A/N: This is the first chapter of a small on-going fic that will involve Nick and Jess in various parenthood situations. Mostly Nick. So it's going to jump around a bit and is really just meant for cuteness factor. This chapter is mostly dialogue and I sort of fell in love with Nick talking to a baby so this is what happened.

Baby Talk

For six months, Nick Miller could not recall a time where he hadn't woken to the sounds of crying. Every morning he'd be jolted awake, nerves immediately on edge, mind spinning into a panic, just to lie back down and throw his hands over his face. A restful night was three hours. On the good days.

Keeping with tradition, he was jolted awake at three A.M. The monitor on the night stand was flashing and the red bars spiking and falling. Not that they needed the damn thing. How could you not hear that? All the monitor did was create a stereo of misery, the wails and sniffles of a screaming child. He could feel the covers stir and he knew she'd be getting up. The blankets tossed blindly off her hit him in the face as he sat upright.

"Robbie's up. I'll get it." He mumbled, rubbing his face in his hands.

Jess turned, her eyes still closed. "Wha…?"

"Jess, go back to sleep. I got this." He crossed around the bed and guided her down.

"I can…sure? Okay." Her head hit the pillow with a thunk and then she was snoring softly. Nick threw the blanket back over her before leaving, making his way by memory and only bumping into the wall once. He paused outside the door, giving his eyes a thorough rubbing and blinking the sleep away. Then he threw it open and the wailing hit him with full un-muffled force and he quickly eased the door shut behind him. He reached into the crib as he shushed, but the gesture went completely unheard by anyone in that room. He lifted the infant, still shushing calmly under his breath as he cradled his arms the way Jess showed him, and the force of the tears subsided.

"So you just wanted to be held, is that it?" Nick whispered. "Is that what all the yelling was about?"

He stood for a few seconds, rocking his arms just like Jess told him to, and silence fell over the room. "Hey, you know what, it worked. So props to you, little man. I'm here. You're being held. Guess you got what you wanted. Gotta use the tools you've been handed. Screaming's all you really have, so, yeah. You go on and do that. Can't argue the results." He began to pace, his eyes still partly closed. He yawned, trying to rotate a growing cramp from his shoulder.

"But you know, it's really not working out so well for your mom. I mean she loves ya. I love ya. But she needs to get some sleep. Do it for me. Cause when she's cranky, she sorta takes it out on me. And I totally understand, but you gotta work with me here. Plus, you're going to miss this. When people tell you to go to sleep. One day, you'll be where I am and you'll see. You'll be getting the same raw deal." Nick's head slumped, he moved for the rocking chair that he hated because why did it have to move when you were trying to sit in it? He always fell and he always jolted his back. He sneered at it before lowering down, keeping Robbie level as he eased backward. Then he fell and the whole thing rocked and he winced. "Damn it that's painful."

Robbie's wide blue eyes were on him, whether it was because he understood or because that's where sound was coming from, Nick wasn't sure. Now more comfortable, he managed a smile. "You're so tiny." He lifted his free hand, placing a finger under Robbie's palm. "You really are just a little person, aren't you? You've got fingers. I've got fingers. You've got arms. I've got arms. You've got a face. I've got a face." Nick chuckled. "You got your mom's eyes though. Let's hope they stay blue, cause you my friend, are going to be one hell of a heartbreaker. And let's not tell your mom I said that."

Nick hid another yawn behind his hand. "I'm not gonna lie to you, kid. I enjoy our talks. You're an excellent listener." He laughed, looking down at Robbie's wandering gaze. "You've got great attention skills too, let me tell you. What? What're you looking for?" Robbie's legs kicked against the armrest and Nick's arm moved with the motion. "Whoa, there. Where're you trying to go?" The baby continued to kick, bobbing up and down in Nick's hold. His little arms started going and a few baby sounds, kinda squeaks, came out. "Dude. What are you doing? You literally can't move without my help."

The kicking didn't stop and Robbie began to twist, the sudden jerk nearly wrenching him from Nick's lap. "Shit." Nick quickly corrected his grip, keeping his hold firm. His heart had hit his throat for half a second there and he needed to catch his breath. "I'm serious, you gotta stop that. Do you want to fall? Is that what you want? Cause I can't—Whoa." Nick caught him again, another twist that had him switching positions with his hands. All that chubby fat must have been hiding some serious muscle. "Alright. You want to jump, then jump. Go on." Nick held him up; hands secured under Robbie's arms, and tried to set his tiny squirming feet on his thigh. The baby's legs buckled once and Nick let him bounce disjointedly. The kid had no coordination and kept missing his legs, falling either to the side or between them.

"Okay. Bouncing is good." He noted Robbie's smile and grinned. "You like that, don't you? Yeah, guess that looks like fun. Just, and let's just get this out now and clear the air, don't make this weird, okay? I'm just asking, as someone who'll love you no matter what, please, please-please-please don't spit up on me. There. I said it, let's move on." Robbie's knees kept buckling and he flailed his left arm, the other stuck knuckle deep in his mouth.

Nick's arms grew tired quick. "Alright. Let's try something else." He moved to the floor, sitting Robbie in his lap as he reached from some toys. "Look at these things. They're so cool, right?" Nick wiggled the toy around, a colorful plastic circle with thick rings of varying color and texture. "This thing. Man. Look at all this going on here." Nick spun one of the rings. "Hm. Okay. So that's like, that's got bumps on it. Weird." He twisted it around and ran his finger over a blue ring with long thin lines embedded in it. "And this is got, some line action. Super cool. I guess." Nick held the toy in Robbie's reach. "You seriously want to play with this? This interesting to you?"

Robbie hit at it before his fingers latched on and he was able to hold it on his own. "So is it the colors that do it for ya? Cause I gotta be straight with you, I just don't get it. But maybe I'm not meant to get it. Baby's…you've got your own little world down there, don't you? Perspective is all skewed what with you being like two feet tall. They made a show about that, I think. I don't remember the name, but you would've liked it."

Robbie put the toy in his mouth, biting and then holding it up to see, then returning it and then banging it up and down. "You know, if I wanted to put everything I touched in my mouth, people wouldn't think it was cute. They'd probably say I have a problem. But you can get away with it. Because you're dam-arn cute. I've got serious respect for you, and I'm not just saying that cause you're my kid."

Robbie slipped sideways and Nick lifted him upright. "Cause you are. You're my kid. I made you." He looked down at the thin layer of brown hair just starting to grow. "And I'm just going to apologize now for that. I really don't have much to pass on to you that isn't really horrible or bad in some way. My attitude usually sucks. I'm kinda a childish. I mean, I'm better, but I still only own one good suit and it's not even mine. My eating habits, are horrendous. My blood is very probably mostly grease. If it weren't for your mom, I'd be a lot worse off right about now. And I'm just trying to say that I really don't want any of that for you. Is it all stuff that can be taught? I don't know. I'm not really that knowledgeable about genetic stuff. But I'm gonna try and teach you not to put butter on bacon. Cause that's bad. Or unhealthy. And it'll start fires. I'm gonna try and teach you lots of stuff, but in the end, I don't know how much of what I fail at is something that can be learned. My mom told me to brush my teeth. Every day. After every meal. Do I? Heck no. Cause you see, I'm lazy and forgetful and if your mom isn't reminding me then who am I trying to impress anyway?"

The toy fell to the ground and Nick picked it up for him. Then he scooted them over carefully so that he could rest his back along the wall. "The point is, whatever ends up happening, I want you to know that I mean to do this right. Anything you need, I'm going to do my hardest to get it for you. Cause I love ya. It's kinda scary how much I love you, actually. I mean, I've never even heard you talk. I don't know if you like pepperoni on your pizza. Or what sports you like. So, for me, that I care this much is not exactly normal. You know?" Nick paused, running a hand lightly over Robbie's head. "I care about you being safe. I care that you're never unhappy. That you've always got a smile on your face. I care that you never have to go through anything, absolutely anything, that could potentially hurt you. And that's crazy. Obviously, stuffs gonna happen. Stuff happens to everyone. But, man, it pisses me the hell off that I can't do anything about it. Sorry for swearing." Nick turned Robbie around, cradling him again as the infant chewed on the rainbow toy. "I'm so mad that I can't keep this horrible, truly messed up, world away from you. If I could, I would. But your mom says that's impossible and I think she's right."

He half smiled, lowering his head to kiss Robbie's unnaturally soft forehead. The world hadn't had a chance to get in there and add texture to it yet, and it was the most draining sadness that filled Nick when he once again had to accept that he couldn't stop it from happening. The world would get its depressing paws on him one day and there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing, as Jess kept saying, he could do was prepare him. Teach him. Love him. All that parent stuff in the books he still hadn't read. "I can't promise you it'll all turn out fine…but I can promise that I'd do anything for you. You have my word on that. Miller to Miller. Anything. Cause I love you, kid. I love the crap out of you. And that won't change."

Nick sat for a while in silence. Picking up various toys and shaking them or twirling them. He didn't know how long he was there, but eventually Robbie was asleep. His arm was propped on a bin and his back was at the right angle on the wall. He was comfortable right where he sat. Sleeping baby and all. So it was at some point that he fell asleep, drifting through vague dreams until the weight was lifted from his arms.

"Wha—stop. Wait. What?" He tried to grab tighter, thinking he'd dropped the baby, but Jess's lips hit his forehead and he stilled.

"Shh. I'm just putting him back in his crib." She lifted Robbie the rest of the way and walked him across the room. Nick rubbed his face, his eyes even more sore and tired than before. He honestly felt terrible, physically. Everything was sore from sleeping on the ground, sitting up against a wall. He stood up and stretched with a wince.

"Oh. God. This really sucks. Everything hurts. Everything." He headed for the door, Jess falling into step behind him. Once outside, she stopped and leaned against the hallway wall. She was eying him with a look he understood to mean she knew something he didn't.

"What?" He asked with a smile.

"Oh. It's nothing. Really. Just…um…" She smirked a bit, pointing a finger at him. "It's just, you know that monitors are like radios, right?"

Nick paused, looking confused before frowning. "You heard everything, didn't you?"

"Most of it." She stepped toward him. "Do you always talk to him like that?"

"Yeah…I figure he's smart enough to know when that baby talk is a little condescending."

"Nick, he's six months old. He doesn't even know what the word condescending is." She threaded her arms around his waist, looking up at him.

"Well that's very rude. I'm going to tell him you said that." He laughed with her, drawing her into a hug. "I don't know how to talk to babies. I figure it's better that I talk to him the way I know how than to not do it at all."

"Yeah. No, that's, I completely agree." She kissed under his chin, not bothering to crane her neck all the way to his lips. "I think it's adorable, actually. All I ask is that you don't swear."

He grimaced. "So you heard that part."

"Oh yeah. And trust me, if it hadn't be super adorable, I would have totally been mad." She leaned her head onto his shoulder as they walked to their bedroom.

The clock read six and he groaned. "Think we could squeeze in another two hours?"

Jess fell onto the bed. "Yes. Please."

She wasn't even on her pillow, just lying sideways across the bed and closing her eyes. Nick crawled in next to her, falling asleep nearly as soon as his head hit his arm. Family was a scary topic for many reasons. But he never once doubted that he'd put all his effort into it. He may have underestimated just how much he could love someone so quickly, but the fact that he did wasn't a surprise. They talked about it together, him and Jess, and all his fears aside, it was worth it because he had Jess to help if he messed up. There was no other person he'd want with him. And things were going to happen. Some bad. Some good. But there was never going to be a moment when he would stop trying. For both of them. The two people in the entire world that could make him want to be better. For them, he'd do anything.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I wanted Nick to talk to a baby the way he would any other guy, cause that seems very in-character to me while also being super adorable. The baby is named Robert after Jess's father. Robbie for short. Next chapter is going to age Robbie up a bit and add a new member to the group. Thanks for reading.