Chapter 2 - Daddy Emmet

Regina had a lot of paperwork in the office. She is the secretary of the mayor and she swear to God that woman doesn't know how to run the town. She is the one who does most of the work and of course the credit goes to the mayor. But she isn't complaining, she never wanted to be anyone's attention besides her husbands.

As smile spread through her face when she thought about Emmet. He is working at the new tunnel being built just outside the town line. Regina bit her lower lip as she squeezed her legs tighter thinking about his body covered in sweat and his muscles flexing with the effort. She shook her head to remove the thoughts and buried herself in paperwork. May be she could do something about 'that' later.

Emmet had been panting when he finished unloading and securing the last load of metals needed for tomorrow's work. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he looked at the watch. Regina must have gotten home as her office is only few blocks away from their house. She choose to walk from work in the evening as Emmet would drop her off in the morning in his pickup truck. He smiled thinking about his wife saying 'Walking is good for health'. Everything about Regina was like that. She is precise and organised not at all like him. She eat healthy food and lived a healthy lifestyle, something he would never understand. But he love her no matter how bossy she can be on times.

He took his tool box as it was end of his days work and walked toward his new Ford Raptor truck, which he got a few months ago. He loved his truck more than anything, well after Regina. He drove to their house blasting music as usual.

Regina was walking down the road when she heard a faint meowing sound coming from nearby. She stopped walking and listened carefully just to make sure. Then it was heard again. A small meowing sound which was barely audible.

She looked around for the sound but couldn't find anything. That's when she saw a box under a bench which was build for morning walkers. It was a tiny cardboard box ,almost the size of a shoe box. She carefully kneeled down and picked up the box and sat down on the bench.

She heard the meowing again and finally feeling dejected she opened the box. She gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a tiny kitten only the size of her palm. It had orange and white stripes, but the orange stripes were thicker than the white ones. It also had small black dots here and there. Her eyes started to fill with tears as she cooed and took the kitten from the box. The tiny kitten quickly latched onto her hand as if begging her to not leave it. She held the kitten closer to her body and stroked it's fur slowly.

"Awww... Aren't you a sweet little thing...oh my poor baby.. Who left you huh?" she asked the kitten in a baby voice which was rewarded with a meow and the kitten snuggled further into her warmth.

Regina stroked the kitten. Suddenly her eyes fell on a letter placed in the shoe box. She held the kitty closer to her with one hand and opened the piece of paper.

"Hi,

My name is Peaches. I am the only survivor of a litter and my mother won't accept me. My owner couldn't leave my mother. So here I am waiting for someone to take me. Please don't leave me in the cold. I am a good kitty and I will give lots of kisses and cuddle.

With love,

Peaches. "

Regina started sobbing after she finished reading the letter. Somehow she felt this kitten being related to both her and Emmet as both of them suffered so much trauma in their childhood. She didn't want to leave the kitty alone.

" Guess i'm taking you home Peaches. Awww...its a cute name. And it's not just me okay. You will have a daddy also. I don't know how to make him convince to take you. But don't worry I will take care of it. You just stay all cute and fluffy." Regina cooed the kitten and placed it in her coat pocket to keep her warm. The kitten fell asleep immediately surrounded by the warmth.

Upon arriving home Regina started freaking out. Emmet and her never had a pet. Emmet was never a cat person. He loathed cats. He was more of a dog person. Regina on the other hand loved both. But she was a definitely a cat person. They had arguments on deciding to get a pet before. At the end they always came to a decision to no pets. He will be home in half an hour as the new workplace is pretty long from their house.

She looked at the kitchen floor where she had placed Peaches in a small wooden box Emmet had built for her garden. She was sound asleep covers in some old blankets and some of Emmet's old t shirts. She chewed her lips thinking of a way to tell this to Emmet.

She shook her head when nothing came up but suddenly stopped when she saw a poster she got from the diner she ate lunch. It had a picture of burger in it and an idea clicked in her mind. Food is one among the few ways to get into Emmet's heart. If he is given good food he would say yes to almost anything. Regina smiled as she started gathering stuff for making a cheesy dinner for her husband.

"I guess daddy would say okay to this. Don't you Peaches?" she asked the kitty who was still asleep on her new bed.

Emmet parked his truck in their driveway. He cut the engine and closed the door as he made way toward their house. As usual he entered the house but slowed down when he smelled cheesy delight in the air.

"Hmm... Something smells amazing... Honey i'm home" he called out as he quickly discarded his boots and tool box along with his coat.

"Hey baby..." Regina greeted him at the living room with a sweet kiss.

"Mm...I smell cheese." he said once they separated. And closed his eyes to smell the air.

"Do you always think about food or me?" Regina asked playfully as she hooked her arms behind his neck.

"Food..." Regina fake glared "but mostly you" Emmet continued as he was slapped in the chest lightly.

"But seriously what's the occasion? You don't make things like these at home. Hell you won't let me eat it outside also...unless...you have something to get from." Emmet's eyes widened as he thought of the worst thing his wife would make him do.

"Baby.. Please tell me we are not going house shopping again" he practically started pouting as he dramatically lowered his head on her shoulder.

"What? I thought you loved shopping with me" Regina glared as she crossed her arms and pulled her husband away from her.

"Baby trust me I love shopping with you..well if it was for bikinis of course. But it takes you ages to decide on a product when we go for house shopping. And I kind of gets bored you know." Emmet scratched his head lightly as he refused to look at his wife.

" Are you serious now? " Regina threw her arms up in the air.

" I can't believe you have been faking it all these times. " she said it in a tone which was no doubt a bit of hurt.

Emmet flinched slightly as he felt bad for saying it. But he didn't meant to hurt her.

" I am sorry baby. I didn't mean it like that.." he quickly took Regina in his arms and peppered her forehead with light kisses. " Am sorry baby. You know what I will come with you on all shopping and I wont complain about anything. I promise baby...please don't cry. " he lifted Regina's face to see two tear filled brown orbs looking back at him. "Aww...am sorry my princess." he cooed as he kissed her cheeks. Regina hugged him tight and enjoyed his warmth.

Emmet jumped slightly when something nipped his toe.

"What the hell is that?" he stepped back slightly to look down. His eyes widened as he saw a tiny kitty sitting in its hind legs on the floor.

Regina bit her bottom lip waiting for him to react.

"Honey...why is there a cat in our house?" Emmet asked slowly trying not to freak out and stood there stoned.

"I saw it outside in a box and I couldn't leave it there. It was abandoned...and...its mom didn't take it...so I took her home.." Regina rambled nervously.

"Whattttt???" Emmet shreaked when he heard the last sentence.

"What do you mean you took it home? It's a cat Regina. You know I hate cats." Emmet snapped as he started pacing as he refused to look at the offending creature sitting in his living room floor looking at him.

"Don't say that." Regina quickly kneeled down and picked up the tiny kitten who meowed again and snuggled to her. "She is a kitten. Look at her baby. Look how cute she is. Do you still want to leave her alone?" Regina showed the kitty towards Emmet who moved back but refused to touch it. The kitty looked adorably at Emmet and meowed slightly trying to get his attention.

Emmet slowly looked down to the kitten in Regina's arms. For a moment he got lost in those tiny black eyes. His heart melted at someone leaving something so small in the streets. But sure he know how it felt. He was too thrown on the streets as a baby. He felt his reserve melting but he refused to love it as he loathed them ever since.

"Is that why you made me cheesy food?" Emmet asked Regina still looking at the kitten in her arms.

Regina slowly nodded her head and watched the wheels turn in her husband's head.

Emmet sighed. He never said no to Regina not when she was set her mind of something. He loved her something much that if this made his wife happy then he would as well suffer it.

"What did you make?" he asked hoping that whatever it was she mad more than she usually did.

"I made cheese burgers..." she stopped a beat and continued "More than I made last time."

Emmet's eyes bulged out as his mouth watered. And he licked his lips.

"Fine...but am eating all." he said quickly as he made way towards the kitchen only to get stopped by his wife. "Shower first please" she said rolling her eyes as Emmet groaned and went upstairs to change.

"That went well huh peaches? You hungry..or do you want to eat with daddy?" she cooed the kitten which meowed again and started nipping her fingers clearly hungry. She walked to the kitchen to get the cat supplied she got from her neighbour who had three cats. She only got a formula for kittens as Peaches was only a few weeks old. She also got needed advices from her neighbour who helped her take care of the kitty when she brought it home that evening. But still she needs to take Peaches to the wet to make sure she is okay.

Emmet came downstairs to see Regina had already set the dinner ready on the table. He looked over and watched his wife feeding the little kitten wrapped in a tiny blanket. A smile broke his face when he imagined how she will be if they had a baby. Something struck his mind as he realised this is what makes Regina happy. They had tried to adopt a baby in the past. With all the laws and restrictions they were met with rejection. Regina had cried a lot and blamed that it was her fault. Even though Emmet told her it wasn't. They know it's going to be a long journey to parenthood. But seeing her happy with a kitten made him happy as well even if he hated cats.

'May be they are not so bad' he thought as he looked at the kitten hungrily gulping down her bottle.

"Look who is here..say hi daddy!" Regina cleaned the kitten after feeding her and held her in her hands so that Emmet could see her..

"Daddy?" Emmet raised his eyebrow as he asked.

"Yep..am her mommy and you are daddy. Isn't it Peaches? Daddy is silly" she cooed again as she held the kitty close to her.

Emmet smiled unable to stay angry. He shook his head and started eating his burgers. Who knows he won't be getting these treats for another year so might as well eat it before Regina changes her mind.

"Mmm..these are delicious baby. You should make it more often." Emmet said between bite.

"May be. I wanted to bribe you to take her in. But am not compromising on your health. If you are good I would make it more often. May be on weekends." Regina replied as she saw Emmet almost swallow a whole burger. She shook her head. Sometimes he feels like she has a toddler who don't know how to eat but the amount of food she makes a day tells otherwise. She will never understand her husbands new way of hulking to gain muscles. But she know one thing that he eats way more than he did in the past and she wasn't complaining in the least. She kind of like his bulky body. He is the fluffiest pillow to sleep on.

After dinner the couple retreated to their bedroom but Regina was restless in her sleep. She sure let kitty sleep in her new bed on the kitchen but she felt uneasy leaving her alone. She rolled on to her side to see Emmet was out like a light and snoring lightly. She slowly removed his hand from her waist and got up from the bed without making any noise. Regina padded down the stairs to the kitchen and turned the lights on.

Her heart melted at the sight. The kitten was curled in a ball in her fluffy slippers she kept on the side. Regina slowly picked up the kitten and walked up stair.

"You are sleeping with me okay. Don't worry mommy's got you" she kissed the kitten and cooed her to sleep. The kitten meowed lightly but fell asleep in her arms.

Regina walked back to the room and snuggled her back towards Emmet who quickly curled on to her and pulled her close. Regina placed the kitten on a blanket near her pillow and stroked it slowly to sleep.

Regina woke up next morning when her alarm went off. She stretched and yawned a bit before sitting up on the bed. It was 6 in the morning a little to early for her to wake up. She rubbed the sleep off her eyes and looked around. Suddenly she remembered her kitten. Regina quickly turned to her side but found the blanket empty. Panicked washed through her mind as she started searching frantically. She was about to wake up Emmet when she saw a lump under Emmet's covers. He had his one hand under the pillow and the other in his chest under the cover. But a tiny furry head peaked out of his chest and Regina curiously removed the covers. She almost cried when she saw Emmet holding the little kitten to his bare chest as it slept peacefully. Regina wiped her eyes and quickly took her phone to snap a picture. She posted it on Instagram saying "Daddy and baby Peaches comfy AF" followed but kiss emojis and hearts.

She leaned over and kissed Emmet on the forehead and Peaches. She knew he would deny it if said later but she isn't going to let him live with it. After all she has the proof.

Only love matters, no matter how their lives turned up she always believed that she could move forward if she had Emmet. And she was sure that he would never leave her.