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“I need to give RJ a bath,” Micaela says once we get through the door “He’s on a good schedule, for the oes to bed after a bath and a bottle, only waking up once in the e and to eat He’s even been sleeping in until six”

“Can I help?”

“Of course”

We work together to give RJ a bath, get hiive hi him to bed His eyelids are hooded over and he’s already halfway to his drea a blanket across his little body She turns off the light and winds up aabove his crib It turns in a circularsoft music, and RJ’s eyes close before it even makes it around one full time

“I’ on her paja erect and with your eyes open” She moves to the bathroom and brushes her teeth

“Probably the adrenaline,” I ad ht everything new for me

Once we’re both ready for bed, she clio to the other This will be the first tiether since our tiether when she had RJ before she asked for space, but ere up all night taking care of hiht before I left I prettyher and RJ sleep

Micaela fits her body against ood,” she h a yawn

“Being together?”

“Yeah, that… but also knowing you’re hoether” With one last yawn, she cuddles closer to my body, and a few seconds later, her soft snores fill the quiet

I should probably go to sleep, but it’s hard co in the desert, sleeping on a hard as fuck bed, constantly having to be alert It also doesn’t help that while it’s 9:00 phanistan I will , I instead focusher sleep Aside froether at the beach house, which wereinto bed exhausted, I haven’t spent much time in bed with a woman I was married to Laura for years, but we slept in different roo late and somehow the office turned into her roo as a nurse and later a nurse practitioner, when I was actually home, ould work opposite hours, so she continued to sleep in the other roo it, it became our norm

Micaela shifts in her sleep, her head leavingover like a fish out of water, taking the blankets with her I glance down at h She did the saer

Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I nuzzlelull me to sleep

Micaela

The sound of RJ whining through the monitor wakes me from my slumber When I roll over, I bu off the bed in shock and confusion My eyes pop open, and I find Ryan sleeping next to … not so softly I smile, my heart happy that he’s hohanistan and, if I’norant as long as possible

RJ’s whines get louder, so I turn the e and feed him

Grabbing the bottle I pre-ht so I don’t have to do it when he wakes up, I pad into his rooht at almost the same time, this has becohts, like tonight, when I’m beyond exhausted, it feels like I do

Like e his diaper then feed hi the entire thing before his eyes shut, his tiny chest steadily rising and falling I lay hi him his pacifier, and with a soft kiss to his forehead, quietly exit, o back to bed