That Would Be Enough

17

The next day, Kate was released from the hospital. Lin was overly protective and cautious, walking the carrier out to the car very slowly. As he drove, he stayed under the speed limit and kept looking back in the rearview mirror, as if his son might disappear.

They arrived home and found that Lin's parents and Madeline had decorated the apartment. There were congratulatory signs, balloons, and treats. Madeline was ridiculously excited that they liked the decorations. She bounced around the apartment, full of energy.

Rio continued to be a chill little baby. He only cried when something was wrong, and was perfectly happy being held by anybody. He seemed happiest when he was in someone's arms or laying on someone's chest.

Madeline was turning into a little mother. She wanted to help out with Rio as much as possible. Since she was only four, she couldn't be trusted with a lot, but she liked helping clean him in the tub and get him dressed. Sometimes he took a bottle, so Maddie delighted in feeding her younger brother. Having a brother brought up all sorts of conversations about the difference between a boy and a girl and how he was fed. She was very curious, and Lin and Kate decided to be as honest with her as they could.

That night, Lin ran his fiance a bath to help her relax more. She was still a bit sore, so the hot water helped soothe her muscles. Afterwards, she climbed into her jammies and laid down on the couch with Lin. He knew she wasn't ready to be intimate, but he was a very handsy guy. He let his hands wander over her body and felt her flinch a little when he touched her belly.

"What's wrong?" He whispered.

"My stomach is disgusting right now," she said. "I'd rather you not touch it."

Lin pressed a kiss behind her ear. "Okay. I won't touch it if you don't want me to. But you're beautiful."

"You keep saying that, but I don't feel that way," she said. "It's all squishy."

"That'll fade away," he reminded her. "Give yourself a break, you just had a baby."

"Exactly," she said. "I'm not feeling as attractive as usual."

Lin pressed several kisses to her head, neck and shoulder. "You're gorgeous," he reminded her again. Kate sighed and settled in a little more. She was pretty lucky. She had an amazing fiance who constantly showered her with affection.

"So..." he went on, changing the subject. "Big wedding or small wedding?"

"Small," she said immediately. "I'm talking less than 100."

Lin whistled. He had a lot of friends and a large extended family. He knew Kate wasn't a fan of huge numbers of people.

"Indoors? Outdoors?"

"I'd prefer outdoors but that can be a little unpredictable," she pointed out.

"Yes," he agreed. "Maybe we can start looking at venues online tomorrow."

"Okay," she said, closing her eyes and just enjoying laying with Lin. It was nice to not have anything to do, with both Maddie and Rio down for the night.

Lin was being a trooper helping out with the kids. He knew Kate was still exhausted. She pumped milk so Lin was able to get up with the baby at night so Kate could get a little more rest. He took the lead quite often with Madeline and was cooking up a storm. Kate felt so lucky to have him. His parents were over fairly often as well and had even taken Madeline for a couple afternoons. They loved their snuggle time with Rio. His favorite thing seemed to be lying on chests, sleeping.

Sometimes Madeline could want to help too much. She wanted to pick him up and carry him like she saw her mother and Lin do, but she wasn't old enough yet. A couple times she had tried, but had luckily been stopped before she could do any harm.