Martin was in the rocking chair in the nursery at 4am, feeding Robyn a bottle. She was 2 weeks old and Martin felt like he had been pushed through a meat grinder and then pulled through the wringer. He hadn't slept more than 2 hours at a time since August 1st and there was no end in sight. Every two hours, like clockwork, Robyn was screaming for some reason or another. They tried to take it in shifts, especially in the middle of the night, but there was only so much you could do. He was about ready to kill whoever it was that said to sleep while the baby was sleeping, because you just couldn't. That was when you had to get everything else done, like dishes and laundry, and tidying the flat.
He had to return to work next week. The past two weeks had just flown by, and it felt like he hadn't had any time off at all. Leaving Molly and Robyn alone right now wasn't exactly high on his list of things he wanted to do, but he also was looking forward to going back to flying, if only to get a full night's sleep in a hotel once in a while.
Robyn finished her bottle and started fussing, so he threw a cloth over his shoulder and paced the room while he burped her. After a particularly robust belch he transferred her down into the crook of his arm so he could see her face in the dim light. She looked back at him and cooed. He couldn't help but smile when she did things like that, no matter how tired he was. He put his finger in her palm and she wrapped her little fingers around it.
"I don't want to leave you and your Mommy tomorrow, you know. But I have to. I'll be back though. After I fly to Hong Kong and back. I'll bring you something, though. I'm going to bring you back something from every single place I fly to. And then one day, I will take you to see the places where I got all of your gifts." He started playing with the aeroplane mobile hanging over the cot as he murmured to her. The moving planes caught Robyn's eye and she gurgled as she stared at it.
"You like the planes, do you?" He murmured with a smile. "Well tell you what. Next summer, I'll take you to an air show. You'll love it, Roo. There are all kinds of aeroplanes doing displays and shows. There are interviews with pilots too, but that's nothing special, because any aviation questions you have, you can ask your Daddy." He rocked Robyn softly and paced the room a few times before settling back in the rocking chair.
It wasn't long before the pair were fast asleep in the chair, dreaming of flying and clouds.
Thank you to everybody who has read this! It has been an absolute joy to write. This is just the first draft, and I do plan on rewriting it and reposting it. I have only listened to the first series of Cabin Pressure, and I know I have quite a few canonical errors, so I intend to bring it closer to canon in the rewrite, as well as adding a few more scenes that have popped into my head.
Any and all constructive criticism, advice, or just your thoughts are more than welcome!
-SarahRad