Disclaimer: You know the drill by now guys. Nothing belongs to me, yada yada yada. Song credit to Celine Dion.

Rating: K+

Summary: See Ch. 1

No Mountains too high, for you to climb

All you have to do is have some

climbing faith, oh yeah

No rivers too wide, for you to make it across

All you have to do is believe it when you pray

And then you will see, the morning will come

And everyday will be bright as the sun

All of your fears cast them on me

I just want you to see...

I'll be your cloud up in the sky

I'll be your shoulder when you cry

I'll hear your voices when you call me

I am your angel

And when all hope is gone, I'm here

No matter how far you are, I'm near

It makes no difference who you are

I am your angel

I'm your angel

He was once again startled out of his thoughts by the chirping of his cell phone, he reached for the annoying device, scanning the caller I.D. – 'Ma's House', he sighed, picking it up.

'Hi ma' He said, forcing a smile on his face.

'il mio figlio, come é voi?' She asked, knowing the state of sadness and depression her son has been going through.

'Im fine Ma, what about you? And pop? He get back from Jersey yet?' He tried to keep the topics light, tried to avoid his mother crying over the phone and telling him how worried she was about him.

'You father is fine, Im fine… listen what time were you going to come by and grab Emily?' She asked him sweetly. He glanced down at his watch, five-thirty-four winked back at hime, he was late, how could he have forgotten?

'Ugh, sorry Ma, I'll be there in half alright?' He said, he was mentally kicking himself for forgetting, how in the hell could he have forgotten something like that?

'Alright we'll see you in a while. I have Cannolis when you get in' She smiled before hanging up the phone.

Grabbing his truck keys he made his way out to his car and headed to his parents house. He was surprised at how little traffic there was and how quick he'd made it, without breaking half the traffic laws in New York. He pulled up in front of the large Victorian Style two story home that was his child hood sanctuary, the large oak tree shading the entire front lawn was still there – his father had refused to cut it down, and he could recall many scrapes, cuts and stake outs he and the neighborhood kids had encountered over the years. His glance drifted to the old worn out basketball hoop bolted above the garage door, and swore he could hear the sound of the ball being dribbled across the driveway and the sound of the ball coming in contact with the chain net as it was dunked. He snapped out of his day dream when he heard the front door open and the sound of little feet hitting the deck and then the wooden steps leading down towards where he was parked.

'Daddy!!' The little girl threw herself into his arms, and is he hadn't been paying attention he's not sure if he would have caught her or not.

'Hey bug, you have fun with nonna today?' he asked, the little girls big blue eyes sparkled as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Nodding her head she wrapped her arms around his neck and lay her head into the crook of his neck as he headed back towards the house. His mother greeted him, her warm arms enveloping him in a loving hug.

'Hi Ma' he said, smiling. She kissed both his cheeks before pulling back and heading back to the kitchen.

'Come eat some of this Daniel' She demanded, more than requested. One thing he'd learned real quick as a child – he'd never go hungry as long as his ma was around.

'Can I have some nonna?' The little girl wiggled out of her fathers arms and followed her grandma into the kitchen.

'Of course you can, hold on. Daniel grab down 3 plates would you?' She asked, but he hadn't entered the kitchen yet, he was stopped in the hallway leading into the kitchen. He gazed at the framed photo in front of him, hanging along the wall, partnered with pictures of cousins, friends, and other walks of his family. This one however had just been added to the wall two years ago. This particular frame held three of his favorite pictures, three of the pictures he'd forever have on display in his house. He smiled, running his finger across the glass, wiping some of the dust off, and then gazing into the fair of brown eyes staring back at him in the upper right hand corner, his hand slid across the glass to the set of sparkly blue eyes, identical to his, gleaming back at him. He remembered when his world had been turned upside down, and not for the first time.

FLASHBACK

'Montana?' He called, walking into the large apartment, and scanning the room for any signs of life. The kitchen light was off – unusual for anytime before midnight, she always left it on for him so he wouldn't walk into a dark apartment, but this night the light was off and he could see a stream gold coming from the crack in the slightly ajar bedroom door. He walked towards it, pushing the door and letting it creak open. He found her sitting on the edge of the bed, her back to him, and her face cradled in her hands. She looked up as his heavy footsteps caused the old wood floors to squeak.

'Hi' she said, in barely above a whisper.

'hey, you okay?' He asked, a bit concerned that she hadn't rushed to kiss him. All he got was a nod in response, and then a heavy sigh.

'How was your shift?' she asked. She felt the bed dip behind her as he ran a hand up her arm.

'It was alright, busy, its that time of year you know?' He said, smiling. For some reason the summer always brought out the "crazies". She nodded again, knowing what he meant.

'That's good' She sighed again, turning to face him. 'Danny….' She stopped and began to find the grains in the hardwood floor were more interesting than his sparkling cerulean eyes.

'Montana…Linds… talk to me' He asked, his hand squeezing her shoulder gently, lovingly. She scooted away from him and stood walking into their shared bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later holding something in her hand. She stuck the small white stick in his lap before sitting back down on the bed. He glanced down at the stick resting on his thigh, picking it up and staring at the small pink plus sign. His eyes shot to her back, then back at the small stick again.

'Are you mad?' she asked, tears threatening to roll down her rosy cheeks.

'Am I mad? Why….why….why would I be mad?' He said, as she turned to look at him, her chocolate eyes sparkling with the hidden tears. 'This is, this is amazing… come'ere' he said, pulling her to him in a hug. The tears began to fall as she clutched his shirt in her hand, smiling against his chest. 'Lindsay, I know we didn't exactly plan this, but, come'on, we're going to have a baby…' He said, smiling as the realization hit him.

'Yea, we are….the 12 other pregnancy tests I took made that pretty clear' her voice having a hint of sarcasm in it. She felt him smile against her head, before he pressed a kiss to the crown of it.

'So, a doc confirmed it?' He asked, knowing that these sticks could be kind of tricky. He felt her nod against him, as he hugged her tighter.

'Im due February 18' She said into his neck before pulling back to look at him, his lips met hers in a soft, loving kiss, that soon turned more intimate, he pushed her back onto the bed, crawling ontop of her, never breaking contact with her lips, his left hand slid up her thigh to rest on her stomach….

I saw the teardrops, and I heard you cry

All you need is time, seek me and you shall find

You have everything and you're still lonely

It doesn't have to be this way, let

me show you a better day

And then you will see, the morning will come

And all of your days will be bright as the sun

So all of your fears, just cast them on me

How can I make you see...

I'll be your cloud up in the sky

I'll be your shoulder when you cry

I'll hear your voices when you call me

I am your angel

And when all hope is gone, I'm here

No matter how far you are, I'm near

It makes no difference who you are

I am your angel

I'm your angel

END FLASHBACK

'Daddy? Nonna said to come in and eat' He heard a tiny voice say beside him, and felt his pant leg being tugged lightly.

'Alright baby, I'll be right in' He said, crouching down to the little girls level. Her blue eyes mirrored his, and she smiled…her mothers smile. 'Go on, I'll be right in' He said, turning her and nudging her back to the kitchen. The little girl hopped towards the kitchen, long brown curls bouncing as she entered the kitchen. She was the perfect mix of himself and Lindsay, brown honey curls identical to her mothers, a smile that could make him weak at the knees, and an attitude that was so much his he wondered how his mother ever survived him as a young child. But her eyes, they were his… the ocean blue he;d come to fall madly in love with, she was his angel… she was Lindsay. He stood back up glancing at the pictures again, this time moving to the last one that stood in the middle of the frame, the day they'd welcomed Emily Brianne Messer into the world.

FLASHBACK

'One more push Montana…you can do it' Danny coaxed, his lips next to her ear as she attempted to catch her breath. The labor had been a long eighteen hour process, and the pregnancy had seemed even longer. Countless nights of cravings, mood swings, morning-noon-and night sickness, and everything in between. At this moment he himself had to take a breath and realize they'd be meeting their child in less than ten minutes. They'd decided to keep the sex a surprise. Danny of course, had been hoping for a boy, while Lindsay wouldn't admit what she was hoping it was.

'Alright Lindsay, deep breath in and push… I see the head, you're doing great' The doctor said from between her legs.

'I cant do this Danny…I cant…' She took a deep breath again, her brown eyes pleading to him to make the pain go away. He swept his hand across her forehead brushing stray curls out of her eyes and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

'Yes you can Montana, you're almost there' He encouraged as he felt her squeeze his hand tight before pushing again. 'That's it, good girl… keep going' He tried to hide the fact that he was scared out of his mind, what if something went wrong? What if the baby didn't make it? What if Lindsay didn't make it? He'd heard horror stories of mothers dieing during birth. He shook the thoughts from his head as he heard the doctor.

'Alright Lindsay, stop pushing the heads out, relax, take a breath' She said, suctioning the babys nose and mouth. 'Alright, deep breath and push again' She requested.

'Good job Linds' Danny said, grasping her hand again, whispering in her ear. The room was silent save for a loud moan from Lindsay, and then the distinct sound of a newborn filled the room. The wailing become louder and he felt Lindsay loosen her grip on his hand.

'Congratulations…it's a healthy baby girl. Dad, did you want to cut the cord?' The doctor looked over at Danny as he grabbed the tool from the doctor, cutting between the clamps on his daughters umbilical cord. The nurse took the baby setting her in a bundle of blankets and then moving her to the small scale. 'Seven pounds, five ounces 20 inches long…shes healthy as can be' The nurse announced as the babys cries continued. Lindsay was raised in her bed, as the nurse walked the small bundle over beside her, placing her in Lindsay's waiting arms.

'Oh Danny… shes gorgeous' She said, tears falling down her cheeks, the newborns cries began to die down as she took in her parents, bright blue eyes twinkling up at both of them. Danny ran his finger along the babys uncovered hand, making a mental note of the five small digits on that hand. The baby wrapped her hand around Dannys finger, squeezing gently. He looked up at Lindsay, smiling and wiping away some of the tears. Their lips met once again, in a soft kiss, then he pressed a kiss to her temple before gazing down at his daughter again.

A few hours later Danny sat in a rocking chair in the corner of the recovery room Lindsay had been moved to. He swiftly and gently rocked his daughter who's baby blues never left his. He glanced over at his sleeping girlfriend.

'Hi…hi there' He said quietly. 'Im your dad…theres some ground rules we gotta set right now ok?' He said smiling down at the baby. 'Alright, so, no dating until your thirty…' he started as the baby began to squirm and cry, 'alright, alright twenty five?' the babys cries died a bit, but she still squirmed, 'ok, I'll settle for eighteen, But, I'll tell ya now, the guy is going to get put through the system at work and if anything so much as a parking ticket pops up, you aint going out with him, got it?' He asked, the baby blowing bubbles in her spit. 'I'll take that as an 'ok dad'' he smiled again as the babys eyes fluttered closed and then opened again, her small hand wrapping around his finger again. 'You know, you're a lucky girl, you got an amazing family waiting to spoil you to death, of course you got me – your dad, we're going to play catch out in Central Park, Im going to teach you how to ride your bike, and hey, one day I may even teach you to drive a car' He laughed, 'and then you have your ma', he glanced back to Lindsay. 'Shes the best thing that's ever happened to me…well aside from you. Shes beautiful and Im in BIG trouble if you look anything like her when you're older. Shes caring, she didn't take any of my B.S. and shes….well she's just amazing, and someday you'll see just how amazing she is' He choked back tears, gazing at Lindsay then back to his daughter who had fallen asleep in his comforting arms, he looked down at the small hand holding his index finger tightly again, smiling as he listened to the rain lightly beat against the window…

END FLASHBACK

'Daniel, if you don't come and eat now, there wont be anything left to eat once you drag yourself in here… now come'on ' He heard his mother say from the doorway of the kitchen.

'Yeah, come'on Daddy, I put your plate right next to mine' He heard Emily yell from inside the kitchen.

'Alright, Im comin' ' he headed down the hallway and towards the kitchen before glancing back at the photos one more time….

And when it's time to face the storm

I'll be right by your side

Grace will keep us safe and warm

And I know we will survive

And when it seems as if your end is drawing near

Don't you dare give up the fight

Just put your trust beyond the sky...

I'll be your cloud up in the sky

I'll be your shoulder when you cry

I'll hear your voices when you call me

I am your angel

And when all hope is gone, I'm here

No matter how far you are, I'm near

It makes no difference who you are

I am your angel

I'm your angel….

TBC….

That's all folks, at least for this chapter. Good? Bad? Ok? …..