Settling Down

Chapter One: Catching Up

I loved Mary with all my heart and Robin was becoming pretty good with handling her. But sometimes we needed to be a couple and not a freak show family. So, even though I missed my baby like crazy tonight, it was good to be an adult and just a girlfriend tonight.

"Hey." Robin whispered back, smiling softly. His smile made my whole body go numb.

"Maybe you'd like to stay a while once we get home?" I offer. "I know you didn't eat much for dinner and I made lasagna and apple pie for Mary. There's some left if you wanted to eat before heading to your place."

Robin smiles, cupping my cheek and rubbing my skin gently with his thumb. "I'd like that." His voice was scruffy. "Thank you."

And with that, we drove home. We sang with the radio, sat in silence, and talked to fill the time.

At 9:30 we finally arrived back at the B&B. Robin silently grabbed my keys and his cello before unlocking his car and packing his instrument back into his trunk.

I was on the phone with Mary and had been for the past 15 minutes. "It was a very good concert baby." I whisper into the phone. I had already sang three times and told her two different stories. "Are you gonna sleep with mama or are you gonna sleep in your room?" I ask her.

Mary shifts and takes a deep breath. "I'm going to sleep with mama." She says happily. "Will I still get to sleep with you in the new house?" Mary asks after a while.

In April, I had decided on looking into buying a house. I had to provide more for Mary and had spent a good amount of summer looking for a house. Finally, with Robin's help, I found the perfect one. And it'd be ready for us to move in late October.

"Well, yes I think that can be arranged. But you'll have to sleep in your bed too." I explain, opening the door to the B&B. I watch Robin walk in and flip the lights on, making his rounds.

"Mommy?" Mary asks softly. My heart warms as I open my mouth to respond.

We had an incident in June when Mary accidentally called me 'mommy'. She started to cry and apologize but I told her I'd be happy to be her mommy. So, we agreed that Ava would be mama and I would be mommy. And it made me the happiest woman on earth. To think that a child would call me their mother was more than I ever dreamed.

"Yes my love?" I follow Robin into the kitchen and open the fridge.

"Is Robin there?" She asked weakly. I froze and turned to look at the man standing in front of the kitchen cabinets. His shirt stretched tight against his back as he reached for a plate.

"Yeah baby."

"Can I talk to him, mommy?" She asked happily. My mouth went dry as I tried to speak. Mary had never asked to speak with him over the phone.

"Um.. Robin?" My voice was small and almost nonexistent. But Robin turned around and smiled. "Mary wants to say good night."

His smile only grew as he took the phone from me and kissed my nose. "Heeeeellllllooooo?" He sang, leaning against the counter. I slowly started to fix Robin's plate as I listened to their conversation. "Am I speaking with Princess Mary?"

I could hear giggling and then mumbling. Before Robin replied. "Did you have a good night with Ava?"

More silence.

"That's good. Mommy and I did too. But it was boring adult stuff."

A pause.

"Yeah? We miss you too sweetie. And I'll be sure to give mommy that kiss and hug for you."

The microwave beeping.

"Well, I think I'm going to eat and then let your mommy go to sleep. She seems tired."

I snuck a glance in Robin's direction only to have him wink at me. Was this really happening? Day by day, the acceptance in our little family grew.

"I agree. But mommy likes it at the B&B."

I sigh. Every now and then robin would bring up is staying with him until the house was ready. But I always declined. Along with it being too overwhelming for me, it just didn't seem appropriate for Mary. I knew he only meant it as a nice gesture but I just could t accept.

"Sweetie?" I whisper, catching Robin's attention. "I'm just going to go upstairs and change into something more comfortable. Okay?"

Robin nodded and winked before turning back to his conversation with Mary. And I left to climb the stairs and pull myself into something less constricting.

A/N: HI GUYS!!!! So this is the sequel! I'm so happy to be writing a sequel. This book and these characters have really grown on me! I hoped you liked this chapter as much as I do! And if you're new to this, there is a book that comes before this called Home Bound. If you didn't read it, you'll be missing out on some background information but if you don't really mind sort of being out of the loop the. It doesn't matter as much. Anyways, please comment your opinions and I look forwards to uploading he next chapter! Thanks so much!