Author's Note:Many thanks to Andrea (iloveromance), whose story, "An Ocean of Dreams" more or less inspired this. It didn't quite turn out as I originally planned, but I like what I came up with anyway.
Daphne couldn't believe it. She'd read David one story about the ocean, and suddenly, it was all the toddler could talk about. "Beach" was now his favorite word. Whenever he saw a body of water on TV, he would point excitedly. At first she had thought it was cute. Her son's vocabulary was growing by the day. But gradually, it began to sadden her. As a child, she'd loved going to the beach with her brothers. The family had never had much money for vacations, but they were somehow able to get to the beach a few times. But now she was so far from home. Though she loved her life with David and Niles, she occasionally wished see could her family.
She was grateful for the silence, now that David was finally taking a nap. She would be able to make dinner in peace. But before she reached the kitchen, the front door opened. Niles had returned from work. Daphne immediately went to him, greeting her husband with a kiss.
"How was your day?" Niles asked, after he recovered from the power of the kiss.
"Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say that our son was part fish!" Daphne laughed.
"What do you mean?" For a moment, Niles had a mental image of David with scales. But he knew it couldn't be anything that drastic.
"I read him a book today about the ocean. He loved it. He keeps saying 'beach.'" Daphne tried not to think about the memories that word brought back.
Niles saw the sadness in his wife's expression. "Perhaps we should take him there, if he loves it so much."
"But what about your patients?" Daphne asked. Niles' schedule was nearly full these days.
"We could take him for the day this weekend. There are some beautiful beaches not that far from here. We could easily drive up to Oregon."
"That sounds lovely!" Suddenly, Daphne was ecstatic. "David would love to play in the ocean. The best I could do here was to put him in the bathtub. He had a ball splashing around."
Niles felt a pang of regret. Though he loved his son, his work kept him from spending quality time with him. But he could make up for that with this trip. "Maybe David and I could look for seashells."
"That sounds nice," Daphne replied. She was growing more excited by the minute.
Suddenly, Niles thought of something else. The mental image of his wife in a bathing suit made his heart race. "Maybe Dad and Ronee could come with us," he suggested.
"I'm sure David would love that. You know how much he loves his Grandpa."
"I do. In fact, I think it might be best if he spent the night there afterward."
Daphne grinned knowingly. "I love you." She kissed him deeply.
"We've both been working so hard. I think we should take some time to relax. Sometimes, I get so caught up in being the family breadwinner that I forget to enjoy my family. But I promise you, my love, I'll make this a trip we'll remember forever."
For a moment, Daphne just rested her head on his shoulder. She was unbelievably lucky to have a husband as caring as Niles. But gradually, she realized that this perfect moment couldn't last. "I should go start fixing dinner. David's upstairs napping. You can go check on him if you like."
Niles inhaled the sweet scent of Daphne's perfume. "All right, my love."
Daphne released him and walked back toward the kitchen. Niles, meanwhile, rushed upstairs, eager to see his son.
He entered the room and stood next to the crib where David lay sleeping. He loved the boy more than he could say. Being a father was all he'd ever wanted in life. How could he have ever gotten so involved his work that he forgot that? Niles looked out the window. A beam of sunlight came into the room, illuminating David's face. Though he knew he should not interrupt his sleep, Niles couldn't resist picking his son up. When David began to whimper, Niles held him close. "Sh. It's OK, David. I love you so much. I wish I could spend time with you every day, like your mommy does. But I'm going to make it up to you. This trip to the beach is just the beginning. I'm going to make sure you and your mommy have everything you want. Because she already gave me everything I ever wanted, by giving me the best son I could ask for." Niles knew it was a difficult promise to keep. But that was fine with him. He had his whole lifetime to do it.
The End