Denise blew upwards as she blew the longish bang from her eyes. "Time for a trim." She murmured as she turned around to feed Molly. A soft smile lit up her face at the sight of her daughter sitting in the high chair. Molly was staring right back at her with the barest of all hints of a smile; but Denise knew that her daughter was smiling. "Hey monkey." She laughed under her breath as she moved over to the chair next to her daughter.
"Mama." Molly seriously said. She stared straight into her mother's eyes. I'm not crackling first.
Denise blinked as that thought came through her mind in her daughter's voice. She privately smiled as the hidden thought came out of no where. This wasn't the first time she thought her infant child mind spoken to her in the past. Raising her right hand to brush her daughter's hair back from her face; "I have too say little one; you just beat Jeremy's infant mind spoke." She giggled; "He just got to 'I demand that food now mommy.'"
Molly's right eye brow rose.
Denise returned the look.
"Mama?" Molly questioned.
Denise blinked and glanced down at the food in front of her. "Oh." She took her hand from her daughter, "I get it; I get it. You want your tummy full; then I get to touch you all I want." She softly spoke as she slowly fed her daughter.
"How's the peanut doing?" Roxy asked walked into the room from the hallway. She made a silly face at the little girl; but Molly was too focused on eating, and keeping a sharp eye on her mother to notice.
"Monkey is doing just fine." Denise joked.
"Hey; I would call her monkey if I knew that you wouldn't kill me for taking your personal nickname from you." Roxy said sinking into the chair to the left of Denise. "I'm just one smart cookie is all."
Denise twisted her neck; and stuck her tongue out at the younger woman; before turning back to her daughter. "I wouldn't allow you to leave this earth; Roxy. Sides if you slip and call Molly; monkey; then I'll understand." A serious pause broke through the merriment essence that was in the room.
"Okay, just remember you said that." Roxy wise cracked. Trying desperately to get the fun feeling back in the room. It had been simply months since Denise had an unguarded fun emotion since Claudia Joy's death.
Denise silently fed her daughter the last of her breakfast. She knew what Roxy was trying too do. But; only she didn't feel like it would be right to try to force the cheerful emotion back. It would taint all the future cheerful moments. She lifted the table from the chair, and set it on the table. After she gently unbuckled her daughter, she lifted her from the high chair. She turned to face her young friend as she placed Molly on her lap. "Thank you for not forcing it." She leaned down and placed a kiss on her daughter's head; before resting her chin on top of it.
Roxy leaned forward and gently played with Molly's up raised left hand. She smiled softly at the thought of the twins whom currently were sound asleep for their morning nap; in the guest bedroom. "Thank you for having a sleep over for the little ones."
"Hey it's no problem. I want Molly to get to know her new friends. The earlier the three get to know one another; the easier it'll be for them to protect one another when they are fully mobile." Denise smiled. "I hope I didn't insult TJ and Finn by not inviting them along."
Roxy waved her hand to the side; "They understand that the babies need some alone time without the big kids always around. They know that the babies need their own routiune that doesn't always have them in the picture. That way it would be easier on the boys to get out of some baby playing time in the future."
Denise lifted her head with a laugh. "Jeremy was always like that at that age. Although if I asked him to spend some time with the babies; he would with a smile. He always loved being around babies; and small children." Her eyes drifted down to her daughter's head; "He would have made a wonderful big brother." Tears sparkled in her eyes as she tried to blink them away.
"Mama?" Molly twisted her head around to stare up into her mother's face.
"Oh baby," Denise brokenly whispered as she gently stroked her daughter's right side of the face. "Mama is all right." She bent forward and placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "How can she not with her sweet monkey in her arms; safe and sound."