Daddy's Little Girl by jerseygirlinoxford (sue)

Part One

Danielle's Lesson's Challenge

"Hi Daddy!" Ranger looked up to see the two women in his life standing in the doorway of his office. Stephanie and their daughter Gabriella…or Gabby for short. Her dark brown hair was pulled into cute little pig tails. Stephanie had her dressed in black Oshkosh B'gosh overalls, a pink turtle neck, and pink sneakers. With her pig tails bobbing, she ran over to him and jumped into his waiting arms.

"How's my girl today?" She kissed his lips, and he melted. Ranger thought Stephanie was the only one to have him wrapped around her finger. Boy was he wrong. Their three and a half year old daughter now cornered that market.

"Fine. We're gonna have lots of fun today, Daddy." Ranger looked at Stephanie and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going shopping with the girls today. Remember? You promised to watch her because Ella's off today," Stephanie reminded him. Shit, he did forget. "I gotta go." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you two later." She kissed the top of Gabby's head and headed for the garage. He had a staff meeting in five minutes, a sparring match in the gym, and a business meeting with a new client right after lunch. He'd have to check the schedule to see which of his men could watch her till after he was done.

"I have lots of plans for us today, Daddy. We're gonna have a tea party. And we're gonna play beauty parlor. And we're gonna watch 'The Little Mermaid'. I love you, Daddy." Shit…scratch that plan.

"I love you too, Baby Girl," he replied. Okay…he was a sucker for those huge light brown eyes and that infectious smile. "But first we have to go to Daddy's meeting….okay?" He picked her up and carried her to the conference room.

"Yea! Are you gonna have donuts at the meeting?" God, she was so much like her mother.

"No, Gabby. We don't have donuts at staff meetings. But there are a few snacks. You can pick out whatever you want."

"Okay."

"Hey Princess!" Lester greeted her and took her from Ranger's arms.

"Hi Uncle Lester!"

"You gotta kiss for me?" She nodded and grinned before she smacked on his lips.

"Me and Daddy are gonna have fun today," she told him proudly. Tank came up behind her and grabbed her from Lester's arms. She squealed with delight.

"So what are you and Daddy doing today?" Tank asked her as he took his chair placing her on his lap.

"We're gonna have a tea party, and play Beauty Parlor, and watch the Little Mermaid," she explained. Tank couldn't hold in his laughter. Ranger closed his eyes and sighed. Any shred of authority he had was just swept under the carpet.

"Aw….now isn't that sweet, Ranger?" Tank teased. "You and Gabby are gonna have a tea party." There were general smirks and snickers around the table. "That sound like fun." Gabby beamed at the two men.

"It's gonna be lots of fun, Uncle Tank. You gots to come, too!" Gabby insisted. Now it was Ranger's turn to smirk.

"I'm sorry, honey, but I've got work to do," Tank replied. They watched as her face fell. Her lower lip protruded and began to quiver. Tears started to well up in her eyes. Ranger silently cheered. Atta girl, he said to himself, make Uncle Tank suffer. Obi Wan Stephanie taught you well! "Oh…don't cry Gabby! Uh….I'll look at my schedule….I think I can stop by for some tea!" Magically, the tears dried up and the smile was back in place.

"Yea! Daddy….Uncle Tank's gonna come to our tea party!" The rest of the men put their heads down. They didn't want an invitation to the tea party because Gabby would make them an offer they couldn't refuse.

"Gabby, I need you to still down because I have to get this meeting started…okay?" She nodded and sat back in his lap. Ranger began with updates to some of the account problems. He felt a gentle tapping on his arm and looked down into those light brown eyes.

"Daddy…you said I could have a snack." Shit…did he say that? "Oh….uh…here." He reached across the table and grabbed an apple protein bar. He handed it to her and resumed the meeting. Crinkle. Crinkle. Crinkle. Crinkle………Crinkle.

"Daddy?" He stopped and looked back down at her. "I can't get this damn thing open." The room exploded in laughter. He took the bar and removed the wrapper.

"Here you go, Baby Girl," he told her and started back with the meeting. Wait a minute….did she just say what I think she said? "What did you just say?"

"Nothing." She took a bite of the protein bar and grimaced. "Yuck! What is this Daddy? This tastes like shit!" More laughter. There was no doubt about what she said this time.

"Gabby…I don't like you using that word," Ranger told her gently.

"What word?" she asked him innocently.

"Um….shit. That's not a nice word." It would also be easier to explain the right and wrong of foul language if his men weren't hysterical laughing.

"But you and Mommy say it all the time," she insisted. Babe, you are in huge trouble when you get back home, he said to himself.

"But we're adults. It's not a nice word. Especially coming from a little girl," Ranger explained.

"But what if something really tastes like shit? This is really yucky, Daddy." She handed him the rest of the protein bar. Ranger closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"I think you should just say it tastes yucky. I'll speak to Mommy about this when she gets home, okay?" He stood up and put Gabby back on Tank's lap. "I'll be right back." He went out into the hall and called Stephanie. He wasn't surprised when the call went straight to voice mail. "Uh Babe….we're going to have to have a talk about our daughter's vocabulary when you get home. And I believe I owe you a lesson in a chair….don't I? It's going to require handcuffs 'cause you are going to owe me big time for this one!"

TBC

Word count 1044