Goodness me, this hit 700 reviews. Sincere thanks for the continued support. You all are just stupendous, ya hear? A special thanks to those who faithfully review every chapter, and to those who put up with my moaning and seemingly endless pessimism.

This is a peek into what happens when you mix insecurity, a lack of sleep, and newborn twins. And yes, a little creative licence was taken. ;)

Happy reading =)

"Babies don't need fathers, but mothers do. Someone who is taking care of a baby needs to be taken care of." – Amy Heckerling

I make my way out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. I pull the covers back on my side of the bed and slip in, reveling in the feel of the soft and familiar mattress. Just as I begin to drift off, a loud wail pierces the silence. I glance over at Em and find she hasn't stirred, which strikes me as odd. In the short time we've been home with them, she's been up at the slightest whimper from either Tegan or Matthew.

The cry continues and I swing my gaze to the doorway to the hall before settling back onto Emily. I contemplate getting up to deal with it on my own, but quickly dismiss the notion. Instead, I reach an arm out and give her a gentle shake, hoping to rouse her from her sleep. She moans softly and rolls over to face me.

"Derek?" she mumbles almost incoherently.

I bite my cheek to stave off my laughter. "Were you expecting someone else, Princess?"

"What d'you want?" she mumbles with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Matthew's awake," I explain.

She pauses for a moment and listens. "No, that's Tegan," she says sleepily.

"How the hell can you tell?"

She ignores my question. "You can get her, they're not due for a feeding yet. She probably just needs a little soothing," she says before rolling back over and snuggling back under the covers.

"Em, she's always fussy with me – why don't you go?" I say quickly, throwing up the excuse and hoping she'll accept it.

"She'll be fine. Just rock with her a little and she'll fall back asleep."

"Uh…I don't know her routine. Why don't you grab this one and I'll get the next one?"

"Because I'm exhausted, that's why," she snaps.

"And I'm not?" I reply quickly. "I've been up with them too."

Her gaze hardens and I notice her expression has shifted from tiredness to irritation. "Do I need to remind you of the hours of labour I went through not so long ago? Not to mention all those months of pregnancy!"

I open my mouth to reply, but she continues to speak, her tone laced with frustration and irritation.

"You promised me when we made the decision to try to have kids that you'd be there every step of the way. You swore up and down that you wouldn't leave me to do everything by myself."

"I'm here, aren't I?" I reply weakly.

"Yeah, you're here, refusing to comfort your own child!" she spits as she gets up and begins walking to the door.

"Don't make me out to be the bad guy here," I reply, my anger briefly beginning to rise, but the feeling of shame is the one that is at the forefront.

She scoffs and walks out of the room quickly. I let out a heavy breath and listen as Tegan's cries begin to quiet. With a frustrated sigh, I get up and make my way down the hallway. I pause in the doorway and watch Emily expertly calm Tegan. I glance at Matthew and find him sleeping peacefully, apparently not bothered by his sister's discomfort despite their close proximity.

My gaze swings back to Emily, and I watch as she sways Tegan gently, humming a lullaby. It occurs to me in that moment that Tegan and Matthew could well survive without me…all they need is their mother. They don't need me, they need Emily. I feel a wave of helplessness wash over me, but it's quickly replaced by my shame. I'd rendered myself useless. It was me who had made that conscious decision to remove myself from their routine.

Emily must sense my presence because she turns around and shoots me an icy glare. "I've got her now," she says bitterly.

I feel my heart clench at her tone. When had my insecurity reached such a ridiculous level? When did it get to a point where I was willing to let my wife, who had definitely earned the chance to get some uninterrupted sleep, pick up my slack? "I'm sorry, Em," I say softly.

She opens her mouth to spit something back, but snaps it shut as she meets my eyes. Her own eyes soften at my expression. "Derek," she says softly, a hint of sadness in her tone.

"I'm sorry, I just- They're so tiny, and I feel like I'm going to crush them or something," I begin to try and explain, but it comes out more as rambling than anything else. "And they don't really need me, they need you."

"Hey, shhh," she says, reaching out a hand to me. "Come here."

I step forward but feel the nervousness and panic begin to course through again.

"First of all, of course they need you, Derek. Hell, I need you. Second, here," she says, holding out a now mostly quieted Tegan, though she lets out the occasional whimper. My eyes widen in slight panic as I reach out and take my daughter into my arms. "Relax, Derek. She trusts you, and so do I. Just let her curl up next to your body."

I pull my arms in and inhale sharply when Tegan squirms and shifts around a little, no doubt trying to get comfortable.

"Good," Emily says with a nod. "Just like that. And now she just needs a little gentle movement and she'll fall back asleep."

I make my way to the rocking chair and sit down carefully before beginning to rock gently. Tegan's eyes flutter shut as she turns her head and buries it into my shirt, her body relaxing into a quiet slumber.

"See, you're fine," Emily says tiredly, leaning against the wall. I continue to rock for a little while longer as I watch Tegan's expression relax into sleep.

"But how do I get her back into her crib?" I ask quietly, knowing exactly how preposterous it is that I haven't yet done this.

"Just go slowly, and put her down gently. I usually keep a hand on her for a couple seconds and rub her stomach if she starts to fuss."

I nod and begin to rise slowly and do as Emily instructed. I place Tegan in her crib and she begins to squirm a bit so I comfort her a little, marveling how large my hand is compared to her tiny body. She settles eventually and I look at Emily who is watching me intently with her tired eyes. I notice then just how exhausted she looks and I feel another wave of guilt.

Emily wordlessly holds a hand out and leads me back to our bedroom where we settle back under the covers.

"What brought this on?" she asks. "You were fine with them right after they were born."

"It was both of us then, and we were in a hospital," I try to explain, but I'm aware of how little sense my explanation makes.

"You were fine with Henry when he was a newborn," she points out.

I shrug. "It's different when it's your own kids."

"Derek," she says softly in a tired tone. "What is it?"

"I- I just didn't, well I mean I don't really, or at least I don't think-" I stop and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"And you think I do?" she replies sleepily.

My gaze drops to the pillow in front of me as I play with it idly. "I'm scared I'm going to do something wrong," I admit quietly. "They're so little…"

"Babe, don't worry so much," she says gently, placing her hand over mine. "You'll figure it out as you go along, just like I am. And they may be small, but they're tougher than you think."

"How are you so calm about this? I'm terrified I'm going to hurt them."

"I'm too tired to be anything but calm," she says softly. "But believe me, I'm terrified too."

I pause for a moment and consider her words. She reaches out a hand and softly caresses my cheek while giving me a tired smile.

I grab her hand and press a kiss to it. "I'm sorry, Em. I really am, I didn't wanna – no, I don't wanna make you do everything. I want to be involved in raising them and help you out, I just don't know how."

"Well, I've got the feeding situation taken care of for the next little while," she says with a reassuring smile and the faintest hint of a twinkle in her tired eyes. "But maybe you can handle a diaper now and then? And maybe soothing them once in a while?"

I nod solemnly. "If you teach me how, I'll do it," I promise.

"Okay," she agrees, already beginning to drift off to sleep.

"Hey, c'mere," I whisper as I open up my arms and wrap them around her as she shifts closer and snuggles into my chest. "I love you, Emily Prentiss."

Before she can respond a loud wail pierces the silence.

"Seriously? She's up again already?" I say in disbelief.

"No, that's Matthew," she says.

"I'll go," I say, stopping her movement to get up, a new found swell of confidence rising in me.

"He might need a change," she murmurs, already falling back asleep.

I blink, that familiar panic setting in again, and the confidence fading away instantly. "Uh, well..." I trail off.

She lets out a groan and shoves the covers off of herself as she gets up. "Okay, buddy. Time for lesson two."

"I love you, Em," I repeat with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbles. "I'll love you after I've slept a few hours."

"I promise after this lesson you can sleep for at least a few hours."

She lets out a laugh as she glances at the clock on the bedside table. "Not likely, they'll be up for their 3 o'clock feeding soon."

"Yeah, sorry," I apologize. "Not much help in that department."

"Nice try, buddy. You're getting up with me for that one too."

I chuckle tiredly and follow her to the nursery, watching as she plucks our son from his crib and gives his diaper a quick whiff. Her face scrunches and she hands him to me. "Yep, definitely time for lesson two."

So... Were you as confused as Emily with Derek's explanation? Was his insecurity maybe just a little bit adorable? Did anything make you chuckle? Let me know. It's always good to hear what works and doesn't work.