The next few days dragged by in a blur of feedings, diaper changes, and trying to make the poor thing quit crying; it was a constant cycle that showed no signs of mellowing. The nanny never had shown up, so now we were waiting on another one that was due to arrive this afternoon.

The other constant in my life this week was Ian. He’d never gone home! I mean, he'd gone home to retrieve his car at some point, and disappeared from time to time while I was sleeping, only to reappear later in fresh clothing. I appreciated that he was sticking around. Taking care of Joshua was the most laborious task that I'd ever undertaken. I couldn't imagine doing it on my own.

Plus, it was nice to wake up to a hard cock and a willing alpha. That was one bonus to having one around that I'd underestimated previously. I watched as he carefully bathed Joshua in the kitchen sink. He was using the tiny infant tub that Liam had brought around after hearing that I hadn't bathed the tiny mite yet. I wasn't sure what the big deal was, though. I mean, it's not like he left the house and he got wiped down with those baby wipes every time I changed him. But Liam insisted, so here we were.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do this?" I asked as I passed him the baby shampoo.

"I've got it, toots. You need to go sit down and relax. I'm trying to give you a break, if you hadn't noticed." He cooed down at Joshua. "Tell Uncle Cecil that he needs to take a break, you'll get him busy soon enough. Won't you, poppet? Go ahead, tell him."

I grinned at the way his voice rose and grew animated as he conversed with the child. It was adorable. He talked about all the fun stuff that Joshua could do when he was older, and the places he should go. When he started talking about the beach next, I started giggling as something clicked in my head.

"The beach! California! I just figured it out!" I spouted out my thoughts randomly, as they popped into my head. My censor was either still sleeping like I wish I could be, or the lack of sleep this week had killed it. "You look like that pretty boy from that old TV show! 90210, right? Holy shit, I think that actor's name was Ian too." I laughed harder as Ian flashed me a glare over his shoulder.

"If you value your ability to get laid, you might wanna forget that reference, toots," he said playfully as he rinsed the suds off Joshua with the hose attachment to the faucet.

I laughed and stood as he turned the water off and lifted Joshua from the water. I rushed over with the baby towel, hooking the enclosed corner over his head and wrapping it around him as I took the tiny shivering bundle into my arms. I left Ian to clean up the mess while I took the boy to the nursery to get him diapered and dressed.

I got him dolled up in an adorable little one piece outfit that had little giraffes printed on it. I gasped when I saw his fingernails dig into his cheek and a spot of blood appear.

"What's wrong, toots?" Ian's voice came from the doorway behind me as Joshua began to whimper.

"He just clawed the fuck out of his cheek and he's bleeding!" Ian came over to look and nodded as he set a bottle down on the corner of the changing table. "I think Liam brought some little mitten looking things over yesterday. Let me check. Those are to protect him from that, if I remember right. I've seen Milo do it to his and Rafe's kids when they were this size."

He disappeared and came back a moment later, mitts in hand. "Here you go, just slip them on like this." He eased them over the tiny flailing hands, and we both grinned at the funny picture the baby made with them.

I flicked my eyes over at the bottle. "Thanks for that, by the way. I appreciate how on top of things you are. I swear, you make a better omega than I do. And that's saying a lot," I winked and glanced at his crotch, "since we both know that you're all alpha."

Ian snorted and rolled his eyes. I picked up the baby and the bottle. Turning to Ian, I asked, "Would you like to feed him this time?"

His eyes lit up but he hesitated. "I wouldn't be interfering with your bonding time?"

"Seriously? No. I'd honestly like to sneak in a very fast shower if you think it's okay?"

Ian sniffed the air. "Yeah, I think junior and I would both appreciate it if you showered. Go on, I've got this." He grinned and reached for the baby, tucking him against his chest like a tiny football as he grabbed the bottle. Ian leaned over and brushed a kiss over my cheek. "Take your time, toots. Uncle Ian's on duty."

I smiled dizzily and nodded. I silently handed him a burping cloth and smiled my thanks as I turned and rushed out of the room.

Shit. What the hell was that? I could handle sexy, horny, funny Ian. But sensitive, sweet, docile Ian? That fucker was going to make me fall in love with him if I didn't watch out.

* * *

I looked at the slight young omega sitting across from us, and back down at the resume in my hand. According to his experience, he had to be at least twenty-three but he looked like he was a teenager.

Ian and I had both been interviewing him while Joshua napped back in the nursery. Ian spoke thoughtfully. "Okay, Luke. Now you are aware that this is a full-time, live-in position, yeah? You'll have a block of time off in the evenings, and both weekend days. Is this going to be a problem for you? I'm concerned because you seem young, and I'm sure you probably have family and friends that will want to see you."

Luke smiled confidently as wistful looks ghosted through his eyes. His chin rose proudly as he spoke. "I'm alone in the world, so family isn't an issue. My friends are back in the city where my last posting was, and even then, they weren't that close to me. And I know that I Iook young," he said, grinning. "But trust me, I'm almost twenty-five. But you'll see that when you copy my license for your records."

"Why Hollydale, Luke?" I asked curiously. "Isn't it going to be a little slow after life in the big city?"

"I sure hope so, that's my biggest reason for applying for this job. And don't worry about the hours, sir. What you're asking is standard with a newborn charge."

"Cecil," I corrected. "Sir was my grampa, and he was a crusty old cuss. If you're going to be seeing me wander around in my PJs, we should be on a first name basis."

Luke's face lit up with a grin that was so infectious that I found myself smiling right back. Ian cleared his throat and looked at me. "Did you have any more questions for Luke, or should we show him around now?"

Before I could answer, the sound of Joshua crying blasted over the monitor. Before I could move, Luke was on his feet. "May I? This is a good time for me to meet the little one, don't you think?"

I nodded and pointed to the hallway. "His nursery is the first door on the left, I'll go warm his bottle while you get him."

Luke nodded and happily went off down the hall. I laid the application down on the coffee table and rose to go get the bottle. The idea of having help was appealing all on its own, but I really liked what I'd seen of Luke so far.

Ian followed me, baby monitor in hand. He was holding it up, listening to Luke interact with Joshua while he changed his diaper. "You like him, right?"

I looked over at Ian and smiled. "It's hard not to like him. His resume is impeccable, and your friend gave him a glowing recommendation. If his current job wasn't leaving the country, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't even be on the market. I want to to snap him up before anyone else hears about him."

Ian nodded. "I'll step outside and call the other references to double check, and let you know if it's a green light then? We want to make sure that we haven't overlooked any pertinent details."

I smiled fondly at the alpha's inner lawyer popping up. "You do that, 90210. And while you do, I'll just go and get to know my future nanny a little bit better."

Ian stopped me and pulled me in for a quick kiss. “Toots, I don’t know if you’ve looked at the calendar, but do you know what today is?”

I shook my head. “Hmmph. I have no fucking clue, to be honest.”

Ian grinned. “It’s New Year’s Eve. How about we plan a hot date after junior passes out tonight? Maybe we’ll skip the champagne though, those early morning feedings are a bitch.”

I leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “That’s fine. How about we set off some fireworks of our own instead? In the bedroom…”

Ian grinned and planted a quick kiss on my cheek before heading outside to make his calls while I dealt with my own task.

I took the bottle back to the nursery, and found Luke poking around the basket of random baby paraphernalia on top of the dresser while he cradled a cooing Joshua against his chest. He looked up with a welcoming smile as I walked in.

"Hey, Cecil. I was looking for the baby nail clippers. Your little guy really dinged himself, it looks like."

I nodded and crossed to pull the little kit of grooming supplies from the top drawer where I'd stuck them. "Yeah, he did that this morning. That's why we stuck the mitts on him. I wasn't sure how to clip his nails without cutting off his fingers."

Luke laughed. "I don't blame you. It's rough if you've never done it before. Especially when they're all wiggly. The trick is to do while they're all milk drunk while you feed them, or else when they're sleeping."

I grinned at his choice of words. Milk drunk. It was totally a thing! I knew exactly what he was talking about, in a way that just a week ago I would have been clueless about. "Would you like to do it while I feed him? I'm sure you're talented, but you only have so many hands."

Luke nodded his agreement. "Good idea." He waited while I settled in the glider and tossed the burp cloth over my shoulder before passing me the baby. Once I had Joshua slurping away at his bottle, Luke came and knelt in front of me. I stilled the chair so it wouldn't bump his hands, and he efficiently trimmed the tiny nails while Joshua was busy eating.

Ian came in right as he was finished. He leaned against the doorway with crossed arms and an amused smirk. I realized suddenly how it looked, to have the new nanny kneeling between my legs while he worked. Ian just winked and held up his phone with a silent thumbs up.

Once he was done, Luke got up to dispose of the clippings. He fussed around with Joshua's crib, freshening it up while I burped him. Joshua was still awake, so I offered him back to Luke. "Would you like to hold him again? I suppose you should get to know him if you're going to be his new nanny."

Luke looked back at me in surprise. "Just like that? I'm hired because I clipped his nails? I mean, thank you? But that's totes not why I did it."

Ian chuckled and spoke from his post in the doorway. "No, you're hired because we like you and your references check out. Everything else is just gravy."

I grinned at the happy look on Luke's face as he came to take the baby. "Come on, Luke. Joshua and I will show you where your room is now. I just have one question though."

Luke looked at me curiously and waited.

"How soon can you start?"