It ended up being a couple weeks before Emily and Ron were able to find an opening in their schedules and Emily felt comfortable leaving Charlie with Sharon for a little while she went out. Sharon watched from the couch amused as her daughter was flitting back and forth between the living room and her bedroom, coming out in a different outfit each time.
"What about this?" Emily says as she comes out dressed in a loose olive green t-shirt dress with leggings and knee high black boots.
"Honey you look great, you looked great in the last three outfits," Sharon tells her as she adjusts her grip on the bottle Charlie was suckling hungrily from, "And besides. He's seen you in a hospital gown. I think anything else you wear is going to be a step up."
"Mom," Emily rolls her eyes.
"You look great," Sharon repeats, "I like the shirt, it goes with your eyes."
"Okay," Emily says with a sigh, looking in the mirror they had in the living room and straightening out her hair. She runs her fingers through the long locks, pulling apart the curls at the bottom. She looks away from her reflection as Sharon pulls the bottle away from Charlie before lifting her to her shoulder to burp her, "You sure you don't mind watching her? I can always take her with me."
"Not at all," Sharon shakes her head as she pats the baby's back.
"I shouldn't be gone that long," Emily says as she picks up her purse and keys from by the door, "Couple hours tops. There's extra packets in the fridge if she gets hungry again. And I'll have my phone on me."
"I did manage to raise you and your brother you know?" Sharon grins. Emily rolls her eyes again before leaning down to press a kiss to Charlie's cheek.
"Mmm, I miss you already baby."
"Go. We'll be fine," Sharon says, "Have a good time."
"I will," Emily sighs before leaving the house. Sharon presses a kiss to Charlie's head as she lets out a loud burp.
"We'll be fine for a couple hours, hmm?" Sharon tells her as she settles her back in her arms, giving the rest of the bottle back to her.
Emily finds a parking spot a few doors down from the coffee shop that she'd agreed to meet Ron at, backing into the space before getting out and locking the doors. She feeds the meter for a couple hours and puts her wallet back before making her way down to the coffee shop. She waits for a couple people to exit before stepping inside, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head as she looks around. A smile spreads across her face when she sees Ron standing in line. She raises her hand in a small wave before making her way over.
"Hi," Ron says, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek, "No Charlie?"
"Um no," Emily shakes her head, "My mom offered to watch her for a little bit."
"How's your mom doing?"
"Good," Emily smiles, "She's feeling a lot better."
"Good," Ron smiles as they approach the counter, indicating that Emily could order first.
"Can I get a mint tea please?" Emily asks after scanning the menu quickly.
"And I'll do a latte," Ron offers.
"Alright, that will be $8.23," The cashier says, handing a table number over to Emily. Ron pays for their drinks, taking the receipt before walking over to a table by the window with Emily. He pulls out her chair for her, pushing it in once she sits down before taking a seat across from her.
"Thank you," Emily smiles as she sets the number on the edge of her table before setting her purse down by her feet. She flips her hair over her shoulder and rests her hands on the table, "So how has work been?"
"Good," Ron says with a smile, "Busy, but good. Little dull without you guys around."
"You're still doing your residency?"
"Yep, my last year. Once I'm done I'll get my certifications and then I'm an honest to god doctor," Ron tells her, "I'm hoping to stay in LA, but we'll see where it takes me."
"Would you be able to stay at Cedars?"
"I'd love to if they would have me. It's a great hospital to work at." Both Ron and Emily look up as a waitress brings over their drinks and takes the number off of their table. Ron thanks her as Emily pours herself out a cup of tea from the small pot that had been brought over, adding a packet of sugar before swirling her spoon back and forth.
"We could have gone somewhere else if you're not into coffee," Ron says as he takes a sip of his drink, wincing at the heat.
"Trust me I'm into coffee, I used to live on it when I was dancing," Emily smiles after taking a small sip of her drink, wrapping her hands around the cup to warm them, "I just didn't drink it much while I was pregnant. And I made the mistake of having a cup a couple days ago, Charlie was wired all day...I literally don't think I've ever seen her that awake since she was born. My mom's always been a tea drinker though, so it's been my fallback."
"Are you still dancing?"
"I'm on maternity leave right now. There's still some question of whether or not my knee will be strong enough for me to keep doing it professionally after the accident," Emily explains, "If not, I could still teach dance, but I've also been looking into going back to school. Maybe marketing or museum studies."
"That sounds like fun," Ron says with a smile. Emily rolls her eyes with a grin.
"Going back to school at thirty, sounds thrilling." The two of them spend a while talking, splitting a second pot of tea after they finish their initial drinks. Emily's phone dings from her bag and she digs for it, looking at the screen with a furrowed brow.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Emily says as she taps out a message before locking her phone and looking at Ron with a smile, "I just didn't realize we'd been talking so long. My mom was just seeing if I was going to be back soon. Cop parents, always worrying."
"Can't blame them," Ron says with a smile, looking at his own watch, "Wow. We have been here for a while."
"I should get going," Emily sighs sadly, "Charlie's probably going to be hungry again by the time I get home."
"Let me walk you to your car," Ron says, "I need to get back to the hospital anyway."
"Okay," Emily nods, getting up from her seat before picking up her purse. She taps out another message to Sharon before wrapping her arm around Ron's and letting him walk her to her car. Emily takes her keys out from her jacket and unlocks her car as they approach it, "This is me."
"Nice ride."
"Second one I've had in less than a year," Emily laughs, standing so she's facing him, "Last one got totaled when we were in the accident."
"That sucks," Ron sympathizes. Emily shrugs and smiles, looking up into his blue eyes.
"I had a good time today," Emily tells him.
"Me too," Ron agrees, "Maybe we could do this again?"
"Yeah," Emily nods, a blush coloring her cheeks, "I would like that."
"The next schedule is out tonight, I'll text you and let you know when I work?"
"Sounds good. I'll be waiting," Emily murmurs. Ron leans down and presses a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. Emily smiles as he pulls back, her eyes lighting up.
"You know, I'm glad I met you, Emily Raydor," Ron says, winking at her before heading off down the block, intending on walking back to the hospital. Emily lets out a soft sigh as she watches him go before getting in the car and pulling out of her spot. She makes her way back home, parking behind Sharon's car. She stops at the front door and picks up a package propped up next to it, before pushing her way into the house.
"Mom, I'm back," Emily calls out as she drops her keys in the bowl and takes her boots off, padding into the living room.
"How was it?" Sharon asks in a drowsy voice as she lays stretched out on the couch with Charlie on her chest, asleep.
"We had a good time," Emily says as she sits on the edge of the coffee table.
"You going to see him again?"
"Yeah I think so," Emily nods, reaching out to take Charlie from her mother, shushing the baby as she whines and snuggling her close. Sharon sighs as she pulls her blouse away from her chest a couple times, shaking it out.
"Gosh, she is quite the little heater," Sharon comments. Emily laughs and nods in agreement, rubbing Charlie's back. Sharon rolls onto her side with another yawn, tucking her arm under head.
"He's supposed to get his next schedule tonight," Emily tells her, "He said he would text me."
"Good," Sharon smiles, "I'm glad you like him."
"Me too," Emily smiles, "What did you guys do while I was gone?"
"Took a couple laps of the neighborhood, had a nice nap. Andy called a little bit ago, that's what woke me up and I noticed how long you had been gone."
"Sorry, time just got away from us," Emily apologizes.
"It's okay," Sharon shrugs, "Taking a nap with Charlie is hardly a chore."
"Oh there was something delivered while I was out," Emily says as she gets up and grabs the package before handing it to Sharon. Sharon sits up on the couch, her brow furrowing as she looks at the label before grabs the pull tab on the box and opening it.
"Mmm, I'd forgotten about ordering this," Sharon says as she pulls out a large bubble wrapped frame. She undoes the bubble wrap before turning the frame around and showing Emily. She had gotten a 16"x20" print of their family picture from earlier in the year framed in a floating frame, "I was thinking about putting it up over the fireplace."
"I think that would look nice," Emily says as she looks at the picture and frame, "They did a good job with this."
"Mmhm," Sharon nods as she admires it herself before setting it next to the couch, "I'll have Andy put it up this weekend."
"Have you guys talked any more about the wedding?"
"Not recently," Sharon says as she takes a deep breath, "It'll happen...I'm not worried."
"I know, it's just been a while since you got engaged..."
"It's been a while since we started dating," Sharon grins, "In the scheme of things it's been nothing since we got engaged."
"Semantics Mom. I'm not wheeling you down the aisle in a wheel chair," Emily teases.
"That's what you think," Sharon fires back before pushing herself up off the couch, "I'm going to take another walk around the block. I should be about 20 minutes or so. Andy might get home before I get back."
"Okay," Emily nods, "I'm probably going to feed her and maybe lay down with her for a little bit."
Sharon takes a slow lap of the block, making her way towards the house as she sees Andy's patrol car pull into the driveway. She walks up the driveway and smiles at him as he opens his door and gets out.
"Hey you."
"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Andy asks as he shuts the door, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
"I just took a quick lap…well the quick part is relative," Sharon smiles.
"It's good to see you up and around."
"How was work?" Sharon asks.
"No, no, no," Andy shakes his head with a grin, "You're going to have to try harder than that."
"I'm just simply asking how your day was."
"My day was fine, I missed you," Andy says, "Now what would you like for dinner?"
Sharon narrows her eyes at Andy, unamused, "You're not funny, Lieutenant."
"Last chance for dinner requests. Or you get mashed potatoes and tomato soup again," Andy says, arching his eyebrows at her.
"Chicken noodle soup?" Sharon suggests.
"You don't get the chicken."
"That's fine," Sharon says, "Being able to chew anything would be nice…even if they're soft carrots and noodles."
"Okay, one order of chicken noodle soup coming up," Andy smiles.
[TBC]