Disclaimer: I don't own The Pretender

Sometimes the toughest life to save is your own. The ice queen was petty, vindictive and evil. She wished for desire and love. She wished for several things, but mainly, she wished for him.

"How do you keep from going crazy?" She had asked him once.

"Focus," he replied.

"Tell me that there's more to life than what I can see?" Again, another question.

Jarod returned home to his house. He had been running late. So still was the silence as he shut the door behind him. He moved rather rapidly into the upstairs bedroom. There in bed laid so soundly asleep was his daughter, two year old Kayla, with her arms wrapped around her Raggedy Ann doll.

It wasn't until the very end did she tell him about his child. He stared at their picture, framed in 14kt gold, of Miss Parker and Kayla. This was his family, one that he never knew until about two months ago.

Jarod would come home each night, kissed his daughter and have dinner which, his nanny had prepared for just the two of them. That was his routine, just him and his baby girl. He stared at her. How could he not have known she was his child. With those huge dark brown eyes and a dimple on her right side of her cheek, Kayla was the spitting image of him.

Melissa Parker, the woman he loved, the one he had wanted to spend his life with was gone.

It happened one night, but, one night of passion did not lead to a lifetime of commitment. His daughter changed his life forever. He promised her before she left that their Kayla would always be taken care of.

It had come to an understanding that the "Pretender and the Ice Queen" was not the kind of life she had wanted for their child. She shielded Kayla from him. She never forgave herself for having deprived Jarod of those precious first time moments, of those sleepless nights when the baby had to be held in her arms, rocked back and forth until she had fallen asleep, the first time she took her first few steps and the first tme she ever said mama.

Jarod sat in his chair and stared into space every night. He visualized, as if she was in the same room, leaned against the wall with her hands crossed in front of her, dark sun glasses pushed slightly down on her nose, her weight leaned to one side and stared into his eyes. With that acid-tongue of hers, she would spit out, "WHAT?"

He blinked back tears, looked around the room and realized it was only his dream. There had been no Melissa who stood anywhere in the room. There were a lot of memories of her. She hardly ever smiled, but when she did, it sparkled his world.

He promised that he'd always be there for their daughter, for his "ice queen" to not be able to have shared tears and laughter with them crushed his heart in several bits and pieces.

She'd always be a part of his life. Kayla was a part of him and a part of her and hoped the latter would be more dominant.

He quietly walked out of the bedroom, but heard a faint cry.

"Daddy," she whispered. He turned, saw his Kayla as she sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes. She looked up at him and held out her tiny hands. She repeated. "Daddy."

This was the very first time she had spoken that word. The sound of her voice sent chills throughout his body. His daughter, his little girl had finally settled into her new life. He picked her up and she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. She laid her head on his shoulders and she gently patted his face.

Jarod looked out of the window. The heavy rain hit against the glass. He told himself, this was the picture he would had wanted it to be, of them being a family together. But, instead, it was a life without Melissa. His Melissa.

As Kayla fell asleep in her father's arms, Jarod gently kissed his little one. Teardrops fell down his face.

One step at a time, he told himself. He wished, that Miss Parker followed the path to his heart, if only by magic.

TBC - Chapter 2