NYPD Blue Fanfiction

Ida's Fanfic

“DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL”

This little story takes place sometime in the late summer of ’03. It’s just a little something I had floating around in my head before all the madness of the “Is she or isn’t she” controversy surrounding our KAC started. Hope you enjoy it. 

 6 PM Friday evening in the Sipowicz/McDowell apartment. Andy has been in court all afternoon.

Connie picked Theo up and took him to soccer practice. After practice, they were going to grab dinner and then go shopping for clothes to start the new school year. Andrea had agreed to stay and help Andy take care of Michelle. Andy arrives home to find Andrea feeding Michelle her dinner.

 Andrea: (As Andy enters the kitchen): Hi Andy, Connie just called. She said to tell you that practice is over and she & Theo were on their way to get dinner. They should be home in a couple of hours.

 Andy: Okay, great. Thanks Andrea. Thanks for staying to help with Michelle too; I’m just not good with baby stuff. Diaper changing has never been my strong point. When she gets a little older, I might be able to handle her bath, but the diaper changing is something I’ll never master.

Upon hearing Andy’s voice Michelle has suddenly gotten very excited and reaches her arms out to him & starts kicking her legs. She’s lost all interest in her meal now that Daddy is home. Andy responds by bending down & kissing her on the top of her head and stroking her face.

 Andrea chuckles at Andy’s remarks. Connie has told her about Andy’s reluctance to help with Michelle and the two joke about it often. Connie had admitted to Andrea that it bothered her at first. But as time passed and she realized how much Michelle really meant to Andy, it bothered her less & less. Andy had also begun to do more of the household chores to make up for not helping with the baby.

 Andrea: Are you hungry Andy, I could fix you something to eat?

 Andy: That’s okay; I grabbed a bite on my way home. But if you’re hungry help yourself.

 Andrea: No thanks; I’m meeting my husband for dinner later.

 Andy leaves the kitchen & goes into the bedroom, shedding his coat & tie as he goes. Andrea goes back to trying to coax Michelle into regaining interest in her strained peas & bananas.

 About an hour later, Andrea has Michelle fed & bathed, and is preparing to put her down for the night. She & Andy are sitting on the couch talking & watching TV when the phone rings, interrupting their conversation.

Andy: (Answering the phone): Hello. Yes, she’s right here, hold on. (Holding the phone out to Andrea). It’s for you. 

 Andrea: (Takes the phone from Andy and mouths a thank you); Hello, Oh, Hi Honey, (A Beat)

Oh my God, Okay, I’ll be right there.

 Andrea hangs up the phone & turns to Andy.

 Andrea: That was my husband; he hurt his ankle playing softball & is in the ER at Bellevue. I have to go there & pick him up. Will you be alright with Michelle until Connie gets home?

 Andy: Uh, yeah, we should be okay, Connie will be home soon. (A Beat) I hope.

Andrea: Andy, I’m so sorry, I hate to leave. But Eddie can’t drive himself home. I have to go get him. I just heated Michelle’s bottle, she should take it & go right to sleep.

 Andy: (Taking Michelle from Andrea): It’s okay, you go get your husband. Michelle & I will be fine until Connie gets here.

 Andrea leaves & Michelle seems to be content in her Daddy’s arms. Andy sits down on the couch & holds Michelle on his lap. She takes the bottle & is soon fast asleep in Andy’s arms. Andy is beginning to think there is nothing to this baby stuff as he as takes the now sleeping baby & places her in her crib. He stares down at her lovingly as he watches her sleep. He’s come to love this little girl as if she was his own daughter. He covers her up & returns to the living room to wait for Connie & Theo to return.

 About a half hour later, Andy has dozed off while watching the Yankees game on TV & is suddenly startled awake by the ringing of the telephone. He rubs his eyes as he reaches for the phone.

 Andy: Hello

 Connie: Hi Andy, it’s me. How are things going?

 Andy: Everything’s fine, the baby’s asleep. Andrea had an emergency and had to leave. Michelle and I are fine here.

 Connie: I hope everything’s okay with Andrea. We’ll come right home.

 Andy: Andrea’s husband hurt his foot or something. Where are you?

 Connie: We’re at the South Street Seaport. We ran into Joey & his Mom at the Gap and we were going to go get some ice cream. But we’ll come right home instead.

 Andy: No, don’t do that. Have your ice cream, Michelle’s sound asleep, We’ll be okay until you get back.

 Connie: Are you sure?

 Andy: Yeah, we’re okay. See you when you get home.

 Connie: (with a twinge of doubt in her voice) Okay, if you’re sure, see you soon. I love you.

 Andy: Me too, see you soon. Bye.

  Andy hangs up the phone & returns to watching the game. Just as he begins to doze off again, Michelle starts crying in the bedroom. Andy jumps up and runs to her. He finds her sitting up in her crib crying as if her little heart were broken. He goes to her & she reaches her little arms up towards him as soon as she sees him enter the room. Andy instinctively reaches down into the crib & picks up the now sobbing baby and cradles her in his arms.

 Andy: Hey little one, what’s all this crying about?

Andy notices that Michelle’s diaper is more than a little soggy. His worst nightmare has just come true, he’s alone with a baby that is wearing a soggy diaper and needs to be changed now. What now? How do I handle this? Andy thinks to himself as he tries to calm the crying baby.

Andy: (To himself) Well, I guess I’m about to find out what this diaper changing is all about. I sure can’t leave this poor little girl in a wet diaper until Connie comes home.

 He takes Michelle over and lays her on the changing table. Then he takes a deep breath and wipes his forehead with his hand.

 Andy: Well, here goes nothing. (He looks down at Michelle and smiles). Okay little one, look, I’m new at this. Please forgive me if it doesn’t go as smoothly as it does when your momma does it.

Michelle just looks up at Andy & smiles as if she had understood what he just said. Andy removes the wet diaper & tosses it aside.

 Andy: Okay, that was the easy part. Now comes the fun part.

Michelle is now squirming around on the table and kicking her legs to beat the band. Andy tries to hold her still while he attempts to place a fresh diaper under her bottom. After several attempts, he finally has the diaper in place, only to realize that he’s got it on backwards.

 Andy: Oh geeze, why didn’t I pay closer attention to this stuff before now? How do these woman make this look so easy?

Michelle seems to be enjoying the experience a lot more than Andy is as she is now smiling & cooing and “talking” to Andy.

 Andy: Oh, yeah, that’s easy for you say. You think this is funny don’t you? Well. I don’t, I’m not enjoying this at all.

Andy laughs softly at his situation, and he’s glad that Connie is not here to see him struggling to change the diaper. He knows she’d never let him live it down. After a few more minutes he again has the diaper in place The correct way this time, and he proceeds to try to get it fastened in place as Michelle continues to squirm and kick.

 Andy: You’re not going to make this easy on me are you little one? You know, Clemens has a no hitter going out there & here I am in here trying to get you all clean & dry. The least you could do is maybe cooperate a little here.

 Michelle laughs as Andy finally gets the diaper on her bottom, it’s a little loose, but it stays in place as he pulls her nightgown down over her legs & lifts her off the changing table. He’s proud of his accomplishment, maybe this diaper-changing stuff wasn’t so bad after all, he thinks to himself as he takes the baby in his arms.

 Andy:  Okay little one, I don’t suppose you’ll be going back to sleep anytime soon. What da ya say we go watch the Rocket throw that no hitter?

 He carries Michelle back into the living room and sits down on the couch with her and holds her in his lap. He gives her her plastic keys to play with and attempts to watch the ball game. Michelle decides otherwise and drops her toy on the floor. Andy picks it up & gives it back to her, only to have her drop it again. This goes on a few more times until Andy realizes that he’s going to have to be the one to stop the game.

Andy: Okay, I see, you don’t like baseball? Well, I do, and this is a good game going on here. How ‘bout we put you in your playpen and let you play with your toys while I watch the game? Sound like a plan to you?

Michelle smiles up at Andy & just coos at him as he stands up & walks across the room with her. He kisses her softly on the top of her head & places her in her playpen, making sure that she has lots of toys around her to play with. She seems to be content and he goes into the kitchen and grabs a Coke before returning to the couch. All is well for about 15 minutes as Michelle busies herself with her toys and Andy enjoys the ballgame.

 Just as Andy is getting engrossed in the game once again, Michelle begins to fuss in the playpen. He ignores her at first, but after a few minutes, it’s obvious that quiet time is over and Michelle has had enough of this. By the time Andy gets to her, Michelle is now crying again & rubbing her eyes as Andy lifts her up into his arms.

 Andy: Hey now, what’s this all about? You sleepy little one? How ‘bout I heat you a bottle? That, I know how to do.

 He carries her into the kitchen and heats her bottle before returning once again to the living room. He sits down with her and tries to get her to drink the bottle. But she just pushes it away each time he tries to get her to take it. It’s obvious to Andy that she’s getting sleepier by the minute. But it’s also obvious that she is fighting very hard to stay awake.

Andy: (placing the bottle on the coffee table & lifting Michelle up in the air and holding her in front of his face) You’re determined to make this tough on me aren’t you?

 Michelle smiles down at him and places her little hands on his cheeks, totally melting his heart in the process. How can someone so small hold so much love in her little hands? Andy is overcome with love for this little girl now. He cradles her in his arms, kisses her forehead and once again tries to get her to take her bottle. She takes it this time, and is soon dozing off in his arms once again.

 Sometime around 9:30 Connie and Theo return home. Connie is loaded down with packages as she enters the apartment. She doesn’t notice Andy sleeping on the couch as she tells Theo to go get ready for bed. She follows him down the hall, places the shopping bags in Theo’s room & goes into her bedroom, expecting to find Michelle in her crib. When she sees the crib is empty, she returns to the living room and is stopped dead in her tracks by what she sees.

 Andy is sound asleep on the couch with Michelle sleeping on his chest. Michelle’s hand is on Andy’s cheek, and Andy’s big hand is on her back, holding her securely to him.  Connie is so overcome with love at the sight that she just stares down at them for several minutes. She finally goes to find her camera and takes a quick picture before she goes over & leans down to take Michelle from Andy’s arms. Andy is startled awake and reaches out to “catch” Michelle before he realizes that Connie is there and is only lifting her from him.

Connie: Hey sleepy head.

 Andy: (Sitting up) Hey, you’re home.

 Connie: Yeah, we just got here, everything okay?

 Andy: Yeah, Michelle and I just dozed off while watching the game.

Connie: (Whispering softly so as not to wake the baby) I see that, be right back. I want to get her in her crib.

Andy: Okay, I’ll be here.

 Connie takes Michelle into the bedroom and gets her settled in her crib. She returns to the living room to find Theo telling Andy all about his evening out.

 Theo: Mom got me lots of neat new clothes for school and she even bought me a new football. Next week we’re going for new sneakers. We had ice cream with Joey & his mom and mom said maybe I could have a sleepover at Joey’s house tomorrow night.

 Andy: Wow, sounds like you two had quite an evening. Its getting late Squirt, you better get to bed. You can show me all your new stuff in the morning.

 Theo: Okay, can you read me a story Dad?

 Andy: Sure, come on let’s go.

Andy winks at Connie as he takes Theo off to get him settled for the night. After about a half hour, he joins Connie in the living room. Connie has just hung up the phone after calling to check on Andrea’s husband.

 Connie: Eddie’s ankle is just sprained, he’ll be on crutches for a while but at least it’s not broken.

 Andy: That’s good. Are they okay? Do they need anything?

 Connie: No, Andrea says they’re fine. I’ll call again tomorrow to see how he’s feeling. Now, why don’t you tell me all about your evening with Michelle?

 Andy: There’s nothing to tell, my little girl and me just had a quiet evening at home watching the Yanks.

 Connie: (Her heart has just melted at Andy’s referring to Michelle as his little girl) Andy, do you realize what you just said?

 Andy: Yeah, I do. What’s the big deal? Ya know, this diaper changing business isn’t all that bad after all. I still don’t think I want to do it all that often. But it’s not …..

Connie’s lips stop him as she gives him a long, slow, passionate kiss. Leaving him breathless as she pulls away.

 Andy: Wow, what was that for?

 Connie: That was payment for being such a wonderful man.

 Andy: Oh, okay. Whatever you say. How do I go about getting more of that kind of payment?

 Connie: (Taking him by the hand and leading him towards their bedroom) Come on, I’ll show you, and I’ll even throw in a bonus if you’re a good boy.

 Andy: (Eagerly following Connie down the hall) Oh, I promise, I’ll be a very good boy.

Several hours later, Andy and Connie are lying in bed. Andy is holding Connie tightly to his chest & is gently stroking her hair. Connie is enjoying the moment; content to just lie in the arms of the man she loves so much.

 Connie: Andy?

 Andy: Hmm?

 Connie: Thank you for taking such good care of Michelle tonight.

 Andy: You’re welcome, it was nothing. I kind of enjoyed it. Now, go to sleep, you had a long day.

 Connie: Andy?

 Andy: Hmm?

 Connie: I love you.

 Andy: (kissing her softly on her forehead). I love you too, now go to sleep.

 As he slowly drifts off to sleep, Andy’s last thought is of Michelle and how much she has come to mean to him. Maybe being a new father at his age wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

                                                         THE END