72-A Million Steps Back

**Zuri's POV**

The month of November has been full of work. Scarlett is now a frequent acquaintance as we go through this process. We set up a social media account specifically made to give insight into our family and daily lives. We now almost have a million followers from all around the world. We keep getting free stuff in the mail from different companies. It mostly consists of toys and baby products for Jilly-Bean, but Sav refuses to use almost any of the things sent, and we donate the items to churches or homeless shelters who could get better use out of the items. Sav insists that we use cloth diapers, which is fine because she's the one who makes sure they get washed at the end of the day. She also only uses homemade goat milk soap for Jilly because she has sensitive skin. She buys the goat milk from a local farmer, and we learned how to make the all-natural soap together. It seemed weird to me at first, but it's worth it.
It's as if Sav was put on this Earth to be the greatest mother. She never complains about being tired or overwhelmed when Jilly is more fussy than usual. Her patience is beyond what it ever was before she got pregnant. In all honesty, Sav is nothing like she used to be. She's more tender, sensitive, and mature. Things that used to drive her insane just roll off her shoulders, and now I'm the one always ready to blow up. To be fair, I'm huge, and I always hurt. There are days when I can't get any school work done because my body is shut down. If it weren't for Sav helping with some of my assignments, I would be failing. She is my rock.
My computer pings with an email as I do my work. We created an email just for our family social media account, and a lot of the time, we get pointless emails or questions from people that we end up answering during our videos. This email is much more urgent because it's an invitation to be a guest on *The Miranda Show* in San Diego, California.
"Sav! Come look at this," She's in the laundry room, washing Jilly's clothes and blankets.
She comes to my side, "What's up?" Jilly is sleeping peacefully as Sav wears her on her chest. She reads the email, and she doesn't look too happy.
"What's wrong, babe?" I set my laptop to the side and take her hands in mine.
"Sometimes, I feel like this was a bad idea. Our lives are on display for the world to see, and we can't even go in public without people approaching us left and right. Now we're expected to go on live television and answer overly personal questions in front of thousands of people. Not to mention, it's all the way in San Diego. I feel like it would be a bad idea to go right now, after what happened in New York. I guess we could agree to do a virtual interview from home, but this whole thing is exhausting. I know we are doing this for something bigger than us, but this is becoming a lot." I knew Sav was struggling a little to get used to the publicity, but I didn't realize just how much it was wearing her down. Daveed and I should have been talking to her about how she feels.
"I'm sorry this is a lot on you. We don't have to do this interview, you know? We can put this whole mission on hold if that's what you need." Her mental health is more important than this plan that we have.
"We're in so deep already. Pulling back now would make us look bad, and I'm afraid this would have all been for nothing. We owe it to ourselves to fight this, but I have to find the strength inside me to keep going." She's trying to be a super mom, super-wife, and super human rights activist, all at once.
"I don't care what anyone will think. People are not obligated to know our business, especially when you're pouring from an empty glass. I'm glad you told me it was bothering you this much because now I can make you feel better. Give me Jilly and take a nice, long shower. You aren't doing anything else for the rest of the day." She unwraps Jilly, and I take her into my arms. She's almost a month old. In a few days, she will experience her first Thanksgiving. I bought her the cutest little outfit with a turkey on the butt.
"Thank you. Do you want to take a nap with me after my shower? Jilly looks like she'll be asleep for a while," I could use a nap.
"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Sav gives me a quick kiss and goes off to shower.


**Daveed's POV**

Work was a drag today. Since we started that social media page to normalize polyamory, my coworkers started acting weird. It's like they're overly friendly or something. I can't seem to put my finger on it, but I know things aren't what they used to be.
I step inside my house, and it's unusually quiet. I look in Jilly's room, and they aren't there. I go upstairs to our room to see Zuri and Sav are sleeping heavily. They brought Jilly's swing into the room, and she's sleeping just as hard as her mommies. I love coming home to this more than anything in the world. I know everyone says not to wake a sleeping baby, but I always pick up Jilly when I get home from work, whether she's asleep or not.
I take Jilly out of her swing and go back downstairs with her so she can hang out with me while Sav and Zuri get rest. She sleeps on my chest while I rock her in my recliner and turn on the evening news. My heart nearly stops when I see the headline of the news story: *Local Prison Inmate, Ethan Parker, escaped*. The news anchor is giving a warning to the public that Ethan is mentally unstable and a lethal threat after murdering a correctional officer early this morning. I make sure all doors and windows are locked and get my gun from my office. I'll be working from home until Ethan is back in his cell, and my gun will remain on my hip.
When I walk back into the living room, Sav is watching the TV with the most petrified look on her face; she is shaking uncontrollably. She jumps when she finally sees me and bursts into tears. It was then I realized she woke up to Jilly being gone from her swing and the news of Ethan escaping prison. She thought our baby had been taken while she was asleep, and I want to kick myself for putting this new fear in her head.
"It's okay. Jilly-Bean is safe, and you are too. I promise I won't go anywhere until he is found," I hold her and Jilly close to me. We finally got ten steps ahead just to be knocked a million steps back.