Temporary Nanny

Chapter 23

*note this is a continuation of the previous chapter*
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Michael wakes, jostled from his restless 5 minute sleep. It's pitch black and takes a minute for his sleep-hazed mind to register the cries coming from the other room.

He's up and on his feet within seconds, padding across the carpeted floor as his heart starts to race. He can't remember the last time Stella cried in the middle of the night let alone the way that her tiny lungs are projecting throughout the quiet house.

Worried, he moves quicker, switching on the light to her room and easily scooping her up into his arms.

"Hey, shhh, it's alright kitten, daddy's here," he begins to coo in an attempt to sooth her. It's obvious to see this isn't going to be an easy one. Her cries don't let up and there's tears streaming down her little face. Michael can't help but feel panicked.

He doesn't know what's wrong with her and as a parent it has his anxiety through the roof. "Stel please baby." He bounces her in his arms and checks to see if maybe her diaper needs changing.

He knows it's not that she's hungry because aside from the fact that she hasn't woken up to eat in months, the bottle he made her before bed is laying half full in her crib.

Just when he's about ready to give up and call his mom - because maybe she can help in some way though he's not really sure how, Stella cries out her first word.

It's hard to make out through the sobs at first but then she takes in a hiccuped breath and desperately calls out, "Mama!" It's so clear and almost sounds like a plea.

Michael's absolutely frozen.

He has no idea how Stella knows that word or who the hell she's even referring to. He thinks maybe she'd been listening all that time in her mom's stomach. And of course there was the few months after that when she was still around.

But how could she possibly remember that? How could she possibly be crying for the woman that left them?

She lets out another cry for her mama and if Michael's anxiety was any bad before well its at least tripled now.

"Shhh, Stella I don't know where mommy is baby." He feels so helpless and on the verge of tears himself. This is not the way he thought her first word would go. This is supposed to be something good. Something happy and exciting. Yet his chest feels tight and there's a sinking feeling deep in his gut.

How could he have let it come to this? He tried so hard to be both mom and dad for his little girl. How could they end up here? Like this?

"Stella please stop crying," he pleads with the screaming baby.

He's pacing around the room, vision now blurred with tears that threaten to spill over.

"Michael babe, you're supposed to be calm. She can probably sense your anxiousness." Beatrice chuckles sleepily. Although Michael appreciates the thought and sincerity in her tone and actions, it's really not the voice he wants or needs to hear right now.

He also knows straight away as she reaches for Stella that she isn't what Stella needs right now either. But still, maybe he's wrong. Maybe Stella's actually referring to her. Maybe they've bonded more than he thought.