The hour was late– a little after midnight– when Joe finally stepped through the front door, ready for something to eat and then a few hours of sleep before he started the mid-morning shift. The cab company was short on drivers of late, and Joe was picking up all of the extra hours he was able to so that he could take off some time for Hanukkah and then head to Philly to visit Ev's family over Christmas.
Georgina was a little over a year old now, and she was cruising around the furniture, saying a few words, getting excited when he played with her, and she loved to listen to music. Which was why he was so looking forward to the upcoming festive season because even though she would have no clue what it was all about, unlike last year as a tiny baby, she would at least be able to enjoy tearing open gifts and just enjoying being fussed over by her family on both sides. It didn't matter that she could only say about 'mama', 'dada', 'no' and 'ta', she knew who she liked and who she didn't and she loved anyone who played with her or talked to her, which her grandparents and aunts and uncles wanted to do whenever they saw her.
Taking a bottle of beer out of the fridge, he twisted off the cap and drank nearly all of it without stopping before setting what was left down on the table and looking for something to eat. Evelyn would have made dinner for him but he had told her not to bother. It never tasted the same once it had been left to heat on the stove, and he was just as happy to put together a sandwich or eat a few chocolate bars or whatever else came to hand.
Hearing a creak coming from the hallway, he wasn't surprised when Evelyn appeared in the doorway with a tired smile on her face and her hair all messed up from sleeping.
"Rough evening?" he grinned.
"She's killing me," she groaned out a reply, stepping towards him and wrapping her arms around his beck so she could kiss him. "She wouldn't go to sleep unless she was in our bed and unless I pretended to go to sleep with her."
"And I'm guessing the pretend sleep turned into a real one?"
"I had so much laundry to do," Evelyn pretended to cry. "And I was supposed to make those little cakes for your mom's fundraiser thing, even though I know she thinks I'm terrible at baking and she's only asking me to make the cakes so I don't feel left out."
"You know that, huh?" he smirked. "And she thought she was being really sneaky as well."
"Oh come on, Joe," she rolled her eyes. "First time when they just happened to fall off the table, I actually believed it was an accident, but then when they got eaten by someone's dog and then someone sneezed on them all, I started to put two and two together. Plus, I overheard her saying something to your sister about how it was only 'cause you had her that you weren't wasting away completely."
"I have never complained to my mom about your cooking," Joe lied, not wanting to start an argument at this late hour.
"It's fine," Evelyn surprised him by snorting. "I know I'm terrible at cooking and even worse at baking. It's a miracle we're all still alive after that lasagna I made last week."
"Yeah but you're good at other things though," he brushed his nose against hers as his hands started to wander up leg and beneath her nightgown.
"That right?" she grinned, her breath hitching slightly when he trailed his fingers over her underwear.
"Uh huh," he kissed her once, pulling the nightgown over her head so she was in only her knickers before he picked her up and set her on the table. "I'm pretty good at a few things too, you know. And I'm also pretty hungry for something we don't got in the cupboards."
"Well, in that case who am I to deny you?" she smirked as he tugged down her knickers and pushed her back flat on the table before pulling up a chair and settling himself in between her legs, one of which he threw over his shoulder to gain better access to her.
The second his tongue touched her centre, her hips bucked and her hands found their way to his hair, grasping at the soft strands in needy desperation already. It had been so long since they had time to be together like this, what with work and a small human and-
"Mamaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Fuck's sakes," Evelyn slapped a hand over her face in frustration as Georgina's crying floated down the stairs at an ear piercing level.
"She'll stop," Joe murmured as he nipped at her thigh to bring her focus back on him.
As if hearing that, Georgina miraculously grew louder and they both heard a loud thunk on the bedroom floor as she got herself out of bed.
"You were saying," Evelyn jumped down from the table and yanked on her nightgown, following Joe as he hurried down the hallway and up the stairs where Georgina was waiting at the top with her teddy in hand and tears streaming down her red face.
"Dada," she sobbed, reaching out for him and getting snot and tears all over him as he held her to his chest and sat down on the stairs with her.
"It's ok, baby girl," he hushed her gently, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back up and down. "Daddy's got you."
"I'll go and heat up some milk for her. Always helps her to settle again," Evelyn kissed Joe's cheek and smiled apologetically. "Maybe your mom can watch her one night next week and we'll finish where we left off."
"I'm not waiting a week to get my hands on you again," Joe murmured quietly. "Get the milk and I'll get her in bed then we'll go from there."
"Babe," Evelyn chuckled softly. "I love you but it's already after midnight and we both know she's gonna be awake again before dawn even if she goes down easily again now. Let's just call it a night, ok?"
"Ok," Joe sighed as Ev disappeared back down the stairs and Georgina coughed up a load of mucous right into his face as she tried to kiss him like her mother had just done. "It's a damn good job you're so cute, little girl. But just a little FYI, if you want any brothers or sisters, you gotta let me and mommy have some time on our own, ok?"
"What you were doing wasn't going to make a baby, Joe!" Evelyn called out from the kitchen.
"We would have gotten there eventually!" Joe argued, grinning at Georgina when she started to shout at him in what she clearly thought was understandable words. "You Liebgott women. Always gotta have the last word, huh?"
