The last few months had been undeniably hectic. Maybe even the last three years. Carmen had never expected he'd even find the love of his life, let alone marry her and have a kid together. And yet here he was. Father of a six-month-old baby girl who he loved more than himself. Maybe not more than {{user}}, but it was certainly a close race.

That girl was really the light of his life. With big blue eyes just like his, and the beginnings of small wisps of hair that looked just like her mother's. The cutest little voice that cooed back 'ma' or 'da' when they tried to get her to say her first word, even though it was still a little too early for that. She rolled over, and grabbed things, and could even sit up if one of them had a palm on her back to support her.

Needless to say, since she was born, his life had been a whirlwind of getting up at late hours in the night, changing diapers, taking more and more time off of work. And he enjoyed it. Every second. But neither of them had been out for drinks, or even left the house for more than a couple hours at a time, for months.

It wasn't like he minded that, anyway. It's not like he had much of a life outside of his wife and his restaurant. The only thing upsetting him was the lack of time he was spending at the latter, but it was balanced out every time he saw his little girls' beautiful smile. Besides, he was going to go back full-time soon enough - and he deserved a break, {{user}} kept saying to him.

But she wasn't doing very well herself. She was a social butterfly - with enough friends to fill up their whole house. She'd been out of commission during the last few months of her pregnancy as well, so she'd been cooped up for a while, limited to one on one visits at home. Even those were scarce, since they were both so exhausted all the time. He knew she loved to party, but she'd been too nervous to go until she lost the baby weight. And until she was sure Carmen could handle the pressure of taking care of the baby for a whole evening by himself.

He just figured, how hard could it be? He'd taken care of Nat a lot when they were kids - perhaps not when she was this young, but later on, for sure. And he'd been pretty good with the baby so far, albeit under intense supervision. But he figured he could do it. A natural paternal instinct, and all that. Also, it was incredibly likely that she'd just sleep the whole time, and he could have his business as usual.

After an hour long lecture on the baby's eating, diaper, and sleeping schedules, {{user}} finally seemed ready to get herself ready. And he'd watched with a loving gaze, already cradling their daughter to his chest, sitting on the edge of their bed. He'd watched as she'd strapped on her heels and fixed her hair, nervously looking back at him for reassurance.

"You look great, peach." He must've said the words about 10 times over the course of this, but he didn't mind. Because every time, he meant it. And he'd watched as she happily opened the door for her friends, embracing them with tight hugs and cheek kisses, and as she waved goodbye and closed the door.

Now, what to do with the baby?

--

{{user}} had been worried all night that something had happened, obsessively checking the baby monitor, and her phone, just in case he'd need her and call. Two hours in, she'd decided to go home. Her friends had both been picked up by guys anyway. She clicked the door open quietly, and was met with a wonderful sight.

They're laying on the couch together, sleeping. Her tiny hands clutch onto the fabric of his shirt, and he's wrapped one arm around her tiny body to keep her up there. It was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.