Back once again with pure fluff and added Uncle Will. Thanks for the lovely reviews on the last chapter. Hope you enjoy and thanks to Vis_Mac on twitter for the idea of Uncle Will. xx

"Go, get outta here, jeez anyone'd think you don't trust a doctor and a cop to take care of two young kids," Jay says from the front door as he gently pushes Hailey outside and towards the waiting cab.

Hailey throws a doubtful expression Jay's way.

"A doctor and a cop who are your brother-in-law and husband too," Will says from somewhere behind Jay.

Jay points backwards with his thumb towards Will, "What the man said, go, it's just been you taking care of them for the last couple of weeks cause the case has been crazy. You've barely gone out since Elena was born, go."

Someone jumps out the cab at that moment and toward Hailey. Vanessa.

"Come on, you can always bail after the main course," Vanessa points out as she reaches Hailey's side.

Hailey looks away from Jay and to Vanessa, then back to Jay and sighs, "Okay, but you'll call me if there's anything you need?"

"Copy that,"

Hailey nods, and before she can reconsider, Vanessa grabs her hand and pulls her toward the car while Jay waves and then shuts the front door and turns around to face Will.

"Now, you go to bed man," the older man instructs.

"What? Why?"

"That crazy case? You were leading on it and if you managed a couple of hours sleep a night, I'd say that's an overestimate so go, I'll take care of them both."

Jay's brow furrows, "Yeah, but you got an early start tomorrow, we could just talk?"

"Just go rest your eyes for a bit. I'm ordering you as your older brother."

Jay rolls his eyes, "That didn't even work when we were kids," then he yawns, feels how tired he is and his shoulders slump in defeat, "Okay, maybe for a few minutes but anything you need, call me."

"You two are cute, how you same the same things but just in a different way," Will teases with a smile before his smile softens and he adds, "And as you said yourself, we'll be fine besides they're already asleep thanks to you and Hailey's excellent parenting."

Jay's feet carry him up the stairs before he can stop them.

Will spends the first thirty minutes between the kitchen and the living room, first putting away the dishes from the day away saving Hailey and Jay a job for later or tomorrow and then turning on the TV, the sound at the lowest level he can hear at without disturbing those resting or sleeping upstairs.

If this is what fatherhood is like mostly, then his own impending time to be a dad just got a lot less scary.

After forty-five minutes, it's still quiet and Will heads upstairs to check on the kids. Going into the nursery first, painted in a light yellow shade with an animal border around the middle of the wall and a mobile with different colored shapes and fabrics above the crib.

It's blissfully quiet and Hailey should be back well before Ellie needs to be fed.

Correction, it was blissfully quiet though there's no sound from the crib, it's from the neighboring room, first a small sound of something falling followed by a plaintive cry.

Will moves swiftly, sending a quick glance toward Jay and Hailey's room, hoping the sound hasn't woken Jay or that if it has as he imagines it will have done, he'll hear Will and shut his eyes again.

He pushes the door to Danny's room and the light from the landing shows the small boy, sitting up in bed, crying, pointing down to the floor where Will can see the toy police car.

"Hey kiddo, don't worry Uncle Will's got ya," he says quietly as he nears the car, picking it up and placing it on the bed in front of his nephew in one swift movement.

His nephew who grabs hold of the car, hugging it close to him but still frowning, still shuddering out tears.

"Hey Danny, what's up? You need to go pee?"

Danny resolutely shakes his head, his right hand releasing its hold on the police car and wiping at his eyes.

"Ok, you got scared cause you dropped your car maybe, I'll stay here a little while okay?"

Will sits at the end of the bed, watching the small boy as he looks at Will and then down towards his car, the shuddering breaths and tears easing a little. The little boy who without his glasses looks even younger.

"Hey Danny, why don't you lie down with your car and I'll tell you a little story?"

Danny looks up again, his expression solemn as he tilts his head to one side then does a small nod and his legs slip under the covers as Will adjusts them to cover him up to his neck, and adjusts his own position on the bed, gently sweeping away the bit of hair that falls across Danny's forehead.

"Okay, well once upon a time there were two brothers."

"Was one a dinosaur?" Danny asks, expression serious.

Will hesitates for a moment, not needing to look around the bedroom to get why Danny asked though there are clues everywhere. Stencilled patterns of dinosaurs, soft toy dinosaurs and a dinosaur calendar in the corner on the wall.

He recovers quickly.

"Well yeah, how d'you know kiddo?"

Danny beams, and Will ruffles his hair as he continues.

"So yeah, two dinosaur brothers, one, the older one, was very handsome even as a kid, a little flash of red hair on his head which made him stand out as the smartest one in the dino pack and then his brother, a little shorter, a lot less handsome and frankly a little silly, anyway they were sad dinos."

"Why were they sad?"

"Cause they didn't fit in."

"Why?" Danny repeats as he sits up slightly.

"Their mommy and daddy were sad, and they were way too cool for the other small dinos, even the younger one was way cooler. Anyway, one day they grew up and everything was still sad but these dinos were brave dinos, they fought bad dinos, helped smaller scared dinos and the smart one even made the sick dinos better."

"Whoa." Danny murmurs open-mouthed.

"I know kid, I know," Will nods at his nephew, "They were real sad and they wanted little dinos one day but remember I said the older one was smart?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he was but he was also a little silly with lady dinos and so was his brother, remember him? He was silly already."

Danny giggles.

"He was really silly, Uncle Will."

"You don't know the half of it kiddo, anyway, one day the really silly dino found a tiny lady dino and he knew her for years and they fell in love and had dino babies, cute little dino babies and when the smart dino saw how happy it made his little brother, he made a few decisions of his own and made a move on this dino lady he knew for years finally too and now they're gonna have dino babies."

Danny frowns.

"And did they eat the bad guys?"

It's Will's turn to frown now, "What, no!" There's an instant realization that it's the wrong thing to say when Danny's bottom lip trembles, "Oh no, no you're right those two dinos they ate all the bad guys but only the ones who refused to be good, like refused to go to sleep."

Will hears the unmistakable sound of a stifled laugh from the direction of the landing and shakes his head.

"Daddy says all the best dinos eat baddies for bweakfast."

"Well, daddy is right. So anyway, smart and not so smart dino ate all the baddies for breakfast and their cheerios and also they went to sleep once they heard a tale about smart dinos as well," then as an afterthought Will adds, "Oh and they lived happily ever after too."

Maybe Will crosses his fingers as he says that, after all, it can't hurt.

"I'm tied," Danny yawns straight after he says it.

"Ok, well you go to sleep dreaming of good and bad dinos."

Danny nods then holds out the car to Will, "Kiss ny-ny."

Without hesitation Will leans down to kiss the car, "Ny-ny Mr Police Car and goodnight champ," he presses a soft kiss against his nephew's forehead. Slightly Smug when he sees Danny's eyes shut as he lies on his back, still holding onto the car.

He stands up and backs away slowly, quietly, trying not to disturb the now sleeping child till he reaches the doorway and turns to step onto the landing, pulling the door a little, and looking to his left as he does seeing the amused expression on not so smart dino's face.

"Yeah, thanks for that astonishing story likely scarring my boy that the dinos in his room'll eat him if he doesn't sleep once in a while." The lightness of Jay's tone takes any sting out of his words.

"You liked the story then?"

"It's a story, hence why you fabricated half of it and made you the smart one and me the dumbass."

"All stories have elements of truth," Will replies quick as lightning as they walk toward the stairs and he deftly avoids the gentle slap against his arm that Jay had intended, hearing his brother mutter 'asshole' but so affectionately that it has Will grinning all the way down the stairs and for minutes after.

An hour later and the brothers are sitting in the kitchen either side of the breakfast bar, mugs of hot drinks in their hands.

"All set with the nursery or?" Jay inquires.

"Well, I thought we were but Nat read a magazine last week or something online, I forget, and last I heard she was wondering whether to go with a different color scheme or border."

Jay grins over the top of his mug, "That rings several hundred bells, they just want everything to be just right that's all."

"Yeah, and I guess we worry in different ways."

"Why are you worried?" The concern in Jay's voice is obvious but restrained.

"Okay, will I be a good enough dad; will I be a good enough partner; will I unintentionally mess my kid up because of our past, all those and about a ton of other things."

"Ah, yeah, I'm pretty sure Hailey and I were thinking those things, and we discussed it a bunch of times even though once she was pregnant, we never voiced it. Time will tell and we'll only learn when they're older and whether they avoid seeing us or one of us whether it worked but we're trying our best and we'll make mistakes, you'll make mistakes but you're starting from a good place and that counts for a lot."

"Maybe you are the smart dino after all."

Jay snorts out a laugh, "I mean, obviously."

They sit in silence, comfortable silence, silence Will knows he'll be craving soon. Silence he knows will be a rare commodity amid the night feeds, the crying and that's just him and Nat from lack of sleep, the self doubt that'll play on his mind even if he and Jay or he and Nat or he and anyone kept the conversation going every moment of each day about not letting past mistakes weigh him down too hard.

Silence that's broken by the crackle of the baby monitor and helpless, desperate sounding crying.

Jay glances at his watch, "Too early for night feeds. I think we got a code one diaper situation, you stay here, I'll go."

Will jumps off his stool to join Jay, "Moral support then?"

"I mean, if you insist."

A few minutes later and the small light in the nursery is on and Ellie's on the floor on the changing mat, little legs kicking and her hands near her mouth, a smile on her face.

Her uncle sat on the floor next to the changing mat, shaking a rattle above her which holds Ellie's attention for all of two seconds at a time, while Jay changes her diaper, quickly and then stands up and goes to the chest of drawers in the corner and pulls out a new sleep suit.

"Soon, Ellie, you'll have a little cousin to play with."

"Yeah and soon Ellie, Uncle Will'll be coming up with lame ass stories to tell you all about two rabbits who were brothers."

"When Danny's rich and famous and the most successful paleontologist in the world and says that his Uncle Will told him the story of two dinosaurs when he was a kid and that's what inspired him the most, you'll remember this moment and regret mocking it."

Jay kneels down in front of Ellie and next to Will and shakes his head, "Impossible, Danny's gonna be President, or an Astronaut or Captain of the White Sox or maybe all 3."

"Sounds plausible," Will replies with a nod, "How about Elena?"

Jay pauses in pulling on Ellie's sleep suit and looks down at his daughter, "Ellie? Well, Ellie will be an explorer before she becomes both the first female and the youngest ever president."

Will watches as Jay places Ellie's arms into each armhole of the sleep suit and leans down, pressing a kiss to her chest which pulls a tiny laugh from her. Still a new sound where she's concerned, still magical. Jay shakes his head, the softest smile on his face, and sighs, straightening and looking back toward Will.

"Or you know what, they end up being a doctor, a nurse, a cop, an actor, an actress, a maintenance person or whatever they wanna do, in the end they're happy and confident kids because of, instead of despite their upbringing, that's what I want."

"Now that's something I'm on board with." Will agrees with a smile, squeezing Jay's shoulder to emphasize his agreement.

Jay nods and then looks back toward Ellie, leaning down to pick her up, carrying her back to her crib and laying her down, fingertips tickling gently at her chest, drawing another tiny giggle from her before he pulls them away reluctantly and steps back.

"Goodnight honey."

Will comes back into the room with the cleaned changing mat and puts it back in the unit where the nappies and baby wipes are kept.

"How about another drink?," Will suggests.

"Yeah, decaf this time, otherwise no sleep for any of us."

"Good idea," Will agrees as Jay walks out onto the landing pulling the door of the nursery shut behind him and yawns, stretching his arms out, "You could go rest your eyes again?"

Jay eyes him, "This is how I know you will be such a great dad, man, you already fuss over everyone, anyway."

Will demurs in his response and shrugs. "I'm caring about my brother who's had a tough couple of weeks and could do with a rest, that's all."

"Stil, the point stands." Jay insists.

It's hard to believe these days how difficult their relationship had once been. Two stubborn young men with a truckful of issues foisted upon them by their upbringing and the experiences they'd lived through.

It's still not always easy, life that is, but it's so much easier when they're united. Now they're united.

Hailey finds them in the living room, sitting on the couch, either end of it. Attention fixed on the TV.

"Hey," she calls quietly as she shuts the front door behind her.

Two heads look over the back of the couch and towards her before they turn back towards the TV, Jay's hand raises up and waves.

"Hey babe, good time?"

"Yeah, great. The kids, okay?"

"Nah, some dumb dinos came and stole 'em."

Hailey blinks with confusion for a moment, "What?"

Jay looks back over the back of the couch toward her and grins, stands up and walks over to where Hailey's still standing in the hallway. He pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pulls her close.

"Just my dumbass brother over there coming up with stories about how if Danny doesn't sleep, dinos'll come eat him in the night."

"What? Wait, that's half the story, you asshole," Will argues from his position on the couch, "I let him take a nap, Hailey, and Danny woke up and wanted a bedtime story."

"Which comprised of telling a story where our child will be scarred for life and scared for life by dinosaurs."

"Ok, but he's still asleep." Will reasons, and well this could go on all night except Hailey laughs.

"You two are cute, far too cute and if ever I needed an insight into the mini Halstead brothers, I just got it."

"Cute meaning devilishly handsome and attractive in my case, right?" Jay questions, lowering his voice to the huskiest level he can muster.

"Well yeah, until you did your best Vought impression which kinda killed the mood."

Jay frowns as Will laughs.

"Why I oughta." Jay pulls her closer and leans down, kissing Hailey as he does, "By the way, you look beautiful tonight."

"Just tonight?" Hailey responds with a light giggle before she throws her arms upward and around the back of his neck.

"Nah, every night."

Will clears his throat loudly and stands up from the couch, crossing the short distance to the door close to Jay and Hailey, "Okay, so that's my cue to go. If you ever need more high quality bedtime stories, then call me or not cause I'm gonna be busy with my own little Halstead nugget soon."

Jay looks across to Will with a smile and reaches a hand out to slap at his brother's arm, "Yeah, you are, thanks man for tonight."

"Anytime." Will says returning the smile.

He means it because domesticity, rather than Will's former life of 'excitement' if you could call it that which inevitably came with doubt and complication, it's really where it's at.

Aha, hope you enjoyed and I really hope you're all good and staying safe. Take care xx