New A/N: These like my Young Mike Cutter stories are one-shot standalone stories that occur in my Mike and Connie universe. They will be added whenever the inspiration hits and will always be listed as complete as I never know if inspiration will hit again.
Original A/N: This story came to me in the midst of my own Mother's Day celebration and I got it out in record time. This is in the same universe as my other two fics: Young Mike Cutter and The Courtship of Mike and Connie. In fact, I had writer's block this morning on The Courtship story and this might have been what was brewing. I've decided that like Young Mike Cutter that I would be putting any post Courtship one-shots in one place. As always, I would love to hear what you think. Many thanks to my amazing beta, Tripp3235, who only heard about this story in the midst of writing and beta'd it in under an hour. You're the best! This one-shot is dedicated to my own mother who has been invaluable to me since the birth of my daughter in 2006.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.
Happily Ever After - Connie's First Mother's Day
Apartment of Michael Cutter and Consuela Rubirosa, 6325 Cornelius Drive, Sunday, May 8
It is 7:30 in the morning and the baby is crying again. The overnight had been difficult. Connie had gone to bed early and Mike had done the late evening feeding as usual before he went to bed, but Connie was still up four times at 1:30, 2:45, 4:00 and 5:30 respectively. Connie had given Megan acetaminophen at eight when she put her to sleep in the evening and a dose of ibuprofen when she was up the second time, but that dose for whatever reason didn't seem to have made a difference. Teething tablets didn't work for Megan and Connie was reluctant to use teething gel. Mike had gotten up the third time to try to soothe her to let Connie sleep but Megan would have none of it. After a half hour of walking the halls and using every piece of baby equipment they owned, she was only soothed when Connie put her to breast. Megan, being almost five months old, was going through a mini-growth spurt, add teething and a cold she caught at daycare into the mix and no one was getting any sleep in the Cutter household.
Mike looks over at Connie and says, "Let me try giving her some formula and cereal. It's time for her to get up anyway, she should be OK."
"You can give her another dose of acetaminophen and don't forget to suction her nose. Some of this has to do with the cold she caught."
Mike grimaces as he hates using the blue suction bulb almost as much as Megan hates having it used on her, but he knows that it will help her feed if her nose was clear. "All right, but only if I have to. You get some sleep."
"Thanks, Mike," mumbles Connie before closing her eyes again.
When Mike gets into Megan's room across the hall from the master bedroom, she stops crying almost immediately and greets Mike with a toothless grin. Mike changes the well-soaked diaper, droppers some saline solution into Megan's nose and heads into the kitchen. If someone had told Mike Cutter that he would be an expert in baby wrangling a year ago, he would have laughed at them, but here he is getting breakfast ready for his baby girl.
After he puts Megan into her high chair and straps her in, Mike pulls out some ready made formula from the fridge and puts a nipple on the bottle before putting it into the bottle warmer. Then he takes out some breast milk for the sole purposes of mixing in cereal, because Megan won't take it any other way, and warms it by running it under hot water in the kitchen sink. All the while, Mike narrates his actions as his voice seems to keep Megan calm. Just as he was mixing the milk with the rice cereal, the bottle warmer pops and the formula is ready as well.
As he is feeding Megan her rice cereal, Mike happens to glance at the calendar on the fridge and realizes that today is Mother's Day. It's Connie's first Mother's Day and he hadn't gotten anything for her from him or from Megan. Thinking quickly as Megan is finishing her cereal, Mike realizes that he will have to take Megan for a walk after her bottle. He's never actually had to look after Megan on his own while having to perform every day tasks and wonders how Connie did it during those the first twelve weeks when she was on maternity leave.
While Megan is drinking her bottle, Mike formulates his plan. He decides that he will just have to take a shower with her. Normally, he gave her baths once every three days or so in her baby tub when he got home from work, but he can't imagine leaving her out on the bathroom floor in her bouncy chair as he showers and he really wanted to give Connie a break after the night she had.
So after Megan drinks her bottle and is properly burped, Mike puts all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and puts Megan in her swing, while he prepped the bathroom with all the necessities-bouncy chair so she would have somewhere to sit while he dried himself off, brushed his teeth and shaved, towel for him and a receiving blanket for her, diaper and new change of clothes for her and undergarments and a new change of clothes for him. He even manages to use the toilet while she is otherwise occupied.
Showering with a baby is a whole new experience for Mike. Everything had to be done in the proper sequence. First you turned on the shower to warm the water, then you strip yourself, then the baby down to her diaper to avoid accidents on the bouncy chair. Then you get into the shower and quickly soap up and rinse because doing that while you have a baby in your arms could prove difficult. Then you get out and take the baby from the bouncy seat and take her diaper off and bring her into the shower with you and pray that she doesn't scream from having water fall on her or has an accident before you can put her into her new diaper. Using baby wash, you soap the baby up in your arms and grip firmly as soapy babies tend to be very slippery. Mike is relieved to find that Megan loves the water. The steam also seems to help clear her nose, so Mike is extremely thankful that he doesn't have to use the blue baby nose sucker. They end up showering until the hot water starts to run out.
Mike then exits the shower and wraps Megan in her receiving blanket. As soon as he has her body, head and all her limbs dry, he puts her diaper and then her onesie on before putting her back in her bouncy seat. Mike then dries himself off and and dresses in his undergarments so that he can brush his teeth and shave. Normally on the weekends, he forgoes the shaving but it being Mother's Day, it seems rude not to. Luckily for Mike, Megan enjoys watching him go through his morning routine, especially when he makes faces at her every so often to keep her happy.
After he's done, he dresses himself first before taking Megan out of her bouncy seat, then he puts her in a fresh set of clothes. With outdoor temperatures being in the 50s, Mike makes sure that Megan is warm enough to go out in the baby carrier that straps them to your front. Then he remembers that he will have to bring a diaper bag and find some way to carry stuff like flowers, cards and gifts home, so he has to put Megan in her travel system. However, he brings the baby carrier anyway in case he has to leave the system outside in order to get into a store. Mike can't believe how much stuff he has to bring to entertain an almost five month old. It's like he's going on a week-long vacation. Mike is certain that he's gone on vacation with less.
After a quick perusal of the diaper bag to ensure he has what he needs, he goes and gets a bottle of formula from the fridge to add to the bag in case Megan gets hungry while they are out. Then he remembers to take his Blackberry in case Connie wants to reach him. Megan is strapped into her infant seat which is slotted into the travel system in the front hall. Just before he heads out, Mike realizes that he probably should tell Connie that they are going out, so he quietly tiptoes into the master bedroom and tells Connie that they are going out for a walk. He also leaves a note on her nightstand in case she doesn't remember if she wakes up before they are back home.
It's after nine by the time Mike leaves the apartment and heads to the nearest coffee shop. In the hustle and bustle of getting himself and Megan ready, Mike had forgotten to make coffee and so it must be his first stop. Mike is surprised by how many women stop him on the sidewalk so that they can take a peek at Megan who has fallen fast asleep. Mike can't help but smile as these strangers all coo at her and tell him what a beautiful baby he has. Even the staff at the coffee shop want a peek at the bundle in the infant seat.
After the caffeine is coursing through Mike's system, he realizes that he has to formulate a plan of attack if he wants to be home before 10:30, which is normally when Connie breastfeeds Megan. Mike decides as he's enjoying his coffee at the coffee shop to call up the card shop, the florist and the jewelry store to find out when each opens on a Sunday morning in order to prioritize his stops. Once Mike has his plan of attack, he puts his unfinished coffee into the cup holder on the travel system, silently thanks the designer who thought of such things, and heads to the jewelers who should be open by the time he gets there.
The store is too small to fit the travel system so Mike has to lock it up like a bicycle to a bike rack. Before he can put the baby carrier on, he has to sling the diaper bag over his shoulder as he can't have to diaper bag strap go over Megan. She is still sleeping when he has to take her out of her infant seat and fortunately for Mike, she doesn't wake up when he transfer her to the carrier. Because she's sleeping, Megan has to face him so that she can lean her head on his chest.
Inside, Mike asks for the olive green pendant and earring set that Connie pointed out to him the first time she went to this store with him a little over a year ago. When he had gone looking for a push present for Connie was when he saw it again, and that was when he decided to put a down payment on it so that it would be held for him. This is the perfect opportunity to give it to her.
With one gift taken care of, Mike heads to the card shop. Not wanting to push his luck, Mike decides to keep Megan in the baby carrier while he walks to the card shop where he has to repeat the locking routine with the travel system. The system they have isn't one of the expensive ones but Mike would rather not take his chances and let this one be stolen.
Quickly, Mike peruses the remaining Mother's Day cards there and is able to find one from him and another from Megan rather quickly. He then sees a Mother's Day display in the gift section and finds a nice pink picture frame with the words "Mommy and Me" inscribed at the bottom. Mike figures that Connie probably has a picture that she would want to put in it for work or home.
Mike's last stop is the florist who opens later than the jewelry store and the card shop. He is obviously not the only person to forget Mother's Day as there are a few other men who are there as well. Mike ends up having to wait fifteen minutes before he is served and at this juncture, Megan has woken up and starts to cry the I'm wet wail. The clerk takes pity on him and says that there's a table in the back he can change her on. Ten minutes later, Megan is dry again and back into the carrier facing forward now that she's awake and wants to see the world. Mike makes a quick decision and is out of the store in five minutes with a nice bouquet of flowers already set and with a small reservoir of water tied up at the bottom.
Looking at his watch as he exits the florist's, it is 10:25 and he's fifteen minutes away plus he still has to stop at the coffee shop to bring Connie breakfast. Megan is starting to fuss, so Mike has to make a decision and soon. If he feeds Megan, Connie will have to pump and she prefers feeding over pumping. If he doesn't feed Megan, she will start crying and he will have to wake Connie up to feed her immediately upon getting home, not to mention the number of people she will be waking up with her cry all the way up to the apartment. Mike is sure that whatever the decision he makes, it will be wrong one, so he decides to take the flack for feeding her and let Connie sleep. So he walks briskly to the coffee shop he was at less than an hour and a half ago, orders another coffee along with some hot water in a cafe au lait bowl to warm up the formula in the diaper bag.
Mike tries to entertain Megan as well as he can as her formula warms up, but is relatively unsuccessful, so most of the other patrons are looking at him by the time the formula has warmed up sufficiently for Megan to drink. Fortunately, once Mike gives Megan her bottle, she's too busy gulping it down to do anything else and the stares eventually stop. This will likely take twenty minutes, so Mike decides to call up his mother.
"Hello?" June Cutter's elegant voice comes through even telephone lines.
"Happy Mother's Day, Mother," says Mike.
"Hello, Michael. This must be the first Mother's Day call I've gotten in over 25 years."
"I called, not so much for me, but for Megan," says Mike ignoring the snide remark from his mother.
"How is my granddaughter?" asks June.
"Right now, she's drinking her formula."
"Where are you right now? There's a noisy background and I'm having trouble hearing you."
"She's in my arms drinking her formula at the coffee shop near the apartment. Can you hear me better now?" Mike speaks rather loudly into the Blackberry.
"Much. Why is she in your arms? Is Consuela not with you?" asks June.
"Connie's at home sleeping. Megan had a bad night last night with teething. Connie was up four times so I thought I'd take Megan out for a walk to let her get some rest."
"You know you should get a night nanny so both of you can get some sleep."
"You know Connie won't go for that."
"Isn't she back to work already?" asks June.
"Eight weeks ago, part-time," says Mike. "She does some work from home on the laptop since she's not in the office full-time yet, but she is back."
"How is she able to function properly if she spends her time at night catering to Margaret Anne? That's what nannies are for."
"Happy Mother's Day, Mother," says Mike to cut off that line of questioning.
"Yes, Michael. Please give my love to Margaret Anne and Consuela."
"I will. Bye, Mother," says Mike.
"Good bye, Michael." June hangs up after that.
"Well, Megan, grandmother says 'Hi'." Mike puts his blackberry away and takes a sip of his coffee. Megan makes no mind and continues to work on her bottle.
When Mike gets back to the apartment at 11:25, it is still quiet which likely means that Connie is still asleep. Mike transfers Megan to her foam baby seat and puts her on the kitchen table. Now that Megan can see what Mike is doing, she's happy and he can unpack all the goodies from the stroller.
Mike takes out a tray and puts Connie's decaf coffee on it. Connie is still on decaf as Megan has adverse reactions to caffeine in her breast milk. Mike then adds the pastries he picked out to a dinner plate for Connie to chose. Next goes the box with the frame in it as well as the jewelry box. Mike signs his card and has Megan scribble in hers and they both go on the tray after being put into their respective envelopes and sealed.
Mike is just about to take the tray into the bedroom when Megan starts to fuss about likely her wet diaper. As it turns out when Mike gets her undressed on her change table, it was more than just a wet one. The cereal seems to have gone through her system already. Mike scrunches up his nose as he changes the dirty diaper and remembers that he still has the wet diaper in the diaper bag from the florist's. When he's done changing and disposing the dirty diaper, he goes and gets the wet one from the diaper bag and disposes of it before washing his hands.
It's now closer to noon. Mike puts Megan in the baby carrier facing forward and takes the tray and takes them both into the master bedroom. Connie is still asleep, so Mike puts the tray down on his side of the bed before going back to Connie's side to give her a kiss to wake her up.
"Happy Mother's Day, sweetheart," whispers Mike after he kisses Connie on the forehead.
Connie stirs and says, "Thank you. What time is it?"
"Nearly noon," says Mike as he goes to his side of the bed to retrieve the breakfast tray.
"Noon? How did it get so late? I need to feed Megan." Connie is a bit frantic.
"It's all right," says Mike in a soothing tone as he sits down on the side of the bed near Connie. "I fed her formula while we're out to give you some time to sleep in. I know you'll need to pump, but it can wait until after breakfast."
"You guys were out?" asks Connie still slightly bleary-eyed.
"For over two hours. I told you we were leaving before we went and left you a note in case you woke up and didn't remember." Mike waves the note he left. "Why don't you open your cards and gifts and enjoy breakfast for now? We don't have to leave for your sister's for another two hours." Mother's Day celebrations are mixed with Cinco de Mayo celebrations this year at Rosa's on Long Island.
Looking at the tray, Connie gets teary-eyed. "You did all this for me?"
"We thought it would be nice for your first Mother's Day, especially after the night you had last night," says Mike as he caresses her cheek with the back of his right hand. "I love you."
"Thank you, Megan," says Connie as she kisses her daughter on the forehead, who gurgles. Connie then looks up at Mike with adoration in her eyes and says, "Thank you. I love you, too," before kissing him. If Megan wasn't between them, it could have evolved into something else.
"Well, open your card and gifts. We're both anxious to know what you think."
Connie takes the card that says, "To Mommy" and opens it and smiles. "Thank you, Megan." Connie then stands the card up on her nightstand. Connie then opens the card from Mike and gets teary-eyed. "I love it. Thanks, Mike." It, too, ends up on the nightstand.
"The bigger box is from Megan," says Mike as Connie is looking at the gifts. "The smaller one is from me."
Connie takes the bigger box and opens it. "That is so cute. I have the perfect picture for it."
"I knew you would. I mean Megan knew you would," says Mike with a smile, who can't help but respond to Connie's enthusiasm. Megan at this point fusses for being in the carrier and not moving so Mike takes her out and puts her down on her tummy on his side of the bed, where she promptly rolls to her back and gurgles happily. Mike grabs a toy from his nightstand and gives it to her to play with while Connie opens up the gift from him.
"Oh Mike. This is beautiful. You remembered from that first night we went into that jewelry store down the street. I can't believe you remembered after all this time? I love it. Thank you." Connie's tears which have been threatening to spill finally does.
"It's only been a little over a year and I remembered how you looked that night when you tried it on. I had the store put it on hold for me six months ago, when I went in there to get a gift to celebrate Megan's birth." Mike is rambling and Connie puts a stop to it with a long hard kiss. Mike wanted to deepen it but remembered that Megan was on the bed beside them. When he breaks the kiss shortly there after, he says, "Let's continue this after Megan goes to bed tonight." Connie is unable to speak but nods. Mike looks into Connie's eyes and says, "I love you so much. You are even more beautiful now that you're the mother of my baby girl."
"Oh, Mike," says Connie as tears are flowing unabashedly down her cheeks.
"Why don't you eat and I'll put Megan down for a quick nap? We just have to change before heading over to your sister's. I took a quick shower with her this morning before our walk. I'll pack the diaper bag and and get her ready when it's time," says Mike.
"Come back and sit with me for a little bit after you settle her."
Mike scoops up Megan who is already half asleep and says, "I'll be right back."
Connie watches Mike go and smiles. I can't believe he did all this for me while looking after Megan. I'm not sure that if I told anyone at the DA's office that Mike is capable of all this that they would believe me. Mike has always been attentive but this is above and beyond the call of duty, especially since he didn't get great sleep last night either. And to think I said "no" the first time he proposed after finding out about the pregnancy.
The drive to Connie's sister, Rosa's, is a peaceful one. Megan loves the car and promptly continued to sleep after settling in her infant car seat and she doesn't wake up until after they arrive. Connie even took a quick snooze on the road.
When they arrive, they are the last ones there from the count of cars on the driveway and in front of the house. When they walk in, Connie's mother, Juanita, takes her granddaughter away from them to dote on and show off. Megan is the youngest grandchild currently and well beloved by her abuela. Megan loves the hustle and bustle of these family gatherings and giggles and gurgles to one and all.
Just before dinner is served, Mike takes Megan back from his mother-in-law so that he can feed her first. He had premixed some cereal so it just needs to be rewarmed in the microwave before feeding it to her. They brought the foam seat with them so feeding is pretty easy and when he is done, he hands Megan to Connie for the rest of her dinner.
The afternoon sun warmed the temperatures up and the barbecue is running full steam. Tables and chairs have been set up in the backyard and dinner is eaten outdoors. Mike is still not completely comfortable around his in-laws even after almost a year, so he spends a lot of time by Connie's side or holding Megan to show her off to her relatives. Baseball season is in full swing, so Mike joins a few chats about baseball, but his in-laws are more Mets fans and he doesn't want to rock the boat. He never really got along with them before and they were really not pleased after they found out that he got Connie pregnant. However, since they have been married, they have mellowed out somewhat, but Mike suspects that it will be a few years yet before he will feel completely comfortable visiting his in-laws.
When seven o'clock rolls around, Mike packs up, gets Megan in the infant car seat and Connie says good bye to everyone. It's an hour and a half drive back home and they both have work the next morning.
When they get to the parking garage, Megan is in her full howl mode. It's past feeding time and the native is restless. Connie brings Megan upstairs first to feed her while Mike gets all the stuff out of the car. It takes a couple of trips as Juanita would not let them leave without taking leftovers of every kind. Mike suspects that he will be eating leftovers for most of the week at home and at work as Juanita seems to think that they are a family of six, not two adults and a baby who's too young to eat anything but cereal.
When Mike wrestles the last load into the fridge, which has gone from half empty to completely full, Connie is just putting Megan to bed. When Connie comes out, Mike is sitting on the couch nursing a beer. There is another one opened and waiting for Connie. Connie was so happy to find out that beer, especially a stout, was not only OK for breastfeeding but was good for her milk supply, so long as it was kept at half a bottle a day.
Connie takes her beer and sits down beside Mike on the couch and he puts his arm around her shoulders. Naturally, she rests her head against Mike and she's almost ready to call it a night.
In the light of the fading sunset, Mike says, "That pendant looks amazing on you." Connie had worn Mike's gift to the barbecue and it accented a green blouse she had on beautifully.
"Thank you again for the gift." Connie lifts her head to look Mike in the eye. Mike leans down for a kiss.
"You're welcome. Happy Mother's Day!" says Mike after they break apart.
They resume their drinking and after a few minutes Connie says, "I hope every Mother's Day is this wonderful. Thank you for everything!"
"I'll do my best," says Mike after he takes the last swig of his beer and he puts down the empty on the coffee table.
"What a year this has been," Connie reminisces. "Ever since the Marcus Woll trial, my life has been a whirl. First it was all that overtime, then we got together, then we found out that I was pregnant, then a pretty much a shotgun wedding early last fall followed by Megan's arrival over the winter. If you asked me what the last five months have been like, I wouldn't be able to tell you and I don't know how I could have done this without you."
"No way I would have let you do this alone, especially after the way my parents raised me or not raised me as the case may be." Mike squeezes Connie's shoulders and kisses her temple to emphasize the point. "We have a beautiful baby girl. You should have seen the people, mainly women, flock over to see her this morning when we were out. I'm sure that if guys knew what a chick magnet a baby is, they'd stick around more." The last sentence was said in a jesting tone.
"Oh really, is that why you stuck around?" Connie looks at Mike as she teases him.
"That and other reasons. I seem to recall continuing something after Megan was in bed." Mike looks into Connie's eyes and leans in for a kiss which deepens quickly. With a young baby at home, this opportunity just doesn't present itself very often. Mike can count on his fingers on one hand the number of times they've managed to be intimate since Megan arrived and he isn't willing to let this chance pass him by. As they start getting frisky, Mike picks Connie up from the couch and takes her to the master bedroom. The last thing they need is to trip over discarded clothing in the middle of the night when they have to take Megan into the living room to use the swing.
Their lovemaking is passionate and satisfying and they use multiple methods of contraception to ensure there are no surprises. After the surprise that was Megan, neither Mike or Connie were willing to risk failure in any one method without a back up plan.
It was a glorious end to a wonderful day. As they lay in each other's arms in bed, Mike looks at Connie and says, "We have to do this more often."
"Well, you know doing more chores around the apartment is a great aphrodisiac," says Connie without skipping a beat.
"I'll have to keep that in mind. Happy Mother's Day, Connie."