Adventures in Parenting

Lynsey, Meet Avery

Disclaimer: I own no one except Lynsey and Avery!

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Trish was exhausted. She had been through an intense thirty-two hour labor. She had managed to nurse her daughter for the first time. Now, all she wanted was to sleep.

Unfortunately, Trish didn't trust Lynsey with the baby. That meant the entire time her stepdaughter was there, she had to stay awake and watch her. After all the hell Lynsey put her through, she refused to trust the girl with her baby.

"Don't tell me Stacy's coming in," Trish murmured, half asleep. Randy shook his head. He respected his wife's feelings about his ex.

"No, I'm meeting them down in the lobby. You can sleep. I'll just show Lynsey the baby and take her back to Stacy," he explained. Trish shook her head.

"I'm fine," she muttered, yawning.

Lynsey bounded in ten minutes later. Trish could barely keep her eyes open. Avery was sleeping peacefully. Randy was behind her.

"Lynsey, meet your sister, Avery Lola," he said, picking up the baby. Lynsey glanced down at the baby. Then, she screeched, waking Trish and causing Avery to screech. "Why did you do that to the baby?" He handed Avery to Trish.

" 'Cause I wanted to see what would happen," she replied. Trish rolled her eyes.

"You can't do that. When you screech, it hurts her ears. She's little," Randy said. "Sweetie, she's only an hour old," Lynsey nodded solemnly.

"Can I hold her?" she asked. Trish's eyes widened. After the little screeching incident, she was worried about what Lynsey would try next.

"Not right now. She's too little," Trish replied, looking at Randy. He seemed to understand.

"Can I get you a drink, Lynsey?" Randy asked, glancing towards the door. The girl nodded. "Be right back. Listen to Trish,"

"Relax, Avery. You're okay," Trish murmured. "Lynsey, do you want to get a closer look at your sister?" This was against her better judgement but she knew with Randy right down the hall hopefully, Lynsey wouldn't be up to her normal tricks.

"What's her name?" Lynsey asked, cautiously peering at the baby. Trish sighed, trying to remain patient. Hadn't Randy just told her?

"Avery Lola Orton," Trish replied. Lynsey's cheeks grew bright red. Trish recognized the look, and prepared to shield her baby. That look meant Lynsey was going to go on one of her infamous tirades.

"That's my name!" she wailed. Then, she reached out and attempted to pinch the baby. Her fingers barely grazed Avery's arm and the baby began to wail. Randy ran in.

"What's going on?" he asked, over Lynsey's screaming and Avery's wailing. Trish struggled to keep her temper.

"She didn't like the baby having her last name, so, she attempted to pinch Avery," Trish said. Her eyes were blood shot and she was cranky.

"Lynsey, is that true?" Randy asked, wanting to see what his daughter had to say. The girl shook her head.

"My fingers slipped." she said. Randy looked at Trish. She shot him an annoyed look. Wasn't it obvious she was lying?

"Come on. I think Mommy's waiting downstairs," Randy said, sensing he should get Lynsey away from Trish. Trish glanced down at Avery. The newborn was wailing furiously.

"She's gone, Princess. She won't hurt you again. Mommy promises." Trish murmured, trying to contain her anger. "No more tears, Avery,"

Randy came back. He seemed angry. Trish looked at him. Why was he so furious?

"What happened?" she asked. He sighed, sitting beside the bed.

"I saw Lynsey pinch her. I told Stacy and you know what she had the nerve to tell me?" he asked, clenching his fists. Trish gave him her full attention.

"What?" she asked, gently rocking the baby. He sighed.

"She said that's what I get for having a baby, sibling rivalry. It gets better. Guess whose month starts on the day we're bringing Avery home?" he asked. Trish groaned. She couldn't deal with Lynsey while she was trying to recover from childbirth. "I know she's my daughter and I love her to death, but I don't know what gets into her head half the time."

"I can't have her hurting Avery." Trish said. "When I married you, I vowed to love you. I vowed to treat Lynsey like my own. I won't have her hurting the baby, though"

"Deal," Randy said, seeing her point.

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Chapter 2 is complete! In answer to a question, I read parenting message boards whenever I get bored. Hope you enjoyed it!

JenLea