"How Will I Know" - Whitney Houston
This chapter took me a little longer to bust out, I'm sorry. I had to completely rewrite it because I wasn't satisfied with it. But now that it is done, I love it. Hope you all enjoy it as well.
Reminder there will be a brief pause to this story. It won't be along, I promise!
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It was Monday. The weekend had come and gone.
Michael felt like he blinked and he was already transported into the next week. He couldn't believe how fast the weekend had gone by. He figured it was due to the company he shared. Maze and Chloe had decided it would be a good idea to lock themselves inside the penthouse with him. Each too afraid of being left alone to their own devices.
It was fine though. There wasn't a dull moment that passed between the three of them. Spending time with Chloe and Maze gave him the opportunity to distance himself from Ella.
It wasn't to say, he didn't wish to be in the company of Ella. He did. He just knew it was best for the two of them to take a few days apart. After all, they had been spending a large amount of time together recently. The goal was to take things slower and at the rate he and Ella were going, he knew he needed to dial it back a bit.
So he gave himself the weekend to get his emotions under wrap. He talked with Maze and Chloe and they had all come to an agreement that he had genuine feelings for Ella. His tiny fascination with her, ran deeper than he'd thought. He generally enjoyed being around her. He liked the idea of being more to her. The idea of being in a relationship sounded comforting to him.
With that being said, both women teased Michael endlessly. They teased him like sisters. They teased him with his constant phone checking and hidden smiles at his phone screen. Because although he was supposed to give him and Ella some room, it didn't mean he couldn't talk to her.
Maze and Chloe's constant heckling were the least of his concern. He knew it came from love, so he brushed it off and enjoyed the weekend with them.
As Monday morning's bright sun greeted the sky, Michael jumped out of bed and got ready for the day.
It was noon when he heard the elevator door open. Michael was seated on the couch eating his lunch when he caught a glimpse of his brother.
"Glad I could finally catch you. Where have you been lately?" Amenadiel asked.
"Here. When was the last time you stopped by? I haven't left in a few days."
Amenadiel walked over to the couch, ready to sit besides Michael. Before he could sit, Michael went ahead and cleaned up the sitting area. He had his lunch on the leather seats.
"I came over Tuesday of last week and you weren't here. Stopped by again on Wednesday as well."
"Ah!" Michael stood up from his seat. He started collecting his food. He didn't want to give away his excitement about hanging out with Ella. "I was out with a woman. I don't need to tell you the details, do I?"
"Oh! Well no…" Amenadiel looked at his brother shocked. "I just didn't know you were still giving that a try. I thought you were done seeing people."
Michael shrugged his shoulder, he tried not to give too much away.
"Someone caught my eye when they walked into the club last week… been testing the waters."
"Well look at you!" Amenadiel got up from the couch and walked over to Michael. He slapped a hand along Michael's back. Michael winced from the contact. "Sorry... but that's good news! You're getting out there and meeting people. I was starting to worry you were spending too much time up here by yourself."
"Hard to be alone up here when I have to deal with Maze and Chloe almost every night."
"Yeah... Linda told me about that… It'll pass."
"I hope you're right. They seem to always know when to ruin a good moment."
Amenadiel let a chuckle over take him. Michael didn't find it amusing. The twisted sisters were seriously becoming a cockblock and he wasn't sure how much long he could take.
"It'll pass," Amenadiel repeated. Michael rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was sure it wasn't going to pass, but only intensify.
Amenadiel clapped his hands together, remembering why he stopped by.
"Oh! Linda wanted to know if you could babysit Charlie for us tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. She has this convention she has to attend. She asked if I could tag along… I haven't been told why I have to go, but she insisted."
"She insisted?" Michael asked. Amenadiel nodded his head, confused. Michael let a smirk spread across his face. He knew exactly why Linda wanted the two of them to be together, child free.
"Why are you smiling?"
"You really are slow aren't you, brother?"
"What are you… what? What are you insinuating?"
Michael pulled his brother back over to the couches so he could run it by him. He needed him to understand the importance of Linda asking him to follow her to a convention he had no business attending. Once Amenadiel was seated, Michael stood in front of him.
"So let me get this straight. Linda has a convention, where?"
"Uh, I think she said Anaheim… why is that important?"
"It's a Monday, brother. What kind of convention is held on a Tuesday?"
Amenadiel gave it some thought. He tried starting a sentence to defend his reasoning, but came up short. He raised his index finger, but later lowered it.
"Exactly! This isn't a convention. It's a get away for the two of you."
"What… Then why wouldn't she just tell me? How do you even know this?"
"I don't… but! I'm smart enough to know there's no conventions," he used parenthesis, "during a work week."
"Of course there is. Stop." He shook his head, not at all buying his brother's reasoning. "You're reading into things. Linda and I aren't a thing anymore."
Michael could see the pain in his brother's eyes. He knew how much Linda meant to him. Michael sat besides his brother and tapped his knee.
"You may not be together, but it doesn't mean you can't try… I see the way you look at her, Amenadiel. I don't see why you don't ask for the two of you to start dating again. You have a child together. You live together!" He pointed out. "Do you two share a bed?"
"I sleep in the guest room besides Charlie's room. That way if he gets up in the middle of the night, I can…" He stopped talking as Michael's smile brightened. "What?"
"Nothing… Fatherhood looks good on you, brother." He tapped Amenadiel's knee once more. "I seriously think you should walk into tomorrow with an open mind. Treat it as a little vacation. Turn on the charm and get your girl back."
"I… oh I don't know, Michael…"
"Try. At least try. You're child free and right across from that amusement park. What's it called?" He snapped his fingers trying to remember the name.
"Disneyland?"
"Yes!" He nodded his head when he heard the name. "I don't know, do something there. I highly doubt this trip is legit. It's a convention on a weekday and she insisted you join… I don't know, it's a little sketchy to me."
"And if she really is going to a convention?"
"Then why bring you?" He asked. "No seriously. Why would she bring you, when you could watch Charlie yourself. Just think about it brother."
"I'm thinking, but -"
"Don't think," he cut him off.
Michael stood up from the couch, instructing Amenadiel to do the same.
"Join her tomorrow with the intention of rekindling your lost flame. Whether it be a nice meal out or a simple gesture. Show her you want something more with her."
"Michael…"
"Brother…" Michael laid his hands on Amenadiel's shoulder and slid them over to the side of his face. "Do this for me. If Lucifer can be with Chloe, then you can be with Linda."
"What about you?" Amenadiel asked.
"Me?" Michael let a smile cross his face. "Oh, well I have my eye on someone, but I have to do the work just like you."
"Do I get the name of your mystery woman?"
"Nope!" Michael began pushing his brother out of the penthouse. He started walking him over to the elevator.
"Whaa.. alright, hold on." Amenadiel stopped Michael's shoving and placed his heel onto the floor.
"What?" Michael asked.
"Why are you kicking me out?"
"The conversation is over."
"We haven't even gone over when and where you'll be babysitting."
"Easy. Here and tomorrow," Michael clarified.
"Yes, but the time is ten in the morning and we should be back by eight."
"Sounds good!" Michael clicked the elevator button signaling the lift to open.
"Why are you rushing me out?"
"I got a lunch date with my mystery girl. I don't want to keep her waiting."
"Lunch dates? Since when do you go out for lunch dates?"
"Since I've been seeing her... It's new. Leave me alone."
The elevator doors opened. The pair stepped inside. Amenadiel smiled over at Michael as he thought over the idea of his brother going on a lunch date. He knew he had already eaten. There was food on the couch when he first showed up.
"She must really be something if you're willing to leave his place."
"She is." Michael looked up at the roof of the elevator trying to hide the grin on his face.
.
.
Tuesday
.
Michael was awakened by the sound of his alarm blasting in his ear. He shot up from the bed, discombobulated. His hair sticking out in multiple directions. The sound of church bells continued to rattle his brain. He looked down onto the bed and looked for his phone. With every passing second, the alarm got louder.
Once he found his phone, he turned off the ringer.
Michael squinted his eyes trying to adjust to the brightness. He checked the time. It was nine in the morning.
A good morning text from Ella was already on his notification board. He swiped up and answered her back.
A quick good morning with a heart emoji was sent over to Ella. Next was a response to Linda. She had messaged him asking if he was awake about thirty minutes ago.
Before he could even reply, he received a phone call from Linda.
"Hello?" He greeted her with grogginess.
"Good. You're awake." She cheered. "We're on our way. Traffic is looking a little bad this morning so we have to leave earlier. Is everything set up for Charlie?"
Michael looked out into the bedroom. He closed his eyes as he realized he had failed to put up the baby crib. He silently cursed to himself.
"Yeah! Spent an hour putting it together last night," he lied.
"Great! Charlie was just fed so he should sleep for a few hours. Remember he shouldn't sleep more than he's supposed to. If he…"
"I know, I know. I memorized the hourly preparations on how to take care of Charlie. We've been over this."
"I'm just making sure. This is the first time you'll be watching him alone and I just want to make sure you are prepared."
"I'm prepared."
"Okay… We should be over in twenty minutes, mind meeting us downstairs. I don't want to park, have to get out, and -"
"No no, I got you. Just message me when you're five minutes away. I'll come straight down."
"Okay. Thank you, Michael!" .
"No problem. See you soon."
He ended the call and climbed out of bed. He looked over to the foot of his bed and found the discarded bits of plastic that were Charlie's foreign made crib. He looked at it with disgust. He spent the better half of his night face-timing Ella on how to put together a simple baby crib. They had no such luck. He gave up somewhere around four in the morning after a few shots.
As he walked past it, he flipped it off.
Michael made his way over to the bathroom and got ready for the morning. He brushed his teeth and washed his face. By the time he walked out and put on some clothes, his phone was already ringing.
It was from Amenadiel.
"Yes?" Michael answered.
"We're coming up on Sunset. Might want to start heading down now."
"Okay. I'll be downstairs in five."
He hung up the phone and rushed over to the elevator.
.
Michael popped his head out from the back door and found Linda's car driving up. He quickly wrapped his robe around his body as the morning breeze ran up his leg. When the car pulled up in front of him, Linda jumped out the car, forgoing greetings.
"I packed two outfits just in case he dirties his current outfit. I have a bag full of diapers. There are three bottles of milk in the bag. Should he get hungry, I packed formula. If you have any trouble making it, all you have to do is call me or Amenadiel. His pacifiers are -"
"I got it Linda." He hulled the two bags over his shoulders and opened the back seat door.
"Hold one… Let me give you the carseat just in case…"
"Oh… yeah sure."
Michael moved out of the way and let Linda pull out the car seat for him. She gently unbuckled the locks that held Charlie in place. Before he could assist her with the device, Linda stopped him. He stepped back and let her say goodbye.
"Okay my little babasquat, mama has to go for awhile, but I will be back before you even know it." Linda leaned forward and showered her son with kisses.
"Linda I'm parked in a red, we have to go," Amenadiel called out.
"Okay okay." She pulled away and let Michael pull the carseat out of the car.
"He'll be fine, Linda," Michael assured her.
"Lesson plans, Michael. He has a schedule. Please, don't skip them."
"Sign language at eleven, lunch at noon, yoga at one, Japanese lessons shortly after. Are the swimming lessons still a thing? All I have is a jacuzzi."
"That's perfect. Just get him to splash around and get used to it."
"Alright," Michael said with disbelief. He lifted the car seat up so Charlie could say goodbye. "Say bye bye to your parents, Charlie."
"Bye Charlie!" Amenadiel said from the driver seat.
Michael smiled down at Linda as it was proving difficult to part with her child.
"Go I'll take good care of him. Have fun, yeah?" He shot her a wink.
"I… yes yes." She was flustered. She leaned in close to Charlie and gave him one last kiss. "Okay okay, I gotta go. Bye Charlie, I'll see you in a few hours."
"Say bye bye, Charlie," Michael instructed his nephew. "Bye bye mama," he said for him.
Linda regrettably got back into the car and waved them goodbye. As they took off Michael turned towards the building.
"Well, it's just you and me kid. What do you say about playing hookie?"
Charlie looked up at his uncle. There was a blank look on the boy's face. Not knowing what his nephew wanted, Michael took it as a yes. There was no need for schedule lessons, not for a child of this age. Michael wanted to be the fun uncle, so he forgoed today's lessons for Charlie.
As Michael entered the building, he walked them over to the elevator. A light gurgling noise caught Michael's attention. He could lightly hear Charlie talking to himself. Michael lifted him up so he could get a better look at him.
"What your mom doesn't know won't hurt her," Michael said. "Don't worry I'll take the heat if she gets mad." Charlie let out a cooing noise which Michael took as an actual sentence. "Yes of course we can still go swimming. No bubbles though, it would be too hot for you."
.
.
Michael spent the better half of the day spoiling Charlie. He wasted no time tossing Linda's baby schedule book out the window. Not literally, he knew he had to return it to her. Michael just felt Charlie deserved a day off from his advanced teachings.
The boy deserved to be a simple baby and get to do baby things. At the moment, Michael wasn't particularly sure what baby things were, but the two rolled with the motions.
The two had watched television on the couch, played with uncle Luci's piano, and even spent some time splashing around in the jacuzzi. It was a nice day to bound with his nephew.
As Michael finished changing Charlie's diaper, a visitor came out of the elevator. It was Maze. Michael looked over his shoulder and smiled down at Charlie.
"Guess who's come to check if I'm a responsible adult?" Michael said in his baby voice, "it's auntie Mazikeen." Michael picked Charlie off the leather cushion and held him in his arms.
"You've been ignoring your phone. Linda sent me down to check in on you."
"Really?" Michael shook his head. "I've just been busy. She didn't have to send the cavalry."
Maze made her way over to the two and sat down on the couch. As soon as Charlie saw Maze, he opened his arms to be taken by her.
"I see who his favorite is," Michael commented. He handed the boy over, slightly hurt.
"Oh I wouldn't take it personally. He just liked the feel of a pair of breasts."
Michael smiled as Charlie immediately latched his hands along Maze's boobs. She smirked as she proved her statement.
"I can't compete with that," Michael answered. "So other than stopping by, do you have anything for me?"
"Not yet. Chloe and I are running some names through the system. Dan is even pulling in some help from foster systems. We're looking at getting a response by the end of the week."
"Okay… end of the week. I can wait." Michael ran his hands along his thighs. He didn't want to show excitement, he was too worried things would fall through.
"There's three of us on the job, we'll find them Michael."
"No I know… just trying not to get too excited."
"I understand."
Michael held out his arms so he could take Charlie back from Maze. She gave him up willingly. She understood that having the little guy around was a serotonin boost. She loved spending time with him when she was sad. Once Charlie slipped into Michael's arms he curled into his chest.
"Looks like he's tired," Maze pointed out. "Where's the crib?"
"Currently dismembered on the bedroom floor. I couldn't get it connected so I just gave up." He rocked Charlie in his arms.
"Do you need me to put it together for you?"
"Uh…" he gave it some thought, "no it's okay. What time is it?"
Maze pulled out her phone to check the time.
"It's four twenty-five." She placed the phone back in her pocket. "I think you should let me put it together for you. He gets really cranky when he's not placed in his crib."
"He's been sleeping fine with me on the bed. I don't see the point in putting it up when he's just going to be going back home tonight."
"Oh you didn't hear?" Maze got up from her seat and smiled.
"Here what?"
"They aren't coming back tonight. They decided to get a hotel."
"Really? He did it," Michael said. "He took my advice."
"You knew about the trip?"
"Well no. I put two and two together and tossed Amenadiel into the water." He stood up and followed Maze over to the bedroom. "So it was a ploy?"
"Of course it was! We've been trying to get them together since everything went down."
"Who's everyone?" Michael asked.
"Chloe, Ella, and I. Who else?" Michael shrugged his shoulders. "You think you're up to babysitting him through the night?"
"No… but I mean it can't be that bad."
"Oh you haven't seen this little guy mad yet. Just you watch. He's a nightmare when he gets in his moods."
Maze walked up the stairs and into the bedroom. She shook her head once she saw the mess Michael had made. She motioned to the pieces on the floor. Michael simply shook his head like he had no idea how it had gotten there. Maze rolled her eyes.
"I worked on that thing for four hours last night. I even had to call Ella for help."
"You do know it comes with instructions, right?"
"Of course I know it came with instructions, but the instructions are shit." His eyes bugged out of his eye sockets once he realized he cursed. He rocked Charlie in his arms, trying to put him to sleep. "I'm a visual learner not a reader."
Maze bent down and picked up the instruction book to see what crib Linda had given him. When she read the model type she almost threw the book at Michael.
"Idiot. It was already assembled. You took it apart." She picked up a piece and showed him. "It was a collapsible, all you had to do was pull this part up and it folded out."
"Oh…" he shot Maze a small smile to soften the embarrassment. Maze just shook her head at him.
"I have to help Dan with his stake out tonight, but I'll make sure to stop by and drop off the one Linda has at her house. You think you can handle him for the whole night?" She repeated.
"I think so." He looked down and noticed Charlie was asleep. "Would you mind grabbing a change of clothes for him? I already went through the ones Linda packed."
"Yeah I can do that." Maze walked over to Charlie and ran her finger along his cheek. "I'll pack his blanket and stuffed animal as well."
"Thank you, Maze."
"Mhmm. Just make sure you call Linda so she's not worrying so much. I don't need her worrying about Charlie when she should be focusing on Amenadiel."
"I'll call her as soon as I put Charlie down, I promise."
"Good." Maze leaned forward and kissed the top of Charlie's head. "I have to head out… but I'll see if I can bring the crib and some food over before eight."
"No rush. Me and this little guy are going to be partying all night long." He lifted Charlie up a little to make a point. The boy didn't appreciate the sudden movement. He immediately started whining. "Oh, I'm sorry, buddy." He started bouncing him to quiet him down.
"Yeah and that's my cue." She turned away and headed over to the elevator.
"Yeah thanks!" Michael called out sarcastically. "Shh shh, nap time Charlie."
"See you in a couple of hours!"
The sound of Charlie crying only grew louder.
.
.
Charlie had not stopped crying. The lungs on his boy were impeccable. The poor thing had been crying for hours now. Michael was sure someone had filed a noise complaint.
He tried feeding him. He tried changing him. He even danced for the boy, but nothing worked.
He debated on calling for help around the hour mark, but figured he could deal with Charlie's crying by himself. After the second hour passed, he started to grow desperate. Now coming into the three hour mark, he knew it was time to call the big guns.
Michael pulled out his phone and tried to get in contact with Linda. The phone rang three times before it was put to voicemail.
"What the…" he pulled the phone away from his ear and redialed. A crying Charlie staring at him from his car seat. "Come on… come on… come on."
Nothing.
"We're sorry, the number you are trying to call is unavailable… goodbye."
"No!" He exclaimed. Michael looked over at Charlie and apologized. "I'm sorry. Shh, shh."
He shuffled through his contact list and dialed Amenadiel. He wasn't sure how long he waited until the phone just stopped ringing.
"The number you are trying to reach has not set up its voicemail. Please call again… goodbye."
"You mother…" He bit his tongue. Michael let out a frustrated growl before walking over to Charlie. "Okay… okay… your mommy and daddy aren't picking up, but I can fix this." He scooped Charlie out of the car seat and placed him against his chest. "Are you hungry? Wet? Tired?" He bounced him in his arms trying to settle his crying. Nothing. "Okay… maybe auntie Maze can help. Let's call Mazikeen."
Michael shifted Charlie over to his left arm and used his other hand to call Maze. She answered instantly.
"You're on speaker," she said.
The crying of a child echoed out onto her end of the phone.
"Oh my God… is that Charlie?" Dan said from the other end.
"I need help!" Michael sobbed. "He won't stop crying. I've tried everything and nothing. Please, Mazikeen."
A light chuckle rang out into Michael's ear. Maze was laughing on the other end.
"I told you he was going to get fussy. Has he been crying since I left?"
"Yes. He's stopped here and there, but he just won't stop completely. He just keeps crying like I killed his mother right in front of him." Charlie's cry grew louder. "Agh! Please, I need help."
"Dan and I are still working, I can't leave. Fix the damn crib and he'll stop crying."
"I broke the crib! There's no fixing it."
"You seriously…"
He should hear her muttered rant in the background. She must have had her hand over the speaker because he couldn't really hear her conversation with Dan. Michael tried to shush Charlie as his cries died down a little.
"You hear Mazikeen huh? Don't worry she's going to come over and see you," he said to Charlie.
"Uh no I'm not. Not until we're done with this stake out," she replied.
"Charlie is crying Maze… if Michael needs you, it's -"
"No. He said he was going to be okay. He can deal with it. I'll be over when everything is done, but until then, you're on your own." Maze said, cutting Dan off. "I'm sorry," she addressed Michael.
The phone called ended.
Michael pulled back the phone and looked at the screen. He couldn't believe her. He tried calling her back but the phone went straight to voicemail. With Maze's voice no longer in the background, Charlie's cry picked up.
"No no no no no."
Michael looked back at his phone and pressed on Chloe's name. She was a mom. If there was anyone who could deal with a crying baby it was her. He waited patiently for her voice to answer the phone. As the phone picked up, the crying of a child was the first thing to be heard.
"Hello?"
"Please tell me you can come and help me. I need help. I'm babysitting and Charlie won't stop crying. I'm over my head right now and I'm in desperate need of help."
"Oh… I… you need help with Charlie?"
"Yes, please tell me you can help. He's been crying for three hours now. I can barely hear myself think. I'm at my wits end. Please, please, please, tell me you can help."
"I'm still at work, but I can totally drop everything and help you. Do you need me to bring anything?"
"No just come as soon as you can. I don't know how much longer I can handle this."
"I'm heading over right now. I'm already in the elevator."
"Thank you! I promise I'll make it up to you!"
Charlie's crying grew louder. She wasn't sure if it was due to his fussiness or because the phone got closer to his face. Either way she rushed out of the elevator and over to her car.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I'll let you go. Drive safe."
He ended the phone call.
"Chloe is coming Charlie, you remember Chloe right?" He asked. "She's a mommy as well, so she'll know what's wrong."
Michael rocked the babe in his arms. It was all he could do. He walked over to the couch and sat down. He pulled Charlie away from his chest and looked down at him.
It was breaking his heart not to know what was wrong with him. He wasn't hungry. His diaper didn't need changing. He was sure someone changed him out for the energizing bunny, because all this kid wanted to do was cry.
Tired of looking at his crying nephew, Michael placed him back on his chest so he could bounce him. He went ahead and placed his hand on his back. Gently patting him so sooth the screaming baby.
.
.
Michael was dancing around the living room trying to distract Charlie when the elevator doors opened up. He didn't even bother to greet his visitor when he started cheering for his rescue party.
"Yay! Auntie Chloe is finally here. Why don't we say hello Charlie?"
Michael picked up the whimpering boy. Once he turned around, he nearly dropped Charlie in pure shock.
"Oh my God!" Ella cried out. She rushed forward trying to help catch Charlie.
"Whaaa… what are…" Michael shook his head. He walked over to Ella and gave her a quick hug. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"You called me." A worried smile spread across her face. Michael hurried and pulled out his phone to check her statement. "You did mean to call me, right?"
"I… I… I meant to call Chloe, but it seems my phone called you instead... I didn't even register the voice. I'm so sorry! You were probably so confused."
He ushered her away from the bar and over to the couches. Charlies whimpers were slowly growing louder. Before he could start crying, Ella pulled him out of Michael's arms and into hers.
"I was but when I heard this little guy," she settled him against her chest, "I couldn't say no." She leaned down and kissed his head. The instant change of hands had Charlie calm for the first time in hours. She rocked him from side to side to relax him.
"How… how did you do that?" Michael asked. He looked up from his seat on the couch and held a look of awe.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Sometimes a change of arms gets babies to calm down. Maybe he could sense your tension." She continued to sway from side to side, leaving soft kisses on his head. "Shh, shh."
Michael jumped up off the couch and motioned her to follow him to the bedroom. As he reached the top, he immediately fell on his knees to go over the piece of the crib.
"Oh no… you never got it put up?" She asked.
"No… I found out I broke it." He lifted a piece he broke and showed Ella. "I've repaired it. I just haven't been able to get back to it… but since you're here and he's calm, maybe I can finish putting it up?"
"No yeah, go ahead. I got this little guy." She didn't bother moving him. She knew once you moved a baby they just started up again. So instead, she continued to sway Charlie side to side.
"Thank you so much for coming Ella. I called Maze, but her and Daniel are working -"
"I know... They are trying to get a lead on this new killer we got. I've managed to get a partial fingerprint off a key card… it's a long shot, but…"
"It's something," Michael added.
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry I pulled you away from the case. I had no intention of -"
"You're fine, Michael." Ella walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm happy to take a break and help you."
"Do you have to go back to the precinct tonight?"
"If I want to run more tests on our killer, yes..."
"You've been running yourself ragged since last week, darling. Have you taken a break at all?"
She didn't answer him.
"Let me finish putting this crib together and you can relax for a little. Work can wait for just a little longer."
Ella nodded her head and gave her focus back to Charlie. He was finally quiet, enjoying the swaying. The two watched Michael pop the crib into place. He made sure to test it before looking at Charlie.
"Should we try placing him in the crib or wait until he falls asleep," Michael asked.
"It'd wait till he falls asleep. How is he looking?"
Michael leaned down to see what Charlie was doing. The boy had his hand in his mouth. His eyes were slowly starting to close.
"He's almost out."
"Okay," she whispered.
She gave it another five minutes before she stopped moving and asked Michael to check on him once more.
"He's out. He's been asleep for three minutes now. I think it's safe to put him down."
Ella nodded her head and moved over to the pop up crib. She gently placed him into the crib and waited to see what he'd do. After a minute of holding their breath, they stepped out of the room quietly. Once they rounded the corner, Michael wrapped his arms around her and spun her around the room.
"You are brilliant, you know that?" He placed her down. His hand slid up to the side of her face so he could look at her beautiful face. "The baby whisperer. Baby tammer. Utterly magnificent. A one of a kind."
"Ooo, keep going. I love this."
Michael chuckled. He leaned down and kissed her lips.
"My favorite human in the whole wide world." He placed another kiss on her lips. "My girlfriend?" He dared ask.
"Ooh so we've upgraded?" She wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I think dropping everything to drive across town deserves the title of girlfriend, don't you think?"
"I couldn't let you suffer any longer. You sounded like you were in so much distress." She combed his hair back to fix the stray hairs that were sticking out in different directions. "When was the last time you took a second to relax?"
"I could say the same about you." One hard look from Ella and he folded. "Sometime around two…"
"It's almost eight, Michael. Come here." She dragged him over to the couch so they could sit down. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet… been kinda busy trying to get Charlie settled down."
"I can go out and grab you something to eat."
"No no, I'm fine." He pulled her down on the couch so she could sit down with him. "I just want to relax on the couch with you right now."
"We can do that."
She leaned into Michael so her back was against his chest. Michael went ahead and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled to herself as she recalled what Michael said earlier. "So about this girlfriend position…"
"Yes?" he asked, against her hair.
"Were you serious?"
"Well it solely depends if the position of being your boyfriend is still up for grabs?"
"It is very much still up for grabs." Michael snuzzled his head on her shoulder.
"No competing suitors waiting to sweep you off your feet?" She shook her head. A bright smile beaming from her face, unable to be contained. "No seven deadly ex's I have to defeat?"
The mention of her favorite movie had her completely facing him now. She shook her head again, happy to finally hear the words she'd been waiting to hear.
"Well, since I have no challenges to overcome... I hope I can call you my girlfriend now."
The pure look of rejection flooded Michael's eyes. Almost like he was worried would get a no. She smiled. She went ahead and placed her hands on both sides of his face, giving him confirmation he was in good hands.
"I would really like it if you did," she replied.
"Yeah?"
"As long as I can call you my boyfriend."
"You can call me anything you want Miss Lopez."
She shook her head with a smirk on her lips. He just could not seem to break the habit of calling her by her full name.
"It's Ella, Michael. Just Ella."
"I know," he ran his hand up so he could tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just like how it rolls off my tongue." He leaned forward so he was close to her ear. "Miss Lopez," he purred out.
A shiver traveled down Ella's back. Her stomach filled with butterflies. The way he was able to make her fluster would never get old. She pulled away and placed a kiss on his lips.
"Mr. Prince," she whispered.
"Ooo I like how you say it. Say it again?" He asked.
"Mmm, no no no. I know where this is going." She wagged her index finger at him. "Charlie is in the other room. We have to be responsible adults and listen out for him." She gave him one more kiss on the lips before she got up from the couch.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Going to check on your nephew. You did remember him, didn't you?"
"Of course!" He got up from the couch and followed after Ella. "I just thought you were luring me into the bedroom." He wrapped his arms around Ella from the back, pulling her close to him.
"Ha ha ha," she added sarcasm, "funny, but no." She leaned into his back as they stopped in front of Charlie's crib.
"I have a feeling he's going to be out for the rest of the night. Do you want to order something in and watch some TV show?" He whispered.
"I could do that. Anything you have in mind?" She asked, matching his volume.
"Let's go into the living room and decide. I don't want to risk waking him up."
He let go of Ella and walked them down the stairs once more. Instead of sitting back down on the couch, Ella walked over to the library where she knew the take-out pamphlets were placed. Michael stood back and just watched Ella. He didn't care what they ate, he was just happy he had her over.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Michael with the biggest smile on his face.