Chapter 5

"Honey?" Richie said quietly because Daniel had finally been able to go to sleep again.
Sarah looked up at him, waiting for him to speak.
"We're going home tonight." He said, almost sounding strict. The decision had been made and Sarah didn't have another choice.
She frowned. "How? Daniel's here, we're not leaving him alone."

Richie sighed and walked over to his wife. He gently wrapped his arms around her.

"We've been here for five days. We need a break. Just tonight." He said quietly. "Mom's coming over to stay the night with Daniel."
"We can't leave him." Sarah said firmly. She wasn't going to leave her small son in the hospital all by himself.
He pulled her closer and stroked his hands over her back. "You're tired honey, our bed at home will give you a better rest than the pull-out couch here. Just for the night. We'll be back after breakfast."

Sarah sighed. The idea of sleeping at home in her own bed did seem intruiging and Richie was right, it would be a lot more comfortable and offer her a better night's sleep than a pull-out couch would.

"We've got three other kids that need a little attention too. Daniel will be asleep all night, he won't notice we were gone and mom will be here to stay with him." Richie tried to explain once again. "Unless you want to ask your mom to come stay with him." Maybe she'd be more comfortable with that.
Sarah nodded softly against him.
"Ava and the boys will probably visit after dinner anyway and when they go home, we just go with them. Daniel's asleep by that time."
Sarah nodded again.
"Okay?"
"Yeah but we have to be back in the morning."
"We will, I promise."


As agreed, they went home with their teenage children while Joan stayed the night with Daniel.

Knowing the plan didn't make it any easier for Sarah. Everyone was ready to go while Richie and her were still standing by Daniel's bed.

Last minute, Richie had developed nerves about leaving his son too.

Watching their son in their hospital bed, he looked just as fragile as he had on Monday. The week had gone well, they both knew that and Daniel was slowly making progress but leaving him wasn't as easy as Richie had thought.

Oddly, a weight was lifted from their shoulders as they got in the car. Daniel was in good care and they finally had a few hours to themselves.

If needed, Daniel was only a fifteen minute drive away.

The evening was spend casually, they watched a movie which was entirely pointless once again because Ava had a lot of things she needed to talk about and often Caleb pitched in too.

It was great to hear their children talking about their lives even though Daniel being in the hospital popped up once in a while.

After the movie, Richie and Sarah finally went upstairs, already thinking of their comfortable bed.

Sarah started undressing as Richie went to the bathroom. After using the toilet, he noticed the large bath in the corning. Deciding against going to bed, he started the hot water. Locating the bath salts and bubble bath, he added both to the hot water before finding Sarah.

"What took you so long?" She asked as he walked back into the room.
"Come one, I prepared a bath for us. Nice to relax."
Sarah didn't need to consider it for a second and joined Richie in the bathroom.

She watched Richie sit down in the bath, he left his legs open for her to sit down. Sarah watched him a little longer before getting in and sitting down betweem his legs and rested back against his chest.
Richie wrapped his arms around her and folded his hands over her belly, then kissed the side of her head. “Warm enough?” He asked.
“Yes, it is. It’s perfect.”
Letting themselves relax, they stayed in the bath until the water turned cold.

"I'll get towels." Richie said, not wanting them to stay in the cold water, it was getting late and if they wanted to be at the hospital early, they needed some sleep.
Sarah sat up a little and Richie was able to get up.
As he returned with a towel around his waist, Sarah was getting out of the bath. He wrapped a large, soft towel around her body and pulled her close, sharing a tender kiss.

Richie guided Sarah back to the bed, pulling the covers back and laying her down. Sarah sunk back in the pillows and Richie lay next to her on his side propped up on his elbow. He moved over her and kissed her again.

Not waiting a second, he reached down and kissed her breast as he slid two fingers inside her. He moved his thumb on her clit and gently rubbed it. He felt Sarah was getting closer to her orgasm and slowed down the rhythm. Sarah moaned, urging him on to go faster again. Richie let go of her breast and moved down to lick her clit. He held her hips when he felt her shudder with her own release. He looked up and licked his lips; Sarah opened her legs in response.

Richie moved between her legs and slowly moved inside her. He placed his hand next to her shoulders for support. He bent his head to kiss her and nuzzled her neck.
Sarah ran her hands up over his chest feeling his chest hair. He quickened the tempo when he felt her shudder again. Sarah felt her release coming but wanted Richie there with her. She was getting there fast and spanked his ass, Richie let out a grunt and they reached their point of release together.

Richie reached down again to kiss her neck, not really able to move and lay on top of her. Chest to chest, still arousing each other. His chest hair tickled her nipples; she reached her arms around him, tying them on his back as to hug him. She felt his heart beat slowing down again and so did hers.

“I love you.” He whispered in her hair.