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"Isaac please stop crying," Mirana begs the wailing child in her arms.
Her head is throbbing, sharp pains stabbing into her eyes as she rocks the crying child. With each scream, Mirana can feel the tears of stress welling in her eyes. Isaac is red in the face, his mouth wide open as he screams and Kojo barks loudly at Isaac's cries.
"Isaac, please," Mirana whispers. "For five minutes, por favor deja de llorar"
As the crying continues, tears begin to pour down Mirana's face. The pain in her head increases tenfold as Isaac throws up all down her front. She pulls her phone from her pocket and tries to call Tim but after four tries, she presses another number.
"Hello?"
"I can't get him to stop crying, Kojo's barking-" Mirana says into the phone, her voice thick with tears as she sniffles. "I- I'm failing - I can't- I tried calling Tim- I-"
"Alright, I'm on my way,"
Mirana tosses her phone on the couch as she rocks Isaac in her arms, tears pouring down her face as the infant continues screaming at the top of his lungs. A few minutes pass by and a knock sounds at the front door causing Mirana to hurry over and open it.
Nolan and Nyla look at Mirana sympathetically. The woman is covered in vomit and both her own and her son's tears.
"Here," Nolan holds out his arms. "Let me take him"
Mirana hands the screaming Isaac to Nolan as Nyla leads Mirana into the bedroom, sitting her down on the bed. Nyla strokes Mirana's arms soothingly as the woman gasps for breath, her hand pressed to her chest.
"Mirana, you need to breathe," Nyla says. "You're going to make yourself sick"
"I can't-" Mirana gasps. "I'm failing-"
"Hey!" Nyla's voice is firm. "You are not failing. He's fed, changed, burped, all of it. Babies sometimes just cry, it could be the start of colic or he could miss Tim. But babies sometimes just cry"
Mirana's breathing begins to slow as Nyla continues offering the woman words of reassurance.
"That's good," Nyla says.
"God, my head," Mirana whispers, massaging her temples. "It's all so fuzzy. I can barely see out of my right eye"
"It sounds like you've got a migraine," Nyla says. "Have you drank enough water today?"
"Uhm-" Mirana frowns as she tries to think.
"Alright, I'm going to get you something to drink and some painkillers," Nyla says.
Nyla leaves the room briefly, returning with a glass of water and painkillers for Mirana. She hands them to Mirana, who gratefully takes the medicine and sips the water.
"Thank you," Mirana says, her voice still shaky.
"Alright, let's get that top in the wash," Nyla says, pulling one of Tim's t-shirts out of the closet and handing it to Mirana who pulls her top over her head.
Nyla's eyes lock on the scars on Mirana's back and the tattoo on her side but doesn't say anything. She takes the vomit-covered t-shirt and tosses it into the laundry basket. Mirana rubs her hand over her face as she sits back down on the bed.
"Mirana, Tim's calling you," Nolan says quietly, handing Mirana her phone as he rocks the sleeping Isaac.
"Thanks," Mirana takes the phone and holds it to her ear. "Hey"
"Are you okay? Is Isaac okay?"
"Yeah," Mirana nods even though Tim can't see her.
"Have you been crying?"
"Yeah, I got a bit overwhelmed and have a huge migrana," Mirana says. "Nyla and John are here. John managed to get Isaac to stop crying"
"I should've been there. Is everything under control?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Nyla's taking care of me, and Nolan's with Isaac. We're managing. Just finish up what you need to do, and we'll be here when you get back."
"I'll hurry. I hate that you're dealing with this alone."
"I've got a pretty great support team," Mirana replies smiling at Nyla and Nolan. "See you soon."
"I love you,"
"I love you too,"
Mirana places her phone down and Nyla takes Mirana's hands into her own.
"Listen to me," Nyla's voice is serious. "When you have an infant, nearly everyone is focused on how the baby is doing. But people forget that the parents struggle too and there's no shame in it. You did the right thing calling us okay? It takes a village and it's not shameful to admit it"
"Thank you," Mirana smiles.
"You're welcome," Nyla replies, giving Mirana's hands a reassuring squeeze as the front door bangs open causing Mirana to wince. "I'm going to go and do my favourite activity, telling your baby daddy off"
Nyla gets to her feet and Nolan sits next to Mirana on the bed, listening to Nyla's whisper shouting as the woman berates Tim.
"If you ever need a night off," Nolan begins. "I'll be more than happy to take him"
"Gracias," Mirana smiles at the man as Tim walks into the room.
"Hey," Tim whispers, his expression a mix of concern and guilt. "How are you feeling?"
Mirana offers him a small smile. "Better now. Nyla's magic touch and John's baby-whispering skills worked wonders."
"Sorry I wasn't here," Tim says, sitting down next to her as Nolan leaves the room with Isaac.
"No need to apologize," Mirana reassures him. "You have work to do, and we managed just fine with the reinforcements"
"Alright," Tim nods. "You get some sleep, I'll look after Isaac, alright?"
"Okay," Mirana nods, yawning slightly as she flops back onto the pillows. "There's milk in the fridge, I pumped earlier"
"Get some sleep," Tim says, pulling the blanket up to cover Mirana before he presses a kiss to her temple. "Let me know if you need anything"
