Chapter Text
“Hey babe?”
Matt looked up from the pile of paperwork in front of him as Sylvie leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest. “What’s up?”
“Do you have any plans this weekend?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” He laughed. “I’m guessing that’s about to change, though.”
“How would you like to spend it with the cutest girl in the world?”
Matt grinned. “I already spend every day with you, Sylvie.”
“Wow, smooth.” Sylvie laughed. “But this girl is younger. Looks a lot like me, though.”
“You want to go see Amelia?”
Since they’d gotten together, they went to visit Amelia and Scott at least once a month, sometimes more; it had taken all of five minutes for her little sister to have him completely wrapped around her finger.
It was hard to say who looked forward to those visits more; Matt or Sylvie.
“Not exactly. Scott’s got plans with some friends and his cousin that was going to babysit now can’t, so he was hoping we could keep her.”
He grinned. “Sounds like fun.”
“Great, because I already said yes.” Sylvie smiled, leaning down to kiss him in his chair. “He’s dropping her off after shift and I told him we’d bring her back Sunday night.”
“Okay.”
Ambulance 61, man down, unknown cause.
“Duty calls.” She grinned. “I’ll see you later.”
“Sylvie, you vacuumed the day before yesterday. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Kids are all over floors.” Sylvie looked over at Matt as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “Can you check the fridge? I think we’re going to need to make a trip to the store after she gets here. I think we’re out of juice and probably low on milk.”
“I’ll make a list.”
The doorbell rang, and she cut the power to the vacuum. “They’re early!”
Sylvie rushed towards the front of their townhouse and pulled the door open; as soon as it opened, Amelia ran past her inside.
“Amelia! Slow down! You didn’t even say hi to your sister!” Scott called after her. “Sorry, being cooped up in the car has her a little wired. That last half an hour of the drive was an experience.”
“It’s fine.” She watched with a smile as Amelia ran straight for Matt; he scooped her up in his arms and spun around, earning giggles from her. “She clearly has a favorite.”
“This is her backpack, it has all her favorite toys and her blanket in it, and this bag has everything else.” Scott handed Sylvie a backpack and a duffle bag. “She takes a nap, usually around noon, but she’s been in this stage where she fights that. It’s a battle of wills.”
“I think we’ll manage.” Sylvie laughed. “We’ll be fine, Scott. She’s in good hands.”
“I’m not worried.” Scott smiled. “I know she’s in the best hands. Thank you guys so much for doing this at the last minute.”
“Are you kidding? An entire weekend with this angel? It’s our pleasure. We’re going to have fun.” Matt walked towards them with Amelia in his arms. “Aren’t we, Mellie?”
He tickled her side, and she laughed. “Fun!”
“You be good for Sylvie and Matt, little lady. I love you, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
As soon as Sylvie closed the door behind Scott, she turned back to Matt and Amelia. “No hugs for your big sister?”
“‘Att.” She clung to Matt tighter; he pressed his lips together to hide a grin.
“Don’t even pretend that you don’t love how you’re obviously her favorite!” She laughed. “You’ve got a terrible poker face.”
“It’s only because I throw her up in the air and she loves it.”
“Don’t remind me.” Sylvie narrowed her eyes. “You know that makes me anxious.”
Matt ignored her comment, following behind her as she walked into the kitchen. “You were right, we’ll need to go to the store.”
“Toys?”
“Not even two and knows to ask for toys when someone says store.” Sylvie laughed.
“Toys?”
“You’ll have to ask your sister.”
Sylvie rolled her eyes; she knew Matt would say yes if it was up to him. Amelia had him wrapped around her finger.
“Toys, ‘Vie?”
She looked at Amelia’s wide blue eyes and knew she’d never be able to say no, either. “Yeah, you can get a new toy.”
Amelia squealed in excitement, reaching out for Sylvie to take her.
“And now you’re her new favorite.” Matt laughed. “Loyalty is easily won with toddlers.”
“I’m okay with bribery.” She laughed, moving Amelia around in her arms so she was on her hip. “Can you put her car seat in the car while I make a list?”
Matt smiled, leaning forward to kiss Sylvie’s cheek and then Amelia’s. “Will do.”
“We’re such pushovers.” Sylvie sighed as Matt picked up the box of fruit snacks Amelia pointed at and added them to the cart filled with snack foods.
“Oh, come on, that’s the best part about babysitting.” He laughed, grabbing a pack of pudding cups. “We can spoil her rotten and then give her back to Scott.”
“As if we won’t be pushovers with our own kids.” She mumbled, glancing down at the list on her phone. “We have a cart full of stuff and we’ve got like three things off the list.”
Matt tried to ignore the feeling that hearing Sylvie say our kids gave him, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining them chasing little kids around their home.
They’d never really discussed kids; they knew they both wanted them, but the when and how many hadn’t come up yet.
He wanted to bring it up, but it’d been less than a year; they’d only just gotten moved into their new place together two months ago.
“Are you still with us?” Sylvie laughed, touching his arm. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”
“Still with you.” He smiled. “Just got distracted for a second.”
She shot him a questioning look. “Okay, well, let’s keep going and get out of this snack aisle before she finds more stuff.”
Matt walked next to Sylvie as she pushed the cart, talking to Amelia, tickling her to get her to laugh, the smile never leaving his face as they walked through the store.
Watching Sylvie with kids never failed to amaze him. She had a natural gift with kids; he’d seen it over and over on calls, with her sister, with baby Brian Cruz.
“Toys!” Amelia squealed as they reached the toy aisle. “Toys!”
“You can pick one toy out.” Sylvie lifted her out of the cart, setting her down and grabbing her hand. “Let’s pick one out, okay?”
Matt watched her lead Amelia over to the dolls; it took all of thirty seconds for him to know they’d be leaving with more than one toy.
“Oh, look at these Princess dolls. Oh, Snow White! That’s so cute. She was my favorite.” Sylvie picked up the Snow White doll to look closer. “Who’s your favorite, Mel?”
Amelia grabbed the Belle doll. “Belle!”
“Belle is great! She’s smart and kind. You want Belle?” Sylvie asked; Amelia nodded, grabbing Snow from her hands and handing them to Matt. “Well, I guess two dolls is fine.”
“Yeah, we will not be pushovers at all.” Matt put the dolls in the carts. “Not at all.”
“It’s my right as her big sister to spoil her, okay?” Sylvie laughed. “Oh, look at that! A tea set! That’s so cute! I loved having tea parties when I was little.”
“Isn’t she a little young for that?” He asked as she picked up the box to get a better look at it.
“I mean, it’s a pretend set, so no.” She shrugged. “Oh, how cute would that be? I could have a tea party with her! I could put her in a little dress. That’d be so fun.”
By the time they made it to check out, there were two princess dolls, a tea set, a stuffed unicorn, three coloring books, a box of crayons, and a new dress for Amelia in their cart; Amelia had asked for the dolls and the unicorn. The rest had been Sylvie’s idea.
Matt kept his eyes on them as he stood in line for check out; Amelia had gotten fussy in the cart so Sylvie had her in her arms, waiting for him near the exit as she kept her sister distracted.
“Sir?” The cashier’s voice drew his attention back to the task in front of him. “Are you ready?”
“Sorry.” He nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
“I was thinking, maybe we should walk to the park down the street? After we get these groceries unpacked.” Matt suggested as they unloaded the groceries. “Let her run some of that energy off before nap time.”
Sylvie looked over at Amelia as she twirled around the living room, her new stuffed unicorn in one hand and a pack of fruit snacks in the other. “Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea.”
“I’ll finish unloading these.” Matt offered. “If you want to get her ready.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Sylvie nodded. “Hey Amelia, you want to go to the park?”
“Yeah!” She shouted. “Park!”
Sylvie changed Amelia into clothes more appropriate for playing outside, and pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail, while Matt finished unpacking the bags from the store; by the time they walked back downstairs, he was waiting by the door.
“You girls ready?”
“Ready.” Sylvie smiled, setting her down and holding her hand; as soon as they reached Matt at the door, Amelia reached up with her other hand for his.
The park was just down the street; they walked together, each of them holding one of her hands, occasionally picking her up and swinging her, taking up the whole sidewalk.
Sylvie couldn’t stop smiling. She was so happy.
Spending time with Amelia always made her happy, but spending time with her and Matt made her heart feel like it could burst at any moment she was so happy.
As the park came into view, Amelia dropped her hand, taking off in a run, dragging Matt along with her; Sylvie watched as he followed her up the stairs towards the slide, pulling her phone out to snap pictures.
“She’s adorable.” Sylvie looked over at the older woman. “How old?”
“Oh, about twenty-one months.”
“That’s a fun age.” She smiled. “I’m here with my grandson. I miss that age. They’re so much more cuddly and affectionate than at ten.”
“Yeah.” Sylvie chuckled; she remembered her brother at ten. “I can imagine.”
“Well, you have an adorable family.”
“Oh, um.” She could correct the woman, but it was a long story to tell a stranger. “Thanks.”
“It looks like your little one is trying to get your attention.”
She glanced over at the swings; as Matt pushed her, Amelia waved at Sylvie.
Sylvie excused herself from the older woman and walked over to the swings, taking a video on her phone. “Are you having fun, Mel?”
“Yes!”
Amelia was in the infant swing, and Sylvie sat down on the regular swing; Matt’s hand was on her back in an instant, pushing her forward.
To anybody else at the park, Sylvie knew they looked like a family; if she was a stranger, that would be the assumption she would undoubtedly make.
As Matt pushed them both in the swings as they all laughed, Sylvie couldn’t wait for the day when they had their own family.
If there was anybody in the world that was born to be a father, it was Matthew Casey; she knew that.
“Are you exhausted? I’m exhausted.” Sylvie remarked as she tossed herself down on the couch. “God, if a person could bottle her energy, they could make millions selling it. I’d give anything to have that kind of energy.”
“Kids are exhausting.” Matt agreed, sitting down next to her. “It’s a satisfying sort of exhaustion, though.”
They’d played at the park for almost an hour and a half, fed her lunch, and Amelia had finally slowed down enough to sit still and color.
“It is.” Sylvie leaned her head on his shoulder. “Personally, I’m glad it’s almost naptime, though.”
Amelia’s head snapped up towards them. “No nap!”
“Scott mentioned it’s a battle of wills these days.”
“It’s two of us versus one of her, surely it’s a battle we can win.” Matt laughed. “I’m pretty determined.”
“Mel, ten more minutes and then we’re going to go take a nap.”
“No nap!”
“Yes, nap.”
“No nap!”
“She’s pretty stubborn for a toddler.” Sylvie sighed. “Let’s hope we’re stronger willed than her.”
It didn’t take over ten minutes upstairs, with Amelia rolling around between them on their king sized bed, repeating her new mantra of ‘no nap’ for Matt to doubt they’d win this particular battle.
“Mellie, the sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you can get up.”
“You’re trying to use logic with a twenty-one-month old, Matt.” Sylvie sighed. “It’s not gonna work.”
After half an hour of Amelia’s fussing, he could see Sylvie’s resolve weakening.
“Up!” Amelia repeated, for what he estimated to be the hundredth time in half an hour.
“When I was a kid, I hated naps too.” Matt sat up. “Christie used to build a blanket fort in the living room and lay down with me until I fell asleep. Made it feel like it was something fun to do.”
Sylvie raised an eyebrow. “You wanna build a blanket fort?”
“Well, this clearly isn’t working.” He laughed. “Might be worth a shot.”
“Yeah, okay.” Sylvie sat up, turning her head towards Amelia. “We’re going downstairs, Mel.”
“I’ll go get some blankets from the hall closet.” Matt climbed off the bed. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
He got the supplies from the hall closet and by the time he made it downstairs, Sylvie had already pushed the coffee table out of their way.
“Let’s push these chairs over here and then we can put the blankets over them and the couch.”
“I haven’t done this since I was a kid.” Sylvie laughed as they built the blanket fort. “It’s kind of fun.”
“Let’s just hope it works.”
As soon as they finished setting up, Amelia crawled in, giggling; Sylvie followed behind her, then Matt.
“Amelia, you gotta lay down.” Sylvie patted the space between them. “We’ll play in here later, okay? I promise.”
Amelia ignored the pillow between them, resting her head on Sylvie’s stomach, propping her feet up on Matt.
Matt grinned. “Are you comfortable?”
She nodded, grabbing the sippy cup that Sylvie held out for her.
“Close your eyes, sweetie.” Sylvie whispered.
He kept his eyes on Sylvie as she softly sang a lullaby while running her fingers through her sister’s blonde hair, a smile on his face.
It didn’t take long for Amelia to stop resisting and close her eyes; Sylvie kept singing until her breathing leveled out, then sighed.
“Finally.” Sylvie whispered. “This was a great idea.”
Matt smiled, reaching over to grab her hand, linking their fingers together. “You’re so good with her.”
“So are you.” She squeezed his hand. “She adores you.”
“I think we’re going to make pretty great parents one day.”
The smile slipped from Sylvie’s face for a second before she plastered it back on. “Yeah, one day.”
He wanted to ask about her reaction, but it didn’t feel like a conversation they should have while whispering next to a sleeping toddler.
“We should try to get some sleep while she does.” Sylvie whispered. “I’m exhausted.”
The sound of laughter carried from the living room into the kitchen as Sylvie stood at the counter, watching as Matt chased Amelia around, threatening to tickle her, both of them laughing as they ran.
She had come into the kitchen to decide on dinner, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from them.
Matt looked so much younger, happier. Carefree. It was a beautiful sight.
She had noticed him looking at her with concern a few times over the afternoon. She knew why; her reaction to him saying they’d make great parents one day.
It’s not like she wanted a baby now, but not knowing what he meant by one day bothered her. One day, a year from now? Two years from now? Five?
Sylvie planned to bring it up, but not while they had Amelia; she required their full attention.
“‘Vie!” Amelia shrieked, running through the kitchen, grabbing Sylvie’s leg to hide behind. “He the tickle monster!”
“Oh, no!” Sylvie gasped, bending down to her level. “I bet if we work together we can take him down. We’ll get him!”
“Get you, ‘Att.” Amelia giggled.
“You heard her.” Sylvie grinned at Matt. “Better run.”
The girls chased Matt all over the living room before he dramatically collapsed on the couch, throwing his arms up. “Okay, I accept defeat!”
“Let’s tickle him!” Sylvie knew for a fact Matt wasn’t ticklish, but he played it up, laughing as they tickled his sides.
Matt’s arm snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him, until she rested her head on his shoulder, and he pulled Amelia onto his lap.
“How about we order some food and then instead of cooking, we watch a movie?” He suggested, dropping a kiss on the top of Sylvie’s head.
“Frozen!”
“We already watched Frozen this afternoon, Mellie.”
“Frozen!” Amelia repeated.
“Put Frozen 2 on.” Sylvie chuckled. “I’ll order some pizza.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She had forgotten her phone upstairs, so she went up to their bedroom to order their dinner. By the time she made her way back down the stairs, she could hear the music from Frozen 2 playing.
Sylvie paused by the stairway, taking in the sight in their living room; Matt had Amelia in his arms as they danced around. She was laughing, and he was grinning at her.
She pulled her phone out to film them, watching them with a smile.
As soon as Amelia spotted her, she waved towards her. “‘Vie! Dance!”
Matt turned his smile towards her. “Yeah, ‘Vie , dance with us.”
“Well, you don’t have to ask me twice.” Sylvie sat her phone down on the coffee table.
He put his hand out for her, pulling her close as soon as she took it, as close as she could be with Amelia in his other arm between them.
As the Frozen cast sang about how some things never change, they danced around the living room; Sylvie knew some things never changed, like she knew the happiness and love she felt in that moment would never change.
Between his time with the Darden boys and Louie, Matt knew two things about taking care of kids; it was extremely fulfilling, and it was extremely exhausting.
It had been a wonderful, tiring day, and he was happy it was winding down.
They’d bathed Amelia, although they’d both gotten soaked in the process, and, by his estimate, half the water that had been in the bathtub was now on the bathroom floor he was mopping up.
“Mel, no!” Sylvie exclaimed. “Come back here!”
Matt turned towards the bedroom to see what was happening just in time to see Amelia running towards him, in nothing but a diaper as Sylvie chased behind her with a onesie in her arms.
“Oh no you don’t.” Matt scooped her up before she could reach the still wet section of the bathroom. “What do you think you’re doing, little lady?”
Amelia giggled as he tickled her side. “More bath!”
“No more bath.” Matt chuckled. “Bed time.”
“Bath.” She pouted, resting her head on his shoulder.
Sylvie paused in the doorway, raising an eyebrow at him, arms crossed over her chest.
“Bed time.” He insisted. “Let Sylvie get you dressed, Mellie.”
Amelia continued to pout, but went to Sylvie when she reached out for her.
“Thought for a second you were about to cave.”
“I’m too tired to cave.” He laughed. “I’m almost finished here, I’ll be there in a minute.”
It took another fifteen minutes to get Amelia into bed, but her breathing leveled out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow between them.
“I was expecting more of a battle.” Matt whispered.
“Me too.” Sylvie replied in the same hushed tone. “I’m so tired, but you know what sounds amazing? A glass of wine.”
“Want to slip downstairs for a glass?”
“If you aren’t too tired to join me?”
They both quietly slipped out of the bed, stacking up pillows along the side so Amelia wouldn’t roll off, and then tiptoed out of the bedroom.
“Red, white, or Rosé?”
“Red, thank you.” Sylvie sighed as she sat down on the couch. “How is it only eight? Feels like midnight.”
Matt laughed as he grabbed a bottle of Sylvie’s favorite red wine and popped it open. “Anybody that’s ever said taking care of kids is easy isn’t doing it right.”
“Amen to that.” She laughed. “Stay at home parents don’t get nearly enough credit.”
“They really don’t.” He agreed, handing her a wine glass before sitting down next to her.
“Thanks.” Sylvie took a sip of the wine before leaning her head against the back of the couch, turning it to face him. “As exhausted as I am right now, which I feel like I’ve worked a double of non-stop calls, I’m gonna be sad to give her back to Scott. Think he’d mind if we just kept her?”
“I think that’s technically called kidnapping, and you had your chance to keep her.” Matt laughed, but stopped abruptly. “Sorry, that was a bad joke.”
“No, you’re right. And I’m so glad things worked out the way they did. Scott’s a great dad and she’s happy.” Sylvie smiled. “Still, sometimes I wonder. What if I had kept her? Would we even still be where we are right now?”
“In this exact place? Probably not.” He took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. “But I’d still be right by your side. I meant what I said that day, I would’ve been right there, whatever you had decided.”
“I know you would’ve been.” She leaned over, kissing him quickly. “But who knows? We might never have gotten together if I was raising a kid.”
“Sylvie, I’d have probably offered to move in together and raise her with you. The idea crossed my mind.” He admitted with a chuckle. “We were inevitable. The how and the when might have been different, but us? That would’ve happened, either way.”
Sylvie smiled, reaching up to brush her fingers through his hair. “You thought about that?”
“I’ve been thinking about a family with you since before Amelia came around, Sylvie.” He could remember the exact moment he first imagined it; it had taken him by surprise, but he’d never been able to get the idea out of his head since. “But everything worked out exactly as it was meant to. She has her father, and one day, we’ll have our own family.”
“Right.” Sylvie finished her wine and stood up to refill her glass. “One day.”
Matt turned his head to watch her walk into the kitchen, eyebrows furrowed in concern at her reaction.
“Okay, talk to me, Sylvie. Both times I’ve said the words ‘ one day ’, you’ve gotten very weird.” Matt stood up, following her into the kitchen. “That is what you want too, isn’t it? A family of our own.”
“Oh, yes, Matt. Of course that’s what I want. Please get that worried look off your face.” She reached up, running her fingers over his furrowed brows. “If I’ve acted weird about it, it’s because I don’t know what you mean by one day, and I didn’t want to be asking questions about when you want kids when we’ve been together less than a year.”
Matt relaxed at her words and her touch.
“I just admitted to the fact I’ve been thinking about a family with you for years, Sylvie. You can’t scare me off.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. “I hope you realize by now you’re stuck with me for the rest of our lives.”
Sylvie laughed against his chest. “Good, cause you’re stuck with me too.”
“I’ve wanted to bring it up, too, but I didn’t want you to feel pressured. It’s no secret to anybody that I’ve wanted a family for years. I just didn’t want to ask questions and make you think I’m rushing you. I’m happy to wait as long as you want, until you’re ready.”
“I know you’d never pressure me.” Sylvie grabbed his hand, leading him back to the couch. “I know I have time, but I want at least a couple of kids, and I know I don’t want to be pregnant in my forties. Too many risks, and after what happened with Julie… so no, I’m not going to wait that long. But I want to enjoy us for a while.”
“I agree.” Matt smiled. “But when you’re ready, I’m ready.”
“Let’s enjoy us for now, and maybe we revisit this in a year?” Sylvie suggested. “And until then, we can always go see Amelia whenever we want a baby fix.”
“Yeah, we’ll see how we feel about it in a year.” He would happily wait as long as Sylvie wanted, as long as he knew it was in their future. “And I’m sure Chloe and Joe would be thrilled to let us watch Brian whenever we wanted.”
“Very true.” Sylvie laughed. “We could probably use the practice. We’ve got lots of experience with toddlers and older kids. But babies? That’s a whole distinct skill set. If we ever wanted true chaos, we could watch them both at the same time.”
Matt grinned. “Bring it on.”
Before Sylvie even opened her eyes, she reached her hand out, expecting to find her sister next to her; when she felt nothing but sheet, she opened her eyes.
The bed was empty. No sign of Matt or Amelia.
“Matt? Amelia?” Sylvie called out.
When she got no response, she assumed they had to be downstairs already; Sylvie climbed off the bed, grabbing Matt’s hoodie off the chair in the corner and pulling it on over her pajama shirt before climbing down the stairs.
“Here, you can help me.” Matt’s voice was soft, and she stopped in her tracks as he picked Amelia up and sat her on the kitchen counter. “We’re making breakfast for your sister.”
His back was to her, but Sylvie could tell he was showing Amelia how to stir something in a bowl; by the smell and the sound, she knew there was bacon on the stove.
“Yeah, exactly like that.” She didn’t have to see him to know there would be a smile on his face; she could hear it in his voice. “Good job, Mellie!”
Sylvie knew she should announce herself, but she didn’t want to interrupt their sweet interaction; she quietly sat down on the bottom step, watching them with a smile on her face.
“Cake?”
“No, pancakes .” He chuckled, kissing Amelia’s cheek. “They’re Sylvie’s favorite and we’re surprising her with breakfast.”
“‘Vie is sleeping.”
“Well, yes. We’ll have to wake her up when breakfast is ready.”
She saw two options; announce her presence and ruin his surprise, or sneak back upstairs and pretend to still be asleep.
She might be a terrible liar, but she could pretend to be asleep and play along; she stood up; making her way back up the stairs as quietly as possible.
Sylvie pulled the hoodie off, tossing it back on the chair and crawling back into bed; she killed time on her phone until she heard footsteps on the stairs, then she tossed her phone down in a hurry, closing her eyes.
“‘Vie!” Amelia squealed; Sylvie opened her eyes just in time to see her climbing up on the bed and throwing herself down next to her. “Pancakes!”
“Pancakes?” She tried to make her voice sound sleepy. “You want pancakes for breakfast?”
“‘Att made pancakes!”
“Matt made pancakes?” She exclaimed, turning her head towards the doorway where Matt was standing. “You made breakfast?”
“With some help from Miss Mellie, of course. She’s a great little sous chef.” He walked towards the bed, scooping Amelia up into his arms, earning laughter from the toddler. “But let’s not pretend like you were asleep just now and that you’re actually surprised.”
“Busted.” Sylvie bit her lower lip to hide a grin. “How did you know?”
“I’ve slept next to you almost every night for almost a year.” Matt laughed. “Come on, let’s go have some breakfast.”
Sylvie had insisted on doing the dishes since he had cooked, which meant he was sitting on the floor of the newly rebuilt blanket fort while Amelia played with her new princess dolls they’d gotten her the day before.
Amelia’s head snapped up at the sound of the doorbell. “Daddy?”
“No, sweetie.” Although Matt had no idea who it could be; they weren’t expecting anybody. “You’ll see your dad tonight.”
“I’ll get it.” Sylvie’s voice was muffled by the blankets.
“Hey! We heard you guys had your sister. We thought we’d drop by and say hello since we were out and about.” Even muffled, Joe Cruz’s voice was recognizable.
“I hope it’s okay we dropped by unannounced? I told him we should call first. We’ve only got a few minutes before his check up, anyway.”
“No, of course it’s fine! Come on in. Matt’s in the blanket fort with Amelia.”
“Come on, Amelia. Let’s go say hi.”
She sighed, but crawled out of the fort, with Matt following behind her.
“Hey guys.” Matt greeted their guests. “Amelia, this is Joe and Chloe, and that’s baby Brian.”
Amelia looked towards the car seat. “Baby?”
“Here, I’ll take him out and you can say hi to him.” Chloe smiled at Amelia. “My goodness, she’s adorable.”
Matt sat down on the couch as Chloe lifted Brian out of his car seat. “He’s getting so big.”
“I just wish he’d get big enough to sleep through the night.” Joe laughed. “This kid’s louder than the bells going off at night.”
“Oh, before you know it, he’ll be grown and you’ll be missing these days.” Sylvie exclaimed. “Can I hold him?”
“Of course.” Chloe handed him to Sylvie, who immediately started cooing over her godson.
“‘Vie!” Matt had been watching Sylvie with Brian until Amelia’s angry voice got his attention. “Play.”
“I think somebody’s a little jealous.” He grinned, lifting Amelia up so she could see Brian in Sylvie’s arms. “Look, she’s just holding him. It’s okay. She’ll play with you in a minute, Mellie. Until then, how about you show Joe and Chloe your new toys in the fort?”
“Oh, we would love to see your new toys, Amelia.” Chloe smiled.
“Okay.” Amelia nodded, crawling back into the tent, with Joe and Chloe following her.
“Well, I think we could handle them both at the same time.” Sylvie laughed. “But I’m not sure she could.”
Matt laughed. “She’d survive.”
“I should go spend some time with her.” Sylvie smiled down at Brian, then looked up at Matt. “Want to hold him?”
“Absolutely.” Matt took him from Sylvie and sat back down on the couch, watching as she crawled into the fort.
A few seconds later, Joe came out. “That’s a little tight for three adults and a child.”
“It’s a little claustrophobic with two adults and a child.”
“How’s the babysitting going?”
“It’s been fun.” He smiled. “Amelia’s a great kid, she’s really pretty easy to watch.”
“She seems sweet. Looks so much like Sylvie, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, she does.” Matt agreed. “This little guy is all Chloe, isn’t he?”
Joe laughed. “Thankfully.”
“If you guys ever need a babysitter, you know we’d be happy to watch him.” Matt offered. “Give you two a night off.”
“I’d be happy to take you up on that.” Joe replied. “Chloe’s picky about babysitters, but I’m sure she’d be fine with you two watching him. You guys are the parent friends of 51.”
“The parent friends?”
“Sylvie’s always been the mom friend. Always takes care of everybody, organizes everything. You’re the dad friend. Fixes things, watches out for everybody.” Joe shrugged. “The parents of the group.”
“I’d never really thought about it like that.” Matt laughed.
Chloe emerged from the fort. “Joe, we have to head to his doctor’s appointment.”
“Babe, we’re a five minute drive away and his appointment isn’t for twenty minutes.” Joe laughed. “Casey was just offering to babysit if we ever want a night off.”
“God knows we could probably use a date night soon.” Chloe chuckled as Matt handed her the baby. “That’d be really great.”
“Any time, just let us know.”
“Let us know what?” Sylvie asked as she climbed out of the fort.
“Casey volunteered you two for babysitting.”
“Oh, yeah!” She smiled, leaning over to grab Brian’s foot, earning a giggle from the baby. “We’d love to. I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with that little godson of mine.”
“We’ll give you a week or so to recover from a weekend with Amelia.” Chloe laughed. “Then we’ll set something up. But we really have to get going. Sorry for just dropping by unannounced!”
Sylvie followed them towards the door. “You’re welcome anytime, of course.”
“Enjoy the rest of your visit with Amelia!” Chloe called over her shoulder as she walked down the walkway.
Joe waved. “See you guys on shift!”
Once the door was closed behind them, Sylvie turned back towards Matt. “So, I’m thinking we should take her to the park again, then maybe grab lunch? We’ll have to hit the road after nap time.”
“No nap!”
“Yes, we’re going to take a nap, after we go to the park.” Sylvie laughed. “But don’t worry, we can have it in the fort.”
Sylvie understood what Scott had meant about the last half hour of the drive being an experience.
Amelia had been fine for the first hour; happily bobbing her head along to the Disney playlist, clutching her stuffed unicorn.
For the past twenty minutes, she’d been whining, wiggling in her seat; her stuffed unicorn had been thrown to the floorboard, and her arms were now crossed over her chest as she pouted.
“We’re almost home, Mel.” Sylvie turned around to look at her in the backseat.
“Fries!” Amelia pointed at the infamous golden arch. “Nuggets!”
Sylvie sighed, turning her head towards Matt. “Let’s just get her some. At least Scott won’t have to cook her dinner.”
Matt nodded, turning the blinker on to turn. “She was a perfect angel the first hour.”
“Scott said it happened on the way to Chicago too.” Sylvie turned down the volume on the music. “I think next time, we find a park to stop at halfway through to let her run around for a few minutes.”
“Agreed.”
Thankfully, the drive-thru wasn’t busy and only took a few minutes, and it was only a couple of miles to Scott’s house.
“Daddy!” Amelia shouted as they parked the car behind his SUV in the driveway.
Sylvie climbed out of the car and unbuckled Amelia from her car seat, grabbing her backpack. “Come on, let’s go see your dad.”
Her grip on Amelia’s hand is the only thing that kept Amelia from running ahead of her as they walked up the steps together, with Matt following behind with her duffle bag and her dinner.
It took less than twenty seconds for the door to swing open after Sylvie rang the doorbell, and Amelia broke free of her grasp to run towards Scott.
“There’s my girl!” Scott grinned as he scooped Amelia up into his arms. “I hope you were a good girl for Matt and Sylvie.”
“Oh, she was great.” Sylvie smiled. “We had a lot of fun.”
“How was the car ride?”
“The first hour was a breeze, but you weren’t kidding about that last half hour.” Matt laughed, wrapping his arm around Sylvie’s waist.
“Or nap time! That was a bit of a struggle.” Sylvie admitted with a laugh. “But really, she’s a wonderful kid. It was a pretty easy weekend.”
“I’m glad it went well.” Scott replied. “Thank you two so much for keeping her.”
“No thanks necessary.” Sylvie smiled. “That’s what family’s for.”
“‘Att!” Amelia grabbed his hand, clutching her unicorn in the other. “My room!”
Matt laughed, following behind Amelia as she dragged him to her room.
“She really likes him.”
“The feeling is mutual, I assure you.” She laughed. “He’s wrapped around her little finger.”
“Julie would be happy to see you so happy.” Scott remarked, then cleared his throat. “So, you two want to stay for dinner?”
“Oh, uh, we’d love to, but we should really head back. The traffic’s going to be a nightmare and we’re on shift in the morning.”
“Next time, then.”
“Absolutely.” Sylvie smiled. “I better go get him.”
Once she reached Amelia’s bedroom, she stopped to watch her sister showing Matt the new toys she’d gotten since they’d last been there a few weeks before.
“Matt, we should get going.”
“Yeah, you’re right. The traffic is going to be terrible.”
“Amelia, give Sylvie and Matt a hug. They’re going to go.”
Amelia pouted, then hugged Matt’s legs before rushing over to hug Sylvie’s legs.
“We’ll come see you in a week or two.” Sylvie leaned down to kiss her blonde hair. “I love you so much, Mel.”
They said their goodbyes and Scott stood on the porch with Amelia in his arms, waving until they were out of sight.
“I miss her already.” She laughed. “She’s so cute.”
“She is.” Matt agreed. “We can come see her soon.”
“I know.”
Sylvie pulled her phone out, scrolling through the photos from the weekend as they drove; Matt’s hand rested on her knee as a classic rock song played on a low volume in the background.
She smiled as she landed on a photo from the tea party they’d had the afternoon before; Sylvie had put Amelia in her new dress, put a dress on herself, even gotten Matt to put on a dress shirt. He’d gone along without a complaint, even posing for the picture of the three of them together.
Sylvie selected the photo as her new wallpaper before turning her head towards Matt. “I have a question.”
“Okay.” Matt laughed. “What?”
“Last night you said you’d been thinking about a family with me since before Amelia. When?”
“When?”
“Yeah, when did you first think about it?” Sylvie asked.
Matt shifted in his seat, squeezing her knee. “Remember that night of that terrible storm when the little boy was hiding out at the house?”
“Logan? Yeah, I mean, kind of hard to forget.”
“It pretty much started there, watching you with him.” Matt admitted. “You were just so good with him. You were the only one who got through to him.”
“Really?” If she sounded stunned, it’s because she was.
“I think… that night completely changed how I thought about you, honestly. You were the only person who didn’t think I was crazy for wanting to go on one of those mystery trips, and then you with Logan.” Matt took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her before focusing again on the road. “Made me think maybe we wanted the same things in life.”
Sylvie wanted to kiss him; she would have, had he not been driving.
“You never took that trip, did you?”
“No.”
“Maybe we should do that together.”
“ Carmen Sandiego it?” Matt asked with an amused grin.
“Well, I think I suggested we get a group together back then.” She laughed. “But now I think just you and me.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Sylvie focused back on the photos on her phone; most of them were of Amelia and Matt, most of which he had no clue she had taken.
As she played the short video she had taken of Matt dancing with Amelia in the living room, she glanced up at his side profile.
She waited until they were stopped at a light to say anything. “I know last night we talked about bringing up kids in a year to see how we felt about it then.”
Matt looked over at her with a grin. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Maybe we bring it up in six months instead.”