>>“Hearty, har, har. Alright, hun, I tried to give you a way out. Well, alright, let’s see what mommy packed up for you, shall we, Miss Lane?”

"You are stuck with me" she chuckled, watching jorge unpack the bag. Lane expressed her satisfaction with the new toys. At least the mom who dropped her off was smart enough to know one favorite toy is not enough for a full day of fun.

>>“Does this, you know, feel weird? Helping take care of a child, again?”

"Not weird at all" she smiled, settling down to watch Lane "I really loved it when my kids were this age. They were all mine" she chuckles "I miss having them around once they move out. I mean, I have all the kids in the Mansion to look after... but I wouldn't mind having to do this all over again."

She meant it, too.

Lane giggled as she crawled over, her reached her hands out to claim the dice for her own. Jorge smirked as he freely handed them over, letting her squeal and attempt to taste the color off of them. He shook his head with a smirk. He could not remember himself being entertained by something so simply. Adult lives were extremely complicated and so utterly wrought with problems that people rarely take the time to enjoy anything. He knew that all too well.

He smirked as he watched Lane crawl away with her dice and offer them to Gemma.

It was then that he posed his question to her. Jorge had never had kids but he could see by the way Gemma had talked about hers that she missed them dearly. That was why he wondered if being around someone as young as Lane was a little weird. Especially considering that she was going into full out mommy mode again. She needed to be in order to help care for this small child.

Which was why he wondered if it was weird. After all, her kids living so far away from her, the mansion students being mainly comprised of teenagers is, as she agreed earlier, extremely different than this.

>> "Not weird at all…I really loved it when my kids were this age. They were all mine…I miss having them around once they move out. I mean, I have all the kids in the Mansion to look after... but I wouldn't mind having to do this all over again."

Jorge paused his duffle bag rummaging. He did not give an odd look on his face, nor did he make a sound. He simply needed to take a moment to replay and relisten to exactly what she had said.

He smirked slightly as he turned his eyes to her. He knew he had to tread carefully in this situation. This subject was broached before thanks to a ”kindly” Granny’s interloping which nearly ended up in Gemma choking to death on a sip of water. He remembered that awkward silence that had descended upon them at that point. They never really did bring up the subject again after that date.

But the detective had to move carefully in this situation. After all, the last thing they needed between them was an awkward silence again while they had a child in their care.

He nodded with a smile. “I don’t doubt it,” he said as he smiled at Lane’s antics. “She is adorable…the times she’s quiet anyways,” he said with a chuckle.

She realized what she just said a split second before Jorge went awfully quiet. Uh-oh. Gemma blushed. There. She really meant what she said, but that was probably not something one should be throwing at a boyfriend like that...
He handled it well, though.

>>“I don’t doubt it. She is adorable…the times she’s quiet anyways,”

Gemma chuckled at that, then shook her head.

"That... did not come out right, did it." she grinned "Sorry, Mother instincts. They take over my brain."

That was really how it worked.

Was that…a blush on her cheeks? Jorge had to smirk when he saw the look on Gemma’s face. It was obviously she caught what she had said the second she had said it. Too bad it was too late to stop herself. But Jorge did not torture her on the point. That was have been cruel and unusually. Instead he just did not comment again on it. He would have hated to embarrassed not only her, but himself, for insinuating that she was thinking of something that she was obviously not.

Lane giggled and sat between them staring back and forth, wordless muttered as she began to look around the apartment. She was obviously looking for someone.

>> "That... did not come out right, did it…Sorry, Mother instincts. They take over my brain."

Jorge nodded and with a smile. “It’s okay. Understandable.”

The silence was threatening to descend upon them again and Jorge disliked it. He hated that there was an awkward silences concerning this issue but to be honest, as much as he wanted to just come right out and talk about it, there was really nothing he could say. The subject was sensitive and they had both nearly died from surprise the last time to subject got broached so how were they supposed to approach it now? With both them being in their forties, with extremely dangerous jobs, would such an option between the two of them even be viable? On top of that wasn’t there a decorum to this?

If anything they should be talking about marriage first before they get into the subject of kids, right? Marriage? Jorge brain paused again. And it would have remained that way if not for the gentlest coo of,

“Ma?” from Lane’s tiny lips. She looked from side to side before she managed to turn and crawl over closer to Jorge. “Ma?”

When there was no answer from Ms. Kim’s recognizably voice, the trembling started, the eye squinting and then finally….

“Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….!” The crying. Jorge winced at the sound. Quickly and full of concern he gently tried to calm Lane and shaking her favorite octopus in front of her. But…Lane was simply not having it…

>>“It’s okay. Understandable.”

Gemma chuckled and shook her head. Jorge understood. He was like that. Kind and caring, and very understanding when it came to Gemma and her overactive mother instincts.

Lane, on the other hand, seemed to miss that exact thing. The mother. Or, as she put it, MAAAAAAA.

Jorge looked panicked, although he tried his best not to show it. Gemma chuckled and picked the baby up, rocking gently and patting her back.

"It's okay, baby" she cooed "It's okay Lane, mommy will be home soon. She is going to come back for you real soon, okay? There's a good girl..."

Lane did not give up crying that easy. Gemma hummed and cooed and murmured and walked around with the baby in her arms, trying everything humanly possible to calm her down. There were two ways this could go: Lane could decide to calm down, or she would cry until she started to hiccup and then get really exhausted and fall asleep.

Either way, a baby cannot cry forever...

People upset…should never be given a choice.

Jorge stood back and watched as Gemma attempted to take control of the situation. The second that she realized that his octopus toy method was not going to work in quelling the child’s fears, Jorge was at a loss as to what to do. But thank god his girlfriend was here to step up and take control of the situation. Not that Jorge would have made Gemma do it (even though she was a mother already), but he was certainly happy because he feared what would have happened if it really were just he and Lane the whole day.

The thought alone made him shudder slightly.

>> "It's okay, baby…It's okay Lane, mommy will be home soon. She is going to come back for you real soon, okay? There's a good girl..."

Jorge smiled as he stood back and let Lane cry on Gemma’s shoulder. But it soon became apparent that Lane was not going to let this one go. She was mad, she wanted her real mother, and she was going to make sure that the entirely of the world knew that.

“MaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAA –hiccup= aaaAAAaaaAAaaaa!!” she screamed as more tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Lane was upset and the two adults who were here were going to definitely pay the price.

Jorge cringed again at the extra loud crying but was assured by Gemma’s posture and positioning that she had the baby under control. Standing back, the only thing he could do was watch because he did not want to leave them in case either of them needed his friendly face around, but also because Lane was his responsibility. The kid was going to have to get used to being stared at.

Lane cried louder and Jorge looked concerned as he turned to Gemma. “Is she going to be okay? Do you need me to get anything?”

>>“Is she going to be okay? Do you need me to get anything?”

"She is going to be fine" Gemma cooed in a calm voice, walking around with the baby "The best thing you can do is let her cry until she gets tired. We might as well get an afternoon nap out of it..." she chuckled.

Lane was a strong baby with a strong voice, and incredible stamina.

Gemma kept pacing around the room; she started humming to calm the baby down. The humming soon turned into singing, and she continued walking, singing little songs that she used to sing to her own children. She had a deep, soothing voice, and after what seemed like an eternity, Lane started to slowly quiet down...

Jorge really did not want to sound like the panicky, scared parent who was not actually a parent. He wanted to help out and be the strong one, but being with this young child just completely threw the detective for a loop. How was he supposed to handle this? This tiny person, who could not specify what she wanted or what was wrong except for a few crude gestures of crying or laughing or pointing stares. He wished to the depths of his soul that he was better at this.

Unfortunately as soon as the detective heard the crying, his mind immediately went into panic mode. Crying meant that something was hurting or that something was wrong, so he wanted to do anything he could simply to make her stop and feel better.

Thankfully Gemma was there to take charge of that situation. He hated to think how this would have gone without her here.

>> "She is going to be fine…The best thing you can do is let her cry until she gets tired. We might as well get an afternoon nap out of it..."

Jorge nodded and sighed as he still stood there, watching Gemma attempt to calm the child. Lane cried and cried. Gemma soothed and soothed. And Jorge…well…Jorge stared and stared. What else could he really do? He did not feel like he could sit down. For some reason throughout this ordeal he felt like he should be standing. Is that what a responsible adult does in the presence of a crying child?

He sighed. He was really not liking himself at the moment. But as much as he wanted to rail against himself, he calmly watched Gemma. Her humming had turned into singing and Jorge even felt himself begin to calm down. He sighed a bit as he stood there, just listening to his girlfriend sing so sweetly to this child. Not only was he beginning to calm down…but so was Lane.

Lane sniffed, her cheeks wet with tears as hiccups slowly began to set in. But the soothing sound of the woman’s voice had such a comforting tone to it that she could not resist being lulled to sleep.

Jorge smirked as he watched Lane slowly begin to close her eyes. And in that instant, he knew exactly why Gemma was so good at what she did…

After what felt like an eternity, Lane finally stopped crying, and then she promptly fell asleep, the way babies do. Gemma smiled as the singing got more quiet too, and then turned into humming as the baby relaxed in her arms, tiny face resting on her shoulder. She finally stopped pacing and sat down, still holding her. She smiled up at Jorge. Complete victory.

She knew Lane was going to sleep for a while; she had exhausted herself with all the crying and crawling. That was the much needed quiet time all parents longed for, expecially if the baby was their own. She smiled and patted her back; Lane made a whimper and slept on.

If things went smoothly, she would be able to put her down in a few minutes.

The crying slowly began to die down and Jorge started to calm as well. It was funny, it seemed that as soon as Lane got worked up, he did as well. Maybe there was just something inherent in men that when a child cries, they immediately want to do anything within their power to make it stop. He remembered back in Miami, one of his old partners had a little girl who had him completely wrapped around her finger. Once on a stake out, the little girl telephoned and cried her eyes out for daddy to come home. Jorge listened intently until finally his partner had agreed to buy her a pony.

That apparently was the band-aid that the child needed.

But now in this situation, Jorge found himself on the opposing side of the screaming. And instantly all he wanted to do were things to calm the child down. But Gemma was there and she took charge of the situation. She let Lane cry her eyes out until finally she drifted away to sleep, nestled in his girlfriend’s arms.

Jorge had to smirk. Gemma definitely did look good with a child…

Ahem…he pushed those thoughts away for the moment. Now, again, was not the time.

He watched as Gemma carefully settled into a seat, her humming lowering in volume until finally she could rest the weary child. Lane slept peacefully, her chest wet and raw from the other abundance of tears that had rolled down her cheeks. She was tired now and that was a concept he was only too happy to notice.

Still though, as Gemma sat, Jorge was afraid to move. He didn’t want to make a misstep, suddenly awaken the child and remind her exactly of the reason why she had been crying so much. So long as mommy was not here, there was little they could do to help her. She would just have to sleep and eat and find entertainment until Ms. Kim got off of work.

Very slowly he stepped towards Gemma and Jorge smiled. “Is it okay…um, if I move?” he asked, testing his step. Suddenly he noted that he must have looked like a man standing on a frozen river, trying to see if he would break though. The detective certainly made a silly sight to behold.

>> “Is it okay…um, if I move?”

Wow. Did Jorge look alarmed or what? Gemma grinned at him and nodded, still holding the baby. Sure, he could move. Babies wer predictable like that. Once they were sleeping, the were sleeping.

Finally Lane felt relaxed enough that she could put her down. Easing the baby onto the couch, she tucked her in with a blanket and put a pillow next to her making sure she wouldn't roll off the couch. With that done, she stood and stretched, smiling and Jorge and nodding towards the kitchen.

Jorge watched in an astounded silence as Gemma calmed the crying child. He had to admit that she really had a gift when it came to children. Her gentle voice, her calm aura, the softness of her touch, it seemed like it would be enough to calm the most restless of children. He saw this with Lane, a child who missed her mother terribly, and yet a few gentle caresses and some humming and she drifted off to sleep. Jorge had to admit that he never thought it was possible but Gemma had managed to pull it off.

With a silent, awestruck smile, he watched as the woman very gently stood and placed the now sleeping Lane on the couch. She directed him to the kitchen and Jorge nodded as he slowly made his way over there, watching as she secured the child on the couch so she wouldn’t roll off.

Once in the kitchen, Jorge busied himself by starting on making some tea as quietly as possible. At least the man was good at sneaking around so he was extremely quiet as he found his ceramic tea kettle, poured some water within and set it inside of the microwave to heat up. The last thing he wanted to do was place one on the stove and have it whistle so loud that it would awaken Lane. But a microwave could be just as effective as well as much quieter.

For now, this situation definitely called for tea.

He smiled when Gemma finally joined him in the kitchen and he could only smile at her appreciatively.

“You, sincerely are a lifesaver,” he said to her in a quiet voice. “You nearly had me falling asleep,” he laughed.

>>“You, sincerely are a lifesaver, You nearly had me falling asleep,”

Gemma laughed too, kissing him on the cheek.

"It just takes practice. Laurent was a nice quiet kid, but Valerie was a banshee."

And she has not changed much up until college. That went without saying.

"So, how did you end up watching her anyway? I mean, you are a nice guy, and people trust you, but still. And where is Lizzie, anyway?"

There was a dog in the apartment, and she was nowhere to be seen. Babies liked dogs. Dogs had varied opinions on babies...

Also, tea was being made. That was good. Gemma could use some tea...

>> "It just takes practice. Laurent was a nice quiet kid, but Valerie was a banshee."

Jorge snorted.

But he didn’t say anything more than that. He had personal experience with Valerie and knew that she could be a handful. As a matter of fact, the second he met her she had nearly accosted him for staring at her mother, not realizing that he was her boyfriend. And even when she did find out…the accosting only continued. Deception at dinner, suspiciously eyeballing, even the interrogating like questioning about his intentions and ability to keep her safe.

It was all such an exciting experience. Though Gemma had assured him that she did like him. That if she didn’t, she would have made that fact much more known than the simple little games she was playing on him that day.

If that was how she treated a friend, then he was sincerely glad that he was not an enemy.

He accepted the kiss to his cheek gratefully as he turned to finish making their tea. The water was close to done boiling in the microwave so he pushed the stop button before the machine screamed out in loud beeps that it was done. He was not going to risk waking Lane too early.

As he rummaged for his teas, Gemma asked him the most obvious question…

>> "So, how did you end up watching her anyway? I mean, you are a nice guy, and people trust you, but still. And where is Lizzie, anyway?"

“Ah…the dog,” he said with mock contempt. “Do not mention that name again, she is dead to me. She abandoned me in my hour of need and is hiding someone in the house.” He heard the patting that echoed in his kitchen and glanced down to see that Lizzie had magically reappeared, tilting her head and looking quite innocent. “Don’t you try getting out of trouble, missy,” he said in mock sternness.

Finally, though, he found his teas and, pulling down a pair of boxes, he held them up for Gemma to choose which of them she wanted.

“As for why I suddenly find myself the father of young Ms. Lane, in there,” he said with a shrug. “Ms. Kim lives in the apartment next door, she’s newly divorced, and her babysitter apparently completely cancelled on her last minute. So, since she trusts me because I’m a cop and friendly and all, she let the kid with me.” he sighed as he glanced over to see Lane sleeping soundly. “She’s normally a real sweetie, but I’ve never watched her before.”

>>“Ah…the dog. Do not mention that name again, she is dead to me. She abandoned me in my hour of need and is hiding someone in the house.... Don’t you try getting out of trouble, missy,”

Gemma chuckled. Lizzie was good at pretending to be innocent. Puppy eyes help with that a lot. Leaning down, she scratched the dog behind the ear, and when she rolled onto her back, she scracthed the belly too. Legs twitched, and Lizzie was completely won over.

>>“As for why I suddenly find myself the father of young Ms. Lane, in there... Ms. Kim lives in the apartment next door, she’s newly divorced, and her babysitter apparently completely cancelled on her last minute. So, since she trusts me because I’m a cop and friendly and all, she let the kid with me. She’s normally a real sweetie, but I’ve never watched her before.”

"Welcome to the world of parenting" she grinned at him, taking her mug of tea and sipping the warm drink. It was not really a permanent arrangement, but that did not mean she could not tease him about it.

"If we are lucky she sleeps for an hour or two." she said, leaning against the counter.