Hello! After writing a Corpanga one shot, I realized I really like doing that. So here is another one shot! It takes place shortly after Riley was born. Enjoy! And please leave a review to tell me what you think! Thanks! :)
Topanga rushed from her room and ran to Riley's bedroom. The baby's shrill screams echoed through the house. She had given her attempt at sleeping during the night and was now wide awake and hungry.
"Riley, it's okay," Topanga said, picking her 3-month old daughter up out of her crib.
She held her child to her chest and rocked back and forth in an attempt to stop her crying.
"Mommy's here," she whispered as Riley calmed down. "Shh," she said quietly.
After a while, Riley's crying ceased to a whimper and Topanga carried her daughter into the living room. The first few rays of sunshine peeked through the curtains, an uncomforting sight to Topanga. She had been up already four times that night as Riley had woken up. Cory had taken care of her twice, but Topanga still woke up due to the screams from the baby.
Topanga sat down on the couch and looked down at Riley. She seemed to be falling back asleep. Topanga sighed with relief and let her head rest against the couch.
After what seemed like a few seconds, she was shaken by the flailing arms of Riley. The baby started to fuss.
"Okay, okay," Topanga said. She fumbled with her shirt in order to allow Riley to nurse.
Finally, Riley was quiet. Topanga leaned her head back once again.
After only a few more seconds, she felt her husband sit next to her on the couch. She opened her eyes and looked over at him.
"Good morning, honey," she said tiredly.
"Good morning," he answered. "Topanga, have you slept at all tonight?"
Topanga shook her head wearily.
Cory kissed her forehead and she leaned on his shoulder.
"Cory, I don't know how much longer I can handle this. I mean, it's hard enough taking all my classes online. I just don't know how I'm going to take care of her and manage to write two papers today."
"I know, honey," Cory said quietly. "I'll be home at 1 o'clock today. Then I can take the baby out and you can have some peace and quiet."
Topanga shook her head. "I'm exhausted. I need to sleep more than anything. But she needs me every few minutes. I can't get a break."
She put her hand to her head. "Cory, what if we're not ready to be parents? This is all coming at us so fast and I-"
"Topanga, that's ridiculous. Yeah, it's hard, but we can do it. All we have to do is work together," Cory tried to comfort her.
"That's easy for you to say. You're not a human cow," she said, giving him a look.
"I'm not saying we have it equally. Trust me, Topanga, I know you have the hard part. I'm sorry, honey. How can I help you?"
"I just…I need to sleep, Cory. My eyes are closing and I can't stay awake another minute."
"Okay. As soon as Riley's full, I will take her and you can go back to bed."
Topanga nodded and her eyes closed as she drifted off.
Cory kissed the top of her head and brushed her hair out of her face. He wrapped his arm around her and held her.
He looked down at his daughter.
She's so precious, but she sure knows how to put people on edge, he thought, shaking his head.
Then he looked at his wife.
His heart felt like it broke as he looked at her. She had dark bags under her eyes from exhaustion, her hair was thrown in a ponytail hours ago and was now mostly down, and she just looked so weighed down by her tiredness.
It was then that he knew he had to do something. His poor wife had been dealing with this for three months now. She needed a break. He leaned his head against her and, though she was completely asleep, she leaned more into him.
Cory smiled softly at her unconscious response. Even when things were this tough, they always knew they had each other.
xxxXXXxxx
After Topanga had gone back to bed and Riley was back in her crib, Cory picked up the phone.
It rang a few times and then was answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, buddy!"
"Cory?"
"Yeah! How are you, Shawnie?" Cory asked.
"Well, it's like 7 o'clock in the morning, so sleeping."
"Must be nice," Cory said, playfully spiteful.
"How're Topanga and Riley?" Shawn asked.
"Well, that's kind of why I called."
There was a pause. "What do you mean? Is something wrong, Cor?"
"No, everything's fine. It's just that Topanga is getting worn out. She is so physically and emotionally drained from this that she doesn't even act like herself anymore. She needs a break."
"Well why don't you watch Riley for a few hours?" Shawn offered.
"I would, Shawn, but Riley eats like every two hours. And you know how Topanga feels about formula."
"So what are you going to do?" Shawn asked.
"I don't know, Shawn. But I need to do something. It's my job to protect her, you know? And she needs my help right now. So I have to come up with something."
"Maybe I can watch her for a little while and you two can go do something."
"Thanks, Shawn. But I don't think she'll go for that. Riley, I mean. She needs to eat, remember?"
"Just…use one of those…pump things," Shawn said awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot we had that! We haven't used that yet. I think it's sitting in the closet somewhere. Shawnie, would you really watch her for us?"
"Yeah, sure! Besides, she's like my adopted niece…type thing. She needs to spend time with her kind-of uncle."
"This is so great, Shawnie! We can go shopping or go see a movie- and we can sleep in!"
Shawn chuckled. "Good for you, Cor."
"Do you know what would be even better?" Cory asked excitedly.
"What?" Shawn asked, humoring him.
"We could go away for the weekend!"
There was silence.
"Shawn?" Cory asked.
"Yeah, I'm still here. It's just that I don't know how great I am at watching kids for extended periods of time. I've never actually done that before."
"Well, hey, Topanga and I have never been parents before, and I'd like to think we're not screwing up our kid too much."
"I don't know, Cory," Shawn said, doubting Cory's plan.
"Come on, Shawn. Please? Topanga would be so happy."
Shawn sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. But Cory?"
"Yeah?"
"You have to promise me one thing."
"What's that, Shawnie?"
"You will not, under any circumstances, make another one. Got that? Because sure, I'll watch one kid for a weekend. But two kids is too much. I can't handle two screaming babies."
Cory rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Goodbye, Shawn," Cory said monotonously.
"Bye, Cory. And I am serious about that, by the way."
"Yeah, okay," Cory said. He hung up the phone.
xxxXXXxxx
At 9 o'clock, Cory went into his bedroom and saw Topanga completely passed out from exhaustion. He sighed and climbed into bed.
He wrapped his arms around her and she stirred, then pulling his arms tighter around her.
"Honey, it's time to wake up," Cory said. "I have to go to class now. I'm sorry, sweetie."
She turned her head and craned her neck until her nose brushed against his cheek. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
"That nap was heaven," she said contently.
"Good," he said softly with a smile.
Topanga kissed his cheek softly and scooted closer to him until her head was resting on his chest.
"I have some good news," Cory said.
"What is it?" Topanga asked.
"We're going away this weekend."
Topanga crinkled her eyebrows and looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, I know that you and I could both use a break from this craziness, so Shawn agreed to watch Riley so that we could have a little mini-vacation."
"Cory, as much as I love that idea, I don't think I can realistically leave Riley. She needs me here. She's only three months old."
"No, but remember we got that pump thing? You can use that and save milk for Riley to eat over the weekend."
"But Shawn doesn't know how to get Riley to sleep, and-"
"Topanga," Cory interrupted. "We need a break."
Topanga searched his eyes and then sighed. "I know," she said, laying her head back on his chest.
"It could be fun," Cory said, trying to entice her. "We could do whatever you want."
"Can we go to a bed and breakfast?" Topanga asked. "I've been wanting to go to one of those."
"Anything," Cory said.
"We can't," Topanga said with a sigh.
"What? Why not?"
"Cory, we need money to do those things. We don't have any money to spare."
"And yet…maybe we do," Cory said mysteriously.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking up at him.
Cory only made a mysterious face and shrugged.
"Cory!" Topanga complained, playfully slapping his arm.
"Okay, okay. I may have set aside some money for your birthday coming up. I mean, I wouldn't be able to get you an amazing birthday present anymore, but at least we could do something fun."
"Yes. Cory let's take a weekend for ourselves. We've earned it. I mean, three months of a newborn baby certainly constitutes a good weekend, doesn't it?"
"Most definitely."
"Oh, Cory, I'm so excited! We haven't done anything like this since before the baby was born!" Topanga exclaimed.
"I know. I'm excited."
"Me too. It's kind of romantic, don't you think?" Topanga asked, playing with the collar on his shirt. "Us sneaking off to a bed and breakfast. Off the grid for a weekend, no responsibilities."
"Yeah, it'll be great, Topanga. I can't wait."
"Me either," she said, a hopeful smile on her face.
xxxXXXxxx
That Friday, Cory and Topanga were in the car on the way to a countryside bed and breakfast. Shawn had gone to their apartment and had everything he needed to take care of Riley, including a plethora of diapers, wipes, milk, bottles, and pacifiers, and the phone number to the bed and breakfast in case of emergency.
"I can't believe we're doing this," Topanga said, grinning.
"Why? We can still have fun. Just because we have a baby doesn't mean the heat has died and we're a boring old couple," Cory said.
"I know," Topanga said. "I just couldn't see us doing anything like this for a long time. I'm so glad we are though. This is going to be such a great weekend."
Cory smiled at his wife.
They drove a few more miles until Cory pulled into the parking lot of the bed and breakfast.
"This is so exciting!" Topanga squealed as they got out of the car.
Cory chuckled and got the luggage out of the trunk. He carried it over to the main door and then held the door open for Topanga.
She walked through and said, "Thank you, honey."
Cory carried the luggage inside and they looked around.
There was a beautiful piano just inside, and there were many exquisite paintings decorating the walls. It looked incredibly homey.
Cory walked over to the front desk and said, "Hi. Cory Matthews please."
The lady at the desk nodded and then got a key from the wall behind her.
"Here you are, Mr. Matthews. You'll be staying in room 12 this weekend. Let me show you to your room," she said, walking around the desk.
She led them up the grand stairs and then stopped outside one of the doors.
"Please let me know if there's anything we can do for you. Just dial the number four on the phone and it will send you to the front desk," the lady said.
"Thank you," Cory said.
The lady nodded and went back down the stairs. Cory unlocked the door and then walked over to Topanga.
"Cory, what are you- ah!" Topanga gasped as Cory lifted her into his arms. He opened the door and carried her in.
She looked around in awe.
The room was beautiful. There were gold colored curtains and furniture and decorations and the walls were a maroon color. She turned to the side of the room and saw the bed, and there were rose petals scattered all around it.
She gasped and pointed. "Cory, look!"
Cory smiled and nodded. He set her down and then went back to get the luggage out of the hallway.
"You did all this for me?" Topanga asked.
"You deserve it," Cory shrugged.
Topanga smiled and walked over to kiss him. Her hands rustled his hair and he pulled her waist to him.
Cory walked inside and kicked the door shut with his foot.
xxxXXXxxx
On Saturday morning, Cory and Topanga slept until nearly 11am. Cory woke up first and looked around at his surroundings.
First he saw all the cool paintings and decorations around the room. There were gold flowers hanging around the room and they glimmered in the sunlight that shone through the curtains. The paintings all looked one-of-a-kind and were a mix of abstract and realism. The furniture had accents of gold on it.
Then he looked at his wife sleeping peacefully in his arms. He smiled at the sight.
She's so beautiful, he thought.
Normally, he would wake her up by pulling her toward him or kissing her shoulder, but he wanted to let her get as much sleep as she could. He just laid still, waiting for her to stir.
After a few minutes, she did. She lifted her arms to stretch and turned to look at her husband.
"Hello," she said with a smile.
Cory smiled back. "Hey, honey. How'd you sleep?"
"Better than ever," she replied, still smiling.
"Good to hear," Cory said. He leaned over and kissed her.
"So what are we going to do today?" she asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "What do you want to do?"
Topanga thought for a moment. "Half of me says that I just want to lay here with you all day," she said, smiling and scooting closer. "But I also kind of want to do something. All I've done for three months is sit around. It might be nice to go out and do something fun."
"Okay," Cory said. "So we'll stay here for a few hours and go out tonight?"
"Okay," Topanga said, grinning. "It's just nice to lay here, isn't it? To not have to get up to go get Riley."
"Yeah, it is," Cory said. "And nobody even knows where we are- except Shawn."
"You were right, Cory. We did need this," Topanga said, closing her eyes with content.
"Wait, who was right?" Cory asked with a smirk.
Topanga sighed. "You were."
"I was?" Cory asked, playfully shocked.
Topanga only grumbled.
"What was that?" Cory asked, knowing he won.
Topanga opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Fine. You leave me no choice," Cory said, shaking his head.
He quickly sat up and grabbed her sides, tickling her and making her scream with delight.
"Cory!" she laughed, trying to push him away.
"Who was right?" Cory demanded, laughing.
"You were right!" Topanga laughed.
The next few hours passed with Cory and Topanga just talking and laughing and enjoying each other's uninterrupted company. It was much needed, and they felt completely relaxed and happy.
Around two o'clock, they decided to get up- they were hungry. They got dressed and then Topanga took Cory's hand and they walked down stairs to the lobby.
Cory led them to the desk and he asked, "What kinds of things are there to do in this town?"
"Well, we have a brochure about the town," the lady said, gesturing to the pile of brochures on the desk. "We have a lot of tourist attractions like local shops, restaurants, the lake, that sort of thing."
"Okay. Thank you," Cory said, taking a brochure.
As they walked away from the counter, Cory asked, "Does any of that sound appealing to you?"
"We could visit the little shops. That could be fun! Maybe they'll have something for Riley."
"Alright then. To the shops," Cory said, leading them out the door and to the parking lot.
They visited numerous bakeries, gift shops, coffeehouses, and ice cream parlors. They made sure to try a little taste of everything. They ate dinner at a cute little diner on Main Street and had some pie for dessert.
Then they headed back to the bed and breakfast. Cory unlocked their room and Topanga went in and sat on the couch. She watched Cory close the door and sit next to her.
"This was amazing, Cory," she said, smiling.
"It was. I'm really glad we came here."
"Me too. But I do miss Riley. We've never been away from her for this long before."
"I know. It is nice to get away from all the crying, but I miss her smiling and laughing," Cory said, smiling at the memories of his daughter.
"Yeah," Topanga agreed. "As much fun as this has been, I'm glad we're going back tomorrow."
Cory smiled his crooked smile at her. "Well, we'd better get packing then."
Topanga sighed.
Cory stood up and held his hand out. Topanga took it and stood up. She looked around. They hadn't gotten too many things out, but it would still take a while to pack. She began putting her makeup in her suitcase.
Cory came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"On second thought," he began. "Packing means that this weekend is over. Maybe it should wait until tomorrow."
Topanga turned to look at him. "I agree."
"So what do you want to do?" Cory asked with a goofy grin.
"I just want to enjoy the silence."
"Enjoy the silence? That's it?" Cory complained.
"Yeah. Think about it, Cory. When's the next time we'll have complete silence together?" she asked him.
"You're right. Can't we at least talk?"
Topanga chuckled. "Yes, we can talk. I just want to enjoy not having any crying in here."
Cory nodded and went back to the couch to sit down. Topanga followed.
"Cory, did we really have enough money to come here?" she asked, looking around at all the fancy decorations.
"Yeah, of course," he said. "But like I said, you don't get an awesome birthday present anymore."
"You really saved that much just for my birthday?"
"Yeah. You mean everything to me, Topanga. You deserve to have a nice birthday."
"Well, this was a great present," she said, smiling.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Now what am I going to get for my birthday?"
"Probably like a pack of gum," Cory said, laughing.
Topanga laughed and leaned on his chest. "That's okay. This weekend was exactly what we needed, and it was the best birthday present ever."
"Now we just get to relax."
"Yeah," Topanga said, sighing.
xxxXXXxxx
The next morning, Cory and Topanga loaded their packed suitcases back into the car. They had eaten a filling breakfast of French toast and sausage.
"How long will it take us to get back?" Topanga asked.
"About two hours."
"Okay."
They got in the car and Cory started the engine.
"We need to do this again sometime," Topanga said.
"We do," Cory agreed, backing the car out of the parking spot.
"I'm so excited to see Riley, though. I hope everything went alright with Shawn."
"Well, we didn't get a call, so I think everything's fine," Cory said.
"Yeah, you're right."
The car ride seemed short as Topanga fell asleep and it was nice and peaceful.
When they got back to the apartment, Topanga squealed with delight.
"We're home!" she exclaimed.
Cory grinned and got the luggage out of the car. He walked with her to their apartment and she grinned before opening the door.
They found Shawn sitting on the couch watching TV when they walked in.
"Hey, guys!" Shawn greeted them. "How was the trip? Be quiet though; Riley's sleeping."
"Oh, she's sleeping," Topanga frowned, looking up at Cory.
"That's okay," Cory said. "It was great, Shawn. Thank you so much for watching her."
"Yes, thank you, Shawn. Did everything go alright here?" Topanga asked.
"Yeah! The weekend went off without a hitch," Shawn said quickly.
Topanga narrowed her eyes at him. "What does that mean?"
"Everything's fine, Topanga. Really. I'm glad you guys had a nice weekend. Trust me, I now know the struggle that is parenthood."
Cory and Topanga started laughing.
"Yeah, try being a parent for more than a weekend, Shawnie," Cory said, laughing.
"I don't know how you guys do it," Shawn confided. "This weekend was insane. I'm exhausted and I'm pretty sure Riley hates me because I didn't know how she likes everything."
"She doesn't hate you, Shawn," Topanga said. "Anyways, thank you for keeping an eye on her this weekend. We really do owe you one."
"You got that right," Shawn said, shaking his head.
"Is she in her crib?" Topanga asked.
"Yeah," Shawn answered.
"Ooh, okay!" Topanga said as she tiptoed into the hallway.
"Uh, Topanga, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Shawn said. "You'll awaken a monster…"
"She's not a monster, Shawn, she's a three-month-old baby," Cory chuckled.
"Same thing," Shawn mumbled under his breath.
Topanga walked into Riley's room and saw her sleeping baby. "Aw!" Topanga squealed.
Then Cory walked in behind her. He smiled when he saw his daughter sleeping peacefully.
"I can't wait until she wakes up!" Topanga whispered.
"Why don't we wake her up now?" Cory asked. "She'll be excited to see us."
"You guys are insane," Shawn said quietly.
Cory and Topanga turned around and saw him standing in the doorway, shaking his head.
"I'm taking off," Shawn said.
"Okay. Thanks for everything," Cory said, hugging his best friend.
"Anytime, guys. Glad you got to have a weekend off."
"Thank you, Shawn," Topanga said, hugging him.
"See you guys later," Shawn said, walking out of the room. Cory and Topanga heard the door close quietly.
They turned back to the baby.
Topanga put her hand by Riley's petite face and rubbed her cheek.
Riley stirred, but wanted to go back to sleep.
"Riley," Topanga said quietly.
At hearing her mother's voice, Riley opened her eyes.
"Hi, baby!" Topanga said, excited.
"Hi, sweetie!" Cory added.
Riley instantly started kicking with excitement and smiling widely.
Topanga laughed and picked her up.
"We missed you, Riley!" she said.
"Yes, we did," Cory said.
They both kissed the baby's forehead and they went to the living room to start the rest of their day with their daughter.
That was a fun one! Kinda long for a one shot, but I love writing Corpanga! I hope you enjoyed the story! Please leave a review and check out my other stories if you haven't! Lots of Corpanga!
Thank you so much for reading! :)