A/N – Okay, it took awhile to write, as I've got quite a few stories going simultaneously.

Disclaimer – I own very little in life. I'd like to own more, though.

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What the hell was I thinking, Hodges railed to himself, frantically digging through his normally ordered living room. Looking at the clock, seeing the time, he sped up. The exhaustion that always sat so close gave way to a small burst of energy as resolve made its way forward.

Stepping on a stack of Lego toys, "Shit!" escaped his lips and he quickly looked around. He knew the kids lay sound asleep in bed, but at the same time still felt tentative around them. He also recalled the last time he swore around Davey, he'd been two and ended up repeating the word over and over until Hodges thought his sister would kill him.

Grabbing the offending objects from the carpet, he plunked them out in a toy bin in the corner. Hodges plucked two stuffed animals off the couch and tossed them in, suddenly wondering why on earth these rare burst of adrenaline did not seem to last more than a moment.

Sitting heavily, he grabbed a pillow and simply looked around. His normally tidy home was inundated with toys everywhere. The baby's bag lay next to the door, half its contents spilled from Hodges' frantic attempt to find a pacifier.

On the coffee table lay a mess of cheerios and a sippy cup left by Davey hours earlier. Groaning, Hodges looked at the clock once again and realized Wendy would be there in thirty minutes. Huffing out a breath of determination, he scooped up the cereal and grabbed the child's cup when the doorbell rang.

"Son of a bitch," Hodges muttered under his breath, wincing when he realized yet another profanity slipped out. Quickly dumping the contents of his hands in the sink, he made it to the door rapidly to find Wendy standing on his doorstep.

Surprised to find her early, he just stood in the open doorway, his mind going the typical blank when he found himself around her.

"Are you going to let me in?" she asked, smiling in hopes of hiding her nervousness. In the last several hours, Wendy Simms had repeatedly asked herself what had possessed her to make this offer.

It wasn't until the darkness gave way to the lit interior that Wendy got a good look at Hodges, and asked, "Are you sure you're okay to go to work? You look really tired."

"Gee, thanks, Wendy," Hodges dryly replied.

Embarrassed by the state of his house, David began frantically picking up items. Standing in the middle of the living room, his arms full, he looked around and sighed. Feeling defeated, he just dropped everything in the corner of the room, and sat in an armchair. Looking to Wendy, he shook his head and smiled awkwardly.

"Please. Have a seat. I'm not normally this messy…" he trailed off.

"David," Wendy murmured, laying her hand on his arm. "It's okay. I imagine it'll take time to get used to having children here."

"Yeah," he said. "I suppose you're right."

"Hey, why don't you show me around the house," Wendy said, trying to turn his attention.

Standing, he smiled, "Sure," and began describing the layout.

"The living room is near the front door. You saw the kitchen from the living room," he explained. Leading her down the hall, he opened a bedroom door where a crib and a small bed lay on either side of the room, a small child in each. "This is where Davey and Maddie sleep," he whispered. "The diapers, changing table… all of that is over there next to the closet."

A door was wide open across the hall and he murmured, "The bathroom."

Without even thinking about it, he opened the door at the end of the hall and said, "My bedroom," and flushed, thinking, why am I showing her my bedroom. "I mean. I doubt you'll be in there. I mean…" and felt heat radiating from his face. Letting out a sigh, he steered Wendy back to the living room.

Knowing it was time to leave, Hodges reluctantly grabbed his coat and stared back down the hall. A slow lungful of air released, and he turned to Wendy with, "Davey will probably wake screaming. He likes to have his stomach rubbed. If he doesn't calm down right away – call me."

Smiling softly, he added, "Maddie will want to be fed in four to five hours. There are bottles of formula in the refrigerator."

"We'll be okay, you know," Wendy said, watching Hodges' eyes soften as he glanced back down the hall once again.

Turning to shut the front door as he left, Hodges stopped, his face a picture of earnestness, "Thanks, Wendy. I honestly don't know what I would have done tonight."

"No problem," Wendy said, the usually present smile still gracing her face. "Go to work."

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Several hours into his shift, Ecklie and Grissom stood in front of Hodges, as he started explaining the results of a high profile case. Just seconds into his smug explanation, his cell phone buzzed. Without breaking his concentration, he glanced at the caller ID, and faltered.

Flipping it open on a wave of panic, "What's wrong?" he rasped, and he turned his back on the two men.

When Ecklie opened his mouth to reprimand the Trace tech, Grissom grabbed his arm and sternly shook his head. While Hodges paced in front of his computer, Grissom listened to the one-sided conversation.

"How high?" Hodges asked. Frowning, he stopped and closed his eyes.

"Is she making whimpering noises?" he asked, and released a hiss of relief.

He hadn't had to deal with one of Maddie's ear infections before, but he remembered his sister talking about them. The baby had been born with an ear infection, and they occasionally flared up, but were easily dealt with.

"I keep the kids' medicine in the cupboard over the stove. There's some prescription medicine her doctor gave her for the chronic ear infections she gets. The dropper is in the lid. Give her two drops of it. In the linen closet next to the bathroom is a heating pad. Put it on very low and lay her ear over it," he instructed. "Call me back if she hasn't settled within fifteen minutes."

Hanging up, Hodges ran his hand over his face. As the worst of the fear abated, he winced as he suddenly remembered who stood behind him. Turning around slowly, he plastered a false smile on his face, picked up the report, and handed it to Ecklie, without meeting either man's eyes.

Huffing a bit, Ecklie marched out of Trace, irritation evident in every step.

With an eyebrow raised, Grissom began to follow, but not before saying, "Take care of what's important first. Someone once told me it's okay to be human."

Watching the clock for the rest of the shift, Hodges left precisely at the end of shift, surprised that Ecklie hadn't tracked him down to reprimand him.

Walking into the house, the first sight that greeted him was a tidy living room. The second was the lack of children bounding out to greet him. In fact, there seemed to be absolutely no noise coming from anywhere, and a bubble of alarm crept into him. Making his way to the children's room, he found it empty.

It wasn't until he turned he noticed his bedroom door slightly ajar. Pushing it open a bit more, he found them. In the middle of the bed lay Wendy, sound asleep. Davey's dark head lay over her stomach, while the baby lay bundled between pillows to prevent her rolling. A book lay open on Wendy's lap.

He don't know how long he stood there and stared, but he was afraid to even breathe. The picture the trio created was perfection in his eyes. It wasn't until Davey's head popped up and he chimed, "Uncle Dave," that Wendy's eyes began to flutter.

As Davey walked to the end of the bed and held his arms out, Hodges dropped his jacket over the chair near the door and lifted the boy.

"Oh!" Wendy exclaimed, realizing that Hodges was home. Then realizing she was in his bed, she stuttered, "The kids… Davey couldn't sleep and I needed to sit with Maddie…"

"It's okay," Hodges replied. "It's fine."

Putting Davey down, Hodges made his way over to check on Maddie, who lay still asleep.

"How's her temperature?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's lower," Wendy said, watching as he slowly stroked the baby's brown hair. "It's within normal for a child her age." As Wendy observed, she found herself admiring someone who could so easily irritate her.

Catching her stare, Hodges smiled and spied the book on her lap again. In a cosmic moment, they both reached for it, and ended up smacking their heads together.

Rubbing their foreheads, they left the book where it lay and leaned back, chuckling.

"I'll get the book," Wendy offered, plucking it up and reaching over to put it on his nightstand.

Rolling away from the baby, Wendy stood and stretched. In the awkward silence that had his eyes following her, she walked slowly out to the living room, while Hodges placed the baby in her crib.

Grabbing her jacket, Wendy sloughed it on, and picked up her purse, as he walked out of the kids' room to stand in front of her.

"You should really zip up the jacket," he said, and without thinking began to do just that for her. Feeling flustered, he shook his head and looked at his house again. An overwhelming feeling of inadequacy had him saying, "I really should pay you for watching the kids. I pay their regular babysitter."

When the smile on her face faded from genuine to false, he thought, Why do I always say stupid stuff in front of her? How hard is it to say thank you.

"It's fine, David," Wendy replied, an edge of disappointment in her voice.

Turning to leave, he reacted instinctually when he grabbed her arm. The withering look had him letting go, and he softly said, "That didn't come out the way I meant it. You've done a lot for me, and I just want to pay you back." Again, he winced and gave up, and just mumbled, "Thanks. You helped a lot, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it."

Letting out a lungful of air, she spun back and said, "I'll let you buy me breakfast."

Hearing this, his head shot up in surprise, and he smiled, "Sure. I'd love to."

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A/N – Okay… who thinks I should go for a Hodges/Wendy relationship? Hit the review button and let me know.