Willow hummed quietly as she chopped mushrooms into quarters, adding them to the large bowl of chopped vegetables she had been preparing. She was just about to start on the onion when the sound of the front door slamming loudly made her jump back in fright.
She glanced down at her watch and smiled when she realised Tara must've been able to leave work early and started to walk out of the kitchen to greet her.
"Baby? Is that you? You're home early. I hope you're in the mood to be wined and dined, 'cause I'm making..."
She trailed off as she stepped into the foyer and saw Tara standing there, carrying what looked like a baby carrier by the handle. Her eyes widened as she took another step forward and could clearly see that there was indeed a sleeping infant resting inside.
She gaped at him for a moment before her head flew up to meet her wife's gaze.
"Is..is that a baby? A...a baby? Like a proper baby, not a pet-name-for-you baby? Um...baby?"
Tara carefully put the carrier down on the floor and stepped towards her wife, putting a hand on either of her shoulders.
"I'm so sorry I didn't call first, sweetheart."
Willow opened and closed her mouth in confusion.
"Call? What...why do you have a baby?"
Tara took a deep breath, ready to calmly explain.
"There was kind of an emergency at work and I said I'd take care of this little guy for the weekend. Which I know, is actually volunteering us and I should of called and discussed it with you first, but we were gonna have to send him to a children's home and he's so very little and-"
Willow listened to her wife speak and instantly understood. She quickly put a finger against Tara's lips.
"Whoa, honey, chill," she said softly, leaning forwards to place a gently kiss on the blonde's lips before hunkering down on her knees and peering into the carrier, smiling when she saw he was looking back up at her, "Hey little dude. You wanna hang with us for the weekend?"
Tara watched as Willow ran a hand over the baby's hair and knelt down as well, moving to place a lingering kiss against the redhead's cheek.
"I love you so much."
"And I love you," Willow replied simply, scrunching up her nose when she went to hold the baby's hand and ran her finger's along his tiny ones, "What's his name? Or is it confidential?"
Willow averted her gaze to Tara, who shook her head.
"No, it's not confidential. He's officially in my care and since we're married, that extends to you," she replied before looking down at the baby sadly, "But he doesn't have a name. He was abandoned at the hospital, he's a day old, if even. There were no foster families available and group homes are such a good asset, but..."
"He needs some proper TLC," Willow finished with an understanding smile, "Tara, I fell in love with your beautiful, caring soul. You did the right thing. We can take care of a baby for a weekend. We're gonna need some supplies though."
"I stopped by the supermarket," Tara responded, looking down at the baby again as she noticed he started to move around some more, "You know that huge one down by Oak? Anyway, he was sleeping so I just hooked him onto the shopping cart and grabbed some diapers and formula and bottles and stuff. I wasn't sure what else we might need. There was a Moses basket hanging around the office so I brought that home too. They're all in the car."
Willow frowned in confusion.
"Why was there a Moses basket in your office?"
"For other babies that come through," Tara said softly, tickling the baby's stomach, "Hi. You hungry? I bet you're hungry. Speaking of...Willow, were you cooking?"
Willow just smiled softly and shook her head.
"Doesn't matter. I hadn't even properly started yet since I wasn't expecting you home for a couple of hours."
The baby chose that moment to open his mouth and displayed his strong lung capacity for the first time since Tara had seen him, crying out loudly.
"Oh that's overdue," Tara said, undoing the straps in the carrier and quickly picking him up, cradling him in her arms, "Shush, sweetie, you're okay, I've got you. Are you hungry?"
"I'll go get the formula," Willow said, quickly standing up scurrying out of the room.
"Backseat, honey," Tara called after her as she moved the baby gently in her arms, walking into the kitchen and sitting down on one of the stools, "We're getting you some food now, little one, it's okay."
The baby continued to cry but also started a sucking motion, turning his head towards Tara's chest. At the same time, Willow came back in, carrying one of the tubs of formula the blonde had bought as well as the bag of bottles.
"You're not gonna get anything outta those, little man," she said as she put the items on the island and opening the formula, "Besides, I got dibs and I don't like sharing."
Tara rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smirk on her lips. Willow picked up the package of formula and turned to look at the instructions.
"One scoop..."
Willow read, measuring the powder into the bottle, then filling it with water and handing it to Tara, who shook it for a moment.
"Here you go," Tara said gently, placing the teat of the bottle in the baby's mouth and smiling as he began to suck, "That's it, good boy. Fill your tummy."
"I'll go bring in everything else," Willow said quietly as Tara fed the baby.
Tara nodded and Willow left again.
She went out to the car and brought in everything from the backseat; the packs of wipes and diapers, which she left in the foyer, then retrieving the Moses basket and running upstairs with it, letting it rest beside their bed.
She gathered the other items Tara had bought – a pack of 5 onesies, a pack of 5 similar sleeping suits and two pacifiers – and brought them into the kitchen, leaving them on the island, not sure when exactly they might need them,
"Thanks, sweetheart," Tara smiled at her wife as the baby finished the bottle, "That's a good boy."
Willow just smiled back and went about putting the bowl of vegetables and other ingredients she had out for the dinner she was going to cook back in the refrigerator to use again at a later date.
"I'm sorry I ruined your plans," Tara said, going to hold the baby over her shoulder.
Willow turned back towards her wife and was about to tell her not to worry when she saw what Tara was doing and her eyes widened.
"Whoa, Tare," she said, quickly grabbing a dishcloth and running over to put it over her wife's shoulder, "I like that shirt on you. Don't want it ruined by spit-up."
Tara looked down as Willow adjusted the dishcloth over her shoulder, then beamed up at her wife.
"You're a natural at this."
Willow blushed and looked down shyly before softly stroking the top of the baby's hair again.
"Don't worry about the food. I plan on making you many more romantic meals. It's okay this one got interrupted for this little guy."
"God, Willow, you're amazing," Tara said, grinning when she heard the baby burp, "Anyone else's wife comes home with a tiny human in tow and they'd freak."
Willow just shook her head.
"Who could resist that beautiful face?"
Tara started cradling the baby again and looked down at him.
"He is beautiful, isn't he?"
"I meant you," Willow replied, smiling down at the baby as well, "But, yes, he is most certainly beautiful. Look at those little dimples. I can't believe someone would just leave him."
Tara let out a lengthy sigh.
"He was left with a note saying 'find someone to be what he needs'. Whoever his mother is clearly just wanted the best for him and didn't think she could provide it."
Willow put a hand on her wife's shoulder.
"Well it's lucky there's people like you out there to make sure he gets it," she said as she squeezed the blonde's shoulder before a small glint shone in her eye and she bit the side of her lip, "Hey, Tare-bear? Think I could hold him?"
Tara smiled and held her arms out slightly.
"Of course you can," she replied as Willow took the infant from her wife's arms, "You got his head?"
"Yea, I got him," Willow responded quietly, cradling the baby and cooing at him, "You're adorable, you know that? I could just eat you up."
Tara watched as Willow cooed and giggled at the baby, feeling her heart swell and burst over and over again at the interaction until the redhead's head suddenly shot up, her eyes wide.
"Tara? I think we have a diaper situation."
"Okay, we'll change him" Tara replied calmly, "Bring him into the living room, I'll get the stuff."
Willow looked completely alarmed but followed her wife's instructions, walking into the living room and holding the baby away from her, shaking her head at him.
"You're a stinky little thing as well."
"He can't help it, Will," Tara said from behind her with a smirk as she walked into the room as well, her hands full, "It's a natural process."
"Smelly natural process," Willow muttered as Tara laid a towel out on the floor and indicating for the redhead to kneel beside her.
"Do you want to clean or re-diaper?" Tara asked, as she put the pack of wipes and diaper she'd gotten from the pack beside it towel.
Willow cleared her throat nervously as she gently placed the baby on the towel.
"Um...honey?"
"Yes?" Tara asked, turning her head to meet Willow's gaze as she unfastened the buttons on the onesie.
Willow gestured down towards the baby.
"I've, uh, never changed a diaper before."
"What?" Tara gaped at the redhead, "How have you never changed a diaper before?"
"I don't know," Willow replied defensively, "I never babysat and we never visited other family members when I was a kid and well, how many babies have we come into contact with since we've been together?"
Tara gaped for another moment before letting out a low laugh and shaking her head.
"Alright. Come on, there's a first time for everything."
Willow looked between Tara and the baby, wide-eyed.
"What if I hurt him?"
"You won't," Tara reassured, taking her wife's hand, "I'll show you exactly what to do."
Willow audibly gulped but looked determined.
"Okay. Show me."
Tara smiled and glanced down at the baby, who was looking up and around himself in wonder, quietly observing his world. The blonde took Willow's hand and put it on the diaper.
"Well first you just unfasten the little tabs there at the sides."
Willow followed her wife's directions, recoiling slightly when the smell of the loosened diaper wafted up to her nose.
"Jeez, what the hell do they put in that formula?"
"I have no idea," Tara replied, wincing at the smell as well but trying to focus solely on the task in front of them, "Now gently pull the diaper out from beneath him."
Willow gripped the sides of the diaper and did as she was told, holding the diaper as far away from her as possible and placing it down above the towel, out of the baby's reach.
"Okay, now what?"
"We have to wash him," Tara replied, opening the packet of wipes and pulling one out, then handing it to Willow, "Gently here too."
Willow cleansed the baby's bottom and surrounding area gently, then put the wipe up with the diaper before turning to smile at Tara.
"I'm good at this. We're good at this."
"We are."
The couple shared a loving smile for a moment before the feel of something warm and wet hitting against both of them snapped them from their reverie.
"What the...? Oh holy...!"
Willow stopped herself before the swear word left her mouth, then backed away quickly from where she had been kneeling. Tara too quickly moved off to the side as a stream of urine flew upwards from the baby, the rest landing on the towel beneath him.
"Please tell me we're not covered in pee right now?" Willow asked, grimacing, "Ugh, gross."
"Little boys will be little boys," Tara replied somewhat tersely, grimacing as well. She looked down at the spots of wetness on her clothes and groaned internally before looking at Willow, "Okay, look, I'll finish changing his diaper if you want to go wash the pee outta your hair. Then I'll shower really quickly after."
"You sure?" Willow asked, though she was already on her feet and heading out the door.
Tara waved a hand towards the doorway.
"Yea, go. It's fine."
Tara heard the redhead run up the stairs and moved back to kneel in front of the towel.
"Try and do that in your diaper next time, okay, sweetie?" she said to the baby as she grabbed the new diaper and fastened it around him, "There we go, is that nice and snug? Yea, it is."
Tara picked the baby back up, holding him with one arm as she gathered the dirty diaper and wipe and brought it into the kitchen, trashing them before going back to get the towel and throwing it in the washing machine just as the baby suddenly started crying loudly.
"Oh, hey, shush, sweetie," Tara comforted the baby, "It's okay, what do you need, huh? Are you hungry again?"
Tara quickly and as best she could one-handed made up a bottle but the baby just turned his head away from it and shrieked louder.
"Okay, not hungry. Um...here, maybe you want this?"
She picked up the pacifier from the island and gently encouraged it into his mouth. He greedily started sucking against the plastic and Tara watched as his eyes began closing slowly, the sucking action clearly soothing and tiring him at the same time.
When he was fully asleep, she sat up on a stool and gazed down at him, forgetting completely about the fact that she still had urine all over her and concentrated solely on the sleeping infant in her arms, an errant thought coming to her mind.
I could get used to this.