Five Times Alicia Washington Had To Deal with Children, and One Time She Chose To
Title: Five Times Alicia Washington Had To Deal with Children, and One Time She Chose To
Character/Pairing: Alicia Washington/Nathaniel Taylor, mentions of Mark/Maddy, lots of cameos.
Word Count: 2900
Genre: Humor, borderline crack?, Romance
Rating: PG 13
Warning: A few bad words, some blood
Spoiler alert: General show spoilers
Summary: Alicia Washington is one of those people who is terrified of small infants. Somehow, she keeps having to deal with them.
Authors Note: This is borderline crackfic and I'm not even sorry. This is also my first time writing a "five times" fic, so my apologies if I messed up the format. Thanks to Crystalkei for the beta and making sure I didn't have any child failures. This references Come Away With Me, And I'll Write You A Song, because Reynolds did promise to name a baby after her if he lived.
1.
It's beady eyes tracked her movements no matter how many times she tried to leave it's line of vision. It seemed to have some supernatural ability to predict her movements. Her palms were sweating, and she was resisting the urge to flee the room. She would not be forced to retreat by this particular monster.
“Do you want to hold him?” Maddy Reynolds asked, completely oblivious to the look of horror that passed over Alicia Washington's face. “Alec, you want your godmother to hold you?”
“Oh, I'm good, thanks.” Stepping back, Wash heard Taylor laugh beside her.
“But look, Wash. He likes you. See, he's smiling at you.” He nudged her arm, a gleefully evil smirk on his face.
“It's gas, he's not old enough to smile yet.” She tried to scoot away from the bed, but he casually put a hand at her back to keep her in place. Everyone was so involved cooing over the newest addition to the colony no one paid attention to the minor struggle happening nearby. She leaned in close to hiss at him so no one else would hear. “You know I don't like babies that small. Stop it.”
“Fine looking boy you got there, Reynolds.” Taylor ignored Wash and smiled at the baby. A snot bubble formed and everyone laughed. Alicia tried to scoot back again but Taylor tugged her back. She stomped on his foot and he covered his grunt of pain with a laugh.
“You want to hold him, sir?” Maddy asked, shifting the baby closer to him. This was her chance to escape.
“Yes, why don't you hold the baby?” Alicia gave Taylor a bright smile. “Everyone knows you love holding babies.”
“I think I'll wait until after the grandparents get a turn. They'll be here soon. Thank you, though Maddy.” Taylor gave the new mother a bright smile and then leaned in so only Wash could hear. “Nice try, though.”
2.
No one had warned her there was a pregnant woman coming through the portal. No one had thought it might be pertinent information. It was a glaring oversight seeing as how Alicia Washington had the most experience with childbirth out of the team she'd taken that day, and her knowledge was limited to a basic understanding of what was supposed to happen and a few simulations during training. Had she known there was even the remote possibility of having to deliver a baby on the jungle floor, she would have sent a team with more experience delivering children and stayed in the colony herself.
Instead, she was sitting on the ground, hoping that the screaming mother in front of her wouldn't attract any dinosaurs. She didn't want to think about what the smell might attract. Focusing on the task at hand, Wash cradled the baby's head in her hands and looked up at the girl who was barely out of her teens.
“Okay, keep breathing, we're almost there. I need you to push again.” Wash braced herself as another painful wail echoed into the canopy.
After what seemed like an eternity, there was a tiny, writhing mass of human flesh in her hands. At least, she assumed it was human. No one ever told the truth of how weird babies looked fresh out of the womb. A nurse quickly took the squalling creature from her and Wash was left staring at her bloodied gloves.
“It's a girl. Congratulations.” Wash gave the young mother a tight smile as the other medics took over prepping the new family to move.
She made a mental note to ask the hospital about birth control options for herself. She'd never seriously planned on having kids, and it wasn't like she was having sex, but what she'd just experienced had killed any remaining thoughts of a family. Her biggest mistake however, was telling Taylor about how she was worried it was an alien baby and how were you supposed to tell a mother that?
He'd teased her for months.
3.
“Here, hold Abby for a second?” Before Wash could politely decline Nurse Ogawa's request, she was holding a six-month baby under the armpits. Staring at each other for several minutes, they both seemed content with the situation. But then Abby's face scrunched up and Wash knew what was coming. Before she could evaluate her options, Taylor appeared next to her.
“Give me that.” Plucking the child from her hands, Taylor tucked the baby against his chest. While he made stupid faces at the girl, he un-holstered the gun at his chest and handed it blindly to Wash. “Don't worry Abby, I won't let the mean Lieutenant make you cry anymore.”
“She wasn't crying.” Wash ground out between clenched teeth. “The last time I held a baby, it was seconds old. I'm out of practice.”
“She lies, you actually have to do something to practice.” Talking to the baby, Taylor turned and walked off. “She's got a gun to play with, she'll be fine. Not sure about the recruits, though.”
4.
A weird flu-like illness decided to sweep through the colony one year. Wash spent more time in the hospital than on duty because they were so short staffed. Half the colony was sick, only a few people had a natural immunity, and the majority of the sick were slow responding to medication. Soon there would be a vaccine. It just hadn't come soon enough.
The chain of events happened so fast Wash couldn't pinpoint a moment that it could have been avoided. One of the colonists stumbled in, infant in arms, and nearly fell over retching. The doctor on call had scooped up the baby from the woman's arms and hurried over to where Wash sitting on her break.
“Wait, Doctor Smith, I'm not a babysitter!” Wash had called out after her, but both doctor and her patient had disappeared around a curtain.
The infant was swaddled, and stared up at Wash with bright blue eyes. It was like holding a heated football that smelled like a dirty diaper. Looking around the hospital, everyone rushed by. All her requests for someone to take the baby either fell on deaf ears, or were politely declined.
“Relax, Wash. For once you've got a good grip. You're not going to drop him.” Taylor knelt down next to her and double-checked the swaddling.
“How do you even know it's a he?” Wash realized how tense she was, and forced herself to relax back against the chair. Looking down, the baby yawned and started to fall asleep. She idly ran a finger across the tuft of blond hair on his head out of curiosity.
“Well there's only two infants this age in the colony, and I just saw the Jacksons with their little girl. So that makes this one little Sam Macros.” Taylor smiled at her, for once not mocking. “Need anything while I'm here?”
“Take the baby.” Wash gave him a pleading look.
“No can do. I'm heading OTG to get some more of that flower that's helping everyone.” Squeezing her shoulder he gave her an odd look. “You're doing fine.”
“What if I break him?” Sam had fallen asleep and was twitching a little. Wash watched him with a sense of dread.
“You won't. I have faith.” With a wink, Taylor was gone.
5.
“What the hell is he chewing on?” Taylor's voice was unnaturally calm as he looked down to where Wash was sitting with Sam Marcos in her lap.
“My knife sheath. Apparently he's teething and I couldn't yell directions with him crying.” She shifted the child in question a bit from the leg that was falling asleep to her other one. Glancing to the rope course in front of her she covered the Sam's ears and yelled, “Move your ass, Reynolds.”
“You can't give a baby a leather sheath to chew on.” Taylor stood in front of her and glared down at her. “Not sure his parents are going to be happy when his first word is 'ass' either.”
“The knife isn't in it. And I'll only have him ten minutes tops. I can't ruin his life in that amount of time.” At that moment Sam made a happy giggle and slapped the sheath on the ground a few times before shoving it back in his mouth.
“And you're letting him eat dirt.” Taylor sighed heavily.
“He'll drool most of it back out anyway.” Leaning so she could see around Taylor's legs she glared up at him. “If you don't like my babysitting methods, you're more than welcome to take over.”
“I'm not sure what scares me more - your methods, or the fact you're babysitting at all.” Giving her one last disapproving look, Taylor walked off. Almost as soon as he was gone, Laila Marcos came hurrying back.
“Thank you so much, Alicia.” Scooping the boy up in her arms, Laila noticed the knife sheath. “Do I want to ask?”
“He was being fussy and was chewing on everything. That made him happy. Sorry about all the dirt.” Standing up, Wash brushed some of the dirt off the boy's chest and pointed to her knife sheath. “Can I have that back?”
Shaking his head, Sam shoved it further in to his mouth.
“I will get you a new one, I promise. This seems to be working better than anything else people have recommended.” Laila smiled at her son who drooled in response around the battered leather. “Thanks again for watching him, sorry to impose.”
Watching them leave with a small smile, Wash turned with a bright smile as she heard Taylor come up behind her.
“Still doubting my methods?” With a raised eyebrow she enjoyed the look of annoyance he shot her.
“Actually, now I'm a bit worried in case you ever get the notion to have your own.” With a chuckle he shook his head and patted her on the shoulder.
“I don't think you need to worry about that.” Eying her knife, and wondering where she was going to stash it now, she almost missed Taylor slipping something into her pocket. The sheath was one of his own, and she smiled as she traced some of the cracks in the leather. Slipping the k-bar into it's new home, she looked out over the rope course. “What part of hustle don't you idiots understand? Move it, Dunham.”
1.
Staring down into the crib, Wash braced herself. Elisabeth was next to her, rubbing her arm in what was supposed to be a comforting manner. The rest of the Shannon-Reynolds family was out, leaving Wash to try and face her demons in private. With some support from the Shannon matriarch.
“He's so tiny.” Even compared to her small hands, the newest colonist was still ridiculously small.
“Just pick him up, holding his neck steady.” Elisabeth leaned in and smiled at the child. “He looks so much like Mark.”
“It's an evolutionary thing so fathers wouldn't abandon their offspring.” Spouting off the information, Wash rubbed at her own still flat stomach. “What if he doesn't want it?”
“He will. But first, you need to pick up my grandson, and not have a panic attack.” Her tone was gentle, and Wash realized she probably sounded crazy.
“Alright. Here we go.” Reaching into the crib, Wash gently picked up the baby and pulled him against her chest. “Okay, now what?”
“Sit down, and we'll feed him a bottle.” Elisabeth guided her to the gliding chair in the corner and helped her settle.
“He's so warm. Are all babies this warm?” Wash felt her breathing increase. “Is he feverish?”
“He's fine.” Elisabeth finally gave in to her laughter and held out the bottle. “Give it a go.”
“I'm cool with just holding him. I don't think I'm ready for a feeding.” Looking down at the tiny bundle in her arms, she wondered if she was up to it. “I'm not ready for this.”
“What's going on in here?” Jim appeared in the hallway at that moment, with Taylor shortly behind him, and Wash focused on breathing.
“The Lieutenant is building up to feeding her godson.” Elisabeth was still holding the bottle and smiled as the two men looked into the small nursery.
“Well, I should go get the camera. Maddy will be upset if she misses this.” Jim smiled brightly and headed into another room.
“He won't be able to find it.” Placing the bottle in Wash's lap, Elisabeth left the room with an encouraging smile at Wash.
“Why the sudden interest in holding your godbaby?” Taylor asked quietly once the room was empty. He came in and sat on the footstool, watching in fascination as Wash followed Elisabeth's feeding instructions. He smiled faintly as Wash relaxed once the baby took to the bottle.
“I'd rather focus on one thing at a time.” Smiling weakly at the baby, Wash tried to relax. “He's pretty cute now that he's not all purple and covered in afterbirth.”
“They only look like aliens for the first few minutes. Then they turn into regular babies.” Taylor gave a low laugh and put a hand on her knee.
“I should have never told you that.” Wash shook her head and watched Alec slowly drained the bottle. “I think Elisabeth abandoned me. She was supposed to walk me through this.”
“Here, I'll take him.” Reaching out, Taylor draped a cloth across his shoulder and rested Alec there.
“He's so small.” No matter how many times she watched Taylor hold a baby, it always felt weird. His hand rubbed steadily across the baby's back, occasionally gently patting him. Alec looked incredibly out of place among all Taylor's black clothing.
“And you didn't break him. The Shannons will be happy.” With a smirk, Taylor winked at her.
“I hope he spits up on you.” Shaking her head, Wash stood and looked around the small nursery.
“Oh damn, I missed the show.” Jim sounded crestfallen at the door, but then quickly raised the camera and got a shot of Taylor with Alec. “This almost makes up for it.”
“And that makes my night.” Wash burst into laughter as Alec spit up, managing to miss the cloth he was on entirely, hitting Taylor square in the chest. “Now that's a good family photo.”
“So I'm a bit out of practice with the burping babies thing. Normally I try to give them back before any bodily functions occur.” Taylor let Elisabeth scoop Alec up and take him to the crib. Wiping at the small mess on his shirt, he smiled at Wash. “Ready to work on some budget reports?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Giving Alec one last look, she followed him out of the nursery.
Saying a few goodbyes, Wash and Taylor left the Shannons with their grandson and headed towards Taylor's office. Her mind was reeling with all the things she needed to say, and she didn't realize Taylor had changed their direction until they were on her porch.
“So what's up with you? I'm starting to worry.” Taylor sank into one of her chairs and pulled her down next to him.
“Because I actually wanted to hold a baby?” Giving him a dubious look, she forced herself not to fidget.
“You've been acting squirrely for a few weeks now.” Taking her hand in his, he rubbed at her knuckles with his thumb. “And you've been going to hospital more often. If you're sick I want to know.”
“I'm not sick.” She hadn't started planning on how to tell him, but this was definitely not how it was supposed to go.
“So what's going on?” He gave her a pleading look and she crumbled.
“I'm pregnant.” She blurted it out and suddenly felt faint. Taylor was suddenly kneeling in front of her with a worried look.
“No passing out.” He framed her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. “You're pregnant?”
“Yeah.” She nodded numbly, tears filling her eyes. “I didn't plan it, I swear. I didn't even think it was possible with all the shrapnel damage, and Elisabeth is worried because of that and my age and I didn't know if you'd even want it-”
Taylor cut off the rest of her rambling with a gentle kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, he brushed away any of the tears that fell with his thumbs. After a few minutes, Wash pulled away and wiped at her face. Taylor smiled at her, clearly enjoying himself.
“We'll figure it out.” Pulling her hands into his he gave her a serious look. “ Stop worrying.”
“How can I not worry? I'm a first time mother that's terrified of infants. How is that supposed to work?” She tried to pull her hands away but he didn't let go.
“And I'm old and out of practice. Luckily, we have this entire colony that will be around to help.” After she nodded, he broke into a grin and tightened his grip on her hands. “Besides, you haven't broken any of the other kids in the colony yet. We'll be fine.”
She didn't know if she wanted to hit him, or hug him, but she laughed anyway.
Character/Pairing: Alicia Washington/Nathaniel Taylor, mentions of Mark/Maddy, lots of cameos.
Word Count: 2900
Genre: Humor, borderline crack?, Romance
Rating: PG 13
Warning: A few bad words, some blood
Spoiler alert: General show spoilers
Summary: Alicia Washington is one of those people who is terrified of small infants. Somehow, she keeps having to deal with them.
Authors Note: This is borderline crackfic and I'm not even sorry. This is also my first time writing a "five times" fic, so my apologies if I messed up the format. Thanks to Crystalkei for the beta and making sure I didn't have any child failures. This references Come Away With Me, And I'll Write You A Song, because Reynolds did promise to name a baby after her if he lived.
1.
It's beady eyes tracked her movements no matter how many times she tried to leave it's line of vision. It seemed to have some supernatural ability to predict her movements. Her palms were sweating, and she was resisting the urge to flee the room. She would not be forced to retreat by this particular monster.
“Do you want to hold him?” Maddy Reynolds asked, completely oblivious to the look of horror that passed over Alicia Washington's face. “Alec, you want your godmother to hold you?”
“Oh, I'm good, thanks.” Stepping back, Wash heard Taylor laugh beside her.
“But look, Wash. He likes you. See, he's smiling at you.” He nudged her arm, a gleefully evil smirk on his face.
“It's gas, he's not old enough to smile yet.” She tried to scoot away from the bed, but he casually put a hand at her back to keep her in place. Everyone was so involved cooing over the newest addition to the colony no one paid attention to the minor struggle happening nearby. She leaned in close to hiss at him so no one else would hear. “You know I don't like babies that small. Stop it.”
“Fine looking boy you got there, Reynolds.” Taylor ignored Wash and smiled at the baby. A snot bubble formed and everyone laughed. Alicia tried to scoot back again but Taylor tugged her back. She stomped on his foot and he covered his grunt of pain with a laugh.
“You want to hold him, sir?” Maddy asked, shifting the baby closer to him. This was her chance to escape.
“Yes, why don't you hold the baby?” Alicia gave Taylor a bright smile. “Everyone knows you love holding babies.”
“I think I'll wait until after the grandparents get a turn. They'll be here soon. Thank you, though Maddy.” Taylor gave the new mother a bright smile and then leaned in so only Wash could hear. “Nice try, though.”
2.
No one had warned her there was a pregnant woman coming through the portal. No one had thought it might be pertinent information. It was a glaring oversight seeing as how Alicia Washington had the most experience with childbirth out of the team she'd taken that day, and her knowledge was limited to a basic understanding of what was supposed to happen and a few simulations during training. Had she known there was even the remote possibility of having to deliver a baby on the jungle floor, she would have sent a team with more experience delivering children and stayed in the colony herself.
Instead, she was sitting on the ground, hoping that the screaming mother in front of her wouldn't attract any dinosaurs. She didn't want to think about what the smell might attract. Focusing on the task at hand, Wash cradled the baby's head in her hands and looked up at the girl who was barely out of her teens.
“Okay, keep breathing, we're almost there. I need you to push again.” Wash braced herself as another painful wail echoed into the canopy.
After what seemed like an eternity, there was a tiny, writhing mass of human flesh in her hands. At least, she assumed it was human. No one ever told the truth of how weird babies looked fresh out of the womb. A nurse quickly took the squalling creature from her and Wash was left staring at her bloodied gloves.
“It's a girl. Congratulations.” Wash gave the young mother a tight smile as the other medics took over prepping the new family to move.
She made a mental note to ask the hospital about birth control options for herself. She'd never seriously planned on having kids, and it wasn't like she was having sex, but what she'd just experienced had killed any remaining thoughts of a family. Her biggest mistake however, was telling Taylor about how she was worried it was an alien baby and how were you supposed to tell a mother that?
He'd teased her for months.
3.
“Here, hold Abby for a second?” Before Wash could politely decline Nurse Ogawa's request, she was holding a six-month baby under the armpits. Staring at each other for several minutes, they both seemed content with the situation. But then Abby's face scrunched up and Wash knew what was coming. Before she could evaluate her options, Taylor appeared next to her.
“Give me that.” Plucking the child from her hands, Taylor tucked the baby against his chest. While he made stupid faces at the girl, he un-holstered the gun at his chest and handed it blindly to Wash. “Don't worry Abby, I won't let the mean Lieutenant make you cry anymore.”
“She wasn't crying.” Wash ground out between clenched teeth. “The last time I held a baby, it was seconds old. I'm out of practice.”
“She lies, you actually have to do something to practice.” Talking to the baby, Taylor turned and walked off. “She's got a gun to play with, she'll be fine. Not sure about the recruits, though.”
4.
A weird flu-like illness decided to sweep through the colony one year. Wash spent more time in the hospital than on duty because they were so short staffed. Half the colony was sick, only a few people had a natural immunity, and the majority of the sick were slow responding to medication. Soon there would be a vaccine. It just hadn't come soon enough.
The chain of events happened so fast Wash couldn't pinpoint a moment that it could have been avoided. One of the colonists stumbled in, infant in arms, and nearly fell over retching. The doctor on call had scooped up the baby from the woman's arms and hurried over to where Wash sitting on her break.
“Wait, Doctor Smith, I'm not a babysitter!” Wash had called out after her, but both doctor and her patient had disappeared around a curtain.
The infant was swaddled, and stared up at Wash with bright blue eyes. It was like holding a heated football that smelled like a dirty diaper. Looking around the hospital, everyone rushed by. All her requests for someone to take the baby either fell on deaf ears, or were politely declined.
“Relax, Wash. For once you've got a good grip. You're not going to drop him.” Taylor knelt down next to her and double-checked the swaddling.
“How do you even know it's a he?” Wash realized how tense she was, and forced herself to relax back against the chair. Looking down, the baby yawned and started to fall asleep. She idly ran a finger across the tuft of blond hair on his head out of curiosity.
“Well there's only two infants this age in the colony, and I just saw the Jacksons with their little girl. So that makes this one little Sam Macros.” Taylor smiled at her, for once not mocking. “Need anything while I'm here?”
“Take the baby.” Wash gave him a pleading look.
“No can do. I'm heading OTG to get some more of that flower that's helping everyone.” Squeezing her shoulder he gave her an odd look. “You're doing fine.”
“What if I break him?” Sam had fallen asleep and was twitching a little. Wash watched him with a sense of dread.
“You won't. I have faith.” With a wink, Taylor was gone.
5.
“What the hell is he chewing on?” Taylor's voice was unnaturally calm as he looked down to where Wash was sitting with Sam Marcos in her lap.
“My knife sheath. Apparently he's teething and I couldn't yell directions with him crying.” She shifted the child in question a bit from the leg that was falling asleep to her other one. Glancing to the rope course in front of her she covered the Sam's ears and yelled, “Move your ass, Reynolds.”
“You can't give a baby a leather sheath to chew on.” Taylor stood in front of her and glared down at her. “Not sure his parents are going to be happy when his first word is 'ass' either.”
“The knife isn't in it. And I'll only have him ten minutes tops. I can't ruin his life in that amount of time.” At that moment Sam made a happy giggle and slapped the sheath on the ground a few times before shoving it back in his mouth.
“And you're letting him eat dirt.” Taylor sighed heavily.
“He'll drool most of it back out anyway.” Leaning so she could see around Taylor's legs she glared up at him. “If you don't like my babysitting methods, you're more than welcome to take over.”
“I'm not sure what scares me more - your methods, or the fact you're babysitting at all.” Giving her one last disapproving look, Taylor walked off. Almost as soon as he was gone, Laila Marcos came hurrying back.
“Thank you so much, Alicia.” Scooping the boy up in her arms, Laila noticed the knife sheath. “Do I want to ask?”
“He was being fussy and was chewing on everything. That made him happy. Sorry about all the dirt.” Standing up, Wash brushed some of the dirt off the boy's chest and pointed to her knife sheath. “Can I have that back?”
Shaking his head, Sam shoved it further in to his mouth.
“I will get you a new one, I promise. This seems to be working better than anything else people have recommended.” Laila smiled at her son who drooled in response around the battered leather. “Thanks again for watching him, sorry to impose.”
Watching them leave with a small smile, Wash turned with a bright smile as she heard Taylor come up behind her.
“Still doubting my methods?” With a raised eyebrow she enjoyed the look of annoyance he shot her.
“Actually, now I'm a bit worried in case you ever get the notion to have your own.” With a chuckle he shook his head and patted her on the shoulder.
“I don't think you need to worry about that.” Eying her knife, and wondering where she was going to stash it now, she almost missed Taylor slipping something into her pocket. The sheath was one of his own, and she smiled as she traced some of the cracks in the leather. Slipping the k-bar into it's new home, she looked out over the rope course. “What part of hustle don't you idiots understand? Move it, Dunham.”
1.
Staring down into the crib, Wash braced herself. Elisabeth was next to her, rubbing her arm in what was supposed to be a comforting manner. The rest of the Shannon-Reynolds family was out, leaving Wash to try and face her demons in private. With some support from the Shannon matriarch.
“He's so tiny.” Even compared to her small hands, the newest colonist was still ridiculously small.
“Just pick him up, holding his neck steady.” Elisabeth leaned in and smiled at the child. “He looks so much like Mark.”
“It's an evolutionary thing so fathers wouldn't abandon their offspring.” Spouting off the information, Wash rubbed at her own still flat stomach. “What if he doesn't want it?”
“He will. But first, you need to pick up my grandson, and not have a panic attack.” Her tone was gentle, and Wash realized she probably sounded crazy.
“Alright. Here we go.” Reaching into the crib, Wash gently picked up the baby and pulled him against her chest. “Okay, now what?”
“Sit down, and we'll feed him a bottle.” Elisabeth guided her to the gliding chair in the corner and helped her settle.
“He's so warm. Are all babies this warm?” Wash felt her breathing increase. “Is he feverish?”
“He's fine.” Elisabeth finally gave in to her laughter and held out the bottle. “Give it a go.”
“I'm cool with just holding him. I don't think I'm ready for a feeding.” Looking down at the tiny bundle in her arms, she wondered if she was up to it. “I'm not ready for this.”
“What's going on in here?” Jim appeared in the hallway at that moment, with Taylor shortly behind him, and Wash focused on breathing.
“The Lieutenant is building up to feeding her godson.” Elisabeth was still holding the bottle and smiled as the two men looked into the small nursery.
“Well, I should go get the camera. Maddy will be upset if she misses this.” Jim smiled brightly and headed into another room.
“He won't be able to find it.” Placing the bottle in Wash's lap, Elisabeth left the room with an encouraging smile at Wash.
“Why the sudden interest in holding your godbaby?” Taylor asked quietly once the room was empty. He came in and sat on the footstool, watching in fascination as Wash followed Elisabeth's feeding instructions. He smiled faintly as Wash relaxed once the baby took to the bottle.
“I'd rather focus on one thing at a time.” Smiling weakly at the baby, Wash tried to relax. “He's pretty cute now that he's not all purple and covered in afterbirth.”
“They only look like aliens for the first few minutes. Then they turn into regular babies.” Taylor gave a low laugh and put a hand on her knee.
“I should have never told you that.” Wash shook her head and watched Alec slowly drained the bottle. “I think Elisabeth abandoned me. She was supposed to walk me through this.”
“Here, I'll take him.” Reaching out, Taylor draped a cloth across his shoulder and rested Alec there.
“He's so small.” No matter how many times she watched Taylor hold a baby, it always felt weird. His hand rubbed steadily across the baby's back, occasionally gently patting him. Alec looked incredibly out of place among all Taylor's black clothing.
“And you didn't break him. The Shannons will be happy.” With a smirk, Taylor winked at her.
“I hope he spits up on you.” Shaking her head, Wash stood and looked around the small nursery.
“Oh damn, I missed the show.” Jim sounded crestfallen at the door, but then quickly raised the camera and got a shot of Taylor with Alec. “This almost makes up for it.”
“And that makes my night.” Wash burst into laughter as Alec spit up, managing to miss the cloth he was on entirely, hitting Taylor square in the chest. “Now that's a good family photo.”
“So I'm a bit out of practice with the burping babies thing. Normally I try to give them back before any bodily functions occur.” Taylor let Elisabeth scoop Alec up and take him to the crib. Wiping at the small mess on his shirt, he smiled at Wash. “Ready to work on some budget reports?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Giving Alec one last look, she followed him out of the nursery.
Saying a few goodbyes, Wash and Taylor left the Shannons with their grandson and headed towards Taylor's office. Her mind was reeling with all the things she needed to say, and she didn't realize Taylor had changed their direction until they were on her porch.
“So what's up with you? I'm starting to worry.” Taylor sank into one of her chairs and pulled her down next to him.
“Because I actually wanted to hold a baby?” Giving him a dubious look, she forced herself not to fidget.
“You've been acting squirrely for a few weeks now.” Taking her hand in his, he rubbed at her knuckles with his thumb. “And you've been going to hospital more often. If you're sick I want to know.”
“I'm not sick.” She hadn't started planning on how to tell him, but this was definitely not how it was supposed to go.
“So what's going on?” He gave her a pleading look and she crumbled.
“I'm pregnant.” She blurted it out and suddenly felt faint. Taylor was suddenly kneeling in front of her with a worried look.
“No passing out.” He framed her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. “You're pregnant?”
“Yeah.” She nodded numbly, tears filling her eyes. “I didn't plan it, I swear. I didn't even think it was possible with all the shrapnel damage, and Elisabeth is worried because of that and my age and I didn't know if you'd even want it-”
Taylor cut off the rest of her rambling with a gentle kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, he brushed away any of the tears that fell with his thumbs. After a few minutes, Wash pulled away and wiped at her face. Taylor smiled at her, clearly enjoying himself.
“We'll figure it out.” Pulling her hands into his he gave her a serious look. “ Stop worrying.”
“How can I not worry? I'm a first time mother that's terrified of infants. How is that supposed to work?” She tried to pull her hands away but he didn't let go.
“And I'm old and out of practice. Luckily, we have this entire colony that will be around to help.” After she nodded, he broke into a grin and tightened his grip on her hands. “Besides, you haven't broken any of the other kids in the colony yet. We'll be fine.”
She didn't know if she wanted to hit him, or hug him, but she laughed anyway.