A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry for taking so long to update.
Tom practically collapsed onto the bed in the on-call room. He was exhausted from the past three weeks of sleepless nights. Allison was waking him and Teddy up every two hours in the middle of the night. Tom was happy to have moved in with Teddy. He got to spend lots of quality time with both of his girls because of it. He wouldn't change it for the world. But, God, he was tired. He had drank four giant cups of coffee already and it was only ten in the morning. He tried getting as much sleep as possible between surgeries so that he could be refreshed when he went home. Teddy and Owen spent entire days taking care of her and were clearly exhausted. It wasn't easy taking care of a newborn baby and a one-year old all day. Tom felt like he needed to be re-energized by the time he got home to help out as much as possible and take some of the burden off of them. Tom's pager went off only minutes after laying down. He groaned and forced himself to go back to work.
"Leo wants to play," Owen sighed. He was too tired to play. He knew Teddy was not getting much sleep at night and he felt guilty that he was sleeping well at home. Leo was past the stage of waking up every few hours. But, even with that sleep, Owen was tired. Allison always needed something and Leo had started walking a few days ago. Having a child that could move around on his own could be exhausting, as Leo always seemed to be getting into something he shouldn't be.
"Is there anything we can play sitting down?" Teddy asked. She felt like she had been moving constantly for the past week. Leo waddled over to her and handed her a block.
"Bock!" Leo said, announcing what the object was.
"Oh, I know," Owen said. "Leo, where's your ball."
"I cannot play with a ball right now," Teddy warned him.
"No, it's a scavenger hunt. He'll find it and we don't have to move," Owen explained. Leo came back carrying a red ball.
"Ball!" Leo exclaimed.
"Where's your car?" Teddy asked. Leo smiled as he walked over to his toy car and brought it back to them. He was making a 'vroom' noise as he brought it to them. They did a few more objects like this.
"Leo, where's Allie?" Owen asked, wanting to see if he recognized her name yet. Leo pointed to his sister who was between Teddy and Owen on the couch.
"Good job, Leo!" Teddy told the child. "Where's daddy?"
Leo stepped towards Owen and lifted his arms as if he wanted to be picked up. "Dada."
Owen smiled. He would never get tired of hearing Leo call him that. And, he couldn't wait to hear the same things from the little girl sitting next to him. He lifted Leo into the air and gave him a kiss on the cheek before putting him back down.
"One more," Owen said. "Leo, where's Teddy?"
Leo walked away from them and grabbed the teddy bear from across the room and brought it back to them.
"I'm offended," Teddy joked. "How dare you make him associate my name with a toy."
"Sorry, sorry. We can fix it," Owen apologized. Owen pointed at Teddy. "Leo, who's that?"
Owen repeated the question a few times before Leo answered, "Mama."
Teddy and Owen's mouths both dropped. Teddy's eyes welled up with tears.
"Why do you think he said that?" Teddy asked. She felt bad that Leo thought she was his mom. She loved Leo, but she wasn't his mom and she didn't want to confuse him.
"Probably because I've been referring to you as 'mom' and 'mommy' all week when talking to Allison," Owen reasoned. "And, you've been great with him and he loves you. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable though. We'll correct it."
"No!" Teddy blurted out quickly. "I mean, it was unexpected. But, I don't mind. I mean, if that's okay with you. It's just that he doesn't have a mom and so if he wants to call me that, it's more than okay with me. Besides, he's Allie's brother and we're a family."
"That's perfectly okay with me." Owen smiled. They were a family. And, he was happy that Leo and Teddy felt connected. He wanted them to all be one family rather than two separate families, one with Teddy, Tom, and Allison and one with him, Leo, and Allison. He then remembered Tom and how it was possible that when Allison got to be Leo's age, she might call Tom 'dad'. The thought made him sad.
"You okay?" Teddy asked, noticing the smile on Owen's face fade away.
"Is she going to call Tom 'dad'?" Owen asked, gently touching Allison's tiny hand.
Teddy bit her lip. She was still wondering about that. She knew it would break Owen's heart if she called both of them that. But, it would also hurt Tom if she never did. Teddy knew Tom loved Allison and had been there for her just like a father. It felt wrong to not let her daughter call him 'dad' if that's how she felt.
"I don't know, Owen," Teddy admitted. "I mean, we're still far off from that."
"I don't want her to," Owen replied, sadly. "She's my daughter."
"I know," Teddy said. "But, no matter what she calls Tom, we are going to make sure she understands why both of you are in her life. If she calls him 'dad', it doesn't mean that she doesn't love you or doesn't know how much you love her. It just means that she knows she has two amazing guys in her life who love her like crazy. And, I think that's so much more important than what she calls you two."
Owen nodded, trying to be more open-minded about it. He knew he should be grateful that Teddy had found someone who actually loves his child. There were plenty of boyfriends and step-dads out there who paid no attention to a kid that wasn't theirs. Owen knew he would have to be okay with sharing Allison eventually.
Later in the day, Allison started crying with no end in sight. Teddy suggested that Owen take Leo to the park since he was bound to start fussing. Whenever Allison cried, Leo seemed to be right behind her. Owen quickly packed Leo up and took him to the park. Teddy was able to Allison to quiet down soon after that. Teddy gave her daughter a kiss once she stopped crying and then put her down on her baby blanket on her stomach. Teddy laid on the floor next to her and watched as Allison tried lifting her head using her arm and neck muscles.
"Good job, Allie!" Teddy told her. "You're getting so strong."
"Unlike your mommy who still has three more weeks until she's supposed to exercise," Teddy grumbled. Teddy was so used to being active that these past three weeks and the last few months of pregnancy had been really hard on her. She wanted to get back in shape as soon as possible. She looked down at her stomach and sighed. She felt extremely self-conscious about the baby weight she was still carrying. Three weeks until her doctor would say she was allowed to exercise again. Including sex.
That had been on her mind for a few days now. She and Tom hadn't had sex in almost two months. And the only experiences they had together were with her being pregnant. Teddy didn't understand how some women had no sex drive after giving birth. She wanted it all the time. She found herself getting turned on whenever she saw Tom was taking good care of Allison, which was all the time. She had tried to initiate sex, despite their exhaustion, but Tom was insistent that they should wait for her to heal and for the doctor to give the okay. Teddy was beyond frustrated by this. She thought that she could break his resolve if she just kept trying but Tom stayed strong. Teddy was starting to wonder if maybe he just wasn't interested in sleeping with her anymore. Teddy wondered if he was turned off by her body that still had additional weight from the baby. Sure, he had slept with her while she was pregnant and obviously a lot larger, but now her weight had no excuse.
Teddy watched Allison still working on keeping her head up. Teddy looked around and considered the fact that no one else was around besides Allison.
"You know, baby girl, I'll work out with you," Teddy told Allison. Teddy got onto her stomach, ready to do push-ups. "Don't tell the boys, okay? It'll be our little secret."
Teddy started doing push-ups and got to ten before needing a break. Teddy was frustrated at how few she could do, knowing that she used to be able to do a lot more than ten. She started again but was caught by Tom who she hadn't heard come in.
"What are you doing, Altman?" Tom asked, shaking his head at her. Teddy dropped down from her push-up and tried to act like she hadn't been doing anything.
"Nothing," Teddy lied, knowing full well that he had seen her working out. "Allison just needed some company with her exercises."
"Ah, right," Tom said, with a smile. He sat down on the floor next to Teddy and Allison. "I didn't realize that a three week old baby could do a full push-up."
"Well, my daughter is just advanced for her age," Teddy joked. Tom laughed and Teddy waited for a lecture about resting but it didn't come. "You're not going to lecture me on waiting longer to exercise?"
"Would you like me to?" Tom asked, with a playful smile. "I'd be more than happy to. I figured it would just fall on deaf ears. Decided to save my energy."
Teddy smiled and moved closer to him. "Smart man."
Tom laughed and caught her lips with his. He kissed her slowly until Teddy deepened the kiss, pushing her body against his until he was lying down with Teddy on top of him. Tom ran his hand down her side. He was surprised by Teddy's interest in having sex so soon after giving birth to Allison. She had been incredibly turned on lately which, of course, turned him on, but he knew that they should wait a little longer before acting on it. He was finding it harder and harder to stop her advances though, as he so desperately wanted to make love to her. He felt her hands working on the button of his pants.
"There's a baby right there," Tom pointed out, breaking away from her kiss.
"She's facing the other way," Teddy argued. She began undoing the buttons on his shirt. "It's not like she's going to understand what we're doing."
Teddy kissed him again and Tom let his hand wander up her shirt, touching the smooth skin of her back. He wanted her so badly.
"What about Owen and Leo?" Tom asked, stopping suddenly.
"Park," Teddy told him, before kissing him again. As they kissed, Teddy felt proud of herself for convincing Tom that they could do this now. Just as she was about to pull down his pants, Tom sat up quickly, making Teddy stop.
"You are a bad influence," Tom teased, trying to convince himself that he didn't want or need this. "You need time to heal."
"You just said that you weren't going to fight me on exercising," Teddy reminded him, not moving off of him.
"I'm not. But, I'm not going to help you disobey your doctor's order either," Tom told her. Tom noticed that Teddy looked sad as she moved off of him. He put his hand on her shoulder gently as he saw a tear fall from her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong? I mean, I know I'm excellent in bed, but I really think you can wait three more weeks."
"You won't want to sleep with me then either," Teddy cried. She knew she was being over-dramatic but her hormones from the pregnancy still hadn't calmed down. She found herself crying all the time, which was so unusual compared to her pre-pregnancy self.
"What?" Tom asked, confused by her response. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because I'm fat," Teddy answered. "I haven't lost the baby weight yet and I can't exercise, so I'll still be fat in a few weeks!"
"Teddy, you are not fat," Tom told her, trying hard to convince her of that fact. She really wasn't. She had put on weight compared to her normal skinny body but she was in no way fat.
"I used to be so skinny," Teddy told him. "Now I have all this extra weight. And stretch marks."
Tom couldn't help but chuckle. Teddy glared at him. He took hold of her hands. "Teddy, I find you incredibly sexy. I didn't know you before you were pregnant but I love the way that you look right now. And, your stretch marks are just a reminder of the fact that you gave birth to the most amazing little girl on the planet."
Tom picked up Allison and let her cuddle against his chest. "Trust me, I want to have sex with you. Now. Tomorrow. Three weeks from now. Fifty years from now."
Teddy laughed and wiped away her tears. "We'll be really old and wrinkly by then."
"Yep, and I will still be crazy about you," Tom promised. "I love you."
Teddy smiled. "I love you too."
Teddy leaned in to kiss Tom, being careful not squish the baby in between them. Owen and Leo came back to the house only a minute later.
"See, good thing we stopped," Tom whispered to her. Teddy slapped him playfully.
"Hey, how was the park?" Teddy called out.
"It was good," Owen answered. "How long before she calmed down?"
"Just a few minutes after you left," Teddy told him. Owen sat on the couch, and put Leo on the ground. Leo immediately walked over to Teddy and gave her a giant hug. Teddy pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly.
"What did you do at the park?" Teddy asked him. "Did Daddy push you on the swing?"
Leo nodded with a smile. Teddy and Owen had taken him and Allison to the park a few times in the past week, and despite the vast selection of things at the playground, Leo just wanted to be pushed on the swing for hours on end.
"He made a friend at the park, too," Owen told her. "They were taking turns on the slide."
"Really? He hates the slide!" Teddy commented.
"Well, his friend was doing it so he decided to and loved it," Owen explained.
"Oh good," Teddy said. "I mean, what kid doesn't like slides?"
"I hated them," Tom commented. "I was afraid of heights. I would sit at the top but could never get myself to go."
"Aw," Teddy said. "When I saw that on the playground, I'd always go push them down the slide. No backing down."
"Wow, you were mean," Owen told her.
"It's how I met Allison," Teddy told them. "I saw this small curly haired girl sitting at the top of the slide. And, her mom was at the bottom, begging her to slide down to her. Allison kept telling her no. That she was too scared. So I shoved her down. I thought I was helping."
"And, she wanted to be your friend after?" Tom asked, surprised.
Teddy laughed. "Yeah. Her mom was so mad but Allison just kept saying, 'I did it!' My mom made me apologize but Allison told me that she wanted me to push her down it again. We played for hours after that and became best friends."
Teddy, Tom, and Owen continued sharing stories about when they were kids. They were all looking forward to seeing those types of memorable moments for Leo and Allison.
In the middle of the night, Tom and Teddy were woken up by Allison's screams. Teddy looked at the clock.
"It's been half an hour," Teddy groaned. Allison had fallen asleep after eating only thirty minutes ago. She started getting out of bed but Tom told her that he would take care of her. He went over to Allison and scooped her into his arms.
"Does she need to be changed?" Teddy mumbled, already on the verge of falling asleep again.
"No," Tom told her. "Go to sleep. I'll calm her down."
Teddy didn't have enough energy to protest. Tom slipped out of the room with the crying child in his arms. He brought her into the nursery and cradled her as he rocked in the rocking chair. She continued to cry.
"Shh," he urged. "Mommy's trying to sleep."
He grabbed her baby blanket and swaddled her in it. She calmed down quickly after. Her cries turned into soft cooing noises. Tom smiled down at her. He loved this tiny bundle.
"You were just cold. Weren't you, peanut?" Tom asked, touching her cheek lightly. "Let's get you into some warmer pajamas."
Tom stood up to find her some warmer clothes but Allison began crying as soon as he stood. He sat back down and began rocking again which quieted her down. He tried again a little while later to stand but Allison began fussing again. Tom decided it'd be best just to keep holding her in the rocking chair. He resisted the urge to fall asleep with her, knowing that it would be dangerous for her. But, he was enjoying just holding her and watching her as she drifted asleep. Once she was finally fast asleep, he carried her back into the bedroom.
"Love you, peanut," he told her, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. He placed her back into the bassinet. He climbed back into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
"You're sure you have enough diapers?" Teddy asked Owen.
"Yes," Owen told her, rolling his eyes.
"And, did you pack her-"
Owen interrupted. "Her blanket and dog stuffed animal because they will help calm her down. Yes."
"Okay. But what about-"
"Teddy, I've got this," Owen assured her. He picked up the carrier with Allison inside. Tonight would be Allison's first night at Owen's house. Teddy had started pumping her breast milk and introducing Allison to a bottle so that both she and Owen could have separate time with her. But, Teddy was worried about not having her around for the first time in five weeks.
"Okay," Teddy said, sadly. She reached into the carrier and ran her hand across Allison's head. "Love you, baby girl. Have a good night with Daddy."
Owen gave a reassuring smile to Teddy before heading back to his place. He was excited to be bringing both his kids home. He wanted to show Allison her bedroom even though she really wouldn't be able to express much emotion about it. He just wanted her to know that his house was as much her home as Teddy's house.
When he got the kids home, he fed them and got them ready for bed. He put Allison down in her crib and then tried to get Leo to calm down for bed. Leo was too energetic though and Owen made a mental note to tell Teddy to stop giving him so much sugar just because he would make sad eyes at the cookie jar in Teddy's kitchen. Owen scooped Leo up, gave him a bath, brushed his teeth, changed him into pajamas and put him down in his crib. Leo stood right back up and started bouncing in his crib. Owen tried reading to him to calm him down but couldn't get him to even lie down for another hour. Owen was exhausted by the time he collapsed into bed but was immediately summoned by Allison who was crying.
Back at Teddy's house, Teddy had started crying the minute that Owen left the house with Allison. She hated the thought of being away from her for so long. She was still crying when Tom came home from the hospital.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Tom asked, climbing into bed with her and wrapping her in his arms.
"I miss her already," Teddy told him as she cried into his shirt.
Tom ran his hand through her hair. "I know. Me too. But, you'll see her in the morning. Besides, it will be good for you to get some sleep."
"I don't want sleep," Teddy mumbled. "I want Allie."
Tom just held her closely, not sure what he could say to help. She would eventually get used to Allison staying with Owen a few times a week, at least he hoped so. And, as tired as they were, he had to admit that it felt a little empty when Allison wasn't there.
"How about I make us dinner?" Tom suggested, knowing that Teddy probably hadn't eaten.
"I'm not hungry," Teddy told him. She just wanted to sit here and be held by him. She felt safe in his arms and snuggled in even closer to him, noticing that he smelt great. His hand was gently rubbing the inside of her thigh and Teddy immediately felt turned on by his touch.
"Okay. How can I make you feel better?" Tom asked. Teddy responded by pulling on his shirt to bring him into a kiss. Tom kissed her back, letting one of his hands run through her hair. Teddy unbuttoned Tom's shirt and rolled onto her back, pulling him on top of her. Tom pulled away from her kiss and looked into her bright green eyes. He looked at her apologetically as if to say that they only had to wait one more week before the doctor signed off on it. He just wanted to do what was best for her.
"Please, Tom," Teddy begged, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Tom smiled down at her. He was enchanted by her big green eyes and the feeling of her body pressed against his. He couldn't possibly deny her any longer. He kissed her again and helped her as she tried to remove his shirt the rest of the way. Tom kissed his way down her neck to her shoulder and then across the low neckline of her tank top. He slowly removed her tank top, knowing that he was driving Teddy crazy with anticipation. She wanted this badly but he wanted to do this the right way. It was the first time they were having sex since they had told each other that they loved each other. He wasn't going to let her rush the moment.
Teddy reached for his pants, unbuttoned them, and began pushed them off while they kissed. Tom was gently running his hands over the smooth skin of her stomach. He reached around her back and unclasped her bra. Tom let his eyes wander over her half naked body, taking in her beauty until Teddy pulled him back into an urgent kiss. Tom's hands explored her breasts and Teddy moaned into his mouth in pleasure. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips, letting herself feel him through her thin yoga pants.
Tom's lips traveled down her body and Teddy hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her pants, ready to take them off herself. She didn't want to wait any longer. Tom noticed what she was about to do and moved her hands.
"So impatient," Tom whispered to her, with a smile. She smiled back at him and tried to take a deep breath to calm down. She was enjoying everything that Tom was doing to her but she was right on the edge even though he had barely touched her. As she focused on her breathing, she finally felt Tom removing her pants and panties in one motion. She reached for him, trying to position him on top of her, but instead he moved to the side. His hand moved up her thigh higher and higher until it reached its target. Teddy moaned at his touch. She gripped onto the sheets, desperately trying to hold back her release.
"Tom," she whimpered. "I need to-"
"Don't hold back," he told her. He thrusted his fingers inside her causing her to go over the edge. She cried out in pleasure. Tom was even more turned on from watching her and didn't hesitate to resume his position on top of her when Teddy had recuperated and told him that she wanted more. Teddy stroked him a few times before guiding him to her entrance and letting him thrust into her. They moved in synchronization until they were both satiated. They laid in bed, tangled up together afterwards.
"Have I mentioned that I love you?" Teddy asked.
"Not recently," Tom teased. Teddy kissed him. They laid in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"I wonder how Allie's doing?" Teddy asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm sure Hunt is taking good care of her," Tom assured her. Teddy made a face that told Tom she was worried. "Do you need to call him?"
Teddy reached over to her night stand to grab her phone. She sent Owen a quick text asking if things were going okay. Owen replied a few minutes later with a picture of Allison fast asleep in her crib. With it, he sent a message telling her that he finally got both kids asleep and was finally going to bed.
"Poor guy," Tom said, shaking his head. "He has no clue that she's going to wake up as soon as he falls asleep."
Teddy laughed. "Yeah, I have to admit it will be nice to actually sleep tonight. You're probably happy about that too. You're always up with her."
"Actually, I miss her too. I think I'll end up waking up every two hours anyway because my body is used to it. At least when she's here, I get to see her."
Teddy smiled sadly. She missed her girl too. She wasn't sure how she would ever be able to live with only getting her half the time. And, right now should be easier. She was still on maternity leave so she could spend everyday with her even if it wasn't her night. Once they started work again it would be much harder to find time to see Allison when she wasn't staying at her house. Teddy sighed and forced the thoughts out of her head. She continued to tell herself that all of that would work itself out as she drifted off into some much needed sleep.
A/N: Please leave a review if you have a chance. If you have any suggestions of scenes that you might want to see in future chapters, I'd love to hear them. Also, does Owen deserve love yet in this story? If so, should it be with Amelia or a completely new character? Let me know your thoughts.
