Title: "Welcome Home"



Author: Bridget Frawley (scarecro9@aol.com)



Disclaimer: This story is based on characters that are Copyright@Spelling-Goldberg Productions. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes, and I retain only the rights to the plot, not the characters.



Sabrina Duncan was pacing the floor, wailing baby in her arms. "Shhh," she soothed in a near desperate voice. This three hours awake and two hours asleep had Sabrina at her wits' end. Wendy's diaper was dry. She certainly wasn't hungry. Every time Sabrina tried to feed her she'd take a few sips of the bottle, spit the nipple out and start crying again. "It's okay," Sabrina continued rapidly. "I'm right here. Just go to sleep." 'Please,' she mentally pleaded. Wendy finally settled down and Sabrina sighed in relief. She placed Wendy in her bassinet very gently. The doorbell rang and she jumped. She stole a quick glance at her still sleeping daughter, then hurried over to answer the door before the bell rang again.

"Hi," Kelly, Kris and Bosley chorused.

"Hi," Sabrina yawned, standing aside to let them in. "What are you doing here?"

They all trooped into the kitchen, Sabrina trailing behind.

"I wish I had a camera," Kris teased gleefully. Sabrina's appearance was a far cry from her usual neat as a pin self. The circles under her eyes were pronounced, her hair was sticking out in various places and her clothes were badly wrinkled.

"Thanks a lot," Sabrina groused, rolling her eyes.

"We knew you couldn't get out because of the heat, so we thought we'd have an indoor picnic," Kelly answered cheerfully. "We brought some fried chicken, corn on the cob and iced tea." She glanced around curiously. "Where's Bill? I thought he took this week off to help you get settled with everything."

"He did, but Fidel Castro's here," Sabrina explained tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "The PC* doesn't want to take any chances with security, so everyone's on 12 hour shifts and all vacations are cancelled until further notice."

"What does that have to do with the Squad**?" Bosley asked.

"The uniforms are on patrol, the junior detectives are back in the bag (1) to protect Castro and the senior detectives are left to investigate the new cases that come in," Sabrina sighed.

"Well, can't he at least let you get a little sleep when he gets home?" Kelly demanded sharply.

"He's been sleeping at the station house," Sabrina explained reluctantly. "Look, Kelly, he and I already discussed it. I told him I'd be fine. It's only for a few days."

They all heard the sound of Wendy crying plaintively from the living room.

Sabrina flinched and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, looking as if she were about to burst into tears herself.

"I'll get her," Kris offered, hurrying into the living room.

"Bri, when's the last time you got any sleep?" Bosley asked gently.

"Um, Monday," she answered after a few seconds.

"That's two days ago!" Kelly exclaimed.

"You know I'm a heavy sleeper," Sabrina admitted anxiously. "What if she pulls the blanket over her head and suffocates, or if she kicks the blankets off and gets sick? What if she hits her hand on the railing of the crib and hurts herself?"

"What if I walk outside right now and get run over by a car?" Kelly asked rhetorically in the same vein.

"That's not funny!" Sabrina snapped sharply.

Kris came in cradling a happily cooing Wendy in her arms. "I think someone heard voices and wanted to meet the company."

"She's not crying," Sabrina mumbled in disbelief.

"What?" Kris asked innocently, adjusting Wendy's blanket slightly and letting Wendy play with her finger. "Of course she's not crying. I was a professional baby sitter in college."

"I thought Jill paid your tuition," Bosley remarked.

"She did, but I needed money for textbooks," Kris explained.

"And frat parties," Kelly added knowingly.

"Those, too," Kris confessed with a grin.

"She always cries when I hold her," Sabrina continued in a small voice.

"Bri, I think you're just over-tired," Kelly offered compassionately, patting her on the shoulder. "Why don't you take a nap? We'll stay here until you wake up."

"Maybe we'll even get Bos to change her diaper," Kris suggested guilelessly.

"Oh, no!" He exclaimed hastily, throwing his hands up defensively. "I will cook dinner, wash dishes, and I will even wash windows but I will not change any diapers."

"Bosley, how can you say no to that face?" Kelly chided, grinning inwardly.

"It's all right," Kris soothed, letting Wendy play with her watch. "We'll teach you how to wrap him around your finger in no time."

Bosley glared at her, causing both Kris and Kelly to burst into giggles.

"You know, I think I will lie down for a while," Sabrina agreed quietly, glancing over once at Kris and Wendy one more time. Her lower lip trembled and she hurried upstairs. Once she got to her bedroom she fell into bed and into a sound sleep.



Several hours later she rolled over leisurely, her hand hitting Bill's empty pillow. She slowly sat up and yawned. "Bill?" She called groggily, blinking. She didn't hear anything. 'He must be taking care of Wendy,' she thought gratefully, heading into the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face and hopefully clear the cobwebs out of her head. She froze about half-way there as realization dawned. 'Wait a minute. Bill's not here. He's working.' She dashed for the baby's room, saw the empty crib and felt as if a knife were plunged through her. 'I KNEW something would happen! I should never have gone to sleep. Stupid, stupid, stupid!' After a few seconds she bolted down the stairs and crashed into Bosley, almost knocking them both over.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked in concern, gripping her by the elbows to keep her from falling over.

"Bosley?" She asked in a panic-stricken voice, not knowing why he was there but not really caring right now. "Someone's taken Wendy."

"It's all right," he reassured her, putting an arm across her shoulders.

"It's NOT all right," she snapped, pulling away from him. "My baby's missing."

"She's not missing," he said confidently, leading her towards the living room.

"What do you mean she's not missing?!" Sabrina demanded in a shrill voice, following him on automatic pilot. "She's not in her crib."

"Hi," Kris greeted them when they came into the room. "Boy, she sure doesn't get her appetite from you, Bri. She drank one and a half bottles and gave me a nice big burp." She started rubbing gentle circles on Wendy's back and Wendy burbled happily.

Sabrina's knees buckled as the adrenalin left her system.

Bosley slipped his arm around her waist quickly as he saw her start to sag. "You all right?"

She nodded, leaning against him until the dizziness passed.

"Dinner's almost ready," he continued, keeping a firm grip on her. "I think Kelly's finished unpacking her stuff in the guest room."

"What?" Sabrina asked in confusion. "How long was I asleep?"

"About nine hours," Bosley answered, smiling. "Your refrigerator was pretty empty, so she went to the supermarket, dropped off a few groceries and then stopped by her place to pack a few things."

"Bill's been at work and I haven't had time - " Sabrina began uncomfortably.

"I know," he said kindly. "You have a baked ham, a roast beef and I put the fried chicken in the refrigerator. I'm grilling steaks for dinner right now."

Sabrina's stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her how long it had been since she'd eaten. She put a hand over it in embarrassment, blushing.

"I cleaned up in here and kept a certain someone entertained," Kris chimed in. "She was a perfect Angel." She glanced down at Wendy and started playing with her hands. "Yes, you were."

Sabrina took a few steps away from them, feeling overwhelmed and totally inadequate.

"What's wrong?" Bosley asked worriedly, seeing the look on her face.

"I'm - I'm going to take a quick shower," Sabrina stammered hastily, turning and bolting for her bedroom. Once inside she sat on the edge of the bed and started to cry softly.

Kelly knocked on the door and went inside. "Bri?"

Sabrina hurriedly wiped her eyes and turned away from her, swallowing her tears.

Kelly sat on the edge of the bed beside Sabrina and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Bad dream?"

"Wendy cries all the time," Sabrina whispered shakily, turning to face Kelly.

"That's what babies do," Kelly commented philosophically.

"Then why is she so good for Kris?" She asked in a hurt voice.

"You've only been doing this for three days, Bri. You just need a little practice. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, but what if that's not it? I couldn't take it if she hated me," she confessed, starting to cry again.

"You know what I think?" Kelly offered kindly, patting her shoulder compassionately. "A lot of this is stress and hormones. Trust me. It'll get better."

"You don't have to stay, you know," Sabrina said after a few seconds, wiping her eyes.

"I know I don't have to. I want to. You really shouldn't be trying to do all of this by yourself."

"It's not Bill's fault."

"I know that," Kelly reassured her quickly. "Besides, I have more experience than he does."

Sabrina looked at her quizzically.

"We all took turns helping the nuns with the younger kids at the orphanage. I'll have you know I was chief bottle washer," she admitted proudly. After a few seconds, "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Why don't you go take a nice hot shower while I finish unpacking?"

Sabrina nodded, then hugged Kelly. "Thank you."



"That was delicious," Sabrina stated after having made short work of her steak and fries.

"My pleasure," Bosley acknowledged.

"You're finished already?" Kelly asked in surprise.

"You don't know how long it's been since I've eaten a full meal," she answered, absently stealing a few fries off Bosley's plate.

They heard Wendy start to cry from the other room.

Sabrina jumped.

"I'll get her," Kris offered, noting her reaction.

"No, I'll get her," Sabrina said bravely.

"Just leave the plates," Bosley said. "I'll do them in a few minutes."

They all trooped into the living room.

"Mommy's here," Sabrina announced once she got to Wendy's bassinet. She reached inside, picked up Wendy and started rocking her gently.

Wendy continued to cry.

"It's all right," Sabrina continued, sitting on the couch and cradling Wendy. "Everything's okay."

Wendy cried louder.

Sabrina tried rubbing circles on Wendy's back as she'd seen Kris do earlier but it didn't help. After a few seconds she glanced up at them with a shattered look in her eyes. "Kris, I think you'd better take over." She got to her feet and started walking towards Kris.

"Bri, watch out!" Kris warned loudly.

Sabrina promptly dropped back down to the couch, instinctively tightening her grip on Wendy.

Kelly and Bosley scanned the area rapidly.

"What is it?" Kelly demanded.

"Don't you hear it?" Kris asked quietly.

"Hear what?!" Bosley asked sharply.

"All I know is that you've frightened about 10 years off of my life," Sabrina exclaimed, relaxing slightly.

"She's not crying," Kelly observed.

Sabrina glanced down at Wendy in surprise, noticing for the first time that Wendy was indeed quiet.

"She could tell that you were nervous," Kris explained gently, going over to Sabrina's side and sitting on the arm of the couch. "All she wants is to feel safe. The more nervous you were the more scared she was."

Sabrina gingerly extended her finger to Wendy and Wendy latched onto it, cooing happily.

"See?" Kris continued, smiling. "She's safe now."

"I think we should let the two of you get to know each other," Bosley suggested.

"I'll do the dishes later," Kelly offered, observing everything with a smile.

"Kris?" Sabrina asked shakily, reaching one hand out to her. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem," Kris said, gripping Sabrina's hand firmly. "And remember that I'm always available if you need a baby sitter. My rates are very reasonable."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sabrina promised wryly.





Notes:



* PC = Police Commissioner



** Squad = Detectives

1.

* In uniform