The Rest of Our Life

Announcement

When Derya stepped out of the doctor's office, she leaned against the wall. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, yet she could still feel herself shaking with excitement. A smile had not left her face ever since the doctor confirmed her suspicions. Even thinking about that moment, her eyes welled up with happy tears. However, not wanting to catch the attention of everyone in the hallway, she tried to get a hold of herself. She cleared her throat and started making her way to the exit. Yet Derya must have still looked pretty obvious, as a nurse passing her smiled knowingly in her direction.

She was waiting for an elevator so that she could finally leave the hospital, when suddenly the metal doors opened, revealing a smiling Feyzullah. He stepped out of the elevator with a giggling Mücahit Can in a stroller. One part of Derya wanted to just turn around and run for her life, the other, more violent one, wanted to push Feyzullah back into the elevator and close it forever. This was not how she imagined everything to go down when she left the doctor's office a few minutes ago. She wanted to have some time to prepare for the announcement, maybe plan something fun, and, more importantly, share the news with Yavuz first, not with Feyzullah out of all people. He would babble it to everyone before she even managed to come back home.

"Derya? What are you doing here?"

Yeah, in the end she chose to stand in the middle of the corridor like an idiot. Kopuk's stupidity was definitely rubbing off on her. Ultimately, there was nothing else left for her than to just face the music. She was a prosecutor, for God's sake! Her job was to catch and interrogate dangerous criminals, murderers, and she would definitely find some way out of this mess.

"Oh, hi! Hi, sweetie!" she smiled at Mücahit Can who started clapping his pudgy hands happily, recognizing a familiar face. "I just came to talk with my mom's doctor. She ran out of some meds and asked me if I could pick up a prescription for her."

Simple and to the point. She tried to look as if nothing was amiss, hoping that Feyzullah would be satisfied with the explanation.

"On this floor?" He asked, confused. It was, indeed, the floor with pediatrics on one side and gynecology on the other.

God dammit, Feyzullah, and who are you, the Minister of Health?, thought Derya.

"I don't know, a nurse told me that the doctor is here and I didn't really think about it" she said, deciding to just play stupid. "I don't know, the hospital must be short-staffed, you know how they always rave about it on the news..."

Having thought about it, Feyzullah nodded with agreement, as well as some embarrassment. He didn't want Derya to feel as if he was doubting her words. In the meantime Derya glanced at the smiling baby, which was babbling something to himself. This meeting is your fault, don't pretend to be so innocent now, you little monkey.

"Well, we're here to get vaccinated. I managed to get today off, so that Su could have some time for herself" Feyzullah flushed a little bit, as if he shared more than he wanted.

"I'm not stopping you, then, I don't want you to be late for your appointment. Say hi to Su for me, and I'll see you at work on Monday," Derya smiled gently.

After saying goodbyes, she finally stepped into the elevator and breathed a sigh of relief. Now that was some Oscar-worthy acting. I really am wasting my talent by being a prosecutor.

"We should buy a new house," stated Derya suddenly that very evening.

She was standing in the kitchen just seconds ago, debating whether she should wait a few days more with announcing the news to Yavuz. However, she felt that sooner or later her husband would realize that she was keeping something from him. One of his many skills was reading her like an open book, which he boasted about every chance that he got. More than that, she was so excited that she truly couldn't wait to share the news with him. It would feel kind of selfish to keep it a secret, especially since she knew how happy it would make Yavuz.

Therefore, all giddy inside, and maybe a little jittery, Derya marched into the living room with a mug of tea in her hand, and took Yavuz by surprise with her statement.

"What? Why?" Yavuz frowned and stopped whatever he was doing on the laptop. He put it aside, feeling that there was some deeper motive hidden behind Derya's conversation starter.

"Well, I love it, but there are too many stairs here," she said, putting the mug down on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Yavuz on the couch.

"Since when has it bothered you?" he asked, confused, and then he switched to his 'protective husband' mode. "Is this about your legs? Do you have trouble walking up and down?"

Derya sighed and internally rolled her eyes. No matter how much time had passed since her temporary paralysis, Yavuz never really got over it. Whenever they would go for a hike, or simply just for a walk, he would watch her intently every now and then, while completely ignoring her countless assertions that she's fine.

"No, no, that's not it, you misunderstood me," Derya shook her head, and chose carefully her next words: "It's okay for me, but I don't think it would be safe for the baby."

"Baby?" repeated Yavuz, moving his head so fast into her direction that he almost got a whiplash. "What baby?"

Derya just smiled and remained silent, trusting Yavuz to put the pieces together on his own.

"You're pregnant," he said finally, yet one could hear the uncertainty in his voice. It was as if he was scared to say it out loud, afraid that it wouldn't be true.

"Yes," replied quickly Derya, clearly knowing what was happening in his head and not wanting to keep him guessing any longer.

"I'm going to be a dad," he said with such amazement in his voice that it almost took Derya's breath away. A second later Yavuz took her hand in his. "We're going to be parents."

"That's correct."

He remained quiet at that for a second, still wrapping his head around the news. Yes, he thought about becoming a father many times in his life, yet saying these words, hearing the confirmation coming from Derya's lips... It felt better than anything he could have ever imagined.

He was going to be a father.

It felt unreal, crazy, but in the best way possible. The words left his mind, and all he could do was move closer to Derya and take her in his arms with a big smile on his face. He placed a few kisses on the top of her head, whispering I love you's while smiling and laughing at the same time. Some tears were shed by both of them and happy smiles were exchanged as the couple cherished the fact that a new member would soon join their little family.

With the tea gone cold and the laptop long forgotten, Derya and Yavuz stayed like that for a long time, wrapped up in each other and oblivious to the rest of the world.

"Imagine having a little Yavuz here, running around the house," said Derya later when they were lying in bed.

"That's a nice thought, although a small Derya would be cuter," answered Yavuz with a smile that hadn't left his face since that afternoon.

"Kopuk would have a heart attack if there was also a mini-me trying to put him in his place."

He couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"So you were bossy even as a child?"

"You should ask my mom about that. She'll be too happy to answer that question for you since you're her favorite son-in-law," Derya rolled her eyes.

She was not wrong either. Her mom adored Yavuz and it got to the point where she would often call him just to chat about what was happening in their lives. Derya swore that she called him more often than her own daughter. It also didn't help that, apparently, Yavuz was a huge suck-up, a fact that amused his wife to no end.

"I'm her only son-in-law," he pointed out.

"True. But still her favorite."

She smiled mischievously at him right before he placed a kiss on her lips.