A/N: This is for Nicole (WeBuiltThePyramids), who was AWESOME and donated to my quidditch team's Indiegogo. Her prompt was Wylie and Vega babysitting for Jane and Lisbon. (I stole Mimi's name from Nicole, who has used it in her own fics, because I had absolutely no idea what else to name their kid.)
Of all the ways Vega had thought she'd be spending this Friday night, trying to calm down a crying five month old hadn't been anywhere near her list.
Yet here she was, Mimi Jane screaming in her right ear, while she held her cell phone up to her left.
"Dammit Wylie, pick up the phone," she muttered. For a moment she felt a twinge of guilt for swearing in front of Mimi, but the baby was crying so hard Vega doubted she heard her anyway.
"Hey," he finally answered, "how's it -"
"Wylie - how much do you know about babies?"
"I - a bit I guess - is that a baby crying?"
"I'm babysitting Mimi for Lisbon and Jane, and she started crying, and I've tried everything, and I can't get her to stop. But I don't want to call and bother them on their night out, and I know you've got nieces and nephews -"
"You're at their house, right? I can be there in fifteen minutes."
"No, you don't have to," Vega protested through the surge of affection she felt towards him. "I just thought you might have tips? You don't need to ruin your night too by coming over here." As if to prove Vega's point, Mimi let loose another scream.
"I'll see you soon," he simply said.
"Thanks Wylie."
He was there in eleven minutes.
"I don't know what to do," Vega said as she opened the door, Mimi still in her arms. "She doesn't want to eat. Her diaper's clean. I tried burping her. Rocking and bouncing does nothing, but when I put her down she just screams even louder."
Wylie held out his arms and Vega gratefully handed the baby over.
"Hey there, Mimi," Wylie said softly. "What's the matter, huh? Do you wanna stop crying for us?"
"Yeah, I don't think asking politely is going to make a difference," Vega said dryly.
Wylie began to twist side to side gently to swing Mimi back and forth, but her crying remained the same.
"And she won't take a pacifier either?"
"Oh, no, the pacifier worked perfectly," Vega said with a biting tone, "I just decided to take it away and let her keep crying."
Wylie just raised his eyebrows and Vega instantly regretted her words.
"I'm sorry - I'm stressed and tired - and this was supposed to be easy, Lisbon even said she'd probably sleep the whole time."
"Guess Mimi didn't get the memo," Wylie said with a smile, giving Mimi a small bounce. "Hey - did Lisbon or Jane say anything about if she was teething yet?"
Vega shook her head, thinking back to the instructions Lisbon had given before she'd left.
"No, I don't think so."
Wylie walked over to the fridge and took a quick look inside.
"I don't see any cold teething rings - could you get a wash cloth and run it under cool water, then wring it out?"
Vega quickly followed his instructions, wondering if there might finally be a light at the end of this tunnel. Once the washcloth was ready she gave it to Wylie, who held it near Mimi's mouth.
"Wanna try chewing on this?" Wylie asked, holding out one corner. "Do your gums hurt?"
Suddenly the crying was stopped, and Mimi was gnawing on the wash cloth.
"How did you do that?" Vega whispered, afraid of breaking the silence.
Wylie shrugged.
"Lucky guess. I helped out a lot when my older brother started having kids. And I figured Mimi's at the right age for her teeth to be coming in."
Mimi grabbed at the wash cloth to hold it more securely as she continued to chew happily.
"She really is so much cuter when she's not screaming her lungs out," Vega said, smoothing Mimi's hair.
"Do you wanna hold her again now that she's calm?" Wylie asked.
Vega hesitated.
"I hate to hold you captive, but I'm also afraid if we change anything she'll just start crying again, and the quiet is so nice right now."
"An evening with my girlfriend and an adorable baby isn't something I'm gonna complain about," Wylie assured her, walking into the living room and lowering himself to the couch, settling Mimi on his lap. "So don't worry about this 'holding me captive' stuff."
Vega sat down on the couch and leaned against him.
"Still, thanks again for helping."
"How'd you end up babysitting anyway?"
"Their regular sitter called this afternoon and had to cancel. I happened to be with Lisbon when she got the call and offered to fill in. Which was obviously a mistake because clearly I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Then why did you volunteer?"
Vega shrugged.
"Lisbon seemed very frazzled and disappointed. And I thought it'd be good practice."
"Practice for what?"
Crap.
Though they'd been dating for over a year, marriage had yet to come up as a serious conversation topic, so Vega didn't think it'd be a good idea to reveal that at times she was thinking of the potential kids they might have years down the road… Kids that she tended to imagine with tan skin, and blonde hair with curls like Wylie's when he needed a haircut...
Not that she'd put that much thought into it. Not at all.
"For the babysitting company I'm planning on starting when this whole FBI thing doesn't pan out, obviously." She tried to keep her tone light, and prayed he wouldn't call her out on her obvious avoidance tactics.
Instead, to her surprise, Wylie chuckled.
"I'll be Claudia. I've always got enough junk food around to fit the part."
Vega frowned in confusion.
"You lost me - who's Claudia, and how did we go from babysitting to junk food?"
Wylie twisted his head to look down at her.
"From The Baby-Sitter's Club books? You never read them?"
Vega found herself suppressing laughter.
"I think the more important question is, you have?"
"I - my sister collected them. But they were actually - oh, I think Mimi's falling asleep."
Vega rolled her eyes - only restraining herself from calling out his change of topic because he had let her earlier avoidance slide - but then she took in Mimi's drooping eyes, and how she'd dropped the washcloth.
"It's about time," Vega whispered. "She must have exhausted herself with all that crying earlier."
They sat in silence for a minute as they watched Mimi try to fight to stay awake, and eventually doze off, leaning forward against Wylie's chest.
"Want to try to put her in her crib?" Vega asked quietly, once Mimi's breathing was slow and deep.
"I'm alright for now," Wylie assured her, dropping a kiss to the top of Vega's head. She smiled, memorizing the view of Wylie with a sleeping child.
She could get used to this.