A week later...
Charlie was sitting in the solarium with the baby. Jordan was getting a shower. Charlie studied his new baby daughter. She had bright, dark brown eyes and dark curly hair just like him. She had a tiny turned up nose that looked like Jordan's, and a tiny little rosebud mouth. Charlie gently pressed one finger against her fist and she grasped his finger. He marveled at how tiny her fingers were. She was a beautiful child.
"You are Riley Margaret Eppes." he told her.
Alan came into the room. "Can Grandpa come in?"
"Sure." Charlie said, his eyes never leaving Riley's face.
Alan smiled at Charlie. "She's beautiful, Charlie."
"She has Jordan's nose." Charlie grinned at him.
"It's a good thing, too." Alan grinned back at him.
"I happen to love your noses." Jordan came in and smiled at them. She bent over and kissed Charlie's nose.
"Yeah, but you're biased.", Charlie grinned at her.
"Am not." She laughed.
The baby started to whimper. Jordan reached for her.
Alan jumped up. "I've got something I need to finish." He didn't feel comfortable seeing his daughter-in-law breast feeding.
Charlie stood up, so Jordan could sit down in the rocker. He gently handed her the baby. She uncovered her breast, and the baby latched on. Riley eagerly started drinking.
"You were hungry, weren't you?" Jordan asked the baby.
Charlie sat next to her and watched. Jordan saw the pleased expression on Charlie's face. For some reason, she felt irritated.
"Do you have any idea how much this hurts?" she asked him irritably.
Charlie's smile faded. He looked uncomfortable.
Jordan continued. "Charlie, there is not some ray of light that shines on a breast feeding mother, okay? This is natural and normal."
Charlie reddened.
Jordan immediately felt mean. She couldn't believe what she had just said. "I'm sorry Charlie. I didn't mean that. I guess I'm a little bit hormonally impaired right now." She looked at him apologetically. "Ok, maybe a lot."
Charlie leaned over, and kissed her. "It's okay." He looked at her lovingly. Jordan's heart ached.
"I do not deserve this man." she thought to herself.
Charlie walked into the kitchen, getting himself an apple and a bottle of water. He walked into the den and sat down across from Alan. Alan lowered his newspaper, and looked at his son.
"Charlie, it will get back to normal."
Charlie looked at Alan. "What do you mean?"
Alan laid the newspaper down, and leaned forward in his seat. "What I mean, Charlie, is that Jordan will be herself again in a few weeks. Your mother was not easy to live with either for a few weeks after each of you were born. Their hormones are all messed up. They are emotional, and can be, umm," Alan paused, "rather foul tempered."
Charlie looked at his dad. "So this is normal?"
"Yes, it is normal. You will both survive this. She loves you." Alan smiled at Charlie.
Charlie looked relieved.
Two months later...
Charlie took Jordan and Riley to the doctor. Riley had a cold. They were sitting in the waiting room. A woman came over to admire the baby. She looked down at the baby carrier, and gave a funny look. She looked at Charlie and Jordan. "What's wrong with your baby?"
Jordan was immediately angry, but Charlie was absolutely livid. She grabbed his arm to keep him from jumping up.
"Nothing is wrong with her!" Charlie snapped angrily.
Jordan reached down and pulled the baby carrier closer to them. She rubbed Charlie's back, trying to calm him down. "Just ignore her," Jordan whispered in his ear. "She's ignorant."
Charlie had secretly suspected something was wrong with Riley. He knew that Jordan saw it too. The baby was unusually quiet. She didn't make all the cute cooing sounds that other babies made. Not only that, her eyes still didn't focus. When Charlie and Jordan had mentioned it to the doctor, he had insisted that the baby was fine, and that they were just overreacting.
Six months later...
Charlie came home from work to find Jordan lying face down on their bed, sobbing. Charlie sat next to her, pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly and kissed her. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?""
She looked into his dark eyes, and sniffled. "I told the doctor that Riley still doesn't even sit up. An eight month old baby should be crawling. But she doesn't. She doesn't make any sounds. She still won't focus on anything."
Jordan buried her face in Charlie's chest and sobbed. Her voice was muffled as she continued. "The doctor thinks I'm overreacting. I don't know. Maybe I am." She lifted her head up and looked into his eyes. "Am I, Charlie? You're a smart guy. Am I overreacting?"
Charlie hugged Jordan tightly and kissed her wet face. "No. You're not overreacting. We're going back to that damn doctor. I'm going with you. We will get to the bottom of this, once and for all."
Charlie called the doctor's office and insisted that they 'work in' Riley Eppes.
The next day, Charlie drove Jordan and Riley to the doctor's office.
The nurse took them straight back to an exam room, and closed the door. Jordan sat nervously on the seat, and eyed Charlie. He was pacing. She wondered what he was going to say. Riley was at her feet in the baby carrier. Jordan talked to the baby, but as usual, she barely responded to her mothers voice.
Charlie continued to pace, watching the door. He was angry and frustrated. He was going to get some answers. One way or another. He was ready.
The pediatrician stepped into the room. Charlie immediately faced him.
"My wife brought my daughter here yesterday. She has told you several times in the past that we are very concerned about Riley. We are tired of you telling us 'that everyone does things in their own time'. Obviously you aren't concerned, because she isn't your child."
The doctor opened his mouth to respond, but Charlie cut him off. He stared angrily at the doctor, locking eyes with him.
"I want referrals. She needs her hearing tested. She needs her vision checked. I want the top docs in the departments. Get me the referrals. Now." Charlie continued to stare icily at the doctor.
The doctor dropped his eyes from Charlie's hard stare. He hesitated, and then met Charlie's eyes.
"Very well, Dr. Eppes. I'll get them and have them faxed to you this afternoon." He looked back up at Charlie. "Will that suit you?"
"Fine." Charlie looked over at Jordan, who was staring at him with a shocked expression. "Let's go." he told her quietly. Jordan got up immediately, as Charlie picked up the baby carrier. She didn't say a word as she followed her husband out.
Charlie fastened the baby carrier into the back seat. He straightened, and turned around to have Jordan throw her arms around him. He laughed in surprise. She kissed him. "My hero." She grinned at him.
Charlie laughed. "Not hardly." he fished the keys from his pocket. "He just better get those faxed."
"Oh, he will.", Jordan laughed getting into the car next to Charlie. "He doesn't want you coming back up here, does he?" She grinned at him.
Charlie grinned back at her and winked.
