"Ahh, ahh, ooh," Sawyer gurgled happily as Allison changed his diaper late one night. She was just getting ready to go to bed herself when she had heard Sawyer cry and been forced to make a detour.
"Oh really?" She smiled down at her son, encouraging his little attempts at speaking.
"Ah!" He shouted in response, kicking his legs and causing Allison to laugh.
"Hey, buddy. You gotta keep those chubby little legs still a bit longer, okay?"
Despite the fact that her request went unnoticed, Allison still managed to get Sawyer's diaper on and was just about to start rocking him back to sleep when she heard the front door open. There was a slight moment of panic due to the fact that Allison wasn't expecting any guests at this time of night, but as the familiar sounds of Steve and Danny's arguing floated up the stairs, she relaxed.
"Wanna go see Daddy?" She asked Sawyer as she headed to the stairs. He had quieted down, a good sign that he was getting sleepy again, and simply rested his head against her shoulder. "Hey, what are you guys doing here so late?" Allison asked as she walked into the living room.
"Did we wake you up?" Steve questioned, noticing her pajamas.
"No, I was just going to bed when this little one woke up," She explained, turning Sawyer so he could look at the two men.
"Is he having trouble sleeping?" Steve's voice was filled with concern as he reached forward and took his son.
"No, no, he's fine," Allison assured him. "He just needed his diaper changing."
"That's good," Steve said, using his baby voice as he looked down at Sawyer. Allison smiled before turning to Danny.
"So, not that I mind, but why the late visit?"
"Well after almost dying today, Steve here wanted to see his son," Danny explained. "And since I'm driving him home, I figured I'd come and say hi as well."
"You almost died today?" Allison asked Steve, not entirely surprised. "I thought you guys went fishing? How can something like that turn deadly?"
"You've obviously never been fishing with Steve!" Danny piped up, clearly feeling exasperated from the day's events. "He's a danger magnet! I'm pretty sure even something like bowling would turn deadly if he's around."
"I am not a danger magnet!" Steve protested as he rocked his sleepy son.
"Eh, you kind of are..." Allison argued. "As I pointed out, no one ever kidnapped me until I met you and I can't think of any other reason why a detective and a Navy Seal would almost die while fishing."
Allison couldn't hold in her giggles as she spoke, imagining the scenario in her head. Danny, however, was obviously not so amused.
"It's not funny!" He scolded her. "We were boat jacked at gun point and stranded in a sinking dingy in the middle of the ocean! And then, when Mr. Superman over there got the bright idea to tow us to shore, we attracted the attention of a giant tiger shark!"
Allison's eyes widened, apparently sharing Danny's concern when it came to sharks.
"Did you punch it in the nose?" She asked.
"Thank you!" Danny cheered. "I knew I liked this girl."
Steve, on the other hand, rolled his eyes, not as impressed with her suggestion.
"No, I did not punch it in the nose," He informed her. "I wasn't going to provoke the poor thing when it was just trying to defend its territory."
"I don't think sharks are big on defending their territory," Allison said, raising an eyebrow. "It was more likely looking for a snack and you are lucky to be alive."
"Since when are you a shark expert?" Steve asked, looking annoyed. "Or have you been watching Shark Week too?"
"No, I just did some research when I first came here. If I'm going to swim in shark infested waters, I want to be prepared." She explained. "But seriously. Why would you try and tow the dingy to shore when you're in the middle of the ocean?"
"What else was I supposed to do? Just sit there until we sunk or died from sun stroke and starvation?" Steve, who was beginning to get frustrated after dealing with Danny's similar criticism's all day, raised his voice just enough to show his displeasure. Unfortunately, it was also just enough to disturb his son, who had drifted off on his shoulder.
"I don't know, I'm still trying to figure out how a Navy Seal and a detective could get boat jacked," Allison smiled, speaking over Sawyer's cries. "Anyway, I should probably take him back up to bed or he'll be grumpy tomorrow."
"Can I do it?" Steve asked, catching Allison off guard as she moved to take Sawyer. Yes, Steve was a great father, but putting Sawyer to bed wasn't always easy and definitely not something she liked doing after a rough day.
"Sure," She nodded. She quickly leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against Sawyer's cheek before moving out of Steve's way and standing next to Danny.
They stood in silence as they watched Steve walk up the stairs, but once he was gone, Danny spoke up.
"He's gonna fight this, you know." He said quietly.
"Fight what?" Allison asked, turning to face him.
"This arrangement," He clarified. "You having Sawyer all the time."
"Steve is more than welcome to come see Sawyer whenever he wants," Allison shrugged.
"Yeah, but it's not the same." Danny insisted. "And he knows that Sawyer needs you and your..." Danny gestured to Allison's chest. "At the moment, but as soon as he's old enough, he'll fight it."
"He's only six weeks old, that's a long time from now and besides, mothers always win that stuff," Allison said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
"Not always." He reminded her. "Steve has contact with some powerful lawyers and I know you feel like you're doing what's best for the baby, but Steve can build a good case."
Allison sighed and crossed her arms.
"What's your point, Danno?"
"My point, Ally, is that custody battles are nasty," He informed her. "Look at everything me and Rachel have been through with Grace. We've had to drag each other through the mud to get what we want, but you have a chance to avoid all that if you just forgive him."
"I have forgiven him. This isn't about Steve," Allison groaned, repeating herself for what felt like the millionth time. "This is about Sawyer."
"Yeah, so you've said, but how is not being with his father protecting him in any way?"
"Because if something happens and I feel that Sawyer would be safer away from Steve, I don't want my feelings for him to get in the way," Allison explained, but Danny wasn't convinced.
"But you still have feelings for Steve, even though you aren't together," He pointed out.
Allison shrugged once again.
"Everything's still fresh, of course I still have feelings for him, but they'll go away eventually."
"You're not gonna fall out of love with the guy if you're still seeing him every day because of Sawyer."
Allison raised an eyebrow, still not sure what exactly Danny's point was.
"So you're saying that I should leave now so that I can move on?" She asked. She assumed that she had misunderstood and as Danny groaned, she knew that she had.
"You two are perfect for each other, you're both ridiculously stubborn. But no, that was not what I was saying," He informed her. "I meant that whether you slap a label on your relationship or not, your feelings for him will still be there and 'getting in the way' so you may as well suck it up and date the guy to at least save Sawyer from the custody battles."
Allison sighed and was about to reply when Steve walked back down the stairs.
"He must've been tired, he went down pretty easy tonight," He told them, oblivious to the discussion they'd just been having.
"Yeah, he's usually not too bad," Allison agreed. "I just wish he didn't wake up so many times in the night."
"Welcome to the joys of parenthood," Danny smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Steve chuckled at his partner's sarcasm as Allison stifled a yawn.
"We should go and let you get some sleep," He said, knowing it wouldn't be too long until Sawyer needed to be fed.
"Yeah, well I'm glad you're both alive and not shark food," She giggled as she walked them to the door. "And thanks for stopping by."
"It was my pleasure," Steve assured her before taking her by surprise and pulling her into a hug. "Thanks for letting me see him."
"Anytime at all," Allison smiled, pulling away. Steve smiled back before walking out the door.
Danny hung back for a moment and waited until Steve was out of earshot to turn back to Allison.
"Just think about what I said, Ally." He pleaded. "And I'm saying this as your friend too, not just Steve's partner."
"I know," Allison said quietly. "Thanks,"
Danny nodded before turning and following Steve to his car as Allison was left for the second time with plenty to think about after having a conversation with one of Steve's co-workers.