An Initiates Baby

Chapter Twenty-Two - Cheeks

Myself and Luna got released from the infirmary, perfectly healthy. Eric carried the bag that contain some dirty clothes and extra supplies; nappies, bottles etc. I carried her in my arms the way home, not stopping for anyone, I was starting to feel tired and I knew I was going to feel this way for a while. I stifle a yawn as I wait for Eric to open the apartment door, he steps aside, silent, as he waits for me to enter first. I tiptoe beside him and enter the apartment, sitting on the sofa, keeping Luna still to not jolt her awake.

Eric dumped the dirty clothes, and joined me on the sofa, leaning back and closing his eyes, he knew too that he would be loosing his sleep too. I check everything I can with Luna; is her nappy dry and clean, is she hungry, is she too warm or too cold, is she sleepy or not tired, will she need some interaction to get her to be sleepy, a million things run through my head but one pops out among the rest.

Will I be a good mother?

Eric's hand runs across my back, slowly, soothingly. I look over at him, his eyes are closed as he continues to run his hand across my back. I stand, holding Luna closer to my body, Eric's eyes quickly open and he looks up, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What's up?" He asks quietly, squeezing his eyes closed for a minute, trying to keep himself awake.

"I'm just putting her to bed before I go to sleep." I explain then move to her room, Eric behind me. He stands in the doorway, watching me place her in her cot, placing a blanket over it, making sure she couldn't get caught in anything, before closing her curtains in the small window just above the cot, and switching off the small lamp within the room. I closed the door slightly, not fully so I could hear anything if necessary.

I smile tiredly at Eric and grasp his hand, and lead him to our bedroom, it was only 4PM, but I was exhausted, and I knew he was too, he didn't even take off his clothes, he just clambered onto the bed and curled up, facing towards me and closed his eyes. I quickly take off my clothing, keeping on my underwear before laying beside him, under the covers. My eyes close, but it's like I never fall asleep, I keep my senses on, listening to little things that make noses around the apartment. The hum from the refrigerator, all the way from the kitchen, seems louder then ever, Eric's breathing seems more distinct.

I move closer to Eric, getting some body warmth from him as I try to relax and fully fall asleep, instead, it's just like my eyes are resting, feeling less heavy, but I don't really fall asleep. When I eventually feel myself start to fall asleep, I can hear Luna crying from the other room, I sigh as I sit up, and look over to Eric, he's still sleeping like he's in a coma, I remove myself from the bed, slowly making my way to Luna's room.

I can tell that this is what it's going to be like a while.

The next morning, I'm still in bed, Eric's space beside me is empty, and I can hear footsteps in the living room, I don't move for a while, relaxing whilst I can, I still feel slightly sore but it's dull, nothing I couldn't handle or deal with for the day.

I tiptoe my way to the living room, watching Eric with Luna, he held her against his chest as he ate some breakfast, a book on the countertop in-front of him, he bounced Luna as he multi-tasked. I continue to watch them for a few moments later.

He cleans up as he continues to hold her, I noticed he dressed her, so perhaps he helped out and changed her as well, also feeding her from the bottles I had left in the fridge. He then uses both arms to hold onto Luna, sitting on the sofa with her. He pulls her closer, her head resting against his shoulder, facing towards his neck, as if hugging him. One of his hands rests on her back, hugging her back.

I then decide to make my entrance, still in my pyjamas.

I smile at them both, a warm feeling spreading through me.

"Hey baby." I coo, as I sit beside him, Luna closer to me than Eric is. Eric gives me a small smile, as he continues to hold her. I use my finer to stroke her cheek, her head slowly turns to face me, her eyes slightly open, but they close when I continue to stroke her cheek, they feel so soft.

"How long have you both been awake?" I ask him, keeping my eyes on her.

"Just under an hour, I woke up and decided to let you sleep in, knowing you was probably up most of the time checking in on her every so often, and when I checked on her, she was just laying there awake." He explained, slowly leaning his head against hers, not to put too much pressure on her weak body. I leaned forward a little too, wanting to be apart of this bubble.

I close my eyes for a moment, just relaxing again, liking the moment, and I knew with the impending transfers coming soon, I knew it would be hard to spend time together as a family without always being on duty with work and training. I opened my eyes again to see Eric watching me, I moved one of my hands to his hair, playing with strands at the back of his neck.

"What's our plan of action for her when we're both training initiates?" I ask him, just remembering that we're both working with the newbies. He shrugs.

"We can take shifts, you'll have her for a certain amount of time, then I'll take her and so on." He says and I shrug, it seems like a good idea.

"We'll have to have a bag between us, food and essentials." I tell him and he nods.

"We're going to be spending most of our points on nappies." He pouts playfully at me, causing me to laugh a little, he grins before kissing me quickly, I stand and move around him, planning to dress, then squeal when I feel his hand hit my ass, I turn and glare at him.

"We've just had a kid, wait a while for another." I joke, he laughs and shakes his head as I continue to walk away from him.