A/N: Phish Tacko beta'd this. Go check out her page, she's an awesome author!

Chapter 37

From the second Tommy Grape came into the world, it seemed like all he did was cry. It wasn't a normal crying, either. It was obscenely loud and seemed to happen for no real reason at all. The kid would cry even if he wasn't hungry or tired or wet. Dr. Schnabel had described it as "colicky" and said that some babies were just like that. Gilbert was left wondering what the hell he did to deserve it.

Gilbert had finally gotten Tommy to calm down after yet another bout of screaming, this time giving him a pacifier. The pacifier worked occasionally, but often Tommy would spit it out, choosing to scream some more instead.

Gilbert was exhausted, probably even more so than he'd been after he'd given birth. Tommy woke him up every hour, on the hour. It made those nights with the nightmares seem like a cake walk.

He'd finally gone back to Becky's apartment three days after he'd given birth. Becky was working a lot, trying to support the both of them, until Gilbert was recovered enough to go back to work himself. For now, though, he was busy watching Tommy all day, and thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have a job to go to in the mornings, because there was no way he'd be able to make it, going on as little sleep as he had.

This particular afternoon had been excruciating. Gilbert's body was still sore from giving birth, since he'd not had a proper chance to rest, and Tommy had been screaming consistently for over an hour. Becky walked into the apartment only to find Gilbert sitting on the couch, head in his hands, tears running down his face. Tommy was still in his bassinet, screaming his head off. Becky quickly rushed over to Gilbert.

"What's wrong, Gilbert?" She asked, wrapping an arm around him. "What's wrong with Tommy?"

"He won't stop crying," Gilbert choked, resting his head on Becky's shoulder. "Nothing makes him stop. I can't have five minutes just to think. It's killing me. I'm so... I'm so tired, Becky!"

Becky frowned. "Let me see if I can help."

"You won't be able to. He doesn't stop."

Becky sighed, walked over to the bassinet, and picked Tommy up. Instantly, the infant was quiet.

"What...?!" Gilbert asked, dually surprised and offended. "I've been trying all afternoon to get him to quiet down... And he just shut up when you picked him up!"

Becky shrugged. "I can't explain it. But hey, let me take him for a while. You go get some sleep. You need it."

Gilbert sniffled and stood up, heading to the bedroom. "Thanks..." He mumbled.

First and foremost, he needed a shower. He took his shirt and sweats off, throwing them on the floor. They were disgusting. He'd only had time to change his clothes twice since he'd given birth, and the aforementioned outfit was covered in sweat and baby vomit. Ugh. He didn't even want to think about it right then.

Gilbert sighed as he crawled into bed 35 minutes later, pulling the covers up to his chest. He was sound asleep within moments.