A/N After about a million years... here is the next piece of my story...it's average at best...I swear the next one is halarious and they will figure out the problem's with Maeli...
I own nothing.
Maeli was in awe of the image in front of her. She was seeing her baby brother for the first time. She couldn't believe it.
"That's my brother," she stated, pointing a small finger at the screen.
"That sure is, Miss Maeli. Does he have a name?" the doctor wondered.
"Eli Donald," Maeli said with a confident nod. "His middle name is that same name as my daddy and my grandpa's first name," she added. Don and Jess shared a look. They hadn't made the final decision on the name front, but it appeared Maeli had done it for them. Don reached out and grabbed his little girl and placed her in his lap. "That's right Bug, that's our little Eli," he mentioned, kissing her hair. Jess smiled at the two of them, her unshed tears causing her eyes to sparkle. Don reached out and took her hand.
The appointment ended shortly after the ultrasound. Jess was taken off bed rest but was not yet cleared to go back to work. She had another week at home and another appointment before the doctor could tell her if she was allowed back at work, on desk duty only. She was out of the field, no matter what, for the remainder of her pregnancy.
The small family walked down the hallway. Jess had a grip on her daughter's shoulder, steering her out of the way when she nearly walked into other people. The little girl was too absorbed in the ultrasound picture in her hand to look up as she walked.
Jess's brother, Nick was waiting for them outside. Don had to return to work so Nick was going to take Maeli and Jess home. He wasn't supposed to go back to the precinct. This was supposed to be the start of his two weeks of paid vacation. However, a case came in at the last minute and the captain told him to go to Jess's doctor appointment and return to run interrogation.
"Alright, I will see you guys at home later," he sighed.
"Daddy, please come with us," Maeli begged, a pout quickly forming. Don should have been expecting this; she had been stuck to him ever since her breakdown at Mac's a few weeks earlier.
"Bug, I want to, but the bad guys won't let me," he replied.
"Daddy," she whined. Before Don could say anything else, Uncle Nick scooped his niece off the sidewalk.
"You don't want to spend time with your favorite uncle?" he worked quickly to divert her attention.
"I'll home before you know it," Don mentioned, but Maeli barely noticed since she was now absorbed in talking to her uncle. He mouthed a quick thank you to Nick and kissed Maeli's hair. "Ok babe, I'll see you at the house later," he repeated to Jess, pulling her aside.
"We'll be waiting," she smiled. On that note he couldn't resist setting a hand on her belly. He dropped to his knees.
"Bye Eli," he whispered, placing a kiss just below her belly button.
Jess sat on the couch as the company at her house bustled around her. All of her brothers were over. All of them. They were helping move her small family into their new home. There was a lot to be done. Don still wasn't a hundred percent on his knee and he also didn't want to spend his entire two weeks of leave moving boxes. Her brothers all decided to chip in. Nick was with Maeli, helping her sort her toys and fold her clothes. Michael and Andy were moving furniture here and there and Peter was setting up the home office. After another moment, Jess decided to get up. She was going to see if there was something she could help with.
"Don't even think about it, Princess," Peter objected before he could even get up. He had come through the living room to get some wires and things he left in the kitchen.
"Fine" Jess huffed, relaxing back into the couch. She ran her hand over her belly as she felt Eli move. Eli. She smiled at that thought. Maeli had taken it upon herself to make the final decision on what to name to name her little brother. Jess didn't want to sit alone in the living room any more. She moved to get up, again.
Jess walked into the master bedroom. Jess looked around the room. She noticed the gray lock box on the top of Don's dresser. There was still no permanent location for the box in their new bedroom. She carried the box to her bed and took a seat next to it. She quickly keyed in the pass code and opened the lid. She took her badge in both hands and ran her thumb over the numbers. It felt like it had been ages since she'd worn her badge. She could never say her life was boring, never. With everything her and Don had been through in the last six months, including the move and Maeli's newly formed abandonment issues, her life outside the job was enough to keep her on her toes. However, there was a part of her that ached to be back on the streets putting the bad guys away. She wanted to make the world a safer place for her children. Before she could do that, in the capacity that it deserved, she had to give birth to her second child. Yes, she would get to ride a desk for the remainder of her time until her maternity leave, but it just wasn't the same.
She carefully lifted her gun out of the box and passed it back a forth between her hands, recommitting the weight and feel of it to memory. She opened the slide and closed it again.
"Woah there princess, I know we have limited you a little bit, but there is no need to resort to violence," her brother Michael joked.
"It's not loaded, the only way I could hurt you with it is if I throw it at you," she retorted.
"I wouldn't put it past you," Mike mused. Jess glared at him. "you miss it, don't you?" he added. Jess nodded.
"Don't get me wrong. I love Maeli and I love Eli already. If anything happened to either one of them, I would resort to violence," she finished with a chuckle. "But I have cop in my blood. It's as much a part of me as being a mom is," she shrugged.
"Of course it is, when we were growing up, we knew there was no stopping you from being the gun toting, badge wearing, badass you are today. You all but climbed in Pop's squad car every time he left for his shift. But you juggle it all really well, princess. We all admire you for all you deal with from day to day, especially lately," Mike commented. Jess nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. Mike reached out and brushed them away.
"Don's gonna be home soon," Jess mentioned. "He's going to freak out when he sees all of the Angell boys are here," she chuckled.
"Especially Andy," Mike agreed.
"I've made big brother promise not to break any more of my husband's bones," Jess pointed out. Mike just laughed.
Don curled his fists against the table. The woman across from him was driving him up the wall. She was the only thing between him and his two weeks of leave with his pregnant wife and currently slightly neurotic five year old. They had been going round and round for hours. They weren't even accusing her of anything. He just needed her statement. He watched as she tapped her unnecessarily long nails on the table.
"Would you please just give me your statement?" he sighed.
"What is your hurry pretty boy, you have a hot date?" the woman sneered.
"No, but my pregnant wife and my daughter are expecting me home," he mentioned. For some reason, that was all it took. The lady shaped up and gave her statement.
Don dropped his head to his steering wheel when he saw all the cars parked around his house. He was so not in the mood for company. He sighed and climbed out of the car.
"What fresh hell is this?" he mumbled to himself as he noted a car for every Angell boy.
He quietly opened the front door to find his wife and her second youngest brother Mike standing in the foyer. He smiled half heartedly at the two. He was exhausted. Jess noticed and sent him a quizzical look. She stepped closer to him.
"Hey," she greeted, leaning up to kiss him.
"Hey yourself," he smiled in return. He looked over her shoulder quickly. "Where's Maeli?" he mouthed, fearing if he said her name out loud she would appear. He loved that little girl with all his heart, but she had been stuck to him like glue for weeks. It wasn't as much annoying, as it was disconcerting. It worried him.
"She's with Nick, in her room. Perfectly distracted," Jess provided.
"Um, why don't you guy take some time to yourselves. We've got dinner covered and Nick's with Maeli," Mike suggested.
"Thank you," Don accepted; maybe it wasn't so bad to have all of his brothers-in law around. He led his wife to their new bedroom.
"So by the car count outside, all of your brothers are here," it was a statement more than a question. He was trying to get the buttons undone on his shirt. She approached him and pushed his hands out of the way and undid the buttons himself.
"They are just here to help, Don. I didn't think you would want to spend your entire leave moving furniture and unpacking boxes," she explained.
"Hey, I'm not mad," he smiled and kissed her forehead. She slid her arms between his shirt and his wifebeater and hugged him close. He scooped her up bridal style and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and hovered over her.
"You shouldn't be carrying me," she pointed out.
"I carried you three feet, not across the desert," he laughed, giving her a quick kiss.
"Are you going to tell me what's really bothering you?" she wondered. Don moved to rest on one arms. He sighed. "If I were to bet, I would say it has something to do with your daughter," she added.
"Jess, I love her, you know that, but this clinginess. I'm not saying I don't want her around. I just…" he wasn't exactly sure what to say.
"Don, you're an amazing father and because you are, you're worried," Jess reasoned.
"She is so independent, Jess. This is just plain weird," he sighed.
"It's a phase, Don. She's going to be just fine," she consoled. She scooted up towards the headboard and put his head in her lap. She stroked his hair. "You're overwhelmed, baby. This time off you have is for you too. Don't be afraid to sleep in and rest while you have the time. I'm almost seven months pregnant, I am all for more sleeping. We'll all spend time together and work through this thing with Maeli," she laid out. Don smiled up at her.
"I love you," he replied.
"I love you, too," she responded. He closed his eyes as he felt his son move where his cheek was pressed against her belly. He reached a hand over and placed it above her belly button.
"So, Eli…" he started.
"Yeah, I guess we don't have to worry about picking a name. Maeli took care of that one," Jess chuckled.
"At least she picked our name and not hers," Don smiled.
"I like Eli Donald," Jess voiced.
"I do too," Don agreed.
"I imagine the boys will be done with dinner soon and Maeli is going to start looking for us. You in particular," She mentioned.
"Then by all means, let's find them before they beat down our freshly painted door," he joked.
"Finish changing first," she mentioned, gesturing to his open pants and shirt. Don stood from the bed and dug out a pair of sweats and a tee.
Maeli came charging down the hallway as soon as she caught sight of her father.
"Hey bug," he greeted as he caught her.
"I thought you were never going to get home," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Well, I had to get the bad guy, you know that," he replied.
"I'm hungry, can we eat?" she abruptly changed the subject. Don shook his head.
They had dinner with all of Jess's brothers, fished a bit more unpacking and called it an early night.
The next morning Don awoke to the sound of laughter in the living room. He rubbed his eyes and padded down the hall. Jess was tucked into the corner of the couch, looking through a photo album.
"Daddy," Maeli squealed and ran at him. He groaned tiredly. She was going to be all over him.
"Bug, Daddy's not quite awake yet," he informed, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"Maeli, come back here. Look at this picture of Daddy, Danny and Adam being goofy," Jess interjected before Maeli guilt-ed her father into anything. Don smiled appreciatively at his wife. "There's coffee in the kitchen, babe," she added. He smiled again. She hadn't had coffee in the better part of a year, yet she made sure some was ready for him every morning. Don returned momentarily with his mug. He set it on the side table and motioned for Jess to move.
"Daddy, I want you to sit by me," Maeli whined.
"Bug, you stay right there, I am going to be by you both," he promised. He arranged it so Jess was between his legs and Maeli was tucked into his side. "Now, what are we looking at here?" he wondered.
"Lots of old pictures!" Maeli replied excitedly.
A few hours later, Maeli had run off to change while her parents finished making lunch. They were going for a walk around their new neighborhood and coming back for an actual picnic in their backyard.
"Don, I was thinking…" Jess started, suddenly very interested in the sandwich she was making.
"What is it Jess?" he asked.
"If I decided to not go back to work until after Eli is born, is that ok?" she wondered. Don tried not to show the immense relief he felt. He knew she had cop in her blood, but he really didn't want her back at work at seven months. Not with the pregnancy she'd had.
"Jess, you do whatever you want. You know I'll support your decision," he mentioned.
"In other words, you would love that," Jess chuckled. Don blushed.
"Can we go, please?" Maeli asked from the edge of the kitchen.
"Ok, ok," Don laughed. He pulled on his jacket and turned to help Jess with hers. As soon as they took to the streets, he put Maeli on his shoulders.
"It's nice to be in a neighborhood," Jess noted.
"It is," Don agreed, squeezing her hand.
"I can't wait until Eli is big enough and we can ride our bikes all over," Maeli chimed in.
"Oh honey, let's just get Eli born first," Jess laughed. Don chuckled. This was nice. They finally had time to just be a family. All of them were healthy and content. He had two weeks to be nothing but a husband and father and he couldn't be more excited. They would work through the rest later.