Danny and Elise Ch. 13

Elise's mentally state finally started improving once she was able to rid herself of the cane a couple of weeks later. If it hadn't been for Lorraine helping her out during the day, she probably would have gone completely insane while she was recovering. Even after she was able to hobble around on her own, her mother in-law still stopped by every afternoon just to make sure she was doing ok, mentally and physically. Elise appreciated her for the individual she was, not being able to ask for a better mother in-law, but her kindness was so similar to Danny's that it made her feel like he was still with her during the day, in a way.

It kind of scared her how accustomed to being around someone, even at work, she had become the year and a half since she and Danny had gotten together. She was so used to living alone, being a loner in general. Had her life changed that much already? Elise tried to attribute her extra feelings of loneliness and clinginess on her vulnerable state. If she was being totally honest, she was on the edge of slipping into a dark place before she started being able to get around on her own.

"Hey, babe. How did your appointment go?" Danny asked as soon as he walked in the door.

"Good. Glad to be done with them finally," she smiled up at him as he crossed the living room and kissed her forehead before sitting down next to her on the couch.

"I'm just glad you're getting around better and you're cheering up finally. You were starting to worry me there for awhile."

"I'm sorry," Elise leaned her head against his shoulder as he took one of her hands in his.

"Don't be," he kissed the side of her forehead. "I think anyone in your shoes would have gotten down in the dumps, to say the least. So what else did the doctor say?"

"Not much. Just to still take it easy, sleep with the pillow, don't over do it. That sort of thing," she paused. "Oh. There is one more important thing."

"Oh?"

"Yah. It's really important and it's something I'll need your help with...Just as soon as we eat the delicious dinner I made."

"I was wondering what smelled so good. But don't change the subject," he pointed at her. "What do you need help with?"

Elise lifted her head and spoke low into his ear.

"I need you to make love to me."

Danny snapped his head towards her, raising his eyebrows. Elise couldn't help but grin.

"Yah?" he finally spoke after a few seconds, the small word full of surprise and excitement.

"Yes," she took his face in her hands and kissed him. "But first, dinner," she patted the side of his face.

Elise tried not to obsess over it throughout dinner, but failed miserably. She hadn't thought about sex as much as she thought she would while she was healing up. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't pleasured herself in bed a few mornings after Danny had gone to work and before Lorraine came over, but still. Now that they could make love again, Elise hoped she wasn't building it up too much.

Danny was not helping matters by making sexual innuendos as they ate their pork chops and mashed potatoes. Neither of them could wipe the goofy smiles from their faces either, looking at each other like two teenagers with a crush on each other.

"Leave that for later," Danny came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as she attempted to clean up dinner. Elise jumped.

"You ok?"

"Yah. Just...a little nervous," she admitted.

"Why?" his brow furrowed.

"I don't know," she tried to shrug her concerns off. "Just being silly," she shook her head slightly.

"What is it?" Danny insisted.

Elise sighed.

"What if it hurts? What if I...can't? What if I've been building it up too much? It's like all I've thought about since I left the doctor," she blushed.

"Baby," he turned her to face him. "It'll be fine. If you can't, you can't. If you can, then great," he paused. "We don't have to right away just because they said you can," he offered.

"No," Elise answered quickly. "I want to. I told you. I'm just being silly."

"You're not being silly," Danny looked her in the eyes. "Come on," he took her hand. "It'll be fine."

Elise bit her lip as a cold chill coursed through her body as Danny entered her slowly. It hadn't taken her long to be ready. His sensual touch felt good. Elise realized she had missed it more than she had thought as his warm lips kissed her neck, collarbone, breasts...

"You ok?" concern clouded his face and voice.

"Yes," Elise laughed softly. "You just, it feels really good," she felt her cheeks warm.

"Good," he leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"Tell me to stop, if you need to. Ok?"

Elise nodded in agreement.

"Just be gentle, ok?"

"Of course," Danny spoke softly as he began kissing her again. They made slow, intimate love. It was almost like their first time all over again how gentle he was, taking their time. Elise knew better, but tried meeting his hips with her own several times, but it made them ache. She tried wrapping her legs around him once and immediately had to put them back, making her wince. She began to get frustrated.

"It's ok," Danny stopped momentarily, smoothing hair away from her face lovingly.

"Just let me do the work. I'm still enjoying myself. Promise. Things will be back to normal before you know it."

Elise tried hard to fight the tears in her eyes as he continued making love to her, her emotions getting the better of her. Her tears came from a combination of being frustrated, Danny's patience, and simply how good he felt inside of her. She was a mess, but refused to let her thoughts screw things up. Elise had been looking forward to this all day and focused on the feel of his body.

She lost herself in him, sounds of pleasure escaping her lips more and more as Danny gently made love to her. Elise's arms still worked and she clung to him as they both climaxed, thankful they had peaked at the same time. It may be silly, but it always made her feel even closer to him, more in sync. They laid side by side, the only sounds their breath slowing, for a few minutes. Danny turned on his side, lazily resting his arm across her bare stomach.

"Well, how did I do?" he smirked at her.

"Good. Better than good," she laughed.

"You ok?" he asked for what felt like the millionth time that evening as he brushed away some remaining wetness from the edge of one of her eyes.

"Happy tears," Elise promised. It wasn't a complete lie.

"If you say so," he raised an eyebrow skeptically at her.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," she drew out. "God no. Quite the opposite," she gave him a sideways smile.

"I would have told you if you were," Elise stroked the side of his face. He was growing his goatee into a full on beard. The hair felt coarse, but she liked it. It somehow made him even more handsome.

They fell into a comfortable silence, Elise relishing in the feel of Danny's bare skin against hers.

"I missed this," she spoke quietly, trailing her fingers absently over the hair on his chest.

"What's that? Making love?"

"That and just laying here together like this."

"We lay like this almost every night," Danny teased.

"I know, but not like this. This is different. Damn it, you know what I mean," Elise smacked his exposed chest, making a loud thwap!

"Agh!" he cringed, grabbing her wrist and tickling her ribs. Elise started thrashing about, not thinking about it.

"Ow. OW. Ouch! Stop!" she cried out more aggressively than she had intended. She closed her eyes and bit her lip because her hip did hurt this time.

"Shit, Elise. I'm sorry. I didn't even think about it," he rubbed her injured hip gently. Danny looked mortified and on the edge of tears himself.

"It's ok," she tried to make her voice sound normal, but she was still fighting to catch her breath. "I didn't either."

"Stop that or I'll fall asleep." Danny had started playing with her hair.

"Why do you think I'm doing it? I think you've had enough excitement for the night. You need to relax," he continued running his fingers through her hair.

"Seriously, though. Are you ok? I'm really sorry. I just got caught up in the moment and didn't think. I'm an idiot."

"I'm fine," Elise yawned. "Stop worrying about it. It felt nice to feel like things were normal again," she laid a hand on his chest, hoping the added gesture would help ease his mind.

"Things are normal, Elise. They're just...a little different for now. I'm telling you, you'll feel 100% before you know it. Elise?" But his last words fell on deaf ears. She had already fallen asleep.

Elise snuck out of bed before Danny woke to place his birthday card on top of his dresser. She was secretly glad he had a couple of adult beverages the night before. Otherwise it would have been impossible to get out of bed without waking him. No matter how hard she tried, Danny woke up almost every time she tried to stealthily roll out of bed. Normally Elise didn't mind. If anything, she felt bad for inadvertently waking him. But she was too nervous this morning, hoping to buy a little more time, at least for a cup of coffee first. He would probably be "in the mood" when he woke up too, being his birthday and all, but again, her nerves were getting the better of her, more than they had in months. She promised herself she would make it up to him later if he was disappointed about her already being gone from bed.

After seeing that Danny was still sound asleep when she retrieved the card from her purse in the living room and set it on his dresser where he would notice it, she crept silently back to the kitchen to start the coffee maker, expertly avoiding all of the squeaky wooden boards along the way.

Elise knew the stimulant wasn't going to be great for her nerves, but still she relished the steamy coffee after adding her usual amount of hazelnut creamer. She hoped it would help to focus her thoughts some, at least.

Surprised by Danny still not making an appearance, she decided to hop in the shower. It had been nearly 3 months since the accident and she was getting around mostly normal, but certain things still gave Elise problems. One being the barstool she had just gotten down from.

"Damn it," she mumbled as she hobbled down the hallway toward their bedroom. It would eventually work itself out, the kink, but Elise looked forward to the hot water of the shower beating the shit out of it as well. She began taking her clothes off, only her underwear remained, when Danny's voice made her head shoot up towards the bed.

"You're up early," he smiled, sleep giving him that sexy morning voice of his she loved so much. Still, she jumped.

"Jesus Christ, Danny! You about gave me a heart attack!" Elise half-hissed at him.

"Damn. And jumpy too. You ok this morning?" he raised an eyebrow at her as he swung his legs over his side of the bed, facing her. She had managed to pull her panties back up, in the middle of sliding them off when Danny had startled her, and quickly wrapped herself in her robe from the back of the bathroom door.

"I'm fine," she looked up at him as he came over and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in for a kiss.

"Why so shy all of a sudden?" he spoke low into her ear. "I was hoping you would still be in bed when I got up," one of his hands slid inside the top of her robe near her shoulder, sliding further down.

"Danny, I," Elise sucked in a breath as his fingers traced one of her nipples. "I can't right now." It was hard to tell him "no" when she herself wanted to make love to him.

"Please?" he tried reaching his hand down further, but she grabbed his wrist through the robe as he reached her stomach.

"Alright, alright," Danny backed away from her with his hands in the air in surrender. Then his face screwed up.

"Have you been doing crunches or something, baby? Your stomach feels harder than normal."

His words made her anxiety skyrocket.

"That's what I need to talk to you about. We can...do that...later," Elise promised.

"Ok, now you're starting to freak me out. What's this all about, Elise? Why are you acting so weird?"

She didn't know what else to do but take a deep breath.

"Just open the card," she pointed to his dresser.

"You're not, like, dying or something, are you?" he asked without moving.

"What? No! God, Danny. Even if I were, why would I tell you on your birthday, of all days?!" Elise was becoming exasperated. He was not making this any easier. She was already so unsure how he would react to the actual surprise she had for him that she felt like she was nearing a panic attack.

"I don't know. My brain's not awake yet," was Danny's only defense as he finally went to grab the card.

"That's just part of it," Elise offered. "It's the biggest part, but there's something else too waiting for you in the kitchen," she started biting her nails, something she hadn't done in she couldn't remember how long.

"If it's the pot of coffee I smell in there, I'm going to smack you," Danny had his back turned to her as he opened the card. Elise couldn't help but laugh.

"No, the coffee is not the other surprise." He was such a smartass sometimes. Then again, so was she.

Danny finally pulled the card out of the envelope after what felt like an eternity. Not thinking about the fact that something might fall out, after all, she had warned him it was the biggest surprise, it could have been a gift card or concert tickets or any number of things, the thin picture fell to the floor as he lifted the front flap. He stooped to pick it up before finishing reading the inside of the card, second nature, but slowed as he neared. It had miraculously landed face up.

"What is this?" Danny's fingertips lingered mere inches away from it, as if he were scared to touch it. He looked up at Elise, who was still biting her nails, though trying to do it more discreetly now. She simply nodded her head at it, indicating him to pick it up. He finally did so slowly, bringing the picture close to his face as he stood. Elise gave him a minute to study it.

"Is this what I think it is?" Danny finally looked to her again, confusion still clouding his features.

"That depends on what you think it is." She felt bad for being a smartass, but she didn't know what else to say.

"I think it's an ultrasound picture that says 'Hi, Dad!' on it," he said looking at it again, mouth hanging slightly open, before looking back at her, repeating this routine over and over, still disbelieving.

"Quit being adorable. Did you see the name and the date at the top?" she couldn't help smiling.

"Mortenson, Elise M. 8/10/2020," he read aloud quietly. "That was only 3 days ago," he looked to her again.

She nodded.

"I'm sorry. I was sneaky. I didn't really go to the orthopedist. I went to the obgyn. It wasn't the new medicine making me sick. It was..." Elise trailed off, gesturing wildly at the picture, but having a hard time saying it herself. "That!" she finally blurted. "The baby," she said softer, letting her hand fall to her side again.

"Danny, I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby," she practically whispered. She felt like an emotional wreck, still unable to tell how Danny was taking the news. She felt the familiar sting of tears sneaking up on her.

"I know. I see that," he held up the picture to her as if she hadn't seen it herself. "I just...I don't...I don't know what to say. Oh, sweetheart," he held his arms open to her as he approached her, finally taking notice of the tears quickly springing from her eyes.

"Come here." His strong embrace felt good after feeling that vulnerable. Only wearing a robe and underwear certainly wasn't helping matters in that department.

"No, no, no," Danny stroked her hair as hard sobs racked her body. Elise buried her face in his neck as she always did when she was upset.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to act like that. I'm just shocked, that's all. That was a helluva birthday surprise," they both chuckled softly. She pulled away from him enough to let him rest his forehead against hers.

"I'm not mad, baby. I'm excited. You just took me by surprise so much I didn't know what to say. That's all. I promise," he kissed her forehead.

"Yah?" Elise spoke quietly, looking up into his eyes.

"Yes! Of course!" he grew animated, holding her at arm's length. "Why on Earth would I be mad?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, beginning to feel silly for worrying so much. "I guess just because it's so soon. I mean, we've only been married a few months and the accident on top of that..." she trailed off. "It's been a weird, crazy year," she stated.

"It has," he agreed. "But this is a good surprise," he smiled genuinely.

"Danny, I can't," she cried, holding onto his hand as if her life depended on it.

"Yes, you can," he insisted calmly, but firmly.

She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned back against the pillow momentarily. Elise shook her head, disagreeing with him.

"Yes, you can," he spoke quieter this time, kneeling down next to her ear. She concentrated on her breathing: In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth...

Elise also concentrated on not punching her husband in his beautiful face. That was one thing Hollywood had gotten right about women being in labor. She hated Danny in that moment. Loathed him, even, for putting her through this. It truly was the most mind-blowing pain she had ever been in and hoped to ever experience.

If she wanted to punch her own sweet husband in the face, then she wanted to murder every single medical personnel in the room. They had fed her some bullshit about "not pushing efficiently" and turned her epidural down. Way down. Elise could feel everything now and was not happy about it. Things were progressing faster now, but she would never admit that turning her drugs down had been a good idea.

As another wave of pain washed over her, another thought occurred to her. All of the accounts she had read about on the forums from women who had already "been here, did this" had been true as well: The "ring of fire". It was an oddly apt, if not unfortunate, description. Elise felt like there should have been flames shooting from her crotch. She was sure this fresh new hell would rip her in half at any moment. She was vaguely aware of someone screaming in the background. It took her longer than it should have to realize the cries were coming from her.

The burning sensation seemed to dissipate as quickly as it started. The contractions still hurt, but Elise was surprised to find relief, glorious relief when she pushed now. After a few more, the doctor had the audacity to tell her to slow down or risk tearing.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she came unglued. Even Danny turned away from her momentarily.

Grudgingly, Elise tried to do as the doctor said, focused on her breathing, but there was no stopping. She was no longer in control of her body and their baby seemed as ready to be there as they were.

"Try not to push, Elise," the doctor instructed again from between her legs. She wasn't entirely sure what he was doing down there, but she was about to kick him in the face if he told her to do the impossible one more time.

"You've got this, Elise," Danny spoke soothingly in her ear as he brushed some flyaways from her face. Tears sprung to her eyes and she began to feel hysterical.

"I have to, Danny. I have to push," she cried softly, losing the battle against holding back.

10 seconds later and the nurses were announcing that their son's head was out. Not that Elise needed an update. The immense wave of relief she felt made it obvious enough.

30 seconds later and their son was being placed on her chest, covered in gross baby goo and all. She didn't care. The sheer amount of relief and happiness she felt simultaneously was overwhelming. The floodgates really opened up now as her son began to cry. Elise briefly noticed Danny out of the corner of her eye, also swiping the back of his hand at the corners of his eyes.