Chapter Text
The screen flickers before him. The Word document was empty. Michael Wheeler had an official final deadline for his book. 12 am. His publisher was sending him deadline emails every hour now. He’d been given five days to complete this final paragraph of his very last and final chapter. But writer's block has just stumped him for every one of those days.
He stares at the screen, hoping something will come.
“Come on,” He mutters, “Think of something, anything.”
He types one line and deletes it. He types another and deletes that again. He types a third time and deletes it a final time. Mike drops his head to the desk with a soft thud. And lets out a loud groan. His fingers find the wedding ring on his left finger. He often uses it as his fidget stress reliever. Though with the amount of time he has been spinning it this week, his finger was a little sore.
A gentle knock to his office door has him turn his head. El stands there with the door slightly open. Wearing a rather sexy, slightly see-through peach silk nightdress that barely passes her thighs. Mike clamps his eyes closed. He can’t do with distractions now, it’s already 10 pm.
“Have you finished it, Mike?” She pouts. “I miss you, and I’m cold in bed.”
Mike groans. Leaning back in his small computer chair, causing it to creak. It lacked armrests that were already causing him a backache.
“No,” he confesses. “I have nothing…and only two hours to finish this before my publisher starts charging me for wasting his time.”
He had been working on this book for over 2 years. It was the third installment of his fantasy novel series. The tales of Eleanor the Mage. He had already pushed back his deadline 4 times. But this last section was just not coming, and no more delays were allowed. Mike had basically finished the story already. He just needed to round up the loose ends and maybe hint at a possible next book.
El steps into the small office. Walking over and sitting on his lap. She reaches up to brush some stray hair from his face and nudge his reading glasses back up his nose. Mike looks at her, his bottom lip pouting out. “El… not now. I have to finish this.”
“I’m here as moral support”. She says, gently kissing his lips. “That’s what wives do.”
“I consider this a distraction,” He smiles at her. His hand gently grazing her thigh, “Why would I want to look at that blank screen when I can look at you?”
She smirks and flicks some of her hair behind her shoulder. Mike takes that as an opportunity to kiss it. “See distractions,” He murmurs and kisses it again.
El gives him a shrug, she stands up and starts to walk away, but Mike reaches out with a sweet puppy-like whine to grab her a pulls her back. She straddles him instead. Wrapping her arms around his upper shoulders. Mike rests his chin on one of hers.
“Better?”
Mike hums, “Yeah.”
He runs one hand down her back. The other finds the mouse, and he drags it along the screen to check his notes. This wasn’t uncommon. El would often sit like this while she waits for him to finish. They keep each other warm.
“Okay… so the Bard has taken over the training of the goblins and the other mythical children. The Ranger and the Zoomer are travelling to the new land to create a new village. The sorcerer has advanced his powers and is working alongside the new King… and…the Mage and Paladin are finally married. And then… I got nothing. No ideas for the next book”.
Mike presses another kiss into her shoulder. “Any ideas?”
El hums, tilting to rest her cheek on his shoulder. “How about… the Mage and the Paladin raising a superbaby.”
Mike half laughs, “Can you imagine. What would the plot be, though?”
“The Mage and the Paladin raising a super-powerful baby”. She answers.
“I work off experience, El. We don't even have a super baby to use as a reference.”
El pulls back to look at him. “No… but we will,” She gives him a soft smile. “Soon”
Mike laughs at first, then his entire smile drops, and he looks at her more seriously. “Wait, El… are you… Are you saying you’re … pregnant?”
El smiles a little bigger. “Surprise?”
Mike’s jaw drops. Eyes wider than normal. He looks down at her stomach as if he is meant to see a sudden change, and looks back at her face to make sure she isnt pranking him. She is now looking less smiley than before. Maybe because she needs his reaction to tell her he’s happy or not. But Mike’s face suddenly beams, and he grabs her tight.
“I’m going to be a dad!” He gasps happily. He quickly grabs her face and kisses her.
El lets out a small sigh of relief. Before squealing as Mike stands up, lifting her in the process and spinning them around, the computer chair falls backwards on the ground with a hard thud. Mike walks her from the room. Her legs wrap around his hips while he carries her.
He kicks open the door to their bedroom and drops her on the bed. Mike then climbs on top of her, joining their lips together, giving her one of his famous passionate kisses, which she loved these days. But he suddenly moves down and rests his head in the middle of her stomach.
“Hello in there.” He smiles. “I’m going to write so many stories for you,” he says, kissing her stomach.
El runs her fingers through his hair. Mike slowly brings himself back up. Looking down at her and kisses her again. “I love you”.
The female squints her eyes. “I think my husband is missing…you must be an imposter. He’s never talked like this,” El comments. “Who are you?”
Mike smiles. “Huh… I guess I must be advancing from husband to father. It changes a man, you see. This new role I’m picking up makes me say words I didn't usually say. ”
El o’s her mouth
“Oh…So all this time, the only way to get you to say I love you was to give you a baby?”
Mike grins, “Well, there are other ways”. He gently chews his lip, playing with the strap of her nightdress. “I always say it when we-”
“What time is your deadline?”
Mike curses. Before pulling himself away from her. “Yeah, I should do that … but thanks for the story epilogue. I’ll come back and thank you personally in about… 15 minutes”. He starts backing out of the room. His eyes lingered on her for a few more seconds.
El smiles, sitting up and moving to lie on the bed properly. “We’ll be waiting”.
The author lets out a deep breath with a smile on his face. He dashes back to his office, lifting the chair and no sooner had he sat down. He was typing away like he had been given the key to his brain block and opened it. His fingers drag along the keys fast, and he makes sure to correct any mistakes. Keeping it simple and straight to the point.
He reads the last section out loud.
“The Mage places his hand on her stomach. The Paladin looks to his new wife in surprise. I am with child, she says… our little one could be the next Mage… End of story”.
Mike edits it briefly and saves the small final chapter. A deep sighs leaving his lips. It was officially finished. He then attached it to his email and sent it off to his publishing agent. Once completed, he turns off the computer. Switches off the plugs and lights and returns to the bedroom.
On the bed, El has fallen asleep. Curled up in the centre. She is letting out those soft, quiet snores that often lull him to sleep when he’s had a long day. He kicks off his slippers, pulls off his clothes and places his glasses down on the table. Before pulling the covers back and snuggling himself in beside her. El briefly wakes up as his cold hands touch her. And moves over so he can find his place on the bed, where she can lie against him. Her body heat instantly warmed him up.
“You can thank me in the morning,” El mumbles.
Mike smiles. “Okay”.
She falls back to sleep again.
Mike lies there a little longer. Ideas for the next book are already swarming his mind. But it soon wanders to a new thought. Not only was he married to a powerful woman. He might have a baby with an equally amazing gift. Maybe he could be like those Dad’s in the comics who raise their children to be superheroes. But that’s only if it’s a boy. A girl… maybe he will be too protective. He’s supposed to be her hero until the day he’s ready to let her go. Which might never be. Then again, she will probably have those strong Wheeler genes and be as heroic as her aunt. He smiles to himself.
El mumbles something in her sleep. And Mike wraps his arm around her and finally closes his eyes, allowing sleep to finally take over.