Chapter 12

They jumped apart and he reached for the phone, "Stetson," he answered breathlessly, thankful for the interruption before they got too carried away. He needed to keep himself together.

"Oh Lee dear, thank goodness," Dotty said quickly, "I know that I am interrupting you but Matthew isn't well and I'm afraid we should probably come home," she sighed.

"What do you mean he's not well? What's wrong with him?" Lee asked, he felt his heart sink, "does he need to go to the hospital?"

"Who's sick?" Amanda asked from beside him, he turned to look at her still standing in her strapless bra and panties. He took a deep breath and looked away trying to tramp down his desire. His body was warring with itself.

"Matthew," he answered her quickly, realizing that Dotty had started talking again.

"...a fever and I just can't bring it down," he heard her sigh, "I just really think he'd be more comfortable at home," she said.

"What's wrong with him?" Amanda asked.

"Fever," he answered her, then spoke to Dotty, "yes, of course please just bring them home," he told her, scrambling for his shirt, "do you want me to come meet you and help you get loaded up? You wouldn't even be out of the house if it wasn't for me," all of the sudden the need for them to be home where he could protect them hit him out of nowhere.

"Oh no, Jamie has been a big help," she told him, "we are already packed back up, we just need to get into the car. I knew you and Amanda were celebrating tonight and I wanted to warn you we were on our way," she said. He cringed with the knowledge that his mother in law knew what they were up to. No, she wasn't his mother in law, except somehow that thought didn't make it better.

"We'll see you when you get here then," he hung up the phone and turned to Amanda who had, was busy throwing on a pair of pajamas. They were both lost in their own for a moment.

"Do you think we need to bring him to the emergency room?" he asked her, he was trying not to panic.

She shrugged, "probably not but we can check him out when they get here," she said calmly, "did she say if he ate?"

"Uh, no," he said absently, he was lost in thought.

"Hm, did she say if he pooped?" she asked thinking.

He wrinkled his nose at her, "no," he said bewildered, did people talk about that stuff? He wondered.

"Well, did she say if she'd given him anything?" she asked yet another question.

He shook his head, "no you probably should have just talked to her yourself," he said agitatedly, at the look on her face he immediately felt like a heel, "I'm sorry, I'm just…" he let his voice trail off.

"Worried," she said rubbing his arm, "I know, you get so upset when one of them is sick. Remember when Jenny was that little? Kids get sick mysteriously. Let's not worry until we see him, OK?" He nodded, "I'm going to get everything together run him a cool bath in case he needs one," she said while he sat down on the bed and waited until they heard a car pull up, "that will be them, finish throwing that shirt on and lets shift back into mommy and daddy mode," she smiled at him, "I'm sorry about tonight," she said sadly winding her arms around his waist.

He shook his head at her, "no don't be, it was wonderful. I appreciate that you wanted to make it special for me. Thank you," he said, genuinely touched. He was caught by her eyes, he got lost in their dark depths. Again he was struck by the love he saw there. His felt a tugging on his heart. These people had made a beautiful life together and he realized how lucky his- no Lee's kids were. Having both of their parents. That was all he ever wanted when he was younger. To have both his parents. An overwhelming urge to protect them hit him hard.

"Here's daddy," he heard Dotty say from the door way of the bedroom. As soon as the little boy saw him, he started to cry. As uneasy as it made Lee, the urge to comfort the boy was stronger. He held his arms out and Matthew burrowed into his arms, burying his face in Lee's neck whimpering.

Lee's eyes flew to Amanda, "he's burning up," he told her panic climbing up his throat, he wasn't sure he could handle the baby in pain, "he's burning up, Amanda!"

"Ok, ok," Amanda reached out and laid her hand on the baby, "probably...one hundred and one, I think," she said nonchalantly, "it's probably just his teeth," she said absently as she turned toward Dotty.

Dotty nodded, "I assume so but he was also pulling at his ears so I thought it was best to bring him home," she reached out and rubbed the baby's back, "and his little cheeks are red."

"So we should take him to the ER, right? He's in pain," Lee asked he was pulling out all the agency tricks to keep himself calm.

Amanda shook her head with a soft chuckle, "no, he'll be fine-"

He couldn't believe her blasé attitude, "Amanda, he is burning up and in pain-"

"Lee," she interrupted, "we've been through this before, with him and with Jennifer. He's cutting some teeth, it's painful, yes and he will be cranky and run a fever for a few days. It's totally normal and he will be fine," she told him. He could tell she was trying to keep her voice soothing as not to upset Matthew. And most likely to keep him calm too, "I'll give him a bath with some lavender and give him some baby Tylenol...and you go down and put a couple of nipples in the freezer. I know we're trying to break him of it but we'll make him a bottle and put one of those froze nipples on it. Remember how he likes to chew on them? Ok?"

Lee swallowed thickly and nodded, when Amanda held her hands out Matthew didn't want to go to her. She had to peal him off of Lee and Lee thought his heart would break. "It's ok, daddy will be right back," she muttered in soothing tones to him, "it's ok."

"I'll help you darling," he heard Dotty say as he stood by helplessly.

Lee couldn't take it anymore and he bolted down the stairs. He stopped short when he reached the kitchen, the older boy he knew to be Jamie stood at the counter and Jenifer sat on a bar stool next to him. They appeared to be having a snack of cupcakes.