TPATSD 6

"A little birdie told me; I am sleeping over tonight." Alex grinned at Jo, slipping into Gabriella's cubicle much later in the day than usual. Instead of his usual 8am arrival time, he had come in at 4pm. Yesterday, they had told him that he would spend the night with Gabriella in a rooming in room. If all went well during their overnight stay, Gabriella would be discharged the following morning, pending a car seat fit test. Alex was sure she would pass.

Before Gabriella was born, he and Erica had researched and purchased the safest one on the market. But when she came early and with such a low birth weight, Alex allowed his ADHD to take him back down a research wormhole on the internet and he had purchased another one. One specifically designed for small, preterm, low-birth-weight babies. That had been the one he had professionally installed in his car. Despite the fact that he was sure he could have done it himself. But better safe than sorry and the NICU preferred that parents have the seats professionally fitted.

This morning, he had also attended several job interviews. Most of the jobs he had gone for were with small and boring firms, but one job stood out in particular. That was the one that he felt had the most potential, too. It was also the one that he was most excited about. It was at a small charitable foundation. The job was doing their legal work with contracts and making sure they met their legal requirements. Best of all, they were happy to work with him around his schedule and paid a generous childcare allowance. The pay was standard, but the charity was a great cause. At-risk LGBTQIA youth couldn't ask for a better cause than that.

Alex had also gone and looked at some childcare facilities, just to get a feel for them. He already knew that Gabriella wouldn't be able to attend childcare until her neonatal team cleared her, due to the risk of infection. Premature babies are more susceptible to bugs and infections than a full-term baby. But he had wanted to get a first-hand look at what he would be expecting. He wasn't even sure if childcare was the way to go, or perhaps he would look into an au pair or a nanny. Perhaps even family daycare. But he had heard stories about family day care and honestly, that did terrify him. He was never going to leave Gabriella with just anyone. Plus, he had plans to run background checks on anyone he deemed acceptable to leave her with.

Today has been the perfect day to do it. He is excited about the prospect of getting to do everything for his daughter and spending time with her. Even though Maggie and Jo have been amazing, he has always felt like he needs their permission to be her parent. He has always felt like he is constantly being watched and criticized.

The rooming in rooms were in the small corridor off the NICU and they were like a hotel suite. There was a small sitting area and a TV, a bed and an en-suite bathroom. Jo had taken him to room two and unlocked the door, before giving him the key. There was an intercom that linked straight to the nurse's desk in the NICU and an emergency button on the wall, just in case he needed medical assistance in a hurry for Gabriella. He had dropped his bag by the bed, pulled out his cellphone charger and plugged it in, then followed Jo back out into the NICU to collect his daughter. Once he was settled back in the room, he put his phone on charge, kicked his shoes off and slipped onto the sofa to relax. Gabriella was still sleeping soundly and hadn't even stirred on the trip out of the NICU.

Almost an hour later, she let out a little cry that quickly garnered his attention and he began doing what he did best. Being Gabriella's father. He changed her and fed her; he burped her, and he resettled her to sleep. Once she was sleeping soundly, he snapped a picture of her asleep and posted it in his family group chat. He was proud of himself. Before tossing his phone back on the table, he ordered some dinner from the cafe upstairs. When his phone buzzed to tell him it was ready, he wheeled Gabriella's crib with him down one floor to retrieve it and back into the rooming in room. Gabriella had not stirred once. He was impressed, but his mom, dad and Leo had warned him that it was very different to being at home with her.

After dinner, he watched a bit more TV and then Gabriella woke again. He worked to settle her, before heading to the shower himself. While he was drying himself off, she let out a startled cry and he rushed to see if she was okay, managing to settle her without having to pick her up. He mentally ticked that off as another parental achievement before continuing to get ready for bed. He wasn't tired, but all of the parenting books he had read had told him that when the baby slept, he should also.

He left a small night light on, once he realized she didn't like the dark and when she was still grunting, he remembered that they had been told it was perfectly normal behavior for preemie babies.

Alex climbed into bed with his book, but quickly tossed it aside in favor of scrolling through Instagram. He saw the paparazzi photos on the Daily Mail's Twitter post about Henry having a date with the Victoria's Secret model and he screenshotted it to send to Henry.

Alex thought that Henry looked uncomfortable out of his element, but Henry's Twitter fans were having a meltdown over them, wondering if the Prince of England's heart had finally found love.

Alex eventually dozed off and woke up to Gabriella crying at 2:45 and again at 7am. Smugly, Alex typed into his family group chat that the night had been a success. When the nurse came into the room at 7:30am, it was a nurse he hadn't met before and she immediately started interrogating him about who he was and why he was in the room, before accusing him of sneaking in and trying to steal his baby. She then proceeded to call security, who also seemed to doubt his story. Security detained him, and the nurse took Gabriella away from him and called the police. The police arrived just as the day shift nurse unit manager did, and when she learned what had happened, she demanded that the police let him go immediately, and profusely apologized. Security mumbled an apology, as did the police, and the nurse looked at him with disgust in her eyes still. Rather than apologize, she smugly looked at him and said, "I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from. I came into the room, and you were lying shirtless on the bed, feeding your baby, and there was no woman around to help. Looking like you do, I was right to be suspicious."

Alex kept his cool, despite the white-hot anger that was coursing through his veins. He was furious. But he refused to let it get the better of him. Sadly, being half Texan and half Mexican, it wasn't the first time that someone had thought the worst of him, based on the colour of his skin. When he was a kid growing up in Texas, he would cop racial slurs frequently. Much more than June ever did. She favored their mom in looks; her skin a more ivory than olive in colour and blonde hair like Ellen. Whereas Alex was a spitting image of Oscar Diaz. A very Latino-looking man.

The nurse continued her rampage with unkind words, before Alex grinned at her. "Madam, I should tell you that I am a lawyer and if you continue to make unsolicited remarks about me, slander my character, or make xenophobic remarks, I will be forced to take legal action. Not on the hospital grounds, but against you, personally. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Had been her reply, before Alex went to seek out the NUM. He wanted to request a new nurse. He was relieved to find out that she was only filling in for Maggie for an hour, while Maggie took some personal time this morning.

Once Maggie came in, everything was better. Maggie also apologised repeatedly for what her colleague had done, and Alex reassured her that it wasn't Maggie's fault. Twenty minutes after Maggie came in, the phone by Gabriella's bedside rang, and it was Alex who had to collect something from reception that he had delivered.

Bringing it back to the bedside, he saw that it was a hamper-style gift basket with some premature baby-sized clothes, a very pretty pink beanie and blanket set, as well as some basic necessities for Gabriella. Maggie was surprised to see that Alex had received such a beautiful gift. "What a great gift for the baby going home today."

"We'll miss you and Jo, Maggie." Alex said softly, looking up at one of Gabriella's angelic nurses and giving her one of his stellar smiles. "Words can't tell you how much we appreciate everything you have done for us all."

Alex turned the card over and read it: "HRH Prince Henry of Wales." Picking up his phone and opening the message thread, he and Henry hit the microphone to dictate a message to him. "Henry, seriously! Must you spoil my child?! All jokes aside, thank you. Still waiting for the doctors. Let you know what happens soon."

"I didn't know you and the prince are such good friends." Maggie murmured, only loud enough for Alex to hear.

Alex didn't know how to reply to that, so he just didn't. Since he had signed an NDA, Alex wouldn't say anything to anyone. It's safer that way.

It was just after 10 when the doctors came around and gave them the good news. A car seat check pending, Gabriella could go home. Alex had gone out and retrieved the capsule carrier. With it brought back in by him, after he went to have a coffee break. Once Gabriella passed the car seat check with flying colours, Alex was thankful he had invested in the smaller seat.

Next thing he knew, Maggie was helping his pack up their belongings and snapping a photo of him and Gabriella in front of the NICU entrance and they were off. Alex was proud of himself, he managed to get Gabriella settled into the car, without waking her. Once he took his seat behind the steering wheel of his car, he fired the photo Maggie had just taken and him and Gabriella under the 'We're going home' banner to his family group chat, and without too much extra thought, to Henry.

Henry was helping Pez this morning, with some fundraising for his latest philanthropic endeavors and using his status as the prince of England's hearts to impress some investors. Henry had felt his phone vibrating at random intervals throughout the morning. Instead of one of Pez's glitzy, after 5 cocktail fundraisers, this morning was for the elite of the elite, who had wanted a more hands on approach to where their money would be invested. Pez had set up a Power Point presentation to show the key financial backer and potential investors where and how their money would be spent and the tax incentives and breaks they could get by investing in his charities.

Henry had to admit that Pez was good and probably didn't need his input, but had requested his presence, just so Henry could have a break from the constant monotony of the royal engagements that seemed to drain his friend. But if one more smarmy businessman came up to Henry and started a conversation with him about what the royal portfolio contained, he was going to scream.

Once the presentation was over and they were having their morning tea, Henry had made his escape, hiding in Pez's office. He had needed ten minutes by himself, where he could just be him and re-regulate his anxiety. Feeling his phone vibrate for the umpteenth time this morning, Henry pulled it out. Grateful to have a reprieve from the schmoozing he had been helping Pez do all morning. if Henry didn't fully support the cause, shelters for at risk queer youth, Henry doesn't think he would have ventured far from his bed today.

Seeing it was Alex made him smile. He still wasn't quite sure how he and Alex had gone from acquaintances to the constant streaming of unfiltered text messages to one another. It was an unusual turn of events for the prince, and for once, he was sure that he had been the instigator. Which was strange because he was usually shy and reserved around new people. But with Alex, something just seemed to click into place.

Opening the picture and seeing Alex and Gabriella together, outside the NICU made him smile and it took him a second to realise that Alex and Gabriella were standing under a small banner. The grin that crossed his face when he read the banner made him smile so wide, he thought his face was going to break in two.

Unfortunately for him, that was when Pez chose to burst through the door and into his own office. "Hazza." Pez purred, delighted to see that Henry had not actually snuck out, as he had done in the past when he had been overwhelmed. Seeing Henry's cheshire grin, Pez gave his best friend one of his own. "And what delicious morsel has you grinning like that before lunch?" Before Henry had a chance to answer him, Pez had sidled up beside him and leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen of Henry's phone. "Is that ...? Mr. Claremont-Diaz with his babe?"

"You know who Alex is, don't play coy with me." Henry replied, exasperated at Pez's antics.

"Yes, however, I believe you scarcely said two words to the man." Pez delighted, in an almost squeal like manner that seemed to be right at home on a man like Pez. "I believe you had my queen and I do your bidding for you."

"Right." Henry murmured, remembering back when Pez was right, and he couldn't string two words together in Alex's presence. "Mum and I saw him a month back on the hospital tour, he and I got chatting."

"That doesn't explain how you got the strumpet's number, my liege." Henry tried not to roll his eyes. Some things never changed. Pez always having a flair for the dramatics and a theatrical, larger than life persona was like people saying it always rained in England.

"I took some photos on my phone of him and his daughter and sent them to him, we began texting." He sighed, knowing Pez would be relentless until he got the details.

"Hazzzz!"

"Pezzzz!"

"My darling lotus blossom, Henry. Baby cakes of my life, are you smitten with him?" Pez asked in a childlike voice, which only a grown man such as Pez could ever pull off.

"Not smitten." Henry denied and he knew that he certainly wasn't fooling anyone. Especially Pez.

"I know you're lying, but I'll let you have it because we hit our fundraising goal this morning." Pez gave him a free pass, before taking the phone form Henry's hands and studying the picture closely. Pinching at the imago on the screen to zoom in on Alex. "You have to admit, your strumpet is ridiculously hot."

Henry didn't dignify that with an answer.

What did do was text Alex a reply finally, before making a mental note to ask if Alex needed anything he hadn't previously thought off. Especially now that he was home and literally doing it all on his own.

His first night at home had been horrific, Gabriella had cried a lot and for a good part of it, Alex had cried too. It had been nearly 4 in the morning, before he had worked out the cause. In comparison to the NICU, his home was silent and dark. It was a foreign environment, and she was scared. As soon as he put the clock radio on in the bedroom, on the lowest setting and onto a talk back/call in station, and turned on a low lamp, Gabriella had finally settled. And so did Alex.

He had been proud that it hadn't been to the point where he had called his mom in the US for help. He hadn't felt like he had to call June or Nora either. Despite his tears of frustration, Alex had managed to keep a level head. He did figure that the majority of the tears he did cry were cathartic and melancholic. Gabriella was finally home, in the nursery he and Erica had shopped and designed for her, and Erica wasn't here to see it.

Thinking of Erica still stung his heart. As much as he didn't want to think about it, memories of their past, both good and bad always crept in. All of the good memories made him miss her and love her. Then he remembers what he had learnt about after her death. the lies, the affair, the betrayal, the heartbreak. How she didn't even try to hide the affair from the people she worked with. Which is turn made him think of Tom. Tom's wife had worked with Erica and he and Tom were friends. He wondered if Tom knew about the affair. He liked to think that if Tom knew, he would have told him.

Thinking of his friendship with Tom, led him to think of Henry and his friendship with the prince. On paper, their friendship seemed like it would fizzle out, much like most of his friendships did. But it hadn't. Henry had been one of the few people who he hadn't felt like he had needed to put on an act for. He was able to be himself. Not Alex the fiancé to Erica, the bereaved, the single dad, the lawyer, the son of politicians. Not Alex, June's brother, or Nora's best friend. He got to be the real him. There was no pressure, and he was beginning to feel positive about it.

Two days later, Alex received the call he had purposely not been waiting for. The small job at the not for profit was his, pending a meeting with foundation owner. Alex explained to the hiring manager the situation with Gabriella and all she told him was to bring her. So, he bundled Gabriella up into the car and took her with him, into their small offices, not too far from Kensington.

Laughter surrounded him, as he waited, Gabriella asleep in her pram and covered up. "As I live and breathe, the effervescent Alex Claremont-Diaz." Pez greeted him. He hadn't seen Pez since that day at the funeral and now he was standing before him, as if he materialized himself into existence. "So, you're the hot shot lawyer my hiring manager has not stopped talking about."

Leaning over, but not into the pram, he looked Gabriella over. "She's still the most beautiful babe, I have ever seen in my life. Come Strumpet, we have much to talk about." Alex followed Percy into the meeting room. "I am sure you remember Haz, my business partner."

Alex looked up and there was Prince Henry, his friend Henry, on the far side of the desk. "Good lord, Alex? What are you doing here?" Henry asked, puzzled by Alex's sudden appearance. He wasn't entirely sure he wasn't asleep and dreaming Alex up, he'd been focused on the paperwork in front of him for that long.

"Haz, Alex here, is our new lawyer." Pez grinned at him, before winking at Alex.

"How is Gabriella doing? You're home now? How is it going? Settling in ok?" Henry asked, trying not to appear over-eager at knowing how she was going. But still desperate to know.

"Yes, Henry. Thank you for all of the gifts, you really didn't have to." Alex told him with a wide grin. "She's doing well, come see for yourself."

Pez wanted to clap his hands with glee, but he didn't want to startle the baby. Henry had made his way around the conference room table, intent on getting a closer look at the baby in the pram. He saw the way that his best friend's eyes softened, looking at her. Henry was gone on her already. If he could hazard a guess, Pez would say that his mate was gone on the baby's father too.

"Please, I am going to spoil her rotten." Henry winked at Alex. "She deserves it."

Before Alex could interject, Pez squeaked. A literal squeak. "Excellent! Alex, welcome aboard. Since Hazza, here has already got his dibs on Uncle Henry, I shall be her Aunty Pezza."

"Oh, just Henry is fine." Henry quickly cut Pez off. "Or Hen."

"Hen, it is." Alex smiled, those long eyelashes fluttered when he blinked, and Henry thought he was going to have an aneurysm right there.

"Come darling," Pez grinned. 'So Henry doesn't want to be Uncle Henry, in hopes he could get to shag Alex, interesting.' Pez thought to himself, looping his arms through Alex's. "Let's get you down to my hiring manager and get the paperwork, before someone else snags you away from us."

"Ah, yeah." Alex stammered softly. "Let me just get -"

"I can watch her if you like." Henry offered. "I mean, I understand if you'd prefer to take her with you."

"I trust you, Hen." Alex told him.

Gabriella was stirring and Alex and Pez were yet to return. Henry didn't think Alex and Pez would be gone for this long. He had been expecting no more than twenty minutes, but they had been gone for over an hour. Soft cries began coming from the pram and Henry immediately went to her side. "Hello Darling." He cooed at her, as he picked the tiny baby up in his arms. She was still so tiny and small, feeling like she barely weighed anything at all. "Whatever is the matter, my love?" He asked, keeping his voice low and soothing. "Where is your Papi, huh?"

Gabriella let out a cry, and Henry held her close to his chest, rocking her back and forth gently. He kept his voice low, murmuring everything and anything he could think of to her. His voice was soothing to her, because the cries slowed down, but not to a complete stop. "Gabriella, Darling. You need to take a breath for me, my love." Henry tried, when she was getting herself worked up again.

Feeling the nappy squish in his hands, as he re-positioned her, he realised that she probably needed a fresh one and some food. As Henry comforted her, he managed to send Alex a text message.

A moment later, the door came open too easily and Alex was profusely apologize. "I am so sorry, Hen. Fuck! Fuck! Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

"Alex, it's ok. Calm down." Henry whispered softly. He immediately felt guilty, seeing the watery eyes of Alex's.

"Pez asked me to sit in on teleconference call with city hall. I was promised it would only take ten minutes. I thought she would be ok." Alex replied. His voice was fast and dripping with remorse and parental guilt. It wasn't until he had received Henry's message that he realised that Henry was actually babysitting his child and he had never left her with anyone before. He had been overcome with guilt and felt awful. He hadn't been there for Gabriella when she needed him.

"Relax, she's fine." Henry added. "Just, err ... she needs a fresh nappy and I think she's hungry."

"Admit it, Fox. You didn't know what to do." Alex sassed at him, feeling more like his usual self now he had his daughter back in his arms. Alex took Gabriella from Henry in one arm while the other one fondled around for the bag. Finding the bag he was after, he unzipped it one handed. Grabbing everything out he needed and laying it all down in the bassinet of the pram.

Henry watched Alex quickly and efficiently took care of his daughter's wet nappy and zipped her back up. "I am low-key impressed, Alex." Said Henry, as he watched Alex tied off the bag with the nappy in it and store it in the backpack to dispose of later.

"You've seen me change Gabriella before, Hen." Alex said not looking up at him, as he held the baby close to him and managed to prepare one of the bottles he had brought with them. "This was your get out of jail free card. Next time it's your turn."

Henry tried really hard to control the look on his face but felt it failing at a spectacular fashion. "M..my turn?" He asked, wondering what the heck Alex was on about.

"You want to babysit, ya gotta learn how to take care of her, Hen."

"You'd actually let me babysit her?" Henry asked, surprised. From everything he had read, and he had been studying up, preemie parents tended to be overprotective about who they left their babies with. "You do know that Gabriella is the first baby who has n't cried when I've held them. I have held exactly three babies in my life. None for as long as the fifteen minutes I held her. I don't know the first thing."

"Better study up then, coz Pezza said I can bring her into the office while I work until her medical team give her the 'all clear' to start childcare. I can't exactly take her into a courtroom, can I?" Alex asked, rhetorically. He took a long look at Henry and walked over to him and lowered the baby and the bottle into his arms. "She will do the hard work. Make sure you tilt the bottle so there isn't an any air in the teat, or she'll get wind. Now, come on. You're about the only other person I trust on this side of the pond."

"You want me to feed her?" Henry asked, surprised to have Gabriella and her bottle thrusted into his arms so soon. He had naïvely thought that Alex would slowly ease him into it. Not a full submersion tactic.

"This is lesson one. Listen up, Sweetheart." Alex smiled and winked at him, as he leaned over beside Henry and started given him the finer points of how to feed and burp her. The do's and don'ts of everything feeding for a baby like Gabriella.

"Catherine, my Queen. Hello and good afternoon." Percy purred, kissing her cheek hello. Seeing Catherine, Henry's mum enter their humble shelter looking for her son. They had a standing lunch appointment and Henry hadn't showed. Catherine had been concerned that Henry had bogged himself down in some paperwork and lost track of time. "What brings you to our humble shelter on this glorious afternoon?"

"Looking for Henry." She smiled at Percy and his antics.

"Allow me to take you to him." Percy smiled and led Catherine, the princess of Wales down the hallways towards the admin offices and to her son's office.

Henry's office door was open and from their vantage point by the door, they could see Henry on the sofa in his office. Alex was perched on the arm of the sofa beside him and Henry had Gabriella's bottle in his hand, feeding her in his arms. Alex was murmuring soft words of encouragement to both of them.

Feeling a feeling of being watched, Henry looked up and was surprised to see his mum and Pez in the doorway. The look of glee on Pez's face meant he knew that he and Pez would be discussing this development at length, possibly with some kind of alcohol later on today. But it was the look on his mother's face that startled Henry the most. It was a look he had never seen her have before. It was a look of awe, pride and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Mum!" Henry exclaimed. "Oh shit, I forgot our lunch date."

"Do not swear in front of the baby, Henry!" She admonished him.