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“Did I miss something?”
It wasn’t a question that Gordon ever thought he’d ask upon letting himself into Noelani’s house. But then again, he’d never imagined that he’d let himself into Noelani’s house to see her sitting on the couch, bouncing a baby on her knee.
Okay, so maybe that wasn’t exactly true. He might have imagined it once or twice, idly, before deciding he was too damn old to go back to diaper changers and middle of the night feeds. But before reality settled in, those thoughts had made him smile.
He’d never shared them with Noelani though and she turned a curious expression on him, eyes narrowing in question. He gestured at the baby who, now that he looked again, was looking decidedly familiar. “About nine months of somethings?” he added and Noelani, getting what he meant, rolled her eyes at the poor joke.
“Rick called,” she said as she stood, hoisting Joy easily in her arms. “He was supposed to be home with Joy today but Magnum called, asking for his help.” Gordon opened his mouth but she stopped him with a look. “I didn’t ask; you probably shouldn’t either.” Gordon nodded, accepting the wisdom for what it was. “Rick knew I was off today… and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for cuddles now, could I?” That last was directed to the baby who was staring up at Noelani, a huge grin on her face.
“Where’s Suzy?” Somehow, with no clear memory of moving, Gordon was standing beside her, looking down at the baby, who really was exceptionally pretty.
“A friend of hers is in town from the mainland, they had lunch plans… apparently it’s the first time she’s done anything like that since Joy was born and Rick didn’t want to disturb her.” Still looking at the baby, Gordon could hear the grin in Noelani’s voice, the one that usually accompanied any of their friends’ voices when they talked about Rick and Susie and how it was only a matter of time before they got their shit together, especially since Magnum and Higgins had beaten them to the punch the day of Joy’s birth. “Your daddy’s a softie, isn’t he?” She looked up at Gordon then and her brow furrowed, as if she’d just realised that he might not be as enthused at babysitting an infant together as she was. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not.” Gordon smiled as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. Then, because he couldn’t resist teasing her, he added, “I did have some thoughts that we can’t act on because of the kid but it’ll keep…” He ran a hand down her back, let it linger on the curve of her hip just to make his point and the worry left her eyes, replaced by something else.
“Hold that thought, Detective...”
Whatever else she might have said was cut off by an indignant squawk from Joy. It was a sound that Gordon recognised instantly, for all he hadn’t heard it with any regularity in years - some things were simply baked into the memory. “Someone’s hungry,” he said. “I take it Rick was organised enough to give you a bottle?”
“It’s probably in the diaper bag that’s the size of a small planet,” Noelani said dryly. “He also left a stroller in case we want to take a walk, and insisted on putting the car seat in my car in case I need to drive her anywhere.” She shook her head, looking down at Joy. “God help you when you’re a teenager if he’s this overprotective now.”
Thinking of Betty, and Rick’s proficiency with her, Gordon couldn’t disagree. “I’ll get it,” he began but Noelani disagreed.
“I know exactly where it is.” He raised an eyebrow and she stared him down. “Trust me, he walked me through it. Here, you take her…” She all but thrust Joy into his arms and bustled off, muttering under her breath.
Thankfully, the change of hold seemed to have surprised Joy into forgetting that she was hungry. Staring up at Gordon with huge blue eyes, she blinked a couple of times as he shifted her so that he could hold her better. “I know you’re hungry, kiddo,” he told her, beginning to pace a little. Movement had always helped distract Dennis, although Joy just seemed entranced by his voice. “But Auntie Noelani’s going to have something for you in just a minute…” Joy let out a mewl that was nowhere near a cry, almost like she was agreeing with him. “So you’ve been having fun with her then?” Another mewl that made Gordon grin. “You’ll have to show me what you two were doing after you’ve had something to eat… would you like that? Uncle Gordon playing too?”
A sharp intake of breath behind him had him turning around to see Noelani standing there, a bottle in her hand and an unreadable expression on her face. “You okay?” Gordon asked and she blinked, shaking her head like she was coming out of a trance.
“I’m fine.” But she didn’t look fine and her voice sounded strained. It was explained a little by her next words. “Just distracted by my ovaries exploding.”
Sheer surprise made him laugh and Joy jerked in his arms. He tightened his grip on her instinctively, one hand going up to cup the back of her head. Noelani’s eyes tracked it closely. “Excuse me?”
“My very hot boyfriend, conversing with a very cute baby?” Noelani arched an eyebrow and Gordon smiled slowly as the penny dropped.
“You think I’m hot?”
The eyebrow stayed arched. Her tone matched it. “Less so when you’re fishing for compliments.” She came over to stand beside him, her gaze dropping momentarily to the baby in his arms.
While she was distracted, he plucked the bottle from her grasp. “How about if I give her this bottle?”
She was silent until he was sitting down, Joy sucking contentedly on the bottle. When he was satisfied that she was happy, he looked up and met Noelani’s gaze, grinning as she fanned herself theatrically. “So hot,” she told him as she dropped down on the couch beside him, her hand going to his knee.
“Hold that thought, Doctor.” She grinned as he turned her earlier words around on her, and she laughed as Joy kicked her feet.
“You’re happy there with Uncle Gordon, aren’t you, sweetheart?” she asked, tweaking the baby’s foot. “Maybe we should babysit you more often.”
“Maybe we should.” But Gordon wasn’t looking at the baby, he was looking at her, seeing her not as she was then, but as she could be, not the woman who was babysitting the child in his arms but the mother of the child in his arms. He’d never let his thoughts go so completely in that direction before - Dennis was eighteen now, would be off to college soon, he’d never seriously seen himself going back to middle of the night feeds and dirty diapers. But here, now, it was suddenly all he could think about, all he wanted.
And when Noelani’s eyes met his, he couldn’t help but wonder if she felt the same way.