(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters)
Sorry, it's not Thursday, but if it helps I've been delayed because I've started new stories which I'll be releasing soon. As well as promised stories like 'Arrow through my heart.'
Thank you to PAGET, Jesuslover123, fishtrek, AZCatmom, Yeegaber, Zelofheda-B, sherryola, Alice, (no, she won't be fake dying again, I promise) and Daisyangel, for all your wonderful reviews. Please keep reviewing.
We'll pick up where we left off.
Emily let Dave unclamp Spencer's car seat. She collected the other things from around her feet and hurried ahead to unlock the door, holding it open for Dave, who was trying to keep his eyes ahead of him instead of down.
Dave carefully placed the carrier on the kitchen counter and smiled at the sleeping baby.
"Poor guy, no wonder you're so tired," he whispered, pressing the red button on the straps and releasing the boy. He gently pulled the tiny arms from the straps and reached in to pull out the baby.
Emily watched from the other side of the counter, her hand halfway into the bag of baby things. She smiled when Dave put a hand protectively behind the baby's head.
They were both jolted from their calm states by the sound of clumsy paws bounding across tiles. Mudgie burst in, his whole body rocking with the force of his tail. He saw Dave and changed directions, his nails scraping on the floor. Dave turned to Emily with a frantic expression.
"Take Spencer, I'll take Mudge out," he said, hurriedly, but with care, handing Spencer over to Emily who quickly positioned her arms.
She just stared at the baby who started to squirm dangerously in Emily's flimsy hold.
"Oh crap," she muttered when Spencer opened his eyes and his mouth. She struggled to lift the boy but managed it after a moment while Dave pulled Mudgie away by his collar as he sniffed the air excitedly.
Emily held the baby out in front of her and looked him up and down. Spencer slumped in her arms and blinked back, kicking his legs slowly. "You're still cute then," Emily mumbled with a sigh. Spencer whined a little so Emily put him up to her shoulder and patted his back. He was so small and warm and Emily felt her cheek press to the back of his head.
"We should introduce them."
Emily flicked her eyes up at Dave who was stood close by with a much calmer Mudgie.
"Who?"
Dave pointed to Mudgie. "Spencer and Mudgie. Mudge needs to meet our kiddo since they're going to be living together," he said. Emily's hand tightened on the back of Spencer's neck.
"He could hurt Spencer," she said.
Dave smiled and shook his head. "This old fool? Wouldn't hurt a fly. He gets on with Sergio."
"Spencer's a baby," retorted Emily.
"I read that this is something you're meant to do. I'll hold Mudgie's collar. You just have to kneel and show Spencer to him."
Emily looked at the baby against her shoulder. He was moving a little in his sleep, his little face nudging at her top. She closed her eyes for a moment before slowly kneeling, until her knees touched the floor. Mudgie started wagging his tail harder against Rossi's leg, his bulbous eyes flicking up at his owner then back at Emily.
"Easy, boy. You have to be gentle with him, he's Il mio piccolino," said Dave as he walked toward Emily. He stopped at sniffing distance which is what Mudgie's nose was eagerly attempting. Emily pulled back a little when the wet nose tickled Spencer's cheek and he scrunched his face up. But Mudgie was also quick to back up. He sneezed, his head turned away, a sign that he knew to be careful. His nails dig into the floor as he stepped closer and sniffed Spencer again.
Dave exchanged a grin when Mudgie's tail began to thump again.
"See," Dave said. "He loves the kid!"
Emily smirked and then smiled at the gentle sniffs Mudgie was laying on her son.
That was until his tongue brushed Spencer's face and Spencer whined and pressed his face closer to Emily's top.
Emily jerked back and got to her feet. "Introductions are done," she muttered, offering the baby back to Dave who released the dog's collar and let him circle their legs.
"You or the dog?" Dave retorted, gently cradling Spencer back in his arms. Emily glowered at the older man.
She turned back toward the kitchen, patting Mudgie who was sniffing her legs with his nose to further investigate Spencer's smell.
"I'm joking."
Emily ignored Dave and reached back into the bag on the counter. She didn't get much further into the bag when Sergio hopped into her space. She sighed as he started to rub his face on her arms.
"Not now, Sergio. I'll feed you when we're done."
Sergio let out a disgruntled mewl when Emily bypassed his meat pouches. He hurried along the counter after her, purrs vibrating his body and echoing his burning need for attention.
Emily turned to put away one of the baby bottles they'd been given only to turn right into Dave who was still holding Spencer, a sheepish smile on his face.
"What now?" Emily glanced at Spencer who was squinting up at Dave, his fingers playing with one another. She looked at Dave who sidestepped toward the counter. Sergio saw him and jumped over the bag to get to him, knowing his master's mate was too soft to ignore his pleas for food.
"Introductions?" Dave asked, turning slightly so Sergio could see the baby.
Emily shook her head and went to grab Sergio. "No, no, no. Sergio will not approve."
Dave moved in front of her so she couldn't grab the cat who had sat down, his tongue poking around his lips as he stared at Spencer. The cat's ears quirked back and forth with the small sounds Spencer was making as the baby pressed his face searchingly into Dave's shirt.
"Cats are protective. She'll love Spencer."
"'He' Dave."
"Hm?"
Emily shook her head and danced around Dave to grab Sergio. "Sergio's a boy, Jesus Christ, you know that." The cat leaned out of Emily's arms and looked at the baby in Dave's. He blinked slowly and strained his head, closing his eyes as he purred with content.
"You can't say that around the bambino, Em," Dave retorted.
"Like he understands." Emily placed Sergio on the floor and the cat trotted off, forgetting about his hunger.
Dave smirked. "Kids pick up on a lot."
"Not ones that are barely three months old."
Dave chuckled to himself and leaned into Emily with a smirk on his face. "Alright, but when he starts to repeat us we should stop."
He gave her a quick. Emily smiled wearily when Dave's words sunk into her mind. Dave wanted to keep the boy...
"I'll take him to have a nap. When do we have to feed him?"
"Um..." Emily quickly pulled over the baby bag and grabbed another bottle from inside. She held it out in front of her with a foggy expression.
Dave waved her away. "We'll work it out. He'll probably tell us anyway. Speaking of which, I need to talk to you."
"Can't wait," Emily mumbled as she stared at the bottle.
Dave came back a little later while Emily was moving things around in the lounge. The bassinet, that they'd moved into their room, had left a gap and Emily was trying to fill it with the stupid swing Dave had bought, which had too many sets of screws. At least in Emily's opinion.
She heard Dave coming and dropped a random pole from the kit, collapsing onto the couch as Dave walked around it.
"I've been thinking about something," Dave said.
"What's that?"
"Well..." Dave rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I read that... women...mothers, khm." Dave sat down on the couch and smiled at Emily. She frowned when his eyes drifted down a little.
"You're acting strange, David," she said. Dave's eyes flew back to her face and he smiled awkwardly, his cheeks growing red.
"You can... you still produce milk!" he blurted.
Emily blinked at him as the implications of what he said slowly sunk in. "You want me to-"
"It's just an idea!"
"But I'm not- I'm not th-the type, Dave," Emily said.
"You could be, you just have to give it a try."
Emily raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "And how do you know I can even... do it?"
"You still can produce milk. I read that even after... months. A-and you did in the first week, you wore those pads to-"
Emily held a hand up for him to stop.
"I'm not sure," she muttered. Dave smiled sympathetically and took her hand.
"I know, and I know you're confused about how to feel, but it's motherly instincts, just having Spencer around will have caused lactation."
"Gross, please stop talking!" Emily rubbed her thumb and finger into her creased brow.
"Okay. I won't mention anything more but I got you something," Dave said, getting heavily off the couch.
"Oh, yea?" Emily replied sarcastically. Dave grinned and hurried toward the hall.
"Come on," he whispered. Emily sighed but got up and followed quietly down the hall. They went to their room which they'd been sharing for three weeks.
Emily glanced at the bassinet, just catching sight of Spencer's green blanket inside.
Dave went to the chest of draws and pulled something from it, hiding it behind his back as he smiled at Emily.
Emily looked up with a bored expression. That was until Dave pulled the thing out from behind him. "What...?"
"It's a breast pump-"
"Dave!"
Dave looked down at the pump and his smirk fell a little. Emily was smiling herself but in a 'you can't be serious' way.
"What do you... what are you thinking?" Dave asked quietly, holding the stupid contraption awkwardly. Emily rolled her eyes but before she could answer Spencer made an unhappy squeal from his bassinet. Emily went to him, pulling the boy, in his star-patterned onesie, up against her shoulder and putting a hand behind his head.
She felt his curious little fingers pinch her top and yank it in his overexcited little gestures that Emily found herself in love with. It was like he couldn't hide any emotions and he expressed them with overzealous hand movements which seemed to shock even him.
Emily smiled at the thought and glanced at Dave who had hidden the pump behind his back. She shook her head. "I'm still getting used to this," she said, motioning to Spencer who had his hands wrapped in her top. "I don't feel like doing that. I know you want to do the whole... shebang, but I'm... happy with this."
The day passed by much the same. Emily started getting into a better rhythm, she took Spencer from Dave easily and rocked until the boy's eyes fell shut. She woke the next morning feeling excited, despite the wails coming from Dave's side of the bed.
They found themselves on the couch that afternoon, with Spencer lay in Dave's lap, watching him curiously.
Dave had his phone in one hand as he scanned an online article. He opened his mouth and Emily prepared herself for whatever 'parenting advice' he was about to divulge.
"It says here that breastmilk is the best medicine after the baby has been ill, oh and-"
"Dave! I said last night... I'd give it a try, okay. You can get off that 'mums net blog' or whatever."
"It's 'parenting first cry' actually," Dave grumbled and Emily was tempted to grab a couch cushion and lob it at her partner's head.
Dave sat back, too engrossed to notice Emily's annoyance. "It says we should book an appointment with a specialist?" He looked up with a questioning expression and Emily sighed and leaned her head back.
"Whatever."
Dave turned off his phone and leaned down to kiss Spencer.
Emily glanced at them and smiled. She suddenly had the urge to take the boy and press kisses to his face too. Her eyes moved along and she saw the mess of the swing still on the floor.
She huffed loudly and Dave looked her way. "That swing is never going to get done."
Dave followed her gaze and shook his head.
"Here," he said, offering Spencer to her. He lifted him under his arms and the baby looked disgruntled to have the rest of his body hanging in the air. He let out a quiet wail as Emily took him and laid him in her lap.
Dave got to his knees and picked through the swing parts. While he fiddled Emily made funny faces at Spencer who was kicking his feet out eagerly. She stopped when Dave turned back.
"There's a pack of screws missing," he said.
"What? There's at least ten packs there!"
"Three actually."
"No way."
Dave laughed. "The other packs are the smaller parts, and these, they're spares, but we're missing the main ones."
Emily shifted Spencer a little and leaned toward Dave.
"What are you going to do?"
Dave shrugged, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna have to go back to the store," he said, sighing as he pulled out the instructions.
"Now?"
"If you want it done..."
Emily looked at the swing and then down at Spencer. The baby had his hands around his cat, pinching the stuffed cat's ears. Emily walked the cat up the boy's chest and put its nose against Spencer's cheek, making a kiss sound. She looked back at Dave who was waiting.
"Alright," she said. "We'll be okay here.
Dave got up, grabbed his keys and went out to get the missing screws. He was happy to do it especially since he wanted Emily to bond with Spencer. He knew she wanted to, badly, but she was stopping herself and he thought maybe he was part of the problem.
When Dave left, Emily looked at the squirming baby in her lap.
"You hungry, handsome?" she whispered. Spencer stuck his fist up to his mouth and started to suck on it. Emily laughed and carefully picked him up from his soft spot on her thighs.
"Alright," she muttered, slinging a blanket from the arm of the couch over her other shoulder and holding Spencer's head to her shoulder.
"Let's give this a go, sweetheart."
"Emily?!"
Dave looked over at the couch. It was bare save for Spencer's black cat but his blanket was gone.
"Em!"
Dave went down the hall and paused outside his bedroom door. It was pulled to, just a crack keeping him at bay.
He gently pushed the door open and peered inside. His face was lit slowly as he opened the door by a soft yellow light. His lamp had been put on the lowest setting.
On the bed sat Emily. She had her legs folded in on herself, the sheets nesting around her and the glow of the lamp creating a saintly ambiance. She looked up when Dave's shadow entered before him. She smiled softly and dropped her head down to the baby in her arms. She had him up against her chest, resting on a pillow Dave had gotten and one he thought he'd be taking back. Her arm was wrapped around the child's body, keeping him close and Dave could hear the soft little huffs of the baby. He was playing with the raised hem of Emily's shirt as she fed him.
"I thought..." Dave whispered, stopping himself when Spencer shifted, nuzzling closer to Emily. She made sure he was still latched before motioning Dave over. He obeyed like a puppy, coming up to the side of the bed as Emily gently caressed their baby's cheek. Dave looked down at his son. His eyes were opening and closing slowly, staying closed longer than a blink and opening to look up at Emily as he suckled.
"I thought I should give it a go," Emily whispered back, not looking up at Dave as her fingers moved over the baby's hairline. "He took twenty-five minutes to latch." Emily winced at the reminder and Dave placed a hand on her back.
"I shouldn't have been gone so long," Dave said as he too leaned down and stroked Spencer's cheek. The baby shut his eyes, opening one to look at Dave then at Emily as he scrunched his finger lovingly into her skin. He closed his eyes again and kept them closed.
"Tuckered out," Dave chuckled as he shuffled onto the bed. Emily felt herself leaning into him as their son continued to nurse quietly.
"He was hungry. I think we both learned a few things in the last hour," Emily said. She bent over carefully, lifting Spencer's hand and kissing the back of it. The boy made a soft sound in his sleep, latching his fist around one of her fingers.
I love writing fluff.
I hope you enjoyed. Here's a few interesting facts that I used in this chapter. Dogs sneeze when you play fight to say they don't want to hurt you, often they do it for other scenarios, it's usually when they're over-excited and they like to warn us. Hence Mudgie's behaviour. Also, when cats are calm/content they blink slowly at us. It is usually a sign that they trust us too.
Also, before anyone starts trying to tell me Emily can't breastfeed, she can. I have researched this quite extensively, it is possible to start breastfeeding even after the formula-fed child is 9 months, (that's probably the cut-off point though.) My neighbour also had to stop breastfeeding for several months but was able to do it later without a problem.
Anyway, thanks for reading, please be a babe and leave a review, I'll try and write the next one faster if y'all show your support ;)
It shows me that it's worth sharing this with you.
See you soon!
