"Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it; not a penny was there in it, only ribbon round it." -Unknown
She could hear the short gasps and groans from the foot of her bed and she buried herself deeper under the mass of covers that surround...
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"Baby mine, don't you cry." Lucy sang softly as she stared down at squirming, wailing infant in her arms, and gently rocked her daughter in her arm with hope that she'd fall asleep. At four months old, Matilda should have been transitioning to sleeping eight hours a night, but she seemed to be having trouble and constantly wanted to be held by Lucy, "Baby mine, dry your eyes."
The shrill screams that left Matilda's lips slowly dwindled down into little hiccups as her dark blue eyes stared into Lucy's, holding nothing but wonder. A soft smile graced Lucy as she continued to sing, one of her hands reaching up and stroking Matilda's cheek, her heart bursting with love when Matilda leaned into her touch.
"Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine."
It wasn't easy... raising Matilda alone, that is, and the first two months had been hard. The first month had been the hardest, though. Luke had gotten serious about rehab after Matilda's birth since he'd been too high to come to the hospital. When he was finally clean enough—and when Steve and Shirley decided that he could come in—he looked a mess. His eyes were red, and Lucy didn't know whether or not it was from the drugs or tears, he clearly hadn't showered in a few days, and he was jittery.
She didn't let him hold Matilda.
He was too dirty, both internally and externally, and Matilda was only three days old. She wasn't going to risk the chance of her daughter getting sick just to make Luke feel better about missing their daughter's birth. She had asked one of the nurses to bring in a cover for the crib Matilda rested in.
Luke could look, but he couldn't touch.
Lucy could see the adoration and love blossom in Luke's eyes the moment he saw Matilda. His eyes got wide and filled with tears as he slowly shuffled to one of the chairs near her bed and the crib. She watched him carefully, making a noise in the back of her throat when he got too close for comfort.
Luke sat there for two hours, just watching their daughter, as if he was memorizing her face. Lucy could tell that he was itching to hold her by the way his fingers would flex whenever Matilda made a noise in her sleep .
"You are so precious to me. Cute as can be, baby of mine." Lucy finished, nearly crying with relief when Matilda's eyes didn't flutter open.
Pressing a kiss to the top the top of Matilda's head, Lucy gentle shifted her daughter from her arms and into the crib. She stood over the crib, smiling down softly and admiring the light in her life. Matilda had her auburn hair but Luke's beautiful eyes, something that Lucy prayed for throughout her entire pregnancy.
The phone in her back pocket only had to vibrate once for Lucy to pick it up, knowing who it was just by the time and the day.
"Hey," Lucy quietly greeted, "She just went to sleep."
