After they were done questioning Eddie, the group went to their houses. One by one, Steve dropped them off.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow around 10 am," Steve said to Dustin as he got out of his car.
"Yes, Steve, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Julie." He waved at his two friends.
Steve waited until Dustin opened his door and went inside. Once the front door was shut, he drove off.
Melody was in her car seat asleep. Her brown hair was sticking out, and her mouth was half open. She was drooling, and a small wet spot was forming on her shoulder.
When they arrived at the house, Melody was still asleep. Julia unlocked the front door while Steve unbuckled Melody. "I'll put Mellow to sleep," Steve said, walking into the house, closing the door behind him with his foot.
Steve had changed Melody's diapers and put her into sleeping clothing. He kissed her good night and slowly closed the door, not closing it all the way.
As he entered his room that he shared with Julia, he saw her standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself as she held a shirt in her hand. She was wearing a green bra and plaid pajama pants.
With her hand in a fist she touched her stomach. It wasn't flat as it once was before she had Melody. The clothes she wore over a year ago didn't fit even after she gave birth to Melody.
She had gained 30 pounds during her pregnancy. Eight months after giving birth, her body had not bounced back. Out of the 30 pounds she gained, she had lost 15 of them. She was eating healthy and taking care of an active eight month old, and The Secret Ingredient was enough exercise for her, but her body was still the same as it was two months ago.
She examined herself in the mirror; it was an adjustment she had to make with herself. Her body grew a human in there; she was proud of herself for that. She exhaled and quietly said "you look pretty." She forced out a smile, making herself believe it.
Julia nodded and was ready to put on her shirt when Steve approached her. His chest pressed on her back, his arm wrapped on her waist, he leaned his chin on her neck.
He looked at the mirror "you are beautiful, Julia. Just the way you are."
He brushed her hair behind her neck and kissed her collarbone. "Beautiful," he breathed out.
"Steve," she exhaled, closing her eyes enjoying the warm feeling it sent down her stomach.
He smiled as he kissed her cheek. She tangled her fingers in his hair as he kissed her clavicle again.
If she didn't stop him, they were going to end up like they did on Halloween. The way he kissed her made everything inside of her speed up.
She craved for more, but at the same time, she didn't feel ready. Julia wanted to give her body time to heal after giving birth.
"Stop," she was able to let out.
Steve stopped kissing her, and his hand that was moving up her chest to her bra froze in place.
His breath was uneven as he said, "I'm sorry I got carried away." A small grin spread on his face.
He brushed his hair back and took a step away from Julia, giving her space.
He didn't want to rush her into doing anything she wasn't comfortable doing. Just being around her, kissing her lovely face, and sleeping next to her with his arms wrapped around her was enough for him.
He could wait a little bit more until they were intimate again. He was happy to be a father, but he wanted to enjoy being a father of one for a little while.
She put on her shirt and turned around to face him.
"I love you." Months ago, she couldn't admit her true feelings toward Steve, and now she couldn't stop confessing her love for him.
He smiled back at her. Julia took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stared at him thoughtfully. After a second passed by, she kissed his cheek. A boyish grin was plastered on his face when Julia's soft lips touched his cheek.
"Let's go to bed before we give Melody a sibling," Steve said, holding her hand.
Julia laughed, and both of them walked to the bed.
"She's going to be an only child for a few years," Julia said, covering her body with the blanket.
Steve took off his shirt; he preferred to sleep shirtless.
He agreed with her statement, "just out of curiosity, how many kids do you want," Steve asked once he was on the bed, the blanket covering half of his body.
She glanced at him for a few seconds, kissed his forehead, and said, "go to sleep."
She didn't answer his question because she would have said Melody was more than enough. She had her hands full, and truthfully the pregnancy, delivery, and the first two months of Melody's life were traumatic for Julia. It was too soon to say. Julia definitely wanted Melody to have siblings. Being an only child wasn't fun. She knew that from experience, maybe in two years or so, she would forget about the pain and want more children, but until then, Melody was enough.
The next morning Julia and Steve woke up early.
They were greeted with Melody wide away in her crib, her brown eyes opened and ready for the day.
"Good morning, Melody," Steve said sweetly, taking his daughter out of the crib. He kissed her cheek repeatedly, receiving a loud happy yell from his daughter. He stopped kissing her a big smile on his face as he looked at her.
He then scrunched his nose as soon as a nasty smell reached his nose. "Someone needs a diaper change," he said, looking at Julia and then discreetly pointing at Melody.
"I wonder who." Julia tapped her chin.
Steve lifted Melody above his head and sniffed Melody's diaper. He regretted his decision as soon as her butt touched his nose. "Yup, she pooped," he gagged.
"Why do you always do that? You know the outcome," Julia said as Steve pinched his nose.
He took Melody to the changing area. "I gotta make sure," he said, getting a clean diaper.
With a smile, she shook her head, "I'm going to change. You two have fun." Julia waved at the pair and walked out of the room before Steve could say something.