I jolt from bed, groaning. Hearing such a bold cry from such a tiny set of lungs always startles me. No one could have ever guessed that Emma was on a ventilator just three months ago.
"Jacob," I shout across the hall to his room. "It's your turn,"
I hear a long, low, groan and then the sound of his bed squeaking as he gets up follows. Relieved, I fall back onto my pillow as the cries of my daughter begin to calm. My eyes close and I begin to fall back to sleep.
"Where is the bassinet?" Jacob asks, walking into the room as he holds Emma in his arms, close to his chest.
I gasp, feeling my heart jump. "I was almost asleep!" I whine.
He chuckles. "I'm sorry. Is Emma's bassinet in here?"
I nod, pointing at the far corner of the room. "Yes, it's over by the closet. Why?"
Wordlessly, he lays Emma in my arms and pulls the white bassinet to the opposite side of the bed from me. "Okay, hand her to me."
"What are you doing?" I asked, confused. "If you going to leave her to sleep in here, then put her on my side of the bed."
He takes her from my arms, softly rocking her. Just before he lays her tiny body onto the fluffy white pillow in the bassinet, he places a gentle kiss on her forehead. I watch in amazement as she relaxes, falling back to sleep instantly. I would have never imagined that Jacob would have such a strong connection with our daughter.
"Woe," I whisper, startled as Jacob crawls in bed beside me. "You know the rules, go back to your bed."
He rolls over to me, and through the glow of the moonlight flooding in from the window, I see a grin on his face. Come on, Mya. We have been back together for three months now. I'm not trying to seduce you. I just want us to sleep together so that we don't have to keep getting out of bed to grab Emma. I'm exhausted, and I have to work tomorrow night. Please?"
I study him for another moment, staring into his pleading eyes. "Fine," I mumble. "But stay on your side of the bed, and this going to be an every night thing."
Despite my orders to stay on his side of the bed Jacob reaches out and pulls us to the center of the bed, wrapping his arms around me. "Screw sides," He whispers. "Let me hold you, baby. Please. " Just as I am about to squirm out of his arms, the warm skin from his bare chest presses against my naked arms, and I feel myself melt into him, wrapping my legs around his waist. "Wow," he comments after a moment. "I was waiting for you to slap me or something,"
At his word, I feel my heart sink. A moment passes. Nothing is said, until finally, I murmur, "I know I have been acting guarded lately, Jacob. I'm sorry."
He scoffs lightly, rubbing his hand in small circles on the small of my back. "Never apologize. I hurt you. You told me that you wanted to take it slow. That's what we are doing. Sleeping in separate rooms, and not having sex doesn't make me love you any less. If anything, I still love you more and more every day."
"Do you get tired of waiting?" I ask, feeling insecure.
He pulls away and looks down at me, meeting my gaze. "Waiting for what?"
"Waiting for things to go back to normal," I whisper. "Waiting for me to come back around. I'm always terrified that you're going to leave because I still need a little more time to sort things out."
