"Good morning," Caleb smiled walking into the nursery where I was holding six-month-old Jackson Rivers.
"Hey," I smiled. I could tell I looked tired. I was up with Jackson every night and I'd barely been getting any sleep.
"I can take him," my mom said walking in. She had come to help take care of Jackson and was currently staying in the garage apartment.
"Thanks," I handed him to my mom and followed Caleb down to the kitchen to make some breakfast.
"I've got to go away next month," Caleb told me as he started the coffee maker.
"Seriously?" I groaned.
"I know," he sighed putting his arms around me. I laid my head on his chest and nearly dozed off, but just for a minute. Then his voice interrupted my dreams. "Are you...are you sleeping?"
"What?" I snapped awake. "No...fine, I'm tired."
"Do you think maybe you shouldn't be working so much?" he said. "I mean, taking care of Jackson is hard work."
"My mom helps out a lot," I said. "I'm okay."
"All right," he said sternly, "but don't do anything crazy."
"I won't," I smiled.
The two of us cooked breakfast, well mostly Caleb cooked while I watched, and then my mom came down with Jackson to eat with us. Caleb had to run to work quickly leaving me to feed Jack while my mom sat across from me.
"Honey," she said picking at her eggs, "there's something I need to talk to you about"
"What?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No," she replied. "Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine," I told her. "I am managing just fine."
"Why don't you and Caleb take the night off," she said. "I can stay here with the baby and you two go out to dinner or something."
"No," I said. "He's just a baby. He needs me right now."
"Okay," she replied. "What about dinner here? Caleb is amazing and he loves you and Jack but you need to give him a break too. Put on one of those amazing dresses you design and I will make dinner and watch Jack. If anything's wrong, I'll be able to come get you."
"I don't know," I sighed.
"You don't really have an option," she snapped. "I will take care of everything."
There was no arguing with her. I spent the rest of the day balancing the new designs while I took care of Jack. It was hard work but having my mom around made a world of difference. Today, though, she was an angel. In between watching Jack and napping, she managed to prepare a four course meal and convince me to wear a brand new dress for dinner with Caleb. Just as Caleb's car was pulling into the driveway, she picked up Jack and went to the nursery to give us some time alone.
"Hello?" Caleb said walking in the door when he saw the lights off. I waited until he walked into the kitchen and snuck a blindfold around his eyes. "What the...?"
"Take my hand," I said intertwining my fingers with his. I led him to the dining table and sat him down. Then I grabbed the blindfold and ripped it off.
"Hanna..." he was clearly confused. He looked down at the amazing meal before us and a smile spread across his face.
"Do you like it?" I asked smiling.
"Yeah," he smiled. Then he grabbed my waist and pulled me into his lap. "You look amazing."
"Thanks," I replied.
"Where's Jack?" he asked.
"With my mom," I explained. "She thinks we needed some time alone."
"I've gotta say," he winked, "I agree with that."
"I missed this," I said lying in bed next to Caleb eating ice cream out of the carton.
"It's all different now," he smiled. "We have to take care of someone other than ourselves."
"It was worth it, wasn't it," I said thinking about Jackson sleeping soundly in the next room. "I can't believe he's getting so big already."
"He's only going to get bigger," Caleb told me.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked confused as I set the ice cream back on the nightstand.
"I guess I'm thinking we should try for another," he smiled with that coy little face he does. "You know, so Jack has a brother."
"Uh no," I told him quickly. "I need a year at least. I'm not having another baby until I've finished the baby line and the maternity line."
"Really?" he laughed. "That's what you're worried about. I should have known that your first concern would be the wardrobe."
"You shouldn't even have to ask twice," I told him sternly.
"So, in a year?" he asked.
"Seriously?" I turned to him using my serious voice now. "I've barely even popped this one out, can we hold off on the baby talk?"
"Okay, fine," he replied. "We'll talk about it later."
"No," I said sternly, "we'll talk about it in a year. At least."
"Can we not fight?" he pleaded. "I didn't mean to bring it up. I'm sorry. One year, I promise."
"Good," I smiled. "Now we can not fight."
"That's exactly how I like it," he said kissing my forehead.
"There's something I do need to talk to you about, though," I said. "I think I'm going to have to go back to work sooner than I thought."
"Really?" he asked. "I thought you were going to take a year off."
"I want to," I explained, "but I think Samara is feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'm probably going to pop in there tomorrow and see what's happening."
"Tomorrow?" he asked. "It's Saturday."
"I know," I sighed. "I was hoping you could take care of Jack for the day. My mom needs a break."
"Yeah," he replied. "I was just hoping we could spend some time together, just the three of us."
"We will," I promised. "I just need to take care of some things in the morning. I'll be back before you know it."
"Sure," he smiled kissing me slowly.
"Thanks," I said pulling away for a second before I fell back into his arms bringing the sheet over us.
AN: Thanks for reading, I know I've been slow with my updates. I've been super busy lately and haven't had any time to write. However, if you're in the mood for some more Haleb, I highly suggest you read fight4finchel7532's stories. She has this awesome one called Because I Love You which is all in Caleb's perspective. Definitely check it out!