Erik jerked awake. He wasn't quite sure what time it was. The house was silent. He could hear the chirping of the crickets outside in the tall grasses, the lapping of the evening tide that was no doubt at its full height. The curtains were still gently swaying in the warm night breeze. All save one candle had gone out.
He felt tired, so very tired, but he relished this new process. He'd woken up…in a warm bed…comfortable breezes flowing over his body…a safe place….his wife at his side having abandoned the idea of sleeping in the cot that Sara had brought in for her. Her tender curls were strewn across his chest and on the pillow beside his head. He turned, breathing in the very essence of his Christine.
The last hours had been painful for them both. He didn't know what to make of this new knowledge…it made his head hurt to think of it. It frightened him, but not because it was hideous….but because it looked too…too… Erik shook his head, sighing. It would take time, and there were so many other questions that they'd not talked about before giving in to their exhaustion.
Erik raised his head just slightly to look down on Christine. She had her head carefully laid on his chest, one leg draped over his, on her left side she was nestled in next to him. Their intertwined hands covering her abdomen protectively. A smile easily causing the corners of his lips to rise as he appreciated this simple pleasure.
Surely every man rejoiced in the creation of life. To observe the love of a woman who is willing to bear your children, nurture you, to love you enough to give you this very special gift. But for him, it was much more than that. To feel this kind of love was nothing if not entirely overwhelming. To know that the woman in his arms gave herself willingly to him, to be loved by him and to love him, to carry their child, in spite of all of his flaws, was a miracle. She had reached into the very depths of hell itself and pulled him from the darkness that he thought would be his forever punishment for daring to be born. He did not deserve her…..
Erik began to gently rub his hand on her stomach…how he longed to embrace her…not out of lust, but out of the purest love for this creature…pure admiration….thankfulness. He put his head back on the pillow. He lay for a long while just listening to her breathing. He stared at her, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she, in her sleepy rambling, uttered a singular, heart-stirring word… "Erik…." He could handle it no longer…he had to try…if but to hold her for a brief moment.
He tested his left arm. He could move it in a full circle without much discomfort. He tugged gently at his right arm. Christine barely rested her head on it, and it moved easily. Now, the trick would be shifting his torso. He looked down, the bandage was tightly wrapped. The doctor had assured him that the stitches were healing well. Inch by inch he pulled at his muscles. Having to stop and start again a half-dozen times before he finally propped himself up on his right side. He'd broken a sweat, and felt a bit dizzy, but it was worth it.
He wrapped both of his arms around Christine, pulling her as close to his body as he could, tucking his hands in behind her waist, pulling her stomach against his. His breathing was labored. He could easily tell that his muscles had suffered much from lack of use. He stared at her; she was beautiful. How he wished he could pull her inside of him, envelope her with his very being. He lay a long time just searching each inch of her face, needing to know her more. He closed his eyes, his lips resting on her forehead.
It was then that he felt her stir. A small stretch, a tiny warm breath on his neck as she exhaled from her yawn. Then he felt what he longed for most…her arms wrapping around him, her lips on his chest, her cheek in the crook of his shoulder, and her warm breath on his flesh as she said his name…. "Erik, I love you…I really, really, love you…"
His hand traveled up her back, into her hair as she pulled her face away just enough to look up at him. "Erik..." He looked down putting his lips against hers. They both shuddered in unison as the kiss grew more passionate with each passing second. The longings of their need to be reunited as one growing until they parted their lips to gasp for breath. "Erik….I am sorry…it is not fair to torment you so…." Erik pulled her back into an embrace, running his hand around her shoulder, behind her neck, half cradling her in his arms. There was so little they could do to stifle the intensity of nature, the basic need of man and woman to be reconciled after separation.
Erik's body coursed with pain; he ignored it. Christine looked pleading at Erik, but he refused to open his eyes for fear she would try to talk him out of what their bodies were demanding. Erik was weak, his temples were now starting to throb as his body cried out under the strain he was putting on it. He had broken out into a cold sweat, it beaded and ran down every inch of him. Christine could feel his tension, his struggle. She managed to pull herself away from his kiss, just long enough to gasp "Erik …"
He did not want to give up, though his body was screaming…he was nearly spent. He felt defeated as he rolled onto to his back, breathing heavily. He would not release Christine….he wanted her to know she was wanted…that in time he could be her husband again…. Erik flinched. Christine did not try to pull away, but rather was inching herself onto his chest.
She smiled, looking deeply into his eyes as she came to rest next to him. "Christine I am sorry, I shouldn't have…" She put her fingers up to his lips to hush him. "Erik…I love you….you should not tire yourself so…you'd do well to rest…we have time my dear…plenty of time." She put her head on his chest. Erik reached up his weary arms, placing them around the small of Christine's back.
"Am I hurting you?" Christine asked, her voice muffled as she spoke into his chest. Erik took in a deep breath…feeling no discomfort, save the self-induced muscle fatigue from his exertions, responded "no." Christine lifted her head and smiled at Erik, "That is good…that is very good," she said smiling at him as she put her lips tenderly on his. "Christine, I am sorry…" "Shhh" came her response as her lips left his, carefully, softly, dotting kisses on his jaw and down his neck.
"Christine, I…." She pressed her lips lightly against his, breathing into the kiss "I love you too." A tear escaped the corner of his right eye, Christine reaching up to catch it with her lips. The fluttering of the curtains, the gentle sound of the waves outside, rushing to and fro on the shore…a beautiful night, their first together in each other's arms in months.
They laid a long while, talking about the child that grew within the nurturing depths of Christine's womb. Imagining what he or she would be like; if she would have Erik's temper, if he would have Christine's pout. They felt still very much like newlyweds, but yet had grown beyond that title in so many ways. A child now would change that, make things more complicated, but would add a joy that neither of them could ever have imagined…for it already was. They gazed into each other's eyes as they drifted off to sleep. One of Erik's arms around Christine, the other guarding her abdomen. In the last twelve hours, since he'd known of this blessing, Erik had already become the protective father that Christine knew that he would be.
Author's Notes:
Crayann: Thank you for your sincere compliment. I have wanted to write all of my life, but was never certain if I was quite good enough to do it. Yes, this is my first work that I've released to anyone. I do have three books that I am writing currently, one that I hope to have published next summer. Completely different type of fiction, but I am rather looking forward to it!
Now back to the story…yes, I must admit I laughed after I wrote it. It was supposed to be emotionally super-charged, but came out amusing instead. When I closed my eyes I could actually see those people darting in and out of the room, and Erik's irritation growing…. I hope you like the next chapters….some strange things are happening…..
Waytoointoerik: Sorry about contributing to your delinquency at work! I just wanted to get the chapters posted for the weekend. Saturday and Sundays are crazy for me, so I never get to post anything then. I was mentioning to Crayann that I intended for this scene to be super-serious, but it ended up being amusing. I was going to re-write it, but decided a little humor was about due for this family! Thanks for staying with the story!