Charlotte's in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, when she spies Cooper hovering in the doorway. She flips on the water and spits out the toothpaste. She swallows and turns her head. "What?" She gurgles with water and raises an eyebrow as he creeps in, a smile growing on his face.
Cooper grabs hold of her hips and presses a few warm kisses to her neck.
She shivers and chokes on the water in her mouth. She coughs and leans against the counter. She swallows and throws back another small Dixie cup of water.
"You ok?"
She nods and coughs again, clearing her throat. "I'm fine."
He rubs circles into her back with his thumbs as he dives for her neck again, showering her with kisses.
She melts against him and closes her eyes.
"Good morning," he mumbles against her skin.
She smirks and runs her fingers through his air. "Mornin'."
He pulls back and leans against the counter. "You think about it yet?"
"No." She walks into the bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed, putting on her shoes. "This isn't a decision we rush into, Coop."
He sighs. "I know." He joins her on the bed and gives her a kiss on the cheek.
She rests her hand on his leg and closes the gap between their lips. She smiles as she breaks the kiss, and touches his nose with the tip of her index finger. "This decision is gonna affect us for the rest of our lives and it's gonna affect Betsey for the rest of her life too. It's not something you just decide to do over a cup of coffee in a hospital waitin' room."
He nods. He hates it when she's right.
"I'll see you for lunch?"
He gives her another kiss, this time on the lips, and smiles. "Mmhmm."
She stands up and starts walking towards the living room.
He tugs on her dress and smiles. "We're newlyweds, Char. We have an excuse to be late."
She turns around and he pulls her onto his lap, planting a kiss on her lips. She rests her hand on his chest and scrunches his shirt in her fist. She kisses back and then pushes at him. She swallows and shakes her head. She leans in to give him another kiss and then slips off his lap. "I can't."
He pouts. "You're no fun."
She waggles an eyebrow. "Come find me at noon. We can be newlyweds until 2:30." She smirks and leaves the loft.
He falls back onto the mattress and grunts. Tease. He rolls off the bed and disappears into the bathroom to get ready for work.
Charlotte's standing at the nurses' station outside of Betsey's room, looking through the open door every once and a while. She turns her head back to the chart she's reading and glazes over it. She lifts her head again and stares into Betsey's hospital room—Violet's in there now.
Amelia slides in beside Charlotte and leans against the counter. "The swelling in her brain is coming down."
Charlotte blinks and turns her head. "Did you say somethin'?"
Amelia nods. "I was just saying that the swelling in Betsey's brain is improving."
"Oh. That's good." Charlotte pauses. "You wanna catch a meetin' after work?"
"I think I'm gonna stay here and keep an eye on Betsey."
"Amelia."
"I'm fine. It was just a slip, right?"
Charlotte nods. "Let me know if you change your mind."
"So what's up with you?"
"Me? Nothin'. I'm fine." Charlotte pauses. "You didn't buy that, did you?"
Amelia shakes her head. "Nope."
Charlotte sighs and twists her body a little, giving them more privacy. "Cooper brought up the idea of adoptin' Betsey yesterday, and he's gonna keep buggin' me until I give him a definitive answer."
Amelia shifts and leans against the counter more. "What do you wanna do?"
Charlotte shrugs. "I don't know. I told Coop I'd think about it." She pauses. "I'm not so sure Cooper's really thought this one through completely, though."
"You're stalling, aren't you? Telling him you'll think about it, but really you're just waiting for him to come to his senses and change his mind. Am I close?"
"I'm not ready to be a parent. Whatever happened to waitin' to start a family?"
"No one waits anymore." Amelia pauses. "Why don't you ask Violet if you can babysit Lucas for a night? It'll be good practice."
Charlotte shuts the chart and walks around the counter, setting it in the appropriate slot. "Babysittin' Lucas and raisin' Betsey are two completely different things."
"But it couldn't hurt."
"No, I guess not." Charlotte turns her head, looking into Betsey's room for the fifth time in ten minutes.
"For the record, I think you'd be a great mom."
Charlotte snaps her head back to Amelia and blinks. "Really?"
Amelia nods. "Yeah."
Charlotte smiles and glances at her watch. "I'll see you later." She disappears down the hallway and stops at the elevator. She presses the button and lets out a breath. She slips into the elevator cart and leans back against the wall, closing her eyes. She doesn't know what to do. She gets where Cooper's coming from and she agrees with him, but she doesn't know if she's totally ready to say yes to something this huge.