Sorry it took so long! I had a head cold and I'm a massive weakling! Apologies!
Ok, so MASSIVE thanks to May on twitter who helped me figure out alot of the Cuban side of this. I wanted to do something to do with Alex's (assumed) Cuban heritage and she helped me looooads! Thanks!
Also, Brooklyn originally requested a sexy Christmas fic soooooooo long ago! I didn't forget! See! :)
And a special someone gave me the whole baby idea in the first place! Thank you xx
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and you have a safe-but-messy New Year's! xxx
"What is that?" He said accusingly, throwing his jacket down as he walked into the kitchen.
"It's a poinsettia." She announced happily, sprucing up the leaves and turning to smile at him.
"Norma, it's december 1st."
"So?"
"So, it's too early to be getting a poinsettia." He pointed out reasonably, pouring them both a cup of coffee, watching as she turned to pout at him adorably.
"Don't be a grinch, Alex. It's just a plant."
He rolled his eyes at her, stalking over to her and handing her the cup, before narrowing his eyes at something on the windowsill.
"And that is?" He pointed at the figurine.
She floundered, shrugging innocently.
"Well... that is a tiny snowman." She admitted, before holding her hands up. "But, in my defence, this is tradition. You can't fight tradition." She said the words very seriously, but Alex wasn't buying it, glaring at the tacky little decoration.
He gazed at her, looking unimpressed as she took a sip, her eyes still wide and child-like.
"When Norman was little - When Norman and Dylan were little - " She corrected herself, looking awkward as she added Dylan in as an afterthought. "-We bought a pack of 24 tiny little ornaments, and they were all we had. We didn't really have much money back then." She cast her gaze to the floor, the way she always did when she talked about her past, and Alex starting to feel like a jackass for making a big deal out of her worn-out decoration.
"So, we started putting one out a day, from the first of December, to the 24th, and the game would be to find where I'd put the latest decoration." She placed her coffee cup on the surface behind her, and he took a step forwards, brushing his hands against her elbows gently.
"It made it seem less sad. To have such crappy Christmas ornaments. So I made it into a game." She was still gazing at the floor, biting her lip and Alex felt awful.
"Even when we got better decorations, nicer stuff, ya know? We still kept playing the game."
There was a long pause, and she turned slightly, reaching for the tired, faded little plastic snowman, and his hand shot out to stop her.
"I dunno. It's stupid. I don't know why I put it out. Norman isn't even here-" He cut her off, feeling like he'd been an ass.
"No." He said suddenly, and she turned back, letting him pull her hand away, gazing at him curiously. "It's nice." He said lamely, and she rolled her eyes.
"No it's not. It's stupid."
"No. I like it. It's your tradition. So now it's my tradition."
She stuck her bottom lip out for a second, a smile pulling at her lips.
"You don't think he's tacky?" She asked in her little girl voice, twisting back and forwards on the spot, and he grinned at her.
"He's the classiest tiny plastic snowman I've ever seen." He leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose, and she giggled. "I can't wait to see the rest of them."
She smiled broadly at him, pushing him back a little, leading him to sit down next to her at the table. She took a long sip of her coffee, deep in thought.
"What are you Christmas traditions?" She asked suddenly and he tensed up a little at the question. She tapped her ring against her cup for a second before ploughing on. "Last year was... I mean, everything was so strange. We barely decorated, I barely cooked. It was such a strange Christmas? We didn't really get chance to celebrate much. I didn't really get chance to ask about your traditions."
"My traditions..." He started, nodding to himself, puffing out a harsh breath. "Erm... well, apart from working too much, and drinking too much, I don't really have any." He tried to laugh, but it fell short.
She frowned at him, unable to comprehend.
"But..."
"Last Christmas was the first one in... oh maybe ten years that I haven't worked." She cocked her head at him like a confused puppy.
"Work?"
He barked out a laugh.
"Yes, Norma. I'm the Sheriff. Someone has to work over Christmas."
He hoped she'd leave it at that. But of course, she didn't.
"But why?"
He rubbed his hand through his hair, avoiding her gaze.
"To be honest, Norma. I've never really liked Christmas." He heard her gasp softly, like she couldn't imagine anyone not liking Christmas, but he carried on, just wanting to get the words out. He never liked to talk about any of this, but he couldn't lie to Norma. Something about her made him want to pour his heart out, no matter how much he wanted to pretend he was fine all the time. "I... I think Christmas is a time for family. And I don't have any family. So I guess I just never really enjoyed it. I would always rather work it and then go home and drink half a bottle of scotch and pretend it was just another day."
There was a long silence, and when he glanced up at her, she was staring at her hand on the table.
"Will you work this year?" She asked quietly, and he sighed.
"No. Of course not." He assured her gently. "I'll be with you."
She still gazed sadly at the table, and he sighed again, wishing he hadn't said anything.
"You wouldn't rather be working and drinking then?" She breathed out, and he rolled his eyes, almost exasperated with her.
"Of course not." She glanced up at him, meeting his sad eyes, her gaze softening.
"You really don't like Christmas?" She asked curiously.
"I..." He floundered for a moment. "I'll like it with you?" He offered. It wasn't enough for her. She sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry, honey." He said, wishing he'd never mentioned it. She shook her head.
"Don't be silly. Don't be sorry for not liking something." She was frowning at the wall again, like she was trying to take it all in.
"So even as a kid...?"
"I liked it as a kid." He interjected quickly, pleased to be watch her frown smooth out a little. He cast his mind back, sighing happily as he remembered his earliest Christmas memories. "Things were different back then. My mom was... she was better then. And my dad was different too. They were happy, I guess?" He smiled to himself, as she reached out to cover his hand with her own.
"Go on." She coaxed.
"Well, my grandma came across from Cuba once? That was fun." He smiled at the memory. "She made this ridiculous amount of food. More food than we could ever eat. She somehow cooked an entire pig. I'll never forget my mother's face when she walked into her kitchen."
Norma chuckled softly.
"Cuba? Is that where your family is from?" She felt stupid for not knowing such a simple fact about her own husband after a year of marriage.
He nodded.
"Yeah. My mom's family lived here for years, though they still have Cuban roots, but my dad's mom lived in Cuba till the day she died. My dad came here when he was 19, and managed to build a criminal empire right here, in White Pine Bay." His voice took on a hard edge. "So that's my family. Or lack thereof. And that's why I guess I've never been that keen on Christmas?" He shrugged, like it was no big deal, and she stood abruptly, crossing to plonk herself down on his lap.
He raised his arms up around her automatically as her hand brushed against his cheek.
"You have family." She said quietly, and he raised his gaze to look at her. "I'm your family now."
He smiled broadly, feeling a strange fluttering feeling in his stomach as he gazed at his wife. She was right. He married her. She was his family now.
"You're right." He leaned in to press a brief kiss against her lips, before standing, pulling her to her feet.
"I'm sorry I was a grinch. I can't wait to look for your little ornaments, or whatever traditions you have. Your traditions are my traditions now."
She leaned in, pulling him close, hiding her sad face against his chest as he hugged her, not realising how upset she was at his admission.
"Merry Christmas!" She yelled in his face, waking him from his slumber with a start.
"Jesus, Norma!" He exclaimed, jumping as she leaned over him, shaking the bed as she bounced on her knees.
"Fucking Christ! You scared the life out of me!" He breathed out, and she just giggled, suddenly pulling the sheets over her head, shimmying down under the covers.
"What are you-" He started, cut off as she whipped his boxers down, taking him in her mouth without hesitation. "Jesus..." He breathed out.
"Norma?" He started, wondering if he was dreaming, letting his hands slide under the sheet to gather her hair at the nape of her neck as she bobbed up and down, humming by way of answer, the vibrations humming through his body.
"Fuck." He murmured, as she swirled her tongue around his tip, before sinking down as deep as she could, spluttering slightly, one hand pumping him in time with the movements of her mouth, the other hand planting itself firmly on his hip, steadying herself.
His head sank back, and he let out a groan, resisting the urge to surge up into her mouth, as her movements quickened, sensing him growing closer, letting out a soft "mmmm" noise as he felt his groin tighten.
"Norma... baby... fuck..." He breathed out helplessly, as she sped up, not hesitating as his hips twitched upwards involuntarily a few times, stars bursting behind his eyes as he came in her mouth. She didn't slow, pumping her hands steadily as he finished, flicking her tongue around the tip a few tips, making him shudder as he felt her swallow hard. She released him with a slow pop, emerging from the sheet with a smug smile, her hair a halo of tangles around her face.
"Morning." She said sweetly. "Merry Christmas."
"It's Christmas Eve." He pointed out breathlessly.
She shrugged, shimmying up out of the sheet, flopping down next to him.
"Cuban thing, right? You celebrate Christmas Eve?" She turned to smile at him and he puffed out an incredulous laugh.
"Not like that!" He pointed out, and she giggled saucily.
"New tradition?"
He turned his head to look at her, smiling at her, before rolling on top of her, slinking down her body, throwing her thighs over his shoulders.
"Ok. Sure."
"Well... if you insist..." She murmured, as his tongue lapped against her, her head dropping back, and they forged a new Christmas Eve tradition together.
"Honey, I'm home!" He frowned at how cliche he sounded, before he sniffed the air, a frown furrowing his brow. He recognised the smell from somewhere.
She emerged from the kitchen, her apron on, looking more flustered than he'd ever seen her.
"Are you home already?" She snapped, looking panicked.
He laughed.
"Well... I could go out and come back in again if it would help...?"
She cut him off, surging forwards, pushing him upstairs, shoving him up the steps roughly.
"Go get changed!" She almost yelled, and he tripped up the stairs in a confused panic at her reaction.
"What? Why?"
"Omg Alex! Why do you have to question everything?" She sounded mad, and he knew better than the defy her when she was mad.
"What would you like me to change into?" He asked wearily, and she softened a little.
"I laid a shirt out on the bed." She announced, disappearing back into the kitchen without another word.
He was in the process of changing when he heard the doorbell ring and the soft murmur of voices. He obediently finished changing into the black pants and pale blue checked shirt she'd laid out for him before he tentatively made his way down the stairs, heading towards the murmur of voices from the living room.
He walked in to find Emma, her father and Dylan all sitting nervously on the couch. The whole room smelled like mint, and he didn't realise why till he glanced at their drinks, spotting the sprigs of mint sitting deep in their glasses of clear fizzing liquid.
"Hey." He said lamely, as they all jumped at his presence. All three of them jumped to their feet, and Alex awkwardly pressed a kiss against Emma's cheek before reaching to shake Dylan and Will's hands.
"Norma left a mojito for you." Will pointed out, a little awkwardly, as Alex leaned over, retrieving the glass from the table and taking a long sip, trying to buy himself a moment.
"So..." He started, shrugging nervously as they all made eye contact and looked away.
He'd had no idea they were coming round, expecting a quiet Christmas eve dinner just the two of them before the expected craziness of tomorrow. In truth, he'd had to work alot throughout December in preparation for daring to take Christmas day off, and he really had very little idea what Norma had planned for them. He tried to keep all of this off his face though, feeling like an idiot for not knowing they were coming over.
"You had no idea we were coming over, did you?" Emma blurted out, and Dylan and Will chuckled a little at Alex's shocked expression.
"What? No, no. I totally knew." He lied unconvincingly, shifting from one foot to the other as he took a long gulp of his drink. He tugged at the collar of his dress shirt uncomfortably, the silence stretching on before Norma strode back into the room, looking much calmer than when he'd first come home. He looked her up and down, a slow smile spreading across his face as he took in her outfit, a 50's style burgundy dress, nipped in at the waist, with matching blood red lipstick that he'd never seen her wear before. He liked it, gazing lustfully at her, holding an arm out, instantly feeling himself relax as she tucked herself against his side.
"You look beautiful." He muttered, not caring that they weren't alone, and she blushed, glancing at Emma's awestruck expression before coyly reaching up to peck his cheek.
"Thank you." She whispered shyly, before turning back to their guests.
"How are the drinks?" She trilled happily at them, and they all nodded.
"Good. Good, thanks." Will said gently, as Alex gave her a little squeeze.
"You haven't had one?"
She glanced up at him, wriggling out of his arms and turning on her heel, her blonde curls flaring out as she moved.
"I haven't had chance! I've been whipping up a culinary masterpiece!" She lifted her shoulder cutely, and he grinned at her.
"Right. Come on in. It's almost ready."
She ushered them through to the dining table, which was already laden with food, a big space left in the middle which was clearly for the main event.
"Ok, sit sit!" She insisted, grabbing Dylan's arm before he could take his seat. "Honey? Can you come help me with something? It's kinda heavy."
Alex watched them leave, his eyes darting around at the plates on the table, frowning at the contents of them - He expected to see the usual side dishes she did when she made a family dinner, usually beef or chicken, with all the traditional trimmings, so he was confused by the array of exotic looking salads on display. He glanced at the other side, noticing the huge platter of steaming rice and beans and he cocked his head to the side, his confusion deepening.
"Hey, Norma?" He yelled to her through the open door. He was getting more used to the constant yelling these days. "What are we having for-"
He was cut off as Dylan appeared in the doorway, struggling to carry what looked to be an entire pig on a huge silver tray, with Norma trotting along behind him with a basket of bread.
Alex half stood, his mouth hanging open in shock as he helped Dylan manoeuvre the meat onto the table, gazing in shock from the array of food, to Norma's hesitantly pleased face.
"Is it ok?" She asked gently, her eyes wide and expectant.
"I couldn't get a whole pig?" She shrugged apologetically as she set the basket of warm white baguettes on the table. "But... this was the biggest cut the butcher could do for me. I had to get the marinade recipe off the internet and I couldn't get the exact right kind of chilli so I don't know how authentic it's going to taste? But the Cuban bread was actually super easy to make-"
He cut her off.
"I can't believe you did all this for me." He said quietly, his tone sincere and serious as he caught her eye over the table, and then he remembered they weren't alone, shaking himself and standing fully, reaching for the carving knife.
"I hope everyone likes pork?" Norma said gently, and everyone laughed lightly, starting to hand over plates and bowls, loading them up with more food than the five of them could ever hope to eat.
Alex found Norma watching him expectantly every time he took a bite of something new, and he laughed, shaking his head every time.
"Is it ok?" She kept asking, darting her eyes at everyone at the table, but mainly focusing on Alex's response, watching as he enthusiastically ate everything she put in front of him.
"It's perfect." He assured her. "If I didn't know better, I'd say my abuela made it herself."
She grinned back at him, and he knew there was no higher compliment he could give her cooking. In truth, it wasn't exactly like his grandmother would have made, but it was pretty damn close, and he wasn't sure he could voice how much it meant to him that she'd gone to these lengths to give him his childhood Cuban Christmas memories.
"So, Alex. Emma tells me your family is from Cuba?" Will said politely, and the table fell into an easy chat, everyone sharing stories of their Christmas traditions, Will and Alex exchanging tales of Cuban and English Christmas traditions, laughing over the differences there as more mojitos were poured.
It felt much later than it was when Will, Emma and Dylan finally departed, all sent home with a huge quantity of roasted pork and Cuban bread.
"Will, it's been a pleasure." Alex said warmly, shaking his hand. Despite a slightly awkward start, the two men had bonded over dinner, and now, being forced together at "family" gatherings didn't seem so bad.
"Let me know about that fishing trip?"
"Oh yeah, yeah. I'll let you know."
Norma raised her eyebrows at the exchange, before pulling Emma and Dylan in for a crushing hug.
"You two take care, ok?"
"Thank you so much for having us Norma. Merry Christmas!" Emma trilled sweetly in her ear, before Dylan pecked her on the cheek.
"Thanks, Mom. Have a good day tomorrow." He muttered, and she smiled happily at him as she pulled back. Any show of kindness from Dylan didn't elicit the same tearful gasp it used to - He was less sparing with his emotions these days, she suspected partly due to Emma's cheerful influence, and Norma was finally realising that she was worthy of love from her first son.
Alex slunk his arms around Norma's shoulders as they waved them goodbye, watching until they safely pulled out of the parking lot because he'd learned that she liked to watch until people were safely on the road.
"Come on." She jerked her head behind her, taking his hand and pulling him inside, turning to grin saucily at him over her shoulder.
He was kissing her before they even made it through their bedroom door, his hands tugging at her waist, pulling her flush against him. She giggled against his mouth, letting him back her up against the dresser, sending her makeup clattering to the floor as they crashed into it, one leg coming up to wrap around his thigh as he ground himself against her.
He span her suddenly, his hands sliding across her body, pulling her back against his chest, his teeth nipping her ear lobe. Her hands shot out to steady herself, landing heavily on the surface as one large hand slid up to palm her breast through her dress, the other smoothing over her stomach, down to press lightly between her legs, making her arch her back. Her eyes shot open, and she watched herself for a moment, her breaths panting out of her swollen lips, her eyes heavy and dark as he roughly pressed his hands against her threw the thick burgundy fabric she was wearing.
His eyes found hers in the mirror and he smirked at her, before she was pushing back, shoving him towards the bed, and following him onto it, clambering onto his lap as he sat heavily on the edge of the bed.
"Ok... so-" She started, wrenching her lips away from his for a second, settling her weight on his knees and draping her arms around his neck.
"I want a pony, and a barbie..." He grinned as she listed things in her sweet little voice, realising what she was doing, her eyes drifting thoughtfully to the ceiling while his hands found the zip at the back of her dress. She giggled at herself as she continued. "And rollerskates. And rollerskates for the pony. And rollerskates for the barbie..."
She'd begun to slowly rise to her feet as she spoke, eventually rising to her full height, tugging the thick wine coloured taffeta down her arms, sliding the dress off teasingly slowly. He'd been expecting one of her classy simple little black slips, the ones she always wore under formal dresses, so he gulped at the sight of sheer black lace being revealed as she pealed the dress from her body.
"You can have anything you want." He said breathlessly, letting his eyes rake up and down as she bent down, pushing the fabric over her hips and then standing expectantly in front of him, clad in a expensive looking babydoll, her breasts pushed up in intricate pale pink satin and black lace cups, the rest of her body showcased by the almost completely transparent fabric. His eyes travelled hungrily down her body, making out the shape of truly tiny panties under the garment, stifling a groan as she pushed the dress completely down her legs, revealing lace topped hold ups. She stepped out of it, placing her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows as she glanced from his awestruck expression down to her body.
"Well?" She shrugged at him, and he barked out a breathless laugh.
"I like." He choked out, holding his hands out to her. She took a confident step forwards, nudging his thighs open with her heeled foot, stepping in between them deliberately slowly, never breaking eye contact.
Her hands reached for his face, brushing her thumbs along his cheekbones before he buried his face in between her breasts, gently licking and kissing the skin there, before he glanced at her, holding her gaze as yanked down one cup, surging forwards to suck one taut nipple into his mouth, feeling it harden and pebble under his tongue, his hands coming up to hold her waist firmly.
His hands dropped suddenly, sliding up the backs of her thighs, smoothing over the lace tops of her stockings and over the smooth skin of her ass, hooking his thumbs into her tiny black panties, starting to slide them down.
"I thought you hated thongs?" He muttered against her breast and she smirked at the roughness in his voice, her hands combing through his thick hair.
"But you don't?" She reminded him with a shrug, as he tugged the tiny scrap of lace down, letting them fall the floor. She flicked them behind her, stepping out of her heels at the same time.
He made a small whining noise, pulling back to gaze up at her imploringly.
"Leave them on-" He began to beg her and she cut him off with a shrill giggle, pressing her finger against his lips.
"I will wear a thong for you, Alex Romero." She started, as his hands swept under the sheer lace to press against her bare ass. "I will drive two towns over to find a butcher who will sell me the vast majority of a pig, I will spend the day baking Cuban bread wearing lingerie that cost more than all of my other underwear put together." She leaned down to kiss him, pulling back up before he could deepen the kiss.
"But I will not wear shoes on my Egyptian cotton sheets." She explained gently, a smile tugging at her lips, and he chuckled, shaking his head at her as she finished stepping down from her heels. She had barely stepped out of them when she was shoving him back, clambering onto his lap and straddling his waist, grinning down at him as she started to unbutton his shirt.
"I like this shirt on you." She muttered, undoing it quickly and letting him sit up a little to pull it off.
"Yeah, I know. You picked it out." He chuckled at her, his laugh fading as she ducked her head, kissing his throat gently, making him shiver under her.
"I have very good taste." She murmured back, kissing a determined path down his neck, shimmying down his body to press a line of wet kisses along his chest. Her nails travelled along side her, scratching through his chest hair lightly, as she dipped her tongue into his navel, before her hands found his belt and she paused for a second, smirking up through her lashes at him.
"Noche buena." She said sweetly, in the worst Spanish he'd ever heard and he chuckled, as she made short work of his belt and fly, his head dropping back as he gently laughed at her.
"What?" She demanded, clearly insulted by his laughter, and he tugged her up to him, letting her carry on pulling his pants and boxers down as he kissed her.
"Noche buena." He corrected her pronunciation, and she let him roll himself on top of her, kissing him hard, humming her approval.
"Sexy." She muttered at his perfect Spanish, arching her back to let him kiss down the side of her throat, sucking and licking at her pulse point, leaving a tiny bruise that he'd secretly admire for days, even though he knew it'd get him in trouble.
She reached between them, taking him in her hand, guiding him to rub between her legs, her head dropping back as he teased her, rubbing against her clit before he slowly eased himself inside.
"Ohhhh..." She breathed out, as he paused, his hand sliding down her side to hitch her thigh up higher, holding it up around him.
He began to move, each thrust forcing a soft pant from her throat, her eyes dropping closed, and he watched her, watching the minute changes on her face every time he pressed inside her.
"I wanna..." She muttered, her hands flying to his shoulders to still him for a second, not finishing her thought before he was reading her mind, rolling them so she was atop of him. She smiled breathlessly down at him, pleased that he could always tell what she wanted, before she was moving again, undulating her hips in small circles, her hands pressing against his chest to steady herself. She made a grab for his hands, pressing them against her breaths, letting out a perfect little cry as he pinched her nipples, before he gently stroked his thumbs across them, soothing the slight sting.
"I love you." She whispered, as she leaned down, kissing him sloppily, her hand drifting above where their bodies were joined, hurrying herself along with a needy, frantic motion of her fingers.
"Alex, Alex..." She panted out desperately, and he could only murmur a choked out "Love you..." before his hips were twitching up to meet her thrust for thrust, his grip on her breasts tightening, feeling her body clamp down around him, as her moans quietened for a moment while she held her breath.
"Ohhh..." She breathed out a ragged moan as she came, pulling him along with her, managing to weakly keep moving on top of him as his hips thrust upwards a few more times, before his hands shot to her hips, stopping her, stilling her and pulling her down to lie flat on top of him.
"Merry Christmas." She muttered breathlessly, and he chuckled, their bodies shaking together as he did.
She rolled off him, toppling to the side gracelessly, flopping down onto the pillows while they both regained their breathing.
"You can open a gift at midnight on noche buena, you know." He said suddenly, and she let her head fall to the side, her mouth dropping open in excitement.
"Really?"
He nodded at her, and she beamed at him.
"Yay!" She sat up, huffing out a breath.
"Go get us one then!" She insisted, and he laughed at her demanding ways, reaching for his boxers and pulling them back on, before jogging downstairs. When he came back, she was still wearing the baby doll, but she had pulled a pair of his comfy stretch boxers on underneath it, and she was sat cross legged, waiting patiently.
"Oooh yay!" She said upon his return, frowning a little when he handed her a little red envelope, not an actual gift.
"I wanted to wait till tomorrow but..." He said, grinning from ear to ear as she turned it over in her hands.
"But... I can't unwrap this?" She said a little dejectedly, as she glanced at the gift he'd chosen for himself.
"Trust me. I think you'll like it."
"If you've adopted me a panda or something, I'm not gonna be happy..." She grumbled, as he settled himself down opposite her, watching her as she pulled the envelope open, and pulled out the papers inside.
"What is it?" She demanded, too impatient to read it, her brow furrowing as she scanned the pages.
"We're going to Hawaii!" He announced happily, and she frowned, turning the papers over in her hands, reading them slowly.
There was a long pause, where she didn't really react, and he started to feel a little uneasy.
"When?" She said finally.
"Whenever we want." He said, his tone a little less excited now. "But I thought we could go in the Summer. June maybe-"
"I can't go in June." She cut him off, still staring at the tickets, avoiding his gaze. "We can't go in June." She corrected herself.
"Okay..." He started slowly, not really sure what to say. He thought she'd be thrilled, and was pretty disappointed by her lukewarm reaction.
"We don't have to go if you don't want-"
She finally glanced up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears, smiling gently at him.
"No!" She cut him off. "I'd love to go to Hawaii." She breathed out, leaning across the bed to press a soft kiss against his lips.
"Can we go in... March maybe?" She asked quietly, shrugging at him and he frowned in confusion.
"I mean... yeah? I'm sure we can? But... you wanna go to Hawaii in March? Instead of the summer time?" He laughed at her, feeling like maybe he'd never quite understand the strange mind of his wife.
She nodded.
"We... we can't go in the summer." She repeated, and he nodded, shrugging helplessly like he couldn't figure her out, reaching for his own gift that he'd picked out. She watched him for a second, biting her lip into her mouth nervously.
"I love it." She whispered, assuring him and he looked up, nodding at her, looking like he wasn't quite convinced. "I do!" She said insistently, tapping the envelope against her bottom lip for a moment.
"Wait." She held up a hand to stop him, leaning forwards to rip the gift from his hand before he could begin to unwrap it. "It's a watch." She announced, and he laughed, as she tossed it onto the bed besides him and reached for something in her bedside drawer.
"I was going to wait until tomorrow..." She said gently, casting her gaze down coyly, as she pulled a small white envelope out of the drawer, pulling her knees up against her chest, and pressing her face against them.
"Have you adopted me a panda?" He asked, chuckling to himself, glancing down at the long thin envelope in his hand.
She didn't laugh, only smiled lightly, biting her lip as she watched him pulled the envelope open. It was a card, and he frowned in confusion as he looked at the back of it.
"You already got me a card-?" He muttered, as he slid it out and turned it over in his hands, freezing as he took it in.
Happy birthday, daddy! said colourful bubble writing, and he read and reread it, trying to make sure his eyes were really working. He glanced up at her to find her excitedly pressing her face against her knees, grinning broadly at him.
"What..?" He started, flicking open the card, something dropping onto his lap as he did.
"To the big daddy of White Pine Bay. Surprise!" She'd written in her swirly hand writing, and he glanced down, his mouth hanging open as he reached for the sonogram picture that had fallen onto his lap.
"But... how?" He spluttered out.
"You know when I nearly died?"
He nodded. She'd dramatically taken to calling the time she'd had stomach flu "the time she nearly died" and he'd just let her.
"I threw up my pill. And then... I was kinda out of it. And I forgot to take it?" She shrugged casually, and he just kept glancing from her face to the picture in his hands and then back again.
"I thought I'd be fine. But..." She trailed off, finally taking in his expression of pure shock, her smile faltering a little.
"How... I mean... Did you go for a scan without me? How... far... I mean...?" He fumbled over his words, stuttering.
"Nearly 11 weeks. They don't usually do scans so early but I screamed at them until they did." He beamed at her, his expression finally smoothing out at the thought of her demanding a procedure they didn't want to give her.
"I didn't want to go alone but... I was afraid of..." She trailed off, and he nodded numbly.
"So... this is?" He waved the picture a little, the feeling starting to return to his numb fingers. "I mean... You're sure?" She nodded, and he glanced at the fuzzy picture, trying to figure it out and giving up, breaking into a sudden happy laugh.
"Pretty sure-" She was cut off as he lunged at her, pressing her back tenderly against the pillows to kiss her, both of them laughing into each other's mouths.
"So I can't go to Hawaii in June. I'll be too big then." She said tentatively, and he chuckled, brushing the hair away from her face.
"Fuck Hawaii." He mumbled, slinking down her body, feeling her laugh vibrate through her skin.
"No! Not "fuck Hawaii!"" She said, outraged. "We're going in March." She said defiantly.
"I'll take you anywhere you wanna go." He murmured back distracted, as he pushed up the sheer fabric of her lingerie, revealing her smooth stomach, nuzzling his nose against it.
He kissed her stomach, glancing up at her to see her smiling tearfully down at him, her hand running through his hair as he dipped his head again, peppering her whole abdomen with soft gentle kisses.
"Noche buena?" She mumbled, sniffling as he tenderly smoothed his hand across her abdomen, picturing the tiny life inside her.
"A very good night." He assured her, wriggling back up to kiss her.
"Merry Christmas, Norma."