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The child standing in front of him was definitely not his. But she was crying. Big, snot-dripping, throat clogging screams that dripped salty tears all over her Hello Kitty shirt. "I'm sorry, kiddo," Kaidan Alenko said to the girl, though he honestly had no idea why he was apologizing to her. He'd walked into the daycare just a few minutes later than normal, and his son, David, had been playing with the little blonde girl in the corner. The last two left right before the daycare closed for the evening, and his heart broke a little leaving his son for twelve hours a day, five days a week.
"Hannah," his son said around his thumb.
Kaidan looked down to him. "What?"
David removed his finger from his mouth, his other hand engulfed in Kaidan's, and pointed to the girl. "Hannah," he repeated.
Still clutching David's hand, Kaidan knelt down, sweeping his overcoat out of the way and leaning close to the girl's eye-level. "It's okay, Hannah," he said, only loud enough to be heard over her wailing. "Your mommy or daddy will be here soon. I promise." But that only made her cry harder. Kaidan's chest clenched; that all-familiar feeling of being a father. He couldn't just leave the kid here alone with the teacher. What if something had happened? He glanced towards the clock. Ten more minutes until the daycare closed at 6:30. "All right," he said. "Come here." He held out his free hand and Hannah launched herself at Kaidan, clinging to his expensive silk tie and wiping her face vigorously on his designer shirt, effectively ruining it. Kaidan's lips tipped up into a half-smile. Kids always knew how to keep people honest by wasting all sorts of unnecessary money. He guided his son and the little girl away from the exit and to a large beanbag chair. Forgetting about his pricey suit, he flopped into it, drawing both Hannah and David onto his lap. "Let's read a book," he said.
The teacher ducked her head out from the storage closet where she'd been organizing the school supplies. "I'm so sorry," she said in her constantly cheerful tone. "Mr. Shepard usually isn't this late picking Hannah up. I had the reception desk call his cell. You can go if you want; I can handle Hannah."
Kaidan shifted slightly and felt a tiny hand squeeze his arm even tighter. "It's fine," he said after a pause. "It's only ten more minutes. I can wait."
"Hungry," David said.
"Hungry," Hannah repeated.
"I know, guys. We'll have dinner soon, okay? Let's just read a book for a minute until Hannah's daddy gets here." The kids tucked themselves half into Kaidan's lap, ready for a story.
Five pages into one of Curious George's inexplicable predicaments, Hannah's father rushed into the room, red-faced and breathless and dropping a car seat to the ground. "Sorry," he gasped. "I'm so sorry. My car broke down a few miles away. I had to run the rest of... oh. Hi. Uh, hey. You're not Ms. Williams." He'd finally looked up and noticed the three pairs of eyes staring at him.
Worth the wait, Kaidan thought. Mr. Shepard was the definition of "Hot Dad." Tall. Rumpled suit. Dark hair with a smudge of gray framing bright green eyes and deeply tanned skin. His daughter looked very much like him, expect that her hair was a sun-bleached blonde. And currently she wasn't caring at all that her father had just beat the clock by a minute to get to her.
"Daddy," Hannah said, waving.
"Hannah," Shepard answered, waving back with a grin that showed off a single dimple on the left side of his mouth and straight, impossibly white teeth.
Kaidan sighed slowly through his nose. Was the guy an actor or something? Criminally good-looking. His wife better know how fucking lucky she was. "Guess it's time for us all to go," he said finally, helping the kids to their feet before struggling to get out of the beanbag. Arg. Great first impression. He straightened his stained tie. Then he took David's hand and guided him towards the door. Hannah ran for her father finally and jumped up into his arms, nearly knocking the man over, but it was clear he was used to the welcome, catching her and swinging her around. He planted a noisy kiss on the top of her head, then he set her down and held his hand out to Kaidan.
"I'm so sorry if she suckered you in to sticking around. I'm Ianto Shepard. Hannah's dad. She's a bit of a drama queen."
Kaidan appreciated the firm grip and warm feel of the man's hand in his. It made him wistful. "Kaidan Alenko. David's dad," he answered, ruffling his son's mop of curly black hair. "And it was really no problem. She's good at the dramatic scenes."
Shepard laughed and the sound settled right at the base of Kaidan's spine. Very warm. "Yeah, she's cute, so it works every time." He picked his car seat up and unblocked the door, leading the foursome down the hall to reception. He thanked the receptionist profusely and signed Hannah out on the computer, stepping out with Kaidan and David into the cool evening.
Kaidan glanced back and saw Shepard pull out his cell phone while Hannah yanked on his jacket, chanting, "hungry, Daddy, hungry."
"I know," Shepard said, patting her head and typing rapidly. "Daddy just has to get us a cab first, though. Car's broken."
"Hey," Kaidan called, stepping towards them. "If you don't... I mean, I could give you a ride. Where's your car?"
Shepard looked up at him hopefully and pointed down the street. "Two miles that way."
"There's a diner in that direction that's really good," Kaidan continued. "I could take us there. Feed the kids. Call you a tow truck so your ride doesn't sit all night."
"Is that really okay? I don't want to impose."
"Not at all," Kaidan said with a smile. "It's Friday night. I'm in no rush."
"Thank you," Shepard said in a rush, pocketing his cell phone, taking Hannah's hand, and the car seat. "This yours?" He nodded to the only BMW in the lot.
"Yeah," Kaidan said. "You can put Hannah's seat behind the driver's side." He unlocked the doors and helped Shepard get the kids settled in no time. A minute after that, they were on their way to Apollo's. And Kaidan couldn't stop himself from glancing over at the attractive man in his passenger's seat repeatedly. He had to remind himself to keep his eyes on the road. He'd never let anyone sit in that seat before. "So... Ianto, right? Can I ask what you do?"
"Sure," Shepard said agreeably. "I'm a novelist. Had a late meeting with my publisher today. I tried to schedule it earlier, but... yeah. Took forever. I'm glad you were at the school, though. You really saved my bacon. I usually only leave Hannah there for a few hours so I can get some quiet work done."
"It was no problem for me," Kaidan answered. "Unfortunately, David usually has a longer day."
"I guessed so. With an expensive suit and a Beemer, you're high profile for sure. Can I guess?"
Kaidan smiled and flipped the blinker on to turn into the diner's parking lot. "Go ahead."
"Fortune 500?"
Chuckling, Kaidan answered, "not even. I'm the headmaster at Gagarin Prep. Private school of the rich and famous. Can't wait until David's old enough to go there."
"No kidding?" Shepard said, impressed. "You look kinda young to be in the top seat at the most prestigious private school in the region. Maybe the country."
He shrugged a shoulder as he pulled into a parking space. "I'm thirty-six. Bit young, but I'm really good at my job."
Grinning, Shepard opened the back door and helped David out of his seat, while Kaidan helped Hannah down. "You must be. That's awesome."
It didn't take long for them to fall into easy conversation about work and kids while the actual kids colored a children's menu together during the wait for their mac and cheese. Kaidan was surprised to learn that Shepard was actually retired Marines, and now wrote fictional military thrillers that Kaidan was too embarrassed to admit he'd read a few of. He enjoyed the local arts scene, and kept pretty good track of different talents. And Commander Shepard had been on the best seller list several times over the past few years. Shepard himself kept a constant smile on his face, asking unobtrusive questions about Kaidan's work and genuinely engaged in the conversation while also answering a seemingly endless stream of toddler queries.
And by the time David started to yawn, Kaidan suddenly realized they'd been there for nearly two hours. He took care of the bill while Shepard called the tow truck from the parking lot, having forgotten to do so earlier. When Kaidan brought the kids outside, Shepard was hanging his head. "Would you mind giving us a lift home?" he asked guiltily. "Tow truck can't pick up for another hour and I really need to get Hannah into bed."
"Hey, no worries," Kaidan answered, palming his keys. "More than happy to."
"Daddy," David whined, tugging at Kaidan's sleeve.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Peed," David answered, tugging at the wet spot on the front of his pants.
Shepard laughed. "How about, in exchange for giving us a lift, I loan out some kid's clothes and a bath."
"Perfect," Kaidan grinned. "Potty training hasn't gone as smoothly as I'd like. Let's do this."
* * *
Shepard popped the cap on a bottle of beer and passed it over the counter to Kaidan. "Sorry they fell asleep."
Kaidan shrugged. "You sure you're fine with us staying over? I can wake David up."
"Don't bother," Shepard assured him. "I've got no plans tomorrow and the bed in the spare room is super comfortable. Unless someone's waiting up for you?"
They sank onto the plush leather sofa, both kicking their feet up onto the coffee table. "Sadly, no," Kaidan said taking a swig from the craft brew. "David's mom moved back to Vancouver right after he was born. We never married because she didn't want kids, really."
Shepard arched an eyebrow. "Then why did she have them? Uh. If you don't mind my asking?"
Kaidan waved a hand. "Yeah, it's fine. It was an accident, her getting pregnant. She said she'd rather give it up for adoption, but I'd always wanted kids, you know? So, I got David and she got her life back in Vancouver. I stayed here and did what I could. It's a good life. And David's the best son a father could ask for."
Shepard smiled softly. "I get that."
His expression made Kaidan ask, "I take it you never married either?"
Shepard shook his head. "I'm gay," he said. "And I never had a partner long enough to really settle down before I felt like I was getting too old to start a family. So, I got a surrogate and had Hannah. She's the best."
"Seems like a great kid," Kaidan agreed. He pressed the neck of the bottle to his lips, trying to knock back the feeling blooming in his chest at Shepard's casual announcement. "Do you think... maybe our kids would like a playdate or two sometime?"
He could tell Shepard was side-eyeing him and that made his face flush. He didn't move to try and cover it because that would only embarrass him further, so he let the offer hang in the air, heavy, and Shepard stared at him. "I think so," he said. Then, in a casual manner he added, "I'd also be willing to pick both of them up every now and then when you have late nights, if you're willing. I could tell you felt guilty about David staying so late."
Kaidan rolled his shoulders. "You'd like to do something like that?"
"Yeah, of course. Hannah and David seem to be friends and you and I get along, too."
Shepard's smile told Kaidan that the man was feeling out the situation. Feeling out Kaidan. Huh. Well. How often did opportunities like this happen to an over-worked, over-paid single dad? "Only if you promise we can call a reputable sitter at least once for a possibly more adult time."
For a moment, Shepard's eyes widened. Then a huge smile carried over his face. "Seriously? Sounds like a win-win. I'm glad my car broke down."
"I don't tend to discount fate when it happens."
"I'll drink to that," Shepard said, taking a pull from his beer. "I see good days ahead."