Chris Evans

“Hey” he said quietly, waiting until she finally looked at him again. “You are not failing. And you are definitely not falling behind.” His voice stayed calm, steady, even though hearing her ask if she was good enough made something twist painfully in his chest. “Nai, you know what I see when I look at you? Someone who’s worked herself into exhaustion trying to give every single person around her the best version of herself.” A small breath left him as he shook his head faintly. “That doesn’t sound like somebody who isn’t enough to me.”

His fingers slipped up to brush carefully under her eye before he let his hand settle against the side of her face. “And for the record, you never have to thank me for staying” he murmured softly. “There is literally nowhere else I’d be.” That finally pulled a quieter smile out of him, especially after her comment about the apple juice. “Wow. Unlimited apple juice and a button that summons people? Yeah, I can see how the power’s gone to your head a little.” He was about to tease her again when there was a knock at the door and two nurses stepped into the room holding a chart.

Naomi looked over at her boyfriend, his voice, his touch, everything just steadying her. Grounding her. She had no idea how she got so lucky to have him fall in love with her. She tried to steady her breath but just let Chris hold her for now listening to his words. “I love you so much, you know that?” Naomi said weakly. “I mean, I can think of a few places I would rather be, but no one else I would rather be with.” Naomi attempted to joke, trying to bring some light back on the tense situation.

A laughter escaped her at the comments he made. “Yeah, I really like this button. Think we could get one at home?” She laughed before the nurses came through the door. Naomi looked over at Chris, reaching out to hold his hand as the two woman approached the pair. Their bedside manner was not one she expected, she saw the shift in Chris and was unsure if she should be worried or not. Everything seemed like a blur. “Miss Scott, we have looked over your blood test and you do not have the flu,” the older nurse began. “And while you do not have an exhaust related illness, it sure can make you feel exhausted. And emotional.” Naomi was still confused as she waited till the woman got to the point. “Miss Scott, you are pregnant.” The nurse said.

“Wait…” he breathed out quietly, almost laughing from pure disbelief as his hand tightened around Naomi’s. The shock on her face mirrored his own and somehow that made it feel even more real. Chris looked back at her, eyes already softening almost painfully as emotion rushed over him too fast to sort through properly. “Baby…” he said again, quieter this time, completely overwhelmed. Then she said we’re going to be parents and that was it. Chris let out this breathless laugh, one hand immediately coming up to his face before he leaned forward toward her bedside, eyes glossy already. To say he was emotional would be a complete understatement. He was filled with so much happiness.

“You are not letting anybody down.” he said more firmly this time, leaning forward in his chair. “You sold out New York because people love you, Nai. Not because you ran yourself into the ground.” He let out a small sigh, reaching up to move a strand of hair away from her face carefully. “Honestly? If anything, I’m glad this happened here instead of you trying to push through until you collapsed somewhere worse.” Even saying it made his stomach twist because he knew she absolutely would have kept going if nobody stopped her.

The firmness in his voice when he told her she wasn’t letting anyone down nearly cracked something open in her. Naomi looked away briefly, blinking hard before letting out a quiet breath. “It doesn’t feel like that,” she admitted softly. “It feels like if I stop for one second, everyone’s gonna realize I can’t keep up.” She leaned instinctively into his touch when he brushed her hair back, her expression tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep anymore. “What if I’m not good enough?” The woman asked him, trying not to look at him as her eyes filled with tears. All of this had made her feel even more emotional. 

“Hey” he said quietly, waiting until she finally looked at him again. “You are not failing. And you are definitely not falling behind.” His voice stayed calm, steady, even though hearing her ask if she was good enough made something twist painfully in his chest. “Nai, you know what I see when I look at you? Someone who’s worked herself into exhaustion trying to give every single person around her the best version of herself.” A small breath left him as he shook his head faintly. “That doesn’t sound like somebody who isn’t enough to me.”

His fingers slipped up to brush carefully under her eye before he let his hand settle against the side of her face. “And for the record, you never have to thank me for staying” he murmured softly. “There is literally nowhere else I’d be.” That finally pulled a quieter smile out of him, especially after her comment about the apple juice. “Wow. Unlimited apple juice and a button that summons people? Yeah, I can see how the power’s gone to your head a little.” He was about to tease her again when there was a knock at the door and two nurses stepped into the room holding a chart.