Telling His Secrets: Small Miracles Series [2/8] (Colby/OFC-Callie, baby, G)
Title: Telling His Secrets (Small Miracles Series, Part 2/8)
Pairing/Characters: Colby and the baby; mention of OFC-Callie, Dwayne Carter, David, Don, Larry, and Charlie.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,441
Summary: Once upon a time, there was this girl...
Spoilers: mention of 3.04 - The Mole, 3.24 - The Janus List and 4.01 - Trust Metric.
Notes/Warnings: This is a continuation of the baby!fic Five Men and a Baby inspired by mercilynn who prompted me by saying: For some reason or another, there's a baby dropped off at the FBI office..... who's assigned to take care of her/him? (who gets the job of changing the dirty diapers!) where does the baby end up? Once I wrote the first baby!fic - apparently my ovaries didn't get their fill of Colby with a baby... so I kept writing. One fic became two... which eventually became eight. While Five Men and a Baby was a humorous tale, the series turned angsty as the muse needed to explain why Colby had not had a date in over 2 years and to explain where the baby ends up. This is an alternate universe with Colby/OFC-Callie unlike the The Sparkling Series. If nothing else, enjoy the Colby + baby-ness of it all. :) (Much love to both sororcula and julietm for encouraging me to post this and for helpful beta comments. MWAH!)
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, regrettably - it's not mine.
Colby relaxed into his couch as he stretched out his legs, his feet easily finding the coffee table in front of him. There was a beer in one hand, cold and untouched for the moment while his other hand held the remote. The TV was on mute as he absently flipped through the channels. Instinctively stopping on ESPN, he tossed the remote to the cushion beside him and used his now free hand to run over his hair - exhaling as he did so.
It had been a long day at work though not an unpleasant one, he thought with a smile as he took a slow drink of his beer before he turned to look at the person next to him. The baby he’d taken charge of when he first walked into the office had spent the whole day with him. Colby had rocked him in his carrier, using his free hand to fill out reports. He’d fed him, and talked to him - steering clear of baby talk, knowing the guys in the office didn’t need any more ammunition against him. He also discovered that a baby could make you incredibly attractive to all the women in the office, he grinned as he looked to the stack of phone numbers now carelessly scattered across his end table.
He’d kept his word and made sure David, Don, Larry and Charlie all had a turn changing the little boy’s diapers, smiling victoriously when the baby succeeded in leaving a particularly dirty one for each. Colby had given him a tiny high five after each grown man walked away gagging while Colby laughed and enjoyed the way the infant tried to emulate his smile - the little grin tugging desperately at the corner of his lips.
After all the crying the little one had done before Colby arrived at the office, barely a sound escaped him the rest of the day. He fussed when he fought sleep or when Colby wasn’t feeding him fast enough. Other than those tiny squirms of unhappiness, the little fellow spent most of the afternoon peacefully sleeping - safe in the knowledge that he was in good hands.
At the end of the day when DCFS still had not arrived, Colby had not even hesitated when Don asked what they were supposed to do. Colby, growing rather fond of the little man, volunteered to take the baby home until DCFS showed up the next day. Yes, he was a bachelor but he clearly knew more about babies than any of the alternative. So, David helped carry out the recently purchased items for the infant while Colby used one strong arm to handle the carrier. And just as easily as though he’d done it a million times, the baby was secured in the back seat of his Jeep and the two were on their way to his 2 bedroom ocean front apartment. He’d opened the balcony door out of habit, but tonight he also wanted the sound of the ocean to help the baby transition from the white noise of the busy FBI office to the less hectic and barely furnished apartment of Special Agent Granger.
Now as he looked to the infant beside him, he couldn’t stop the lightening of his heart when he saw the one week old baby with his eyes open and a little pink tongue lapping about as though he were trying to say something. As the baby’s eyes stood open, his little fists clenching and flailing as though he were trying to figure out exactly what to do with them, Colby set his beer down on the table and readjusted his position to reach into the carrier. The baby was small enough he could cradle him easily in one hand but he used two to hold the baby in his lap, drawing his face close to help the still developing eyes see who had him.
“Hey, little man. Why didn’t you tell me you were awake?” he asked quietly, his lips hovering over the baby boy’s nose. The baby kicked his legs as his little tongue continued to lap at the air, his mouth moving to desperately try answering and Colby couldn’t help smiling. “Is that right?” he asked like he understood the baby’s reply.
Seeing his smile, the baby looked like he was trying again to imitate it. The corners of his lips were tugging about as though he too were trying to smile, leaving Colby to sit there in utter amazement. In his life... in his line of work... he’d investigated cases of people who lost their lives. He’d taken lives in pursuit of criminals and in pursuit of enemies during battle. But he’d never taken the time to really think about giving life... seeing life from the beginning. He watched the child in his arms, marveling over how miraculous it was that a human being could start out so small and so helpless, growing steadily until capable of taking care of its own needs. He kept watching as he eased one hand from underneath the baby - adjusting his other hand to properly cradle his neck. With a tender finger, Colby traced his way down the baby’s legs chuckling when the infant retreated slightly as though the touch tickled him. He ran his finger back up the little legs and over his tummy, rubbing the distended little belly and drawing out a joyful sigh from the one week old. His own smile seemed endless then as he moved down one arm, toying with one tiny hand until the baby wrapped his fist around Colby’s finger.
Instinctively Colby drew the tiny hand wrapped so trustingly around his finger up to his lips, softly kissing the pink and wrinkled skin and smiling as the baby stared back at him.
He wondered what this child’s life had been like the past week. Had he been loved and held? Had he been given a name? Did his parents take the time to feed him and talk to him? Were his parents the victims at the crime scene? Or had the baby just been dropped off... knowing that the police and the FBI would come to take him away - to give him a better life? Would he have a better life this way? Would DCFS find someone to take him or would he spend his days bouncing from one foster home to the next?
The thought nearly crushed Colby’s already softened heart as he drew the infant up against his shoulder, reassuringly rubbing his little back as Colby leaned back into his couch. “You know what, kiddo? I don’t know what happened to your mom and dad but I do know that I’d keep you in an instant,” he freely admitted feeling the child’s fingers and nails latching onto the material of his shirt. “I really would...”
Colby hesitated a moment to look around his apartment, then back to the baby. “At least then I wouldn’t be alone,” he breathed and the reality of his words hung heavy in the air.
As though sensing the change, the baby fidgeted against his shoulder and Colby once again smiled as he moved the baby to hold him in front of his face. “LA’s tough little man. You might as well hear that now. And in my line of work, you just never know who you can trust.”
The baby’s eyes widened and narrowed and then again as though he was committing Colby’s words to memory, listening intently as he continued.
“Maybe David’s right. Maybe I am a prisoner of high standards and low social skills,” Colby sighed, moving to cradle the child in one strong arm. “But, I’m not going to lower my standards. Life is hard enough without bringing low expectations into it.”
He then paused as he looked at the little infant who was still trying to imitate Colby’s facial expressions, now trying to scowl back at him. “Yeah... I know. I’m getting too serious, huh?” he asked, trying once more to smile.
He watched the baby’s face change again, and then looked around the apartment as though making sure no one else was there before he focused his gaze into the baby’s eyes. “Can I tell you a secret?”
The little pink tongue lapped again and Colby smiled. “I’ve never told anyone this before... not even David and he’s my best friend. But, there was this girl,” and the room seemed to brighten as he exhaled, freeing himself by finally admitting this to someone.
“Oh... she was beautiful. And fiery. She didn’t take any of my shi... er... stuff,” he caught himself. “She... well, she was my first time...” Colby admitted and the baby’s eyes widened. “Yeah, every one remembers their first time. You’ll understand that when you’re older. But, it was more than that for me. She... god, she took my breath away. She was my high school sweetheart. Callasandra Walker.” And the name dangled from his lips for a long moment before a sigh released her name into the air. “Callasandra Walker,” he whispered again just needing to hear the words.
The baby gave another strong kick and Colby focused his gaze. “I know what you’re thinking. What happened, right?”
He exhaled again and drew closer to the baby’s face, letting the infant reach up and clutch at his nose before Colby rubbed his lips over the infant’s belly - eliciting another sigh from the baby. He pulled back slightly, still looking into the little eyes before he continued. “Every one, including me, thought we’d be together forever. God, I’m telling you... there was just magic between us. And we were going to get married. I mean, I never actually asked her - but I knew - we were just meant to be together. We even made it through college together and she moved from Idaho to the east coast. But, somehow, we made it work.”
Colby hesitated as he considered what happened next. “Then... I enlisted. I was shipped off to Afghanistan. And she... well, she decided to go to the FBI and then she just disappeared.”
His voice was trailing remembering this time in his life. “She wrote to me every week for a while and then in her last letter she said no matter what happens Colby... with you... with me... I will always love you. You have been and will always be all my missing pieces. Forever incomplete without you, Cal... and that was it. She was gone.”
Colby used his free hand to take another long drink of his beer before he once more looked to the infant. “Oh... don’t worry. I tried to find her. I did, within the confines of the law. But, then I joined the FBI too - not because of her, but because it was what I wanted. What else would I do with all those years of counter intelligence training?”
He thought for another long moment about the Academy, and felt a familiar tightening in his chest when he considered the twist that had changed his life forever. “And then my friend... well, he was my friend then... Carter. Dwayne Carter. He got himself into trouble. And I ended up as a spy... a triple agent.”
Colby’s voice wandered, his face contorting with the memory. He’d nearly lost every thing during that time - every thing including his life. He risked every thing for this assignment and only by the grace of God and good fortune had he survived. Dwayne had not been so lucky. He’d made his peace with it. He’d said good bye to his friend. And he’d spent the last year working his way back into the lives of those he loved... his family, his friends, the LA FBI office. His life finally made sense again... with one exception.
“You know, after they recruited me and assigned me to LA, I always thought that maybe... just maybe that is what happened to her. Maybe she was recruited into that unspoken underworld of spies and triple agents. They don’t exactly give you a choice. And maybe... just maybe she’d not been so lucky as to have just one assignment,” his voice seemed to gain strength as he spoke as though he were finally convincing himself of what happened. “She was brilliant, my Cal. She would have made a great career agent... a career spy. She just had this way about her. People trusted her. People loved her. But, she was guarded. Very few people really knew her. Yeah... she would have made a great spy,” Colby breathed and there was pride in his smile as he nodded to himself.
“I guess I always imagined she’d come back when the job was done and that’s why it’s so hard to date any one else. I know who it is that owns my heart. I just can’t find her.” And with that he looked once more to the infant in his arms and found the tiny boy sound asleep. Colby half chuckled, closing his eyes a moment before he eased the baby back into the carrier beside him.
“Some bed time story huh, kiddo?” he asked, before kissing his own fingertips and then running them gently over the baby’s forehead. “Rest well, little man,” he sighed, watching the infant sleep for a long moment before he grabbed his beer and walked outside to the balcony.
As soon as he stepped outside, he let the fresh evening breeze coming off the ocean wash over him - somehow helping him in the burden he carried. It felt good to finally tell his story out loud - even if it was to a one week old who didn’t understand a word of it.
“Callasandra Walker,” he breathed aloud again, letting the wind carry her name back to the sea... somehow seeming it was meant to be that way.
He leaned over the rail, toying with the beer bottle in his hand while his mind raced with the memories of her... in the moonlight, in the sand, in the rain, in the sun. They’d seen so much together, meant so much to each other, and then just like that... she was gone.
“I miss you Cal,” he whispered to no one, straightening to drain the last of his beer. With a lasting glance at the full moon above, hoping foolishly for the moment that she was looking at the same moon and missing him, he turned and closed the door behind him. What he needed now was sleep. He needed sleep while he could manage it, sure that he would be up and down with his little buddy in the carrier for most of the night.
<< Five Men and a Baby, Part 1 While He Was Sleeping, Part 3 >>
Pairing/Characters: Colby and the baby; mention of OFC-Callie, Dwayne Carter, David, Don, Larry, and Charlie.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,441
Summary: Once upon a time, there was this girl...
Spoilers: mention of 3.04 - The Mole, 3.24 - The Janus List and 4.01 - Trust Metric.
Notes/Warnings: This is a continuation of the baby!fic Five Men and a Baby inspired by mercilynn who prompted me by saying: For some reason or another, there's a baby dropped off at the FBI office..... who's assigned to take care of her/him? (who gets the job of changing the dirty diapers!) where does the baby end up? Once I wrote the first baby!fic - apparently my ovaries didn't get their fill of Colby with a baby... so I kept writing. One fic became two... which eventually became eight. While Five Men and a Baby was a humorous tale, the series turned angsty as the muse needed to explain why Colby had not had a date in over 2 years and to explain where the baby ends up. This is an alternate universe with Colby/OFC-Callie unlike the The Sparkling Series. If nothing else, enjoy the Colby + baby-ness of it all. :) (Much love to both sororcula and julietm for encouraging me to post this and for helpful beta comments. MWAH!)
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, regrettably - it's not mine.
Colby relaxed into his couch as he stretched out his legs, his feet easily finding the coffee table in front of him. There was a beer in one hand, cold and untouched for the moment while his other hand held the remote. The TV was on mute as he absently flipped through the channels. Instinctively stopping on ESPN, he tossed the remote to the cushion beside him and used his now free hand to run over his hair - exhaling as he did so.
It had been a long day at work though not an unpleasant one, he thought with a smile as he took a slow drink of his beer before he turned to look at the person next to him. The baby he’d taken charge of when he first walked into the office had spent the whole day with him. Colby had rocked him in his carrier, using his free hand to fill out reports. He’d fed him, and talked to him - steering clear of baby talk, knowing the guys in the office didn’t need any more ammunition against him. He also discovered that a baby could make you incredibly attractive to all the women in the office, he grinned as he looked to the stack of phone numbers now carelessly scattered across his end table.
He’d kept his word and made sure David, Don, Larry and Charlie all had a turn changing the little boy’s diapers, smiling victoriously when the baby succeeded in leaving a particularly dirty one for each. Colby had given him a tiny high five after each grown man walked away gagging while Colby laughed and enjoyed the way the infant tried to emulate his smile - the little grin tugging desperately at the corner of his lips.
After all the crying the little one had done before Colby arrived at the office, barely a sound escaped him the rest of the day. He fussed when he fought sleep or when Colby wasn’t feeding him fast enough. Other than those tiny squirms of unhappiness, the little fellow spent most of the afternoon peacefully sleeping - safe in the knowledge that he was in good hands.
At the end of the day when DCFS still had not arrived, Colby had not even hesitated when Don asked what they were supposed to do. Colby, growing rather fond of the little man, volunteered to take the baby home until DCFS showed up the next day. Yes, he was a bachelor but he clearly knew more about babies than any of the alternative. So, David helped carry out the recently purchased items for the infant while Colby used one strong arm to handle the carrier. And just as easily as though he’d done it a million times, the baby was secured in the back seat of his Jeep and the two were on their way to his 2 bedroom ocean front apartment. He’d opened the balcony door out of habit, but tonight he also wanted the sound of the ocean to help the baby transition from the white noise of the busy FBI office to the less hectic and barely furnished apartment of Special Agent Granger.
Now as he looked to the infant beside him, he couldn’t stop the lightening of his heart when he saw the one week old baby with his eyes open and a little pink tongue lapping about as though he were trying to say something. As the baby’s eyes stood open, his little fists clenching and flailing as though he were trying to figure out exactly what to do with them, Colby set his beer down on the table and readjusted his position to reach into the carrier. The baby was small enough he could cradle him easily in one hand but he used two to hold the baby in his lap, drawing his face close to help the still developing eyes see who had him.
“Hey, little man. Why didn’t you tell me you were awake?” he asked quietly, his lips hovering over the baby boy’s nose. The baby kicked his legs as his little tongue continued to lap at the air, his mouth moving to desperately try answering and Colby couldn’t help smiling. “Is that right?” he asked like he understood the baby’s reply.
Seeing his smile, the baby looked like he was trying again to imitate it. The corners of his lips were tugging about as though he too were trying to smile, leaving Colby to sit there in utter amazement. In his life... in his line of work... he’d investigated cases of people who lost their lives. He’d taken lives in pursuit of criminals and in pursuit of enemies during battle. But he’d never taken the time to really think about giving life... seeing life from the beginning. He watched the child in his arms, marveling over how miraculous it was that a human being could start out so small and so helpless, growing steadily until capable of taking care of its own needs. He kept watching as he eased one hand from underneath the baby - adjusting his other hand to properly cradle his neck. With a tender finger, Colby traced his way down the baby’s legs chuckling when the infant retreated slightly as though the touch tickled him. He ran his finger back up the little legs and over his tummy, rubbing the distended little belly and drawing out a joyful sigh from the one week old. His own smile seemed endless then as he moved down one arm, toying with one tiny hand until the baby wrapped his fist around Colby’s finger.
Instinctively Colby drew the tiny hand wrapped so trustingly around his finger up to his lips, softly kissing the pink and wrinkled skin and smiling as the baby stared back at him.
He wondered what this child’s life had been like the past week. Had he been loved and held? Had he been given a name? Did his parents take the time to feed him and talk to him? Were his parents the victims at the crime scene? Or had the baby just been dropped off... knowing that the police and the FBI would come to take him away - to give him a better life? Would he have a better life this way? Would DCFS find someone to take him or would he spend his days bouncing from one foster home to the next?
The thought nearly crushed Colby’s already softened heart as he drew the infant up against his shoulder, reassuringly rubbing his little back as Colby leaned back into his couch. “You know what, kiddo? I don’t know what happened to your mom and dad but I do know that I’d keep you in an instant,” he freely admitted feeling the child’s fingers and nails latching onto the material of his shirt. “I really would...”
Colby hesitated a moment to look around his apartment, then back to the baby. “At least then I wouldn’t be alone,” he breathed and the reality of his words hung heavy in the air.
As though sensing the change, the baby fidgeted against his shoulder and Colby once again smiled as he moved the baby to hold him in front of his face. “LA’s tough little man. You might as well hear that now. And in my line of work, you just never know who you can trust.”
The baby’s eyes widened and narrowed and then again as though he was committing Colby’s words to memory, listening intently as he continued.
“Maybe David’s right. Maybe I am a prisoner of high standards and low social skills,” Colby sighed, moving to cradle the child in one strong arm. “But, I’m not going to lower my standards. Life is hard enough without bringing low expectations into it.”
He then paused as he looked at the little infant who was still trying to imitate Colby’s facial expressions, now trying to scowl back at him. “Yeah... I know. I’m getting too serious, huh?” he asked, trying once more to smile.
He watched the baby’s face change again, and then looked around the apartment as though making sure no one else was there before he focused his gaze into the baby’s eyes. “Can I tell you a secret?”
The little pink tongue lapped again and Colby smiled. “I’ve never told anyone this before... not even David and he’s my best friend. But, there was this girl,” and the room seemed to brighten as he exhaled, freeing himself by finally admitting this to someone.
“Oh... she was beautiful. And fiery. She didn’t take any of my shi... er... stuff,” he caught himself. “She... well, she was my first time...” Colby admitted and the baby’s eyes widened. “Yeah, every one remembers their first time. You’ll understand that when you’re older. But, it was more than that for me. She... god, she took my breath away. She was my high school sweetheart. Callasandra Walker.” And the name dangled from his lips for a long moment before a sigh released her name into the air. “Callasandra Walker,” he whispered again just needing to hear the words.
The baby gave another strong kick and Colby focused his gaze. “I know what you’re thinking. What happened, right?”
He exhaled again and drew closer to the baby’s face, letting the infant reach up and clutch at his nose before Colby rubbed his lips over the infant’s belly - eliciting another sigh from the baby. He pulled back slightly, still looking into the little eyes before he continued. “Every one, including me, thought we’d be together forever. God, I’m telling you... there was just magic between us. And we were going to get married. I mean, I never actually asked her - but I knew - we were just meant to be together. We even made it through college together and she moved from Idaho to the east coast. But, somehow, we made it work.”
Colby hesitated as he considered what happened next. “Then... I enlisted. I was shipped off to Afghanistan. And she... well, she decided to go to the FBI and then she just disappeared.”
His voice was trailing remembering this time in his life. “She wrote to me every week for a while and then in her last letter she said no matter what happens Colby... with you... with me... I will always love you. You have been and will always be all my missing pieces. Forever incomplete without you, Cal... and that was it. She was gone.”
Colby used his free hand to take another long drink of his beer before he once more looked to the infant. “Oh... don’t worry. I tried to find her. I did, within the confines of the law. But, then I joined the FBI too - not because of her, but because it was what I wanted. What else would I do with all those years of counter intelligence training?”
He thought for another long moment about the Academy, and felt a familiar tightening in his chest when he considered the twist that had changed his life forever. “And then my friend... well, he was my friend then... Carter. Dwayne Carter. He got himself into trouble. And I ended up as a spy... a triple agent.”
Colby’s voice wandered, his face contorting with the memory. He’d nearly lost every thing during that time - every thing including his life. He risked every thing for this assignment and only by the grace of God and good fortune had he survived. Dwayne had not been so lucky. He’d made his peace with it. He’d said good bye to his friend. And he’d spent the last year working his way back into the lives of those he loved... his family, his friends, the LA FBI office. His life finally made sense again... with one exception.
“You know, after they recruited me and assigned me to LA, I always thought that maybe... just maybe that is what happened to her. Maybe she was recruited into that unspoken underworld of spies and triple agents. They don’t exactly give you a choice. And maybe... just maybe she’d not been so lucky as to have just one assignment,” his voice seemed to gain strength as he spoke as though he were finally convincing himself of what happened. “She was brilliant, my Cal. She would have made a great career agent... a career spy. She just had this way about her. People trusted her. People loved her. But, she was guarded. Very few people really knew her. Yeah... she would have made a great spy,” Colby breathed and there was pride in his smile as he nodded to himself.
“I guess I always imagined she’d come back when the job was done and that’s why it’s so hard to date any one else. I know who it is that owns my heart. I just can’t find her.” And with that he looked once more to the infant in his arms and found the tiny boy sound asleep. Colby half chuckled, closing his eyes a moment before he eased the baby back into the carrier beside him.
“Some bed time story huh, kiddo?” he asked, before kissing his own fingertips and then running them gently over the baby’s forehead. “Rest well, little man,” he sighed, watching the infant sleep for a long moment before he grabbed his beer and walked outside to the balcony.
As soon as he stepped outside, he let the fresh evening breeze coming off the ocean wash over him - somehow helping him in the burden he carried. It felt good to finally tell his story out loud - even if it was to a one week old who didn’t understand a word of it.
“Callasandra Walker,” he breathed aloud again, letting the wind carry her name back to the sea... somehow seeming it was meant to be that way.
He leaned over the rail, toying with the beer bottle in his hand while his mind raced with the memories of her... in the moonlight, in the sand, in the rain, in the sun. They’d seen so much together, meant so much to each other, and then just like that... she was gone.
“I miss you Cal,” he whispered to no one, straightening to drain the last of his beer. With a lasting glance at the full moon above, hoping foolishly for the moment that she was looking at the same moon and missing him, he turned and closed the door behind him. What he needed now was sleep. He needed sleep while he could manage it, sure that he would be up and down with his little buddy in the carrier for most of the night.
<< Five Men and a Baby, Part 1 While He Was Sleeping, Part 3 >>