••• THIRTY-THREE •••

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••• THIRTY-THREE •••
Ashton

Before I knew it, a month had flown by, and we were finally able to bring Sophie and Aurora home. I helped pack up Sophie's hospital room when she walked out of the bathroom wearing a sundress, her hair in a braid. I stared at her in awe at how beautiful she looked, and Sophie met my stare with a shy smile.

"Um, thank you for helping me pack," she said as she walked up to me slowly.

I shrugged with a grin on my face. "You don't have to thank me, Soph. I'm just glad you and Rory can finally come home."

She nodded, biting her lip nervously. "So, are we going home with you, or...?" She trailed off, shrugging. I felt my heart start to race against my chest. Did she really want to go home with me? "I'm sorry, I just assumed we would move in together after having the baby. But, we don't have to-" she said quickly, her face flushing with embarrassment.

My eyes widened as I shook my head and grabbed her hand before she could walk away. "Of course I would love it if you two lived with me, Soph! I was just surprised you wanted to, considering you don't have your memories back yet."

She sighed, squeezing my hand. "I think that moving in with you would help bring my memories back, considering we spent so much time together. Plus, I need your help with Aurora, and I know if I live with Mom she'll just hover over me." She shrugged, smirking at me.

"Oh, so you're just using me then, huh?" I teased, and she bit her lip, trying to hide her smile as she shrugged again. "Well, that's fine with me, Sophia, because you can use me any time you want," I whispered, and her cheeks instantly flushed.

The door to the room opened, causing Sophie to jump back in surprise and take a step away from me. Patrick, Katie, Christina, and Mrs. Lincoln walked in with a sleeping Aurora in her arms. "Are we interrupting something?" Katie asked with a mischievous smile on her face. I looked down at Sophie to see her turning even redder, if that was possible.

"N-no! We were just getting ready to go," she smiled as she walked up to her mom and instantly scooped Aurora out of her arms. "Are you ready to go home, sweetheart?" she asked, bouncing Aurora gently in her arms, and a grin appeared on my face at seeing how happy Sophie looked.

In the last month, her apprehension about being around Aurora had completely changed. Now, they were inseparable, and I couldn't be prouder of her as I watched her grow as a mother. Sophie looked up at me with the most radiant smile on her face as she nodded toward the door. "You ready to go, roomie?" she asked teasingly, and everyone looked at us in shock.

"Wait, you're going home with Ashton?" Mrs. Lincoln asked, looking between us worriedly. "Is that such a good idea, honey? I mean with your condition-"

"Which is all the more reason I should stay with Ashton," Sophie said quickly, cutting her off. "Being around him should help jog my memory, and I need his help with Rory." She smiled, and her mom sighed.

"I can help you, sweetheart."

"I know you can help me, Mom. But I'm a mom now too, and I want Ashton to help me raise our daughter. Together." Sophie looked over at me, and I smiled at her proudly, which she returned with a wide grin.

"Alright," Patrick said as he grabbed Sophie's suitcase and purse. "I'm gonna load up the car because if I see you two make googly eyes at each other a minute longer, I'm gonna vomit." Sophie giggled as she winked at me, then quickly followed after him before I could say anything. I was suddenly even more excited for her to move in with me if she was going to keep looking at me the way she did.

When we walked into my apartment, Sophie let out a gasp. "You live here?" she asked in disbelief. I looked at her in confusion, but then I remembered that she had no memory of ever being here. I gave her a small smile and nodded as I placed Aurora's car seat down on the ground.

"Yeah, I moved in here a week after I got signed to the Blackhawks," I informed her as I started unbuckling Aurora from her car seat and pulling her into my arms.

"It's stunning," she said, looking around the room. I smiled at her as I lightly patted Aurora's back when she started getting fussy. "But I've been here before, right?" she asked, turning her attention to me.

"Yes, many times." She nodded slowly and bit her lip.

"I feel like I've been here before; I just can't remember," she huffed out angrily, and I gave her a sympathetic smile.

"That's good though, Soph. That's progress! Don't put too much pressure on yourself, baby." I said gently. She blushed as she stared at me, but before she could respond, Aurora threw up all over my shirt.

"Oh, no, Ashton!" Sophie said, rushing over to me quickly. I chuckled as I wiped off the spit-up from Aurora and then handed her over to Sophie.

"Don't worry, Soph. It's just spit-up. I'm just gonna take a quick shower and change, then I'll be right back so you can rest, okay?" I asked, and she nodded quickly. Before I could think about it, I had leaned down and kissed her cheek. She stared up at me in surprise as I slowly backed away from her and then made my way into the bathroom.

I hadn't kissed Sophie since before we took a break almost ten months ago, and here I was, kissing her cheek like I've done it every day of her pregnancy. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, and now I might have made her question whether moving in with me was a good idea.

I showered quickly and prayed that once I was finished getting ready, Sophie wouldn't be running for the hills when I got back out into the living room. I had barely wrapped a towel around my waist when Sophie barged into the room. "Hey, Ash, where do you keep- OH MY GOD! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed when her eyes met mine and quickly turned around, but not before I noticed her eyes trail from my face down the rest of my body.

"It's fine, Soph, what do you need?" I chuckled, and I could see her shaking her head.

"No, it's okay! I'll just ask you when you're finished. I should've knocked-"

"Soph, relax!" I chuckled as I slowly walked up to her. "I know you lost your memory, but we have a daughter together, so I'm sure somewhere in your mind you know that you've already seen me naked." I teased, and she buried her face in her hands, letting out a small groan as I chuckled again.

"I got that part! But who I am at this moment has not seen you naked!"

Seeing her reaction caused me to grin even wider, and I was even more glad to have her living with me. I just hoped I could make her fall in love with me all over again, just in case her memories didn't come back.

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