Can't Fall in Love Without You (Christian Yelich)

76

It was 1:00 in the morning and not Arlo's feeding time, but the baby's cries woke Elizabeth and Christian up immediately. "I'll get him," Christian whispered to his wife, tenderly kissing her forehead.

"You have a game tomorrow, Chris. Let me . . ."

"You need sleep too, momma," he interrupted with a grin before hopping out of bed. He loved to help with whatever he could, and Elizabeth's breasts weren't a requirement for this assignment. He was happy to have a turn with his sweet baby boy, even if he didn't get a perfect night of rest.

"Okay," she said softly, settling back into her pillow. She was very tired, and she appreciated Christian letting her sleep a little bit more before she had to feed Arlo in a couple of hours.

"Hey, little buddy," Christian whispered to his crying son before picking him up and holding him in his strong arms. "What's wrong, Mr. Arlo?" he cooed.

Arlo's crying stopped as soon as Christian picked him up, so Christian attempted to return him to his crib.

Instant screeching.

"Okay, maybe we're not ready for that," Christian whispered soothingly with a small smile, the smile only growing bigger when Christian realized the crying once again ceased once the infant was in his arms.

"Let's go watch some television. What do you think?" he asked the now calm baby, checking to see if a diaper change was necessary before carefully carrying him down the steps and to the living room.

He settled into a recliner and placed Arlo securely on his bare chest before flipping on the TV. Instead of television, he played some quiet music on Spotify and sang to his son in a voice just above a whisper before they both dozed off to sleep, both just happy to have each other.

Christian was so lucky. Arlo was asleep on his chest in the comfort of their home.

***

"Ivy, are you done with your plate?" Elizabeth asked Ivy, as Ivy moved a syrupy piece of waffle around her plate with her finger.

"Yes, mommy. I'm done."

"Okay, bring me the plate, please, and let's wash your hands."

Ivy did as she was told and let her mom help her wash her hands.

"All better," Elizabeth said with a smile, turning an eye to Reilly to see how he was faring. He definitely needed more time as he slowly chewed a grape while purposefully dropping a few additional grapes onto the floor, staring directly at her all the while. He could be so naughty.

A few moments later, while Elizabeth bent over to pick up grapes, Christian entered the kitchen. "What's cookin', good lookin'?" he asked his wife with a smile, happy to be greeted by her perfect back end.

She rolled her eyes and turned around to face her husband. "Are you hungry?" she asked with a smirk.

"I can make myself a bagel with some peanut butter." He immediately went to work, popping a bagel into the toaster.

"Daddy, can I come to the game?" Ivy asked Christian, squeezing his leg while he watched the toaster, impatient for it to pop. "I miss you," she begged, pressing her face against him.

"That's up to mommy," Christian replied, hoisting Ivy onto his hip. "What do you think, mommy?" Christian asked Elizabeth with a pout. Ivy followed suit, mimicking Christian's pouty expression.

"Ivy can go with you. I'll stay home with the boys," she said, her voice chipper as she grabbed Christian's recently popped bagel before he could and started to spread loads of peanut butter on it. He loved peanut butter.

"But I want all of you there," he muttered, his tone a bit defeated. "I don't really care about baseball right now, especially if you all can't make it."

"Soon, Christian. Arlo's just too little yet, and I'm not ready for him to be around a crowd. I promise I'll put the game on television, and we won't miss a single one of your at-bats."

Christian sighed, upset, but understanding. "Okay. Soon, though?"

"Soon," Elizabeth repeated. "I'm not going to go back to work for a few more months yet, so maybe we can even do a road trip with you," Elizabeth compromised. "Chicago and Cincinnati or something. Nowhere too far. I don't think we're ready for a long plane ride."

"Really? You're not going back right now, even though you're allowed?" Elizabeth could hear the elation in Christian's voice, and she couldn't help but smile at his cheerfulness. She missed it so much.

"No, I think I need more time with the kids. Things got thrown off too much when Arlo arrived early." Not only did she need more time with Arlo, but she needed more time with Ivy and Reilly. Her mom had spent more time with them recently than she was able to, and that wasn't fair to them. "I'll go back later in the season," she finished.

Christian's lips crashed against his wife's, and she couldn't help but smile against him.

"Ewwwwwwwwww," Ivy exclaimed, forced to watch the kiss close up due to her perspective from Christian's side.

Christian laughed, kissing Ivy when he broke away from Elizabeth. "Not so gross, is it, Miss Ivy?" Ivy just stuck her tongue out at her dad and asked to be put down on the ground.

"Could these kids be any cuter?" Christian asked, making his way over to Reilly and kissing the top of his head before helping him out of his high chair.

"Nope, but this one right here needs to work on his manners," Elizabeth joked, gently grabbing Reilly from Christian, so she could clean off his face and hands.

Reilly just laughed, and the laughter made Christian smile.

There were going to be so many smiles in his future, and, for the first time in a while, Christian felt relief.