Thank you for the comments and I'm glad it sounds half believeable seeing as I know nothing about babies lol!

Amy methinks you quoted my last story lmao. Love you.

CHAPTER 4

"Ohh, how I hate to say goodbye" Troy husked as he bear hugged Gabi at his parent's house as she cradled Fiona.

He handed her his teddy, Pirate "To keep you company" he said softly, just like his mom had said to him before he'd gone on tour

"Have fun singing in Iowa" she said, trying to put on a brave face, taking Pirate and hugging the toy along with her daughter.

She leaned up to kiss him, her lips lingering against his "Mmm" she murmured "Gonna miss that" she smiled

"Me too" he husked, cuddling her hips

His parents came out, his dad with the keys to the truck so he could drive him to the airport.

"Okay son, let's get you on that plane" Jack said with a smile as he saw him and Gabi saying goodbye.

"Goodbye, heartbreaker" he said to Fiona "Goodbye, princess" he said to Gabi as he picked up his case and pulled a beanie on before dragging his case out of the door.

Gabi watched him go, her brown eyes wide with sadness. She heard Fiona give a mini-cry, wondering if she sensed Troy leaving.

"Daddy will be back soon" she murmured, taking her tiny hand and putting it to her lips. "I'll miss him too" she added quietly, heading back into the house.

---

Gabi stood naked in front of the full length mirror in Troy's room at his parent's house and studied the changes to her body.

She cast a glance at Fiona who lay in her crib at the side of the bed and she smiled softly.

She hadn't felt much of a bond with her baby but the unmistakeable marks on her body linked them invisibly

She hadn't let Troy see her naked since the birth. She was too afraid of his reaction. He might say he fancied her but when he saw her, he might change his mind. She stroked down her scarred and gently rounded belly, catching sight of her marked breasts and quickly dressed into her clothes.

Cradling Fiona, she came downstairs and tucked her legs under her on the sofa as she stared at her daughter.

"There you are Gabi, I'm just making dinner" Linda said "Did you have a nice bath?"

"Yes, thank you" she smiled

"And did you have a little nap?" she asked

Gabi hid her eyes. She just couldn't bring herself to sleep, worrying about Fiona.

"Maybe tomorrow" she said weakly

"May I hold her?" she asked and Gabi nodded, passing her over to Linda carefully transferring her to her mom-in-laws arms.

"Are you breast feeding?" Linda asked of her and Gabi shook her head shyly.

"I was a little iron deficient so they suggested I bottle feed" she shrugged

"Oh Gabi, are you eating properly?" Linda asked worriedly

Gabi smiled, thinking how much she missed her mom and how she would have said the exact same thing.

"I'm not sure" she blushed

"Oh, sweetheart" Linda said, coming next to her to hug her around the shoulders.

"Let's put Fiona down to sleep" she said gently, "We'll go and eat" she said

Gabi followed her, enjoying the family atmosphere around her as she ate.

---

Gabi cradled Fiona as she fed her a bottle at 1am, sitting cross legged on the bed as she got comfy.

She smiled as she gurgled "Hey there, princess, got your daddy's appetite huh?" she marvelled, seeing Troy in her so much.

Her phone flashed from the bed and she reached to pick it up, balancing the bottle on her arm along with the baby.

"Hey, bunny" she answered as Troy's name popped up on screen

"Hey, wifey" he greeted warmly, his voice sounding strained and he sounded tired too. Probably whacked out from a day of recording and now he was laying in bed. "How was your day?" he asked her

"Well, I am feeding Fiona as we speak" she avoided

"And how about you?" he asked again, knowing Gabi often did this. Avoided his questions by talking about their daughter.

"I had a bath and your mom cooked for me…" she frowned, nervous as her day sounded positively boring

"Did you rest?" he checked and he knew she hadn't when he heard her sigh. "Okay honey, I'll be home before long" he said gently

"How was the studio?" she asked

"Oh you know, long day, demanding." He sighed

"Pirate and Bunnie miss you" she said of their stuffed toys.

"I miss you all too" he said "Especially you"

"Aww bunny, don't get too soppy or my husband will get jealous" she joked and she heard him chuckle

"I love you a thousand rainbows" he said then and she grinned at his weirdness

"I love you a million red M&M's" she returned and he dialled off, leaving Gabi to snooze lightly until it was time again for Fiona's feed.

---

Gabi couldn't get Fiona to stop crying. Linda had called her for breakfast but she didn't want to go downstairs with the screaming baby and cause them all an earache.

She rocked her, cradled her, played with her, changed her, and tried to feed her even though she had done so only an hour ago, but nothing was working

She heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in" she called above the noise of the baby's cries.

Jack poked his head around the door "Hey…Linda said you should eat it while it's hot" he said of breakfast

"Oh, I'm sorry, she won't stop, I couldn't leave her…" she said, flustered

"Can I try?" he asked and she looked to him with huge eyes, full of gratitude and hope

He smiled warmly as he took the bundle from her "Hey Fiona, what's all the fuss about huh?" he asked in his deep voice and Fiona stopped crying quickly

"Oh my gosh" Gabi gasped

"What?" Jack cocked his head

"She's missing Troy!" she said, shocked, tearful

"Really? You think she knows?" he was surprised

"He always sings to her before he goes to work. She must be used to him" she mused

"Okay, well, run down and have brekky and Fiona and I will get acquainted" he said and Gabi smiled, delighted that her baby loved Troy's singing as much as she did.

"Morning Gabi" Linda said with a smile and Gabi eyed the amazing food Linda had laid out. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, cereal, a smoothie for her.

"Oh thank you, Linda, this is…its amazing, thank you" she said, touched

"I suppose he's besotted with the little girl" she said of her husband and Gabi giggled lightly

"Yes, we just worked out she is missing her daddy" she smiled softly

"Mmm, like someone else I know" Linda looked to her knowingly

Gabi blushed "Sometimes, I wonder how he does it, he's so effortless. He can hold her, change her, stop her crying with a song, feed her and still be ready for work on time. And then he does little things for me too like make me lunch or run me a bath. Now, when I get up in the morning, just getting Fiona fed and dressed is a tough task. I wonder what I am doing wrong" she admitted.

"Gabi" Linda took her hand as Gabi chewed her eggs "You know what, we're mothers. We worry about anything from the sound of their gurgles to the size of their feet. We do all the hard stuff like keep their clothes clean, their bed perfect, their bottom clean" she smiled "And then the men come in and make it look all glamorous" she shared "Your body has been through an ordeal. You're going to struggle; it's nothing to be ashamed of. Let Troy help you. Let us help you" she begged

Gabi swallowed her food, tears coming to her eyes as she realised she wasn't alone in this. It wasn't all a twisting, never ending tunnel of not knowing whether she was doing right or wrong. Nobody knew. She was just beating herself up for no reason.

She straightened in her chair. She could do this.

"Thank you Linda" Gabi whispered as her tears fell and she wiped them away shyly.

"Oh Gabi, you are more than welcome. It's tough being a mom, I know too well." She rubbed her arm a little.

"Well Fiona and I are best buddies now" Jack said as he waltzed in with Fiona asleep on his shoulder, grabbing some food with his free hand and Gabi looked to Linda with a smile and Linda lifted a brow as if to say 'See?'

Gabi smiled "I'm glad" she said softly, rising to stroke her daughters thin downy hair.

"Why don't you go out for some air for a while?" Jack suggested lightly and Gabi could see he wanted to spend more time with the baby.

She smiled "Okay that would be nice, thank you" she said, relaxing back into her chair.

----

Gabi woke at 1am, feeling rested for once. When she had come back from shopping, she had fed Fiona and Linda had insisted she go and have a nap while she looked after her and Gabi hadn't argued.

She had enjoyed a delicious afternoon nap, waking in the middle of a sexy dream about Troy.

She prepped a bottle and began to feed her daughter, seeing her phone going off again and picked it up, smiling as she saw it was Troy, again.

"You should be asleep" she chided him as she picked up

"I can't sleep without you two" he said softly "Besides, if you're up, I want to be up too" he reasoned and she was touched by his support

"I miss you" she admitted gently

"Oh babe" he sighed, feeling himself dying inside at her words. He rubbed his face, pain rippling through his gut at not being there.

"It's okay though, I called my other boyfriend and he's going to be here in ten minutes" she ventured and she heard him chuckle

"Well, I guess I can't compete with that" his smile was evident in his voice

"I don't know…" she considered

"You mean, there's hope for me yet?" he asked in an over the top voice

"Well, he's not as…well endowed as you are" she pointed out, her vivid dream making her tingle

"Ohhh…." He moaned on the other end of the line "You are really trying to do me in aren't you?" he asked huskily, his body reacting to her words.

He missed their intimacy, their lovemaking.

"Maybe" she agreed "But I miss your arms the most" she added gently

"I miss you, too" he said, closing his eyes as tears threatened "But I'll be back tomorrow night" he said with a tight voice

"I know. We're counting down the hours" she said cutely

"Me too, babe, me too" he promised and they said good night, Gabi finishing Fiona's feed as she lay back in the bed, wanting more than anything to be in Troy's arms.