Chuck awoke slowly in the early morning haze to the feel of something warm and soft pressed up against him. It only took a moment for the confusion over where he'd woken up to clear as he recognized the soft blond waves of his girlfriend. He propped his head up on his hand and watched her sleep for a brief moment, smiling at how peaceful she looked. A soft whimper then caught his attention as he noticed the lights on the monitor by the bed flicker slightly. He listened for a bit to see if Molly would go back to sleep, but it was very soon apparent that she was up.
Careful to not wake Sarah, he gently disengaged himself from her, slowly sliding out of the bed and pulling on his jeans before walking down the hall in bare feet toward Molly's room. Opening the door, he saw her standing up in her crib, gripping the side. "G'morning Sweetpea," He cooed, approaching Molly who gave him a slightly confused look. "Yeah, I know it's kinda weird seeing me here first thing in the morning, huh?" When she lifted her arms to him, he picked her up, resting her on his hip as she nuzzled her face into his neck. "Let's get your diaper changed and we're going to let your mommy sleep while we get some breakfast. Are you hungry, Moll?"
Molly nodded against his neck but didn't say a word as he made quick work of changing her diaper before lifting her back into her original position in his arms and carrying her into the kitchen. Happy to let her play monkey baby for a bit longer, he made the coffee one handed. While that was brewing, he quickly took inventory of what was available to eat for breakfast. He found some Cheerios in the pantry as well as milk and a banana in the fridge. Pulling a couple bowls from the cabinet next to the sink, he poured some cheerios in the smaller bowl which had been decorated with the image of a princess and set it aside while he made quick work of peeling the banana with his teeth since Molly still was cradled by his other arm. Pulling the fruit from its peel, he laid it on a nearby cutting board and pulled a knife out of the drawer to slice it into small enough disks for the little girl.
Once Molly's breakfast was put together, he carried her into the dining room and placed her in her highchair before doubling back to the kitchen to return with her bowl of cereal, her chopped banana, and a sippy cup of milk. Molly gave him a soft "'tank you," and set to enjoying her breakfast while he got his own bowl of Cheerios and a cup of coffee. The pair ate in the relative quiet of the morning, both still a little sleepy due to the early hour of the day.
As they were finishing up, Sarah came stumbling out of the bedroom, blond hair softly rumpled, the belt of her robe untied, leaving the garment open to reveal the boy shorts and t-shirt she'd worn the night before, the fluffy slippers on her feet completed the image and Chuck couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. She quickly poured and doctored her coffee before joining them in the dining room where she finally noticed the goofy grin on her boyfriend's face, "What?"
"Nothin'," He shrugged, "You're just cute when you first wake up."
"You lie like a rug, but thank you," She gave him a loving smile, "And thank you for getting Molly her breakfast, you didn't have to do that."
"I thought I'd let you sleep," Chuck gave her a small smile, "Besides I don't plan on ever letting you, both of you, go. At some point I would have to figure out the care and feeding of the Walker Women, both the miniature and full-grown versions, why not start now?" His smile turned into a cheeky grin.
"You can put that away already," She rolled her eyes at his antics, "You know come nap time you're so getting lucky."
"I am?" He asked coyly, "News to me."
"Oh, please," She chuckled into her coffee cup before taking a sip, letting the caffeine infuse her body.
"I do need to go home and change at some point," He pointed out as he stood to clear his dishes and Molly's, who was done eating and was just smushing banana bits in her fingers and across the tray of the highchair. He returned with a bowl of cereal for Sarah as well as a washcloth to clean Molly off with, "Okay, Sweetpea, you can go on and play before we have to get you dressed."
The adults watched as Molly quickly made her way to her toy bin and pulled out a few toys to play with before going back to their conversation. "I should probably call the hospital, too, to see if Mom is going to be discharged today."
"Do you want me to stick around until you do? Maybe long enough for you to get a shower and dressed?" He offered, "Not that you smell or anything… I mean… I just…"
Sarah couldn't help but snicker at her boyfriend tripping over his words, "I knew what you meant, and it would be super helpful if you could keep and eye on Molly while I make myself a little more presentable."
"Well, if you are looking for presentable, you can just lose the clothes," He gave her a cocky grin.
"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" She teased, scooping a spoonful of cheerios into her mouth as Chuck vigorously nodded his head. "Well, maybe I can model the latest designs from the Naked Emperor's closet later for you, but for now, I think actual clothes that won't get me arrested for public indecency are more suited to today's non-bedroom activities, wouldn't you say?"
"You're no fun," He mock pouted.
"Oh, I'm plenty of fun, or do you not remember the night of the concert?" Sarah gave him a cheeky grin as she finished her breakfast and went to the kitchen to rinse out her bowl and place their breakfast dishes into the dishwasher.
"I definitely remember that," He smiled widely, not even bothering to hide the fact his eyes were skimming her form, remembering the way she looked with nothing but the sheets of his bed to cover her.
"Horndog," She teased, "I'm going to go take a shower really quick so you can get back to your place to change."
"Sounds good," Chuck nodded and watched as she made her way down the hall.
A short time later, Molly seemed to have grown bored of her toys, so he took her into her bedroom and got her dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt that matched her eyes that were so much like her mother's. He had just finished putting socks on the little girl when he heard the door of the bathroom open. "Thank you, again, I could have gotten her dressed."
"It was no big deal," Chuck shrugged, picking Molly up, "Figured it would save you a little time."
"Well, I really appreciate it, and all you have done for us the past couple days," Sarah lifted up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his cheek, which not only caused Chuck to blush but Molly to clap her hands in joy.
"Mama kiss!" She shrieked.
"Oh, do you want a kiss too?" She smiled at the little girl as Chuck handed her over to her. She blew a raspberry in Molly's neck causing her to squeal in delight.
"Daddy kiss!" The little girl demanded, not noticing the adults pause and share a silent conversation before Chuck grinned easily at the little girl.
"You certainly are demanding this morning, little miss," He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek before kissing Sarah's cheek in the same manner. "I won't be very long, just gotta take a quick shower, change, and I'll be back before you know it."
"Okay," Sarah nodded, her voice quiet, still processing the fact that Molly had referred to Chuck as her father as the man in question made his exit. She was a little surprised that Chuck easily accepted it, but what was really surprising was how okay she was with him bearing the moniker in her little girl's life. Sure, she'd hoped that someday Molly would consider him her dad, but she had always thought it would be a long time coming, maybe after they'd gotten married or had another kid together.
"Mama love Daddy?" Molly broke her of her musings.
"Yeah, Mommy loves Daddy very much," Sarah assured the little girl as she carried her into the living room and turned on the TV to let Molly watch Sesame Street while she called the hospital for an update on her mother's condition.
True to his word, Chuck returned an hour later, freshly showered, and carrying an overnight bag as well as a laptop case with him, explaining it was just in case they needed him to stay over again. He didn't want them to think he was presuming anything but carried his bags into Sarah's room anyhow. Sarah informed him that the nurse she had spoken to had stated that Emma was scheduled to be discharged that afternoon once Ellie gave her the all-clear. Nothing had come up on the CAT scan, but Ellie had been rather insistent on having a full 24 hours of observation before releasing her patient.
Not wanting to go to the hospital and be underfoot just yet, the trio opted to go to a local park and enjoy the mild fall morning as a family. Neither Chuck nor Sarah brought up Molly's words from earlier that day, mutually choosing to just let her call him what she wanted as they both knew that eventually the name would truly become his. Once Molly had sufficiently tired herself out climbing over and around the play structure under the watchful eyes of her parents, even involving them in going down the slide or on the swings at one point or another, they made their way back to the Walker home for lunch.
As soon as Molly was down for her nap, which didn't take more than Chuck holding her in his arms as he softly sang to her, the adults quietly made their way to Sarah's room to enjoy their own adult nap time. They even drifted off themselves in each other's arms but still managed to be up and dressed again by the time Molly woke up.
Once Molly was changed, Sarah had packed a bag of clothes for her mother, and Chuck called his sister to verify Emma's discharge time, they loaded up in Sarah's car with Chuck driving again. Thankfully the traffic wasn't bad, for L.A. and they were able to arrive at Westside within 20 minutes. Ellie saw them as they walked past her office and decided to walk up with them so that she didn't have to repeat the discharge instructions she was about to give to Emma.
"Good Afternoon, Emma," Ellie smiled warmly at the older woman, "Ready to get out of here?"
"You have no idea," Emma huffed, "Let me tell you it's no fun being on the other side of all this."
"We're just glad you weren't hurt worse than a bump on the head, a few bruises, and the broken arm," Ellie shrugged before handing the paperwork in her hands to Sarah, who began to look over the instructions as the doctor explained about the medication she was prescribing to help with the pain associated with the injuries that Emma had sustained. She also briefly reminded them of the proper care needed when utilizing a cast and when to return to have the cast x-rayed and, hopefully, removed. "Now, like I said before, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to return to work in a couple weeks, I'll stop by your place on my way home every Friday to check up on you, and if I feel you are fit to return I'll give HR the go ahead to bring you back that following Monday. Are there any questions?"
Both Sarah and Emma shrugged and shook their heads to indicate there were no questions that came to mind. "Good, I'll send an orderly up with a wheelchair to take you out to the car."
"How about Molly and I go get the car while you ladies get Emma ready to go?" Chuck suggested, shuffling Molly in his arms from one hip to the other.
"Sounds good," Sarah gave her boyfriend a soft smile and a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks."
"No need to thank me," Chuck smiled warmly back at her before exiting the room.
It didn't take long to get down to the car and Molly fastened into her car seat, so they wound up sitting, listening to the radio, for a little bit before Sarah and Ellie came out, flanking Emma who was being pushed in her wheelchair by a young woman in grey scrubs. When they got closer to the car, Chuck quickly got out and opened the passenger side front door as it was easier for Emma to maneuver into the front seat with her bruised left side. Since Emma was steady on her feet, it didn't take long for her to transfer from the wheelchair to the front seat of the Corsica. Once she was seated and Sarah had assisted her in buckling her seatbelt, Chuck closed the door and opened the rear passenger door for Sarah.
"Chuck are you going to be home tonight?" Ellie asked as Sarah got into the car, "We would love to have you for dinner."
Chuck looked between his sister and his girlfriend, "I don't know Elle," He shrugged, "I want to make sure Emma, Sarah, and Molly are good to go before I take off."
Ellie gave her brother a warm smile, "Aces, Charles, you're Aces."
"Wow, a Dad quote, I'm impressed," Chuck teased, giving his sister a hug.
"Well you deserve it," Ellie returned the hug, "I'm so proud of you, little brother. You've really grown into an amazing man."
"It's all thanks to you, Sis," Chuck kissed his sister's cheek, "I'd better get going before I have a mutiny on my hands. I promise I'll come by for dinner once I'm back home, okay?"
"Alright," Ellie nodded, "Have a good night."
"You too, Ellie," He waved at her as he rounded the car to the driver's side door, "Give Clara and Awesome a hug from me."
"I will," Ellie stepped back as she watched her brother get in the car, buckle his seatbelt, and put the car in gear before driving off with his precious cargo.
