Neighbors

Chapter 28

"Go to sleep Baby," North said when he came into the living room and saw Liza sitting up watching Kiairi sleeping. "It's two in the morning, you need some sleep."

"I can't," she whispered. "She needs me."

"She needs you to be at your best to care for her and you can't if you are exhausted," North whispered as he walked over to them. "Go to sleep, Baby, I'll watch her for a bit."

Liza shook her head, "You have to work in the morning. Thank you but I'm fine."

"You heard Doc," he chuckled, "we are on lock down, that means no one is leaving. Hey, look at me, Baby," he said crouching down and gently grabbing her chin to make her turn to look at him. "You don't have to care for her by yourself anymore. We are her fathers. We want to take care of her too."

"I'm sorry," she whispered as a tear slipped down, "I'm trying...I...I..."

"I get it Baby," he smiled softly. "Can I try something?" She nodded and he pulled the blanket back, "lay down on your side, Baby so you can still keep an eye on her." She looked at him confused but did as he said then gasped softly when she felt him trail his fingers up and down on her back. "Tell me about our children, please."

"Ever since Kyler saw Octonauts as a child, he has been fascinated with sea life," Liza smiled softly. "He wanted to learn everything he could about sharks and whales and jelly fish, and just everything. He was obsessed with that cartoon for a good three or four years before he got too old but he was still crazy about sea life."

"That's neat," North whispered. "Tell me more."

"I almost lost Kiairi seven times while pregnant with her," she whispered. "I had contractions at 15 weeks, and they had to give me the shot 7 times to stop them before I had her emergency c section at 35 weeks due to preeclampsia and low amniotic fluid. Her cord was wrapped around her neck also. It's one of the reasons my separation anxiety is so bad with her."

"That makes sense," North nodded, "she's a little miracle."

"She is," Liza whispered, "I wasn't even supposed to be able to get pregnant with my endometriosis. I had a miscarriage before her. She's a rainbow baby."

"What's that mean?" North asked.

"It means she's the rainbow after the storm of having a miscarriage," Sean whispered as he came into the room. "How is she doing Momma?"

"Her fever is low and she's still whimpering," Liza whispered. "She's sweating but shivering again."

"It's time for more meds," Sean whispered. "But I also need you to get some sleep, Pookie. I know it's hard, but I can't count on you to let me know subtle cues for our daughter when you are exhausted. We are taking shifts so we can watch her while she sleeps. Please try and get some sleep and let North watch over the two of you. I promise if anything happens at all he will wake you."

"I'll try," She whispered as she took the cup of liquid medicine from Sean. "Wake up Sweetheart and take this then back to bed."

"Mommy," Kiairi pouted.

"I know, but take this, it will help," Liza said as she held the cup to her mouth. She swallowed the medicine then whimpered into Liza's chest. "Here we go, Baby girl," she whispered as she laid back down on her side so she could hold her daughter. She copied North's movements on her back onto her daughter's and within moments they were both asleep.

"Finally," North whispered, "I thought she was going to pull an all nighter."

"She probably was," Sean whispered as he took both of their temperatures. "She's used to doing it by herself, so it makes sense she was fighting sleep. Hopefully she will sleep at least four hours. Eight would be best but I'll be happy with four. It's taking a lot for her to trust us to watch over her baby."

"What about her hand, Doc?" North whispered.

"It's healing," Sean sighed, "At her next appointment, we will see if she can go into a soft wrap and start physical therapy, but it will really just depend on how her healing is going. The nerves and muscles are very tricky to repair and heal. We will just have to see but hopefully since she has been following all the instructions, it will go well, and she can remove the cast and go into a wrap or soft cast."

"Good," North whispered as he watched them. "Get some sleep Doc. We need you at your best too."

Sean chuckled, "Will do. If anything changes, come get me."

North nodded, "I will."