Blessings In Disguise (lesbian)

(8) Do Not Touch My Gingerbread Cookies

Bathed, dressed in her pajamas and cradled in the gentle arms of her Aunt Dylan, Robin enjoyed her fine dinner of formula while listening to the hummed rendition of Silent Night. Within minutes, her suckling ceased as her eyelids grew heavy. It was time to call it a night. Putting the bottle in the kitchen, Dylan repositioned the baby so that her chin was tucked on her shoulder, which was covered with a towel because of past spit up experiences. She began lightly patting Robin's back until she released a tiny burp. Smiling, she walked her back and forth in the living room, caressing her back as she drifted to sleep.

Dylan's thoughts drifted to Layne, wondering what she was doing at that moment. She hadn't seen nor heard from the blonde since that afternoon at her mother's house. She repeatedly checked her cell for Layne's messages, but had yet to discover any. Perhaps she would call in the morning. When she did get in touch what would she say? Did she mean what she said at the lab? Did she really want to take care of Robin? Take her all the way back to New York? That was so far away. Too far.

A knock on the door tore Dylan away from her musings. Sleeping baby in her arms, she headed toward it. Maybe Henry the doorman was checking in on them before he went home for the evening. He had routinely visited her apartment since Dylan chose to be Robin's guardian.

A blue eye looked through the peephole. So, she had thought up on her. A deep breath and Dylan pulled the door open, pasting on a welcoming smile. "Good evening."

"Evening back at you," Layne replied although her eyes were on the baby. "I hope it's not too late." It was 7:48, but she felt like it should have been later. She supposed that she was still operating on Eastern Standard Time.

"No, come on in." Once Layne was inside, Dylan asked if she would like to hold Robin, which she eagerly said yes to.

Unaware of her new carrier, the baby girl continued to sleep, her cheek resting against Layne's shoulder. Asking her guest if she would care for anything to drink, Dylan headed into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. When she returned to an empty living room, alarm seized her for a second until something told her to check the spare bedroom, which had been turned into a nursery. She breathed a sigh of relief upon observing Layne as she placed Robin inside her crib before starting up the mobile of illuminated colorful stars and different shaped moons (full, crescent and half). The tune from the children's song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star proceeded to play.

"She's such a beauty," Layne softly commented, her back still turned to the woman standing just inside the room. Agreeing, Dylan walked further into the nursery, standing next to Robin's other auntie. "She looks just like you." Reaching over the railing, Layne touched the slight indentation in Robin's chin with a finger.

Since that sounded like a compliment, Dylan blushed, glad that the main source of light in the room hadn't been switched on. "She looks like Reggie, but because we have similar features she could pass for my..."

"Daughter?"

Dylan focused on the circulating mobile. "Yes." During the brief silence she thought back to the photographs she spotted in Layne's wallet, guilt slamming into her like an 18-wheeler. "I'm so sorry about your daughter. I should have believed you when you showed me those pictures. Instead I kept hounding you and I feel like such an ass. Layne, I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's all right, Dylan. In your shoes it would have been difficult for me to believe it as well. Celeste and I are identical."

"Do you want to find her?"

The blonde looked thoughtful. "Although she's the first living relative I've discovered-- besides Robin that is-- I'm not sure that I do. I don't know if I'll actively search for her. You know anything about her adoptive parents?"