We Can Love Again

A Little Interruption

Three weeks with Caroline in their lives, and getting up in the middle of the night wasn't getting any easier for the outlaw. He loved his daughter, he really did- but he needed his sleep, so did Regina. It was slowly tearing down their bodies, making them weak, and, dare he say, more irritable. Sometimes both parents forgot they had other children to worry about; Caroline quickly began to take all their time.

Her cries acted like an alarm clock for him- they had a system going where they would switch off every night, so the other one could have some much needed sleep. He had become numb to the sleep deprivation that his body went through on a daily basis; he had also trained himself to avoid all the obstacles he faced on the way down the hallway while in the complete darkness, including his son's dog.

"Hey, hey don't cry," Robin muttered, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he leaned down to scoop her up in his arms. It was nearly three in the morning, and this was the fourth time Caroline had woken up crying.

Holding her snugly against his chest, he began his decent downstairs and towards the kitchen. They had gone through this routine so many times before, it just seemed like another fact of life. Once he got the bottle out of the refrigerator, he would stick them in the microwave and wait for it to warm up. While he did this, Robin would try and calm her down as best as he could- multitasking was slowly getting easier for him to accomplish.

"Daddy's going to take care of you, don't worry."

Her body relaxed almost immediately after she began to drink the warmed milk. Robin found it interesting, all the makings of his daughter's personality. She seemed so fascinating to him, being such a little thing yet be so strong. Having her in his life made him recall the days when Roland was that small. The man had to raise him all by himself, and it had not been easy. But he knew one thing for sure when he had his son, and that was that he would do anything and everything to ensure the best outcome for his children. Granted, at the time he didn't know about Henry or Caroline's arrival into the family; he certainly didn't think he would ever find love again.

He loved the way she looked up at him while she drank down the bottle. It was almost like she was trying to talk to him, maybe to give him a thank you for tending to her every beck and call. But she was a princess, and Robin was going to continue to treat her like one until the day he died.

"You drink these down so fast," he told her, setting the empty bottle back on the counter and set her small body on his shoulder, gently soothing his fingers on her back.

The infant was slowly fading back into sleep, one that he hoped would last more than two hours.

Then they would start the climb back upstairs, Robin trying to keep Caroline as steady as possible.

"I'll see you bright and early in the morning," he said, a small smile escaping through his exhaustion as he gave her forehead a light kiss. Setting her down in her crib, he gave her one last lookover before heading back towards his bedroom, where it took everything he had not to fall down on the bed and sleep wherever he landed. Regina was fast asleep on the other side; he was careful not not wake her as he settled himself amount the warmth of the covers and drifted off into a deep sleep.

"You go back to sleep, you need it more than me," Regina told her fiancé as the baby monitor went off again by their bedside. She knew he had been up at least five times the previous night, and when she glanced down at his sunken face, a wave of sympathy washed over her. What a good daddy he was.

Regina didn't want to get up either, but she told herself that it would all be worth it in the end.

After assessing her daughter for a moment, she realized that there wasn't anything wrong. Yet she still continued to cry, in short breathed wails that caused her face to redden slightly. Henry used to cry like that all the time when he was a baby; Regina supposed it meant he didn't like to be alone.