Alexis could smell the sweet, delicious, flaky, buttery goodness the second she stepped in the door from her overnight shift. All the smells of her favorite breakfast were lingering in the air, and almost as though on autopilot, she drove straight for the croissants and took a bite, a content noise slipping past her lips as she chewed.
“God,” she murmured softly, “where did you come from?”
“I knew you were working really hard studying for boards,” Hal says as he comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. “So I thought you might want a little good luck breakfast before you took a nap after your shift.”
“You are the best husband, ever, in all the world.” She turns her head to the side to give him a brief kiss, piles of affection pouring out of her eyes. “Thank you.”
“You are very welcome.” He then sighs as he pulls back. “Unfortunately I have to go to work, but you’ll call me when you get out of the test?”
She pouts, but nods. “Last one. After this we will be officially out of the school woods.”
“Good,” he kisses her one last time before disappearing out the door. As he goes Alexis looks over the breakfast buffet and begins making the selections in front of her.
“Okay, brain food. Time to get to work.”
- - - - - -
One unsuccessful nap and a few hours of testing later, Hal returns home to find his wife asleep again on the couch. Not that he blames her, given that she’s had quite a few stressful days recently, and fairly little sleep. He does his best to bustle around her quietly, fixing them dinner and waiting for her to rise from unconsciousness. As he’s finishing up the last bits, she finds her way back in, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and leaning in over his shoulder.
“Hi,” she murmurs.
“Hi.”
“That smells good.” She rests her chin on his shoulder. “Thank you for cooking dinner.”
“It is my pleasure,” he grins, turning down the heat before turning around to face her. “How’re you feeling?”
“Oddly? A whole lot lighter.” Alexis sighs as she settles in his arms comfortably. “It’s like a great big weight has been lifted and we can finally get around to planning other things.”
“Agreed,” he nods, as he leans in to kiss her again. “There’s a lot of things I’m excited to get planning too.”
“Ooh,” she says softly, smiling up at him. “Like what?”
“Like … maybe starting a family of our own?”
Alexis tips her head back to look at him more, curiosity crossing her features. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Hal nods. “I mean, I know a lot of the reason why we’ve been waiting is because we were too young and we had a lot of work to do to get our careers going but now that you’re finished your boards and are moving towards the end of your residency … I don’t know, maybe it would be a good time to get started.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too,” Alexis nods. “I actually wanted to see if you were interested in doing this a little … unconventionally.”
He studies her, almost as though he’s trying to read between the lines of what she’s saying and find their truth, even if he isn’t one hundred percent sure of it at the moment, but he trusts his wife enough to at least continue to let her talk. “What are you thinking?”
“I do want kids. And I do want kids that are ours one day. But me doing my residency isn’t really a great time for me to get pregnant physically. The hours are too grueling and my nutrition and sleep patterns are not conducive to a healthy, worry free pregnancy. Maybe once I finish and decide whether I want to actually work in the medical examiner’s office or private practice, or if I’m sticking with the hospital.”
“Okay,” he says, slowly dragging out the word. “So … where does the unconventional part come in?”
“Since we’re not starting a biological family right away … maybe we can have an adoptive one.” It’s a long shot, in her mind, but she wants to see if he’ll at least give it a chance before giving up on it. “We have a good home with the means to take care of one, and there are a lot of kids that need homes like that. So all the fun of being a parent, without the wear and tear on my body or risks to my health.”
It’s a lot to take in, and she can see it on Hal’s face. There were likely expectations that he had for their family, and she was not exactly adhering to them. In addition, it was a big decision to just take in a kid that was going to require certain kinds of care that they might not be able to give. She lets the silence sit, before giving a shrug as she takes a step back.
“It was just an idea. You can think about it.”
Hal nods. “I will.” And she can tell from his tone that it’s not just him being shell-shocked. He really will put some consideration into it. “It’s just … a lot.”
“I know.” She leans in to kiss him again. “That’s why you don’t have to have an answer right now. We can wait to figure this out.”
He smiles softly into the kiss. “I know. You’re just putting the idea on the table.”
“Exactly.” She grins. “Right now, I just want to shove this food in my face.”
He laughs as he goes to turn off the heat the rest of the way, and move to carry it towards the table. “Then, my lady, dinner is served.”
course correction | new york wolves | 981 | set 4
“God,” she murmured softly, “where did you come from?”
“I knew you were working really hard studying for boards,” Hal says as he comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. “So I thought you might want a little good luck breakfast before you took a nap after your shift.”
“You are the best husband, ever, in all the world.” She turns her head to the side to give him a brief kiss, piles of affection pouring out of her eyes. “Thank you.”
“You are very welcome.” He then sighs as he pulls back. “Unfortunately I have to go to work, but you’ll call me when you get out of the test?”
She pouts, but nods. “Last one. After this we will be officially out of the school woods.”
“Good,” he kisses her one last time before disappearing out the door. As he goes Alexis looks over the breakfast buffet and begins making the selections in front of her.
“Okay, brain food. Time to get to work.”
One unsuccessful nap and a few hours of testing later, Hal returns home to find his wife asleep again on the couch. Not that he blames her, given that she’s had quite a few stressful days recently, and fairly little sleep. He does his best to bustle around her quietly, fixing them dinner and waiting for her to rise from unconsciousness. As he’s finishing up the last bits, she finds her way back in, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and leaning in over his shoulder.
“Hi,” she murmurs.
“Hi.”
“That smells good.” She rests her chin on his shoulder. “Thank you for cooking dinner.”
“It is my pleasure,” he grins, turning down the heat before turning around to face her. “How’re you feeling?”
“Oddly? A whole lot lighter.” Alexis sighs as she settles in his arms comfortably. “It’s like a great big weight has been lifted and we can finally get around to planning other things.”
“Agreed,” he nods, as he leans in to kiss her again. “There’s a lot of things I’m excited to get planning too.”
“Ooh,” she says softly, smiling up at him. “Like what?”
“Like … maybe starting a family of our own?”
Alexis tips her head back to look at him more, curiosity crossing her features. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Hal nods. “I mean, I know a lot of the reason why we’ve been waiting is because we were too young and we had a lot of work to do to get our careers going but now that you’re finished your boards and are moving towards the end of your residency … I don’t know, maybe it would be a good time to get started.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too,” Alexis nods. “I actually wanted to see if you were interested in doing this a little … unconventionally.”
He studies her, almost as though he’s trying to read between the lines of what she’s saying and find their truth, even if he isn’t one hundred percent sure of it at the moment, but he trusts his wife enough to at least continue to let her talk. “What are you thinking?”
“I do want kids. And I do want kids that are ours one day. But me doing my residency isn’t really a great time for me to get pregnant physically. The hours are too grueling and my nutrition and sleep patterns are not conducive to a healthy, worry free pregnancy. Maybe once I finish and decide whether I want to actually work in the medical examiner’s office or private practice, or if I’m sticking with the hospital.”
“Okay,” he says, slowly dragging out the word. “So … where does the unconventional part come in?”
“Since we’re not starting a biological family right away … maybe we can have an adoptive one.” It’s a long shot, in her mind, but she wants to see if he’ll at least give it a chance before giving up on it. “We have a good home with the means to take care of one, and there are a lot of kids that need homes like that. So all the fun of being a parent, without the wear and tear on my body or risks to my health.”
It’s a lot to take in, and she can see it on Hal’s face. There were likely expectations that he had for their family, and she was not exactly adhering to them. In addition, it was a big decision to just take in a kid that was going to require certain kinds of care that they might not be able to give. She lets the silence sit, before giving a shrug as she takes a step back.
“It was just an idea. You can think about it.”
Hal nods. “I will.” And she can tell from his tone that it’s not just him being shell-shocked. He really will put some consideration into it. “It’s just … a lot.”
“I know.” She leans in to kiss him again. “That’s why you don’t have to have an answer right now. We can wait to figure this out.”
He smiles softly into the kiss. “I know. You’re just putting the idea on the table.”
“Exactly.” She grins. “Right now, I just want to shove this food in my face.”
He laughs as he goes to turn off the heat the rest of the way, and move to carry it towards the table. “Then, my lady, dinner is served.”