As soon as Ty parked the truck outside their house Amy ran inside and went straight to Maddie. She was under her play gym and started shrieking and kicking as soon as she saw her mommy. Amy bent down and scooped her up.
"Hi Maddie girl! Did you miss us?" She kissed her cheek and then held her close. Ty walked in carrying the bags. He set them down and Amy handed Maddie over to him. He held her above is head then brought her down so he could kiss her cheek.
"Aww you missed Mommy and Daddy didn't you."
Maddie giggled. Ty held onto her while Amy hugged Lou and Georgie. When Lou came to hug Ty she was careful not to crush Maddie.
"So how was the honeymoon?"
Amy smiled, "It was beautiful. Thank you again for watching her."
"No problem. Well Georgie we better give Ty and Amy time to unpack before dinner."
Georgie nodded, hugged Ty, kissed Maddie, and went out the door after Lou. Ty handed Maddie to Amy and he took their bags into their room. Amy followed him into the room and layed Maddie down on the bed. She layed next to her and rubbed her belly.
"We missed you Maddie girl."
Ty laughed and layed down on the opposite side of her. "Ya we missed our little mood killer."
Amy playfully hit his arm. "She is not a mood killer."
"Oh yeah? She always cries when you and I are making out. Every time."
Amy rolled her eyes but she couldn't argue that. She kissed Maddie's forehead and let the baby play with her finger. They layed together and enjoyed the moment.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The next few days Amy was busy with clients. A few big rodeos and competitions were coming up and Amy had to help get some skittish horses performance ready. The barn was at full capacity. Ty was equally busy. He had decided to take 2 college classes over the summer to get ahead. So between them and pulling extra hours with Scott he and Amy were constantly on the move. Maddie is 4 months old a doing amazing. Except for tonight. Amy and Ty had turned in early awaiting their busy days tomorrow but Maddie had other ideas.
"WWHHHAAAAHH!"
Amy woke up and glanced at her clock. 12:36am. She pulled herself out of bed and over to her daughters bassinet. She plucked the screaming baby up and tried to nurse her. Maddie didn't want to eat. Amy checked her diaper and found it dry. Ty started to stir because no matter what Amy tried, Maddie still screamed. Amy was sitting in the rocking chair with Maddie's head on her shoulder, rubbing the baby's back slowly.
"Shhh, Maddie you're ok."
Ty sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Is she ok?" His voice was heavy with sleep.
Amy kept rubbing Maddie's back but she was beginning to feel flustered. "I don't know. I've tried feeding her, changing her, rocking her; nothing is working."
Ty got out of bed and walked over to Amy. He took Maddie from Amy and began walking around the room bouncing her slowly. Maddie quieted a little when she looked up at her daddy but then screamed again. Ty kept bouncing her trying to settle her.
"Maddie, it's ok daddy's here. You're fine."
Amy rested her head in her hands. The next time Amy glanced at the clock it was 3:50am and Maddie's screams hadn't let up. They had tried everything. They rocked her, bounced her, put her in her swing, tried to feed her, checked her diaper, they even set her in her car seat on top of the dryer. Nothing was working. Ty was sitting on the edge of the bed watching Amy walk around the room with Maddie still screaming in her arms.
"Maybe we should call Lou?"
Amy looked down at Maddie then back to Ty. "No I'm thinking Grandpa."
Ty nodded and grabbed his cellphone off the nightstand. He quickly dialed Jack's number and held the phone up to his ear.
"Hi Jack it's Ty...Yeah I know what time it is but Amy and I need some help...Maddie has been crying nonstop for hours...yeah we tried that...yup that too nothing works...thank you."
Ty glanced at Amy who was on the brink of tears.
"Jack will be here in a minute." Amy just nodded. "Here let me take her." Amy handed Maddie to Ty and listened to her scream. A few seconds later Amy heard a knock on the front door and Amy answered it. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her grandfather.
"Thank God! Grandpa we've tried everything."
Jack walked in and went into the nursery. He took Maddie from Ty and rocked her in his arms.
"Oh we are fussy aren't we?"
Ty shot him a look as he sunk into the rocking chair. "Fussy we can handle. She's pissed."
Jack started to sing to her, "Goodnight little darlin' goodnight." But Maddie still screamed. Jack looked at her then stuck a finger in her mouth. "Ah that's the problem."
Amy walked over to him. "What is?"
"She's teething."
Ty and Amy looked at each other and groaned. They both felt so stupid. They knew she would start teething soon they just didn't realize it could be this soon. Amy looked at her grandpa.
"What can we do? I don't have any teething gel."
Jack looked at Ty, "Do you have a bottle of rum?"
Ty looked at him like he was crazy. "You want us to give her a drink?"
"No if you rub a little rum across her gum it takes the sting out."
Ty nodded and left the room. He returned with the rum. He dipped his finger into the bottle then dragged the finger across Maddie's gums. He felt the swollen area and felt horrible for her. Maddie started settling pretty quickly after that. Amy sighed and hugged Jack.
"Thank you Grandpa."
Jack laughed and pulled away. "Your welcome. Now I remember why I don't miss having a baby in the house."
Ty and Amy laughed. Amy led him out while Ty set Maddie back in her bassinet. He glanced at the clock 4:49am. He had to be up in an hour and a half. He sighed and slid into bed. When Amy walked back into the bedroom both Ty and Maddie were fast asleep. She laughed quietly then climbed into bed and snuggled next to Ty and quickly fell asleep.
When the alarm went off on Ty's phone he groaned and sat up. He quietly showered and got dressed so he wouldn't wake Amy or Maddie. When he left at 7 o'clock they were both still fast asleep. Amy finally woke up at 9:25am due to her cellphone ringing. Amy barely pulled her head off the pillow to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Amy where are you?"
Amy realized it was Lou and then glanced at the clock. "Oh my God! I am so sorry I slept in. Is Mrs. Jacobs here yet?"
"She's pulling in with Molly now."
Amy jumped out of bed and hurried into her closet quickly pulling on a pair of jeans and a plaid button down shirt. "I'm coming. Stall her i'll be there in 2 minutes." She clicked end and pulled on her boots. She literally jumped into her truck and floored it to the main house. She hopped out of the truck as Lou and Mrs. Jacobs were walking Molly out of the trailer.
"Hi Mrs. Jacobs."
Mrs. Jacobs smiled, "Morning Amy. Thank you for taking a look at Molly. She is my top barrel racer and I can't afford to bench her."
Amy petted Molly, "What seems to be the problem?"
"She freaks out whenever a baby cries. So if a baby in the audience starts screaming, Molly bolts."
Amy smiled, "I think we can fix her. I'll get her settled in the barn."
Amy lead Molly into the barn and put her in her stall. Amy petted her head.
"So you're afraid of babies huh?"
Then it clicked. Amy had left Maddie home alone! She ran out of the barn and into her truck. When she went inside she breathed a sigh of relief to see Maddie awake and smiling in her crib. Amy picked her up and kissed her cheek.
"Maddie, Maddie, Maddie how could I forget about you?"
Maddie grinned as Amy changed her diaper and pajamas. She put her in a little blue striped sundress and put a blue bow headband on her head. Amy played with the little whisp of blonde hair on her head. Her hair was starting to get pretty long. She picked her up and carried her into the living room. Amy flipped on the news and nursed Maddie. When she was done Amy burped her then started packing her diaper bag. Soon Amy was walking into the main house carrying a very happy Maddie. Mallory and Lou were standing against the counter while Jack and Lisa were drinking coffee at the table. Lisa stood up when she saw Amy and reached out for Maddie.
"Hello pretty girl. Do you want to come to Mimi?" Amy handed Maddie to Lisa and laughed at the nickname. Since their families weren't traditional Ty and Amy had come up with some alternative names for Maddie to call her elders. For Lisa they obviously chose Mimi. For Miranda they chose Gigi and Lily was going to be Nana. Fore grandfathers they kept Grandpa for Jack and then chose Pop-pop for Tim and Gramps for Wade.
Lisa held Maddie on her lap while Amy sat down and accepted the coffee and toast from Lou. "Thanks Lou."
"No problem. I feel bad I freaked this morning. Grandpa told us you and Ty had a rough night."
Amy tickled Maddie under her chin. "Yeah she gave us a rough time. I need to get to the store and pick up some teething stuff."
Georgie came into the kitchen and sat down next to Amy. "I'll come with you. I need to get some things for my poster anyways. My English teacher is making me do a poster on Edgar Allen Poe as a summer project."
Amy smiled, "Thanks Georgie. We can go right after I check on the horses."
Mallory shook her head. "Amy I got the horses. Go deal with Maddie then deal with the horses."
Amy hugged her. "Thanks Mallory."
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Amy guided Georgie through Safeway while she pushed the cart with Maddie in her car seat in it. Georgie was making faces at Maddie while Amy picked out a teething gel, a few teething toys and baby Tylenol. Then they picked out white poster board, glitter glue, construction paper, fake bid feathers, and glue for Georgie's project. They stopped at Maggie's for lunch and Amy decided to order a sandwich and a water for Ty. They pulled up to Scott's clinic and walked inside. They found Ty alone in the exam room. He turned when he heard the door open. Amy carried Maddie in with Georgie carrying Ty's lunch. Amy smiled at Maddie who started squealing when she saw her daddy.
"Can you say hi Daddy?"
Ty laughed and plucked the baby into his arms. He kissed her cheek then kissed Amy. "Well someone looks much happier today."
Amy grinned, "Well I just picked her up teething gel and some teething toys so hopefully that will help."
Ty nodded and hugged Georgie. Georgie handed Ty his lunch, "Plus Amy helped me pick out stuff for my English project."
"Cool. What is it on?"
"Edgar Allen Poe."
He nodded, "Well thank you girls for bringing me lunch."
Amy took Maddie back and watched as the baby's face twisted. She started crying reaching for Ty. Georgie laughed. "Yup Daddy's Girl through and through."
Ty laughed too and kissed Maddie's head. "Daddy will be home tonight."
Maddie looked up at her mommy with sad eyes and buried her head into Amy's shoulder but kept glancing up at Ty. Amy kissed him. "We better go before you give in to her."
He smiled and waved goodbye. Amy buckled a still sniffling Maddie into her car seat then climbed into the driver's side. They drove home and spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen helping Georgie with her project. By the time they were done Maddie really needed a bath. She had played with the markers and glitter glue. Amy had stopped her several times from putting the markers into her mouth. Amy went home, gave Maddie and bath and changed her into a lavender onesie with white polka dots. Amy had just started nursing her in the living room when Ty came home. He walked over and kissed her then sat down next to her.
"How was the rest of your day?"
"I helped Georgie with her poster and we found out that Maddie really likes markers and glitter glue."
Ty laughed. When Maddie was done Amy handed her to Ty to be burped. They stayed on the couch until 6 o'clock. Ty decided to grill burgers and baked potatoes for dinner. Amy made them a salad and they ate together. They chatted about the horses Amy was working with. They put Maddie to bed around 9:30pm after making sure they put the teething gel in her mouth. They fell asleep around 10:30.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
A few weeks passed and soon Maddie was 5 months old. She already had 3 teeth. Today was her Daddy Day. Ty had off every Wednesday so he would watch Maddie while Amy worked. He was getting her dressed and had just turned around to grab her onesie when he heard a thump. He turned and saw that Maddie wasn't on the couch anymore. When he glanced at the floor Maddie was lying there smiling up at him. Ty freaked. She rolled over for the first time but what really freaked him out was that she rolled onto the floor. He quickly scooped her up, slid on her onesie and ran her out the door. He strapped her into her car seat and sped off to the hospital. Ty took her into the ER and was quickly seen by a doctor. Ty had been holding Maddie on the exam table when an older male doctor walked in.
"Hello I'm Dr. Kane. What seems to be the problem?"
Ty looked at him still panicked. "I was getting her dressed on the couch and I turned away for a second and she rolled off the couch onto the floor. She hadn't ever rolled before. Plus I don't know if she hit her head or not."
Dr. Kane smiled and looked at Maddie. "Believe it or not this happens a lot. Why don't you lay Madelyn onto the table."
Ty set her down and stood next to her. Dr. Kane carefully examined her then straightened up and looked at Ty.
"Well Mr. Borden she looks healthy to me. I don't feel any bumps on her head and she is pretty alert. If you would like we can give her a head x-ray but I don't think it is necessary."
Ty nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. "No thank you though. I just wanted to get her checked."
Dr. Kane shook his hand and gave him the discharge papers. As Ty pulled up to the main house he grabbed Maddie and walked into the main house. He found Amy and Lou sitting at the table with Jack going over business. Amy smiled when they walked in but when she noticed the hospital bracelet on Maddie's tiny wrist she stood up.
"What happened? Why does she have a hospital bracelet?"
Ty handed Maddie to Jack and looked embarrassed. "I was getting Maddie dressed on the couch and when I turned around to grab her onesie she rolled off the couch. I freaked out and thought she hit her head so I rushed her to the hospital. But she is perfectly fine." He blew a raspberry to her tummy. "She just likes giving Daddy a heart attack."
Amy sighed and hugged him. "I would have done the same thing."
After that little incident Maddie started growing even faster. By the time August came Amy was convinced Maddie would be crawling any day. She rolled over and pushed herself up but her head was too heavy and she fell head first over. She was babbling like crazy and she had 5 teeth with 2 more coming in. Ty was starting to get excited. Lily and Wade were coming for a visit in a few days. Maddie had grown so much since the wedding and Ty knew his mom would like to spend time with her. Plus he had a 2 week break in between his summer classes and his fall course. Plus Scott had taken a week long vacation so he gave Ty a whole week off.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Ty and Amy were waiting in the main house with everyone waiting for Lily and Wade to arrive. Amy had Maddie in a cute brown and white top with white shorts and a white flower headband. Georgie was holding her while Ty looked out the window. When he saw his mother's car approaching he turned and started walking towards the door.
"They're here."
Amy smiled and followed him outside. Lily hopped out of the passenger seat and pulled her son into a hug.
"Oh I missed you."
Ty laughed as she kissed his cheek. "I missed you too Mom."
Lily turned and hugged Amy while Ty reluctantly shook Wade's hand. Lily smiled and turned back to Amy.
"So where is the little cutie?"
"She's inside."
Amy lead Lily into the main house. They found everyone in the living room with Maddie playing on the floor with Georgie and Katie. Lily scooped Maddie up and kissed her head.
"Aww when did my granddaughter get so big? And so pretty."
Maddie giggled at her nana. Ty and Wade walked in behind them. As soon as Maddie saw Ty she started squealing and reaching for him. Lily turned and laughed.
"She has you wrapped around her little finger doesn't she?"
Ty grabbed Maddie and smiled. Georgie walked over and grabbed Maddie's hand.
"Trust me Miss. Borden you have no idea."
Lily pulled a face at Georgie. "Eww, Miss. Borden makes me sound old. Call me Lily."
Georgie smiled, "Ok, Lily." She turned to Wade. "Do I call you Wade?"
Wade laughed, "Or you can always follow Ty's lead an call me the Boogie Man."
Ty rolled his eyes and looked at Georgie. "Yes you can call him Wade."
They all sat around chatting until and eating dinner until Maddie grew fussy and Amy decided to take her home and put her to bed. Ty told her to go ahead home and he would make sure Lily and Wade were settled. So Maddie walked home pushing Maddie's stroller with Lobo at her heels. When she walked inside the house she changed Maddie into her lavender footie pajamas with a butterfly on it. When she was finished she carefully set Maddie in her bassinet and turned out the light. Amy walked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. She had just sat down on the couch and flipped on a movie when Ty walked in.
"My mom and Wade are settled."
"That's good."
Amy scooted over and he plopped down next to her. They watched the movie then went to bed. When they woke up the next morning Amy found Maddie wide awake in her bassinet.
"Maddie you didn't even cry for us."
Maddie grinned at her. Amy quickly fed her and changed her. She carried Maddie over to the bed and set her next to Ty. He stirred and smiled at them.
"Good morning girls."
Amy held Maddie out to him. "Good morning Daddy."
Ty grabbed Maddie and kissed her cheek. They got up and got dressed. They decided to walk up to the main house to eat breakfast. But when they walked inside Amy was startled to find Lou crying and Jack on the phone.
"What's going on?"
Lou looked up at her, "Have you two seen Georgie?"
Ty walked over to the table. "No why?"
Jack hung up the phone and looked at them. "Jeff was in a car accident and Georgie was the one who answered the phone. She took off. Peter, Wade, Caleb, and Tim are out looking for her on the street and Mallory, Jake, and Lisa are on horseback. Phoenix is still in his stall so we at least know that she is on foot."
Ty nodded an handed Maddie to Amy. "I'll go tack up Harley and look."
Lou nodded, "Thank you Ty."
Ty walked out the door leaving Amy and Jack to comfort Lou. All Amy could think about was her mom's accident and she silently prayed that Georgie would not have to say goodbye to Jeff the same way Amy had said goodbye to her mother.