Izzy's fever broke at around one in the morning, and by noon the following day she was back to eating and drinking. They let us go home later that evening, and even though we had asked the doctors about six different times that they were sure she could go home, Maddie and I were still nervous.

"If the fever comes back and doesn't break with Tylenol then bring her in again." They had said, and Maddie and I found ourselves putting our wrists against her forehead for the first three hours after we had gotten home to make sure we weren't missing anything.

So it doesn't surprise me when I wake up in the middle of the night to an empty spot beside me. Maddie and I had both agreed that I stay here until Isabelle was definitely healed, but honestly, now that she and I seem to be working on things again I'm going to try and stay the night as much as she'll let me.

Glancing at the alarm clock as I get out of her bed, I notice that it's three in the morning. I'm tired as hell as I wander down the hallway, pushing open the door to Izzy's nursery as quietly as I can.

The sound machine is running, a blue nightlight on in the corner. Izzy is asleep with her butt up in the air, and Maddie is curled up on the floor next to the crib, her head resting on the wooden rails.

I leave the room and go back to the bedroom. I strip the comforter off of the bed, grab two more blankets from the closet and the pillows before I go back into the nursery.

Careful not to make a sound, I fluff up the comforter on the ground before I crouch down next to Maddie and nudge her awake.

"Hey." I whisper. "Mads."

She blinks her eyes open, quickly looking back at Izzy as if she missed something.

"She's fine." I tell her. "Still sleeping."

"I..." Maddie trails off and yawns. "I was just making sure her breathing was okay. I must have fallen asleep."

"You just want to protect her." I smile. "I get it. That's why I made us a little bed so we can sleep next to her until the morning."

Pointing to the comforter beside us, she gives me a grateful smile and collapses down onto it. She has taken on so much the past couple of days. I was on the plane ride here while she had to listen to Izzy scream as she was poked and prodded. That couldn't have been easy.

I relax down beside her and pull her body against mine, giving her a quick kiss to her forehead. "You're so strong." I whisper. "I admire you so much, Mads. You're an incredible woman and an even better mother. Izzy and I are so lucky to have you."

She smiles softly, nuzzling her head into my chest. "I love you." She mumbles tiredly. "I love our family."

Our family.

The words ring in my head, unfamiliar and yet so fitting at the same time. I have dreamed of this moment my entire life. Right here, on the floor of our baby's nursery, I'm living out something I never thought I'd be able to.

Maddie is almost officially mine again. Somehow, by the grace of god I've persuaded her to try things again. I don't know how or why, but fate continuously keeps bringing us together.

I'm done ignoring it.

I'm done fighting it.

Maddie Davis is going to be my wife. And I know we're supposed to be taking it slow. I'm not going to come out and propose to her right this second, but it's going to happen. First I have to get the ring, then I have to plan the proposal, and then she'll have to say yes.

Would she?

God, I hope so.

"I love our family too." I finally whisper back, but she's already fallen asleep. "I love you, future wife."

______

Blinking my eyes open to Izzy's voice, I quickly sit up as Maddie lay fast asleep beside me. Izzy is happy and giggling for the first time in two days, and honestly I don't think I've ever had bigger relief.

"Hey, baby girl." I smile tiredly and reach up to put my fingers between the spaces of the crib to grab onto her hand. "Looks like you're feeling better, Hm?"

"Dada."

My heart immediately stills in my chest as I hear the words leave her mouth. I'm imagining things, right? Did she actually just say that?

"Dada." She repeats, and I shoot up from the comforter to grab her from the crib, tripping over my own two feet as I do so. Maddie jumps awake from the sudden movement.

"Yeah!" I exclaim, bringing her close to my chest. For whatever reason I find myself blinking away tears. "That's right, Iz! It's dada."

"What's going on?" Maddie mumbles and wipes at her eyes.

"Babe, she said my name. Izzy just said my name."

"Wait, really?" She smiles, pulling the blanket tightly around her.

"Dada." Izzy says for the third time, and I dance with her around the room excitedly, unable to control the amount of joy flooding through me.

"Izzy!" Maddie giggles and stands up beside me, grabbing onto her hands. "That's right! That's Dada! Do you love your dada?"

I kiss Maddie without thinking about it, and it feels so damn good. Izzy is on my hip as Maddie grasps my cheeks with her hands to pull me closer. I've got my girls, and nothing feels better than this. This is probably the best day of my life. It beats getting drafted by a long shot.

"I could definitely get used to this." Maddie smiles. Her hair is falling out of her messy bun, no makeup on, her cheeks puffy from crying the past two days. It's a vision I want to wake up to for the rest of my life.

"Trust me, I could too." I pant and scan her eyes.

A part of me wants to just drop down onto one knee right here, right now, but this woman deserves more than that. This is the mother of my child. She's my absolute best friend. She deserves the whole nine yards. She deserves the biggest diamond I can afford, a field of roses at her feet.

"Shall we go make breakfast?" She asks and raises a brow. I wonder if she knows what I'm thinking right now. I wonder if she knows that I'm thinking of proposing.

I'm getting ahead of myself. I just said I wanted to take things slow still with us, but damn. I can't help but feel like this is the right decision. Something inside of me is telling me to go for it before it's too late.

Bending down to kiss her forehead I say, "lead the way, baby."

A/N:

Why do I love them SO much?

Ugh they are everything !!!!!!!

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