St. Ambrose Hospital
Charlotte King's office
6:30PM

Charlotte walked over to her desk, and sank into her chair. She sighed, tapping her pen on the desk. "Coop?"

Cooper stood behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders, kneading his fingers into her muscles. He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, Char?"

She let out a breath and angled her head, so she was looking at him.

"Sweetie, what is it?"

"Do you think I'm ready to be a momma? I mean, a baby is one thin', but Zoe's four and she's, well, she's scared and somethin' horrible happened, do you think I'm ready for all that?"

He dropped his hands and sat on the top of her desk. He smiled at her. "Char, you spent the whole afternoon with Zoe. You fed her, you colored with her, you talked to her, you kept her safe. You're ready." He paused, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her lips. "You're doing great, Char. Zoe'll need counseling, she'll need some serious help, but what you've been doing all day, is giving her reason to trust you and you're providing her stability. She'll be fine, and so will you."

She smiled at him, leaning back against her chair. "I'm really worried 'bout her."

"Me too, but whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

She nodded. "I hope she gets used to you fast 'cause I don't think I can do this by myself."

He laughed. "She'll realize I'm not a monster soon enough, but until that happens, she's gonna need you."

"Yeah." She paused and leaned forward, rubbing her face with her hands and sighing.

He stood up and rested his hand between her shoulder blades, massaging her lightly. He squeezed on either side of her neck and sighed. "I can't give you a baby and now you're stuck with this kid. I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, dropping her hands. "Cooper." She rested her hand on top of his, on her shoulder. "There are other ways to make a family, and this, Zoe, is just our way of doin' it. You're not stickin' me with anythin', Coop. I married you, I love you, and I want us to be a family."

"So you're obligated—you're forced to—."

"Shhh." She stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his. She smiled and broke the kiss. She hugged him, resting her head on his chest. "None of that. You don't have to feel guilty about not bein' able to give me a baby, about Michael namin' you as Zoe's guardian, or that you didn't recognize him or Zoe sooner." She paused. "I love you, Coop. I'll do anythin' for ya. It'll be ok. It'll all be ok."

He completed the embrace and held her close to him. "I love you too. I'll make this up to you."

"Coop, you bein' my husband and helpin' me, us through this, is enough."

He smiled.

The door opened and Addison and Zoe walked in. Zoe bolted over to Cooper and started punching him in the back of the legs. "Get away from her, bad man. Don't hurt her."

Charlotte dropped her arms and scooped Zoe into her arms. She stroked her hair, running her fingers through the little girl's blonde locks. "It's ok, Zo. He wasn't hurtin' me."

Zoe wrapped her arms around her and pushed her face into her neck. She was shaking and Charlotte could feel tears against her skin. She sat down in the chair and lifted up Zoe's chin. "Sweet pea, he wasn't hurtin' me."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Charlotte pushed Zoe's hair out of her face and tweaked her nose. "Can I see that beautiful smile of yours? Please?"

Zoe rubbed her eyes and wiped her hand under her nose.

Charlotte grabbed a tissue from the holder on the corner of her desk and handed it Zoe. "Blow."

Zoe blew into the tissue and swallowed. She looked at Charlotte and smiled.

"There it is. I knew it was there somewhere. It was playin' hide n' go seek." She paused and looked at Cooper, a concerned look in her eyes.

Cooper sighed and whispered, "I'm gonna go home. Call me when you're on your way home, okay?"

Charlotte nodded. "I'm probably gonna take half this paperwork home with me 'cause I can't focus."

"You gonna eat dinner here? 'Cause I can make you something or I can stop and get something on the way home."

"I want to get through some of this, so I'll probably just eat here, but thank you anyway."

"Okay, so I guess I'll see you later." He blew her a kiss, afraid of what would happen if he tried to kiss her.

She caught it and blew one back. "Stop."

"Stop what?"

"You're feelin' guilty. I can see it in your face."

He sighed. "I wish I could do something to help."

She nodded. "Just tell me what to do—that's all you can do right now, all you can do to help me."

"You seem to be doing just fine."

"Zoe was just dropped into my lap, Coop. I have no idea what I'm doin'."

"Coulda fooled me." He smiled. "Let her tell you what she needs. Just be here for her. Do what you're doing. That's all you can do right now." He paused. "I'll see you at home."

"Yeah." She paused. "It's gonna be okay, right? We'll be okay?"

He nodded. "Everything's gonna be just fine." He walked over to the door, where Addison was still standing, almost frozen. "Addison, you okay?"

Addison blinked and looked at Cooper. "What just happened?"

Cooper shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." He looked at Charlotte. "Call me later. Good luck with the paperwork and with Zoe. Thank you."

She smiled. "I can manage—I think."

"You can," he assured her. "Bye, Zoe," he said, getting silence in response. He sighed. Looks like I'll be sleeping on the couch, he thought to himself as he made his way down the hallway with Addison.

Charlotte shifted the tiny four year old to her other side and began signing some forms. She gently rubbed the little girl's shoulder and whispered calming words into her ear every few minutes. She noticed the girl growing heavier on her and realized the child was falling asleep.

"Kiddo, how about I take you to get somethin' to eat, and then you can sleep," she calmly said.

"Really?" The little girl asked, glancing up at Charlotte.

"Yeah, it's dinner time anyways."

"Oh, ok," Zoe replied.

Charlotte sighed, helping the little girl up and grabbing her purse. One Happy Meal wasn't going to hurt the girl, she was so tiny it wouldn't matter. Zoe stayed close to Charlotte as they walked through the busy hospital to her car. Charlotte sighed, she was Chief of Staff at the hospital, but her daughter didn't have a car seat. But then again, when she went to work this morning, she didn't even have a daughter.

She buckled the tiny girl in the car and got in the driver's side and put on her own seatbelt. She glanced in her rearview mirror and smiled at the little girl when she started to back out.

"Where are we going?" Zoe asked, sounding a little scared.

"We're gonna go to McDonald's and get you something to eat." Charlotte explained.

"I don't think I've had that before," the little girl replied. There was definitely something wrong, the kid was terrified of men, and hadn't done some things Charlotte knew were normal for four year olds.

"I think you'll like it. How do chicken nuggets sound?"

Zoe just nodded, she was so hungry it didn't matter what Charlotte put in front of her. She'd eat it.

They got to the restaurant and Charlotte shrugged off her lab coat and got out of the car. She helped the little girl out of the seat and scooped her up. The girl clang to Charlotte as they made their way into the building and Charlotte ordered for them.

The meal went by pretty calm and Charlotte helped Zoe eat most of her chicken, and then let her have the toy. They started to leave the restaurant and Zoe clang to Charlotte as they walked out.

It was nearing seven thirty and Charlotte decided it would be ridiculous to go back to the hospital with Zoe. Instead she decided take the little girl home, and let her relax.

She buckled Zoe into the car again and started driving towards the loft, texting Cooper and letting him know they were on their way. He responded saying he went to pick up the dog and a few clothes.

She just smiled and continued to drive home. Once she got there she turned around and the little blonde girl was sound asleep in the back seat. She sighed, got out of the car and gently scooped up the little girl.

Zoe just squirmed and Charlotte rubbed her back as she walked up to their loft. She opened the door and was greeted by a big golden retriever who started barking.

"Buster," Cooper scolded and the dog quieted down. He kissed Charlotte on the cheek and smiled.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Sleepin', I took her to McDonalds, I figured a Happy Meal wouldn't do much harm. I think she'll be happier when she wakes up and sees her dog, she replies, rubbing the girls back. "But how'd you get the dog?"

"Since I got off the phone with the lawyer the first time, he sent one of his colleagues to Michael's place to get the dog and a few of Zoe's things together, and have it brought here. The fight wasn't too bad. I met him at the airport and got the stuff. He told me that she didn't have much. He found a few outfits and this little guy," he said, showing her a ragged stuffed puppy.

Charlotte smiled, taking the stuffed animal from him. "How bad was it there? Did he say?"

"It's the bad part of town, Char, what do you expect? If it's anything like I remember it, it's pretty bad." He replied, scratching behind the dog's ears when it came up behind him. "I'm glad we got the dog tonight. It'll probably make Zo feel more at home—although I'm not sure how pleasant that at home feeling is."

She sighed, and moved towards the couch. She sat down and cradled the little girl in her arms, putting the tattered stuffed animal close to the girl's hands. She smiled when the dog came up to her and started sniffing Zoe. Charlotte scratched behind the dog's ears, just like she'd seen Cooper do a few minutes earlier. Zoe squirmed when she felt the dog's nose nudge her.

Charlotte brushed some hair from the little girl's face and smiled when Zoe's eyes opened. She jerked her head and arm away from the nudge she felt earlier and clang to Charlotte.

"Kiddo, I want you to look that way and see what we found," she said, rubbing the girl's back.

Zoe hesitantly turned her head the other way and her eyes lit up when she saw the dog. "BUSTER!" She smiled.

Charlotte smiled and sighed at the same time when she looked up at Cooper. She sat Zoe up so the girl could pet her dog. Cooper smiled at her when the dog started wagging its tail. Zoe was smiling.

Charlotte decided having the dog wasn't gonna be so bad, especially if it made Zoe happy. And that's what they wanted, was for her to be happy.

A/N: They've finally got Zoe home. How do you think her first night will go? Review and let me know if you have any ideas! And thanks to those that already have reviewed/alerted. And thanks again to my cowriter!