Cadence ( Part 2 of Rhythm ) Completed*

Chp 25: Roundabout

When Mickey opens his eyes, he knows two things without looking at the clock: it's definitely still the middle of the night and he's barely had a couple hours of sleep.

He's not firing on all cylinders but he's able to figure out it's Ava's wailing that woke him up. She's not in the room, neither is Ian, which means they must be somewhere else in the house. Any chance of him falling back to sleep is squashed when Ava lets out a shrill cry and the need to investigate makes him climb out of bed.

Bleary eyed, he follows the glow of artificial light to find Ian walking in circles around the kitchen table, Ava pressed to his chest.

"What do you want, huh?" Ian asks, tone bordering on desperate. He presses her cheek to his, making it easy for the words to reach her ears. "Please, Bunny? Please, calm down." He bounces her, movements more frantic than his usual fluidity with her.

"How long she been up?" Mickey asks, his voice alerting Ian to his presence.

"Shit, Mick, sorry. I tried to let you sleep." He gives Mickey an apologetic look before going back to reasoning with their youngest.

"Yeah well, you tried, she didn't." He makes grabby hands towards Ava. "Gimme."

"It's been an hour, at least," Ian sighs, kissing Ava once before handing her over to Mickey.

Despite the residual crankiness from being woken up, Mickey's heart softens at Ian's admission. Ian looks exhausted, running on empty. The fact that he still tried to handle Ava on his own in hopes of one of them could get a few extra hours of sleep is the most romantic thing Mickey's experienced in the last few weeks. "You," Mickey says to his daughter, "you've gotta stop crying, okay?" He holds her over his bare chest, her face resting over his heart.

"She's uncomfortable. Nothing that usually works is working. And I swear, whatever asshole decided colic should be a thing deserves to rot in the deepest pit of hell." Ian pinches the bridge of his nose before spreading his hand to span the width of his forehead. "I have no idea what to do anymore."

"You and me both." Mickey says over his shoulder, moving to sit in a chair and stroke his hands up and down the length of Ava's back. "You're okay," he whispers to her, kissing her downy tuft of hair. "How about we try being quiet, huh?" Ava's response is a wavering cry and it breaks Mickey's heart. "Or we could just cry our lungs out until we pass out from exhaustion. Whatever works for you."

"Mick," Ian warns.

"I'm kidding. But really, it's her call." Mickey finds himself petting Ava's hair down, shushing her. "Pacifier didn't work?"

"No. Neither did swinging her." Ian runs his fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands. "She was so good all day. She's making up for it. That's definitely what she's doing." Ian's eyes widen, his words sounding slightly unhinged.

Ian's tone makes Mickey smile, only because of the ridiculous meaning in what he's saying. "She's not that manipulative." Except, sometimes he suspects Mikayla and Ava are, that they know how cute they are. He peers down at Ava, watching her fuss. "I don't know how to help you, baby." He keeps stroking her back and eventually wears her down because she starts quieting. "People are fucking crazy when they say we'll miss this. I will definitely not miss watching my daughter scream all night while none of us get sleep and Mikayla tries to sabotage the whole thing."

Ian snorts a laugh. "Kinda cute when she sleeps though."

"She sleeps?" Mickey raises an eyebrow. He's startled by the lurching motion under his palm and then the feeling of something warm and wet on his bare chest. "Ugh, really Ava? You're gross." He pulls the infant away to see she's spit up down his chest. "Least you fucking feel better now."