A/N: Just some fluff for Reese and his girl. I hope you like!
Girl After My Own Heart
Reese walked tiredly into his bedroom to find his wife bundled beneath the heavy comforter… snoring. She had not had a good night's sleep in over 3 weeks and he knew she was beyond exhausted. A little over 2 weeks ago, they brought their baby home and Cali Alexis Reese was proving herself to be a stubborn little soul.
Try as she might, Carter still had not gotten Cali on a schedule.
One day, Cali would be up every hour on the hour demanding sustenance, cleaning or both.
On another day, like clock work, Cali would wake every four hours or so during the day to be fed and then she would promptly go back to sleep. As soon as night came though, she would be up every hour.
On yet another day, Cali would sleep until Carter would have to wake her to feed her. And even then, she would only eat if she was in the mood to suckle. The second time Cali had to be woken from her slumber to be fed and refused to eat, a baby blues afflicted Carter burst into tears. Reese came running and asked what was wrong. All Carter could do was cry that her baby would not eat, that she never had this problem with Taylor. Reese had no idea what to do or how to console his wife, so he called his mother-in-law.
When Carter's mother arrived, she was able to soothe the Reese household.
She told her daughter not to worry if Cali did not eat. When she was hungry she would eat. She told her daughter to stop trying to put her grandbaby on a schedule. If Cali slept more than four hours, they should wake her and feed her if she was hungry. Otherwise just go with Cali's flow.
Carter was soothed. Reese was soothed. Cali, in grandma's arms, was soothed.
"Baby, did you forget how newborns were" Carter's mother asked as she looked down at her granddaughter in her arms.
"Taylor wasn't like this" Carter said. "He was easy because he had only one routine."
Intent on defending her grandbaby, Carter's mother countered.
"Cali got it honest. You were all over the place too for those first 3 weeks and you didn't let your mother sleep a wink either."
The practice of sleeping while her baby slept eluded Carter this time around. With Taylor, it was a piece of cake. With Cali, it was an entirely different story. It seemed as if anytime Cali fell asleep, insomnia attacked Carter. She could not seem to close her eyes. Just when she was able to begin drifting, when her eyes began to droop, her sweet baby girl would sound the alarm.
Reese did his best to do his part but more times than not, Carter would insist that she had things under control. He needed to rest because he was still working. She had plenty of time to catch up on her sleep because she was taking a year off. Carter was stubborn like that. More often than not Reese lost the argument.
Even before she was born, Carter swore Cali was stubborn like her father. Reese swore she was stubborn like her mother. Tonight both his stubborn ladies had been sleeping soundly for the last few hours.
Reese entered the walk-in closet. He stripped down to his boxers then grabbed his pajama bottoms and a tee shirt and put them on. He walked to the bed, lifted the comforter and slid in.
Reese settled himself nicely up against Carter's backside. He wrapped his arm around her waist and laid his other arm across the top of her pillow. He looked at his sleeping baby on the monitor just before slowly closing his eyes.
Reese did not know how much time passed before he heard the whimpering. He expected to feel Carter move because she woke from her sleep at the slightest sound coming from the baby monitor. Seconds passed, then a minute. Two minutes had gone by. Carter was still sleeping soundly... and snoring.
Reese slowly opened his eyes and looked at the monitor. As the moments went by, Cali's whimpering became more aggressive. Reese waited a few more seconds before he reached over and turned off the monitor. Carter still had not budged so Reese rolled over to his side and got out of bed. He knew Carter would chastise him for not waking her up but he was in control now and he was going to let her sleep.
Walking into Cali's room, Reese turned on the low dim lamp next to her crib and was greeted with what he swore was a frown. He grinned as he reached for his baby girl. With one hand cradling her head and the other cradling her bottom, Reese lifted Cali out of her crib and brought her tiny nose to his lips for a kiss. He caught a whiff of her diaper and knew she needed to be changed. Laying Cali down on the diaper changer, Reese unsnapped her sleeper then undid her diaper.
Reese crinkled his nose at the foul smelling package Cali deposited in her diaper. He told his baby girl she was stinky, a term he learned from her mother. He raised a brow and laughed when his little soldier simply smiled at him as she deposited a bit more poop for him to clean up.
Once she was clean, dry, fresh smelling and her sleeper was snapped again, Reese lifted Cali up and cradled her in one arm. He asked if she was hungry. He rubbed her bottom lip with his forefinger. She opened her mouth, latched on to the tip of his finger and began suckling.
Reese turned and walked out of Cali's room to the kitchen. Carter had pumped a couple of bottles earlier and they were still in the refrigerator. He took one of the bottles from back of refrigerator and ran hot water over it for several minutes, shaking it at intervals. Cali was getting restless for her meal and Reese told her to hold on. She accepted that… for a minute, then she began to cry. Reese gently rocked her, hoping to quiet her before she got too loud. He did not want to chance waking Carter up.
When the rocking did not help, Reese laid the bottle in the sink under the running hot water. He lifted Cali up and laid her on his shoulder. He rubbed her back, turned his lips to her tiny ear and spoke in a calming tone.
He told his little one he knew she was hungry and her bottle would be ready in a bit. He told his little one mommy was sleeping and they did not want to wake her. He told his little one it was just the two of them hanging out for now because mommy was really tired.
Cali, the daddy's girl that she is and was from the moment she was conceived, was comforted by her father's soothing voice and she settled down. Reese kissed her temple and continued to rub her back until her bottle was ready.
Taking his little lady to the couch, Reese sat down and fed her. Cali took her time but she finished every last drop of her bottle. Reese wondered if she was still hunger and tried to give her the bottle nipple again. Cali was nice and full so she pressed her lips shut. Reese put the bottle down and lifted Cali up on his shoulder to burp her.
After burping her, Reese cradled Cali in his large hands and simply stared at her. Cali returned the favor and starred back. Reese smiled when her tiny mouth stretched into a big yawn. He thought she would soon drift off to sleep. Cali surprised him by staying awake and being content where she was… in daddy's hands, staring into his eyes. She eventually smiled and Reese wondered what he often wondered since the day Carter told him he would be a father.
What did he do to deserve this, what did he do to deserve this precious child of his?
Cali Alexis Reese was a gift. He knew he did nothing to deserve her but she was his anyway. He would treasure her. He would guard her. He would give his life for her.
Looking at Cali, she fit perfectly in his hands… as perfectly as he fit wrapped around her little finger. She would always be this child cradled in his hands, this child who was cradled in his heart.
He would give her the best of everything. He would give her the best of himself. No one, no one but God himself would ever love and treasure her more than he did.
He would protect her from the evils of this world. If her mother let him, he would protect her from the male species entirely. He would keep his sniper rifle handy to pick off any nuisance that looked in her direction. If any knucklehead darken his door in an attempt to get near her, he would plan the when, where and how to disappear the fool who dared to think he was good enough for his Cali Alexis.
He would do everything in his power to give her a safe and loving home, a safe and loving life. If that was ever not enough, he would do more.
Reese smiled as his eyes began to water. He loved this little girl more than he could ever say. He would never be able to adequately express just how much she meant to him.
In that moment, Cali smiled up at her father and warmed his heart all over again. Reese lifted her up, kissed her soft cheek then held her at eye level.
"Daddy loves you" he said quietly. "And he always will."
Cali's tiny lips went from a smile to a big yawn and this time, Reese could see her eyelids getting heavy. He kissed her nose then settled Cali on his chest as he leaned back on the couch and stretched out his legs. Reese kissed the top of her head and began to rub Cali's back as she drifted off to sleep.
Daddy and daughter… this was one of those moments that Reese would cherish for as long as he drew breath.
Thirty minutes later, Cali was sleeping soundly. Reese took her back to her room and gently laid her in her crib. He reached down and touched her soft cheek. He watched her breathe in and out for a few moments. When he looked up to turn and head out of the room, Reese's eyes fell on the plaque that Carter had Taylor put over Cali's crib while they were at the hospital bringing her into the world.
My prince already came and his name is daddy
Reese smiled again. That wife of his was more than he ever hoped for. When she saw a chance to make him feel special, she did. That first night when they brought Cali home and he saw the newly hung words over his baby's bed, Reese choked up.
"Cali and I talked and she decided that her prince was her daddy" Carter whispered as she wrapped her arms around him.
Reese looked down at Cali, his precious princess once more before he turned out the light and headed back to bed. When he walked into their bedroom, Reese saw that Carter had not moved an inch and was still sound asleep.
Reese climbed in bed and once again settled himself nicely up against Carter's backside, wrapped his arm around her waist and laid his other arm across the top of her pillow. He turned the monitor back on and looked again at his sleeping baby.
Carter stirred the moment Reese climbed back in bed. She opened her eyes after he reached over and turned the baby monitor back on. She looked at the monitor then the alarm clock.
"Cali's still sleeping" she asked groggily, thinking her baby had been asleep for the last 6 hours.
"She woke up 2 hours ago" Reese said. "I changed her" he continued before Carter could ask why he did not wake her. "Fed her and she's been hanging out with her old man. She told me she was going to take a 4 hour nap" Reese snuggled even closer to his wife. "Now go back to sleep."
"Thanks honey" Carter whispered as she laid her hand on the arm that was hooked around her waist and quickly drifted back to sleep.
His wife in his arms, his daughter in his line of sight…
His girls… girls after his own heart… girls who captured his heart… girls who would hold his heart… forever.
What more could he ask for?