Hey hey~ I'm back in the writing seat for a mid-week post ^U^ I'm so excited for this chapter~ We're closing out yet another year within the story. Hope you were looking for a cute chapter with a pinch of feels cause that's what's on the menu for today =v=
Song Suggestion: Something Comforting by Porter Robinson
Disclaimer: I own nothing ovq I just write cringey fanfic and if you read this far hopefully it's not that bad.
Chris quickly made his way up the stair of the courthouse once more. December 3rd finally arrived and the long drawn-out trial was about to begin. This would probably be quick. While he didn't like admitting it there wasn't much more to add and at this point, it's too late to submit any new evidence unless either side was called to speak on the record.
As he walks into the courtroom and made his way over to the BSAA section of seating, he noticed that Charlotte and Heisenberg had already been lead on and seated by their escorts. He watched cautiously as the two whispered to the other. What were they up to now?
He didn't have much time to worry about this as his thoughts were cut off. "All rise," says the bailiff as the judge enters the room.
Everyone stands as the judge makes their way to their seat. "Be seated," the judge says and everyone does so. "Let the record show we will be proceeding with the case BSAA vs Wiltse regarding the charge of Trespassing for the sake of unauthorized access of otherwise Illegal hazardous materials and public endangerment along with human trafficking. We'll begin with an opening statement from the Plaintiff's attorney then go on to hear the Defense attorney's statement on the matter."
Chris watched with mild curiosity. This was the best lead they had for the break-in, this had to work.
"You're honor we believe that the defendant is guilty of the charges based on the following evidence." The BSAA's attorney starts and begins listing off the same information as before.
"We've established the following timeline based on the evidence submitted which supports this claim. two years prior to the Village incident the defendant met one Mister Karl Heisenberg, a known sentient Bioweapon. The village incident revolved around a third party whom both associated with who was working on a method of reviving the dead using a strain of mold local to the village. The defense then came into contact with a BSAA team known as Hound Wolf Squad, lead by Christopher Redfield on the 18th of January where it has been stated she could have learned about the Louisiana mold site where the trespassing took place before the team left on the 19th of January to pursue other leads. On February 9th of 2021, Hound Wolf squad returned and the Village incident began. By the morning of February 10th, Mister Heisenberg perished. The defendant and Mister Heisenberg had grown close during their time together providing the motive for the defendant to look for access to a new mold site to try and revive their associate using the methods they could have easily learned from the third party." The BSAA agent Droned on as they read over their report of the evidence that supported their claim.
"After this incident, the defendant claims to have spent one month with the witness who is on the record as "Duke" a local merchant and artisan before returning home Via a cruise by the 3rd of April 2021. This lines up with the bank statements and receipts provided by the defense. The same day she returned home the defendant withdrew $1,000 dollars from her account and her purchase records go dark until April 9th, 3 days after the break-in and on April 10th the defendant makes a large, couple thousand dollar purchase at a suit store where we have visual evidence to confirm that she and Mr. Heisenberg were together." The Attorney continued to explain while going through slides that showed the evidence that correlated with their statements.
"We have a witness report from a prior interview of a young man who, in a related case, admitted to bringing the unknown figure onto BSAA property. While too inebriated at the time to remember the suspect's face reliably, he confirmed that the suspect was a woman. we've confirmed that the woman's height matches Miss Wiltse and that Miss Wiltse owns a car of the same make and model that was used to transport Mr. Heisenberg away from the area after being collected. He claims the perpetrator paid him 300 dollars in cash to take her on-site via waterways which are more difficult to patrol and as such were a know weak point by the locals. the perpetrator when in alone with a large bag of equipment and came out with the same bag and Mr. Heisenberg before leaving the area." They further explain.
"This is the full extent of our knowledge on the subject based on the evidence available to the court." they stay "With that, we believe the evidence wholeheartedly points to the defendant as the guilty party and so, we'll close our opening statement."
The judge nods.
Case closed, the defendant is guilty, who else could it have been? Chris thought with a frown as a quiet huff of a breath escaped him. Patience. the Legal system will do its job. Hopefully.
"Defense, your response?" The judge requests And Charlotte's lawyer stood up.
Hopefully he'll get paid even if he loses, Chris thought with some level of sympathy. It was a challenging case to fight in his mind.
"Thank you for the rather full timeline of events. While I'll agree it is the full extent of knowledge the evidence provides, It leaves out key factors for any form of true and just verdict," The defense attorney states. "It does not answer several Key points of information. How was Mister Heisenberg brought into the states from Romania? If Miss Wiltse was the party involved then would she not have traveled home with the body? Her records clearly show she traveled alone including records of her check-in at customs." the defense points out.
"How did he get on BSAA property? The evidence shows the perpetrator going in alone and leaving with a secondary party who looks like Mr. Heisenberg. Even if this secondary party shown in the picture was Mr. Heisenberg, by his own admission and the admission of the plaintiff he was dead. Would this not be grounds for asylum by law to protect human trafficking victims? He was by all accounts deceased and moved without permission." The defense further explains.
Chris scoffs at this. Oh fuck off. Asylum? He's a bioweapon! He's dangerous. let's go ahead and give a nuke asylum because it crossed the border without being asked.
"Furthermore there is no concrete evidence that places Miss Wiltse in the state. Her phone's GSP record shows that it was in New York at the time of the incident. Her phone and computer browsing history are clear of any mention of the location that would have allowed her to know Where in Lousiana this base was. Additionally, her bank records show a long-standing history of taking out large cash amounts each month before going dark for a few months at a time, for several years even during her time in the village. Taking out a large sum every so often is not abnormal behavior." the Defense lists off while pacing around the floor.
"The closest they have to a conscious witness to the trespassing is inadmissible due to inebriation. My client can not be the only five foot six woman in the states that drives a red honda. There are no other identifying features known about the perpetrator and my client's connection to this case is all being based on past relations to Mr. Heisenberg under the pretense of guilt by association." he accuses. "My client has no criminal record, has a long-standing good public record, and furthermore multiple witnesses that have testified in this case clearly stated Miss Wiltse went out of her way to Assist the BSAA during the village incident despite the risk to her own personal health. She has been nothing but hospitable to the investigation and openly provided evidence when requested. Records show she's been respectful to the guards and staff of the BSAA during her time incarcerated and she still insists that she is not guilty." The attorney states before moving to face the judge in particular. "As such the defense would urge for the judge to find the defendant, Not guilty."
"Does the Plaintiff or Defendant have any further argument to make for this case?" The judge asks keeping a neutral tone.
"We believe the evidence provided is sufficient and have no further detail to provide." The BSAA attorney states.
"The defense rests as well," Charlotte's attorney says and takes their seat.
"Very well. We'll take a 40-minute recess. After which we'll proceed with a verdict. I believe I've heard enough." The judge says.
"All rise" the bailiff states once more and everyone stands as the judge leaves. before sitting once more to wait.
A 40-minute break? that's it? Chris thought as he moved to get up and walks out of the courtroom. It seems like the Judge had made up their mind on the case and just wanted to double-check a few details.
He waited in line to get a drink of water from the fountain and considered getting a snack from the vending machine but ultimately decided against it and went back to his seat. before he knew it 40 minutes was over in a flash.
"All rise." The bailiff says and once again everyone stands. Chris watched with continued interest though he was just hoping for one word.
The judge takes their seat and so does everyone in the room.
"After careful consideration of the evidence and circumstances provided." The judge began and Charlotte held her breath. "I deem the evidence, Incomplete"
WHAT?!
"The case will be dismissed with permission to be revisited should sufficient evidence be provided. Regarding the matter of Mr. Heisenberg, he is protected under the law as a potential victim of human trafficking and does not fall under the BSAAs jurisdiction to be detained further. Should the Plaintiff wish to pursue this further it will need to be done in a higher court as a civil rights case with its own time and process for providing evidence for why he should not have the basic human right to live freely," The Judge states and smacks the gavel against the block.
That was a load of absolute horse piss! dismissed? Seriously? Chris moved to hold his face as he continued to listen. a Civil rights case? There's no way the BSAA would even touch that. he could practically hear the director now. 'We'll monitor the situation and when he slips up then we'll be the first to know'. yeah, and innocent people will be dead because of it. Again.
"The defense is free to go," The judge says and the process goes through one last time. Everyone stands as the judge leaves and is given permission to leave.
How. How on earth did she manage to get out of this without so much as a slap on the hand? How much did she pay the judge? How could she even bribe the judge she was in the cell the whole ti-. She was in a cell the whole time. She wanted that as an alibi for any accusations of foul play and tampering. well done. She got the BSAA to just hand her that one on a silver plate. DAMN IT.
Chris looks around to find that the two had already left. NOPE! He quickly moves to make his way out of the courthouse only to pause. They didn't run for it... instead, the two barely made it down the stairs of the courthouse to the sidewalk and were just... standing there holding each other and being rather openly affectionate.
"She's a bioweapon," He starts once more but Emma cuts him off to correct him.
"She is a CHILD," Emma says as she vents her frustration. "You are being so stubborn about this."
... No. NO. This guy Murdered people. in cold blood. he does not get that pass. Chris thought and quickly shut down the memory. Chris had seen the horrors that Heisenberg made in his factory. He did not get the luxury of being a person. he lost that right.
All the same, a quiet frustrated sigh escaped him. Just. try and be civil. he thought and started walking over towards the two. Charlotte was the first to notice him walking towards them it seemed as Chris received a pointed glare while the woman moved to defensively stand between him and Heisenberg.
"Back off," Charlotte says while staring him down. "You heard the judge, he's not your 'property' so leave us the hell alone."
An amused smirk crossed Heisenberg's face while watching Chris with more of a 'your move' expression.
Easy. Be civilized. Chris moved to stand in front of them. He could already tell that he probably had a really bad case of 'resting bitch face' thanks to the lovely irking aura these two managed to radiate. He knew she knew how to bring people back... Despite it all, the frustration, the lies... he wanted to ask for help. he wanted to fix his mistake that left Rose as an orphan. She could help him do that but. the glaring anger was not lost on him. he was in no position to ask for a favor. Just offer an olive branch. "An escort will be here shortly to take you where ever you need to go." He states before shifting to walk away.
Charlotte continued to glare at his back. "That's not an apology, asshole!"
Damn it all she could be so. ARGH! He'd figure it out on his own. "Wasn't offering one!" Chris countered and continued on his way.
A car ride and Cigarette later the man made his way back home.
He walks into the house and closes the door behind him a bit harder than he meant to in his frustration.
"Kris is home!" Rose happily announced from the other room and hurried over.
Emma peaked from around the corner to check as well and sure enough there he was. A concerned expression spread across her face as she noticed he was not in the best of moods. "Hey, How did it go?" Emma asks in an attempt to see if he wanted to talk about it.
Chris gently ruffles rose's hair before looking over to Emma. "They got away."
Emma frowns at that. "Oh," That explained the grumpy face. How to help...
"I'm going to go to the study and look over the evidence again. There has to be something I missed." Chris says in return.
If the judge already made a call they weren't going to open the case for one new angle on an existing piece of evidence... "Okay, good luck," Emma says and gives him a quick peck. "Rosey let's go practice more letters okay?"
"Okay," she reluctantly agrees and follows Emma back to the dining room table while Chris goes upstairs.
"Do you want to practice writing your name?" Emma offers and Rose nods. The woman gets out a fresh sheet of paper and writes down the girl's name in large letters. "There we go, Rosemary." She says before offering the pencil to rose who did her best to try and make the same shapes and lines on the paper.
While Rose was doing this, Emma heads over to the pantry and moves a few things around on one of the higher shelves before leaning back a bit to check and make sure Rose didn't notice. Phew okay, still distracted. with that Emma moved to sneak something into the pocket of her jacket before She moved to put everything back in its proper place.
The woman could practically hear the mission impossible theme song playing in her mind as she walked passed Rose to head for the stairs.
"Watcha doing?" Rose asks on cue.
"Just looking for Duke. I'll be right back," Emma says with a smile. please work, for once in her life, please work.
"Oh," the child replied but accepted the answer. "Okay." with that she went back to writing her name on the paper as many times as she could get it to fit.
Phew! Emma made her way up the stairs and sidesteps into the office while looking back to make sure rose didn't follow.
"Emma? What's up?" Chris asks with concerned curiosity. She was acting strange.
Emma motions for him to be quiet before peaking back out of the room again. Coast was clear. she closed the door ever so gently to make sure it didn't make a sound before silently motioning for Chris to come over to her.
He raised an eyebrow as he pushed himself to get up and walk over.
Once he was close to her she produced a full-size candy from her pocket with a quiet 'ta-dah'.
It took him a second to register that she was trying to sneak him a snack without Rose finding out. "That's why you're sneaking around?" He whispers while a smirk started to pull at the corner of his lips.
"Do you know how hard it is to eat any sort of C-A-N-D-Y in this house without that child knowing? She's like a bloodhound," Emma quietly jokes while chuckling.
"Where did you get this?" He asks amused.
"Well, it's not a secret stash if I tell you where it is," She replies with a cheeky smile.
"Mhm," He replies as he moves to lean forward so he could rest the flat of his forearm on the wall behind Emma and stand closer to her. He honestly didn't care about the candy. He held the side of her face with his free hand as he moved to kiss her. He'd been in an admittedly garbage mood but the small simple gesture was enough to get him out of his own thoughts long enough to feel a bit better and enjoy her company. The kiss deepened as Emma put her arms around his neck. "Maybe if we're quick?" he quietly suggests.
"I dunno," Emma replies quietly
"Maybe?" he tries again while pressing his lips against her neck.
"Maybe," Emma says with a smile as he was starting to convince her.
"Em-ma I founded Duke!" Rose calls up the stairs.
A defeated sigh was heard. "Maybe later..." Emma says with a frown. She should have said she was folding laundry or something... "I'll keep her distracted, try to relax though okay?" she says and gives him one more peck. "I know this case meant a lot to you but, it's not going to do anyone any good if you beat yourself up over it." the woman says before moving to put the candy in his shirt pocket and gives that a gentle pat to make sure it was secure.
"...Alright." He says and watches as she left. He could not imagine what his life would be like right now without her.
'*'*'*'*'
A week and a day had passed since then making it a Crisp Saturday afternoon. Rose had a good amount of medical exams that the agency wanted to do for the end of the year as a benchmark which would take the whole day and require keeping her overnight. Or at least that was the story he told Emma.
Chris chuckled a bit as he made his way home after dropping Rose off at Lobo's place. The gang had agreed to work together to watch her for a day. any other time he wouldn't mind telling her as much but he had a feeling if he did she'd suspect something was up. He looked over at the clock.
Saturday, December 11th, 10:30 AM
Today was the day. No turning back now. Kinda. He resisted the tempting call of a cigarette. After an extended run to the grocery store he made his way back home by noon.
"I'm home," He calls as he walks in from the garages and closes the door behind him.
"Welcome home," Emma replied as usual as he put his shoes away. he made his way around the corner to the open living space and found Emma sitting on the couch and leaning forward a bit to poke at a toy car that was resting on the coffee table. "you're sure she's going to be okay?" Emma asks with concern evident in her tone. a whole day and night of medical tests and neither of them would be around if Rose ended up being scared or started crying or needed a hug because getting a shot hurt or they had to draw blood.
"She'll be fine," Chris replies as he moves to take a seat next to Emma and put an arm around her so he could give her a kiss on the side of her head. He probably should have seen this coming that Emma would end up worrying. Oh well... it kinda works to his advantage? maybe she'll be so preoccupied with worrying about Rose that she won't notice that he was probably pale as a sheet and nervous as hell.
It's not like he really had any reason to be nervous. It's not like she'd say no. I mean. she probably wouldn't. Oh god, what if she said no.
He needed an excuse to pace around. "I bought a few groceries so I'm gonna go bring those in real quick." he says before moving to get back up. yeah sitting and getting up like that definitely wasn't real smooth. great job not showing how antsy he's feeling.
"Oh," Emma says surprised. "I usually do that on Saturdays anyways," She points out with a raised eyebrow. "What was so important that you couldn't wait for me to pick it up," she asks amused.
Faaawk. "Nothing important, I was out so I just figured I'd pick up a few things is all. didn't do any major shopping." Chris replies as he made his way back into the house to quickly start putting stuff away. please don't ask, please don't ask, please don't ask.
That was a bit weird but. Okay. Emma watched with some curiosity but let it go. "Well. Since Rose is out of the house I was thinking we could maybe do a bit of holiday shopping?" Emma suggests with a bit of a smile. "She's not really going to have many holidays where it has all that mystical magical excitement that comes with being a kid." Emma points out. As much as it pained her to think about it, By this time next year she'll be 8, and by the Christmas after that Santa won't be real anymore. and after that, she'll probably be a rebellious teenager that no one in the world could possibly understand... and to her credit she'd probably be right... all in the span of 4 years... they were only going to get a few of these.
Oh no she was turning the day into a honey-do list, no not good mayday, "Or," He finished putting away the last of the groceries he bought. "Counteroffer. we do that tomorrow when Rose is back and she can be excited about decorating with us and pick a few things out."
Aw. That was so sweet. "That's a lovely idea," Emma says before stopping with a horrified expression. "Oh my god, I sound like my mom."
Chris chuckles a bit at that. "Only a bit." He says with a slight smirk. "She did just visit so that's probably a temporary side effect."
"Well we can only hope it's temporary," Emma replies whiles shaking her head before moving to get up. "Right well. I have day to catch up on chores. I'm off to the grocery store." she says as she moves to get up. "I'd ask if you need anything but I guess you've already gotten that taken care of."
He gave a nervous chuckle. "Hey I can handle a bit of shopping from time to time too."
"I know, I'm just pulling your leg," Emma says. "I'll be back in a few hours."
"Take your time," He replies as she heads out. seriously take your time. He waits for the door to close and the sound of the car driving away before stepping into action. Okay. so. honestly was hoping she'd wait a bit longer before heading out so this would line up a bit better timewise but. hey. he could work with this.
Chris heads up to the study and on his way takes out his phone and makes a quick call. "Hey, Bastion. What are you up to?"
"Not much... why?" he asks curiously.
"Could use a bit of an assist. Emma went out for groceries. That takes like 3 hours I need it to take 5 or more so she's not home until closer to dinner..." Chris explains. He could hear an audible wince from the other side of the phone as he dug through his desk drawers.
"Not a problem I'll call her now ask if she can do lunch, cause she won't stay if she's worried about getting frozen goods inside." Bastion says in return. "you can thank me later." Bastion adds before hanging up.
Chris puts the phone away as he takes a small velvet box out of his desk and pockets it. He took a deep breath before nodding to himself. Okay. he could do this. He had a recipe. he found the ingredients. He just needed to figure out how to line this all up properly.
Okay. Clean up around the house a bit, take a shower, Start cooking, Set the table for two. Get changed into something slightly nicer than a t shirt. Turn out the lights... Turn the lights on, light the candles then turn out the lights. and back to cooking.
He double-checked for the 10th time to make sure that silly box was still in his pocket while poking at the finished meal to make sure it stayed warm without burning. It didn't take long after he finished cooking before he heard the door to the garage.
"I'm home," Emma called into the room with an anxious tone. That took way longer than she planned she still had so much she needed to get done for the day and she needed to make dinner. Oh gosh.
"Welcome home," Chris replied with a bit of a smile as he started moving dishes over to the table. Okay, he could do this.
The woman walks over to the counter and puts down a few grocery bags "I am so sorry, I got a call from Bastion about lunch and I completely lost track of the time," Emma says while worrying about what she was going to do. maybe they could order. take. out. Wait a second. "What's all this?" She asks as she finally starts to register the changes around the house. the toys were picked up, he swept. he made dinner. Set up candles, He looked nice too. Well if he's trying to get laid it's working.
"Figured I could cook for once," He replied while mentally patting himself on the back for remembering to throw away the recipe papers that boldly proclaimed 'quick', 'pain-free', 'easy', and the like. "Chicken Piccata with angel hair pasta, Caprese Garlic beard, and Asparagus."
Yep. Okay, that's settled. Emma nods impressed. Honestly, all he needed to say was garlic bread. "It looks amazing."
"Oh gosh, the groceries. I just need to bring the rest in really quick so it doesn't go bad." Emma says, she was about to go and get them when an arm caught her waist.
"I've got it, you go ahead and sit," He offers. Honestly, he could really just use the reason to move around. He didn't usually struggle like this but he was now.
"I can help," She offers but it was rather quickly shot down.
"You're always taking care of me. Let me take care of you for a bit," Chris Countered before heading out to take care of it.
... Did he kill someone? what is going on? The more this when on she wasn't sure if she should be turned on or terrified because it was either he wanted something or he did something stupid and was trying to lighten the blow but whatever it was, He could either have it or it was not an issue.
Emma took a seat and waited as Chris put everything away before joining her at the table.
He wasn't really sure what all to say at the point. The two quietly ate while he tried to figure out how and when to speak. His silent nervousness did not go unnoticed.
This was starting to lean towards 'he might have killed someone' and it was concerning that was somehow a reasonable possibility for this scenario. mmm, No, but if he needed to hide a body he wouldn't have worn one of his nicer shirts... probably.
"Hey Emma," Chris finally managed to speak.
"hm?" She replied while finishing the bite of food in her mouth.
"We've known each other a while now," He says while trying to lead into the topic. This was about as smooth as sandpaper. "And, like I said before. it. You've always been there for me. Even before we got together and through some nightmarish hell that no one would have thought less of you for leaving because of." He admits while Fumbling a bit to get the tiny box from his pocket.
Oh god... he did kill someone. Emma thought nervously. Okay. brace for impact. This is fine.
"For the three years we've been together I've struggled with what to really call you aside from Emma or Em, because anything else just didn't seem quite right. but I was wondering if maybe you'd be okay with me calling you my wife?" he says while moving to properly offer it to her.
Emma . exe has stopped working.
"Because I love you and I think that might be who you are?" He adds with a nervous smile. please say something.
Emma . exe Rebooting
"Of course," Emma replies still stunned by the unexpected turn. certainly not unappreciated it was much better than where her mind when. "I mean yes?" she says. That's what you were supposed to say to that question right? she was a bit confused but moved to hug him as he gets up. "Is this what you've been so fidgety about? Here I thought you were going to tell me something awful happened."
"Really?" He asks surprised before moving to give her a kiss. dang it all it was that noticeable that he was nervous? he was trying to keep that under the radar.
"Well I mean it was that or sex but I didn't think you'd be nervous about that, so." She was not going to finish that sentence and admit that she thought there was a body in the fridge.
That got his attention, "If that first one is still in the cards," he says with a bit of a smirk.
"Might be," Emma replies with a cheeky smile before kissing him in return.
The two enjoyed each other's company for a moment longer before Chris moved to blow out the candles then pick up Emma and carry her to their room while smiling.
He had a wife.
*'*'*'*'
For the next few days, Chris was in pretty high spirits. She said yes. Everything worked out. The house was now festively decorated and Rose was making incredible progress with controlling these magnet powers of hers on top of that, he wouldn't have another out-of-state mission until January so he was able to enjoy the holidays. Though speaking of the holidays. there were 4 letters that he needed to write and mail out before the 25th.
As such, once he got home and after eating dinner with the girls, he made his way up to the study and sat down at his desk to start writing. One for Jill, one for Barry, one for Rebecca, and one for Claire. He wasn't particularly interested in wasting paper so he typed up each letter first so he could read them over and make changes before setting out some paper and writing each letter by hand.
It took a while but he was almost done with the last one before hearing a knock. He looked up to find Emma leaning against the doorway.
"Hey, I'm going to call it a night, Are you going to be much longer?" Emma asks curiously.
"hmm maybe another 10 minutes or so, I need to print out a few copies of that photo from thanksgiving, get these letters folded, and put into envelopes so I can mail these out in the morning." He replies which piques Emma's curiosity.
"Oh, the holiday letters?" She asks for clarification. "Mind if I see them?" She requests with a tone of curiosity.
He shrugs at that and motions for her to walk over. Emma does so and moves to hug the man from behind so she could read over his shoulder.
Dear Jill,
Suppose it's that time of year again. How are you and Carlos doing? Last time you wrote you mentioned you reconnected and we didn't really have much time to catch up after the trial. It was good to see you again though. Thanks for saving my ass. Seriously I owe you one.
I keep joking that I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry because this year didn't slow down in the slightest after that. Emma and I moved in together at the start of the year, around the second week of April after almost a year of planning to do so. We weren't exactly in a rush and wanted to make sure we found the right place.
Emma paused and raised an eyebrow at that. um. no that was the 20th so that would have been closer to the 3rd or 4th week of April. All the same, she keeps reading.
It's a good thing we did find the right place though. It's a bit of a long story but, We adopted a kid as well. Rosemary Winter. er. well. I did. I adopted the kid and kind of dragged Emma along for the ride. Luckily for Rose, Emma's pretty good with kids. Rose has an unusual condition though which causes her to age and develop much quicker than usual. So even though her first birthday was on the 5th of August she's was more like a 3-year-old. As of the time I'm writing this she's actually a bit closer to a 4-year-old.
Her birthday was the 2nd what on earth?
I initially thought the place we got would be too much space but, the year proved it was barely enough. Thanksgiving was interesting. we managed to have a good 22 people at our table. I'd like to say it was on purpose, but it wasn't. With everything going on we just kinda lost track of everyone that we ended up inviting? I have a feeling you probably don't believe me so figured I'd throw in a picture as well that showed 18 of the 22 attendants. 4 didn't want to be in the picture. If it weren't for the distance we probably would have invited you as well. couldn't justify asking you to get on a flight like that for a second time this year.
To add to the obscene amount of crazy life events that took place this year. I decided to take a bit of a leap and ask Emma to marry me. We've had our ups and downs but, After putting up with me for 3 years, Multiple zombie outbreaks, Countless missed holidays, and almost getting sent to jail, and raising a kid together, I was thinking she might be fond of me. Luckily I was right and she said yes.
We don't have any plans for that yet and probably won't for some time. I only just asked her this Sunday, but figured I should try and make sure I'm not wasting that second chance that you managed to give me. As crazy as the year was. I wouldn't have had any of this without you... Thank you. For everything.
I'll always have your back,
Chris
P.S. Happy holidays
Now hold on that was only a few days ago, there's no way he already forgot that. Emma stared at the letter in confusion before shifting to look at Chris as well as she could from her current position. "Chris you proposed on Saturday."
"I know," he says as a smirking smile began to form.
Emma moved to stand properly next to his desk and picks up the remaining three letters.
they moved into their new house on the second week of March, the third week of March, the first week of April.
Rose's birthday was on the 8th, the 12, the 3rd.
he proposed on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
"Chris why are all of these letters slightly off?" she asks, feeling very confused. They were small details in a way. It didn't really change the overall summary of events. Rose joined the family, she had her birthday but she ages quickly. we recently had a large gathering for thanksgiving that got slightly out of hand but it was fun so he included a picture. He recently proposed and overall everyone is doing well. but smaller details that were still kinda important keep switching and he'd use slightly different phrasing for some sentences.
"Well, each of them were pretty keen to ask me to write to them. Each time they'd point out that they were asking each other how I was doing instead of just asking me, and I haven't gotten a single phone call since." He says and shakes his head. "So, figured if they're going to talk and keep each other up to date on how I'm doing. I'd give them something to talk about." Chris adds with a cheeky boarding playful tone.
"Mhm," She says while forcing a straight face. This little shit.
"The way I see it, they'll either be so confused that they'll each end up calling to try and figure out which letter is correct, which is none of them," Chris says while still amused with his plan. "Or after spending. let's see, probably 3 months trying to figure out what the 'code' is they'll give up and fly out here to make sure that I'm not dead."
"Chris," Emma says while chuckling.
"Just thought I'd mess with them a bit," he admits with a slight chuckle.
Emma shakes her head.
"You're not going to tell claire are you?" Chris asks as he realizes that Emma could pretty quickly shut down this little game of his.
"Eh." Emma shrugs. "It is nice when she visits." She admits and puts the pages down before giving him a peck on the side of the head.
'*'*'*'*'
Rose's laid awake in bed staring at the ceiling. the sound of a clock ticking away the seconds felt louder than it should as the anticipation of the day to come was more than she could bear. The holidays had arrived and she was promised a day full of presents and sweets and friends and weird fat men that came into the house without asking but apparently that was okay for today. but only today. There were flying reindeer and cookies and talking snowmen and
the girl eventually passed out waiting to hear the clip-clop of hooves on the roof of the house.
beepbeepbeep.
Chris and Emma jolt awake at the sound of the alarm at 3 in the morning and quickly shut it off.
"Do you think she heard?" Emma asks quietly.
Chris takes a moment to listen and hears nothing. "I think we're safe," he replies just as quietly before pushing himself to get up and out of bed. "I'll get the boxes," he says through a yawn.
"Okay, I'll meet you downstairs," Emma says before quietly tiptoeing her way down the stairs. Sitting on the kitchen table was a plate of cookies. Milk that had been sitting out for 6 hours and some carrot sticks. Emma walks over to the glass of milk and moved to pour out about half of it into the sink. It was probably fine but she couldn't get herself to actually drink it. It just felt like a bad idea. Once that was taken care of she went back to the table, put the glass down, and picked up a sugar cookie that had been creatively decorated by the child to munch on it.
Chris eventually walked downstairs with a few boxes. While normally the rule is One gift from Santa. it didn't seem fair when you only get 1/3rd of the magic of the holidays because you'll outgrow it three times as fast. So a letter from 'santa' was written and a deal was made that if she was very good and didn't brag about it to the other kids. she would get 3.
The agent put the presents under the tree before joining Emma over by the plate and picking up a few of the carrot sticks to munch on. "How on earth can you stomach sugar this early in the morning."
"For the good of the mission," Emma replies with a tired smile. "she'd be heartbroken if Santa didn't eat at least one. so I'll eat one and take a bite of another to make sure she knows he ate some." she pointed out before a thought came to mind. "hm. Elves."
"Elves?" he asks confused.
"Elves. one second," Emma says before going to the cupboard to dig out her bag of flour and put's a good cup of flour on the counter.
"What are you doing?" He asks with a raised eyebrow as Emma poked at the flour, making 'foot steps' and a little snow angel.
"Something my mom used to do when there wasn't snow on Christmas. She'd say the elves took it to play with and would leave a little bit of flour on the counter as fake snow." Emma explained before heading over to the pantry to get a few marshmallows and a toothpick to make a snowman then adds it to the little scene.
"Cute," He says with a tired smirk. "just make sure to change so there isn't evidence on your night pant." he points out as Emma dusts off her hands.
"Shoot. good call," she replies and moves to head back upstairs with him and changes to clean pajama pants.
The two had barely fallen back asleep when a very excited Rose ran into their room and leaped onto the bed.
"Wake up Wake up Wake up," she says as she bounced around energetically.
Chris Snorts and jolts awake once more before moving to check the time. "Rose it's 5:30 in the morning." He grumbles while holding his face.
"But Santa was here," She says fully awake. she wasn't sure how it happened but she fell asleep and when she woke up. there were lots of presents, and the cookies and carrots were gone!
Note to self next time, going forward, Santa does not show up until 6. "Alright. I'm up."
"Yey!" she says while hurrying out of the room to head back downstairs to try and see if she could figure out what the presents are.
Emma sleepily chuckled while rolling out of bed. "uuugh this is karma for doing the same thing as a kid," Emma says while stretching.
"Keep your karma to yourself then," Chris says with a yawn.
"Fine, no Christmas Pancakes for Scrooge," She says in return and starts heading down to the living room with Chris not far behind.
"Wats this?" Rose says as she hurries back to them while holding the rolled-up paper that was tied with plastic ribbon.
"Looks like Santa left you a letter, you must have been very good this year," Emma says which causes rose to giggle.
"wats it say?" she asks curiously as she follows the tired adults to the living room and sits with them on the couch.
"Dear Rose,
Thank you for your letter. I was looking at my list and found you were very good this year. keep it up. I also heard that you're a very special little girl and that you age very quickly. Normally my rule is one present for every child. but I think it would be fairer if I gave you three but only if you promise that you won't gloat or brag to the other kids. If you do then I'll have to go back to following the rule. If you think you can handle it, go ahead and put your name on this special Christmas contract,
signed,
santa" Emma read and Rose stared in wonder. She'd get 3 presents each year if she was good. That was awesome!
"I can do it, I'll be good," Rose affirmed before getting up to go and look around for something to write with. three presents, oh boy. Chris got back up and helped rose find a pen only for her to notice the mess on the counter. "uhoh... I didn't do it." she instantly says upon noticing the mess.
"didn't do wha- oh that? that's just the elves. they get into so much trouble, they must have wanted to play in the snow," Emma says as she remembered what her parents would say before relaxing on the couch again.
Rose accepted the answer and laughed. "Silly elves," she chides before hurrying back over to the living room. With a bit of help she writes her name and hurries over to the tree.
"Those are from Santa and the rest are from us," Chris says as he moves to separate the boxes a bit so she'd know which one to open first.
Rose was excited but a realization slowly came to light. "... but what about you guys?" Rose asks confused as she realized she had 3 presents and they didn't have any... if the rest under the tree are for her too... did Santa not bring them presents?
"Oh Santa only brings presents to kids, we're too old," Chris says while Emma smiled. It was cute that she noticed. Normally they would have gotten each other something but between the expenses of repairing the house after rose's tantrum, constantly having to get new clothes that would fit for rose as she grew, making a meal big enough for 22 people, and an engagement ring funds were a bit tight. And toys weren't exactly cheap. So the two agreed to forgo getting gifts this year.
Rose picks up one of her presents and walks over to bring it to them. she could share one with them. "you can have it," she says while looking at them.
Emma was just trying not to cry from how cute this was at this point. "No that's okay you don't have to give us your present Rosey."
"It's okay, go open it." Chris agrees and motions for her to go back with her wrapped-up box.
Rose frowns but nods and goes to put it back and opens the present. boy was she glad she kept it. "I wanted this one!" she says happily while hugging the box that had some kind of unicorn printed on it. The rest held other exciting surprises like an Easel style chalkboard to draw on and stuffed animals and play pretend kits. She wasn't sure what she wanted to play with first!
"Do you like your presents?" Emma asks with a smile though with the ear-to-ear grin on the child's face it was a pretty obvious answer.
"yeah!" she replies excitedly before remembering the rule for when someone gives you things. "thank you."
"you're welcome," the two reply. She was doing pretty okay.
"I'm going to get to work on breakfast, Can you help with clean up and toy construction?" Emma asks.
"can do," Chris replies and gets to work.
The day was just like she dreamed it would be. breakfast was sweet with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon and eggs. she got to play with her new toys almost all day before her friends came over and she got to play more and have dinner with them too. She'd thought her birthday was the best day ever but this was definitely much better.
This was a really fun chapter to write =v= so much drama and cuteness. The counter isn't starting yet for those that are wondering. although I think this next chapter is one that everyone is really looking forward to ;) Hoping to get that out soon for you guys. until then I hope you have an amazing day. know you're awesome and there is a tiny couch potato that's rooting for you. hehe rooting. cause it's a root. okay, I'll see myself out.
Review Responses:
Starrat - glad you liked last chapter ^U^ thanks for the support