Ch 4
A few days later, they load up in Rita's car and drive up to the house. Jamie stops by and knocks on the door.
Rita carefully gets up and smiles. "Jamie. Hey. Come on in. There's someone I want you to meet."
Jamie walks in. "How old is the baby?"
Rita smiles. "She's a week. Samantha Rose."
Chris comes in with the baby.
"Oh I didn't know you had company."
"Jamie, this is Chris. My husband."
"Wait..I thought…"
"I was in witness protection for Rita's safety."
"Oh got it."
Jamie smiles at the baby. "She's so cute."
Chris smiles. "She's just like her Mama." He lays her down in her bassinet in the living room and goes over to Rita.
Rita turns to Jamie. "Since the threat against Chris is gone..until he makes someone else mad..we're going to move back down to Palm Beach. But I will be coming back up and seeing everyone as time allows."
"You better."
Jamie gets up and goes to give Rita a big hug. "We are going to miss you here."
Rita hugs her back. "Thanks for taking me…us in."
"You're very welcome. Keep us updated on Sam."
"I will."
Chris looks over at Sam in the bassinet. "Come on girly. Let's go get you changed."
He carefully lifts her up and kisses her cheek. He takes her back to the bedroom and gets her diaper changed.
Sam looks at him and yawns.
"Sleepy again? Want me to tell you the story of how I met Mama?" He scoops Sam up and grabs one of her light blankets. He walks over to the rocking chair and sits down. "Ok. Let's see here. One day, Daddy was at work and Hutch called me in his office and said meet your new partner. And Mama was sitting in the chair. We worked a lot of cases. Then we were working on a case with Aunt Holly and Uncle Michael. Daddy had to go out of town and walked back in my loft as Grandpa Harry was calling me. He said Mama and Uncle Michael were at a bar and there was a bomb and that Mama was hurt." He looks over at Sam's face and sees her eyes drooping. "So Daddy rushed over to check on Mama and bring her back to the loft. That was the night that Mama told me she loves me and probably the night we got you. Then a little bit later, this bad man tried to take Daddy away from you and Mama forever but daddy had to trick Mama to think I was gone forever. That's why you and Mama moved here. But Daddy wasn't gone forever. And we are all together again and we'll be happy. I hope."
He looks over at Sam again and she had drifted off to sleep. He carefully stands up and lays her down in her crib. "I promise you Sammy..Daddy will never leave you or Mama again. I love you baby girl. Sleep good."
Rita comes back to the nursery as Chris is walking out. "You ok?"
He nods and hugs her tight. "I missed you. So much."
"I missed you too. I know Cap kept you updated but I want you to read something." She takes him back in the living room and hands him a journal she kept.
"What's this?"
"A journal. I wrote it as a letter to you."
Chris pulls her on his lap. "Read some?"
"Yeah." Rita takes it and opens it to the first page. "Dear Christopher, I miss you so much. We didn't have long enough together. You should be here with me..in bed..with your hands on my stomach as the baby moves beneath them. I don't want to find out who we have on the way. Our son or our daughter. I wanted to find out together..as the baby is born. But they took that option away from us. Their name is easy. After you for a boy or Samantha if she's a girl. I miss you so much it hurts. I love you forever. Love, Rita."
He sets the journal down and turns her towards him and rubs her back. "I'm so sorry you had to go thru that. We have the rest of our lives together now though." Rita lays her head on his shoulder. "Can we go take a nap?"
Chris nods. "Sure. Let's go."
They stand up and she takes his hand as they walk back to the bedroom.
"You ok?"
Rita nods. "Still getting used to the lack of sleep. Just wanted to sleep when she does."
"You'd tell me if you weren't good, right?"
"Of course."
He pulls the covers back and she climbs in. He goes around and climbs into bed and wraps his arms around her. "You still happy with me?"
She carefully turns to face him. "Happier than I have ever been."
"You would tell me if you weren't right?"
She kisses him. "Of course. Where's this coming from?"
"I was rocking Sammy after I got her changed and was just thinking.."
She scoots closer and lays her head on his chest. He smiles and rubs her back. "I love you so much."
Rita drifts to sleep.
A few hours later, Sam wakes up screaming. Chris carefully gets up and lays Rita back down on his pillow.
He makes his way to the nursery and picks Sam up. "Hi baby girl. Sleep good?"
She keeps screaming and won't settle down.
"Wow. You're mad huh baby? Let's get you changed and take you to Mama."
Rita wakes up and looks around. "Chris?"
He comes in with a very unhappy Sam. "Someone isn't happy."
"She's probably hungry."
He takes Sam over to Rita and lays her in Rita's arms. "There you go baby girl."
Rita kisses Sam's cheek. "It's ok baby. You're ok."
Sam calms down finally and starts nursing like she hadn't eaten in ages.
"Slow down baby."
"Poor thing."
Rita strokes her hair. "How'd we get so lucky?"
"I don't know. But I'm glad we did."
"Me too."
Chris plays with Rita's hair. "Talk to me."
Rita sighs. "Just feel like I am going to wake up and you'll be gone again."
"You're awake and I'm here. I'm not leaving again. Well I'll have to leave to go to the store and work but I'm not gonna leave you."
She looks down at Sammy who had fallen asleep.
"She needs you..I need you.."
He takes Sam from Rita and lays her on the bed beside them. "She's fine right there. Don't worry. Now I need you to look at me."
Rita looks up at him with tears in her eyes. He carefully wipes them away. "I'm right here. You feel my hands holding yours?"
Rita nods and leans her head on his hands. "I promise you, that the only time I'm ever leaving you again is for work or to go to the store, ok? But I'll always come home."
She nods and wraps her arms around his neck and holds him close to her. "I'm sorry."
"No sorry. You just had our beautiful Baby girl laying right there and everything is getting back to normal. If I have to drill that in your head every day I will."
"You know…our anniversary is coming up in a few months.."
"Yes it is. If I had still been in protection I was going to send you a letter thru Cap to let you know."
"I'm glad you're back. Those months…" she sighs. "I never want to go thru that again."
He holds her tight. "It was just as bad for me too. Once they woke me up, I was so sore. But they took good care of me. They wanted me to color my hair.."
"What?"
"Yeah. To change my appearance. I told them no and just stayed inside the whole time. Couldn't work anyway. Had to get my strength back up."
"Am I hurting you?"
"Never. You and that little one are the best medicine I need."
The next day, the movers come to load up all the stuff and Rita takes the keys to Jamie.
"Thank you again. We'll definitely come up to visit as often as we can."
"You're very welcome. Keep in touch."
"We will."
Rita goes back out to the car and smiles at Chris. "Ready to go home?"
He nods. "Ready. Gonna sit with Sam?"
She nods. "Yeah." She looks at her watch. "Should probably feed her before we go so we don't have to stop on the road."
"Good idea. Where do you want to do it?"
Rita unbuckles Sam and kisses her cheek. "Just toss me that blanket in her bag and I'll do it here."
Chris digs through the bag. "Got it." He hands it to her and smiles.
"What?" She takes the blanket and adjusts the baby to nurse.
He shakes his head. "When they came and told me about you know…I was sure I wouldn't get to see you with our baby. Or if I did it'd be thru pictures from Cap."
She smiles and reaches her free hand out to him. "I'm the same way. I wasn't looking forward to going into labor and delivery by myself..even though Cap and Frannie were there. I wanted you with me so bad. I would've traded places if it meant you being with me."
He kisses her hand. "I'm glad I was able to be there for you."
"Me too." She looks down at the baby. "She's done. Just need to burp her and change her and we can get going."
"Ok. Tell me about after I.."
"Well as you can expect, I was a mess. I had to pack your desk. And of course everything made me cry. I couldn't go to the roach coach without crying.. couldn't sit on the couch at the loft or my place without thinking of how you'd hold me or I'd hold you.."
"I'm so sorry you had to deal with that."
"What was worse is knowing I had this baby inside me who I needed to protect. So I handed Cap my badge and moved up here. We talked almost every day. He convinced me to come home before she was born so they could be with me. And I'm glad they did. And of course packing our places up..all the gifts you gave me.."
"We can unpack together…"
"Good. And I don't want to pack up again for a long while. And I want to add some things to the loft too."
"Sam's stuff..of course."
"And a railing upstairs when she's mobile."
"I can do that."
"Good." Rita finishes changing Sam and buckles her back in. "We're all set back here."
He nods. "Let's get her home."
"Have you thought about work?"
"I don't know if I want to go back. Maybe I can find something safer to do."
"I know the feeling. I can't do anything until she's at least six weeks. But I might ask Cap if I can go back. I wouldn't go out much anyway.."
"I have a feeling he didn't file your paperwork. Might be a bit harder for me.. you know coming back from the dead.."
"I wonder what we laid to rest if it wasn't you."
"Just an empty coffin."
"Oh…I told you to come hold me in my dreams..and you did."
"I dreamt of you too. Always woke up feeling better than when I went to sleep."
"Same here. Would you enjoy being a stay at home dad?"
"Can we come see you?"
"You better."
"And how are you going to tell people I'm not in the cemetery?"
"I haven't figured that out yet."
"And what about when you show back up?"
"Visiting Cap."
"Good idea."
He drives them back to Palm Beach and straight to the loft. Right as he pulls up Sam wakes up and starts whimpering. Once he parks the car, he gets out and gets the car seat. "Hey beautiful girl. You're home now. Just need to wake Mama up."
"Mama's up. And sore. She needs to eat."
"She's starting to get fussy."
"Good timing. Now to find somewhere to sit and let her nurse."
Chris looks around the back of the car. "Nothing comfortable."
They walk inside and Chris sets the car seat on the bar temporarily. The movers pull up and they start unloading.
"Where do you want the baby stuff?"
"Upstairs. But the bassinet down here."
He nods and starts unloading everything.
Rita unbuckles Sam from the car seat and grabs her blanket. "I know baby. Hang on." She gets Sam out and lets her start nursing.
Chris smiles. "She ok?"
"Better now."
"Good."
The movers get everything unloaded. "Ok what about the other place? Where do we go for that?"
"Oh. Uh the clothes stay here. But the rest need to be in storage..and I haven't set anything up yet. If you'll give me just a few more minutes to let the baby finish nursing I'll go get it set up."
"Take your time."
Rita feels the baby drift to sleep. She carefully pulls her away and kisses her cheek.
"Hey daddy.. she's ready for you."
Chris walks over and takes her. "You ready for me baby?" He kisses her cheek and then Rita. "Be careful."
"Always." She kisses him lightly and grabs her purse. "I don't have a cell phone yet..but I will get us one."
"Ok."
She grabs her keys and heads out while Chris changes Sammy and burps her.
He finishes up and puts her back in the car seat while he gets the bassinet set up.
"I know baby girl. It's ok. It's just while Daddy gets your bed set up down here."
He goes upstairs and finds the sheet for the bassinet. He gets it put on and kisses her cheek as he gets her out of the car seat. "There you go Sammy. Daddy loves you so much." He carefully lays her down and starts unpacking the kitchen.
Rita comes back a bit later and smiles. "Hey. I'm back."
"Hi." He walks over to her and kisses her. "How'd it go?"
"Good. Got us a cell phone."
"Ok. I got the kitchen unpacked. And the crib put back together. I didn't know where you wanted it."
"Where is it now?"
"Upstairs along the wall."
They head upstairs so Chris can show her. "That's a good spot for it."
"Ok. What about her dresser?"
"Oh uh..next to the crib should be good."
He gets it moved over.
"How'd she do while I was gone?"
"Slept the entire time. I was thinking.."
"About?"
"I can't bring her up to the office every few hours to let her nurse.."
"Especially if I'm on a case..I guess I need to start pumping so you can feed her while I'm gone."
"That's what I was thinking."
"Ok."
"I know that look. You can still nurse her when you're home."
"I know. But I'm still going to miss her while I'm gone."
"She'll be safe with me.."
"I know she will. It's not that.."
"You're afraid I won't be home.."
She nods and tears stream down her face. He pulls her in his arms and wipes the tears away. "I'm not going to leave you ever again."
She relaxes in his arms and wraps her arms around him.
"I'm crazy about you Rita Lee Lorenzo."
She smiles. "I love the sound of that."
"Me too."
Sammy wakes up and starts whimpering. Rita pulls back from Chris and goes over to her. "Hi baby."
Sammy settled down and grabbed on to Rita's shirt.
"You missed your Mama huh? I missed you too. Should we go see Cap?"
"Let's go."
"How are we going to explain you?"
"Oh…yeah. Everyone thinks I'm dead huh?"
Rita winces at those words. Chris noticed and pulls both his girls in his arms.
"Sammy, tell Mama that Daddy's not leaving ever again."
Rita lays her head on his shoulder. "I know but.."
He nods. "I know. It's ok. We haven't been back together long."
She nods slightly. "I guess I'm still scared."
Chris kisses the top of her head. "Come on. Let's take Sammy to our spot at the beach."
"I haven't been there since.."
"No time like the present. I'll grab her bag."
"Ok. I'll get her ready."
They load up in Rita's car and head towards the beach. Chris grabs the bag and Sammy. Rita grabs the blanket and takes Chris' hand.
"Let's go."
They walk over to the rock where that paparazzi photographer got pictures of them, Rita spreads the blanket out and she sits facing out towards the ocean.
Chris hands Sammy to her and sits down beside her. "You ok?"
She nods. "Yeah. A lot has happened in this last couple of weeks... You, this little one..moving back down here.. I just.."
He moves to sit behind Rita and wraps them both in his arms. "It's been a lot for sure. If you need some time away, I'll watch Sammy."
"No. That's the last thing I need."
He kisses the top of her head. "Ok. So what can I do?"
"This. Just keep being here with me."
She lays Sammy against her knees and smiles at her.
"I'm gonna be in trouble."
"Yes you are."
"I can't wait for her to laugh."
Chris strokes Sammy's cheek. "If her smile is like yours.."
Rita leans back into Chris' arms.
He kisses her cheek. "Wanna go see Cap?"
"Yeah. I need to find out if I can get my job back in a few weeks and he hasn't seen Sammy since we left.."
He nods and stands up. He picks Sammy up and helps Rita up.
She takes his hand. "Let's go.."
They head to the car and head towards headquarters.
Chris pulls in and parks. "So you want to go in first then I'll follow or.."
"No. You're coming with me. I can't.."
"Hey, it's ok. I'm not going anywhere."
She hugs him tight.
"You have my heart Rita Lee Lorenzo. And Sammy too. There's no one else I would rather be with than you."
"I love you…so much." She kisses him softly and looks at her watch.
"Getting close to time for her to nurse..I'll feed her before we head in."
He nods. "Ok. Need anything?"
"Just you..and her."
Chris leans over and kisses her. "Making up for lost time."
"Good. I missed you kissing me."
"I did too."
In the backseat, Sam starts whimpering.
Rita smiles and grabs her blanket. She quickly moved to the backseat. "Hi sweet girl." She unbuckles her and kisses her cheek.
Chris smiles at her. "I don't think I will ever get used to that."
"What?"
"You feeding our baby."
She smiles. "I still can't believe she's ours."
Sam looks up at Rita and drifts off to sleep.
Rita burps her and changed her quickly. "Ready to go shock everyone?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
She grabs the diaper bag and covers Sam up with her blanket to keep the sun out of her face.
Chris takes her hand.
Rita smiles and squeezes it. "It'll be ok."
"I know."
They walk in and head right to Homicide.
Holly heard the door open and turns around not looking up.
"Can I help you…"
"Hi Holly.."
"Chris! How..what.." She gets up and hugs him.
Chris laughs and hugs her. "I know."
Rita takes the blanket off Sam and smiles at Holly.
Holly looks at Rita and gasps. "Rita! I'm so sorry I didn't even see you! And the baby…."
She laughs. "It's ok. Wanna hold her?"
Holly nods. "Please."
Rita smiles. "Samantha…this is your Aunt Holly."
Holly smiles. "Hi sweet girl. You're so cute."
Harry comes out of his office. "What's the .."
Rita smiles at him. "Hey Harry."
He smiles. "Hi."
George waltzes in. "Does nobody work around..Lorenzo."
"Hi George."
Rita laughs. "Chopped liver here I guess."
Holly rubs Sam's back. "I don't want to give her back Rita."
"I know the feeling. She's gotten lots of cuddles since she was born. And she's definitely a Daddy's girl."
"Definitely."
George smiles. "Hi Rita."
"Hey George."
Holly turns Sam around. "Say hi George. I'm Samantha."
George smiles. "Hi cutie."
Harry goes over to Holly and scoops Sam up. "Hi sweetie." He kisses her cheek.
Sam sighs and cuddles in.
Rita smiles. "She loves her Grandpa Harry. Got some time Cap?"
He nods. "I think I know what you're going to ask. And yes. I didn't turn it in."
Chris laughs. "Told ya."
"Yeah you did."
"Go talk to him. I'll be out here. I promise."
She hesitates for a minute.
"Sammy, I promise. I'm not leaving the room."
Holly smiles. "I'll sit on him if I have to Rita."
Rita laughs. "Thanks Holly."
Sammy whimpers a bit.
"Hey Lance..someone wants you."
She smiles and goes in his office. "Hi baby girl." She takes Sam from him and holds her close.
"You look good with her Rita."
"She's the best. Doesn't cry much except when she's hungry."
Sam whimpers.
Rita laughs. "And when she wants Chris. Be right back."
She gets up and walks over to him. "Someone wants Daddy."
He smiles and takes her. "Hi sweet girl."
Rita heads back to Harry's office.
Chris sits at his old desk and lays Sammy against his chest.
Michael comes in. "Can I.. Chris?! And baby.."
"Hi Michael. This is Samantha Rose."
"Hi Samantha. Chris..how..what.."
"A while back, I got a call from the Marshalls office. They wanted to put me in Witness Protection. I agreed and when I.. you know.. I was whisked off to a different location and I was only allowed to talk to one person. I wanted it to be Rita but they said no. So I picked Cap. He's the only one who knew. Kept me updated on Rita and this little one. And the night I came back, Rita went into labor and she was born the next morning."
Sam opens her eyes and looks around.
"And those eyes of hers. They are definitely Rita's and I'm in big trouble."
Holly smiles. "Yes you are. Hey Sam. You love your Daddy huh?"
Sam grabs on to Chris' shirt.
"Don't worry. Daddy's right here." He kisses the top of her head.
Meanwhile in Harry's office, he looks at Rita. "So, you wanna come back?"
"Please. But not for another month or so."
He nods. "Ok. And you're still getting paid."
"I am?"
He nods. "You had loads of vacation days you needed to use before you lost them so technically you've been on vacation. Your office is waiting for you."
Rita smiles. "Thanks Cap."
"What about Chris?"
"I think he wants to do something else. Something safer now that we've got Sammy."
"Ok. I'll talk to him."
"Ok."
Rita looks out the window and smiles. "I haven't let him out of my sight much since he got back. I tend to go nuts."
"Understand that. But he's home now. And not going anywhere."
"Yeah." She sighs. "Cap what if.."
"No. He's not going to do that. Are you crazy? That man loves you heart and soul. Every time we talked, first words out of his mouth after hi was 'how's Rita and the baby?' He couldn't wait to get home to you."
She nods with a tear rolling down her face.
Harry gets up and goes over to her. He hugs her tight. "So, do you want Lance or Lorenzo on your cards and name plate?"
She smiles. "Lorenzo. Definitely Lorenzo. I almost signed Lance on our discharge papers when she was born but caught myself."
"Did he notice?"
Rita shakes her head. "No, he was getting Sammy in her car seat."
"Has he even put her down since she's been born?"
"Oh yes. When we get home, she has to get out of her car seat quick because she hates it if she's not in the car and he'll put her in the bassinet downstairs. But when we go to bed, she'll be in her crib upstairs."
"Do I need to get something for her for when you're back?"
"Like what?"
"A playpen or something.."
"No, but a mini fridge would be nice. I am going to need some time to pump during the day and somewhere to store the milk til I get home."
"That I can do."
"Thanks Cap."
He walks over to his desk and gets something.
"Cap, I don't need anything.."
He nods. "You do too. You need this." He hands her badge back to her.
She smiles and takes it. "Gonna be weird grabbing it again. I'll go requalify at the range a week or two before I come back."
"Ok."
She stands up and turns to leave. "Thanks again Harry. Oh I got Chris and I new cell phones." She writes down their numbers with a C by his and R by hers.
"And who do I need to call about getting some baby time?"
Rita laughs. "How about we bring her over later tonight or tomorrow."
"That sounds good. I'll call Frannie and let her know."
"Ok. We'll see you later." She walks back out of his office.
Sam turns her head and looks right at Rita. "Hi sweetie. Are you enjoying the cuddles with Daddy?" She kisses her cheek.
Chris smiles at her. "What did he say?"
"He didn't file my paperwork. He put me on vacation. All I have to do is requalify at the range before I come back and he's getting me new cards and name plate for my desk."
"Good. Which one did you go with?"
"Lorenzo."
"Really? Thought you'd go with Lance."
"Unless you don't want me to.."
"No. No. You can use whatever last name you want."
She nods and kisses his cheek. "He's also getting a mini fridge for my office so I can store the milk I pump."
"Oh that's good."
Sam starts to wiggle around a bit. Rita smiles and rubs her back. "It's ok baby. You're ok. Grandpa Harry and Grandma Frannie want some baby time. I told him we would bring her over tonight or tomorrow."
Chris nods. "How would you feel about having a date night while she's with them? You know she's safe with them.."
"Maybe. She's still so little.."
"I know but we need to catch up on the date nights I missed and I need some Mama time."
She nods. "I know."
He takes her hand. "Talk to me."
"Later." She looks at the clock. "Someone will want to eat soon."
"Yeah we better get her home."
Rita picks her up off Chris' chest. "Hey pretty girl." She kisses Sam's forehead.
Chris gets up and grabs the bag. "We'll come back and visit."
Holly hugs him. "You better."
Chris hugs her back and takes Rita's hand. "See ya later."
Once they get back to the car, Rita buckles Sam back in the car seat. "I know baby. We'll be home soon and we can cuddle."
"She ok?"
"You know she's not a fan of the car seat."
"Yeah. She'd rather be held than strapped in."
Rita nods. "Not that I can blame her." She gets in the front and they head back to the loft.
"We should get me a car."
"Yeah. You'll need one when I go back to work."
"I'll start looking."
"Ok."
Once they get to the loft, Sam wakes up and whimpers.
"Right on time. Come on baby girl. Let's get you inside so you can eat." Rita gets her out of the car and holds her close.
Chris opens the door and Rita walks in as Sam starts crying. "Hey Sammy..it's ok. Mama's gonna feed you."
Rita sits on the couch and gets Sam adjusted so she can nurse. "There you go."
Chris sits beside Rita and wraps his arm around her shoulder. "You ok?"
"Yeah. Not sure if I'm ready to leave her yet."
"You don't go back to work for another month.."
"I know. I mean for a date night."
"Oh. Well we can do a date night here after she's down for the night."
"Yeah..let's do that."
Chris nods and kisses her cheek. "Then maybe we can go out one night."
"Maybe..when she's older."
"Rita… what are you scared of?"
She sighs. "I guess I'm just being over protective."
"I can't blame you but you've got to relax. Nothing is going to happen to her. And if something does, Frannie is a nurse and knows what to do."
"I know. I just worry when she's not with me. I mean she was with me for nine months.."
"Got it. She's fine, she's healthy..she loves you.."
Rita nods. "I know. I love her too. Have since the day I found out about her."
Once Sam finishes, Chris takes her and burps her then changes her. "Okay little one. Hang out in here while I talk to your Mama." He lays her in the bassinet and walks back over to Rita.
"Okay..talk to me. What is going on in that pretty head of yours?"
"I..I guess I'm just paranoid. I mean she's only been with us since we left the hospital."
"And she was with Holly today."
"Yeah…but we were there too."
"Oh. You're afraid if she's not with one of us, something will happen and you won't be there to protect her."
She nods. "Call me crazy.."
"You're not. You're a mom."
"Why aren't you worried?"
"I am. Every time we go somewhere with her.."
"Ok.."
"But I trust our friends with her. And if for one second I thought she wasn't safe, I wouldn't leave her."
Rita nods. "A couple hours out would be good.."
"Ok. So one of us will call Frannie and see what day works. Then we'll take her over there..make sure she's full..and then we'll go get a bite to eat."
"Okay." She lays her head on his shoulder.
He carefully pulls her on his lap and kisses her.
"Hmm…what was that for?"
"Just because I wanted to."
"Ok. I can deal with that."
Rita yawns.
"Go lay down. I've got her."
"But.."
"If she's hungry I'll bring her to you. She's ok. I promise."
She nods. "I know she is. I just don't want you to leave me."
He hugs her tight. "I am not leaving you. I promise."
She hugs him back. "Ok. Come up with me for a bit?"
He nods. "I'll bring her up."
She heads up to the bedroom and waits for Chris. He carefully walks upstairs with the baby.
Rita smiles and kisses her cheek. Chris lays her down in her crib. "Sleep good baby girl."
Chris goes back over to the bed and pats it. "Come on."
She lays down and pulls his arm over her side and holds it tight.
"Hey, it's ok. I'm right here."
"I know."
She draws on his hand.
He kisses her cheek. "Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up. Or I'll be downstairs. But I'm not going to leave you."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Rita drifts off to sleep.
A couple hours later, Sam wakes up crying.
Chris gets up and picks her up. "Hi baby. Did you sleep good?" He kisses her cheek. "I love you so much Samantha Rose." She nuzzles into him. "I know baby. But we've gotta get you changed first." He gets her changed and lays her next to Rita. "Sam…baby's hungry."
Rita wakes up and smiles at her. "Hi sweet girl." She sits up and carefully lifts Sammy up and lays her on her legs. "Hold on baby. Hey Chris..can you grab a tank top for me please?"
"Sure. What color?"
"Pick one. It doesn't matter."
He nods and grabs a dark pink one for her. "Here you go."
"Thank you." She quickly changes into it and lifts Sammy up. "I know baby. There you go."
"Tomorrow let's go see about getting you a pump for here and for work that way you won't have to take it back and forth."
"Good idea. We can start getting her used to a bottle too. But she'll know I'm around so you might have to go upstairs or somewhere so she'll have no choice."
"Ok. We'll figure it out."
