Chapter 118

Richie sat in his bed, waiting for Sarah to finish up in the bathroom. He had turned on the TV in the corner of the room to occupy himself as he waited for her.

He looked up from his late night sitcom reruns when he heard the bathroom door open. Sarah walked out in her usual nighttime attire. His tshirt and a pair of pajama shorties. It might not have been the most sexy outfit but he still knew what was underneath, that's all he needed. He turned off the TV and watched as she walked over to the bed.

"I've got one more Christmas present for you." Sarah said as she pulled open her nightstand's drawer.
"One more?" He asked surprised. "Baby, you already got me lots."
She smiled as she took the small package from the drawer. "It's small but I think you might like it."
"I might?" He became more intrigued. Of course he would like anything she got him, he had liked all the other gifts she had gotten him today. He had everything he needed but Sarah always found a few more things he had to have.

Getting onto the bed, Sarah handed him the red wrapped box, then watched as he opened it.

The wrapping paper came away easily, revealing a sleek black box that didn't give away what was inside it, even when he gave it a slight shake as he flashed Sarah a curious look.

"Go on." She encouraged him to open it, now feeling a little nervous and excited at the same time at what he was going to find, not to mention his reaction.

Richie lifted the lid off of the box to peer inside. The bottom part of the box was filled with red tissue paper and he had to pull a few pieces off the top to show what they were hiding.

"Handcuffs?" He asked curiously.

Sarah just watched him, waiting for more of a reaction.

He pulled them out of the box. "You got me handcuffs?" He was sure he had handcuffs stashed away somewhere in his closet or dresser. It'd been years since he'd used them but surely they hadn't gone away on their own.

Sarah nodded, a little unsure now.

Still confused, he watched her, trying to think it over.

After second of piecing it together, he looked up at his wife, a little surprised. "You want to use the handcuffs." He finally concluded.
Sarah gave him a hopeful look. "Yeah." Everything inside her head was hoping she had been right. "I thought you'd like to." She said quickly. "I've heard the stories and it's something we've never done so I thought it was something you would want to do."

It was easy to notice giving this gift had made her anxious but if she didn't want to, she wouldn't have given them and she had heard the stories. Wait, what stories?

"You've heard stories?" He asked curiously. "What stories?"
Sarah shrugged lightly. "I've read about you and stories people like Taylor told me about you. Usually they're just trying to be snoopy but I've overheard you talking when you used to hang out with the guys." She added quickly, trying to not make a big deal out of it.
"What are the stories?" He still asked curiously. What were people talking about?
"It doesn't matter." Sarah tried to wave it off but she knew it wouldn't be that easy to do. "I know you and I've seen you. You've always been so patient and gentle with me."
"Of course, baby, I love you." Richie put the handcuffs back into the box, noticing a black blindfold underneath and moved closer to his wife.
"I know that and I love that about you but I've seen that darkness in your eyes." She watched the frown form on his face before she continued. "Sometimes when we're in bed or in the shower, you get that dark look in your eyes, they turn just a little darker brown. I know it's passion and your desire for more."

He listened intently, she was right, there had been times where he would love to dominate her. Just pick her up, carry her to bed and make wild, passionate love to her but he'd never acted on that. Knowing everything Sarah had gone through before they met, he would never do something that could even closely remind her of those times. All he wanted to do was love her and take care of her. This was something he knew going into this relationship, he had always respected how Sarah felt because of her previous relationship and he would never force her to do anything that would scare her. Did she think he expected her to be submissive to him?

"Baby-" He started but was cut off before he could even object.
"I know you wouldn't do anything that would hurt me or something I wouldn't want to."
"Then why are you giving me this?" He was confused, handcuffs would give him control over her and he knew that was too much.
"Because I trust you." Sarah said. "And if you want to use them, I want to use them with you."
He shook his head. "Baby, you don't have to do this for me. You don't need to be tied up to our bed to show me you love me back."
Sarah give him a quick smile. "I know that but listen to me. I love you and if that is what you want to do, I want you to."
"You want me to tie you up to the bed?" He asked bluntly. He'd love the idea but he would never want her to feel pressured into something just because of him.
"If you'd like to." She added.
Finally starting to understand this was her choice, he continued. "You want me to tie you to the bed and fuck you, maybe add a blindfold?"
His boldness made her feel a little shy as she answered. "It could be exciting."
"It'd be pretty fucking hot." He agreed.

Sarah felt relieved at his final reaction, glad that he understood she wanted to do this with him. Not because she was pressured into it but because it was her decision to offer it to her husband. It wouldn't be anything like what her previous sexual life had been like. Compared to that, Richie would never do something that could cause her harm in any way, she knew that. Having that trust with him, she felt ready for something new and interesting with him, knowing it was something he craved as well.

Chapter 117

Richie woke up early on the morning of the 24th, as per usual, trying his best not to disturb Sarah, he got up slowly and as quietly as he could.

Upon entering the living room, he found he wasn't the only one awake early this morning. Noah was sitting in the corner of the couch, knees propped up resting a paper notebook on his legs and a pen in hand. Richie joined him on the couch and looked over.

"What are you writing?" He asked, intrigued at this new development he hadn't seen before.
Noah shrugged as if it wasn't important. "Just thoughts."
"Like a diary?"
"I guess, sort of." Noah replied before he looked up. "One of the doctors at the hospital recommended it." He explained.
Richie clued in with that. "Ah, to write down your thoughts instead of dwelling on them and letting them take over your head."
Again, Noah shrugged.

Richie left it at that and grabbed the TV remote, it may be early but there was always something on TV to watch and if there wasn't he had enough options to make sure he could be entertained for a long while. The luxuries of technology.

Watching TV in the dimly lit living room almost made it feel like Christmas. The decorations he had set up with Ava and Sarah were cozying up the living room perfectly and the lights in the tree were shimmering brightly in the corner of the room.

It was almost 8am before they received some company in the living room. Richie looked up from the TV to see Caleb sit down in his comfy chair, giving him a slightly disapproving look as a tease.

"You're up early." He commented, knowing Caleb was quite similar to how he had been when he was 18, getting up before noon was a rarity back then.
"Probably just jet lagged." Caleb said, referring to the slightly over three hour flight he had taken from Vancouver on Saturday.
Richie frowned at his remark. "Vancouver is in the same time zone."
"Yeah, but I was still on a jet so I feel a little lagged."
The only response he had to that was to shake his head.

Not much later his stomach made itself known and he all too gladly wanted to feed it, passing the TV remote to Noah, he got up and headed to the kitchen. Soon everyone else would be up too and he had extra visitors to make food for so he better get started now.

As Sarah walked into the kitchen, carrying Daniel on her hip, the smell of breakfast instantly made her hungry. She could smell bacon and waffles, which didn't surprise her.

She walked over to her husband at the stove and reached in for a kiss when he noticed her.

"Good morning." She smiled at him. "Looks like you've been busy."
"I was a little hungry." He shrugged as if it was nothing.
Sarah looked at the set table and all the food on plates ready to be eaten. "A little?"
"I thought it would be unfair if I only made myself a waffle." He joked a little. "Mom would tell me off if I did that." Knowing it was true, he might be all grown up but that didn't stop his mom from parenting, especially when she was staying at his house.
Reaching for a mug from the cabinet by the coffee maker, Sarah agreed. "She probably would." She started making herself a cup of tea, ignoring the coffee that had been made.

Just like breakfast, the rest of the day was spent together as a family. Ava had gone to her mother's house for a few days but would be back the day after Christmas when they'd go on their last minute trip to Hawaii. With Ava at Heather's they had decided to skip their vacation as the family wouldn't be complete but after last week's events, Richie decided a family getaway might be a good idea after all. They'd celebrate New Year's in Hawaii instead.

Before Daniel's bedtime, Richie picked up one of the gifts under the Christmas tree for him to open.

"Are we allowed to open a gift too?" Caleb asked quickly.
"Sure." Richie answered, "If you're wanting matching jammies with Daniel." He passed the gift-wrapped gift to Daniel and sat down on the couch next to him and Sarah.
Caleb frowned at Richie's remark. "What if I did?"
"You don't."
"But what if I did?"

Sarah smiled as she watched her husband roll his eyes as he got up from the couch again. He wanted to watch Daniel unwrap his first Christmas gift but if Caleb really wanted to have matching pajamas, he'd gladly see his face too. He walked back over to the tree and looked through the gifts underneath it for the right one. He picked one up and gave Sarah a quick look, her nod affirmed it. As he went to sit down with Daniel again, he passed the gift to Caleb with a slight toss.

"Seriously? You got us matching pajamas?"
"You just said you wanted them."
"I was kidding." Caleb finally gave in.
"This way you'll match your little brother perfectly in the pictures tomorrow morning."
Caleb deadpanned, which was satisfying to Richie.

He finally got to watch Daniel open his gift with Sarah's help, soon enough all the gift wrap was on the floor and his first pair of adorable Christmas pajamas. Last year he had been so little they hadn't done all of his first Christmas milestones, wanting him to be a little older so he could have a sense of understanding as well.

Sarah helped her son into his new pajamas to get ready for bed, they'd watch a movie together and let Daniel fall asleep before taking him up to his room for the rest of the night.

Richie got up from the couch once again to retrieve the last gift for tonight from under the Christmas tree. Noah hadn't asked but Richie couldn't leave him be. He passed the gift to Noah, before sitting down once more, this time picking Daniel up and moving him into his lap.

Now, he watched the older boys unwrap their gifts, quite pleased with himself how he had been able to bug Caleb just a little knowing that was what Caleb had planned to do to him.

"This isn't that bad." Caleb said as he pulled away all the paper to reveal pajama bottoms that weren't too Christmassy.
"Noted for next year." Richie said happily.
Caleb looked up with worry. "Like in a good way or a bad way?"
Richie shrugged. "You'll see."
It didn't ease Caleb's mind. "But these aren't that embarrassing. Don't get the silly ones." He pleaded.
"Depends on if you're bad or good."
Caleb rolled his eyes and put the pants aside. "Whatever."
"I like them." Noah said, he had gotten the same pair of pajama pants as Caleb. "Thanks."

Both Sarah and Richie smiled, happy with Noah's response even though they knew Caleb was happy with his as well. Richie just couldn't help tease his oldest son, which had become part of their relationship.

On Christmas morning, he decided against his usual routine of getting up early on his own but stayed in bed, warm and cuddly with his wife, knowing she would appreciate that on Christmas day.

He held her close in his arms until he could feel her stir in them, he reached over and kissed her neck. "Good morning baby, merry Christmas." He whispered cheerfully, feeling excited for the day.
Sarah happily turned around in his arms to face him so she could reach up and kiss his lips tenderly, happy to wake up in his protective arms. "Merry Christmas." She wished him.
"Ready for a nice Christmas?" He asked, feeling even more excited to get the festivities started. He'd been waiting to see Daniel's face as he opened gifts, after that, he looked forward to a lovely Christmas dinner tonight.

They found Daniel still asleep in his room, comfortable in his bed with his stuffed animals. For him, it was still a little early and Sarah decided to let him sleep a little longer after all, neither of his brothers would be up yet.

Instead, she headed downstairs with her husband following her to the couch where they got comfortable and cuddled, enjoying a little bit of Christmas time on their own before everyone woke up and the craziness of gifts would start. Sarah was happy to have this half hour alone with her husband. She was grateful for any half hour she got to spend with him. So very grateful that she got to spend any time at all with this wonderful man that loved her as much as she loved him. Some days she still couldn't believe he was hers. Knowing her thoughts were cheesy, she couldn't help but think that the only gift she ever needed was him.

The living room was still dusk, the tree in the corner providing them with the only light. It created a lovely serenity this early in the morning.

Unfortunately it wasn't long before they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and by the sounds of it, they were large feet.

To both of their surprise Caleb was the first one to join them in the living room, which broke their comfortable feeling of being together as Caleb turned the TV on straight away.

It wasn't long before the living room was filled with their mothers and two more sons.

"I think we can open presents now." Richie declared when he noticed Daniel entranced by the Christmas tree lights.

Not too much later it was hard to see where their living room floor was, it was covered in pieces of wrapping paper throw around carelessly. It gave Sarah the urge to find a garbage bag but she resisted it when she saw Daniel struggling with one of his gifts as he sat in his father's lap. Richie caught on soon enough and ripped a corner for him to continue with.

Watching their little boy open his Christmas presents in his adorable new Christmas pajamas was something that made them forget all the struggles of the past week. Their family was happy, that couldn't change.

Once all the gifts were opened and everyone happily enjoyed their new items, Richie heard his stomach growl, the chocolates and treats from a Christmas stocking were not satisfying his hunger. He moved Daniel over to Sarah's lap, then reached in for a kiss before standing up and heading to the kitchen to start breakfast for everyone. He'd keep it easy with a large stack of pancakes he could take back to the living room and everyone could help themselves he thought.

He paused a moment when he carried the large tray into the living room, Noah sat on the couch next to his grandma Abbey, notebook in hand but he wasn't writing now as Abbey talked to him about the gift she was holding. Caleb had taken Richie's chair again and was leafing through a biography Richie had gotten him. On the other couch, Joan sat with Daniel at her feet, playing together with a new toy he had gotten. He spotted Sarah watching him, giving her a quick smile, he walked into the room to put his tray of pancakes on the coffee table.

Chapter 116

Sitting in the white hospital room, Richie was glad he wasn't alone as he had been the night before. Although he had gotten some sleep at home, he still felt exhausted, the few hours of rest he was able to get wasn't going to be enough to pull him through the rest of the day.

The afternoon was slowly passing by as he watched Sarah with her son, he was happy to see her relieved and more relaxed than this morning but so did Noah. The contrast of 12 hours still amazed him. They were leisurely watching a TV show, passing the time.

It wasn't long before Daniel made himself heard, being bored in a hospital room with almost nothing to do. Ava made her usual attempts at keeping him busy with her phone but he easily lost interest again, leaving him with no other option than to cry out loud so everyone would know how he felt.

"How 'bout I take him home?" Richie suggested, the afternoon was passing slowly but dinner time was approaching as well.
Sarah looked at him, for a moment he wasn't sure what she would say but he felt relieved it wasn't anything negative. "Maybe we should all go?" Sarah suggested in return.
"We can get dinner on the way home." Richie continued even though it was still on the early side.
"That's a good idea." Sarah agreed, nodding.

They said their goodbyes to Noah for the night before returning to their cars in the hospital parking garage where they decided on Daniel driving home with his mom and Richie and Ava would go and pick up dinner on their way home. The cars being parked in different spots, they separated.

As he walked with Ava to his car, the pain in his head was getting more of a bother to him. Inside Noah's hospital room he had been able to ignore it but now outside, his headache was getting worse.

"How about you drive us home?" He asked Ava as they approached the car, pulling the keys from his front pocket.
Ava looked up from his phone. "Sure." She said, taking the keys from him and unlocking the car.

Relieved, Richie got in on the passenger's side, glad he didn't have to drive with a headache. He'd happily close his eyes for a little while and try to relax.

Not much later, Ava parked the car in the drive way, right behind Sarah's car. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking over at her dad next to her. He hadn't said a word during their drive and he did look a little off.

He waved it off, not wanting to worry Ava over a headache but as he started getting out of the car, the rest of the world started spinning, carefully he sat down again. He didn't object when Ava went ahead and walked inside.

She found Sarah in the living room, watching Daniel play from the couch. "Dad's not feeling well."
"What do you mean?" Sarah got up from the couch and headed towards the front door.
"I'm not sure." Ava shrugged. "He didn't say, just that he has a headache."
"Watch Daniel for me."

When she walked outside, Richie had gotten out of the car, he was just closing the door. "Are you okay?" Sarah asked as she walked over to meet him.
"Yeah, I've just got a headache." He said.
Sarah frowned. "Let's go inside so you can lay down and relax then." She suggested as she took his arm gently.

He didn't want her to worry over something as simple as a headache, even if it felt like the worst headache he'd ever had, but let her help him inside. At least everything had stopped spinning.

Ava looked up from where she sat on the floor with Daniel when Sarah and Richie walked in. "What's wrong?" She asked curiously.
"Nothing." Richie said quickly. "Just a headache."
Slightly shaking her head, "Can you grab an ice pack from the freezer and bring it upstairs?" Sarah asked as they started up the stairs.

Richie groaned when they walked into their bedroom, the room was bright with the afternoon sun, it hurt his eyes. Knowingly, Sarah let go of him and headed over to the window to pull the curtains closed, making sure the black out curtains darkened the room enough. When she turned around again, Richie was already sitting on the bed, rubbing his eyes. She frowned, walking back to meet him.

"Are your eyes bugging you too?" She asked carefully.
"It's blurry like if I'm not wearing contacts or glasses."
"Close your eyes then," She suggested gently. "and lay down."

He dropped his hands and followed Sarah's instructions, carefully he laid down on his pillow. The pain in his head was throbbing and getting worse, making him feel sick.

A soft knock on the door made Sarah look up to see Ava bring over the ice pack. Worry was still clear on her face.
Sarah gave her a little smile as she took the ice pack from her. "Don't worry, it's a migraine."
"Oh." Ava clued in.
"We'll make sure he gets some actual sleep and he'll be fine." Sarah assured her.

"Lay down with me?" Richie asked when he heard the door close behind Ava again.
"I am." Sarah sat on the bed next to him, reaching over to undo his jeans.

He didn't object and let Sarah help him out of his jeans, then under the sheets. Happy to feel her against him a few seconds later. He felt her arm move behind him, an instant later, the ice cold ice pack against his neck made him wince.

"It'll help."

It did feel sort of nice.

"I've never seen you have a migraine." Sarah whispered softly.
"I'm not sure if I have."
Sarah cuddled closer against him, holding the ice pack as she did. "I'm sorry you have one now. Try to sleep."

The darkness of the room had not yet alleviated the pounding pain in his head. All he could feel was the pain from his head, spreading back to his neck and shoulders as if he had just finished an intensive work out. Sarah was holding him tightly, which he appreciated but didn't relieve his pain either. The pain he felt so intensely was starting to aggravate him. The room was dark, he was laying down, it should start to get better, not continue. He could feel Sarah adjust herself behind him, he cheek resting on his shoulder blade now, her soft warm breath against him. He groaned, frustrated with the pain.

"Try to relax and sleep." Sarah reminded him.
It only made him groan in frustration again. "I can't, it hurts."
"I know. I'm sorry." Sarah sighed softly, compassionate at how he was feeling right now.

She snaked her arms over his side and reached for his chest, softly stroking the skin under his t-shirt, hoping it would relax him a little bit more so he would be able to drift off to some well needed sleep. It had been a long night in the hospital with Noah and the few hours he had gotten after that probably weren't enough, Sarah was sure of that.

When he woke up, he felt groggy, as if he had slept too little or too long. He wasn't sure if it was either of those. Sarah's arm wasn't around him anymore and he couldn't feel her behind him either. Slowly, he turned to his back. The pain in his head had reduced to more of a dull kind of headache, for which he was glad. His neck and shoulders still felt stiff but at least he could see straight again even though the room was still dark around him.

For a few moments, he just enjoyed feeling this much better than how he was feeling before he slept. A headache and some muscle stiffness like this, he could handle. Whatever that pain was earlier, he could not.

Richie knew it was getting late, it had been almost dinner time when they had gotten home and he came down with this excruciating headache. He must have slept for a few hours, he was certain of that, which would mean it was getting closer to Daniel's bedtime, which he didn't want to miss.

Slowly, he moved and sat up in the bed, making sure the rest of the room wouldn't start spinning as he got up from the bed.

"Hey, you're up." Sarah looked up from the couch where she was cuddling Daniel as Richie walked into the living room.
He nodded slowly as he walked over to join her there. "Yeah."
"Are you feeling better?" She asked, still concerned about him, especially as he was taking it slowly.
With a soft groan of relief, he sat down on the couch. "Better than before." He confirmed.
"But not entirely better?"
"No, my head still hurts but this is bearable."

Sarah lifted Daniel up out of her lap and passed him over to Richie.

"Why don't you take some painkillers?" She suggested as she got up from the couch, heading to the kitchen without waiting for an answer from him first.

After taking the painkillers his wife had brought him, Richie reclined the couch and held his son close, ready to get him to sleep.

It had been a long day but having had such a late nap, he was sure sleep wasn't going to come to him that easily tonight.

Sarah happily joined her two boys on the couch and cuddled against Richie's side as she watched Daniel drift off to sleep not that much later, it had been past his bedtime by now and she was glad he had gone to sleep so easily tonight. Happy to tell her husband so, she looked up at him next to her but found his eyes closed and heard a breathing pattern indicating he had joined Daniel in the land of dreams.