Erin peeled open her heavy-lidded eyes. Her head was pounding and her body was tired and sore, it had felt like she'd been hit by an eighteen-wheeler and somehow managed to survive it. Her mind was a haze, so foggy and unclear as she tries to remind herself of the day, of the year, of her location, of her name and just what exactly she's doing here. Erin opened her eyes wider, recognizing that she's in a hospital. She notices the hospital band around her wrist, she notices the IV drip connected to the back of her hand and she looks down at what she has on, a hospital gown, and then it all suddenly dawns on her. It all quickly came back to her. She had a fucking baby.
"I have her," Jay whispers from across the room. He assumed her panicked expression was because the baby wasn't in the hospital bassinet. She rolls over in bed to face him, watching him lean back in the chair, feet propped up on the couch with the baby lying on his bare chest, "The nurse said it was important for dads to do skin to skin contact too so I figured while you were asleep, I might as well give it a shot." She's mesmerized by the scene in front of her, absolutely frozen in time and space as she captures a mental picture of this image. Emma fit so perfectly in his arms.
"You're so good with her."
"Yeah?" He says, a gleam in his eye at the compliment.
"She's so tiny."
Jay nods in agreement, "Seven pounds, three ounces."
"It's so crazy," she pushes herself to sit up straighter so she can see them better, "I've been rushing for her to get here for weeks now and now that she's here, I have no idea what to do with her."
"It's a good thing you're not alone to figure that out."
She tilts her head, taking him in before nodding, "Yeah you're right. And my mom offered to stay at my place for a week to help out and show me the ropes and I took her up on that offer."
"…and you know, I'm here to help too," he reminds her as the tips of his fingers brush against the back of his baby's head, "you're not in this alone, even if we're not together, we agreed to co-parenting, we're a team in this. It's not the greatest setup but we'll figure it out."
She bites her bottom lip, dimples piercing through as the grin stretches across her face, "How are you so confident? How are you so sure of all of this?"
"Oh, trust me, I'm not," he almost laughs but stops himself because he doesn't want to disturb the baby, "I'm terrified. I don't know the first thing about babies but I figured if we put our heads together, we'd be able to figure this out. I mean…millions of people do this; it can't be too hard."
"Please," she raises her hand to stop him from talking, "please don't jinx us. And just because lots of people do this doesn't mean you can't fail at it."
"I mean you have to practically be a shitty person that does absolutely nothing for your kid to fail them," he shrugs, "and even if that was the case for us, which it isn't, you still have a lot of kids out here that grow up being great human beings despite the odds stacked against them."
Her body was balancing itself out mentally, emotionally and physically after expelling the daughter she'd been incubating for months. Her breasts are sore, a symptom of post-labor her doctor mentioned especially as her breasts gear her up to start breastfeeding. She also experiences the occasional hot and cold flashes as her hormones attempt to begin balancing out. It's going to take some getting used to but just like with the body changes she went through during her pregnancy; she now has to adjust to the new post-pregnancy changes. Her baby bump is still pronounced just not as out there as it was a day ago when Emma was still calling it her home. Now it sits with no purpose since it no longer houses her angel but instead serves as a hourly reminder of the pain of childbirth. She's so glad that experience is over. She wouldn't mind Emma having a sibling one day but that's only if she can wrap her mind around going through labor again. Or maybe if she and Jay don't work out in the end, he'll get with someone that'll give Emma a sibling? Erin knocks that thought out of her mind; she doesn't want to explore that line of thinking for too long especially considering her newborn is a few hours under a day old. She's still so fresh.
"Do you think it would be best for us to come up with some ground rules or a schedule?"
Jay presses his lips against the top of his daughter's head before casting a glance over at her mother, "It couldn't hurt especially since we're neither in a relationship nor living together."
"The nursery is at my place so of course that'll be her main home," she suddenly becomes nervous about this line of discussion especially knowing the realistic potential that if he disagrees then it could start an argument, "and since she's so young, I think it's best for you to come to my place to visit her. Anytime you want to come the door is always open for you. You have a key," it's a way to remind him that he's always welcomed; it'll never be her intention to keep father and daughter away from each other even if she and Jay never work out, "and in a couple of months maybe we can revisit the conversation." She leaves it at that. She does not want to bring up Abby even though the biggest part of her wants to draw a line in the sand and make it as clear as possible to him that as long as he and Abby live together then Emma will not be allowed to visit. It might sound extreme now so she buys herself some time by postponing that inevitable conversation because when Emma is old enough to spend the night away from her mother, Jay might not even be with Abby anymore so starting a potential argument on that today is pointless.
Jay carefully turns his head to the side to face her, his nose brushing against the top of the baby's head as he meets her mother's eyes, "I know I was hesitant about all of this in the beginning and it took me some time to wrap my head around it all but I'm in this for the long-haul, for all the ups and downs that come with it. I know you know that already but," he pauses and looks down at the baby when her lips pout, "I want you to know that you can come to me first for help instead of going to your parents. It goes without saying but we're in this together."
"I," she clears her throat and tries to speak again, "I appreciate that."
Erin swings her legs over the edge of the bed, her bare feet plants onto the cold, tiled floor. She pushes herself up, grabs the IV drip and pushes herself and it towards Jay and her baby. It's been less than a day since her baby graced this world but now it's the fifth of July, the holiday rush has passed leaving behind the native Chicagoans to clean up the mess left behind by out of towners all while she and him remain in their blissful bubble. It's a few hours short of being an official full day since Emma October Halstead traveled earthside and in that time span, she had already learned so much from swaddling to changing a diaper. The sweet sighs of their infant relaxing against her dad's chest warm her heart as the baby inevitably loses the battle against sleep. She was up against a force that will always win. Her eyes drift close and Jay's hand that was gently rubbing and patting her back stops when he tilts his head at an angle to see if she's sleeping.
"She didn't stand a chance against the power of sleep," Erin whispered, being mindful to not wake the baby up with her voice, "I don't know why babies fight sleep anyway. A nap is everything."
Jay wants to shrug but he chooses against it when he thinks it may jolt the baby, instead he turns his head, following her gaze, "flowers," he says when he notes her surprised expression, "they had been getting dropped off all morning," he nods towards the many bouquets lining the windowsill; a decoration she only just now noticed since her eyes refused to break away from her bundle of joy, "your coworkers had gone in and got half of them delivered, my team delivered the rest."
"That was nice of them."
"I said the same thing."
Erin wheels the IV drip towards the window to take a closer look at the bouquets. She picks off the cards attached to the flowers and opens them one by one, scanning the well wishes and congratulations. She reattaches each card back to the flower they were sent with before turning around to now find Jay no longer laying across the couch but simply standing a few feet behind her, baby cradled in his arms. She almost jumps out her skin after not expecting him to be so close but she manages to hide the horror on her face and replace it with interest, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just got tired of laying down and wanted to get up and stretch a bit."
"…need me to take her?"
"Please," he smiles and extends the baby to her. She easily maneuvers the baby in her arms, holding her in the exact way Jay once did. She didn't budge. She didn't even notice that she'd been transferred to the arms of her mother. She manages to push her IV drip alongside her as she makes her way to bed, taking a seat on the edge to peer down at her baby, scanning her for every feature she may have missed during her first glance. Emma has a small faded beauty mark on her collarbone. She sports a small smile on her face, her tiny lips pinched up into a grin causing the dimples in both of her cheeks to appear. She leans her head down and lifts the baby up a fraction to press her lips against the corner of her baby's mouth, not only to kiss her but to whisper her praises and her thanks for Emma choosing her to be her mommy.
Her bonding time with the baby is only interrupted when she sees Jay in her peripheral vision rummaging through her hospital bag, muttering under his breath something about his phone dying.
She carefully settles the baby back in the hospital bassinet before coming closer to help him find it in the side pocket, "Here," she pulls it out and extends it to him.
"Thanks," he smiles overwhelmingly.
"Is everything okay? I'm worried about you."
"It's just…" he hates to mention her now of all times and places but since Erin asked, Jay intends to tell her, "It's Abby," Erin frowns until he elaborates, "she's fine. She's not hurt. My phone died when I was reading her messages. We were supposed to go out last night on a date and then Emma came unexpectedly and I had to cancel of course and," he stops for a moment to calm himself enough to plug his phone up, "Abby deserves better than me sidelining her. I look at Emma and I think about if a guy did to her what I did to Abby and-" he pauses to check his phone to see if the seconds that passed were enough to give his phone some juice to cut back on, -it wasn't, "no one deserves that. I'm stringing the both of you along. I care about her and I realize that I owe her."
Erin didn't expect to hear that. She expected him to say something along the lines of realizing he needed to end things now. She would have never guessed he'd say he practically feels indebted to her. Erin glances down at the phone in his hands, the one he keeps tapping to see if it'll cut on but it never does and she's thankful for that right now. She slides the phone out of his hand and sets it down on the arm of the couch before turning him to face her, "What do you think you owe her?"
"…the truth," he starts and Erin can at least respect and understand that, "and a chance." It's the last one that she doesn't fully understand until he elaborates, "a chance to decide where she wants to go from here after the truth is laid out in front of her."
"…and if she decides she wants to try and seriously work things out with you?"
"I," he swallows roughly, "I honestly don't know." His phone lights up, drawing in his attention.
"Jay," Erin presses her hands against his face, turning his head to face her and encouraging him to meet her eyes, "before you make any big decisions that's going to affect your life and Emma's life, can you do one thing for me?"
His brows furrow in confusion, he didn't expect that, "Do what?"
"…talk to someone," she says and before he can argue that he's technically talking to her, she shakes her head and interjects on herself, "talk to a professional. The relationship is toxic and Abby isn't okay but you have blinders on when it comes to her. You see potential in everyone, you see the good in everybody, even when they don't deserve it. You need to talk to someone."
"I've been talking to you."
"I'm not good enough. You don't see Abby for her flaws the same way you've noticed she doesn't see you for yours. You're a good guy, you don't want to hurt her, I get it, even when I think she doesn't deserve your concern, you still care for her because you're you. But Jay, talk to someone because this back and forth you and Abby have going on where you're cool one day and then pissed off at each other the next is tiring and it's not an environment to bring a kid up in."
Jay readies himself to speak, but the door to their hospital room opens and she withdraws herself from his personal space to welcome in the medical staff. It's time for more first-time parent lectures on how to care for a newborn. His phone left forgotten on the arm of the couch as notification after notification comes to light. Instead, he stays by Erin's side as she lifts their sleeping newborn from the bassinet. Erin welcomes the distraction, not wanting to spend too much time the day after her daughter's birth talking about Abby of all people. She focuses just a little harder than normal on everything the nurse says to them. Erin finds herself hanging onto every word and every instruction the nurse gives her as she talks she and Jay through giving Emma her first bath, all while handling and protecting the umbilical cord stump. She's all ears when the lactation nurse comes to aid her in latching Emma on for her first natural feeding. And she and Jay are zeroed in and focused on how wide open and alert Emma is as she stares up at her mom, taking in her features as she drinks.
"How will I know when she's full?"
Erin doesn't break her gaze away from her daughter's eyes even when her question is posed to the lactation nurse. She simply runs her fingers through the blonde strands of hair on her baby's head, coaxing her to close her eyes again, "There are many signs," the nurse starts, "from the baby falling asleep, to turning away from the breast to the baby burping to even her body relaxing and feeling at ease. There are more signs than that but trust yourself enough to know you'll know. She'll make it perfectly clear for you even if she can't verbalize it."
Caring for a newborn doesn't seem so hard when you have a team of nurses popping in and out of the room every other hour to check on mom and baby's status. They make it look so easy but maybe that's because they do this every day. But, the second the last nurse in the room leaves to take her lunch break, Emma decides to wake up and whine, leaving her parents confused as to what can possibly be wrong with her. Between her diaper being clean and her tummy being full, neither of them knew what to try next so Erin simply scoops her heart up and cradles her in her arms, bringing her closer to her chest to settle the baby against her sore breasts. If she wasn't experiencing hot and cold flashes as her body adjusts to no longer incubating a baby then she'd probably enjoy this moment way more than she does right now.
"She stopped crying," Jay acknowledged. He takes a seat on the couch to watch them from a distance. He watches as Erin peers down and holds the gaze of their baby. Emma, so alert, stares into her mom's eyes, studying her face despite her blurry vision, but being as physically close to Erin's face as she is must help her sight clear up a bit.
Jay's phone vibrates against the arm of the couch, reminding him of what he was tending to before being pulled away. He reaches for his phone, noticing Erin watching him in his peripheral. It's unsurprisingly a message from Abby and when he reads the collection of back-to-back messages from her, starting from last night and ending just a minute ago, he sighs aloud. He stood her up because Emma decided to arrive early, well technically late or both kind of, but the point still stands that she came when she was good and ready to make her arrival. He's on her time and it would be best if he and Abby get used to Emma running things for a while.
"Is everything okay?" Erin adjusts the baby in her arms to better support her rear.
"I got 50 missed calls from Abby," he whispers and the only reason he knows that Erin heard him is because her eyes nearly bulge out of its socket, "and over 100 text messages from her."
"Jay that's," Erin pauses to consider her words, "that's not normal."
"It's normal for her."
"Have you thought about what I said earlier? About talking to a professional."
He's hesitant, "I don't know."
"How about you give it three sessions? And if you don't like it then you can stop and I'll drop it."
He thinks back to being willing to join Abby in a couple's counseling session but he figured that was because the focus wouldn't entirely be on him. Abby would be the identified patient, not him. This is different. This wouldn't be solely focusing on his infidelity, it'll be focusing on more, on things he doesn't know if he's ready to address just yet. He hears a hiccup which draws his gaze away from his phone and up to Erin who is now smiling at the source of the hiccup and he's reminded once again of a reason, of a purpose, of why he should go ahead with therapy. If it benefits him, it benefits Emma. To heal parts of him would contribute to ensure it doesn't negatively affect his daughter. He rises to his feel and smiles before giving Erin a nod before suddenly remembering that she is looking at Emma, not at him, "I'll do it."
"I'm really happy to hear that," Erin whispers and smiles once Emma lets out another hiccup, "and apparently she is happy to hear that too." Jay moves to the side of the bed, peering down to watch his little girl drool over her closed fist. Her eyes remain so alert that Jay couldn't help but to take his partially charged phone and capture a photo. He gives it no thought for he knows if he over thinks it, he won't go through with it and he sends the picture off to his dad and brother, introducing them to the newest member of the Halstead family, and when he gets an immediate reply from his brother, pointing out how the eyes of his favorite girl are the exact replica of the eyes of their mother, he nearly loses his breath. He remembers Erin pointing out Emma having his eyes, but he has the eyes of his mother and for that trait to be passed down to her from him and her grandmother provides something extra that truly cements Emma in the Halstead family.
Erin watches him watch the baby, a longing look fills his gaze and she knows what that means without him having to ask, "Do you want to hold her?"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
Carefully transferring the baby from her arms to his is made to be a bit more complicated than it needed to be because both of them continue to hold and care for her as if she's a porcelain doll.
"Hi my little love," he coos, pressing the softest of kisses against the corner of her mouth.
With her arms now being free, Erin reaches for her own phone for the first time since Emma's arrival. She turns up the volume and suddenly turns it back down when notification after notification chimes. She waits for it to finish, noticing the many congratulations sent to her from coworkers, family and friends before selecting Kim's name to respond to her first. Skimming her message to read that Kim wants to visit again and finally hold the baby. She gives her friend the approval and adds a request to bring outside food. She doesn't want hospital food. For all the money her insurance pays for her stay here, you would think their food would be five-star material. Erin raises her phone and zooms in to keep as much of Jay out of the picture as possible for capturing the photo and sending it off to Julia, whose contact she now had after they eventually swapped numbers through social media direct messenger. She sends the picture to her parents and Kim next and then clicks off her phone, setting it aside to focus back on her baby.
Erin knows her mother captured a plethora of pictures throughout her delivery, none of which she's seen yet because she was preoccupied with giving birth but now that she has a clarity of mind Erin makes a mental note to check them and remind her mother none of the pictures taken should be posted to social media or sent around. The only thing Erin will approve of for those pictures is to be printed and scrapbooked for memories so Emma can see just how much she put her mother through, "I think we should avoid a parade of visitors, at least until she's a few weeks old."
"I told Kim she could come visit. She's probably already on her way."
"Kim and your parents don't count but no one else outside of them."
"I can't argue with that," Erin makes a mental note that he doesn't argue for Abby to visit which she doesn't mind at all. If Abby never meets Emma, she'd be perfectly happy with that.
Emma, soon enough, finds herself asleep again and Jay settles her carefully into the hospital bassinet. His hands felt restless now that they were empty and instead of tucking them into his pockets like he originally wanted to, he decides to distract himself with his phone. Jay bites his lip, sends off an apology to Abby without even bothering to read majority of her messages before following up with attaching the photo of Emma that he'd sent to his dad and brother earlier. Once he sends off the message, he silences his phone and puts it back on the charger, choosing instead to be present and not get caught up in the potential mess Abby may stir. He looks over to see Erin sleeping, curled on her side with her hands tucked under her head. She had the right idea, sleep while the baby is sleeping, and with that in mind, he lies down on the couch, using his sweatshirt as a pillow, allowing the exhaustion from the last day to sweep over him. He wakes up, in what he thinks is half an hour when he hears Erin's voice, "Wash your hands," she requests, pointing towards the restroom, "and then after you dry them, put some hand sanitizer on your hands."
"Oh, you're going to be one of those parents," Kim joked, heading on over to the bathroom to do just as ordered, "oh and your mom is back too. She's in the hall talking and updating your dad."
"I thought you guys were going to bring us some food that wasn't made in the hospital."
"We did," Kim dries her hands on a paper towel and then disposes of it in the trashcan, "your mom has it and now that I think about it, it probably would have been better if I had taken it from her."
"…you think?" Erin rolls her eyes.
Jay wipes the sleep from his eyes and sits up, planting his feet on the floor as he reminds himself of the events in the last hour. He grabs an unopened bottle of water and gulps down half of it, allowing its contents to help wake him up. He stands up next, stretches his arms and back because that couch is far from comfortable and then he scans the room, spotting the baby awake in her bassinet. She's quiet. Her eyes are opened as she self-soothes with the pacifier in her mouth, earning a smile from her daddy as he watches with such amazement as if she hung the stars.
Kim pokes her head out of the bathroom, rubbing hand sanitizer around her hands to say, "On the bright side though, yesterday when I left the hospital, I went by your place, took Milo for a walk and then took him back to mine. No adjustment at all; it's like he remembers being there, he went to his favorite corner and I laid his doggy bed down and he was good. I don't mind keeping him for more than a week though. He's trained; if he wasn't then maybe it'd be a different story."
"I don't know," Erin shrugged, contemplating the thought, "I think a week is enough but we'll have to see. I really want him back as soon as possible but if I'm being realistic here, he may have to stay for an extra week. No more than two weeks though; I'm not letting you steal my dog."
"I don't want to steal your dog," Kim rubs her hands as she approaches the bassinet and peers inside, "your baby on the other hand is what you need to worry about me stealing," Kim reaches inside and gently scoops her up, "oh my gosh, she's so precious. Hi Little E, hi girl!"
Jay hovers behind them, hands outstretched ready to catch the baby in case she falls. He bites his lip and watches as Kim maneuvers the baby around to support her, "Watch her head," he couldn't help but to say, holding his breath until the back of Emma's head is securely nestled into the crook of Kim's elbow, "hold her behind too," he orders and then immediately he steps back and shuts his mouth when Erin's best friend glares daggers in his direction, "Sorry."
"It's not my first time holding a baby."
"…but it's your first time holding mine," Jay points out which makes it obviously clear to Kim what exactly is going on. It's first-time parent jitters. She's seen it plenty of times during adoption cases when parents hold their adopted infants for the first time. It's a trait and the sign of a good parent, one that protects their kid and forces themselves to see any possible danger that lurks ahead.
She gives him a pass because of that, choosing instead to focus on Emma, whose alert gaze captures every feature of Kim's face. She just wants to kiss her, gnaw on her cheeks and inhale the sweet baby smell but she holds herself back, believing it may startle the poor kid. She has years to do that and she knows eventually Emma will get used to it but for now, she gives her a break. Kim has her moment, a long one at that because apparently Camille is still out in the hallway, answering all of Hank's questions about the baby. Kim doesn't mind, she enjoys every second of it, and she does manage to get a little neck sniff in to inhale the sweet baby scent.
"Alright, I gave you plenty of time," Camille announces the second she's in the room, "now it's my turn to take the baby," she sets the bag of food down on Jay's lap and rubs her hands eagerly.
"Nope," Kim turns the baby away from her, smirking in a joking manner as she buys herself more time in saying, "the parents have a rule, you have to wash your hands and use hand sanitizer first."
Camille chanced a look in her daughter's direction and when Erin nods in agreement, she hurries on into the in-room bathroom to scrub her hands with soap and water, dry them and then push the dispenser a few times for a dollop of hand sanitizer. She rubs the chemical into her hands as she approaches Kim and the baby. And with one last peck to the cheek, Kim relinquishes her. Erin and Jay sit back, eat and watch as their baby gets the love from her mom and best friend that she deserves. It's how they spend the remainder of the day, dodging texts and calls and being present in the moment, enjoying every sound and action that their bundle of joy presents to the room. And by the time their baby girl is officially a day old, she gets the great news that tomorrow morning she and Emma can be discharged and that day seems to come faster than yesterday, leaving her now out of the hospital bed for good, paperwork signed and handed over to the nurse to be processed and then finally sending Jay off to fetch the car.
This is it. This is the day. Emma goes home for the first time.
Erin stood fully dressed, body still slightly sore from giving birth almost two days ago. She stood facing the changed sheets and neatly made bed, the car seat situated safely in the center of the bed with her facing it. She has her hands on her hips as she stares down at the sleeping baby, strapped securely in the seat, with no obvious concerns or worries in the world. Emma is out like a light, which Erin can't blame her after their hassle with getting her dressed and then having a mini photoshoot because apparently neither of them can take enough photos of her. The little noise she makes, a soft breath through her nose as she sleeps absolutely warms her heart. Erin extends her hand towards her, caressing her knuckles with the pad of her finger until the baby mindlessly opens her fist and wraps her tiny fingers around her mom's thumb, "Kid," Erin whispered, being mindful to not wake her, "we're about to go home and it's going to be you and me. We're a team and teams work together." She uses her free hand to slide the car seat closer towards her, nearing the edge of the bed. Her eyes glisten as she stares at the physical representation of her heart being outside of her body, a sacred responsibility that was bestowed upon her, one she doesn't take for granted.
"Hey," a soft knock ripples against the door before Jay pops his head in, "I pulled the car around; it's out front. Did you sign all the paperwork to be discharged?"
Erin nods and steps to the side to allow him to grab the handle of the car seat, "Yeah, I did."
"…then let's head on out of here." He walks ahead of her. And she retakes a seat in the wheelchair, allowing the nurse that just entered her room to roll her out per hospital policy.
It's a bit intimidating, leaving the comfort of the hospital and the support of the nurses to go home and be left alone with her baby. She knows she'll have her mom and Jay but it's different. As she's pushed closer and closer towards the exit, she finds her nails digging into the arms of the wheelchair. It's something reassuring about being in a hospital, knowing that if anything were to go wrong, a nurse is simply a call away. It's different when she's miles away, at home alone, with a newborn. Her mom is only staying for a week and she has no idea how often Jay plans to visit or how he intends to balance work, parenting and his homelife, which means that there will be plenty of time Erin will be home alone with her baby. And with that reminder, the fears start to simmer beneath the surface: what if something goes wrong, what if her baby stops breathing in the middle of the night, what if she refuses to latch on, what if she can't figure out what her baby needs when she cries, or what if she accidentally hurts her? She's terrified.
Erin feels the nurse tap her shoulder, grounding her back to her present reality after the wheels of the chair are locked. She's helped up and the nurse doesn't bother waiting around before heading back inside. Erin moves to stand beside Jay, assisting him in connecting the car seat to its base, securing it with the latch and the seatbelts and giving it multiple tugs to ensure it doesn't budge.
"Did you want to ride in the back or do you want me to ride back there?"
She stares at her baby sleeping, a pacifier now in her mouth after Jay pulls one out of the diaper bag. She looks up at him, noticing the look of patience and understanding that crosses his face; he's not going to rush her, he knows she's processing all of this, "I'll ride in the back." He shuts the door softly to ensure it doesn't startle the baby awake and Erin, not wanting to leave the baby in the backseat by herself for too long, rushes around to hop inside, sliding to the middle seat to buckle herself in. Her eyes gaze to the baby, staring at her soft expression as she dreams of angels.
"Did you want to swing by and grab some food on our way to your place?"
She drags her gaze from her baby and up to the rearview mirror to catch his stare, "Um," she blinks, "no my mom packed my fridge up and I actually have a taste for a homecooked meal."
He starts the car, "Say no more," and he pulls off.
Her gaze remains on the rearview mirror, watching him as his gaze averts around, checking his mirrors, observing road signs and abiding by traffic laws, driving a bit more careful than usual and when he senses her stare, the moment he's at a red light, he looks up into the rearview mirror to catch her gaze, brows furrowing in concern, "You're thinking really loud, what's wrong?"
"…after we get back to my place, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
He nods as it all registers for him from her withdrawn body language and dazed off expression, "I was actually hoping I could stay for a while, at least until you and your mom are ready to settle down for the night. That's of course if you don't mind…"
"I don't," she says a bit too quickly and eagerly for her liking, "mind that is. I don't mind."
He continues to hold her gaze and smiles, "good." And the only reason he breaks eye contact with her is due to the car behind him honking his horn to alert him to the red light changing; and the only reason she breaks eye contact with him is to tend to the baby whose pacifier fell out of her mouth when the horn startled her out of her sleep.