Heaven Can Wait

After everything was taken care of with the dogs, I crashed on the couch and started flipping through the TV channels. "Seen it. Seen it. Boring. Seen it," I said, passing movie after movie and show after show. I soon felt my legs being lifted and then set upon another set of legs. Looking as much as my body would let me without having me move too much, I saw it was Liam. "Hey, baby," I said, going back to the television.

"Anything good on?" he asked, causing me to snort. "I'll take that as a no." For a while, we were silent as I continued to flip through the channels, giving myself a headache. After a while, I decided to go with a show with a bunch of English actors, and what appeared to be aliens. "What the hell am I looking at?"

"Appears to be Doctor Who," Liam said, resting his arms gently on my calves. "My mom used to love this show," he went on, staring intently at the TV. "Definite change to what would come on back in the day."

"Does this doctor character have a name?" I asked, staring at the TV in confusing awe.

"Yeah, but no one knows it," Liam said, causing me to get over-dramatic. "That's the point of the title. Doctor Who. He goes around saving worlds and races and whatnot in his TARDIS with a companion or two, and when people ask who he is, he responds with only 'I'm the Doctor.' "

"What the hell is a TARDIS?" I asked, causing Liam to chuckle.

"It's his space ship. Stands for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space'," he replied, making me adjust myself and look at him. When he met my gaze, all he said was, "What?"

"You are such a nerd," I said, smiling. "Of all the people in the world, I fell in love with a nerd."

"Hey, I'm one sexy nerd and you know it," he said, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me onto his lap. "Besides, I can sense that you find me being a nerd very hot," he went on, pressing kisses to my neck and shoulders.

"Stop it! The kids are here and they're napping. I'm not about to let you wake them up," I said, smacking his head gently. When he looked up at me, I saw that pouty puppy-eyed look. "Nice try, Liam," I said, patting his head and forcing myself out of his grasp.

"But, babe!" he whined, causing me to spin and look at him. "It's been too long!" he went on, causing me to chuckle. "Can't we just have Zeth and Paulie come after them, and go at it?"

"Zeth and Paulie were planning to take them to movies after their nap," I said, turning back around and going to the kitchen. "So, if you stop begging so much, you might just get what you want."

"Yes, dear," he said, flashing me a smile before he went back to the TV. As I started the water for tea, I heard shuffling coming from upstairs.

"Mommy," I heard a tired and sad voice say, immediately recognizing it as Ryder. Jogging over and up the stairs, I knelt down before him and watched him as he rubbed his eyes.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" I asked, brushing some hair out of his face. "Bad dream?" He nodded and hugged me close.

"I had an accident, too," he said, causing me to break away a bit and look down, noticing his pajamas were wet. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's okay," I said, standing up and grabbing his hand. "We'll get you cleaned up and some fresh bedding. No problem."

"Will Daddy be mad?" he asked, sounding worried. I shook my head.

"No, sweetie. Daddy won't be mad," I replied as we walked into his room. "Grab some clean jammies and get changed. I will have your bed ready to go when you get back. Unless you just want to stay up with me and Daddy. We won't mind."

"I'll stay up," Ryder said, causing me to nod. Walking over to the dresser, he pulled out an outfit for the day and went into the bathroom to get changed. Vaguely, I heard the teapot going off. Quickly stripping, flipping, and placing fresh bedding on Ryder's bed, I walked out of his room and saw him coming my way with his pajamas.

"Here, I'll take them to the laundry room with the rest of this stuff," I said, holding my hand out for his clothes.

"I'll carry them," he said, smiling. I nodded and motioned him to carry on downstairs. "Hey, Dad," he called as he ran downstairs and straight for the laundry room. Liam barely waved to him, too engrossed by the TV.

After tossing the bedding into the washer, I jogged into the kitchen and turned the stove off, mentally scolding Liam for not paying attention and could cause the house to burn down. Before I finished making the tea, I heard to pairs of feet charging down the stairs. "Daddy, Daddy!" Andi said, going into the living room. "Oh! Doctor Who! Uncle Zeth loves this show!" she said, causing me and Liam both to chuckle. "I liked Rose a lot!"

"Rose?" he said, sounding confused. As Andi went on about who Rose was, I just leaned against counter, watching her as her eyes lit up, talking about a show I wasn't sure she knew much about. Liam was laughing with her, listening intently to what she was saying. For the first time, I could see him as the father figure, looking at his daughter with a lot of love in his eyes. I could even see the hope that she wouldn't grow up too fast, as well. As I sipped on my tea, I pondered over everything that had brought us to this moment in time, not knowing that something was going to be pulling at us harder than we've ever been pulled before.