Taking Chances (WILL EDIT LATER)

Chapter Thirty One.

The first day or two at home with a newborn is always a little challenging but for Nicola, she was blown away with all the love and kindness that was being showered upon her and her daughter. That was another thing that Nicola found strange. She had a daughter. There was now someone else that would rely on her for comfort, food and love. For a chance at life in a world that Nicola knew to be cruel and cold.

By the time that she and the baby were left alone without any help, Nicola had the hang of breastfeeding, changing nappies and having her sleep broken up because of a hungry tummy or a full nappy. However, she was not prepared for the constant screaming that the baby was currently doing.

"Please stop. I don't know what you want." Nicola begged, feeling beyond stuck. Brenna had work the next morning and she didn't want to take anymore advantage of the woman's time.

The baby's cry only got louder as the seconds ticked by, making Nicola reach for her phone. Her thumb hovered over the play button for a video of Taron singing. It was the same video Nicola would play when the baby kept her up at night by doing all sorts of gymnastics and karate moves while she was pregnant. It always settled the baby girl down. Almost like she was destined to be a daddy's girl.

As soon as Taron's voice melodically floated through the speakers, the baby seemed to start settling a little bit. It wasn't much but it was better. It allowed Nicola enough time to get herself situated and ready to feed the baby.

"Is that seriously all you wanted? Food and daddy's song." Nicola said as the little girl began to suckle. It wasn't long before the baby was sleeping peacefully again. Nicola was happy for this but as soon as she moved from the rocking chair, the baby was wide awake again and screaming her little head off. At this point Nicola gave up. She was at a loss for what to do. She had already changed the baby's nappy, fed her and had her dressed in cooler clothes as it was pretty warm out.

Nicola glanced at the clock on the wall and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Tina and the kids would be arriving soon. She was excited to hear all about their trip to New York but most of all, she was excited to have another adult around again; not that she wasn't grateful for Brenna's help but it had been a couple days since she'd had 24/7 help.

"Come on pretty girl. Settle please." Nicola spoke softly, still waiting for the baby to burp. A few seconds after her mother's words, the baby let out a burp and soiled her nappy again.

"Just in time for your family to meet you." Nicola chuckled. Unfortunately a knock sounded at the door before she had the chance to make the baby presentable.

Nicola opened the door and as soon as she saw her sister, Jasmine threw her arms around Nicola's legs. She was at the point now where she never wanted to see Mikey again after he broke her heart.

"Bad time?" Tina asked as the baby fussed. Nicola shook her head.

"Nappy." Nicola replied simply as she gently pat the baby's back and let everyone inside.

"There are snacks on the table and juice in the fridge. I'll be back in a second." Nicola said, hurring off. In the meantime Tina got the kids settled, making sure to keep Mikey away from Jasmine who still had the look of heartbreak in her eyes.

"All clean. Now we can ta- Jas, are you ok?" Nicola said, seeing the unshed tears in her eyes. Jasmine shook her head and ran toward her room.

"Am I missing something?" Nicola asked, feeling a tad confused. Tina gave the woman a sad smile and slightly shook her head. Nicola knew that Tina would fill her in later and that now was not the right time.

=

The visit went well and the baby was well received by the Egertons. Tina and the girls were so excited to know that the baby was a girl because that meant they had another girl to play dress up with. The only person that had yet to meet the baby was Jasmine and with her running off to her room, something told Nicola that the baby needed to be asleep first so that she could give her sister all the cuddles she needed.