Slake's bleary eyes blinked open slowly. His head ached horribly and felt as if it were filled with wet cement, his stomach was churning, and his limbs felt like lead. It took his muddled mind a moment to comprehend what that meant, and when he finally figured it out, he mumbled something unintelligible that was meant to be a curse.

He was sober.

Damn. He raised his head from where he was sprawled on their bed-no, just his bed now-and let his bloodshot eyes roam the room for a bottle that wasn't empty.

Instead they found a pair of vaguely familiar feet. He followed them up, and then let his head drop with a sigh. "Go away, Kayla."

Kayla Solaris glared at him. "No." Her voice was painfully loud to his hung over ears, and he rolled over with a groan. "Get up, Slake."

He obeyed, mostly because he knew it would take more energy to argue. Finally he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows propped up on his knees and his head hanging. "What do you want?"

"I want you to cut the crap," she snapped. "I'm sick of your self-pity and I'm sick of watching you drink yourself into oblivion when you have responsibilities that need tending too." As if on cue, the bundle in

her arms cooed softly.

"You can't possibly understand how I feel," he grumbled, running a hand down his face.

Kayla's face went livid. She strode across the room and slapped him hard. "How dare you!! She was my daughter, and if you think you're the only one with a right to grieve-" She cut off and set her jaw. "She

was my daughter," she repeated, a little more calmly, "Rain is not. She needs you, Slake. I can't raise another child, I'm too old." She produced a full bottle and set it on the nightstand hard enough that the

thump made Slake wince.

"You can have the bottle," Kayla told him evenly, "Or you can have the baby. Decide."

Slake's eyes were inexorably drawn to the amber liquid. The easy way out.

Rain started to cry. Slake looked back at the tiny face peeking out of the blanket, screwed up as she proved beyond a doubt that she'd inherited her mother's impressive lungs. His head rang with the sound, and he stood on shaky legs.

But his arms were steady as he gently took his daughter into his arms and rocked her until she quieted.