Disclaimer: See chapter 1
--------------------
Reid opened his eyes to find the sun streaming in the windows of Linda's condo. He looked at the spot beside him on the bed but it was empty, only the indentation on the pillow bore witness that someone else had slept there. Well, that and the clothes that lay strewn haphazardly throughout the room. He smiled when he thought of the physical exploits of the night before, some need driven and frantic, others sensual and languid. Linda, he'd discovered, was an adventurous tigress in bed and she had awakened a side of himself he was surprised to realize existed.
A loud squeal emanated from the floor below. That was why she had left the comfort of their bed, Henry. Reid got up, donned his sleep pants and wrapped himself in a terrycloth robe Linda had bought for him. He kept a few clothes here as well. He bounded down the stairs to hear Linda doing a very credible imitation of a jet engine as she twisted and turned a spoon holding something that looked totally unappetizing towards Henry who squealed with delight.
"You're such a good boy," Linda said in the high pitched voice people always seemed to reserve for babies.
"Good morning," Reid said as he bent to kiss her. "I see you two are up early. Why didn't you wake me?"
"You looked so comfortable sleeping. I didn't have the heart," she replied as another spoonful made its way into Henry's mouth.
"Yeah, well I was tired," he raised his eyebrows. "You know how to wear a guy out."
"On the contrary, I thought you displayed remarkable stamina," she winked. "At least I didn't hear you complaining last night."
"Nor will you, as long as you don't try to feed me," he pointed to the food in the three sections of Henry's bowl, "I'm not even sure what that is."
"It's healthy food for a young little boy like Henry," another spoonful was devoured by the infant.
"Give me sugar laced coffee any day," he yawned as the aroma from the kitchen drew him to the coffee pot. "So what are our plans for the day with Master Henry?" he asked as he added sugar to his coffee.
"I thought we'd take him in the stroller to the park. Why don't you finish feeding him while I go take a shower?"
"I don't know anything about how to feed a b…baby," he stammered as she stood to head for the stairs.
"JJ was confident when she made you his godfather, you're a genius," she giggled. "You'll figure it out."
Reid sat in the chair vacated by Linda and looked at the infant sitting on the table in his carrier. He'd seen his godson a few times and even held him but he'd never had anything to do with the actual day to day care and maintenance of the baby. "Um okay Henry, let's see if we can get the rest of this…goop into you." He took a spoonful of the baby food and brought it to the baby's mouth. The mouth didn't open like it had for Linda. He attempted to make himself sound like a jet engine weaving the spoon this way and that but Henry only looked at him like he was an alien life form. He tried making what he considered were funny faces but to no avail. The Jaws of Life could not have pried the baby's mouth open. He looked into his godson's eyes and followed his line of sight. "Oh, I get it now, you were looking at Linda's breasts and thinking lunch. I hear ya," he put his hand up to hide his mouth and whispered, "I was doing the exact same thing last night. Don't you dare tell JJ I said that." Henry, for some reason, seemed to find this amusing and laughed giving Reid an opening to stick the spoon in his mouth. He raised his arms like he'd scored the winning touchdown in the super bowl.
When Linda returned to the dining room Reid had just given Henry his last spoonful of what Linda said was food. "See, you did just fine," she said.
"I appealed to his baser instincts," Reid told her. Linda looked confused at this comment. "Never mind, it's a guy thing."
"Why don't you go and shower while I make breakfast?"
------------------------
Although the day was sunny and mild for September, Linda had insisted on putting a denim jacket over Henry's tee shirt that he wore with blue jeans. The baby seemed to be taking in the new sights and sounds as this was not the usual walk to the park he made every day with his daddy. The park was alive with activity when the threesome arrived. Children played on the swings and the slide, others dangled from monkey bars with the fearlessness of youth while yet another group tossed a Frisbee around. A man and a young boy were off to one side playing catch. The man, his father the couple presumed, seemed to be doing most of the catching while the boy was left to run after the ball when he missed it. They saw a little girl with her blond hair tied in pigtails crouched behind a bush, obviously hiding from the child who was It in a game of hide and seek. Youngsters on bicycles and skateboards cruised on the cement pathways.
Linda smiled at all the things going on while it only reminded Reid of all the things he'd missed as a child. They found a bench with a good view of the park and sat down. Linda turned the stroller so Henry could get a good view of the goings on while making sure to shade him from the sun. An elderly woman sat on the bench as well. Her face was lined with age but she smiled and nodded at them as they sat down. Linda noticed the support stockings, the orthopedic shoes the woman wore and the cane that leaned against the bench beside her. "It's a lovely day," the woman said. "My granddaughter," she gestured to the woman and three children who played with the Frisbee, "wants her kids to run off some energy or they'll be totally unmanageable. She banged her cane on the ground. "It's hard to believe I had energy like that once. This little one will too." She reached out one hand and touched Henry's cheek. "How old is he?" she asked.
"He's ten months," Linda replied.
"He's a hefty little guy," she said.
"Yeah, he's a good eater," Linda responded to which Reid rolled his eyes.
The Frisbee thrown by the woman's granddaughter was missed by her little girl and sailed over Reid's head into the bush behind the bench where they sat. The child came to retrieve it but soon called out, "I can't reach it mommy."
"I'll get it," Reid said saving the harried mother from having to disengage the toy from the bush herself.
"He's fair," the old woman said, gesturing to Henry while Reid worked at recovering the Frisbee. "He doesn't have any of your coloring. I guess he takes after your husband which isn't too bad," she added with a wink.
"Oh no, Henry's not my ba…" Linda stopped speaking as tears pricked at the back of her eyes. "I didn't get a chance to have my baby," she whispered softly. "We…we have to go," Linda said when Reid came back after returning the Frisbee to the child.
"Go," Reid said, "we just got here."
"Please," he could hear the tears in her voice. "Can we just go?"
"Sure, okay," what had happened to upset Linda so suddenly.
------------------
Linda refused to talk on the walk back from the park. She'd just kept her head down and pushed the stroller. Once they were inside the condo, Reid asked, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
"That woman, she thought Henry was my baby and when I tried to tell her all I could think of was that I never got a chance to have my baby." She burst into tears.
Reid held her in his arms while she cried. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
"You're doing it, just by being here." She released herself and headed for the living room.
Reid looked at the direction she'd gone and back at Henry. "I guess it's just you and me buddy." He released Henry from the stroller and the baby began to cry. "Uh, could you please not do this now?" he asked but the tears kept falling. Worse yet, something didn't smell very good. "Okay, I guess this is diapers for dummies 101." He carried the infant up the stairs to the spare bedroom and the huge bag of supplies JJ had brought. "I'm going as fast as I can," he told the wailing infant. "Okay, diaper, wipes, baby powder. This must be the thing you change him on," Reid said as he gathered the needed supplies. He laid the pad on the bed and gently put the baby on the pad and started to remove the infant's pants, which was difficult because Henry would not stop moving his legs. "Um Henry, if you could cooperate just a little, it would help a lot."
"Let me," he heard from the doorway.
"No, it's okay. I can do it…I think," Reid replied looking at Linda and taking in her red eyes.
"I'm sure you can but I'm okay now." She sniffed as she smiled at the baby. "Henry, do you need that nasty diaper changed?" She took over and Henry seemed to cooperate beautifully with her. He laughed as she tickled his tummy.
Reid felt tears prick at the back of his own eyes as he saw what she would have been like with their baby girl. He turned and ran from the room before she could see.