Casual Sabotage

42 - Ex-Girlfriends, Nieces and Grandpas

Mickey stayed at home with Amy for two days and then it was Ian's turn. Mickey was going crazy while he was at work and texted Ian every thirty minutes. Usually, Ian would have been annoyed with him, but he actually was glad Mickey was so into being a responsible dad. During the days he had been alone with Amy, he had used the nap times to google exercises for babies with developmental disorders. He had shown them to Ian and left him with instructions when he went back to work. Ian kept his days with Amy relaxed, he let her grasp some toys and different textures, held things out of reach for her just a tiny bit, so that she could reach them if she tried (most of the time she didn't)

Both Ian and Mickey tried to make her laugh. They made funny faces at her and noises, but if anything they made each other laugh, Amy watched them while sucking on her pacy.

After Ian's two days, both had to go to work. Luckily, Mickey had the morning shift and Ian the late shift, Ian started at two and Mickey got off at one, which left them just enough time for a quick kiss and "Amy's taking her nap" in between.

Ian got back in the evening after 10, Mickey was sitting in their bed, waiting for him. He was watching Amy sleep peacefully and wanted nothing more than getting some sleep himself.

"Hey, you're still up?", Ian whispered when he got in.
Mickey nodded, "Was waiting for you"
Ian smiled and sat down on the bed next to him to kiss him.

"We need to find a solution for this, tomorrow we can still do this half-and-half day because you got night shift, but the day after that? We both have late shift, no one is home. And we have to make those two weeks until my vacation starts."
Ian nodded and sighed, "Then we will have to spend our last money on some daycare after all?"

Mickey shook his head, "Out of the question. She's too young for that, for one. And two, she needs attention and care, how is one person who watches ten children at the same time, gonna help her like we do? Come on, what do you have all those fucking siblings for, huh?"
"You just said yourself, no one is home. They're all working, even Sandy, although I start to think that the tattoo studio is just a front for some coke business. Liam would be there in the afternoons, but he's thirteen, we can't do that."

Mickey looked at him for a moment, "Come on, aren't you forgetting someone?"
"Frank?"
"No, not fucking Frank, Lip."
"Lip has his own baby."
"Exactly. They have a baby the exact same age. He is home with Fred the entire day already. We watched Freddie and Franny before. We are not asking for too much when we ask Lip to help out."

Ian nodded, "You're right. He offered his help, too. And it would only be a few hours on the days we really have to work at the same time. We can at least ask him, after all, we would take care of Freddie in a time of emergency, too."
Mickey nodded, "How about we go over to their place tomorrow and ask him before your shift?"
Ian nodded, "Sounds good, yeah", he kissed Mickey and sighed, "I go grab some dinner, you go to bed, you have morning shift", he lectured, then he picked Amy up and put her down in her own bed.

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After Mickey came back home and Amy finished her nap, they went over to Tami and Lip's place. Unexpectantly, Tami was home, too.

Lip was happy to see them and sat down on the couch with Ian, Mickey and Amy, while Tami sat on the ground and played with Freddie, who was already sitting on his own. Mickey had to remind himself, to not compare Fred to Amy, but he had the feeling that Tami showed off Freddie being much more advanced than Amy on purpose.

"So, how is fatherhood?", Lip asked and smiled at Amy, "Is she making progress?"
"Not a lot", Ian said with a shrug, "But it's also just been a few days and soon Mickey has the appointment with the physical therapist that will give us some tips."
"Great, but she at least looks like she's getting enough food now, got some healthy, rosy baby cheeks.", he grinned.