The sound of a baby babbling began to pull CC into consciousness. Her eyes opened slowly to find the small face directly in hers. Sophie had her fingers in her mouth, and when CC fully opened her eyes, Sophie giggled.
She looked over at Niles where he lay on top of the covers on the edge of the bed facing the two of them.
There was a vague memory of Sophie fussing after she'd fallen asleep. She caught a brief glimpse of Niles putting Sophie in the bed between them during the night.
Sophie took her fingers out of her mouth and stared at CC silently for a moment before she attempted to touch her face with the wet fingers. CC caught the little wrist with two fingers before it made contact and pretended to shake the hand formally. "Good morning, Sophie."
Niles stretched and opened his eyes moving to his back on the bed and scooting in sleepily.
The minute Sophie saw Niles awake, she whimpered and crawled to his side sitting up. She began bouncing up and down waiting for him to fully wake.
Niles blinked few times looking over at CC. "Babcock, don't you know that means "feed me" in baby language?"
CC hugged her pillow. "No, I'm not familiar." She smiled and shut her eyes. "But feel free to get right on that."
Niles stretched and sat up putting the pillows behind him. "I think not. Today, I'm going to show you how to take care of Sophie on your own."
She shrugged with her eyes closed. They'd changed the baby together last night and she'd sort of helped by handing him things.
He tugged at her covers. "Up and at-um."
CC yawned and squeezed her pillow. "C'mon, Niles. You can give me 5 more minutes. After all, I did let you sleep in my bed last night."
Niles stretched then picked up Sophie with one arm and turned around on his way out of the door. "That is not how I intended to get into your bed."
"And just how did you intend to get into my fiancé's bed." An angry voice from the doorway threatened.
Niles' mouth became a surprised O shape, but he was still clearly amused.
CC sat up quickly. "Chandler! When did you get in?!"
Niles mouthed, "Sorry," then held Sophie in the air in front of him. "Wet one! Coming through!" He turned heading for the doorway blocked by Chandler.
Chandler stood angrily trying to stare Niles down as if he was still contemplating his next action.
Holding the baby at eye level Niles jutted her at him. "She's about to blow."
"Chandler?" CC left the bed and put her robe on.
Chandler looked at Niles and then the baby. Seeing the diaper, his lip somewhat curled and he stepped aside as CC reached him, and Niles exited with the baby.
Chandler continued to look at the doorway as CC pulled him away. "How did you get in?"
"Your father let me in."
"Daddy?" She said it with her brows knitted.
"We arrived at the same time."
CC shook her head and Chandler looked over her shoulder at the bed. "So, he slept in this bed with you last night?"
CC pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's not really like that."
CC took a deep breath and closed her eyes because she could feel her temperature rising. When she opened her eyes, she was barely under control. "Long story short, we took care of Sophie and we fell asleep."
"Sounds plausible to me," another strong voice called, and they turned to see Stewart Babcock standing in the bedroom doorway in his coat.
"Hi, Daddy," CC greeted him quietly and he nodded.
"Now, Chandler, old boy, I know you're not doubting my daughter's word. Are you?"
Chandler straightened his black suit jacket. "Of course not, sir."
CC rushed to the door and slowly began to close it. "Daddy I'll be right down; I need to speak to Chandler privately."
"Ok, Kitten." Stewart looked at Chandler as he answered her. "I'll be downstairs."
CC shut the door and leaned back on it. "Chandler, a lot has happened since yesterday."
She motioned for him to sit back on the bed. He looked at it in disgust and moved to chair in the room. He pushed his jacket back to keep from sitting on it.
CC spoke again as gently as she could muster. "DD and Andrew granted Niles and I guardianship of Sophie in their will."
"Why would- "
"-I don't know why, Chandler. But until we figure things out, it's probably best if we stay here with her."
"You and I?"
"Nooo." CC tried to look innocent.
"You and Niles? Together?"
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" CC heard Niles from Down the hall.
"Do you mind?!" CC pounded her fists on her knees looking at the closed door.
She took a breath and lowered her voice. "It's only for a few days." CC watched as Chandler struggled in disbelief.
She tried to sound soothing. "He's going to help me…well, show me, how to take care of Sophie."
"Oh, he is." Chandler spoke slowly as he seemed to be calculating something before, he stood and walked to her. "I'm not happy about this. But maybe it's a good idea you learn to take care of the child."
CC sighed. Chandler was missing the point.
He stood and bristled a little. "But I'd like him to stay out of your bedroom."
She shut her eyes and curled her fists, "Chandler!" She stopped and he looked at her almost confused for a moment.
She took another deep breath. "You're running late for your morning meetings."
"Yes." He walked to the door of the bedroom. "I can cancel. Just say the word."
"No. I'll be taking care of Sophie all day. Call me tonight." She put a hand on his suit lapel and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He picked up her left hand and moved her hand back and forth looking at the engagement ring he gave her and nodded before he gave it a squeeze. "I'll call you."
He kissed her on the cheek, and she felt an odd twinge as if things had just slipped from her control.
Chandler walked down the hall pausing by the nursery door where Niles was tending to Sophie.
Stewart called from the bottom of the stairs. "Let me walk you out, Chandler."
Chandler flexed his hand with a grimace and then went down the stairs.
CC could hear Stewart letting Chandler out downstairs as she peaked into the nursery where Niles was finishing putting socks and booties on Sophie. The little girl chewed on a handheld stuffed duck as she giggled and kicked.
Niles looked up at CC with a playful sternness. "Get over here, and learn something, brunette."
Their eyes were locked with their old smirks and the interaction erased the melancholy in her. CC smiled back, "I think you have it under control."
He finished putting the shoe on Sophie and picked her up in the air as he had earlier and pushed the baby at her in his curt manner. "It's time to feed her. Carry her downstairs to the kitchen."
"But I'm not dressed." She pushed her hair down and backed up.
Niles stepped forward and pushed the baby at her again. "A baby's stomach waits for no one."
CC's hands came up and she held the baby away from her body as Sophie protested and turned to try to get back to Niles. "Niles, she doesn't want- "
"Nonsense, Babcock." Niles held her shoulder and gently positioned her hands closer to her body and showed her how to hold the baby close in front of her with one arm. "You'll need the other to hold the railing. Let's go."
She followed him down the stairs with some difficulty as Sophie complained and reached for Niles the whole way. They made their way to the kitchen where Stewart sat at the counter with a cup of coffee.
CC looked at him as if she'd seen a ghost. "Daddy, you made your own coffee?" Sophie suddenly bucked and tried to escape backwards screeching. CC quickly put her hand behind Sophie's head to catch her and Sophie practically knocked the wind out of her.
"Nice save." Stewart pointed, "Of course I can make coffee. I'm a Navy man."
Niles pulled the tray off the highchair and gestured to the chair with one hand and put a hand over his ear with the other.
"Gladly." CC eagerly put Sophie down in the chair and Niles replaced the tray.
Sophie settled as Niles put a pacifier in her mouth.
CC went into the cabinet and grabbed a jar of organic food. "Here this looks healthy." She brought the jar to Niles and handed it to him.
He put his hands up. "Your turn. I changed her."
Stewart laughed from the chair at the counter. "On that note, I'll take my leave"
"Do you have to?" CC turned.
"I just came to check on you kitten." He picked up his coat and stopped. "And to let you know the court date for temporary guardianship will be Monday. I'm not sure if you'll have to attend."
CC looked at Niles and they both said, "We'll attend."
Stewart shook Niles' hand and CC walked Stewart to the front door. "How's mummy?"
Stewart shook his head and tried to tread lightly. "Maybe, you can try to call her if you're feeling up to it?"
"Yeah, and maybe she'll volunteer to help take care of her granddaughter."
"Kitten, you know DD just isn't capable of that kind of…. activity."
CC sighed and changed the subject as she opened the door for Stewart. "And by the way, thank you for letting Chandler surprise me this morning."
Stewart kissed her on the cheek. "Oh, was that a bad thing?" He gave her a wide smile and laughed to himself as he headed out the door.
Back in the kitchen Niles had tied an apron around his waist and had begun to make eggs and bacon while Sophie banged on the highchair tray.
CC straightened her robe and sat down in a very business-like manner. "Now, Sophie, I'm going to feed you this…" she looked at the jar. "…strained…something or other." She opened the jar and put the spoon in and mixed it.
Sophie took one look at the jar and took her pacifier out and threw it in CC's general direction. CC leaned to the side letting it fly over her shoulder. CC smiled. "You missed."
Niles had been watching and stood holding the spatula. "Babcock, you're supposed to keep things she puts in her mouth from touching the floor."
CC sat up indignantly and spoke as if he were a child. "It could have hit me in the eye." She turned back to Sophie and brought the spoon up. "Ok, now open up. "
Sophie smacked the spoon as she shrieked and turned her head away.
The strained sweet potato flew off the spoon and across CC's chest She sat back stiffly looking down at the mess on her chest with her mouth wide open.
"Don't you dare!" She turned around and looked at Niles who turned away from her instantly hiding his laughter.
He grabbed a dish towel from the island and brought it to her without looking at her and headed back to the counter where he turned down the heat on the eggs and bacon.
He began scooping the eggs out onto the plates as if he wasn't paying any attention to the scene on the other side of the kitchen.
Sophie began to rock back and forth in the chair trying to escape as CC finished cleaning her shirt and filled the spoon once again.
Niles craned his neck toward her. "Perhaps, we should skip the organic food."
"-Don't be ridiculous." CC put her nose in the air.
Sophie turned her head away and CC decided she would handle it like she did everything else. "Now Sophie, this is baby food, and you are a baby. Therefore, you must eat your breakfast, or you may not get up from your high chair."
Sophie screeched and CC followed Sophie's shaking head from side to side with the spoon. She put in a bite of food against Sophie's will.
Sophie stopped screaming and grimaced as she moved her mouth.
CC turned her head. "See, Niles."
Sophie forcefully spit all of the sweet potatoes at CC, and it sprayed across her face and hair.
Sophie then screamed again pushing at the high-chair tray forcefully.
CC pushed her chair back and froze in shock as Sophie wailed.
Niles put a bit of the egg on a small toddler plate and brought it to the screaming baby and placed it on her tray.
Suddenly the wails ceased, and the room was quiet. The baby examined the scrambled eggs, then gingerly picked up small pieces in her pincer grip. She brought them to her mouth and began to eat.
Niles handed CC a new dish towel from where it hung formally over his arm and she swiped it from his hand violently and stood wiping her face.
Niles bit his lips to hide his smile as she glared at him.
"You set me up." She said through gritted teeth and then slammed the towel on the table and left the room.
Niles called behind her, "Nooo! Come on, Babcock. Come eat your eggs!" His voice was deep, sympathetic and with a touch of rascal as she marched to the foyer and up the stairs with a stiff back.
—
After she showered and cooled down, she came down the stairs dressed in a short sweater and jeans, with her hair pushed back behind her ears.
Niles was just finishing cleaning up the breakfast mess and Sophie was sitting in a bouncy chair contraption chewing on a toy.
Sophie turned her head away as CC entered and Niles picked his head up appreciatively. "Babcock, you're dressed casually -and without even a baseball game in sight?"
CC shrugged and sat on an island stool throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Well, if she's going to throw things at me…"
Niles smiled and took a plate out of the oven. "Egg white frittata—I've kept it warm for you."
CC crossed her arms. I'm not very hungry.
"Babcock, I know you're hungry. You haven't even had your usual morning hair of the dog. "
"I didn't even get the dog yet. I don't need the hair."
He stopped and opened his mouth and she leaned over the counter and shoved a piece of the bacon in it. After his initial surprise, he ripped off the piece sticking out of his mouth while growling like a dog.
She smirked then picked at a small piece of bacon. She chewed slowly letting the smile drain from her eyes.
After a moment she decided she needed to be serious, and she slowly wiped her fingers on a napkin. "Niles, I can't properly help you with Sophie. I think we should ask Andrew's family members if they're interested in her guardianship."
Niles broke their eye contact and instantly opened the oven and began rearranging the racks. "Babs don't be so hard on yourself. It was a rookie mistake."
CC shook her head. "I don't know what they were thinking- putting us in charge. I mean you; I understand. But me? I've never held Sophie without her screaming her head off in her whole life."
Niles shut the oven and stood up. "That's fixable. Give it time." He leaned back on the counter behind him "Babcock, don't tell me there's something you can't do." The lighting overhead hit a brief gleam in his eye as he searched her. "I suppose this will cause problems going forward with Chandler?"
She nodded slowly looking up at him.
He looked down as if thinking or restraining himself from speaking before he balled the dishtowel in his hand and threw it on the counter. "Ok, Babcock. You win. We'll talk to Andrew's family after the service."
She nodded and swiveled to see Sophie in the bouncy chair. Everything inside of her said that Sophie belonged with her family, not Andrew's. Her insides also reminded her that she didn't know anything about children, her role models weren't great, and this was going to derail her entire life.
She stole a look at Niles as he turned and walked to Sophie's bulky highchair. Using one arm, he neatly folded it, swept it from the middle of the room and turned as if choreographed.
Then came the flashes of dances that they'd shared, holding each other, laughing…kissing. It had cost her…something to stay on this path. It took discipline, determination…thoughts of her hand running from his neck to his shoulder as they kissed intruded on her resolve.
She stood abruptly to leave, and he called after her. "Oh no, Babcock. You forgot this." He went to Sophie's bouncing chair and picked her up as she still chewed the toy.
"Can it wait?" CC needed to get space from him until this feeling wore off.
"No." He brought the baby to CC. "Walk around the mansion and do a show and tell. Whenever she cries, show her something new."
Sophie tried to wiggle from her grasp as CC took her.
"Teach what you know. Start with the bar." Niles winked and then went to the table to make a grocery list.
CC huffed and turned on her heal with Sophie. "Come on, Sophie. We have better things to do." Sophie wailed and reached for Niles as they spun around and went down the hall to the living room.
