A couple days later, Cooper wakes up to find he's lying in bed alone. It doesn't really surprise him, but he doesn't hear the shower running. Charlotte usually wakes up before him and is in the shower by the time he gets up, so the fact that the bathroom door is open and the room is dark does surprises him. He rubs his eyes and sits up slowly. "Charlotte?" He pulls back the covers and rolls out of bed. He pulls on a pair of basketball shorts, seeing as walking around in a shirt and boxer briefs isn't exactly appropriate with a child in the house, and walks through the slightly open partition into the living room. He sees Charlotte's purse and briefcase on the desk, so he figures out that she hasn't left for work yet, but that doesn't solve the mystery—where is she? He walks into the kitchen and it's empty. There's only one more place she could be—Betsey's room. He walks out of the kitchen and pushes open the door to the eight year-old's bedroom. He steps in and smiles. Found her.
Charlotte stirs and opens her eyes. She groans, stretching her body, and yawns. She sits up slowly, untangling the sleeping child from around her. She doesn't even notice that Cooper's standing there by the bookshelf looking at her. She runs her fingers through Betsey's hair and then presses her hand against the little girl's forehead. She sighs and nearly jumps when she finally sees Cooper's shadowy figure a few feet away. "What the hell, Cooper?"
He pouts. "Sorry." He pauses. "What are you doing in here?"
She quietly and carefully removes herself from the bed and pulls the covers over the still sleeping child. She walks over to Cooper and sighs. "Betsey's got a fever. She came in the bedroom at around four this mornin', complainin' of a stomachache."
"I didn't know."
She nods. "That's 'cause she woke me up, not you."
"Oh."
She rolls out her neck and rubs her eyes.
"Tired?"
She nods. "Betsey was up all night vomitin', so I didn't get much sleep."
He sighs. "Do you want me to stay home with her today?"
She shakes her head. "I can do it."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, Coop. It's not a big deal. Of all the days Betsey could have gotten sick, today's the perfect one. I don't have any major meetins goin' on today. I have one, but that can easily be rescheduled."
"What about your patients?"
"I've only got three patients on my schedule for today. I'm just goin' to reschedule two of 'em and refer the third one to another doctor in the hospital. Like I said, it's no big deal. I can stay home with her."
He smiles. "Look at you being all momma-like," he jokes, giving her a kiss on the lips.
"Besides, she asked me to stay home with her."
"I see how it is then. I'm only good for milkshakes."
She smiles. "You know that's not true." She leans against him, hooking her arm around him. She glances at Betsey and sighs. "She was miserable last night."
Betsey rolls over and opens her eyes. "Charlotte?" She croaks out. "Momma?"
Charlotte can't help but smile. It's small and barely visible, but it's there and it's genuine. "I'm right here, sweetie." She sits on the edge of the mattress and brushes Betsey's damp hair out of her eyes. "You feelin' any better?"
Betsey shakes her head and groans. "No," she says, her voice raspy and quiet.
Charlotte sighs. "I'll go get you some medicine." She starts to walk towards the door, but stops and turns back when she hears the rustling of sheets.
"Wait." Betsey gets out of bed, wobbling a little. She walks slowly over to Charlotte and looks up at her. "I've gotta go to the bathroom." She stumbles forward and grabs onto Charlotte's pajama pants.
Charlotte finds herself scooping the eight year-old up into her arms and carrying her to the bathroom.
Cooper smiles and walks out of the room, heading into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.
Charlotte walks into the living room and gets Betsey settled on the couch. "Try and sleep, sweet pea. If you think you're gonna get sick, use this," she says, moving a wastebasket closer to the couch.
"Are you staying home?" Betsey asks, out of breath.
Charlotte nods. "I'll be here if you need anythin' and I'm sure Cooper's gonna stop by at lunchtime and check on you—on us."
Betsey attempts to smile, but only manages to purse her lips into a line. She curls into a ball and closes her eyes, letting out a breath.
Charlotte adjusts the blanket and then walks into the kitchen. She sits at the island and smiles at Cooper as he sets a mug of coffee in front of her. "Thank you."
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay home with her?"
"You don't think I can take care of a sick child? Is that it?"
He sighs. "That's not what I'm saying, Char."
"I can handle this, Coop. She wants me to stay, so I'm gonna stay with her and take care of her today. So feel free to stay home if you want, but that doesn't change the fact that I won't be goin' into work today."
He nods. "I know you can handle taking care of her, Char. That is not what I was implying. I just know how much you hate missing work for whatever the reason, so I was offering to stay so you could go to work. That's all."
She nods. "Then thank you for offerin', but I'm still gonna stay home today. She asked me to," she repeats.
He smiles. "I'll come by or call at lunchtime and see how you're both doing."
"I already told her you would." She pauses. "Now, go get ready for work or you'll be late."
"I think this whole momma thing has gone to your head," he teases.
She rolls her eyes.
He walks out of the kitchen and heads into the bedroom.
She finishes her coffee and eats a couple pieces of toast before walking into the living room to check on Betsey.
Charlotte's sitting on the couch, running her fingers through Betsey's brown hair, as the eight year-old lies beside her, her head in the blonde's lap. Charlotte smiles down at the child. "How're you feelin', sweetie?"
Betsey just shrugs one shoulder and shifts on the couch. She groans and throws her head over the edge, vomit spewing from her mouth into the trashcan.
Charlotte sighs. She holds Betsey's hair out the way and rubs up and down across the little girl's nightgown, focusing on the middle of her back and in between her shoulder blades. "You're ok," she whispers.
Betsey lifts her head and curls into a ball against Charlotte's side, hooking her arm around the blonde's. She shivers and twists her mouth when she swallows.
Charlotte carefully reaches for the cup of Pedialyte on the coffee table and hands it to Betsey, nudging her gently. "Drink, please."
Betsey grips the cup and struggles to get the straw into her mouth. She clings to Charlotte as she sucks up the rest of the electrolyte juice. She burps and giggles softly.
"Excuse you."
Betsey smiles. "Excuse me, momma."
Charlotte nods. She sets the empty cup back down on the coffee table and hooks her arm around Betsey. Not even a minute later, her phone rings beside her and she glances down at it. She sighs and carefully separates herself from the little girl. She gets her settled back down on the couch, tucking a blanket around her, before grabbing her phone. "I'll be right back. I've gotta take this."
Betsey nods and hugs her stuffed animal, closing her eyes again.
Charlotte smiles and heads into the kitchen. She told her staff that she wasn't coming into work today, but that doesn't stop them from calling her. When she comes back out, Betsey's not on the couch. "Betsey?" She walks into the bedroom and sees light peek out from the bathroom door. She pads over to the bathroom and knocks on the door. "Everythin' ok, sweet pea?" She hears a faint confirmation from Betsey, so she goes back into the living room to wait.
Betsey makes her way over to the couch, trying not to fall over. She climbs back up onto the cushions and lies down, her head in Charlotte's lap.
Charlotte pulls the blanket over the child and strokes her hair.
"My tummy hurts."
"I know, darlin'." Charlotte drapes her arm over Betsey and gently rubs her stomach. "Close your eyes."
Betsey lets her eyes fall shut and hugs her stuffed animal tighter against her chest.
"Did your daddy do anythin' special for ya when you were sick?"
"We'd watch the Little Mermaid."
"Do you wanna watch it with me?"
Betsey sits up slowly and nods, smiling weakly at the blonde.
"Sit tight. I'll go get the DVD." Charlotte slips off the couch and heads into the bedroom. She sits on the floor and opens up the TV cabinet. She searches through the collection of DVDs, a mixture of hers, Cooper's, and Betsey's, and grabs the Little Mermaid. She comes back into the living room and pops the movie into the DVD player. She sits down on the couch again and is about to fast-forward through the previews when Betsey stops her.
"The previews are the best part."
"I like 'em too, just thought you'd wanna get to the movie faster."
Betsey shakes her head. "Me and my daddy used to watch them all the time."
Charlotte nods. "Then you and I are gonna sit here and watch them." She smiles and gives Betsey a kiss on the top of her head. She shifts, getting more comfortable, and wraps her arm around the little girl when she nuzzles into the blonde's side.
Betsey lets out a breath mixed with a hum and a yawn.
Charlotte presses the back of her hand against Betsey's forehead and nods. "Your fever's comin' down. That's good." She smiles and turns her head back to the TV screen.
Betsey scoots closer to her and smiles.
Charlotte glances down at the child and lets out a breath. When Cooper first brought up the idea of adopting Betsey, she was hesitant and thought he had clearly lost his marbles, but right now, she's glad they did. She doesn't even want to think about where Betsey would be right now if they hadn't. Her eyes go back to the TV and they spend the next two hours watching the Little Mermaid.
Cooper unlocks the door to the loft at around noon and slowly opens it. He steps into the living room and shuts the door, leaning against it slightly, swallowing. He sets his keys and bag down and glances at the couch.
Charlotte turns her head and smiles. "Hey."
He nods. "Hey. How's Betsey?"
"She's doin' a little better. She's asleep now."
"Everything good here?"
She nods. "We're fine. We just got finished watchin' the Little Mermaid."
"The Little Mermaid, huh?" He jokes.
She rolls her eyes. "I asked her if Dell used to do anythin' special when she was sick. I thought if I did somethin' he used to do for her, it would make her feel better. She said she and her daddy used to watch that movie all the time, so that's what we did."
He smiles. "Good thinking." He pauses. "I need to talk to you about something."
She eyes him suspiciously. "Talk to me about what?"
He looks at Betsey and then motions for Charlotte to follow him into the bedroom.
She obliges, and soon she's sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at him. She swallows and feels the knot in her stomach tighten with each second of silence. "Just spit it out, Cooper."
His face softens and his lips curve upwards into somewhat of a smile.
Now she's just confused. She was bracing herself for bad news, but his smile is making her rethink her assumption. "What is it, Cooper?" She tries again. His silence, mixed with his smile, is completely unnerving.
He practiced what he was going to say to her on the drive home, practiced how he was going to tell her his big news, but his mind has suddenly blanked. He swallows and blinks slowly. He knows she's getting anxious, so he just spits out the first thing that comes to his mind. "I have a son."
Author's Note: Mason's going to be part of this story (sorry for those who don't like him), but he's not going to be as prominent as he is on the show. The rest of this story will mainly be about how Charlotte, Cooper, and Betsey adjust to having Mason in their lives and vice-versa. He's not going to be in every single chapter. I wrote this story because I like the idea that Mason and Betsey have something in common (they've both lost a parent...or two in Betsey's case), so I thought it would be interesting to put them both in one story.
Anyway, please review.