Gallagher Girls Ship Month

Prompt: Catherine/Joe

He didn't know why he answered the phone call in the first place, even when he saw the name flashing on his phone screen. He didn't know why he greeted her with a hello instead of angry words. He didn't know why he didn't hang up on her straight away. He didn't know why he had agreed to meet with her in a small pub on a cold January night.

And he sure as hell didn't know why he'd actually gone through with this. But then again, Joe Solomon was a man of his word.

He heard her light, catty footsteps, and didn't blink an eye when the stunning red head took a seat next to him. He simply took another sip of his 007.

"Already hitting the hard liquor, Joe," she teased as a greeting, and he just turned to face her.

"What did you want Catherine?" he asked, bluntly. "I don't have all day."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to see the man who's in love with you, right?" she pouted, frowning slightly.

He didn't counter that, didn't say that it wasn't true, because, despite whatever he told other people, despite Catherine's ways, Joseph Solomon was in love with Catherine Goode.

And he knew it.

"How's Zach?" he turned to her, suddenly remembering the baby she'd had just two months prior. Catherine Goode didn't have a single maternal bone in her body, so it was any wonder that kid was still alive.

She waved her hand casually. "He's fine. He's so big already, though. How's Rachel?" she asked, referring to his best friends' wife, who was heavily pregnant with a baby girl.

"She's due next month," he answered, taking another sip from his drink.

Catherine followed his lead, waving the bartender over, and asking for a sex on the beach.

"You know," she said, smirking, "I wouldn't mind sex on the beach with you."

"Catherine it's January."

"That hasn't stopped you before. Remember when you made love to me in Budapest?" she said cattily, blinking her eyes seductively at him.

"You just had a baby."

"So? Minor things like that don't bother me."

"Who did you leave Zach with?"

She shrugged. "He's asleep. Didn't think he'd be up again. I scared him into sleeping to my schedule."

He shook his head. "You're horrible."

"You love that about me, and you know it," she smirked again, and then reached up to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"If you make love to me, we can go back to my apartment so you don't fret over Zachary every five seconds," she said, kissing down his neck.

He hadn't had a good fuck in a while, and it would be nice to check up on her baby to make sure he was okay.

Fine, he grumbled, standing up, grabbing her from around the waist, dragging her out of the club. They walked to his car, and drove to Catherine's temporary apartment.

They were in the elevator when he leaned down to kiss her. She started kissing him back heavily, and he lifted her by the waist, pressing her against the wall.

He had half her shirt unbuttoned when they reached her floor, and they hastily stepped into her apartment. He stopped kissing her, then walked over to the crib, where there was a tiny baby, with dark brown hair tossing in his crib.

He wrinkled his nose. "Catherine, this is no place for a baby."

"Well, he better get used to it, because that's all he's getting."

"You're terrible."

"Thanks, love."

He picked up the baby then held it gently. Zach woke up, letting out a cry. Catherine rolled her eyes, while Joe rocked him until he quieted him down.

Then he got a good look at the baby. His eyes were open, and in the dim light of the apartment, he could see piercing green eyes, the same as Catherine's. That was all he had in resemblance to her, except his lips, from what Joe could see. Other than that he looked like whomever his father was.

"Who's the baby daddy?"

She shrugged again. "Who knows. These days I fuck so many guys it's hard to tell. I've narrowed it down to either this one dude who lives on 116th street, who's sister I killed, or this agent at MI6."

He just rolled his eyes at her, but then went back to rocking Zach, who was twisting in his arms, his tiny body curling up against Joe's. "You know, you'd made a good father," commented Catherine softly.

"Are you sure he isn't mine?"

"Can't be. You have blond hair, I have red hair, that doesn't make brown hair," she shrugged again.

He put Zach back in the crib then turned to Catherine, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Let's just finish what we started in the elevator."