Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for the feedback and support always, but especially when I don't have any ideas! Special thanks to Mari for sparking this one with her movie night comment and coming up with the perfect movie suggestion that pulled it all together.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your awesome response to the Cody Oblivious story last week. Your continued support is much appreciated.
I know it's a short one today, but I hope you enjoy!
Live with That (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
The front door opened and Steve stepped inside. He greeted Cammie and looked at Catherine apologetically. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm so late."
She smiled up at him from the floor where she was sitting beside Angie who was on her tummy. Leaning down, she spoke conspiratorily to her daughter. "If I didn't know any better, Angie, I'd say your daddy was trying to get out of Movie Night."
"Would I do something like that?" he protested, fighting a grin.
"Depending on the movie … I wouldn't put it past you."
His grin escaped and he leaned down to kiss her briefly before smoothly stretching out on his stomach in front of Angie. "But then I'd miss this." He smiled at his daughter. "Hey, there's my big girl, look at you."
She lifted her head up at his voice, trying to focus on him. He raised his head up a little as the doctor had suggested and she tried to lift hers to follow, but her head flopped back down against the playmat.
"It's okay, try again, you got this," he encouraged.
"Look at her legs go," Catherine said, smiling broadly. "She's so excited you're home."
He smiled at that and peered back to see the baby's legs moving quickly in a recognizable motion. "By the looks of that, she's gonna have a good breaststroke."
"She's gonna need a little more upper body strength before we start training for the Olympics, Commander."
"Never too early," he quipped. He focused back on his daughter. "Come on, Angie."
She pushed with one of her fists, leaning slightly to the side, her head coming up again in his direction, eyes wide. Her legs moved more forcefully now, pushing against the mat.
"Look at her!" he exclaimed excitedly. "She's almost got her knees under her!"
Catherine grinned at his reaction. "She's not gonna crawl just yet, Steve."
"I know, but that's gotta be a positive development."
"What?" she teased. "It's not in the book?"
"I'll have to doublecheck …" he answered seriously.
Angie's head dropped again and this time she turned to lay with her cheek against the mat, facing away from them.
Catherine smiled. "Oh, time for a little break."
"How long has she been down?"
She glanced at her watch. "Almost five minutes."
"Wow, great job, Angie."
"Angie," Catherine sing-songed. "Angie, Angie, come on, baby girl."
Angie shifted, seeming to scoot her lower half in order to turn her head toward Catherine's voice.
"Hi, honey," her mother said warmly. "There you are. Can you push up and see Daddy again?"
"Come on, Angie. Let's see those push-ups," Steve said.
With small grunts, she shifted against the mat. Finally she got her hands underneath her and managed to push her shoulders and head up, holding it for a couple seconds.
Steve smiled proudly. "That's my girl!" He leaned forward and kissed her head as it dropped back down. "We'll work on your form later."
She kept moving her legs, now pressing her face into the mat.
"Come on, honey, can you do it again?" Catherine coaxed. "You're working so hard."
Angie turned her head, finding her fist near her mouth, and sucked on it.
"She ate?" Steve asked.
Catherine nodded. "About a half hour ago."
"What about you?"
"Waited for you," she said with a smile.
"Cath …" he began, sighing.
"I would've eaten if you weren't home when I put her down to sleep. But I like eating with you when we can."
He smiled at that, then Angie's renewed grunts brought their attention back to her. She again got her legs moving, turning herself a little on the mat, and got her head up again.
"Yes!" Steve said. "There you go, Angie. Good job."
Finally her grunts turned to cries. They waited a moment to see if she would stop and resume her exercise, but when she continued, Catherine said, "Okay, are you done?"
"That sounds like you might be done," Steve agreed and shifted to his knees so he could pick her up. He kissed her head and held her against his chest. "That was great, Angie. You're getting so strong."
"Yes, you are," Catherine agreed. She ran a hand up and down Angie's back. "That was quite a workout. Are you about ready for bed, baby girl?" Angie snuggled against Steve's warm body, her eyes starting to close, and Catherine smiled. "I think that's a yes."
The little family, including Cammie, headed up the stairs, stopping briefly in Angie's room to change her diaper before she went down to sleep.
Steve glanced at Catherine as he changed Angie. "What's the movie called again?"
"La La Land," she said.
He made a face. "What is that? Like a dream movie or something?"
"It's a musical."
He stopped. "Oh no. No, I did not agree to music."
"Oh, yes, you did."
"When did I?" he asked incredulously.
"While we were making pancakes," she said with a pointed look.
He paused, then shook his head. "You gotta stop doing that."
"Oh, I don't think so. Every available tactic, remember, Commander?"
He paused again.
"You're very good, Rollins, you know that? Sneaky, but very good."
She grinned. "Why, thank you."
Sighing, he looked at Angie. "When you're old enough for Movie Night, you're gonna help Daddy out, right? Outvote Mommy when she picks something … questionable."
Catherine rolled her eyes, a smile coming to her face. "No, you are going to be open-minded about everything, including movies."
"Hey, I'm plenty open-minded," he countered, grinning at her. "Just … not about movies."
She chuckled, shaking her head.
He paused, his eyes clouding slightly, and he lifted Angie carefully and kissed her head. "But yes, you are going to be open-minded about everything," he said quietly.
Catherine, understanding his train of thought, ran a hand across his back in a gesture of both support and agreement.
He flashed her a soft smile and settled Angie against him again for the walk to their bedroom. Catherine stepped in ahead of them, flipping on the lights, now with the low-watt bulbs they'd bought the previous week.
Stopping at the bassinet, Catherine leaned over to kiss Angie's head, running a slow hand down her back.
"Sweet dreams. I love you, baby girl."
Steve kissed her soft head as well. "So do I," he said. He placed her gently in her bassinet. "I'll see you in a few hours, Angie."
They watched her for a few moments, waiting for her to settle and her eyes to completely close.
Once she had drifted off, Steve flipped on the baby monitor and they headed back out of the room, closing the door behind them.
As they walked downstairs, Cammie following at their heels, Catherine said, "We don't really have to watch the movie if you don't want to, Steve. I know it's not really to your taste."
They reached the bottom and he pulled her close. "All I want is to curl up with you while our daughter, who is getting bigger and stronger every day, sleeps peacefully upstairs. If there happens to be a musical on while that happens … well, I can live with that." He leaned down and kissed her slowly. " 'Cause I've got what I need."
Touched, she kissed him again.
When they parted, his soft smile turned into a grin. "Besides, with our track record on movie nights … we might not even make it to the first song."
She laughed heartily in response and leaned in for another kiss. "And I can live with that."
Hope you enjoyed!
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