Just a short McSwarek one shot. Big thanks to my beta, Rachel 3 Enjoy!
He walked through the door, completely exhausted. It was late, late enough to be considered morning at this point. He and Traci – with some unsolicited help from Steve – had spent the last 19 hours trying to put the pieces of their latest case together before they finally decided to take a break and head home to their families.
He loved his job, but Sam hated working late like this. It was part of the job, though, but that knowledge didn't make missing bath time and bedtime stories any easier.
He made his way through the house in the dark, managing to avoid the various baby and dog toys scattered across the floor. He went to the nursery first, excited to sneak a quick peek at his sleeping little girl.
Sam quietly pushed the already cracked door the rest of the way open, expecting to find his daughter fast asleep in her crib. Instead, he found a chubby little hand reaching out from the rails, dangling a pacifier over their dog's head. Boo lay mesmerized in his usual spot, guarding his favorite human.
"Boo!" the one year old girl exclaimed from the crib, trying to get the dog's attention, "Boooo! Boooo! Boooo!" she giggled.
"Hey, little miss. I know a little girl who's supposed to be asleep right now," Sam laughed, lifting the baby from the crib.
The littlest Swarek just smiled, immediately latching onto her dad as if he were her security blanket. She placed her head on his shoulder and gripped the sleeve of his shirt as he carried her over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room.
"Why are you up, huh, little one?" Sam whispered in a soft tone, the voice he always used with her, "Did you have a bad dream?"
The little girl didn't answer him, not that he expected her to. She just sat back against her dad's chest, rubbing her hand across his arm. Sam kissed the top of her head and brushed the dark hair away from her eyes.
"I think she just missed her Daddy," another voice answered from the doorway. Andy walked over to Sam and their daughter and sat on the arm of the chair beside him.
"I missed her daddy, too," she whispered, giving Sam a small kiss.
He smiled at his wife, then back down at the baby in his arms, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't," Andy whispered, leaning closer against him, "I heard this little one playing with her guard dog about fifteen minutes ago."
"Yeah, we really gotta teach Boo how to put her back to sleep, maybe even change a diaper every once in a while," Sam joked as the dog raised his head in acknowledgment.
"Oh, yeah. Maybe he could even babysit," Andy laughed, rubbing her finger against their daughter's cheek.
"Guess Daddy's going to have to teach Boo here some new tricks. I did say I would do it all," Sam smiled, acknowledging their past.
Andy looked back at him, and then at their daughter, the sleepy look on her face mirroring her father's.
"What?"
"Do you ever think about it?" Andy wondered, snuggling closer to her husband, "You know, how we got here?"
Sam thought for a second and nodded, "I do. I think about it a lot. I'm grateful for all of it."
"Me too," Andy agreed, looking back at her daughter, "Do you know how Mommy and Daddy met, little one?"
The baby grinned at her parents as she resting comfortably in Sam's arms.
"Your mommy took me down her first day on the job, do you know how many people can do that? Do you know how many people can take your daddy down? Only one."
"Of course Daddy wasn't happy that I arrested him and blew his cover," Andy whispered to her daughter, tickling her stomach.
"Technically, your Uncle Jerry blew my cover but Mommy was a big part of it," Sam laughed.
"And then, Daddy said I tackled him and tried to kiss him," Andy laughed, making a shocked expression as she explained to her baby.
"No, I said Mommy tried to hug me. No kissing. Kissing is icky," Sam laughed, protectively avoiding the subject for their daughter, "I said that Mommy tackled me so she could hug me."
Andy laughed, continuing their story.
They told their daughter about everything; from being partners, to the night of the black out when Mommy and Daddy almost "hugged", to being together and breaking up. They told her about Jerry, they told her about Daddy getting hurt by the bad guy and that they loved each other so much that they got back together and started a family. Sam and Andy stayed awake until it was light out, telling their baby girl the whole story. They had barely noticed that she had fallen asleep against her daddy's chest, one thumb in her mouth and the other hand wrapped around her mommy's finger.
If this was their happy ending, it was perfect.