Chapter 25.

"First we had each other, then we had you, now we have everything."
-Unknown

For the first two weeks of her life, Bailey stayed in the hospital, unable to go home until she gained weight and her lungs matured. While she was busy growing, Callie was battling an infection that came on suddenly. Feverish and weak, she stayed in the hospital a full week after the baby was delivered. The days spent without Callie were the loneliest Brandon had ever experienced. He missed her terribly, and visited her and Bailey every day without fail. At night, he held Callie's pillow, because it was soft and smelled like her shampoo. But the hardest day of all was the day Callie was released from the hospital. Although she was glad to go home, it was hard to leave without Bailey. Callie, still frail from her illness, cried herself to sleep, wrapped in Brandon's arms.

Then finally, Bailey was allowed to come home. Callie carefully dressed her in a pink sleeper. Although she had gained a few ounces, it still bagged around her diaper. Then, she wrapped her up tight in the rainbow-striped afghan Brandon had bought her at Goodwill. When they carried her through the door and into the apartment, Bailey stretched and yawned, snuggled against Callie's body. It was as if she knew she was home.

By evening, however, Bailey's peaceful disposition ended as she fussed throughout the night. Callie rocked her, fed her, then laid her in the bassinet, but the infant continued to cry as soon as she was separated from her mother. Callie and Brandon lay in bed, exhausted, but unable to fall asleep. "She makes so many little noises," Callie whispered. "It scares me." The baby wasn't crying, exactly, but the sounds she made troubled the new parents.

"I know," Brandon whispered back. "Hold on a sec. I'll check on her." He slid out of bed, and went to Bailey's bassinet. "What's the matter, cutie pie?" he asked quietly. "She seems okay," he observed, watching her wriggle around. But just as he spoke, the baby began to cry again. He picked her up and paced around the apartment as he held her, trying to comfort her as she wailed.

"Give her to me," said Callie. She took him from Brandon's arms, cuddling her against her chest. "Don't cry, sweetie," she soothed, kissing her. "Shh. Mommy's got you." Bailey calmed down as soon as she found Callie's breast, latching onto one sore nipple. Callie yawned as she fed the baby. Her eyelids felt like lead, and keeping them open was a chore. She caught herself dozing off several times. As soon as Bailey was finished eating, she asked Brandon to put her back to bed, afraid she would fall asleep while holding her. But as soon as the infant's head hit the pillow, she burst into tears again, and so did Callie.

"Honey," Brandon sighed sympathetically, going to her side and hugging her. "Hey, now. It's going to be okay," he told her, rubbing her back and kissing her head. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just really stressed," Callie hiccuped, sobbing. "I didn't know it would be this hard." She brushed the tears from her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I don't feel well... I'm so tired. I don't know what to do for her."

"Don't cry, baby," Brandon whispered. "I'm right here. It's okay." He brushed his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her. It broke his heart to see Callie so weak and fragile. He'd always thought of her as indestructible, but recently, he'd learned firsthand that she wasn't. It was hard to accept that his rock seemed to be crumbling before his eyes.

"She only stops crying when I hold her," she told him, shaking. "I can't hold her all night. What if I fall asleep and she falls out of the bed?"

"You're doing everything you can," he whispered to her. "For just getting over being so sick? You're doing great." Shrugging out of her arms, he stood up, and rolled the bassinet right up against her side of the bed. "There," he said, quietly. "Now she's close enough that you won't have to move to calm her down. So you just relax now, okay?"

"Okay," Callie nodded, sniffling. The top of the bassinet fell at about eye level. If she wanted to peek in at the baby, all she had to do was crane her neck a few inches. "Thanks, Brandon," she whispered. She reached into the basket, and rubbed Bailey's belly or leg each time she whimpered. Around three in the morning, the infant finally nodded off, allowing them a few well-deserved hours of sleep.

The next morning, Brandon drank a strong cup of black coffee, and dragged himself to work. He would have rather stayed home with Callie and the baby, but he had peace of mind in knowing that they wouldn't be alone while he was gone, because Claire had volunteered to take care of them during the day, while Callie continued to heal from her surgery and the infection.

Their neighbor came over bright and early, with Savannah in tow, letting herself in with a spare key. "Hey," she said, quietly greeting Callie without waking up the sleeping baby. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Exhausted," Callie yawned. "Bailey fussed all night." She was thankful that she would have someone, not only to help her take care of the baby, but to keep her company.

"Aw," her friend mussed, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Well, don't you worry. I'm here to help you out."

"Thanks, Claire," Callie replied. "You don't know how much this means to me..."

"It's no problem," Claire told her. "I'm happy to do it."

"I see the baby?" Savy asked, shouldering a Barbie backpack.

"Sure," Callie nodded. "But be really quiet, okay? She's sleeping."

"Okay," the little girl nodded. Her mother lifted her up, and she peeked into the bassinet, smiling brightly. "She cute," she told Callie, once her feet were back on the floor.

"Thank you," Callie nodded, proud of her daughter. Bailey was a cute baby, with beautiful features. She had perfect, tiny Cupid's bow lips, a sweet little nose, and a whisp of dark hair on her smooth head. Her eyes were somewhere between blue and gray. She wondered if they would someday be brown, like her own eyes, or green, like Brandon's. She spent most of the morning holding Bailey, studying every detail of the baby girl, as Claire washed dishes and Savannah played with her toys on the floor.

While Claire's back was turned, Savy looked up from her Barbie dolls, and hurried over to Callie. "Hi," she said, crawling up on the bed, and snuggling beside her.

"Hi," Callie answered, smiling.

"Will you play with me?" the little girl asked.

"Not right now, honey," Callie sighed. "Maybe another time." She hated to disappoint her, but she wasn't in the mood or frame-of-mind to play, not feeling well and being short on sleep.

Just then, Claire turned from the sink. "Savy," she said firmly. "Didn't mommy ask you not to pester Callie today?"

"But Cawie is my buddy," her daughter replied.

"I know she's your buddy," her mother nodded. "But she's not feeling too good right now, and she needs to rest. Okay?"

"Poor Cawie," Savy sighed, kissing her cheek. "I go make you some tea." With that, she scooted off the bed and ran to her toy tea set.

At noon, Callie sat propped up with pillows behind her back, and she and Claire talked as they ate lunch. Savannah ate a bowl of Spaghetti-O's on the floor, surrounded by her Barbie dolls.

As Callie chatted with her friend, she remembered something Brandon had told her while she was in the hospital. He told her about the conversation in the waiting room, and that Claire knew their secret, and was keeping it. Curiously, she looked up. "Hey?" she asked. "I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, but are you really okay with knowing about me and Brandon?"

Claire studied her for a moment, nodding. "Definitely... I said I was, and I meant it." She looked down at her sandwich, then back up at Callie. "We're not so different," she confided. "Did you know, Eric and I eloped?"

"Really?" Callie asked, surprised.

"Mm-hm." She pushed a lock of loose blond hair behind her ear before continuing. "We fell in love our senior year of high school, but his family... they didn't accept me. I've always thought it was because they had money, and well, my family was from the wrong side of the tracks. Anyway, my grandma died right after I turned eighteen, and I was left alone, basically. So, Eric asked me to marry him, and we ran off to Vegas and got married in one of the wedding chapels, and we've been together ever since." She sighed deeply, her eyes a million miles away. "It caused a big rift between Eric and his family, but I don't think either of us would do anything differently if we could go back."

Callie listening to her friend's story silently, looking down into her lap. The more she learned about Claire's past, the closer to her she felt. "Thank you... for telling me that."

Claire nodded, her eyes still distant. "Well, there is one thing I would change, I guess. I might try to patch things up with our families, you know? They never got to know Savannah, or be a part of our lives, and I regret that. Don't let that happen with your family, okay?"

"Okay," said Callie quietly.

After lunch, Callie laid back down as Bailey napped. "You should try and sleep while the baby's sleeping," Claire told her, knowing that was often the only window of time when a new mother could get some rest. She picked up a basket of dirty laundry, balancing it on her hip. "Go ahead and take a nap, and I'll bring these home and toss them in the washer, and I'll be right back."

"Thanks," Callie nodded, yawning. A nap was just what she needed. She closed her eyes as Claire and Savannah went next door, and quickly drifted off. She was unsure of how long she slept, but awoke to the soft strumming of her guitar. Her eyes fluttered open to find that Brandon was home, sitting on the floor, playing a quiet, lulling melody for Bailey. The baby was wriggling around in her play pen, gurgling contentedly. Brandon watched over her proudly as he played, his eyes full of admiration and love.

"Hey," Callie whispered, as happy tears stung her eyes.

"Hey," he whispered back, setting the guitar aside. The dark circles under his eyes mirrored her own. "Come lay with me," she said quietly, lifting the covers. Brandon nodded, and crawled in next to her, and she snuggled against his warm body, resting her head on his shoulder.

To Be Continued