Natsu watched as Lucy frantically checked her books and online forums again to find out some clue as to why Layla continued to cry. They'd both been up all night, with Layla feeding and crying and refusing to sleep, rinse and repeat, and Lucy had worked herself up into an emotional wreck. He rocked his wailing daughter in his arms, making the shushing noise that usually worked, but she continued to cry.

Suddenly Lucy burst into tears. "I don't know what to do Natsu!" she sobbed. Natsu moved over to her, stroking her back with one hand while he rocked Layla in the other. The sun was finally peeking into their bedroom window, signaling the beginning of a new day. A new day where they were all tired, exhausted and at their wits end. Something was gonna have to give.

"Luce, I want you to go have a shower, and then you're gonna take a nap, okay."

"What? No, I can't do that while she's crying Natsu! She needs me!"

"Of course she does", he soothed. "But she needs a Mumma who's clean and fresh and not headed towards crazy town from lack of sleep. I can hold the fort for a few hours."

"But…"

"No buts, off you go."

He headed over to the change table, grabbing one of the muslin cloths they used as a wrap and gently placed Layla down on it. She'd been changed just before Lucy had fed her twenty minutes ago, but he took a quick peek inside her nappy, just to be sure. All clean. Ignoring Lucy's tearful protests, he wrapped his daughter up snugly in a muslin wrap so she resembled a tiny burrito the way the nurse at the birthing centre had shown him, then rocked her in his arms as she continued to wail.

"C'mon pumpkin, give your Dad just a tiny break here. Sleep is amazing. One of the best things - you really need to give it another try. If you heard someone say sleep is for the weak, they were lyin'. Sleep makes you strong, makes you grow." He sighed as Layla continued to cry hysterically. "C'mon baby girl. Your Mumma is tryin' so hard for you, really and truly. We all need to have a little sleep, and then everythin' will look better when we wake up. I promise."

He heard the sound of the shower, and he sighed even harder as he heard the sound of Lucy sobbing. This had been a hard week on her. It had been hard for him too, but at least he didn't have physically recovering from the birth, as well as hormones and breastfeeding to deal with as well. Natsu had always thought of breastfeeding as something that just happened, but just like any skill, it was something that had to be learned. Poor Lucy's bruised and battered nipples were a testament to the steep learning curve, but she'd stuck at it despite the pain, and things seemed to be settling down now on that front at least.

Was he doing enough to make sure Lucy was sleeping enough? When Layla woke several times a night, he would get up, change her quickly and then present her to Lucy so she could feed her. He tried very hard to stay awake while Lucy was breastfeeding, but sometimes he nodded off – there was something so amazingly peaceful about watching his wife feed his daughter.

He thought he'd loved Lucy before, but now… words really couldn't describe how he felt – love didn't seem enough. Lucy was so beautiful sometimes it took his breath away. He remembered the night before last, watching as she'd fed Layla, her blonde hair illuminated by the night light near the bed, cooing softly down at their tiny round cheeked baby girl.

His musing was interrupted when a still slightly tearful Lucy appeared from the bathroom, her damp blonde hair up in a ponytail, wearing clean shorts and a t-shirt. Her eyes were red rimmed, and she looked so very tired, more tired than he'd ever seen her. She did her best to smile for him, but he could see she was still feeling panicky.

"Natsu, thank you for looking after her while I had a shower. I'm feeling much better already. Why don't you give Layla to me and go and have one too?"

Natsu smiled tiredly at her, continuing to rock Layla. "Nuh uh. That wasn't the deal. Bed for you. She's not due for another feed for two hours, so go sleep."

Lucy bit her lip. "Natsu, do you think I'm a bad mother?"

"What? Fuck no!"

"It's just… I'm her mother, I should know what's wrong, I should just know! What if I'm not making enough milk and I'm starving her? What if I've eaten something that she's allergic to? What if she's getting sick, because I've missed something important?"

"Lucy", he replied gently. "Just because your her mother doesn't mean you need to know everything straight away, not anymore than I should because I'm her dad. We're still learning, we'll work it out okay? But right now, I want you to get some sleep, and then once you've had a rest and you're feelin' more like yourself, I'll take a nap. I promise if I really need you, I'll wake you up."

"You promise?"

"Yup. Go sleep. Layla and I are just gonna go for a little wander around the hallway. Listen to some music, it'll help you relax."

He moved into the hallway and shut the bedroom door firmly. "Alright Layla - 'Operation Sleepy Time Because Mumma and Dad are Going Slightly Cuckoo' is commencing now. Ya gotta get with the family program pumpkin. You're part of team Dragneel now, okay?" He heard a small giggle from the other side of the bedroom door. "That doesn't sound like you're sleepin' Lucy! Get with the family program!"

The tiny girl wailed in Natsu's arms, and he cuddled her closer as he walked up and down the hallway. He'd be panicking too if he weren't so exhausted. He begun singing random nonsense, hoping that would calm their tiny week old daughter down. But it seemed like Layla was having none of it. Who would have thought such a tiny thing was capable of making so much noise? Their neighbours must love them right now.

He wished he knew what to do. Layla was warm, fed, burped, changed. They'd checked her fingers and toes to make sure there were no little threads wrapped around them from her onesie - a possibility that had not even occurred to them until Lucy had seen it suggested on an online forum. She didn't have a fever. No nappy rash. He tried to think of things from Layla's point of view. The world was probably still a scary place. Was she frightened? He smoothed his hand over his tiny daughter's back, wishing there was some way he could communicate to her that she was safe and loved. So loved.

He couldn't believe she'd been here for a whole week already, and that it was really only a week. How could he love someone so much when he'd only known them a week? He couldn't wait until she finally smiled, laughed, called him Daddy. He was sure his heart would shatter and be remade with how much adoration he felt. But according to Lucy's books, that first smile was still nearly a month or so away. And she definitely wasn't smiling now.

He knew this would be hard, the first few weeks with a new baby. Everyone had told them, Lucy's parenting books were full of warnings that the first weeks were hard, but living it was something else. And it made it even harder that his and Lucy's parents weren't alive anymore. He would give anything to be able to call his Mum and ask questions about whether he was doing things right, or if he'd done something similar when he was a baby, and he was sure Lucy felt the same. He pictured his Mum, her warm smile, her tight hugs. She would have loved Layla so much, and it didn't seem fair that she had missed this, and that Layla wouldn't have the doting grandmother she deserved. He sighed, shifting Layla in his arms so her tiny head was resting on his shoulder, his hand patting softly and rhythmically on her bottom.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring don't shine, Papa's gonna buy you a bottle of wine…" Wait, no that couldn't be right. Although if someone offered him a glass right now…

His thoughts were interrupted by the shrill tone of his phone ringing. He wasn't sure who would be ringing around breakfast time on a Saturday morning, but he didn't want Lucy to wake up if she was finally asleep, so he moved quickly to the kitchen where his mobile was plugged into the charger, carefully tucking Layla into the crook of his arm so he had a free hand.

"Hello", he said gruffly, hoping whoever was on the other end of the line could hear him over Layla's cries.

"Hi Natsu." Levy's voice sounded annoyingly cheerful. "I just wanted to check in to see if today was a good day to pop around for a visit. I've got some casseroles that I made for you and… is Layla okay?"

Natsu sighed in relief. Levy was a mother. He could ask her questions. "She's been crying and feeding all night Levy. Luce was exhausted, so I made her have a shower and take a nap, but… I don't know if I'm doing this right. She won't calm down, even though I've got her wrapped up, and that usually works, and I'm…" he gulped a little, realising he was starting to feel a little teary himself.

"Hey, it's okay", soothed Levy on the other end of the phone. "She's a week old; she's probably going through a little growth spurt. And sometimes a baby will cluster feed to increase their mother's milk supply. You're not doing anything wrong Natsu, neither is Lucy. It might last a day or two and then she'll settle down again. It happened with the twins too."

"God that must have been fucking awful", groaned Natsu, rocking Layla as she whimpered in his arms. "How did you manage it with two! Lucy and I are barely surviving Levy – I know everyone said it would be hard, but…"

"Yeah, until you're actually doing it, there's no way to describe it is there", said Levy sympathetically. "In fact, listen… I think Layla's calming down. Keep talking to me, I think hearing you speak is helping."

Natsu could have wept in relief. "Thank fucking Christ", he whispered. "I'm so tired Levy. How's Gajeel going at work? Is Erik working out okay?" He was there during the interview; he'd personally examined the guy's portfolio, and was happy with it, but the tattoo parlour had been picking up business and could get really busy at times.

"It's all good – they've had a few arguments, but everything's calmed down now", giggled Levy. "When Layla's a bit more settled, you should pop in and see them." Natsu grinned.

"Yeah, I'd like to do that, for sure. Whaddya think baby girl, would ya like to come and see Daddy's work?" The tiny sleeping baby tucked into his arm nuzzled her head into the crook of his elbow, and he couldn't help the single tear that rolled down his cheek. "She's asleep."

"Good work Natsu", said Levy softly. "I'll pop around after lunch with those casseroles if that's okay?"

"Sure, sure", answered Natsu softly. He walked slowly over to the big winged armchair near the lounge room window that they'd bought specifically for Lucy to feed their baby in, and sat down carefully. "I'm sure Lucy would love to see you. She's been a bit down on herself this morning. Thinks she should know everything about bein' a mum and she freaked herself out a bit. Can you talk to her?"

"Of course I can! I'd love to see her, and I can't wait to give Layla another snuggle. You've got this Natsu. You've both got this, you're doing great."

Another tear rolled down Natsu's cheek. "I… thanks Levy" he whispered, his voice cracking a little.

He could hear the smile in Levy's voice. "It's an initiation of fire, I know, but being a parent… there's nothing better. Welcome to fatherhood Natsu."

I still remember those first few weeks with a newborn. Definitely crazy town. There's a reason they use sleep deprivation as torture. Ah, babies. They're lucky they're cute.