Chapter Text
Callum smiled, watching both Rayla and Sarai sleep.
Outside the window, the sky was turning from grey to pink, dawn approaching.
The entire night felt like a lifetime while also seeming like a blur. Their lives utterly changed in just a few hours.
Their baby, their daughter, finally here, healthy and happy and so wonderfully perfect that he felt his heart swelling with emotion once again.
Rayla and Sarai had only just fallen asleep, the two of them clearly exhausted from their ordeal. He was too, but he felt like he got off pretty light, all things considered.
He’d always known Rayla was strong. He’d admired that strength from almost as soon as they’d met, but seeing her bring their daughter into the world inspired him like nothing else before.
Just when he thought he couldn’t love her any more than he already did—
Sarai stirred, her little hands grasping as she fussed. She was reclined in Rayla’s arms; both having fallen asleep while the little one fed.
Glancing at Rayla, he was relieved to see she was still sleeping, her lips slightly parted and face utterly at peace.
Sarai scrunched up her nose, wriggling a little and clearly starting to wake.
Wincing, Callum reached for her, gently extracting the little one from her mother’s arms. Sarai grumbled, taking little hitching breaths as she began to become more alert.
“Hey now,” Callum whispered, getting to his feet and stepping closer to the window. “Shush, you let your mama sleep, okay?”
Sarai continued to fuss, her breathing becoming shorter and a little more distressed.
“Shush,” Callum rocked and swayed, trying to soothe her. “You were keeping mom up with all that kicking the past few weeks. The least you can do is let her sleep now.”
Opening her eyes, Sarai blinked up at him. She stuck out her bottom lip, taking a deep breath as if preparing to properly cry.
Grimacing, Callum looked around. Rayla was clearly exhausted and deserved to rest. Sarai had only just fed too, she couldn’t be hungry again this quickly, could she?
“You miss your mama?” he whispered, eyes moving between Sarai and Rayla, still very much sleeping.
Something else caught his attention, and he padded over to the chair in the corner. Rayla had taken to reading in it and she’d slung his scarf over the top.
Or perhaps he should call it her scarf. She certainly seemed to wear it more than he had lately.
Taking a seat, Callum tucked the scarf around Sarai, smiling as she took a deep breath and seemed to snuggle a little deeper into the soft fabric.
“There you go, back to sleep.” He smiled, rocking gently while Sarai yawned, arching her little body as she stretched.
Opening her eyes, Sarai gazed up at him, looking content and sleepy once again.
Callum tucked the scarf around her little head, smiling at how sweet she looked. “You know, I think between the two of you, I can finally concede I’m not getting this back.”