A/N Happy Go Topless Day! Yep, it really says that on my site. I imagine some people would be delighted if any of you partake in said day! It's also National Spongecake Day, which hopefully is no relation. haha. And Hug Your Sweetheart Day! They surely would enjoy that even more if you celebrated Topless Day at the same time. Just some helpful advice! Enjoy!

You guys, today is NOT my day. Actually this whole weekend is not my day, but today especially. First, somehow or other I hurt my elbow to the point that I can't straighten my arm without a lot of pain. And it's my right arm, which is my dominant arm. So I forget and reach for something and it's like holy hell stabbing pain. I think I hyperextended it. Anyway, I'm a side sleeper, and I can't sleep on the right side at all because I'm incapable of actually rolling over onto that arm. Even putting my comforter on hurt last night. Finally got sleep and what happens? Fire alarm goes off downstairs at 1:30 AM (why do these things always happen in the middle of the night?) Nothing was on fire, but it scared the shit out of me, of course. Had to get up, get dressed (which is a process with one decent arm) and investigate. The battery was changed in the damn thing just a couple months ago so that shouldn't be it. The green light keeps turning off, though. And, with my inability to truly reach, I can't even get into it to change the battery or clean it out to see if there's anything causing the problem. I've already texted my brother who is going to come over at some point to help. But it sucks. You root all week for the weekend to arrive and then you have arm pain and sleep problems? Blah.

On a happy note, did my first true fantasy drafts this weekend and got an A+ grade on team Jamal About the Johnsons. hehe That damn team better perform well is all I'm saying! Preseason football is still going strong, and we're getting there. So excited!

Okay, this the last regular chapter of this story. The next two are epilogues of sorts, with a small time jump for first one and a large for second. And the second one is a long one! I've already written over 8000 words and it's not done yet. So at least we'll go out with a bang! I'm so grateful that so many of you don't want to say goodbye to them. I would hate to write them past the point that anyone cared :) The love for them makes me so happy. I'll write more on that later, but I just wanted to thank you as always for the support. Have a great week! I might be longer to get to review replies this week, just depends on how my arm does throughout the day. Thankfully the writing position is one I seem to to manage. Take care and have a great one!

Getting Blitzed Chapter 50

It was finally here. Months of planning had lead to this moment. I couldn't help but grin as I took in the field. We'd divided it up into sections. The serious, money-paying kids who were training to play for leagues and school were starting with the coaching staff. The kids who were there for fun were starting with the players. I'd be rotating my way between each section, making sure everyone got to play with me.

I was thrilled that the team had stepped up, letting us use the facilities and coaches free of charge for the charity. We needed the help. Some kids had come from as far away as California. There was already a waiting list for next year. Likely we'd have several camps next year instead of just one. The interviews I'd given leading up to the camp had definitely worked.

I'd even worked it into my photo shoot with Dani. That magazine had hit the stands two weeks after we'd done the shoot, and yeah. It was their highest-selling magazine that wasn't a body issue. Of course, I was fairly certain my mother had bought half the copies herself. She'd probably hand them out to every person she met from now until Dani graduated from college. To say the pictures had gone over well would be an understatement.

They'd gone with the picture of Dani asleep on my bare chest, me playing with the bow in her hair as I smiled down at her for the cover. I hadn't really even posed for it; I'd just been looking at her, and that had been that. It was an awesome picture, to be sure. All of them were. My favorites were the ones with all three of us, though, one of which had made it into the magazine, much to Reed Girl's chagrin. And the pictures that were taken just for us were fantastic as well. We had photos on display in just about every room.

"Hey, Edward!"

I glanced over at where Alec stood with a few kids and parents. It was time. I jogged over and grinned at the group. The boy in the middle had a shaved head. I felt a little pang, thinking of Danny. He would have been the first one to show up today if he'd been alive. I did my best to shake off the sadness. There was no room for that here.

"This is Tevin, Jesse, and Aron. Guys, this is Edward."

I shook hands. "You're all clearly here to play. What's your position?"

Tevin stepped forward. "I'm a corner."

The kid had some height already and couldn't be much older than ten or eleven. "Good. Prince is actually going to be here soon. He can show you some things."

"Yeah!" Tevin lit right up at that.

Aron held up his hands. "I'm a receiver."

"You're with me, man." Sammy came up and clapped me on the shoulder. "Paul's on his way."

"Excellent. And you?" I asked Jesse.

"I want to be a quarterback, like you," he murmured softly.

I noticed that he glanced at the other boys, almost like he was waiting for them to laugh or challenge that, but that shit wasn't going to happen here. Respect your teammates was the number-one rule.

"Great. Then you're with me. Coach Taylor is going to be here, too. He's my position coach and will teach you how to read defenses. Sound good?"

He smiled shyly. "It does."

"Come on, boys. I'll show you the locker room, where you can put your stuff." Alec herded the boys along.

"This is going to be fun," Sammy said, bending to stretch his legs out. "And it'll get us back in shape before training camp."

I snorted at that. "Some of us aren't out of shape."

"No shit. I guess when you're posing shirtless in a national magazine, you can't let yourself go at all." He was laughing his ass off but still managed to snag the ball I tossed at his head.

"You're just jealous," I said, catching the ball he lobbed back at me.

"I am. But it'll be me in a year or two."

I raised a brow at that declaration. "Oh, really? Do you have some news?"

He grinned. "Not yet, but I'm thinking of proposing to Emily around Christmas. That'll be a year after we met. If we're still as crazy about each other then as we are now…why not?"

I laughed. "You're asking me? I told Reed Girl we'd be getting married about two months after we met. I did wait a while to propose, but that's because I wanted to wait until the draft. It was a done deal long before that, though."

"So you don't think I should wait?" he asked.

What did I know? "You should do it whenever you want to do it, man. If that's tomorrow or in a year, whatever."

"We can't all be as quick as Colin."

I laughed. "No shit."

A month after their first kiss, Colin had called and asked me and Reed Girl to meet Kim and him at the courthouse. They'd had a quick wedding with only the two of us and Dani as their witnesses. Kim was ready to pop any day now. Colin was coming to help with the camp, but his phone was going to be on him at all times.

"He's psyched to be a dad." I was blown away by how excited he was to have an instant family. He wasn't remotely bothered that he wasn't biologically related.

"A father is more than a man who donates the sperm. I didn't do that part. Any asshole can do that. But I'm the one who's going to be there to teach him how to read, write, play football, shave, drive… That's the part that really matters, Edward."

And it was. I couldn't imagine what the moron Kim had dated before was thinking, walking away from his son. I wouldn't trade anything in the world for Dani, not even a dozen Super Bowl wins. I was already anxious for her to get here. Reed Girl had promised to bring her by before camp wrapped for the day. She wasn't ready to put in an eight-hour day at this point, but I still couldn't wait to see her.

Nothing in the world beat the bright smile she gave when she saw me now. Yeah, her lip twitches when she was only a week or so old had been cute, but now she really gave me a grin. It was the best thing ever. It was hard to believe she was two months old now. Where had the time gone?

"Well, of course he's psyched to be a dad. We all see how much you love it." Sammy laughed. "And how effortless you make it look."

It wasn't effortless by any means. I second-guessed myself on shit every day. But it was worth it. "It's the best thing I'll ever do."

"Yeah." Sammy twisted his mouth and then nodded. "Do you think maybe you could come with me to a jewelry store after camp sometime this week?"

I couldn't help but grin. Reed Girl would be beyond thrilled to have her two closest friends here married to two of my teammates. "Yeah. Just let me know."

"Sure." His grin widened. "Incoming."

"Edward!"

I turned at that excited voice and crouched down with arms wide open as Chelsea launched herself into them.

"Chels! You made it!" I'd missed her. Things had been hectic right after Dani was born, with our houseful of people, and after school got out; she and her parents had gone to visit the grandparents. They'd taken a long road trip because Chelsea had refused to leave the kittens behind and they'd just needed some time away. I got it. But I had missed her.

"Of course! I had to be here. I'm your best blocker and your special consultant."

I laughed and gave her a squeeze. "That you are. You ready to kick some butt out there today?"

"Of course! Mom and Dad said to tell you hello. They'll be back before it's over."

Good. I'd hoped they'd watch a little of the camp, get a feel for what we were doing here. I knew it was hard on them, though.

"How are the kittens? Did they do well on the drive?"

Chelsea laughed. "Renny yelled a lot at first, but eventually she got used to it. Eli slept most of the time."

I smiled. "That's what cats do in the car, unless they're Rainbow." She didn't sleep. She watched everything from her perch on my shoulder or Reed Girl's lap.

"I miss Rainbow, and so do the kittens. Can we come see her again?"

I tousled her hair, which was now all grown in. It was hanging just above her shoulders. "Of course. She'd love to play with you guys again." Well, Chelsea, anyway. She tolerated the other two, but I was sure she'd be happier if they were left behind. "We'll have a picnic or something in the next week or two."

"Sounds good. Hi, Sammy!"

"Hi, Squirt. About time you remembered me."

Chelsea grinned. "I remembered. I just wanted to talk to Edward first. He's my friend."

I smirked at Sammy. "Yeah. I'm her friend."

"You wound me! I thought we were friends, too. I guess I'll just go cry-" He broke off with a laugh when she tackled him. He went down with a loud "oof."

"Thatta girl!" Colin came up and gave Chelsea a hand up. "I'm glad to see your dirty playing style hasn't gone away."

"It's not dirty. I had to take him down before he walked away. He's my friend, too. It's that Edward's my best friend. Well, here, anyway."

Before I could get too big of a head at her words, she'd had to add that last part and deflate my ego. I laughed my ass off. "You do know how to put me in my place, Chelsea. I'm going to have to keep you away from my daughter. I can't have her learning how to cut me down like that."

"No way! I want to meet Dani! She's really cute. I like the pictures you sent."

"I'm glad you like them. And she is cute. She'll be here later, so you can meet her then."

"Okay, good." She looked around. "So, when do we get to play? I want to block someone."

"I think you're wasted on blocking. We should put you on the d-line," Sammy said, getting up and rubbing his backside.

"Seriously, she's dirtier than Suh; she may as well play his position," Colin agreed.

"I want to do both. I can tackle, and I can knock people down who try to get Edward. I'm good at it."

I had to smile at her proud declaration. "You are, Chels. We'll use you to demonstrate some tackling drills. You see that big red thing over there?" I pointed at the tackling dummy. "You hit that as hard as you can and-"

She was off before I could finish my sentence. "I didn't mean now!" I called after her, laughing when she smacked into the dummy, barely budging it. "Oh, well."

"Let her at it. She's having fun." Colin smiled as he watched Chelsea tackle the dummy again. "It's good to see."

"Yeah, it really is." I laughed as Chelsea did some kind of crazy little butt wiggle dance after she moved the machine a little more. "Speaking of having fun, are you ready?"

Colin gulped but nodded. "I'm scared to death but excited at the same time. Kim's under strict orders to call not only me, but you, Bella, Sammy, Brady, and everyone else who might be here if and when the time comes. I'll probably check my phone every two minutes."

I couldn't blame him. We hadn't planned on having Dani, obviously, but the timing couldn't have been better. I'd be insane if it happened during the season and I was on a road trip or something.

"At least he'll be here before the season starts."

"Tell me about it. I'd hate to miss a game, but I'd totally do it if he came during one."

Yeah. It would suck, but the choice was easy. If Reed Girl and I ever had a baby during the season, I was going to be there. No matter when it was.

"What's it like?" he asked, looking nervous.

"Well, it's scary at first, but then the process takes so damn long that you tend to calm down. I was still nervous, but I concentrated on keeping Bella comfortable and busy. A lot can happen in thirteen hours."

"Thirteen." He groaned. "God, I hope it doesn't take that long. I'll be a crazy person."

"Nah. Just remember to bring books, games, phone and camera chargers, music…shit to pass the time with. Bring your playbook," I suggested, because why not? He should bone up while he was waiting.

"Good idea. Kim has her bag packed, but I hadn't thought of putting anything in there for me. I'll do that when I get home."

"Two weeks to go, unless he's an early arriver like my Dani." I grinned. Reed Girl said that it was my genes kicking in that made Dani early. I did like to be early to things. Besides, it wasn't like she minded. We were happy she'd arrived when she did, although I'd been a little panicked at first since we were alone. I should have known my mom would move heaven and earth to get to us when she heard, though.

"I'm ready. I think."

I laughed. "Yeah. One thing I've learned is that you're never ready for everything. But you'll be good. You love Kim and the baby. That's the most important thing."

"Yeah. You'll be good, man," Sammy assured him.

"Are you guys going to stand around talking all day like a bunch of girls, or are we going to do this?"

The fact that it was a girl doing the asking made us all crack up. "Sorry, Chels. We didn't mean to waste time talking about feelings when we should be playing football." I shook my head. "What were we thinking?"

She had her hands on her hips, and scowled at me. "I came to play."

"Let's do it, then."

Xoxoxoxoxox

Everything was going exactly like I envisioned when I'd imagined Danny's Dream camp. Kids, players, and coaches were everywhere, running drills. We had several kids who were coming off cancer treatments, along with a couple who had Down's Syndrome, and even one little guy in a wheelchair.

I set him up as a blocker, in front of Chelsea. She'd smiled at me, giving a little nod without me even saying anything, and she lightly ran into his chair, letting his arms stop her before she went down.

"Good block, Jimmy!" I called.

He gave a little fist pump as the running back scampered past, into the end zone.

"Great technique," Coach Ranier, our o-line coach, told him. "Keep blocking upward like that so she can't get any leverage on you."

I watched as they set up the next play.

"Mr. Cullen?"

I turned and shook the hand of the man who held his hand out to me.

"I'm Jimmy's father."

I smiled. "He's a great kid. And please, call me Edward."

"Yeah, he is. I'm Mike Haynes." He blew out a breath. "I just wanted to thank you for letting him participate. It means the world to him. To us. He plays in some special leagues, but to get to play with kids who aren't in wheelchairs, and with you all, well, it's just awesome. He was so excited to come today, and he's having the time of his life out there."

And that, right there, was exactly what I'd wanted when it came to this camp: for everyone to get to take part and to be treated equally.

"He's doing a great job." I smiled as he steered his chair into the path of the oncoming runner, taking on the part of the defender now. "I don't think he's stopped smiling since he got here."

"He hasn't. I worried that he'd spend most of his time on the sidelines, but he's been right in there from the get-go."

"That's what we wanted."

I watched as the quarterback over to my right completed a long touchdown pass to the corner of the makeshift end zone. Sammy crowed with joy when the boy he'd been coaching up out leaped the corner and tapped his toes inbounds.

"Perfect! That was exactly like I showed you, Cody. Great jam."

Mike smiled. "Looks like you've got some potential players here, too."

"We do. That quarterback has a great arm. I'm going to do some one-on-one with him in a few, as soon as that scrimmage is over."

"Well, I know you have a lot going on. I really just wanted to thank you. I have no doubt we'll be coming to this camp as long as you have it."

I shook his hand again. "That would be fantastic. We'll have some sign-up information for next year. We're definitely going to be expanding the program. It's going to be a blast."

"I had no doubt. And if you need any volunteers, let me know. I'd love to help out, however I can."

I eyed him. He was pretty tall and well-built. "Did you play?"

He nodded. "Some tight end in high school."

"Did you guys check in with Alec when you got here?" Alec was in charge of the list of participants.

"Yes."

"Give him your contact information. We'd be glad to have you."

He grinned. "Looks like more than just my son's dreams have come true today. Thank you."

He headed off to where Alec was busy setting up drinks and snacks. His words resounded with me, though. Making dreams come true. That's what it was all about.

"I hope you're up there watching, Danny, and that's it everything you would have wanted if you were here. I wish you were."

"He is." Arms wrapped about me from behind. "It's absolutely fantastic, Edward. What you're doing here is a wonderful thing."

I smiled. My wife was here, her timing impeccable as usual. I turned in her arms and pulled her to me.

"Hey, baby."

"Hey, Champ." She reached up and brushed her fingers through my hair, her eyes studying me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good. I was just having a moment."

"I know. But he is here. He's in every smile on every single face, in every completed pass, and every tackle. You're keeping his memory alive in the best way." She laughed when Dani let out a little gurgle from her stroller. "Okay, maybe second best way. She's the first."

There wasn't a doubt in the world that she was. I kissed Reed Girl soundly before bending to lift our daughter.

"You are the best, aren't you, Dani?"

She gave me an answering gummy grin, clearly agreeing with me. I brought her into my chest, kissing the top of her head, where she was sporting a purple bow today.

"Your mom won't leave your hair alone, will she, Dani?" I grinned when Reed Girl reached up and tugged mine. "I know the feeling, kid. I told you that your hair would be the envy of every woman, and it already is."

Reed Girl chuckled. "Yeah, well, after that magazine came out, we got hundreds of bows sent to the Giants office, some from companies wanting her to wear them. She's like the model for baby bows or something."

I clutched Dani to me tighter. "Don't even joke about that, baby. She's not modeling."

Reed Girl just rolled her eyes. "She will if she wants to, Champ. This isn't the place for squishing dreams."

Okay, so she had a point. But still. No modeling. That was a gateway to her being taken away from me. No way, no how.

"Edward! Edward!" I turned as Chelsea's excited voice got near. "I want to meet her!"

I laughed and crouched down, holding Dani more on Chelsea's level. "Okay, Miss Impatient. Dani, this is Chelsea. She's going to be a good friend to you and teach you the stuff that girls should know. Chelsea, this is my daughter, Dani."

"Hi, Dani." Chelsea reached out and touched her face softly. "You have the best name in the world. Don't you forget that." I saw some tears in her big blue eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

"We won't let her," I promised. "Not between you, Bella, and me."

"Good." Chelsea smiled then. "She's really pretty."

"We think so." Reed Girl bent and gave Chelsea a hug. "Hi, sweetie. It's good to see you."

"You, too! Edward said we'd do a picnic or something next week, if that's okay."

"Of course it is. I can't wait to see Renny and Eli again. I bet they're getting big."

Chelsea nodded. "Mom says they're growing like weeds. They'll be as big as Rainbow soon. Maybe they'll double team her and take her down."

Reed Girl laughed. "I doubt it, but they can try."

I had to join in. No way in hell was Rainbow letting anybody take her down, not even two cats. "She'd enjoy the challenge."

"Speaking of challenges, are you having fun out there?" Reed Girl asked, smoothing Chelsea's hair out of her eyes.

"I am! I made a couple touchdown-saving blocks and helped us score a bunch of times."

"She did. Chelsea's still my best blocker." I couldn't help but be proud of that fact. She kicked ass.

"Of course I am." She looked around before lowering her voice. "The other girls aren't very good."

I had to bite back a laugh. She was right; she was better than everyone except one girl, Janey, who was playing with one of the advanced groups. She was in Pee Wee with her brothers and could hold her own.

"Well, most of them are new to the game. But you can help me teach them, right?"

"I guess." She shrugged. "I like being the best, though."

Good point. "But to be the best, you have to beat the best. So we have to coach them up, and then you can take them down."

She thought about that for a minute before nodding. "Okay. I'll do that. Bye, Bella! Bye, Dani." She paused. "Can I give her a hug?"

"Sure, but you have to be gentle. She's pretty fragile yet." I held Dani out, and Chelsea wrapped her arms between mine, very lightly. "Perfect."

"We're going to be friends," Chelsea said, giving her a little kiss on the forehead. "Okay, I'm going to go play now."

I grinned at her. "I'll be right there."

She ran off, and I turned to my wife. "Are you staying awhile?"

"Yeah, we'll be here. Dani wants to see her daddy coach them up. And I want to watch my sexy husband do the same."

I smirked at her. We'd gotten the all clear to resume sex two weeks ago, and while we weren't quite as active as we'd been pre-baby, we were still doing pretty well. Thank god for nannies who took the occasional night shift. Dani had cockblocked me more than once, though. We'd had a few talks about it, but it hadn't accomplished anything, other than to make Reed Girl laugh her ass off.

"Enjoy the show, baby."

I kissed her and then kissed Dani's forehead. "Be a good girl, Dani. Daddy will be right back."

I handed her back to Reed Girl and then headed back toward my team. Time to play.

Xoxoxoxoxox

"That was so awesome! I was the best blocker, wasn't I?" Chelsea skipped around me as I navigated my way through parents, coaches, and kids. The place was a madhouse as we wrapped for the day. But it was a good one. Everybody had had a great time and gotten to participate. I was already looking forward to tomorrow.

I bent down and looked into her eyes. "Don't tell anybody I said so, but yeah, you were."

Her grin grew wider before she threw her arms around me. "Thanks, Edward! I had a really good time. I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm taking out Jermaine."

I had to laugh at her targeting one of the more elite players at the camp. If anybody could take him down, it would be her. She'd find a way.

I ruffled her hair. "Take it easy on him, kiddo. He wants to play pro one day, and he has the skills to do it."

She tilted her head. "If he wants to play against you guys, he's gotta be ready for the hard hits, doesn't he?"

I couldn't fault her logic. Still, I'd have to keep an eye on her tomorrow. I didn't want her hurting herself or him for that matter.

I took her hand, and we made our way over to the bench, where Reed Girl sat with Dani.

"Bella! Did you see me play?

My wife grinned at her. "Of course I did, Chelsea. You were one of the best ones out there! I knew you'd take down all those boys."

"I did! And I didn't kick anyone, even though some of them needed kicking."

I laughed. We'd had a discussion about sportsmanship before the scrimmage. At least she'd taken it to heart.

"It's a good thing you didn't kick anybody. Kickers don't get much love on the football team, except when they hit the game winner," I told her.

"I don't want to be a boring old kicker. They don't get to tackle."

That was true. On the rare occasions that they did, it usually wasn't pretty.

"She's all about the tackling, aren't you, Chels?"

I turned at the voice behind me and smiled as Chelsea launched herself into her mother's arms.

"Mom! Did you see me? I was really good!"

"Of course we saw you. You were better than good! You were great!"

"Darn right you were. That's my girl." Her dad gave her a hug. "We're very proud of you, Chels."

He stood and held out a hand to me. "You've done an amazing thing here. We couldn't be prouder to have our son's name attached to this camp." He shook my hand heartily. "I can't tell you how many parents I talked to who thought this was fantastic."

I didn't even know what to say. I had to swallow the lump in my throat at his words.

"Thanks. We're really glad you could make it." Trust my wife to step in, knowing that I needed her help. She hugged Joyce and then Steve. "And we have someone we want you to meet."

She picked Dani up out of her stroller. Joyce's eyes got a little teary as she admired my daughter, who was in her Giants' jersey in solidarity with the day.

"She's beautiful. Hello, Dani. You're just as pretty as your name."

"Would you like to hold her?"

"Sure."

Reed Girl made the transfer, and Joyce smiled down at her, even though the tears had started to fall. "Steve was wrong. This is the best thing to have our son's name attached to."

"She's beautiful," Steve said, watching his wife with a sad smile.

"Thanks. We think so. We only hope she can live up to his name." I smiled at Joyce and my daughter. She would. I didn't doubt it.

He glanced around, at the kids and families still milling about. "I think she can. This does. We can't thank you enough for all you've done."

"No need. You and Danny have given us something bigger to focus on than the next game. It's been way more rewarding than I could have imagined."

It was true. I loved football. I lived it. And I always took it seriously, except for today. Today I got to have fun with it. It was like being a kid again, when I just played for the love of the game. Not that I'd ever stop wanting to play and win. No way. Even though we hadn't kept score today, this felt a lot like winning.