A/N Happy Parents Day! That one seemed only too appropriate, under the circumstances. It's also Aunt & Uncle's Day, which we have to wait for for just a bit :) But it's coming! My heart breaks to see that yesterday was National Hot Fudge Sundae Day, and I failed to commemorate it. Harsh.

In sporting news, TRAINING CAMPS ARE STARTING! You know what that means? FOOTBALL IS ALMOST BACK! As you can see, I'm clearly unexcited about it. hehe Very soon it'll be time to draft some fantasy teams! I've already started researching. hehe And speaking of that, you know I do special leagues (the Hate League, The Suck League, League of the League, etc) and this year we're creating The Everything But The Kitchen Sink League, in which we have to have draft one player from every team, and only one player per team, so no Rodgers and Lacy together, for example. Half of them will play each week. It's going to be pure and utter insanity. And we need a 6th and final member of the group, so I'm issuing an invite to anyone who wants to join to send me a PM and we'll talk about it. Prefer someone with fantasy experience just because it's going to be ridic, but if you're a newbie and want to give it a shot, still let me know. I can't wait!

It's also the kickoff to the start of the Special Olympics! I'm not sure where it's going to be televised, but I know ESPN/ABC are a part of it. If you want to see some awesome athletes and amazing sportsmanship, that's the place to look. I just checked and ESPN has a special looking at some of the athletes at 5 PM eastern, so check it out if you're so inclined. I will be!

I was remiss not to mention that one of the RL athletes I use in this story, JPP, blew off a finger on the 4th of July, and one of my Bucs blew off 2 and is out of football. I obviously won't be addressing it in the story, as that's just not a place I want to go, but please, people, be careful if you're going to shoot off fireworks. I choose to leave that shit to professionals, but that's just me!

Okay, enough of me. It's time to get the baby home, and what better POV to do that in than the one that most of you have been waiting for? Yes, it's finally time for Rainbow to weigh in on the happenings in this story :) I hope you enjoy dipping into her head again as much as I did. Next week, Dani will meet some of our friends. Have a great one and I'll see you then!

Getting Blitzed Chapter 46

RPOV

This was unacceptable. They'd been gone for hours. Days, even, maybe. It had been a long time. They knew I didn't like it when they left me alone. And clearly they were off doing something fun without me, based on the way Daddy had been running around when they left.

I didn't like it. Not one little bit. The dark had come, and they hadn't come back. Now there was light, and they still weren't here.

What to do, what to do? I could maybe take Daddy's shoes and chew the laces. He always got mad when I did that, but he needed to pay for neglecting me. You'd think he would learn a lesson about that by now, but no. He still left. Why couldn't I go where he was going? I would be good. I was always good. And awesome. Daddy even told me so.

Hmm, I know. I could get into that big window upstairs so I could see when he was coming. If they were going to leave me, why didn't they call someone to come entertain me while they were gone? Even that wrinkly lady they used to leave me with would be better than being all alone.

I zipped up the stairs and leaped onto the soft cushions. Mom hadleft one of her books behind. Lately she'd been reading to me in the seat while I lay across her belly. And thathad been weird because she'd gotten bigger there lately and I could feel something under there. I liked to lie on it and feel the movement under us. I didn't know what it was, but it felt good and funny. I wanted it back. Now.

Every time one of those loud machines came near, I stood up and pressed my nose to the window. It was cold. And finally, after forever, one stopped and out came Daddy!

I flew down the stairs, calling for him the whole way so he'd know that I was here and I was lonely. He opened the door, and I launched myself at him. He caught me, because he always does, and hugged me to him while I meowed my displeasure at being left alone. And yes, I purred, because I was happy to see him. Even when I was mad at him, which I was right now. But I wanted to be held, too. It was all very confusing.

"Hey, Rainbow. You were alone all night, huh? Sorry about that. Couldn't be avoided."

Yes, it most certainly could have. They could have taken me with them, where I belonged!

He made a strange noise and his muscles tensed underneath me.

"Fuck, I'm exhausted. It's only day one, and I'm already beat. Reed Girl sent me home to get a quick nap and to give you this."

Me? He had something for me? Well, that was more like it. I took my face out of his neck and saw a blanket. Yes! I loved blankets! Of course they got me a present to make up for their neglect. It wasn't enough, but it was a start.

White and soft and perfect and mine, all mine! I purred harder and tried to get to it while Daddy laughed. He carried me into the living room and sat, putting the blanket next to us. I immediately abandoned him to rub all over it. It was so comfortable! I buried my nose in it and tried to use my paws to make it the perfect nest before I curled up to take my nap. It smelled good! He was forgiven.

"You like that, huh? Good. Reed Girl thought it would be a good idea if I brought home something that smelled like the baby, to get you used to her scent."

Daddy picked up a corner of my blanket and sniffed it. I batted at it, trying to take it back. Mine. He laughed. I loved it when he did that.

"I'm glad you approve." He scooped me up and held me in front of his face. "We need to talk, Rainbow."

Weren't we already? I let him know that by putting my paw on his mouth, which made him laugh again.

"Remember when Chelsea came over for the first time, and we had a talk about how I needed you to behave, because she needed a friend?"

Chelsea. I knew that name. She played with me. She was fun. Was she coming over again? I had toys we could play with. They should have her come over when they left me alone. She would have kept me entertained.

I meowed to let him know that I knew what he was talking about and that I was in favor of her coming over again. I needed people who played with me to come over, since Daddy and Mom weren't doing it enough lately.

"Right. Well, there's another little girl coming over tomorrow, and you need to be on your very best behavior with her."

I wasn't sure what a girl was, but if it was going to play with me, I was cool with it. I let him know that.

"I mean it, Rainbow. She's tiny and helpless, and oh, so fucking beautiful. It's our job to protect her. Mine, and Reed Girl's, and yours. She's really little, even though she's apparently tall for a newborn that arrived a couple weeks early."

He laughed, and it rumbled through me. Fun! I loved that.

"She's definitely got my genes. Reed Girl figures she'll be taller than her by the time she's in middle school. It's probably true. Hilarious."

Jeans? They wore those, right? What was he going on about? Wasn't it time to play? Or take that nap he'd mentioned?

"Life is definitely going to change in a major way, Rainbow."

Change? Why? I liked things the way they were.

"I'm going to need you to be gentle with Dani. She's so tiny, soft, fucking breakable. I'm not going to lie. I'm terrified just holding her, even though it feels amazing at the same time."

Daddy smiled. The whole of me always felt good and warm when his mouth did that for me.

"I never knew…I mean, I read a shit-ton about the baby coming, what to do to prepare, what to do after she arrives, but the way it feels…" He shook his head. "I can't even describe it. It's like, I'd do anything to make her happy and keep her that way. It's like what I feel for Reed Girl, only bigger, because she can protect herself. Dani can't. We're her whole world right now, and it needs to be perfect for her."

He closed his eyes, taking the pretty green away. I didn't like that, so I yelled at him and they opened again. Good. Better. He needed to look at me when he talked to me.

"We need to take care of her. Now, that's primarily on me and her mother, but I expect you to help me, even if it's only by listening. You're good at that, aren't you?"

Of course I was. I was good at everything that I did. That was just a fact.

"You'll do that, right? Be there for me? I know I'm going to freak out a billion times as she grows up, and there'll be times that Bella doesn't agree with me. You'll always listen and agree, though, won't you?"

He looked at me like he expected an answer, so I meowed.

"Good." He made another of those noises, with his mouth opening wide again. "Let's go upstairs and take a quick nap before I head back to the hospital. I need to call Tiffany's, too."

I didn't know what that was, but I knew what a nap was. He pulled me to him and thankfully brought the blanket with us. I pressed my face to it again. So clean. It smelled a little like whatever was in that bottle in that room with the soft blanket and my special bed. I laid in there sometimes to take a nap when Daddy and Mom weren't in our bed. It was very soft, and I fit in there nicely.

Daddy put me on the bed while he talked into the little thing in his hand. He put the blanket down, and I immediately burrowed inside. He got into the bed next to me and pulled me against his side. Daddy, a nap, and a soft new blanket? Life didn't get any better than this.

Xoxoxoxox

Daddy left me, again. At least this time he had the decency to say good-bye and give me some parting treats. That saved his favorite shoes. I had no choice but to entertain myself on my castle and sleep the day away.

I was ready and waiting the next morning when the front door opened.

"Take it easy, Reed Girl. Are you sure I shouldn't carry you?"

Mom laughed. "I'm not an invalid, Edward. I had a baby. Women do that every day. Didn't I just show you how strong I was when I had her?"

"You're the strongest woman in the world, baby."

The door fully opened, and there they were! I called to let them know that I was happy to see them, even though they'd abandoned me. I ran down the hall, ready to leap, but Daddy was carrying something. Unacceptable. They leave me alone forever, and then he has his hands full? I shifted aim toward Mom, planting myself at her feet, ready to be picked up and lavished in the love I so richly deserved.

"Sorry, Rainbow. I don't feel quite up to bending to get you right now. But you're a good girl. A pretty, good girl. We have someone for you to meet."

I didn't want to meet anyone. I wanted to be held and loved! What was this nonsense?

"Bring her into the living room," Mom told Daddy.

I trailed behind them to see what in the hell was going on. This was not normal. I didn't like it.

"Sit down, baby. I'll hand her to you."

Mom sat down in one of my prime napping spots. Daddy toyed with something, and then took something out of the thing, handing it to Mom.

Then, finally, he reached down and picked me up. It was about time.

"Rainbow, be good."

That was offensive. I was always good. I was good and perfect and awesome. Daddy told me that all the time. He knew.

"Rainbow, this is Danielle. We're going to call her Dani. She's our baby."

Baby? I knew that word. Daddy called Mom that. I didn't see another Mom. She sometimes called me that, and I sure as hell didn't see another me. There'd better not be another me around. I tolerated those little rats that the fun one, Chelsea, brought over a couple of times. They were sort of okay, once they learned who was in charge. It had taken a few well-timed smacks to get them in line. Was I going to have to break another one in? Didn't Daddy know how tiring that was? They didn't need another me. I was perfect all on my own.

Whatever was in Mom's arms suddenly moved and let out a little cry. That wasn't my cry. That wasn't like any cry I'd ever heard before. I stretched out of Daddy's arms and sniffed. That smell. I knew that smell. It smelled like that soft blanket that Daddy gave me yesterday. Hey, that was a blanket. And it was moving! I had to get it!

"Oh, no, you don't! That's not something for you to pounce on. Look, Rainbow."

Daddy took a strong hold of me and put me right in front of Mom. I looked at the wiggling blanket. Huh. That wasn't another me. It was little. And looked like them. Mom and Daddy. And it smelled good. I wanted to touch it.

"You can put her down, I think."

"Are you sure?" Daddy kept his grip on me. "She could hurt her."

"She won't. And you're right there to grab her if she gets rough."

Daddy finally put me down on the couch, and I moved over to the squirming thing. It was my size, just about. It made that noise again. I climbed onto Mom to check it out.

"Dani, this is our kitty, Rainbow. She's the coolest cat in all the world."

That was true. Mom knew what she was talking about.

"She's going to help us take care of you, she'll be your best friend, and likely she'll steal your pillow when you get older."

That made Daddy laugh for some reason. I wasn't sure why. Pillows and blankets were all mine. That was just the way it was. They knew that.

I crept closer, and there it was. The baby, whatever that was. There were too many babies for that to make sense. We couldn't all be babies, could we? Anyway, it was a little darker than Mom and Daddy were. And way littler. But somehow it was the same as them. I took a testing sniff. Yes, it smelled good.

Mom held its hand out to me. I sniffed some more and gave it a testing rub. So soft. And small. Way smaller than Daddy's hands. It felt good, so I did it again.

"See? I told you Rainbow would be fine."

"Yeah, I know. I just…she's so little. I want to tuck her away from the world until she's less breakable."

Mom laughed again. "Somehow, no matter how big she gets, I doubt you'll ever think she's indestructible enough."

Daddy sat next to us and gave me a stroke. It felt really good. Part of me wanted to climb onto his lap, but another part of me wanted to stay here and check out the baby. It made a soft little noise and snuggled into Mom just like I did sometimes.

"I think she's ready for a nap. Shall we introduce her to her room?"

"In just a minute. I have something for you both." Daddy stood and left the room.

"He spoils us," Mom said, running a finger along the baby's head. "He's the best daddy in the whole world."

Yes, he was. Hadn't I already shown them that?

Mom gave me a pat next. "You're a good girl, Rainbow. I knew you'd be great with Dani."

Of course I was good. We'd established that. But it was nice to hear. So I gave her a kiss and purred to let her know I approved of her praise.

Daddy came back in the room with a bag. It was too small for me to get into, I could see that already. That didn't mean I wasn't going to try to fit. One of these days, I'd conquer those little bags.

"Edward, what did you do?"

"You didn't think I'd get you something to commemorate our daughter's birth? Surely you know me better than that by now, Reed Girl."

"Yeah, I do."

He sat again and handed her a box. "For my wife, who gave me everything I never knew I wanted, especially this little one." He touched the baby's face very gently, the same way he touched me.

Mom pressed her face to his and then opened the box. "Edward! This is beautiful. Are those emeralds? When did you order this?"

Daddy laughed. "After we got our due date. She cut it close, though. A couple days earlier, and I'd have had to get her name redone in diamonds."

"It's beautiful. And definitely one of a kind. Another charm I'll never take off."

"Yeah, I toyed with getting just a baby charm, but I thought her name in her birthstone was better. And now you know what you're getting with any other baby we have."

"I love it. And I love you." They pressed faces again. They were always doing that.

"Can you put it on for me?" She held out her wrist, and Daddy did something with the danglies. I loved the danglies. I reached up to bat at it, making them laugh.

"Rainbow obviously approves." Daddy patted my head.

"Okay, I think I'm ready to venture upstairs. We should get some sleep while we can."

"Not quite yet." Daddy held out another box and opened it. "This is for Dani. She can't really wear it yet, but I wanted her to have it on her first day home."

"Oh, Edward."

Mom did that thing again, where the water came out of her eyes. She did that a lot lately. I liked to try to catch the drops, but Daddy reached out and took them away before I could.

"Edward! You got Dani her own charm bracelet! It's adorable!"

"Yeah, there's only one charm now, but we'll fill it up over the years, and I'll replace it when she gets too big for it."

"Daddy's girl. It's perfect. Crap. I'm crying again."

Daddy laughed and wiped at the drops again. Darn it. I wanted them.

"Come on. Let's go get that nap." Daddy stood and helped Mom up. "Do you want me to carry her?"

"Yeah. I feel a little sore, and I'd rather hold on to the railing while I head up." She handed him the baby and pressed her face to his. "Thank you for the presents and, most importantly, for our daughter. She's amazing, isn't she?"

"She is. Just like her mother. And it's me who should be thanking you."

Another face press. They were forever pressing their faces together. They must like it a lot.

They went up the stairs, way slower than necessary, so I ran ahead of them. I started toward our room, but when they got up with me, they went the other way. Rude. I thought we were taking a nap. I followed them into the soft room. I really liked it in there. Everything was bright and warm and super snuggly. I wasn't sure what they were doing over at the table, but I hopped up into the bed with the cage on it to wait for them.

At first, I'd been afraid because a cage meant a carrier, and that meant I was going somewhere where I couldn't be free. And that wasn't acceptable. But I'd tested it out and there was no top, so I could get in and out whenever I wanted. That was fun. I liked jumping in and out of it.

"There. You're all clean and fresh and ready for a nap in your new bed."

Daddy and Mom appeared above me. They laughed when I stood on my back legs and stretched up to say hello to them.

"Sorry, Rainbow, this isn't yours."

Daddy lifted me out, which was rude. Mom put the baby in and tucked the blankets around it. My blankets. Also rude.

"We could put her in the cradle in our room," Daddy said.

"We will tonight so she'll be close by when I need to feed her. For now, we'll let her adjust to this space." Mom reached down to touch the baby. "She's so precious. I almost don't want to sleep, because I don't want to miss a minute with her."

Daddy pulled her close, wrapping both of us in his arms. "We have a whole lot of minutes ahead, baby. You need to sleep while you can. She'll be getting us up soon enough."

He led us from the room, and we finally got into bed together. I curled up into Daddy's neck. Things were as they were supposed to be again. Except for that baby thing. That was new. It would require further watching. But for now, I was glad things were back to normal.

Xoxoxoxox

"I'll get her for you."

The baby was in the room with us now, although she was in my napping space instead of the bed with us. I wasn't overly happy when they put her in there, but since they got into bed with me, I decided it was okay.

What wasn't okay was the fact that it woke us up with a loud cry that disturbed my ears. It had only been here for a little while, but already things were changing. Whenever it made noise, Daddy and Mom ran to it. I wasn't sure how to feel about this. They didn't run to me when I cried. Rude.

Daddy handed the baby to Mom, and she held it to her again. This seemed to happen every few hours. It cried, and then Mom silenced it. I was glad she could. Instead of coming back to his side, with me, where he belonged, Daddy slid in next to Mom and put his arm around her, watching her quiet the baby.

"You love watching her eat, don't you?"

Daddy laughed. "It's nice to see those babies getting some use, since I can't play with them for ages."

Mom shook her head. "Nice."

"I'm kidding. It's fascinating. And really…I don't know. It's stupid."

"Feeding our daughter is stupid? Tell me what you wanted to say."

"It's beautiful, in a way. I don't know. Only you can do that. And she rests her head against you, makes those little noises, and it's just nice, is all."

"I know what you mean." Mom made the noise again. "It's more beautiful when it's not three in the morning, but I know exactly what you mean. You could go back to sleep, you know…"

Daddy pulled her closer into his arms. "Just because I can't feed her doesn't mean you should do it alone. I'll be doing my share with bottles eventually anyway. May as well get used to it."

"Mmm, I suppose."

I went back to sleep while they talked quietly. Eventually Mom sank back into bed with me, but when I shifted over to find Daddy's neck, he wasn't there. I crept out of bed and went down the hallway, where I heard something squeaking.

Daddy was in there, sitting in the fun chair that moved. The baby was in his arms. I hopped onto his lap.

"Hey, Rainbow."

He petted my head. I turned circles until I found the spot I wanted. I couldn't be in my favorite spot because the baby was there. I thought about pushing it out of the way, but I knew Daddy wouldn't like it.

"I knew you'd keep me company. The nighttime is our time, remember? I should go back to sleep, I know, but I just wanted a few minutes with her."

All time was our time, but I was glad he wanted me there.

"I never knew just what it would be like. The books and videos told me what to do, and they sort of tried to talk about the feelings, but you can't know until she's actually here, and you're holding her, and she's so tiny and fragile and it's fucking huge. I don't want to fuck it up, Rainbow. She's everything to me. This family is more important than anything I've ever done or ever will do. I never would have thought that possible."

He scratched my neck, and it felt great. I purred and meowed to let him know I was listening.

"You've got my back, right? I have to say, you've been really good about the baby being here. I know shit is changing, and change has never been our best thing, but we've gotten through it together. And we will again."

We could do anything together. Daddy and I were a team.

"What are you doing in here?" Mom appeared in the room.

"I wanted to give you a little time to sleep."

"I don't like to sleep alone." Mom pressed her face to his and then the baby's. Then she gave me a pet.

"Sorry, baby. I was just trying to enjoy a little time with all my girls before the invasion takes place. My teammates and the girls will be here tomorrow, and my mom and dad will be up in a few days. I figure I won't get to hold her again for the next few weeks."

Mom laughed. "You're her daddy; you can hold her anytime you like. I won't let them hog her, and we'll sic Rainbow on them if they try."

I rubbed on Mom's hand to let her know I had their back. The baby made a soft noise. I liked that noise. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was pleasant. I stood on my back legs and stretched up so that I could rest my head on Daddy's other shoulder. I studied the baby while Mom and Dad laughed about something. It wasn't so bad, I guess. There was room here for both of us. I reached out and put my paw on its arm.

Mom disappeared and returned a minute later, and next thing I knew, the flashy light was going off again. I was used to that but wasn't sure what had her so excited.

"That's so cute! Edward holding his girls!"

Daddy laughed. "If we weren't in a rocking chair, I'd have you climb on so I could have all three of you. My harem."

Mom made a funny noise. "Ha! As if we live to serve you."

Daddy laughed. "I think we all know that every single one of you owns me. I'm the low man on the totem pole around here."

"The only man. And you own us just as much as we own you. Now, how about you come to bed? Dani will be awake again before you know it."

"I kind of can't wait."

Daddy stood and carried me and the baby into our room. Mom took me off of him as he bent to put the baby in the napping place. He got back into bed, and I curled in my spot between him and Mom. Everything was as it should be again. The baby was different, but this was the same. I could deal with that.