So, just about last month I read this really awesome story called 'How Do You Hide a Child?' from wickedrobotics aka a really awesome writer named Liz, and she inspired me to write this, so enjoy!

And don't forget to read her story too, it was pretty rad! (:

Baby, You're All That I Want

Eight months ago was very life changing for me, I was never expecting to receive that call that Leslie, my ex, had died in a fatal car crash. I didn't know one thing about raising a kid…let alone a little girl.

I was running late from picking up my daughter. She was staying back at Heaths condo with him and Stu; they had been taking care of her while I had been out doing some promotions in the area.

When I walked through the front door of Heaths place, the couch pillows from the living room were scattered on the floor and her toys were scrambled among the place too. "Hello?" I called. It was quiet but then out of nowhere I heard the stomping of people coming from down the hall. Without even being able to run for any type of cover, I was hit in the chest with foam Nerf pellets. It was like one of those scenes out of the Matrix, that awesome slow motion scene where the person actually dodges the blow, of course I didn't.

I received hits from Heath, Stu and her, so I went along with their little charade… I stumbled back a few times until I landed onto the couch. "Oh come on PJ, they were just foam bullets!" I hear the little one say as I am pretending to play dead.

We aren't on a 'Dad-daughter' level just yet.

Her name is Kimberly; Kimberly Noelle Lloyd and she's seven, a first grader, pretty tall for her age, tan like me – hell, she looks just like me – she's a spitting image, well sort of, there's a lot of her mother in her too.

"PJ!" she yelled and just as I sensed she was about to touch me, my head shot up and a scowl rang from my throat. Kim jumped back in surprise but she wasn't able to escape, I had enwrapped her tightly in my grip. "Lemme go!" she fought back but I was stronger.

It brought me back to that time in my life when Leslie and I were together, before Kim, before wrestling, before anything else really mattered.

"Stop it, Paul!" Leslie would giggle, the shoving was no use and even she knew it. And still, with this miniature of me, I felt that same connection, that affection and love from Leslie, I received it from Kim.

My thoughts boost back to reality as I let Kim escape. "Go get your things, it's getting late and we still need to make dinner," I said that with that same unchanged smile on my face.

"Gotcha, PJ!" she had run off to Heaths billiards room to find everything she came with. She was good like that, she had great attention, she could remember just about everything she brought with her, where she left it and where it would stay when she would bring it back home.

Unlike me; I can't even remember half the time if I packed a pair of good, clean trunks nowadays. My entire cycle has changed – for the better – but it has altered.

"By the way, thanks guys, I know watching a kid on your only day off is the last thing you were probably wanting to do," we had our little handshake, half shoulder hug, you know, whatever anyone wants to call it… anything but a bromance.

"Don't worry too much about it, man, she was a good kid." Stu reassures me.

"Uh…yeah, just for the record, don't go into the kitchen, we made pudding," Heath sounded a little guilty. "But it's okay, we kinda cleaned up most of it."

Oh, Kimmy, always is getting into trouble.

"I'm really sorry, man, I'll make it up to you, I promise." I apologize.

"Like Stu said, dude, no worries, she's seven."

I guess he does have a point, she really doesn't know any better… I think. You know, sometimes there are days when I wish I could call Leslie up and ask her were the off button to this kid is but I am at a terrible lost with that one.

A beep came from my pocket, my hand searched through my coat to find it, that repetitive noise annoyed me but I knew who was looking for me when it sounded; Daniela, my current girlfriend. We've been together six months, she doesn't know a thing about Kim, I wasn't sure how or if I should tell her, quite frankly I didn't think our relationship would last this long…

Daniela sent me a text… "Hey stud, are we still on for a movie at your place tonight? ;)"

Dammit, I totally forgot about that!

We made it home, the sun had already gone down, I was able to put together a little Mac and cheese with some hotdogs; I am not much of a cook, never really have been.

Kim was sitting on the couch watching some kind of comedy show on Nickelodeon or something while eating out of a container of roasted peanuts. It reminded me of Leslie. "You know, mom loved those too," I brought up as I approached her and sat down, placing both of our plates onto the coffee table.

She giggles. "Mom says you used to tell her she'd turn into a giant peanut if she kept eating them," she replies as she shoves another handful in her mouth.

"Yeah, and you will too," I smirked. I took the container off the couch, capped it and placed it onto the table. "C'mon, let's eat some real food."

For literally two years I have been living in this one bedroom condo by myself. Since my daughter arrived, I have demoted myself from a king sized bed to a full sized pull out in my suede couch. I gave up my room so she could have privacy and a place to sleep. My dresser became her dresser; my bathroom went from modern and casual to somewhat girlie and smelling of bubble gum scented shampoo. My iPod went from being full of my media to now full of hers too.

I gave up everything I could just so I could keep her happy, at home and satisfied. Not because I had to or because I wanted to but because I love her. I want her to feel in high spirits and know that even though Leslie isn't with her anymore that I am.

No one can replace her mom, that I know but I'm not trying to find someone that will, either.

After dinner was done, I pushed Kim off to the bathroom to shower and clean herself up for the night. I had a lot of packing to get done when she went off to sleep. Since I couldn't find her a babysitter, I have been opted to just take her with me. There is no way that anyone is going to want to watch a seven year old on last minute, I was lucky enough that Heath and Stu had my back for today.

It wasn't too long before she was out of the bathroom, sporting a child-sized Corre t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts, she was a little tomboy. It's kind of funny actually, she didn't like to take bubble baths like normal kids, but she adored showers though.

I left her in privacy, I didn't think it would be right to be in there with her, she's a girl and I'm her dad. To me, it would just be wrong, plus, I'm not sure of the boundaries that come with parenthood just yet and I really don't want to go crossing them now.

It wasn't too long after that that I was able to put Kim down for the night. As I approached the door, and reached for the light, I looked back toward her. Kimberly Noelle, my daughter, my biggest responsibility ever… and when she laid there like she was, curled up like that, she reminded me so much of Leslie. I miss Leslie, sometimes I even wonder what would have happened if I would have given up my dreams and goals about wrestling to raise my family, helped support Leslie with raising baby Kim.

We had a falling out and before I knew it, she moved back home and I was left in Florida… I received phone calls, she would tell me how the baby was and would send me pictures just about every week but they weren't the same as actually watching Kim grow and being there as a dad. I have missed seven years of her life as it is, and I'm not going to be missing anymore.

I smiled turned off the light. "I love you, Kimmy." I took one last look toward her before I slowly but quietly shut the door.

Daniela came over about a half hour after Kim went to bed, I had the place cleaned up, all the toys and little things that belong to my daughter were put away in her room. A knock came from the door, I had the movie already popped in and the popcorn just about done when I retrieved it.

"Pauly!" she greeted me, her blonde curls swinging over the sides of her face. She enters the walkway just before I closed the door, and then hurls her arms loosely around my neck. "I've been thinking about you all day," she played off her cuteness real well, but underneath was the stern attitude of a true diva.

"I missed you too," I lied. I missed Kim, I worried about her all day, how things were going with her and the guys and if she was being good like she had promised me she would be. I kissed Daniela's lips, they tasted like strawberries.

"I have the movie in, you ready for this Ella?" I asked.

To be honest, I don't really know why I am even with Daniela to begin with. She's really not my type, she's too much of a girly girl, I like girls with spunk, someone who's not worried with getting her hands dirty, likes to roughhouse with the bad boys… someone like Leslie.

Kim is a lot like her. I miss Les so much, I was never able to find another girl just like her, as compatible, lovable and passionate with anything and everything…

We only made it about twenty minutes in before things began to get hot and heavy. We couldn't be getting it on in the room opposite the bedroom my daughter is sleeping in; it would not end well, that I am pretty sure of.

"Do you wanna take this to the bedroom?" Daniela asked in between kisses. "So we can get comfortable,"

Reality hit me and suddenly I totally had to regain my composure, be the mature adult about this. "What?" I said at first. "No, why would we go in there?" I asked. I did my best to play it cool, I broke apart from her. "We haven't even finished the movie yet," I smirked.

"Oh, Paul, we don't need to watch the movie," she purrs, her lips formed into a sexy smile. "We never finish watching a movie, you should know this,"

"Well, uh, why don't we give it a try?" I stuttered. "There's a first for everything, don't you think?"

"Paul, what is up with you?" Ella asked, her voice became louder, as she sat up and stared at me. Her brows scrunched and her lips formed into a frown. "You're acting really odd, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I half-heartily smile. "Can you keep your voice down though?" I literally pleaded with her.

"Who's going to hear me?" now she wasn't any more convinced than before, I could tell just by the look in her green eyes.

"Uh…the neighbors?" I pondered.

At that moment, the bedroom door broke open and out came my daughter, boy shorts, Corre shirt and all. "Hey PJ, can you keep it down out here," she rubbed her eyes as she went to the kitchen, retrieved a glass of water, then back to the bedroom and closed the door.

"Who was that?" the shock in Daniela's face was more than I needed right now. "And why did she just call you PJ? You hate it when people call you PJ!"

I sighed, looking down to the pergo wood flooring. "We need to talk," I replied. My girlfriend looked at me, confusion lit her face. "I have a daughter and she's seven,"

"When were you planning on telling me you had a child?" Danielle had asked me – well; now she pretty much demanded it out of me.

"I never meant to hide it," I came clean. "It's a long, long story; I didn't know how you were going to take it…"

"How long have you had her?" my partner had asked me, her voice growing louder.

"Almost a year," my voice was calmer than hers, even though she was beginning to aggravate me. "Roughly around seven or eight months but pretty close to a year,"

"A year?" her voice began to flood itself with rage, she was anything but satisfied with my said answer. "So, what are you trying to tell me, Paul? That her mother just dropped her off one day because she just didn't feel like being a mother anymore and now you expect me to take care of her?" she asked. "I'm not picking up the slack for someone else's indecency,"

"Leslie wasn't like that," I started. "And I would never pass my child onto someone would never be able to replace her mother," My voice had become more stern, as my teeth began to clench.

Danielle didn't like knowing her stature was less than someone else's but this was fact; despite Leslie's unwillingness to have me in Kim's life because of my career, it didn't give Ella the right to judge someone when she didn't even have a clue to the background story of it all.

There was a silence between us for a little while and then suddenly Daniela picked her eyes up and looked at me. "You know what," she started. "I think I need to leave," She got up, collected her coat and then walked out.

I got up to stop her but it was too late. I stood in the middle of the room with my hands on the back of my head, not sure of whether I should be pissed off or just plain relieved that I don't have to keep hiding anymore like I'm some kind of convict.

"Kimberly Noelle Lloyd, I know you're awake; get your butt in here, right now!" I called. Just seconds later, I saw the bedroom door creek up and these little eyes stare out toward me. The door began to open and out came my mini-me.

"She broke up with you…" Kim's eyes looked sad as she stared up to mine. "…Because of me?" she asked. This had nothing to do with her, really, it didn't.

I don't know why I never tried to tell Ella before; I guess I was afraid that I was going to hurt Kimberly. "I'm not sure," I replied honestly. "I really don't know what to make of that," I chuckled a little, I guess I really don't care too much after all.

"So…" my daughter says. "Do you want to put on a movie?" she asks.

I smiled, there was still some popcorn left over from before and Kimmy looked like she wasn't in the mood for sleep anytime real soon. So I shut the previous movie off and popped in a different one; The Incredibles, her favorite one. We got comfortable on the couch, she curled up against me as I threw a throw blanket over us two. She smiled up to me, her eyes full of joy before they returned back over to the screen.

My daughter is such a tomboy, she's a handful, she's a troublemaker, she's more than I can take at times…but you know what, I wouldn't want her any other way than that because, baby, she's all I want.

I have been working on this for so long, I am so glad that it's finished because it was really picking my brain for a while. I really hope this was enjoyable, totally worth the read.

Go to wickedrobotics profile after you review and read hers too, I know she'd appreciate it as much as I do! :D

Xoxoxoxo
Shelly