Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.

Cry

By
N. J. Borba

Emily turned onto her side and pulled the pillow down over her ears, trying to drown out the sound of her daughter's cry. It was her turn to get a good night's sleep while Derek took care of baby Lulu, but from what Emily could hear he wasn't doing a very good job. And it was extremely hard for her not to leap from the bed to tend her child's needs. But she was so tired she honestly didn't think she could get out of bed.

A few seconds later, Emily realized she wouldn't have to get up, because the crying grew closer and closer until it was finally inside her bedroom. "Em?" she heard Derek call out to the darkened room. She did her best to stay still and quiet, hoping he'd get the hint that she didn't want to be disturbed. But apparently he hadn't already gotten that hint after her telling him ten times the day before. "Emily, I really need your help," he pleaded over the upset cries of their baby girl.

"I am so fucking tired," she finally groaned, pealing the pillow off her head.

He immediately swooped in upon hearing her speak. "Hey, language," Morgan admonished as he sat down on the bed beside her.

Her left hand reached over and up to turn the lamp on. "She has no idea what that word means," Emily glared at him in the dim light. "And you promised me a whole night of sleep. I've been up with her for the last three nights in a row while you were gone on that Utah case."

Derek gently bounced Lulu, still trying to get her to quiet down. "I wasn't exactly sitting on a beach sipping pina coladas the last three days, Em," he replied. "And I know I promised, but I've done everything I can think of and she won't go back to sleep. I fed her and changed her, rocked, walked and jiggle-bounced until my feet wore a hole in the carpet. I don't know what else to try."

"She needs to be burped," Emily sleepily replied.

His head shook. "No, I burped her after the bottle," Derek assured her.

Emily heaved an annoyed sigh, sat up and took the baby from him. She held the girl high up on her shoulder and patted her little back. It wasn't long before their baby girl made a not-so-girlish burp. It was followed closely by an even louder second on. "Good, girl," Emily cooed. "I bet that feels a lot better, hmm?"

Morgan's chest deflated in defeat as Lulu stopped crying. "How did you know she needed to burp again?"

"She always gets gassier from bottle feeding rather than breast," Emily said as she kissed Lulu's forehead and then handed her back to Derek.

He frowned. "Maybe that's something you could have shared with me before now?"

A nonsensical sound escaped her lips, which was rather more grouchy than apologetic in tone. "Lu should sleep for a few hours now," Emily said as she flicked the lamp off and snuggled down into the comfy sheets. "And I swear to God if you wake me up again… you're never going to touch me again," she vowed.

"Mommy's just a little sleep deprived," Derek whispered as he walked his daughter toward the door. "She didn't really mean that."

"Oh yes, she did," Emily called after him.

xxx

The next morning Emily woke feeling amazingly well rested. After Derek and Lulu had woke her up around midnight she hadn't heard a single peep out of either one of them again. Meaning she'd gotten close to eight whole hours of sleep. She knew that was a feat of gigantic proportions given Lulu was only three weeks old. But as she glanced over to the other side of her bed, Emily felt a little bit bad.

Derek was sprawled on top of the sheets, clothes still on and looking dead to the world. Lulu was swaddled in her bassinet beside him, blessedly asleep. Emily smiled as she leaned over to kiss her husband. "Morning," he mumbled without opening his eyes.

"Sorry," Emily replied as she tried to figure out what was jabbing her in the stomach. "I didn't mean to wake you," she added, retreating to her side of the bed again and finally noticing the sea of baby items atop their comforter. "Derek, sweetie… why is all of this stuff on our bed?"

"Hmm?" Derek yawned and cracked his eyelids to half-mast as he turned toward the sound of her voice. "I decided we're not going to leave this bed today, so I stocked up on diapers, wipes and whatever else I thought we might need.

She grinned. "What about food?"

"That's what we have Kacey for," he answered. "I've assigned her our gofer for the day. I think she's bringing us strawberry pop-tarts for breakfast, but beggars can't be choosers, right? At least they have fruit. And Lu can eat from the mommy fountain all day. See… all figured out," he absently tapped the side of his head. "If I can chase UnSubs through forests, city streets and buildings, I can handle this dad stuff," he declared. "Oh, and you don't have to worry about me trying to touch you, because I'm too damn tired. I don't know how you did this by yourself for three nights in a row."

Emily laughed, reaching over to stroke the stubble on the side of his face. "I'm sorry I snapped at you last night. You did a great job with Lu, and I slept better than I have in… possibly forever," she said, mainly because she couldn't recall the last good night of rest she'd gotten. Her worry about Morris had been ongoing for most of her pregnancy and then Lulu had made her grand entrance. Since then they'd been trying to negotiate their new lives as the parents of a newborn and a six-year-old. It hadn't been easy, to say the least. "And I applaud your staying in bed all day plan. There's just one problem, I have to go to the bathroom."

Morgan's eyes were still barely open as he fished around on the bed. After a bit of effort he came up with a diaper in his right hand and tossed it at his wife. "Problem solved," he drowsily chuckled.

End