Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Cars and Cake

It felt surreal for Chris and Denise to be able to say that their son was turning one tomorrow. The first year of his life had passed so quickly, they swore it was only yesterday they had brought him home. It was the actuality of time that reminded them it'd really been a day short of a year with him in their lives; three hundred and sixty-four days of pure, wholesome bliss.

Now that Jack was twelve months, he could do and say a lot more than he could at eight and a half months. He was learning how to walk, and successfully doing so with the help of his parents' hands. He was actually using his words to ask for food and attention rather than his cries and screams, something Chris, Denise and Dodger were grateful for. He could successfully say "Dada", "Mama", and "Dodger," though he occasionally left out the 'D' in the middle so it sounded like "Doger" instead, which didn't matter because Dodger still responded. Now Chris always thought he and Dodger had a special connection. From the moment he adopted him from that shelter in Georgia, they'd been the best of friends. It wasn't until Jack came into the world that he realized the real special connection Dodger had was with his son, that they didn't just become best friends but were best friends in a previous life. They didn't even need words to communicate, they were that in tuned with each other. No matter where Dodger was in the house, he knew when Jack needed him. Even out in the yard enjoying the warm sun, he would beat Chris and Denise in getting to a crying Jack. Between the three of them, Dodger would easily demolish them in the category of 'Best Parent'.

Jack could also express his love and excitement for Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and- much to Chris' dismay- Iron Man. He and Denise guessed it was probably Iron Man's red that was exciting Jack, rather than the character himself; it had still been a dark day for Captain America. He knew Robert was going to rub it into his face the second he found out, which- thanks to Denise- was a couple days after they found out themselves. The compilation video she made of Jack squealing with excitement every time Iron Man appeared on screen, was sent to the group chat seconds after she finished making it. Everyone's hearts melted. It was uncanny. At first Denise thought it was just a coincidence, so she tested her son by putting on other Marvel movies, including all four parts of 'The Avengers'. Despite how many characters there were- especially in both parts of 'Avengers: Infinity War'- Jack only displayed his delight for Iron Man.

He did, however, become more attentive whenever Captain America spoke in the movies because he recognized his father's voice. His whole body would perk up and he'd turn to Chris with wide eyes, confused because he couldn't see his daddy's mouth move. He couldn't comprehend how he was hearing his daddy's voice when Chris wasn't talking. It was adorable. Every time that happened Denise would try to direct his attention to the screen so he'd see that Daddy was Captain America, but Jack was never interested. He kept his gaze glued to Chris' face, he'd grin and babble gleefully, and Chris would smile because Denise would remind him that "Iron Man may excite him, but no one makes him happier than you." It was true, it didn't have to be said to know Chris was currently Jack's favorite as he spent the most time with him. It would probably change once Denise wrapped up and Chris had to go back to work, but at this current point in time- Jack was closer to Chris. Denise had too much on her plate to be able to invest the same time with Jack as Chris was.

Directing a movie was keeping her crazy busy. She was consuming so much caffeine a day that Chris actually felt the need to limit her to prevent her from being too dependent on the stimulant. It was a good move on Chris' part because Denise realized she'd gotten to the point that if someone had invented a caffeinated IV, she would have one hooked to her just to stay ahead of her ridiculously filled schedule.

If things continued to go according to plan, she could wrap principal photography by the second week of April and begin post-production. After the editing and the test screenings, her trailer was going to be distributed so her marketing team could get a rundown of the responses and decided on the best release date. Currently there were press, private, and preview screenings estimated for the last week of August; with her 24th birthday being the first screening date. Chris optimistically stated "we can celebrate two things then, your birthday and the success of your film" whereas Denise pessimistically stated "at least I get cake to eat when things go downhill." The world premiere was set for a month later on the 25th of September, giving her and her team a month to complete press and promote their movie.