Fire And Ice

15

Layla went back home to Haines while Parker and Logan flew to Vegas. Parker had gotten used to having Logan around on work trips, so it wasn't surprising to anyone to see the shaggy haired man with a curly haired baby on his hip. What was surprising to people was the fact that Layla wasn't with them. Parker lied and told them that she wanted to stay home to get things ready for Christmas. It wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the real reason. But no one needed to know what had really went on.

Layla enjoyed being at home by herself. She took long baths, binged shows, and had a little get together with her girl friends one night. She had started shopping for Logan's presents, and she didn't forget the fact that she had been told to buy whatever she wanted for herself. She enjoyed the first week of being alone.

Then she started to miss Logan more than she had been. What reason did she have to get out of the bed if he wasn't there to take care of? She had shopped all she could in the small town; she wasn't hungry, and she could lay in bed and watch shows. What reason did she have to get up and shower, brush her teeth and hair? It's not like there was anybody there to notice her. Her friends had their own families, and they also worked. This is what she was afraid of, being alone. The only part of the day she enjoyed was when Parker and Logan FaceTimed her at the end of the day before Logan went to sleep.

It was a Thursday in December, a particularly cold morning with snow falling outside. Layla glanced out her bedroom window and wished Logan was here so they could go out in the snow like they had been doing before. She sighed as she plopped back onto the bed. She grabbed the remote and pressed the button to play another episode of the show she had been binging. She thought about food, but there was nothing she wanted in the kitchen, and there's no use in cooking for one person. Food delivery in Haines is nonexistent, especially in this weather.

She stayed all day in the same spot on the bed, rolling over on her side every once in a while. She had fallen asleep in the evening and was only awoken by her phone ringing. She groggily reached over for the phone, but smiled when she saw that it was Parker and Logan FaceTiming her. She groggily smiled, her eyes still half closed as she said hey when she answered.

"You been asleep?" Parker smirked.

"Yeah." Layla half-smiled as she sat up in the bed. "It's alright though, you know I always wanna FaceTime with you and Logan."

About that time, Logan had grabbed the phone from his dad and looked closely at the phone before smiling and saying "Mommy!"

"Yeah it's Mommy, baby." Layla smiled as she ran her fingers through the front of her hair. "Even though I look like crap."

"Need to get a shower Lays." Parker said. "And eat."

"Yeah." Layla sighed before changing the subject. "What did my boys do today?"

"We went to a couple business meetings, did an interview, had dinner with some of the guys." Parker explained. "Logan had fun didn't you bud?"

Logan nodded as he drank from his bottle.

"What'd you do Lays?" Parker asked before popping a chip in his mouth.

"Oh you know just watched tv. It snowed here today." Layla said.

"You're really living the life Lays. Told you to do fun stuff while you were alone." Parker said.

"Nothings really fun by yourself." Layla shrugged. "I already did everything. I even wrapped up all the presents."

"You put up the Christmas decorations?"

"Like I said, no fun by yourself. I figured I'd wait till Logan got home. Now let me talk to my baby before he nods off to sleep." Layla smiled.

Parker chuckled as he gave Logan the phone back and watched Layla play and talk to him through the phone, Logan giggling and smiling and mumbling nonsense most of the time. If nothing else, he had gotten it to where Layla would actually talk to him for a little while without arguing. To him, that was a win.

They were on FaceTime until Logan fell asleep, and Parker put him on the bed before sitting back in the chair he was in before. He sighed as he looked at Layla through the phone; he only wished that it wasn't dark there so he could see how she looked.

"We'll be home in a week, babe." He said.

"I should've never let you take him." Layla mused. "I miss him like crazy."

"Imagine that feeling but times it by a million and no FaceTime. That's what it was like when you were in the hospital." Parker said.

Layla sighed. "I couldn't even imagine. I'd go crazy."

"That's exactly what I did!" Parker stated.

Layla couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Obviously went stupid."

"Totally retarded." Parker agreed.

Layla clicked her tongue before saying, "Well."

"I really miss you, babe." Parker said.

Layla sighed as she looked at the man with hair on his head and face that hadn't been trimmed in a long while. "Yeah."

"I think we're making progress, don't you?"

Layla shrugged her shoulder. "All we're doing is being civil."

"Better than yelling and arguing." Parker almost cracked a smile.

Layla smirked and agreed. "If nothing else it's good for Logan. We don't have to be together for him to have his mom and dad."

"We're gonna be together though." Parker said.

Layla smirked, rolling her eyes. "I'll let you go so you don't wake Logan up talking."

"We can keep talking, babe."

"Nah, I'm tired anyway. Seems like I don't have energy lately." Layla yawned.

Parker sighed before saying alright and goodnight and he loved her.

"Goodnight." Layla said. "Kiss Logan for me."

Parker nodded before Layla ended the call. It wasn't long after that when Layla drifted back to sleep. Parker, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. He laid beside Logan in the bed, watching a show on the television and going over some paperwork for work. It was so much easier when Layla would handle the bills and paperwork. Even when he had gotten through with the paper work and turned off the television, he still tossed and turned. In those two weeks he had Layla back, he had gotten used to holding her while he slept again. It was even worse than before because he knew he could be, but she wouldn't want him to.

After an hour or more of sleeplessness, he was finally able to fall asleep when he put a hand on Logan and had the hope of Layla being in the bed with him again one day.