pairing: dad!August Walker x babysitter!Reader, August Walker x Maeve Walker, babysitter!Reader x Maeve Walker
summary: August comes home early, and sees you interact with Maeve for the first time.
warnings: fluff, slight angst, mentions of guns and violence towards an infant.
a/n: hope you enjoy!
Monday morning came, and August was nervous.
Not about you being alone with Maeve, but him being away from her.
He had tried to go on a mission once before, and it didn’t go well. She couldn’t handle being away from him for that long, and he couldn’t stand the thought of just being in a different room than her sometimes. He knew it was his parental instincts, and that Maeve would be fine without him, but it still worried him.
You showed up at his door at 6:25, and Maeve wasn’t awake. He welcomed you in, and showed you her daily schedule, as well as where he kept everything you might need. He had told you that if you or her needed anything at all, to just give him a call, and he’d help in any way he could.
You assured him that she’s in safe hands, and August was out the door before 6:45.
You glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 6:45, and according to the schedule August had given you, you didn’t have to wake her up until 8 or 9, so you took a seat on the couch, and scrolled through your phone.
You were honestly surprised at August. Your brother was the one who recommended you to August, and you’d heard stories from him about what he was like both in the office, and in the field, and it was scary. The hard, rough, and edging on mean way he talked down to the other agents was drastically different to the way he was with Maeve.
With Maeve, he was sweet, kind, and caring. He seemed to know exactly what she needed at any given moment, and was more than willing to work with her to recover from what she had been through.
August didn't tell you everything. He’d told you that her mother had died, and he’d taken her in less than a month ago, despite not knowing she existed. He seemed very upset about the mother situation, so you knew better than to pry. It wasn’t your business anyways, despite how curious you were. But at the same time, you could guess a few things about what had happened.
She refused to sleep in a crib, so that meant that whatever happened happened in her crib, and she had a severe fear of police officers and anything to do with law or crime. August briefly mentioned how he had to calm her down in a McDonald's dining room because the two were eating dinner there after a long day at the office and a police officer walked in to get a coffee. She’d screamed and cried until the police officer left, at which time she calmed down, and snuggled up to August before stealing some of his fries.
You giggled at that last part.
The two of them had such a special bond, even you could see it. She loved him with all her heart, and he loved her even more. You took notice of how she would always bring him ‘presents’ from around the apartment, things that probably should be in the trash, but August treasured them anyways.
It was obvious that he would do anything to protect this little girl, and despite only knowing her a few days, you felt the same way. That little girl had been through enough, and deserved a happy life.
An hour later, you had just started to prep Maeve’s breakfast when you heard her babbling to herself in her room. You smiled and walked down the hallway. You opened the door and were greeted with a smiley Maeve, who had her stuffed elephant in hand. She climbed over the pillowed barriers on her bed, well more like tried to.
You watched as she placed her right hand on the ground, and the rest of her body fell, until her face hit the floor. You gasped, and rushed over to her, but smiled when she began hysterically giggling. You scooped her up, and kissed one of her chubby cheeks.
“Good morning! Are you getting hungry?” You asked, and she nodded, her hand reaching out towards the doorway. You took her into the kitchen, and once she was secure in her highchair, you gave her her cheerios and oatmeal. You were going to give her her bottle, but she didn't seem that interested in it, so you didn't bother.
Once she was finished with her breakfast, you cleaned her up, and continued on with your day.
A little later, you decided to take her to the park that was located across the road from the apartment. August had told you he had been wanting to take her there, but he's been caught up in work and hasn't had a chance to.
You gathered all her things, and decided against bringing the stroller since it was less than a minute walk. August had laid out her clothes, as well as a diaper. For a single dad, he had quite good style, despite dressing himself solely in suits and trench coats. Her outfit today was a burnt orange romper with white flowers that tied around her neck, and some matching sandals with a white bow on top. You found some sunglasses as well, and once you had slathered sunscreen on her skin, you two were off to the park.
As soon as you crossed the street with her, she began giggling and clapping. There were a few other families there, but other than that, it was pretty scarce, something you were grateful for.
You pushed her on the swings a little, and eventually you ventured over to the playset. From your brief visit with her, you had found that she was a rather good climber, and wanted to see the extent of her physical abilities.
You placed her at the top of the stairs, and let her climb. She climbed all the way to the bridge, where she stopped, and froze. She looked back at you and teared up, her bottom lip jutting out. You rushed up to her and lifted her before she started sobbing.
“Okay, so we don’t like the bridge.” You concluded, as you bounced her slightly to calm her down.
August sat at his desk, stressed over the whole situation.
He had talked to Sloane, and she had allowed him to take over the investigation into the Amiens family mob, but he was to have Ethan and his team as backup, something August didn't want at all. It wasn’t that he didn't trust them, it's that he didn't want everyone to know about Maeve until he made sure she was 100% safe.
He’d lost so much in his life already, and he wasn’t prepared to lose his little girl.
He turned on his computer, and took a deep, calming breath before he clicked on to the CIA database. He definitely didn’t want to look at the photos of his daughter tied to her crib again, but if he had any chance of finding who did this and sending them to jail for life, he had to.
He took a deep calming breath, and looked at the photos. He tried to keep his breathing even as he clicked through the photos of the crime. He clicked past the photo of her with a gun to her head, and he had to shut off the monitor again.
Whoever was responsible for pointing a gun in his daughter's face had taken a close up photo. He could very clearly see the terror and fear behind his little girl's eyes, along with the almost bright red of her eyes that were supposed to be white, which indicated to him that she had been crying for much longer than just the gun being pointed at her.
His head fell into his hands, and he took an unsteady breath. He wasn’t so sure that taking this case was the best idea anymore. He wanted to be able to give his daughter and Adriana justice for this horrible crime, but how was he supposed to do that when he could barely look at the evidence?
He briefly thought about bringing on someone else to help him, like Ethan. He was strong, trustworthy, and he would surely understand why August couldn’t look at those photos, but he didn’t want to have to look vulnerable in front of Sloane. To Sloane, he was The Hammer. He was her #1 guy she went to when she needed someone wiped off the map, needed someone tailed, or even important goods transported. If he showed her that more vulnerable side, she wouldn’t see him as her right hand man. He had worked long and hard to gain the respect and rise through the CIA ranks like he had, and he couldn’t risk anything. No, he would do this alone, just like he always had done.
He leaned back in his chair, and took a few more deep breaths, before concentrating on the task at hand, and tried to not think about just how much he’d rather be at home with Maeve.
August made it just past lunch time before giving up.
He couldn’t sit and look at these photos, and relive this horrific event through Maeve’s eyes anymore. He felt claustrophobic in his rather large office, and he needed to get out of this all white building that he’d grown to despise since Maeve showed up on his doorstep.
He gathered his things, and stopped by briefly to Sloane, giving her a lame excuse of Maeve not feeling well. She seemed to buy it, and he made his way out of the building as quickly as he could.
He let out a sigh of relief as he pulled his black BMW out of the parking lot, and toward his apartment. The more distance he put between him and that wretched building that he had spent the majority of his young adult and adult life in, he felt calmer, and a sense of clarity washed over him.
He knew that either way, he would go to the ends of the Earth to protect Maeve. Whether he found the people who did this and put them away forever, or the people who did this are never caught, he would protect Maeve, and give her the most normal life he could manage.
He unlocked the door, and was immediately greeted by the sound of Maeve giggling. She didn’t giggle a lot, and August attributed it to him being the big, large and broody type, rather than the soft, welcoming and happy type of person that tended to be the best parents. He knew he had to work on it, if he wanted her to end up nothing like him.
He followed the sound of his daughter's giggles into her bedroom, where she was playing in her ball pool with you. You were tossing the balls towards her, hitting her on the head gently before they fell and joined the rest of the balls that surrounded her lower half. Each time a ball came into contact with her head, she would burst into more giggles, as if it was the funniest thing in the entire world.
August stood at the door, watching you interact with his daughter, something he had yet to witness. “You silly goose!” you said, reaching out to tickle her chubby belly. “You’re such a goofy goober!” Maeve giggled even more at the nickname before her eyes landed on August’s and she squealed. You followed her hand with your eyes, and you smiled when you saw August.
“Oh hi! Is it that late already?” you asked, throwing some of the balls that were on the floor back into the inflatable pool.
August chuckled and shook his head. “No, no, don’t worry. I didn’t have a lot of work today, so I came home early,” he lied, and you nodded.
“Well that’s always nice,” You said, as you gathered your things. Once you had everything, you turned back to Maeve, and smiled. You crouched down, and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay cutie?” You asked, and Maeve nodded, a giggle escaping her mouth as you ruffled her hair.
You said your goodbye’s to August, and you were off.
August took a seat where you were less than 10 minutes ago. Maeve lifted her arms, so August lifted her up and into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, and August ran a hand up and down her back. “Did you have fun with Ms. Y/N?” he asked, and he took her excited babbling as a yes.
He listened to the last sounds of your engines fade away as you drove home, and he smiled. He definitely made the right choice in taking Maeve in.
