Monroe: hey Nick when you're awake got a favor to ask.
Nick: i'm awake. just got back from running with Sean and we're sitting down to eat breakfast. what's up?
Monroe: So you call it "running" now, eh?
Monroe: UGH why oh why did I just ask that?
Nick: LOL
Nick: i actually meant running, it wasn't a euphemism for anything else…so what's the favor?
Monroe: Yes, back to the reason I texted you bright and early on a Sunday morning. I want to take Rosalee out for a nice lunch. We haven't been out of the house since Gigi was born. I think we're both going a bit stir-crazy. What would you say to watching Gigi for a few hours?
Nick: Gigi needs more Uncle Nick time, so i'm saying YES!
Monroe: Great, thanks man! I think we could both use a relaxing lunch date before Rosalee reopens the Spice Shop tomorrow.
Nick: what time do you want me to come by?
Monroe: 11:00?
Nick: ill be there!
Nick: do you mind of Sean comes too?
Monroe: I kinda assumed you'd both come
Nick: we'll be there!
Nick sets his phone down and smiles as he goes back to eating his breakfast. Sean watches him, debating asking what the texting was about. "Was that Hank? Did you two catch a case?"
Nick shakes his head. "Nope! My quiet weekend free of cop-duty and Grimm-duty continues! Monroe wants to take Rosalee to lunch, so I get to take care of Gigi for a few hours. Do you want to come with me? Enjoy some couple time while we watch the most adorable little girl?" He asks giving Sean a smile that he knows will usually have Sean agreeing to whatever he's asking.
"I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'm happy to come along dilectum meum."
Nick's eyes darken and his pulse quickens at hearing Sean speak Latin, but there will be time later for acting on those tantalizing thoughts. "It'll be good practice for both of us before our little one comes along. Although…maybe we don't tell Monroe or Rosalee we're planning to practice our parenting skills on Gigi." Nick cringes at the thought of the reaction of Gigi's over protective Blutbad father if he heard the Grimm and Royal-Zauberbiest were "practicing" their parenting skills on his newborn daughter.
Sean laughs at the expression on his mate's face. "Probably for the best that we leave that part out."
Nick smiles brightly. "Since you cooked such a wonderful breakfast, it's only fair that I do the dishes before we head out to Monroe and Rosalee's." Nick says as he stands and kisses Sean before collecting their plates to take to the kitchen.
Sean looks over at Nick as they drive to Monroe and Rosalee's house. He is not entirely confident their babysitting duty will go smoothly, but he can feel the excitement rolling off Nick. "Out of curiosity Love, how much experience do you have caring for babies?"
Nick glances up from his phone where he has been googling taking care of a newborn babyand smiles at Sean. He can see the apprehension in the stiff set of Sean's shoulders. "Does holding Gigi in the hospital and at Christmas dinner count as experience?"
Sean tries to stifle a sigh. "Well…it's better than no experience at all."
Nick gives him another bright smile. "That's the spirit! We'll be fine Sean! Gigi loves her Uncle Nick and I know she'll love her Uncle Sean too!"
"We'll be fine – that sounds like famous last words…"
"Relax Sean! I'm sure Monroe and Rosalee will tell us everything we need to know to watch their daughter for a few hours. Plus, if they forget to tell us something isn't that what google and YouTube are for?"
Sean can't help but smile at Nick's confident attitude towards their impending babysitting duty. Surely a few hours of taking care of a tiny baby can't be too hard. After all, they solve murders and arrest criminals on a daily basis. Compared to that, childcare is…petrifying. Sean sighs quietly as Nick goes back to researching on his phone.
Nick and Sean stand Gigi's nursery listening intently and watching as Monroe explains how to change a diaper. "Ok, so start by gently laying Gigi on the changing table. Stand at the edge closest to her adorable little feet, with her lying down in front of you, her toes closest to your body. Remove any clothes that will hamper the changing of her diaper. Today it's the adorable little pink lounge pants her Momma picked out. Yes, Momma always makes sure you're dressed like the princess you are! Next open the clean diaper that you got out of the changing table drawer and position it like this. See how the two halves make up the diaper? Grab the back half by its tabs on either side. Slide this back half underneath Gigi's bottom and dirty diaper, up to waist height."
Monroe demonstrates opening the diaper pail next to Gigi's changing table as he continues to talk. "Once it's in place remove her wet or dirty diaper and put it in the diaper pail. Make sure to close the pail, cause UGH the smells that comes outta this little one! OH! Please please remember to keep one hand on Gigi, even when disposing of the diaper into the pail! She's quite wiggly! Yes you are! Such a wiggly little princess! Next use one of the wipes that are in the warmer to clean Gigi. I can't stress how important it is that the wipe come out of the warmer. Gigi is most indignant if a cold wipe touches her. Isn't that right my little Princess?!After that, secure her new clean diaper in place. All fresh now, aren't you my Kuschelwanze?! Then redress her in the clothing you previously took off. Now if she happens to leak and the clothes are wet or dirty, Rosalee laid out some fresh outfits on the footstool over there."
Nick and Sean try to keep from snickering at the adorable way their big formerly-bad Blutbad friend seems to melt as he talks to his daughter. "Trust me that you'll want to double-check that the clean diaper is secure and balanced on either side before redressing Ms. Gigi. It's far easier to adjust it now than to find out later when she leaks all over her Momma while they are cuddling. I may or may not have learned that lesson the hard way." Monroe winces recalling that particular incident.
Monroe stops to take a breath and looks over at Sean and Nick, who appear a bit dazed. "It's really not that complicated guys. She's already had her super messy morning diaper, so aside from one or maybe two wet diapers it should be easy sailing while we're gone. How about we head downstairs and Rosalee will show you how to heat up a bottle and feed this little lady? Then we're off to our lunch date!"
The couple follows Monroe down to the kitchen where Rosalee is taking a baby bottle out of their refrigerator. She crosses the kitchen and hugs Nick and Sean. "Hey there! I was just getting Gigi's bottle out. Let me show you how to heat one up. She's probably getting hungry, so now is the perfect time to heat one up. We should be back before she'll want to eat again, but just in case Ms. Gigi is having one of her eat every two hours afternoons, you'll be prepared to heat up another bottle"
Rosalee walks across their kitchen to the counter that is covered with baby bottles and accessories. Nick can't help but chuckle to himself. He remembers a time when that counter used to be covered in accessories to make beer and beet sausages. How things are changing in his friend's life. His and Sean's life will soon be taking a similar course, he hopes. He is drawn out of his musings as Rosalee starts explaining how to heat a bottle. "We keep several bottles of breast milk in the refrigerator. I've already filled the warmer with water, but if you need to warm anymore bottles just make sure the water level is at that red line. Plug the warmer in and click on the switch on the front of the warmer. When the bottle has been in the warmer long enough, the light on the front begins to flash, indicating that the milk in the bottle is at the appropriate temperature. Remove the bottle and test the temperature by shaking a few drops of milk onto your wrist. If the milk is too hot, allow the bottle to cool for a few minutes."
Rosalee looks over to see Sean and Nick giving the bottle warmer much the same dazed expression Monroe encountered upstairs. "It'll be fine guys! I'll feed her now before we go and most likely she'll be set until we're back."
"Uh, how do we know if she's hungry?" Nick asks.
Monroe walks further into the kitchen carrying his daughter. "Oh believe me, Gabrielle will be sure to let the entire neighborhood know when she's hungry!"
Rosalee laughs as she takes Gigi from Monroe and picks up the bottle. "Yes, she is rather vocal when she's hungry. Come on Nick! I'll show you how to hold her to give her a bottle." Rosalee says as she makes her way into the family room where Monroe has placed a large comfortable chair.
Nick looks at Sean and Monroe, who just smile at him before he follows Rosalee. He takes a place on the couch and listens intently as Rosalee explains the ins and outs of feeding her daughter. It doesn't sound nearly as complicated as that whole diaper changing Monroe walked them through upstairs. After Rosalee feeds Gigi half her bottle and gets a champion burb from her, she asks Nick if he would like to finish feeding her. Figuring it's easier to learn by doing, Nick agrees.
Nick sitting in the chair feeding Gigi and talking her is the scene Sean walks into as he and Monroe join their mates. His heart skips at beat at the sight before him. Nick is smiling brightly down at Gigi, while telling her a story about a brave Grimm and a handsome Prince. Never has he been more certain, than at that moment, just how much he wants a family with Nick.
Nick looks up as the two men join Rosalee on the couch across from him. "Look Sean! I'm feeding Gigi! She keeps smiling at me while she eats. See! I knew she wanted more Uncle Nick time!"
Monroe rolls his eyes. "She's probably just got gas Nick. It's a bit early for smiles yet."
Nick looked over at his friend, pouting. "Nope! Gigi loves her Uncle Nick! Don't you Ms. Gigi?"
Rosalee cast a quick glance at her husband to ensure he will remain quiet. "Of course Nick. Some babies do start smiling rather early and I'm sure our Princess is one of them. She's most excited to be spending a few hours with her Uncles."
Nick smiles brightly back at Rosalee. "You two should get to your lunch. We'll take perfect care of Ms. Gigi while you enjoy some couple time."
Sean watches the couple kiss their daughter's head before slowly making their way out the door. After hearing the front door close he looks over at Nick, who is content rocking an almost sleeping Gigi. "She does seem to enjoy having you hold her Nick."
"If she does this the whole time they are gone, this is gonna be easy!" Nick says looking down at the sleeping infant. "This could be us pretty soon, Sean."
"Yes, and I think I am even more ready after seeing you taking care of Gigi."
This earns Sean another bright smile, but before Nick can respond his phone starts vibrating on the table. He glances over and sees that it is Hank calling. "It's Hank. Could you answer? I don't want to wake Gigi by moving."
Sean nods and picks up the phone. Nick listens to Sean's side of the conversation while rocking Gigi.
"Good afternoon Hank."
"He's here, but he's holding Rosalee and Monroe's sleeping daughter."
"They went to lunch and asked Nick to watch Gigi."
"Yes, I think Wu is right. That does sound Wesen-related. I'll have Nick meet you at the station."
Nick is frowning as Sean disconnects the call. "I'm guessing my quiet weekend free of cop-duty and Grimm-duty has come to an end, huh?"
"Unfortunately, it has Love. From what Hank got from Wu, it is potentially Wesen-related. Doyle Baske told the paramedics he was on his way to visit his mom when he blew a tire and drove his car into a tree. Mr. Baske said he was going to get help when he was attacked by a guy with a large dog. He got away and fell down a hill. Mr. Baske was found by a trucker, who nearly ran him over this morning. Paramedics did find scratches and bite marks when they treated Mr. Baske but not dog bites, more like human, which is why Wu called Hank and Hank called you. They also said Mr. Baske had a lot of blood on him when they got here, but aside from the cut on his forehead, they found no major wounds."
Nick sighs. "Yeah, that does sound Wesen-related. I guess I should call Monroe and ruin their lunch date. I can't very well take Gigi to a crime scene. Monroe would make me into a crime scene."
Sean chuckles as he kneels down next to the chair Nick was sitting in. "There is no need to call Monroe and disturb his lunch with Rosalee, mon bien-aimé. I will stay here with Gigi while you go deal with this new case with Hank and Wu."
Nick looks up from Gigi, shocked to hear Sean offering to take care of Gigi alone. "Are you sure Sean? I know you came along because I wanted you to, but I didn't expect you to have to watch her alone."
"Before too much longer it's going to be our child, so having a bit of experience now is a good start. Gigi and I will be fine while you are gone. If I have any questions I will call Monroe or Rosalee."
"If you're sure Sean…"
"I'm sure, Love. Now let me take Gigi so you can go meet Hank. The sooner you get this case handled, the sooner our quiet weekend free of cop-duty and Grimm-duty can resume."
Nick gently hands Gigi over to Sean, kissing him as he grabs his phone. "I'll be back as soon as I can! Gigi be good for Uncle Sean!"
Nick: hey Monroe! hey Rosalee!
Monroe: What happened Nick?
Nick: nothing happened…
Monroe: And you're texting me because?
Rosalee: Be nice! Did you have a question Nick?
Nick: not so much a question as just letting you know…I got called out to handle a possibly wesen case with Hank. Sean is gonna take care of Gigi by himself until I get back.
Rosalee: That's fine Nick *smile*
Monroe: The reserved Royal on solo babysitting duty…I'd kinda pay to see that…
Monroe: Oh! The baby monitor camera!
Rosalee: We can't spy on Sean, Monroe!
Nick: wait?! you've got cameras watching us?
Monroe: No, technically we have baby monitors to keep an eye on Gigi if we're in another room or she's in her crib upstairs.
Nick: so…you'll check on Sean and make sure everything is OK?
Rosalee: I'm sure everything is FINE, but if it makes you feel better we'll peek in on them in a bit.
Nick: thanks Rosalee! off to sort out what wesen left a stranded motorist with dog-like bites!
Rosalee is impressed that Monroe waits until they finish their lunch and their waitress has taken their dessert order to pull his phone out and log into their baby monitor app. "Are you really checking up on Sean?"
Monroe looks up from his phone sighs. "I'm only checking because Nick asked us to. It's not like Sean has a lot of childcare experience. I just want to make sure Gigi isn't too fussy. It's about that time of day."
Rosalee glances at her watch and has to agree. Their daughter is known to get rather fussy around this time. "Nick isn't exactly an expert either, but you didn't seem too worried about him taking care of Gigi."
"Nick has been around kids working as a cop."
"Sean is a cop as well, Monroe."
Monroe can't disagree with that fact, but he still rolls his eyes as he waits for the video feed to load. Rosalee can hear singing coming from Monroe's phone. "Does Sean have the radio on?" She asks, leaning over to look at his phone.
"No! Sean is singing to Gigi! Never in my life would I have thought I would see a Royal or a Zauberbiest singing!"
The couple watches as Sean rocks their daughter in the glider chair in her nursery, feeding her a bottle, and singing a lullaby.
Dodo, l'enfant do,(Sleepy time, the young one sleeps,)
L'enfant dormira bien vite(The child will sleep very soon)
Dodo, l'enfant do(Sleepy time, the young one sleeps,)
L'enfant dormira bientôt.(The child will sleep oh, so soon.)
Tout le monde est sage (Everyone is calm)
Dans le voisinage (All around)
Il est l'heure d'aller dormer (It's the time for all to sleep)
Le sommeil va bientôt venir.(Sleep will come soon.)
Rosalee feels her eyes getting a bit misty as she watches the scene playing out in her daughter's nursery. She looks up to see Monroe experiencing a similar reaction. "Can you download that so we can send it to Nick? I know he will want to see this. It is one of the most heartwarming sights I have ever seen!"
"Already downloaded and the clip is sending to Nick's phone right now."
Nick and Hank arrive at the crime scene to find Doyle Baske arguing with a paramedic.
Doyle pushes away the hand of the paramedic who is trying unsuccessfully to treat him. "No, I said I'm fine."
"Sir, we can't tell if there's any internal bleeding or head trauma unless we take you into the hospital."
Doyle shakes his head and tries to step back from the paramedic. "I'm not going in."
Nick walks up to the paramedic and Doyle with Hank beside him. "Doyle Baske? I'm Detective Burkhardt. This is Detective Griffin."
Doyle takes in the two newcomers with a roll of his eyes. "Look, guys, I-I got attacked by a guy and his dog, okay? I didn't get a good look at them. I got away. I must've hit my head. I don't know. I'd just blown a tire and hit a tree."
Hank studies him for a moment before asking: "Can we see some identification, please?"
"Yeah, sure."
"What kind of work do you do?" Nick asks as he watches Doyle taking out his wallet.
Doyle hands his ID to Hank. "Commercial real estate. My office is downtown."
Hank looks down at the ID before continuing his questioning. "And you were on your way to visit your mom?"
"Yeah, last night. Try to get out to see her, like, once a month. She lives alone. Dad died a couple years ago."
"And where are you headed now?" Nick asks, looking at Doyle's ID Hank hands to him.
"I-I was just going back to where I left my car."
"We can give you a ride, if you don't mind us asking you a few questions on the way." Hank offers.
Doyle nods. "Yeah, I can do that."
Nick starts to walk back to their car with Hank and Doyle when his phone starts vibrating, indicating he has a text message. He pulls his phone out and sees it is a text from Monroe. Attached to the text is a video clip. Nick opens the clip and sees Sean rocking Gigi and singing to her in French. He watches the clip twice more before putting his phone back in his pocket, smiling at the happy warm feeling seeing Sean taking care of Gigi gives him before joining Hank and Doyle at the car.
Nick: we've done as much as we can for today on this new case. dog bite man wasn't too forthcoming so we're going back tomorrow to talk to him and his mother. are you still at Monroe & Rosalee's?
Sean: No, Love. They came back about twenty minutes ago. I'm just getting home now.
Nick: lunch?
Sean: I was thinking about chicken florentine pasta.
Nick: yes! please! YUM!
Sean: I thought you'd enjoy that. I'll see you when you get home, Love.
Nick is greeted by the smell of chicken, tomatoes, and spinach when he walks into the house. He stops in the doorway to the kitchen to watch Sean, who is finishing cooking their lunch. He can imagine little ones running in and out of the kitchen while they cook. Maybe Sean will even sing to them like he did for Gigi.
Sean, sensing Nick's presence, turns and smiles at him. "Lunch is just about ready. If you'll take the bread into the dining room, I'll bring in the chicken florentine pasta."
Nick nods as he walks in to pick up the basket of bread. "Tea or wine?"
"Tea, please."
"After dealing with dog bite man I think I've earned a beer."
Sean laughs quietly as he plates their pasta. "I'm not sure we can use that name officially for this case, but from what Hank said it does seem appropriate."
Nick smiles as they sit down at the table. After a few minutes of silence while they enjoy the pasta Nick looks up from his plate. "How was Gigi after I left?"
"She slept for about another forty-five minutes then made sure I knew she was hungry." Sean says smiling fondly.
"Did you figure out that bottle warmer thing?"
"Yes, Love. It wasn't too difficult following the instructions Rosalee gave us."
"And I'm sure she loved hearing you sing!" Nick says smiling at Sean.
"Singing? I know Gigi is not verbal yet, so how did you know that?"
Nick blushes. "Uh…Monroe may have sent me a clip from their baby monitor. Sean it was so sweet! I love listening to you speak French, but hearing you sing to Gigi was so amazing! I can't wait for us to have a baby that you can sing to him or her."
"I was thinking of how much I'd like to sing to our child while I was holding Gigi." Sean leans over and kisses Nick lightly.
Nick deepens their kiss. "Maybe the dishes can wait until later? I think I'd like to hear more French…upstairs…in our bedroom." He gives Sean a suggestive smile that has Sean out of his seat and taking Nick's hand to lead him upstairs.
To be continued…