Chapter 4
Hope Ellis-Caffrey was a big hit at Sterling Bosch. She sat in on her mom's staff meeting, a perfect little angel as everyone came over to say hi and tell her what a cutie she was. Sara beamed nearby; she was proud of her kids and the way they behaved. It took a lot of work but she and Neal took pride in their daughter being polite and well-mannered; after all, it sometimes went against nature considering how outspoken she was, a trait she'd most certainly inherited from her mom.
'Now that everyone's here, I think we'll get started' Sara said as everyone took a seat
Hope sat to her mom's right with her backpack on the conference room table and she reached in to grab for a pencil and her sketching pad. She was a budding artist; she spent hours in the studio at home with her dad as he nurtured her talent, watching her continually improve. She had the same fire in her belly he'd always had but, unlike him, she had the advantage of having someone watching over her and guiding her as time went on.
She looked around the room at the many faces and she got busy sketching some of the people around her, to everyone's delight as Sara struggled with keeping everyone's attention on the topic at hand. The offices would be running on a skeleton staff for the coming week and the newly appointed team leader wanted to make sure there were no loose ends before most of her team took a well-deserved break for the holidays. Sara walked them through the main points and was just about to wrap up when there was a decisive knock at the conference room door.
Everyone turned to see the head honcho walk in, carrying a bunch of envelopes in his hand.
'Mr. Bosch' Sara said, not so surprised to see him 'What a nice surprise'
Hope looked up at the man and felt her stomach lurch; that toast she ate for breakfast had been churning around in her belly since they'd left White Plains. Sara stood to welcome the newcomer and gave up her chair at the head of the table, moving over to where her daughter sat, urging her to get up and share her seat. Hope settled on her mom's lap as the boss man sat briefly, placing the stack of envelopes on the table in front of him.
'Good morning, everyone' he said 'Sorry to interrupt your meeting. I see we have a new investigator on the team' he added as he looked over at Hope
Sara had run her daughter's visit by his office that morning just out of courtesy and the man seemed to know who the child was as he awkwardly smiled at her, obviously not used to dealing with children.
Hope was getting dizzy, her head spinning and her stomach gurgling as she watched the proceedings.
'I just wanted to come by and wish you all Happy Holidays' he continued as he addressed the group '... and of course, Santa was by this morning and left a little something for each of you' he added as everyone chuckled politely at his gauche attempt at humor
He pointed to the envelopes on the table and Sara could see her name on the top one; the yearly Christmas bonus would be most welcome especially with all those extra expenses around this time of year. Sara felt Hope wilting in her arms and she held on to her daughter a little tighter as Winston Bosch rose to leave.
Suddenly, Hope made a most unexpected sound and Sara watched in horror as her daughter began to heave, once, twice... and before she could do anything, Hope was emptying the contents of her stomach onto the conference room table or more precisely directly on the stack of envelopes Sara's boss had just placed there.
Mr. Bosch watched in horror and everyone in the room gasped, some of the staff actually covering their mouths as they suffered through their own gag reflexes.
Hope looked up at her mom, tears running down her face.
'I don't feel well, Mommy' she managed to say
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'So, you're telling me you came all the way down here to hand in a report that you forgot at home?' Peter asked as Neal walked - or rather bounced - around the conference room of the White Collar Unit with a crying Liam curled up against his chest in a snuggly
'Peter, I can give you the highlights' Neal said apologetically 'I'll just e-mail you the report later'
Peter's eyes moved from Neal's distressed face to his screaming nephew and he got up to stand in front of his ex CI.
'Here, why don't we get him out of that thing' he said as he struggled to figure out how the damn contraption was attached to Neal's body
Neal looked down at his son, whispering sweet nothings as he pulled him out of the snuggly, placing him so he could look at his beloved uncle. Liam relaxed a little and the screaming subsided and morphed into a few breathless sobs as Peter put out his arms to take him from his dad. Truth be told, Neal was looking pretty ragged and the least Peter could do was give him a bit of a break, after all, Neal has been bouncing around with a crying infant in his arms for the past half hour.
'Look, why don't you go down and have a cup of coffee with Jones and Diana. I'll take him off your hands for a few minutes. You look like you could use a break' Peter said sympathetically
Neal must have looked really relieved because Peter suddenly noticed a smile appear on Neal's face where a frown had been just a moment ago.
'Are you sure? He's teething and he's feeling pretty miserable' Neal said as he reluctantly handed his son over to Peter
'We'll be fine' Peter said in a baby voice as Liam began to calm down in response to the attention he was getting 'Won't we, Liam?'
'I'll only be a few minutes. I'm sure he'll be okay but, just in case, you've got everything you need in that diaper bag over there' Neal said as he pointed and glanced nervously at Peter
'Stop worrying, Neal. I catch criminals for a living; I'm sure I can handle a baby for a few minutes' he said, dismissing Neal's apparent hesitation
Peter was an amazing uncle and godfather to Hope. He doted on her constantly, spoiling her rotten, taking her out places, having her over to their place in Brooklyn almost every weekend and the two of them were firmly joined at the hip - had been since she was a baby. Although Peter could certainly not be described as a 'kid person', the bond between him and Hope was undeniable and there was nothing she could possibly do that he couldn't or wouldn't forgive – including that time she accidentally shattered his cherished baseball trophy by kicking a soccer ball through the air in the Burke living room.
But Hope was almost six years old and dealing with a child that age was quite different from a whiny baby and Neal gave Peter one last hesitant glance before turning to leave.
'Get out of here, Caffrey. That's an order!' Peter said as he returned his gaze to the baby who was momentarily calm in his arms
Neal stepped out and saw Jones and Diana lurking nearby.
'Wow, wish I had a camera handy' Diana said as Jones pulled out his phone and aimed it up towards Peter's office
'Always be ready' he said, under his breath as he checked out the photograph he'd just taken and showed it to Neal
'That's one for the books, for sure' Neal agreed
'Hey, Caffrey, they've opened a fancy coffee shop on the 12th floor. Come on, I'll buy you a latte' Diana said as she took his arm and pulled him away from where he stood, eyes glued towards Peter's office
'Come on' she coaxed 'He'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen?'
Neal glanced back one last time at his son who seemed to be smiling at his uncle Peter and he turned away, tempted by the allure of a great cup of coffee.
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'I'm sorry Mommy' Hope cried as Sara placed her in the back seat of the car
The mess in the conference room had been cleaned up and luckily, the only envelope that had suffered any damage was the one addressed to Sara Ellis.
'It's okay, honey. Stop saying that. I know you didn't do it on purpose' Sara said, her voice calm
Immediately following the incident, her reaction had been less than understanding and her usual acerbic comments had slipped from her lips before she could censor herself, something she was bitterly regretting now that she saw the state of her beloved daughter.
'But that man looked mad' Hope whined
'You let me worry about that man, sweetie' Sara said as she kissed her forehead and finally took her place behind the wheel
'Now, let's get home, okay? And if you want, you can lie down in our bed or you can watch television on the couch' Sara said, her voice sweet and loving
She glanced in the rear view mirror to check on her daughter and was surprised to find that she was already sound asleep.
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Neal checked his watch; they'd been gone for over thirty minutes and as much as he was enjoying the company of adults for a change, he was well aware that Liam's good mood probably hadn't lasted more than a few minutes.
Diana saw the worried look in his eyes and surmised what he was thinking.
'Who are you worried about, Peter or Liam?' she asked
'Both, actually' he admitted with his patented smile 'Liam's been miserable since yesterday. He's teething and...'
He looked up at Diana then back at Jones – whatever he'd said had elicited a furtive exchange of glances between the two of them and despite his immediate concern for what might be happening a few floors above them, he couldn't help but react.
'So... what's going on? What is it you're not telling me?' he asked as he looked from one to the other
Diana piped up, her face glowing, unable to contain herself any longer.
'I'm pregnant!' she announced with a wide grin
'What?' Neal said as he rose to hug his friend
She and Christie had been talking about going the artificial insemination route for awhile but he hadn't realized that they'd actually embarked on the procedure.
'That's amazing! I'm so happy for you guys' Neal gushed as Jones sat by, watching with a smile on his face
'Well, we've been talking about it forever and we finally took the plunge' she explained 'I just found out last week so...' she let her voice trail
'You and Christie are going to be great parents' Neal said '... and you know you can always come to me for advice, right?'
'Well, it's all very exciting but I have to say, it's also very scary' she admitted
'I hear you. I've been there' Neal said before adding with a dreamy look in his eyes '...but believe me, it's the most wonderful thing in the world'
Diana smiled a radiant smile, wider than Neal had ever seen and he stood once again to give her another hug.
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The cries could be heard even before the elevator door opened on the 21st floor and Neal exchanged worried glances with both Jones and Diana before he stepped off and hurriedly made his way back to his ex-boss' office. He noticed a few eyes being rolled as he hurried by; he had a feeling the crying might have been going on for more than a few minutes. Sounded like Peter had bitten off more than he could chew but Neal wasn't prepared for what he saw as he reached the short staircase and glanced into the conference room.
There stood Peter holding Liam at arms' length with a look of terror on his face while the baby wailed, a tell-tale noxious odor emanating from the room.
'Peter! What happened?' he asked, over the loud wails
'I think he had a... a bowel movement' Peter answered between unsteady gasps of air
Neal could see the telltale brown colored stain spreading on Liam's rear end, seeping through his diaper and the now not so cute overalls. He quickly grabbed for a receiving blanket from Liam's diaper bag before rescuing Peter from the awkward situation.
'Oh, no!' he said as he placed the blanket over Liam's toosh so he could safely take him from Peter. The word 'diarrhea' flashed in his mind, another in that long list of symptoms he'd read the night before on his computer screen.
Peter took a step back as Neal took over, a look of relief in the older man's eyes.
'I'll be back. I just... need to step into my office for a minute' he said, his voice unsteady as he scurried into his office, closing the door between the two rooms
Despite the urgency of the situation, Neal decided that comforting Liam was the first order of business although he was having difficulty breathing through his nose. He closed the door to the conference room in an attempt to muffle the loud wailing which could be heard echoing throughout the whole office and he began the job of calming down his frantic son.
After a few moments of holding him close and talking softly to him, Liam's cries ultimately began to diminish as he fought to catch his breath between sobs, an obvious sign that he was slowing down. Neal soldiered on, waiting for his son to be calm enough before he lay him down to see to the messy job of changing his diaper – and in this case, his clothes.
'I know baby, I know. It's no fun is it?' Neal said soothingly as he walked over and began to take the items he'd need out of the diaper bag.
He got to work and although it took a few moments to get focussed, he began to clean up the mess right there on the very conference room table where they had discussed cases countless times before. He removed the soiled clothes and offending diaper and carefully placed everything in a plastic bag while he expertly washed Liam's little bum and began restoring order to the chaotic situation, all the while talking calmly to his son who was now smiling up at his dad.
The cries having finally diminished, the door separating Peter's office and the conference room opened tentatively and Peter peeked in, armed with a can of air freshener which he seemed to be holding up as a weapon and the senior agent took a few hesitant steps into the room.
'Why Agent Burke' Neal said wryly as he looked up 'you decided to return to the scene of the crime'
Over the years, Neal had seen Peter in dozens of life threatening situations: standing up to dangerous criminals and even facing down the barrel of a gun on a few occasions. However, throughout the years, he'd never seen the agent back down from danger and yet, a poopy diaper had managed to get the better of him, sending him scurrying from the room like a frightened little girl.
'I never knew you could run so fast, Peter!' Neal said sarcastically as he lifted a now clean and happy Liam into his arms
Peter looked back, embarrassed that he'd behaved in such a cowardly manner.
They were both oblivious to Jones, pointing his phone in their direction. This stuff was priceless and the evidence he was capturing on film could be used in oh so many situations down the line, he thought devilishly as he clicked away.
'Oh, you're bad!' Diana said over his shoulder as Jones looked back and grinned.
TBC