It happened at dawn.
He had heard it first, the soft sniffles and then the timid cries. He looked over to his sleeping wife and saw how cuddled up in their blanket she was. He hadn't the heart to wake her and tell her it was her turn to go check on her, Not that he ever woke her anyway. He was smiling softly down at her and pushing back loose strands of her hair when the cries became more persistent. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his pyjama pants, not bothering with a shirt.
He tip toed out of the bedroom and down the hall, creaking open Amy-Jane's door and closing it softly with a click. He walked over to the crib and saw the pink bundle of trouble wide eyed and sniffling still. The minute she saw him though, the cries ceased and she beamed up at him making grabbing motions with her raised arms. He laughed softly and scooped her up in his arms, walking over and sitting on the rocking chair in the corner of the room.
"What are you doing up trouble?" Austin cooed down at his daughter. But it was true, at only six months old she was beginning to get herself into all sorts of trouble. It started with her learning how to open doors and presses and slam them shut, then it was her hiding behind curtains and couches sending both Austin and Ally into a panic when ever she crawled off. And not to mention last weeks fiasco of her crawling into a garden hole her grandfather Lester had dug for some plants, getting herself covered in mud and dirt in the process.
Ally said that she had hoped AJ would turn out a little like herself on the behaviour scheme of things, but she was just like her father. Austin just grinned whenever she said that because it was true, his baby was just like him and he loved it. The only thing about AJ that was remotely like Ally was her looks. The child had a head of chocolate little curls and deep brown eyes, not like Austin's bright blonde hair or hazel eyes. He didn't mind that though, it was like having a miniature Ally around, in fact he quiet loved it.
"AJ sweetie, you've gotta go back asleep, Or daddies going to be really tired and so are you and then poor moma's going to have to take care of two cranky kids". Austin smiled down at his daughter, she was beginning to nestle her head into the crook of his elbow and turn herself into his chest giving a soft sigh of contempt. It was times like this that he was so thankful his life turned out the way it is now. He has a beautiful wife who also happens to be his best friend and now he has another beautiful girl in his life, his daughter.
Once Austin finished his daydreaming he looked down at AJ and saw that she had fallen back to peaceful sleep. When he stood and brought her over to the crib though, he found it very hard to put her back in. He never wanted to leave her out of his arms. He gently kissed her forehead and nuzzled her cheek with his nose, swaying back and forth with her in his arms. That's when he heard the door creak open and reveal a very tired but amused looking Ally. Her hair was tied up into a messy bun and she was clad in a pair of sleeping shorts and one of his old t-shirts.
"It's hard isn't it?" she said to him, walking further into the room and closing the door behind her. "What's hard?" Austin replied, although he had a feeling what she was talking about. Ally walked up behind him and wound her arms around his waist, On her tip toes and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's hard to put her back down when she's so peaceful" Ally smiled at her husband knowingly. Austin nodded and turned to kiss Ally's cheek.
"Its more than that though, Someday I'm not going to be able to hold her all cuddled up in my arms and that scares me. So I treasure the moments that I still can" Austin sighs as he gives his wife, then his daughter another kiss on the forehead. "I know exactly what you mean" Ally whispers. Austin hands AJ to Ally for a minute before going to sit over on the rocking chair again. Ally looks at him confused before he beckons her over to him with a hand. She walked over and his strong arms wined around her waist gently pulling her down onto his lap as not to disturb AJ.
Ally tucks herself into him just like AJ had done moments before and AJ in turn tucks herself into Ally. Austin just smiles and places a gentle kiss onto Ally's lips. "How did we get so lucky All's?" He asks her smiling. "We made our own luck Austin, just like we made her" Ally looks down on her daughter with pure adoration and love. Austin watches as Ally gently combs her fingers through their daughters unruly curls and places her head into the crook of his neck.
"I Love you so much" He whispers to her, placing his own head down on top of Ally's. "And I love you too, so so much" She whispers back, kissing his jaw. When Ally looks over and realises the time, she lets out a little yawn. Austin reaches behind the chair and grabs the blanket and rests it over all three of them. Ally quirks an eyebrow but says nothing, Austin answers her unasked question anyway.
"It's getting bright out now so we might as well stay here, not that I even want to move" he says. Ally just nods her head and they both give one quick glance down at their whole world. AJ has a small smile fixed onto her cheeky little face. They both giggle before giving each other a small kiss and closing their eyes. It didn't happen that AJ would wake and go back to sleep so quickly like she had often, so they cherished every minute of sleep they got. It happens usually in the middle of the night. But this time it happened at dawn.