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Chaol hadn’t anticipated how excited he could be for Valentine’s day until he had married Yrene.
Wonderful, smart, beautiful, far too good for him Yrene. It hadn’t been love at first sight for either of them when he opened his eyes the first time after his car crash, paralyzed from the waist down. No, she had huffed into his room and angrily declared she was going to fix him.
And she had, in all the ways that mattered. Their rehab appointments blossomed into a date, then another date, then a few brief months later they were married and Chaol had never been happier.
He had secretly started planning for their first Valentine’s day as a married couple - as a couple at all, really - while on their honeymoon in the cozy cottage in the Scottish Highlands they had rented, just a few weeks after their courthouse marriage. The idea of spending all day doing their favorite activities made him giddy with excitement and love for the woman who had saved it in more ways than one. It was going to be perfect.
And then Yrene woke up one morning holding three positive pregnancy tests like a poor imitation of a royal flush and all of his ideas for their perfect Valentine’s day were shattered.
“I’m pregnant,” Yrene breathed, smiling and dazed, and she threw herself into Chaol’s stunned arms and squeezed him so tight he was glad he still suffered from some partial numbness in his body or it would have hurt. “We’re going to be parents.”
He was happy - thrilled, honestly, but as the news finally sunk in later that evening, he realized his perfect Valentine's day for Yrene was ruined. Sighing, he canceled the reservation with the four star Michelin sushi restaurant that served the freshest Japanese tuna known to mankind.
Okay, so there’d be no sushi or romantic horseback ride - Chaol was adaptable. He could change his plans. After all, isn’t that what loving husbands were for?
X
Chaol’s alarm on his smartwatch woke him up at 8 AM sharp. Yrene was turned on her side away from him, deep in sleep. Operation Valentine’s Day was a go.
Creeping out of bed, he quietly made his way downstairs to the kitchen. First step: breakfast in bed with homemade pancakes, crispy bacon and scrambled eggs with avocado toast.
Loading everything on the wooden food tray, he carefully climbed the creaky wooden steps to their bedroom and saw a small stream of light peeking under the door. Smiling softly to himself, he walked in and saw the light was coming from their master bathroom, and the dreaded sounds of retching immediately hit his ears.
Quickly setting the tray on the bed, he made his way to the bathroom to see Yrene bent over the toilet. He gathered her hair behind her head and pressed a wet rag to her forehead.
“Are you alright?” Chaol asked, terrified. “Are you sick? What do you need?”
She spit into the bowl and flushed. “It’s just a bit of morning sickness,” she said, turning her weary gaze to his. She sat down and leaned her head against the wall. “Baby just didn’t like something I ate apparently.”
Chaol bit his lip. “Isn’t five months a bit late for morning sickness? I thought that was only a first trimester thing.”
She shrugged. “For most women, yeah. Some lucky ones have to suffer through it all nine months.” She sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”
He grinned. “I brought you breakfast -”
Yrene immediately threw herself back on the toilet, gagging and spitting, as Chaol looked on, slack jawed.
“Thank you dear,” she gasped out, giving him a teary eyed smile when she was done. “That was very nice of you. I’m not sure I have the stomach for breakfast at the moment - do you want to eat it for me?”
Chaol had no appetite either but he shoved a piece of cold, limp bacon into his mouth after Yrene had cleaned up and crawled back into bed. “Love you,” he whispered, kissing her on the forehead and taking the mostly uneaten breakfast downstairs to clean up and regroup.
He checked the list he had made on his phone, typing a big ‘X’ next to breakfast. Not off to the best start but he still had a whole day planned for the two of them. Next on the agenda was a couple’s yoga class he had signed them up for. Yrene loved yoga - she often used it as a form of additional therapy when the stressors of her job and past became too much, and she had even roped Chaol into going once or twice.
She sat up in bed and squealed in delight when Chaol told her to get ready. “I haven’t done a class in ages!” she exclaimed, running up to him and giving him a big kiss on the mouth.
Chaol preened under her attention. “Better get ready then,” he said, giving her a swat on her butt as he turned towards his dresser to change.
At least this was going to work. He had just pulled on a shirt when he heard a snuffling behind him. Turning, he saw Yrene standing in front of their full length mirror with a pair of leggings pulled up as far as they could stretch, almost comically resting under her belly.
There was nothing funny about this though. Chaol could handle a lot but the one thing he couldn't stand was Yrene’s tears. Rushing over, he gathered her in his arms right as she began wailing. “Nothing fits anymore!”
Chaol kissed her forehead, willing his own tears away. She had finally “popped” within the last few weeks, her stomach rounding out in a way that was obvious to everyone that she hadn’t just eaten a large meal and was suffering from an intense bloat. He laid a hand on her belly and rubbed soothing circles into her skin.
“Do you want to borrow some of my shorts or sweatpants?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she moaned into her chest. “None of my sports bras fit either. My boobs are too big, and the material hurts my nipples.”
“How can I help? What can I do for you?”
Yrene turned her teary, puppy dog eyes on him and Chaol had to grind his teeth together to stop himself from crying at the sight. God help him if they had a daughter - she’d be a spoiled princess once she figured out she’d only need to turn on the water works to get anything she wanted out of him.
“Cuddle in bed with me for a little bit?”
As if he would ever refuse that. Grabbing his phone so he could cancel their spots for yoga, Yrene laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. Trailing a hand up and down her back, Chaol thought about the rest of the day.
He had planned to take her out to her favorite coffee and bakery spot after yoga, followed by an easy walk in their local arboretum but he figured she wouldn’t want to do that, seeing as how she had already fallen back asleep, her little snores muffled against his chest.
He checked his list and added three more ‘Xs’. Baby Westfall: 4. Chaol: 0. It was as if their child was determined to ruin their father’s hard laid plans every step of the way.
The late afternoon sun was streaming into their kitchen by the time Chaol began working on dinner. He had gotten Yrene to eat a little by giving her her favorite pregnancy snack - pickle spears smothered in peanut butter - and was cautiously optimistic that she would have an appetite for dinner. She couldn’t have sushi, her favorite food, but she could still eat her second favorite meal, roast chicken and pasta.
Chaol had just set a timer on the microwave for the chicken when Yrene padded downstairs in her fluffiest robe. Yawning, she sidled into one of the high chairs at the kitchen island and smiled at him. “Goodness I’m starving - what are you making?”
“Your second favorite meal, since sushi is off the menu for a while,” Chaol replied, feeling pretty pleased with himself. “That lemon roasted chicken and pasta recipe you love so much.”
To her credit, Yrene kept her face composed but Chaol saw the slight downturn of the corner of her lips, the sudden dimming of her eyes.
“Oh no,” Chaol said, grimacing as she grinned sheepishly at him. “Don’t tell me -”
“The baby isn’t really feeling chicken tonight,” she said apologetically. “I’m really sorry, you’ve been putting so much effort in to today -”
“It’s alright,” Chaol said softly, forcing a smile to let her know he wasn’t mad, though he was definitely a little upset at his child for thwarting him yet again. “What are you in the mood for?”
Yrene hummed and opened the fridge, opening a bottle of cranberry juice and taking a big gulp before opening the freezer. She gasped and bent over and held out a brightly colored bag to him.
“Pizza rolls?” He said incredulously. “And not even Totinos, but off-brand?”
“They’re the best!” Yrene replied. “Please? Oh! And how about some sweet potato fries?” she said, holding up another frozen food bag.
“Of course,” he sighed, kissing her forehead. “I was going to make chocolate pudding for dessert -”
She grimaced. “Maybe not. Texture has been a big thing for the baby lately.”
“I figured that, so I came prepared,” he said, pulling out a bag of Swedish Fish from the pantry.
She moaned with relief. “God, you’re the best husband ever.” She gave him a big hug and opened the bag of sweets, popping one in her mouth before offering the bag to him.
He checked his phone while they crammed pizza rolls into their mouths. He put yet another ‘X’ next to dinner, and then, for good measure, burned the roof of his mouth on the molten cheese that erupted from the little pizza pocket crust in his mouth. Clearly, his unborn child had something against him.
“How about a movie?” he asked as they finished their gourmet freezer dinner. She nodded and they made their way to the couch, Yrene with the bottle of cranberry juice and candy tucked at her side. Getting comfortable, he put on her favorite film - The Princess Bride - before he pulled her over so her head was in his lap.
“Chaol Westfall, you are an absolute gem,” she said, as the opening scenes of the movie came on.
He smiled. “You deserve it.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and snuggled close, finally ready to put a mental ‘W’ in his column and an ‘L’ for the baby.
Yrene sniffled. Then she sniffled again. Then she dragged her hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears gathered there.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just,” she choked out through gasps, “it’s not fair, is it?”
Chaol’s mind was whirling, trying to make sense of what she was talking about. What had he done? What hadn’t he done? Was she upset that she was pregnant while Chaol didn’t have to suffer the changes going through her?
“I mean, Buttercup is just so mean to Wesley, and he already loves her, and he doesn’t deserve it!” she bawled, fat tears leaking down her cheeks.
For a split second Chaol had never felt more relieved in his life that he wasn’t the source of his wife’s tears. Relief turned into confusion as he stared at her.
“I thought this was your favorite movie?”
“It is,” she gasped through her tears.
He reached over and handed her a box of tissues. “Do you want me to stop it? We can watch something else.”
“No!” she shrieked. “It’s my favorite movie!”
“But you’re crying!”
“It’s just my stupid hormones,” she said. “You know I cry all the time now for no good reason.”
As Chaol listened to Yrene quote the movie practically line by line through her thick tears - she was especially emotional when Buttercup and Wesley were separated, and when Inigo Montoya got revenge for his father’s death - Chaol had to hand it towards their unborn child: when they committed to absolutely dunking on their father, they went hard. At the end of the day, it was Baby Westfall with the sweep: six for six, Chaol thought almost bitterly.
Yrene was completely sobbing by the end of the movie as everyone rode off into the sunset. “It’s such a good movie,” she moaned through her sobs.
Well, at least she had a good time. Chaol tried to keep his voice light as he suggested they get ready for bed but Yrene heard the disappointment behind his words.
“Hold on,” she sniffed, refusing to let him get off the couch. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just,” he began, suddenly embarrassed. He sighed. “I’m sorry Yrene. I tried to make our first Valentine’s day together perfect but everything went wrong.”
She furrowed her brows at him and sat up, wiping the last tears from her reddened cheeks away. “What do you mean?”
“I made you breakfast in bed and you couldn’t have it because the baby gave you morning sickness. I signed us up for yoga, none of your clothes fit. I made you one of your favorite meals, the baby decided they wanted something else. We watched your favorite movie and you cried nearly the entire time. I just wanted to give you the perfect day and frankly, the baby sabotaged all of it,” he ended, only scowling a little.
Yrene laughed and despite his misery, that all too familiar flutter hammered through his chest at the sight and sound of it. “Don’t listen to him, little one,” she said, staring down and patting her stomach. “He’s just a little upset that you ruined all his hard work.”
“Yeah I am,” he grumbled, but laughed along with Yrene.
“This was the best Valentine’s day I’ve ever had,” Yrene said, looking up at him and staring at him with such love and adoration on her face he nearly stopped breathing. “And you know why?”
Shaking his head numbly, a small thrill went through him as she grabbed one of his hands in both of hers. “Because I spent the whole day with my amazing and caring and handsome husband, and I can’t think of anything more lovely than that.”
She pulled him in for a kiss and his hand fell to her stomach, where their baby’s kicks beat like a drum against him.
“See? They’re happy they got to spend all day with you too,” Yrene said, positively glowing.
How did he get so lucky to have found this amazing woman? “I love you,” Chaol whispered. “Happy Valentine’s day.”
“I love you,” Yrene said, leaning down to kiss him softly, and Chaol had to admit that even if their baby one-upped him all day long, it was still the best Valentine’s day ever.