Jack giggled as he watched Karen sleep on the couch, her baby resting on her chest. Two weeks had passed since the birth, but it was still odd to see a baby around. He walked over to the sleeping forms on the couch and began to reach for the baby. He assumed Karen would get a better rest if she didn't have a kid on her chest. But just as his hand came near, hers shot up and tightly gripped his wrist.

"This is the only way I can get her to sleep for more than two hours. Touch her and I'll kick your ass." She never opened her eyes and he giggled to himself. He began to walk out the door when her voice stopped him. "Poodle, you don't have to leave. Stay here with me."

"Why? What do you want to do?"

"Make out?" He laughed and sat on his knees by the couch. She finally opened her sleepy eyes, a smile playing on her lips. "I don't know, honey. I'm bored. Wait, why are you home?"

"Grace closed early. Chris is taking her to spend the weekend with his parents." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Since when don't you like him?" He helped her slowly sit upright, and she laid her baby down on her stomach on the couch. She patted her back for a moment before shrugging.

"I like him. It's just a little strange that they decided to get together so soon after he and I stopped seeing each other. He always talked about how much he liked me, and he was always saying that he and Grace were just friends." She met his eyes, an odd look passing between them. "It just seems weird that he would move to her so quickly, if he was really being truthful with me."

"You think he's using her?"

"I don't know what for, honey." She stood and stretched her back a little.

"Now that you mention it, he is a little different."

"Well, I'm not going to say anything. She already thinks I'm not happy for her."

"We should have Will do it."

----------

"And then she grabbed her suitcase and walked out the door." Will took a sip of his wine and shrugged. Karen, who was seated on the counter while feeding the baby, raised an eyebrow to Jack.

"All I know is, Jack and I agree that there is something weird about their relationship."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She was sorting through the mail at her kitchen counter, tossing bills into a pile, when she came across a beautifully decorated envelope. She opened it and began to read the calligraphy on the small card. Will suddenly stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She jumped, but smiled when his lips began to tease her neck.

"What's that?" He pushed her hair to one shoulder while continuing to kiss her flesh.

"What's the big deal about marriage? It's from Stan. He's marrying a woman from our social circle." She sighed as his hands massaged her breasts. She quickly pushed him away. "Don't get me started if I can't finish."

"Sorry."

"Can you believe he invited us? I mean, I cheated on him."

"If you don't mind me saying so, you two were more of friends than you were husband and wife. Maybe that's all he cares about."

"Since when do we talk in 'maybes'?" He shrugged, sighing. Her mood swings were driving him crazy, especially since she hardly slept.

"Since we can't fuck." She rolled her eyes. She always thought that once the baby was born they could just fall into a comfortable routine of happiness. That was not exactly the case. She cared for the baby all day while he went to work, he came over to cook them dinner, and then they went to sleep. Since he was working, she was usually the one to get up with the baby.

"You want a blowjob?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She walked over to him and grabbed him in her hand. He winced, for her grip was tight. "Kare…"

"Stop whining about your penis or I will remove it." She pulled her hand away and he took a step back from her, placing his bottled water on the counter. "You act like I'm not suffering too. I squeezed a fucking kid out of my body, okay. The last thing I need is your whining."

"You need to calm down." He placed his hands on her upper arms and locked his eyes with hers. "If you want to talk then let's sit down and talk."

"There's no point. I can't even have a conversation without crying interrupting."

"She just went to sleep. We have time." She bit her lip and began tapping her foot on the ground, trying not to let too many feelings get out.

"I'm losing my mind, Will. I don't sleep, I don't leave the manse, and I can't have sex. What the hell else is there? Do you know how hard it is for me to keep away from the liquor cabinet?" She began to cry and Will pulled her into a hug. He noticed how her mood changed by the minute. She was a pretty moody person before her pregnancy, but she was even worse when it came to sleep deprivation. "I can't function anymore."

"Karen, you are going to be fine, I promise." He walked over to the counter and lifted her onto the marble, sitting her in front of him. He stood between her legs and took her face in his hands. "This is a normal feeling, I'm sure of it. You just have to hang in there."

"Honey, I'm done. I can't do this anymore." She ran her hands through her hair and tried to stop sobbing, but it didn't work. She had let the floodgates down and they weren't as easily rebuilt.

"Stop crying, please." He pulled her into a hug and she held him tight. "Out of all the people in your life who have tried to break you, you're going to let a two week old baby make it happen?"

"She's vicious." He couldn't hold back his laughter. She pulled away and gently slapped his shoulder, smiling through tears. She brushed her fingers over her cheeks to wipe away her tears. "You suck."

"I thought you liked that." She slapped his shoulder again, jumping down from the counter. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips, caressing his face with her hand. It was then that the baby monitor transmitted the sound of their crying child. She pulled away and groaned.

"She just went to sleep."