Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 48th cycle. Now cycle 49!

"You & Me, Let's Go For A Ride"
Shelby & Beth, Emmett & Joanie, Shelby/Emmett
Shelby & Beth series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

He'd been watching Shelby and Joanie run around, getting lists and things together before going on this 'secret wedding errand.' He just sat there on the couch, holding Beth. The little blonde stood with her baby feet planted on each of his legs, above the knees, while he held her hands in his. He would make faces at her, watch her laugh and wiggle herself to an inch of falling over, but he'd never let that happen.

"Alright, we're going," Shelby finally came up, and Beth's head turned at the sound of her voice, making smiles go around. "You two going to be okay?" she asked, giving her daughter kisses on her cheeks.

"We'll behave," he joked, and Shelby nodded, moving to kiss him as well.

"Ready, let's go!" Joanie came in, and Emmett gave her a look. "What?" she frowned.

"Nothing," he promised while she came over and also kissed her sister and father goodbye. Once they were gone, he looked back to Beth. "So what do you think, paint ball?" he asked, getting a clueless smile. "Come on, princess," he smiled back, picking her up as he stood.

It wasn't that it never happened, but it was still rare to find him on his own with Beth. It just usually happened that Shelby was there, and if not then Joanie would be there. But he liked this, loved it.

Beth had become dear to him almost as soon as he'd met her, and it was with the months that followed, with his relationship to both Corcorans evolving, that she started to feel like family, like a daughter. The first time she had called him 'Dada,' he had felt a swell of emotion he only remembered feeling when Joanie herself was a baby. When he had proposed to Shelby it was with a promise to be a good husband to her, but also and absolutely without a doubt a good father to Beth.

They had begun discussing the process of him adopting her as well, to be recognized as her father. There was also talk of Shelby's position with regards to Joanie, though this would involve getting through to Nicole, and this was harder. They didn't need the papers to feel like a family, but if they wouldn't acknowledge that part of their family, then what was the point of acknowledging the other part with a wedding? So everyone would make it official, one way or another.

He got her dressed up to take her to the park. He liked going there with her, just as he'd done with Joanie when she was little. In her case, she would usually tire of the whole thing pretty quick, and she would screech until he took her away from there. But then he'd sit with her on a bench and she'd calm and be happy again, and then she'd fall asleep on his shoulder.

In Beth's case, it was the opposite. She couldn't get enough of the park, especially the swings. He wouldn't send her too high, something which didn't look to make her very happy, but then he'd keep swinging and she'd forget. This would usually require for him to sing along, and then her eyes would stay glued to him.

When the little swings had run their course, he'd take her to the sandbox. She would point to the edge and she wouldn't move until he came and sat with her, then she'd start dragging the sand about, taking little handfuls and depositing them into a bucket he placed at her side. When it was full, she'd look to him, and he would turn it over, producing a bucket-shaped tower, much to her delight. They would repeat the exercise until she'd made about four and a half bucket towers, and then she'd just knock them down with overpowering joy.

By the time he got her home, her eyes were fighting a losing battle with sleep. One bath later, she was out like a light. He kept her sleeping against his chest as he rested up on the couch, watching football on mute.

Sometimes he thought about children, other children. He knew Shelby couldn't have any herself, but he had to think… He wasn't too clear on her situation, it wasn't the kind of thing you just brought up out of the blue. Perhaps if they got a surrogate, maybe that could work. And if not, then they could always adopt.

He'd always been a family man. He'd had a small family growing up, something he would find himself regretting. When he had met and married Nicole, he had imagined them having four, maybe five kids… But by the time Joanie was born, already Nicole was lamenting the thought of ever doing this again, and then before long he could see that was just how it was going to be. He loved Joanie, and he was alright knowing she was his family.

Getting with Shelby now, having Beth come into the picture, it had reawakened something in him. Shelby had been honest about her situation, and that wasn't going to make him run away. He knew family mattered to her, too, and eventually they'd come to discuss this. For now they had the wedding to talk about.

He'd come close to accidentally waking Beth up about three times because of the game, so when he'd felt her stir and saw those blue eyes staring at him, he first thought it was his fault, but then he realized she had just woken up, and she was hungry.

He took her to her chair, turning her so she could see him, like always – she hated being stuck and unable to see anyone. It was hard to resist goofing off, with the way she'd stare at him. Joanie would call him a 'grade A goof.' Giving him a counter to hide behind and a captive audience of one in a high chair was an invitation to theatrics. He had been ducking down and popping up, when one pop up made him see his audience had tripled. He paused, just his head appearing above the counter top.

"Evening," he nodded. Joanie chuckled, while Shelby stepped up with a smirk.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to play with your food?"

"Not my food," he pointed out.

"Right," Shelby nodded.

He finished preparing Beth's dinner, which he fed her while he and the others ate – they'd brought home Chinese – and Joanie told him what they'd done that day, the non-secret parts anyway. Emmett divided his attention between both his girls.

Later, he would get Beth down in her crib. He read her a story first, and once she was asleep, he put her down, going to find Joanie's room door shut. He wasn't to enter, 'secret business' again – before going on to find Shelby.

"Is it safe to come in," he stopped outside the door.

"Always," she promised.

"Well, it's hard to tell these days," he joked, and she came to kiss his cheek.

"Did you and Beth have fun today?"

"Always," he turned it back on her.

"How many towers did she bust?"

"Almost five," he nodded. "Should we worry?" She laughed.

"I think we're good."

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!