"Mom!" Mellie walked into the house, giggling as she took a deep breath, taking in the sweet, North Carolina air. God, she missed this. She hadn't been back in a while. It'd been years, actually. The last time they were here was probably when Karen and Jerry were still in diapers. Of course, she'd seen her parents, she just hadn't gone to Asheville, which was one of her biggest mistakes and regrets. She should never have let herself get so busy that she didn't have time to see her parents. Although in a way, she resented them for practically selling her to Big Jerry, they were still her parents and she still loved them more than nearly anything.
She had a sleeping Teddy in her arms, but he wasn't sleeping for long as Jane hugged her daughter tight before taking her grandson into her arms. "Mom, I just got him to-" Mellie tried to object, but she couldn't. The wide smile on her mother's face was too much for her. She enjoyed seeing her mother happy, and this was the first time in too long that she had seen that beautiful smile on her mom's face. Soon after, Fitz walked in with the twins, and Jane immediately starting obsessing over the two of them.
"Dinner's in the oven. Melody, why don't you let me take the babies and you and Fitz can go up, unpack, and settle for a little while?" She suggested as she tried to juggle all three children in her arms. "Your father's in town, he'll be back in a few. It'll be a wonderful surprise for him that you all are here." Jane smiled as a cranky Teddy reached for his mother, whining as he held his arms out toward her.
"Shh, Teddy Bear. It's okay, baby." Mellie ran her hand through the little boy's hand, ruffling it slightly. "This is Grandma, mommy's mom. You're okay with her. Me and daddy are going to go up and unpack our things and then we'll be back down, okay?" She kissed his forehead and he nodded slowly, still unsure of whether he really wanted to stay with Jane or not. "I love you."
Teddy nodded, taking his mother's hand and kissing the top of it. "I wuv you too, mommy." He told her, and Mellie's face lit up. She planted a kiss on Jane's cheek before going upstairs with Fitz and into her old bedroom. She looked around for a few minutes, noticing every little thing that has changed in the past 12 or 13 years since she had been here last. The couple walked into her old bedroom, setting their suitcases by the door. Mellie plopped down on the bed, yawning slightly as she buried her face in a pillow.
"I'm exhausted." She mumbled, her words muffled by the fluffy pillow that was suffocating her face. Fitz laughed slightly, shaking his head as he laid down next to her. He gently ran his hand down her back, pulling the pillow out from under her head.
She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, and he just chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Let's not suffocate yourself. That would be bad. I can't take care of three children and a country by myself." This made Mellie laugh, and she just smiled, rolling over on her side and facing him.
"Sorry." She giggled, propping her head up with her arm. "I just have to stay up for a little while more and wait for my dad to get here. It won't be much of a surprise for him if he just sees the kids and we're sleeping." Fitz nodded, leaning in and kissing her deeply. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it was much longer than any of the kisses that he's been getting throughout the day. "What was that for?"
Fitz ran his hand through her hair, smiling at her. "Sorry. I've been wanting to do that all day, but Teddy won't let me kiss you." He chuckled and Mellie just shook her head. "The kid wants his mom all to himself. I don't blame him. His mom's kinda hot." Fitz grinned, kissing her forehead.
"I am, aren't I?" Mellie smirked, sitting up and sighing lightly. "Let's unpack real quick and then get back downstairs. I'm sure Teddy's having a fit without us down there." She stood up, walking over toward her suitcase and unzipping it, jumping slightly when she felt Fitz slap her ass. "Hey. Watch it." Mellie told him, shaking her head slightly as she unpacked her clothes, hanging them all up in her closet. Fitz did the same and then moved onto the twins' clothes, putting them in an empty one of Mellie's dresser drawers. Mellie finished up with her clothes and put Teddy's away, watching as Fitz went through her drawers. "Having fun?" She asked.
Fitz jumped slightly, looking at her, his cheeks bright red. "Maybe…" He whispered, quickly hiding his hand behind his back.
"Watcha got there?" Mellie asked, grinning as she reached for his hand. He moved away as fast as he could and Mellie just laughed. "Come on, let me see." She grabbed at his hand again and this time, he didn't pull away quick enough. "Really, Fitzgerald?" She questioned.
Fitz's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red as he dropped what was in his hand. It crashed loudly, which surprised Mellie. "You realize I was maybe 18 the last time I wore those?" She asked, glancing down at the floor. She picked up the lacy blue thong that Fitz had previously had, and dropped to her knees to see what had made the loud crash, since she knew it was most definitely not the panties. She looked under the dresser, and it was her turn to have the rosey-red cheeks. "I don't know where that came from." She swore and Fitz laughed loudly.
"I'm sure." He said sarcastically, watching as Mellie quickly grabbed what was under the dresser and shoved it into her suitcase. "Clearly the panties you wore didn't get you any, so you had to rely on that."
Mellie looked at him, her face immediately turning serious. "I thought I took it with me when I moved out. I didn't realize it was still here, okay?" Clearly, she was embarrassed, which was the exact opposite of what Fitz had meant to do.
"Mels. It's not even a big deal, baby." He took her hand and pulled her into his arms, kissing her cheek. "I was just kidding. It's normal. A lot of single woman have vibrators."
She shuddered, shaking her head. "Ew. Please don't say that word. That just sounds disgusting."
"Yes, baby." He kissed her forehead and pulled away from her. "We won't speak of it again." Fitz assured her, smiling at her. "Let's go downstairs and see how our babies are doing." He reached for her hand and she took it, giving him a small smile. She was pretty surprised at how calm he was at the situation, and awfully thankful that he hadn't drug it on. She was partly ashamed of it, and hadn't expected him to find it, so she wasn't exactly sure how to face the situation. But luckily, he hadn't reacted too badly, which was good news for her.
They walked downstairs, right as Mellie's father's headlights showed up in the window. Mellie grinned and Jane ushered her and Fitz into the kitchen, where Teddy and Ben were playing under the table. Jane told them to keep quiet as she took Bellamy into the foyer. Mellie and Fitz sat at the island in the kitchen, listening quietly so that they could hear Mellie's parents.
"Who's baby is that?" Terry asked, raising an eyebrow as he saw the infant in his wife's arms. "She looks an awful lot like Mel when she was a baby…" He admitted, it not quite hitting him as to why the baby in Jane's arms resembled his daughter so much. Jane didn't say anything, just carried the child into the kitchen, knowing that Terry would follow after her. As expected, he did, and he nearly dropped everything in his hands when he saw Mellie. "Mel!" He yelled, his eyes immediately filling up with tears as he ran over to her.
Mellie stood up, giggling as she walked over to him, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "Hi daddy." She grinned, kissing his cheek as he held onto her.
"Hi, baby." Terry smiled at her, looking over under the table. "Are these my other grandbabies?" He questioned and Mellie nodded. He looked at Fitz, saying hello to him and shaking his hand before going over to the babies and smiling at them. He got down on the ground, looking at Teddy. "Hi, Teddy Bear. I'm your Grandpa."
Teddy crawled over to him, smiling at him. "Hi." The boy said shyly, climbing into his lap. Terry laughed, smiling at the little boy and gently rubbing his back. Mellie was genuinely surprised at how nice Teddy was being already, as was Fitz. As Terry played with the kids, Mellie and Fitz talked to Jane, who took dinner out of the oven and made up a pitcher of sweet tea for everyone.
When dinner was ready, Mellie and Fitz gathered up the kids, and they got situated at the table, Terry saying grace before they all made plates. "Where's Karen?" Jane asked as Mellie fed some mashed potatoes to Bellamy.
Mellie sighed quietly, turning her attention away from her youngest daughter. "She's at school. We invited her, but she wants absolutely nothing to do with Fitz and I anymore, so we just let her be…We try to do our best and continue to involve her in things, but it never works as planned." Just another reminder of how she had failed as a mother.
Jane just nodded and as if she knew that Mellie was starting to get upset, Bellamy grabbed at her mother's hand and pulled it toward her messy face, planting a kiss on it, much like she had seen Teddy do before. She giggled and Mellie couldn't help but smile at her. "Thank you, baby." She ruffled the baby's blonde hair and kissed her cheek before wiping the mashed potatoes off of her hand.
They talked over dinner, and by the time everyone finished eating, Teddy was asleep in Terry's lap, and Ben was asleep in Fitz's. Bellamy was in her grandmother's arms, giggling away as the woman bounced the baby on her legs. "You should probably take them up and put them to bed, Mellie." Jane told her daughter, handing over the infant. Mellie took her and kissed her head, nodding slightly.
"I think we're going to go ahead and go to bed as well. I'm kind of tired. But we can get up early and do something. We have tomorrow here, and then Fitz and I leave with Teddy for three days, but we'll be back for a week on Monday."
Jane nodded, smiling at Mellie as she stood up, kissing both of her parents goodnight. She took Teddy from her father, carrying him upstairs. Mellie and Fitz put Bellamy and Ben in the pack and play that they had brought and laid Teddy down on the bed. "I'll change him last…Let me get to the babies first." Mellie told Fitz, who kissed her cheek before going into the bathroom to take a shower.
Mellie picked up Bellamy, undressing her and changing her diaper, putting her into her pajamas before nursing her. Once she finished, she put her back and picked up Ben, doing the same with him. When he was done eating and went to sleep, Mellie laid him down before taking on the task of changing her sleeping toddler. "Teddy Bear. You gotta wake up." She told him, shaking him gently to wake him up. He groaned loudly and Mellie couldn't help but laugh. "You even sound like a bear…" She picked him up, rubbing his back lightly. "Come on, baby. I gotta get you changed and then you can go back to sleep, okay?" She said as the toddler reached up toward her, pushing her face away.
"Nos." Teddy mumbled, shaking his head. Mellie tried again and he pushed her even harder. "No!" He yelled and Mellie sighed.
"Theodore Wallace Grant." She stated simply and Teddy shook his head again.
"Me wants to sleep!" He shouted.
Mellie closed her eyes for a second, trying to keep her cool. "Teddy, I'm gonna spank your butt if you don't sit up and let me get you in your pajamas. I tried being nice, but you're being difficult."
The toddler shook his head again, shoving at Mellie. "Gos away!" He told her, and unfortunately for him, that was when Fitz walked in the room. Fitz sighed, having heard enough of Teddy being disrespectful toward his mother and walked over, smacking his bottom. He didn't do it too hard, but enough for Teddy to get the point.
"That's enough." Fitz told him. "Listen to your mother and sit up, Teddy."
He could barely even feel it because of the padding of his diaper, but when he had the chance to throw a fit, he took it. The toddler burst into tears, sitting up and immediately climbing into Mellie's lap, away from Fitz. He buried his face in her chest, his muffled screams still quite loud. Mellie sighed and rubbed his back, frowning as she listened to her little boy cry. "Teddy…Honey, it's okay. Stop crying." She told him, surprised when he nodded and pulled away from her.
"Me be good…" Teddy whispered quietly, and Mellie had to lean in closer to him to actually hear what he was saying. She nodded and undressed him, changing his diaper before putting his pajamas on. Mellie changed afterwards and laid down next to Teddy. He curled up on the other side of Mellie, as far away from Fitz, but as close to his mother as possible. "Wuv you momma." He told Mellie, cuddling into her.
"I love you too…" Mellie told him, sighing as she kissed Fitz goodnight and tried to get to sleep.