Friday, June 28
Once Ayanna was asleep, Sheva laid her down in the bed and tucked her and Spike in, giving them both kisses. Spike quickly closed his eyes and welcomed sleep once he was all snuggled up with Ayanna. Sheva smiled at the two then quietly tip toed to the door, closing it a little but not all the way so that light shined through from the living room.
Sheva did a raise the roof motion as she walked back to the living room causing the Redfield's to laugh.
"I'm glad you could get her to sleep, poor baby must have been exhausted," Mrs. Redfield stated with a sigh.
"Yeah, she was. She went to sleep in my arms like a little baby. It reminded me of when she was little and I used to sing her to sleep. Ugh, I miss those days," Sheva chuckled as she sat down by Chris, placing her legs on top of his like earlier.
"Well if you guys' relationship goes as planned, you will get married this year and have a baby by the next!"
"Mom! We said we weren't going to talk about that! Don't make her cry again," Chris said well humoredly earning a smack on the arm from Sheva.
"I would love to cry like that! It's a good happy cry. You should try it once in a while," Sheva playfully recommended.
"Yeah… well if you give me something to be that happy about then I will not hesitate to cry," Chris informed her.
"I highly doubt that, Chris. You express the emotions of a rock," Sheva joked, squeezing Chris' cheek causing him to roll his eyes.
"And you express the emotions of… a… oh! A robot that was made to teach children emotions!" Chris said as a comeback, proud of his answer.
Sheva and his parents just looked at him confused before his dad reached under the couch, grabbing a book then tossing it over to Chris.
Chris read the title of the book out loud, "The Big Book of Comebacks for Losers Who Can't Make Their Own…" he then gave his father a cold look that could give someone frost bite causing him to almost fall off the couch, laughing. Soon his mother and Sheva joined in on the laughing, Chris giving them their own cold stares just like his father.
"I knew it would come in handy! I've had that for years! It's been sitting here the whole time and it was worth the $20 dollars, I tell you!" Mr. Redfield laughed harder along with Mrs. Redfield and Sheva.
"Hey you guys seriously need to keep it down before Ayanna wakes up and comes to beat you guys with a stick," Chris said in all seriousness. The 3 silenced their laughter, remembering that Ayanna was sleeping in the other room.
"Chris my daughter doesn't beat people with sticks when they wake her up, she just gives them the most evil, tired look and she will get up and go to a different room to sleep if you bother her too long," Sheva informed Chris, wiping a tear away caused by all the laughing she did a minute ago.
"Well that sounds worse than being beat with a stick," Mrs. Redfield joked.
"It really is though, my mom called me once when she was watching her and told me she thought she was going to attack her from the look she was giving her," Sheva told them causing their eyes to widen with shock. "Yeah…" Sheva said after seeing their expressions, "but I promise you she only does it when she really really tired so that's why I just leave her alone unless I have to wake her."
"Now I'm really scared to speak," Mr. Redfield said in a whisper, truly scared to see the face of a tired, irritated Ayanna.
"I mean, the first time it's really terrifying but after that time, I just looked at her the same way and she went back to bed and I left the room," Sheva told him with a small chuckle.
"See I was going to offer to watch her but now I'm too scared to," Mrs. Redfield joked.
"Well, she already loves you guys like her own grandparents so I know she'd love to stay here a night with you guys. If you ever want to see her you can get my address from Chris or you can just call me and I'll drop her off."
"We would love that but we don't want to take her away from you. We don't want you to be bored or anything while she's over here," Mr. Redfield told her, concern in her voice.
"Well you guys can actually watch her the next time Sheva and I go on a date. We still never saw that movie and I still have that gift card thing. Oh! We could go tomorrow night," Chris said, thinking out loud.
"Is that your way of asking me on a date?" Sheva asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ooooh…" Mrs. Redfield murmured quietly.
"Oh I'm sorry, let me try again," Chris said then stood up, holding Sheva bridal style and began rocking her back and forth dramatically.
"Oh Sheva my love, my one and only, would you do me the honors and allow me to take you on our second date?" Chris stopped rocking her and looked down at her laughing face with raised eyebrows, waiting for to stop laughing and an answer.
Once she calmed herself down, she reached up to caress Chris' cheek and nodded her head, "Yes, I'd love to go on a second date with you."
"She said yes! She said yes! Mom did you get it on camera?" Chris asked, looking at his mother who had pulled out her phone sometime while Chris was rocking Sheva.
"Yep, I got it all. That's one for Facebook," she chuckled then said, "while you guys are up there and looking cute, let me get a picture so I can show everybody at work my sons beautiful girlfriend!"
"Awww, you make me feel so special!" Sheva said, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red at the compliment.
"You are special my dear. Now both of you guys give me big smiles!" She said and positioned her phone to take the picture. Chris and Sheva both cheesed at the camera, you would never guess they met less than a week ago they looked so happy and comfortable with each other. Mrs. Redfield snapped the picture and put her phone down with a big smile, obviously pleased with the picture.
"You guys are too cute together… I'm gonna have to get one with Ayanna. You guys should take family pictures!" she told them, excited about the idea of hanging their pictures on the walls.
"Goodness Cadee! Plan their wedding why don't you!" Mr. Redfield joked to his wife.
"Is that an option?" Cadee joked back.
"You have a very pretty name Mrs. Redfield," Sheva complimented her, always appreciating a unique name.
"Thank you my dear!" Cadee thanked her with a big smile.
"My dad has a unique name too, don't you dad?" Chris asked as he plopped back down in his spot with Sheva.
"Sure do, are you ready to hear the most amazing name in the world Sheva?" he asked, repositioning himself on the couch for exaggeration.
"I hope so," Sheva giggled. Cadee just rolled her eyes playfully.
"My name is….. Christopher! I know that's Chris' name too but we call him Chris and me Christopher so no one gets confused," he said then waited for her reaction.
"…Oh that's nice," Sheva said slowly, trying to be nice and not ruin his excitement, obviously not seeing past the joke because of his amazing acting of excitement.
Chris looked as red as a rose from trying not to laugh and so did both his parents. Cadee gave in first and burst out into loud laughter, both boys joining seconds after.
Sheva realized why they were laughing and punched Chris in the arm with a pout and said, "You guys are so mean!" with a smile of her face.
"We did it out of love, we promise!" Cadee said through more laughter. They continued laughing until Chris quickly hushed them, claiming he heard something. They quickly quieted down and all listened.
Quiet sobbing could be coming from the guest room and Sheva sighed, knowing that they had woken Ayanna up.
"I'll go get her," Sheva said and began to get up but stopped in her movements when Cadee told her she would do it. Sheva thanked her with a nod and relaxed back down on the chair with Chris.
Cadee got up and headed to the guest room, cracking the door a bit before turning on the light and walking in. She came out seconds later with an upset Ayanna in her arms and Spike following behind them.
"I'm sorry we woke you up baby," Cadee whispered to Ayanna before kissing her forehead and taking her seat back on the sofa. She repositioned herself and Ayanna to where they were both more comfortable before rocking Ayanna and patting her back to relax her. Ayanna whined in protest, thinking since she woke up she could play with them but that idea was quickly fading, and the rocking making her tired all over again.
Within a few minutes of rocking and Sheva silently snapping pictures of the two, Ayanna was once again peacefully sleeping. Spike found comfort in that and found a spot on the floor next to them and closed his eyes. Even Sheva found herself getting tired and leaned on Chris' shoulder also welcoming sleep.
Christopher mouthed something about them going home so they could all get some sleep and Chris mouthed back something about letting Sheva fall asleep first, then he would just carry her to the car and let her sleep the way back to the her house. Christopher nodded in understanding.
The Redfield's all started a quiet conversations about their plans for tomorrow while Chris rubbed Sheva's back, helping her fall asleep while Cadee continued to rock Ayanna.
A few minutes later, Sheva was fast asleep and Chris nodded to his parents telling them he was ready to take them to the car. They both nodded back and Cadee stood with Ayanna, Chris slowly eased out of the seat, being sure not to wake Sheva and stood up with her in his arms, and finally Christopher tried to wake Spike up and succeeded but Spike being stubborn wouldn't get up so in the end, Christopher picked Spike up.
Cadee opened the front door, holding the smallest of the three being carried so it was easier for her and held it open, letting the two males pass by before the car was unlocked by Chris. Doors were opened and the three gently placed the ones they were holding in the car, being sure not to wake them up. Christopher went back in to get Sheva's purse and anything else they could have left.
"Aw, they look so peaceful…" Cadee whispered to Chris as they stood off to the side of the car.
"Yeah, my little peaceful family," he replied with a chuckle.
Cadee smiled happily at his response before standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek and he returned the kiss before pulling his mom into a hug.
"Thank you for being so welcoming and open to this whole situation mom," Chris thanked her while they were still in the embrace.
"You're welcome. Thank you for making the right choice by picking a real woman. I was a little worried when you told me you just met her and she had a daughter but once I met her and got to know her a bit, I knew I had nothing to worry about. She's really special Chris, you better treat her right cause you don't meet too many people like her in a lifetime."
"I will mom, don't worry. I know she's special and my goal in life is to make this work with her and to keep them happy," Chris told her before giving her another kiss on the cheek and releasing her.
"I honestly can't wait for you guys to get married and have more children, she make's beautiful babies and I don't think it's possible for the Redfield genes to ruin that," she said then chuckled before continuing, "but I'm proud of you and I wish you guys the best of luck in your relationship!"
"Thanks mom," Chris thanked her with a sheepish smile. He loved how excited his mom was about Sheva and Ayanna but the future with them scared him. Yeah, he was excited but he never thought of having a future with any of his other girlfriends so now that he had to think about it, it scared him. Cadee saw the nervousness of her sons face and put a hand on his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile. No words had to be said between them because he already knew what she meant. He gave her a smile of his own before she let her hand fall down.
Cadee then turned to the car and walked over to the open door where Ayanna was sleeping in her car seat before brushing some messy hair out of her face with a chuckle and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Good night my little love, see you soon," she whispered to her before moving over to the passenger seat. She looked at Sheva with a smile before giving her a kiss on the cheek as well.
"Goodnight my soon to be daughter in law," she whispered to her and quietly chuckled when Sheva smiled in her sleep. She finished with walking over to where Spike lay wide awake and ruffled up his fur before giving him a kiss on the tip of his nose.
Christopher came out the house and handed Chris Sheva's purse and phone before giving him a hug and kiss on the forehead. He then went around and did the same as his wife did minutes earlier. The family said their final goodbyes then Chris got in the car and began to drive off, waving to his parents who were standing at the front door together waving back to him. Then he drove off, making his way back to Sheva's house.
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Chris pulled into the driveway of Sheva's house and parked the car with a sigh. He was debating on waking Sheva up or carrying her and Ayanna in to let them sleep. He knew Sheva would want to change and take her makeup off but as he looked to his left at her, she looked so peaceful that he didn't want to wake her from that. He quickly decided he would carry the both of them in. Chris looked back at Spike and told him to follow him before exiting the vehicle and making his way around to the side the girls were on. Spike jumped out of the car and stood by Chris, watching his every move.
It took Chris a minute to pick both of the girls up and close the doors but he did it. He walked up to the front door and managed to pull Sheva's key out to unlock the door. He then walked in and placed both girls on the couch before walking back over to the door to close and lock it along with his own car just to be safe. Then he picked Ayanna up off the couch and proceeded to carry her to her room and tuck her in bed next to Mr. Sniffles who was still where they left him. Spike followed him the whole way there and laid down on the floor right next to Ayanna's bed. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and once he raised himself back up, Ayanna was awake and looking at him through tired eyes.
"Hey Princess, you can go back to sleep," Chris told her quietly. Ayanna looked around the room confused then pouted when she realized she was in her own room.
"Are your mommy and daddy here?" Ayanna asked hopefully.
"No… they stayed at their house. I had to bring you guys home because you were getting sleepy and we didn't want to wake you up again. And your mommy fell asleep too," Chris explained as he crouched down so he wasn't hovering over her anymore and waited for her response.
"But why couldn't we stay over there?" Ayanna asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Because we didn't have any clothes to wear to sleep like you did."
Ayanna sat up and poked her bottom lip out, upset at his answer. She wanted to spend more time over there, she liked his parents.
"I miss them…" Ayanna cried out and began sobbing into her hands. When she's tired, she will cry about anything and that was a mental note Chris kept in his head.
"I know you do and they miss you too but you will see them tomorrow night so don't cry, okay? You'll see them soon," Chris told her as he wiped her tears away. She sat in silence, debating on if she believed what he was saying or not.
"Okay…" she said quietly and laid back down.
"I'm gonna go put your mommy in bed then I'm gonna go home okay?"
"Okay… goodnight daddy," Ayanna said and closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep.
Chris froze in his spot, his eyes wide. She just called him daddy… that's the last thing he wanted right now, especially when Sheva wasn't there to hear it. He knew he had to tell her but he wasn't sure how to bring it up. Chris quickly shook it off and got up to give Ayanna another kiss on the forehead before telling her goodnight. He quickly turned on her nightlight and left the room, leaving her door open a crack.
He made his way downstairs and gave a loud sigh and smacked his hands on his forehead. His heart was beating so fast and his hands were getting clammy against his skin. He should have told her not to call him that when it happened so she would know it wasn't okay but how was he supposed to? It was like telling her that Santa didn't exist, it would crush her! Chris was so confused and lost in his own worrying thoughts that he didn't notice Sheva had woken up and was adjusting herself on the couch.
"Did you carry me in here?" Sheva asked with a small smile on her face as she stood up from the couch and came around to hug him from behind.
He chuckled and placed his hands over hers that couldn't even connect with each other around him.
"Sure did, you and Ayanna at the same time."
"Yeah, her crying woke me up but I trusted you to deal with it and you did. It's amazing how much she trusts you… how much I trust you. I usually don't fall asleep around people unless I trust them completely, especially when Ayanna is with me," Sheva explained, oblivious to the extra weight of doubt she was putting on his shoulders.
"Yeah…" Chris said with uneasiness in his voice that he tried to cover up and to his surprise it worked because Sheva chuckled and slipped away from behind him causing him to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Chris take a seat with me," Sheva said and patted the cushion on the sofa next to her. Chris nervously walked over to the sofa and took and seat, looking as stiff as a board.
"So you know that I can figure people out easily right?"
"No…"
"Well I can and I'd really appreciate if you told me why you look like you are going to start a flood from your sweat in my living room? I know it's not hot in here so don't even try that."
Chris sighed, he thought he hid it pretty well but he was oh so wrong.
"Promise me you won't be mad at me because I didn't even do anything to me her say it or anything it just kind of happened…" Chris told her quickly.
Sheva looked at him for a moment before responding, "I'm not making any promises because I can't guarantee how I am going to feel about something I don't know about."
Chris sighed and though of the easiest way he could say it but nothing came to mind so he was just blunt about it.
"Ayanna called me daddy," he told her quickly and smacked his lips together, waiting for her response.
She didn't show any surprise, she seemed like she was expecting it. Sheva sighed and leaned back, placing her hands over her eyes.
"I'm sorry Chris. I told her before not to call you that but I guess she forgot. I don't know it could be because she's tired or something but I promise I will talk to her about it tomorrow when she wakes up. I'm just really sorry… I don't know what else to say…" Sheva apologized.
"It's fine Shev, really. You're probably right, she's just sleepy and had a brain fart. But this just adds on to why I need to talk to Derek as soon as possible and by that I mean tomorrow morning before our date. I can't keep being this close to Ayanna without her father having any clue, it's just not right, Sheva. I know it and you know it too," Chris explained to her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.
To Chris' surprise Sheva yanked her hand away from his and stood up from the couch, making her way to the kitchen. Chris sighed and got up to follow her but kept his distance. He stood at the door frame and watched as she reached for a cup out of the cabinet and placed it under the water dispenser, waiting for it to fill up.
"What are you thinking, Shev?" he asked calmly.
"Nothing." Sheva responded coldly and brought the glass of water to her lips.
"You are thinking something that you need to tell me because you are obviously not happy right now."
"I'm fine Chris, I just wanted some water," Sheva told him with the shrug of her shoulders.
"Okay, I get that. But you didn't need to snatch you hand away from mine like that to get some water," Chris told her slowly.
Sheva slammed her cup down on the counter causing water to fly out and Chris to jump then pinched the bridge of her nose, taking deep breaths. She didn't want to talk about Derek right now… or ever. Everything was perfectly fine until he mentioned him. She could deal with the daddy situation herself. She didn't need Derek's approval because he obviously didn't need hers when he was cheating.
"Shev, don't be like that. You need to talk about it to me. I know you and Derek aren't on good terms right now but you have to understand where I'm coming from. We just had this discussion earlier and everything was perfectly fine and now you're upset about it again. What happened between then and now that changed your mind?" Chris asked, not trying to let his frustration show through but it was getting quite tough.
"We were at your parents' house! Did you expect me to just argue with you about it right there in the kitchen? Cause that would be a pretty good first impression…" Sheva scoffed, not even trying to hide her anger. She was so frustrated and tired of hiding it and acting like everything was okay because it wasn't. She had no one else to take it out on and she knew deep down that taking it out on Chris was wrong but it seemed so right at the moment.
"Would you really want someone to have a say on who you dated after you divorced them because they cheated?! Would you? Oh wait of course you would because you have never been through what I had to go through! It's so easy for you to say all this stuff that you do because you have no idea of the pain I have bottled up inside of me, Chris! No idea! You have no idea how many times I have had to lock myself in the bathroom and turn the shower on just to cry so he wouldn't hear me! So Ayanna wouldn't hear me! I'm tired of pretending to be happy when I'm not! I just want to cry but I can't because Ayanna doesn't need to see me be weak. I have no time to just let my emotions out, they have been bottled up for years!" Chris listened to her rant on with no expression on his face.
After she had calmed herself down and taken a few deep breaths, he walked up to her and lifted her chin up so she could look him in the eye and told her simply, "then let your emotions out. You are free to do that when you are with me, I won't judge you. So just cry right now, tomorrow when we drop Ayanna off for our date, you can yell, scream, I'll even take you to a shooting range if you promise not to shoot me. Whenever you need to express yourself, do it. You will not hurt my feelings at all. The only way you could ever really hurt my feelings is to tell me that I don't love you or that I am a selfish person. Other than that you can say anything you want to me. We can even role play and I'll be Derek. Hit me, punch me, I don't care. In my career field, being punched by you would be the best thing in the world," he grinned then reached over to grab her cup and then grabbed her hand, leading her to the living room. They both sat on the couch and Chris sat a pillow on his lap and laid Sheva's head down on it.
"Go ahead and cry if you want to now, it's okay. I'm here to comfort you and talk to you through this, alright? It's going to hurt me to see you cry but not as much as it hurts me to know that you're holding all of those feelings inside and not getting a release," Chris told her which brought tears to her eyes, she was about to cover her face but Chris stopped her and gave her a smile reminding her that it was okay to cry.
And she did. She cried for about an hour and Chris was there the whole time, comforting her and telling her how much he loved her and how he was there for her whenever she needed him. He also made sure to keep her hydrated, every ten minutes telling her to drink some water.
He was so sweet and loving, and as Sheva laid there crying her eyes out and complaining to him about all her problems and concerns, she wondered how she could ever deserve a guy like him? Well, how anyone could?
Who knows, maybe she just got lucky.
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A/N: Woo Hoo! Another chapter! Schools almost out and you know what that equals! Wait, I don't know myself, let me figure that out real quick!
No school means writing time2 + no homework/summer activities which takes up 60.68308381111111% of summer time-time I decide not to do any activities which is 3.738597% which=…
Ah forget it, you know what I mean! Haha, just trying to add some humor after that sad little bit. But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you for continuing to read even with my long delays!
wolfspiritqueen: Yeah, at least until they got to Sheva's house… haha. It's not only Sheva smiling! Haha. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! So sorry for the long wait! Have a great day!
NappaRules: Thank you, I was trying to get different perspectives of the situation and I was kind of glad with how Chris' turned out also! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry for the long wait! Have a great day!
~Sheva Redfield