The Unexpected Gift

Chapter 1

Javier sighed as he leaned back in his chair, fingers of one hand pinching the bridge of his nose as he held a tumbler of whiskey in the other, precariously balanced on his thigh. It had been another day of false leads and chasing tails, much like every day. He was starting to lose faith in what he was doing, in the people he was working with to take down Escobar but if there was one man he could trust it was his best and only true friend here.

Steve Murphy.

Steve had been here a few years now, his wife coming with him to support him in the fight against drugs but a few months ago, after a near-miss with two of Escobar's top sicarios, they'd ended up with a new addition. Olivia Murphy, a small shining light in dark times.

Little did Javier know that his own sparkle was coming.

Three soft knocks on his front door tore him from his thoughts. He shook his head a little, glancing at the clock and noting that it was a little after eleven. He grumbled to himself as he put down his drink and got to his feet, padding across his apartment to the door. He didn't even think to check who it was before he opened it and his brow furrowed when he saw no one standing there, just dust floating in the air illuminated by the light above his door.

"Fucking hell." He growled as he looked around a little before going to shut his door again, only to be stopped by a small coo at his feet.

His eyes travelled down and widened when they were greeted by a baby smiling up at him as she wriggled in her carrier. There was a note on the floor in front of her and a bag beside her but no sign of her mother.

"What the?..." He crouched down, picking up the envelope and tearing it open without ceremony "Says here that you're mine." He said to the infant as his eyes continued to rake over the piece of paper in his hands "Elena." He whispered as his hand holding the letter dropped and he looked up at the child.

There could be little doubt that she was his. She had his dark hair and pouty bottom lip.

Something stirred inside of him as he looked at her and she looked at him. He didn't even think about it when unbuckling her and pulling her into his arms, smiling when she let out a happy squeak before resting her small head on his shoulder. He grabbed the bag and placed it inside her carrier before picking it up and carrying it inside, placing it on the kitchen table.

He started to rummage around in the bag and found it was filled with bottles, formula, dummies, clothes and a few toys. There was another envelope tucked into the pocket inside which he carefully pulled out and awkwardly removed its contents. Inside was a birth certificate.

"María." He said as he looked at the child in his arms "I think it suits you." He said sweetly, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

He was surprised at himself. Why wasn't he freaking out right now? One minute he'd been sat there the then next, he had a baby in his arms with a note written by a one night stand telling him that she was his.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little panicked. How what was he supposed to do with her? He didn't know the first thing about babies and now he was a father to a two-month-old. Glancing at his phone he picked it up and dialled the first number he could think of, gently rocking the infant in his arms as he waited for someone to answer.

"Hey, you up?" He asked when they did "I've got a bit of a situation here, can I come over?"

He gave a swift nod before hanging up the phone and grabbing María's bag.

...

"Who was that?" Asked Connie as she emerged from Olivia's nursery.

"Javi." Steve replied as he turned to look at her "Sounded a little freaked. Said he had a situation and asked if he could come over."