Maggie was up with the sun as usual. She climbed out of her bed and looked toward her mother's bed. She was surprised to see her there. But she didn't wake her, also as usual. She wandered out of the bedroom, into the living room. And she squealed happily when she saw her father sleeping on the couch.
He heard her before she ever saw him, and he opened one eye when she squealed. He smiled as she ran to him, and he caught her in his arms. Sliding her little arms around his neck, she squeezed as he gently kissed her head. She sat up on his chest and looked at him, her smile turning into a frown as she saw the injuries on his face. She asked, "Owie?"
"Not a bad owie," he answered. "Are you ready for some breakfast?"
"Yes. I want jumbled eggs."
He laughed. "Ok, little mouse. Jumbled eggs it is."
Maggie was playing in the living room when she heard her mother come out of the bedroom. She jumped up and ran to meet her while Goren went into the kitchen to get her coffee. She sat at the table where Maggie climbed up next to her and he set the coffee cup and a plate of eggs in front of her. She looked at him as he sat across from her. "Did you talk to Mike?"
He grinned. "He said to call when I got up, so I did."
"When was that?"
"Sometime around dawn, when Maggie got me up."
"I'll bet you're popular. What are you going to do today?"
"Probably take Maggie to Central Park."
Maggie climbed down from her perch next to her mother and ran around the table to Goren. Sliding his chair back, he set her lightly in his lap and she snuggled against him, content. Eames smiled. There was no pretense at all in his love for Maggie.
Eames finished her breakfast and got up. In the living room, she opened the small gun safe her father had installed many years ago, when she and her siblings were little. She took out her gun and slid it into its holster. "I'd better get going. Take care of Daddy today, Maggie. Don't let him and Uncle Mike get into any trouble."
Maggie ran to kiss her mother good-bye. "Ok, Mommy."
Coming up behind the little girl, Goren grabbed her and lifted her up into his arms. She giggled and squirmed. He kissed her and set her down, watching her scamper back to play. He looked at Eames. "Be careful, ok?" he said quietly.
"Don't worry." She rested her hand on his cheek and kissed him.
"Still mad?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Just checking."
He smiled at her as she left the house, then went in to the living room where he dropped down on the floor to play with his daughter.
-------------------------------------------------------
When Eames got home that evening, her father was in the kitchen making dinner. Goren was asleep on the couch, Maggie lying on his chest, also asleep. She smiled and went into the kitchen. "Rough day?"
"I think Maggie ran him ragged."
"I didn't think that was possible."
John laughed. "There's no doubt she has his energy. How was your day?"
"Boring. We don't like it when he and Mike aren't there."
He looked up from the pan of browning meat. "Jimmy Deakins is a decent man. He could have come down a lot harder on the two of them."
"I know. IAB isn't happy, but since the shooting had all the traits of a hit, they don't have much choice but to return them to duty. They really don't like it when cops kill other cops."
"Did they find any evidence Ricky was behind it?"
She nodded. "The one who came to the door had been out to see him that morning. Ricky's under no contact now. One more problem and he goes to solitary."
John shook his head slowly. "It's never a good thing when a cop goes bad."
"I'm beginning to wonder if he wasn't always bad. He knew exactly how to fly under the radar so he wouldn't be noticed. I know he played me for a fool."
"Don't be too hard on yourself. He fooled a lot of people." He turned the stove off. "Dinner's ready."
She kissed her father's cheek and went in to the living room. Sitting lightly on the couch beside Goren, she touched his cheek, carefully avoiding the bruise that covered his eye. He stirred, opening his eyes and looking at her. She lightly kissed him. "Dinner's ready. Did you two wear each other out?"
"That's an understatement. She's like a hummingbird, zipping from one thing to the next."
He sat up, cradling the sleeping child in his arms. Eames gently took her from him and woke her. "It's time to eat, baby."
"Dinner!" She happily announced, going from sleep to wide awake in a nanosecond. She slid from her mother's lap and ran to her grandfather, who washed her hands and sat her at her place at the table.
Eames smiled at her partner. "I didn't think anyone could wear you out."
He grinned. "You should see Logan."
She laughed. "I can imagine." She rested a hand on his arm before he could get up. "I have something for you."
She handed him an envelope. He pulled out the paper that was inside it, and opened it. Then he looked at her, confused. She explained, "When Maggie was born, I left the father blank on her birth certificate. Since Ricky had no interest in being a father, I wasn't comfortable putting him on it. After the paternity testing, I amended her birth record, and that's her corrected birth certificate."
"You didn't have to do that."
She kissed him. "Yes, I did."
He watched her get up and walk to the table, then he looked down at the paper in his hands. 'Margaret Rose Goren,' the name read. He smiled. He liked the sound of that.