This will be the final chapter for this story. Sorry it didn't get the full run I had planned for it but I felt it was dying out before it ever really got anywhere anyways. So I'll leave you with something awkward and something adorable. Enjoy :)
Kat sat in the chair by the fireplace with her precious piece of life resting in her arms. It was the first time the crew would see James. He was now three days old and Kat swore he grew by the second.
It frightened her, the thought that one day, all too soon, James would be too big for her to hold and she would have to surrender him to the world.
Nick walked in from the kitchen with a cup of tea in hand. He placed the tea on the table beside Kat and leaned over to kiss wife, then his beloved child.
It was at that moment that the Bagshaws burst through the front door of the Brownstone and the peaceful quiet was stirred with the familiar and somehow comforting noise of the crew all speaking at once.
James nap was disturbed by the racket and he blinked his small blue eyes in confusion.
Gabrielle was the first to see Kat sitting in the corner. She let out a perfect girly squeal and clicked over to Kat's side in her designer heels.
"Oh Kitty Kat, he's got your eyes." She exclaimed. James looked up at her in wonder and reached for a lock of her long hair that dangled over him.
The others hung up their coats and shuffled over to the chair in excitement. Once everyone had seen the small creature they took their seats around the room.
"What have you decided to call him?" Hamish inquired.
"James Edward Bishop." Nick said proudly.
Hale raised an eyebrow. "Bishop? Not Bennett?"
Nick nodded. "He's a thief through and through. That much is already clear."
"Yeah," Simon broke in. "look at his hands. Those are a thief's hands. Steady as a rock and perfect for clipping alarm wires."
They all looked at James' tiny, plump fingers.
"He's sturdy looking 'n't he?" Angus commented.
"10 pounds." Kat smiled as James took hold of her pinky finger.
"10 pounds!" Hamish exclaimed. "How have you been carrying 10 pounds around all this time, Kat? You hardly weigh 10 pounds yourself." They all laughed, giddy with the love flowing throughout the room. The pure joy in Kat's face as she held her son was intoxicating.
"What's he going to call us?" Simon asked.
"Aunt and Uncles, I guess, like the twins and Mac do." Kat said.
"Ugh," Gabriella sighed. "I'm too young to be an Aunt."
Kat laughed. "You already were and Aunt, Gabs."
"Still!" She exclaimed. Then Gabrielle turned suddenly and startled Simon. "Do I have wrinkles?" She demanded of him. "Don't you dare lie to me, Simon."
Simon sputtered and coughed. "Well,- of course not-No! No you don't have wrinkles!" He finally managed to get it out.
In the hysteria Nick and Kat exchanged a look. "We actually have something to ask you, Hale."
Hale looked over at them. He had been fairly quiet so far. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Nick said. "We want you to be James' godfather, if you're willing?"
A sort of silence came over the group. They had known it wasn't exactly a conventional choice for godfather, but Kat had insisted.
"Awkward." Simon muttered.
"It's not awkward." Kat insisted.
"It's a little bit awkward." Gabrielle said as the rest of the crew nodded.
Nick ignored them. He was fully aware of the strangeness of it but he forged ahead. "Will you do it, mate?" He met eyes with Hale. "It would mean the world to us."
They both knew that 'us' meant Kat. Hale had always been there for her. While Hale still didn't like Nick he would do anything for Kat, which meant he would do anything for her son.
"Yes. Yes, of course." Hale looked to Kat. "If you really want me to."
"Thank you, Hale." The happiness in her eyes abolished any remaining feelings of doubt in Hale's mind.
Throughout the night James was passed through everyone's arms as they sat around the table and ate and laughed and simply loved. It was a rare occasion that the crew's conversations weren't dominated by an upcoming heist. That night they only talked of past jobs. The ones they had pulled together and even the ones they had pulled alone. The crew basked in the warm memories of the past as they each in turn held the future in their arms.
James demanded to be fed and changed and held as babies do. While Nick sat feeding James with his bottle Gabrielle critiqued his parenting technique. "No, you should hold him like this, or he'll take in too much air with the milk."
"No hold him like you were before." Hamish interjected. "Support his head like that and he'll be fine."
"If he holds him like that then the poor kid will be drowning." Gabrielle exclaimed.
Nick was caught in a parenting war between Gabrielle and Hamish, the only other parents in the crew. Nick looked to Kat, rolling his eyes silently and she laughed.
The evening continued as it was. Around half past eleven Hale took James out to see the stars. He held his godson with immense care, terrified that he might drop him. Kat followed Hale out onto the porch to wrap James in another blanket. The others could be heard discussing the famous Henley heist from inside.
Kat and Hale watched James as he starred up at the stars.
"He could have been ours." Hale said softly.
Seeing the look of shock of Kat's face he backpedaled. "I'm not saying I wish he was, I just- He could have been our kid, you know."
"I know." She agreed softly. Kat understood what he meant. Had things been different James would have had Hale's nose, not Nick's.
"I used to think about what life would have been like if we had stayed together. You would have married me, not Nick."
Kat sometimes thought about it too. There was no doubt in her mind she had made the right decision, but still she wondered what it would have been like.
"Sometimes I though it should have been me standing next to you. We should have ended up growing old together." Hale smiled and offered the small bundle that was James back to Kat. "But then I look at him. I see him and I know, Kat, I know things are the way they should be. This is" he motioned to James. "how your life is supposed to be."
Kat was scared he was saying goodbye. "You're supposed to be in my life too, Hale."
He smiled softly. "I said I would always love you, Kat, and I meant it." Hale kissed her forehead with a brotherly affection.
He checked his watch. "I should get going. I've got a board meeting in the morning." Hale pet the head of a sleeping James. "And it looks like its bedtime anyway."
"Bye, Hale."
"Goodnight, Kat. Tell the crew I said goodbye." He said as he retreated down the steps onto the street.
A few moments later the rest of the crew dispersed and the evening came to a close.
"Sleep?" Kat asked once everyone had left.
"Sleep." Nick agreed. They were both exhausted from the work of being new parents.
They made to go upstairs to bed but they never made it. Kat slept on the couch with James in her arms and Nick below her on the floor. Their dreams were filled with visions of each other and the overwhelming love that surrounded them like a thick cloud of smoke.
Though this series is done I am currently working on a sequel to We Are Thieves and I am beyond excited about it. I will be posting the first few chapters soon (Hopefully) so if you're interested in what happens when baby James grows up and starts his own crew you should check it out. Thanks for all your support. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these last two chapters so leave me a review. -George and Eckles