Author's Note: I just want to say thanks to all the people who reviewed my first chapter. You guys rock!
He could have cried, but he didn't have time
He had a baby to feed
A pink blanket to find
To rock his little one to sleep
He could've laid awake for hours, giving loneliness it's power
But he didn't have time
-Terri Clark
September 7th, 1983-
Jonathan sneaked a peek at the pretty girl walking beside him, with her dark auburn hair and her green eyes. He couldn't believe his luck, taking a beautiful girl to lunch on his very first day. He had only dated one girl since Emma's birth, Nell Potter, and what a mistake that had been. She had been extremely jealous of his time with Emma. Jonathan ended their relationship at the end of the summer when he overheard Nell calling Emma 'that little brat'. That had been the final straw. He wondered again how anyone could be jealous of a seven-month-old baby?
And now he was walking with this girl, Martha Clark. They were going to her favorite coffee shop, The Corner Coffee House.
"The name isn't all that original," She had told him. "But they have the best food in Metropolis."
He hadn't told her about Emma yet. He loved his daughter more than anything, but that wasn't exactly the greatest opening line: "Hey, I have a seven and half month old daughter who takes up most of my time. Wanna date me?" No, not a great pickup line.
They found a booth in the back of the coffee shop and ordered their food. Jonathan decided this was as good a time as any to bring up Emma. If this was going anywhere (and he desperately hoped it was) he needed to up front about her.
"Um, I sort of have to tell you something, Martha." He started. "Something you need to know about me and my life right away."
"Ohh, sounds serious." Martha said, sipping the Sprite their waiter had just sat down in front of her.
Jonathan took a sip of his own soda. "It is." He admitted.
Martha looked at him. "You're not a serial killer on the run or anything are you?" She asked with a straight face, even though her eyes were sparkling.
Jonathan cracked a small smile. "No. It's about my daughter." He flinched a little, waiting for her to tell him nevermind; she didn't want to go on a date with him again.
"You're daughter?" Martha took another sip of her soda. "You're not married, are you?"
"No. I'm single" He sighed a little. "Just me and Emma." He explained a little bit of the story to her.
"Well, I think it's great that you took her to raise on your own." Martha told him when he was finished. "Not many guys would do that, you know. How old is she?"
Jonathan fished one of the millions of pictures he carried of Emma from his wallet and handed it across the table to Martha. "She'll be eight months the sixteenth."
Martha studied the picture of the baby girl, with her pale blonde hair, already grown past her shirt collar, and her big blue eyes, as the waiter sat their food down. She looked a lot like him.
"She's beautiful, Jonathan. You must be so proud."
"I am. I think she's going to be a big talker. She already say's some words."
"What does she say?" Martha asked. It surprised Jonathan that she was so…earnest to hear about
Emma. Nell had never been interested in her.
"You know, she say's daddy, doggie, kitty. Words like that." Jonathan laughed. "She's been trying to say her name, but she can only get the 'Em' part. It's so cute."
"You sound like you lover her a lot." Martha remarked.
"I do." Jonathan answered. "I love her more than anything."
"Maybe, we could get together sometime. You know, the three of us." Martha smiled. "Like this weekend?"
Jonathan smiled back at her. "Are you asking me out?"
"I suppose I am." Martha cocked her eyebrow, taking the last bite from her salad. "So, is that a yes or a no?"
"Yes!" Jonathan said quickly. "I mean, uh, sure. Why not?"
Martha giggled. "Okay, great. Here's my phone number." She wrote it on a napkin. "Call me tonight, okay?"
"All right." Jonathan grinned at her. A date! And she wanted him to bring Emma along. "I'll do that."
Martha glanced at her watch. "I really have to go. I've got to meet my dad, but I'll talk to you tonight, right?"
"Definitely." He nodded.
She handed him a few dollars. "For lunch."
He shook his head. "No, I'll pay for it."
"You don't believe in going dutch?" Martha asked.
"Nope."
"Well, if you're sure…"
"I am."
She sent him one last smile. "Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
Jonathan watched as she walked out the door and down the block. She was so beautiful. And she was actually interested in Emma! He quickly paid the bill and headed back to his truck. He needed to get home. He promised his mom that he'd keep Emma in his room that night, so his parents could have some time alone.
He worried all the way home. He was so nervous about talking to Martha. What would he say to her? What would they talk about?
Later that night-
Jonathan sat Emma down in her walker, and put a handful of Cheerios on the tray. She looked up at him with big blue eyes and started to jabber in baby talk. She reached for her favorite toy; a stuffed dog simply named 'Bear-Bear'. Jonathan had no idea where it came from. Someone sent it in the mail one day, no name or card or anything. But Emma loved it.
"Bear-Bear, Daddy." She was saying. "Bear-Bear."
He handed her the dog. "Here, baby."
Okay, he thought. This is it. He pulled the rumpled napkin with Martha's number on it from his pocket. He picked up his phone. His friends always thought it was pretty neat that he had his own extension in his room. He punched in the number and waited while the phone rang…once…twice…three times…
"Hello?" A man's voice barked.
"Uh, is Martha there?" Jonathan asked nervously.
"Who want's to know?" The man barked again.
"Er, Jonathan Kent, sir."
He could hear the guy shouting for Martha and a few minutes later, she picked up the phone.
"Okay, Daddy, you can hang up now!" She shouted, then "Jonathan?"
"Hi." Jonathan said, all his nervousness melting away at the sound of her voice.
"Hey," She answered. "Sorry about that. I hope my Dad didn't give you the third degree."
"Not really." Jonathan sat down on the floor beside Emma in her walker. "Uh, that's your dad?"
Martha giggled. "Yeah. Don't worry, he's harmless. So, what are you doing?"
Jonathan sighed. "Nothing. Just watching Emma play."
"What's she playing with?"
"Bear-Bear."
"A teddy bear?"
"A stuffed dog."
"She named her stuffed dog Bear-Bear?"
Jonathan laughed a little. "Yeah. Don't ask."
"So, um, you still want to go out this weekend?" Martha asked.
"Yeah." Jonathan chewed the inside of his cheek. "You still want to, don't you?"
"Of course." She answered. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. Were you serious about me bring Em?"
"Yes. Why?"
He took a deep breath. "It's just that my last girlfriend didn't want much to do with her."
"Well, I'm different." Martha insisted. "Besides, I love babies. I can't wait to have one of my own."
Jonathan felt his face flush. Was she hinting at something? "Uh, that's great." He knew it sounded lame, but what else could he say?
Emma started to fuss, so he lifted her out of her walker and sat her on the floor beside him. She crawled over to his nightstand and pulled herself up. She turned herself around and took a few wobbly steps toward him.
"She's walking!" Jonathan said excitedly. "Martha, she's walking to me. Come to Daddy, Emmie!"
"That's great Jonathan!" Martha wished she were there to see it. She could hear the baby giggling and Jonathan giving her a kiss.
They talked more about what they were going to do that weekend and Martha told him more about herself, like how her father wanted her to be a lawyer like he was. She had never been quite so open with someone she had just met, but she trusted Jonathan. He was probably the sweetest guy she'd ever met.
"I have to go." Jonathan told her almost two hours later. "I need to give Emma her bath and put her to bed."
"Okay." Martha bit her lip. She wished they didn't have to say good-bye just yet. "Um, how about if I call you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, if you want to." He answered. "Emma, no! She's chewing on the phone cord." He explained.
Martha laughed softly. "Well, I better let you go then. Good night, Jonathan."
"Night, Martha." He said and they hung up. He lifted Emma into the air. "Come on, Cookie. It's time for your bath."
He undressed her in the bathroom and sat her down into the warm water. She splashed at him and reached for her rubber bath toys. Jonathan went through the motions of giving her a bath and putting her to bed, but his mind kept wondering back to Martha. He laid Emma down in her crib. What used to be a guest bedroom had become her nursery.
Jonathan kissed her. "'Night, baby. Daddy loves you." He said.
"Daddy." She cooed as she snuggled with Bear-Bear. He handed her a warm bottle and stayed to watch her fall asleep. He tried to keep his clear, but Martha's pretty face kept floating through it. He fell asleep in the nursery that night, where he had a strange dream about Martha and Penny. They were floating above his head, blowing bubbles at him. 'You know you love.' They kept whispering. He woke up in the middle of the night and went to his own bed. He didn't remember the dream when he woke up in the morning.
