Reflections of Stars

Three in the morning.

The baby was crying.

Nyx woke up with a start, rubbing grit out of her eyes. "Coming!" She called out to no one in particular.
She stumbled out of bed, following the sound of the wailing to the baby's room.
She reached into the crib and picked up the screaming child. "There there, Abigail, don't cry! Are you hungry, in need of a diaper change or do you just like making me run across the landing in my kitten pyjamas at three in the morning?"

Abigail snuggled into Nyx's chest, quieting on contact. Nyx chuckled. "So, you just wanted cuddles. At three in the morning. And you threw a paddy to get them. Dang girl, why can't I get away with that?"
"Well, her way you both get cuddles."
Nyx turned to see a sleepy Rachel padding across the landing in a nightdress.
Nyx chuckled. "True, and she is more adorable than I am. Which I'm only letting her get away with because she's not yet one."

Rachel smiled, rubbing her eyes. "Hear that kid? As soon as your one, you gotta stop being cute, otherwise Mama will get jealous."
"Rachel, we agreed I'm not Mama." Nyx said, rocking Abigail. "Maddie is Mama, I'm auntie. Just cause she's in a coma doesn't mean she isn't Abigail's mother."
Rachel smiled weakly. "But so are you. You're Abigail's Mama as well, I can just see it when I look at you both. Maddie is her birth-mother, but your the one who looks after her."
Nyx looked at Rachel. It may just have been that she was tired, but there seemed to be more to what Rachel was saying. As if she weren't just talking about her and Abigail.