Chapter 11:

Austin POV

My two friends and my daughter lead me to the building and inside where I saw about thirty little kids, around Anna's age, and two young women, one a couple of years older than me, I assumed and the other I couldn't see, as she was with her back to me. When the door closed behind us the women who had her back to me turned around, and to say I shocked by who she was, would be the understatement of the year. Looking at each other for a moment in silence, we both broke the silence together.

"Austin?"

"Sabrina?"

I can't believe Sabrina is Anna's teacher! Why didn't she tell me?

"What are you doing here?" again we asked together, this time we were walking towards each other.

"What am I doing here? I am the teacher here." She said as we reached the middle and stood right in front of each other. "What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"I came to meet my daughter's teacher."

"Your daughter? I didn't know you are a father…" she replied confused.

"Yeah, neither did I." I said with a half-smile, which turned into a full grin as I saw her confused face turning even more confused.

"What? I am confused…" She said in that cute confused voice while tipping her head to side with a confused look, but I just laughed, I always loved doing that to Brie, making her really confused.

"Oh come on daddy, don't be mean to Miss Rina!" Anna told me with a steam voice just like her mother always did when I did something she didn't like, though, unlike Ally, Anna is too adorable so the voice would work on me. "Miss Rina, this is my daddy, he didn't know is my daddy because mammy didn't tell him. Now mommy is in the hospital and daddy found out about me and came so that he can be with me." My little girl told her teacher the very short version of an already very short explanation what happen those few last days.

"You are Annabelle's dad?" she asked, her face turned from complete shook to realization suddenly. "Well, know that I think about it, I should have known!"

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. How could she have known? She had never met Ally… well she did, obviously, as Anna is Ally's daughter and Anna goes to this school… but I have never introduced them.

"Well, Anna's mom's name is Ally, Anna is 3, Ally told me the father is not in the picture, which meant that either he didn't know or that he knew and didn't care. Anna looks a lot more like you then like her mom. About three and half years ago you called and told me that Ally, your girlfriend, left you and didn't tell you why. That gives enough time to have about seven pregnancy months and then three more years for the baby to be three years old, just like Anna. And of course the fact that Ally said that Anna's name is her father's favorite name and you always told me that Annabelle is your favorite name and you would love to call your daughter that." She explained. I probably should have said that Brie is a bit of a math freak, and she usually calculating everything. I mean she did just calculate everything in like two seconds.

"It's okay, now we all know what happened so…" I said, still staring at my 25 years old friend, while she stared at me.

"Umm Austin, how do you know Sabrina?" Trish said, finally causing Sabrina and me to shift our gazes form each other to the others. I saw the other teacher and kids were gone and that Anna wasn't with Dez and Trish, was probably with her friends.

"Brie here is my second degree cousin, her grandma is my grandpa's sister." I explained to my confused friends.

"Oh…" They nodded understanding, though I do get why they were confused, they have never met her as related to me.

"Austin, I have to go back to work, but we have to catch up later, okay?"

"sure."

"Is Anna stays here, or you are gonna take her?' she asked, as I turned to go call the little girl in question.

"Umm, I don't mind, lets ask her." I said and she called Anna.

"Yes Miss Rina?"

"Do you want to stay here for the rest of the day or do you want to go back home with your daddy?" She asked, kneeling in front of her.

"Can I stay here daddy? I miss my friends." She said sweetly.

"Sure, just make sure you don't go anywhere with water to make sure that your cast is not getting wet."

"Thank you daddy! And I will, don't worry." She said and ran off to play.

"She already calls you daddy?" Brie asked amazed. "How long you have known anyway?"

"Yeah, she called me that form the second she saw me and I have known for three days now, I was actually going to call you tonight and to tell you." I replied.

"Oh okay, she is an amazing girl by the way. Well I got to go but I'll call you later so we can meet up."

"Thanks, and sure, I hope I would get to meet your little one while we are on it, I mean, I only saw her once and it was like two years ago." I said with a smile. "Well, I'll see you later; can you just bring Anna when you come see me? I will leave her car seat here."

"Sure, bye Austin, bye Trish, Dez!" she weaved and we left after I went to the car and brought the seat and placed it next to the door..

"How is that you have never motioned Sabrina to us?" Trish asked the minute the door closed after us. "Or at least to Ally? Because I know for sure that she has never met Sabrina before enrolling Anna here."

"I don't know, I guess it never came up, I mean I probably just said I am going to see some relatives when going to meet Brie and her family. And they never came to visit us. The last time I even saw her before today was two years ago on Kayla's first birthday, which you two said you couldn't come to because Dez was sick, but now I guess it was because it was Anna's birthday." I explained and they both nodded, agreeing that the reason for not showing up for my niece's birthday party was my daughter's one. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, we should go, I need to get to work and Trish you promised the Ross' that you would babysit their twin today." Dez said and Trish nodded. We all said goodbye and left in our individual cars.

It was a little bit after 4PM and I was sitting at the coffee shop Brie asked me to meet her at, at 4PM. That shop had a little play area for kids, which I guess was Brie's reason for choosing this shop, with two little girls we won't be able to talk with the two of them around, but with the play zone they can go play and we can talk in peace.

When I saw it was already quarter past, I started to get worried, what if something happened to them? No, I probably just got the shop wrong. Or they are just late, just call her and check I told myself so I won't go as I took my phone from my pocket and was about to dial I heard my favorite voice this past few days.

"Daddy!"

I quickly got up from my chair and turned to my daughter who ran to me, as fast as she could with her arm in a cast a sling. I kneeled and caught her just as she reached me.

"Hey Bellebelle, I missed you!" I told her, hugging her close and kissing the top of her head. I really did miss her while she was at school, it felt so weird, I mean ever since I met her we have never been apart, aside from when we slept, and even that only the night before at Ally's apartment, while at the hospital I slept at a futon in her room.

"I missed you too!" She told me, hugging my neck with her good arm.

"Hey Austin." I heard Brie's voice and put my daughter back down, standing on the floor.

I saw Brie stand there with a little girl who looked about three and half years old, she had long, dark curls and chocolate colored eyes. Her face covered in freckles, her cheeks rosy and her lips baby pink. She had changed very little since the last time I saw her, there more freckles and hair was longer, but she still had those cute little baby features she had two years before, when I met her the first time on the birthday party my family held for me and my little niece who, like my daughter, shares the day of her birthday with me.

"Hey Brie, and you are Hazel I assume." I said still kneeling, looking at the little girl.

"Hi." She said shyly and waved.

"Hazy! This is my daddy! And he knows your mommy!" Anna said and Hazel looked at her mom for confirmation. When the woman gave her a nod she came to me and held her hand, waiting for me to shake her tiny hand, so I reach my much larger one while introducing myself.

"Hey there, I am Austin Moon; I am Anna's daddy and your mommy's cousin." I told her.

"I am Hazel Grace Prior, I am three but almost four and Anna my best friend!" She said shaking my hand.

"Okay, how about you girls would go to play and we will call you when the food gets here." Brie said and two girls nodded and ran to the play zone.

"So…" I started as we sat and we started to talk. I told her everything that happened since I got that call from the hospital and she told me everything that happened since we have last spoken. I learned that her husband, Matthew, is now working for an overseas company in New Zealand and that if this job will work for them and Brie would be able to get a job there, Hazel and she would move to live with him there. She told me about Hazel, that she is a fun, playful child who loves animals and really kind but is quite sensitive. She also told me about how she started to talk with fashion designers in New Zealand looking for someone who would take her as their assistant, as she always wanted to work as a fashion designer, and what a better way than to look at those who already did it work?

"Well it's getting late; I should to take Hazel home to get her ready to bed." Brie said eventually when she glanced at the clock and saw it was already half past six already.

"Yeah, I need to get Anna ready and all too." I said and got up. We hugged and said good night then went to get our daughters, who were still at the play zone, only came to the table when the food came. After they whined a bit they came to the cars. I took Anna's seat out of Brie's car and replaced it in my car, then put Anna in it and we waved one last time to my cousin and her daughter, my own daughter's best friend.

The drive was quiet and when we reached the apartment complex' parking lot I got out, helped Anna out and we both went together inside Ally's apartment. I helped Anna shower and get ready to bed. I read and sang to her and once she was asleep I kissed her forehead and went to get ready myself and set down on the couch.

Remembering something I picked up my phone and dialed a number.

"Hello."

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh hey Austin."

"Hey what do you guys say about coming to LA tomorrow?"