Just Breathe

Chapter Twenty Five

It didn't take more than ten minutes after they walked through the doors for Lin to strip off his suit jacket and bow tie. He and Vanessa, who looked stunning in the pink gown she had been wearing all night, got back to their hotel around one in the morning. The couple had only managed to stay at the after party for a little over an hour before their eyes met across the room and they simultaneously agreed to duck out. For better or for worse, as much fun as a night out in Hollywood was, nothing sounded better to the exhausted parents of three than a to-go bag of In-N-Out and vegging out on the couch together.

"All I want to do right now is lay on this couch, eat every single one of these fries, and get lost in all things that is Jamie Fraser," Vanessa remarked as she walked back into the living room after checking in on the twins in their adjoining room since they had relieved the babysitter for the night. Having kicked off her heels immediately after walking through the entryway, she plopped down onto the couch queuing up the latest episode of her favorite show on the television. The material of her gown, shockingly comfortable enough for her not to want to immediately change out of it. Lin started grabbing the food from the paper bags.

"Mind if I intrude on your date?" He said with a laugh, half-joking knowing his wife's crush on the Outlander star that it may be a close call.

Vanessa brought a finger up to her chin, acting as though she was carefully contemplating her answer. "I think I can make some room for you, if you agree to take on the first round of twin wake-up tonight,"

Lin feigned annoyance as he came around the counter and placed the two trays of foods onto the coffee table, sitting next to his wife, "Alright, even though I still think we should have nixxed potty training until we got back to New York," Middle of the night wake ups from the twins, as of late, meant wet sheets, a crying toddler, and an exhausted parent trying to be comforting and efficient at two am.

Vanessa popped a few fries into her mouth, "Dr. Mendoza said that once we start it's important to keep up with it so that they don't regress." She curled up under the throw blanket as the images of the Scottish highlands came onto the screen, "I told you we could have paid extra and had the babysitter stay the nights while we were here,"

"I hate whenever anyone else spends the night." Lin said, "What if I come out of our room in my boxers?"

"You could put shorts on before you leave?"

"Honey, I can't be responsible for what 3 a.m. Lin does,"

The seriousness of his tone as he said the words made Vanessa roll her eyes as she laughed.

The two shared a quick kiss, Lin not at all minding the sweet taste from the strawberry shake Vanessa had been sipping on, before her attention diverted back to the characters on the screen.

The married couple ate their respective meals, as Lin scrolled through his Twitter feed as he let his wife enjoy her guilty pleasure. He could never keep up with the storyline, even when Vanessa would try to dumb it down for him. He just enjoyed the alone time they had.

The ringing of Vanessa's phone interrupted the evening as it chimed through the room and both she and Lin shared a confused look. It was well after midnight in their time zone and nearly four a.m. on the east coast. She gave her husband a pleading look to grab it for her off the counter.

Lin pushed himself off the couch and obliged, his brows furrowing in even moreso when he saw the caller ID.

"It's Lia," he told his wife before answering the phone call, "Hey Lia?"

Pop music and an array of voices carried through the phone as he repeated his daughter's name when he was met with silence, other than a heavy coughing and what could only be described as hacking. He put the phone on speaker so his wife, who was staring him down, could hear.