Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Irrational

In Chris and Denise's household, chain reactions would often occur in accordance to their one year old, particularly his sleep cycle. If he was awake at 4:56AM then they had to be awake at 4:56AM, and if he didn't make sure of that, then Dodger would. Today was one of those 4:56AM days. Shortly after Jack woke Dodger up, the furry critter woke Chris and Denise up by jumping on their bed. A lack of sleep left them painfully groggy, they practically stumbled out of their bedroom. Denise attended to Jack in the next room whereas Chris ventured downstairs to heat their shiny new coffee maker: a DēLonghi Scultura Pump Espresso.

The machine was actually a wedding present that they had only recently unboxed as Chris wasn't a heavy coffee drinker and Denise had been pregnant when they received it. It was only after Jack  came along, and after Denise received her work schedule that they realized coffee was vital for them to get through each day. It didn't take long for Denise to reintroduce herself to the art of making coffee, it was hard to forget her time as a barista; she'd spent too many summers slaving away at cafés to forget. She was so skilled that she managed to convert Mr. I'm-not-a-coffee-person into Mr. Could-you-make-me-another-cappuccino? Their home was still the habitat for all kinds of teas- rose being one of her favorites, and cinnamon chai being one of Chris'- but coffee was also settling in quite nicely.

When Denise came downstairs with Jack, Chris was in the midst of making breakfast. He claimed he was exerting himself with breakfast when in reality, the man was just pouring cereal into bowls. "Do you have something special prepared for Jack, or can he have cereal with us?" He asked her and she shrugged, yawning. Denise was so tired, she couldn't process anything he was saying. "Okay, let me take him," Chris chuckled, taking Jack from her. "Go make yourself some coffee, you clearly need it." She managed a smile as she staggered over to the machine, rubbing her eyes while waiting for the grinder to grind her coffee beans.

By the time Chris had to leave for the airport, Denise had finished a vanilla latte and was wide awake. She sat Jack down in front of the TV and turned on reruns of 'Elmo's World', leaving Dodger with him so she could start decorating the house. It wasn't a theme party, per se, they just got a lot of 'Winnie the Pooh' things. Jack liked 'Winnie the Pooh', so go figure. When Denise was done, she sat with Jack and Dodger, waiting for Chris to return with a van-load of some of her favorite people. She was excited because she was going to meet her godson for the first time, little Alex Denver Stan. She knew what he looked and sounded like thanks to modern technology, but it was always different in person. She was going to be able to hold him and kiss his chubby cheeks, which she'd been dying to do since Luca sent her the video of Sebastian playfully squishing said chubby cheeks.

"Do you know who's coming today, Jack?" Denise asked, gently prodding his side with her index finger. "Let me show you." She reached for her phone as he turned away from the TV, looking at her with wide eyes. Denise opened the video Sebastian had sent months ago; a video of him and Luca talking to Jack, introducing themselves. She played it for her son at least once a day so he knew who his godparents were. "Who's that, Jack?" She pointed at the screen as she pressed play. "Who's that?"

"Jack Jack," Sebastian grinned into the camera. "Hey buddy," he waved. "I'm your godfather, Sebastian. You can call me 'Seba', or 'Bas', whatever works for you. This," he turned the camera to Luca and she smiled and waved. "This is Luca, she's your godmother. I'd come up with a shorter form of her name for you to say, but I think Luca's short enough. I guess you could call her 'Lu', we do sometimes. But y'know," he turned to Luca, stifling his laughter, "we don't want you to think she's named after the toilet."

"Hey!" Luca laughed, playfully slapping Sebastian's arm.

Denise laughed every time she watched that video, which meant she laughed this time too, almost missing Jack's little mumble. Almost. She stopped laughing the second she heard his little voice, her jaw drop before a wide smile replaced her stunned expression. "What did you just say, Jack?" She asked and he watched her curiously. "Who is that?" She pointed to Sebastian on her phone screen. "Who's that, Jack?"