A/N Happy National Daquiri Day! Also Happy Ice Cream Day, and Happy Raspberry Cake Day. I could not even begin to pick between the three of those, so I'm gonna celebrate them all, loud and proud. And I actually have chocolate cake with raspberry filling sitting my fridge, so I can truly celebrate! I can't wait! It's also New Friends Day, which I think you'd make a lot of if you shared daquiri, ice cream and/or raspberry cake. Just saying.

Do you know what yesterday was? It was Happy Perfect Family Day. I think we'll borrow that one as well, for obvious reasons. Seems only fitting!

You know what I hate? When your computer wants to update but you tell it to postpone so you can come in and post your story, but it chooses to ignore the postpone command, reboots anyway,and takes like 50 minutes to install updates. So, you can blame my laptop for the slight posting delay today. Damn technology.

Thank you for the love for last chapter! It's always good to bring the original gang together, particularly are not-as-clueless-except-for-Emmett threesome. hehe And no worries. Emmett won't be allowed to change the baby. I like to think that he may have masterplanned that. I can't blame him. And yes, Daddy Boot Camp is a real thing, although from what I researched, it's run by fairly new dads to give advice to soon-to-be new dads. I wasn't sure what that advice would be, and my knowledge of dudes only goes so far, so I chose to make it a disapproving woman for Emmett to annoy. And yes, someday I may write an outtake with more of that, if so inspired.

I finished the outtake for the Fandom LLS compilation. A few edits and it'll be off to the presses! I included a bit of the last part of this chapter from BPOV, as well as a little something extra. I hope you'll contribute and enjoy it. It was good to write Danny again. I also just finished writing chapter 47 and didn't get everything I had planned in it done, so there'll likely be more than the 50 chapters I mentioned last week. No promises and from what I've heard, you all won't be upset if I get wordy, but we shall see :) I'm not exactly anxious to say goodbye to them either. So, I'll keep you posted when I know. In the meantime, have a great Sunday, and week ahead. Happy reading! What do you say we have a baby today? :)

Getting Blitzed Chapter 45

"Did you eat my ice cream?"

I froze at the tone of Reed Girl's voice, and my mind started whirling. There were only two answers to that question, and both of them would set her off. When your wife was thirty-eight weeks pregnant, pretty much anything could set her off at any time, and her food was probably the number-one touchy subject sure to cause an explosion.

Option number one was to tell her the truth. She ate it last night. Then she'd get upset because she forgot due to her "pregnancy brain" and it pissed her off that that was even a thing. Then she'd likely cry about being fat, which she totally wasn't. She was pregnant. Not fat. But she was miserable, and there was no telling her that without tears occurring. There just wasn't.

Option number two was to lie and say that I'd eaten it and then have her pissed off at me for stealing "her" food. Then she'd go on about how I was too controlling with what she ate, call me the food Gestapo, and cry tears of anger. After that blew over, she'd cry because she was sorry for being emotional. It was a fucking minefield. A terrifying one.

There was a third option, and I grabbed at that shit like the lifeline it was. I grabbed my keys and wallet and headed for the front door.

"I'll go get you some, baby. You hang tight for ten minutes. I'll be right back. Peanut butter and chocolate, right?"

"Like you don't know?" she asked with a little sneer.

Yep. She decided I'd eaten it. That was okay. I'd take one for the team.

"Right. I'll be right back."

I hightailed it out of the house. She'd been pretty good about cravings through most of her pregnancy. Occasionally she'd get a yen for something or other, but nothing too weird and not in the middle of the night like I'd expected. Books and TV had lied to me about pregnancy cravings. Well, they lied about a lot of shit, it seemed, when it came to pregnancy. One thing they didn't lie about? Mood swings. Nope, they nailed the shit out of that one.

I moved through the store as quickly as possible, fearing she'd get more pissed off if I took too long. On the way home, I called my dad.

"Why are pregnant women insane?" I asked the instant he answered.

Dad laughed. "Hormones, being unable to sleep for decent periods of time, swollen feet and ankles, hemorrhoids… I could go on, but I think you get the drift. Is Bella having issues?"

"She ate all her peanut butter and chocolate ice cream last night and totally forgot about it today. She blamed me for it being gone."

He snickered. "God, I don't miss those days. With your mother, it was salt. Potato chips in particular. I was stupid enough to offer her something else salty when she was pregnant with Emmett. Frankly I'm shocked that I lived long enough to father you."

Fucking gross. "Dad, I didn't need that story, thank you very much."

"Just saying." He laughed again. "I take it you're on your way to the store?"

"On the way home from it, yeah. If I get pulled over, do you think they'd let me off with a warning if I told them it was ice cream for my pregnant wife?"

"If they'd had a pregnant wife, sure. Just remember that it goes away, after a bit."

"After she has the baby, right?"

That made him laugh harder. "Hell, no. The baby means a whole new level of being tired. And the hormones are still wild for a bit as the body adjusts."

That was really fucking comforting. "Not helping, Dad."

"Don't worry, son. You'll be nearly as tired as she is. But you'll be happy. Trust me on that."

I hoped he was right. I was more than ready for Dani to make her appearance and for my wife to return to normal. She was still awesome and I still loved her, but I feared her as well. I didn't like that. I hadn't been scared of her since I fell for her.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Your mom and I can't wait to come up. I booked our tickets for next Sunday. I kept them open-ended, since I know your mom wants to be there for a couple weeks after Dani arrives."

Yeah, that was another thing we had to do. Prepare for the invasion. Mom and Dad were coming a week early, Charlie was coming the week we were due, and the gang was waiting until she gave birth, since three of them had graduation to attend right about that time.

"Yeah, I'll need the help, I'm sure." Plus, Reed Girl was less likely to lose her mind with my parents around. They could come up now for all I cared. "You sure you can't get here any earlier?"

Dad laughed again. "Afraid to be alone with her?"

No. Maybe.

"I can handle it."

"You keep telling yourself that. And no, we can't get up any earlier. I'm working double time to clear those few weeks, and your mother is on that retreat thing for her garden club."

Crap, that's right. Mom was off at some resort. Damn.

I pulled up in front of the house. "I have to go." Part of me wanted to stay in the car, but Reed Girl would know I was here and hiding from her. That wouldn't go well.

"Have fun, son! We'll see you in a week."

Right. Not an ounce of concern for his son. I bet Joe Montana would come rescue his kid from his scary pregnant wife. Uncool.

I hurried inside, straight to the kitchen, and scooped ice cream right into the bowl. I brought it to Reed Girl, holding it way in front of me in case she bit my arm off in her attempt to get to it.

"Why are you standing like that?" she asked, taking the bowl but eying me suspiciously.

"No reason."

"Edward, I'm not mad that you ate my ice cream, not since you got me some more." She smiled sweetly and dug in.

I let out a breath and sank down on the couch next to her. Rainbow immediately got all up on me. I suspected she'd had to hear an earful about me stealing Reed Girl's food when I left. She was probably scared, too.

"So good."

The moans and sex noises coming out of my wife as she devoured her food wasn't cool. We hadn't had sex in a couple of weeks, since just after the baby-shower crew left. She'd owed me for not telling me about the Daddy-training class, and she'd paid up in a major way. But since then? Nada. And hearing her orgasm over ice cream wasn't helping me forget that fact, let me tell you.

"Thank you." She gave me a smacking kiss on my cheek, her lips cold and probably leaving a chocolate imprint on me. I wasn't complaining, though. She was happy, so I was happy.

"Okay, we can go now."

Go? What the fuck was she talking about? I didn't want to go anywhere. I'd just gone somewhere I didn't even want to go.

"Go where? I just want to chill, maybe take a nap."

Rainbow agreed with me, purring and burrowing into my neck. Yeah, a nap sounded good right about now. Reed Girl was sleeping for shit, which meant I was, too, since I didn't sleep well without her. And she had a hell of a time getting out of the bed without me.

"You can't take a nap."

Oh, I very much begged to differ. But I opened my eyes and looked at her anyway. "Why not?"

"Because I'm in labor and we need to go to the hospital."

It took several moments for her words to penetrate my skull, but when they did, I sat straight up and sent Rainbow scampering.

"What do you mean, you're in labor?" She couldn't be. We had another week and a half or so. Two weeks. First babies were supposed to be late. It wasn't time yet.

"I mean, I'm having contractions, and while you were gone, my water broke."

"It did? Where?" I looked around for it. I needed to clean that up before it damaged the wood… What the fuck was I doing?

I hopped up and started looking for my keys. We needed to go. And we needed her bag. Fuck. Was it packed? I told her to get that shit together a week ago, but had she? And just how fucking fast was her labor? Did it come on that quickly?

"What are you doing?" my wife asked, suddenly the picture of serenity.

What the fuck was that about? She'd been angrier than a fucking bear just thirty minutes ago. Now she was actually having our baby but she was fine?

"Looking for my keys! And your bag. Did you pack your bag? Shouldn't I be timing you or something? When was your last contraction?"

"A few minutes ago."

But…I'd been here a few minutes ago. "Why didn't you say anything?"

She actually stuck her lip out in a little pout. "I didn't want you take my ice cream away."

"Baby, seriously? You're in labor but you wanted your ice cream first?"

"Well, it's not like she's going to come out in the next few minutes, Edward. We could spare a little time. You left, my water broke, and I cleaned it up and waited for you."

She was unbelievable. "You don't know that! She could come out here, with just the two of us, which means that I'll have to deliver her. Then I'd have to look. You know I don't want to look!"

Reed Girl actually laughed. "Yes, I know. And I imagine we've got a decent amount of time before we have to worry about it. But if you want to stay here and talk about it for a few hours, we can see what'll happen." She patted her belly and smiled at me.

Well, fuck. She had a point. Why were we talking about it when we should be going to the hospital?

"Okay, let's go." Where the fuck were my keys?

"They're in your pocket," Reed Girl said, having obviously figured out what I was looking for.

Right. Good. "Okay, we need your bag. Do you have a bag?"

"Yes. It's upstairs in our closet."

Right. Okay. "You stay there. I'll go get it."

"Okay." She smiled at me, all calm as you please. So fucking weird.

I bolted upstairs, Rainbow streaking up with me. Thank fuck she didn't trip me. That was the last thing we needed.

Bag, bag, where was the fucking bag? There were like twenty bags. Fucking hell. I started unzipping frantically as Rainbow wove through my ankles. Every time I tossed a bag aside, she hopped on it.

"Not helping, Rainbow. Where in the hell is the hospital bag?"

She just looked at me before swishing her tail and walking to the front of the closet. There, in the corner, was a bag.

"Seriously?" I picked it up, and sure as shit, there were clothes and a book and some other shit that I probably didn't want to know about in there.

"Thanks, Rainbow. You rock."

I grabbed the bag and headed downstairs, only to find my wife standing at the base of the steps.

"Did you find it? I can-"

"Don't you step foot on those stairs!" I yelled, dashing down to stop her. Visions of her having a contraction and falling down haunted me.

"Jeez, Champ, I'm not an invalid. I'm having a baby. Tons of women do it every day."

Maybe, but not mine. "They're not you."

She smiled and put a hand to my cheek. "I love you. Just in case I forget to say it later. You're so cute."

"I love you, too. But the next time you go into labor, tell me before you stuff your face with ice cream."

She laughed. "Deal." Then she grabbed her belly and winced. "Oh! There was another one."

Fuck. I needed to time. I glanced at my watch: 12:32 PM.

"How far apart are they?"

"Six minutes. I think we have plenty of time."

Irrelevant. She was in labor, and we were going to the hospital. Done and done. I ushered her outside and steered her to her car, which made her laugh some more, which freaked me out.

"Don't laugh. It might speed up labor."

"Well, at least we'll be in my car if it does." She kept giggling as I helped her inside and stretched the seat belt over her belly.

"Don't even joke about that, baby." I hurried around and got in the driver's seat. "We're not going to be those people that have their baby on the side of the road, with the husband being the one to deliver it. I can't do it. You know I can't."

Reed Girl just smiled and took my right hand as I peeled out of the driveway.

"You can do anything you want to do. Do you have your phone? We should probably call the doctor."

Phone? Fuck. I felt both my pockets. Crap. I'd left it in my car when I got done talking to my dad. "No phone. Where's yours?"

"In my purse. Which is on the kitchen island. Or maybe the hall table. I don't know. We should go back."

Fucking hell. I didn't want to go back, but I had to call the doctor and everyone else under the sun to tell them Reed Girl was in labor. And my mom was at a damn retreat and wouldn't be up here for five fucking days. Fuck me.

I whipped the car back around the corner and pulled into our driveway. "Stay." I opened my car, grabbed my phone, and handed it to her as I got back in and headed out.

"I'm not a dog," my wife informed me, her eyes slitted angrily.

"I didn't think you were, baby. I just want to get to the hospital."

"You could have gone in and gotten my purse," she informed me, crossing her arms over her chest.

Right. And searched for that shit for God knew how long while the odds of her having the baby in the car increased. Fuck that noise.

"We can call everyone from my phone."

"Do you have Kim's number?" she demanded, sounding smug.

Fuck. "No. But I have Colin's, and I know he has hers." They'd been talking since the Super Bowl. I didn't know if they were dating at this point-she was keeping him at arm's length for now-but he could get in touch with her.

"Oh. But I'm sure there's someone I want to call that you don't have."

I glanced at her as I navigated through traffic. Why the fuck were there so many cars on the road at one in the afternoon? Didn't these people have jobs?

"What's the real reason you're mad I didn't get your purse?"

"There's a Reese's peanut butter cup in there," she admitted quietly.

Jesus fucking Christ. "Baby, I'll buy you whatever candy you want when we get to the hospital." They had vending machines, for fuck's sake.

"But they might not let me have candy."

I had to laugh because she sounded quite put out at the very idea. She wasn't remotely bothered by her damn contractions, but take away her chocolate and you had a problem.

"They won't be with us every minute. I'll sneak you chocolate, I swear."

"Really? Even if they say I can't have any? Mr. Rule Follower? Somehow I doubt it."

Okay, she had me there, but she was having my baby. If chocolate wouldn't hurt her, she could have it. I'd do anything to get her through this.

"You can have anything you want, baby. I promise." Unless the doctor says no. But then I'm totally pointing the finger at her instead of myself.

We finally got to the hospital and I checked us in. I told them we wanted the whole birthing suite deal, and we were taken to private room, Reed Girl pushed along in a wheelchair. It was pretty cool once we got there. Kind of like our own little apartment, complete with a bathtub and shit.

The nurse took Reed Girl into the bathroom, and I got busy on my phone. First I checked to see if Reed Girl could actually eat. Fuck me. It depended on the website and the doctor. She was going to kick my ass when I told her no. One site said popsicles were okay. Where could I get one?

Reed Girl came out in her hospital gown and got situated in the bed. The nurse got her hooked up to some monitors and promised us that the doctor would be in soon.

"Go get my candy," Reed Girl hissed as soon as she left.

Fuck. "Baby, the websites say-"

She let out a frustrated growl that had me moving away from the bed. "I knew it! I knew you'd pussy out."

I raised my brow at her use of the word pussy. It was kind of hot, if I was being honest.

"Oh, get that look off your face. We're not having sex now," Reed Girl said, waving a hand at me.

"Sorry, baby. But the way you said that was hot."

She blew out a laugh as she clutched her belly. "Only you would find anything about me hot right now."

"Always." And because I seemed to be out of danger at the moment, I went over and kissed her.

"Uh-oh, do you need some alone time?" Dr. Sharpe came in, grinning. "I think we know how you got into this predicament. No need to relive it on B-Day."

Yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't be reliving it anytime soon. The book said it was usually about six weeks before we could have sex after the baby was born. The book betrayed me with that shit.

"Let's see what we have here." She got Reed Girl into the stirrup things, and I moved up to her shoulders. I wasn't risking seeing anything.

Reed Girl laughed. "She's not coming out yet, Edward."

"Better safe than sorry, baby. I don't want to see anything that'll make me afraid of that area."

Dr. Sharpe laughed as she emerged from under Reed Girl's gown. "Somehow I think you'd overcome the fear."

Reed Girl nodded. "There's not a doubt in my mind."

"Well, it looks like you're about three centimeters dilated, so we have some time to go," she told us cheerfully.

"I told you."

"We're here; you have an awesome room. You can take a bath or something," I told her. I knew what she wanted, though. "Is she allowed to eat anything? Like a candy bar, maybe?"

Dr. Sharpe screwed up her face and shook her head. Fuck me, I was a dead man.

"I'd prefer if she had something lighter than that. You can have a popsicle or some broth if you like."

My wife's face was positively sulky. "A popsicle would be fine."

"Maybe a fudge one? That's chocolate," I offered.

Reed Girl smiled. "I'd like that."

Dr. Sharpe chuckled. "I'll see what I can do. Settle in, and hit your pager if there's anything you need. I know you want an epidural. We'll administer that shortly. I'll send the anesthesiologist up. There's a nurse right outside, and I'll be back shortly to check on you."

When the doctor left, Reed Girl turned to me. "I love you."

I kissed her hand. "I love you, too."

"We're going to have our baby today."

Or tomorrow. But I wasn't about to remind her how long the process may be.

"We are. I can't wait, Reed Girl."

She nodded. "I just want you to know that I'm not going to be the cliché lady in labor and yell at you for knocking me up or threaten to cut your dick off or anything."

I laughed. "I'm glad to hear that, baby. I'm pretty attached to my dick."

"So am I. And if I do slip and say it, know that I don't mean it."

Was it any wonder I loved her? For real. She made me laugh even when I wanted to panic. "I know you don't, Reed Girl. And I know you want to be attached to it again soon."

She giggled. "Yeah, now's not the time to bring that up, Champ." She gritted her teeth through another contraction. "But I do miss sex with you."

No shit. "I miss sex with you, too. We'll schedule some for six weeks from today."

That made her laugh again. "Why is it that I can imagine you crossing off the days with little Xs?"

I smirked. "Because I fucking will. And, if I'm doing the math correctly, it'll be damn close to my birthday. Happy birthday to me."

She laughed harder. "Birthday sex can be your present."

"You laugh, but that works for me."

"I know." She smiled. "Now, we should probably start calling everyone."

"True. My mom is off at that stupid retreat, so I doubt she can get here tomorrow."

"Dottie is visiting her daughter. She won't be back until next week." Reed Girl laughed. "Everyone scheduled stuff early, thinking we'd be later, but they're all going to miss it."

Fuck. No mom. No nanny. It was going to be my wife and me alone for the first week or so.

"You're all I need, though. As long as you're here, I'm okay."

Well, damn. She always knew how to make me feel better. "Same goes, baby."

"Bullshit. You're wishing for your mommy. But I'm about to be the mommy now."

"Yeah. Well, you're going to rock it, Reed Girl."

"So are you, Champ."

Her faith in me set the flutters to rest a little. I could do this. I would do this. I had to.

I handed her my phone. "You do the honors, baby."

Reed Girl called her dad first. Then Shorty was up. We both knew that once Shorty knew, everybody would know. The yelling through the phone made that clear as day.

I called my father next. "Dad, it's time."

"Shit. Your mother's going to kill me."

I wasn't sure how my baby being born now translated into my mom killing him, but pregnancy had taught me that women often didn't make sense.

"Why?"

"Because she's at some health and wellness retreat in the mountains of Tennessee somewhere. I told her it was okay to go since first babies are often late. I don't think she has cell service."

What in the hell? "Isn't that like a fat camp?" What was my mom doing there?

"That's the fancy way of saying fat camp, yes."

"What is Mom doing there? She's not fat."

Oops. Reed Girl got a strange look when I said fat. Fuck.

"Ostensibly, she's going to support her friends. In reality? She thinks she could lose a few pounds. Maybe becoming a grandmother is making her crazy."

Ha! As if that was when it started. "Sure, Dad."

"I'll try to get her a message. They probably have a phone that works somewhere."

I laughed. He sounded miserable. As long as she directed her anger at him instead of me, we were all good.

"Good luck."

"Yeah. I won't be able to get up there until next week without some major schedule shifting."

"Don't worry about it, Dad. We'll see you when you get here."

"Okay. How are things progressing?"

I told him about the three centimeters and what the doctor had said.

"It's a marathon, son. Relax while you can. And don't fall asleep unless Bella does. You'll pay for it if you do."

I figured if anybody knew, it was a doctor. "I won't."

"Call me when she arrives, no matter what time. And send pictures."

Of course. "Okay, Dad."

"Give Bella my love. And I love you, son. I'm happy for you, and I can't wait to meet my granddaughter."

"We can't wait to meet her, either. Talk to you soon."

"Dad sends his love," I told Reed Girl when I disconnected.

She smiled. "My dad's probably passing out cigars at the station right now."

I grinned at her. "I hope he gives Riley one."

She shook her head. "He's got his hands full with his own daughter."

"Ours will kick her ass," I said, making her laugh again.

"She may, if she's anything like her daddy."

I pressed a kiss to her belly. "Are you going to be like me, Dani? That's probably not a good idea. You should be sweet, like your mom."

Reed Girl ran her fingers through my hair. "I want her to be punctual, like her dad. Hurry up and get here, baby."

"You heard her, Dani. When Mom speaks, we listen. So get out here and join us. We're anxious to meet you."

Unfortunately, Dani didn't have my sense of punctuality. Or her mother's ability to be ready to go faster that ninety-nine percent of the female population. TV lied. Movies lied. They made labor look like a few minutes of pain and cursing, but it was the marathon my father warned us about.

The anesthesiologist gave Reed Girl a shot in the spine that fucking had me sweating; it was such a big-ass needle. It wasn't like I hadn't had plenty of doctor visits and needles growing up. I played football for three-quarters of my life. I spent plenty of time in hospitals. But that shit? The scariest thing I'd ever seen.

Fortunately, as labor progressed, Reed Girl wasn't overly pained. The shot did its job, and while she felt it, she wasn't cursing or threatening my manhood, just like she promised.

Dinner came and went, and I didn't eat because she couldn't, besides her fudge popsicles. We played cards, she read, we listened to music and watched TV. I'd had to turn my phone off because people kept calling and the damn thing was going to die before Dani came, and then we wouldn't be able to call or take pictures.

The doctor checked in periodically, announcing minor-ass progress, which only served to frustrate my wife. And me, if was being honest.

We walked up and down the hallways, trying to move things along. Finally, around two in the morning, Reed Girl's contractions got a lot faster, and the nurse brought the doctor in. She pronounced her good to go, and a whole team assembled. I put on my own gown thingy, which was lame but whatever, and stationed myself at Reed Girl's side as we'd planned.

She held my left hand, after I reminded her that the right one was our golden goose. Everybody in the room laughed at that, even my Reed Girl. She was amazing. She was sweaty and exhausted and using every bit of strength in her body to bring our daughter into the world, and it was incredible to see. I'd always known she was strong, and perfect, and awesome, but this was something else.

Even though the awful video on birthing class had made it apparent that labor wasn't just two pushes and then out came the baby, it still surprised me that the process took almost an hour. Reed Girl powered though, her face getting red, her teeth gritted, and her grip like a fucking vice. I knew better than to complain, though.

At exactly 2:52 AM on May 2nd, Danielle Elizabeth Cullen came into the world. The doctor let me cut the cord, which I did while avoiding looking at what it was attached to. Dani let out a loud yell, which made Reed Girl sigh with relief. The nurses took her and cleaned her up before handing her to me.

She was so tiny. Well, she seemed tiny to me, but the doctor pronounced her twenty-one point four inches, which was apparently rather tall for a baby. She weighed seven point five pounds, which was about the norm.

"Your genes," Reed Girl muttered. "Bring her over."

I carried her gently, unable to take my eyes off her. She was definitely my daughter. I mean, not that I had any doubt about that, but the little tuft of hair on the top of her head was a reddish brown that matched mine perfectly. Her skin was really pink and soft. I slipped my finger under her tiny palm, and I'm pretty sure she gripped it. Sort of.

"She's beautiful," Reed Girl whispered as I transferred Dani gently into her arms. "Look at that hair." She pressed a soft kiss to our daughter's forehead. It was honestly the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life, the look on Bella's face as she held our daughter for the first time. "Unruly, just like her daddy's."

"Her hair will be the envy of every girl she ever meets," I said, making Reed Girl laugh.

Dani let out a little half cry, half sigh, as she curled into her mother.

"So pretty." Reed Girl couldn't stop touching her, examining each little finger.

"Because she takes after her mom."

Reed Girl smiled at me. "I think she has my nose. But that's definitely your chin."

I wasn't sure how she could tell, but I wasn't about to argue with her. "She's gorgeous." That was fact, no matter who she looked like.

I took out my phone and snapped a bunch of pictures of Dani and Reed Girl. I fired off a mass text to our parents, the gang, and my teammates. I didn't care if I woke the fuckers. Everybody needed to know my daughter was finally here.

"Your turn," Reed Girl said, holding her out to me.

I took Dani into my arms, being careful with her head, just like the class taught me. Her eyes opened for a few seconds.

"Hi. I'm your dad. The one who's been talking to you for the past six months or so. You know me, don't you? I bet, if you tried really hard, you could probably say dad already. Why don't you give it a try?"

Reed Girl let out a tired laugh. "Already trying to get her to talk, huh? And of course you want dad to be her first word. It couldn't be mom."

I kissed her gently. "It could be, but we both know I'm going to be her favorite."

"You're not supposed to say that to me after thirteen hours of labor, Cullen."

I smiled down at my daughter. "Your mom's a warrior. She's way stronger than I could ever hope to be. I suppose you can say mom first, if you want. But you're my baby girl. Always."

I saw a flash go off in my periphery. Reed Girl had my phone and was taking pictures. "Your first daddy-daughter moment. I had to capture it."

"Let's get some of all three of you."

The nurse took my phone, and I laid Dani in Reed Girl's arms and then wrapped mine around both of them.

"There. A perfect little family."

And we were. I had a wife and a daughter now. They were my world. And I was going to do my best to make sure they knew it. Always.