I'm Ava

Gabriel had this look on his face when he stepped through the front door that spelled trouble. Foster wondered what he did, Emma usually made sure nothing too drastic happened during their assignments, as he crossed his arms and gave his lover the best glare he could muster.

"What happened?"

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, but didn't step any further into the house. Instead, he lingered in the doorway, "I have no idea what you are referring to, Foster."

He barely twitched as a child's head emerged from behind him, thin arms wrapping around Gabriel's leg with surprising strength, "Who's that, Daddy?"

Something upsetting must have shown on Foster's face, for Gabriel immediately held up his hands in defense, "I can explain this."

"I'm listening," Foster replied, trying to keep his voice steady. Inside, however, his heart had skipped a beat and he suddenly couldn't think straight.

"This is Ava," Gabriel gestured to the child staring up at him with huge eyes.

Foster was unimpressed by the simple declaration. He needed something more, some reasurrance, "And?"

A loud sigh escaped Gabriel's mouth before he shook his head, "This is Ava."

Automatically, Foster's brows creased as he became confused. The inflection Gabriel used on the name sounded a lot like the way he addressed his problems at work.

"What?" Foster gasped out before he could stop himself.

Gabriel nodded, finally stepping into the house. The child followed him, holding his pants tightly in one hand and never taking his eyes off Foster. It was very disconcerting to see such an openly fearful look on the little girl's face. Gabriel ignored the child for the moment, choosing to growl out, "They never took the time to discover the situation, so we went in blind. Her mother had a bomb and was threatening to blow the place up." He glanced down at the child thoughtfully. "One of the agents put a bullet to her mother's brain."

Foster blinked, "You're kidding me, right?"

In response, he received a glare that would have felled any lesser man, "Does it look like I'm joking?"

"Daddy?" Ava interrupted him, tugging on his pants. "Why are you angry?"

All Foster could do was stop himself from laughing at the way Gabriel twitched at the question.

Foster knelt down in front of Ava with a gentle smile on his face, "Why do you think he's your Daddy, Ava?"

The child looked at him as if he was an idiot, an expression that reminded more of an adult than a little girl, "Who else would he be?"

If anything, Foster's smile widened, "Well, that makes sense I guess. Are you hungry?"

Ava nodded, a shy little smile on her face. She let go of Gabriel's pants for the first time since she arrived, holding out her arms in a silent demand.

Foster picked her up, "What do you want?" 

"Waffles?" Ava requested, clinging to Foster's neck.

"Why not?" Foster turned and headed to the kitchen, not bothering to wait and see if Gabriel followed him.

He didn't put Ava down when they arrived. Instead, Foster clung a little tighter to the child and began to set things up using his free hand. As he began to mix the ingredients, Foster's mind wandered.

 "What's wrong?"

Gabriel's question startled Foster. He turned, to see his lover standing against the door with his arms crossed as he stared straight at him. Foster opened his mouth to brush off the question, say anything to distract Gabriel, but found himself telling the truth instead, "I don't know."

Without a word, Gabriel stalked into the room, arms dropping to his sides. He laid a gentle hand on Foster's shoulder, and Foster went to put Ava down for a moment. The child, however, had her own agenda. Ava just clung tighter to him while staring at Gabriel with those big eyes.

"I am sure that someone will love her and take good care of her," Gabriel told him in a feeble attempt to offer some comfort.

Foster sighed, "I know. The problem is finding that person. It's just..." He didn't know how to describe it. 

Foster knew that he'd get attached to Ava, even if they ended up giving her to someone else to take care of. Ava's presence reawakened the desire to have children of his own, and that was a discussion they hadn't even mentioned to each other. The very idea brought up uncomfortable subjects like surrogates and genetics, not to mention that biological link they shared (which I don't EVER want to talk about). Neither of them ever talked about that one particular connection and the sin they committed every day; it was easier to continue on as if they had never found out about their relation.

Gabriel leant forward and brushed his lips against Foster's cheek in a ghost of a kiss, "I understand."

If it was anyone else, Foster would have protested, shouted that they couldn't possibly understand a single emotion that was running through his head. This was Gabriel, though, and Foster knew that he was aware of what Foster felt at that moment.

He relaxed into Gabriel's hold as the other man spoke again, "So, what do we do now?" Before Foster could reply, Ava spoke up, "Make waffles?"

The smallest of chuckles escaped Foster's lips, "Yes, waffles first. We can discuss what to do after."

"Good," Ava said as Gabriel moved away, sitting at the counter and watching the procedures with an amused look on his face. Foster was just about to turn back to make the waffles, when there was a sudden rush of air in the room.

"Hey," Jade grinned and gave them a little wave as she leant on the counter. "What's with the kid?"

Foster exchanged a panicked glance with Gabriel, but they couldn't even begin to think of an answer. 

Ava chose to speak up, interrupting their thoughts, "I'm Ava. Who're you?" Foster had to admit, the look on Jade's face was priceless.

Gabriel.

In case you haven't noticed...I got a new job! Hoorah!