TURN
CHAPTER 3: Sleeping Angels
FOUR WEEKS LATER:
Gage looked up from his paperwork as Alex came into the Company B Ranger Headquarters. He watched her hold the door open for someone, then smiled as Sydney came in, holding the baby carrier. Everyone in the office crowded around to get a peek as she set Emma on her desk across from Gage. The infant, good-natured as always—or she was most of the time, anyway—just cooed and blew raspberries, drawing delighted exclamations from her audience. As the group of Rangers melted over their daughter, Sydney edged around them and put her arms around Gage, giving him a quick kiss before settling herself on his lap. He grinned and slid her arms around her petite waist, pulling her closer. Sighing, he set his chin on top of her head, inhaling her unique scent. He felt her go limp in his grasp, and when he looked down, he chuckled.
She was fast asleep.
She groaned softly and turned so that her face was buried in his chest.
From where she was perched on the edge of Walker's desk, Alex glanced over and laughed lightly. Walker chuckled at the sight, one of his large hands resting on his wife's four-months-pregnant belly. He and Alex were expecting their second child, a boy. They'd discovered the sex of the baby by accident when the last ultrasound had shown quite clearly that the fetus was male. By the looks of the audience that still ooohed and aaahed over his daughter, Gage knew that Cordell John Walker, Jr. would be part of a very warm, loving family. And a very large one at that.
Carefully, Gage stood, lifting his wife with him.
"Hey, Alex?"
The blonde DA looked up. "Yes?"
"You have a sofa in your office, don't you?"
"Yeah, you want to let Syd sleep there?"
He nodded.
"Okay, that's fine. Walker, keep an eye on Emma 'til Gage gets back, please." She kissed him softly. "Love you."
"Love you, too."
When they reached Alex's office, Gage gently set his precious burden on the sofa, covering her with the blanket Alex gave him.
"Thanks, Alex."
"You're welcome. Now go, get back to your little girl. I'll keep an eye on your big girl," she joked.
He entered the Ranger office a few minutes later and found Emma's crowd dissipating. Smiling, he scooped the tiny babe from her seat, cradling her in his arms.
"You tired your Mama out, little one," he whispered, stroking her silky golden strands of hair and plump pink cheeks with a gentle finger. At the touch, Emma turned her head, catching his finger in her mouth and suckling hungrily.
Chuckling, Gage said, "You've sure got my appetite, haven't you? C'mon, let's get you a bottle."
He went to Sydney's desk, retrieving a bottle of formula from the diaper bag she'd set beside the carrier. He filled the bottle, shook it a little to mix the liquid with the powdered formula, and popped it into the microwave above the coffeemaker. As it warmed, he poured himself a cup of coffee, taking a long sip of the steaming black liquid as Emma stared up at him unblinkingly. Even with her blonde hair and blue eyes, she reminded him so much of Syd.
Several hours, one bottle, three diaper changes, four cups of coffee, and one stack of paperwork later, Gage settled a sleeping Emma in her carrier, gathered up their things, and headed up towards Alex's office.
"Hey, Annie. Can I go in there?" He nodded towards his destination.
The secretary peered around her desk at his cargo and smiled. "Go ahead. It's been pretty quiet in there for quite awhile, so I'm assuming Alex is finishing up some paperwork."
With his free hand, he opened the door labeled 'District Attorney Alexandra Cahill-Walker'.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
Sydney still lay where he'd left her on the comfortable sofa, her dark hair spilling across the travel pillow—which Alex had also provided—that he'd tucked beneath her head. Alex was asleep at her desk, her head resting on her arms. Unfinished paperwork was strewn across her desktop. Looking back and forth between his napping daughter, his sleeping wife, and the dozing DA, he finally scooped up Sydney, laid her gently on the floor beside the carrier, and lifted Alex from her chair. Her head dropped onto his shoulder as he brought her to the sofa and draped the blanket Syd had used over her. He then picked up his wife, grasped the handle of the baby carrier, and straightened. He shifted his load until he was comfortable with it, then carefully made his way back downstairs.
He ducked back into the Company B office quickly and said, "Hey, Walker, you might wanna go get Sleeping Beauty out of her office."
Seeing Gage's cargo, Walker just shook his head and went to retrieve his wife…and maybe wake her with a kiss. Or two.
When Gage reached his car, he realized two things—one, he'd have to leave Syd's car here, and two, he was facing a challenge. Finally, he knelt down, released the handle of the baby carrier, and held it firmly between his feet as he fished for his keys, unlocked the front passenger-side door, and carefully laid Syd in the seat, leaning it back and buckling her in. He shut the door as gently as possible, so as not to wake either of his girls, then loaded Emma into the back seat.
He climbed into the driver's seat, started the engine, and headed home.
Once there, he repeated the process in reverse. He removed Emma's carrier from the back, set it between his feet, lifted Syd from her seat, shut the doors, bent down, grasped the carrier's handle, straightened, and went inside. He climbed the stairs to the bedroom, carefully deposited Syd on the bed, and entered the nursery. Gently as he could, he unbuckled Emma and lifted her from the carrier, then changed her diaper, dressed her in her pajamas—a cute pink and yellow footy outfit—and lay her on her back in the crib. He watched her sleep for a few moments, then left to care for his other charge. He went into the bedroom, changed Syd into one of his old shirts that she'd claimed for her own soon after they were married, and carefully slid her underneath the covers, all without waking her. Last, he changed into a pair of comfy boxers and slipped into bed beside his wife. Feeling his warm, familiar form, Sydney turned in her sleep, her head coming to rest in the groove between his neck and his shoulder, where she fit perfectly, as if that spot had been made for her personally. He sighed, and, as he lay there, spooned with his beloved Sydney, his breathing began to match hers, growing slower and deeper until, finally, he, too, was asleep.
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