Part 3

"Claudia," Jack Cregg jumped up from the table and hugged his daughter. "How are you my dear?"

"Good," CJ smiled back.

"Anna," Jack bent down and kissed his granddaughter on the cheek. "You look so beautiful."

"Thank you." Anna blushed.

Then Jack looked at Toby. CJ and Anna were still holding his hands to keep him calm. They could tell he was nervous.

"Toby, it's good to see you son," Jack said while putting his hand out. Toby let go of CJ's hand and shook the offered hand with a smile.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have been here before now." Toby apologized, thinking it could earn him a few points in his favor.

"I understand. Claudia said you had to go on a trip." Jack nodded, keeping his eyes on Toby.

"Yes sir." Toby felt the urge to bolt until he felt Anna squeezing his hand as hard as she could. He looked down and winked at her.

"Well, let's order, shall we?" Jack sat back down. CJ and Anna sat next to him as Toby sat directly in front of him. "So, Claudia said you were a little nervous about seeing me." Jack smiled. "Did you think I would run you over with my car?"

"That thought did go through my mind sir." Toby responded honestly. "You didn't rent a car, did you?" He asked seriously. His leg began to nervously move up and down. He felt CJ's hand rest on his thigh. His leg stopped moving, but now his face was flushed.

Jack laughed a little. Then the waitress came over and took everyone's order.

"So, how was the trip?" Jack asked, curious about why Toby had a flushed face. He eyed CJ, who just smiled.

"Good, we made some progress." Toby managed to choke out. He patted CJ's hand, thanking her for the support. He hoped she would remove it. She didn't. Her hand moved further up.

"That's good. I bet you hated being away from your family." He tilted his head over toward CJ and then Anna.

"Yes, but I called every night." Toby had to manually remove her hand. He couldn't talk to her father and have her groping him at the same time. He looked at her with a puzzled expression before turning his attention back to Jack.

"That's good," Jack nodded in appreciation. "You know Toby. I never really liked you." He said without remorse.

Toby nearly choked on the water he was drinking. "Sir?"

"Well, you just weren't the guy I had wanted Claudia to be with. I wanted someone who would risk his life for her. A guy that would walk through fire for her. I just didn't see you as that man." He explained, waiting for Toby to prove him wrong.

"Dad," CJ glared at him. "Knock it off."

"No, I need to say this," Jack looked at Toby sternly. "I'm very proud of the way you have handled this. You took care of my daughter when she was pregnant. And now, you take care of my granddaughter. They seem to love you very much. I just wanted to thank you for that. You are a good man." He stated.

"Thank you sir." Toby managed a smile.

"Now, you're going to continue to take care of them, right?"

"Yes sir, for the rest of my life, I promise." Toby swore without hesitation.

"That's my boy." Jack smiled and turned his attention to Anna.

The rest of the dinner went great. Toby and Jack had finally had a civil talk. CJ was thankful that Toby had done this. He was her lifesaver, and he always has been. CJ would never tell him how much she wished Anna was his.

At the airport, Jack said goodbye to everyone. He thanked Toby once again and shook his hand before departing.

"I'll call when I get in." Jack assured CJ.

"I love you dad."

"I love you too."

They watched as Jack boarded the plane. Toby was holding Anna, who had fallen asleep in the car on the ride there. Her head rested on his shoulder as her arms hugged him around the neck. She woke up once while Jack checked his bags, and whispered what a great job he did in his ear. CJ watched from the sidelines as Toby took a long look at Anna after she fell back to sleep. She was just like her mother.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" CJ patted his back as they exited the airport.

"I must say. It went over pretty well." He agreed.

"See. I told you." CJ smiled.

"We better get her home." Toby rubbed Anna's back gently.

"Where are we?" Anna asked when Toby carried her into a room, still half asleep.

"You're home in your bed." Toby answered as he slowly lowered her down on the bed. He grabbed the covers and tucked her in. It had been a while since he was able to do this with her.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Anna asked, sounding wide-awake now.

"I have to get home and get some work done. I'll come over tomorrow and take you to school if you want." He offered with a smile.

"Yes, please." Anna nodded excitedly.

"I love your smile. You know that?" Toby whispered, then kissed Anna goodnight. Anna noticed her mom watching them, and noticed her mom moving her hand to cover her mouth at Toby's last words. Anna grinned up at him.

"Yeah, that's why I smile all the time," Anna declared.

"Goodnight sweet girl." Toby rubbed her stomach softly.

"Goodnight dad." Anna smiled before closing her eyes.

Toby stood up and watched as Anna fell back to sleep.

"Is she asleep?" CJ asked as Toby came out of the bedroom, automatically going downstairs into the living room. CJ flopped down on the couch when they entered.

"Yeah," Toby looked down at CJ sitting on the couch. He wanted to bring up the groping at dinner, but saw that she was tired. "I should get going. I told Anna I would take her to school tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Of course," CJ smiled and got up to face him. "Thank you for doing this Toby, it meant more to me then you will ever know," She said while walking him to the door. She suddenly felt sad that he was leaving. She felt this every night right before he would leave to go home.

"I'm always here for you CJ, and Anna," Toby reassured her and started to open the door. But then CJ leaned against it so he couldn't get it open.

"Really?" CJ asked shyly.

"Yeah, why? You want me to see your brothers now?" Toby hoped not. He met them once, and that was enough. He waited for CJ to moved away from the door, but she didn't.

"Stay with me," CJ whispered. She could see Toby looking into her eyes, and she could tell he was trying to get inside his head. If he did that, he'd leave. She couldn't handle rejection right now.

"CJ, you don't want to do something you're going to regret in the morning," Toby whispered back. He wanted nothing else but to stay with her tonight. But he couldn't handle her taking it back when they woke up.

"Toby, I can honestly swear right here and now that if you stay, I will never, ever regret it." She promised him.

Toby couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was beautiful. And he loved her.

"Toby," CJ spoke quietly as she kissed him gently on the lips. "Stay with me." She pleaded against his lips.

"Okay," Toby whispered back without hesitation. He grabbed CJ's hands and held them in his own. "Can I tell you something?" Toby asked as CJ started to pull him toward the bedroom.

"Anything." She looked at him seductively.

"I love you." Toby declared. CJ stopped pulling him and looked into his eyes. The smile that spread across her face was lopsided as she tried to control the emotions her body was dealing with.

"I love you too Toby. I always have." She responded before they entered her bedroom. His face lit up with a boyish grin as he wrapped his arms around her. "It was the groping that did it, right?" CJ whispered into his ear and smiled as he chuckled at her.

CJ pulled Toby into the bedroom and shut the door

Anna stood on top of the stairs with a huge grin on her face.

"It's about time mom and dad." She said as she walked back to her room and went to sleep knowing both her parents would be there for her in the morning.

The End