Lucy spent the first hour of her confinement pacing like a caged lion. But then her swollen feet and ankles became too painful to stand on, so she moped from the bed.

When the doctor said Clara did, in fact, have chicken pox, Emily had insisted that Lucy stay at a hotel until she was no longer contagious. And no matter how much Lucy argued, there was no convincing her otherwise. So, eventually, she'd relented and taken Declan to a hotel. That didn't mean she had to like it, though.

That first night, Lucy didn't sleep a wink. It was the first night she'd ever been away from her daughter for an entire night since she'd been born. All she could think about was whether Clara was okay, whether she was crying, whether she missed her...it was breaking her heart.

"Put Clara on the phone," Lucy begged Emily when she called the next afternoon. She'd been driving herself (and likely Declan as well) crazy with her worrying and moping and general moodiness, so she'd finally called to talk to her daughter, even if she was two and cranky and not exactly verbose at the best of times.

"Lucy..." Emily groaned, "She's really cranky right now, I really don't think she's in any kind of mood to talk." It wasn't that she didn't want Lucy to talk to Clara, she just wasn't sure Clara was at all receptive to cooperating.

Lucy pouted, though Emily couldn't see it over the phone. "Please? I miss her and I just really need to hear her voice right now."

Emily sighed softly; she'd always found it very difficult to deny Lucy any request, least of all one that concerned their daughter. "I'll try, but she's in a screaming mood, so you may just get your eardrums shattered," she warned.

Away from the phone, Emily could be heart asking Clara if she wanted to talk to Lucy, followed by Clara protesting. Then, Emily asked again. Finally, Clara's little voice came on the line, whimpering, "Mama?"

"Hey, Clara!" Lucy greeted, practically in tears already. "Mama misses you so much!"

"Mama..." she whined, her bottom lip surely extended in the adorable pout that she'd long since perfected. "Mama, owww!"

Letting out a shaky breath, Lucy assured, "I know, baby, I know. But Mommy is taking really good care of you and your owies will be all better soon."

Clara started sniffling, hiccuping loudly with the threat of oncoming tears.

"Oh, Clara, no!" Lucy begged, "Please don't cry or Mama is going to start crying too..."

Clara must've gotten distracted then because the next thing Lucy heard was the beeping that meant she was attempting to dial the phone.

Emily's voice was muffled in the background then as she tried to get the phone back. Clara was in no mood to cooperate, though, judging by the way she started screaming, accompanied by more rapid dialling.

"Clara, give Mommy the phone," Emily said.

"Noooo!"

A huff. "Clara, give me the phone."

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

A crackling as she attempted to take the phone back, but that only made Clara scream harder.

Finally, Emily's voice was clear. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she said, sounding exhausted. "I'm sorry – I think she's just really tired. She barely slept because of the itching. Which means I didn't sleep either. It's been a long day."

"I'm sorry, Em," she murmured. "Is there anything I can do? I could..."

"Just keep the little jellybean safe and healthy," Emily insisted. "I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day. The pharmacy was out of calamine when I called, but they're getting a shipment tomorrow and sending some over."

Lucy sighed. "I just feel so guilty – I want to be an equal participant in everything, especially now when..."

Emily refused to allow that, though. "Just remember this part when you're in labour and want to scream at someone, okay?" she teased.

When she hung up the phone, there was a moment where sadness and loneliness washed over her. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay away from her family.

"You really miss them, don't you?" Declan asked, interrupting the silence, surprising her.

She nodded. "I trust Emily completely – I know she'll be okay and so will Clara, but... It's me I'm not so sure about. I've only been apart from Clara for a few hours at most. And I've always been home to kiss her good night, even if she wasn't awake to realize it. Without her, I just feel empty. Like I don't know what I'm living for. She's my whole entire world." She paused, seemed to realize that may have sounded wrong. "I know I'm staying away to keep the baby safe, it's just...hard when I'm so hormonal and emotional and all I want to do is have Clara in my arms and make everything all better."

Declan nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Do you think my mom loved me?" he asked. "Do you think she missed me like that?"

"I... I don't know," Lucy stammered. She didn't know much about Declan's mother, but from the little she had been told, she had a feeling she'd never been the most maternal sort.

That seemed to be the answer he'd suspected. "She didn't want me," he whispered, "She never tried to visit or call or write. Why?"

Lucy reached for his hand, squeezed it gently. "I don't know how a mother could do that," she admitted, "But I'll tell you what I do know: Emily loves you so much. You've always been like a son to her and therefore, to me. We care about you and want you to be happy and loved."

He didn't seem convinced.

"And if you can't believe that, believe that Clara loves you. You're her big brother and no one will ever be able to take that away from you."

He attempted a smile.

"You're family, okay? So never doubt that someone loves you," she promised. "Go t it?" He nodded. "Now, what do you say we order pizza and send one to Emily and Little Miss Scream-in-my-ear?"

He nodded eagerly.