~A/N~ Inspired by the Picture Challenge at 1hour2write on LiveJournal. This was inspired by picture #14. I hope you enjoy.
Gillian Lightman was tired. Actually tired was too mild of a word. She was exhausted. That was the only word that fit at the moment. She'd spent the last five hours rocking their son. He was barely five weeks old and the love of their lives, but she was exhausted. She felt like she hadn't slept for ten minutes at a time. Just as she would close her eyes and drift off to sleep, he would wake up and start crying. Then Gillian felt like she wanted to start crying.
She would spend hours walking the floor with him. Until finally, sometime during their mutal crying fest, they would fall asleep. Then, barely an hour later, he would wake up crying. She knew that colic was responsible, but she wished that he would outgrow it. Before she lost her mind.
Cal was away on an extended business trip. He'd left three weeks ago. She'd had to practically throw him out of the house. He hadn't wanted to leave. Hadn't wanted to leave her and their son alone. He called them every night and she wished he was there with them. Emily was a God send. She would come over every night for a few hours. She was a wonderful big sister. She loved him just as much as Gillian and Cal did.
All Gillian could do sometimes was sit on the couch while he cried. Sometimes, the tears would roll down her cheeks. She felt helpless because she wasn't able to comfort him. His doctor told her that he wasn't in pain, but she wondered sometimes. Sometimes, his cries sounded so heartwrenching.
Emily had walked in one day and she saw them both crying. She laughed in spite of the situation and asked, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Gillian didn't even bother to wipe the tears out of her eyes or off her cheeks. She simply cried harder and said, "I..."
Emily watched as she dissolved into more tears. She shook her head and said, "Let me take him. You need some sleep."
"I can't ask you to do that."
"You're not. I'm offering. You go get some sleep. I need to spend time with my brother."
"Your sure?"
Emily nodded and said, "Positive. Hand him to me."
Gillian handed him over to Emily. His cries were still as loud as when she held him. She sighed and said, "I don't think he's ever going to stop crying. He hates me."
Emily laughed and said, "I don't think he hates you. Look, he's still crying when I hold him. Now go upstairs. I don't want to see you for a few hours. Take a bath. Relax. I want to spend time with him."
Emily smiled and watched as Gillian walked upstairs. She rocked him softly and spoke to him, "Okay Jeremy. We know that you have a set of lungs on you. You're mom's tired and needs to sleep. So, I'm going to hold you for awhile. You can cry as much as you want, but you're not going to drive me away."
She looked down at her little brother and felt a rush of love for him. She was glad that he didn't have the same mother. That would've been just awful. She remembered the day that her dad and Gillian had announced that they were getting married. She'd been shocked for a moment and then, she jumped up and hugged Gillian tightly. She squealed and said, "Oh my gosh!! I can't believe it! This isn't some sort of trick is it?"
Her father had smiled at her and said, "No luv. It isn't."
"Why?"
Gillian laughed and said, "Well, we've finally decided to stop denying our feelings for each other. We've been dating for a few months and well...."
Emily sensed that she was holding back something. She looked at her dad. Then at Gillian and finally back to her dad again. Then she whispered, "She's pregnant. Isn't she?"
Cal looked stunned and Gillian blushed a bright red. Cal laughed and said, "Bloody hell! How did you know?"
Emily laughed and said, "I didn't know. I just guessed."
Gillian looked at her and said, "Are you okay with it? The baby I mean."
Emily squealed again and hugged Gillian tightly, "I've always wanted a brother or sister!"
Cal smiled and said, "I'd say that she's happy."
Gillian nodded as they listened to her go on and on about the plans she thought they should make for the baby.
Emily smiled when she realized that her brother had quieted down. His cries were mere whimpers. She decided that he must've cried himself to sleep. She simply laid on the couch with him. Afraid that if she moved, she'd wake him up and then she'd never get him to sleep. She smiled as she clicked on the tv and turned the volume down. She put both arms around him and held on tight.
That was how Gillian found them five hours later. Emily smiled when she heard Gillian say, "I'm going to get that picture framed."
Emily smiled and said, "I want a copy of it."
"I should take him. He probably needs to be fed and changed."
Emily shook her head and said, "I already fed him a bottle and changed him. That was about twenty minutes ago."
Gillian gave her a shocked look and said, "And you got him back to sleep already?"
"I think he tired himself out. He's got some set of lungs on him. Kind of like dad."
Gillian laughed and said, "You're right about that."
It was then that they heard, "Right about what luv?"
They both turned around. Surprise evident on their faces. Gillian said, "You're home!!"
She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. She kissed him and whispered, "I've missed you so much.."
Cal kissed her softly and laughed, "Missed you too."
Emily laughed and said, "Hey dad. I'd get up to welcome you home, but Jeremy is finally asleep."
Cal smiled down at his children and said, "He still keeping you up at night crying?"
"I cry just as much as he does. I'm wondering if he will ever stop."
"He will luv. Emily was the same way."
Emily looked at him and asked, "I was?"
Cal nodded and said, "For about two months. Shoulda known that you were going to be a handful."
Emily laughed and said, "You're lucky I can't move right now or I'd hit you."
"Lucky me."
Gillian smiled and said, "I'll take him now. Thank you Emily. I owe you one. Maybe we can go shopping some time."
Emily smiled and said, "I'd like that. We can live the guys home. Let dad take care of Jer for awhile."
Cal laughed and said, "Jer?"
Emily smiled and said, "Yeah. I'm Em and he's Jer. Course he can't talk yet, but I'll teach him soon."
Gillian and Cal both laughed. Emil tried to get up, but realized that her legs had fallen asleep. She smiled at them and said, "I think I'll stay here for awhile."
They all laughed and smiled. Suddenly, sounds of crying can be heard as the screen goes black.....