Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

fifty one

"Guys, Carina is coming to pick us up in ten minutes and we do not have pants on! Why do we not have pants on? Pants are so cool, remember?"

Mallie laughed as she opened the front door after her ten k run that morning, grinning when she saw three pants-less three year olds running around the living room while Amelia chased after them with said pants.

"Mamí!" Scout shrieked, spotting Mallie and running over to her.

"Hi," Mallie laughed, bending down to kiss his forehead. "Mamí's all sweaty, so no cuddles, yet. Put your pants on for mama, alright? All of you," Mallie said, looking at Myles and Pru with a grin.

"Okay, mamí," Myles sighed.

"Okay," Pru sighed, the two of them letting Amelia catch them and scoop them up into her arms.

They giggled as Amelia pecked their faces with kisses, Scout running over for some of his own while Mallie quickly headed upstairs.

She got a shower, leaving her hair due to the braids Amelia had put in it the night before, and got dressed in her uniform for the station, heading back downstairs to say goodbye to the kids and Amelia before they headed to the hospital for daycare.

"Shoes!" Amelia said, motioning for the kids to grab their shoes while she packed her bag.

"C'mon, I'll watch," Mallie said, sitting on the floor.

The kids brought their shoes over and sat down.

"Okay, right foot, first," Mallie said.

They all put their right shoes on their right foot, tugging the velcro straps over tight enough for their liking.

"Good job! Left foot," Mallie said.

They did the same with their left foot, the three of them grinning up at Mallie.

"We did it, mamí," Myles said.

"You did! I'm so proud of my babies!" Mallie said, tugging them into her for a hug.

She fell backwards onto the floor with the force of them practically leaping at her for the hug, the four of them laughing as Amelia watched with raised eyebrows.

"This is adorable, but if you mess their hairs up after I-" Amelia started.

"They're all perfecto, mi vida. Don't worry," Mallie said, getting to her feet and setting the kids onto theirs. "Go and grab your jackets," she added.

She walked over to Amelia, wrapping her into a hug and kissing her.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," Amelia smiled up at her. "Nice run?" she said.

"Very good," Mallie said.

"Any idea what you're gonna do today about Maya?" Amelia asked quietly.

"No idea at all. I, like... How have things fallen apart so much in six months? Things were finally looking up. We got Pru, and then Maya blackmails the chief and Jack disappears and Bailey quits at the hospital and makes Mer chief and now she and Nick broke up and I just don't get how things went from, like, almost great to, well, fucked," Mallie said.

"Me either," Amelia sighed, resting her head against Mallie's chest. "But you've got me, and I've got you, and we've got the kids. We're okay, and we'll help everyone else be okay, too. Maya is... Well, she's your best friend and you get her moods more than probably anyone, including Carina, and the same with Jack. Bailey is fine, she takes the kids for us and is enjoying spending time with little people, and Mer is... Mer is Mer. We're gonna figure this out. We just need a bit more time to understand the complexity of these situations," she said.