A/N: Thank you, again, to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter. I told you all that things were going to get tough in this story; let's see what else is going to happen. Muhahaha! Here's the next chapter; enjoy!
~ Chapter Four ~
~~ Spencer's Secret ~~
Spencer
The baby cooed and laughed, kicking her arms and legs as she was freed from her pajamas. Spencer smiled at her baby daughter, as she changed her dirty diaper. She cleaned her up, with a little difficulty because Eliza kept squirming. When she was done, Spencer leaned down and blew kisses on Eliza's belly. The baby smiled wide excitedly, and her flailing hand grasped a handful of Spencer's hair. Spencer carefully dislodged Eliza's hand, kissing her cheek after she was done.
"You're a silly little girl," Spencer baby-talked to her, smoothing down Eliza's dark fuzz of hair. She dressed her daughter in a white onesie, then slid a pair of pink polka-dotted pants over top. She lifted the baby up, holding her out in front of her. Eliza's toes touched the top of the changing table, and then she curled her legs back up.
Eliza let out a string of babbling nonsense, some spittle collecting on her lips. Spencer laughed, and pulled her baby against her chest, laying Eliza's head against her shoulder. She kissed Eliza's temple several times. "I love you so much, baby girl," she murmured, rocking her a little. She threw the soiled diaper in the trash, and tossed the pajamas into the hamper. Spencer still cradled Eliza against her as she turned around, spotting Tyler standing in the doorway.
"Hi, mommy," Tyler croaked out, rubbing his eye. He wore mismatched Scooby-Doo and dinosaur pajamas, because he had thrown up a little during the night and hadn't made it to the trash can. He put his hands over his face and coughed loudly.
"Hi, baby, did you wake up?" Spencer asked him, soothingly. Tyler nodded mutely, still looking a little miserable. "I told you I didn't want you coming in here. I don't want you to get your sister sick," she reminded him. With Tyler sick, Spencer was extra nervous with Eliza since she's a preemie. She laid Eliza down in her crib, picked up the baby monitor, and walked over to Tyler.
"Do you want something to eat?" Spencer asked him, softly.
Tyler shook his head, and put his arms up in the air, wanting to be picked up. Spencer picked him up, settling him on her hip. "I watch Little Foot," Tyler whimpered, talking about the animated classic, 'The Land Before Time'.
"Ok, but you have to eat something," Spencer told him, soothingly. "I'll make you some toast, alright?" Tyler didn't say anything; he just laid his head down on Spencer's shoulder, his arms dangling listlessly. Spencer sympathized with him, kissing his head. She hated seeing him like this.
She started walking with him to his bedroom, until he started whining again. "No, you room! You room!" Tyler exclaimed.
"Ok, ok, I have to get the movie first," Spencer reminded him. She walked into Tyler's bedroom, and got the DVD out of the player. She did it one-handed, because Tyler refused to get down. With the movie in hand, Spencer brought Tyler to her bedroom. She placed the little boy on the bed and he crawled up to the head of the bed, slipping underneath the blankets. Spencer started to put the movie in the DVD player.
"Where daddy?" Tyler asked, from deep within the confines of the pillow and blanket.
Spencer pressed play, and then walked over to Tyler's side, sitting down on the bed. "Daddy had to go to work, but he'll be back later," she explained to him.
Tyler continued to whine, "I want him here!"
"I know," Spencer murmured, stroking his hair. To distract him, she pointed toward the television. "Wow, look at all the dinosaurs!" It worked a little bit. Tyler turned his attention to the movie, lying there quietly. Spencer got up to get Tyler his toast, and, as she walked out the door, Tyler giggled, starting to sound a little like his old self.
When Spencer came back upstairs, she peeked in on Eliza real quick. The baby was still lying in her crib on her back, happily trying to reach for her butterfly mobile. Satisfied that Eliza was still happy, Spencer went back to her bedroom to Tyler. Tyler was now sitting up, watching his movie more enthusiastically and laughing.
"That's what I like to see," Spencer smiled. "Here's your toast and some juice." She handed Tyler the plate carefully and placed his sippy cup on the nightstand.
"Mommy, look, Little Foot and his friends are looking for water, for a' rest of da dinosaurs," Tyler said, happily. He's seen this movie a hundred times, but he hasn't gotten tired of it yet.
"Cool," Spencer commented, glancing at the TV screen then back at her son. "Ok, you watch your movie. I have some work I have-" She started to reach for Eliza's baby monitor and leave the room.
"Noooo!" Tyler started to cry. "Stay wit me! Watch!" He dropped the piece of toast he was holding in his hand back onto his plate.
"Ty, baby, I have some work to do for Aunt Emily," Spencer tried to tell him. Tyler's cries started to get louder, and Spencer worried that he was going to disturb Eliza. His blue eyes were watery, and then he began coughing from getting hysterical. Spencer sat back down on the bed. "Ok, ok, calm down," she reassured him. "I'll stay with you for a little bit." She stretched out a bit on the bed and put her arm around him, and Tyler snuggled up next to her.
It was probably about an hour later when Spencer jolted awake at the sound of crying coming through the baby monitor. She picked her head up groggily, looking at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was just about noon; Eliza was probably ready for her bottle. The end credits of the movie rolled by on the television, a child's song chorusing in the background. Spencer started to sit up, then realized that she couldn't. Tyler was laying on top of her, fast asleep. She picked him up, careful not to wake him, and laid him back on the bed, tucking the blanket around him.
Spencer stood up, turning the volume on the baby monitor down a little bit so that it didn't wake Tyler up. She turned the movie off as she left the room. Spencer walked down the hall to the nursery, feeling not as refreshed as she would have liked after that little catnap. She entered the room and couldn't hold back her smile when Eliza turned her head at the sound of the door opening, saw Spencer, and started reaching out for her mommy.
Spencer lifted Eliza out of the crib, soothing her cries. "You ready to eat, little peanut," Spencer cooed, using Toby's nickname for her. Spencer carried Eliza downstairs to the kitchen to make her a bottle. As she warmed the bottle up, she sat on a stool at the island with the baby and checked her phone while she waited. She found that she had two missed text messages from Toby, they must have come when she was napping with Tyler.
The first one he simply asked how everyone was doing. The second one read that he was getting off of work early, so that he could come home to help her. She smiled to herself over his generosity, feeling her heart burst with love for him. She typed out a new text to Toby to let him know that she got his messages. She told him that Tyler was sleeping and snapped a photo of Eliza waiting for her bottle. The photo was cute, because Eliza was stretching and it looked like she was waving at her daddy.
By the time she sent the message, Eliza's bottle was ready. Spencer retrieved the bottle and moved to the living room. She settled herself on the couch and fed Eliza her lunch, watching television aimlessly. Eliza sucked on the bottle hungrily, while Spencer smiled down at her adoringly. When she had sucked down at least half the bottle, Spencer set the bottle down on the table despite Eliza's cry of protest. She placed a dry cloth over her shoulder and held Eliza up against her, beginning to burp her. It took a couple minutes for the baby to produce a burp, and then she was ready for the rest of her bottle.
Spencer didn't hear anyone come in, but, as she put the bottle to Eliza's lips, the baby didn't take it right away. Her brown eyes, just like her mother's, cut to the left, just barely focusing on something. Spencer wouldn't have thought anything of it, except that Eliza let a small giggle and began waving her hands. Spencer looked over her shoulder, and saw Toby coming up behind her. Spencer smiled and Toby smiled back at her when he saw her looking.
"You know won't be able to sneak up on me anymore," Spencer teased him. "They both give you away."
"I'll just keep trying," Toby murmured, just before he bent over and captured her lips in a kiss. They kissed passionately, his hands coming up to cup her neck. The heat blistered between them, as their lips moved in synchronicity. Spencer didn't want it to end, but Toby pulled his mouth away, touching his forehead to hers. He smirked at the small moan that escaped Spencer's pink lips when the kiss ended.
"I think our little peanut is waiting for the rest of her bottle," Toby whispered.
Spencer had to pull her gaze away from his hypnotic, blue one, looking down at their daughter still in her arms. Eliza stared back up at them quietly, some leftover milk pooling on her pursed lips. "I'm sorry about that, sweetie," Spencer murmured to the baby. "Daddy can be a little distracting." She smiled up at Toby.
Toby smiled back at her. "Here, I'll feed her the rest of the bottle, so you can have a break," he offered. Toby slipped his hands underneath his daughter, ready to take her.
Spencer handed Eliza over into Toby's waiting arms, gently. "If you're sure,...there's still some work I want to finish for Emily," Spencer said, standing up as Toby sat down on the couch in her place. "I still think our best bet is to try and make Enrique see reason and willingly sign away his rights. It could be damaging to take those twins away from Emily and Maya now."
"Spence,..." Toby replied, giving his wife a look. He picked up the baby bottle from the table. "I glad you're helping Emily, I don't want her to lose the twins either, but you need to take some time for yourself, have some time to rest."
"I will," Spencer grinned, reveling in his protectiveness. She leaned down and pecked his lips, lingering there, savoring his taste. She reluctantly pulled away, and kissed Eliza on her head. Then, she walked away down the hall to her home office, while Toby fed Eliza the rest of her bottle, talking to her.
Spencer entered her office, closing the door behind her. She exhaled a breathy sigh, and then walked around to her desk, glancing at the file of papers pertaining to Emily's case. She dropped down into her swivel chair with another sigh, leaning her elbows on the desk. She rubbed her temples with her fingers in a circle, feeling her exhaustion catching up with her again. She needed to get this work done, but she wasn't going to do that with tired eyes.
Glancing at the closed door first, she looked down at the drawer on the right side of the desk. She hesitated for a second, then pulled the drawer open. She reached inside, automatically gripping a small cylinder in her hand. Spencer pulled her hand back out, revealing an unmarked prescription bottle. She gazed upon it, knowing the pleasure of taking what was inside.
Before she could open the prescription bottle, though, the doorknob began turning and she heard her husband's voice. She quickly dropped the bottle back in the drawer, pushing it shut. She opened up Emily's case file, pretending like she had been doing that the whole time.
"Hey, Spence, Eliza's asleep. I'm going to go put her in her crib," Toby said, softly, peeking around the door. "Ty's looking for his blankie. Do you know where it is?"
"Uh, yeah," Spencer replied, a little nervously. "It should be in that mess he calls a bed."
"Ok, thanks," Toby thanked her. He gave her a parting smile and didn't notice that her smile in return was a shaky one.
She wasn't hiding anything. That's what Spencer told herself after Toby had left, closing the door again. There was nothing to hide; she wasn't addicted to the pills again. She had everything under control. There was just so much time and energy in taking care of a preemie and also taking on Emily's case. And, now, she had a sick toddler to add to the plate. The pills were just helping her focus on everything and giving her very best. When things calmed down, everything would go back to normal.
Before she could think about it further or feel guilty about lying to Toby, she reopened the drawer and took the pills back. Spencer held the bottle up in her hand in front of her face. Just until everything calmed down. Spencer upended the bottle into her palm, two small white pills falling out. She popped them into her mouth, and chased them down with some water. Now, she was ready to work.
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Later that night, Tyler and Eliza were put to bed for the night, in their own rooms. Spencer was back in her office, after a little break. She was just about done what she had to do for Emily's case for now, there was just a few things she was finishing up. She had wanted to be in here sooner, but Eliza was being difficult. The baby wouldn't stop crying, and commanded both of Spencer's and Toby's attentions. And, Tyler couldn't go to sleep, because Eliza was crying and he wanted Toby to lie with him as he fell asleep. Now, all was quiet.
"I think it's time to go to bed," Toby said from the doorway. Spencer glanced up from her work to see a shirtless Toby gazing at her, his perfect abs on full display.
Spencer bit her lip to hide her smile, glancing back down. "I'm almost done here," she mumbled.
Toby pushed himself off the wall, beginning to walk over to her. "Spencer, you've been working almost all day," Toby told her. "You need to take a break. Emily wouldn't want you pushing yourself because of her."
"Really, I'll be done in a minute," Spencer insisted, without looking up. "And I'm not pushing myself."
"Alright," Toby muttered. Spencer was surprised that Toby gave in so easily, but glad at the same time. A second later, she felt Toby's arms wrap around her body and he began nuzzling her neck.
Spencer couldn't focus on what she was doing when he was doing that. Her head fell back involuntarily against his shoulder and a low moan escaped her lips. Toby chuckled low in his throat. He kissed her neck and shoulder, leaving a trail of hot kisses.
"You know I can't resist that," Spencer murmured. Her back arched and tingles ran up and down her spine from his intoxicating touch. A fire began to blaze inside of her, and it took nearly all of her self control to not come undone.
"Exactly," Toby whispered back, his warm breath blowing across her skin, arising goosebumps. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.
Relinquishing to her desire, Spencer turned in his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck and finding his lips with her own. They kissed passionately and seductively. His strong, capable hands slipped underneath her shirt, roaming over her bare back. She let out another whimpering moan in his mouth, and clung to him desperately, trying to get as close as possible to him. Toby picked her up in his arms, lifting her out of the chair. Spencer wrapped her legs around his waist, as he began to carry her out of the room. Their lips or bodies never once broke contact in the heat of their passion.
Just as they were passing through the door, Spencer glanced over Toby's shoulder back at the desk, where her secret stash of pills were stored secretively. Deep in her gut, she knew that she didn't like lying to Toby, but, then, there was nothing really to tell. She didn't have a problem, like the last time. She would know if she did. Right?
Then, she surrendered to the ecstasy and the insatiable desire keeping her bound in her husband's arms, as he carried her upstairs to their bedroom.
A/N: Did you all like it? Uh oh, is Spencer back on the pills and is there trouble for Spoby on the horizon? Please review, and tell me your thoughts. I love hearing from all of you.
