Forever and a Day//Jolex

Chapter 15

4 months later and the couple still wasn't used to being parents. They did everything by the books- they took turns getting up at night, got the baby on a schedule, and as soon as Brook started taking solid foods, Jo insisted on feeding her only homemade organic mush. But none of that made taking care of a tiny human any easier.
Brook, now 7 months old, was already an early learner. She could sit up and roll over on her own. She can't crawl yet, so she gets around by dragging herself along the ground using her arms. She says a few intelligible words, including mama, dada, baba for her bottle, and caca, the name she's given her favorite stuffed cow.
Alex knew Jo was especially exhausted this morning since she didn't get home until after 10 last night, so he decided to spend some time with his little girl before he had to wake Jo up.
Alex changed and dressed Brook, then put her in her high chair and put on her bib.
"What are we gonna have for breakfast today, munchkin?" Alex asked, looking in the refrigerator. He got out a peach yogurt and a baby spoon, then sat in the chair across from her.
"Are you hungry, princess? Open up!" He said, spooning the yogurt into her mouth.
"Mmm!" She says, banging on her high chair tray.
By the time she had finished, she was completely covered in yogurt and Alex had to change her clothes.
After all that, it was still only 5:00, and Jo and Alex didn't need to be to work for another hour and a half.
Alex put a pillow behind him and sat on the couch, and the baby settled in his arm while he turned on Mickey Mouse for her. He knew she wouldn't understand any of it, but she was always entertained by the sound and colors on the screen.
At 5:12, Alex's phone started ringing and he quickly picked it up, wondering who would be calling so early. It turned out to be the hospital, asking him and Jo to come in as soon as possible due to an incoming hands on trauma. They said they needed all hands on deck. It was only slightly earlier than usual, so it made little difference to Alex. He got dressed and woke up Jo. Or at least, he tried.
"Good morning." Alex says, nudging Jo in bed. "Time to get up, beautiful."
"I don't want to. I'm exhausted."
"I know, but we have to get to the hospital. There was a big accident on the freeway and we're getting the bulk of it, so the ER is gonna be slammed. Plus, Brooklyn is already dressed for daycare and waiting for her mommy."
Jo just moans, still showing no sign of waking up. Alex plops Brooklyn in between the two of them on the bed, and she scooched over to Jo immediately.
"Mama mama mama mama mama!" She babbles loudly.
"That's right, tell mama to get up and give you a hug."
"Hey baby girl." Jo says, less than enthusiastically.
"How about this. We go into work, save some lives, and then you and I have a date night? We can leave the baby with a sitter and I'll take you somewhere nice."
"Really?" Jo says.
"Yeah. Anywhere you want." He says, smirking, "but you're gonna have to get out of bed first."
Jo finally gets up and brushes her hair and teeth, while Alex sits on the bed with the baby. When she was done getting ready, she scooped up the baby and put her into the carrier, confused when Alex doesn't follow her to the door.
"Alex? You coming?"
"I think you're forgetting something." He chuckles. Jo looks down to see that she's still wearing a t shirt and sweatpants, which wasn't her most professional look.
"Whoops." She said, putting the baby carrier down and changing into something a little more work appropriate.
"Okay, now we can go." She said.
They get into the car and get Brooklyn settled, then enjoy the ride to the hospital with the radio playing in the background.
At the hospital, Jo grabbed a coffee and a crumb cake from the cart outside, and started her busy day.
On top of dealing with the trauma, she had 2 surgeries, a consult, and a skills lab to teach. It wasn't easy, but the idea of spending some time with Alex got her through the day.
For Alex, it was the same. The thought of Jo in a nice dress sitting across from him in candlelight made him anxious to finish his shift, but the patients kept coming.
By 7:00, they had both finished up with their patients and changed out of their scrubs. As they were walking down to the daycare to get Brooklyn, they bumped into Mer.
"Hey guys, whatcha up to?" She asked, walking alongside the, to pick up her own kids.
"We're going on a date tonight." Jo boasted, squeezing Alex's hand. "We've got a babysitter coming in a half hour and a reservation at the nice place in town."
"Fun! You don't have to leave Brook with a sitter you've never used before, though. Especially at nighttime, she might not go down with someone she doesn't know. Leave her with me and the kids for the night, it will be fun! Besides, I already have some of her things at my house from last time." Mer said.
"Really? If it's okay with you, that'd be perfect. I was a little nervous about using someone new." Jo replied.
"Of course! I love spending time with my niece. But you to should go before she sees you, or she might not wanna stay with me."
"Good thinking. Thanks Mer!"
"No problem. I'll just bring her into the daycare with my kids tomorrow."
They got to the car and went home quickly to change, Alex into a suit and Jo into a tight black dress. Her long dark hair was curled, falling perfectly onto her shoulders and framing her face. She had put on some makeup, making her delicate features glow- she looked gorgeous.
"Wow." Was all Alex could muster out.
He firmly gripped her waist and moved his hands down her curves, leaning in to kiss her. Their lips met and Jo ran her hands through Alex's hair, pulling them apart after a moment.
"Wait." She whispered into his ear. "Dinner, then dessert."
Jo smiled and took his hand.
"Let's go."
The couple drove to the fancy restaurant across town, which was only about 10 minutes from the  loft. They walked inside hand in hand, and the hostess seated them towards the back of the dining room and took their orders- they both got steak and salad.
"It's so nice spending some time together. I've missed this. Us." Jo says. "Of course I love our little girl, but it's been awhile since it's been just the two of us. In fact, we haven't really done anything since right before we found out I was pregnant. Our honeymoon- or, what was supposed to be out honeymoon until I turned it into a work thing."
Alex laughed and smiled that goofy half smile that just made Jo smile even more.
"I guess that means we've gotta go on a vacation soon." Alex says suggestively.
"I guess so!" Jo says.
"I can't believe how big Brook is getting. I think she's gonna start crawling for real soon."
"I know. Seeing as how worlds best daddy secured every cabinet and piece of furniture in the house while I was on bed rest makes me think that we've been ready for this for a while."
Alex smiles at this, too.
"I just want the best for the both of you. Always. My job as a husband and dad is to love and protect my girls, and it's the best job I could ask for."
Jo reaches across the table and squeezes Alex's hand.
"You've been doing just that since the day we found out about the baby."
Their food arrives, and they continue to chat about Brook and work and the future.
They decide to skip out on dessert and take things back to the loft, so Alex got the bill and they drove home in silence, exchanging lusty glances.
Almost as soon as they got in the door, before either of them even had their shoes off, Jo nearly pounced on Alex, wrapping her arms around him and pushing her lips against his- they barely pulled them apart the entire night.