Can't Fall in Love Without You (Christian Yelich)

78

"This is nice," Christian sighed dreamily as Elizabeth cozied up against him on the couch while the couple watched a movie. "How often do we get to do this?"

Elizabeth giggled, which made Christian's smile even broader. "I feel like we haven't watched a movie on the couch without a kid since we were . . . pre-dating."

"Pre-dating?" Christian asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, when we were . . . falling for each other . . . falling in love. God, that feels like both yesterday and forever ago."

Christian tenderly kissed his wife on the forehead. "You and the kids should come on the New York and Pittsburgh road trip. It's not too far, and there will be room for everyone on the team jet. You won't have to fly alone. It's a good opportunity."

Elizabeth couldn't say no to Christian's pleading eyes. Not now. Not while he was doing so much better. She wanted the recovery to continue, and she refused to set him back; she already felt partially responsible for his pain. "Okay, we can do that. Having you on the plane will be a huge perk." There's no way she could independently handle three kids on a flight. She was a good mom, but she wasn't super-human.

"Are you serious?" Christian asked excitedly, immediately pressing his lips against hers.

"Yes," she laughed as they pulled apart. "I need to take advantage of spending time with you while I'm off of work. Plus, I'm still learning the game. It helps to see them in person."

"You're the best. I love you," Christian muttered, snuggling even closer against her.

He needed this. He needed to know how much she loved him.

***

Elizabeth definitely couldn't have managed a flight without her doting husband. Arlo was fussy, and, when he got to a certain point, Christian was the only person who could calm him down. "Shhh shhhh, Arlo," Ivy would try to help, but it was Christian's speech that always got the tears to stop.

When they finally got to their hotel room, Christian immediately went to work and set up Arlo's Pack 'n Play. "Do you want to sleep with Ivy, and I'll sleep with Reilly?" Christian asked, waving his hand at the double beds the pair had requested.

"Sure," Elizabeth said quietly while rocking Arlo in her arms. Ivy had already found the remote control and was flipping through the channels while Reilly watched her intently in admiration.

"All right, all done," Christian declared, pretending to wipe sweat from his brow. He carefully took Arlo from Elizabeth before settling him into his makeshift crib. "This is hard work."

Elizabeth giggled. "I wouldn't change it for the world, though," she said with a smile, looking around the room at all three of her babies. Reilly was now sound asleep against his sister, and Ivy was trying her best to not be annoyed by it.

Christian returned the smile. "I'm going to order room service, and then we'll try to get everyone to bed?"

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, as Christian kissed the top of her head ever so sweetly.

***

Christian woke up to the sound of loud crying. His first reaction was that Arlo was hungry, but his heart dropped when he realized the noise was from Reilly, who was next to him in bed. Reilly rarely cried, and he definitely never cried like this.

Christian wasn't surprised when a dim light flipped on almost immediately after Reilly started to wail, and Elizabeth appeared on their bed in lightning speed. "What's wrong, Ry Guy?" she asked soothingly, her hand immediately finding his forehead. "He's burning up," she said softly, her voice mostly stoic with just a slight hint of panic.

"Can you tell mommy what's wrong?" she asked again, as Reilly started to calm down. He shook his head no. "Can you tell daddy what's wrong?" she asked, reframing the question. He just shook his head no again.

"Do you have a tummy ache?" Christian asked, placing one hand on his stomach before running his fingers through his son's sweaty hair. Another head shake – this time with a loud sniffle. "I think little buddy has a cold," Christian concluded, his tone concerned as he wiped some tears from his middle child's eyes. "I could give him a lukewarm bath," he suggested.

"Baby, you have a game tomorrow. I'll do it," Elizabeth whispered.

"No, it's okay. I haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time with him lately. Please?" Christian asked – practically pleaded. He needed these opportunities to bond with his babies. He worked and traveled so much. He also needed to be helpful for his wife. Just because she was off of work didn't mean she wasn't working her ass off. He knew how difficult it was at home with three kids. He could do this one little thing. It was nothing. He loved being a dad.

"Of course, Chris," Elizabeth conceded with a small smile. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I need you to get some more sleep," Christian whispered, picking up Reilly as gently as he could, his son's head immediately resting on his shoulder. "You deserve it."

Elizabeth just nodded, crawling back into her bed with Ivy. Arlo would be up for a meal in another hour or so. She could use a little more sleep . . .

Christian took care of everything, and, in the morning, when he had to leave for practice, he had a hard time leaving his family.

He would do anything for them, and he wanted to be around when any one of them needed help.

***

Reilly was feeling better by the time they arrived in Pittsburgh for a weekend series against the Pirates, but Christian wasn't so lucky. "I think you should sit today out, baby," Elizabeth suggested. "You can't play baseball with a 102.6 fever. I'll call Counsell if you don't."

Christian knew she was right. He felt like shit. His vision was blurry. He was light-headed. He could barely talk because his throat was so ripped up from coughing all night. He just nodded before climbing back into bed. "Please," he begged. "Call him." Each word hurt.

Elizabeth was relieved he wasn't putting up a fight, so she called his boss, who definitely wanted Christian to stay away from the rest of the clubhouse.

She made Christian a hot cup of tea and grabbed him a bottle of water before having him take some aspirin to reduce his fever. He wouldn't do those sorts of things on his own. While the kids napped, she watched her husband sleep for a bit, his olive skin quite a bit more pallid than usual. "Poor baby," she whispered softly. She hated that he was sick . . . He was having a hard enough time already.

She was right there when he woke up a couple of hours later. "What do you need?" she asked immediately, wanting to tend to his needs.

Christian smiled at her sweet attentiveness. "Just you. And maybe some water."

"You should take a hot shower. It'll clear out your sinuses," she advised.

"Will you join me?" he asked. The thought of her body in the shower was the only way he'd be able to work up the energy to move.

"If you want me to," she replied, kissing his hot forehead. He still hadn't broken his fever.

"Please," he whispered.

She just nodded and helped him out of bed. Her husband deserved to be taken care of . . . and loved. She loved him so much.