*The next day*
*Ring, ring*

“Hello?”

“Lyn?”

“Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s Ray.”

“Hey Ray! What’s up?”

“Just got done cleaning up after a very messy little girl.”

“Sounds like fun to me!”

“You have no idea!” Rayanne laughed. “Can I talk to Nick for a minute?”

“Sure, just a sec.”

“Thanks.”

“NIIIICK!!!” Rayanne heard Lyndsey’s muffled voice call.

“Coming!” Nick yelled. “Hello?”

“Hey Nick.”

“Hi.”

“How are you?”

“How do you think?”

“I asked because I want you to tell me.”

“I could be better.”

“What are you thinking? I want you to talk to me.”

“I want to be in her life.”

“I want you to be too.”

“How hard is that going to be with me in Florida and you in New York? Awfully hard Ray.”

“We can do it for her. You both deserve it, I’ll do anything I can to make it work.”

“I really wish you would have told me this earlier. I could have gotten you a house down in Florida. I would have done anything for you and her to be close.”

“We can be. You’ll see her a lot, we’ll do this.”

“How Rayanne? We’re thousands of miles apart. I’ll miss her growing up. I want to be able to see her everyday.”

“I can’t move.”

“Why not?”

“I have a life in Buffalo, a job...I don’t have the money to move myself and Madi thousands of miles away.”

“I’ll help you with money.”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to help me. I know you want to help your daughter, and I love you for that...but you don’t have to help me anymore.”

“I don’t care! I’m going to help you. This can’t be done with us this far apart.”

“Do you want to meet somewhere today so you can spend time with her? We can talk.”

“Sure, why not argue in public.”

“I wasn’t aware we were arguing Nick.” She paused. “If it’s what you want for you and Madi, I’ll move.”

“You just got done saying you couldn’t.”

“I don’t have the money. If I can find a job when I get there, I can do it. I just don’t want, for anything, for our daughter to have to miss out on anything if I do this.”

“What is she going to miss out on? If you ask me she’s missing out not being near me, by us not being closer.”

“If I don’t find a job right away, I can’t do things for her, and with her, I can’t make sure she has everything she needs and wants.”

“That’s where I come in.”

“I want for her to be able to see you everyday Nick, more than anything.”

“I have to talk to Lyn before this conversation goes much farther.”

“OK. I understand.”

“She needs a little say in some of the stuff I’m thinking.”

“Do you want to call me back later?”

“Can you meet me at Hard Rock at 2?”

“Yes we can.”

“Good. Bye.”

“Bye.”

*Mandy’s Aptartment*
Rayanne hung up the phone and went to check on Madi; still sound asleep. She looked at her watch. She had a little less than a half hour to get to Hard Rock to meet Nick. She decided to let Madi sleep for a while longer, so she sat down to watch TV, trying to keep her mind off what was going to happen when she went to talk to Nick.

*Hotel*
“Lyn!”

“Nick!” Lyndsey smiled, appearing out of the bathroom.

“I’ve got to talk to you sweetie.”

“OK, talk.”

“Promise me you will be honest with what you want, and what you don’t want.”

“I promise.”

“OK, I want Ray to move down to Florida...so I can be closer to Madi and watch her grow up and be there for her.”

“OK. I’m glad you want to be close to your daughter Nick.”

“But Ray doesn’t have much money,” he continued. “and I was thinking, if it was alright with you, that maybe she could stay in the spare bedroom until she gets on her feet with a job, and has enough money for an apartment or house of her own.”

“So the four of us living together?”

“Yeah.”

“Well...I’m OK with it, I know you love me. I just hope she remembers that.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable.”

“I won’t, as long as she knows.”

“OK, I love you.”

“I love you too.” she said smiling.

“I have to leave now to meet her at Hard Rock. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

“OK, good luck. Tell her I said ‘hi’.”

“I will. Call if you need anything.”

“I will.” She said before Nick walked out the door.

*Hard Rock Cafe*
“Sorry I’m a little late, she just woke up.” Rayanne apologized as she sat down across from Nick after putting Madi in her high chair.

“That’s OK. I ordered you a coke.”

“Thanks.”

“I would have gotten her something, but I’m not sure what she likes.” he smiled.

“Big orange juice fan.” Rayanne smiled back.

“I’ll remember that. Listen...If money is a problem Ray...”

“It is.”

“You can stay with Lyn and me until you get on your feet in Florida.”

She looked at him blankly. “With...you and Lyn? In your house?”

“I talked to Lyn, she’s OK with it. There’s a spare bedroom you can sleep in. No rent, just what calls you make and some groceries.”

“Nick...I...” She tried to get something out. “That’s a big offer.” He sat back in his chair with his eyebrows raised. “As long as you’re sure.” she continued.

“We are.”

“OK. But Nick...I’m not making any promises.”

“About moving?”

“I’ll move, but there is a chance it just won’t work for me in Florida. A slim chance, but a chance.”

“It will. I’ll help you.”

Rayanne smiled. “It means a lot to me that you’re willing to do this to be near her.”

“I’m glad. There’s one condition.”

“Condition?”

“No fighting.”

“Nick, I would never fight in front of my child.”

“Our child.” he corrected her.

“Our child.”

“Ya know, I’m really surprised. Lyn is totally cool with this whole thing.”

“That kinda surprises me too. She must be very comfortable with herself and your relationship...which is a good thing. It’s good to find that kind of relationship.” she said somewhat quietly.

“She should be comfortable with our relationship, I know I am.”

“I’m happy for you guys.”

“She’s cool that we have a daughter together, that I want to be part of her life.”

“Good.”

“I need you to answer me honestly...” he started.

“Yeah?”

“Will you be able to handle me and Lyn? Seeing us sleep in the same bed...?” he trailed off.

“It’s been almost two years Nick.”

“I know Ray.”

“So...”

“Can you give me a straight answer?”

Rayanne paused. “Yes.”

“Good. Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Can we eat? I’m starved.” she said at the same time.

Nick laughed. “Order anything you want.”

“Hey, do you want to see some pictures of Madi?”

“Can we order first?”

“Sure.” she said confused.

“I mean, yeah, I do! But I’m really hungry.” he laughed.

She flashed a smile. “I hope they have something here she can eat.”

“Does she eat a lot?”

“Yeah, she does.”

“What about fries? They have chicken strips, um...”

“She likes fries.”

“They have huge orders of fries, how about hot dogs?”

“A hot dog would be good, and some orange juice.”

“A hot dog and some orange juice...do you want to try stuffing her with fries?” he smirked.

“You want to stuff our child?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll order a burger and fries and I’ll share my fries with her if she’s still hungry. She has to eat a lot if she’s going to be a football player.”

“A football player?!”

“Yes. The first female all-star NFL player.”

“Uh oh...should I have had a boy?” Rayanne laughed.

“No way!”

“Nick, she’ll get hurt!”

“No she won’t! Lots of pads.”

“You want our child having tons of big men falling of top of her?”

“As long as they’re fully clothed, I’m fine with it.”

“Good rule. You run that one by her in a few years.” she smiled.

“Not a problem, you going to order?” he asked as the waitress approached their table.

“Sure, I’ll have a chicken burger and fries please. Do you want to order for her?” She looked away from the waitress to Nick.

“Sure, the gorgeous blonde will have a hot dog and orange juice, and I’ll have a burger and fries. And another coke!”

“OK, I’ll be back with your order in a few minutes.” she smiled before she walked away.

“So..when do you think I should start making arrangements?” Rayanne asked.

“Whenever you’re ready. We’re on a break right now for about 3 more weeks. Then we tour the US.”

“So, Madi and I would stay alone in the house?”

“We’ll figure that out later.”

“We can do it this quickly?”

“I’ll stay up here and help you. It’ll go faster. Maybe the guys will even help.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Just thank you...and that doesn’t seem like enough.”

“We’ll rent a bunch of U-hauls and have a parade.” he smiled.

Rayanne laughed. “Do you think she’ll grow up with your sense of humor?”

“I hope so.”

“So do I. Did you want to see pictures now?”

“Yeah!”

Rayanne reached into her bag and pulled out pictures, handing them across the table to Nick. “These are from the day she was born.”

“Wow.” he said quietly, looking at the pictures. “That’s kinda gross.”

“You should have been there if you think the pictures are gross!” She handed Nick a single picture of Madi in her bed, the day she was born. “I want you to have this one.”

“Thank you.” he said as he took the picture, putting it in his wallet.

Rayanne looked at Madi and smiled as she babbled something. “I think she’s talking to you.”

“Yeah Madi, that’s exactly what I was thinking! I couldn’t have said it better!” he smiled at his daughter, then turning to Rayanne, whispered, “What did she say?”

“I think she said ‘Pooh’, which I have in here somewhere.” she said rummaging through Madi’s diaper bag. “She looks a lot like you doesn’t she?” She found Madi’s Pooh and handed it to her.

“Yeah she does.” he smiled. “She’s got your nose though.”

“You think so?” Rayanne crinkled up her nose.

“Yeah!” he laughed.

“She has your attitude sometimes too.”

“How’s that? I don’t have an attitude.”

“Just yesterday I said to her ‘Come here Mads, mommy needs to put your vest on.’, and she looked right at me and said ‘No.’ I guess maybe it’s not an attitude, just...”

“A mind of her own?” Nick offered.

“I was thinking an ‘indignant streak’, but yeah, that too.”

Nick smiled and turned his attention to Madi.

“I hope our food hurries up, I’m starving.” Rayanne said.

“It won’t take long. This waitress is cool, I get her all the time here. She gets my orders right away.”

Just then, the waitress who had taken their order minutes before returned with their food and began setting it on the table.

“Good timing.” Rayanne said as Nick said “I told you!”

“Thank you.” Rayanne smiled at the waitress.

“You’re welcome, enjoy your meal!”

“Madi, want some orange juice?!”

Madi smiled and threw her hands up in the air. “O duce!”

“She’s such a ham!” Nick laughed.

“Just like daddy!”

“Yeah.”

“Madi, do you want Daddy to cut up your food?”

Nick smiled and began cutting her hot dog into tiny bite size pieces.

“This is so nice, I get a rest from doing this stuff.” Rayanne giggled. “You’re a pro already!”

“Thanks.” he blushed. He finished cutting her food and handed her a few of his fries. “There you go, eat up!”

“Make sure she doesn’t throw any at you. She’ll probably try.”

“Oh no, she’s one of those?!”

“She has an arm too!” Rayanne said just as Madi stuck a french fry in Nick’s ear.

“Thank you so much sweetie! I’ll save that for later.” Nick put the french fry on the side of his plate.

“Madeline, what did you do to him?” Rayanne laughed.

“That was a pleasant surprise.”

“Better get used to it. Ya know what she likes?”

“What does she like?”

“She likes to take naps lying on my chest...I bet she’d do it with you too.”

“That would be nice.” he said with a smile.

“She likes to watch Sesame Street while she eats breakfast.”

“Sounds like fun!”

“There’s so much to tell, I don’t even know where to start.”

“I can’t wait to hear it all.”

“You’ll get to see it.” she smiled.

“Even better.”

Rayanne’s face lit up. “Oh! She loves bathtime.”

Nick took the last bit of his burger as Madi threw a french fry at him.

“OK Madi, I think you’re done, throwing food is not going to make you grow up to be big and strong!”

“That’s right!” Nick agreed.

“Daddy wants you to be a football player, what do you think about that?”

Madi smiled and grabbed Nick’s finger.

“See?! She loves the idea!”

“We’ll worry about that one in about 20 years.”

“OK, sounds like a deal to me.”

“Good, we’re going to have a lot of things we’re going to need to reach come kind of compromise on.”

“Like?”

“Everything she does Nick. We’re going to have to decide where to send her to school, who takes care of her, what to teach her, she’s gonna ask to do things...we’re doing this together now.”

“I know that Ray.”

“I know you do. I’m so happy she’ll have both of us in her life.” she smiled at him.

“Me too.”

“Madi happy?” They both turned their attention to Madi. “Uh oh, looks like Madi’s doing something! Get used to that face, you’ll learn to hate it.”

“I...uh...have to go to the bathroom.”

“Sure ya do Daddy! If you go, take her with you.”

Nick smiled. “OK.”

“You’re going to?”

“Why not? Give me what I’ll need.”

Rayanne smiled and handed Nick Madi’s bag. “Here’s her bag. There’s powder in there for her.”

“What do you have in here? This thing weighs a ton!”

“Baby’s need a lot of stuff!”

“I guess so!” He took Madi out of her high chair and headed to the bathroom. “Madi this is disgusting! How can you do this?!” he said to her as he wiped her bottom and sprinkled powder on her skin. Madi babbled and chewed on her finger as he put her diaper on and picked her up. “OK, let’s go find Mommy.”

Nick returned to the table to find Rayanne sipping her soda.

“There you are, I missed you! How’d it go?” she asked with a smile.

“Fine! I got a couple stares from some girls at a table right by the bathroom though. That was weird.”

“Oh yeah, I never thought of that. What are you going to do...about people?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t exactly want her out there...in the public.”

“Neither do I. I just want to keep her safe.

“Maybe it would be a good idea if you two stayed behind for the US tour.”

“Yeah, she’s too young.”

“I’ll miss her though! This is gonna be hard!”

“You can call her! She talks on the phone kinda.” Rayanne said with a laugh.

“I’ll do that then.”

“How long till you go? Three weeks?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s gonna kinda weird not having to do everything alone anymore.”

“It’s gonna be weird having a baby in the house.”

“And me...” she started.

“Yeah, and you...but at the same time it won’t, ya know?”

“It won’t?”

“Not totally. Ahh..nevermind.” he laughed.

“Nevermind what?”

“Nothing, you done eating?”

“Yeah. I hate that ya know!”

“Hate what?”

“When you start to say something and then you say ‘nevermind, nothing’.”

“Get used to it.” he smiled. “Let’s go walk Broadway.”

“Alrighty.” she smiled back at him.

They packed Madi up and headed out of the restaurant. “So where do you want to go Ray? We can drop in at MTV if you want.”

“I’d like that.” she said with a smile. “I’ve never been there.”

“OK, let’s go!”

“OK! Nick...I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be! Let me carry Madi.”

“OK.” she handed their daughter over to him.

They talked while they walked the few blocks into MTV Studios. When they got there, Nick held the door open for Rayanne, walking in behind her.

“Oh my God! It’s big in here!” She looked around.

“Yeah it is. Hey John!”

“Hey man!”

“Ray, this is John Norris.” Nick introduced them when they got close enough.

Rayanne stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you!”

“You too. Who’s this?”

“This is Madeline.” Nick said.

“She’s adorable! You here for a show?”

“No. We’re just visiting.”

“How long are you here for?”

“I’m in New York for a few days. We had a record signing across the street yesterday.”

“You guys tour soon. Ready for that?”

“Yeah.” Nick smiled. “We start in 3 weeks.”

“We’ll be there opening night!” John laughed.

“I’ll be looking for you, you better show!” Nick joked.

“You know I will! Armed with a camera and mic!”

“Where’s Carson? It’s TRL time isn’t it?”

“He’s getting makeup for the show, he should be out any minute.” he said looking at his watch.

“OK, we’re gonna head up and see him quick.”

“Alright, take it easy man.”

“You too.” Nick replied.

John walked away and Nick led Rayanne to the elevator and took her up to the TRL studio.

“Ooh..I’m excited. I’ve always wanted to meet him.” They got off the elevator and walked down the hall.

“He’s cool.”

“There he is!” Rayanne said spotting him.

“Carson!”

“What’s up man?”

“Hanging. Carson, this is Rayanne and Madeline.”

“Hi Carson, nice to meet you.” Rayanne smiled sweetly at him.

“Hey Rayanne, you too. Hi Madeline.” he smiled sticking his finger out for her take.

“Who’s number one today?” Nick asked.

“You guys, as always!” Madi moved away from him.

“Yeah!”

“Madi, what’s wrong?” Carson asked her.

“She doesn’t know you. We’ll bring her by again though.” Nick promised.

“OK, you do that. I’d love to chat, but they’re gonna be after me for a commercial promo in about...” he looked at his watch, “Two minutes.”

“Cool. Nice seeing ya man.”

“You too. Stop by again.”

They left Carson and walked out of MTV Studios into the June sun.

*Ring, Ring*

Nick pulled out his cell phone. “Hello?”

Rayanne reached up and took Madi from him.

“Hey sweetie!” Lyndsey said on the other end.

“Hi. What’s up?”

“I’m bored.” she laughed. “Do you think you’ll be back in time to catch a movie? Everyone’s gonna go.”

“When?”

“Umm..we were thinking a 7 O’clock show or so.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll be back by then. That gives us...4 hours; or do you need me before then?”

“No, I’m fine. I just wanted to see if you were gonna go with us.”

“Yeah of course I will sweetie!”

“Good, I figured you would.”

“OK, I’m going to let you go. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Sorry about that.” Nick clicked off his phone.

“That’s OK.”

“It was Lyn. She wanted to see if I wanted to go see a movie with everyone.”

“Oh, sounds like fun!” she smiled.

“I’m not actually up to it, I’m kind of tired.”

“Tired already? It’s 3:30.” she laughed.

“I know.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“Do you want to?”

“I’m not the one who’s tired.”

“Tell ya what...where are you staying?”

“With a friend.”

“Is it within walking distance?”

“Yeah, about 8 blocks.”

“I’ll walk you there, then catch a cab to the hotel. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.”

“OK, let’s go.”

“Aww...look, she fell asleep on me.”

“She’s so sweet. Want me to take her? Or will she wake up?”

“She’ll go back to sleep if she does.” She gently pulled Madi away from her shoulder and handed her to Nick, who took her on his shoulder. “So, are you still in Tampa or did you get a different place?”

“I’ve got a place in Tampa and Orlando. How does she sleep at night?”

“She sleeps from eight or nine till seven or so.”

“Seven?!”

Rayanne looked at him confused. “Yeah...why?”

“This is going to be hard to get used to. Waking up at seven A.M.”

“She takes a nap at ten, sometimes when she does, I do too.” she laughed.

“My schedule will be so messed up.” he returned the laugh.

“Sacrifices Nicky. I had to make a lot to keep her.”

“I know...like what?”

“I decided not to go back to school, I knew it would be too hard. I moved to a bigger apartment; I got rid of the Jetta, cause it was too small; I don’t do most of the stuff I used to do. I make sure she has everything she needs first...I wasn’t used to that.”

“Well, you’ve done a good job raising her so far.”

“Do you really think so? That means a lot to me.”

“Now that we can do it together, she can be raised even better.”

“Yes she can.”

“You must be doing a good job, she doesn’t look like a hood rat does she?”

“Well I would hope not! I try to be a good mother.” she laughed.

“She looks beautiful. She smells kind of bad though.”

“You wanna get your ass beat don’t ya?!”

“I’m not trying to be mean, I think she filled her pants again.”

“Guess I know what I’m doing when I get home.” she smiled.

“Yup.”

“There were times in the beginning I didn’t think I’d be able to do it. But I’m glad I did, I can’t imagine my life without her.”

Nick just smiled over Madi at her.

“She looks good on you.”

“I still wish you would have called.” he kissed the top of his daughter’s head softly.

“I know Nick, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t fair.”

“I could have helped you out a lot Ray. It wasn’t fair on any of us.”

“I know.”

“Maybe not physically, but with money, I could have helped.”

“I hope I did OK by her by myself.”

“You did fine by yourself. Better than I could have done. I’d be lost...I still am.”

“You’re doing fine Nick. She likes you a lot.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“You helped feed her, you changed her...those are definitely parenting things. Ya know what?”

“What?”

“She’s never slept on anyone like that before except me and my mom.”

“Ray, this is like...a big thing, and a lot of responsibility, but could I bring her to Florida with me for a week? Just while you get things straightened around and ready to move, then me and the guys will come up and help you...and she can stay with Lyn, Leigh and Amanda.”

“Oh...uh, Nick I think it would be good for her to spend time with you, but leaving her there without either of us? For that long?”

“If you don’t want me to that’s fine. I just wanted to see what you’ve been through all by yourself. It’ll just be a couple days.”

“I want you to, but could you bring her back with you when you come to help me move?”

“OK.”

“It’s just, I’ve never left her before.”

“I understand.” he smiled.

“When are you going back?”

“I think we have two days left.”

“But...I don’t have a lot of her stuff here.”

“I’ll go buy her some stuff.” He flashed her a smile.

“It’s so nice that you’re doing all this.”

“First of all, I want to. And somewhere under there, is the fact that it’s my job.”

“I know you want to. This is it...we’re here.”

“OK.” He stopped walking. “I had fun today.”

“So did I. So did Madi.”

“I’m guessing so, she’s out like a light.”

“We wore her out.”

“Poor girl.”

“She’ll be tearing around soon enough.”

“Good luck!” he laughed. “Want me to carry her up?”

“I’d like that.”

Rayanne opened the door to the building and followed Nick up the stairs.

“It’s the first one on the right. Number 5.”

“OK. Can you get the door?”

“Sure.” she brushed past him, unlocking and opening the door.

“Where’s your friend?”

“It’s Mandy. She’s at work.”

“I remember Mandy.” He laid Madi on her stomach on the couch. “She won’t roll of there will she?”

“No, she’ll be OK. Here, can you put this on her?” she asked handing him a blanket.

“Sure.” He gently covered her with the blanket and kissed her on the forehead.

Rayanne watched them together and smiled. “I can’t wait to get pictures of you with her.”

“Neither can I.”

“Thanks for today Nick.”

“Thank you.

“For?”

“For letting me spend time with her.”

“Of course, you can whenever you want, you know that.”

“I’m sorry I blew up on you yesterday. I was just in shock. I shouldn’t have been yelling like that though.”

“I can understand, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I forgive you.”

“We’re all OK now.” she smiled.

“Yeah. Hug?”

“Of course.” Rayanne wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close feeling his arms around her waist. For a moment, it was almost like she never left...

“Well, I should go. It’s going to be hell getting a taxi. I think I’ll call for a limo.”

“It’s nice to be able to do that huh?” she smiled.

“Yeah it is.” Nick pulled out his cell phone and called Sam to give him directions to the apartment.

“Oh, do you want Mandy’s number so you can call me here?”

“Oh, yeah. I meant to ask you that earlier.”

Rayanne grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled Mandy’s phone number on it, handing it to him. “Do you want something to drink while you wait?”

“No thank you.”

“You can sit.”

“Is she waking up?” he asked, taking a seat in a chair.

“Aww...she is already. Hey Mads, how did ya sleep?”

“Bummer for you!” he laughed.

Rayanne picked Madi up off the couch. She rubbed her eyes and dropped her head on Rayanne’s shoulder. “I better go change her.”

“Good idea.”

“You can turn on the TV if you want.”

“Thanks.”

Rayanne turned to carry Madi down the hall as Nick turned on TV to watch TRL.

“So Madi, how do ya like Nick?” Rayanne asked her daughter as she changed her diaper. “Yeah, he’s pretty fun isn’t he? OK, now when we get back out there I want you to run and get him OK? Do that for me?”

She finished dressing Madi and carried her to the living room, putting her down in the doorway.

“Go get him Madi!”

Madi ran at Nick, falling halfway between him and Rayanne.

“Aww...so close!” Rayanne laughed.

“Whoa, careful!” Nick smiled at her as he picked her up and set her on his lap. “Look, daddy is at number one!” he pointed to the TV.

Madi got an excited look on her face and mimicked her father, pointing.

Rayanne smiled. “I hope she doesn’t cry when you leave.”

“Me too, I won’t be able to.”

*Honk, Honk*

“I guess we’re about to find out, huh?” Nick stood up off the chair and started for the door.

“Come on Madi, daddy’s gotta go.” she said taking Madi away from him.

“I’ll see you later! Bye!” he waved as he walked out the door.

Madi face scrunched up and her lip quivered.

Nick walked out the door and leaned against the wall.

“Let’s go to the window so we wave OK?” Rayanne walked to the window. “I don’t see him sweetie. Aww..don’t cry, I know you miss him. You’ll see him soon. I know, I miss him too.”

Madi’s crying grew louder as Nick stood listening, a tear slipping down his cheek before he walked down the stairs and to the limo, getting in without looking back.

“Come on Madi, it’ll be ok...shhh, let’s take a nap! You like naps, let’s lay down and you’ll be OK.” Rayanne lay down on the couch, laying Madi on her chest and tried to fall asleep.