"Hey, Hil? Know what I realized?"
Hilary looked over her shoulder at Tyson and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Haley really, really like cuddles!"
The woman smirked and watched as Tyson held the baby closer to his chest. Her eyes were sealed shut, and she was making content little squeaking noises. Hilary had noticed those noises before, but never equated them with her being snuggled.
"You think that's why she squeaks?" Hilary asked with a giggle.
"I do," Tyson confirmed. "She's super quiet otherwise! Except for when she's hungry or needs her diaper changed."
"Yeah, most babies that young are quiet unless they need those things," Hilary reasoned with her husband, though she was still smiling at him.
"Exactly!" Tyson crowed. "But Haley isn't! She's been making those squeaky little noises since the day she was born! It's kind of unusual."
"Hey, my baby isn't unusual," Hilary disputed, getting up from her vanity and walking over to Tyson. She took the baby from his arms, earning a disappointed whine from the man. Giggling, Hilary tucked the baby away into her own chest, smirking as Haley started to squeak once again.
"I think that just means she's happy," Tyson commented, sitting up and crossing his legs.
"Well obviously," Hilary giggled. "She knows that she's got a family who loves her very, very much! We all think our little Haley is super special, don't we?"
Her mother's soft, crooning voice only increased the baby's squeaks. Hilary watched on in silent delight as the infant murmured softly to herself, nothing coherent, and buried her face deeper into Hilary's chest.
"I think it's time for this little one to go to bed," Hilary whispered, not wanting to disrupt the baby's slumber.
"What?!" Tyson cried, sounding highly disappointed.
At this, Hilary smirked and raised a wry eyebrow. "Okay, well now you sound like Tyler and Christine. Why are you so disappointed that Haley has to go in her crib?"
"Because we were cuddling," Tyson replied easily. "Can't she sleep in our room tonight? In the cot?"
"Why?" Hilary groaned.
"Because I want her near us!"
"Tyson, come on," Hilary sighed. "You've never once cared before that Haley sleeps in her own room! So why now?"
"I told you, it's because we were cuddling," Tyson huffed.
"You can't cuddle with her if she's in her cot," Hilary calmly explained. "You're not gonna fit in there, buddy!"
"I don't understand why you decided we couldn't co-sleep with her," Tyson complained.
"You know why, Tyson!" Hilary hissed. "It's because not only am I afraid of one of us squashing her, it's because you and I both need some alone time! You know, without a kid or a baby!"
"I guess…" Tyson murmured. "But…she's just so sweet and cuddly! I can't help it that I just want to hold her all night."
Rolling her eyes, Hilary marched towards the white lace bassinet in the corner and drawled, "fine. Haley will sleep in our room tonight. Only for tonight! Tomorrow she goes back to her own room."
"Okay!" Tyson cheered, jumping out of bed and scurrying up to the side of the bassinet. "Put her to bed so I can kiss her goodnight."
Hilary looked up at Tyson and once again raised her eyebrow. "What about me? I want to kiss our daughter goodnight, too!"
"You can!" Tyson assured his wife. "I'll go after you."
Hilary narrowed her eyes to scrutinize her husband, but after a short moment, she leaned down and nuzzled the baby's cheek, earning a soft sigh from the tired infant.
"Who's my pretty baby?" Hilary cooed, kissing the little girl's cheek. "You're such a sweetie. Night night, Haley."
Skirting away from the bassinet, Hilary looked over her shoulder to watch Tyson from behind as he gave the baby his own "goodnight" treatment. He started to snuggle her with his head, much like Hilary had done, but he wasn't in any rush to leave her alone. Eventually, he started to nuzzle her so much, and so energetically, that it woke the baby up. With her eyes wide open, Haley was now fully engaged with her father, squealing and cooing and waving her tiny arms up and down.
"TYSON!" Hilary hissed.
"What?" Tyson whined, barely picking his head up.
"What'd you have to go and wake the baby up for?" Hilary groaned.
"I didn't mean to!" Tyson cried. "I just couldn't resist that sweet little face! I guess I snuggled her a bit too aggressively and woke her up."
"Now she's all excited," Hilary grumbled. "I'll never be able to get her back to sleep now!"
"It's fine, Hil," Tyson assured his wife. "I can just cuddle her some more in the bed! I'm sure that'll put her out real easy!"
"Yeah, or it'll just make things worse," Hilary countered. "Let's just leave her alone, alright? I'm sure she'll fall back asleep on her own easily enough."
Tyson bit his lower lip and slowly shuffled back to bed. Hilary leaned over and flipped the light switch, sending the room into darkness, save for the moonlight that was pouring in from the window. Baby Haley let out a soft whine, but Hilary paid it no mind and slipped into bed next to Tyson.
"You're sure this is a good idea?" Tyson whispered.
"It's fine," Hilary scoffed, snuggling her head into her pillow and closing her eyes. "Go to sleep, Tyson."
"Alright," Tyson replied uncertainly. "Night, angel."
"Night."
After just a few minutes of attempting to sleep, Tyson and Hilary were totally disrupted by an ear splitting wail courtesy of their infant daughter. She'd been moaning and whimpering ever since Hilary had turned the lights off, but clearly she'd had enough of feeling ignored, and was now voicing that very feeling.
"She sure is giving Tyler a run for his money on best lungs," Hilary grumbled, rolling over her back and placing a hand on her forehead.
"Hilary, we can't just leave Haley alone to cry!" Tyson fussed.
"We're not going to," Hilary assured her husband, slipping out of bed in order to fetch the baby. She would have allowed him to do it, but she knew once Tyson got his hands on Haley, there was no way she'd end up back in the bassinet.
Rubbing her eyes as she approached the gorgeous cot, Hilary pulled up to the side and reached in, lifting out the miserable baby and holding the tiny thing against her chest.
"Shh," Hilary whispered, burying her nose in the baby's dark hair. "No more fussing."
Once she was wrapped in her mother's arms, Haley settled down and became nearly silent, except, of course, for her little happy squeaks.
"Well, I'd rather hear that than screaming and crying," Hilary conceded. Patting the baby's back, Hilary carried her back over to the basinet and put the girl down, stroking her hair for a few moments before standing up straight and walking away.
And that's when the baby started to scream again.
Tyson glanced up at his wife and watched as she pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes as the baby's wails only continued to increase.
"None of this would be happening if you hadn't woken her up!" Hilary whined.
"Why is it always my fault?!" Tyson demanded.
"Because she was sleeping just fine until you got in her face!" Hilary bit.
All of the back and forth bickering between her parents did nothing to upset Haley. She just continued to squeak in her mother's arms, keeping her head against the woman's chest and enjoying the cuddles she was currently receiving.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Hilary dramatically rolled her eyes as Christine came running into the room, her eyes lit up and searching around.
"Christine, what are you doing out of bed?" Hilary asked slowly.
"I couldn't sleep!" Christine replied simply.
"You and your sister, huh?" Hilary murmured.
"Haley's not sleeping?" Christine asked, peering up at the baby in her mother's arms.
"She was," Hilary sighed. "But Daddy woke her up."
"I already apologized!" Tyson groaned.
"Mommy, put Haley on the bed!" Christine squealed, jumping up onto the foot of the bed and beaming at her mother. "I can make her go to sleep!"
"Christy, I don't know if this is a good idea," Hilary murmured. "I think it would be better if maybe I went into Haley's room and sat in the rocking chair with her."
"No!" Christine refuted. "I can do it, Mommy! Really! Lemme try!"
Sighing, Hilary walked back over to the bed and gently laid Haley down beside Christine. The baby cooed softly once her back hit the mattress, but otherwise, she didn't move a single inch. She stayed perfectly still, almost like a doll rather than an actual baby.
"You are a little bit strange, lovey," Hilary murmured to the baby. "But of course we love you! You're a very special sprinkle!"
Haley rolled her eyes back up towards Christine, who by now was leaning over the baby and grinning goofily.
"Haley!" Christine beckoned. The baby was already staring at her, so she didn't really do anything else in terms of moving her head or eyes. Her arms, however, finally bounced up and down a few times.
"I like your pajamas," Christine murmured, poking at the baby's mint green sleeper printed with white bows. "Cause they're not pink!"
"You really don't like the color pink, do ya, princess?" Tyson chuckled.
"Nuh uh!" Christine refuted, wrinkling her nose. "It's too girly!"
With the impish smile still on her face, Christine lay down on her stomach beside Haley and nuzzled her nose against the infant's cheek.
"Good Haley!" Christine giggled as the baby squeaked yet again.
"Be careful with her," Hilary warned as the child's arm stretched over the baby's body.
"I'm careful, Mommy!" Christine squeaked. "I won't hurt Haley."
Hilary watched on warily as her older daughter snuggled the younger one, earning more squeaks from the tiny infant. It only took a matter of minutes for both Christine and Haley to fall asleep, both girls lying still and quiet.
"No way!" Tyson marveled, sitting all the way up and leaning forward. "Christine got Haley to fall asleep!"
"I guess her cuddles must be pretty great!" Hilary giggled.
"Better than mine?" Tyson asked with a frown.
"Maybe not better," Hilary conceded softly, a delicate smile on her face. "But more gentle, yes."
"I guess that makes sense," Tyson murmured.
"It's okay, Tyson," Hilary assured her husband. "You can cuddle me, if you want."
"Yeah!" Tyson trilled, his face lighting up. "But…what about the girls?"
Hilary glanced down and watched their two sleeping daughters for a few short moments before deciding, "yeah, this is your fault."
"What?!"
"Now we've got two kids sleeping in our bed instead of just one!" Hilary cried.
"So, pick them up!" Tyson argued.
"How about you pick them up and see what happens?" Hilary seethed.
"Oh no, I'm not falling for that ever again!" Tyson cried.
"Fine, so we'll just have to let them sleep here," Hilary decided. "We've got no other choice."
"So…no cuddles?" Tyson asked softly, a pout appearing on his face.
"Nope," Hilary confirmed with a smirk. "And you can thank your cuddle session with Haley from before for that!"