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Sometimes I like to write melodramatic things about people with babies. Content note: off-screen previous death of the baby's mother.


Danny picks up the second time his phone rings. Repeated phone calls in the middle of the night are the calls you have to answer.

"I'm in the driveway," Claude says. "Can I come in?"

"I'll be right down."

Danny has to pull on some clothes before he goes downstairs. He can hear Therese crying even before he opens the door.

"She won't sleep," Claude says. "The nanny is off tonight and I've changed her and fed her and I've been driving around for two hours and she keeps crying and I don't know what to do."

Danny takes the car seat from Claude and puts it down on the floor and pulls Claude into a hug. If Therese has been crying for hours, it won't hurt her to cry for a few more minutes.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Claude says. "I'm fucking this all up."

"You're not fucking it all up," Danny says. He rubs Claude's shoulders. "There are clean sheets in the guest bedroom. Go get some sleep. Go," he says when Claude doesn't move. "I can stay up with her."

Claude goes up the stairs, and Danny picks Therese up out of the car seat. He talks to her softly, calming nonsense that doesn't mean anything, while he takes her down to the basement. She's loud, and the boys are asleep upstairs.

It takes a while of walking back and forth and around the basement before Therese falls asleep. Danny hooks the car seat on his way upstairs and puts it in the corner of his room, then carefully puts Therese down. He holds his breath while he does it, and only lets it out when he's sure she's not going to wake up.

*

Claude brought in a diaper bag with him, so when Therese starts to cry in the morning, Danny gets her up and changed, and heats up a bottle for her. He has her over his shoulder, spit-up rag over his shirt while he pats her back, when Claude comes downstairs.

"I didn't mean to leave you with her," Claude says.

Danny uses the rag to wipe Therese's face clean. "It's okay."

"Ryanne was supposed to be here for this part. I'm so fucking mad at her for not being here." Claude rubs his hands over his face. "Is that horrible?"

Danny shrugs. "It's one of the stages of grief."

Claude drops his head into his hands. "How am I going to do this by myself?"

"You're not," Danny says. "You have a nanny, and you came here. You have help." He pats Claude's shoulder. "It's only been five months. The day to day stuff will get easier. Here." He shifts Therese until Claude has no choice but to take her. "There were times, when Caelan and Carson were babies, that Sylvie would call me and just cry until she fell asleep. We both felt like shit, but the kids turned out okay. You're going to be okay."

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Ruth Sadelle Alderson

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