Anna couldn't wait to see Sam at work to tell him about the engagement and show him the ring, she knew he knew about it but Nick told her Sam and Andy didn't see the ring before her. Walking into the station hand in hand with Nick, Anna was happier then she's been and she was looking forward to the future – she had a wonderful family, friends that supported her and now a wonderful fiancé. Anna spotted Sam at the coffee station, placing a kissing Nick's cheek and telling him to be safe; Anna walked up behind him and hugged him from behind.
"Morning Bella Bee, so…" Sam took her left hand and turned around, "he finally did and I'm impressed." Sam said as he looked at the ring.
"I know and he cooked dinner." Anna said, the smile stuck on her face.
"I'm happy for you but you're not getting married soon, right?" Sam said as he hugged her.
"Right, we still need to set the date but it will be after graduation and Ainsleigh still needs to learn how to walk before we can get married." Anna said as she took the coffee out of Sam's hand.
"Good because that wouldn't happen soon." Sam said as he turned around to make himself a new cup of coffee.
"How's my baby sister today?" Anna said as she sipped her coffee and began to walk to her office.
"Good, she's good. Looks like she'll take after you, she only wakes up if she's hungry or needs to be changed. You were the same and my wish came true. That and she's a big daddies' girl, didn't want to stop crying when I left this morning." Sam said as he stood in the doorway of Anna's office. "So when do we lose you to your books again?"
"Exams starts in a week and that means I need to finish all these files before I lock myself away from the world." Anna said as she sat down in her chair.
"Parade in 5." Traci said as she waddled past him.
"Well, let me start my day. See you at home for dinner?"
"Yes and please be safe." Anna said blowing him a kiss.
"Will do and don't work too hard. Love you!"
Andy was enjoying the quietness in the house for the first time that day. Ainsleigh wasn't happy about Sam leaving this morning which made Andy feel like the worst mother in the world, it took Tommy over an hour to convince her that Ainsleigh loves her just as much as she loves Sam and that he'll come over tomorrow after his AA meeting. After putting the baby bottles out to dry, she made herself a cup of tea, grabbed her book and went to sit on the couch. Just as she opened her book, Andy heard a car pulling up in the driveway. Peeking out the window, Andy saw Nick getting out of his squad and walked to the back door, as soon as the door was open she could see Bella and Bo jumping out and running to the door. Getting up quickly to get to the door before they could wake the baby (she would love tell the dogs to get her back to sleep if they wake her up) and she was just in time because as she opened the door they ran straight to her.
"Well hello to you two too, I'm glad you found your way home even if it was with help." Andy whispered as she got up to greet Nick.
"Baby sleeping?" Nick said as he hugged her.
"Yes, finally. Anna and Ainsleigh have one thing in common… They're both daddies' girls." Andy said as she moved so Nick could come in.
"You can say that again. She could barely wait to show him the ring this morning."
"So you finally asked her, Congrats!" Andy gave him a hug.
"Yip and thank you the idea for dinner, she loved it."
"When is the wedding?" Andy asked as she sat down on the couch.
"In a year maybe more, we're still thinking. But it wouldn't be soon, she needs to finish school, work a little bit more and we need to save up for it."
"You want to buy a house or stay in your place after the wedding?"
"Andy, are you bored?" Nick asked with a raised eye brow.
"Maybe… I miss everybody. Hearing the latest news and what they did the day, don't get me wrong I love Ainsleigh but I need grown-up company at least an hour a day."
"I've got news for you, mama. Most mothers sleep when their babies do… maybe you can try it." Nick said with a wink.
"Funny, real funny." Andy said as she picked up her mug.
"I've got to go, just stopped to drop of the kids. Need to get back to work but before I go, do you need anything?"
"No, I'm good. Thank you for bringing them home."
"Okay, call if you need anything and try to get some sleep please." Nick said as he kissed her head.
"I'll try, be safe please." Andy whispered a little bit louder as he walked out the door.
Andy finished her tea and decided that she would take Nick's advice and try to get some sleep. Putting the mug in the sink, she walked up to check on the baby and got into bed. Making sure the monitor was on and on the loudest setting, she called the dogs and patted the bed for them come and cuddle with her – but it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.
Anna got home before Sam and was happy to find Andy on their bed sleeping with Ainsleigh in her co-sleeper. Going to her room to get changed and to put away her books, she quickly send Sam a text to tell him to go out and get a drink after work because he could use one. It didn't take long for him to tell her that if she could get Andy to leave Ainsleigh for a few hours, he'll consider it. Anna walked into their bedroom and opened the curtains which got her a very mean look from Bella and Bo.
"What are you doing?" Andy said trying to put her face back into the pillow.
"You're going to go take a shower, put on nice and CLEAN cloths because you're meeting Sam at the Penny for drinks and grown-up time." Anna said as she picked up the baby.
"Anna…" Andy started to protest but when she saw Anna's face she swallowed the sentence.
"You're going, end of discussion. You need grown-up time and all your friends are going to be there so now you can see then. Ainsleigh and I are kicking you out of the house because we're having a girls night and you're not invite." Anna said as she moved the baby so she could face her mother.
"Really, you're kicking us out of the house? You've only been engage for a day and already acting like a wife." Andy said as she got out of bed.
"Good, practice makes perfect." Anna said as she walked out of the room.
"Anna?" Andy said as she peeked out of the bathroom.
"Yes, mother."
Andy had giggle at that, "Congrats!"
"Thank you." Anna answered back as she walked out of the room towards the kitchen.
Pick up the house phone, Anna dialed Sam's number.
"And?" Sam answered.
"You better get your work done; I'm dropping her off as soon as she's done." Anna answered back as she placed the baby's pacifier in her mouth.
"How did… never mind, look who I'm talking to." Anna could almost feel Sam rolling his eyes at her.
"And if you see my fiancé, tell him that I'm having a girls night with my sister and he's not invited."
"Good to know that you're spending time with her." Sam giggled.
"Well, get to your work Detective. You have a date in an hour, love you."
"Love you too and see you in an hour."
"So mommy and daddy is going out, Nick is hanging out with his friends and it's just you and me little butterfly." Anna said down to the baby but Bella and Bo wasn't happy that they didn't get the invite, so they made their presence known. "Sorry you two forgot to invite you to the party. Bo you're on guard duty." Anna said as Andy walked into the kitchen.
"Well now I feel better knowing my kids are in the safe hands or paws in this case of Bo Swarek. Can I please have Ainsleigh so I can feed her before we leave?"
"Sorry, of course. While you do that I'll get her car seat and bag ready."
Everybody was happy to see Andy and little Ainsleigh but after Anna said hi and bye to Nick, she took her baby sister home to start their "girls night." Walking into the house, Anna placed the take away bag on the counter and turned to take the baby out of her car seat.
"So I was thinking we can start with dinner and some TV and then what do you think about a nice bubble bath?" Anna said as she placed the bottle in the bottle warmer. "Then how does Cat in the Hat sound as a bed time story for tonight?"
Ainsleigh just starred at her sister, opening and closing her mouth. Anna just played with her hand, thinking how natural it felt. She could already see a little Nick running around, playing with Ains and Gianna but the time isn't right. The beep of the bottle warmer brought Anna out of her day dream, testing the bottle on her wrist Anna took out her food and sat down at the kitchen table and switched on the TV. Andy and Sam always asked her how she could feed Ains and eat at the same time but a girl should keep some of her secrets… After the baby finished her bottle, Anna walked them to the bathroom to start the water before she went to get their cloths.
"Lavender or vanilla?" Anna said as he held up the bottles of babble bath. Ainsleigh just kicked her legs as she was sitting in her little seat, "Lavender it is then."
Anna got undressed and picked Ains up and stepping into the bathtub, carefully as not to slip. She sat down and placed the baby lying on her chest; she scooped the water and let it fall over her little legs. The baby just kicked her legs and smiled at her sister. After a while Anna started to give her a bath and then she got out; she'll take a shower later on after the baby is in bed. Making sure that the baby was neatly wrapped in her towel, Anna quickly dresses in her PJ and picked up the little girl to get her dresses before she could get cold. Ainsleigh was a happy baby, she didn't cry if she being dressed and that made Anna's job much easier. Making sure the baby was warm enough, Anna walked them towards her bedroom to read Ains her bed time story. Lying down and placing the pillows around the baby to make sure she didn't roll off the bed, Anna settled in and opened the book. Ainsleigh was just staring at the pictures as Anna read, sucking on her pacifier. It didn't take long for the baby to fall asleep and as soon as her pacifier fell out of her mouth, Anna knew she was fast asleep. Getting up slowly as to not wake the baby, Anna picked her up and walked her to the nursery and placed her in the crib.
"Good night little butterfly, love you a lot." Anna said as she stroked her cheek.
Making sure the monitor was on before she walked out of the room, Anna closed the door just a little and quickly went to take a shower. Feeling much better after washing her hair, Anna put her ring back on and walked out while drying her hair with the towel. As she entered her room her phone chimed with a new texted message from Sam.
"Hi Bella Bee, we're having one last drink then we'll be home. Love you."
Anna just smiled at the message. She was happy that they we're having a nice time with everybody, they needed it. Yes, they saw them every day but Andy needed to get out of the house. Spending time inside a house the whole day with a baby can get to some people but Andy was a great mother and loved Ainsleigh but she also needed her friends to. Anna quickly send a reply back telling them to be safe and that she'll see them when they get in before she opened her book to start studying. After about two hours Anna heard the track pull up in the drive way and she had to smile at the sound of Sam and Andy laughing as they walked up the walk way. Looking down again Anna saw Bella and Bo run out of her room towards the front door, happy to have mommy and daddy home.
"How was your girls night?" Sam said into Anna's room.
"Good. We took a bubble bath and then we read a story. She's been asleep for two hours if you want to go take a shower quickly." Anna said as she turned around to face them.
"Good I need one, Chris had a little too much fun and I was the one that had to help him home." Andy said as she rolled her eyes before walking towards their room, "Night Bella Bee, love you."
"Night Andy, love you too." Anna yelled back.
"Well, my wife is going to take a shower, the baby is asleep, you're old enough to stay up till you're tired and I'm beat and my bed is calling my name. Night princess, love you and don't stay up to late." Sam said as he kissed her forehead and hugging her.
"Night daddy, love you." She said as she hugged him back.
Anna didn't stay up to late after Nick texted her that he was home and that he loved her, she closed her books and got into bed. Starring at her ring before she turned off her light and turned around and fell asleep.
