Danny woke up in the middle of the night and realized that Lindsay wasn't there. He was momentarily confused, but got up and padded down the hall to the nursery. There sat his wife in a rocking chair, nursing their tiny newborn baby. That intense feeling of pride that was becoming very familiar to him swelled within and he stood there for a moment just watching his beautiful Montana and his sweet baby girl. Lindsay eyes soon began to droop and Danny walked into the room and gently lifted baby Sophia out of her mother's arms and laid her in her crib. He then lifted his wife and carried her back to bed. "Sophie needs a new diaper, " Lindsay said sleepily when he laid her down.

"I'll take care of it," he said gently, "Go back to sleep."

"Thanks, Danny," she said, "I love you."

"I love you too, Montana," he kissed her on the forehead. "Now go to sleep." He waited there with her until she fell asleep and Sophia began to squawk from down the hall.

He went to her and lifted her out of the crib. "Shh, Sophie," he crooned, "Don't wake Mommy," he laid her down on the changing table and got a clean diaper. He smiled as his little daughter gurgled and a hint of a smile crossed her tiny face.

Flashback

"Isn't she beautiful, Danny?" Lindsay asked, tears of pride welled up in her eyes as she held her daughter for the first time.

Danny had to sniffle and wipe the tears away with the back of his hand before answering. "She's perfect," he whispered. "Thank you, Lindsay."

"For what?" she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"For making me the happiest man alive." He kissed his wife gently on the forehead and then his daughter.

Lindsay handed the baby to her father. Sophia's eyes flickered open for a second, and Danny began to cry again when he saw that they were the exact same shade as his own eyes. Everything else about Sophia Elaine Messer screamed Lindsay, but those two little cobalt eyes were unmistakably his. "Look at her eyes, Danny," Lindsay said, "They're just like yours."

"I know," Danny said, blinking away the tears that blurred his vision. "They're mine."

"Enjoy this moment, Danny," Lindsay told him smiling, "Because we're not going to have a quiet moment for several months."

Right then the entire team burst into Lindsay's hospital room making the most racket possible, causing Danny and Lindsay to crack up. "What's so funny?" Stella asked.

Neither of them was able to answer them because they were laughing too hard. Sophia woke up and began to cry, obviously terrified by all the noise. The team quieted immediately, all of them feeling terribly guilty that they were responsible for waking the baby up. Danny rocked Sophia gently and rubbed her tiny little back until she quieted down again. He expected her to fall back to sleep, but she didn't. She just lay there in his arms, her deep blue eyes wide and curious.

Everybody stood in an almost reverent silence, watching baby Sophia. Suddenly Stella started laughing.

"What?" everybody asked at once.

"I just realized," Stella said between giggles, "That we've been standing her for nearly 5 minutes and we still don't know the baby's name."

Everybody else laughed. She was right. Lindsay and Danny had failed to announce the name, and everyone else had failed to ask. Danny and Lindsay exchanged a look. "You wanna tell?" Danny asked.

"No, you can," Lindsay told him.

"How about we do it together?"

"Would you guys just get on with it?" Stella asked, her impatient side showing through.

"Ok, ok," Danny said. "Her name is –"

"Sophia Elaine Messer," he and Lindsay chorused together.

"That's beautiful!" Stella exclaimed.

Danny and Lindsay smiled modestly although they were both secretly thinking that beautiful was quite the understatement.

"Can I hold my little god baby, or not?" Stella asked, her impatience growing.

Danny handed the baby to her godmother carefully. "Oh, she's beautiful," Stella crooned.

"Is she named for anybody?" Peyton asked politely.

"We just like the name Sophia," Lindsay began, "But Elaine was my mother's name."

"And the meanings are really cool, too," Danny added, "Sophia means 'wisdom' and Elaine means 'light.'"

"Stella, I think it's my turn," Mac decided.

"No," she replied stubbornly, turning the baby away from him.

"Hey," he whined in a way very unlike his normal self, "She's my god daughter too!"

Hawkes chuckled, "You guys sound like kids. Just give her up, Stel. I'm sure it won't be the last time you hold her."

Stella huffed. "Turning against me, are you?"

"I'm not!" Flack interjected brightly. "I'm on your side."

"Thank you, Flack," she shot Hawkes a mock angry glare as she handed Sophia over to her godfather

Danny rolled his eyes. "I find it hard to believe that when you guys leave here you're goin' to go save the world from bad guys."

"I know," Lindsay agreed sarcastically, "it makes me feel so safe I might even sleep with my door unlocked tonight."

"Ha ha," Stella said without humor.

The team all had to leave soon after. Once they were gone the room seemed too large and quiet. Lindsay's eyes began to droop. Danny noticed this. "Go to sleep," he told her, "I'll watch Sophie."

End Flashback

Danny finished changing Sophie's diaper, but she began to scream when he tried to set her down in her crib. "Shh, don't wake Mommy," he warned again, "She's no fun when she's grumpy. Trust me, I know," he smiled as though he had just shared a valuable secret with his baby girl. Sophia cooed contently. Danny tried once more to lay her down, but she began to cry again. Not wanting Lindsay to wake up, he picked his child up again and settled down in the rocking chair with her lying against his chest. He gently rocked back and forth. "Go to sleep, Fee," he urged, using his special pet name for her, "Mommy and Daddy need sleep and so do you."

Lindsay woke up several hours later and panicked when she glanced at the clock. Sophia hadn't woken up for another feeding. What if something had happened to her? She hurried down the hall, but stopped at the doorway of the nursery. A smile spread her face as she saw Danny's hunched formed sleeping uncomfortably in the rocking chair, Sophie held protectively against his chest. She really didn't want to disturb them, but knew that she had to or else they'd both be cranky in the morning.

She crossed the room and crouched down by the rocking chair. "Danny," she whispered, kissing him gently on the lips.

Danny startled awake. "What?!" He blinked a few times and soon realized where he was. His baby girl lay fast asleep in his arms and his back was very sore. Lindsay giggled and gently lifted Sophia out of his arms.

"Go to bed," she told him.

"Naw, it's ok," he said. "I'll stay up with you." He got up out of the rocking chair so that she could sit to nurse Sophia.

"Thanks, Danny. It means a lot."

"No problem, Montana, it's not problem at all."

A/N Yes, it's another awkward ending, but I wasn't sure how to end it. And obviously this chapter takes place several months later. But I'm sure you figured that out.

xoxo

Lia