Closed One Day at a Time

[Alana Finch]

Alana had been a ball of nerves for most of the new year with the trials of the men who had attacked her father happening. She'd wanted to go to the trials, but so had her father and his Healer had decided it wasn't in his best interest so they'd both stayed home. Her father was currently in the basement working on a few potions for her. Normally, she'd have asked Chaos but she didn't want him to know about this potion just yet.

Alana knew tonight would be another sleepless night. Yevheniy Kharchenko, a name she'd never forget, would be on trial the following day. Alana had already bitten her nails to their nubs and had tried playing with Eris some to distract her, but she'd wanted her father more. So she'd left her daughter's room to pace and pace, glad for the distraction of the evening post. Alana sifted through the mail as she waited for Chaos to come into the living room. A bill, another bill, a letter from her brother, a few for Chaos, and then another for her. Alana opened it quickly, reading the contents before tucking the letter into her pocket with a small smile. She headed back to their bedroom to prepare for bed, changing quickly into a night dress. Alana spoke when she thought she heard noise in the room. "Is Eris down for the night?"

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Eris was growing up so fast. She was already three years old, and she was like a weed. Chaos did notice that she looked as pretty as her mother. However, it proved to be a little difficult to get Eris to lay down for the night. After reading a story to her, three times in a row, she was tuckered out. Chaos almost fell asleep a couple of times. Chaos lifted himself up and tucked Eris into her bed. With her crib down in storage for a while, a part of him wondered if they should get rid of it. Chaos had changed drastically since he moved in with his wife. It seemed as though his home life affected how he reacted toward others. It was still difficult because he didn't care, especially since he gained the head chef position at his job. He purposely tears them down to get them to do their job. The dominant behavior that Chaos still had would always be there. But at home, it was different. He knew it was wrong. And he tried every day to be the best husband and father, giving Eris an upbringing that he didn't have, without a psychopath for a brother.

The trial of Yevheniy Kharchenko was a hard one to deal with. Chaos himself knew the man, even befriended him a long time ago. Well, sort of. Chaos deemed him unworthy because of what he had done to Alana's father. Chaos yawned as he went into the restroom to get his face washed and his teeth brushed. He yawned once more and walked into the bedroom to see Alana in a nightdress, and then asked if Eris was down for the night. "It took a while, but yeah. Oh, by the way, since one of my cooks set the kitchen on fire this morning, I'm closing down my restaurant for a week to get it fixed and remodeled. F***ing idiot." Chaos rolled his eyes as he removed his shirt, tossing it into the clothing bin. He was already in house pants, so this would do.

 

[Alana Finch]

"One of your cooks?" she repeated, a droll tone to her voice as her eyes found Chaos in the mirror. Her eyes remained on him a bit longer, taking in his tattoo before she turned with brush in hand as she began to brush out her hair. "Any chance your guy wants to set anything else on fire? I have a few things he could do" she replied, her tone quiet and full of bitterness. She heard a noise that could only be her father exiting the basement and listened some more as there was more movement and then silence. He must have flooed home. Alana hoped he wouldn't get lost. His memory was not the same these days and he forgot things easily. She worried over him, worried over how things would go tomorrow.

Finally, Alana put the brush down and moved to the bed, climbing in. She was lost in a train of thought about the next day and wondering if this would ever truly be over. The men might be in prison, but her father would never be whole. He was still her father, but he wasn't the same man he'd known before. He was clearly different. She turned to face Chaos. "I almost forgot. Your mail is there. I think one might be from Havoc" she frowned as she waved a hand toward the chair where she'd left her pile of clothes, her secret letter inside. If any of the mail was from Havoc, it would probably not be pleasant.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos nodded subtly to answer the question. Then she asked if he would want to burn down other things. He immediately understood the reference. Chaos shrugged, “I could have him to while we fix and repaint the kitchen. Axel wanted to fire him, but setting things on fire accidentally isn’t justified for me.” Chaos glanced over his shoulder at his wife while she brushed her hair. It was long, blonde, and absolutely gorgeous. He kept his purple eyes on her as she got into the bed. She mentioned that he had a letter from Havoc, and he groaned. Chaos and Havoc no longer really saw eye to eye on things.

Chaos went over and got the letter. He opened it to give it a quick read. Nothing important, just following up with some family news. Ever since Havoc named his son after his twin, expecting him to perish, Chaos had kept his distance. Havoc had caused a lot of distress with his wife and himself. “Nothing really,” Chaos mumbled as he noticed something else that fell. Another letter? Chaos bent down and picked it up. He looked to see that it was to Alana. “Did you lose something under the pile of clothes? I hope it isn’t a bill...”

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana watched Chaos for his reaction as he read over the letter from Havoc. Chaos' twin was a piece of work, often sending weird notes simply to put Chaos on edge. Her husband almost never told her the content of the letters and she didn't bother to ask. Truly, the less she had to think about Havoc, the better. He was terrible. Alana began to get her pillow fluffed up and took her attention off Chaos for the moment. "Then, come to bed" she stated quietly. As he spoke again, the woman's heart began to beat rapidly. "NO!" she exclaimed, far louder than was necessary for his question. Then, she sighed. Of course, Alana had always planned on telling Chaos, but she'd hoped for a better moment. "You might as well look now that you've seen it. Just take a seat first" she finished, giving a tap to his side of the bed. Alana leaned her head in her hand as she turned onto her side to watch Chaos as he read the news. She hoped for a good reaction, knew that she would be devastated if he wasn't happy about her being pregnant again.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos did not expect Alana to say “no” as loud as she did. The reaction could not be helped as he flinched in surprise, dropping the letter that as addressed to his wife. Chaos turned his head around to look at her in shock over what that could be, before he finally calmed down. “Okay then... I feel like I should be worried over this.” Chaos bent down and picked up the letter. He walked over to the bed and sat down, putting one leg under his thigh. He unfolded it and started to read, expecting to see more bad news about her father or something else. Instead, what he read was the opposite of bad news. Chaos dropped the letter, turned around and asked, “This isn’t a joke, is it? I mean, it isn’t like we’ve been... I mean, we have been trying but...” It took it a few moments to sink in before he finally chuckled. “This is awesome.” Chaos sank back into the mattress, almost forming a T next to his wife. He looked at her, definitely not upset about it. It actually didn’t feel real still. “How far along? Do you have any weird cravings? Oh, while the kitchen is closed, I could work on the nursery... Crap I just took the crib down to the storage.”

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana worked to keep her expression neutral, her nerves struggling to take over. The woman still considered herself a new mother, even with a two year old. She watched Chaos reading the letter, and braced herself as he turned around. She shook her head gently, assuring him that this was not a joke. When Chaos laid down, Alana reached her free hand to run through his hair. She let out a sigh of relief, happy he was fine with this, more than fine in fact. Alana chuckled lightly at his words. "I'm sorry. I almost said something the other day when I saw you taking it down, but I wasn't sure." She gave him a faint smile. "I think around 12 weeks" she stated, "but we can find out for sure next week." Alana rested her head down on her pillow. "You're really happy then?" she asked, hoping he'd reassure her again.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

His purple eyes closed as her fingers ran through his hair. Chaos had a weakness to just relax anytime that happened. It was gentle, loving, something that he lacked most of his childhood with the exception of his adopted mother. He opened his eyes to look at his wife as she said that she almost said something then. He narrowed them before chuckling, “Fine, I’ll bring it back up in about a month. After we figure out the gender, we can paint the nursery accordingly.” Chaos half hoped that it would be another girl, but a boy would be okay too. She was not far along, but it was still long enough to experience some symptoms. “I am very happy for this. I do wonder how Eris will react...”