Author's note: Life is crazy, is all I can say…Hugs and kisses, you guys are wonderful! I really love reading your reviews and seeing followers and favorites for this story, so keep it up Enjoy!

Six

The soft sounds of gurgles and babbling wake her from, what feels like, the best sleep she's had in a long time. For once, she's not so reluctant to open her eyes. For once, she's sure that when she opens her yes, she'll be met with a sight she wants to see, that it's not just a dream. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. It's real, and it's not going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. It's an unfamiliar feeling, but it's a good feeling. She doesn't quite know how to describe it, or what to call it. A flash of a though whisks past her mind and she takes a second to consider it. Happiness. She could call it that.

Soft curls, that marvelously delicious baby smell she couldn't describe but had become strangely addicted to, and the feeling of a pair of tiny hands touching her face. Opening her eyes, she gives Alexia a soft kiss on the cheek. Waving her arms, Alexia makes a small happy noise in response. She looks over to see Scotty's mildly drowsy, but smiling eyes looking back at her. When he looks at her, she feels as if she's melting a little bit inside. Slowly, he's chipping away her inhibitions and there are moments, like this moment, she's perfectly content to let him. Alexia wriggles as she kicks her legs energetically while lying on her stomach, in the bed between them.

"Hi."

"Hi"

"I guess I fell asleep again," she remarks.

"It's okay. You didn't sleep very well last night. Figured since we have the day off, might as well catch up on some sleep," He says as Alexia sputters out a squeal of delight, gripping onto a fistful of Lilly's hair. Reaching over, he uncurls Alexia's fist, brushing Lilly's hair back off of her face, and out of Alexia' reach. His hand lingers on the side of her face for a second before pulling away. Alexia rolls over onto her back and begins to entertain herself by trying to put her foot in her mouth. Lilly smiles, watching her for a minute before she says, "You look tired."

"Well, someone," he says, pausing to blowing a raspberry on Alexia's stomach, "woke up about 20 minutes after you fell asleep again. I bought her here thinking that maybe I could get her back to sleep and put her in her crib again, but apparently she's had enough sleep. She had her bottle about an hour ago and other than being fully awake, well-rested and not letting me go back to sleep, she's been fine."

Alexia gurgles happily in agreement as Scotty places a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Ma!" Alexia exclaims loudly, her mouth curling into a smile as her eyes flicker from Scotty to Lilly's slightly shocked face.

"Did she just..." Lilly begins to say, but before she can finish, Alexia exclaims, a bit louder, "Ma! Ma. Ma, ma, ma, ma…"

"She just said Ma. She... Is she calling me Ma?" Lilly says, sitting up a bit, her gaze flickering between Scotty and Alexia, the expression on her face completely unreadable.

"Lexi, that was supposed to wait," Scotty murmurs as his kisses Alexia's soft blond curls. "That was supposed to be a birthday surprise."

She cannot stop nor explain the sudden rush of tears that spring to her eyes, flooding and falling down the side of her face.

"Ma?" Alexia questions, her wide blue eyes staring intensely, for an eight month old baby, her tiny hand touching the side of Lilly's face. Lilly quickly swipes away the tears that keep falling. Scotty's concerned gaze mimics Alexia's, only a degree more in intensity and concern, as he says, "I'm sorry, Lil. I didn't mean to upset you. She just started babbling a few weeks ago ad she said 'Da'… I figured she should learn how to say 'Ma' so…" He trails off, a bit unsure of what to do. "Lilly, please don't cry," he says reaching for her hand as she wipes away the last of the tears with her other hand. He watches her, feeling a bit confused, but relieved, as her face slowly breaks out into a small smile. She kisses Alexia's cheek until the baby becomes fussy at all the affection and tries to wriggle out of her reach. Giving Alexia one more kiss, she looks up. The baby kicks her legs in the air, resuming her game of trying to put her foot in her mouth, as Lilly's watery eyes meet his warm, still slightly concerned ones. Her smile grows a bit brighter as Scotty looks even more confused. She reaches over to kiss him before she says, "I'm sorry. I didn't… I really don't know where that came from."

"It's okay. You okay?"

"Yeah," she says with a smile as she kisses him again. "I'm better than okay."

As shades of relief brush over him, this time he leans in to kiss her. She giggles a bit as his stubble brushes over her face. As he lays back down, she says, "We should probably get up. And you should probably shave."

"I don't know," he says with a smirk. "I might keep it. I kind of like that sound you make when I kiss you with a beard," he says mischievously, leaning over to kiss her again. She laughs, kissing him back initially before wriggling teasingly underneath his kiss. He kisses her once more before pulling away slowly, as their eyes settle on the baby, who is beginning to look a bit heavy lidded. Neither one of them say a word, much less move, as they watch Alexia fight off the sleep. It's a rather short fight and in no more than ten minutes, her eyes close and soon she is fast asleep. The enchanting sounds of Alexia's soft breaths fill the space between them. After a few minutes, she turns on her side to look over at Scotty, only to find he's looking a bit heavy lidded himself. She smiles as he drowsily reaches for her hand. Minutes later, he joins Alexia in a deep sleep. She finds herself entranced by the sight of the two of them. Alexia soft breathing, the sound of Scotty mumbling something incompressible in Spanish. Part of her wishes she'd taken Spanish in high school so she'd know what he was saying. But for the most part, she doesn't really care. She's comforted by their presence, the fact that they are here. In that moment, a small part of her, a crack, entertains the thought of the notion of a happily ever after.