Jeff spent a while Googling advice on what to do for sick babies, and eventually came to the conclusion that they were already doing everything they could, and taking her to the doctor for a 101-degree fever and an upset stomach was just going to get them sent back home with instructions to wait until tomorrow and see if she was any better.
“I told you,” Leah said, from the other end of the hall. She turned and paced back to where Jeff was sitting on the living room couch with his laptop.
“You told me,” Jeff agreed. “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I just wanted to be doing something.”
“Well, here,” Leah said. “You can walk her for a while.”
Strange as it was, Jeff did actually seem to want to help with the sick, whiny, messy, loud, unhappy baby. He’d even changed a very toxic diaper earlier, without calling Leah over or anything.
But it was starting to get late. Leah pulled the latest round of laundry from the dryer and got the sheets back on the Pack-n-Play and Emily’s clothes back into the diaper bag, and then turned to Jeff. “You should get some sleep,” she said.
Jeff’s face immediately settled into the determined look that she knew well. “So should you.”
Leah shook her head. “I had a long nap this afternoon. No one’s going to be helped by both of us staying up and exhausting ourselves.” When his expression didn’t change, she said, “How about I take the first shift. When she wakes you up crying in the middle of the night, then you can take over.”
Jeff thought that over. “I guess that’s fair,” he said.
“Good,” said Leah. She held out her hands for Emily, and Jeff handed the baby over with a reluctance that surprised her. Emily wrapped her little arms around Leah and sobbed into her neck, clearly gearing up for another round of exhausted crying. Leah hugged her close and said, “Go on, get to bed.”
Jeff reached out and touched her cheek. “I’m taking that second shift,” he said. “Don’t think you’re going to trick me into sleeping all night.”
“What an awful fate,” Leah said wryly. “I’ll be sure to save you from it.”
Jeff leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on her lips, then another on the top of Emily’s head. “You better,” he murmured, and took himself off to his bedroom.
Leah let out a long breath.
She really should just let Jeff sleep. He had to get up for work tomorrow, after all.
But she’d just promised not to. And she knew he’d be upset if he didn’t get to help at all during the night.
She looked at Emily’s little body, shuddering with quiet sobs. Maybe she’d exhaust herself and end up sleeping after all, and it wouldn’t be an issue.
Leah laughed at herself. Sure.
Jeff did all of his nighttime ritual things, which Leah took a strange pleasure in watching. It was just normal stuff—brushing his teeth, changing into an old National Park Service T-shirt and sweatpants to sleep in, double-checking that all the doors were locked, doing a quick sweep of the house to put away anything that was out lying around...
Well, that last one wasn’t too normal for a man, maybe. Although really, she’d only ever lived with the one, so she truly didn’t know. Maybe most men were as tidy as Jeff was.
She didn’t think so, though.
Finally, he came up to her. “Is there anything you guys need before I turn in?”
“Can’t think of anything,” Leah said softly. Emily had sobbed herself out for the moment, and was lying with her head on Leah’s shoulder and her fingers in her mouth, quiet.
Jeff wrapped her and Emily both up in a big, warm hug. “Okay. I’m trusting you to let me take second shift.”
“If she’s still awake in the middle of the night, I will,” Leah promised.
Jeff kissed her temple, and then Emily’s. “Goodnight, honey,” he murmured. “Feel better, okay? I want to see you smile again.”
Leah felt tears pricking at her eyes. God, what an amazing man.
Jeff went off to bed with a last lingering look over his shoulder at them, and Leah let herself plop down onto the couch.
Emily immediately started a whining protest.
“Okay, okay.” Leah stood up again and started to pace.