Once Abandoned, Now Found

Chapter 12

A/N: Evening everyone, sorry it's been so long, I've been struggling with some things so I haven't been in the right frame of mind to write. Hopefully things will get fairly back on schedule now, and the book can continue uninterrupted.

Update: This has now been checked and edited.

Once the books were bought and safely bagged, it was time to go home. Alex barely had the energy to walk and kept trailing behind the women with Teggs slowly falling out of her grasp as she practically fell asleep stood up.

"Oh bubs, all that shopping must have made you really sleepy huh?" Maggie cooed, shifting more bags onto one arm so there was one free for Alex to hold.

"Come here darling, hold my hand and we'll be home soon" Maggie held her hand out for Alex.

Alex was quick to hold on, Maggie steering them through the crowds until they arrived at the car park.

Maggie gave her bags to Danni so she could strap Alex into the brand-new car seat. It was then that she noticed something was seriously wrong.

"Alex baby, where's Teggs?"

All hell broke loose, Alex immediately started screaming and crying, Danni began running around frantically trying to find Teggs, and Maggie attempted to calm the wailing little down.

"It's alright baby, Danni's going to find him, he'll be okay, he's just gone for an adventure." Maggie did her best to soothe Alex, but without Teggs there wasn't much that could be done.

"Teggs! Teggs!" Alex cried, tears streaming down her face as she began to choke on her sobs.

Maggie tried to use the new friend Alex picked out, but as it "not Teggs", the stuffie just made Alex cry harder.

"Come on Danni, please" Maggie begged quietly, unstrapping Alex from the seat and swaddling her in a new blanket quickly.

Alex was lifted onto Maggie's hip and her head guided to her neck, the slow bouncing finally helping to calm the girl down.

As other people came out of the mall into the car park they stared at the crying little, so Maggie shifted the blanket until it covered Alex's head, not wanting her to become a zoo exhibition.

Alex was still crying, but it was muffled by the blanket, and her sobs were causing her chest to heave as she desperately tried to catch her breath.

"Oh my little lady, it must be so scary not having him huh? I bet you must really not like it" Maggie couldn't say anything that would calm Alex, but she could at least make sure that Alex knew she was understood.

"Hey baby, I can see Danni coming back, and she's got someone with her" Maggie smiled, lifting the blanket and positioning Alex so that she could see Danni and then intrepid adventurer.

"Teggs! It Teggs!" Alex called out, bouncing as Danni and her special friend came closer and closer.

"Here you go, darling."

Danni was quick to pass the stuffie back to Alex, who hugged Teggs closer to her chest, mumbling something into the top of Teggs' head.

"T'ank you 'Anni" Alex smiled up at Danni, her puffy red eyes finally not watering, and the tears on her cheeks drying.

"That's alright my baby, we can't have Lexi without her Teggs now can we?" Danni brushed Alex's hair out of her face and kissed her forehead, leading her girlfriend back to the car.

This time all three were buckled in and were able to leave without tears, only some shaky breaths and some mutterings about not letting a sleepy toddler walk and carry a toy.

It didn't take long before the thrum of the car engine lulled Alex to sleep, Maggie and Danni unable to not coo at the little. She was still swaddled in the blanket, Teggs firmly pressed against her chest under the blanket, and her hair messy, almost bed-head, from the incident earlier.

"That was more stress than I ever want to experience again" Danni sighed, sinking down slightly in the seat as Maggie drove.

"That was intense, but it's fine, we have Teggs, Alex is asleep, lets just not let that happen again" Maggie decided, placing one hand on her girlfriend's knee and rubbing to soothe her.

The rest of the drive home was quiet, Danni almost asleep, and comically in the same position (minus the blanket) as Alex, Teggs' new friend against her chest as Teggs was to Alex.

"Babe, we're home" Maggie nudged Danni gently, trying to wake her without waking Alex.

"Huh? Oh, right, thanks baby" Danni opened her eyes, her first action being to kiss her girlfriend before exiting the car and unlocking the front door.

She was quick to return and help unload the bags and boxes while Alex stayed asleep in the back, carrying them straight to the spare room, which would very soon be "Alex's".

It was only when everything was inside that either woman dared to take Alex from the car, but luckily for all, she didn't stir as she was placed back on Maggie's hip and carried inside.

Maggie attempted to lay her on the sofa, so her and Danni could build Alex's cot in peace, but as soon as there was even a hint of a loss of contact Alex began to whimper in her sleep, untangling herself from the blanket to try and snatch at Maggie.

Unwilling to deal with another meltdown, Maggie chose to re-swaddle Alex and keep her cuddled close, leaving Danni to build the cot alone. Danni didn't mind and was happy to see Maggie and Alex cuddling while she desperately tried not to swear at the many times she missed a nail and hammered her thumb.

"That the cot, I'm going to do the highchair and rocking chair now as well, just so they're done," Danni told Maggie, moving the cot against a wall and pulling the rocking chair boxes towards her.

A couple of hours later and the Briggs house was fit for a little, toys were situated in multiple boxes around the house, there were plastic and bamboo plates in cupboards, a highchair against the dining room table, and most importantly, a little, fast asleep between her two "temporary" caregivers.

Maggie and Danni had decided to lie with Alex on their bed, not prepared for their tiredness to hit them quite so hard, and soon all three were fast asleep, cuddled up as any family should, without a single care in the world.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reads, votes and/or comments, you give me so much serotonin. I was never expecting 100 reads let alone 8 thousand, I appreciate you all so much.

Have a good evening and I'll be posting Sunday like normal.