Chapter 36-Making Up Is Fun To Do

Charlotte walks through the front door of her house. There's an elegant bouquet of pink roses and white calla lillies, her favorite, waiting in a crystal vase on the table in the foyer by the door. She stops to inhale the enchanting scent. Score one for Cooper. She pulls off the attached card and reads, *I love you, Chief. I'm very sorry* out loud to herself.

She steps into the living room and drops her purse on the coffee table. He comes out from the kitchen and hands her a box of her favorite doughnut's. He opens the box to show her the assortment of all her favorites and says. "A peace offering. I went to your favorite bakery. Forgive me?"

"You tryin' to make up with me with sweets?" She reaches in the box for a glazed doughnut.

"No. There are flowers by the front door." He watches her bite into the doughnut hoping his apology presents ease her pain.

"The flowers are beautiful and the doughnuts are delicious. Thank you." She takes another bite of her doughnut.

He smiles watching her eat it.

"Wipe that grin off your face Cooper. I just came from seeing Amelia." Charlotte stalks into the kitchen for a glass of milk.

Cooper follows. "What did Amelia say?"

Charlotte pours herself a glass of milk. "She took the blame."

Cooper takes a sip of milk from Charlotte's glass. "She's in bad shape. Sheldon told me he found her screwing some strange looking dude at the bar. Now, he goes out looking for her when she's not home."

"Not anymore. I convinced her to check into rehab."

"How'd you do that?"

"I promised to forgive the two of you if she went into rehab." Charlotte sips her milk.

"Thank you, Charlotte." Cooper's relieved.

"Not so fast, Cooper. I said it to her cuz she needs help and I want her in rehab." Charlotte finishes the glass of milk and walks back into the living room.

Cooper follows her with the box of doughnuts. "So, you're not forgiving me?" He pleads, "she came onto me Charlotte and I stopped it."

"You should've walked away the minute she pulled her shirt off." Charlotte plops down on the sofa.

"You're right. I should have." He sits at the opposite end of the sofa.

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know." He answers honestly. "I was doing shots. We had that fight. I wasn't feeling like myself. But I snapped out of it and stopped it. " Cooper takes a chocolate cream doughnut out of the box and bites into it.

Charlotte grabs it away from him, "You shouldn't be eating that!"

Cooper snatches another doughnut out of the box and quickly takes a bites out of it. "Why do you care what I eat if you're not going to forgive me?"

Charlotte takes the box of doughnuts away from him and says, "I want Andie's father alive to walk her up the aisle one day."

Cooper takes another bite. Charlotte watches him stuff the rest of the doughnut in his mouth.

She repeats, "I want my children's father to be around for them." She holds the box closed tight on her lap so he can't get another.

"You said I was a bad father." Cooper pulls the box out of her hands and takes another doughnut.

Charlotte sighs, "We've been through this already. I told you I was sorry and I didn't mean it."

Cooper pleads. "And I forgave you. Why can't you forgive me?"

Charlotte swallows. "Me sayin' things out of anger and you puttin' your hands on another woman are two pigs of a different color."

Cooper insists. "I told you she put my hands on her. I walked away."

Charlotte scoffs. "Not fast enough."

"I admit I should have left the room when she took her shirt off but I didn't, I was drunk and used bad judgment." He bites into his second doughnut.

"You need to stop drownin' your sorrows in alcohol or you're gonna end up like Amelia." She advises.

Cooper finishes the second doughnut and then pulls a Boston Crème out of the box.

Charlotte scowls. "You're having another one?"

Cooper sinks his teeth into his third doughnut. He doesn't answer.

Charlotte reaches over and grabs the white bakery box off his lap. "I'm not gonna let you kill yourself with doughnuts!"

Cooper chews and swallows before answering, "I can't live without you, Chief."

"Stop talkin' stupid, Cooper."

Cooper shoves the last of the doughnut in his mouth then tells her again, "I cannot live without you, Charlotte." He reaches over to grab a fourth doughnut out of the box.

Charlotte smacks his hand. "Fine, you win."

He gives her his hang dog look. "Does that mean you forgive me?"

"It better not happen again or -…"

He doesn't let her finish talking. " I promise." He drops the doughnut back in the box.

Charlotte takes his hand and looks in his eyes, "Cooper, I intend for us to live a long life together. I picture of us sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs when we're eighty with grandkids running about and an old brown houndog at our feet."

"We're getting a hounddog?"

"Shut up and let me finish," she scolds.

He shuts up and listens.

"Cooper, this is not going to be the last fight we'll ever have in our lifetime. I need to know that you're not going to run to the bar and do something stupid every time we have a fight."

He takes her hand. "I won't. I promise. I will not go to a bar and do shots unless you're sitting right next to me."

"You better mean that cuz I'm gonna hold you to it."

"I promise." He crosses his heart with his finger. "No bars and no shots without you which means I can't go out again for eight month since you're pregnant." He smirks.

"Don't be ridiculous Cooper. You can go out for a beer with Pete and Sam every now and then. I just don't want you going to the bar alone to drink away your sorrows."

"I won't." He crosses his heart three times. I promise, I promise, I promise."

She chuckles at him and then smiles.

The phone rings. Cooper gets up to answer it. After ten minutes he comes back in the living room to find Charlotte eating the chocolate cream doughnut he dropped back in the box. "Hey! That one was mine." He protests.

"You had three already besides I'm eating for two." She pats her belly. "Who was on the phone?"

"That was Dr. Doom and Gloom," Cooper answers. "He called to say he read the results of Andie's EEG and it looks good. She can come home today."

Charlotte answers, "I thought I fired Dr. Doom and Gloom as Alexandria's doctor?"

Cooper sits back down on the sofa, "I rehired him when I was there visiting earlier. Dr. Wong stopped by and apologized for his bedside manner. He realized later that he was speaking to us as fellow doctor's and not as Andie's parents." Cooper continues, "Wong's the best pediatric neurologist I know. I've been referring my patients to him for years. I want Andie to have the best."

Charlotte slides closer to him on the sofa. "Because you're the best daddy and the best pediatrician I know." She licks her fingers and cleans off a smudge of chocolate above his lip.

"You mean it, Chief?" He smiles. You really think I'm the best daddy and pediatrician?"

"Yes, I mean it you big dork." She grabs his shirt and pulls him close to give him a kiss on the lips. She pauses the kiss to ask him. "What time do we have to pick Andie up?"

"In about an hour. I was there earlier when they did her EEG. They put lots of that gooey sticky gel on the leads so they would stick to her head."

"It's gonna be fun gettin' it out of her hair." Charlotte complains sarcastically.

"The nurses are going to wash it out for us." Cooper tells.

"How'd you get them to do that? Normally, the parents have to wash it out when they get home."

Cooper smirks. "The nurses all love me."

Charlotte rolls her eyes before saying, " so, we have an hour before we need to leave?" She quirks an eyebrow.

"Yep." He looks at his watch.

"You're not only the best father and pediatrician. I can think of another thing you're best at." She licks her lips.

"What's that?' He plays dumb.

"I'll give you a hint." She licks her lips slowly while he watches her tongue move.

"Oh that." He grins. "I'm going to prove to you that I'm the best at all three of those things."

"I'm holding ya' to it." She flashes him her naughty girl grin.

Cooper scoops her up off the couch cradling her in his arms. He carries her upstairs to their bedroom.