Figuring it Out
Jennifer stared at the small child in front of her. "Umm... hi," she said quietly, getting down and sitting cross-legged on the floor. "I'm Jennifer, but you can call me Jen. Well, if you want. Err... can, I guess. I don't... really know much about babies. I mean, I'm trying to learn for my little one, but I just, it's a learning experience I guess. So, your name is Emily, right?" Emily giggled, clapping her hands before picking up her small stuffed alligator. "Got it. So... do you, I guess... want to play?" Emily smiled, tossing the toy at Jennifer before it bounced off the top of her rounded stomach. "Hey now... I was told to be gentle with you. Maybe you could do the same with me," she said with a soft smile. Emily smiled, pointing at the toy she'd tossed at Jennifer. "Awigador!" Jennifer smiled. "Alligator?" Emily nodded, and Jennifer grinned. "You're definitely a Miami baby," she said, picking the toy up and handing it to Emily. She smiled as Emily started to play with it. Jennifer then laid her hand on her rounding stomach with a sigh. "What am I going to do about you?" she asked softly. "I mean... there's a difference between a kid as old as Emily and you when you're born. I mean, I don't know the first thing about being a mom. It's not like I ever really had one." She jumped, startled from her thought as Emily sat on her lap. She handed Jennifer her giant ball. "What?" Jennifer asked. Emily jumped up, going as fast as her legs would take her across the room. She then sat down with a loud thump, throwing/rolling the ball right at Jennifer. Jennifer smiled, rolling it softly back to her. Emily giggled, kicking and stomping her feet as she grabbed the ball, rolling it back. Jennifer chuckled as it went two feet to her side. She reached out to grab it, then rolled it back. Emily smiled, and she and Jennifer continued their game for what felt like forever.

Calleigh silently opened the door to the house. She didn't hear any noise, and hurried inside with Eric on her heels. She stopped, smiling as she saw Jennifer asleep. She was sitting on the floot, back against the couch and head resting against the couch as well. Emily was asleep in her lap. Calleigh smiled, then walked over to them. She kneeled beside them. Jennifer's eyes slowly opened as she felt Eric pick up Emily. "Wh-what?" "Nothing, it's just time for bed for Emily. You hungry?" "Yeah, kinda. Oh, Emily already ate though. Her fed her not to long ago." Calleigh smiled as Eric went to put Emily in her crib. "Anything in particular you're hungry for?" she asked as she got up. "Not really." Calleigh smiled and nodded, heading to the kitchen for to make a quick dinner. Jennifer didn't say much as she set the table. Calleigh watched her, but didn't push her for anything. Calleigh smiled though as Eric came up behind her, planting a small kiss on her cheek. Calleigh kissed him back before she went to collect the food before it burned.

That night, Jennifer stared up at the ceiling. She sighed, mind wandering. She kept tossing at turning, unable to calm either her thoughts or her movements. She couldn't seem to get comfortable either. She finally drifted off into a restless sleep, her conscious anything but settled. She woke with a start less than an hour later, softly crying. Tears streamed down her face as she kept flashing images of her father in her mind, as well as the man who had killed him, and the man who had then raped her. She curled herself up into a tight ball, pulling her sheets as close to her as she could in her self-made cocoon.

"Calleigh, wake up. Calleigh. Calleigh, wake up!" Eric nudged Calleigh again, a little harder. He ducked back in time to move out of the way of the flailing hand that nearly smacked into his face as his wife's eyes flew open. "Sweetie, what were you dreaming about?" Eric asked her softly. Calleigh closed her eyes again, pushing away the images replaying in her mind. "Just a bad dream," she said in a whisper. "What about? You kept whimpering and crying out. Do you want to talk about it?" Calleigh shook her head. "It's no big deal. I was just..." "Dreaming of him, right?" Calleigh sighed, but slowly nodded her head. Eric sighed. "It's alright babe, I've got you," he pulled her close to him. "You going to be ok?" "Yeah, I think so. It just scared me a little bit. I've been dreaming about it less than ever before, so it just caught me by surprise tonight. But it's fine. Go back to sleep Eric," she said. He sighed, but nodded and closed his eyes. Calleigh pressed her body against his, letting her back slide along and rest against his chest and abdomen. His arm draped over her again, and she gave a small, comforted smile. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, pulling the blanket taught around them. He kept his eyes closed, but refused to let sleep consume him. He waited until her breathing was calm and steady, signaling to him that she was soundly asleep. He ran his fingers gently through her long hair. "I love you Cal," he said, his voice barely audible. He then smiled noiselessly, finally letting his body fall into the sleep it so badly desired.


AN- So, I'm about to go away from a computer for over a week, so it'll be longer than that before I can update. I know I've VERY inconsistent, but my real life is more important to me than this story. I will do my best, however, to keep this story from going dormant again. Any ideas will be welcome!