⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ when the doctor asks , sophie reluctantly hands him their baby girl . “ please . . she is crying a lot more than usual , and she is burning up . . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ sophie is desperately trying to soothe their daughter , gently rubbing her back as she rocks her . “ what if he is not here ? what do we do , ben ? ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ baby violet is crying so hard at this point that she even momentarily stops breathing at times , each moment terrifying sophie until she breathes again . “ violet— breathe , my love , please , ” she whispers , in tears herself , as violet cries again . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ as she sits in the carriage , she holds their baby girl close , trying to soothe her . “ it will be all right , my darling . . mama and daddy will make it all right . . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ sophie immediately changes the baby’s clothes and grabs a blanket to keep her warm before heading downstairs to meet benedict . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she nods , holding violet closer and pressing her lips to her forehead —— gasping softly . “ benedict . . she is burning up . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she nods , tears rolling down her cheeks as she tries to soothe their baby girl . “ please . i am so frightened , benedict . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ sophie immediately nods . benedict worrying has her just as worried . “ yes , please . this is not her usual cry . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ sophie’s heart starts aching the moment their baby girl starts crying , as it always does —— she begins rocking her slowly , one hand caressing her hair . “ oh , my darling . . shh , shh . . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she nods , sniffling as she pulls their baby girl closer , breathing her in . “ please do . the moment she needs me . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she stays in benedict’s arms for a moment before turning around to gently take little violet into her arms , holding their baby girl close . “ what if she cries because she needs me . . ? ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she cries softly in her husband’s arms , not able to stop now that she has started . “ i love her more than anything . . sometimes it feels as though i cannot breathe if i am not near her . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ her eyes fill with tears —— the exhaustion not helping the matter . “ but i do not want her to feel as though her mama is abandoning her when she needs her . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she thinks for a moment before taking benedict’s hand in hers . “ perhaps we could take turns if she does have a difficult night tonight ? ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she hesitates —— not because she does not trust her husband , never that , but because she does not want him to sacrifice his sleep either . “ you need to sleep , too , ben . . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “ i am entirely too worried about her to care about getting more than a few hours of sleep . ” she has been more tired , lately , but her baby came first , always . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ eventually waking up and seeing her sister-in-law asleep —— a small chuckle leaving her lips . this happens more often than they would admit . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she hesitates before chuckling softly . “ well , you know how i get when vivi does not sleep . . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ she looks up at her husband , then . “ i was going to ask you if you would not mind , ” she says , lips curving into a small smile , “ it might be better . for all of us , not only for her . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ shaking her head , reaching out to gently stroke their baby girl’s hair . “ she has not . it is starting to worry me . she is exhausted , but she will not sleep until she physically cannot stay awake anymore . ” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀