"Thank god for cabanas," Jessica said as she snuggled next to Ivan.
"Indeed. I still can't believe it only took an hour in the sun on day two for you to start burning," he said teasing her.
"We're lucky it was mild. A beach vacation sans beachtime would've been awfully disappointing," she said.
"That it would. We have another three days to enjoy, then it's back to Denmark. Which reminds me... I have a surprise for you when we get back."
"Ooh, I'm intrigued," she said teasingly.
"I'm sure you'll like it. I selected it carefully."
"We have similar tastes in most things, so whatever it is, I trust your judgment."
"I'm glad you trust me so much, Jess. It puts me at ease."
"I'm happy I can help you relax. I know a way I can help you relax even more," she said with a smirk, her hands roving down to the waist of his swim trunks.
"This morning wasn't enough for you?," he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"What can I say? I can't get enough of you," she said smiling with eyes downcast, bringing her lips to his.
A few days later they were on their way back home.
"That week was incredible," Jessica said as they were getting ready to land.
"Indeed it was. We'll have to do it again."
"Agreed! Maybe Spain next time?"
"Excellent idea. Just so you know, when we land, Adam will be picking us up, but we won't be going to the apartment."
"Ooh, my surprise, is it?"
"Yes. And I hope you like it."
They exited the plane and stood outside the airport waiting for Adam. When he pulled up, he hopped out of the driver's seat, and Ivan took his place. About ten minutes later they pulled up to a cute little house just outside of town.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Fjeldsted!," Ivan exclaimed.
Jessica's eyes widened.
"You... you mean it's ours?!?"
"It is! Everything is inside and ready. I had Adam move everything out while we were gone, and he's taking the apartment. So we officially have a house."
"It's wonderful, darling! Let's go inside!"
They opened the door and Jessica began exploring. She had to admit, Adam had replicated her library set up almost to a tee. She wove in and out of rooms until she came to their bedroom. Most of their things were still in boxes. Thankfully, their bed was made.
Ivan walked up behind her; he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and placed a kiss on the side of her forehead.
"Do you like it?"
"Like it? I absolutely love it! It just made everything feel so much more real. Thank you, honey; this is a place to call our own and I couldn't be happier. You chose extremely well!," she gushed, turning around to face him.
He put his hands in her hair and nudged her head forward, closing the gap between them. she skimmed her lips down to his neck. They didn't break contact as he backed her up to the bed and lightly pushed her backwards. She took off her shirt and jeans as Ivan stripped down to his boxers. He laid on the bed next to her. She began skimming her lips up and down his face and neck. Just as her hand was about to fondle him, his phone rang. Ivan let out a sigh and answered the call.
"Hej? Ja, det er Ivan," he said as she kept kissing and lightly sucking his neck.
"Hvad med Christoffer?"
She stopped her ministrations and looked up at him.
'Oh, please don't let this be bad news,' Jess thought.
"Er noget galt?"
There was a moment of silence before Ivan spoke again.
"Ja, vi kommer tilbage i dag. Tak for at holde os orienteret."
"Is everything alright?"
"... No. They said Christoffer has taken a turn for the worse and they can't predict if he'll survive," Ivan said with a melancholy voice.
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."
"I'm going to the home where he is now. Would you like to come?"
"Yes, of course."
Ivan was very panicked and fidgety as he searched for the car keys.
They rushed to the car and floored it.
Once they pulled up to the home where Christoffer was, Ivan and Jessica hopped out quickly.
They made their way to the reception desk and asked where Christoffer's room was.
"Any updates?," Jessica asked.
The nurse gave them a solemn look.
"He went into cardiac arrest and they said his chances are slim. They say they'll know for sure in about half an hour."
She hugged onto Ivan's arm, joining her hand with his. They sat in the waiting room, eagerly awaiting news of Christoffer. After a long time with no news, a doctor approached them. They stood to greet him.
"Are you christoffer's family?"
"Yes," they answered.
"I'm sorry to tell you that Christoffer will not survive this. We're doing what we can, but his body is shutting down and nothing we try will stop it."
Ivan looked bewildered overwhelmed.
"We're finishing up a treatment now, but after we're through you will be allowed to go in and see him. Again, I'm sorry."
And with that brief explanation, he turned on his heel, and scurried away.
Jessica looked over at Ivan. For once, she couldn't read his expression; he seemed like he was very upset but, also at the same time, relieved.
"Ivan?," she asked softly as she put her hand on his forearm.
Ivan remained silent, simply staring at the floor. Jessica gently grabbed his shoulders and guided him back to his chair.
"I'll go and get us some coffee."
As Jessica wove through the halls to the cafeteria, she stopped for a moment. Her emotions caught up to her, and she let out a few sobs for her stepson.
'It's not fair; he's only a child,' she thought bitterly.
She attempted to calm herself before she returned a short time later. She handed Ivan his cup and sat back down next to him. She took his hand and held it to her cheek.
Ivan looked at her with a sad smile and brought her hand to his lips. He leaned his head into her neck and sighed deeply.
"You may go in to see him now," a nurse said.
They walked into his room and were overcome with grief when they saw him. He was hooked up to several machines, dozens of IVs, and his eyes were closed. His face was peaceful looking. Ivan and Jessica approached his bed and stared for a while, letting everything sink in. Jessica wrapped an arm around Ivan's waist, and held herself close to him. He put an arm around her shoulders.
"Would you like a moment alone with him?," Jessica asked.
Ivan nodded his head, and Jessica left him with Christoffer. She stood in the hallway until Ivan emerged, very red-eyed and sniffling. Jessica hugged him tightly as he sobbed. After a moment he composed himself enough to speak.
"He wants to see you."
She humored him.
"...Okay," she said quietly.
She opened the door and closed it softly behind her. She looked at Christoffer laying on the bed. She stared for a moment before walking up to his bedside. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to see him the way Ivan saw him.
'He's awake. He's coherent. I'm his stepmother. I can say goodbye to him without feeling awkward,' she thought.
As the image of him came into her mind, she opened her eyes. She knew it was an illusion from her subconscious, but there he was sitting upright with a smile on his face. He held his arms out to her. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she dove in for a hug.
"I know we don't have much time, but I want you to know I was very much looking forward to being your mother. I was fully prepared to treat you as one of my own," she said in a cracking voice.
Christoffer nodded and took her hand in his.
"And I was looking forward to having a mother figure who cared about me. I'm trusting you to keep my father happy now; from the moment the three of us were together in his office the first time, I knew you were special to him. I'd never seen him genuinely happy or excited before that. He's had so much unhappiness in his life; I'm thankful you came along."
At that point, Jessica completely broke down. She brought his hand to her cheek.
"I swear Christoffer, I'll take good care of him. I'll make it my responsibility to make sure he's nothing but happy for the rest of our lives," she said stroking his hair and kissing his cheek.
"I know he will be. He loves you."
Suddenly she turned her attention away from him; there was a long steady noise coming from his heart monitor. She saw that he had flatlined. When she snapped her head back to attention, he was as he was before; laying on his bed with his eyes closed. She stared for a moment, slightly in shock. She eventually opened the door and ran to Ivan. She buried her face in his chest and shook from crying. She looked up to him with sad eyes. He gave her a questioning look; she nodded softly. They wrapped their arms around each other and cried together until there was nothing left to do but hold each other in silence.
A few days later, they had his funeral at the church. Only Ivan, Adam, and Jessica were in attendance. Ivan delivered his eulogy, as difficult as it was for him. Jessica and Ivan laid a bouquet of white roses on his grave after his ashes were buried.
After the funeral, they went to the home he was in to collect his things. Jessica didn't know if she should say anything to try to make him feel better, but she had no idea what to say. She decided to take a risk.
"Would you like to put some of his things on display in the library?," she began.
"I know you're trying to help, Jess, but for now I'd like to not talk very much. Maybe when we get home, but for now, let's get this done."
She nodded and continued to sort through Christoffer's things.
An hour later, they placed the few small boxes of things they kept in the van. Ivan kept his eyes on the road and didn't say a word the whole way home.
When they pulled up to the house, they each grabbed a couple boxes and put them in the entryway.
"I'll start dinner and call you when it's ready. I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything," she said, giving him a light kiss.
He nodded and walked to the den. Even though every instinct Jessica had told her to follow him, she thought it would be best to let him come to her.
She went to the kitchen and began chopping vegetables for a stirfry. She was very worried for Ivan. He was being eerily quiet and reclusive, and it wasn't like him, even if he was upset.
She didn't see or hear a peep from Ivan after she called to him that the food was ready, so she went to check on him. She softly knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she let herself in; Ivan was sitting in the high back chair, his eyes closed with a half empty bottle of Von Oosten on the side table next to him. She tiptoed up next to him and kissed his cheek. He groggily opened his eyes to look at her.
"Dinner's ready honey. Let's eat and go to bed; we both had a long day."
As she went to walk away, Ivan grabbed her hand and turned her back around. He lightly pulled her back towards him until she stood in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her hips and laid his head on her stomach. She put a hand on his head and the other on his shoulder as she let him cry.
When he had calmed down, she gently lifted his chin to look at him.
"Come on, dear; dinner's getting cold and you need to eat."
She went to pull him up by his hand, but he pulled her into his lap. He put his arms around her waist and laid his head in the crook of her neck and began placing light kisses along the base of her throat. He moved one of his hands up her abdomen and to her cleavage, sticking his hand into the top of her dress. She put her hand on his and retracted it to lay it in her lap.
"We have plenty of time for that later, let's eat first so you can get something in your system and not get sick from over exerting yourself," she said.
"You're right. It'll also give me a little time to sober up," he said in a sad voice.
"You had a rough day, Ivan; you're allowed to indulge a little. Now come to the kitchen so we can have at least a little normal part to our day," she told him, getting up and giving his hand a tug.
He lifted her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles, and got up to follow her to the kitchen. They ate their stir fry and soon after went to bed. They changed into their pajamas and slid into bed next to each other. Jessica moved closer to Ivan and wrapped her arms around him. He rolled onto his side and held her to him tightly.
"We're all that we have left for each other now. And while I'm devastated about Christoffer, I can't be sad about that," Ivan said, nuzzling her nose with his.
She connected their lips.
"Nor can I. You're my everything," she whispered in his ear before snuggling her face to his chest and drifting off to sleep.
Ivan laid his head on top of hers and eventually allowed sleep to overtake him.
