A/N - Sorry this would've been posted before now but I was at a party for most of this weekend so here it is now.

Summary: Alex and Mike are forced into some babysitting. Sequel to Private Dancer and Flesh and Blood

Pairing: Mike/Alex

Reviews: Please. Because they make me happy.

Series: Mike/Alex series, Private Dancer, Flesh and Blood, Meet the Parents, The Advisory, One Small Step - One Giant Leap, Baby Steps, Morning Meetings, Evening Encounters and Hopelessly Addicted (My, hasn't it grown? But this does all lead somewhere I can promise you that)

Singin' the Baby Blues

Alex Eames, Bobby Goren, Mike Logan and Carolyn Barek were walking down a busy New York street; heading for the nearest coffee shop. It had been a long and especially hard day at work, not enough leads in cases that were proving to be too hard to crack even for the great Robert Goren. "I would kill for a decent coffee right about now." Alex commented as she turned her head to see Mike walking very closely behind her as she and Bobby walked in front.

"Wouldn't you kill for that everyday?" Mike asked, smirking. Alex snorted but didn't respond verbally, she just grinned at him. Carolyn, moved to walk beside Alex, laughed at the thought of Alex commiting violence in a fit of a rage over the discovery of no decent coffee.

Reaching the coffee shop, Bobby opened the door and held it open for everyone to step inside. Mike hesitated, wanting to let Bobby passed but Bobby stood there; still waiting. Mike shrugged and walked in to catch up with the two women who were already making headway at ordering the coffees. Each of the two men walked to stand beside Alex and Carolyn, whilst they stood in the middle, Mike felt his hand brush against Alex's and she looked at their hands and back up at his face. Smiling, she coiled two of her fingers around his. This didn't go unnoticed by Carolyn, who was speaking to the clerk.

The clerk smiled politely at them and went to fetch their order. Bobby looked at Mike and Alex, "So, do you two have any plans for tonight?" Mike and Alex, who were talking quietly to each other, turned their heads to look at him with curiosity; the question catching them in surprise.

"Why? Do you?" Alex asked. Bobby shook his head.

"I was wondering if the two of you wanted to come out tonight?" Carolyn asked, explaining. But before they could reply the clerk returned with their coffees and Carolyn handed over the money that had already been collected up for them. Each carrying their own they walked over to the opposite side of the room, finding a nice secluded booth. Carolyn and Alex both slid into the seats near to the window. Mike sat beside Alex and Bobby sat beside Carolyn. "So, do you?"

"We don't have any plans." Mike replied.

"Did you have something special in mind?" Alex asked, as if she could sense that there was a hidden agenda.

Carolyn gave a small smile, "I'm having a party so..."

"Barek, you're having a party?" Mike asked, incredulously. Carolyn nodded, a little offended but she didn't show it. Mike looked at Bobby, who seemed to have already been invited. "I learn something new about my partner everyday."

"What's the occassion?" Alex asked, curious. Wrapping her hands around the warm coffee as the cold weather, coupled with the arrival of snow, had been sending her hands blue all day.

"It's my birthday." Carolyn said, quietly. Alex was stunned because this had been the first time she'd heard about it.

Mike had been about to swallow some coffee and he had to stop himself from spraying it all over Bobby. "It's your birthday?" He asked, shocked. "Geez Barek! You kept that quiet!"

"No she didn't. I-I knew." Bobby said, taking pride in Mike's surprised reaction at that knowledge.

"You knew and I didn't?" Mike asked for confirmation. How come he didn't know?

"Lots of people from the squad are going." Bobby replied, looking at Alex and Mike, taking in their expressions.

Alex frowned, "How come we didn't know about it?"

"Eames, there was a sign on the notice board, you didn't see it?" Bobby asked, amused at his partner.

"You advertised your bithday on a staff notice board?" Mike asked, incredulously.

Carolyn nodded, smiling. "It's alright, I know you two have been... pre-occupied, so I thought I'd ask you in person." Carolyn really did understand about it and she wasn't unhappy with that at all. Although she enjoyed the way they were reacting to the word 'pre-occupied', it seemed like they were about to deny that but Carolyn decided to avoid that by speaking again, "So, can you come?"

"Yes." They replied in unison. "We'll come." finished Alex with a nod. Carolyn smiled her relief and she seemed happy that they were coming. Alex and Mike suddenly began thinking that they needed to buy her a present and a card - something big that acts as an apology as well as a birthday present.

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Alex was at home wrapping up a birthday present for Carolyn when the doorbell rang, looking at her watch she cursed Mike for being early again but was thankful she wasn't stepping out of the shower. Rushing to answer the door she was more than surprised when she saw her sister Jo, holding her nephew Nathan, standing at the door. Shivering.

"Jo?" Alex stepped aside and let her sister in. "What are you doing here?" Once Alex closed the door her sister turned to her immediately and began talking.

"I need you to take Nathan for tonight, I'll pick him up tomorrow afternoon. I swear it'll just be for tonight..." Jo was about to take off into a babble when Alex held up her hand.

"Jo, I can't. I'd love to have him here, you know I would but I can't." Alex interrupted, sad that she was turning down the offer.

"Think of this as your chance to test Mike." Jo said with a grin, a hopeful tone of voice. Alex frowned, confused so Jo explained. "To see what he's like with children." Alex rolled her eyes, it was a little early in the relationship for that kind of talk. "I mean, seriously, what have you got to lose?"

"My friend." Alex replied, "I didn't know it was her birthday so I have to go to her party. I said I would." Alex didn't want to break her word to Carolyn no matter how cute Nathan looked in his thick winter coat and his blue pacifier that matched the coat and hat. Jo put Nathan down on the floor, standing on his little legs, he held onto his mothers trousers with a tight fist. One look at Alex, and realising his freedom, he was toddling over to her in an instant - holding out his arms indicating his want. "You know I'd do this for you any other day, how about tomorrow night?"

Jo shook her head and Alex noticed how her demeanor suddenly changed from happy and bubbly to sad and depressed. Alex would've thought Jo was reverting to some kind of low tactic but that wasn't her style. "Jo, what's wrong?" Alex asked, as Nathan began tugging on her trousers. Jo covered her mouth with her hand as she almost choked on tears. "Jo?" Alex walked over to her, Nathan followed, she put an arm around her. "What's happened?"

Sniffing, trying to hold back tears, "It's karl. He - he's... I don't know. I need you to look after Nathan."

"What happened to Karl?" Alex asked, insisting that she be given the details. Alex guided Jo to the sofa and gave her a gentle nudge to sit on it. With Nathan still with them, Alex sat down beside Jo waiting for an answer.

After wiping her tears Jo gained some strength and turned to Alex, "We had a - I guess you could call it a fight. He was upset about some things and I was trying to convince him otherwise but it just turned into an argument." She was shaking as she remembered, causing Alex to believe it had been one of those arguments where you give your all; every emotion. "He then left the house this morning and has not come back." She looked at Nathan and than at Alex. "I think I know where he is, but I can't take Nathan with me." Nathan was aware he'd name had been mentioned and was looking at Jo with curiosity.

Alex looked at Nathan and then at Jo. All to aware of her promise to Carolyn, "Yes, I'll take him for you." Alex couldn't let her sister down, it was something she'd never been able to do with either of them. Jo hugged her tightly. "What was Karl upset about?"

Jo pulled away, "He thought... he was worried about how much of a good father he was."

"He sounds like one to me." Alex said, softly. Jo frowned, unsure of her meaning. "He's worrying about it." she explained and Jo smiled, nodding. "Feel free to tell him that when you catch his sorry ass!" Jo laughed with Alex, and without even understanding Nathan laughed as well.

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Alex was trying to stop Nathan from making a mess of her bathroom when the doorbell rang again and she realised she had not call Mike to tell him she couldn't go, as a matter of fact she hadn't even called Carolyn yet. Picking up a shampoo bottle and putting it back into the basket she chased off after her nephew as he rushed to the door. Getting to the door he started banging on it, shouting 'Go Home!'. Alex gently grabbed him and opened the door to reveal a confused Mike. Still confused as he walk in the door he looked at Alex with a frown on his face. "So isn't that your nephew?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah." She looked at him with regret. "I was supposed to call you but I got caught up trying to stop him from making a mess."

"You're not going are you?" Mike asked, having realised that he couldn't see the child's mother.

Alex shook her head sadly, "No, I can't. I have to look after him tonight instead." Alex put him down on the floor and picked up the present she'd put on a high shelf. "This is for her, please tell her I'll call her."

"Alex, you have a huge family surely there is someone else who could look after him." Mike said, trying to get her to come to the party.

"No, it has to be me. He likes it here and ... it just has to be me!" She finished, getting upset. "Please just take Carolyn's present with you and tell her."

"I don't know what to tell her!" Mike said in frustration. "You're not making sense. I don't know why it has to be you, you're not his mother..." Mike's sentence trailed off when he noticed how upset Alex looked at the last few words of his sentence. She looked at the floor for a moment, not taking her eyes away from the carpet. "Please explain it to me... because I really don't understand. You're just not making sense here."

Alex looked up at him, her eyes glazed over with watery tears that were threatening to fall. "I - I was his surrogate mother." she admitted.

Mike closed his eyes as he realised the implications of what he'd just said to her and what she had just said. "You had a baby for your sister?" Alex nodded. Mike immediately felt guilty because he felt like he'd pushed that answer out of her and it couldn't have been easy to hand over a baby to someone even if they were family. "I'm sorry." he pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment. "If I'd known..." Alex was shaking her head against his chest.

"I know." She was about to say something else when she felt a small hand hit her leg. They both looked down to see Nathan tapping their legs to get the attention of them both.

"Hey kiddo!" Mike said, in a way of greeting.

Alex knelt down beside Nathan and pointed her finger at Mike. "That's Mike." Mike gave him a small wave. "Mike." she repeated trying to get the boy to say his name.

It worked, almost. "Mi-key!" Alex laughed but Mike just grinned.

"Mike." Alex said again.

"Mikey." Nathan repeated with insistence.

Mike shrugged. "Mikey will do." he said with a small laugh. Alex stood up and looked at him amused.

"Is 'Mikey' a nickname that I didn't know about?" she asked, grinning. She took his silence as his answer and she began to laugh. "I like it." she looked down at Nathan who was laughing at him as well.

"Mikey!!" he repeated, laughing.

Laughing, Mike checked his watch. "Listen, I've gotta go but I'll come back after the party." He gave Alex a long sweet kiss and then made sure he'd got her present for Carolyn. He waved goodbye to Nathan who waved back. Alex opened the door and as he walked out he kissed her again and mouthed the word 'bye'. Closing the door Alex looked at Nathan who was already heading back to the bathroom.

"Oh no you don't!" she said chasing after him.

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TBC