Author's Note: Here is my sequel to Collide. I hope you like it. It is taken from the Miley Cyrus song of the same title. I hope you guys listen to it off youtube or wherever if you haven't heard it already. It fits MK perfectly. In my mind anyway. And remember, reviews make me write more. You know I love you! Xoxo- RuflyGirl

When I Look at You

Chapter 1: She's Got the Look

~Matthew~

It had been a year since I proposed to Kelly, and I was still as in love with her as the day I fell for her. To me, she got more beautiful with every day that passed.

We had to wait a year to get married. We needed the divorce to be finalized, and for the custody with Aven to be taken care of. I was more than blessed to have gotten joint custody, and to still be friends with Naama. I couldn't live not seeing my daughter that often. Thank God it didn't come to that.

So, that being all taken care of, the wedding was now just over a month away. I was glad Kelly took care of most of the wedding plans. I was never one to care for the details. All I wanted to do was marry her. The setting didn't mean anything to me. All that mattered to me was that I had Kelly by my side, and that she would be by my side for the rest of my life.

Anyway, it was our daughter's first birthday, so the wedding plans were put out of our mind for the time being. I could hardly believe Lily was a year! I could remember the day she was born like yesterday.

I spoiled her rotten—much to Kelly's dismay sometimes. For instance, I wanted to go to a farm and have pony rides for her birthday. Kelly didn't think that was such a good idea.

"A one year old does not ride ponies! It's too dangerous!"

"Obviously one of us would ride with her, Kel. Besides, Aven would love it!"

Kelly shot me a look. "But it's a party for Lily—not Aven. Besides, I don't think a pony would enjoy having an adult ride him."

I sighed. "Well, then, what did you have in mind?"

Kelly smiled. "I was thinking we'd take her to the park, and push her on the swings. She also likes the merry-go-round. Then we can take her to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner. Aven will enjoy both of those things. Then, we can come home and get her ready for bed. We can tuck her in, and you can sing to her. You know she always sleeps better when you sing to her."

I placed my arm around Kelly, and gently rubbed her back as I kissed her temple. "I'll let you win this time—you have the better idea."

She grinned up at me. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

I shook my head. "Just shut up and kiss me."

Still grinning, she took my face between her hands and passionately kissed my lips in such a way, that I'd have admitted to being wrong a hundred times I that was what I got in return.

Kelly came over to me, and wrapped her arms around me from behind. "You ready to go? I figured maybe we should go to Chucky's first. Since we're bringing the cake with us, it's better that way. We don't want to have to carry it to the park. Besides, it's probably best the kids don't have cake so close before bed."

I turned my face to hers, and gently nuzzled my nose against hers. "You're such a good mother."

She smiled. "And you're such a good father."

We kissed, which caused me to turn around and face her, so that I could grab her waist and kiss her more passionately.

"Come on, stop kissing, and let's go!" Hermés, who had just turned five, said as he tugged on his mother's dress.

Kelly and I broke the kiss, and grinned at him.

"We're coming, we're coming! Would you rather we kiss you?" I asked, picking him up, and kissing his cheek.

Kelly double teamed him and kissed his other cheek, and we both added tickling into the mixture.

He giggled. "Stop! Stop!"

We both stopped, still grinning at him. We set him down.

"Aven wants to go now, and I can tell Lily wants to go too!" Hermés said.

Kelly and I gave each other a knowing look. We both knew it was more Hermés that wanted to go now than little Lily.

"All right, all right! We're coming!" Kelly said, taking both my hands and giving me one of her sweet smiles before heading off to get Lily ready.

I smiled after her, my heart pounding as it always did when Kelly smiled at me. I then went to get Aven ready, looking forward to the night, but the wedding even more.

~Kelly~

"I stopped breastfeeding Lily a lot earlier than I had my other children. It just made it easier for when I wasn't with her.

When our pizza arrived, I took off everything off Lily's slice but the sauce, and cut it into pieces that were just the right size for her. Then, I let her use her hands to eat. She preferred to eat on her own instead of being fed. Of course I kept a close watch on her the whole time she was eating. I also had to help her at times when it came to drinking from her sippy cup.

Aven and Helena were both two now, and they were good eating by themselves as well. Matt cut their pizza up for them, but they were old enough to be trusted with cheese.

"Do you want me to cut yours up, Hermés?" Matt asked, trying to be helpful.

Hermés shot him a look. "I'm not a baby, Daddy." He had stopped calling Matthew 'New Daddy.' Instead, recently he had dropped the 'new,' and called Matthew Daddy and his father Dad. It was cute.

Matthew smiled at him. "You're right; you're not. I apologize."

I shook my head. My son was growing up so fast. I couldn't help but wonder where the time went.

After pizza, the Chuck E. Cheese's crew brought out the cake with one candle lit on it. Chucky was even there. Unfortunately, the girls didn't appreciate him as much as someone Hermés' age did. All three girls burst into tears at the sight of Chucky.

"Babies, it's okay! He's a nice mouse! He's cute!" Matthew said, holding Aven with one arm to comforter, and Helena in the other. He kissed the tears off their cheeks.

I held Lily close, and she buried her face in my chest. I looked at Matt helplessly. "How did we not know they were afraid of him until now?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know! I guess we've never gotten this close to Chucky with them before. It's either that or, they were too young before to really know what was going on."

The crew finished singing happy birthday, despite the fact that it was making the girls cry. When they finished, Hermés clapped. He slid underneath the table, and crawled out to hug Chucky. He then turned to his sisters. "See? He's nice!"

Aven and Helena stopped crying, but were still sniffling as they watched Hermés hugging Chucky.

Lily still had her face buried in my chest, hiding from the giant mouse, so Hermés blew the candle out for her. "I wished for you not to be scared!" Hermés toldLily.

I smiled at my son. I loved when he tried to help his sisters out. He was a good kid, and no matter how old he got, or how fast he grew up, I knew that was one thing that would never change.

The workers wished Lily a happy birthday, but Lily would have none of it until Chucky was gone.

Hermés smiled at Chucky and gave him one last hug before he bid Chucky ado. "My sisters are scared of you, so you better go. I still love you though!"

Chucky pat his head and handed him a stack of game tickets in response.

Hermés grinned widely. "Thanks, Chucky!" He hugged him yet again, before climbing back under the table, and taking his place next to Matthew again.

I smiled, and waved back at Chucky as Chucky waved to us then left. I then looked at my son. "That was very nice of you."

Hermés smiled in return. "Chucky's cool! They'll think so too when they're older."

I couldn't get over how mature my son acted sometimes. I was sure he was destined for something big. But I know all mothers thought their children were destined for something big. I'd just have to wait and see. However, it could wait. I didn't want him growing up any faster than he already was of course!

Lily finally stopped sniffling (as had Aven and Helena), and unburied her face.

Matthew smiled at her. "There's my girl's beautiful face!"

Lily held out her arms, and began to clench and unclench her fists. "Dada!"

Matthew grinned. He was always so proud when she called him that!

I smirked. She had said 'Dada' before 'Momma,' and he never let me hear the end of it.

I handed Lily over to Matthew from across the table.

He took her and held her close in his arms, having already set Helena and Aven back in their high chairs. He kissed the top of her head, which was lightly covered in blonde hair. "There's my princess! Do you feel better now that Chucky's gone? Hm?"

Lily rested her head against his chest in response.

I smiled. He was so good with her. I knew she was going to be a total Daddy's girl. Though, with father like Matthew, I couldn't blame her one bit!

I thought back to when she had first called him Daddy.

She watched him from her playpen as he practiced a song on his guitar. She couldn't walk yet, but she held out her arms just like she had done now. "Da!" is how it came out at first.

I walked into the room. "It looks like she is trying to say something," I said.

Matthew put down his guitar, and quickly grabbed the video camera. He was determined to catch all of her first moments on tape, if he could help it. "Say it! Say, Dada!" he coaxed her.

"Da!" she tried again.

"Dada!" he corrected her.

"Dada!" she said. She then giggled and clapped her hands as if she knew she had just said her first word.

Matthew laughed. "Oh my gosh, she said it, Kel! She said Dada!"

I grinned, though it was halfhearted. Don't get me wrong. I was thrilled she had said her first word, and it was adorable that she said "Dada," but I was a little disappointed it hadn't been "Momma." Hermés had said "Dada" first. Helena had said "Momma," but she was around me more than her father, so I couldn't take it too much to heart.

Matthew put the camera down, then picked Lily up and kissed her cheek. "You said Dada! Good girl!"

I smiled, and came up beside him, gently resting my hand on his back, and smiling at our daughter.

"She loves me more than she loves you, Kel." Matthew didn't mean it as mean. In fact, he was clearly joking, but it had hit a nerve.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Not funny, Matthew."

He sensed I was upset, and gently put Lily back down in her playpen. He pulled me close. "You know I was just kidding, Kel. She adores you. She said Dada first because she is saving the best for last."

I couldn't help but smile at this. I could never stay angry with Matthew. I kissed him, and that was the end of our fight.

She ended up calling me Momma a day later anyway. I was brushing her hair with a baby brush when she looked right back at me and said, "Momma!" I was so happy, I cried. I picked her up and rushed over to Matthew to tell him. He pretended to be surprised and happy, but I later found out he had coached her every chance he got that I wasn't around, until she had said it. He had even got the whole coaching section (complete with the first time he actually got the word out of her) on tape. I had been a little hurt that he had had to coax her to say it, and that I had missed the real first time she said it (somehow watching it on tape wasn't the same thing), but I quickly got over it since it had been one of the sweetest things he had done for me.

"What?" Matthew asked me with a laugh as he saw me watching him and Lily.

I shrugged and smiled. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about what a wonderful father and husband you are."

He grinned and shrugged. "What can I say? I have a wonderful wife and kids."

I looked away, a smile still on my face; not wanting him to see me blush. After all this time, that man's smile still made my heart beat hard and my stomach do flip-flops. I could hardly wait to marry him! I was the luckiest woman on earth and I knew it!

~Matthew~

"Look at her. What a mess!" I said with a grin when I saw the chocolate cake all over Lily's face. "We had to get her chocolate!"

Kelly grinned at our daughter. There was chocolate cake and chocolate frosting all over Lily's cheeks, mouth, and hands. "Well, at least we know she likes it!"

I laughed. "That she does. Do you want to go clean her off in the bathroom?"

Kelly nodded. "Yeah. I might as well take Helena and Aven too. I'm sure they must have to go to the bathroom by now."

"Well, maybe I can take one of the girls in the men's room. You have your hands full already," I suggested.

"Well, maybe you could take Lily then since she's youngest?" Kelly asked. "It won't be as bad to take her in the men's room since she's still a baby."

I nodded. "Good point!" So, we all got out of the booth, and I picked up my daughter. She instantly smiled at me, which made a smile instantly appear on my face. "We need to get you cleaned, baby girl! You're all messy!"

Lily started to giggle, and it encouraged me to tickle her ribs. She laughed even more.

"You're going to make her squirm, and get chocolate all over you!" Kelly said, shaking her head with a grin.

"Then I guess you'll just have to clean me," I said to her, a grin on my own face.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head again, but the grin remained on her face.

"All right, let's meet back at the table in ten," I said.

"All right," Kelly agreed.

Then, we were off. Kelly headed into the ladies' room to take care of the girls, and I headed into the men's room to clean off Lily. Hermés came with us so he could use the bathroom.

Once the three of us were done, we headed out to see that Kelly wasn't back at the table yet.

"Let's go on the slide before we leave!" Hermés suggested.

"You can go, but I think I'm too big to go on it," I told him, eyeing the colorful jungle gym that was a few yards away.

Hermés pouted. "But I want you to come with me! Lily does too."

I smirked at him. "And how would you know that?"

"She told me!" Hermés insisted. It wasn't the first time he claimed that Lily talked to him. Kelly and I always just played along. It was cute, really.

I looked from his pleading eyes to my daughter's smiling face. I grinned back at Hermés. "All right! But just once!"

Hermés smiled big, and clapped his hands together excitedly. "Yay!" He ran straight towards the jungle gym.

I shook my head and laughed as I followed after him, trying my best to catch up with him.

"This is not as easy as it looks!" I said as I crawled into the jungle gym with Hermés. It was torture! Here he was zipping through it like it was nothing at all to him. Whereas I was crawling on my knees behind Lily, gently pushing her forward as she slowly crawled to the top. My knees and back were aching, and I was beginning to feel slightly claustrophobic in the space that was small enough as it was if you were a kid. Try being a forty-two-year-old man in it. It was twice as small!

Finally, we got tot he top. Hermés was waiting for us.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked.

"It's a little harder to get up here when you're as old and big as me," I told him.

He smiled. "I'll go first!"

"Please do," I said, a little out of breath.

Hermés slid down in no time at all. He then climbed off, and went to the side of the slide. He peered in. "You coming?"

"We're on our way. Watch out," I said.

Hermés moved out of the way.

I positioned myself at the top of the slide and took a deep breath. I slowly let it out. I had Lily on my lap, held tightly in my arms. "You ready, Baby girl?" I asked her.

She smiled up at me.

"I'll take that as a yes!" I said. I sighed. "All right, Hermés, here we come!" I pushed us off, and Lily and I slid down the slide. Of course, due to the tight corders, we went down a heck of a lot slower than Hermés had gone down. Needless to say, it wasn't very thrilling for me or Lily.

"Maybe you should let me take her down next time," Hermés said, once again too smart for his age.

I looked up at him, still sitting at the bottom of the slide. "You think?"

He grinned.

"Aw, that's so cute! Is she your daughter?"

I looked over to see an attractive girl, who looked to be in her early twenties, smiling at me. She had long red hair and light green eyes. I smiled. "Why, yes, she is!" I nodded towards Hermés. "My stepson—Hermés—wanted me to go down the slide with him and her. Well, he went down first, then Lily and I went down together."

The girl smiled. "Aw! Lily? That's such a cute name! How old is she? I love babies."

I smiled at Lily, then at the girl. "She just turned one today, actually!"

"Aw! Well, happy birthday, Lily!" the girl said to Lily, gently taking her hand and shaking it. She looked at me and offered her hand. "I'm Samantha. Need help up?"

I took her hand with a smile. "Matthew, and yes, I would, please."

I let her held me up as I held tightly to Lily. Once I was standing up again, I shook Samantha's hand. "Thanks!"

Samantha gave me a flirtatious smile. "Not a problem."

Ahem!

Samantha and I both looked over as Kelly appeared with Aven and Helena. She was holding Aven's hand on her right, and Helena's on her left. "Who is this?" She put on a smile that I knew all too well as her fake smile.

I followed her eyes and noticed that my hand was still in Samantha's. I quickly pulled my hand away. "This is Samantha. Hermés wanted Lily and I to go down the slide with him. I got stuck in the slide, and she helped me up."

Samantha held out her hand to Kelly. "Oh my gosh!" She looked at me quickly. "I know who you are now!" She looked back at Kelly, and shook her hand. "You're Matthew Settle and Kelly Rutherford from Gossip Girl!"

Kelly grinned, a little more sincerely now. "Kelly Settle now. But, yes, I'm still credited as Kelly Rutherford."

Samantha clapped her hands together. "Well, it's so nice to meet you guys! I don't watch your show—I haven't got the time—but my sister loves your show. She'll flip when she finds out I met you guys. You're like her role model, Kelly. I can see why. You're a beautiful woman! I hope I look that good when I get to be your age."

Ouch! I knew Kelly would be none too pleased with the " get to be your age" thing.

Kelly's sincere smile remained though. "Thank you! You're a pretty girl. I'm sure you will."

They talked for a short bit, then Samantha said goodbye to me, a sly smile playing on her lips, and a twinkle in her eye as she did so. "You're even hotter in person. I may just have to start taping Gossip Girl." She winked at me, then gently shook Lily's hand and said goodbye to her, then she left, not really acknowledging Hermés, Helena, or Aven.

"She seems like a nice girl," I said as Kelly and I headed back to the table to grab our things.

Kelly stiffened a little. "If you like that sort of thing."

I grinned to myself. She was clearly jealous—I liked it!

~Kelly~

"What's wrong, Honey?" Matt asked with his arms around my waist as I gently pushed Lily on the baby swing.

"What makes you think anything's wrong?" I asked. Something was wrong. I hated how he always seemed to flirt with kids young enough to be his daughter. He had me, yet it didn't stop his eyes from wandering whenever we saw another, much younger, pretty face.

He rested his head on my shoulder. "I know you. You're tense. Is it because Samantha said she hopes she looks as good as you do when she is your age? Because, if that's what it is, I think you should concentrate more on the part where she said she hopes she looks as good as you."

I stopped pushing Lily, and turned to face him. "Well, that's not all of it. I'm also a little upset that you were flirting with her."

He laughed. "Flirting with her? She helped me up! I can't help it if maybe she was flirting with me."

"Oh, she clearly was!" Lily started getting fussy, so I pushed her swing again, calming her down.

He wrapped his arms around my waist again. "Well, I'm not going to lie. It feels good getting attention from women that young. It makes me feel less old. But, you gotta know, Baby, you're the only one I love."

"So, I'm too old for it to make you feel good when I give you attention?" I was a little hurt, and a lot insulted.

He kissed the side of my neck. "You're not old. You're older, but you're not old." He turned me around and kissed me. "I feel like the best looking guy on earth for having nabbed you."

I couldn't help but smile at this. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really!" He grabbed my waist from the front this time and kissed me more passionately for emphasis. "I love you, Kel. I don't need anyone but you. I'm sorry if it seemed I was flirting back. It's just my personality. I don't mean anything by it. I was just trying to be polite. Forgive me?"

I grinned, and took his face between my hands. I kissed him hard on the lips. "Does that answer your question?"

He smiled, his forehead resting against mine. "I don't know. I think I need to get you home so you can convince me some more."

I shook my head. "You always have a one track mind."

"And you don't mind it one bit!" He said.

I turned back to Lily, and began pushing her again. "No, I don't," I admitted, a smile still on my face.

~Matthew~

When we got the kids home, I got Aven and Helena ready for bed. They shared a room whenever I had Aven. I think they liked the company.

I tucked them in and sang to them, making them both smile. I kissed both their cheeks, then Kelly came in.

"Lily's in her crib, ready for her song," she said, hugging me and kissing me.

I lowed my eyes and kissed her for a moment. I could never get enough of her.

"I'm going to say goodnight to the girls, then I'll help Hermés get ready for bed," she said with her smile that made me weak in the knees.

I kissed her once more. "Okay. I'll be there in a bit." I then headed in to sing to Lily. She always had such a beautiful smile when I sang to her—just like her mother.

When I came into the room, Lily was standing up, holding onto the crib rail. She had just started standing up, but hadn't really taken any steps yet. I knew it was only a matter of time before she did though. That is why I had a camera in every room to grab whenever I needed it.

"How's my baby girl doing? Are you all ready for bed?" I asked.

"Sing!" she said.

I laughed. "Whatever my princess wants, my princess gets!" She had recently started saying the word sing. I knew it was probably because I'd always ask her if she wanted me to sing.

So, I sat down in the rocking chair, grabbed my guitar, and sang for her. Somewhere along the line, she lay down in her crib, and by the time the song was over, she was asleep. I set my guitar down, then turned on her night light before heading over to her crib. I covered her up nice and snuggly, then kissed her cheek. I stroked some hair out of her eyes. She really did look like her mother. She was beautiful. I left the room, gently and quietly closing the door behind me.

I then headed into Hermés' room to tell him goodnight. I found that Kelly had already said goodnight to him, and was gone from the room. Hermés looked like he was more than ready for sleep. I tucked him in a little tighter and said goodnight to him, then I headed into Kelly's and my bedroom. I found her waiting for me in bed—wearing absolutely nothing.

I licked my lips, and started ridding myself of my clothes.

"I figured, if you needed more convincing that I forgive you, this is the best way. Am I right?" she asked, her voice getting the seductive tone that always put me in the mood.

I rid myself of the last article of clothing, then hopped into bed with her. I took her in my arms and kissed her, then pinned her below me.

She smirked. "You don't waste much time, do you?"

My eyes were lowered with desire—I wanted her so badly. "Do you want me to slow down?"

She pulled me closer, her lips brushing against my left ear. "Not if you value your life," she teased.

I grinned, then gave us both exactly what we needed.

~Kelly~

I lay my head on Matthew's chest after our love making. He had his arm around me, and I just felt so safe with him. I could hardly wait to be his wife. He always made me feel so beautiful. I'll admit it—I was feeling a little old and unattractive earlier when I met Samantha. Matthew clearly had found her attractive—more so than he was leading on I was sure. But, tonight, he had made me feel secure, beautiful, and loved again. Even so, I could hardly wait until the wedding. Only when we were married would I feel totally secure. I would finally feel that he was mine.

I sighed, then closed my eyes as the moonlight from our bedroom window poured in on us. I was counting the days until our wedding, which was going to be on December first. We were going to wait until Valentine's Day, but thought that might be a little too cliché. Besides, we didn't want to wait that long. Matthew's divorce had just gone though finally, and we were more than ready to be married. I figured right before Christmas might be nice, but not too close to Christmas. We wanted to have time to have a proper honeymoon before Christmas. So, what we did was random, really. Matthew got out thirty-one tiny pieces of paper, numbering them from one to thirty-one. Then, he shuffled them up in his hand, and I closed my eyes and picked one. It turned out to be number one. So, that was our date. It wasn't too close to Christmas, yet it was in December. It was perfect.

I kissed Matthew's chest and smiled, my arms wrapped around him. I was looking forward to finally making him mine forever. He already was, but it would be nice to make it official. I could hardly wait! December first couldn't get here soon enough.