Daughter on his Doorstep (HC #2)

12: Expecting Why Reasonable

As the other man's words finally made sense, Vincent let out a sharp burst of laughter. "Beth," he said, "Beth and David."

"Oh," Thomas glanced over his shoulder, looking in the vague direction the others had. "That makes more sense."

Neither man had much more to say about that, and after a moment they rose and followed the others upstairs. Vincent entered the nursery, frowning when he noticed his family gathered around the crib; they had better not disturb Isabela.

.

They did, of course, disturb Isabela, and after ten or so minutes of Beth trying to soothe the girl back to sleep, Matthew let out a groan.

"Just give her to Vin, I beg you!" he said, his hands gripping the side of his face.

Beth was surprised, blinking wide eyes at her brother, but when Vincent stepped forward amicably with his arms extended, she passed the babe across obediently. Almost instantly, the child soothed. Vincent let out a sigh, but there was a small smile on his face as well.

"Alright." The room looked at Thomas, but he was watching Vincent. "We haven't eaten in," he paused to shake his head, "I'd rather not think about how long. Let's move this conversation to the dining room."

No one blinked an eye as he gave direction in a house that wasn't his.

Breakfast had just finished being laid out when they entered the room, and the men flocked the table instantly. Beth, at Vincent's side, moved with him to the table.

"You look... comfortable with her," she commented softly. Her hand fluttered near his shoulder, but eventually moved to stroke the little girl's head. "I didn't expect that."

Vincent hadn't either.

They took seats opposite each other at the table, and Vincent felt his stomach rumble. With Isabela in his arms, it would be too awkward to fetch himself some food, but when she had settled some he was sure...

A plate laden with bread, fruit and ham was set in front of him.

Glancing up in surprise, a frown already formed, he found Thomas. The man took the seat beside him, setting down his own plate of food. He raised an eyebrow when Vincent's gaze remained on him.

Beth offered a quiet, "Thank you", across the table, drawing Vincent's attention. David had brought her a plate of food as well, and now pressed a tender kiss to her head. It was an intimate moment – an intimate gesture – and Vincent found himself staring at the food before him with a frown and a roiling in his stomach.

When the last of them, Simon, took a seat, he called the attention of the table back to Vincent and Thomas. "So what did you learn over the last week?"

The attention of the table turned to them.

Vincent looked to Thomas. Thomas shrugged at him around a mouthful of toast. "You can explain it far better than I."

Vincent blinked; this was not an attitude he was used to. The only guarantee was that he would explain it far slower than Thomas. He watched the other man for a long moment, waiting for him to realise his mistake and change his mind. Thomas just took another bite of toast.

Turning back to the table, Vincent took a breath, stuttered out the start of his sentence, and then did his best to explain everything they had uncovered. He described the factory, the Spanish women, and their fear of the men who controlled them. He put a name to the baby in his arms and offered what little insight they had into her parentage. He recalled Slim Brown, his lip twitching, and mentioned the area where they'd disembarked, including their added guest, Mutt.