A/N: So. This one isn't really westallen-related at all. I mean, it is, but indirectly mostly. Still, I hope you enjoy. The next fic I'll be posting is going to be my first real multi-chap for Barry & Iris, so I hope you'll check that out once it's up. Thank-you as always for reading and reviewing.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

PROMPT: Joe's first time watching the twins –Bluedog270

"It'll be fine, Iris," Joe said cheerfully, rocking baby one in his arms whilst baby two sat in her car seat at his feet.

Iris remained unconvinced, but when she tried to open her mouth to voice her objections a third time, he interjected.

"Iris. I raised you, didn't I?"

His pitch went higher than intended, so she held herself in check with a forced smile and very subtle nod.

"Yes, dad, you did," she managed.

"And Barry!"

"Yep, me too." A wide-eyed Barry said before Iris could shut down the declaration.

"Dad…"

Joe sighed.

"They're only two weeks old. You haven't had to take care of one baby since I was that young, let alone two."

"Iris—"

"And Barry didn't come to live with us until he was eleven years old. Definitely not the same thing as two-week old infants."

Joe's sigh was paired with a look bordering on hurt.

"Iris." Barry this time.

She turned to look at him, her face still as fierce as ever but it softened a little when she saw the concern in his eyes.

"I know you're worried, but…" He cupped her elbows in his hands and pulled her closer. "He's your dad. Trust him." He glanced up to look at Joe watching their conversation. "He knows what he's doing."

Iris turned around again, gave her father a once-over and finally said, "Okay."

Barry tried to tone down his sigh of relief, but knew he'd only escaped suspicion because his wife was approaching her father, determination still tensing every inch of her body in near vibrations.

"This is their first time away from either of us," she informed him, as if he didn't know.

"I know, baby," Joe tried to calm her.

Given that she'd already agreed to let her father babysit for the two hours neither she nor Barry could be present for their children, Iris relented bullying her father further and instead tended to her children with final cooing goodbyes.

Miraculously, Barry was able to pull her away, giving Joe a nod of assurance and gratitude just before they got in their car and drove away.

Heaving a sigh, Joe looked down at baby one in his arms and then baby two on the floor. Don and Dawn, he reminded himself, though Iris's insistence that the children shouldn't be forced into gender specific colors made them hard to differentiate at this age.

"Come on guys."

He picked up the carrier and brought it inside, closing the front door behind him.

…

To his credit, by the time Barry and Iris returned to pick up their two very young children, Joe was perfectly composed. He even managed a smile.

Barry's "see, I told you he had it under control," to Iris, reassured Joe that he could hold his own when it came to little white lies. Either that or his son-in-law understood the situation for what it was and was concerned for his father-in-law's safety, should Iris jump to the correct conclusions.

But that wasn't an issue, since Iris was too consumed with getting her children back that she didn't take the time to analyze if her father was being particularly honest about how the last two hours had been spent.

Because they'd been a little like this…

After closing the door behind him and making it to the living room, Joe had come to the conclusion that he didn't know what to do next. Both children were asleep, so he didn't need to tend to them. He didn't really know if they were light or heavy sleepers, but he assumed Dawn – the baby still in her carrier was, since she hadn't woken in the time it took to get from the front step to the living room. Don was still in his arms sleeping.

Joe considered his options. Couch, upstairs bed, carrier that Barry had placed somewhere on the first floor or Joe would just keep holding him. At the time, he told himself he wasn't panicking over the fact that he had too many options to choose from, but in hindsight he'd known that had been the start.

Couch had seemed easiest, so after gently setting the carrier containing Dawn on the floor near the TV, he proceeded to lay Don very carefully down on the couch.

"There," he'd murmured, a smile twitching at his lips, "that wasn't so bad. Iris was worried for nothing." He chuckled lightly and left the room to search for the baby supplies Barry had set somewhere and neglected to tell him, but before he'd taken two steps into the hall, he heard the emerging of a tiny baby wail.

"Hey, hey, hey," he tried to soothe, coming over to the baby he'd left on the couch. Don was inconsolable. Joe rocked him and murmured what he hoped were sounds that would calm him, but it was no use. Thanking the heavens for the deep sleeper that was Dawn Allen, Joe took Don with him into the other room, continuing to rock the crying child as he searched amongst the heap of baby supplies he'd managed to find.

"Shh, shh," he repeated over and over. There were moments when that worked, but at one point, when Joe ducked down to pull out some diapers and burping cloths, he ended up reeling back, sending Don into an all out screech.

That woke up Dawn in the other room. She wasn't quite as volatile, but now Don was screaming.

Frantically, Joe searched the rest of the supplies for the bottles of milk that his daughter and son-in-law had dropped off, because that had to be a good solution. But he couldn't find them anywhere and so returned to the living room, hoping to encourage Dawn back to sleep somehow with her very upset brother in his arms.

To his great luck, when she saw him, she actually smiled and started to settle down. But when he sighed in relief, her eyes suddenly flickered over to her brother and she started crying in reaction to his crying.

Sweat appeared on Joe's brow.

He pulled out the blanket sitting on the arm of the couch and spread it over the couch. Then he laid Don on it, unbuckled Dawn from her carrier and put her in his arms and started rocking her. He went with her in the kitchen, hoping that losing sight of her brother would get her to calm down. When he reached the refrigerator a light went off in his head and he opened the door wide.

"Milk bottles," he said reverently.

He took two out and prepared them one-handed. Dawn watched with rapt attention, but when Joe turned back to the living room and she was greeted with the sight of her brother wailing, she started to cry as well.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no…"

It took the remainder of that hour to calm them both down, get them bottle fed and back to sleep. Dawn woke up once more, a little cranky because of a smelly diaper, but once that was dealt with she spent the rest of her time wrapping her little hand around Joe's pinky finger while she lay in her carrier.

Joe was on edge throughout that last fifty minutes, every second since Don had first broken out into a crying rampage if he was being honest, but he had to admit there was something very beautiful and peaceful and compelling about watching this tiny baby girl stare up into his eyes as if she'd never seen something so wonderful in her life.

Still, he was glad when his daughter and her husband arrived back on the scene. And just before they both left, Joe pulled Barry to the side.

"Ok, don't tell Iris, but—"

"I know," Barry said, and then cracked a grin.

"You do?" He looked panicked.

He laughed. "I won't tell her." He patted Joe on the back. "We're all learning, Joe."

And to that Joe smiled. "Right, yeah. Of course."

Barry winked and turned back to help Iris get their babies settled in the back seat of the car in their car seats.

Joe waved cheerfully to them, but as soon as they were gone, he went back into the house and collapsed on the couch. Breathing deeply, he slowly regained his composure.

Then his phone buzzed.

Without thinking, he answered, "Detective West."

And then he smiled, which should've felt very wrong, considering Captain Singh was informing him of another crime that had just been committed.

"I'll be right there," he said, ending the call and slinging his jacket over his shoulder.

Anything, he decided, would be easier right now than his very recent experience with grandbabies one and two.

…

A/N: Not entirely satisfied with this one, but it's the best I got for the time being. I firmly believe Joe will be an excellent babysitter. But two babies? Not really babysitting since Iris was that young? You can't tell me he would've been an expert that first time around. XD

Happy reviews are love.