Charlotte's sitting at her desk on Saturday, tapping her pencil, reading a patient chart. She opens her top drawer and grabs a granola bar from her snack stash. She can hardly concentrate with the grumbling noises coming from her stomach. She skipped breakfast this morning and hasn't had time for a lunch break, so now that it's close to 2:30 PM, she's starting to regret her decision to forego Cooper's waffles. Despite eating a granola bar, her stomach still growls. She sighs and stands up. "Looks like it's time for a break," she says, walking towards the door. She opens it and heads to the kitchen.
Addison's sitting at the counter, eating a salad. She looks up and smiles. "Hey."
Charlotte smiles back and pulls open the fridge. "Hey." She sees Cooper's leftover Chinese food and normally, it would gross her out, but today, it's the only thing in the refrigerator that she feels like eating. She grabs the paper container and dumps the noodles and chicken onto a plate. She covers it and pops it into the microwave. She leans against the counter and looks at Addison. "You're in a good mood today." She follows Addison's eyes and raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I see." She pauses. "When did you and he become a thing?" She clears her throat. "Addison?" She gets silence again. "Montgomery."
Addison turns her head and looks back down at her salad. "Huh?"
"He seems like he'd be good in bed. Is he?"
"Charlotte!"
"What? Just 'cause I'm married doesn't mean I can't ask."
"Um, actually, that's exactly what it means."
"I don't need details. Just a simple yes or no will suffice."
"Yes, he's good. He's amazing in bed."
Charlotte raises her eyebrows a few times and sucks her bottom lip. "So is it just sex or are you two datin'?" She pulls her plate out of the microwave and takes a fork out of the drawer. She opens the fridge again and grabs a water bottle.
Addison's eyes wander back to the hallway.
Charlotte laughs and leans against the counter again, eating her lunch.
Addison blinks and looks at Charlotte. "This is our little secret."
Charlotte stops mid-chew and looks at the redheaded doctor. "No one knows you and Jake are together?"
Addison shakes her head. "No, and I'd like to keep it that way for a while."
"How long have you been sleepin' with him?"
"A month." Addison pauses. "Now shhh."
Charlotte laughs. "No one can keep a secret better than me. Well, except maybe Sheldon." She sets her plate on the counter and takes a sip of her iced tea.
Amelia walks into the kitchen just as the conversation lulls. She glances between Charlotte and Addison, and opens the refrigerator. "Were you two talking about me?"
Charlotte shakes her head. "No, we were actually talkin' 'bout Addison."
"We were," Addison agrees.
Amelia's still suspicious. The second she walks into the kitchen, both of her colleagues look at her and stop talking. She takes that to mean that she was the subject of their conversation. Anyone would. Plus, everyone seems to still be treading lightly around her. It wouldn't surprise her if Charlotte and Addison were in fact talking about her.
Addison stands up and puts her Tupperware container back into the refrigerator. "I have a patient." She grabs her phone and leaves the kitchen.
Charlotte looks at Amelia, watching her sit at the island in Addison's place and open her soda can.
Amelia takes a sip of her Sprite. "I don't care what you or Addison says. Ryan actually loved me. High or sober, he loved me."
Charlotte nods. "You knew him better than I did, so maybe you're right. I just stated my opinion. I might not have the authority to know for sure whether you two would have made it, but I'm allowed to tell you my opinion. It was the wrong time, but I can't take back what I said." She pauses. "You need to move forward, Amelia, not go backwards. I'm not tellin' you to forget about Ryan, but you can't keep focusin' on what could have happened. Bein' too hung up on the past won't help you. I would know."
Amelia drinks half her soda and stares at the blonde.
Charlotte sighs and washes off her plate, setting it in the drying rack. "I was goin' to swing by a meetin' after work, do you wanna join me?"
Amelia nods. "Ok."
Charlotte smiles and walks over to her friend. She rests her hand on Amelia's shoulder and squeezes. "Does this mean we're friends again?"
Amelia lets out a breath and turns her head, looking up at Charlotte. "Yeah."
"I'm sorry I said what I said. I didn't mean to sound insensitive." Charlotte tosses her iced tea bottle and walks towards the door. "Come find me when you're done for the day."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being honest with me." Amelia pauses. "Everyone is watching what they say around me, and it's frustrating sometimes. What you said upset me, but I'm glad at least one person has balls in this office."
Charlotte laughs. "My intention wasn't to upset you. That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I was tryin' to be helpful. It kinda backfired on me, though." She smiles and walks out of the kitchen, going right into her office.
Amelia sips her soda slowly and stares at the fruit bowl, trying not to think about Ryan or the baby or what could have been.
Charlotte pulls into her driveway just as her phone beeps in her purse. She puts the car in park and shuts off the engine. She pulls out her phone and reads the message. She laughs and gets out of the car, walking towards the front door. She pulls out her keys and opens the door, stepping into the entryway. "Cooper, I'm home. You can call off the police dogs." She sets her stuff down and pads into the kitchen.
The outside doors open and Cooper walks in. He smiles. "I just texted you. I was worried."
"I got it just as I pulled into the driveway. Our timing is impeccable." She pauses. "I went to a meetin' with Amelia and then we got milkshakes afterwards. I'm fine." She looks around. "This place is awfully quiet."
"That's because Mason's at Logan's house. He's sleeping over there."
"So we have the place to ourselves? Is that what you're sayin'?"
He gives her a kiss hello and walks over to the refrigerator. "You know how long it's been since we've had a house to ourselves?"
"Too long." She pauses. "We need to take advantage of that." She smirks and grabs the iced tea from him. She pours herself a glass and chugs it.
He laughs. "Thirsty?"
"Mmhmm." She swallows and hands him back the pitcher. She looks at him, one of her eyebrows arched and her lips curved upwards into a devilish smile. She walks over to him and kicks off her heels. She stands on her tippy-toes and presses her lips against his, her hands framing his face.
He lowers his head and rests his hands on her hips, pulling her closer so that the roundest part of her belly is touching his sweater. He leans into the kiss and blinks his eyes shut. He pushes her into the counter and pulls her blouse out from her pants. He hastily unbuttons her shirt and slides his hands slips against her skin. He brushes his palm against her bra and unclasps it. He deepens his kisses as his hands continue to caress her.
She swallows and separates from him, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She looks at him. "Let's take this party up to the bedroom. I don't feel comfortable havin' sex in a room where our son eats." She walks out of the kitchen and walks up a couple steps. "You comin', Coop?"
He nods and follows her. At the top of the stairs, he stops her and leans in close to her. His breath brushes against her ear as he whispers, "We don't have to worry about being quiet tonight."
She nods. "No, sir, we can be as loud as we want. We can take our time and we can leave the door unlocked too" She smirks and continues down the hallway to their bedroom. They disappear inside and she turns around to face him. "We can even leave the door open." She laughs.
He kicks the door closed. "Shutting the door sets the mood, but we can leave it unlocked," he says, guiding her to the bed.
Charlotte's lying on her back on the bed, propped up on the pillows. She hums as Cooper slowly runs his hand across her lower abdomen. She turns her head and smiles. She pushes her sweaty hair out of her face and swallows.
Cooper tilts his head and looks at her, a matching smile on his face. He blinks and slides his hand upwards. "That was—." He swallows and collapses on the mattress, keeping his eyes on her.
Her eyes flicker and she rolls onto her side, a more comfortable position. She slides her hand up his arm and mindlessly pulls at his chest air. She leans over and kisses him on the lips. She scoots closer to him and then rolls over so her back is flush against him.
He drapes his arms over her naked frame and yanks at the sheets, pulling them over both of them. He kisses the back of her head and runs his hand up and down her stomach. He moves his head slightly and nibbles on her ear as he whispers, "That was amazing."
She nods, agreeing with him. "Mmhmm," she mumbles. She's exhausted, but oh so satisfied. She separates from him and gets out of bed. She disappears into the bathroom and shuts the door.
He shifts on the mattress and wipes the sweat from his face.
She walks out and sits on the edge of the bed. She yawns and gets back into position, pressed up against her husband.
"Everything ok?"
She nods. "Everythin's fine, Coop."
"You wanna do it again?"
"I don't think I have it in me. Sorry."
He shakes his head. "It's ok. You're 28 weeks pregnant, so I should have expected you'd be too exhausted to do more than one round." He wraps his arms around her again and buries his face in her hair.
"I want to, but I just know I won't make it."
"How was your day?"
She shrugs. "I hate workin' on the weekends, but I'm glad Amelia and I are friends again. It seems like we break up and get back together every week these days."
He laughs.
"What'd you do all day?"
"Mason and I spent the day at the beach and then I dropped him off at Logan's."
"Did you have fun?"
"I had fun, and he had a blast too." He pauses. "Mason called me a wimp 'cause it took me about twenty minutes to get into the water."
She laughs.
"We missed you, though. We're dragging you with us next time."
"I'd like to see you try." She closes her eyes and blows out a puff of air.
"Did you eat dinner?"
She shakes her head. "No, so wake me up in an hour if I'm not up by then."
"Ok." He presses a kiss to her bare shoulder and strokes her arm gently as she falls asleep. He smiles and rolls onto his back. He turns on the TV and lowers the volume significantly. He flips through the channels and glances at his wife. "I love you," he whispers and focuses on the TV.
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