#mccharming

“Sorry not sorry!” Callie said, giggling. She placed her palm on James’s chest, feeling the small valley between his muscles.

Amelia had only met Dr. King once, maybe twice and while the woman was kind of scary at the outset, she appreciated that scary when she used it for good to treat her daughter and make sure that everything that needed to happen happened.

“I did it because I didn’t think you wanted to be here. I did it because I didn’t think you’d care.” She’d done it because she knew it would hurt him as badly as he had hurt her and she hadn’t cared at that moment because she was hurting, though she did come to regret her choice eventually. 

"Ugh, why are you not answering your phone? I’m sitting here beyond bored right now, and it’s literally the worst. Like, you don’t even understand. Just hurry up and get over here so we can go out and do something fun. Or else I’ll probably go without you. Yeah, bye.”

“Hey, James?” Amy called softly, wanting to approaching this delicately because she didn’t want him to get defensive right from the start. “What are these?” She knew what the little bottle was and what the needles were, but she wanted to know why he had them in his bag. Why he’d brought them home. 

“How do I know that? Have you met my 10 year old? You know, that cute little blond kid who has an unhealthy comic book obsession? She’s how I know this is normal.” She cradled the still crying baby against her chest. Their little boy was red faced, but fine. “Look, do you see that little white thing in his mouth?That’s a tooth, James. And little man isn’t a fan of it coming in. But he’s fine. The crying is normal and the fever is normal. I promise. All your years in trauma aren’t really meant to prepare you for these normal everyday things.”

Sofia pulled away from him. “Stop. It doesn’t need stitches. The ring doctor already checked. He said some butterfly bandages and I’d be good to go. He just didn’t have any in his bag.” She was annoyed with him, but she did appreciate his obvious concern for her well being. “Seriously, it’ll stop bleeding in a minute. Don’t worry so much.”

Amy smiled softly at his concern. “You’re new at this, James. But I promise, this is normal.” She remembered how terrified she’d been of everything new when Charlotte was born, but she’d learned to take a lot of things in stride, just like James would with their little girl. “Take a breath,” she advised gently.