she wasn't meant to find out, but overheard while he was on the phone with Lisa. Needless to say, she loved him even more after.

With news about little families. Sebastian and Luca welcomed their son, Alexander Denver Stan into the world on the 21st of May even though he was due on the 4th of June. Thankfully the delivery went smoothly and he came out a healthy and happy baby. Similarly, Chris and Denise could only meet their son over FaceTime. The couples discussed and decided Sebastian and Luca would fly over for Jack's first birthday so they could meet their godchild, and vice versa.

Alex, too, had bright blue eyes; inheriting those from his blue eyed parents. He had Luca's nose and Sebastian's debonair smile. Even as a newborn, he was incredibly charming. He was a Gemini like his godfather, which Chris was happy about as he felt left out. When he unconverted Alex's full name, he realized he was the only one whose first name initial had been left out; Denise, Sebastian, and Luca all got a letter except him. To know Alex was a Gemini, even if he was on the cusp made him very happy. Sebastian and Luca went a different route to Chris and Denise, announcing their baby's birth and name on Sebastian's Instagram a week after they got home from the hospital.

Their move placed a lot of pressure on Chris and Denise to do the same. Both their social media's were quickly bombarded with requests from fans for a photo of their child, and a name and gender as those details were still secrets too. Neither felt ready to introduce Jack to the world so they didn't, logging out of their social medias so they'd stop getting notifications every time they turned on their WiFi. They decided they'd only introduce Jack to the world after Denise started work and actually had to leave the house. They had to steer into the skid if they didn't want her to have trouble with the paparazzi every single day. The last thing she wanted was to be hounded about their child every time she was out and about, it was enough being hounded about everything else. A great example was this one time when she and Chris were leaving a restaurant, a paparazzi yelled out "chicken or beef?" Neither responded because they were both confused. Why did they need that particular piece of information? How was it going to help anyone in any way?

So far, they had managed to avoid the paparazzi and their pointless questions well. Their little trips to the park, the grocery store, the farmer's market, and the homes of their close friends- like Robert and Susan Downey- were yet to be captured on camera. "We are nailing stealth mode," Chris would say every time he checked the internet for pap shots and found nothing. But as time ticked closer to the end of Denise's maternity leave, they knew it was time to resume living their lives realistically. And realistically, it was time to get the world of their backs and introduce Jack. Denise admitted that if she weren't Chris Evans' wife and the mother of his child, if she were still just a fan of his- she'd want an introduction too. She'd want a gender, a name, and a photo. It was the first born of Chris Evans, after all. All his fans, the media- they all knew how long he'd been waiting to be a father. It was cruel what they were doing with their secrecy, Denise knew that. However, it was still their child and they were allowed to be as private as they wanted with him. They needed time, and as that saying goes, "good things come to those who wait."