Baby Kitten

Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright is owned by Capcom and not me. I guess I do own Gabriella though.

Author's Note: This little fic has been in the works for awhile. And since the school year is finished and I don't have a summer job yet (which I hope to rectify soon, grr), I thought I'd finally finish it.

Anyway, Mia and Diego are my two favorite characters, and Miego is my favorite pairing. Put bluntly, what actually happened to Mia and Diego sucked (it's brilliant from a psychological/literary perspective, but that's beside the point). They deserve happiness dammit! So that was kind of the inspiration behind this AU fic. Yay fluff! This may be the fluffiest thing I've ever written, so be warned. Sorry my author's notes are so long, here's the story! Hope you enjoy!

Mia had spent the night in a restless sleep. Her entire day consisted of caring for her five-month-old daughter Gabriella. Motherhood was wonderful and Mia absolutely adored her baby girl, but the child could be exhausting at times. From the early hours of the morning to the late hours at night, Mia had been up and down catering to her baby's every need. Mia was convinced that her baby would need something before the night was through. But Gabriella hadn't made a peep in awhile. So Mia slowly started to assume that her baby wouldn't need anything else for the rest of night. Upon this realization, Mia decided that it was okay to relax. She finally closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep… which lasted about three seconds, because the baby had started wailing again.

"Mmm, Gabby," Mia murmured, turning to her side. "Mommy's coming, baby."

Before she could move another inch, she felt a strong, comforting hand on her arm, gently restraining her. Mia turned her head around and looked at her husband Diego. He looked back at her and flashed his typical grin.

"Let me, Kitten," he whispered. "You've been up and down all day. You need some rest."

"No, it's fine," Mia protested, slowly sitting up. "I'm not that tired. Besides, she needs me."

Diego looked his wife up and down. Matted hair, huge bags under her eyes, eyes bleary and glazed over; she looked completely and utterly exhausted. "Not that tired" indeed. He wasn't going to allow her to set foot outside that bed.

"Remember, Kitten," Diego started, his grin softening. "She's my baby too. And you've been hogging her all day while I've been at work." He said the last part with a playful pout as he gently poked Mia on the nose with his index finger. "I think it's time for some daddy/daughter bonding time."

Mia looked at Diego and gave him a tired smile. "I guess you're right," Mia sighed. "Okay, Diego, you can take care of her."

"Well of course I can," Diego said with his usual cockiness. "I wasn't taking no for an answer, especially considering the state you're in. Now lie back down and close your eyes."

Diego gently cradled Mia's upper body and helped her back down into bed.

"Mmm, Diego?" Mia asked, her eyes already shut.

"Yes, Kitten?" Diego asked, standing up.

"That's her hungry cry. There's breast milk in the fridge that you can warm up."

Diego chuckled. He thought it was cute that Mia was able to distinguish the baby's different cries. "I'll remember that, Kitten."

"And Diego?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." And with that, Mia finally fell fast asleep. Diego placed his hand on Mia's shoulder again and kissed her on the cheek. Then he left the room to pay a visit to his little daughter.

"Gabriella," Diego said softly in a sing-song voice upon entering the nursery. "Why's my baby girl crying?"

At hearing the sound of her father's voice, Gabriella quieted down a bit, but she was still wailing.

Diego went over to the crib and looked down at his daughter. His beautiful daughter. She had big brown eyes and brown hair; the spitting image of her mother. "Come here, princess." Diego smiled and scooped the baby in his arms.

As soon as Gabriella was cradled in Diego's arms, her cries stopped. She looked up at her father, smiled widely, and cooed. Diego tickled her chin a little.

"Was that all?" he said playfully while Gabby giggled. "Were you just lonely? Well don't worry, Daddy's here now. And he'll stay right here with you, okay?"

Gabriella reached for her father's finger with her little hand. Diego gripped her hand in between his thumb and index finger. All was well until Gabriella's stomach gave a little growl. Upon remembering why she was crying in the first place, Gabriella began to whimper.

"Hmm, I guess Mommy was right," Diego said to his daughter. "You are hungry. Heh, I should know better than to doubt a mother's intuition. Come on, Gabby, let's get you some milk."

Diego carried Gabriella into the kitchen and got to work warming up the breast milk. Gabriella was still whimpering from hunger, impatient at how long the breast milk was taking to thaw.

"Shhh, don't worry, princess, it's almost ready," Diego comforted as he gently bounced Gabby up and down in his arms. He knew it would be a few minutes before the milk fully thawed, so he began to think of different ways to distract Gabriella until it was ready. Looking up at the kitchen cabinets, he was struck by an idea.

"Hey, baby kitten, I have something to show you," he started, readjusting the baby in his arms. He opened one of the cabinets to reveal about a dozen bags of coffee. Gabriella looked up at the bags and gave an interested coo.

"This isn't my entire supply of course, just some of the best blends," Diego started. He began to talk to Gabriella as if he was a professor giving a lecture. "This is coffee. Really good coffee. Learn how to distinguish the good from the bad. Though as an Armando, you'll have no trouble telling the two apart at all," he continued, looking down at his daughter with a soft smile. "Can you say 'coffee?'"

"Gamabadagayabadaga?" Gabriella babbled questioningly, big smile on her face.

"Close enough," Diego replied, tickling his baby under the chin again. "I have a craving for some coffee right now, but I'm having a little bit of trouble deciding which blend to drink. Maybe you could help me?"

Gabriella's arm was already reaching for the cabinet, curious to get a closer look at the inside.

"I'll take that as a yes," Diego said, eyes filled with pride at his daughter's interest in coffee. "All right, which blend should I grace my taste buds with tonight?" he asked as he put his hands under his daughter's arms and lifted her up to the cabinets. Gabriella giggled at being lifted high into the air. Her huge eyes surveyed the contents of the cabinet for a few seconds before she reached her hand out and slammed it on top of one of the bags. She grabbed it and started pulling it towards her.

"Looks like you've found one you're happy with," Diego replied, taking the bag from his daughter's grasp. "Ahhh, blend number 107. A fine choice. In fact, it's my favorite," Gabriella giggled and Diego kissed her on the head. "A coffee connoisseur already. You truly are my daughter."

He poured the coffee grounds into the coffee maker (which was on 24/7 of course), and poured himself a cup of coffee in his new "I Love My Daddy" coffee mug (he received it a month ago from Mia for his birthday, but she claimed that Gabby picked it out.) He took a huge swig from the mug before turning his attention back to the baby.

At that moment, Gabriella looked at Diego's mug intently. She gave an open-mouthed smile, squealed, and reached for the coffee with her chubby little arms.

"Ha!... A desire for coffee at such a tender age, huh?" Diego laughed, holding the mug out of his baby's reach. He looked at Gabriella with such warmth. "Sorry, princess, but you're a little too young for the bitter taste of coffee. You'll like the milk much better."

Diego checked the bottle of milk again. It was finally warm enough, so Diego gave it to his daughter.

"I now present a bottle of milk to the hungry baby kitten," he started. Gabriella literally threw herself at the bottle and started suckling ravenously from it. "Heh heh, told you so. Baby kittens love their milk."

Gabriella was still sucking from the bottle, but her eyes glanced up periodically to look at her father. Diego's eyes never left her. Both pairs of eyes were filled with love for the other. Diego walked back into the nursery and sat in the rocking chair by Gabriella's crib.

When Gabriella had finally finished the contents of the bottle, she detached her mouth from the nozzle and gave a small, contented sigh. Then she burped loudly and snuggled into Diego's arms.

"Ha!..." Diego exclaimed quietly, putting the bottle down. "That's my girl."

Gabriella yawned and her eyes began to close. Diego rocked back and forth in the rocking chair as an attempt to get his baby to sleep sooner. Her eyes finally closed and her soft breathing could be heard. Diego kissed Gabriella on the forehead once again and placed her back in her crib.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped a little. He turned around to find a very exhausted looking Mia behind him. A tired smile graced her lips as her eyes met Diego's.

"Kitten," he whispered. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"I was asleep," she whispered back. "But I couldn't keep myself in bed. I just had to see you with her." Mia gave Diego a kiss on the lips. He put his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him. They both looked at the sleeping baby in the crib.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Mia asked, knowing full well what Diego's answer would be.

"Of course," Diego said with his trademark grin. "With parents like us she was bound to be beautiful." He ended the sentence by planting a kiss on Mia's head. "So why are you awake anyway? You should really be in bed, Mia."

"Like I said, I wanted to see you with her," Mia replied as she rested her head on Diego's shoulder. "You're so cute when you're with her. I just had to see it."

"Were you watching this whole time?"

"Oh, I started watching when she offered her opinion on what kind of coffee you should drink tonight," Mia replied with a small giggle. "You better not get our baby addicted to coffee before she reaches her first birthday, Diego."

Diego would have replied with his usual "Ha!..." but he kept himself in check so as not to wake the baby. Instead, he gave a tiny laugh. "Hey, I didn't actually give her any, Kitten. I have enough sense to know not to give a five-month-old coffee. But I can't help it if she's interested in coffee. She's an Armando after all. It's in her blood." As he said the last lines, Diego turned back to his daughter and looked at her with fatherly love again. Mia noticed the look on Diego's face and it warmed her heart to no end.

"You're a wonderful father, Diego." She whispered.

With that, they both looked at each other and kissed passionately. They turned their attention back to Gabriella and watched her for a little while longer. After a few minutes, Mia's eyes began to close and she started going in and out of consciousness on Diego's shoulder. Diego noticed this and gently nudged Mia.

"All right, Kitten, you should really be in bed. You're falling asleep standing up," he supported her body by putting an arm around her waist. "I'll take you back. If Gabby wakes up again, I'll take care of her. You just sleep for the rest of the night."

With a yawn, Mia replied, "All right," She kissed her hand and placed it gently on Gabriella's head. "Good night, my darling Gabriella."

Diego's arm was still around Mia's waist in order to steady her. He was going to lead her back into the bedroom and into bed, where she desperately belonged. But before he left, he looked into the crib once more and smiled at his little girl.

"Sweet dreams, my baby kitten." And with that, Diego and Mia were out the door, and Gabriella was left to dream her sweet dreams for the rest of the night.

THE END

End Note: Yup, I told you this was insanely fluffy. There's really no inspiration behind the name Gabriella, it randomly popped into my mind one night and I thought it was cute, so I went with it. Thanks for reading, and thanks to all of you, reviewers and lurkers, who have supported me so far ^_^