Take it From Here (Jamie Dornan) *COMPLETED*

Chapter 28

A/N: I don't even have to ask if y'all watched the Freed trailer and if you loved it ;) WOW!!!! I am still shook. At any rate, hope you guys like this chapter as it circles back to a sensitive subject from a couple chapters ago! Xo

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I was in the kitchen finishing up breakfast when Jamie came down. He smiled as he rounded the corner. His smile was much needed since I'd had a long night with EJ. He had me up every few hours and it was hard to stay awake with him for thirty minutes after his feeding. I was trying not to complain, because I was happy he was healthy and it wasn't like I had a difficult task, it was just utterly tiring. And Jamie hadn't gotten up with him one time even though he'd promised he would. I brushed that aside when he sauntered toward me.

"Good morning, beautiful." He hugged me from behind while I stood at the stove. I giggled when he kissed my neck and tickled me with his beard. "Smells delicious. You and the food."

"Good morning, handsome." I flipped the eggs over and he let go. I smiled as he walked to where I had EJ sitting in his bouncer on the floor.

"There's my main man," he said, kneeling and caressing our son's cheek.

"Don't get him out, babe," I said.

"Why not?"

"We're getting ready to eat and I'm hoping he'll rest for a bit. Please."

I couldn't see his reaction, but an eye roll was likely included.

"Were you restless last night?" he cooed. He leaned further down to kiss his head.

"Yes, he was. Mommy's exhausted."

Jamie stood and I handed him the plate of bacon. "Here."

He winked, swiping a piece as he headed toward the table. He came back to grab our plates and forks to set them at our spots. I slid the eggs onto another platter as he carried EJ in his bouncer to the table. We both sat down to dig in.

"Thanks for cooking," he said, scooping up an egg and a piece of toast.

"I needed a distraction." I buttered my own bread before taking a bite and chasing it down with a long swig of coffee. My fuel to survive until sundown.

"He seems to be doing well with the rice cereal."

I nodded. "He is, but he's flying through it. My God, he eats so much more now."

Jamie laughed, chewing his bacon. "He's a cute chunk." He reached down to tickle EJ's tummy.

I watched their exchange. My heart always warmed over him in Daddy mode.

"When I changed him this morning, I sat him up to pull his onesie off and he had the cutest little belly roll."

Jamie snorted. "I missed it."

"I'll show you later," I said. "Or you can have his next diaper and feed."

He nodded, continuing to eat without response. For some reason this upset me. He'd been adamant about helping me and feeling needed, but he'd been in a different headspace the last few days and I hadn't figured out why.

"Did you watch the video Dulcie sent?" he asked.

"I did." I laughed. "She's so funny. I sent her some pictures of EJ and she replied with a hundred different emojis."

Jamie smirked. "She loves FaceTiming her brother."

I took another drink of my coffee to fuel up for the conversation I knew was coming. We tried to be better about video calling with her now that we were falling into a normalcy. We wanted her to connect with EJ even if it was long distance. Something was better than nothing as these years were vital to how they'd interact the older they got.