I could hear the lyrical sound of Aria's giggles ringing from the kitchen as I came down the stairs barely twenty minutes after Harvey had taken her downstairs to get breakfast started. The scent of vanilla and cinnamon mingled with the sweeter fragrance of maple syrup warned me of a sticky welcome waiting for me in the form of French toast and a happier toddler.

Sure enough, she was in her booster seat with what I felt certain was her second piece of perfectly made, just messy enough breakfast bordering on dessert with a far jollier disposition than what she left me with upstairs.

"Mama, look," she waved her fork, holding a piece of her toast and I bit my lip, hoping that she'd stabbed it tight enough to keep it in place until she got it to her mouth. Either my prayer, or her will to keep every piece for herself was strong, because it made it to its proper end and her grin was infectious.

Smiling, I moved closer and leaned over to rub my nose against hers, pleased to see it was still free of sugar and goop. "You're gonna be so hyper and ready to play with Grandma," I murmured, pulling back as Harvey's body molded into mine to helpfully place my plate on the table beside Aria's before he joined his two girls. "I'm sure Daddy wanted to make sure you two had so much fun, that's why he picked French toast." Our eyes met over our little girl's head and his were twinkling with the mischievousness that told me I was correct. "I'm surprised you didn't think to add powdered sugar for an extra kick," shaking my head I took a sip from my juice before skipping the syrup and adding just a bit of butter to my slice.

"Considered it," Harvey admitted, making me giggle. "Thought it might be pushing it just a bit." His nose crinkled and that did it, the giggle grew and Aria, not quite sure what was so damn funny went with it and joined my laughter.

Breakfast with the three of us wasn't all that rare, but after what Harvey had dealt with in Chicago, we lingered a bit longer. I lingered longer, needing the reassurance that we were still alright. That he was real and fine. That Aria's daddy and my husband was - I didn't really understand why it took this particular case to force me to face the reality of what Harvey actually did for a living, for a calling, but it was a harsh dose.

When we heard my mom's voice calling out, Aria had forgotten that she was sad that Grandma was coming to visit. She forgot that Grandma coming meant less time alone with Daddy. She clapped and was nearly as excited about her visiting as she had been about the big 'monee'.

The same could not be said of Harvey. "Here we go -" his eyes closed, as if he were mentally preparing for the worst, or praying for strength and I sighed.

"There you are," Mom said, coming into the kitchen with a grin, her eyes focused on Aria. "There's Grandma's little peacock." She held out her arms and Aria held up her own as Mom clucked her tongue. "I see SOMEONE thought starting out the day with copious amounts of sugar would be the best way to jump start tiny little minds. Guess you and I are starting OUR day with a bath, Aria." Mom shook her head and smiled down at me once she got our little one settled in her arms. "Today's a regular schedule, isn't it Everlea?" I nodded, suddenly thinking that MAYBE Harvey was right. "That color really looks lovely on you, sweetheart." I was about to remind her that Harvey was RIGHT THERE, but then she sniffed. "I suppose that YOU are going to be underfoot today?" She barely glanced at him, but a shift of her eyes included my husband in the conversation. "After that mess you all made of Chicago yesterday, I'd have thought YOUR people would be on hand to clean it up. Isn't that what you brag about doing? Cleaning CRAP up?"

My eyes widened, how had I missed this? It wasn't even that hard to see. Dear God. I glanced at Harvey and his eyes were on me in a clear message of 'told you so'. "I get to paper push today, Evelyn." He was being polite, and short. "As soon as I'm done, you can head on out and me and MY girl can have Daddy and mini me time."

"Mimi Me time!" Aria picked up the thread and ran with it, forcing Mom's eyebrows to try to meet in the middle. Shit.

"Chicago was a poo-show," Mom was adamant that we NOT curse around Aria, and she was the poster woman for it. Little did she know, Aria might be a parrot about most things, but we'd managed to figure out the code for how to keep her from NOT repeating THOSE words. "Surely you'll be up to your poo colored eyeballs in paper pushing to clean it up."

I was watching them lob verbal hits back and forth, because Harvey had a comeback locked and ready for her. "Why, Evelyn, I didn't know you paid attention to the color of my eyes. I'm flattered." That damn dimple of his coming out even as he followed up with more on the likelihood of work taking all day. "As for the paperwork? How hard is it to write 'big animals wrecked city, fix it, now'? I'm not a genius, but even I can type that over and over."

It was like a tennis match of words, and I was in the middle of it, but my eyes managed to make a detour to the clock and I knew I had to go. Standing up, which forced a time out, I kissed Aria first. Telling her to be good for Grandma, let Daddy work - which got a smirk from Mom - and then I turned to Harvey. The look in his eyes made me want to shake my head, but seeing that he was right, my mom really did have a grudge against him, for some reason had me react in a completely different way.

Instead of a nice, staid, we've-been-married-for-long-enough-to-be-comfortable type of goodbye kiss - I stepped up to him and when our lips met the same passion flared up that had in the shower, or the bathtub, or our bed. If my mother wanted to freak out because Harvey had helped me create our daughter. The same little girl she was holding and who she couldn't spoil enough, I'd like to add. Then this kiss would sear into her brain that the love and passion that went into making Aria still burned bright and wasn't ending any time soon.

"Honestly," Mom muttered, when we finally broke apart, but our eyes were still locked on one another. "Do you think that's appropriate for Aria to see?"

"I'll see you tonight," I promised Harvey, ignoring my mother for a beat. "We'll continue THIS -"

The rough skin of Harvey's thumbpad brushed the skin under my eye. "I'm holding you to that." He looked like I felt like parting today felt wrong and was harder than it ever had been. "I love you."

"Love you, too." With a sigh, I pulled away to face Mom who had let Aria down. I guess her arms got tired. "Yes, Mom, it's appropriate for Aria to see that her parents love one another. There is NOTHING wrong with a child seeing displays of affection. It's not like we were having sex."

Mom sniffed at me, as if our kiss - which was admittedly bordering on a makeout session in the kitchen - was far greater than a display of affection. "You're going to be late, Ever."

"It's MY office, Mom." I was moving toward the door anyway. "Thank you for coming over," I kissed her on the cheek as I passed her. "Be nice to him? Please?"

"No promises, Everlea Grace." Her tone wasn't nearly as stern though, so I had hope that I'd come home to a house still standing and my family intact.

The best part about leaving my position as the attending physician in the emergency room and starting up my own practice wasn't just that it was less stress or the shorter hours. It was the small group of people I'd brought together to create a clinic that felt warm and comforting, while also managing to give our patients the confidence in our expertise.

I was thankful that the day went as smoothly as I expected from a regular day, no surprises, no upheaval to my routine. As I hung up my stethoscope after my final patient was on her way out the door, having gotten her next appointment scheduled and I double checked that I'd sent her prescriptions through to her pharmacy, I was debating whether I should call home to see if I was walking into a disaster area or if Mom and Harvey had called a truce.

"Everlea?" I'd been grabbing my bag and keys from my office when my receptionist, Kendra, ducked her head through the door. Looking up, she took it as an opening to continue. "Harvey called while you were with Mrs. Callahan." I waited, hoping it was something benign, and not a call telling me he was off to make another shitty bed. "He wanted me to ask you to pick up a bottle of wine, whatever your mom prefers?" She shrugged her shoulder and I nodded.

"Thanks, Kendra." I pulled my bag across my chest. "I think Mark is still in Exam 3 with Mr. Randolph -"

She grinned at me. "Yeah, it's his monthly, so it'll take a while to get through the list." Mr. Randolph did like to be thorough when he had his monthly visit. "Don't worry, Everlea, we'll lock up."

"I know you will," I assured her. "I just wanted to make sure I remembered." Shaking my head, I thought how long the past twenty-four hours seemed.

"Hey," my eyes met hers. "Harvey's practically indestructible, Everlea, and he's home, right?"

I sighed. "I know, I know." Moving toward the door, Kendra moved with me, following behind so she could lock the entrance behind me so no one wandered in after hours. Letting Mr. Randolph out was nothing compared to telling someone we weren't a walk-in clinic. "I can't seem to shake it this time."

"Well," Kendra took her time before she spoke, obviously thinking about my predicament. "I guess, if you think about it, it was bound to happen eventually. I mean, the stress has to compound to the point that it gets too heavy at some point, right?"

Another sigh and I nodded. "I guess, but I really wish it hadn't."

Kendra was chuckling as I crossed over to outside. "No one wants that kind of stress, but you and Harvey will figure it out -"

"We always do," I supplied, my smile returning, thinking about how that was Harvey's line.