The house was quiet as firefighter Roy DeSoto eased his bedroom door open as silently as possible.
Reposed on their queen bed a few feet away, lay his wife, soundly asleep. It was a beautiful early summer evening; a gentle breeze wafted through the open windows, gently lifting the thin curtains and brushing wisps of JoAnn's hair against her cheek.
Roy undressed quietly, dropping his used clothes to the floor before thinking better of it and instead placing them in the hamper to his right. Before pulling back the covers, Roy leaned over the bed and placed a gentle kiss on JoAnn's temple. Only then he nestled in next to his wife; savoring the coolness of the sheets as well as the warmth of her body.
Propping himself up on his elbow, Roy drank in the quiet scene before him. Moonlight streamed in through the sheer curtains, illuminating JoAnn in her restful sleep. Roy slid his hand over her hip, travelling upwards until it rested on her belly, nine months along with their first child. Roy so enjoyed these quiet moments late at night when he could marvel at his wife's changing body. JoAnn was not one to let any fuss be made over her; always moving and doing.
As he gently rubbed her stomach, he thought about how amazing it was to watch his wife's body change to accommodate the growing baby within her. The way her belly swelled throughout the past months, the way her skin stretched and marks had appeared. They reminded him of a tiger's stripes, which he thought quite fitting for his feisty wife. The way her breasts had filled, now ready at any day to nourish this child with everything he or she would need. Roy found the whole process quite incredible.
He had read all the books, gone to classes with JoAnn but still Roy felt woefully unprepared for the process that he knew could begin at any moment. JoAnn, on the other hand, seemed calm and ready to welcome their child; the rock which Roy felt he clung to to keep himself upright in this ever increasing torrent called life.
Leaning over and kissing his unborn child, Roy settled his head back on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.
###
6 weeks later
Roy knew it would only be a few hours until his son woke again, and that he should make good use of any quiet nighttime hours that they were afforded, but sleep evaded him this night.
Roy was infatuated with his wife's incredible body. Every time he looked at her, those tiger stripes reminded him of the ferocity of which JoAnn had fought to bring their son into the world. A warrior's mark, every single one of them. The extra skin she carried on her abdomen a reminder of how much she had given to grow their family; given physically, given emotionally and all the things she had given up.
And their son, Christopher. So tiny and perfectly formed. So so worth all the blood, sweat and tears on JoAnn's part and the fretful worry, for all it was worth, on Roy's.
Watching the process of birth had given Roy such a new appreciation for the female body. It was absolutely incredible to him how much a woman's body could give physically and emotionally and still have anything left over for herself. Roy was sure that if roles were reversed, he would have just dried up and withered away.
Stunning, Roy thought as he stared at his wife. He knew very well that she thought very differently, especially right now as she recovered from the birth and struggled with the little sleep their son afforded them. Absolutely incredible.
Roy sighed and laid his head back on the pillow. A woman; the greatest creation on this earth.