•THE SAME DAY AS THE LAST CHAPTER• Scarlett woke up crying after about 20 minutes. Amelia ran to the bed and picked up the girl, telling her she was okay and that it was just a dream. The girl laid her head on Amelia's shoulder as Amelia sat them on the couch.
"How about we go for a walk outside? It's super nice out." Amelia said, running her hand on Scarlett's back.
"No." Scarlett whined, sniffling and snuggling closer to Amelia, almost like she was clinging to her for protection, because she was.
"What if I carry you?" Amelia asked. Scarlett nodded against Amelia. She stood up with the girl in her arms.
"Blanky." Scarlett said quietly. Amelia leaned over and grabbed it from the bed, handing it to the two year old. The girl held it close to her chest, and hid her face in Amelia's hair.
Everyone watched Amelia walking through the hospital with a small child. Amelia ignored the looks and continued to the doors.
Amelia walked down the path, talking to Scarlett about all the different things that were outside. Scarlett wasn't really moving, she was scared.
"Scarlett, look at the pretty flowers!" Amelia said, kneeling down. The girl didn't budge. "I bet they smell really nice." Amelia said, tucking some of Scarlett's hair behind her ear. She sniffed the flowers and smiled at the girl. "They smell great, smell them." Amelia urged. To her surprise, Scarlett wiggled out of Amelia's arms and stood in front of the bush with the flowers, and sniffed them.
"Dey mell bootifuwl." Scarlett said, smiling and picking one off the bush. She held it out to the doctor. "Dis fowr ou." The toddler said.
"For me?" Amelia asked, pretending to be insanely surprised. Scarlett nodded. "Thank you sweetie! I'll put it in my little pocket on my shirt, then everyone can see it." Amelia said, opening the pocket so the girl could put the flower in herself.
"Ug!" Scarlett said, holding her arms out wide. Amelia smiled and hugged the toddler.
Owen was on a walk outside, and he saw his wife with the little girl. He noticed how happy she looked, and he just couldn't contain his smile. Amelia was just a natural with Scarlett. Ever since she came in that morning.
Amelia picked up Scarlett and sat on a nearby bench. Scarlett was pointing at the sky, babbling about the shapes of the clouds. Amelia was in love. The girl was so cute, and sweet. The two year old just fit perfectly in her arms, like a puzzle. She noticed Owen coming towards them.
Scarlett noticed a scary man walking towards the bench, and when he sat down next to them, she hid her face on Amelia.
Amelia looked down at Scarlett and found her eyes.
"Hey, he's not going to hurt you. See?" Amelia said, kissing Owen's cheek. She then pecked his lips. Amelia noticed how the girl's tense body relaxed. Scarlett looked up at the man, and was still a little scared. Owen held out his hand, and the couple was surprised when the girl gripped his pointer finger.
"Hi." Scarlett said shyly.
"Hi honey. My name's Owen. You see the ring on my finger?" Owen asked. Scarlett nodded. "Amelia has one too. That means we're married." Owen said, showing the girl Amelia's ring.
"Ou huband an ife?" Scarlett asked.
"Yes, we are. You're a smart little girl." Amelia complimented. Scarlett then started coughing, and since she's only two, she didn't cover it. She started to feel funny. She was uncomfortable with the feeling, so she started crying. "Oh honey, it's okay." Amelia cooed, hugging the girl.
"I don't feel good." Scarlett sobbed.
"Let's go back inside and get cozy." Amelia said, picking up the crying toddler and carrying her back to the room.
Once they got back to the room, Amelia sat on the couch with the girl on her lap, still crying. Amelia took the girl's temperature, and she had a fever. Her cheeks were flushed.
"Do you wanna take a warm bath?" Amelia asked her.
"No." Scarlett whimpered.
"You'll feel nice and clean, and I'll have Owen come bring you some comfy jammies. Then we can watch movies and eat some popsicles." Amelia said.
"Okay." Scarlett said.
Amelia got the girl in the tub in the bathroom, and she was playing with the rubber ducks. Owen came in and brought a pink owl onesie for the girl.
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Once Scarlett started whining that the water was cold, Amelia lifted her out and wrapped her in a fluffy towel. She put a pull up on the girl and dressed her in the pajamas. She carried her to the couch and sat down, and Scarlett retrieved her blanket.
"Do you want to eat some dinner?" Amelia asked. Scarlett shook her head no, still wearing her pout face. "How about we play a game?" She asked, only to receive a groan with the head shake. "Alright. How about you can snuggle on my lap and I'll read you a bunch of stories. Does that sound good?" Amelia suggested. Scarlett nodded.
They got settled on the couch with a stack of kids books next to Amelia, Scarlett comfy and cozy on Amelia's lap with her paci, puppy, and blankie, and a blanket covering the two of them. Amelia started at the top of the stack, with When You Give A Mouse A Cookie.
As Amelia read stories to Scarlett, the toddler slowly began to fade. Around halfway through the fifth book, the girl was fast asleep with her head nestled on Amelia's chest. Amelia's heart melted, and she set the book down to stroke the girl's thin platinum blonde locks.
After a while, Amelia carried the girl to the bed and covered her up. She kissed the girl's forehead and laid down on the couch, covered herself with the blanket, and almost instantly fell asleep.
Owen went to go check on Amelia and Scarlett, to see the toddler asleep on the bed and his wife passed out on the couch. He walked over to Amelia and ran his hand on her back.
"Amelia." He whispered. She opened her eyes and looked at her husband with her sleepy blue eyes. "Let's go home. It's late." Owen whispered, being careful to not wake Scarlett.
"I'm not leaving her. I can't let her wake up to see that she's alone." Amelia whispered, sitting up and running a hand through her hair.
"We have to work tomorrow." Owen replied.
"I'm off tomorrow." Amelia said. Owen nodded and kissed her goodnight, promising to be back in the morning. Amelia laid down and was almost asleep again when she heard a sweet little voice.
"Amy..." Amelia got up and kneeled down by the bed.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Amelia asked, tucking some hair behind the girl's ear. Scarlett nodded.
"I can't go back to sweep." Scarlett said, with the pacifier still in her mouth. Amelia climbed in the bed next to her and wrapped her in her arms. She stroked Scarlett's hair and whispered a song into her ear, so it didn't take much to basically knock the little girl out.
