By the time December rolled around, pre-production was almost done. Denise had a few things to finalize before the shoot could start, and seeing as the shoot was schedule right after the New Year- she had a fairly busy December. She worked up until the 21st, and apologized to Chris the entire time because of how much she was missing. It didn't help her conscience that Chris had declined his family's invitation for the annual Disney World trip in Florida. He said it was because Jack was still a baby, but she knew it was because of her work schedule. This was the second time Chris had to pull out of the annual trip, the first time being last year when she was pregnant. She felt so bad she begged him to go and have fun, assuring him that she, Jack, and Dodger would be fine because her parents were more than happy to drive down and stay for the week. Chris laughed in her face, calling her "ridiculous" for suggesting it. He told her he appreciated the notion, but he wasn't going anywhere without his wife and baby.

Despite how busy Denise was, she still had time with her family. She managed a Saturday as well as her usual Sundays where they would go run some Christmas associated errands: tree decorating, gift wrapping, visiting Santa's Village at their local mall, baking of Christmas cookies, and holiday card photographs. And after the 21st, they had her undivided attention. They all watched Christmas movies, drank hot cocoa, roasted marshmallows outside over the fire pit, dressed in matching Christmas pajamas, and just spent time together as a family.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, they headed down to Denise's parents' place with plans to stay until Boxing Day. Denise was excited for Christmas as it was her favorite holiday, but she was more excited to see her older brother. He'd recently got engaged to the amazing Erica Hudson, the girl he'd been with for almost three years now; three years in January actually. The pressure had been on for him since she got engaged to Chris, it further increased when she had Jack. Whenever she and Chris had Donovan and Erica over for dinner, he'd complain about how much pressure their mom was putting on them to get married and have kids. She was hoping her first child would have a child of his own before her second had her second, though Chris and Denise assured her it was going to be awhile before that happened. Whatever pushed him to finally proposed, Denise was glad because Erica was as perfect for him as Chris was for her. They were yet to set a wedding date, but at least she had a ring on her finger.

New Year's came and went as quickly as Thanksgiving and Christmas had. Chris and Denise actually had a good New Year's, leaving Jack and Dodger with her parents so they could go to the Downey's. They had a big New Year's bash that majority of the Marvel cast and their partners attended, minus a few familiar faces who already had plans: Sebastian and Luca, Chris and Elsa, and Paul and Julie. Denise was hoping to see Sebastian and Luca, and were devastated when she heard they were sticking with the plan to fly out to LA when Jack turned one. It made sense, even she and Chris didn't want to fly with Jack unless they really had to. Not only was it a huge job to fly with a baby, they didn't think frequent flights were good for babies and their immune systems. It wasn't long now, Jack was turning one in March meaning Chris and Denise were finally going to meet their godson. Likewise, Sebastian and Luca were finally going to meet theirs. As eager as Denise was for that to happen, she didn't really have time to fixate on it as it was now the 15th of January and she was two weeks into her shoot.

Denise's main cast consisted of four people, and a dog as adorable as Dodger. Most of them were new to the industry like she was, so they made for a good, compromising team. Her leads were all a few years older than her, but they remained respectful and open minded to her direction. While it was because they were all genuinely nice people who saw her small production as an opportunity rather than a chore, it was also because they were fans. They were all fans of Chris, that was pointless to mention. But the girls were actually fans of her work, having followed her on Tumblr when she was still active and reading what was still there despite her leave. They couldn't believe she was finally doing what she had said she would do, and that she actually married the celebrity she wrote about.

Said celebrity was on her set at least twice a week, offering advice where she and her cast needed. Chris being there was always reassuring, like a safety blanket that Denise could hide under when things got too overwhelming. He'd leave Jack with the parent-in-laws, sometimes with Donovan and Erica when he visited. He never brought Jack on set because they both agreed it was too out in the open, but he did bring him in when she was working at the studio. Twice a week was the minimum, with thrice being the maximum. Chris would've stopped by everyday if it was allowed, but it wasn't because that wasn't the point of his hiatus. The point was for him to take it easy and spend time with Jack because unlike her, when he started work his job was going to take him all over the globe and not just a couple hours from home.

Today was one of Chris' days on Denise's set, and though he was a fountain of knowledge and advice- he was also quite disruptive. He was currently sat behind her, chatting quietly with one of her crew guys. At least, quiet was what he thought he was being. It was no wonder, during her set visits, that Anthony and Joe kept her and Chris separated while the cameras were rolling. If he was that loud with a crew guy, he would've been even louder with her- his fiancée at that point in time. Denise loved the big doof, but she really needed him to quiet down so she could finish the scene and call it a day.

"Does she actually?" Chris laughed and Denise sighed, yanking her headset down to her neck as she turned around. "I honestly thought she only wore the beret when-" Chris cut himself off when Denise cleared her throat. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry." He winced at her deadpan expression. "Am I being too loud?"

"A little bit," Denise nodded and he pretended to zip his lips shut. "Quiet on the set, please." She called, making sure all those who'd been chatting were now silent too. "Thank you," she shot Chris a look; both tried not to smile when she said that. "Can we go back to your line, Hailey?" She quizzed and Hailey nodded, doing as she'd been instructed.

Chris' smile surfaced as soon as Denise turned her back on him. This was not the first time she'd to remind him to be quiet and they were both sure it wouldn't be the last. But still, he couldn't believe it. His wife, a director, had just told him to shut up on her set. Her set! He was so proud of her, and frankly, a little turned on by how well she was handling the authority her new position gave her. He said he was there to help- which he was, yes. But he was mostly there to watch her work, to observe her leadership skills and ability to orchestrate a movie set. She was doing very well for a girl who said she couldn't direct, and he was so happy to be able to point at her and say, "that's my wife." And with every day, he grew even more proud of her.

The day's shoot wrapped around 5:40PM. After Denise's crew packed the equipment up, she held a small briefing about tomorrow's shoot before she sent them home to rest and rejuvenate. She and Chris weren't so lucky, she had to stop by the studio to gather her materials for tomorrow's shoot before she could start the drive out to her parents' to pick Jack and Dodger up. Only after all that were they going to get to go home. Thankfully, picking Jack and Dodger up at her parents' place meant that they didn't have to worry about cooking dinner; her parents made sure to provide that for their busy daughter and her supportive husband.

The location Denise filmed at today was on private property which meant the public couldn't get to them. She and Chris were able to walk hand in hand to his car without security personnel leading. Tomorrow's shoot, however, was going to have Jason Caldwell present; the security detail hired by Chris through his management team. Jason was usually only requested when Chris had a big red carpet event, or if he was taking Denise somewhere he didn't think he could handle the crowd and paparazzi on his own. But now, Jason was requested whenever Chris couldn't be on set with Denise. Chris may have been fine letting Denise take a cab to work every morning, but he was not letting her take a cab home. He made sure Jason was always there to pick her up after work to drive her home, explaining that it saved him from worrying about her being caught by paparazzi or rowdy fan girls. After three years, despite how happy she made their idol- who was her husband and the father of her child- there were still a handful of his 'fans' that hated every fibre of her being and wanted to see the relationship to fail. Unfortunately for them, that was never, ever going to happen.

"I almost had to kick you off my set today, Chris Evans."

"I know, I am just-" He pulled his hand from hers, doing hand gestures of every kind to overact how apologetic and grateful he was towards her. "I am so embarrassed." She shook her head, suppressing her smile. "Really, I am sorry. You've got to excuse me, I was just so nervous. But I know now that I should've been more respectful to you, Miss Director." She tried not to laugh as he firmly took her hand, shaking it. "I am so sorry, thank you for being so patient with me. Really, thank you."

"You are such a dick," Denise laughed and tried to yank her hand from his, only to have him tighten his grip. "God," she groaned and simultaneously giggled. "What on earth did I see in you, Chris Evans?" She joked and Chris chuckled; he released her hand to wrap an arm around her, pulling her into him. "They say never meet your heroes. I should've listened, but no." He squeezed her as he laughed. "I had to actively fantasize about being with you, and write fan fiction so well you had to come find me. Why?!" She looked up at the sky, shaking her fist while she exclaimed dramatically. "I asked for a Disney Prince, not this!" That made Chris laugh hard enough for him to do his signature left boob grab.

"Don't think I don't know you got that whole-" He shook his fist at the sky as a reference to what Denise just did; she stifled her laughter. "From Salma. I saw your conversation, talking about finding your Disney Princes. What, I'm not enough for you? Huh?" He pretended to bite her neck with a playful growl, making her squeal with laughter.

"You always read the parts that make me look like a total bitch, you never see the rest." She defended herself and he chuckled; he was very aware of the rest and reading it always made his heart swell. Denise had never said a bad word about him, he was always up on a pedestal. It was fairly obvious from the way she wrote about him, even before she got to know him- he was her perfect man. Even after she got to know him and he did things that confirmed he was as he said, "a guy who does fuck up-" he was still perfect to her.

"Oh, sweetheart. I always read the rest, I'm too curious not to."

"Yeah, I know," she nodded. "Which means you know I'm happy 'cause I got-"

"Captain freakin' America," they said in unison, then burst into laughter. "Yeah," Denise sighed with a great deal of satisfaction, smiling up at her handsome husband. "I don't need a Disney Prince when I've got a Super Soldier."

"And this is why you're my best girl," Chris smiled, pressing his lips to her hair.