A/N: I am republishing this story. There have been edits made. Text that has been italicized is a flashback, and text that has been bolded is from the show. I am merely borrowing characters besides though that are not recognized.
"It feels like forever since we have been here," Kathleen says as she looks around the cabin. She's holding Faylinn in her arms as Luke only finished bringing the rest of their stuff in.
"It's been almost nine months," he says as walks over to her. "The last time we were out here, you were hardly pregnant with this little one." He tickles Faylinn's tummy, and it makes her coo.
Kathleen only smiles as she watches him do this. Since that first time a few days ago, he can't stop doing it. She gently places a kiss on the top of her head as her favourite thing is to watch the two of them interact. It doesn't matter when he comes home from a shift; he has the same routine now.
He locks up his gun and then goes to find his girls. Whether they are lounging in the living room or relaxing in bed, he finds them and gives them both a kiss hello. He then takes a quick shower and changes into something more comfortable from his work suit. He then joins them wherever they are and they discuss their day as he feeds Faylinn her bottle. They also discuss what they are doing for dinner and their plans for the next day. He then takes care of putting Faylinn down as she prepares dinner. It was a nice routine that they had come up with in the three weeks he had been back at work. It would all change once he went to night.
"That is true, but it's nice to get away this weekend," she says. She notices Fay put her hands in her mouth and move her head. "Okay, okay, little bear." Kathleen then shifts Faylinn to have her attached to her breast. "I forgot to ask how Fite Nite was."
"It was interesting. One detective tried asking out the rookie that I think Sam likes," he says. He watches the two of them. "It pleased Jason that Nash won that kept our streak alive. Jerry and Sam almost missed it because of the case they were working with your dad."
"The armour piercing rounds. He mentioned it when I talked to him yesterday and was happy to have the case closed. Complaining it was the longest six weeks of his life, he went under not long after Fay was born. Promised him we would have dinner sometime next week."
"How do you always get all the good details? Anyway, one of our rookies is the daughter of Tommy McNally. It doesn't look like something she wants everyone to know."
"He is a drinker. If I remember, my mom worked a few cases with him. It was only him and his daughter. Mom left before she was a teenager. I don't blame her. Near the end, it wasn't pretty for Tommy."
"That's got to suck, plus she is partnered with Sam now."
"Oh no, that girl is going to need a guardian angel. Which detective? I know Jerry is dating someone new, or at least that is the rumour."
"How do you have all the gossip? It was Jasper, I believe. I don't know for sure. For maybe three fights, I stayed. I wanted to get home before Fay's bath and yes did I get hell from Steve and Derek for cutting out early? Pretty sure your dad would have said something if he was around."
"He wouldn't have. He would've asked to tag along. Ignore those two, they can hardly string together a relationship. If it wasn't for fear of waking up Fay, Steve would call me to drag his butt home after a night out."
"That is true. He wanted to know if I could go to the game with him later this month. His dad bailed because of an upcoming trial. I told him it was cool since I had the day off."
"That's fine. I have a shopping trip with Gail. I may have a trip to the zoo with my dad."
"Trip to the zoo?"
"It's our thing that we do when he gets out of undercover work. He said you were welcome to tag along. I don't know if I'm bringing Fay with us. It might be too much stimulation for her. We'll see how she does this weekend."
"She didn't seem to mind the car ride, but the noise may get to her at the zoo. Plus, it would be better for her once she is awake for longer periods."
"Exactly. It'll be nice to see what she thinks of the lake. If bath time is any sign, it will go better than expected. I'd say she takes after her mommy in that department."
"Well, daddy isn't a terrible swimmer either," she says as Faylinn finishes eating. Luke takes her and burps her before snuggling her closer. "Don't forget next week we have that two-month check-up."
"I know. I already have the day off. You have your appointment that same day, right?"
"Yeah, my last appointment with Anna. I scheduled it for an hour after Fay's, so she should be asleep during my appointment. It is all going to depend on how she takes getting her shots."
"Don't remind me, it killed me when they gave her that one at the hospital. How many does she need with this appointment?"
"Two actual shots and one oral one. The same for her four-month visit. After that, it will depend on the visit. I know it won't be too bad, as long as daddy is there to keep her safe from all the evil doctors and nurses."
"Not my fault," he says as he notices Faylinn let out a whine and her eyes droop. "Time for someone's bath, a bedtime story, and bed."
"You do that, and I'll start dinner. Thinking about salad or stir-fry?"
"Salad sounds good," he says as he stands up and walks towards the bathroom with Faylinn.
Kathleen watches them and smiles. She wonders what this routine will look like when he starts his night shift. She knew Luke enjoyed putting their little one down each night. This was because he was usually at work by the time she got up in the morning. She knew when he switched to nights he would be the one getting her up in the morning.
Kathleen smiles as she holds her camera pointed at Luke and Fay. They were playing on the beach under umbrellas. Luke was in a pair of royal blue swim trunks with a heather grey tank top laying on his stomach as he played with Faylinn. Faylinn was wearing a green polka dot swimsuit, with a white floral hat and a pair of silver sunglasses. The two of them were relaxing and drying off after spending time in the water. She snaps a picture of Fay returning her dad's smile as she coos.
She had gone with a black halter neck swimsuit with a diamante belt detail. She was currently wearing a large white dobby chiffon material with short sleeves. Her camera was trained on her two subjects. She thought it would be nice to look back at these pictures when she was older.
"Are you going to keep staring or come play?" Luke calls as he notices her. "Not that we don't love being your subjects, but you should join us."
She shakes her head and walks over to the two of them and sits down on the other side of Luke. "Did we miss Mommy?" she coos at Fay, who returns a big smile. She leans over and picks her up and places her on her chest.
"Hey," Luke says as Kathleen lies on her back with Faylinn flat on her chest. "We were having fun over here." He then pushes himself to a sitting position.
Kathleen turns and sticks her tongue out at him as Faylinn coos at her mom. Luke shakes his head as he leans down and kisses her instead of saying anything. Faylinn coos at her parents.
"Home sweet home," Luke says as they enter their apartment. He carries in the three bags while Kathleen carries in Fay, the stroller, and the diaper bag. "Never thought I would be so happy to see home."
"That's because the traffic was terrible," Kathleen says as she places Faylinn down on the chair. She places the diaper bag on the other side. She opens the closet and places the folded-down stroller inside. "It seemed like there were tons of accidents and everyone was trying to get back before it got too late."
"They wanted to make it home before the news," Luke says as he places the three bags down in the laundry room. "Next time we leave a day early or later than we usually do."
"I prefer later, but we'll see how our schedules work out for us," Kathleen says as she picks up Faylinn out of her car seat. "I'm thinking of ordering pizza for dinner."
"Sounds good," Luke says as he loads the washer. "I'm thinking from Domino's and a small Chicken Bacon Ranch with an order of cheesy bread."
"Great minds think alike," she says as she walks into the living room and grabs the landline. "Hi, can I place an order for delivery? The address is 102 Bloor Street West, apartment 206. I would like a small Chicken Bacon Ranch, and a small Spinach and Feta. Also, an order of cheesy bread and Cinna sticks."
Luke finishes putting on the washer. He leaves the laundry room and heads toward the nursery. He went over to the dresser and pulled out a white sleeveless bodysuit. Before exiting the nursery, he grabbed the diaper and bath caddy. He walks into the living room area and notices Faylinn in a baby swing, reaching for the toys on the bar in front of her.
"Dinner should be here in about fifteen to twenty minutes," Kathleen says. She walks back over with a bottle of water and a bottle of beer.
"Gives me enough time to put Faylinn down for the night," he says as he unbuckles her from her swing. "Is bath time, little one?"
Faylinn only smiles and coos at him as he carries her into the bathroom. Kathleen watches and smiles and wonders how life got to be so perfect.