Title: Blood Oath
Rating: PG-13 (some mild violence, a couple f-bombs)
Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Karen Davis, a few OCs
Pairing: Pre-Crews/Reese
Summary: Crews and Reese pick up a case that's personal for Dani and allows Charlie to learn a little about his partner's childhood.
Spoilers/Time Period: Set some time in Season One after A Civil War but before Dig A Hole.
Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.
Author's Note: Just an epilogue left, and then a sequel. Hope everyone is enjoying.
Chapter Three: A Family
Charlie Crews knocks gently on the door to the hospital room some twelve hours later. He'd tracked down and arrested the third kidnapper, who had immediately rolled on the other guy, who would survive his gunshot wound to the leg. The gunman Dani shot hadn't made it through the night, but there wasn't a cop on the scene that would've questioned Detective Reese's use of lethal force. He and Davis had been in Central Booking with the uninjured perp all night. Now, at nine a.m., he arrives at the hospital to check on the victim, and his partner.
"Come in," an unfamiliar voice answers. He double-checks the room number, but proceeds in.
"Hello," Charlie greets the exhausted woman in the bed, recognizing her immediately as Katie Ayers. His suspicions are confirmed by the bassinet tucked next to the bed and the LAPD detective passed out in the chair. "You must be Katie."
"Hi," she smiles back. "And you are?"
"Charlie Crews."
"The partner."
"She told you about me."
"Told me, whined to me. Same thing."
Crews grins. "She told you about me. How long has she been sleeping?"
"Just an hour or two, poor thing. I fell asleep after they took him to the nursery, but she went and watched over him until they brought him back an hour ago."
"Well, no one should be alone in their first hours," Charlie says, looking over to his sleeping partner. He's never seen her so, well, relaxed, even with the awkward angle of the chair. She'll probably kill him when she wakes up.
"Did you bring us something?" Katie asks.
"Oh," Charlie remembers. "Yes. Diapers for baby. A fruit basket for the new mom. I'm going to go pick up your husband at the airport in a few hours. Thought I'd drop these off and check on Reese first."
"You can wake her if you're brave enough, or I'll just pass on the message."
Charlie smiles. "I'll let her sleep. May I see your son?"
"Oh, of course."
"Does he have a name?"
"Kinda. I have to pass it by his father first."
"Not gonna let me in on the secret?"
"Nope."
Charlie peers over the side of the bassinet at the squished, splotchy newborn. He smiles. As a homicide cop, it's not often he gets an ending this happy, finishing off a case with a new life.
"Can you tell me the name of my cab driver? Dani said he was dead. That… they killed him."
"Winthrop. Winthrop Sánchez."
"And he was killed because of me."
"Because of your kidnappers."
"Because Jake can't keep clean or pay his debts." The last statement is said not accusatorially, but sadly and resignedly. "Jacob? Is he being charged with anything?"
"No, not at this time. But he needs to watch his back."
"He won't."
Charlie looks back down at Baby No Name Ayers. The only other time he's seen babies so small is when the Seybolt kids were born.
There's a dull thump, followed by a sharp breath as Reese loses her sleeping balance and jerks awake. Her hand goes straight to her service weapon, but Crews stops her.
"Whoa, Reese, there's a baby in here."
Katie laughs.
"Crews?" Dani asks groggily, shaking the sleep from her head. "You scared the hell out of me."
Charlie shrugs. Katie laughs again.
"Stop ganging up on me."
Dani stands up and stretches out her muscles. She glances down into the plastic bassinet, and Charlie watches with amazement as her face softens beautifully, the barest hints of a genuine smile beginning to show.
"He doin' okay?" she asks Katie.
"Same as the last time you asked. Sleeping. Occasionally pretending to eat."
"And you're good?" she asks gently.
"Still on the good medicine," Katie grins. "I'll be better once Jamie's here."
"His plane lands at 12:30, then I'll bring him straight here," Crews assures her.
"You got time to sit with Kate and the baby while I run an errand?" Dani asks, looking to her partner.
"Dani, you don't have to baby-sit me. There's an officer right outside the door."
Dani looks unimpressed.
"I can stay," Crews assures her. "About an hour?"
"I'll be right back."
"Go home and get some sleep, Dani," Katie begs.
"I'll be right back. Don't let Crews annoy you too much."
Dani returns as promised within the hour. She has a gift bag swinging from one hand and a giant box cradled in her arms. Charlie immediately gets up to relieve her of the box, which is bulkier than it is heavy. He breaks out into another wide smile when he sees what the box holds.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" she barks at Charlie to avoid any comment. She shoos him towards the door.
"Off to the airport. Anyone want anything while I'm out? Food? Drinks? Fruit?"
"No, Crews, we're good on fruit," Reese rolls her eyes, gesturing to the fruit basket in the corner.
"Just my husband, please, Detective," Katie says, giving him the best wave she can manage with her arms full of baby boy.
"One husband, coming up," Charlie nods.
As he's leaving, Dani begins to explain her gifts.
"I heard they won't let you leave the hospital without a car seat, and I figured, being a couple weeks away, you probably hadn't…"
"It's perfect," Katie interrupts. "Bring it over here so I can see it. Did you actually set foot in a Babies R Us?"
"Sadly, yes. The guy at the store said this is the best one they make, and it's not too heavy."
"Thank you so much, Dani."
"You're welcome," Dani shrugs, then she teases: "You said you expected nice presents, and Crews already brought you a ton of diapers."
"Above and beyond, Aunt Dani."
Reese wrinkles her nose a little at the endearment but makes no objection.
"Oh," she says suddenly, reaching for the gift bag. "This is from my mom. I told her about the baby a couple months ago, so she made this."
Katie opens the gift bag and pulls out a soft baby blanket with Farsi script embroidered along the edges.
"It's a prayer, for children. Protection from evil spirits or something. I had one just like it."
"It's beautiful, Dani. Thank you."
"It's from her."
"Well, thank her, then." She gently drapes the blanket over the newborn. "I want to talk to you about something. Sit down."
Dani does as she's told, seating herself in the chair closest to the hospital bed. Unconsciously, her hand finds the baby's foot, which has wriggled free of his swaddling. She strokes it idly.
"What's up?"
"Well, first of all, thank you for saving us."
"Katie…"
"Second of all," Katie presses on. "I want you to be this little one's godmother."
"Kate, c'mon. I don't even go to church. I'll be a terrible influence on him. Be serious."
"I am. It's not about church for me; it's about being family. And you will be a great influence on him. You're a better person than you think you are."
"And you think I'm a better person than I am."
"You're somewhere in the middle, then."
"I can't believe Jamie will be okay with this."
"He will be. You were already a candidate. Saving our lives only seals the deal. Please?"
"Why?"
"Because you've always been family. This just makes it official. Come to the baptism and you'll fulfill all religious duties in my mind."
Dani looks down at her friend's son, nestled peacefully at Katie's breast. She doesn't want to screw this kid up. But godmother could be pretty hands off, right? How much influence could she have? And it would make Katie so happy.
"Sure. Okay."
"Really?" Katie gasps in delight.
"Yeah," Dani nods.
"Oh, thank you, Dani. You know what this means, then, right?"
Dani shrugs.
"Time to hold him."
"She's okay," are Charlie Crews's first words to Corporal James Ayers as he steps off the airplane. He doesn't waste time on pleasantries, because he figures that if the situation were reversed, he wouldn't have any patience for small talk. "She delivered your son last night. Both are healthy." He flashes his badge. "My name is Detective Charlie Crews, Dani Reese's partner. I'm here to take you to see them."
Jamie Ayers is a tall, intimidating, blond soldier, with a purposeful set to his jaw. However, his green eyes reveal his worry and relief. Standing down from military attention, he wipes his hands on his green BDU pants and offers a handshake.
"Thank you, Detective. A son, you said?"
"Seven pounds, fifteen ounces, I'm told. I saw him this morning, and he was very healthy. He has a head the size of a navel orange."
"So, you're Dani's partner?"
Its odd to hear a stranger call his partner by her first name.
"We got the case by chance."
"Tell me everything."
As Charlie ushers Corporal Ayers into Katie's hospital room, he freezes in the door at the sight that greets him. Dani and Katie are chatting away, but the baby is held tenderly not in his mother's arms but in Dani's. Detective Dani Reese walks around the room rocking the newborn gently, her eyes splitting their attention between the baby and his mother.
"Jamie!" Katie exclaims. The soldier is in his wife's arms in a second, holding her close and checking her for injuries.
"You were supposed to wait until I got here," he teases affectionately.
"I know. But Dani was here, so it worked out."
As the couple reunited, Charlie finds himself standing next to Dani and a baby.
"He likes you," he ventures. All he gets is a Reese look in return.
"He should. I'm his godmother, apparently."
"Really? Reese, that is really cool…"
Another Reese look.
"Does he have a name yet?"
"Not that I know of."
"Hm, I wonder what they'll pick," he muses.
"Crews," she says, still bouncing the baby and looking increasingly comfortable doing so. "I haven't really slept in over thirty hours. Can we just be quiet for a little bit?"
Charlie nods. "Yeah. Okay, Reese."
Later, after father and son have met and Reese and Crews have gone to the cafeteria to retrieve coffee and give the family some time alone, the detectives are called back into the room.
They make small talk as the nurse does a quick check up on Baby Ayers.
"I know you two probably have to get back to the station…" Katie says as the nurse leaves.
"Crime leaves a surprising amount of paperwork," Crew concedes.
Reese rolls her eyes.
"Well, before you go, we thought you should know his name, since you saved his life and all."
"Stop it," Dani chastises.
Katie grins. "Never. You're not gonna like it."
"I don't think I get a say in it," Dani counters, arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes slip over to the baby, who is nestled in Jamie's arms.
"No, you don't. But you're still not gonna like it," Jamie speaks up.
"Aunt Dani," Katie starts.
Charlie grins and earns a glare in return.
"Your face is going to get stuck that way, Reese."
"Aunt Dani," Katie begins again. "Meet Daniel. Daniel Winthrop Ayers."
"Katie, no."
Crews is grinning wide again, but knows better than to press the issue with his thoroughly freaked out partner.
"You don't get a say in it, remember?" Katie argues, still smiling gently and not the least bit offended by the reaction she must have been expecting.
"It's different when you're naming him after me," Dani objects, hands going to her hips. Crews can see the beginnings of tears wet her eyes.
"Not really," Katie shrugs.
"You can't want to name him after me, Kate…"
"Well, it's a good thing you can't tell me what to do."
"Have they always been like this?" Crews turns and questions Jamie Ayers.
Jamie shrugs. "Since I met them. Wanna hold him?"
"Yeah," Crews grins as Dani and Katie continue to argue. Katie is winning. "I'd really like to hold him."
Jamie transfers Daniel into Charlie's arms, and Charlie grins as the baby peeks an eye open.
"Hi, Little Danny," Charlie greets the boy softly.
Dani sounds annoyed as she objects: "Crews!"
tbc in the Epilogue
