I watched as the golden-haired baby played with the piece of paper, wondering if there was ever a moment in my life where I was as happy as she was with just a simple object. She laughed as she shook it, crunching it with her chubby hand as I gave her a soft smile, hoping that her mind had already forgotten about the horrible day in her life. She didn’t know it now, but years down the road she would wonder about her mom and how she, at one, survived such a horrific crash. By all accounts, the child should have been dead, the car itself nearly unrecognizable from the amount of damage it had suffered. The woman at the wheel had died instantly, but somehow, in some way, this child had survived.

The baby started to put the paper in her mouth, and I instantly took it from her, receiving a frown on those perfect baby lips of hers. She was precious, with large blue eyes and the golden curls that every mom dreamed of for their future children. She was wearing one of those outfits with the ruffled bottom, a perfect pale pink to match her rosy cheeks and I felt the tug on my heart. This poor, poor baby. The suffering she was going to go through in her life. If only.

I stood and picked up the baby, Amelia was her name, and held her close, inhaling her baby lotion scent. I wasn’t going to think about that. This baby had a family, a father who had just been called in that would take care her, love her. In time, she would only remember bits and pieces of her mom, the sound of her voice, the smell in the air that would remind Amelia of her perfume or her soap. Memories, if she was lucky, would be all that she had.

She tugged at my hair, and I smiled, pulling her fingers away from them. “No, no,” I said gently, touching her nose. “We can’t have you doing that now.”

Amelia gurgled a response, and I felt that familiar pang in my chest again. Would this have been how my life would have been?

A shout filled the hallway, and I walked to the door, a frown on my face. I was waiting for Detective Barrett to finish with the father so we could turn over the baby to him so they could grieve together and apparently, it had taken a while to track him down. Idly I wondered how he had taken the news of the mother’s death, the thought of raising a child alone for a man had to be scary. It would be scary enough for a woman to do it alone.

Opening the door, I jumped back just in time to see a man dart down the hall, with two fellow officers yelling for him to stop, their keys jingling at their sides as they passed. I pursed my lips to hide my smile, wondering what happened. For four years, I had worked for the Chicago police department, after completing my academy training. I loved my job, just a desk cop who missed most of the action on the street, but inside the department, there was no shortage of action, especially this late at night. Case in point the foot chase down the hall that was only going to end in disappointment for the criminal.

Amelia whimpered and then laid her head against my shoulder as if she was starting to feel the effects of the long night. I couldn’t blame her. I typically worked whenever they needed me, sometimes pulling long shifts for the others so they could spend some time with their families. After all, it was just me. I had nothing to go home to except a cat who chose not to speak to me half the time. Mr. Checkers had his own personal agenda, and as long as I delivered the goods in terms of food, we were on good terms.

Rubbing her back idly, I stepped out into the hall, determined to find Barret. It was way past time for this child to be in bed. The door to the interview room opened as soon as I stepped out into the hallway, sure that the commotion was far from us. Barret walked out, catching my eye as he did so as he shut the door behind him. “Parkman.”

“Detective,” I said as Amelia went limp in my arms. For a moment I froze, but it wasn’t but a second before I was awarded with her breath against my neck. The poor thing, she had fallen asleep. “I think she’s down for the count.”

His face softened as he looked at the child, no doubt thinking of his own two. “She’s had a rough go at it, hasn’t she?”

“Yes,” I said softly, my hand still touching her warm back. “Is her father ready to take her home?”

Barret ran a hand over his face wearily. “Hell, I don’t know. The fucker thought I was joking. Can you believe that? Why would I joke about this?”

I frowned. “Wait. He’s not devastated about his wife?”

“He doesn’t even know the child existed.”

Crap. I had assumed that they were at least married. What if he wasn’t fit to take care of a child? What if he was some asshole druggie or something? “We can’t give him this child,” I said to Barret, hugging her tightly against me.

Barret gave me a look. “It’s his child, Parkman. Don’t forget that.” I watched as he opened the door and a tall man stepped out into the hallway, searching with his eyes until they landed on me. They were the same blue eyes I had gazed in only moments before, but also familiar eyes. Too familiar. “Benji?”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Danielle? What the hell are you doing here?”

It was obvious what I was doing here. I was in my uniform for god’s sake. “I work here.”

He didn’t say anything, his gaze shifting to the precious bundle I had in my arms. “Is that, is she?”

I heard his hesitation, unable to believe that Benji Lomns was standing before me, in this situation of all things. He had been my brother’s friend growing up, all of us dirt poor and living in a small town on the outskirts of Chicago. I had the biggest crush on him growing up, and I could tell that life had been good to him in more ways than one. In his t-shirt and shorts, I could see the outline of a well-honed body, his face just as gorgeous as I remembered. His startling blue eyes had nothing on his strong jawline and perfect features, the muscles in his arms flexing as he reached out. “I-I’ll take her.”

I hesitated. Just because I knew Benji back then didn’t mean I knew him as an adult. The woman in me urged me to keep Amelia in my arms, where she would be safe, but the logical part of me (plus the glare I was being given by Barret) told me I had no choice. I had no claim on this child. Reluctantly, I handed over the sleepy baby, watching as he struggled to even take her into his arms. Clearly, he hadn’t had a lot of experience in the baby department.

Finally, he got her situated, and I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the emptiness immediately. “There will be some paperwork,” Barret was saying to Benji, pulling out one of his cards. “So you can file for your rights as a parent.”

“Um yeah whatever,” Benji replied, looking out of place holding a baby. I had heard that he was some big fighter, his dream of being in the limelight coming true. I could not even count how many times as kids that he had talked about how he was going to be some prized fighter one day. “I’ll get those started.”

“Call me in the morning,” Barret replied, shifting his glance over to me. “Or call Parkman here and we can walk you through the process. I know this has to be a shock to you Mr. Lomns, but we are here to help.”

Benji took the card, shifting the child up on his shoulder carefully in the process. “I appreciate that. I guess I’ll be going home then.”

“Good night,” Barret said. I watched as Benji gave me a nod before turning and walking away, his tall frame disappearing down the hall and out of sight. I couldn’t help but wonder how he was going to get through the night with a child he didn’t know, a child that he hadn’t even known about two hours ago.

“He’ll be fine.”

I turned to Barret, giving him the eye. “How can you say that? Didn’t you just say he thought this was a joke?”

“Yeah but he’s not a man to give up easily,” the detective replied, looking down the hall where Benji had disappeared. “I think he will take care of the baby better than you or I could do.”

I snorted. That remained to be seen. I wasn’t going to just let this stop here. My conscience wouldn’t let me.