This is part one of A Justified Holiday Trilogy. It is totally separate from my other ongoing story It's Complicated. This one follows more closely with the events in S4 and the info we've heard about the upcoming S5.
The birth of his daughter has had a profound effect on Marshal Givens.
A Justified Holiday Trilogy
Part 1: A Justified Thanksgiving
He hated these things.
Gayle's house was full to bursting with thirty or so guests. As soon as he arrived, Winona handed him their daughter and disappeared into the kitchen to help her sister with the turkey, abandoning him to the living room full of strangers.
It was hell. Everyone else knew each other and there were shrieking children everywhere. All he wanted in the world was a drink of good strong Kentucky bourbon, but since they were at Gayle's, there was none to be had. He wished he'd thought to bring a flask.
He shifted Franny to his other shoulder, patted his baby girl's back and whispered in her ear. "How 'bout you and me blow this joint?"
Her huge blue eyes met his and she smiled a wet baby smile, drool dribbling down her chin onto his shirt.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'."
It was too cold to take her outside, so he wandered out of the crowded living room and down the hall, taking refuge in Peter's den. It didn't look much like a man's domain today. More like someone had bombed a Babies 'R Us. Franny's supplies dominated the room and Winona's suitcase sat open on the top of the large oak desk. Raylan kicked aside two stuffed animals and a box of diapers and sank gratefully into the leather recliner by the window.
He lay Franny on his chest and she stretched her neck up to look at him. "Hey there," he said. "You're my girl. You know that?"
"Gah!" Franny shrieked.
"Shhh," he warned. "Don't get too loud or someone'll find us and I'll have to share you again." Franny was the youngest grandchild/niece/cousin in Winona's family and they'd played pass the baby all afternoon. Right now he wanted his baby girl all to himself.
Winona's trip back to Kentucky for Thanksgiving was a last minute decision. Raylan wasn't even sure if it was her decision. Her mother had wanted to come, and from what he remembered, Madeline Sawyer usually got her way. Like mother like daughter. No wonder they butted heads. He didn't really care why Winona was here, it meant time with his daughter and there had been way too little of that in the six months since she was born.
Franny gave a sigh and closed her eyes. One thumb went into her mouth and the fingers of the other hand dug into his shirt.
"You wore out? I don't blame you. You go right ahead and take a nap. I bet there's a game on." He reached for the remote. "I'll keep the volume down so you can sleep."
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-
"There you are."
He started at the voice and looked up into another familiar pair of blue eyes. Winona smiled and held out her arms for the baby. "Dinner's almost ready. I thought I'd nurse her first so she won't fuss while we're eating."
He couldn't help but notice that while the pregnancy had left her fuller, softer around the edges, any baby weight she'd gained was gone. She looked good and he fought the urge to stare as she pushed a blanket to the side and sat on the love seat across from him, unbuttoning her blouse unselfconsciously . Franny turned her head, latching on, one hand grabbing at her mother's hair as she nursed.
"I saw she's gettin' a tooth on the bottom there," Raylan said. "It's cute."
Winona grimaced. "Not so cute when she bites. Or when she's screaming at two a.m."
"I suppose not." His eyes slid sideways to the open suitcase. He ran his tongue under his bottom lip, hesitating. "How long you stayin'?"
Winona kept her gaze on Franny and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I'm not sure. Mama's making noises about stayin' through Christmas." She looked up and rolled her eyes. "I think Gayle may be breaking out in hives just thinking about it."
Christmas with his daughter. He pushed the thought away. Not a good idea to get his hopes up.
Winona shifted the baby to the other side. "How long have you been squirreled away in here?"
It was his turn to shrug. "'Bout an hour, I guess. Your cousin...what's her name? The one with the big..."
"Valerie." Winona said. "And they aren't real."
He grinned. "Yeah, I didn't think so."
Winona slipped a sleepy Franny into the crook of her arm and buttoned up her blouse with one hand. "What about her?"
"She kept cornerin' me."
Winona raised an eyebrow. "And..."
"Franny doesn't like her."
Winona shook her head. "You don't like her. Which is fine with me." She pressed her lips together. "I don't like her much either."
"I just hope I'm not sittin' next to her at dinner."
"No, Cowboy, you're sitting next to me." She rose, shifting Franny to her hip.
"Well, okay then," he said, pushing up out of the chair. "Let's go eat some turkey."
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-
He'd suffered through dinner, but when Franny began to fuss as the plates were being cleared, he scooped up his daughter along with a piece of pie and retreated back to the den. Winona followed just in time to see him stop the baby's fussing with a sweet treat.
"Did you just give that baby whipped cream?"
Raylan yanked his finger out of Franny's mouth. She looked up at him and smacked her lips. "M-m-m-m-mmmm," she hummed, reaching out for the retreating finger.
Winona shook her head. "You did, didn't you?"
"It was just a smidgen." He swiped his finger through the cream on his slice of pumpkin pie and grinned at her. "I think she liked it." He licked the whipped cream off and took a forkful of pie.
"Of course she liked it, Raylan, that's not the point." Winona kicked her heels off and stooped to pick up a stuffed duck off the floor. She tossed it in the pack-and-play and plopped the baby down inside. "I haven't started giving her dairy yet."
"How would I know that?" He sighed. "It was just a tiny bit of whipped cream." He set the unfinished pie down.
The duck let out a strangled quack as Franny grabbed it and squeezed. Winona smiled down at her.
"What does she eat? Besides..." He poked a finger at Winona's chest.
Her gazed turned to him. "Well, so far she's had bananas, applesauce, and some cereal. She loves the bananas and applesauce. The cereal, not so much. She spit most of that out. And she tried some sweet potatoes today." The duck came sailing out of the pen landing at Winona's feet.
"You silly," she said to the baby. She made a face, squeaking the duck and Franny reached up for it while Raylan watched, a slow grin spreading across his face.
'"You're doin' a great job."
"Mama helps," Winona said. "But sometimes she gets a little overbearing."
"Your mother? Really? That's hard to believe." Raylan's eyes twinkled. "Things are safe around here now. You and Franny could always move back. If you want to get away from your mama, that is. 'Course, you've got that new job down there and all."
Winona bit her lip. "Well..." She twisted a corner of Franny's blanket. "I kinda quit."
He took a deep breath. "Why? I thought you liked it."
"It was only part time anyway," she said. She spread the blanket out over her lap and folded it, tossing it onto the end table. "It wasn't court reporting, I was just helping out in the office. And I wasn't really doing anything but shuffling papers around."
He looked down, trying to think of something he could say next that wouldn't get him into trouble.
"I told you you didn't have to go back to work yet anyway. Between the money I'm sendin' you and the insurance from Gary..."
"I'm trying to save some of that for a place of our own."
"Where at?" It came out before he could stop it.
Winona folded her hands in her lap and leveled her eyes at him.
"Have you talked to Judge Reardon lately?"
"I saw him in the elevator once or twice. He asked about you and the baby," he said. "Why?"
"He called me a couple of weeks ago."
"At your mama's?"
"On my cell phone, Raylan, the number hasn't changed."
"What did he want?"
"He said I was the best court reporter he's ever had and asked what it would take for me to come back."
"And you said?"
"You're sure you didn't talk to him?" She crossed one leg over the other and studied his face carefully.
"You think I asked Reardon to butter you up so you'd come back?" He huffed. "Have I bugged you at all about it? I've come down as much as I could to see you and Franny and I haven't said one word."
Winona shook her head. "It just seems strange, him calling out of the blue." She stood, scooping Franny up out of the pen and taking a sniff.
"Ewww! Someone is stinky!" She rubbed noses with the baby, smiling. "Someone needs her diaper changed."
Holding Franny to her with one hand, she grabbed a clean diaper from the box and headed for the hallway bathroom. Raylan followed.
"What else did he say?"
"He said if I got my realtime certification from NCRA this winter I could start back at level 3 on the salary scale. That's a lot of money. More than I was making before."
She pulled off Franny's tiny tights and undid the diaper. "Uh-oh," she said. "This is a major blow-out. Could you go grab a clean outfit out of the suitcase? Her stuff is on top."
"Probably the sweet potatoes," he chuckled. In the den, he grabbed the first thing he saw, a red dress with snowflakes on it.
Winona shook her head and laughed when he held it out to her. "That's the Christmas dress Gayle got her, Raylan. Just bring me a sleeper. There's a yellow one in there. It has feet in it."
He sifted through and found it. By the time he got back to the bathroom, Winona had Franny cleaned up and diapered. The baby kicked her legs and waved her arms when she saw her daddy.
"Here." He handed Winona the sleeper and watched her as she dressed the baby. "You sure you wanna go back to full time? Wouldn't you miss her?"
"I wouldn't be full time, at first, and I wouldn't be making that salary right away. I'd have to take some courses." She slipped past him and walked back into the office, plopping Franny back into the pack and play with the stuffed duck.
"I've checked it out. Some of them are online, which is perfect, and I can get the rest at UK."
He stood in the doorway and stared at the playpen, watching Franny try to cram the entire duck into her mouth. Unsuccessful, she settled for just the head, gumming it happily.
"I could see her a lot more often," he said.
"Yes, Raylan, that occurred to me." She was smiling now, the smile he was never sure of. Was she happy? Or did she simply find him amusing?
"So," he said, finally. "Are you gonna do it?"
"I'm thinking about it. I'd need to find a place to live and someone to watch Franny while I'm working or at school. Just part time at first, but eventually it would be more."
"Rachel's mama watches Nelson's kids over school breaks."
"Could you check with her? Or ask Rachel if she'd be willing and how much it would cost?"
"Sure, I'll talk to Rachel Monday."
"You won't forget?"
He tapped his temple. "I got it right here. I won't forget."
"Okay." Winona reached into the diaper bag. "I'm going to go warm up a bottle I pumped earlier. You wanna feed her before she goes to sleep?"
"Sure."
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-
He held Franny in the crook of his arm and set the empty bottle down beside the recliner. The baby sighed and pursed her lips as her eyes fluttered closed.
Winona leaned over his shoulder. "I know that sigh. She's out for good. You can put her on her back in the pack-and-play. She's been sleeping in there while we're here."
Raylan didn't move or look up.
"Gayle made coffee if you want some."
"Coffee sounds good," he said softly.
"Okay." She turned at the doorway. "You coming?" When he didn't respond she walked back over, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You've missed a lot of this, haven't you?"
He nodded, not taking his eyes off his sleeping daughter.
"I'm sorry."
"Not totally your fault." He tilted his head back and gave her a pensive smile.
"True," she said. "But I'm glad it's going to be different." She lifted her hand from his shoulder and ran it through his hair. "I'll get you that coffee."
"Thanks." He ran a finger over Franny's dark hair, so like his own. "Looks like you and me are gonna get to know each other better." He bent his head and kissed her forehead. "I can't wait."