"Come here Mary-Mary-Quite-Contrary."
He lifted his newborn daughter up from her makeshift cradle, holding her close to his chest as he fumbled his other hand with her bottle. She fussed as he tried to get her to drink, but he just shrugged. "Sorry sweetie. I know it ain't Mommy, but we all have to deal."
Walking into the living room, he patted her back gently as she drank from the bottle, her tiny brow furrowed in frustration. She did not like her bottle. He knew if she had it her way she'd sleep all day, but sadly, nutrition and the occasional diaper change kept her from this preference.
The door to the quiet house burst open, a grimy, dirt-covered child stomping in, her little freckled nose wrinkled, and her green eyes flashing fire.
Uh oh, he thought, glancing at her. "What's wrong Lilly?"
"I hate that Romeo!"
Great. He sighed, moving Mary to his shoulder to burp her. "What'd he do now?"
She spun away from the trunk filled with her toys, a large umbrella in her hands. "He won't marry me!"
"You told him no!"
"I was..." she stomped her foot, fighting for the correct word to use. "Confused!"
He just smiled politely at her, his eyes softening. "What were you confused about sweetheart?" This wasn't really his area, he thought. This was a mother-daughter thing. Hell, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do with a daughter. Then again, he had the sneaky suspicion that if they ever had more kids, he'd probably only have girls.
Karma was a kick in the ass.
The little girl shrugged her shoulders, the umbrella falling. "Dunno. Just heard Mommy say it once bout' you."
Um, what? He frowned, glancing down at her. A loud belch sounded in his ear, then a sob. He smoothed his fingers across his little daughter's back, comforting her as the thoughts raced through his mind.
His oldest daughter glanced up at him, shrugging again. "I like him Daddy."
"He's the only guy here your age."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Daddy, this is serious."
"You're four," he reminded her, taking her hand and leading her out into the backyard. They sat down on the porch swing, his legs stretching out in front of him, while hers dangling over the side, her little tennis shoes slipping off her feet.
They rocked in silence for a moment, while he tried to think of what else to say to make her feel better. "So..."
"So?"
Oh holy crap. This was stupid. "Lilly you're four. You don't got to get married now. Now, Romeo came to me about a month ago and he wanted to marry you. I said yes. You guys can get married if you want."
"But he said no when I asked!" she cried out, rubbing at her nose. Dirt smeared across her cheek. "So pushed him in the dirt."
"Maybe that's why he said no."
"But I always push him in the dirt!"
Well she learned from her mother, he thought, briefly recalling the multiple times he'd been hit, pushed, or attacked by her mother. "Okay," he said, moving the little baby to the center of his chest, where she was already fast asleep. "Why don't you say sorry to Romeo and then maybe he'll say yes?"
The expression on her face was priceless. He might have well suggested she fling herself off a cliff into the ocean. "Sorry?" she echoed, with the slightest hint of a lisp.
He quickly zeroed in to see one of her front two teeth was just about ready to fall out. Hmm, then maybe he would have something to do with her. He could teach her to spit water out, but now wasn't the time for that. "Sorry," he repeated, nodding gravely. "Sometimes you gotta' say it."
"But..."
"Lilly. Sometimes you have to say it." He frowned slightly. "Now what did your momma say about me and being confused?"
She waved a hand, shrugging. "Dunno. Can't member'. Okay. I'll go say sorry for pushing him in the dirt." Her little green eyes sought his and she smiled, matching dimples appearing in her cheeks. "I like him a lot. We're bestest friends."
"Let me know if you guys get married," he advised her, walking with her back around to the front of the house, where the little blond boy waited, holding out a pink daisy.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, giving her the flower. "I'll marry you."
"Oh yay!"
He grinned stupidly, watching his daughter run off with her friend. They stopped at the swings and quickly set about seeing who could go the highest, while they discussed their wedding plans.
"I see they're friends again."
Turning, he saw her walking towards him, piling her hair up on the top of her head. He frowned slightly. "Take it down."
"Sawyer it's hot and sticky." She smiled serenely at her sleeping daughter, who seemed to be permanently glued to her father's chest. Her hand covered the tiny little head, smoothing down a stray dark curl. "She's so beautiful."
"Like someone else I know," he whispered, gazing down at her embarrassed face. It flushed pink and only served to make him love her more. "Heard something interesting today."
"Oh yeah?"
"Seems Lilly overheard you saying that you were confused about me." He stopped in front of their house, brow furrowed. "What was that about?"
Licking her lips, she glanced away, then back at him before breaking into a smile. "She said I was confused?"
"Yeah."
One of her arms came up to drape around his neck, while her other rose up, her hand cupping his cheek. "I love you," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. He knew this because she didn't often say the words. When she did utter that phrase, it was often when she meant business, when she needed him to know. "I told Juliet I wasn't confused about my feelings. Not like a long time before."
"You were confused about your feelings?" he asked quietly. "When?"
"Before I had two of the most beautiful girls imaginable with you. Before you asked me to marry you multiple times." She grinned widely. "Before I decided that yeah, marriage might not be such a bad thing, even on an island."
His eyes widened. "You want to marry me, now?"
Giggling like a little school girl, she wrinkled her nose, standing up on her tip toes to kiss him gently. "Uh huh."
"Okay. Should we get Hugo to do it?"
She could only smile. "Sure, why not?"
He draped his arm over her shoulder, keeping his other closed to his chest while he held the baby. "We better make it a double wedding."
"Why?"
Just then they paused, watching another tall blonde walk towards them, trying to contain her giggles. "Did you hear?" she called out.
"Hear what?"
"I guess Romeo and Lilly are getting married. Now. In the backyard."
"This I gotta' see," he commented, going around one of the backyards just in time to see Romeo and Lilly frowning at each other. "What's going on guys?"
"I don't want to do it!" she exclaimed, shaking her head, her hair flying about her face in a wild mass. "I won't!"
"Me either!" the little boy agreed. "No, no!"
All of the adults looked around. "Won't do what?" Romeo's father asked.
Both of the kids looked up at him like he was stupid. "Kiss," the little girl said, giving him a 'duh' expression. "I won't kiss him."
"Thank god," he exclaimed, almost loud enough to wake the baby on his chest. "You're too young."
"You kiss Mommy."
"Because I like it," she piped up. "I want to kiss him too. Now guys, are you married or not?"
The little boy kicked at a stray rock. "I guess, but I don't want to play anymore. I want to go play with Ji Yeon."
Little green eyes flashed. "You what?"
"Bye Lilly."
She watched her best friend/husband walk away, dragging a stick on the ground as he went. Her face contorted in a confused and odd expression. "Fine!" she yelled. "I hate you Romeo!" Then she stalked away, kicking and pushing anything in her way.
Standing near the house, the doc shrugged. "Well I guess that's it then."
"Not quite. We're getting married."
"That's great," the blonde enthused, clapping her hands together. "When?"
Both exchanged a look and just shrugged. She gave a small wave, steering him back to the house. "I thought Lilly was supposed to be thirteen when the pouting and the screaming and ranting were to begin."
"We got a lot to learn about girls Freckles. Before you know it, this one will be talking about marrying Jack's kid," he commented, gesturing to the sleeping infant.
In the other room, flopped out on her bed, Lilly peered up at the ceiling. "I'll get you Romeo Shepard," she grumbled, hitting her pillow. She glanced out the window to see him moping around his house. "Ha ha. Ji Yeon don't like him. She likes Aaron!"
She watched him a moment longer, sighing heavily. Chasing after Romeo was tiring. "Maybe tomorrow."
THE END
