Hello there dear readers, this is a plot free one-shot filled with pure fluff . It is a baby fic. I took the liberty to name the baby Sammy - I know not many of you would approve of the name and the reason I chose it is simple - It´s the name of my favorite fictional character in the Discworld series - Samuel Vimes.
I know that it´s also Bosco´s name. For the sake of this story, let´s pretent that Bosco was named James, or Carl or any other name that comes to your mind :)
It´s M rater, just to be sure, there is an M section but nothing explicit.
The world has gone softer.
His habits changed.
For a long, long time his favorite room of their little cozy cabin was their bedroom. The place they fell asleep together, the place where they made love (mostly), and after a nine long months, the place where their son slept in between them for the first time.
It was not planned.
Little Samuel Patrick Jane had his own room prepared long before he was born. It had everything that the little baby boy needed. Herd of cute sheep jumping around on the walls alongside with other cute animals, cuddly stuffed bears in the crib, and the crib itself was something, too. Jane never settled with anything that wasn´t the best and Lisbon soon got used to it.
The room was done months before their baby boy was born and yet...
They spent months getting ready for the arrival of Sammy, spent months decorating his room, buying baby clothes, furniture, their whole cabin stuffed with all the necessary and unnecessary objects the baby could and would need.
Diapers, diaper dispenser, tons of toys, stuffed and otherwise, baby powders, oils and well, anything they could get their hands on.
His room was ready.
The whole cabin was ready.
Yet, the first day they took their son home, Jane refused to let him sleep all alone in the cozy little room prepared just for him.
It was hard to argue with Jane when he was a consultant.
It was even harder to argue with him the day he became a father again. Mostly when Lisbon agreed with him. The love she felt the second their son was born was like nothing she had experienced, ever.
So, all in all, despite having the room ready, little Sammy slept with his parents.
A good night sleep was not an option for more than three months.
Jane used to woke up to the tiniest of noises, some of them not even produced by Sammy. Once he was awake, he couldn´t take his eyes off of his son and wife. He watched them sleep and breath peacefully, the way he felt impossible to explain. And when Sammy woke up for real, Lisbon´s eyes always fluttered open to meet with his.
They used to soothe him together, feed him together, even if it was mostly Lisbon´s job, bathe him together, change his diapers together...
They were a team. And a good one.
After three months of this blissful period, Lisbon had to go back to work. The transition was harder than she ever imagined it could be. Every morning, while she was getting ready for work, she watched Patrick cuddling their son before mommy went away. It was hard leaving them. Having Patrick Jane for a husband made it all easier. There wasn´t a person in this whole world she trusted more than him. Knowing he would never let a thing happen to little Sammy made it all possible. Their whole place was baby proofed. Not a single spot missed. Anything that could be done was done and when Sammy reached the crawling and tasting everything period, they were ready.
Most of the time.
Since Jane was the stay at home dad and Lisbon went back to working with the FBI, he was left home with his son through the bigger part of the day.
It was worth it.
Lisbon was happy that she could maintain work she loved and life she never thought of having in the first place, and Jane was more than happy to be a father again. And this time, he got all the time in the world to enjoy it. Sure, sometimes the little man wore him out. Since he learn to crawl, even the simplest of tasks, just as going to the bathroom, became tough. Sammy needed constant supervision, even though the place was fully baby proofed.
And when the little man give it a first try to get up on his own, holding onto anything presented, Jane knew there is no way of letting him be alone anymore. Not even for a while.
Days came and went, days when Lisbon worked late and came home to a place she hardly recognized anymore, with Jane looking like he could use a day off, and a baby full of energy, still yearning for attention.
She gladly gave it to him. After a long day at work, the moments spent with her son were priceless. Sometimes, Jane fell asleep on the couch as soon as she arrived home. Sometimes, he managed to got dinner ready. Sometimes he didn´t. She didn´t mind. They weren´t getting any younger and the black bags under Jane´s eyes were no mystery to her.
So, after few days like this, days which she spent working on a tough case, Lisbon made up her mind. They needed a break. Both of them.
Cho was the team leader after Abbott left.
Lisbon always maintained her professionalism, always there to do her job with a grace. Still, some days, Cho could spot a bit of weariness in her features. They were subtle, hardly visible. But he knew her for over a decade and was too good of a detective to ignore them.
"How´s Jane?" he asked her one day after battling with particularly long and tough case and the following wrap up.
"Good," she replied, still typing into her computer.
Cho nodded. "You should go home. I´ll wrap the paperwork for you."
Lisbon, still typing, looked up from her computer with the faintest of smile. "I´m almost done."
"Yeah. I know. Go home. Go spent some time with your family."
"Really?" she looked at him speculatively.
"Yeah."
"Thanks, Kimball," she replied sincerely, but he knew there was something more.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Um, I might have a favor to ask you...if you´re willing..." she muttered, while saving the document she was working on.
Cho eyebrows rose. Just slightly. "What is it?" he asked.
"Um, to be honest, me and Jane, well...we didn´t have a night for ourselves since Sammy was born...and..." she muttered, blushing.
"I could watch him for a night -"
"Evening," she corrected him. "I doubt Jane would be able to leave him for more than few hours..." and she wasn´t sure she would be able to do it either, "Just one dinner -"
"Okay," he replied before she could finish her sentence, "When?"
Later that day
Lisbon stopped walking in the middle of the living room with a huge smile presented on her face. Jane had no idea that she was coming home early. The room was full of toys being placed scarcely on the ground, the table and even on the couch. Jane was snoring lightly. And little Sammy was asleep on his chest, holding a green stuffed frog in his teeny-tiny chubby hands.
Still smiling, Lisbon didn´t dare to disturb them. She took out of her phone, snapped a quick picture of the two most important men of her life and fixed the blanket that had somehow fallen off of them on her way to the kitchen.
The place was a mess, too. Lisbon left the mayhem and went to change her work clothes into something more comfortable. Time to do some chores, she thought.
Jane was awaken by a tiny finger pressed into his closed right eye. He shrugged a little, softly grabbing the tiny hand that wanted to make him partially blind.
"Hello, Sammy boy. You´re awake, as I can see," he muttered, placing a gentle kiss on the boy´s forehead. "Now, now, those are daddy´s eyes, he needs them..." he mumbled, slowly getting up, while Sammy found it hard to resist poking his dad once more.
"You hungry buddy? Huh? Uh-oh. I see there´s a bigger problem we need to deal with first...," Jane spoke, picking up his son to sniff him. "Someone needs a diaper change, hm? Okay, let´s get you all cleaned up. You´ll be feeling a lot better in a no time."
"I think he´s just fine," Lisbon said, emerging from the kitchen with a smile.
"Teresa?"
"Ma!"
"Hey boys...Sammy I missed you so, so much," she spoke, making her way to the couch. Jane watched her in a silent awe while Sammy squirmed in his hands, impatient to get to his mom. She took him into her arms, hugging him tightly and speaking to him in that voice reserved just for little babies.
Jane smiled, "What about me?"
"Oh, you..." she muttered and pecked Jane on the lips, while Sammy played with her hair, "Of course I missed you too."
"Good," Jane said grinning. "You´re home early."
"Yeah. Cho sent me home. Not that I am complaining. Not at all, right Sammy? Oh, you really do need a new diaper."
"I´ll do it - "
"No, I´ll do it, don´t worry about it," she said and left Jane sitting on the couch, smiling profoundly. His smile grew even bigger when a new aroma found its way into his nose.
Food.
He got up, stretching himself in the process and went to the kitchen.
Several minutes later, Lisbon and Sammy came down to the kitchen and Jane had already started eating, stuffing himself like the hungry man he was. Lisbon chuckled as soon as she saw him.
"I do apologize for not waiting. I couldn´t resist."
"It´s okay, just eat up. I had lunch at work."
So he ate, his eyes leaving his wife and son only occasionally. The sight was mesmerizing, Lisbon playing with Sammy, trying to feed him as well. His son didn´t took after him when food was concerned. He was a picky eater. They started experiencing with various tastes that would make the little man eat, but it seemed he has chosen his favorite - and that thing came from mommy, not from fridge. He squirmed in her hands, starting to be a little restless and whiny.
Lisbon soon learned that sometimes the battle is lost even before it started and gave up. She put aside the spoon and bowl of mixed peaches and lifted up her t-shirt.
And soon, Sammy was eating.
Jane swallowed hard.
He knew that this is the most natural thing that could possibly be happening and that he shouldn´t be staring, but still, he couldn´t.
It was just...amazing.
Never in his old life he could imagine a scenario like this being real again. A home, wife and a child, just sitting there all together, happy and content. A warm feeling spread through his whole body. He was transfixed, that much that he forgot about his own hunger.
"You´ re staring again," Lisbon muttered with lips quirked up a bit.
"Yes," was all he could muster.
She shook her head at him. "Suit yourself. Oh, and I have a surprise for you," she said, avoiding eye contact. Jane raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it?"
"Well, I was thinking..."she spoke while adjusting Sammy just a little as he squirmed again.
"Yes?"
"I don´t know if you will be okay with it, but...I asked Cho to baby-sit. For tomorrow. Just for a couple of hours, so we could grab a dinner, just in the Airstream," she added quickly before Jane could protest, "we don´t have to drive far away, I was thinking maybe to the lake up north? It´s only half an hour from here..."
Jane´s lips pressed into thin line. He was tempted. A little upset too, but still tempted. It´s been long time since he and Lisbon got any proper time together, with Sammy and her work, they were happy just to fell asleep together, too tired to do anything else in the bed.
"So...what do you think?" she asked gingerly.
The battle in his own mind took few minutes. Lisbon spent them watching him closely, trying to decipher his facial expressions.
There was a lot of them.
"Okay," he said finally. "I think."
Lisbon smiled and Sammy cooed happily.
The rest of the day was spent leisurely. They took Sammy out for a walk in their customized stroller - the terrain around the cabin was not made for a normal stroller. Sammy watched the world around him eyes big as saucers, Jane explaining everything Sammy´s eyes laid on.
Ducks, trees, the pond, butterflies flying by, everything was still a wonder to the little man. When his eyes started to drop from everything he saw and experienced today, Lisbon called it a day. They went home, fed and bathed their baby boy together and watched a bit of TV, both equally upset and ecstatic about tomorrow.
Lisbon understood Jane´s need to be overprotective. If anyone should and would be overprotective it was him. She knew that depriving him of this option would do no good to any of them. But Sam loved to be with other people, kids or grownups and he knew Cho pretty well.
Still, Sammy slept between them that night, even though he used to was used to sleep in his own crib. It seemed that Jane needed to be with him before the one night he won´t be able to lull him to sleep. Lisbon didn´t mind. She kind of needed that as well.
He woke them up several times, being hungry, restless, and bored. They tend to his every need, like every night and soon, the sun rose, presenting another day for them.
Lisbon went to work like every day and Jane stayed home, preparing himself for the inevitable.
Just a few hours, he kept telling himself. No more than few hours spent without his son.
Sammy could do it, he knew that much.
He was not so sure about himself.
Later that day.
"Someone´s knocking!"
"It´s Cho! Let him in."
"Already? But we agreed on -"
"Just open the door Jane," came a muffled complaint from behind the door. Jane sighed. He held his son tight while he unlocked the door, letting stoic looking Cho in.
"Hey, Jane, Sammy."
"Hey."
It took Sammy a little longer to recognize Cho but once he did, his chubby hands reached for him.
"You ready?"
"Not yet."
"I´ll take him. Go get ready."
"Okay, uh, yeah," Jane mumbled, giving his son to someone else besides Teresa. It felt...odd. He was fighting an inner fight with himself while doing so.
It´s okay. It´s Cho. You trust him. And Sammy likes him.
Still, he was never been left with anyone else before, not counting those little whiles when friends came to visit.
It has to happen eventually. Lisbon is ready.
Perhaps, but I´m not!
You should be. It´s going to be okay.
How do you know?
Because it has to.
Great reasoning. Very reassuring. It has to. That´s exactly how this world works.
Because Cho would never let anything happen to Sammy.
And because we´ll be just half an hour away from this place and if anything happens I could run back here.
And I probably would.
Me and Teresa, we both would.
All of this ran through his mind in few seconds.
He composed himself as well as he could, letting out a loud sigh. "Right. I´ll be right here."
"Yeah, go."
Several minutes later
"And there´s milk in the fridge. Be sure to heat before giving it to him. Make sure it´s not too hot... better not by tasting it - it´s breast milk."
"Jane!"
"His blanket. Yeah, that one. And Mr. Froggie. He won´t fell asleep without those two items. They are crucially essential to him...Where´s Mr. Froggie?"
"Jane..."
"Wait," he muttered, searching the living room, trying to spot the green stuffed frog Sammy had since they brought him home from hospital. "It has to be in here somewhere..."
"Jane!"
"Yes?" he asked desperately.
"What´s in your hands?" Lisbon asked, an amused look on her face.
"What? Oh, yeah. Right, here Cho," Jane muttered, handing him the frog.
"Thanks," Cho said, giving the frog to Sammy who took gladly.
"Okay, uh, you know where diapers are?"
"Yes he knows."
"Yeah I know."
"And the book?
"On the shelf, beside his crib."
"Yes. Good. Very good. And if he starts to get cranky -"
"I´ll call you. I do know how to take care of a child Jane. We´ll be fine."
"I know you will," Lisbon said smiling, then added, quietly, "just give us a call if anything happens, okay?"
"Will do. Don´t worry."
"Bye Sammy," Jane whispered, kissing his son on his cheek, "mommy and daddy will be home soon. Be good, okay? And remember," he continued so nobody but his son could hear him, "you are safe, your are loved and you are wise." Then, without any other word, he gave Sam back to Cho, too emotional to speak.
They left the cabin, both equally cheerless and cheerful at the same time.
Cho stood there with Sammy in his arms, shaking his head.
"So, what would you like to do Sammy?"
"Glip," Sammy blurted out and giggled happily, waving Mr. Froggie around.
"Glip. Sure. Let´s do that."
It took them few minutes to reach the place Lisbon had in mind. It was secluded, calm and safe.
Few picnics happened there.
Few which ended in something more than just eating.
And when Jane parked the Airstream in the middle of the meadow, his mind finally snapped out of the constant worries that were clouding his vision. He finally focused on something else besides his son and the terrible moment of leaving him alone for the first time.
He glanced at his wife, who wore a fitting black dress. It wasn´t that fancy, yet quite elegant and it certainly highlighted those features which he missed so much.
After all, Patrick Jane was still just a man.
A man with many talents, flaws, odd habits, and with a peculiar mind...but still a man with needs.
Needs that haven´t been fulfilled for a long time.
He swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving Lisbon´s.
She sighed, misinterpreting his stare totally wrong. "They´re fine Jane, Cho would call us if anything -"
She couldn´t finish her sentence.
"I know," he murmured, leaning closer to her until he could feel her hot breath on his cheek.
"I missed you," he whispered, and proceeded to kiss her senseless. The kiss was hungry, passionate, and impossible to resist. Lisbon surrendered to it, kissing him back with the same passion and hunger he gave her, moaning into his mouth.
He didn´t waste more time.
Lisbon´s dress was gone in seconds.
Jane had it a little worse.
"Damn these buttons," Lisbon muttered in between kissed, trying to get him rid of his clothes, separating her bare skin from his.
"I thought you like vests," Jane mumbled, nibbling on her earlobe, sending shivers down her spine.
That was true.
But now, the vest was in the way.
Her bra was gone, too.
"Oh...God...Jane..."
He chuckled.
"Call me Patrick," he said hoarsely.
"Okay", she whispered, pulling his pants down as it was a lot easier to do so, smiling devilishly, "Patrick."
The take-out Cho brought for them was forgotten. So was rest of the world, at least for a while.
Several whiles later.
"Oh, my...I think I pulled a muscle...or two," he mumbled breathlessly.
"Are you complaining?" Lisbon asked, resting her head on his chest which still rose up and down franticly.
"Me? Not at all. Don´t get me wrong Teresa, it was absolutely worth it," he mumbled against her feverish skin, placing tiny kisses here and there.
"Good to know," she breathed out, still trying to catch her own breath.
"Hungry?"
Lisbon chuckled, "I kind of was after the second round."
"Oh, but the second round was much needed after the first one..." Jane muttered feeling a little ashamed about how fast things...came. They´ve certainly been deprived of physical contact for too long. Mentalist or not, some things couldn´t be controlled.
"I wasn´t complaining. And it´s okay. I wasn´t that far behind you..." she admitted, blushing too.
"Hmm. You know what they say...third time´s the charm."
Lisbon giggled. "Is that so?"
"Oh yes. I do not have many experiences in this particular area, so, I´m willing to try..."
"Well, maybe it´s your lucky day today," she whispered, her hand already exploring the most sensitive part of his body. His breath hitched.
"With you, everyday is a lucky day," he muttered closing his eyes, feeling pleasure that shouldn´t even be legal.
"Sweet talk, huh? Well, it sure gets you somewhere this time, Mr. Jane..."
For once in his life, Jane was speechless.
He couldn´t speak if he wanted to.
His eyes were still closed shut, while he let Lisbon do whatever she wanted to do to him.
And it felt properly amazing.
Later
After eating the already cold take-out which Cho brought for them and getting dressed again, Lisbon was brushing her hair after trying to do something with her messed up make-up
Jane drove them home with a smile on his face.
A big smile.
Not only they spent a beautiful evening together, an evening that would be forever imprinted into his memory, they were going home to Sammy.
"I love you," he murmured all of sudden, needing to say it once again.
"I love you too, Patrick."
Everything was fine.
Perfect even.
They found Cho sitting in the chair besides Sammy´s crib, reading a book.
He got up soundlessly, not wanting to wake the little man up and just the two of them left the room. Jane stayed there, standing in front of the crib watching Sammy sleep.
"Thank you, Cho," Lisbon said once Cho was ready to leave.
"No problem. He´s a good kid. You are good parents, he´s lucky to have you," he said meaning it. The few hours he spent in their home proved it.
Lisbon shook her head. "We are lucky to have him."
"Jane seems happy."
"He is."
"He won´t be coming back to FBI," Cho more stated than asked.
Lisbon shrugged awkwardly. "We haven´t really talked about that yet, but I doubt that. You saw the way he acted today, the only reason why he was able do this is because he trusts you. I can´t imagine him leaving Sammy with anyone else." Nor could I, she thought to herself.
"I understand. He deserves this."
"Yes he does," Lisbon muttered, suddenly little emotional. Cho took it as a sign to leave.
"I should be going. Say hi to Jane from me,"
"Will do, and again, thank you.
"Anytime, except when I can´t," Cho said, his lips quirking up a bit. Lisbon smiled.
"Sure thing Cho. Uh, and -"
"Yes?"
"Jane is planning on buying you a present so...just be ready."
Cho shook his head. "Thanks for the heads-up. Bye Lisbon. Good night."
"Good night Cho," she said grinning and closed the door behind him, making sure to lock them.
She turned around, and gasped.
The living room looked like it was under attack by stuffed animals. Toys were everywhere. She thought about tidying the place up a bit but then chose not to.
It could wait.
She tiptoed into Sammy´s room instead, finding it empty. Panic rushed through her for a moment and she took a steadying breath. It´s okay. I know where they are, she thought, making her way to their bedroom, flipping the switch in Sammy´s room off.
And of course, there they were.
Jane lying on his back with Sammy asleep on his chest. She just stood there, an amused expression on her face.
Jane smiled sheepishly, "He whined," he whispered, wearing that what else was I supposed to do look on his face.
"I´m sure he did," Lisbon said, rolling her eyes at him, "I´ll be right here," she whispered too, leaving for bathroom.
She came back dressed in that oversized jersey of hers and joined them.
"Cho really worn him out, huh?"
"It seems so."
"The place is a mess."
"I´m surprised you didn´t notice it upon entering," he said grinning.
"Guess I had other things on my mind," she muttered, caressing Sammy´s chubby cheek with her thumb.
"Yes. My thoughts exactly."
"Cho says hi,"
"Oh, I´m going to buy him so many books..."
Lisbon giggled.
"Good night Patrick."
"Good night, Teresa," he whispered.
And then silence ensued.
Jane knew exactly when Lisbon fell asleep beside him. He always knew. He himself closed his eyes, dozing off just a little. He never really slept when Sammy was there with them, always being on alert. Sure, he would be tired as hell tomorrow, but he wouldn´t have it any other way.
It´s Saturday tomorrow. Lisbon has a day off. He can rest then. For now, he just enjoyed the quiet and peaceful night, with his beloved wife and son there with him. What more could he want?
He wasn´t sure if there is any supreme being and if there is, he wasn´t sure why he was granted another chance like this. There was only one thing he was sure about.
He was blessed.
Happy.
Content.
The world has indeed got softer.
This was all that he needed. All that he wanted.
And he will do everything to keep it this way, to protect the life he never believed of having ever night went on its usual way. Lisbon huffing in her sleep, Sammy holding the stuffed frog while being asleep and Jane, well, Jane just being there, savoring every moment of it. Soon, Sammy will woke up, demanding the attention from both of them. And that was just fine.
In fact, he couldn´t wait.
Life was perfect.
The end
Thank you for reading this story and I do hope you enjoyed this plot free nonsene :) . I needed to write something lighter and fluffly after these couple of days spent at work. I´ve been working twelve hour long shifts without any time for a break for couple of days now. I am properly and utterly stressed and tired - I needed to vent. I still have three days to endure, so, wish me luck.
And thanks again for reading, not just the story, but this little rant in the end also.
See you later.