Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: I LIVE! haha, sorry for the respite, life has...well, it's been pretty sucky. Anyways, this is a Blacklist/Blacklist Redemption fic starring our favorite baby girl, Agnes! Enjoy and please drop me a line if you like it!
Tom was late.
Scottie had called him three times, and after one breathless conversation that had been punctuated by what sounded like a wailing infant, the rest had gone straight to voicemail.
She was hitting the button on her phone to redial when the gate guard—who she had ordered to contact her immediately if they heard anything—sent her a text.
"He's just arrived," she announced to the team, all of whom were sitting around the conference table, waiting.
Nez nodded. She had been looking through the mission file for what Scottie thought had to be the sixteenth time. Matias was apparently passed out, but he cracked open one eye when she spoke.
All she got from Dumont was a grunt and the continuing series of beeps and squawks from the DS he was playing with.
Scottie tried to peer in the glass table's reflection and make sure she looked presentable. Vanity was not in her nature, but she felt that a good leader should be calm and composed when briefing their team.
The elevator dinged and she heard footsteps echoing through the hall.
"It's about damn time," Matias said, shoving himself out of his chair.
The door opened and Scottie turned. She expected to see Tom Keen—calm, coolheaded and calculating, a top agent, one she knew she could rely on to get the job done.
She did not expect to see Tom Keen with a baby carrier strapped to his chest and a diaper bag slung over one shoulder.
For a minute, they all stared at him.
"Sorry I'm late," he said with a shrug. A rattle attached to the diaper bag's strap clanked and the baby let out a grunt of disapproval.
Matias cracked first. One minute he was gawking at Tom, the next he was laughing so hard Scottie thought he was going to fall over.
"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry," he gasped. "Did we interrupt your second job?"
Dumont kept his attention on his DS, but he was snickering as well.
Even Nez was biting back a smile.
Focus, Scottie thought. She was the leader. She had to be the rock.
"Tom," she said calmly. "We were wondering where you were."
"Yeah, Liz was supposed to get back from Turkey yesterday, but there was some sort of problem," Tom explained, going over to the nearest chair and plunking the diaper bag into it. "And since neither of us get paid enough to afford a nanny, it's Take Your Daughter to Work Day."
He sat down in the next empty chair and looked at Scottie. "Remind me to ask you about a raise."
"Noted," Scottie said, still unable to keep her gaze from straying to the pink-hatted infant attached to Tom.
"'Daughter'?" Solomon repeated, striding over to where Tom sat. "Awww, you and your girl made up after that last op! And who is this little princess?"
He bent over and Scottie watched, biting back a smile, as Matias wiggled a finger at the baby.
Tom had an expression on his face that clearly said how much he wanted to kill his fellow operative, baby or not.
Nez was instantly on Tom's other side, and Scottie again felt a surge of relief and gratitude that she'd hired the woman. Nez had the ability to get even Matias to shut up and listen, and she was able to know when that ability was needed in play.
"She's a cutie," the woman was saying to Tom.
Tom looked at the baby and Scottie felt surprise well up within her as the man she'd gotten to know over the past few months vanish. Tom's entire frame seemed to relax, and his normally stone-cold expression melted into one of absolute joy and love.
"Yes she is," he agreed. "Her name is Agnes."
"'Agnes'?" Matias snorted as Scottie made her way over to examine the baby.
"My wife's grandmother," Tom answered.
Scottie stopped behind Tom's chair and looked down at the baby.
Her heart melted.
"Oh, hello Agnes," she breathed, leaning forward to get a closer look at the wispy hair, the big soft cheeks and the large eyes. One of Agnes' fingers was poking Tom in the nose, not that he minded. She was adorable.
"What is it with women and babies?" Dumont complained from where he still sat with his Nintendo DS.
"Wait till you have a kid of your own," Tom answered as Agnes grabbed a fistful of his shirt. "You'll understand."
"Don't we have a mission report to discuss?" Dumont asked irritably.
"Yes, we do, thank you, Mr. Dumont," Scottie said, straightening and going over to where she'd left the remote for the projector.
Behind her, she heard Nez and Matias take their seats again.
The briefing started.
Halfway through, Agnes started to wail, but Tom was as efficient of a father as he was an agent, and Scottie didn't get the chance to scold him before he was unzipping the diaper bag. A pacifier went into the baby's mouth and her free hand was soon clenching what looked like a stuffed panda—it was hard to tell from the dirt.
The briefing resumed and ended without another peep from the baby.
"All right, everyone," Scottie announced, turning off the projector. "Go home, get some rest. We leave for Paris first thing tomorrow."
They all stood up and grabbed their jackets. Over the sound of people grumbling and muttering, they heard a phone ring. Tom pulled a cellphone out and held it to his ear.
"Hey babe. Yeah, no, I got her. Yeah, we're headed home. Very excited to see you. Love you, too. Bye."
He hung up and Scottie watched as he returned the phone to his pocket and reached for the diaper bag. Nez helped him set it on his shoulder, beaming at Agnes.
"Bye, sweetie," she cooed.
"Bye Daddy," Matias answered in a taunting voice.
One hand still on Agnes, Tom reached out and cuffed Matias soundly on the back of the head, eliciting a bark of laughter from Dumont and a chuckle from Nez.
Scottie followed Tom out, allowing herself a small smile.
"You going to be rested enough for tomorrow?" she asked as she met him at the elevators.
"Oh yeah, she's an angel," Tom assured her, smiling fondly down at his daughter. "She'll make sure I'm set for tomorrow, huh?"
The baby cooed at him and Scottie let herself have a real, genuine smile.
"You know, you really livened up the briefing," she remarked. "Maybe we could have more than one Take Your Daughter to Work Day."
Tom lifted an eyebrow at her and then he smiled, stepping into the elevator as it arrived.
"I knew that cold façade was just a front," he told her just before the doors closed on him and Agnes.
Yeah, Scottie thought with a smile, having glimpsed Agnes' fist waving back. We're both softies at heart.