Emma quietly crawled out of bed and tiptoed over to the bathroom to get a drink of water. It was after one in the morning, and she and her husband Will, along with their one-month-old daughter Melody, had already settled down for the night. They just had a busy day where the members of the first generation of New Directions had come over along with Will's parents to see how the baby was doing, and it had turned into an impromptu party that had food, looking at pictures of the glee club's trip to New York for nationals as well as the birth, and of course music. The kids had also told Will and Emma what they would be doing in the fall, and the couple was of course proud of everything they had achieved.
Closing the bathroom door behind her, Emma picked up the red cup that was sitting on the sink and filled it with cold water, all the while doing her best not to wake her husband. As she began to drink the water in her cup, she heard the sound of crying coming from the baby's room, perhaps Melody needed something. She put her cup down, stepped out of the bathroom and went into the empty room in the apartment that had been turned into the baby's room with a little help from the glee kids. Peering into the crib after switching on the lamp on the side table, Emma reached out to pick up the baby and sat down with her in the rocking chair in the corner of the room.
"Oh Mellie," she said as she stroked her daughter's hair and attempted to calm her down, the baby's head settling gently on Emma's chest. It was going to be a long night awake if Melody kept crying like this.
Will sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes opening slowly and adjusting to the darkness, then noticing the spot that Emma slept in was empty – she had probably gotten up to go to the bathroom or something. But when he heard the cries coming from the baby's room, it had to be more than that. Pulling the covers off of him, he got out of bed and walked over to the nursery where he saw Melody in Emma's arms as she tried to calm her down. They both knew that raising a child would be a lot of work, especially when they eventually had to go back to work, but they were determined to set a good example for their daughter no matter what.
"How long have you been with her, Em?" he asked, absentmindedly tugging on the hem of the red McKinley High T-shirt he wore over his gray pajama pants. Hopefully there were no health problems that could be contributing to this.
"About fifteen minutes," Emma replied. "I've tried a lot of things – stuffed animals, rubbing her back, whispering in her ear, but none of that seems to work. Oh Will, I never knew this would be so hard. What am I going to do?" It was too late at night to call her parents, Will's parents or even Quinn for advice, she was sure everyone would be asleep.
"Don't worry, we're going to get through this together," said Will. "And I know what to do to help calm Melody down. I'll be right back." Emma wondered what he was going to do as she watched him go out of the room in his stocking feet. A few minutes later, he returned carrying his ukulele in his left hand – he had left it in its case on the front hall chest after coming home from his monthly visit to the pediatric cancer ward at Lima Hospital. Sitting cross-legged on the carpet beside the rocking chair and played a couple of soft chords before starting to sing the first part of his favourite song acapella, a song that he had sung to the glee club at the end of their first year together and he had recorded onto the CD of songs and lullabies he gave to Emma for a baby shower present. It was certainly a song that meant a lot to him.
When all the world is a hopeless jumble
And the raindrops tumble all around
Heaven opens a magic lane
When all the clouds darken up the skyway
There's a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your windowpane
To a place behind the sun
Just a step beyond the rain...
He then began to play the melody, gently singing "ooh" along with the music, finally starting to sing the heart of the song.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I dreamed of
Once in a lullaby...
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true...
While playing a short instrumental interlude, he looked up at Emma and the baby. Emma was smiling, and it looked as if the song was working because Melody had stopped crying and had fallen asleep. Smiling himself, Will continued the song.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Oh, somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why, can't I?
With one last little vocal riff, he played the last chord of the song and stood up, laughing softly to himself. His song must have worked too well, not only was the baby asleep but Emma as well! He set the instrument on the floor as he opened the cedar chest at the foot of the baby's crib and pulled out a long pink blanket with a gold star pattern that had been given to them by Rachel. Unfolding it, he gently spread it over Emma and Melody and kissed them both before picking up his ukulele and switching off the lamp.
"Goodnight Em, goodnight Mellie," he said gently and closed the door behind him. Maybe parenthood wouldn't be so difficult after all.