Like Mother, Like Daughter (Season 3)

Chapter Seven: The Odds Are Stacked Against You

I woke up with a pounding head about a week and a half after Ronan was born, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I sat up, throwing my covers off and stumbling over to Hailey's crib, where she was standing, waiting for me to take her downstairs for breakfast. I checked her and changed her, after figuring out that she needed cleaning up, doing my best to focus on her as she merrily kicked her legs upwards without a care in the world. To say the I was hungover and still wearing last nights' clothes from going clubbing with Franny was an understatement, but I managed to keep a good grip on my daughter as I left my bedroom. I bit my lip as the wood floor slightly swam in my vision, but I managed to climb down the stairs without falling as I headed into the kitchen.

"You look like a raccoon!" Carla chanted as I stepped into the kitchen and put Hailey in her highchair, and I stuck my tongue out at her as I walked towards the pantry where Hailey's baby food was kept.

"Morning, honey," Mom said, shooting Carla a look as she stood by the stove. "Want some eggs and sausages?"

I cleared my throat as I got the box of baby oatmeal out from a high shelf on the pantry. "Yeah, thanks a lot, Mom," I said, quickly pouring a little milk from the fridge into a bowl, as well as the oats, and popped it into the microwave.

"You okay?" Fionn asked, watching as I put the majority of my weight against the counter. "I mean, you don't look like yourself..."

I yawned, shuffling over to the fridge as I waited for the microwave to beep and opened it, seeing a bottle of vodka that Dad snuck drinks out of when he thought we weren't looking. "Yeah, fine," I told him, taking a swig before either of the parental units could tell me not to.

"Uh, sweetheart," Dad said as I quickly put the bottle back into the fridge, and as he lowered his newspaper, "you sure you're okay to do that?"

"Hailey quit the bottle, so I'm dry," I told him, smacking my chest, knowing I wouldn't be so brazen with him if I didn't have the blood alcohol content of Frank. I turned around at the sound of the microwave going off, and quickly grabbed a baby-safe spoon before I retrieved it. I also took a bib from the drawer and secured it around Hailey's neck before I sat beside her, blowing on a bite of oatmeal before I gave it to her.

"Yeah, but, honey, I think..."

"Nicholas," my mother said, her voice firm as she brought the platter of eggs and sausages towards the table, shooting him a look as she set them down.

"Fine," he muttered, getting to his feet and serving everyone.

I did my best to watch as Hailey ate her breakfast, and then when Carla and Charlie's carpool arrived, I shouted goodbye to them as Mom walked them to the door. When Hailey finished eating, I took a towel and cleaned off her face, shoving a bite of breakfast into my mouth as I took her bowl and spoon to the dishwasher. I continued eating, managing to scoop Hailey out of her highchair and hold her about her middle while I ate the rest of my breakfast and did my best to do so one-handed.

"Hon, I know you have off today," Mom said as she took hers, Carla, and Charlie's dishes to the dishwasher and put them inside, "so, do you want me to run Hailey to daycare, or do you want to keep her today?"

I sighed. "Could you run her over, please?" I asked. "I know I need to keep her at home with me now and again, but she can socialize at daycare, in a way that she can't do with me."

"That's understandable," Mom replied, kissing my forehead and shooting Dad a look as he looked as if he wanted to say something. "I'll run her in on my way to the diner."

"Sure you're okay?" Fionn asked.

I looked over at him; Clayton was absorbed in his cell phone, while Dad had returned to the paper, and Mom was doing the breakfast dishes. I shrugged. "How do you mean?"