:Stress:

The loud wail of a baby tore though the quiet night. A brunette woman and a blonde man bolted upright in bed. Murrue was quickly on her feet and running out of the bedroom and across the hallway. Mu was right behind her, matching her pace. By the time her got in there, however, Murrue was already cradling their new addition to the family in her arms. She rocked little Mae back and forth humming softly to get her to go back to sleep. She did it with such a mothers touch that it made him grin idiotically.

He found it amazing how motherly she had become since their baby's birth. The young one was quick to sleep, and Murrue gently settled her back into her crib, covering her with the little blanket resting inside. Murrue continued to lean on to the wooden frame of the crib once she had Mae put down to sleep. Since when had she been so exhausted?

Mu noticed the worn look on her face right away and was immediately by her side.

"You feeling ok, princess?" he asked concerned.

"Don't be silly, Mu, I'm feeling fine. Just a little tired, that's all," She lied through her teeth.

He didn't look convinced, but she made her escape before he could question her further.

"I'm fine, Mu, really I am," She called through the doorway to her husband. He shook his head in disbelief. He turned to look down on the little infant in the crib, still feeling that sense of wonder and pride.

Murrue had made it back across the hallway and into the door way to their room before suddenly stopping and leaning on the doorframe. She put a hand to her spinning head.

I feel so dizzy; I must be more tired than I thought.

She decided that she should really get back into bed. She took another step to get into the room, but faltered in that one simple movement and wavered on her feet. The next thing she knew she was falling forward. She was ready to brace herself for the fall until she felt two strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her back up, stopping her fall. She felt her heavy head slump against Mu's bare chest, and could barely register his one arm sliding underneath her knees and lifting her up.

She felt soft sheets and pillows underneath her and he laid her on the bed. He covered her with the comforter and she felt him put a palm to her head, probably to see if she had a fever. She wanted to open her eyes and look at him to reassure him that she was alright, but her eyes simply wouldn't respond to her commands. She soon noticed him sit down beside her and stroke her hair soothingly. That was the last thing she remembered before drifting off to sleep.

The next day Murrue woke up to bright sunlight and a warm afternoon breeze blowing through the open windows in their room. She looked over to her side, and to her surprise, Mu wasn't there.

That's funny; Mu's usually still asleep by the time I wake up, especially on a Saturday.

She slowly got up and grabbed her robe off of the balcony. She'd been so tired lately, but right now she felt like she'd been asleep for days. She made her way across the hallway to get Mae up to feed her, but when she walked over to the crib, little Mae wasn't inside looking up at her with those golden-brown eyes so much like her mothers. Murrue got worried and quickly made her way from the room and down the stairs. Once she hit the landing, she let out a sigh of relief when she noticed Mu sitting on the couch, feeding the baby. He almost immediately noticed his wife's presence.

"Good morning sleepyhead, are you feeling better?" He asked warmth in his eyes.

"Yes, much better, thank you," She spoke softly while making her way over to the couch and sitting down next to him.

"Glad to hear it. You finally got your 10 hours of sleep that you wanted so bad as well," He smiled knowingly.

"Huh, what do you mean? What time is it?" She looked up at the clock and gasped.

"12:30! I have so much to make up for work; you should've woken me up sooner!" She made to get up and started on her work.

She had just been let off maternity leave, and went into work to get her missed paperwork during her absence the day before. Erica would kill her if she didn't get at least some of it done.

Mu let go of Mae's bottle for a split second so he could stop Murrue from getting up. "Relax Murrue, I called Erica this morning and told her about last night. She got worried and gave you an extra week off. She said that you should take your time, and if there's anything you can't get to, she'll finish it for you,"

Murrue began to protest, but he silenced her with two fingers on her lips.

"You need to rest Murrue. It's only been 4 weeks since Mae was born. Neither me nor Erica want you stressing yourself with work so soon," He noticed her upset look. "I just don't want you to strain yourself, ok sweetheart?" He gave her a kiss on the forehead.

She sighed in defeat and rested her head on his shoulder. She noticed that he was having a hard time getting Mae to eat. Murrue smiled and gently touched Mu's arm to let him know that she would take over. He handed Mae over to Murrue, and set the baby bottled down on the end table.

"Guess she's not one for eating out of the bottle right off the bat," He gently wrapped and arm around her lithe shoulders. She nestled her head on his chest as she fed Mae. She had a proud motherly smile on her face.

"Guess now, but I still can't believe she's ours," She looked up at him lovingly. "Look what we've made," he pulled her closer in his arms and pressed his lips to the top of her head in a long kiss.

He ran his free hand up and down her leg soothingly. He buried his face her hair and inhaled her scent. It was the same as always, expect now there was also the smell of baby powder and shampoo, a smell he couldn't enjoy more.

"Love you," He whispered gently into his wife's ear.

"Love you too," She responded nuzzling his neck with her head.

"You gave me a real scare last night, Murrue. Please, take better care of yourself and rest some more," Her eyes went downcast at his words.

"Sorry if I worried you sweetie," She answered guiltily.

He smiled down at her warmly. "It's ok honey, I'm just glad that you're alright,"

She smiled in realization. "I guess we're experiencing the ups and downs of parenthood, hm?" He chuckled softly at her comment.

"We sure are, Murrue, we sure are,"


:Explodes with fluff: I'm sure that having a baby is one of the most tryingtimes of one's life. That was basically the inspiration for this story xD That and the thought of Mu and Murrue snuggled up on the couch with their newborn baby girl was far too cute to resist :P Until next time! The sequel to Martial Arts should be out next, so be on the look out!