"Mama!"

Lindsay's eyes cracked open slowly to find Colton sitting on her chest, grinning and drooling. His hair was sticking up and his cheeks were pink from sleep and she grinned at how much he looked like Adam.

"Good morning little man. What's going on?"

He hiccupped and climbed off of her, tumbling onto the mattress, then sliding under the covers.

"He's preparing for his future career as a tunnel digger," Adam said as he came into the room with a tray of food.

"What are you doin'?" she asked warily.

"Happy mothers day."

She smiled as he sat down next to her and put the tray between them.

"Today we're going to do whatever you want."

"I thought you had to work."

"I fibbed."

"Thanks for fibbing," she said, leaning over to kiss him. He brushed his fingers through her hair and they smiled at each other for a moment.

"Thanks for being such a good mama."

"Thanks for being such a good daddy."

"You say that with such confidence, but I must inform you that our son is currently under the covers using my toe as a teething ring."

Lindsay giggled and lifted the comforter up, peeking underneath.

"Colton, what are you doing you goof?"

He babbled and scooted himself back up the bed, popping his head up as if it was the most amusing thing in the world.

"Mama?"

"What baby?"

He smiled and looked at the food, his mouth dropping open slightly before he gave her the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh no little man," Adam said. "You're not eating off mama's plate. You know it's bottles and strained squash for you."

"You give him real food when you think I'm not looking."

"He likes mashed potatoes."

"He's going to be off baby food soon, I know it. Cheerios are like the gateway food."

"Maybe we should let him try some pancakes."

"Okay," she said, cutting a small bite. "But no syrup."

Colton held his mouth open and took the tiny chunk of pancake, smiling as he worked it over in his mouth.

"Is daddy a good cook?"

"Ba!"

"His enthusiasm shocks me."

"So what do you want to do today?" Adam asked, stealing a strawberry off the top of her pancakes.

"Oh I don't know. Get out of the house… that's good enough for me. At some point though, I am going to want to steal my strawberry back."

"Good luck with that. Eat."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to give you the phone so you can call your own mom, and then I am going to go into the kitchen and clean up my mess so you don't have to look at it, and then I'm going to run you a nice warm bath complete with bubbles and stuff that smells good."

"You're perfect."

"Only because you make me better," he said, standing up from the bed and tossing her the phone. "C'mon son, let's let mama relax."

The warm water and bubbles sloshed gently around her and she sighed, tipping her head back to rest against the cool tiles. She needed this way more than she thought she had and she was grateful to Adam for seeing that. She wiggled her toes through the water and closed her eyes, getting rid of all the thoughts of things she needed to get done and instead letting little moments flash in her head. No particular order, no relation, just things that made her more calm.

She thought of the very first time Adam had ended up at her apartment after work, to settle a dispute about and episode of X-Files. The night had ended with both of them lounging on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and laughing for no particular reason.

She thought about her tenth birthday, a slumber party with all of her friends, eating junk food until all hours, giggling over boys and cheesy ghost stories.

She thought about the last night of finals in college, hitting a honky tonk and line dancing the night away, peanut shells crunching under her boots, not a drop of alcohol in her because she felt free enough on her own.

"Did you fall asleep in there?" Adam hollered after knocking on the door.

"No. My water's still warm even. Why are you checking on me?"

"Can I come in?"

"What for?"

"Cuz you're in there."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Oh alright."

The door creaked as it opened and he stepped in quietly and walked over to perch on the side of the tub.

"So I was thinking…"

"Yes?"

"Once the kid wakes up from his impromptu morning nap, it's warm enough outside that we could probably go on a picnic."

"That sounds good."

He smiled and ran his hand over her damp hair, watching as her eyes closed.

"You're beautiful," he said, tracing his finger softly over her face. She gave a gentle sigh and reached up to circle her hand around the back of his neck and pull him down towards her. His hands slid against the wet porcelain and before he knew it he had splooshed right down into the tub with her. A huge laugh escaped her and she almost fell underwater from the force of it.

"Babe, how did you… I can't… you always manage to be the most clumsy when you're in the bathroom."

"You pulled me!"

"I didn't mean to pull you but… I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you."

"Do you know how uncomfortable wet jeans are?"

"I'm not takin' the bait on that one. And now I think you did this on purpose."

"Right, like I'm as calculating as you are."

Her eyebrow quirked up mischievously and she smiled, tugging on his shirt.

"Well I guess that since you're already here it doesn't matter whose fault it is."

"You did plan that!"

"Are you complaining?"

"No."

"Then come here."

She pulled him roughly against her, not caring that she had probably just bruised both of their lips in her haste. His arms slid around her and it took them a few adjustments before they were comfortable, despite Adam's wet clothing. Their kisses were quiet and slow, and they took their time to just rest against each other. His fingers trailed up her arm, tangling in her hair to keep the connection as he gently pulled away.

"I love you Lindsay," he whispered, dropping his forehead to hers and nuzzling her nose with his.

"I love you too. More than you know."

"Colton, don't stick that pinecone in your mouth," Lindsay admonished as Colton looked the pinecone over, perfectly entranced by his new discovery. He grinned and held it out to her as an offering and she took it as if it was the best thing she had ever been given.

"Oh, it's beautiful. Thanks buddy."

He smiled and climbed into her lap.

"Mama?" he asked, holding up his palm to her.

"You got grass on your hand?"

He grunted and she picked the grass off then kissed his hand gently.

"Better?"

He crawled out of her lap and headed off the blanket spying a patch of clover sticking out of the grass. He spent a few minutes picking at the small flowers before he finally got one and laughed in victory.

"Man, his eyes are getting dark," Adam commented, propping himself up on his elbow and reaching up to rub Lindsay's shoulders.

"Yeah."

"Told you they'd go brown."

"You're very smart," she agreed, leaning back against him.

"I wasn't smart, I was just hoping he'd have your eyes."

"Why?" she asked, slightly bemused.

"Because they're beautiful," he said, sitting up. "Because they're that perfect warm caramel color with flecks of gold in them. Because when I look in your eyes Lindsay, I'm home."

She could do nothing but stare at him, her breath once again taken away by the simple truth pouring from his lips. He showered her with lovely words more often than not, but to grab her attention and her heart away so deliberately was a rarer occurrence.

"That was much too sappy for a public place," she said finally. He chuckled and planted a kiss on her temple, knowing she had taken the words deeply to heart, even if she didn't show it at the moment.

"Once we get home, I'll show you how sappy I can be."

"You've got something on your mind today," she teased.

"Ever since I woke up this morning… and you were drooling on me."

She chuckled and hit his chest playfully, causing him to dramatically fall back to the ground, clutching his heart. Grinning, she placed an arm on either side of him and leaned down to kiss him. He stopped her partway, a gentle hand to her shoulder before reaching up to tuck just one strand of hair behind her ear. The way the sun hit her, the look in her eyes and the smile on her face and she quickly took his breath away.

"You're killin' me," he said with a lopsided grin.

"No babe, don't die!" she laughed, leaning down to kiss him and rest against his chest.

"Hey, our kid's escaping."

She looked over and chuckled at Colton's retreating back as he crawled across the grass to a tree.

"Colton Matthew, get back here."

He gave her a look over his shoulder, chuckled and kept moving.

"Better go get him mama."

She sighed and stood up, walking across the grass to grab Colton.

"What are you doin' little man? Are you out to conquer the world? Are you pulling a Willie Nelson and hittin' the road?"

"Ba, ba, ba!" he answered, clapping his hands.

She smiled and walked back over to the blanket, gently depositing him on Adam's chest.

"How's our intrepid traveler?"

"Well you know, it was a long flight to Portugal, but once he hit terra firma all was good."

"Did he hop over to Spain to run with the bulls?"

"Yes he did, much to the chagrin of his mother. But then he moved on to Switzerland to get me some chocolate and the whole running with the bulls incident was forgotten."

"Well I for one am glad everything is back to normal," he said as she laid down next to him.

"Me too."

Colton chewed on his hand as he watched them banter back and forth. He watched them a lot, probably wondering how he had gotten dropped into such a strange family. Adam claimed that he rolled his eyes at them occasionally, but Lindsay insisted they were entertaining.

"So what do you think mama?"

"'Bout what?"

"The rest of the day is yours."

"Just say that about ten or fifteen more times and I'll be good."

"Naw, come on. Anything you want."

"Adam, this right here is all I want. I promise."

"What if I offered you a foot rub later?"

"That would rock my world."

"Happy Mother's Day honey."