Sammy & Ilna - how many ways can I say you are the best and I treasure every minute of our friendship? I love you guys.
REAL McRollers & Readers - thank you for the kind words and love. Always.
Another Milestone
"Bye, bye, Angie, Daddy will see you later at your appointment." Steve kissed her cheek and blew a raspberry to hear her giggle. Like Catherine's always had, his daughter's laugh warmed his heart. "I'll meet you at the doctor's at four," he said as he passed her the baby.
Steve took the little outstretched hand when she said, "Ahhh ahh," and grinned.
"I'll see you later, okay?" As he let go and turned for the door, Angie said, "Baaa, ahhhhh!" with a tone that caused him to turn.
As he expected, her eyes were beginning to fill, but it wasn't an ordinary cry she let out.
It was a sob.
A sob accompanied by two tiny arms reaching in his direction as she leaned as far towards her daddy as possible. "Baaa! Baaaaaa!"
He glanced at Catherine, who was attempting to cheer their daughter with a favorite stuffed horse while saying, "it's okay, sweetie." She looked at Steve with a soft smile. "I think someone is old enough to realize daddy is going out." She nodded towards the door. "Is that it, Angie? You realized your daddy was going to work?" She bounced her gently. "Look at your pretty horsey, sweetie," as she danced it around in the air.
Angie grabbed it and pulled it close, seemingly content until Steve reached the door a second time and opened it.
Then the horse hit the floor and two tiny hands reached out again as she called, "Ba ba ba ba ba!" with a quivering lower lip.
He was back at her side in three strides. "It's okay, Daddy's here," he said and lifted her from Catherine's arms. "She … " He looked at his wife. "She doesn't want me to leave." A mixture of awe and absolute joy lit his face as he rocked their daughter. "She knew I was going out. She wants me to stay with her."
"Yes, she did, didn't you, baby girl?" Catherine kissed her little cheek. "I know you want Daddy to stay with you but you're going to have a good day with Mommy at work and we'll see him really soon." She took the baby and snuggled her.
Cammie had risen and was making figure eights around her and the baby. "Look, Cammie's saying don't cry, Daddy's coming home after he catches some bad guys, right, pretty girl?"
When Angie looked down and reached for the dog, Catherine kneeled so she could touch the soft fur. "Say 'bye, bye Daddy, we'll see you real soon,'" she said with a smile while waving their daughter's tiny hand.
When with a deep breath, Steve nodded, glanced back at his family and slipped out the door to go to work she smiled at how her brave, kick-ass husband looked every bit as stricken as their seven month old had and she couldn't help love the two of them more than ever.
"So, like I said, I almost puked," Danny Williams confirmed from the passenger seat as the partners headed back to HQ later that day. They'd picked up the conversation they'd started that morning before being called out to a crime scene. "Grace just decided one morning when she was a little older than Angie that she didn't want me to leave her at Nonna's." He shook his head at the memory. "I mean it was Nonna. Grace adored her even then, but she was at that age when they get a little clingy; shy with strangers sometimes, too, and she was literally clinging to my uniform shirt and screaming, 'Noooo!'"
Steve's eyes widened slightly at the image. "What'd you do?"
"Nonna pried her off and told me to tell her I'll be back later in a happy voice so I kissed her goodbye and left. Hardest thing I'd done since she was born."
Steve glanced at his best friend thinking if Angie were literally clinging to him that morning he might not have made it to the truck. "And?"
"And I called Nonna from the car. Grace was giggling in the background, totally fine."
"Seriously? Because like I told you, Cath said Angie was great in two minutes."
"Seriously. They all do it. It's a thing at that age. Sucks for you, but they're perfectly fine a minute after you leave." He held up a hand in promise.
They'd reached HQ and parked. Steve nodded as he tossed Danny the keys. "I'm going to meet Cath at the doctor's, see you tomorrow. And Danny? Thanks."
"No charge. Go, and kiss my goddaughter." Danny smiled at his partner who'd been so out of sorts that morning that he'd only had to ask, "What's up?" before the SEAL with the bad ass reputation regaled him with how he was both disturbed at having to go and a little bit awestruck when he said, 'Angie didn't want me to leave.'
Doctor Hiroya's Office
Violet Hiroya tapped lightly and entered the room with a smile. "Well hello there, Angie," she greeted the baby who turned in Catherine's arms at the sound of her voice. "And mom and dad, too. So we're here for our final Hep B dose and to say hello." She waved and Angie said, "Eeeee, ba ba ba ba!"
"Oh, we're getting more vocal, aren't we? Excellent."
Steve grinned proudly and glanced at Catherine as he answered, "she's pretty much saying 'bye bye' already."
"She's making a lot of responsive sounds and initiating a lot, too," Catherine confirmed. "I'm not quite sure about bye bye," she said with a chuckle.
"Totally saying bye bye," he insisted with a smirk and the doctor shook her head in amusement.
"She'll be saying it clear as day before you know it. Right, Angie?" She talked brightly. "Mommy, if you can unsnap her onesie and turn her, we'll drop the diaper and do the shot quickly while she's in your arms."
Angie startled and let out a wail but recovered with a gasp and whimper when the doctor distracted her with a bright rattling bear. "That wasn't so bad, right, honey?" She tapped the exam table, indicating Catherine should refasten ther onesie and place her down. "Sitting up I see. Excellent."
"And two teeth," Steve noted, reaching to gently expose them to the doctor.
Look at you, with those awesome new teeth," she said, then addressed Steve and Catherine, "We don't have a wellness check for a little while, but Miss Angeline seems to be doing beautifully. Any questions while you're here?"
"Yeah. You know …" Steve started and touched the baby's cheek, beaming when she looked up at him with a full on baby-smile. "When I was leaving this morning, for the first time ever, she got upset. She's normally really good when one or even both of us leave, and I felt like cra…" His eyes glanced down and he rephrased, "horrible. I felt horrible leaving her. Catherine said she was fine right away but …" He let the sentence drop and ran a hand through his hair.
"She's reached another milestone. Seven months is normal for some separation anxiety." The doctor faced Catherine. "You said she calmed right down?"
She nodded. "In a minute she was her usual smiling self. Right, sweetheart?" She lifted the baby off the table and Angie grabbed a fistfull of her blouse and tried to shove it in her mouth.
"That's good. It's a normal stage of emotional development that starts when babies begin to understand that things and people exist even when they're not present."
"Object permanence," Steve stated and Catherine grinned as he was clearly quoting his book.
"Exactly," Violet Hiroya nodded. She loved a well informed parent. And Steve and Catherine were certainly that. "Separation anxiety usually hits when you leave to go to work or run an errand. My three tips are easy." She ticked them off on her fingers. "One, always say goodbye. Kiss and hug her when you leave. Tell her where you're going and when you'll be back, but don't drag it out. Don't sneak out the back door. She'll become more upset if she thinks you disappeared into thin air. Two, keep it light. Angie picks up how you feel so don't act upset while she can see you. Like you said, Catherine, baby's tears usually stop before you leave the driveway." She held up a third finger. "Finally, once you leave, leave. Don't leave the house, wait a minute and run back in to check."
Steve and Catherine exchanged glances. "Got it," he said. "My partner, Angie's godfather, said our niece did the same thing at this age."
Violet nodded. "Most kids do to varying degrees. Angie seems like a very happy, confident baby. With any luck it won't happen much. And you can always call to check in or ask any questions. I'm here to safeguard her emotional health, too."
"We know, thank you," Catherine said as she shifted Angie on her hip and Steve lifted the diaper bag. "We'll see you for our next check up." She lifted Angie's hand in a wave. "Say, 'bye, bye' to Doctor Violet."
When Angie said, 'Ahhh baaaaa ahhh," as the doctor left the room with a wave, Steve stood a bit taller than usual and nodded at his wife as his eyes shone with undisguised pride. "See?"
Catherine felt a surge of love for him at his love, pride and joy at everything their daughter did. Even if she did think he was reading a little more into her language skills than was there quite yet. She leaned up to kiss his cheek and placed one on Angie's as well. "I absolutely see. And I love you both."
#End thanks for reading.
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