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For the most part, Barnaby did not regret the decision to volunteer as a short-term foster parent to the orphanage. He wanted to help them out as much as he could, and they were willing to work with him and the limitations of his job. And usually, Barnaby didn't have the kids for more than a night or two, so the time commitment wasn't a huge one.
He had the means and the ability. It was the right thing to do to give back where he could.
That was what he told himself when he was holding an infant who was going into hour three of uncontrollable sobbing and showing no signs of slowing down.
Anna wasn't hungry, she didn't need to burp, and he'd changed her diaper twice. Barnaby had tried everything else he could think of—rocking her, bouncing her, telling her stories, swaying, humming, singing, toys—and the most it had earned him was two minutes of peace before she screwed up her face and started screaming again.
Finally, finally, her cries subsided from earsplitting to whimpering, and Barnaby had the faint hope that he might be able to put her down in the next thirty minutes.
The doorbell rang, and Anna's head snapped up and she shrieked.
Barnaby stalked to the door, fully prepared to kill whoever was on the other side.
It was Kotetsu. "Hey, Bunny! How are, uh, things?"
It didn't matter how long they had been partners; Barnaby
was going to strangle him. "She's been screaming for two hours. I had just
gotten her quiet. You rang my doorbell."
Kotetsu winced, which told Barnaby he appreciated the gravity of the situation. "Sorry." He held up a white sack. "I brought food?"
It occurred to Barnaby he hadn't actually had anything to eat since that morning. He didn't stop glaring, but he did step aside to let Kotetsu in.
"So, she's...loud," Kotetsu said.
Barnaby walked to the kitchen, bouncing Anna as he went in hopes of soothing her some more. She was still crying, but she was somewhat distracted by the new person in the apartment, and so wasn't nearly as loud as she had been. "She's tired."
He had no idea if she was tired. He assumed she was. Anybody who had been screaming for more than two hours had to be tired.
Kotetsu set the sack of food on the counter. "Do you want me to hold her so you can eat?"
Barnaby hesitated.
Something must have shown on his face, because Kotestu huffed. "Hey, what's with that look? I'm not actually terrible with babies!"
"The last baby I saw you with screamed every time you
got near and almost broke everything I own," Barnaby pointed out.
"Those were special circumstances!" Kotetsu paused. "Uh, is she a NEXT?"
Barnaby shrugged. "If she is, she hasn't gotten her powers yet."
"Then you don't have to worry about her breaking anything." Kotetsu held out his hands. "I'll hold her. Unless you want to try to eat while holding a baby?"
Barnaby seriously considered it for about three seconds before he gave in and handed her over. "She's been kind of wary around new people, so—"
Kotetsu hefted her into the air. "It'll be fine." He made a silly face at Anna. "Won't it, sweetie?"
Anna screwed up her face and screamed. Kotetsu looked panicked.
Barnaby thought about taking her back, but his arms were aching from holding her for as long as he had and he was starving. He went and got plates instead. "Don't scare her."
"I'm not trying to be scary!" Kotetsu protested, and started crooning at Anna. "Right, kiddo? C'mon, I can't be that scary."
Anna continued screaming, apparently unimpressed by Kotetsu's reassurances.
Barnaby returned to digging food out of the sack while Kotetsu walked around the living room and bargained with Anna. Barnaby could only catch every other word between Anna's shrieks, a sign that whatever Kotetsu was saying wasn't working.
It didn't matter. Barnaby had ten minutes to eat; he was going to take it.
He found his sandwich thanks to the bunny head drawn on the wrapper and dug in. It was quite possibly the best sandwich he'd ever had in his life, although that may have been because it was the first thing he'd eaten in nearly ten hours and someone else was holding the unhappy baby.
Barnaby rubbed his thumb over the bunny head on his sandwich wrapper and smiled to himself.
In the living room, Anna's screams subsided to sobs, and then to whines. Now he could hear that Kotetsu was singing, though quietly enough he couldn't make out the words.
After another few minutes, Barnaby realized Anna was completely silent, and the only sound from the living room was Kotetsu's singing, which was fading.
He set his sandwich on the plate and walked over to see what was going on just in time to see Kotetsu return from the bedroom sans baby.
Barnaby was almost afraid to ask the question in case it wasn't true. "Is she asleep?"
Kotetsu grinned and hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "Out like a light."
Barnaby stared at him. "How did you get her to sleep?"
Kotetsu shrugged. "Maybe she just likes singing." He started toward the kitchen. "I hope you didn't eat my sandwich."
"I sang to her for half an hour." Barnaby followed him back to the kitchen and food. "It didn't help. What did you sing?"
"Maybe she likes my voice better." Kotetsu picked up a plate and dug another sandwich out of the bag. "Or maybe she doesn't like opera."
They'd been partners long enough that Barnaby could recognize it when Kotetsu was dodging the question, and he also knew when to let it go. He grabbed his own mostly finished sandwich and sat in the chair, leaving Kotetsu to stand at the counter. "Opera can be very soothing. It should have helped."
Kotetsu just chuckled into his sandwich.
They ate in relative silence, and Barnaby contemplated how wonderful silence was. Blissful, even. If he were lucky, this level of silence might last a full twenty minutes and he could finish eating. If he were really lucky, it would last an hour and he would get a nap as well.
After several minutes, Kotetsu finally spoke. "It was the song Tomoe and I danced to at our wedding. I used to sing it to Kaede to try to get her to sleep."
Oh. No wonder he'd been dodging the question. Barnaby should have guessed it had to do with his wife. "Did it work as well with Kaede as it did with Anna?"
Kotetsu didn't look up from his sandwich. "Eh, maybe half the time? It worked enough, though. I probably still have the song somewhere, if you wanted it."
Barnaby cleared his throat and went to get drinks out of the fridge. "Apparently I need to learn it, since it's the only thing that will get Anna to sleep and I'll have her for at least another day."
"Just as good as any lullaby," Kotetsu said. "I'll send it to you when I get home."
Barnaby handed him one of the drinks. "Thank you."
Kotetsu took it with a half-smile. "I'm surprised I remembered any of the words. It's been years since I listened to it."
Barnaby was not remotely surprised. There was a lot Kotetsu forgot, but never anything having to do with his wife or daughter. "There's an aria my mother used to sing to my father. I didn't hear it for nearly fifteen years, but the next time I did, I remembered every single word."
Kotetsu gave him a soft smile, one that said he understood what Barnaby was actually saying. "Did you sing her that one?"
"It was the first one I tried," Barnaby said. "I don't think she cared too much for opera."
Kotetsu's lips twitched. "Well, you've got to give these things time. She'll learn to appreciate it."
Barnaby sighed. "Somehow I doubt she'll learn to in the next twenty-four hours."
As if on cue, there was a hiccupy sob from his bedroom, which slowly crested into an actual whine.
Well, that hadn't lasted as long as he'd hoped. At least he'd been able to finish his food.
Kotetsu set his drink down. "I'll get her."
Barnaby shook his head. "No, I've got it."
"Bunny, have you slept since you got her last night?" Kotetsu asked.
"Yes," Barnaby said.
Kotetsu did not look convinced. "Uh-huh. I have a kid, you know. I remember this stage. Have you slept more than four hours collectively?"
Barnaby narrowed his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure he'd slept more than two hours collectively.
Kotetsu smiled. "That's what I thought. Go lay down for a bit. I'll get her back to sleep."
"She's my responsibility," Barnaby said.
"And I'm your partner," Kotetsu said, like that was relevant here. "I got her to sleep before, I can do it again. Listen to your elders for once, Bunny-chan."
Barnaby felt like he should argue. But a nap sounded fantastic right now, and Kotetsu had managed to get Anna quiet earlier.
"Wake me up in half an hour," Barnaby said. "Or if you need to leave. Or—"
"If anything worse than a dirty diaper happens, I'll wake you up." Kotetsu ushered him toward the bedroom. "Trust me, Bunny."
I do, Barnaby thought. You have no idea how much.
"Fine," he said aloud. "I'll leave her in your hands."
Kotetsu picked a crying Anna back up out of the crib, and Barnaby collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to take his glasses off. The bedroom door closed again, muffling both Anna's cries and the quieter sound of Kotetsu singing again.
I'm your partner, he'd said. As though that somehow referred to Barnaby's decision to foster, and not just their hero work.
Who knew? In Kotetsu's mind, maybe it did.
Barnaby closed his eyes. He had only half an hour to get some rest before he'd have to be up to take care of Anna again; he should at least try to get some sleep.
But he found himself focusing on the muted sound of Kotetsu's voice anyway.