A/N: Hope you all like this chapter!
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Within a day, Haven was in agony.
Not breastfeeding Darcy meant she had no way of relieving the pressure in her breasts, and Haven had not been expecting the unbearable pain that was going to bring on.
She managed to express enough milk to ease her discomfort, but the engorgement made her feel more miserable and irritable than ever. She didn't know what she wanted, or where she wanted to be, and as a result, she spent most of her time lost and confused.
"Haven?"
Zack's voice pulled Haven from her slump shortly after breakfast on her second morning at his house. She had remained in bed, wanting to just sleep through the discomfort she was feeling. Lifting her head wearily from the pillow, Haven looked at him questioningly.
"I'm going to the store for my dad...do you need anything?" he asked gently.
Haven thought for a moment. She did need more sanitary pads, but she didn't really want Zack to have to get them for her.
"Can I just come with you?" she asked in a small voice.
"Of course," Zack replied with a warm smile. "I'll wait if you want to take a shower or something"
Haven shook her head, pulling herself up off the bed. "It's ok. Just need to get dressed"
As Zack left the room and closed the door behind him, Haven pulled herself up off the bed, numb as she made her way to the bag of clothes her brother had dropped off the day before. It didn't take her long to find something to wear, and before long, she was following Zack out to the car.
The drive was almost silent, albeit for the radio playing quietly between them. It wasn't a long drive, which Haven was grateful for. Even though Zack understood her silence, she hated sitting in the car with absolutely nothing to say.
"Well," Zack said softly once he had parked the car outside the store. "How about we meet back here when we're done?"
"Ok," Haven breathed, opening the door and slipping out. She walked into the store with her arms tucked tightly across her chest. She had worn one of Zack's baggy jumpers in an attempt to hide the size of her breasts, but it was doing nothing to abate her self-consciousness.
Taking a deep breath, she focused on getting all the things she needed and getting back to the car.
Having been left to keep an eye on Darcy while Henry ran a quick errand, Lily was hoping the infant would stay settled. She couldn't understand why, but she had always been rather timid around young babies.
And so, when Darcy's wails reached her ears from the second floor, Lily hesitantly made her way up to the bassinet in Haven's room.
When she reached the edge of the bassinet and looked down at the crying baby girl, she glanced worriedly over her shoulder.
Where was Henry when she needed him?
Sucking in a deep breath, she reached down and carefully picked Darcy up, lifting her up to her shoulder. Darcy kept crying, but the intensity decreased as she cuddled up against Lily.
"You're probably hungry, aren't you?" Lily said nervously as she carried Darcy out of the room and back down the stairs. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what to do if Darcy needed to be fed, and Henry had said he would only be gone for fifteen minutes or so.
"You'll be ok," she whispered as she sat down on the couch with Darcy snuggled up against her. "Let's wait for your uncle Henry to come back so he can help me"
Thankfully, Henry didn't take much longer to come back. He was quick about getting back into the house, but he stopped short at the entrance to the lounge room, a smile spreading across his face as he watched Lily talking softly to Darcy.
"I could get used to that," he said softly, walking slowly into the room as Lily looked up in surprise.
"Hey...I think she's hungry," she replied.
"I'll get her a bottle, two secs"
As Henry disappeared to prepare a bottle, Lily couldn't help but smile at Darcy's little face. She had never met Connor, but she could tell Darcy was the image of her father. However, her thicket of dark hair and her cute little button nose were all Haven.
As Darcy curled her fists up and prepared to wail again for food, Lily found herself feeling more relaxed holding her. Even when the baby started to cry, Lily was no longer so tense or afraid.
"Here we are," Henry said, coming back with a bottle in his hand. "Do you want to feed her or should I?"
"I can do it," Lily replied, shifting Darcy so she was supported in the crook of her arm before taking the bottle from Henry's hand as he sat down beside her.
They sat in silence for a minute or two, watching as Darcy sucked eagerly at the bottle. It had been hard at first to get Darcy to take the bottle, but with persistence over the last two days from JJ and Will, they had managed.
"I hope we have one of our own one day," Henry said softly as he gently tickled the bottom of Darcy's foot.
Lily smiled, looking up at her fiancé. "Me too...but not for a while"
"I hope not for a while," came JJ's voice from the entryway. Neither of them had heard her come back. Moments later, she walked into the lounge room with a smile on her face. "One baby is enough for right now"
Henry laughed. "We're not making any upcoming plans. We've got a lot of stuff we want to do before we have kids"
JJ grinned, watching the young couple for a moment before turning towards the kitchen.
As she turned, Henry was sure he saw a shadow of regret cross his mother's face. But before he could say anything, she had just as quickly shaken it off and disappeared into the next room.
Leaning on the hood of Zack's car as she waited for him to come back, Haven was busy scrolling through her phone to try and distract herself. It was a pleasant day outside, not too hot and not too cold, but all she wanted was to curl up under the covers again. She was sore, tired, and miserable. Part of her wanted to try and reconcile with her mother, but the rest of her never wanted to set foot in her own home again.
She wished Zack would hurry up. She wanted to go home.
Hearing footsteps approaching her, she looked up to see a guy walking towards her. He looked to be a little older, possibly nineteen or twenty. Haven's guard immediately went up.
"Hey," he said as he approached, coming to a stop at the end of the car in an attempt to allow Haven her space. "Saw you standing on your own here and just wanted to check that everything was ok"
"Yeah," Haven replied quietly. "Just waiting for my friend. He shouldn't be much longer"
The guy nodded, leaning on the trunk as he looked around the parking lot. After a moment, he turned back to Haven, extending his hand. "I'm Adam, by the way"
Slowly, Haven reached out, accepting the handshake. "Haven"
Adam smiled. "That's a beautiful name. It suits you"
For the first time in what felt like forever, Haven felt a smile spreading across her face. "Thanks...there's a bit of a story behind it, but it's kinda long," she said, looking past Adam as she spotted Zack walking across the parking lot.
"I'd love to hear it sometime," Adam replied, turning to see where Haven was looking. Seeing Zack, he turned back, pulling a scrap of paper and a pen from the pocket of his jeans. "I'm guessing that's your friend"
Haven nodded.
Scribbling something onto the paper, Adam handed it to Haven with a handsome grin on his face. "I'll let you go then. Give me a call sometime, we can hang out"
Giving him a shy smile as she took the paper, all she managed was a wave as he walked away.
"Who was that?" Zack asked as he walked up and unlocked the car.
"Some guy named Adam," Haven said with a smile as she pulled the door open and got into the car.
She had a feeling about Adam. He had seemed very sweet and genuine, and she would've been lying if she said she didn't want to see him again.
Maybe he could help her. Maybe her could help her to move on.
