Always been you//Jolex

Chapter 30

The alarm starts blaring at 6:30, and I'm jolted awake from the few hours of sleep I've had in the 2 months since Emmy was born. I roll over as quickly as I can, smashing the off button before it wakes up the kids.
I frown when I see Alex isn't laying beside me, especially realizing that I probably just missed him by a few minutes.
I peek into both of the girls rooms, and they both seem to be sound asleep. I go back into the master bathroom and turn on the shower hoping the baby will give me 10 minutes to get cleaned up before she wakes up, but the second the water starts running, I can hear her fussing from her crib.
I turn the water off and walk into the nursery, annoyed to have been deprived of a nice, hot shower- but when I see Emmy sucking on her feet and giggling in her crib, I feel a hundred times better.
I turn on the light, change her diaper, and find a onesie and pair of soft pants for her to wear. Then I settle down in the rocking chair besides the crib to nurse her, and when we finish around 7:00, it's time to wake Sadie for school.
"Good morning, princess! Time to rise and shine!" I say, pulling up the curtains to let in some sunshine.
"Somebody came with me to say good morning," I add, knowing it will get her attention.
She sits up, rubbing her eyes and taking a moment to adjust to the light which was pouring in through the now open window.
I prop Emmy up against some pillows, surrounding her with a few more so she doesn't roll off the bed.
Just as always, I pick a cute outfit for her to wear while she plays with her sister.
I eventually pair her favorite white sundress with a jean jacket and some sandals, which should be perfect for a breezy June day like this one.
"Alright, Emerson and I are gonna go downstairs and fix some breakfast while you get ready for the day, and then we'll get her in her stroller and we'll be ready to go."
I promised Sadie we could walk to school today, as we sometimes did when it was nice out. The school was only a few blocks away and Emerson loves being outside, so it was a nice way for us all to spend some time together.
I scoop up the baby and walk down the stairs and into the living room, where I put her in her swing.
I head to the kitchen, making sure I stayed where I could still see her, and I throw together some eggs and toast.
Sadie jumps down the stairs and skips into the kitchen, all ready to go.
"Okay, you can take this into the living room and eat with Em, and I'm gonna run upstairs and get dressed. 'Kay?"
"Okay!" She says.
I run upstairs and find some jeans and a tank top to wear. I'd much rather lounge in some sweats, but all the other moms in the neighborhood are so classy and put together all the time, which I find obnoxious, and yet here I am dressing up to seem like I'm one of them.
Once I've fixed myself up a bit, I go back downstairs where Sadie has already cleaned up her breakfast and pulled out the stroller.
"Thank you, sweet girl. Now let's get going, shall we?" I say, lifting the baby out of her swing.
"Let's get you strapped in, little one." I say, just about to put her into the stroller- but just before I put her down, she spits up all over my hair and shirt.
"Crap." I say. Knowing I don't have time to change, I grab a wipe out the the diaper bag and wipe it off the best I can, throwing my hair into a bun and covering my shirt with a zip up sweatshirt.
"Okay, good enough."
I put Emmy in her seat successfully this time, and hurry out the door with only 15 minutes to get to the school.
Once we're out the door, we stroll down the sidewalk, and I push the stroller with one hand and hold Sadie's hand with the other. We make it to the school in good time, and just as we reach the building, Sadie sees her friend and rushes over to her.
The girls quickly start jumping around and giggling, and Sadie shows off her sister. Meanwhile, her Mother walks over to me to introduce herself.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Eliza's Mother, Clara. I'm the class parent for the girls' class. You must be Sadie's mother."
"Yes, I'm Dr. Karev. Um, Josephine- Jo." I say, shaking her hand. "And this is my younger daughter, Emerson."
"Isn't she darling! How old?"
"She just turned 2 months."
"She's adorable. And you look great!"
"Oh, um- thank you." I say, uncomfortably.
"And I'm sure you're busy, too. It was so nice of you to volunteer to bring in the cupcakes for the end of year celebration today. I'm assuming you'll be there?"
The what? Shit! I remember Sadie telling me about something happening on June 14th, which is apparently today. But I don't remember signing up for anything...
"I told my teacher that you could bring treats. Is that okay?" Sadie chimes in.
"Uh, yeah! Of course! And I wouldn't miss it for the world." I say, giving Sadie a kiss before she runs into the school with some of her other friends.
"What time is that again?" I ask.
"12:00."
"Sorry. Things have been crazy with the baby, I totally forgot about it."
"That's not a problem. It took me a little while to get things on track after my first, too."
"Oh, Emmy isn't... well, we have Sadie."
"I'm sorry, I thought I was told Sadie was adopted."
"Well that's not... technically she's... it's just, her dad was... you know what? Apparently I have cupcakes to make, so I'm just gonna get going," I say, before I totally lose it on a random mom on school property.
She may not have had the full story, but regardless of how Sadie became part of our family, she's still our daughter.
Walking back home, I quickly go from angry to stressed about the 2 dozen cupcakes I need within a few hours. When I get home, I put Em in the pack n play for a nap and decide to call Alex, knowing good and well no cupcakes would be coming out of this kitchen anytime soon.
The line rings a few times, then picks up.
"Hey babe, what's up?"
"I'm freaking out. I need 24 cupcakes by 12:00, and I have none. We both know I can't bake, and I really don't wanna have to take the baby into the store."
"Right, the end of school celebration. Sadie told me about that. Look on top of the fridge."
Confused, I peer into the kitchen to see 3 bakery boxes stacked on top of the refrigerator, and I swear to god I have never loved anyone more.
"You're amazing."
"I got an extra dozen, one of the boxes is for you. I won't judge if you eat the whole box while the baby is sleeping."
"I love you. Thank you, baby. See you tonight."
"Of course. Love you, too." He says. I blow a kiss into the phone and hang up. Emmy is already asleep and there's still 3 hours until I have to be at the school again, so I grab one of the boxes.
"Don't mind if I do."

A/N: Hey guys! The next chapter will be the last, which for me is as exciting as it is sad. I just want to say thank you to all of my loyal readers who have been reading, voting and commenting since the beginning of this story, which feels like forever ago. Anyways, stay to tuned for the final chapter!!
xxx