Stephanie had smiled at Remi, figuring it was time for her to take her leave. She never liked to interfere with their time together, because she knew how precious that time was for them. Not only could she see how much Remi had missed Joe, but she remembered the times that she had been in the same position as she was in. Having to say 'bye' to the man she loved, not knowing about his safety while he was away; it was all overwhelming. Stephanie admired Remi for her strength, even though she had the same amount of strength, the time away from each other was a factor in her and Joe's divorce.
"I'm gonna head out. I have to make sure I'm on time for my shift. Thanks, again, Rem. Love you, guys," Stephanie told her, along with a hug, before she made her way outside. Remi smiled at her back and turned to Linden, once more, with a smile. He nodded and turned to leave the kitchen, leaving Remi in her own thoughts, that were soon interrupted. She could hear the sounds of laughter and a little bit of yelling on Stephanie's part. She laughed, knowing Joe had probably done something. Hearing Stephanie say her goodbye's to Charlotte and Joe, she turned to the back door just in time to see him come inside.
"Hey, beautiful," Joe told her, before she ran over to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He laughed a bit, before she pressed her lips against his. She had missed him so much, and always looked forward to his return. When they pulled apart from their kiss, Remi unwrapped her legs from around him, as he waited for her to settle her feet on the floor. "I guess it's safe to say you missed me?" he asked her, as he smiled down at her.
"Of course I missed you. How could I not? You've been gone for so many days," she told him, bring her hands to rest on either side of his face, softly caressing the skin and beard beneath her thumbs. Resting his forehead against her own, he sighed..just happy to finally be home. Joe had kept his arms around her waist, but finally unwrapped them from around her, settling his hands on her hips. "I made dinner for you, Charlotte, and your dad. I want for him to eat something, please. He needs to get some form of sustenance in his system, rather than just drinking the whole day away," she told him, hoping he would be able to get Linden to eat more than what he had been eating. Joe gave a gentle nod, as he kissed her one more time, before pulling apart from her to watch Charlotte come into the house.
"Hey, kiddo. You gonna help me take care of grandpa, while Remi goes to work?" he asked his daughter, who nodded and ran over to give him a proper hug. "Okay. Go clean up for dinner, and I'll go look for your grandpa." Remi sighed, trying to remember where Linden had wandered off to, after he left the kitchen. She watched Charlotte walk out of the kitchen and go toward the staircase, when she remembered that he had wanted to put up the Christmas lights on their house.
"He's probably in the garage. He was looking for the Christmas lights," she told him, before turning to look at the microwave. Eyes widening a little in realization, Remi stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek, telling him that she was going to get ready for work, before she ended up being late. She worked in the local hospital, as a receptionist, seeing that all the patients were checked into the hospital and/or seen in the emergency room. Joe gave her back a gentle rub, when she walked past him, before he turned to the back door with a sigh. He was going to have to face his dad sometime, but he hoped that he was in a better mood than he had been as of late.