Twice In A Lifetime

Chapter 1

    I was surprised to find that Gabby didn't wake during the night for a feeding like normal babies so when I entered her room, I saw her sitting up. She had doubled in size overnight. The minute she saw me, her blue eyes lit up and she smiled up at me.

"Good morning, Gabs." I murmured softly and picked her up. She babbled happily as I changed her diaper though she hated the yellow dress Rossi had set out for her last night. I recalled that as a baby, Gabby's mother had said Gabby hated yellow but loved reds, pinks and blues.

I picked out a dark blue denim overall dress and light blue t-shirt from a box labeled Gabby, 1 year old baby clothes and Gabby continued to babble happily as I put it on her. There was a knock at the door. “Come in.” I answered and was surprised to see Rossi holding two coffees as he entered.

"Here, this is for you. Why isn't she wearing the dress Garcia got her?" Rossi said as he handed me the coffee he'd gotten for me.

"Gabby hates yellow. I forgot to tell Garcia that." I realized. "She really never lets go of it either."

"Well, if Angel doesn't like it, you can save it for your daughter." Garcia said. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, I'd save it if I thought Gabby would actually let our daughter wear it. "Will she come to me?"  I successfully transferred Gabby to Garcia's arms. Gabby cooed and closed her eyes.

"She must've been terrified last night and latched onto the only person she knew." Rossi theorized.

"Well, let's see if she'll go to you, my Italian stallion!" Garcia cheerfully exclaimed. After some convincing, Rossi took the baby girl. I left the room and Gabby immediately started wailing. Rossi, thanks to his experience with his grandson, was able to calm her down to whining. When I came back in with a jar of Gerber's Banana Blackberry Blueberry baby food for her with a spoon, Gabby instantly relaxed.

Rossi watched with interest as I fed Gabby. "How did you know what flavors of baby food to get?" Rossi asked.

"Rossi, her mother was just as nuts as mine is but in different ways. Her mother wrote down the flavors Gabby liked best in her baby book."

"And those are..." Garcia asked.

"Banana Blackberry Blueberry, Pear Pineapple, Apricot Mixed Fruit, Banana, Sweet Potato Apple Carrot & Cinnamon and finally Ham and Gravy." I recited, not missing a beat while feeding Gabby. Gabby totally liked her breakfast from the other profilers' point of view.

"Good Lord, someone was a picky eater." Rossi said.

"Do not get me started on when she was 7 and 8, Marcie had a near conniption fit." I told them with a smirk. "All she would eat at those ages was Campbell's Tomato Bisque soup and grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Wow, sounds like you were pure trouble, Angel." Garcia mumbled to Gabby. The baby just giggled and cooed a response to Garcia.

"Her mother only saved her baby and first year clothes, so Garcia..." I started.

"Shopping?" Garcia said eagerly.

"No yellow." I instructed as I turned to my coffee. "She likes reds, pinks and blues."

"Green?" Garcia asked hopefully. Gabby babbled happily.

"You like the color green?" I asked. Again, Gabby babbled happily. "Okay."

"I'll go with Garcia and make sure the colors don't lean to yellow." Spencer nodded at Rossi's comment.

---

I was very thankful that Rossi was able to curb Garcia's yellow clothing purchases because when they returned, there was not a hint of yellow in the colorful array of clothing.

"I purchased outfits up until she reaches age nine." Garcia said, then wrinkled her nose in clear displeasure. "Reid, you smell like pee."

“That's because Gabby peed on me.” I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

“You shouldn't have taken off the diaper before you got her fully laying down.” Rossi advised.

“Yeah well I thought I was safe from being peed in the face like what Henry did to me when he was a baby.” I said. Henry LaMontagne was my 10 year old godson. “And I haven't had a chance to take a shower yet.”

“Well I can handle her for a few minutes while you go take a shower.” Rossi replied.

--

10 minutes later, I came out, looking refreshed. Gabby, being over Rossi's shoulder, saw me come out of the bathroom and grinned at me. I cautiously took her from Rossi and held her.

“You know, it just occurred to me that Angel will be very pissed off when she discovers 187 changed her diapers.” Garcia said as Gabby settled down now that I was back in the room.

“She’d do the same for me, Garcia. I pointed out. "Plus, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

“Nothing you haven't…” Rossi repeated and rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the info, Reid. I did not need to know about your sex life.”

“I didn't mean…” I started.

---

"I could get used to this." I murmured to Gabby. The baby made an alarmed noise. "No, not to you as a baby, Gabs. I meant that I could get used to holding a baby who isn't scared of me." If Gabby could have rolled her eyes, she would've.

She babbled something that if it were coherent English, she would have said, 'Don't you dare mention the Reid effect. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't exist.' Gabby snuggled even closer to me.

"I love you too, baby girl." I said, gently rubbing her back. "Time for bed." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around my neck as tightly as she could. "Gabby, you can't sleep with me, it's not appropriate." I got up with her in my arms. "You are going to sleep in your bed."

Knowing that she had lost this round, Gabby pouted.