love happy • chris evans (bwwm)

• fifty one •

"Sweet face?" Phoenix blinked her eyes open as Chris crawled into the bed. She had made an attempt to wait up for him only to fall asleep before he got home.

After eloping 2 days prior, Chris and Phoenix spent an entire day off the grid before telling their friends and family last night. Although both of their parents and siblings were hurt that they weren't able to witness the elopement, they were very happy to hear that the couple had finally tied the knot after all. And with Phoenix assuring them that there would be a wedding as soon as they settled into new parent life, their excitement only grew.

Unfortunately, even with the couple going off the grid Chris still had to report to set which meant that they had barely gotten the chance to spend time together due to his filming schedule. He made sure to check on her multiple times throughout the day but because his call time was at 5am this morning and he didn't get home until after midnight tonight, Phoenix hadn't seen him since the night before - over 24 hours ago.

"Hi babe." Chris spoke quietly after Phoenix turned around. He allowed her to cuddle into his chest before wrapping an arm around her waist. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"That's okay. I missed you today."

"I missed you too." He smiled before placing a kiss on her nose. "How are you feeling? Did you throw up before bed?"

She nodded. "This 'morning sickness' is driving me up the wall. Now on top of that, I'm thirsty ALL THE TIME and I pee like once every hour and a half."

"Aria, you've gotta stop making mommy so sick." Chris said while placing his right hand on top of his wife's growing stomach. Leaning forward until their foreheads touched, he kissed her softly and allowed his fingers to run down her backside until his left hand rested comfortably on her butt.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?" Phoenix asked timidly, instantaneously shifting the mood.

"Of course you can!" He replied before pulling her farther into his chest so there wasn't even an inch of space between them.

"I'm terrified of giving birth..."

Upon first finding out about her pregnancy, Phoenix's main concern was trying to figure out how things were going to work with her and Chris not being on great terms at the time. But now that their relationship had been properly mended and was stronger than ever, her focus shifted to more pressing matters. As she spent the entire day alone, she couldn't help but to think about all of the pain associated with labor. While Chris was on set, she researched birthing horror stories and complications that could occur leading to birth defects and even death which was enough to freak her out.

"What do you mean?"

"What if the pain is too much and I can't handle it?"

Chris cuffed her face in his hands, not allowing his eyes to leave hers. "You are the strongest woman I know and I believe in you. There's nothing in this world that you can't handle and that's a known fact."

Phoenix shook her head. "Not this. I can't do it."

"I can't pretend to know what it's like to deliver a baby but I promise you can do this, Genevieve. I KNOW you can." He assured. "I'll be there with you, every step of the way, cheering you on. You just have to remind yourself that at the end of all of the pain, we'll have a beautiful baby to take home."

Phoenix hid her face in Chris's bare chest only for him to pull her chin up so she was looking him in the eye once again. "What if we take her home and I'm not a good mother?"

"The fact that that's even a thought going through your mind proves that you're going to be an amazing mother." Chris began. "Our baby is 6 months away from being born yet you're already stressing about how you're going to be as a mother. That just shows how much you already love and care about her which is half of being a great parent. Are you going to be a perfect mother? No. But one thing I know is that you're going to love Aria unconditionally and do what ever you can to make sure she's the happiest girl in the world."

"I don't know..."

Chris rolled over toward his bedside table to turn on the lamp so he could see Phoenix better. With the light now brightening up the space, he was able to properly examine her facial expression to find tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey, you don't have to do this alone honeybee." He spoke in a gentle tone while using his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I know you feel like you're not ready for this but you are and you have been for a while. Women have this amazing ability to bring new life into the world and now it's your turn. Babe, you have the power to bring an entire human made from our love into the world; a human that wouldn't otherwise exist without you. That's incredible."

"I'm just afraid, Chris."

"I know you are. I know." He nodded before running his fingers down her belly. "You wanna know something?"

She nodded.

"I get a little afraid too when I think of bringing our baby home. For one, I'm not confident that I'll be the best father." Chris confessed. "I get scared when I think about how helpless I am when you're throwing up every night. Just after we got married, the realization hit that I'm going to be completely impotent when you're giving birth. There's nothing I can physically do to help you and that terrifies me."

Although he'd been showing nothing but excitement toward Phoenix about their baby, Chris had some worries as well. He didn't know what to expect when it came to giving birth but the fact that he had to stand back and let his wife carry the load is what worried him. He had no doubt that Phoenix could handle giving birth; it was more so the fact that if something went wrong, there was nothing he could do to protect Phoenix or Aria.

"The one thing that I've never once worried about is how you're going to be as a father because I already know how amazing you are." Phoenix told him. "You give me strength everyday just by loving me the way you do, sweet face. As long as you're by my side holding my hand, you'll never be impotent. You're the eye of my hurricane."

Chris placed a lingering kiss on her lips. "I'm very happy that we had the opportunity to share these things with one another."

"So am I."

"On a lighter note, guess what?"

"What?"

"I told the director before I even signed on for this movie that I needed the entire day on November 4th off and we got it negotiated into my contract. Sooo... how would you like to spend your birthday in New York City?" 

"When you signed on we weren't even together and you still requested my birthday off?" Phoenix smiled.

"Well, I was optimistic that we'd find our way back to each other. Never would I have guessed that we'd be married with a baby on the way." 

"It's funny how life happens, my sweet husband."

"I agree, my sweet wife."

"Ari agrees too." She added. "Not only did we name our daughter without knowing her gender but now she's got a nickname now too."

"At this point, even if it's a boy, his name is gonna be Aria." Chris joked.

"It's definitely a girl."

"The next one will be a boy though."

Phoenix flicked his ear. "Can we get this one out first Christopher?! Damn!"

"I'm sorry!" He chuckled. "Looking back on the night she was conceived, I think making her had to have been my favorite thing I've ever done."

"Well, we're definitely not conceiving another baby for at least 2 years."

"That doesn't mean we can't practice." Chris replied before smacking her ass. "Practice makes perfect baby."

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