Stories made for WWDD Facing Fatherhood in chronological (Ashley's age) order:
Facing Fatherhood: Taking care by Sonea27
Facing Fatherhood: Baby in the Bathwater by Entrenched
Facing Fatherhood: A Journey of A Thousand Milesby Steph-Schell
Facing Fatherhood: Bedtime Stories by Fell4
Facing Fatherhood: Five Hours in Ye Old London (Chapter 8) by cabinet of curiousities
A/N: Named for the old Chinese proverb. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".
Helen sighed as she caught a flash of light at out of the corner of her eye. "Again?" she asked as she turned to her husband.
John looked up from where he was cuddling their daughter. "She was going to fall," he explained.
Helen sighed again and reached for Ashley. John obligingly put the young child into his wife's arms. "John, babies fall. Then they get back up and try again. If you try to catch her every time she falls, she will never learn to walk."
"I just don't want her hurt."
"Being hurt, in this instance, is the only way she's going to learn."
John did his best to look properly ashamed. But part of him didn't want to admit the real reason he kept coming to save his daughter was that he was slightly afraid of her growing up. Walking was just the beginning. Soon she'd be speaking, growing, becoming interested in boys, leaving her parents behind to start her own life. John didn't think he could be as attached to a person as he was to Helen. Then his wife gave birth. Sometimes John felt like the entire world dimmed down to just him and Ashley. "I'll keep that in mind," he said.
Helen smiled at him. "Believe me, John. Once you see her walking, it will be worth it."
"I won't do it again," John said absently. "You have my word."
Helen just shrugged and let John take Ashley back. If her husband didn't want to listen he wouldn't. But right now she had work to do. She would give him until the end of the week and if John was still 'protecting' Ashley from walking Helen would send him on a long term mission. Helen would rather have John miss his daughter's first steps than keep the girl from having them.
John took Ashley to the parlor where he settled her with some toys so he could do his work. The room was small enough that Ashley could crawl around as she pleased without getting into too much trouble and there was nothing that would harm her short of legs of furniture if she ran into them.
He was immersed in his work when he heard the soft noises of his daughter. John looked over to see her once again using furniture legs to pull herself up and toddle about. The next thing was the arm of the sofa he was sitting on. But it was several steps away from where she was. "Well come on," John encouraged.
Ashley tried to move forward but went tumbling over her feet. Once she righted herself, she looked at John with what he imaged was an accusatory glare. "Don't give me that look," he replied. "I gave your mother my word. If you want to come over here you'll have to do it yourself."
Ashley's look turned to possibly determination as she got back to her knees. John expected her to crawl over but he should have known the daughter of Helen Magnus wouldn't take the easy way. Ashley slowly, carefully got her legs under her and began to try standing up. She fell two more times before she got steady.
John watched with baited breath as Ashley tentatively stuck her left foot out. As it held, she set her right in front of it. Several clumsy and wobbling steps later, Ashley was in front of her father holding out her arms to be picked up. John smiled as he lifted his little girl into his lap. "Your mother was right," he said. "As usual."
Ashley giggled and reached for his ear. "I think between the two of us, we might just figure this life thing out," John decided. "What do you say?" Ashley gently tugged on his ear. John took that as agreement.