So, this is going to be a fourshot based around Caleb's relationship with his bubba girl (I always thought that their first baby would be a girl, I don't know why), featuring Hanna, of course. The first chapter is set five days after she's been born, just under nine months after we left them in 7x20, so Hanna and Caleb are still living in the loft.

A quick note – someone asked me how to pronounce Isla when I sent them a snippet of this chapter, so just for reference, it's eye-la (and her nickname, Islee, is pronounced eye-lee).

Enjoy!

V Days

There's two things I know for sure:

She was sent here from heaven and she's daddy's little girl.

…

Oh, with all that I've done wrong, I must have done something right,

To deserve a hug every morning and butterfly kisses at night.

Sundays used to be a lazy day in the Rivers household.

But since the arrival of Isla Mae, that had changed; afternoons spent lounging around, watching movies and eating whatever they pleased, had been exchanged for diapers, crying, and desperately trying to get to grips with the entirely new experience that was parenthood.

Hanna and Caleb had only had four days of practice thus far; this was their fifth. They knew that they were far from mastering the act, but as Ashley had wisely informed them, nobody ever really got to that point, anyway.

Saturday had been spent shopping, searching for all of the bits that they'd forgotten, hadn't realised that they would need, or had run out of – they were going through diapers much faster than anticipated, much to Hanna's dismay. Sunday was turning out to be even more frantic despite the lack of outing; it was their first entire day at home on their own, without hospital staff, or visitors, or Ashley around to help them.

Caleb had worked on the baby's room a little, mostly just little bits here and there. They had tried to have everything ready before she was born, but then Hanna had started to get a little worked up towards the end of her pregnancy, and Caleb had taken her on an impromptu weekend away to help her unwind. Almost everything was finished, but there were a few wall hangings that Hanna was in love with that he still needed to nail up on the soft pink walls of their daughter's bedroom.

Hanna, meanwhile, had been desperately trying to juggle taking care of a newborn baby with answering incessant emails about the new clothing line that was supposed to be coming out with her name on it – maternity leave was just a myth in her eyes. It had barely been five days, and she was already working almost as much as she had been previously, but she figured that it would all be worth it in the end. She couldn't put the fashion world on hold to change a diaper, after all.

Caleb had, of course, made the whole thing a lot easier on her, doting on Isla whenever Hanna needed to take a call or just wanted a moment to herself, willingly pausing his DIY day to be with his favourite girls. He'd made them all breakfast, and lunch, and taken Isla for a walk around the block when she wouldn't stop crying after the sound of Caleb drilling a nail into the wall had gotten to be a little too much for her – sometimes he forgot for a split second that they had a newborn in the house and got a little careless.

He'd also finished his day of doting off with a flourish by making dinner for Hanna and himself; his signature pasta dish, and garlic bread, which had been Hanna's favourite food during her pregnancy – the craving certainly hadn't diminished, yet. They'd eaten in peace as Isla slept in her portable crib beside them; since they'd gotten home from the hospital, Hanna had been moving it to wherever they were in the house at the time, because she hated being away from her for any more than a second. Caleb guessed that it was a combination of first-time-mother nerves, and her unwillingness to let anything happen to their daughter after everything that had happened to her.

After their meal, the family had snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie together; Hanna's legs swung over Caleb's and her head resting against his shoulder, and Isla cuddled up against his chest, held by one of his arms. His other arm was wrapped around Hanna's back, his fingers alternating between drawing random patterns on her shoulder, and running through strands of her long hair.

They were watching The Princess Diaries – definitely Hanna's choice – and Caleb had previously warned her that he might fall asleep during it. Hanna had simply laughed and rolled her eyes. But, halfway through the movie, when Caleb asked Hanna what time her mom was coming to visit the following day and received no reply, he looked down to find her sound asleep against his shoulder. He could hardly blame her, because he knew that he was tired, and after having given birth only a couple of days previously, he imagined that the fatigue that she was experiencing was a thousand times worse.

Smiling down at the peaceful expression on her face, he stroked his thumb across her cheek before pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, his nose nuzzling through her hair once he'd done so. A tiny gurgle sounded through the air and interrupted the silence; Caleb felt a small stirring against his chest, and peered down at the baby in his arms to find that she was coming round from her slumber.

"Waking up just as your momma falls asleep, huh?" He murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to her head, just as he had with Hanna, "She'll be sad that she's missing out on these big beautiful eyes."

He was already obsessed with her mesmerising, bright blue orbs, which reminded him so much of Hanna's. They glistened full of hope, and he wanted nothing more than for the warmth and happiness and life that they encompassed to stay within them forever. They, she, was a reminder that Hanna and Caleb finally had everything that they'd ever needed – a family, and a future to call their own.

Though Caleb was content with admiring her tiny features, her button nose and pouted lips and miniscule little fingers and toes, Isla wasn't of the same mind-set; a high-pitched cry sounded through the air and Caleb sighed, knowing exactly what it meant. "Ah, it's dinner time for you, right?" He spoke in a hushed voice, as if she was able to respond, "Wish I could eat twelve meals a day." He rocked her gently in his arm as her cries increased in volume and pitch – Hanna was still sound asleep, thankfully, but she wouldn't be for long if Isla didn't get what she wanted. "Ok Islee, time to get some milk in that tiny belly."

Pulling his arm from around Hanna's back and carefully retrieving a cushion from beside her, he slid off of the couch, propping Hanna's head up with the pillow as he lowered her down onto the sofa. He smiled to himself at his handiwork, happy that Hanna was finally going to be able to get some well-deserved rest.

"So, where does mommy keep this milk huh?" He pondered to himself as he walked over to the fridge and scoured it, searching for the bottles of milk that Hanna had pumped earlier that day. She had given him a particularly long lecture about where they were going to keep anything and everything baby related, but the list had been so long that he may have forgotten a few of the things that she'd mentioned. "Aha," He congratulated himself as he located the bottles in a drawer at the bottom of the fridge, "Got 'em."

He turned the chosen bottle over in his hands a few times before looking down at Isla, then back up at the bottle. He'd never fed her alone before – she'd only been in the world for five days, and almost every single feed that she'd had up until that point had come straight from the source. Most of the others had been given to her in bottles by Ashley, who had jumped at the chance whenever Hanna wasn't around. Sure, he'd given her bottles once or twice, but Hanna had been there to prepare it, and to watch over him as he did it – not that she didn't trust him. He suddenly felt a little nervous at the thought of doing it alone.

"Ok," He murmured to himself, "So I'm guessing we've gotta warm this stuff up?" Isla made a small babbling noise in his arms and Caleb smiled down at her, "I'm taking that as a yes."

Making his way over to the sink, he adjusted Isla in his arms slightly so that her head was tucked up more securely against his body, and then reached out to turn the hot tap on. He held the bottle under it for a minute or so until it felt warm enough, and then wiped it off on a dishcloth. Isla's crying had quietened down a little, but she was still making small noises in his arms as she jerked her tiny arms about in protest.

Not wanting to wake Hanna up, he stayed in place in the kitchen, and brought the bottle down to Isla's heart-shaped lips. "Ok Islee, I know it's not the same as Mommy's boob, but you've gotta drink this for me," He muttured, desperately hoping that he was doing something, anything right. He'd read more parenting books than he cared to admit before she was born, but he still felt almost clueless when it came down to dealing with the real thing.

Isla gratefully latched onto the bottle as the tip passed by her lips, and Caleb grinned at his handiwork. He watched as she suckled for a moment before bringing it away so that she could take a breath – he had remembered Ashley mentioning something about that to Hanna. Isla gurgled, and happily swallowed down the liquid, before Caleb offered her some more. She seemed to be pausing all by herself this time, taking three or four gulps before she would swallow, tiny splutters of milk running down her chin.

Caleb couldn't stop smiling at the tiny baby in his arms; he never thought that he could be so enamoured by someone drinking, but here he was, completely unable to look away from his daughter as she had one of her evening feeds. He loved watching Hanna feed her, but there was something completely different about doing it himself – it was a whole new bonding experience.

As a kid, or a teenager, Caleb had never imagined wanting to started a family. He hated the word, the whole idea of being born into a group of people that were supposed to love and support you for the rest of your life. It was just a myth to him, something so far out of reach, so completely opposite to his reality, that he couldn't fathom the idea of it ever being real. He almost despised anyone who had what he didn't, who was handed it on a plate the day that they were brought into the world. Why should they have a home, people to depend on, a purpose, when he didn't?

But then he'd met Hanna, and his mind set had changed. Certainly not right away – when he'd originally been offered a 'room' in the Marin residence, his instinct had been to turn it down immediately. Why would he want to live alongside, what he had assumed would be, a perfect family? It would only serve to make him feel even worse about his situation. Why would he risk getting busted and someone calling social services, anyway? But the moment that Hanna had uttered the words 'my mom will never know', right before she'd handed him a scrunched up piece of paper with her address on it, something had clicked in his mind. Hanna had said 'mom'; not 'mom and dad', not 'parents'. Maybe her family wasn't so picture-perfect after all.

He'd agreed to stay, and never regretted it once. He'd come to realise that his first impressions of Hanna, and indeed her family, had been completely wrong. She wasn't some stuck-up beauty queen, void of any personality, and her family certainly wasn't anyone's idea of a fairy tale. But despite that, Hanna and her mom had taught him something that he'd never realised before – a family didn't have to be perfect. It didn't have to be the one you were born into, either. They had become his family, Hanna especially, and had even helped him to find blood relatives of his own.

Despite the fact that he was now in contact with both his birth mother and father, Caleb had never seen anyone other than Hanna and Ashley Marin as his real family. They had taken him in when everybody else had refused to do so; Hanna had taught him how to love, how to be loved. And now, their little family had a brand new member.

Even though she'd only been in the world for five days, it was hard for Caleb to remember a life before Isla. Looking down at her tiny, satisfied face as he fed her, he couldn't help but start to tear up a little. She was so innocent, so naïve and pure, so unaware of what was to come in her life, both good and bad. Caleb knew that he and Hanna would do everything that they could to give her the best life possible, but there would undoubtedly be some hurdles; in a way, he thought, they were almost more important than the good parts. He and Hanna would help her through them, help her to understand her place and purpose in the world, and give her all of the love and support that they had both been missing in one way or another as they had grown up themselves.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Caleb looked down to realise that Isla had stopped feeding – he must have been standing there for at least half an hour, he figured, given that that was usually how long she would breastfeed for. He put the almost empty bottle of milk down onto the kitchen counter and grabbed Isla's burping cloth from the back of the sofa, before sitting down on the spare couch cushion, next to where Hanna was sleeping.

"Please don't spit up all over me," He mumbled to himself, before throwing the cloth over his shoulder and then carefully lifting Isla up to it, making sure that her belly was pressed against him. He rubbed her back in slow circles, just as he had seen Hanna doing it. "That ok?" He asked in a high-pitched voice, to which he received a small burp from Isla in return. "Perfect," He smiled to himself proudly.

Five seconds later, a rush of warm liquid came flying out of Isla's mouth, and ran down the baby pink birthing cloth on Caleb's shoulder.

"Or, not so perfect," He rolled his eyes. Things had almost gone exactly to plan.

Sighing, he stood up from the couch, and walked into his and Hanna's bedroom to throw the cloth into their laundry basket. "Mommy won't be happy about having to wash that twice in one day," He laughed down at the tiny baby in his arms, before walking back into the living room and looking over at Hanna.

She was still fast asleep, her legs now curled up to her chest, and her head resting in her hand. He smiled at the sight, unable to resist going over to press a kiss to her cheek as he cradled Isla tightly against his chest. "My girls," He murmured to no one in particular as he pulled away, checking that he hadn't woken Hanna up.

He turned to face the TV, which was still playing The Princess Diaries, and reached out for the remote before turning it down a little. "We don't need the volume up, do we?" He whispered to Isla, "No we don't, because you can't understand it, and daddy can't understand why anyone would want to."

"Hey, don't talk about one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of all time like that," Came a groggy voice from behind him.

Caleb turned around to find a still half-asleep Hanna attempting to pull herself up into a seated position. "Hey," He smiled, "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok," She murmured, returning his smile, "I don't feel tired anymore, anyway. How long was I asleep?"

"Just under an hour," Caleb informed her, "Not long."

Hanna nodded, stretching her arms above her head before she spotted Isla cuddled up in Caleb's arms and grinned. "Has Islee been ok?" She asked, trying to get a good look at her as Caleb walked over to them.

"Amazing," He smiled fondly, "I fed her, by the way."

Hanna's grin immediately grew bigger, until it stretched from cheek to cheek. "I wish I could have seen it," She sighed dreamily, before pausing briefly, "Did she spit up on you?"

Caleb nodded and rolled his eyes; Hanna laughed.

"You want a drink?" He offered, knowing that Hanna's throat was usually dry when she woke up from a nap – not that she'd had many of them lately.

"I'm good," She shook her head, "But do we have any garlic bread?"

Caleb couldn't help but laugh at that – the cravings definitely still hadn't gone away.

"Always," He chuckled, "Has there ever been a time when we haven't had at least ten garlic breads in the fridge since your first trimester?"

Hanna simply rolled her eyes at him and laughed, "Hey, it's not my fault. If post-baby belly still wants garlic bread, then that's what it's getting."

"Fine by me," He shrugged, before walking over to the kitchen and pulling a pre-prepared garlic bread from the fridge. "Ok," He murmured to himself as he placed it down on the countertop before looking down at Isla, who was still cuddled up in his arms, "I might have to leave you with Mommy so that I can cook her some garlic bread, that ok with you Islee?"

"Mmm, not yet," Came a familiar voice as Hanna walked over to them, before wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, "I wanna stand here and watch you hold her for a little longer."

"Yeah?" He murmured as her hand stroked over his abdomen.

"Yeah. It's pretty much my favourite thing to look at," She confirmed, "Ever."

Caleb didn't think that he'd ever felt more content than in that moment; Hanna cuddled up against his back, and his baby girl cuddled up in his arms. He had everything that he'd ever needed, even if he hadn't always known it. Hanna was more than just his wife, she was his best friend, his world – now he had another best friend, a new person to share his world with, a tiny, perfectly-formed symbol of his relationship with the love of his life. His love for Isla was indescribable, a love so powerful that he could never have imagined feeling anything like it, if it hadn't been for Hanna.

After they had found out that Hanna was pregnant, Caleb had worried a little that he wouldn't have enough love to give; that because he'd only been used to having his world revolve around Hanna, he wouldn't be good enough, strong enough, worthy enough, to look after a baby too. But, after just five days, he'd already proved himself wrong. He'd doted on both of them day in and day out, and had thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of it.

He didn't need anything else, now that he had his girls.

"You know what my favourite thing about her is?" He mused, breaking the silence as he lowered his head so that his lips could brush against Isla's fine wisps of dark hair.

"What?" Hanna smiled as she propped her chin up on his shoulder, her arms tightening around his waist.

Caleb slowly moved his thumb up to Isla's face as she babbled in his arms, before he gently traced the outline of the small indent in her cheek. "Her dimples," He murmured, "She has her mommy's dimples."

Hanna found herself blushing at his comment; she buried her face into his back, and failed miserably to hold back the wide grin that threatened to spread from cheek to cheek. "Her dimples, huh?"

"Yeah," He nodded, moving his free hand to rest on top of hers, intertwining their fingers, "Because every time she smiles, I'm reminded of you."

Hanna felt her face burn an even brighter shade of red, and laughed against him, "Stop making me blush," She chided him, "You can be so sappy sometimes."

"It's true," He shrugged, revelling in the fact that he still had such a profound effect on her.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments as Hanna moved her hand up to meet Caleb's, which was cradling the back of Isla's head. She stroked her fingers over the back of his, letting them linger there for a moment before they traced over her daughter's few fine hairs. "We have so much to look forward to now that she's here," She eventually murmured, breaking the silence.

Who was being sappy now? Caleb thought. But he decided not to tease her about it, because he secretly loved her emotional ramblings about their life together. She could put into words all of the wonderful things that they were both feeling better than he ever could.

"I can't wait," He answered honestly after a beat, his voice hushed.

"Her first words, her first steps, her first day at school," She sighed dreamily, "Her wedding day."

"Woah woah woah," Caleb interrupted, turning around to face her before taking a step back, "That escalated a little too quickly, I don't wanna be thinking about that yet."

"About what?" Hanna raised her eyebrows, chuckling to herself at Caleb's discomfort.

"Her wedding day," He mumbled, looking down at the tiny baby in his arms, "She's only five days old, I don't even wanna think about her turning one, let alone the day that she gets married."

Hanna laughed gently, before stepping forward to stroke the tip of her index finger against the soft skin of Isla's cheek, being careful not to wake her. "Ok," She smiled, "Deal. No more talking about her wedding day, for now."

"Good," Caleb murmured, looking up at Hanna and meeting her gaze before he looked back down at Isla, "I want her to stay tiny forever."

So that's part one – part two is coming very soon, and will based around Caleb and a five-year-old Isla… it also may or may not have been written by a very special guest author. Just let me know in a review if you'd like a preview of it! As always, reviews are very much appreciated x