A/N: Hey all. Here's the next chapter. I'm in the middle of 13 right now, so hopefully it'll be up on Monday. Thanks for reading.

Kadence

Disclaimer: Camp Rock and its characters are the property of the Disney Channel. I own nothing…I merely borrow for my amusement, as well as yours.

Chapter 12

The early morning of the Idol Gives Back taping was not a good one for Mitchie.

She was working on less than an hour's sleep, having finally gone to bed at a little after midnight, only to be woken up by Sky's crying at around 1 AM. Mitchie first checked to see if the infant had a fever, which she didn't, and then tried a diaper change, a bottle, rocking and singing to her, and even driving around, which sometimes put the baby to sleep, but nothing had calmed the six month old down.

By 3:30 AM, an exhausted Mitchie felt like crying herself. While she was relieved that Sky's nonstop crying hadn't disturbed her best friend's sleep (she was currently walking in a far corner of the house, on the first floor, as far away from Caitlyn's room as possible), Mitchie really wished that she had some help. For the first time in a few weeks, Mitchie was really feeling the abandonment by her parents once again.

As Sky let out another wail, Mitchie choked back a sob. She reached for her cell phone for the third time in an hour. But this time, she actually touched the name in her contacts list that she'd want to call since early on in Sky's marathon crying session.

The phone rang five times before an extremely gruff, sleep-filled voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Oh God, Shane, I'm so sorry," Mitchie said, suddenly regretting her call.

"Mitchie?" Shane said, immediately sitting up in bed, more awake.

"I'm so, so sorry," Mitchie said. "Please go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you."

"Hey, Mitchie, what's going on? What's wrong?" Shane said, knowing Mitchie wouldn't have called otherwise. "Is that Sky? My God Mitchie, how long has she been doing that?"

"Since a little after one," Mitchie replied, sniffling, finally letting a few tears fall.

"Do you think she's sick?" Shane asked, getting out of bed and throwing a pair of sweats and pulling a tee shirt over his head.

"She didn't have a fever when I checked," Mitchie said, rocking Sky as she continued to cry. "I've checked her diaper like a million times; I've tried giving her a bottle; I've been walking around, rocking her, and singing to her; and I even drove her around the block for almost forty-five minutes. Shane, I don't know what to do. I feel like such a terrible mother. I can't even figure out what's wrong with her. And I'm just so tired."

"I'm coming over," Shane said. "Unlock the sliding door in the back."

"It's open," Mitchie said. "I was walking around with her out there for a while."

"Just hang in there with her," Shane said. "I'll be right there."

"Thank you," Mitchie said softly, wiping a few of her tears away. "And Shane?"

"Yeah Mitchie?" Shane asked.

"I'm sorry," Mitchie said.

"Don't apologize," Shane said. "You know we're always here for you…even at three in the morning."

Mitchie heard Shane end the call and let out a sigh of relief.

**********

Meanwhile, before Shane headed across the yard to Mitchie's, he stopped in at his older brother's room.

"Jason," he said, nudging his shoulder. "Jason."

"Shane, what time is it?" Jason sleepily asked. "What are you doing??"

"I have to go to Mitchie's," Shane said.

"What's wrong? Are she and Sky okay? Caitlyn?" Jason asked, more awake now that his concern had replaced sleepiness.

"Mitchie just called," Shane said. "Sky's been up, crying, for hours. Mitchie said she tried everything, but Sky won't stop."

Jason nodded in understanding, fighting off a yawn.

"Mitchie's so tired," Shane explained. "And I think she's just upset that she can't calm Sky. She said she feels like a bad mother. I don't know what to do. I don't even know if I'll be any help. But she called, so I have to try."

"Alright," Jason said. "Good luck."

**********

Before going to Mitchie's, Shane made one last stop in his room. He looked at some parenting websites and found that at Sky's age, it was possible that her crying was possibly because she was teething and her gums hurt. He discovered that with some Baby Motrin, Sky would probably fall asleep once she wasn't in pain.

Relieved that he may have had a solution, Shane made his way over to Mitchie's.

**********

"Mitchie?" Shane said, walking through the sliding doors at the back of Mitchie's house.

Shane figured Mitchie was down the hall, trying to stay away from any part of the house where Sky's crying might reach Caitlyn's room and wake her up.

As he closed and locked the sliding doors, Shane could hear Sky crying. His heart broke for the baby, and for Mitchie. He'd only heard Sky for a few seconds…he couldn't imagine what Mitchie had endured over the past two hours.

Following the sound of Sky's cries, Shane found Mitchie pacing with her at the end of the hall.

"Shane, I am so sorry," Mitchie said, her eyes quickly filling with tears. "We have so much to do tomorrow…I shouldn't have bothered you."

"Hey, I told you, I hope that someday Sky is just as much my responsibility as she is yours, and until then, I'm with you, no matter what," Shane said. "If that means taking her off your hands at 3 AM so you can get some sleep, I'll do it."

"No, Shane, you need to sleep too," Mitchie said.

"Hey, hey, stop," Shane said. "You're exhausted and you're just going to make yourself crazy."

"But…" Mitchie said.

"No. I am glad you called me. I told you…I want to be with you, when you're ready, and I want to show you that I can be there for you and Sky," Shane said.

"Okay," Mitchie said.

"I looked at some stuff online quick. I think Sky is teething," Shane said. "The website said to give her some Baby Motrin and her pacifier. When she stops crying, she'll probably chew on the pacifier because it sooths her gums. Tomorrow we can get her some cold teething rings, and she'll be as good as new."

"Oh Shane, thank you," Mitchie said, hugging him as best she could while holding Sky.

Shane just smiled at her and went to get the Baby Motrin from the bathroom.

**********

Twenty minutes after they gave Sky the Baby Motrin, she was finally asleep. Exhausted, Mitchie lay down on the couch, holding the sleeping baby, and Shane lay next to them, holding them both.

Several hours later, Caitlyn came down stairs and found them in the same position, all three sound asleep on the couch. She quickly snapped a picture and went into the kitchen to make some coffee and call Nate.

A little while later, Caitlyn sat in the kitchen, sipping her coffee and reading the paper. Nate and Jason quietly entered the house and walked into the kitchen. Jason immediately went to pour himself coffee and Nate gave Caitlyn a quick kiss.

"Do you know when Shane got here last night and why they're sleeping on the couch with Sky?" Caitlyn asked. "I never heard anything."

"Mom said Shane woke her at three to tell her he was coming over," Nate said. "She thinks Sky is teething. Apparently she was crying for hours last night."

"Wow, I didn't hear any of that," Caitlyn said.

"She gave me these," Nate said, holding up three teething rings, still in their packages. "Apparently they go in the fridge so they stay cold and they're soothing for the baby's gums."

Nate and Caitlyn opened the packages and put all three rings in the fridge. Caitlyn then went about making breakfast. She knew they had a busy day ahead of them, and since it sounded like Mitchie hadn't gotten much sleep, Caitlyn wanted to make the morning an easy one for her friend. Next she heated up Sky's bottle and less than two minutes later, a sleepy Shane and Mitchie walked into the kitchen, Shane holding Sky, who was the only one of the three who looked wide awake and ready for the day.

"Coffee?" Jason said.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to hearing what you think.

Kadence