A/N Another piece of "Little Moments Like That" Sorry if this is a bit out of character for anyone involved.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Flack was infinitely confused when he walked towards Mac's office and found the older detective holding Maeli. He was talking to the young child she laughed and smacked his face with a slobbery hand. Mac cringed a little, laughing lightly.

"Thanks for that" Flack barely heard him mumble.

"Am I going to have to book you for kidnapping?" Flack said, not leaving his perch against the doorframe.

"No, I'm just doing your wife a favor. The sitter had somewhere she needed to be so she dropped Maeli off at the station. You were in the field and Jess had to go talk to a one last suspect before her shift ended so I offered to watch her." Mac replied.

"I see" Flack grinned, entering the room. Maeli squealed at the sight of her father. "Hey pretty girl" He cooed, blowing her a kiss. She covered her tiny mouth with her hand and giggled again.

"Does she ever stop laughing?" Mac asked.

"Uh, no, not really" Flack answered. He looked down and noticed the file in his hands; he suddenly remembered what he was doing. "Well, I have to run this file to Lindsay, do you mind holding on to her for awhile longer?" Flack inquired.

"Not at all, we're just finishing up paperwork" Mac said with a smile. Flack sent him an odd look and left the room. Just as soon as Flack left, Stella walked in.

"Oh, I didn't know you had company" She commented with a laugh.

"Just helping Jess out" He explained. Stella approached him and Maeli. She took one of the little girl's hands and shook it lightly.

"The bigger you get the more you look like your daddy!" She gushed. Maeli laughed yet again. Mac slid a hand around Stella's waist when he was sure there was no one around. He pulled her to him so their hips collided. "I want one" Stella whined. Mac's eyes widened. Stella tried to hide her smile.

"Stel, I think we have a few more steps to take before we're ready for that" He choked. "Ya know like actually get engaged, then get married and maybe get a dog or two, then we can talk about having a baby" He added. Stella giggled, not being able to hold back her laugh any longer.

"Ok, ok, I think I can wait" She laughed. She felt Mac relax again.

"You're going to be the death of me" He chuckled. Stella sent him a sly grin and skipped out of his office.

"That was cute" Another female voice filled the room. Mac looked up to find Jess walking into his office. She smiled when she saw the slight panic leave his expression, relieved someone new hadn't discovered their secret. Jess looked at the child Mac was holding. Her head was resting comfortably on his shoulder and her heavy lids nearly concealed her tiny blue eyes from the world. "Looks like someone is getting tired." She commented.

"No, I'm good" Mac joked. Jess rolled her eyes.

"I better get her home" she stopped to check her watch. "It's past nap time" She finished. Mac smiled walking around his desk. Jess pried the child off of him. Maeli fussed in protest. "baby, it's just mommy" Jess soothed her child. Maeli calmed and settled into her mother's hold. "Have you seen my husband?" Jess addressed Mac.

"He was just in here, he was looking for Lindsay." He informed her. " I think his shift is over" He added.

"Thanks and thanks for watching Maeli, I really appreciate it." She replied, turning to leave.

"No problem, I was happy to do it" Mac smiled.

As Jess walked into the hallway she looked both ways. A smile graced her features as she saw a tall man in a suit with dark hair and killer blue eyes walking towards her.

"Hey beautiful" Don grinned.

"Hey handsome" She replied. "Are you off the clock?" She wondered.

"I sure am, are you ready to head home?" He responded with another question as they began to walk toward the elevator

"Yes sir" She said with a nod.

"Do you want me to take Maeli?" He offered.

"Nah, she's sleeping" Jess declined. Don leaned in a gently kissed his daughter's forehead. Her eyes slowly opened. She whined and reached for him. Jess glared at her husband. She sighed and handed her daughter to him. The child buried her head in her dad's shoulder and quickly fell back to sleep. Don sent Jess a smug grin. "She is such a daddy's girl" Jess groaned. Don smiled and leaned down to kiss his wife.

When they arrived home, Don carefully placed Maeli in her crib and returned to the living room. As he entered the room he noticed a complete change in Jess demeanor, he eyed her carefully as he went to deposit his gun and badge

"Something wrong, hun?" He asked.

"We have a problem" She said bluntly. Her words struck Don almost painfully. He wracked his brain trying to figure out what he'd done wrong. Nothing came to mind. He nervously shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Jess, I…" He began not really knowing what he was going to say. Jess met her husband's eyes, she noticed the worry and fear swimming in them and quickly realized what her words and tone had implied.

"Don, no, I didn't mean…" She started, approaching him and setting a hand on his cheek. "I didn't mean there was a problem with us, sorry" The last word came out as a whisper. She leaned up and kissed him slowly. His expression lightened noticeably. He stopped what he was doing and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Then, what's up?" He wondered curiously. Jess reached around and grabbed his gun.

"It's about this" She answered, holding up the object. He sent her a puzzled look. "Maeli nearly undid my holster today when the sitter dropped her off" She stopped and turned her head away from her husband. "And, and I know she's not strong enough to pull the trigger yet, or even get the gun out of the holster, but I just don't want to take that risk" She stuttered. Don moved one of his hands to gently grasp her chin and make her look at him.

"You don't need to explain it to me sweetheart. I've been on this job long enough to see more than a few accidental deaths of children caused by guns and I don't want our daughter to be added to that list. The truth is we need to be more mindful of our weapons, up until now we've let it slide, but Maeli hasn't really been old enough for concern so we've been ok. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her that we could've prevented." He replied slowly.

"What should we do?" Jess inquired.

"I'll get a lock box tomorrow for our guns, and we'll keep them in the top of our closet in the bedroom and then while we're holding her we just need to be sure and pay attention, try to keep her opposite your holster." He suggested. He felt his wife relax in his arms.

"Thank you" She whispered against his chest.

"Just doing my job, keeping my family safe" He smiled.