Richie:23
Eddie:22
Eddie and Richie are sitting on the couch while they watch TV. Neither boy pays much attention to the show, their attention is on Eddie's arms, more specifically what is in Eddie's arms. Their 1-year-old daughter, Marleigh. Richie's twin sister wanted to be the surrogate so Marleigh would look like a mix of both parents. She has the same shade of caramel eyes as Eddie, the same nose as Richie, tons of freckles across her nose and cheeks, the same loose curls Eddie has in the same bluish black shade as Richie. Marleigh is also tiny, even though she's 1, she is the same length and weight of an average 10-month-old. Marleigh smiles up at Eddie. "Hey, beautiful. You getting sleepy?" Eddie coos. Marleigh rubs her eyes and lets out a cute yawn. "Yeah, our little peanut's tired." Richie says. Marleigh reaches for Richie's hand. "Do you want to sing to her, or do you want me too?" Eddie asks. "How about we sing together?" Richie suggests. "Ok. What song?" Eddie questions. "Hey There Delilah" Richie answers. "Hey there, Delilah. What's it like in New York city? I'm a thousand miles away. But, girl, tonight you look so pretty. Yes, you do. Times Square can't shine as bright as you. I swear, it's true" Eddie sings the first verse softly. "Hey there, Delilah, don't you worry about the distance. I'm right there if you get lonely, give this song another listen. Close your eyes. Listen to my voice, it's my disguise, I'm by your side" Richie continues with the second verse. "Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me. What you do to me" both boys sing the chorus together. By the end of the chorus, Marleigh is asleep. Richie kisses her forehead before Eddie takes her upstairs and tucks her in her crib. Eddie quietly walks back downstairs and snuggles into Richie. "I'm so lucky. I have the perfect husband, the perfect daughter, the perfect life." Eddie says, kissing Richie's cheek. "Me too, baby. I love you and Marleigh more than I have ever loved anything before" Richie says. The boys snuggle and watch TV for a little bit longer then go upstairs to bed. They lay in their bed, facing each other. "I love you. Goodnight, Tozier." Eddie kisses Richie "I love you more, Tozier. Goodnight, baby. See you in the morning." Eddie turns so that him and Richie are spooning. They both fall asleep quickly.
Richie wakes up at 1:45am to Marleigh crying. He hurries to Marleigh's room. Eddie is a really light sleeper and always takes care of Marleigh during the night, so Richie tries to let Eddie sleep and takes care of Marleigh. Richie picks her up and carries her to the changing table. He changes her diaper, but she continues to cry. He gives her a few Cheerios, but she still cries. Richie undresses her, looks for injuries, then changes her outfit into shorts and a shirt. Marleigh still cries. "Mars, you're gonna wake up daddy." Richie whispers. Eddie wakes up, hearing Marleigh's cries. "What's wrong, Mars? I've tried everything. Your daddy needs sleep." Richie says, rubbing Marleigh's back under her shirt. "Please, calm down, Mars. It's not fair to your daddy that he always has to take care of you at night. Just go back to sleep, baby, your dad's got you, you're ok" Richie lightly bounces Marleigh. "Let me see her Chee" Eddie says, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Dang it, I'm sorry, baby. I was trying to let you sleep. I've tried everything, I changed her diaper, fed her, made sure she didn't hurt herself, changed her outfit in case she was hot, held her, rubbed her back, bounced her, and she won't stop crying" Richie says as he hands Eddie their baby. "Thank you for trying, Chee. I'm ok with taking care of her at night." Eddie says. Eddie puts his finger in Marleigh's mouth and lightly presses on her gums. Marleigh chews on Eddie's finger. "She's teething. Can you get me the teething ring that's in the fridge?" Eddie asks, he continues to rub Marleigh's gums to help with the pain. Richie goes downstairs and grabs the ring. "Thank you, Rich" Eddie places a gentle kiss on Richie's cheek. Marleigh falls back asleep shortly. Eddie disappears for a minute to put Marleigh back into her crib. While he's in her room, he turns on the baby monitor and grabs the other part. "You're so good with her. I feel like I don't help enough. You're always up with her and you immediately know what's wrong with her." Richie says when Eddie returns. "Chee, you're fine! You work to support us. I wouldn't have known what was wrong with her if you didn't tell me what you did. In fact, there's been a couple night where we cried together because I couldn't find out what was wrong, and I felt bad that I couldn't help her. I've looked up reasons why she might be crying. So, it's perfectly fine not to know what's wrong" Eddie reassures, holding Richie's hand. "Since we're both fully awake, do you want to watch Friends?" Richie asks. "Sure!" Eddie answers. The boys get comfortable on the couch. Eddie snuggles into Richie's lap. Halfway through the second episode, Richie starts rubbing Eddie's back. Between Richie rubbing his back, Richie's body heat, being comfortable, and the late hour, Eddie falls asleep before the third episode starts. Richie doesn't notice Eddie fell asleep until the theme song. When Eddie doesn't tap the claps on Richie's chest, Richie looks down. He is met with Eddie's sleeping frame. "You're so adorable, I'm so lucky" Richie whispers. He kisses Eddie's forehead, then walks back to their bedroom, carrying Eddie. All three Toziers sleep through the rest of the night.
