Chapter Thirty-Three
Heather' POV
I awoke to the shrill cry that could only come from Midori. I groaned; this kid was a pain. Doing as best as I could, I tried to climb over a still sound asleep Jūshirō. Holding back the urge to hit the sleeping idiot, I turned my attention to the baby. Looking into the crib, I plastered a smile and tried to coo softly, "Oh, what's wrong Dori?" I dipped low as I checked her diaper, praying that a horrid odor would not smack me in the face and was at least relieved that she was dry. I picked up the now screaming child and thought that she might have been hungry. I tried a few ill-effort attempts to feed Midori and, as stubborn as ever, refused to take anything. Midori's restless sleeps did not happen often, but when she felt like throwing a temper tantrum for no reason…it made everyone cranky.
If there is one thing I had learned about Shirō, was not to piss him off. He makes an angry tiger look like a kitten. He never hurt me or cut me down; he just likes to blow up, have a coughing fit (occasionally bloody, which still scares the hell out of me) and afterwards he apologizes and does his best to try and make it up to me. This always made me feel like a jerk afterwards even though he never intended for it to happen. On the lighter note, he was still a good friend to me. Shirō had proven time and again that he was an excellent father-figure, taking on his role by the horns. I could not help but to feel a little admiration for him. The last time I actually needed him to help was not long ago, to be honest. I was exhausted from taking care of Midori during one of her bouts for attention and he, despite the fact that he was not feeling well, scooped her up and told me to get some rest. By the time I woke up and checked on the two; she was fast asleep on Shirō's stomach and he was dozing off on the couch. If only cameras did not make such a racket. I then noticed a bottle that was empty but held traces of a liquid not far from where they were sleeping and did not recognize what it was. Later in the day I confronted him about it and he explained that he went to Unohana and she threw a concoction together that might cure him. After a week his symptoms returned which caused him to retreat to another room that was set up for him. After the results of his blood work came in it was determined that: yes he was still sick, but that he was not carrying airborne contaminants.
I did not notice when Midori settled down or when I fell asleep but I was jostled awake by my husband. "What are you doing? You two will catch a chill." he gently scolded me in a low voice. "Oh, right. The baby was crying." I explained in mid-yawn. He sighed shaking his head as he scooped Midori out of my arms. He froze when a half attempted fuss escaped the girl. "If you wake her, you're staying with her." I warned him, he then began to gently rock her before lulling her back to sleep, put her back in her crib before delicately tucking her in. He then turned back to me and offered both of his hands to help me out of the rocking chair. I tiredly gave him my hands, he quirked an eyebrow while smiling at me before pulling me out of my seat. He wrapped an arm around my waist as he helped me regain my footing and we walked together back to our bedroom. We lay down and I tried to get comfortable but before I could squirm, his arm wrapped around my waist once again as he buried his face into my hair.
Well this was new; he never tried to cuddle with me before. I sighed with contentment at the warmth he was giving off. The big worrywart was probably trying to keep me from getting sick. I had to admit that I missed being held like this. It was nice to feel a tender embrace again, to feel secure enough to hope that I will eventually come to love the man holding me. Perhaps, love will happen another day.