By the middle of the week, Charlotte went from being slightly sick to full blown sick, driving both of her parents to the end of their wits. Endless nights of sitting up with the toddler, while trying to enjoy the remainder of Melanie's time off from work were proving to be difficult.

"Just try to sleep, Charlie!" Melanie begged, as she moved back and forth down the hallway. "There's nothing else Mommy can do for you at this point."

Charlotte continued to wail against her shoulder, her hands bunched up into fists. Up for sixteen hours straight, Charlotte showed no sign of calling it quits to let her parents relax. The day after brining her home from the Barnett's apartment, Charlotte woke up with a runny nose and a bad cough, which caused Chris to panic. One trip to the pediatrician and Charlotte was diagnosed with a minor cold.

"Charlie, Charlie!" Melanie shifted the toddler in her arms. "Come on baby! You're going to make yourself sicker if you keep crying like this."

Just then, the front door opened and Melanie sighed in relief as Chris stepped into the apartment. "Did you find anything?" she asked, as he shut the door behind him.

"The pharmacist suggested a humidifier and Vicks," he sighed, setting the bags down on the couch. "Here, let me take her."

Carefully, Melanie switched Charlotte from her arms to his and moved to the bags on the couch. "Let's go take your temperature again," he said, moving her into the nursery. "Then we'll give you a warm bath and try for a nap."

…..

Two hours and one warm bath later, Charlotte was dozing off as she rested against Melanie's chest. Sitting in the rocking chair, she watched as Chris moved around the nursery moving things around to place the humidifier a bit closer to the crib.

"If she's not better by Monday, I'm taking her back to the doctor for another checkup," she whispered. "Preferably a different one because this guy was a total quack."

"Any doctor would probably tell us the same thing that guy did," he shook his head. "But this seems to be working, along with the Vicks and the hot bath."

Peering down at Charlie, Melanie gently rubbed her back, while rocking the chair back and forth. "As long as she sleeps for a few hours…" she sighed.

Once the humidifier was placed near the crib, Chris went to work on cleaning out the crib of it's toys and sheets, replacing them with new ones and elevating the mattress with a small pillow.

"Ready to put her down?" he asked, turning to his wife. "You can't take a nap in the chair with her, Mel."

Nodding, Melanie slowly stood up and walked over to the crib. "Here we go," she whispered, setting Charlotte down on the freshly laundered sheets. Once she was tucked in, Chris set her Mickey Mouse doll against the railing that faced the wall.

"I put the baby monitor on in here and I'll check the other one in the kitchen," he said, watching as Charlotte slept. "That way we can hear her when she wakes up."

Taking one last look into the crib, they quietly left the room and closed the door halfway.

"God, I'm so tired!" Melanie groaned, rubbing her hands across her face. "I feel like I haven't slept more than two hours since bringing her home the other day!"

"Why don't you go take a shower and lay down for a while?" Chris suggested. "I'll throw the bedding in the wash and see what we have for dinner."

Melanie sighed, "What about you?" she asked. "You haven't slept much either, Chris. You don't want to end up getting sick either."

"Mel, I'll be fine," he shook his head. "Just go take a shower and lay down in the bedroom. Put the television on if you don't want to sleep."

"Just put batteries in the extra monitor and come with me," she begged. "Fuck the laundry and dinner can wait until Charlie wakes up from her nap."

Chris groaned as Mel tugged on his hand, "I'm not kidding, Christopher," she shook her head. "Get the monitor and let's go! It's hard enough dealing with one sick baby! I cannot deal with two!"

"Okay! Okay!" he snapped, moving towards the bookcase near the wall. "Jesus Christ, Mel!"

"Don't even think about starting an argument!" she warned. "I've been up for sixteen hours straight, going out of my goddamn mind! I am this close, this close to screaming!"

Taking one look at her; the bedraggled clothes to the bags under her eyes, Chris immediately felt bad for snapping at her. Between the lack of sleep and the moments of panic, they were both run down and unprepared for Charlotte's first cold. Moving across the room, Chris took her by the hand and led her down the hall to their bedroom.

"Take a shower and get into bed," he ordered, setting the baby monitor down on the nightstand. "I'll fix up the bed."

Without questioning him, Melanie disappeared into the bathroom , leaving him to unravel the sheets and comforter that hung off the edge of the bed. When she stepped out ten minutes later, her hair damp and a towel wrapped around her, the bed was made as neat as possible.

"Is she still sleeping?" Melanie asked, making her way over to the dresser.

Chris nodded as she pulled on a pair of panties, "She's out cold," he said.

Once she was partially dressed for a nap, Melanie ran the towel through her hair again, before tossing it into the hamper before pulling it up into a high bun. Sinking under the blankets, Melanie settled her head down on the pillow, while Chris sat up on his side of the bed.

"I'll put the television on real low," he said, grabbing the remote off the nightstand. "That way one of us can hear her when she wakes up."

"Sounds good," she mumbled, as her eyes began to drift shut. "If I'm asleep when she wakes up then wake me."

Chris nodded and watched as she fell asleep, before settling down for a possible nap as well. Any rest that they could get, before Charlotte woke again for their undivided attention, would be needed greatly.

…..

By the weekend Charlotte was nearly back to her usual self, despite the runny nose and cough. Deciding to enjoy the last three days of Spring Break, Melanie managed to do some spring-cleaning while Charlotte napped and when Chris went to the store to pick up groceries. The idea of going back to work filled her with dread, even though the semester had six weeks left before letting out for the summer. Having the week off spoiled her, even though the last half was a bust and left her exhausted and moody.

"Okay Charlie," Melanie sighed, as she scooped the toddler out of the playpen. "Let's go lay down for a while on the sofa and wait for Daddy to come home from the store."

Just as she made her way to the sofa, her cell phone began to ring from its spot on the table. With a sigh, Melanie took a quick detour to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, before turning back towards the living room.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Lisa from Doctor Kaui's office," the woman on the other end said. "Is this Melanie Pike?"

Shifting Charlotte in her arms, Melanie held the phone up to her ear as she sat down on the sofa. "This is Melanie," she said, as Charlotte babbled.

""Just calling to let you know that our records show that you're due for your annual soon," she said, tapping away at the keys of her keyboard. "We haven't seen you in a while!"

Setting Charlotte down on her lap, Melanie sighed. "I know," she shook her head. "I've been meaning to call and make an appointment, but I've been really busy between work and taking care of my daughter."

Lisa chuckled, "That's understandable," she said. "Doctor Kaui wanted me to call you to let you know that your due for your physical exam as well as some blood work, so she can prescribe your next six months of pills.

"Mama Mama!" Charlotte whined, reaching for the phone. "'Ones!"

"Shh, it's not Uncle Leo," she said to the toddler, before turning her attention back to her call. "Sorry about that."

"That's quite alright," Lisa said. "How about you call us back when you're ready to come in? Preferably a two weeks before your last pack runs out, that way we can get the blood work in and the results back quickly."

Melanie nodded, "I'll make sure to call as soon as possible," she said. "Thank you for calling though to remind me! I honestly would've forgotten and Charlie here would be a big sister by the beginning of next year!"

"Well, let's get you in as soon as possible!" Lisa said, laughing. "Talk to you soon!"

Hanging up, Melanie looked down at Charlotte, who grabbed for the phone. "Mommy's gotta go to the doctor soon," she sighed, as she yanked the cell phone from her hand.

Charlotte began to gnaw on the corner of the phone, drooling while doing so, as she looked up at her mother. "I'm so glad you're getting better," Melanie sighed. "Mommy's been so tired."

The front door opened as Chris stepped in, "I'm home!" he shouted out, closing the door behind him.

"PA!" Charlotte squealed, dropping the phone from her grasp. "Mama Mama!"

Helping her up so that she was standing on her thighs, Charlotte lifted her arms up towards Chris as he set the grocery bags onto the kitchen table.

"Charlie girl!" he exclaimed, making his way over to the couch. "Look at you! You're nose is running."

Grabbing a tissue out of the box on the side table, Chris gently wiped her nose before leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Daddy got your bananas and your baby food," he said, moving around the sofa to sit down next to his wife. "And he also got chocolate for Mommy."

"Hmmmm, you're the best," she beamed, before kissing him. "Doctor Kaui's office just called."

"Uh oh," he shook his head. "How late are you for your visit?"

Melanie shook her head, "I still have this pack and one more to go through, before going in to renew my prescription," she said. "I'll call them on Tuesday after lecture to make an appointment."

Charlotte managed to dive into Chris's lap, squealing as Chris grunted in pain. "Ow," he gasped, as he lifted Charlotte up into a standing position. "That hurt!"

"Pa!" she squealed, grabbing at his face.

Both cats jumped onto the coffee table, watching them as they sat on the sofa. Callie meowed and jumped onto the couch, moving up the arm before settling down on the back of the sofa.

"Meeeee! Meeeee!" Charlotte pointed to her.

"Is that a kitty?" Chris asked, as Callie meowed again. "What's that noise she's making?"

"Meeeee!"

Melanie snickered as she stood up from the sofa, "I'm gonna put the food away and see about dinner," she said.

"I'll put this one in the playpen and put a movie on for her," he said, wiggling Charlotte as she giggled. "Then I'll come in and help you."

Rosette knocked on the open door twice, before stepping into Melanie's office with a smile.

"My god," she shook her head, taking a seat in the chair opposite of her. "You look like hell!"

Melanie groaned, "Charlie was SO fussy last night," she yawned, reaching for her cup of now cold coffee. "I don't think either of us went to be til five thirty before the alarm went off at seven."

Rosette winced, "Is she still sick?"

"No," Melanie sighed, sitting back in her chair. "Just fussy."

"What's with the post-it notes?" the woman asked, eyeing the various neon color papers that were scattered all over the desk. She plucked a green one up and read the scribbled print out loud. "Who's Doctor Kaui?"

Melanie yawned, "My gynecologist and former OB, who was supposed to deliver Charlotte."

Rosette gasped, "Are you pregnant?" she asked.

"No," Melanie shook her head. "I just called to make an appointment for my checkup in June," she said, grabbing her phone off the pile of papers to put the appointment in. "No babies."

She pouted, "And speaking of babies," Melanie set her phone down. 'How's it going with the baby making?"

"Well.. it was going good until Rick threw out his back," Rosette sighed. "Now our baby making plans are on hold until he's out of his back brace."

Melanie gasped, "What the hell kind of sex are you two having?!" she exclaimed. "Jesus! Chris and I get crazy but not that crazy!"

"It wasn't during sex!" Rosette sighed. "We're remodeling our living room and my idiot of a husband thought it would be a spectacular idea to move all the furniture himself! Tore a muscle or two and did something to his spine…god if I know."

"Well, that would put a damper on things," Melanie winced. "But who knows! Maybe the first half of your vacation was a success!"

Rosette snorted, "One could hope," she sighed. "Well, I better get my shit together so I can make it on time to my lecture."

Melanie looked at her watch and sighed, "I need to get going too," she shook her head. "Chris is going back to work tonight and I need to relieve him of baby duty so he can take a short nap."

"Good luck with that," Rosette said, as she started towards the door. "I'll call you later!"

"Looking forward to it!" Melanie said, as the door closed behind her.

Shoving the pile of loose post-its into her folder, Melanie shoved it into her work bag along with her computer and stood up. Taking the five minutes to close the windows and collect her belongings, Melanie locked up the office and made her way towards the elevator.

On my way home now. Should be home in about 5-10 minutes, she typed into the text box, before sending it to Chris. By the time she made her way into the lobby, she had one text in her inbox from him.

Hurry. Charlotte's being bad.

Snorting, Melanie shoved the phone into her bag and quickly stepped out into the warm April morning and hailed a cab.