A/N Happy NFL Sunday! We're on week 5 (already? damn) and things are interesting as always! We have 6 undefeated teams, only one winless I think (Detroit, you got screwed the other night) and my Bucs suck, but at least in entertaining ways. haha I've got fantasy to keep me happy, though. It's also International Day of the Girl Child! It seemed only fitting to highlight that one :)

I missed you guys! I've enjoyed the downtime, for sure, but always miss the interaction with you all when I haven't posted in a while. I plan on getting back to writing this week, so hopefully I'll have more of something, soon. I posted a o/s with potential for more and I am listening to the characters. I think I've got a few chapters at least to write with them, tho I still don't know their whole story, so we'll see. I'm thrilled that so many of you enjoyed Ain't Love Grande? and want more of it. I'll do my best to accommodate you.

For outtakes, they won't be in any order, just as I do them. This one happens to be about 6 months after Dani's first date. She's almost 16, the new baby is arriving very soon, and Ms. Rainbow is still very much present. I did have one request to write her death, which I'm sorry, but I won't do. Having lost the kitty that Rainbow's behaviors are modeled after many years ago, I will never relive her loss, in print or otherwise. Rainbow transcends death, and that's that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. I loved how this chapter came out, even if I put poor Cockyback through the ringer a bit :) His girls have to keep him on his toes, though! Happy reading, happy Sunday, happy footballin', and stay safe and awesome until next time I see you again. Love you all!

GB Outtake 2

I sighed as I looked at the clock again. Rainbow put her paw on my leg, likely telling me to chill the fuck out, but I couldn't help it. It was all Reed Girl's fault that I was freaking out, even though she hadn't really said much about her reaction to Dani's date. I didn't know what it was, but she didn't trust him, so now I didn't trust him.

Aristotle, "call me Aro," Papadakis had been dating Dani for about three weeks. I couldn't say I was happy about it, but when was I ever happy about boys and my daughter? Reed Girl had been out the two times that he'd come to pick Dani up, first with the music program and then with her baby shower. The kid seemed just like Dani's last boyfriend, Seth, whom she'd broken up with a couple months back. At the time I'd been happy about it, but now I wasn't so sure.

Where Seth had been blond and blue-eyed, Aro was dark-dark hair, eyes, and olive skin. He was originally from Greece and even had a bit of an accent, which made my daughter swoon. I'd thought Reed Girl would feel the same way Dani did, because her favorite actors all seemed to be Brits and Aussies, but one look at Aro and her mouth had formed a thin line that meant trouble.

He was another damn senior, which I didn't like, but again, I didn't like any boy who came near Dani. Though I was kind of happy that he'd be gone in a couple of months, off to college or back to Greece or anywhere that wasn't near my kid. Hell, that was the reason that Seth and Dani had broken up, or that's what she'd told us. He didn't want to get serious when he was going away. Fine by me. She hadn't been heartbroken, thank fuck, and we'd had a few blissful months of no boys, until Aro came along.

"You actually let her go out with him?" my wife asked as the Honda pulled out of the driveway.

I looked at her. Her mouth was pinched up and her hands were crossed over her belly, where our daughter was no doubt kicking up a storm. She was due right around Dani's sixteenth birthday, and I couldn't fucking wait. I loved the idea that both of my baby girls might share the same birth date.

"What do you mean? You signed off on it when she asked if she could go a couple of weeks ago."

"I know. But you saw him."

What the fuck did that mean? He looked like a normal kid to me. He was around Dani's height and on the thin side, which I liked because she could easily kick his ass if she needed to. He needed a haircut, but what teenager didn't? There were no weird piercings or visible tattoos.

"What does that even mean? He looks like every other kid at her school, minus the whole accent thing."

Reed Girl shook her head. "I thought a player recognized a player when he saw one."

What? "What do you mean? How can you tell?" Fuck. This wasn't good.

Reed Girl rolled her eyes. That's where Dani got it from.

"A woman knows," was all she said, before heading off to take another nap. Alex wasn't letting her get enough rest these days. We were totally getting close to delivery day.

"Reed Girl shouldn't have told me that he was a player," I told Rainbow, who yawned and rolled over, exposing her belly for me to pet. "I should have known something was up when she asked Dani like five times if she had her phone and pepper spray before they left. I thought the hormones were making her channel Charlie or something."

Maybe that was it. Maybe the hormones were making Reed Girl imagine things that just weren't there. I wished the boys were here to distract me, but AJ was at a birthday party and Ethan was at some music camp. My sons should not desert me at my time of need, damn it. Dani had only been gone for an hour and a half and still had two hours until her curfew. Would time never move?

I flipped on ESPN and tried to get into the boring-as-fuck baseball game they were airing.

"How come you didn't sense something was wrong with that kid and kick his ass?" I asked Rainbow.

I swear she fucking shrugged before stretching up onto my chest.

"You're not pulling your weight, Rainbow. I expect you to know when possible players are taking out my daughter."

And just how was I supposed to recognize a player? Just because I'd been a little sexually advanced at my age didn't mean I knew shit about other kids. Could parents honestly tell that I was after only one thing when they saw me? I hadn't even done the meet-the-parents shit until Reed Girl came along. Aro had seemed comfortable enough in front of me. He'd come off as a kiss ass, but what boy picking up a girl didn't?

Dani hadn't responded to my text that I'd sent a bit ago, which wasn't surprising since she was at the movies. Fuck, dating sucked. I hated it. Alex wasn't dating, ever. I was going to convince her of that fact while she was little, drive it into her brain so that she instinctively stayed away from boys. I could totally do it. Just like teaching them that fire was bad and could hurt you. Boys were the same.

Maybe I should start now, while she was still in the womb. Perhaps if I'd forbidden Dani from dating pre-birth, we wouldn't be here now.

I stood, ready to head upstairs, just as the front door opened. A glance at the clock told me that AJ wasn't due home for another half an hour, but maybe the party let out early. I headed into the hallway and came up short when I saw my daughter's tear-streaked face. My heart stopped.

"Baby? What happened?"

She swiped at her face, her eyes red, her cheeks blotchy. I ran over to her, looking to see if she was hurt. I didn't see any marks on her, but my blood ran cold at the idea of hurts that I couldn't see.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Where's Mom?"

"You're not fine. You're crying. Mom's asleep. Come talk to me." It was hard, so hard, keeping my fear, and the growing anger that I felt clawing at my gut, at bay. Something, or someone, had upset my daughter. I could only hope that it was just emotional upset. If that guy had done anything to her, anything at all, I was going to kill him. And I would take immense pleasure in doing so.

"It's nothing, really. I just want to go to bed."

Fuck no. I took her arm, gently, and steered her into the living room. "It's not even eight o'clock, Dani. You're home two hours early, and you've been crying. You're not going to bed without telling me why."

I took a deep breath, trying to brace myself. My heart was now beating triple time after having stopped at the sight of her. "If you can't talk to me about it, if you're not comfortable, I can get your mom. But, baby, please. I have to know what happened." Just tell me you're okay. Please, God, let her be okay.

She sniffled. "Why do boys only want one thing?"

Every fear I'd ever had paled in comparison to the one I had at this moment. "Did he touch you? Did he force himself on you? Did he-" Fuck, I couldn't even complete that sentence.

Her beautiful green eyes got really wide. "No! Daddy, of course not!"

Thank fuck. My knees gave out, and I collapsed on the couch. Dani sat down next to me, burrowing into my chest. I held her to me as tightly as I could without hurting her.

When I'd calmed a little, I brushed her hair out of her face and wiped the fresh tears away. "What happened?"

She bit her lip, looking so much like her mother in that moment that I almost wanted to smile. But I wasn't about to, not until I knew what that little ratfuck had done to make my daughter cry. While I was beyond grateful that he hadn't touched her, or worse, I still wanted to kill him for upsetting her.

"You're going to be mad."

Well, of course I was. Some asshole had clearly wanted more than my daughter was willing to give. But I wasn't going to be mad at her. It wasn't her fault that boys were pricks.

"I may be mad, but not at you."

She huffed and shook her head. "No, you're going to be mad at me, too."

And my heart was racing again. I was going to have a fucking heart attack at this rate. A top-notch professional athlete, dying in his prime, because his teenage daughter was dating assholes. How embarrassing.

"Even if I get mad at you, I'll still love you. And I want to protect you. So you need to tell me what happened."

Part of me wanted to scream for Reed Girl to get down here and help me, but I knew the instant she did, Dani would turn to her and I'd be shut out. I loved their relationship-they were friends along with being mother and daughter-but I wanted to be the one she turned to right now. Even if this conversation might kill me.

"Do you promise not to get mad?"

Well, that didn't bode well. Fuck.

"No. But I promise to hear you out and that even if I do get mad at you, that's not going to stop me from loving you with everything I have."

That got me a tremulous smile. I wiped another tear away. Her beautiful eyes should never be sad. It was killing me to look at her like this.

"Okay." Dani took a deep breath. "We didn't exactly go to the movies tonight."

Even though a part of me figured that, since the stupid movie should still be showing, I steeled myself. "Where were you?"

She shifted a little under my gaze. "There was this party…"

A party? She was only fifteen. A couple of weeks away from sixteen, but still.

I opened my mouth, and Dani held up a hand. "You promised to hear me out."

Fucking kid was just like her mother. Calm as hell when I wanted to rage and storm around the room. But she was also right. I'd promised to listen.

"Okay. Go on."

"It was at one of the senior's houses. His parents are out of town."

She stopped, eying me, but I managed not to say anything. It was difficult, but I kept my word. There wasn't much I could say. How many parties had I gone to at her age? That didn't mean she wasn't going to be punished, severely, for lying to us.

"Anyway, when we got there, kids were drinking and smoking and stuff." Her eyes flashed to mine. "I didn't have anything, I swear."

I unclenched the fists I'd unknowingly been making and wiggled my fingers. I might have promised that I'd listen, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to ask one very vital question.

"Did Aro drink anything?"

She nodded slowly.

"Did you ride in the car with him after he'd been drinking?" If the answer was yes, she'd be lucky to go anywhere before she graduated from high school. And he wouldn't be driving anywhere in the near future because I'd be breaking his arms and legs.

"No!" Dani put her hand on my arm. "I swear, Daddy. Shelly was there. She wasn't drinking either. I got a ride home from her after…"

"After what?" I swear, my blood pressure was probably insanely high right now. I might have to call the team doctor to come take a look at me.

"Maybe I should just tell Mom."

I couldn't stop the pang of hurt that her words caused me, but I nodded slowly. "If you'd be more comfortable talking to your mom about this, I can go get her. But, baby, I'm kind of going out of my mind imagining all sorts of things, so could you please put your old man out of his misery and maybe let me in a little? Your mom will tell me anyway, and I'd like to hear it from you."

"It's just kind of embarrassing…talking to you about boys and stuff."

I didn't exactly want to know what "and stuff" meant, but I had to know that my daughter was okay.

"I get that. There's a reason why your mom had the sex talk with you, and it wasn't just for your benefit." I blew out a breath. "I admit that the thought of my baby girl growing up doesn't sit well with me, but I know that you are. And it may have escaped your notice, but I'm a guy."

She laughed a little at that. "I've noticed."

"Yeah, well, I know how guys think. So if you really want to know the guy perspective, I can give it to you." Even if it would fucking kill me.

Dani watched me for a few moments before nodding. "Okay. Well, we just hung around in the living room for a while. Aro had a few cups of beer. There was a keg," she added as an afterthought.

Fucking keg parties at fifteen. Kill me now. Though, again, what could I say? I'd thrown some at that age. Well, Emmett threw the parties, but I'd been there.

"Anyway, after a little while, Aro wanted some alone time with me, so he took me into one of the rooms."

Yeah, my fists and my jaw clenched. I nodded at her to continue. She needn't worry about me interrupting her story now. I was pretty much incapable of talking at the moment.

"We didn't…there wasn't…we didn't do much, Daddy. Just some kissing, really."

I gave her another tight nod. Fuck, parenting was harder than winning the damn Super Bowl.

"He, uh, wanted to do more, but I wasn't ready. We've only been together a few weeks." Direct green eyes met mine. "I haven't ever done that, and it's way too soon to think about it with him."

Thank Christ. She was still a virgin. Reed Girl had assured me of that, saying she'd know if she'd slept with Seth, but hearing it from my daughter's own lips was like a gift from above.

"You're right," I managed. "You shouldn't even think about sex with someone that early in a relationship."

Dani tilted her head, looking at me closely. "How old were you when you first did it?"

Fucking hell. This was a conversation I never wanted to have. Especially not with my teenage daughter. "How about you finish telling me what happened to make you cry, and then we'll talk about me?" Damn right I was putting it off, for as long as I could. Hopefully she'd forget she asked.

"Okay. He got mad, said something about me being a tease and that's what he gets for dating a kid, and left me sitting there."

Prick. Fucking asshole cocksucking motherfucking son of a bitch calling my daughter a tease? Fuck that noise. He needed an ass kicking.

"I just stayed there for a little bit. I thought maybe he'd calm down and we could hang out with everyone again. But when I went back in the living room, he was making out with this girl Vicky, right in front of me and everyone else."

Rage continued to flow through me at the thought of any guy having his lips on my daughter one minute and another girl the next. There was nobody better than my Dani. It was no doubt he'd traded way, way down, but I could only be grateful for that. Asshole didn't deserve her.

"I walked over to him and told him that I was glad he'd found someone more his speed but that maybe he could take me home before he-" She broke off, flushing a little.

I didn't know what she'd said, but I was damn proud that my baby girl hadn't run away crying. She'd confronted the asshole, just like her mother or I would have.

"Anyway, he told me he'd already offered me a ride and I wouldn't take it, so if I wanted one, to look elsewhere." She shrugged, as if that hadn't hurt her. I knew better. "I didn't really want to get in the car with him anyway, since he'd had a few drinks. Then he took Vicky back to the room he'd taken me to and closed the door."

The tears were back in her eyes. I pulled her onto my lap, sideways, and held her against me.

"I saw Shelly and asked if she'd bring me home." She sniffled against my neck. "I didn't cry until we left."

I smiled at the little bit of pride I heard in her voice. "Damn right, baby. You don't let that prick know that he got to you."

"How could he go from liking me one minute to being with Vicky the next? I mean, she's really pretty and older and stuff, but I really thought he liked me."

"First of all, you're more than really pretty. You're beautiful. And I have no doubt that you're more beautiful than this Vicky could ever hope to be."

She let out a little laugh. "You're biased."

"Damn right I am, but I have eyes as well. You, kiddo, got the best parts of me and your mother. And we're both gorgeous, so you do the math."

This time the laugh was a little louder. "Daddy!"

"It's true." I sat back a little so I could see that gorgeous face. "The thing with guys like Aro…with guys like I used to be before your mother came along, they aren't looking beyond what's on the outside. He didn't like you for who you were, baby. If he did, he could never have gone running to another girl the minute you said no. He just wanted a warm body, and princess, I hate to tell you this, but if you'd given him what he wanted, he probably would have gone on to another girl soon anyway. Some guys are all about the conquest, especially at that age."

"You were like that?" she asked softly.

Fuck. Me and my damn mouth. "Yes and no. I can't say that I remember ever taking one girl to a party and leaving with another when she said no." But it sounded like something I'd have done. If they'd said no. Which they hadn't.

"But, like most guys my age, I wasn't exactly looking for true love, either."

"You wanted sex."

Christ, hearing those words from my daughter's mouth made my own dry up. It just sounded so wrong.

"Yeah, I guess so." There was no guessing about it.

"When did you stop wanting that and start wanting more?"

I laughed. "I never stopped."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Obviously, or I wouldn't have a little sister on the way."

Fuck, but I loved my kid. Her sarcasm was pure me.

"But you know what I mean."

"When your mom came along. She was it for me from the moment I laid eyes on her, though I didn't know it at the time." There were some things you didn't tell your kid, even when you were being more honest with her than you'd ever been. "She played me even better than she plays the piano and had me not knowing which way was up or down or sideways. And she made me get to know her and fall for her before she let me…you know." Again. Dani didn't need to know about the first time, thank you very much.

"Mom was the first girl you ever loved."

"The only one, until you came along. Other than Grandma, of course."

Dani smiled at that. "I like that."

I kissed her temple. "Me, too."

"But she wasn't the first girl you had sex with."

Crap. "No."

"So how old were you?"

Triple crap. "I was around your age."

She tilted her head again. "Fifteen? Or sixteen?"

"Fifteen." Never before had I wanted to go back in time and not lose my virginity that early. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"I couldn't even tell you what that girl's name was or even how I knew her. It was just sex for me. And I can't forbid you to do something that I did at your age, even though I hate the thought of it. What I can tell you is that I want better than that for you. I don't want you, twenty or thirty years from now, to be sitting with your own daughter, telling her that you don't remember the name of the first boy you gave yourself to, that he was that insignificant to you."

I shook my head. "I know it's different for girls. You'd probably remember who he was. God knows, your mother remembers the most random things. But I don't want you to be just some girl to the boy who you share that with. Aro won't remember Vicky in a few weeks, let alone a few decades. You, baby, deserve to be remembered. Don't take that step until you're sure you will be."

Dani nodded. "Okay, Daddy."

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

We both looked over, seeing Reed Girl standing in the doorway.

Dani wiggled out of my arms, and I let her go to my wife's. Bella hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

"You heard?"

"I heard most of it." Reed Girl brushed her hands through Dani's long hair. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little sad that Aro turned out to be such a jerk."

"We all run into a few jerks before we find the right one." Reed Girl smiled at me. "But once you find him, you'll forget about all the jerks along the way."

"Did that happen for you when you met Daddy?"

I waited for her to joke that I was the biggest jerk of them all, but Reed Girl nodded.

"Yes. Your dad made every bad decision I'd made before him worth it because they all led me to him."

I grinned at her. All these years later, and she could still slay me with a few words and that sexy look on her face.

"Why don't you go soak in the tub, and I'll be up in a bit with some ice cream?"

"Okay." Dani let go of Reed Girl, but instead of heading upstairs, she came back over and kissed my cheek. "Thanks for listening to me, Daddy. I liked what you said, about being remembered."

"You should always be unforgettable, baby. You're a Cullen."

"Yeah, I am." She hugged me. "I love you."

I held her to me. "I love you, princess. More than anything."

She nodded. "I know."

"That doesn't mean you're not grounded for lying to us."

She released me, sighing. "I know. I'm sorry."

"And you should have called. I'm glad Shelly was there and hadn't been drinking, but what if she had been? We may have been mad at that you lied about where you were going, but we would have come to get you. Your safety is the most important thing to us, always. Please, don't ever take that risk again."

"I know. I won't."

"Okay. Good night, baby."

"Good night, Daddy."

Reed Girl waddled over to me after Dani went upstairs. "You were incredible with her."

I blew out a breath. "That was the hardest conversation we've ever had. That's why you took the sex talk. Pure torture."

Reed Girl let out a delighted laugh. "Indeed. But you nailed it, Champ."

I held her to me, resting my head against her belly. "It didn't feel like it at the time, but I'm glad you think so."

"I do. And I can only hope that our daughter is as lucky as I am one day."

I snorted. "I used to be just like that Aro asshole." What kind of fucking asshole name was Aro anyway?

"Maybe, but Dani knows what to look out for now. And she has a lot of me, and a lot of you, in her. She'll turn her jerk into a Champ, just like I did."

"Here's hoping."

A little kick under my head made me smile. "You're still not dating, Alexandra Cullen. Never."

Reed Girl laughed. "Good luck with that, Champ."

It wasn't going to be luck. It was going to be training. I turned and pressed a kiss to her belly.

"Boys are icky. We don't like them."

My wife let out a giggle. "Perhaps you're going to steer her toward being a lesbian."

For a second, I considered it, but no. Girls were even more complicated than boys were. At least I knew what boys wanted.

"Girls are icky, too. Self-love is where it's at."

Reed Girl laughed even harder. "You're going to know all about that for the next couple of months."

Yeah, I knew. "Don't remind me."

But when Alex kicked again, I smiled. It was totally worth it, even when they grew up.