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k-evans-reads · 2 years ago

Text

Peace

An On Deck Extension

Summary: Chris returns home after a few weeks on the road.

Pairing: MLB!Chris Evans X OFC Samantha “Sam” Merrick

Word Count: 2,686

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: None.

Previous | Main Masterlist | On Deck Masterlist

October 2026

Chris pressed the call button on the steering wheel, coming to a stop at a red light while he listened to the line ring over the car’s speakers. His muscles ached in a way they always did after a busy week of games, but the end of the season was in sight, and Chris couldn’t help but look forwards to the postseason, even if it meant more time away from home. The sudden end of the ringing snapped Chris out of his thoughts and before Sam could answer, he murmured, “Hey baby.”

“Hey Mr. Home Run Hitter,” she replied, a smile evident in her voice. A matching grin appeared on his own lips as he slowly moved through the intersection towards their condo building.

He leaned back against the leather seat as his grin became a smirk, asking her, “You saw the game, huh?”

He’d missed her at the game today – he missed her at every game she didn’t go to. But with her classes and schedule at the clinics, it was hard to get time to watch most of the games, even from their house. “Like I’d miss a chance to see that baseball butt in your tight pants,” she replied with a laugh.

He huffed as the traffic slowed in front of him, but easily merged into the turn lane. “See? I always knew you only married me for my body.”

“Well it sure as hell wasn’t your stunning personality.”

A laugh left his lips again at her words, knowing they were far from the truth but that he wouldn’t have it any other way. “At least I’ve got something going for me,” he murmured, pulling in front of the building and hitting the opener inside his car for the doors.

“Are you on your way home?” She asked, her voice quiet and muffled as she moved, and he faintly heard a drawer shut in the background and a laugh. “We missed you around here today.”

He nearly melted at those words, knowing how much he felt it as well. He was barely home during most of the year, but those long weeks on the road hit him harder the more time went on. “Just pulling into the garage, baby,” he told her.

He drove into the garage, pulling the sunglasses off of his eyes as they both said goodbye to each other for the time being. Chris was so happy to be back on the field. Baseball was something so deeply rooted in him and being able to be back on the team was something he was so thankful for, especially after his injuries made him think this would never be possible.

But as much as he loved being back on the field, coming home every night was always so much better. He rushed as he left the car, grabbing his bag from the backseat and quickly headed to the elevator, tapping their key against the reader and heading up to their floor. His foot tapped against the tile floor as the elevator rose through the levels before stopping on the sixteenth floor with a faint ding.

The doors opened with a silent whoosh, and instantly Chris’ eyes were looking down when he heard a familiar patter across the wood floor. He stepped out of the elevator, dropping his bag carelessly as he saw some little wet brown curls bouncing as a smiling little face came running toward him chanting around the pacifier in his mouth, “Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!”

The sight of seeing his little boy with big blue eyes running to him, the grips on his foot-covered pajamas keeping him from sliding on the hardwood as he ran made his heart instantly melt. He was carrying a familiar well worn book in one tiny hand and his water bottle in the other, and Chris was astounded that neither fell out of the toddler’s hands, but all of that was forgotten as he got closer and Chris bent down with open arms as his loud voice boomed, “There’s my Blakey boy!”

He nearly rushed into Chris’ arm and Chris squeezed him tightly as he stood up again. He kissed the twenty-two month old’s cheeks, his beard making Blake squirm as his laughter echoed through the open space.

“Hi buddy, I missed you,” he murmured, shifting Blake onto his hip and taking the book that the boy held out to him excitedly. “What did you do today?”

“Ry Ry!”

He raised an eyebrow with a smile, kissing the toddler’s cheek again. “Did Uncle Riley come over today?” He asked him. It was common for Riley to take the subway down from campus to stop by. It’d started with just raiding their fridge and sleeping in his own room for the night his freshman year, and had now evolved into Riley coming by whenever he had a canceled class, finished his work early, or just wanted to see them – but mainly it was to see Blake. He and Blake were so close, in a way he and Sam never expected given the twenty years between them, but it was one of their favorite things to see now.

The boy grinned behind his pacifier, laying his head onto Chris’ firm shoulder as he quietly told him, “Yeah.”

He adjusted Blake onto his hip, the smell of the boy’s lavender shampoo evident. “That sounds fun, buddy,” he replied quietly, reaching down to pet Dodger as the dog bounced around his feet excitedly.

Blake made a small sound of displeasure as he gently patted Chris’ chest, kicked his legs a bit, then whined, “Daddy, story.”

He huffed out a laugh and gave Blake a little look, placating him and saying, “I’ll read you your book in just a minute, bud. Where’s your Ma?”

Chris looked in the direction that Blake’s finger pointed and walked down the hall, calling out, “Sammy? Baby, I'm home.”

“I’m in Blake’s room,” she called back, just she shut something with a slight clatter.

With this knowledge, Chris walked down the hallway, purposely bouncing Blake on his hip and making him giggle the entire way. But when Chris rounded the corner and saw Sam standing next to the dresser, folding a few tiny shirts, he couldn’t help but pause for a moment. It had been four years since they’d been married and he still felt his heart skip a beat every time he saw her.

He watched as Sam turned her head, letting him see her makeup free face which put all her freckles on display and her dimples made an appearance as she looked at the two before asking Blake, “Did you find your daddy?”

Blake’s wet hair tickled Chris’ chin as he turned further into Chris, a small hand clinging to Chris’ shirt as he told her, “Daddy home.”

“That’s right bud, Daddy’s home now,” Chris murmured, pressing a kiss to the boy’s hair as he stepped further into the room. “And so happy to be.”

Sam reached out, carefully unrolling Blake’s sleeve of his pajamas as she told Chris, “We’re happy about that too.”

“I missed you, baby,” Chris replied, pausing as he kissed Sam quickly, then shifted Blake to his other side with a sigh. “And I missed this little guy too.”

But Blake whined again, his tiny feet swinging against Chris unhappily as he reminded Chris, “Daddy, story,”

He exchanged an amused look with Sam before he reached out, taking the boy’s dinosaur water bottle in his hand before he said, “I see how it is, he only wants me for what I can give him.”

He heard Sam’s laugh echo in the room before Chris went over to sit in the padded rocking chair, situating Blake in his lap with his water bottle in hand, before opening up the book that he swore he had completely memorized at this point. He slowly rocked back and forth while he read, feeling his sweet little boy starting to relax against him. But right as he was flipping to the last page of the book, he saw Sam looking at them from where she was putting the laundry away and quietly informed him that Blake was fast asleep, the point being proven when the pacifier fell out of Blake’s mouth and onto his lap.

Chris took the water bottle and book, putting it on the small table before carefully picking Blake up and going to lay him down without disturbing his sleep. He tucked Blake’s stuffed dog under the boy’s arm, rubbing his back until he was sure Blake was settled.

Sam had just finished shutting his curtains and nodded her head towards the hallway as they both quietly left the room, shutting the lights off behind them and cracking the door, Blake’s star night light glowing as they headed down the hallway into the kitchen quietly.

Chris reached out, his arm wrapping around Sam’s waist with a content sigh as he finally got her to himself. It didn’t matter if he had been away from her for weeks or just one day, everything felt right the minute that he had her back in his arms. He felt her arms snake around his neck, allowing him to easily lean in to kiss her deeply, having gone much too long without it before they parted and Sam led him into the kitchen.

“You hungry?” She asked, her arms moving as she pulled her long, dark curly hair into a messy bun with a deep sigh.

Chris shrugged, knowing he’d eaten some after the game but had been in a rush to get out to see Blake before he went to bed. “A little,” he admitted.

“Sit down, I’ll heat up some leftovers,” she instructed as she headed to the fridge, digging around the random containers of food, carefully avoiding the mac and cheese and chicken nuggets from Blake.

Chris watched her, his chin in his hand as he finally sat down. He’d been running on adrenaline all week, but felt the exhaustion settling into his body as he finally took a second to breathe. “How was work this week, baby?”

“Okay…I missed Blake a lot while I was there this week,” she answered, her voice quiet. Chris knew what she meant, having a job that took him out of the city the majority of the year. But it didn’t mean anything when he knew Sam never complained once about it, instead being the sole caretaker for Blake most of the time, on top of her clinic hours and class schedule, with Riley, Blake’s daycare, sometimes his mother, and the occasional babysitter being the only help she had during the season. “It’s harder to leave him when you’re gone.”

“I know what you mean,” he told her honestly. It wasn’t as if the reality of being in his career hadn’t hit him before, especially after he and Sam got married and he had his first season back in the major leagues. But missing out on time with Sam and Riley did little to prepare him to leave Blake for weeks, only getting bursts of time at home every few weeks. To see Blake growing up through pictures and videos, missing a lot of his firsts, and realizing how much he’d changed between leaving and returning from trips only hurt him, but it was the necessary evil, and the reason he loved the winters, when he was home with them all the time. “I’m glad it’s almost time for the off season. I’m ready to just be home with you guys.”

She turned with a smile just as she pulled some chicken out of the microwave, confessing, “Me too.”

She brought the plate in front of Chris, sitting down next to him at the island. He ate quietly, able to hear the soft tune of Blake’s night light as the sound drifted down the hallway. He couldn’t stop thinking about their baby, laying in his crib in those planet pajamas as he slept soundly. He knew they’d never have imagined themselves in these shoes only three years ago, but here they were. Sam had thrived in her role in a way he knew she never would have been able to predict, loving that boy even more than he adored her. Getting to be her husband and Blake’s father was the greatest thing he’d ever been given, and he never took it for granted once.

But as the silence persisted, Sam asked, “Chris… are you okay?”

“Yeah….I just, I don’t know. I just can’t believe this is my life sometimes,” he shrugged with a laugh. He could see the toys in the playroom off the kitchen, scattered around from Blake’s mania earlier. This was the home he once dreaded living in, never putting a personal touch on it until after he and Sam got together. Everything from the pictures on the walls to the furniture in the condo had once been handpicked by a team of designers, purchased from the stagers because he couldn’t have been bothered to put more thought into it. But now it was a home, complete with Blake’s fingerprints all over the floor-to-ceiling windows, his trains on the coffee table, pictures of Riley at his high school graduation on the wall, smiling next to Sam and Chris, then Sam at her undergraduate graduation, then of them holding Blake the day they’d brought him home from the hospital the following year. “I’m married to the girl of my fuckin’ dreams and I get to come home to you and Blake and I just can’t believe it sometimes.”

“I know what you mean,” she smiled, blinking away what he thought might’ve been tears as she put her hand on his arm, rubbing her thumb along his sleeve. “I was thinking about that a little when Riley was here today. I was thinking about how when I was Riley’s age, I was working from open until close in the diner, praying I’d get good enough tips that I could buy him some clothes from Goodwill for the school year or how I’d hold him in bed and try to get him to fall asleep so he wouldn’t hear our mom’s screaming match with one of her boyfriends or know how drunk she was when she came home.”

“But things are different now,” he reminded her – and himself. “And Blake’s never going to have to grow up with any of those things.”

Sam nodded, stealing a sip from Chris’ water glass before she admitted to him, “I just can’t help but think that the other shoe is going to drop. That something is going to happen and I’m going to lose all of this.”

“That’s never going to happen, Sammy,” he rushed to tell her, pushing the plate away and turning to look at her. He jerked his chin towards the hallway, reminding her, “Baby, we’ve been married for four years now and it’s not enough. I want forever with you, and with Blake, and nothing is going to happen that’s going to change any of that.”

He watched as her chin wobbled slightly and she reached a hand up to rub at her cheeks. Sam stayed quiet as she wiped away her silent tears, just enough until she asked, “...Even when Blake leaves his trains out and we step on them?”

“Okay, that may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he admitted with a laugh, shaking his head as he remembered the latest incident. “I swear I still have a fuckin’ imprint of that train on my foot from last week.”

“Chris…”

He raised an eyebrow, his hand dropping to rest on her thigh, rubbing his thumb along the bare skin exposed by her shorts and asking her, “Yeah, baby?”

Sam’s hand slid up his arm and hooked around the back of his shoulder, her brown eyes wide and vulnerable as she replied, “I just want to tell you that I love you, and I’m really happy.”

He looked at her through his long eyelashes, a wide grin on his face as he agreed, “I am too, Sammy.”

A/N: Surprise! We hope you guys enjoyed a glimpse into Blake! We love him and cannot wait to share more about him and how they came to be parents! Let us know your thoughts!

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k-evans-reads · 2 years ago

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The Best Things In Life

An On Deck Extension

Summary: After a hectic few weeks, Sam opens up to Chris.

Pairing: MLB!Chris Evans X OFC Samantha “Sam” Merrick

Word Count: 3,732

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: None.

Previous | Main Masterlist | On Deck Masterlist

May 2028

“Where’s Daddy?”

“He’s in the locker room, buddy,” Sam promised Blake, watching as he practically vibrated with excitement as his eyes looked around the room, a small frown appearing on his face as the door to the locker room opened only to let a reporter out. “He’ll be out soon.”

She smoothed a hand over her tee shirt as she watched Blake bounce on his heels, his sneakers lighting up with every movement as he waited to see his father. The weekend games at Fenway had become a tradition with the Evans-Merrick family, with Blake, Sam, occasionally Lisa, and more often than not, Riley all going to support the team and spend time together, but long gone were the days of Blake napping on one of them through a couple innings. Now, evidenced by the sneakers on her feet, Sam spent most of the game chasing the energetic toddler around the suite, trying to keep track of him while occasionally checking on the score and hoping to not miss the second baseman’s activities.

“I go get him,” he told her, his blue eyes determined as he dropped his water bottle on the ground. He ignored Sam’s move to grasp his shoulders, instead bouncing away from her in his jersey and backwards hat.

“Blakey, wait here,” she instructed him, sighing when her pleas went ignored by the three-year-old. His little body was beelining past the other players’ families, ignoring the kids who had quickly become some of his best friends and playmates, all along his mission to get to the door, but she quickly caught up with him with his water in hand. Sam spun him to look at her, a scowl on his face that was so reminiscent of his father that it made her laugh before she firmly told him, “Blake Samuel, we’re waiting out here. Daddy has to take a shower and get changed.”

Blake’s lower lip jutted out as his hand moved up to push the backwards cap farther up his forehead and out of his eyes. His eyes darted as he held his arms up to Sam, voice quiet when he asked her, “Why?”

“Because Daddy smells bad after his games,” she reminded Blake with a smirk as she picked him up, setting the toddler on her hip. His head turned to rest on her shoulder just as Sam pulled the cap off of his head and dropped it in her bag along with the water bottle, revealing his messy mop of dark curls as he yawned loudly.

His eyes were locked on the door to the locker room for several moments, all but willing Chris to walk through the doors, before he looked up at Sam and agreed, “Daddy’s stinky.”

“You got that right, Blake,” she murmured, eyes slipping shut as she pressed a kiss to her boy’s hair, but her eyes flew open when she heard an excited gasp slip out of Blake’s lips and felt him start squirming in her hold.

Standing there, a few feet away from them just outside of the locker room, was Chris. A backpack was slung over his shoulder and his wet hair was messily stuck to his forehead, but the look on his face made Sam’s heart skip a beat. “Hey! There’s my Blakey boy!” He cheered as Blake was put onto the ground, smiling as he ran into Chris’ arms excitedly. “How’s my best buddy?”

“Uncle Riley got me popcorn!” Blake told Chris, his voice happy. Sam couldn’t help but to laugh at those words, thinking about how it had unintentionally become the highlight of the day for the boy. Going to games, while it was still fun and exciting for Blake, had quickly become more about what he did at the games, what he got to play with in the families’ suite with the other kids, and what treats he could wheedle out of Sam, rather than anything Chris or his teammates did.

“Oh he did?” Chris asked, his eyes wide as he listened to Blake. He grasped the boy under his arms and stood up to his full height, meeting Sam’s eyes for the first time as he walked the short distance to her. “So the popcorn was a lot more memorable than the triple your old man hit to score two runs, huh?” He asked, a smirk on his lips as he bounced Blake in his arms, making the boy giggle wildly.

Sam’s hand rested on Blake’s back as her boys stood in front of her, ticking him lightly before she met Chris’ eyes. She stood up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to Chris’ quickly before they pulled away and she informed him, “Blake got popcorn, Skittles, and a hot dog so you bringing those runs home wouldn’t even make his top three favorite things from the game.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Chris muttered, shaking his head in amusement.

Sam watched as Blake yawned again, knowing he’d be ready to crash soon, and told Chris, “We should probably get home soon, Blake is pretty tired.”

With a short nod and a quick goodbye to a few of his teammates, they headed down the hall to the exit, listening to Blake’s rambles about what games he’d played with the other kids as they strapped him into his carseat. Sam quietly climbed into the passenger seat before Chris got in on the other side and started the car. Her brain felt cluttered, so full of heavy emotions and noisy thoughts that had been filling her head for the past couple days.

She was thankful that Chris was even chattier than normal, reaching his free hand over to rest on her thigh covered in denim and rubbing his thumb softly while he animatedly spoke about the game. She didn’t blame him for being a little more hyped up than normal with how intense the game had been but Sam had barely noticed. There just was too much on her mind.

“Baby?” He asked, his voice lower now that Blake had fallen asleep in the back.

“Hmm? What?” She asked, glancing over at him as the car rolled to a stop at a red light. It’d been a long few days – week really – with Chris having seven games with a couple on the road, along with work for her, all while balancing Blake’s preschool and daycare schedules, and knowing what lay ahead of them until the season ended in the fall. She’d learned to relish the time that Blake and Chris got to have together among the pockets of separation during the season, but it’d only gotten harder on them all as Blake grew older and more aware of Chris’ absence for half of the year.

“...Are you okay?” Chris asked her, his voice nothing but concerned as he looked over at her from the driver’s seat. He shrugged at her silence, his foot pressing down lightly on the gas and his eyes returning to the road as he explained, “You’re kind of quiet.”

“Just tired I guess,” she lied, her voice even as she leaned her head back against the driver’s seat, exhausted from the long day and week.

But Sam saw the look in his eyes as he glanced over at her and she knew that Chris wasn’t buying it. He knew her too well. And he was right in knowing there was more than she was letting on but Chris chose to leave it alone which Sam was thankful for as they finished their drive.

Once they quietly made their way from the building’s garage to their condo, Sam took a still-sleeping Blake from Chris so that she could put the toddler to bed while Dodger and Chris went for a quick walk to the corner and back. The silence in the condo was welcomed as Sam slowly changed Blake out of his shorts and Red Sox jersey and into a pair of pajamas, tucking him into his bed and turning on his nightlight and sound machine before she cracked the door behind her and made her way down the hall and into her and Chris’ room. As she closed the curtains, she could hear the beep of the elevator just before Dodger and Chris made their way into the unit and down the hall, the door shutting behind them once they made it into the bedroom.

Sam had her back to Chris as she pulled on a pair of pajamas, her mind racing still even as she could feel his stare. It was a quiet, slightly tense few minutes, until Chris finally blurted out, “So are you going to tell me what’s going on or just keep acting weird?”

She turned her head as she pulled a pair of loose pants over her hips, brows furrowed as she watched him drop his clothes into their hamper. “What do you mean?” She asked him, jaw set stubbornly. She turned, walked past Chris, and into the bathroom, ignoring his frustrated sigh at her actions as she stood in front of their vanity to wash her face.

“I’m meaning the fact that you’re not acting like yourself at all,” he clarified, brows furrowed as concern took over. His hip leaned against the tall cabinet next to her side of the vanity as she applied her cleanser, insisting, “Something’s obviously going on.”

“Why? What would be going on?”

He shrugged helplessly, hands flying in the air as he told her, “I don’t know, that’s kind of why I’m asking you.”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” she repeated, leaning down to rinse the cleanser off of her skin.

He let out another frustrated sigh, his eyes shutting as he listened to her rebuttal. “Are you ever going to stop being so fuckin’ stubborn and just tell me? Honestly, it would be a lot easier,” He asked her, his emotions flaring momentarily as he pushed himself off the cabinet and stood behind her.

Sam reached for her washcloth, drying off her face. She stared at herself in the mirror as she patted her skin dry, trying to muster the argument that’d postpone this discussion. But she knew there was nothing she could do, especially at this point. “I’m pregnant.” She finally told him, fearful eyes meeting his surprised gaze in the mirror.

His jaw had dropped slightly and his brows were raised, pure shock on his face as he asked, “...You’re pregnant?”

“I just… I don’t know how this happened Chris,” she admitted, arms crossing over herself as she spun around to face him. She leaned against the soapstone countertop as she looked him in the eyes. She felt awful. She knew they’d been careful their entire relationship, but especially since they’d been married to not have any chances outside of when they were actively trying to have Blake, but since then? Pills, regular periods, and absolutely nothing to note. Until the last two weeks. “I’ve not missed any of my birth control.”

His eyes dropped from her for a second before they snapped back up, his voice nervous as he asked, “Are you sure you’re pregnant?”

“Pretty fucking sure,” she all but scoffed. There was a stack of about ten different tests lined up in her drawer, thanks to a CVS run after dropping Blake off at preschool earlier in the week. All positive, without a hint of doubt.

Her hand moved to open the drawer, showing Chris silently. He stood over it, eyes moving from test to test as he thought quietly before he asked, “How long have you known?”

She stared down at the tests, the ten ‘positive’ windows almost mocking her. “A few days,” she admitted.

“Baby… why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, his voice almost disappointed. She brought her eyes up to meet his, tears burning her brown eyes as she stared at Chris. She felt bad, almost as if she was a disappointment to him for a fluke incident, but also that she’d been keeping this from him – in nearly plain sight, if he’d accidentally opened that drawer while looking for extra toothpaste in the last few days – but she couldn’t have put one more thing on him this week. He’d just gotten back from Philadelphia and Atlanta earlier in the week and had such a busy schedule between then and now, while also trying to soak up time with Blake. She hadn’t wanted to distract him, but she should’ve known he’d figure something was up before she was ready to tell the truth.

“Because I didn’t know how,” she confessed, her voice breaking as shame flooded her. “This wasn’t what we were planning on.”

She watched as Chris barely even reacted to those words but she knew they both understood the meaning. They had decided that Blake was it. They’d had their one, amazing, unbelievable child and felt indescribably lucky to be his parents, but didn’t want to tempt fate with another when they were so content with just Blake. And that's always been their philosophy, but life had other plans for them. “How are you feeling about it?” Chris quietly asked her, his voice now worried.

“I honestly don’t even know,” Sam choked out, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I just never thought I wanted kids and then we had Blake and that’s been amazing but I’m just…”

“What, baby?” He murmured, his hands moving to gently unwind her arms from her torso and then grasped her hand. “Just say it. Just tell me.”

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it again. I’m afraid that Blake going well was a fluke and if I have another kid I’ll somehow screw it all up and end up being like my mom,” she finally admitted to him. She felt it was almost selfish to ask for more at this point when Blake was just… everything she never knew life could be like. He woke up everyday with a smile on his face, excited for the day no matter if it meant going to school so Sam could go to the clinic while Chris was on the road, or if it was the rare day that he got to spend at home with both of his parents. It was so rare that he got both of them at this point that it definitely felt unfair to even consider bringing another into the mix, but this still felt like it wasn’t even certain in Sam’s mind. They still had time, there were many conversations and learning curves to be had, and nothing was set in stone yet.

“Samantha Evans, there is not one part of your relationship with Blake that’s a fluke,” Chris sternly told her, his voice firm and strong. “You are an incredible mother because of who you are, not in-spite of it.”

She reached a hand up to rub at her eyes, harshly wiping the tears away as she nervously asked, “But what if I can’t do it again. What if I screw up this kid?”

“Sammy, in the years I’ve known you, I’ve seen you become a mother to Riley and raise him when you were only a kid yourself. Then I got to see you have our Blakey boy and be the best mother I could ever dream of for our son,” he told her with full honesty. Sam almost shrunk under the weight of the praise he was giving her, feeling she didn’t deserve any of it. Riley…. Anyone could’ve raised that boy and he still would’ve turned out the same, would’ve been put on the same path that had led him to be that kind, loving young man who was now a professional in the real world, having grown up in the blink of an eye. He just was a good person.

But with Blake, she felt like she second guessed everything. Bonding at first was a struggle, but soon their biggest issue was everything from the way his swaddles were tied as a baby to the food they fed him to how she fed him, to the activities they did now and if he was learning enough and on track. It was overwhelming and she went to bed each night exhausted and fearful that she still somehow hadn’t done enough for him that day. Chris shrugged, oblivious to the racing thoughts in her mind as he simply told her, “So if you don’t want to have another baby, that’s a different conversation, but if this is only because you think you’re not a good mother, then let me tell you that’s a load of bullshit.”

“I just never expected this. I never expected any of this,” her voice shook with the weight of the admission. “I still feel like the diner girl working until my feet are sore and wondering how I’m going to be able to buy Riley new shoes and when I realize that I’m here with you and have this family with you and Blake and Riley, I guess I just… have a hard time accepting this is my life. I never expected to be this happy.”

“Neither did I, baby,” Chris smiled, his hands moving from her sides to instead rest on the small of her back, gently pulling her just a few inches closer to him. “I think we’ve found in both our lives that the unexpected things have been the best parts of our lives.”

She finally smiled, for the first time since he stepped out of that locker room hours ago. She thought about that statement. He’d come bursting back into her life in the most unexpected way, and everything about their relationship was still unbelievable to her. His career ending and resuming was unexpected, along with the additional World Series pennant that now hung in Fenway. They’d never expected to have kids in the first place, but when they both realized they could do it – and maybe do it well – they decided to try, and Blake changed them for the better. Her life for the last six years had been nothing short of magical, and she knew that as long as Chris was by her side with their boys, they’d be okay. “I think so too,” she admitted to him, her hand lifting to rest on his bare shoulder.

He pursed his lips and arched an eyebrow as he looked down at her, his voice low as he suggested, “Then how about we let this be another unexpected good thing in our lives?”

It was almost funny when Sam thought about it, realizing how the unexpected and unknown seemed to always hold negative things in her younger years. Uncertainty only spelled stress and sleepless nights, but ever since Chris had made his unexpected reappearance in her life, the only things that popped up and surprised her were good and she rested in that truth, knowing that this would be too.

“I want that, Chris,” she spoke, her voice strong and full of certainty. “I want to have this baby if you do.”

“There’s nothing I want more,” he smiled, his eyes twinkling as he pressed his lips to her forehead and took a second to soak in the excitement and gravity of the moment. Her eyes darted to the side, feeling nothing but peace as she looked at the line of pregnancy tests, butterflies in her stomach at the positives. “Baby, this is so fucking exciting. We’re going to get to have another.”

Her hand worked its way into his hair, gently moving through the brown locks as she mused, “I wonder what Blake is going to think of it.”

“You know he’s going to be so happy,” Chris chuckled, pressing his lips to her cheek as his eyes misted over at the mere mention of Blake and the baby. “Can you imagine him as a big brother? I can’t fuckin’ wait to see that.”

But Sam smirked, her nose scrunching as she added, “Let’s hope he’s a better brother than you were to your siblings.”

Chris leaned back, his brows furrowing and a frown on his face while he suspiciously – and innocently – asked her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

But she simply frowned at him, knowing that he had absolutely no right to argue that statement. It was a perk, and drawback, of having known Chris for nearly their entire lives, she knew all his worst moments from childhood. “I seem to remember that time that you tricked Scott into wetting his pants. Oh and that time that you tried to tell Shanna she was invisible. And then that one time-”

“Okay, okay, I think we know Blake will be a better brother than I was,” Chris conceded, but then looked at her with a smirk and added, “Apparently I’m not all bad though because I somehow managed to score you, even after you hated me at first.”

“Can you blame me? You were an ass,” she laughed, smacking his chest lightly just as his hand moved down to do the same to her rear.

He smirked down at her, but quickly the mischievous – and slightly sexy – expression turned soft as he said, “Hopefully a bit less of one now.”

“I think it’s safe to say you won me over a long time ago,” Sam assured him, watching the way her words swelled confidence in him.

She pulled him closer to her, wrapping herself around him as she finally got the comfort of his touch. She knew this was something they never anticipated, having gone through a variety of safeguards in order to prevent it, but she had never felt so relieved to have Chris. Not only as a friend and comfort, but as a partner to lean on. She knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t hesitate to do anything, not only for her or the young boy, asleep in his little bed down the hall with a stuffed animal tucked in his arms, but also for Riley, across town in his apartment, and everyone else they considered family. And now, also for their newest addition, whose presence was invisible except for the physical symptoms and tests in that drawer that confirmed her suspicions.

But like Chris said, the best things in their lives were the unexpected ones. And this one was their biggest surprise yet.

A/N: One more little Evans baby! Thank you so much for reading and we can't wait to hear your thoughts!