Disclaimer: I have absolutely nothing to do with Desperate Housewives, and this is in no way for profit.
Story Summary: Snapshots of moments between the dads of Wisteria Lane and their kids.
Chapter Summary: Carlos and his girls. Takes place during the season six episode "The Chase."
Fatherhood
By Ryeloza
One
As Carlos smoothes calamine lotion over the pox marring Celia's face, she remains quiet and squirms only a little to combat the itch. It is this, the calm, sensitive nature of his child—so different than either him or Gabrielle—that reminds Carlos of his mother. Already he envisions her growing up to be a strong and capable woman; one who can calculate the world around her because she's spent so much time observing it.
"There." He dots the end of her nose with the lotion and smiles. "Does that help?"
Celia shrugs her shoulders. "Can we try to call Mom again?"
Carlos thinks of the two calls he already made—one to Gaby's cell phone voicemail and the other to Bob and Lee's answering machine—and says, "We'll call Mommy tomorrow. It's time for bed." He stands and pulls back the covers on Celia's bed so she crawl in, but when he turns to face her again she's gone. "Celia?"
A quick search of Celia's usual hiding spots reveals nothing, and it isn't until Carlos opens the door to scan his own room that he finds his youngest. She's slipped into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. "What are you doing, sweetie? It's bedtime."
"I wanna sleep in here."
A protest dies on the tip of Carlos' tongue as he stares into Celia's tired brown eyes. "Okay," he murmurs, acquiescing without regret. Who is he to deny his sick little girl? "But just tonight."
Carlos comes over and gets into the other side of the bed, planting a kiss on Celia's forehead before turning off the light. It's absurdly early; he hasn't gone to bed at this time since he was a kid, but he's so exhausted that he doesn't care. As it is, he's half-asleep when the door opens minutes later and he hears Juanita ask, "Can I sleep in here too?"
"Yep," Celia responds before Carlos can. He doesn't contradict her. In an instant, Juanita pads across the room, and Carlos rolls closer to Celia so there's room for her.
That night is restless, but as Celia uses his arm as a replacement teddy bear and Juanita kicks him more than once, Carlos can't help but smile. This is every reason he wanted to be a father.