Choosing You (JJ Watt)

7.

When J.J. woke up, he instantly noticed Levi's empty side of the bed. It was still dark, but her warmth was gone. He looked at the nightstand clock. 3:12. He sighed. Sadie must've woken up.

Staring up at the ceiling, he waited for his wife's return to their bed. It was always harder to sleep without her next to him. The minutes ticked by. Levi didn't come back. J.J. couldn't fall asleep.

Glancing back at the clock, it read 3:46. She'd been gone for over a half an hour. Flipping the covers off of himself, J.J. pulled his T-shirt on. As soon as he opened the bedroom door, he could hear Levi's soft, soothing voice coming from the room Sadie was in.

Peering through the doorway, he focused on Levi rocking Sadie in the rocking chair Stephanie, her step-mom, had brought over. Levi didn't notice him. She was so focused on the infant.

"I'm going to make sure you and your brothers and sister have an amazing family to grow up with," Levi said. "Somewhere the four of you will be so loved and treasured."

Levi still hadn't noticed him watching her. An empty bottle laid on the carpeted floor beside them.

Sadie's head laid in the crook of Levi's elbow. The one eye he could see was closed. Her little fist rested on top of her head as if she'd stretched, falling asleep as she did.

Levi smiled, continuing to rock the sleeping infant. J.J. bit his lip. She was totally entranced by Sadie. It didn't take much to realize why she was taking so long to come back to bed.

Sadie's little body jumped as if something had startled her awake. Her eyes flew open as she let out a small whimper. Levi quickly worked to soothe her. "It's ok Sadie May. I'm right here. Did you have another bad dream?" She rubbed the baby's head softly.

J.J. knit his eyebrows together. Babies could have bad dreams? That had never occurred to him before. He continued to watch as Sadie's eye slowly shut once more and her breathing evened out.

Waiting a couple of minutes to be sure he wouldn't wake Sadie, J.J. finally spoke. "Are you going to come back to bed soon?"

Levi looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I think so. She's been restless the past couple of nights I want to make sure she's sound asleep."

"It's almost four am, baby."

"I'll be in bed soon."

J.J. sighed, feeling impatience rise within him. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he support his wife right now? Everything about this encounter suddenly felt stressful. "She's asleep. You need sleep too."

"If I don't make sure she's completely asleep, I'll be back in here before I even get the chance to crawl into bed."

"Levi."

"Just go to bed," She snapped at him.

J.J. searched for words, but the only ones he could find were fighting words, so he walked away. He shut the bedroom door behind him. It slammed, making him jump. He hadn't meant for that to happen. Sadie's cries reached his ears. He groaned. That was not going to go over well.

It was almost 5 am when the bed dipped beside him. Levi let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"I'm sorry," J.J. sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I didn't mean to slam the bedroom door."