'Dear Kind Resident. My life is coming to an end. I have made far to many mistakes in my life, and one of the treasures that came out of these mistakes, is now in your hands. As my final act, my one good deed among thousands of mistakes and sins, I leave my most precious belonging in your hopefully capable hands. Please, keep my dear Sophie safe.'
'PS. She is eight months old. I have left all her belongings in the baby bag.'
"Your kidding right?"
Ames blinked, tilting her head to the left, taking in the sight before her. Beside her, Chance rubbed at the back of his neck, looking at lost, as he too stared at the small, pink blanket wrapped, bundle on the couch. "Your telling me... They just... Left it?"
Chance sighed, nodding softly, lost for words. All he could do was stare down at the bundle, as little, chubby arms stretched out, fingers curling into a small fist, and blue-green Bambi eyes blinking back at him.
A baby... Someone had left a baby on his door. His first reaction had been caution. The bundle could have been a bomb or poison gas. But when it had started to move and coo, his caution was placed with pure disbelief and shock. He'd found a lot of things left at his doorsteps over the year... But a baby was defiantly new.
When the bundle had shift and kicked its feet, moving the covers from its face, he'd been shocked at all the hair, blonde hair, the child had. She was a cute little thing, all smiles and bright eyed curiosity... Why would someone leave such a cute kid on his door?
Then he'd found the letter tucked to the side of the basket (how old school cliché) and the reason behind the little baby was kicking in, and it had made a little more sense. The handwriting was nice, well written cursive with a feminine touch. Some of the writing was smudge, small blotches here and there, indicating that the writer had been crying.
Whoever had left the child (Sophie.. That was the kids name, right?) must have had a hard time.
"She's so cute," Ames commented, breaking him of his thought, as she bent down and picked up the bundle, causing him to tense. He hadn't been sure how to pick up the child when it had started whimpering when he'd first found it (her, not it, man. It's a human... Just smaller... And smellier). Luckily, the basket made a good rocker, so when he picked up, rocking it as carefully as he could back and fourth, that had pacified the girl.
When Ames had showed up earlier than Winston, much to his and even her surprise, the baby had made load babbling noises, noting Ames of her presence. She had been in as much of a stupor as he had first been. Now, seeing her take to the little thing like it was her own... He was actually glade she was here.
"So who's is it?" Ames asked, having plopped on the couch, bouncing the small child on her leg lazily, as the little girl gurgled and pulled at a strand of her hair, a large toothless smile on her face. Chance shrugged. "The note didn't say," he sighed, handing it to her to read. She balanced and held the child with one arm and leg, as she read the letter, a pained expression on her face.
"She's an orphan then." Chance frowned, inwardly wincing. Abandonment and orphanage were a touchy subject for Ames. She had gotten so plastered a few months back, that she'd come to work instead of her apartment, and had cried and told her whole life story while throwing up all over the place. How her mother had left her on the doorsteps of the orphanage when she was three and told her she'd be right back... But never returned. It had not been a fun night for either of them.
They both stared sadly at the happy baby girl, who giggled and tugged on Ames's necklace, as the elevator came to life, signaling someone approaching. "Dude, what's up with the... Dude?" Guerrero had barely made it into the living-room, when little Sophie had started crying. The new intruder had caused her to jump and now her little nerves were screaming in fear and annoyance.
Ames bounced her on her leg and tried to shush her, getting to her feet and glaring, actually glaring in an almost straight out threatening way, at Guerrero as she pat the small child on the back, as little Sophie continued to kick and cry. "Seriously? Your big and bad routine is cool and shit for the guys your torturing, but scaring a baby? What is wrong with you?" she growled, beginning to walk around the room as Guerrero raised a brow in surprise and possible annoyance at the brunette.
"Commere," Ames looked up as Guerrero shouldered off his leather jacket and reached out to take Sophie from Ames, who let out a squeak of "hell no!", before trying to back up and away. Guerrero made what sounded like a growl as Sophie let out a piercing scream of fear, before he grasped the child and plucked her from Ames's grasp, causing the brunette to fall over onto one of the couches.
And, to her actual amazement, and Chance's non-surprise and smile, their was no more crying. Focusing in on the two, she found Sophie's hands splayed on her mouth, as she sucked away on her pacifier. "She just needed her gas cap, dude," he shrugged as Ames gaped up at him, before sighing.
Chance wasn't sure why this was surprising Ames. She knew he had a kid. The boy was about five now. Not too old to not need attention, but old enough to move about somewhat more on his own. The kid was a little Hellraiser on his tricycle. Almost ran Chance over last time he saw him; back when he'd help Guerrero pick out the thing.
Sophie hiccuped and giggled in his arms, reaching up to pat at his face and trying for his glasses. Guerrero squinted as her tubby little hand pulled them off, before she waved them up and down. "Nuh-uh," he grunted, taking them carefully back from the child, handing them to Chance to clean, before propping them back on his face. "Those are mine, little dude."
Chance watched as she tilted her head and grinned behind her pacifier, before her focus fell on the elevator as it dinged open, out stepping Winston with a small box of what looked like donuts and his cup of sugar and cream filled coffee. He took one look at the baby in Guerrero's arms, before almost looking like he was gonna have a heart-attack. "Don't tell me that monster has more than one hell-spawn?"
Chance couldn't help but bust up laughing at the offended and annoyed look on Guerrero's face, as he bounced Sophie in his arm. "Dude! Not cool, man. Don't hash on the little dude til you meet him." Ames, who had been pouting on the couch, pipped up. "He's a cute kid. Likes to draw and read. Calls me Ammy."
Guerrero rolled his eyes, before turning to Chance. "So who's is it dude? You knock some chick up, or what?" Winston looked like he wanted to strangle the smaller male for his bluntness, as Chance shrugged while Ames handed him the note. He scanned over it, handing it back to Ames, before plopping the kid into Chance's surprise embrace. Chance blinked, staring down at the little girl, as Guerrero made way to his bag that he'd dropped near the door, before pulling out his laptop and pushing the life button on it.
Sophie made a grunting and gurgle sound, and Chance's nose wrinkled, as she began to get fussy, spitting out her pacifier and growling and sniffling sadly up at him, sending a panic through him. He could jump out of exploding buildings, stare a gun in the face, and free fall from an airplane... But a little child, a little baby girl with blue-green eyes, could make him panic? How the hell did that work?
He shook his head and turned to Winston, grinning as he walked up to the bigger man and quickly placed the child in his hold, snatching the donuts and his coffee and dashing for the kitchen, leaving an angry Winston with a now crying baby Sophie. "What the-What am I suppose to do with this?"
"Change it's diaper," Ames commented from the kitchen, as she grabbed her own half-pint of skim milk (the kind she knew Guerrero wouldn't touch), before drinking straight from the bottle.
o0o
Two diapers (after Winston had ripped the sticky tabs off the first one) later, Sophie was happily crawling around on the ground around Carmine. Carmine was laying on his side and lazily watched the child, following it with his large head, as it crawled over to him and began patting his stomach and using him as a balancing beam as she got on her knees and wobbled slightly, patting his side and laughing.
Winston, cleaning up the mess from changing her, snorted as Sophie grabbed Carmine's ear and tugged lightly and happily at it. "Guess it's a good thing you are not a vicious guard dog, huh?" Carmine simply licked his maw and the baby's hand, as Winston made his way to the kitchen, where everyone was gathered. "Ames, go watch the kid," Winston shooed her to the living-room, to which she gave him a dirty look and he sighed, "please!"
That satisfied the brunette, as she grabbed her bowl of cereal she'd been munching on, and sauntered into the living room. Winston grumbled, as he threw Chance a dirty look. "Now listen here! You're lucky I had nieces and nephews I use to help change, otherwise it would have been your ass in their with that mess." To emphasize his point, he threw the dirty diaper into the trashcan with a hard thud.
Chance gave his best boyish, sheepish, smile.
o0o
"She likes you more, Guerrero. You take care of her."
Ames watched, with amusement, as Chance followed the shorter male around as he gathered his things, stating he'd be back after a "meeting with a client". Winston had left earlier to go pick up some more baby formula, seeing as Sophie didn't have that much to last her for today.
Guerrero sighed and hit the elevator button. "Dude, she wasn't dumped on my doorstep. Take some responsibility." Chance's eyes widened and he actually seemed to be pouting as he crossed his arms, reminding Ames of a small child. "I have responsibility!" He exclaimed, lip jutting out. Oh my God he really was pouting!
"Like?" Guerrero asked, raising a brow at the taller male as the elevator dinged, slowly rising. Chance gestured around the office. "I work," he stated as if it was the simplest explanation to their argument. Guerrero shrugged. "Most parents do, bro."
Chance groaned. The blonde male began to look around desperately for something. "Uhh... Oh! Carmine's big. He could eat her," Chance weakly tried. Ames and Guerrer glance over to the baby who's playing with a sleeping Carmine, who it seems is too lazy to make her stop, and Guerrero scoffs as the elevator opens and he steps inside. "Just entertain it, dude. It's easy."
And with that, Ames followed after her mentor and Chance was left alone with a happy baby and lazy dog.
o0o
Winston, much to Chance's relief, had eventually returned,and the two men had worked to make a bottle for Sophie, who was beginning to get fussy and smacking her little lips to show she was hungry. After messing up two bottles, the men were finally able to give her a bottle, before grabbing their own food to eat.
Chance had moved her to the living-room, and sat on the floor, leaning against the couch, his legs slightly spread so Sophie could lean back against his inner leg and suck happily on her bottle, staring at him as he ate his take-out.
With the bottle in her mouth, she sits and sways slightly as she watches Chance eat his food, before popping her bottle out and making a small noise. Looking up from his chopsticks and food, Chance slurps down his noodles and furrows his brow. "What?" he asks, as if the child could answer.
Sophie begin to make a sound, sounding like she was saying "nom nom", as she stared at Chance's food, her hands reaching out slightly as if she could reach for the take-out box. Chance smiles and uses his chopsticks to pick out a small bit.
"It's mushu. Here. Open," he instructed. Winston wrinkled his nose from his spot on the other couch. "You sure it's a good idea to give her that?" Chance shrugged and smiled as Sophie opens and moves her mouth, batting her toothless gums around the noodles and waddling back and forth on her bottom.
"Good, huh?" Chance chuckled, as he rubbed her head of growing hair. Sophie nommed on the noodles a little more, before, without warning, vomits! Chance jumps as it lands on his other pant legs. He makes a face as she starts to laugh and pat her little hands up and down, before reaching for his box for more.
"You're cleaning that up yourself," Winston grinned, as Chance groaned and Sophie found her bottle, popping it back into her little mouth.
o0o
"Found out who the mother is, dude. Her name was Katherine Thompson. Prostitute. Apparently the kid here is one of her old clients kids. She was trying to go straight when he found out and went after her for the kid." Guerrero sounded angry. Chance knew very well that when kids and people trying to change their life for a kid got involved in a case, he took it very seriously.
Sophie had been with them for three days now. Ilsa had returned from a business trip and had been a big help with her. She had suggested putting the child in an adoption agency, but Ames had highly refused, stating that they had to at least try to find out what happened to the mom. They all secretly knew that anything to do with orphanages and abandoned and lost kids was a touchy subject for the brunette, so just this once, they decided to appease her.
"Was?" Winston asked, his face becoming an expression of graveness, as Sophie crawled into the conference room, going for Guerrero's shoes. Guerrero reached down easily, as if it were second nature, and held her up before placing her on the table. He opened up his tackle-box and pulled out a roll of tape and sat it down in front of her, letting her play with it,as they continued to talk, closing the box and setting it down and away from the child.
It always amazed and startled Winston at how well he could handle the child. Sophie had pretty much become a common presence around the office. Chance had even made a makeshift bed out of a large laundry basket and pillows, for her and Carmine had take to sleeping by it at night in Chance's room.
Guerrero kept his arm out as Sophie chased after the roll of tape on the table, keeping her from falling off. "Cops found her dead this morning. Sloppy work. Shot in the head." Ilsa, who had been quietly watching the child as she crawled over to Ilsa and made pick-me-up gestures, shuddered and gasped softly."That poor woman...And to leave behind such a small child..." Ilsa picked Sophie up and let her tug and play with her necklace.
Chance looked at Sophie quietly as she nommed on Ilsa's gold chain and looked around at the adults who had become her forced caretakers. "Any idea who did it?" he asked, looking to Guerrero who nodded. "Course dude. Looked into it. Talked to a few "Friends". Found out four days ago Ol' Red was looking for a woman of her description. Gotta be him."
Chance nodded and looked at Ilsa. She had to know what could happen. The man had killed a good woman for nothing. Had left a child motherless and homeless. For what? Because he didn't want the kid? Nobody deserves to die. Nobody innocent deserves such a fate from a bullet.
Ilsa looked uncertain, until Sophie giggles as she wiggled in Ilsa's arms, making take-me gestures to Ames as the brunette walked by and let her play with her hand and grin. "Alright," Ilsa whispered softly. Chance and Guerrero nodded before Guerrero grabbed his roll of duct-tape and tackle-box,motioning for Ames and Winston to follow. Ames took her hand back from the child, before running to follow them.
Winston gave a sigh and nodded,before following, leaving Ilsa with Sophie as she began to nod off to sleep, still clutching Ilsa's necklace.
o0o
"The new family is here."
Two weeks now. It had taken time. Longer than Ilsa's money should have allowed it to take. But Guerrero had to dig up everything he could on each person, each taker. In the end, he'd finally relented on a family. A good family. A family with a preschool mother and a lawyer father, living in a fair neighborhood with no crime or issues and a German Shepard named Rory who was about as vicious as Carmine, but more alert and ready to go if anyone attacked his family.
It was a good family indeed.
"Alright bottles, diapers, formula, blankets, clothes, and toys are all here," Winston walked into the living-room, the baby bag in his hand, smiling as a tall male with short brown hair and brown eyes smiled and shook his hand before taking the bag and shouldering it. Beside him, holding the man's other hand, was a small woman with strawberry-blonde hair and dark green eyes.
"Thank-you Mr. Winston... We're both so excited to meet her," the woman whispered, her voice trembling, but a smile on her face and her eyes showing signs of tears. "When Adam and I found out I couldn't have kids... I-I never thought of adopting... But I'm so glad we did. And I'm glad Ilsa Pucci and her company find us suitable... I just hope she'll like me... Likes us."
Adam smiled and pat his wife's back. "Of course she'll like us, Alison," he chuckled, rolling his eyes and shaking his head playfully to Winston, who couldn't help but smile at the two. They were a good couple. Guerrero did good.
o0o
In the other room, Sophie pat at Guerrero's chest and babbled happily to him as he balanced her in one arm and grabbed his pacifier and tea with the other. Chance smiled and rubbed her head carefully, as she giggled and nommed on her tiny fist happily.
The two men carried the baby into the living-room, where Mr. and Mrs Grey smiled and awed at the child as she grabbed at her pacifier and shoved it into her mouth. "Oh," Mrs. Grey gasped and covered her mouth softly, smiling as Guerrero walked up and held the kid for them to see.
Although he had pretty much picked out the family, Guerrero was still cautious with the kid. After taking care of Ol' Red, he'd felt a need to care for the kid like he did his own when he was around; meaning he was far more protective of the child than he should be.
"Can I see here?" Mrs. Grey asked softly, looking lovingly at the little girl, as she made take me gestures to the new adults. Guerrero hesitated, almost unnoticeable, before handing the child to Mrs. Grey, who's eyes welled up with tears as she smiled and hugged Sophie close. "Oh she's much more precious than she was in the pictures," she laughed, as Sophie's pacifier popped out and landed between the two as she grinned and pat at her face, before leaning forward to give a slobbery, open mouth on the nose, kiss.
It was something she had come to do with Guerrero and the others; as a way of showing affection to the big people who liked her. Mr. Grey smiled as Sophie was handed to him, bouncing her lightly in his arms, as he smiled and whispered and grinned at her, causing Sophie to squeal and giggle as he tickled her sides and kissed her cheek, before reaching out to shake everyone'ss hand and give Ilsa and Ames a careful hug and thank-you.
They had to get Sophie settled in to her new home, so they wouldn't be allowed to stay longer. Mrs. Grey smiled as Guerrero awkwardly held out his hand. He wasn't use to many thanks from women who weren't on his radar, so he truthfully wasn't sure what to do. So you can imagine he was tensed and startled as she swat his hand away and pulled him into a hug, before thanking him and doing the same to Winston and Chance and the others.
"We'll send birthday invites and pictures and all kinds of cards and more," Mrs. Grey promised, as they stepped into the elevator. As the door began to close, Sophie began to whine and whimper, reaching her little hands out towards where Chance and Guerrero stood.
Ames grumbled and waved bye as she heard Sophie start to cry for them. Guerrero's instincts were to go and find her and pick her up so he could get her to stop crying. But she wasn't their concern now. They had found a good home and couple for her. But that didn't mean the attachment they all had was easy to erase.
And thinking of that attachment... He couldn't help but think of his own kid; of his son. Looking out the elevator, where the Greys and Sophie got into a car after strapping her into their new baby-seat, Guerrero grabbed his jacket and headed for the elevator. It was time to pay his boy and ex-wife a visit.
o0o
Four months later a card and a homemade DVD showed up in the office mail.
An early Christmas card and a video montage of Sophie's time with her new mom and dad and Rory. Images of her crawling in the backyard and chasing after Rory, who had taken to the child like a fish to water. Of Sophie getting food all over her as Adam tried to feed her some smashed peas. Even of Sophie learning how to stand up on her own, not ready to walk but getting there now.
Ilsa and Ames couldn't help but cry happily and laugh whenever she would get so excited over something that most would find boring and uninteresting like bathwater bubbles and butterflies. Chance had even laughed when she had tried to feed Rory one of Adam's spaghetti noodles.
Although the team missed her at times, they were all happy to actually see that this was defiantly a mission accomplished with a happy ending.
R&R
So yeah. Not the best thing in the world but I love the movie "Three Men and a Baby" and I love "Human Target"... SO hey, of course I'm gonna cross them! It's too cute not to, right? I mean, come on! How fun would it be to watch those three with a baby? X3
Plus, still, I have stupid writers strike going on in me, so I figured Id try some moreextra crap to help me you all like!