Right Where He Needs to Be
1234567890987654321
Don had decided to take off from work a little early today, he was tired and slightly grumpy. Today was his mother's birthday, she would have been 65 today. Don missed her terribly and her birthday, mothers day, and the anniversary of her death always seemed to make him miss her even more. Today he felt like he needed to spend time with his family.
As soon as Don opened the front door he smiled widely and instantly felt better when he heard Ben running towards him yelling, "Dada! Dada!"
Don had just enough time to remove his gun and holster and place it on the shelf by the door before Ben launched himself into Don's arms and wrapped his arms tightly around Don's neck. "Hey Ben! How's my little guy? Daddy missed you." Don wrapped his arms around his son in a tight hug and gave him a kiss on the side of the head.
"Dada pway!" Ben demanded.
Don laughed as he carried his son into the living room where Robin was sitting on the couch with one of Ben's Spot books resting on her pregnant belly and several other books laying beside her, "Alright Buddy, I'll play but let me say hi to Mommy first."
Don set Ben on the floor and gave Robin a kiss, "Hi Sweetheart, how was your day?"
Robin smiled and kissed him back, "Pretty good, the baby has been kicking like crazy today and Ben has been pretty good. How was work? Did you catch any bad guys?" she teased.
"No, but I did tackle an entire pile of reports." Don laughed. "Where's Cassie?" Don asked referring to the college age girl from down the street that they hired to help take care of Ben during the day. Cassie was 18 and had decided to wait to start college until she had more money saved up and actually knew what she wanted to major in.
"Oh, I sent her home about ten minutes ago, she had a date tonight and I figured Ben and I could manage for a little while until you came home." Robin was no longer on strict bed rest and was allowed to move around the house freely but she still wasn't able to work and was supposed to spend more time sitting or laying down than standing and walking and she couldn't lift anything heavy.
Ben came over to them, handed Don Where the Wild Things Are and demanded, "Wead!"
Don sat down on the couch next to Robin and Ben crawled into his lap and snuggled up between his parents as Don started to read.
1234567890987654321
Later that night after getting Ben bathed and into bed, Don finally climbed into bed with a sigh. He was exhausted. He had spent his entire day at work in meetings with the AD and writing up reports from their latest cases.
Robin rolled on her side to face Don and gave him a kiss. "You seem kind of down. Rough day?"
Don shook his head, "No, no more so than usual in terms of work but today was my mom's birthday…. I miss her."
Robin had forgotten that Margaret's birthday was today, she hadn't really paid attention to the date lately since she didn't have to be anywhere, she just knew that it was sometime in the month of September. "I wish I would have known your mom. She sounds like she was a wonderful person."
Don nodded, "You would have loved her. She would have loved you. Loved all this." Don was gently massaging Robin's belly, "She would be so excited to have another grandchild. The kids would be spoiled rotten between my mom and my dad." Don laughed.
Robin laughed with him then fell silent for a few minutes as she ran her fingers through his hair, "I think if this baby is a girl we should name her after your mom." Robin was almost seven months along and they still didn't know if they were having a boy or a girl. At her last ultrasound, the baby wasn't in the right position to tell.
Don smiled, "I'd like that. Margaret could be either a first or a middle name."
"What was your mom's middle name?"
"Elizabeth, Margaret Elizabeth."
"We could do Elizabeth Margaret." Robin suggested.
"It may be kind of weird having a daughter named Elizabeth with my history with Liz, you know."
Robin nodded, "I see your point. How about Sarah."
"Katelyn."
"Hannah."
"Emily."
"Emily Margaret." Robin thought aloud, "I like that."
Don smiled, "I do too. So Emily Margaret for a girl. What about if it's another boy?"
"Let's name him after your dad. He's been so helpful through all of this, taking care of Ben, helping me out, getting things done around the house when you've been too busy working a case."
"I like that idea. Dad would be thrilled. So Alan as a middle name? It would get confusing having two Alan's."
"Hmmm, how about Christopher?"
Don shook his head, "Matthew."
"No, my high school sweetheart was named Matt."
"Okay then. Josh?"
Robin shook her head, "Mason?" she suggested before she completely thought it through.
Don shook his head vehemently, "No. Definitely not. Mason Duryea was the one who kidnapped Amita. I don't think that would be a very good idea."
Robin gasped and put her hand over her mouth and apologized, "I'm sorry! I hadn't thought about that!"
"Hey, it's alright. That's not something that is ever talked about a lot and you were out of town when that happened."
"I know but still, I feel bad for forgetting all about it. It's hard to come up with names that don't have some attachment to a bad guy you arrested or I prosecuted. And it's hard to remember the names of all the criminals that have crossed our paths."
"Robin, if we crossed off the first name of every person that I ever put in prison or you prosecuted, we would be stuck with a name like Ernest or Horace or something equally as bad." Don laughed.
Robin giggled at that, "Actually I did prosecute a man named Ernest once."
"Well that narrows is down quite a bit. Horace Alan Eppes, what do you think?" Don gave her one of his million watt grins.
He needs to smile like that more often, Robin thought. She shook her head, "No, definitely not, the poor boy would be made fun of his whole life."
Don thought for a few more minutes before he spoke again, "How about Levi?"
Robin mulled over that, "I like that! Levi Alan Eppes."
"So it's settled then, Emily Margaret Eppes for a girl and Levi Alan Eppes if it's a boy."
"It's settled. My next ultrasound is next week so if the baby isn't being shy again we will know if we are having an Emily or a Levi."
Don smiled as he continued to massage her belly.
"Do you think Ben will be okay? Once the baby is born I mean?" Robin asked.
"I think he'll be alright. He may be thrown for a loop for a little while after we bring the baby home from the hospital but I think he will adjust alright. He's pretty easy going and happy and he doesn't seem too offended when Liz and Cam are over here with Maya and one of us is holding her." Liz Warner had started dating Cam Paxton, the DEA agent who had helped Liz get an in with the Hawaiian Ice dealers, shortly after he was done with rehab. They got married a few months after Don and Robin and now had a beautiful two month old baby girl named Maya Elizabeth Paxton.
"Well that's true but usually when Liz and Cam are here, someone is playing with Ben while one of us is holding Maya."
Don nodded, "I think he'll be okay after a few weeks. We just need to remember to include him in things and spend some one-on-one time with him. Like read him story or play a game when the baby is sleeping or something. Or if one of us is busy with the baby the other should spend time with Ben to let him know that we both still love him and that he's not being replaced by the baby. That's what my mom and dad used to do with me after Charlie was born." Don sighed with a wistful look on his face.
Robin ran a hand through his hair, "What is it now?" she asked gently.
Don sighed, "I was just thinking about Charlie. I miss him. It's so weird not having him around to talk to and hang out with or have him and Amita help out with a case." Charlie and Amita were still in England on their visiting professorships.
"I know, I miss them too. They will be back soon enough though. I'm sure Charlie misses you just as much. I was IM'ing with Amita earlier today. She says Charlie is getting homesick and really misses you and your dad. She said they can't wait to get back."
"I can't wait either. I didn't know I was going to miss him this much."
"You two have come so far in the last six years."
"Yeah, before he started consulting on my cases we hardly ever talked and now we talk all the time and its not just about work like we used to… you know, I was really reluctant to let him help with the serial rapist case, that was the first case we worked together that didn't involve financial crimes." Don explained, "He's my best friend now. If someone told me ten years ago that Charlie would be my best friend and that he would be consulting with my team, I would have laughed them out of the room and now I can't imagine what life would be like if he wasn't." he smiled.
"It's a good thing you let him help. It's great that you two have become so close. I'm glad you did." Robin smiled.
"Yeah I don't know where I'd be now without him. I wish he was going to be home in time for the baby's birth but I don't think that will happen."
"When are he and Amita flying back to the States?" Robin asked.
"December third, it's a Saturday. The term ends on the second but Charlie says he and Amita are done giving finals on Tuesday the first, so they are going to get everything graded and wrapped up to come home on the third."
"Well they should be back just a few days after the baby is born then, unless the baby continues to be stubborn and arrives late. Since my due date is November 29th, it is entirely possible that he or she won't arrive until the first week of December."
"Maybe. So far he or she has been doing a pretty good job of being stubborn."
"Gee, I wonder who the baby got that from?" Robin rolled her eyes.
"Couldn't possibly be me." Don put on an innocent face but had a twinkle in his eyes, "Must have gotten that from its mother."
"Oh really? You don't think you are stubborn but I am?"
"Yep."
"No way am I more stubborn than you, Mr. We-Do-Things-My-Way, No highway option."
"There is nothing wrong with being persistent with your methods."
"Persistent is just a synonym for stubborn." Robin challenge but with a smile on her face.
Don opened his mouth but shut it when he couldn't come up with a quick enough rejoinder. 'Damn,' he thought, 'she's got me there. I really need to stop arguing with lawyers. She wins every time.' Then aloud he said, "Well since you put it that way, our child is doomed to be stubborn, what with the both of us."
Robin laughed and wrapped her arms around him as she gave him a kiss, "I love you, and all your stubbornness."
Don gave her another million watt smile, "I love you too Robin." Don pulled her close and kissed her deeply.
1234567890987654321
