I'm Doing The Best I Can

"Sterling, I need you to get in your pajamas please!" I shouted as I got Scarlett dressed in her's.

We were going on night two of being on my own with the kids. It was difficult but we were managing just fine. Damon had checked in as promised so that helped put me at ease. I still had some anxiety here and there but I pushed past it. I couldn't let myself over think.

"Okay!" Sterling hollered back at me.

I finished getting Scarlett taken care of and fed her the bottle she usually took before bed. Sterling was getting a little bit of a longer bed time over these past few days. Thankfully Sterling was on a few days break from school so it didn't matter as much. Damon should be home by Sunday night and then we could focus back onto our normal routine.

Once Scarlett finished her bottle I rocked her a few minutes longer to make sure she was in a deep enough sleep. I placed her gently inside of her crib and left the room quietly. Once the door was shut I opened the door to Sterling's room. He was sitting on his bed playing with two toy cars.

He looked up when he heard me enter. "Do you wanna play cars?" He asked.

I thought for a moment before answering. "You should really get to bed, but I don't think ten minutes of playing could hurt." I smirked.

A smile came across his lips. "You can be the red one." He held the car out in his hand as I approached his bed.

I grabbed the car and sat down on the bed with him. "Perfect."

We drove the cars together on his bed sheets. He had us race a couple times and he clearly had let me win a few times. We were so focused on playing that we definitely went over the ten minutes. I hadn't realized until I looked at the clock.

"Shoot." I spoke as I looked back at Sterling. "It's definitely bed time now. We can play more tomorrow."

"Okay." He nodded.

I got up and grabbed one of the story books from his shelf and read it out loud to him. I felt it was important to do some reading with him as much as possible. It was something my mother had always done with me. Because of how late it already was I read a shorter book with him this time. Jet laid on his bed at the end of Sterling's as I read.

When we finished the story and I closed the book Sterling proceeded to place a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you mommy. I love you."

I smiled and kissed his forehead. "I love you too."

I tucked him in and then headed for the door. I turned out his light and shut the door behind me. Both kids were now in bed. I let out a relaxed sigh to myself. Now I could go do something for myself before I went to bed.

I headed downstairs and to the kitchen. Rose was in there making herself some tea. "There you are." She smiled as she heard me walk in. "I figured you could use some adult conversation so I put some tea on for the both of us."

"That's sweet of you Rose. Thank you." I responded as I took a seat on the stool of the kitchen island counter.

"You seem to be holding up well with Mr. Tipton being away." Rose spoke as she poured the hot water into two tea cups.

"I'm doing the best I can." I sighed. "It's definitely a lot different compared to when he was away before the children."

She let out a small chuckle. "Children do change things quite a bit don't they?" She grabbed the two tea cups and placed one in front of me and the other in front of the stool next to me.

"They do. But I couldn't imagine life without either of them right now." I smiled to myself. "They've just become such a big part of our lives."

Rose opened the pantry and brought over some cookies and placed them on the counter. "It's definitely been a change around here, before the three of you it was always quiet. Even with Mr. Tipton home it was quiet. Then one night he brought you home and things were no longer quiet from then on."

I felt my cheeks go red as I knew the night she was talking about. The first night Damon had taken me to bed. "Oh god, you were here that night?!"

"Yes." She chuckled. "I saw him come in with you. Clearly you two were caught up in a moment so I immediately went to my room."

I covered my face with my hands out of embarrassment. It had never occurred to me that Rose had been here. I didn't meet her until the next day. Even then she acted as if she had never seen me before. It must've been to save me from the embarrassment I was feeling right now.

"Oh god." I mumbled as I dropped my hands and took a sip from the tea that she had prepared for us.

"You know, his mother always wanted him to have a family." Rose took the opportunity to change the subject onto Constance. "She knew he was going to be a great business man like his father but she did fear that it would consume his life entirely. I think she'd be relieved to see the impact you've had on her son."

"I hope so. I've been doing the best I can with him. No matter how difficult he makes it sometimes." I responded.

"He can make it quite the challenge." She agreed. "But I knew you two would work out. Even with everything thrown your way you two still have pushed through. Together you two seem to be quite the force to be reckoned with."

"Yeah. We still have some things we'll have to push through." I responded.

"What makes you say that?" She looked at me curiously.

"His shooter is still out there. I don't have any idea who it could be but I have a bad feeling about it. I worry about them possibly coming back here too, while the kids are here." I explained. "I feel like if they try to come back and make their presence known then things will definitely be headed back into a darker place."

"For Mr. Tipton?" Rose asked.

"For us both." I answered.

"What do you mean?" She raised a brow.

"This person almost destroyed my family with what they did. If they show up again they won't be dealing with just Damon this time." I spoke confidently. "They'll be dealing with us both and I have this gut feeling that they'll be the one fighting for their life this time."