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Steve rolled over and sat up at the first thin, mewling cry from the baby monitor. He pressed a kiss to Danny’s prickly jaw and soothed him back to sleep with a gentle “Sssh, I’ve got him Danno.”
Danny had only been home from the hospital for a couple of days, and he was still too pale and weak for Steve’s liking. He was groggy and slept a lot, recovering from the massive blood loss he had suffered during emergency surgery to save DJ and himself. Steve himself had yet to recover from the state of hyper alert he had been in since that day in the parking garage when he discovered his heavily pregnant husband had been kidnapped.
He rolled out of bed and padded down the hall to the nursery and hurried over to the crib were his tiny son was kicking his little legs under his blanket fretfully, winding himself up for a full blown Williams howl of outrage at waking up wet and hungry. Steve scooped him up carefully and pressed a kiss to the small, red outraged face.
“Sssh, Bud, Daddy’s here. I’ve got you. Let’s not wake up Danno, he needs his rest.”
He carefully carried his newborn son over to the changing table where he made short work of the wet diaper, marveling again at the tiny person busily fussing and flailing and energetically kicking small limbs as his doting father changed him with his usual brisk efficiency. Once DJ was in a clean diaper and buttoned back into his tiny blue onesie, Steve removed a small bottle from the waiting warmer in the corner with the small fridge and seated himself in the rocking chair under the window, his son cradled in the crook of his arm
After testing the temp of the formula with a drop on his wrist he inserted the nipple into the hungry mouth and beamed as his baby nursed greedily, with small smacks and grunts of satisfaction. The full moon shining in the window made the use of the lamp unnecessary. Steve sat back and rocked and fed his boy marveling again at how lucky he was to have this—his son, Danno, his own small family.
Truth be told, Steve loved getting up in the night to care for his son. This was their private time. He could coo over his baby boy and be as silly and besotted as he liked without Danno seeing and teasing him. If someone had told him a year ago that he would be married to his partner and the father to a newborn, he would have scoffed and laughed his ass off. Now he used this quiet time to croon soft lullabies under his breath, memorize his boy’s features, reverently touch tiny fingers and toes and chuckle over Deej’s tuft of wild black hair, which refused to be tamed.
DJ finished his bottle and obligingly emitted an impressive burp when Steve placed him against the towel over his shoulder and rubbed his small back. Steve chuckled and wiped the little mouth, then cradled his baby and rocked him gently back to sleep, cherishing the tight grasp of the tiny hand that held his index finger captive, watching as long lashes drooped over sleepy eyes. DJ was a good baby. He only fussed when he was hungry or in need of a diaper change. He bent his head and pressed a reverent kiss to a petal soft cheek.
“Gotcha.”
The soft voice from the doorway startled him and he smiled at the sight of Danny leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his bare chest, smiling affectionately back at him. His husband was dressed only in a pair of soft plaid sleep pants—probably Steve’s because they were too long and dragged over his bare feet.
“Got me, what?” He bluffed, smirking right back at him.
Danny padded slowly into the room and bent carefully and pressed a warm kiss to his mouth, hand cupping his nape, and Steve leaned up into it hungrily, greedy for the affection Danny gave him so easily. Danny smiled softly and dropped another kiss on his forehead.
“Got you for always. You know, you make a pretty good dad, Super SEAL.”
Steve beamed at him, pleased at the compliment, as always.
Danny tenderly touched a blunt finger to his sleeping son’s unruly hair and smoothed it down, sharing a grin with Steve when it immediately popped back up, as though electrified.
Together they put the baby back down, tucked his tiny blanket around him and headed back to bed, Steve’s arm curved protectively around Danny’s waist, as he matched his steps to the smaller man’s slow shuffle. Danny’s incision site was still sore and the stitches beginning to itch as they healed.
They climbed back into bed and Steve curled around the smaller man, one arm wrapped carefully around his broad chest. Danny had fallen asleep again almost immediately. He smiled against his husband’s unruly bed head, remembering the nights they slept curled spooned together while Danny was pregnant. Steve had gotten in the habit of sleeping with a hand splayed over the warm, furry curve of Danny’s swollen belly, so that he could feel DJ’s movements as he stretched and kicked. He had loved that, having his man warm and safe against him, cradling the life they had created together in the palm of his hand. Now he slid a careful hand down and checked his sleeping husband’s bandaged belly for any swelling or heat. Satisfied when he found nothing awry, he slid the hand back up to rest over the steady beat of Danny’s heart, tucked his face in the blond hair and followed him into sleep.