Emily stole another carrot stick off the table before finding herself lying on the quilt she'd set on her living room floor. "Open," she whispered as cheerfully as she could to the now seven month old who sat up all by herself on the blanket. "Open, baby."
Grace almost glared at the offending item.
"Come on," the agent chuckled, smoothing Grace's hair down. The dark tufts began growing longer, reaching the tips of her ears. "Take it, Gracie. It's going to help, I promise."
The soft words from the older woman had the seven month old reaching for the carrot, her hands barely able to clamp around the slippery vegetable before it ended up on the quilt.
Emily reached for another, helping it between the teething girl's lips. Her eyes followed each of the baby's movements, her hand never leaving her little leg that tried to kick out. She'd spent almost two months in hell, having to meet with her lawyer because Grace's grandmother was filing for full custody.
She had gotten a call from child services saying that Jessica Calt had put in the best word for her, but now that was all changing.
"Bup."
The FBI agent broke out of her trance at the murmur of the little girl. "Is that a real word?"
Grace grinned at the older woman around her carrot.
Emily reached out and tickled the little girl's' sides, watching as she cheerfully laughed and did her best to munch on the cold carrot. "Aren't you beautiful?" the agent mused.
Her lawyer had gotten back to her just that morning, giving her the slightest confidence to think she could win this case. Hennessey was no longer allowed to see Grace until their case was resolved, but Theodore had come over close to a handful of time, profusely apologizing to the younger woman for the actions taken against her before spending the day with his granddaughter.
Thankfully, Emily's spite had simmered down, not wanting to let them build a case against her on the grounds she was keeping Grace because of it.
"Bup!"
The agent pressed a kiss against Grace's cheek. "And bup to you too!" she laughed, letting Grace draw with her spit covered carrot across her nose. "Thank you," she nodded, "I needed that."
Emily sat up and took the baby reaching for her into her arms, feeling Grace's hands grip the collar of her shirt once the carrot fell to the quilt. "Do you want to stay here with me, Gracie?" She watched as those big green eyes looked up to her. "Do you like it here?"
The smile from the seven month old was all she needed for an answer.
"I think it's best to you stay here with me too," she whispered. Putting the carrots back on the plate she had made her daughter - she had been thinking of her that way since the moment she'd been served right at her front door - and wiped the spit from her chin. "You using me as a towel?" She could feel Grace wiping her mouth against her shirt.
With her mouth open, Grace wiped her spit across the purple shirt the woman who took care of her wore before she let her tongue stick out and taste the material.
Emily grimaced. "Ok," the brunette laughed, turning Grace in her lap. "Do you want to talk to daddy?" Feeling the baby squirm in her hold, Emily took the remote and turned on the television. "Think it's time to talk to daddy?"
A month prior, when Grace was tucked away in her crib and sleeping soundly - only on so many nights did that happen - instead of heading to bed, the baby's new guardian had gotten together all of her photos of Matthew she could find tucked away in her various photo albums. She got them burned onto a DVD and played the montage for Grace almost every day.
"Look," she cooed, turning the baby just slightly so she was able to look at those big green eyes. "Look who it is."
Every time the DVD would play Grace's eyes would light up, and the feeling the single woman got from watching the joy on the seven month old's face was too good to pass up. "Who is that?"
Grace was immediately reaching for the screen, her single tooth that was coming in popping out as she smiled.
"Is that daddy?" Emily laughed, waving along with Grace up to the TV screen. "Hi daddy."
Grace's spit bubble popped from her tooth and dribbled down her chin. "Bup," the little girl whispered, watching as the pictures of her father flickered across the screen.
Pressing a long kiss to the almost eight month old baby's soft head, Emily could finally feel her heart warm at the sight of her childhood friend. "I'm going to protect her," she promised him. The ivory skinned woman felt goose bumps pop up along her arms as a photo of her and Matthew when they were just fifteen years old flash onto the screen. "I want to be her mommy."
The seven month old reached up and set her lips sloppily against the agent's chin.
"You're going to stay right here with me." Sharing a kiss with the young girl, Emily set her forehead against hers. "I promise."