Snapshot #1 – Grace is 1
The crying began around 1:00 am. Annie and Auggie both woke, but laid still hoping Grace would settle herself down. She didn't.
"I'll check on her," Auggie murmured and kissed Annie on the forehead.
Annie tried to fall back to sleep, the alarm set to go off in just 4 hours for her first international flight since she found out she was pregnant in Tokyo. She was nervous enough about getting back on the international scene, about leaving Grace, about screwing up both her job and her baby and now it seemed Grace was voicing her discontent.
Annie could hear Auggie through the baby monitor.
"Hey little G, what is going on?" he asked calmly.
The baby changed her volume from screaming to whimpering and Annie assumed Auggie had picked her up.
"OK, I got you, you're OK," he cooed to the baby and it started to send Annie back to sleep, until she heard this…."you feel a little warm Gracie."
Annie hopped up and was in the nursery in seconds.
"Is she OK?"
"I think so, just a little warm, not too bad," Auggie said his lips against the baby's brow.
Annie got the thermometer out of the changing table and approached, the baby sensing what was coming tugged at her ear and wailed louder.
"Oh no, I think it's her ears," Annie said as she stroked the baby's head.
"It's OK, baby's get ear infections Annie, she'll be fine," Auggie continued to cuddle Grace close.
"Not when her mother has a flight to Mozambique leaving in 4 hours," she sighed.
"Yes, even then. You are not the first mother to leave the country when their kid is sick Annie," Auggie tried soothing both of them at once.
"I know, it's just…."
"You're worried about me, not her," Auggie said suddenly.
"No!" Annie replied quickly. "This has nothing to do with you, I would be freaked if I was leaving her with Mary Poppins, Auggie.'
"I can manage her tonight and get her to the pediatrician tomorrow. I was already planning to work from here tomorrow, Barber knows that. It is just an ear infection Annie, kids get sick," Auggie reached for her with his free arm and she slid into it, placing a second warm hand on the baby who seemed to be nodding back off.
Auggie got her back to sleep, but less than an hour later she was crying again.
"Sleep," he tried to will Annie back to sleep as he slipped out of bed again.
"G, you need to sleep sweetie," Auggie tried to reason with the kid.
She cried louder.
"OK, OK," he sighed and picked her up which seemed to help, relieving the pressure on her ears a little.
"How about we go downstairs and let Mommy sleep for a couple more hours?" Auggie felt around in the crib for a blanket and pulled one of Grace's toys off the shelf.
The two padded down the stairs and Auggie put an album on the turntable and sank into his dad's chair.
"I'm so sorry you don't feel well Peanut," he kissed her tear-stained cheek.
The next few hours involved a variety of activities to keep Grace as quiet as possible and very little sleeping, but when Annie came downstairs with her suitcase she found them both dozing in the chair. She stood and looked at them for a minute, her beautiful little family and tried not to feel like the worst mother on the planet.
"Hey," Auggie said quietly when he realized she was there.
"I have to go."
"OK," he stood, waking the baby who did not take kindly to the movement.
"Shh, baby," Auggie soothed and bounced her a little.
She managed to work herself into a full wail quickly. Annie tried to take her for a quick cuddle but the baby clung to Auggie's neck screaming. Auggie looked tired and frazzled and guilty that the baby wouldn't go to her.
"Sorry, I'll just go, sorry," Annie was trying desperately not to cry herself.
"We'll be OK," Auggie said over the baby's screams and reached for her, kissed her and touched his forehead to hers.
"I'll call you later," she said and left before she changed her mind.
***555***
"Mr. Anderson?" a young nurse called him in the waiting room .
"That's us," he stood and tried to maneuver around the toys and coffee tables between him and the nurse while holding a fussy Grace.
"OK, Miss Grace what seems to be the problem?" Dr. Cavanaugh asked as he settled Grace on the exam table.
"Her fever was between 100 and 101.4 and she has been tugging at her left ear, she is also teething" Auggie answered.
"I asked Grace," the doctor grinned.
"Sorry," Auggie smirked.
"Definitely sounds like an ear infection little lady, although the teething isn't helping matters, may I?" he asked Grace as he showed her the otoscope he was going to use.
Grace wasn't real thrilled about the whole thing.
"Dad, any chance you could give me a hand here?" the doctor asked.
Auggie cuddled Grace close, holding her as still as a squirmy one year old gets while awake so the doctor could examine her ears. The doctor was very good with Grace, talking to her the whole time, letting her play with the stethoscope around his neck.
"Your daughter seems very healthy, despite the fever and the slight infection in her ears she is very responsive and she shows no signs of anything other than a typical ear infection. She will be uncomfortable for a couple days, I would give her children's Tylenol as needed but in accordance with the packaging. Don't be surprised if she eats a little less, it will hurt to chew and swallow and lying flat hurts too."
"We figured that out last night, didn't we Grace?" Auggie yawned.
"If she isn't herself in a few days, follow up, but I trust she will be fine in 48 hours or so," the doctor patted Auggie on the shoulder and offered him a lead back to the reception area.
"Thank you Dr. Cavanaugh," Auggie bid farewell.
"Auggie," he heard the voice of Linda Milton, their nanny.
"Hey Linda," he smiled.
"How is she?" she asked.
"Just fine, a little Tylenol and some rest and he says she'll be back to new, which I hope includes sleeping through the night."
"I stopped at Starbucks while I was doing the errands, there is a very large coffee in the car for you."
"You are the best, really, I know today was your day off," Auggie said solemnly.
"No problem at all, babies get sick," she shrugged it off.
***555***
When Annie decided to stay at the DPD and work for Auggie it was both the best idea and the worst idea. Luckily the reality of Grace made it slightly easier, gave them a transition time where Annie wanted to stay stateside and be available to continue breast feeding and rocking her baby to sleep at night. It was decided she would not go on the international duty roster until after Grace turned 1.
They began looking for a nanny shortly after Joan came to breakfast and offered Auggie the DPD job. Annie hated the idea of leaving her baby with someone else all day, but it was that or put her career on hold until Grace went to school.
The process was arduous, even more so than the average nanny search as Auggie also insisted the CIA do a full background check as well. They narrowed it down to 5 final candidates and chose Linda Milton.
In her thirties, Linda had cared for the children of a Senator Joan knew and came highly recommended. She was smart and sweet and trained in all the things Annie and Auggie wanted her trained in, certified in CPR and an all-around nice woman. Annie also didn't mind the fact that Linda was married, to a woman. Auggie teased her for watching too many Lifetime movies.
Now she brought Auggie and Grace home and helped Auggie label the Tylenol and the dosing spoon so he could administer Grace's meds alone.
"You guys good now?" Linda asked as she threw away the packing and set everything back to order.
"Yes, we should be fine, thanks again," Auggie smiled.
"Glad to help, I know Annie was a little freaked about her trip," Linda smiled at Grace who was chewing on a teething ring.
"Leaving an hysterical baby was even harder," Auggie sighed.
Linda left and Auggie texted Annie to let her know the baby was fine before collapsing on the couch to catch his breath.
***555***
The Tylenol definitely helped Grace and exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before she napped, allowing Auggie to get some actual work done in the afternoon.
Dinner was finished by 6:00 and Auggie gave Grace a bath and put her in clean jammies. He laid out the quilt his mom had made on the nursery floor and put Grace down before joining her and stretching out. Grace used him as a human jungle gym, pulling herself up before plopping ceremoniously on her bottom. She had been testing out the walking thing for a month now, but Auggie's long reach kept her close, she thought she had ample freedom to move.
His phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket as it announced Annie Walker calling.
"Hello," he said sweetly.
"Hi," she breathed a huge sigh hearing his voice.
"You all settled? Everything in place?" he asked as he bent his legs for Grace to climb.
"Nicest safe house ever, sleeping with the boss has its perks," she teased.
"Wanted to ease you back into the field. You ready for tomorrow?"
"I have already been over everything with my handler. I do not want to talk to my boss, I want to talk to my husband," she lowered the register of her voice.
"Got it. What are you wearing?" he said as smarmy as he could without laughing.
"How is my baby?" Annie changed the subject.
"She is fine, she napped so now I am trying to tire her out with a light work out."
"Are you bench pressing our child?" Annie laughed.
"No, I am just laying here, she napped not me. She is climbing me at the moment. Gracie, want to talk to mommy?" Auggie asked and reached to pull her close.
Auggie switched the phone to speaker.
"Say hi Grace," Auggie instructed and the baby babbled.
"Hi sweetie," Annie said and Grace went quiet.
Auggie wished like anything that he could see the look on Grace's face when Annie's voice came out of the phone.
"You and daddy having fun?" she asked.
"Da!" Grace yelled.
"Oh right, you say that now. Can you saw MOMMY?" Annie tried for the millionth time.
"Da!" she repeated.
"Maybe she is speaking Russian?" Auggie offered.
"You're sweet, but she clearly favors you," Annie sighed again.
"It is actually easier for babies to make the d sound, m's are harder to form. It is perfectly natural for them to say daddy before mommy, it is no reflection on their feelings," Auggie smiled.
"I know," she yawned.
"It's late there," he said unnecessarily.
"I wanted to make sure I didn't interrupt dinner or bath time, might as well keep her on as regular a schedule as possible."
"We're fine."
"I'm in bed by myself. It feels weird," she admitted.
"Not looking forward to that myself," Auggie assured her.
"I'm sure Barber would come cuddle with you if you are lonely," Annie teased.
"I'll find a way to survive," Auggie laughed.
"We're really doing this?" Annie asked.
"Just a typical night for the spy family," he grinned.
TBC…