Larry finishes his plate shortly after her and leans back into the cushions in satisfaction. Katie kicks her feet and screeches loudly, trying to get their attention. He looks over at her and laughs quietly. “Guess we should take you out now.” Larry grabs their plates and sets them aside before unbuckling her from the chair and lifting her out of it. She grabs for him eagerly and he drops onto the couch.
He looks over at Ally and then down to Katie. “Tell mommy to come snuggle you.” He says softly as he bounces her in his lap, much to her delight. She clasps her hands together in fascination, distracted by the mere idea of her fingers. He laughs and kisses he top of her head, his attention moving back to the movie in front of him.
The blonde looks over at the two of them and allows a warm smile to splay her lips, before she leans over and nuzzles Katie’s neck gently with the tip of her nose. “Such a happy little girl.” She murmurs softly, her eyes falling closed as she lets out a soft, c o n t e n t e d, sigh. “Mommy’s glad you’re felling better, pretty girl.” With a grunt, she then leans back against the arm of the couch, before standing to take their plates to the sink with a soft clearing of her throat.
To busy herself, the blonde rinses each plate off before hand drying them as she c h e w s at the inside of her cheek, her thoughts swiftly getting the better of her. After she’d thoroughly dried each plate, fork, and spoon, Ally walks back over to the couch and drops down onto it with a heavy sigh; her eyes falling closed without much restraint from her.
Larry grins over at her and leans toward Katie to give her a spoonful of soup. She accepts it willingly and upon tasting the flavorful substance, she tries to grab the spoon, but Larry is too quick for her. “So, I’d say that’s a success.” He smiles and gives her another spoonful, which she takes greedily. “Do you like that, sweetie?” He laughs when she reaches for the bowl and he pulls it just out of her reach.
“I think she likes it.” Once Katie had finished her entire bowl of soup, he gives her a few noodles to occupy herself with and starts on his own meal. Larry takes a few bites of his chicken and chews it slowly with a satisfied groan. “Mhm. That was long overdue.” As the movie plays in the background, he looks at Ally and smiles. “Chinese was a good choice, huh?” He rinses the chicken down with a few gulps of water and his stomach grumbles with delight.
Katie’s clearly expressed approval, makes her smile as she continues to take various bites of her food. It was nice to see the little one responding so well to a change up of food. It gave her variety which was always better than being stuck with one thing for too long. “Perhaps my l o v e for all things Chinese food has been passed on to her, which is fantastic.” Ally states with a soft chuckle after she’d washed down her food with a swig of her water.
“Mhm, Chinese is always a good choice.” She murmurs, just before bringing another forkful of food to her mouth. Absently, she glances up at the movie and gets sucked in, while chewing her food down with a soft a p p r o v i n g hum. Soon enough silence befalls them, with the occasional gleeful sound being emitted by the little girl, which makes her smile broadly. When she’d finally cleared her plate, Ally bites her lower lip, before leaning back against the couch and reveling in the full sensation she felt.
He lifts his daughter into his arms and kisses her repeatedly on the cheeks, which earns him ecstatic squeals and giggles. He gives her one last kiss and sets her into the high chair before buckling her in and going over to put the movie into the player.
“Don’t tell the boys, but secretly, she’s my favorite.” Larry jests with a mischievous smile. He brings their plates over to the couch and sets them onto the coffee table. “Just kidding.” Making one last trip to the kitchen, he grabs a spoon for each of them, and a fork for himself and Ally. He pours the soup into two bowls for them, and a smaller bowl for Katie.
“I knew it.” She responds with a soft snort, before setting their bottled waters down near their respective plates. With a yawn, she then drops down onto the couch and looks over at Katie with a loving gaze. “She’s a cutie, so I can definitely u n d e r s t a n d.” With a faint smile, she shifts forward onto the couch so that she could reach her plate, before rubbing absently at her eyes with the heels of her palms.
The food smelled f a n t a s t i c. It made her wonder how she’d gone so long without having eaten in the first place – then again, Chinese food was the gateway to her heart. Anyone who knew Ally well enough knew her love for the ethnic cuisine. “… ugh, I’m starving –” she murmurs, before lifting her fork and taking a bite quickly as the taste instantly make her grunt lightly, sheer approval wafting off of her.
“Mhm. She’s travel sized.” He grins down at her as she yawns softly and looks curiously around the room. Doorbell rings and Larry lifts himself from the sofa. He grabs his wallet from the table near the door and he pulls out fifty dollars which was plenty to cover their meal with a sizable tip.
He opens the door and smiles at the delivery boy. They exchange food and money and he carries the food into the kitchen to start dishing it out. Once he has his and Ally’s plates proportioned with enough food, he takes the high chair over to the couch and looks down at Katie. Her sapphire eyes light up and she reaches skyward toward her father. “Look how cute.”
“Very adorable.” She says with a low chuckle, before gradually pushing herself into an upright position and looks over at Katie with a loving expression. “You hungry, baby girl?” Ally then s t r e c h e s her limbs slightly, before shifting slightly against the cushion of the couch so that it could rub along her back with just enough pressure behind it.
When she sees Katie’s arms still raised upwards to him, the blonde smiles and finally stands from the couch to grab them each a bottle of water to go with their food. Seeing him with their children had always m e l t e d her heart, even in the darkest times of their marriage, much like it was right at the moment… which is why if their relationship went any further south than it already was, and they ended up being separated – she would do anything to make sure that the custody of their kids was fair and just. “I really hope she likes the soup. It a lot different from what she’s used to.“
“Yeah there hasn’t exactly been time to sit and do leisurely activities. Too bad it took the both of us being sick for us to actually sit and relax.” Larry muses as he rests his head genially against the couch cushions. “Yeah, but when she starts talking, we won’t be able to get her to stop.” He laughs to himself and glances over at Katie as she giggles happily in her swing.
Larry shakes his head. “No worries, sweetheart. You’ll be lucky if I’m awake long enough for the food to get here.” Though his fever went down, he still felt exhausted and drained in a way that only a fever can accomplish. That was the worst part about any illness, in his opinion. A head cold, he can handle. But a fever takes everything out of him and he’s lucky if he can move for days on afterward.
“Very true.” The blonde responds simply, before shifting to fold her legs up underneath her for added comfort. At his statement, Ally looks over at Katie and smiles warmly, a soft chuckle falling from her at the thought. “I just w a n t her to stay this size for forever.” She muses, before resting her cheek back down against the arm of the couch, a soft yawn coming from her in the process.
Ally only slightly tilts her head, just enough to be able to look over at him. “Well, then the goal is to not fall asleep before the food gets here.” She states just seconds later, before feeling her eyes fall closed as she remains bunched up against the couch. Usually, she was able to b o u n c e back from sicknesses, especially since Julian and Matthew had started school. The first couple weeks after summer break, she’d be damned if they didn’t spend most of the month sick anyway. Though something about this sickness, was just exhausting
“Back to the Future it is.” Larry says soberly. He stays seated and settles himself into the cushions to a more comfortable position. At her comment, he nods his agreement and looks down at their daughter. “Yeah, poor thing must have been extremely uncomfortable. I would have been wailing, too, if I couldn’t reach the itchy spots. I’m glad she’s feeling better.”
Katie stares happily around the room as the swing rocks her back and forth. It was by far her favorite piece of equipment her parents had provided her with, second only to being held and swayed by one of them. But this way, she could see both of them and still enjoy the soothing ministrations of the device. He remembers fondly that it was a favorite of Julian’s and Matthew’s as well.
“I haven’t watched that in a while –” Ally muses, before following his gaze towards their youngest child with an a m u s e d expression as Katie rocks back and forth with sheer amazement glistening in her eyes. “… yeah, plus it’s not like she could tell us what she was feeling – poor thing.” Subconsciously, the blondes lips tug downwards into a slight pout, her eyes never leaving the little girl.
After a moment or two, she lifts her head just enough to look over at Larry. “Just a warning though – I may very well pass out while we’re watching the movie… don’t know about y o u, but it feels like I haven’t slept in a decade, even though we know that’s clearly not the case.” She states softly, before letting out soft sigh as she cards her fingers lightly through her hair.
Larry nods as he watches her set the infant into her favorite contraption. “Yeah. They said they’d be about twenty minutes.” He nods and goes to sit on the couch. Larry isn’t sure how to deal with this situation. On one hand, he wants her to forgive him and for them be in the place they were before she left for Seattle. But on the other, he understood exactly how she felt and he couldn’t fault her for that.
He watches Katie as she smiles and stares happily around the room. He chuckles softly as her eyes follow the hinge of the swing. Larry leans into the cushions and looks over at his wife. “So, what movie did you want to watch?” He asks quietly, his eyes heavy and his hair unkept from their day of sleep.
“Sounds about right.” The blonde states, before moving to drop down onto the couch next to the swing. With a sigh, Ally simply stares up at the ceiling as she chews at the inside of her cheek, before looking over at Larry at the question. “… uh – I really don’t have a preference to be honest.” She then shifts so that the cushions of the couch would meld to her frame, before resting her cheek down against the arm next to her. “You pick something, I’ll be fine with whatever you decide.”
As she sits there, the blonde shivers slightly and scrunches her face slightly, before letting her eyes fall closed absently – though she was certain that she wasn’t tired after having spent the majority of the past couple of days s l e e p i n g. “I’m so glad she’s not crying anymore … all that crying broke my heart.” The blonde murmurs softly to herself, before glancing over at him.
Larry takes his temperature and notes that it’s only slightly higher than Ally’s. He puts the thermometer away and follows her into the bedroom with his fingers tapping against his abdomen. “Alright. I’m gonna go order some food and then we can watch a movie or something if you’re up for it.” He suggest hesitantly. He’s not sure how much more time she can take spending with him for the day, but he also doesn’t want completely close himself off.
He sits on the edge of the bed and brushes Katie’s hair off her forehead as he leans down to kiss her nose. Her face scrunches and she giggles softly. Larry stands from the bed and jogs down the stairs to grab the menu of the Chinese restaurant. He calls and orders the desired foods before hanging up and leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Oh okay,” she responds soon after, before letting out a soft yawn just as she hears Katie’s laughter, a soft smile splaying her lips in the process. It was kind of obvious that he was hesitantly making suggestions, which she couldn’t exactly b l a m e him – when she was in his shoes, everything she said and or did was with a great deal of h e s i t a t i o n. The blonde lets out a sigh as she lets the infant play with her hair for a few minutes, her mind traveling elsewhere.
Once Katie started wiggling from boredom, she lets out a soft laugh, before standing from the bed to head downstairs. She was able to be civil when it came to the general health and happiness of their kids, and even when they were in need of being taken care of thanks to the sickness they had. But it was only a matter of time before all that was l e f t was for her mind to drift towards her severely hurt feelings. After all, that could only be avoided for so long. “Did you find the menu?” She inquires, before setting Katie down in her swing.
When the thermometer alerts them that it’s job is complete, he looks at the readout and leans down to give Katie a kiss on the cheek. “Ninety-eight point eight.” He says triumphantly. “Looks like she’s on her way to getting back to normal.” Larry inspects her skin and sees the faint outlines of where the red dots once were and he rubs her back with a smile. “She seems like she feels better, too.”
Larry holds the thermometer up to Ally. “Your turn.” He slips it beneath her tongue and waits for it to beep at him. When it does, he reads the screen. “Hundred degrees. Not bad but still better than what it was. You feeling alright?” He tries to push away the thought of Ally trying to distance herself from him. This was his fault and he had to deal with the fallout. What did he expect after he told her he slept with his ex? He has to remember, however, that this alternative was better than divorce.
“That’s excellent, she definitely appears to be feeling better.” Ally states softly, before nuzzling Katie’s cheek gently. Upon having the thermometer put into her own mouth, the blonde scrunches her face slightly, before looking up at him at his question. “I feel better than I did – but I also still feel like death.” She was g r a t e f u l for the fact that her temperature had gone down since she’d last had it taken. It meant that she was just one step closer to getting over whole thing – next she just hoped that the itching cleared up quickly.
Seconds after the thermometer had been removed from her mouth, she motions towards him, and clears her throat. “Your turn.” Ally states, before carrying Katie out of the bathroom as she kisses the little girls temple. “Mommy’s glad you’re feeling better, sweetheart.” With a soft grunt, she sits down onto the bed while kissing the crown of Katie’s head as she glances in Larry’s direction. Just a few weeks ago, she didn’t think it was possible to feel that there could be anymore d i s t a n c e between them, and it sucked to know that she was indeed wrong.
Larry listens to her intently and leans toward the sink to wash his hands once she stops herself from saying anymore. He’s not a vain person. But he knows what he looks like and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t find it amusing when Ally became flustered because of him. And it’s not like he tries to seduce women with his charm and good looks. But with Jamie there’s history and he’s sure she never truly got over him. The fact that she’s still single is prof of that. “Well you’ve been doing a good job of resisting so far.” He dries his hands on the hand towel and looks down at her briefly before going into the bedroom and grabbing his t-shirt from the bed.
Slipping it on over his head, he leaves the room to go retrieve their daughter. Upon entering, he sees her wiggling restlessly in the crib and he lifts her into his arms. Larry takes her to their bathroom and smiles as he hands her off to Ally. “Let’s take her temperature real quick. She doesn’t feel warm, but just in case.” He slips the thermometer under her tongue and kisses her nose. He was trying to distract from the fact that Ally’s words had actually hurt him. He knows he fucked up, but it didn’t take away from the fact that she didn’t particularly want to be around him at the moment and the kiss she gave him was filled with regret.
“I guess,” she murmurs low, before glancing over at him when he moves to wash the ointment off his hands. Where Jamie was concerned, she knew there was e v i d e n t history there, after all there had to be for a child to come about. That fact, however, didn’t keep Ally’s skin from crawling at the thought of her pining over her husband. When he walks out of the bathroom, the blonde lets out a hefty sigh, before also moving to run her hands under the water as she chews absently at her lower lip this time. She could tell that she’d once again said too much without actually intending to, and whether or not what she meant was what came across, she couldn’t be quite sure.
Without any thought to it, she takes Katie into her arms when he offers the bundle over to her, and kisses her cheek lightly. “Good idea – always good to be on the safe side.” She murmurs, before feeling the infant w i g g l e about once the thermometer that was currently being placed into her mouth. While they were waiting on the readout, she steals yet another glance over at Larry, before coming to the rather o b v i o u s conclusion that he was trying to avoid his thoughts from resting on him all that much. At the moment, she couldn’t feel regret over having kissed her h u s b a n d, but she did feel as if his lips were different from when they’d shared in such moments before she had gone to Seattle – despite the fact that he was the same person, it just felt different.
