Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, anything you don't is mine.
A/N: a massive thanks once again for the reviews from all you lovely people, so sorry for the slight delay in posting this chapter. Hope you all like it :-) Feedback would be very much appreciated :-)
Chapter Nine – Baby's First Christening
Caleb's little white suit, complete with miniature waist jacket and bow tie was hung safely inside the protective suit hanger, the item itself was safeguarded by Danny's mom who was protecting the christening suit as though it was her life, no one was allowed to touch it unless it was absolutely necessary.
The wearer of said suit lay sleeping in his travel seat, wrapped securely beneath his fast becoming favorite cotton blue blanket, his fist gripping the edge of the blanket, should anyone try to take it from him while he slept.
The woman sat in the departures lounge next to them, cooed verbally over their four month old son, Danny half wanted to shake her, could she not see he was sleeping, he had started teething so his sleep had been affected, a tiny smile graced Caleb's sleeping face before it vanished just as quick, Danny and Lindsay couldn't help but watch him as they waited for the announcement of their flight to Montana. Lindsay had to bite back a laugh every time she caught the end of a tale Angel Messer was telling the innocent and probably non-interested passengers how she never thought she'd be a grandmother, let alone welcome a daughter in law into the fold, all thanks to her playboy son.
That had earned a few curious glances from young women and the odd man, she noticed, but she put those all to a stop as she warned them off, mindfully playing with her wedding band and glancing quickly to their son and back again. Danny was too interested in his son to notice anything different.
"He's sucking his tongue Montana" he stated out of the blue.
"It's a comfort thing" she assured him, a gust of wind as the door opened made Caleb grasp his blanket tighter in reflex.
"You know when he's older he's going to be trailing that thing behind him wherever he goes, and we're going to have to think of ways to kidnap it just to wash it" he grinned when she nodded with an eye roll.
"That's where your baseball skills come in" she reminded him with a wink as the first announcement calling travelers with children, elderly and disabled echoed through the room, surprisingly their infant remained fast asleep.
Danny had to physically remove his mother from between two students who were visiting a friend just outside Bozeman.
They were seated before the rest of the passengers filled the remaining seats; Caleb had woken on a whimper when the air stewardess had jostled his seat while she fidgeted trying to neaten her shirt. His hand gripped his forefinger tightly from his spot in the travel seat which was nestled securely between them; his mother had insisted she finish her tale to the two students who miraculously had a seat free at the end of their aisle.
A laugh from Caleb filled the air as he flicked his soft blue eyes back and forth between his parents, "What?" Danny asked with a grin, his head moving in closer as the signal for doors closing echoed through the aircraft. A giggle answered him.
"Just like your mommy" Danny mused, as he settled into his seat, preparing for take off.
The finger that remained grasped in his son's hand made it's way with Caleb's help into his mouth, Danny feigned disgust as Lindsay laughed and Caleb cooed.
"You know you're lucky I love you" he smiled as he wiped his finger dry. As soon as it was safe to do so his son was coming out of that chair and onto his knee
Returning from the bathroom, Danny smiled when he saw the back of his son's dark head of hair on Lindsay's lap, watching in amusement as Caleb tried to latch onto Lindsay through her shirt, grabbing the bag from the overhead locker he handed the bottle of baby milk over to her, Caleb sucked on the teat eagerly as soon as Lindsay teased his lips with it, his small hands grasped Lindsay's shirt, he smiled around the bottle whenever he caught sight of Danny, it had to take Lindsay stroking his cheek to make him focus on the task at hand.
Having been fed and winded, his son grinned and bounced happily on his legs, Danny's hands wrapped around his tiny waist stopped him from falling and hurting himself, a tiny hint of two bottom teeth could be seen when he smiled, yet he only ever let Lindsay place the teething gel on his gums to ease the pain, Danny was used as more of a chewing toy when the pressure got to an annoying stage. Right now his nose was being pulled from his face while his thighs were being tortured by his son's overactive converse clad feet.
"Why don't you bounce a little harder Kiddo? Daddy can't quite feel you just yet" he winced sarcastically with a smile, before settling him down on his knee to calm him down before they had to wrestle him back into his chair.
Touching down in Montana, Caleb fussed noisily as they moved quickly through the throng of people crowding Gallatin County Airport, moving off to the side out of the way, he lifted Caleb from his chair and cradled him tightly in one arm with a practiced ease, handing the now empty chair to his mother he relieved Lindsay off one of the cases.
As soon as they stepped outside they were greeted by a loud shriek as Lindsay's mother hurried towards them, hugging her daughter she looked around for her baby grandson, seeing him sleeping in Danny's arms she simply admired from a distance signaling for her sons to get the cases loaded into the car
Strapping him straight into his car seat Danny and Lindsay donned either side of him protectively.
It was a struggle to keep Caleb clean on a normal day, with his tendency to dribble his milk and to suck on baby biscuits his clothing quickly grew dirty, trust it to them to pick out a white christening suit, with both sets of grandparents grabbing camera's, recorders and spare batteries, Danny and Lindsay gathered their son's clothing ready to wash and change him.
With Lindsay washing his hands and face clean from oatmeal, Danny grabbed the vest, suit and shoes from the closet where it had been hung. As soon as Caleb was left alone on the bed he rolled over onto his stomach to watch his parents moving around the room with purpose.
Not getting the attention he craved he cooed to make sure they were aware of him, sure enough his mother lifted him onto her lap and replaced his blue vest with a white one, changing his diaper before she pressed the studs together to secure it in place.
One fully dressed, she covered his white clothing with one her t-shirts to stop his dribbling and rested him on the bed while she and Danny finished getting ready.
Standing for photographs before they left for the church, Danny wrapped his arm around a nervous Lindsay's waist; she hadn't been in that church since her friends had been buried almost twenty years previous. Heading off ahead of everyone else they sat on the bench across the street "You going to be OK?" Danny asked after a few moments of silence, him watching her fiddle with Caleb's white bow tie and waist coat.
"I will be" she smiled weakly "I need to do this" she continued, staring across the street at the large white building "I'd feel worse if Catums was still out there"
"I'll be right there with you Lindsay" Danny reminded her "And so will this little guy" he smiled at the infant in her arms "What do you say we go let the big guy up there know about our little guy down here before he decides to spit up on himself"
Taking her hand in his once she stood they headed inside to meet the Pastor who would be running their service, a message from Stella informed them that the rest of the crime lab had arrived in town and were changing for the ceremony.
Waiting on the front pew for the church to fill, and for Caleb's godparents, Stella and Flack along with Lindsay's life long friend Katie Danny and Lindsay fidgeted slightly, Caleb started to fuss at the noises echoing through the small church, finally at what seemed like an hour the pastor was calling them forward to the font stood in the middle of the front of the church, with the godparents joining them.
Once all five adults had declared publicly that they agreed to turn to the church instead of sinful acts the priest lifted Caleb from Danny's protective embrace and cradled the whimpering infant in his own arms, both Lindsay and Danny had to stifle a giggle as Caleb grasped tightly at the Father's white beard.
Releasing his beard from his tiny hands, the father drew an invisible cross onto his forehead "Christ claims you for his own. Receive the sign of his cross. Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified" he said before moving closer to the font and placing two fingers into the holy water. "May God, who has received you by baptism into his Church, pour upon you the riches of his grace, that within the company of Christ's pilgrim people you may daily be renewed by his anointing Spirit, and come to the inheritance of the saints in glory" finishing off with the rest of the congregation welcoming the four month old into the church, Danny relieved the priest off his fussy son, tiny strands of beard hair were untangled from around his fingers by Lindsay before they headed for home to change Caleb and to feed him.
"How do you feel now?" Danny asked once they were alone in their guest bedroom.
Lindsay smiled at hugged the two men in her life "Kelly grabbed his beard when she was christened" she giggled and pulled gently at Caleb's cheeks.
A/N: So i would love to know what you all think... :-)
