"Okay, mouse, get ready," he said with a smile as she sat in the sand about ten feet from where he knelt on one knee.

She held her arms together, stretched out in front of her. "Okay, Daddy," she replied with a big smile.

He returned her smile. He enjoyed hearing her say it as much as she enjoyed saying it. Nothing in his life had ever made him feel the way he felt when Maggie called him daddy. He tossed the ball in his hand to her, gently lofting it in the air so that it came to rest in the middle of her outstretched arms. Before bending her arms in quickly to trap it, she hyperextended her elbows and sent it popping away from her into the sand. She giggled, "That ball don' wanna stay in my arms!"

He laughed. "Don't snap your arms before you bring them in."

She looked at her arms, puzzled. "I didn' heard 'em snap."

"Come over here."

She jumped up and ran to him. He stretched her arms out in front of her. Pushing up on her elbows, he demonstrated what he meant to her. "See? When you do that, you snap the ball up and it pops away from you. Let's try again."

On the next toss she drew her arms in a little too soon and the ball popped up off her hands and bounced off her forehead. "I didn' snap 'em."

Laughing, he motioned her to him. "You did the opposite this time. You brought your arms in too soon and bounced the ball up to bop you in the face."

He gently tapped her nose and she laughed again, throwing herself into his arms with enough force to knock him over.

Eames came out of the cabin onto the wide deck, smiling at the sight of Maggie tackling her father. Her father. She loved the thought of Bobby being Maggie's father, and her hand strayed unconsciously over her lower abdomen. Once she had thought she was happy; now she knew she was. She called to them, to her family. "Dinner's ready."

Goren got gracefully to his feet and lifted the little girl into his arms. Retrieving the ball, he carried her toward the cabin. She cuddled herself against his chest and said, "What did Mommy make for dinner?"

"Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, I think."

"What are we gonna have for my birthday t'morrow?"

"Well, what do you want?"

"Can we have what we al'ays have?"

He had always been included in the family celebration of her birthday, which he had always appreciated. But the night after her birthday, he would always take her home with him and they would have a quiet dinner of spaghetti with cupcakes for dessert. Then he would give her a special present he had for her. Every year he gave her two books. The first one was an age-appropriate book he would read to her and she could take to Grandpa's and keep there. For her first birthday it had been Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, which she still loved. Last year, he had given her Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight, Moon. The other book was always a classic, bound in leather with her name embossed on the cover. Those he kept at his place, on a shelf she had easy access to. When she stayed with him, he would read that second book to her over the course of the year until her next birthday. First he would read a fun book, and then he would settle her down and read from the classic until she went to sleep. She never cared what he read, just that he did, and as long as Eames did not object, he was going to expose Maggie to great books right from the start. For her first birthday, he had given her Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Last year it had been Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. With a smile he recalled Eames asking him why Maggie was running around acting like a pirate and asking if she could have a pegleg. The book had initiated weeks of pirate play, which she still loved. Now, he kissed her head and answered, "Of course we can, mouse."

"An' Mommy an' Uncle Mike an' Grandpa, too?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes."

"That's fine. Aunt Carolyn is coming with Uncle Mike and Grandpa, and Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Angie will be here, too."

She smiled broadly. "They's all my fav'rite peoples." Then she paused for a minute. "But I wan' jus' you at storytime."

"That sounds like something we can do. It's a date." She giggled. "What's so funny?"

She turned her face up to look at him, still smiling. "I got a date with my daddy."

He smiled back at her. "I guess you do."

She hugged him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For fixin' it so you could be my daddy."

She wouldn't understand that he had always been her father; he just never knew it. He didn't fix anything. He just...lost control of himself once after a long night of drinking and teasing almost four years ago. The memory of the evening still affected him, so he really hadn't been surprised to learn what had come of it. The fact that Maggie had come of that, well, he couldn't regret it without regretting her, and he certainly didn't regret his little daughter. He gave her another kiss and simply said, "You're welcome, mouse."

It was the simplest answer, and the only one she would understand. He set her down on the steps leading up to the deck and watched her run to her mother. The smile of pure joy on Eames' face was priceless to him. Finally, she had the one thing she'd wanted most of all. She had a child she never had to say good-bye to. Okay, so she had to share Maggie with him. He didn't think that was too terrible a thing. After all, she could have told him to back off at any point, but she never did. Instead, she always drew him in, making him a permanent part of the baby's life. Without ever knowing it, she had saved him from himself through those actions.

Maggie was in the house by the time he got to the top step. He leaned his hip against the railing and watched Eames as she headed for the door after Maggie. The little swell in her lower abdomen, more prominent now with the snug shirt and shorts she was wearing, made his heart race. He could never look at it without being reminded of the little life beneath it and the fact that he had put it there.

She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. He smiled back, and she disappeared through the door. With a content sigh, he crossed the deck and followed her into the cabin.

Maggie snuggled into his lap after dinner, bathed and in her pajamas, ready for bed. Beside him on the couch, Eames leaned against him and picked up the remote. Maggie wanted to watch Muppet Treasure Island, and Eames was puzzled to find out he had it in his bag. He promised to explain it...eventually. She made up her mind to get it out of him after Maggie went to bed.

Before she could press 'play', though, Maggie said, "I got a question."

Goren tipped his head forward to look at her. "You do? Imagine that."

Eames laughed and poked his side. He gave her an easy smile that she loved to see on his face, a smile that had been missing for far too long. He looked back at Maggie. "What's your question, mouse?"

"Mommy said my baby's daddy putted him in her tummy."

"Right."

"Are you my baby's daddy, too?"

"Yes. I'm your baby's daddy, too."

She was quiet for so long, they thought the questioning was over and they were both relieved. Maggie had a tendency to ask difficult questions and she expected answers. He picked up the beer bottle from its coaster on the end table and took a drink while Eames went to press the 'play' button on the remote. Then Maggie said, "So how'd you get him in there, Daddy?"

He choked on his beer and Eames started laughing. Maggie looked at her parents, puzzled. It seemed a perfectly reasonable question to her and she expected an answer. Now Goren truly was at a loss and Eames was still laughing. She jumped out of his reach when he made a playful grab for her. He turned back to Maggie, who was waiting patiently. He sighed. Maggie's mind was always working and now she asked, "She didn' swallow him. I woulda seen that." She wrinkled her nose. "Peoples don' eat babies. I can' think-a how you did it."

He shifted uncomfortably and ignored Eames' laughter. But he still had no idea what to say. So Maggie went on, thinking out loud now. "It didn' happen when you kiss Mommy, 'cause you kiss me, too, an' I don' have a baby in me...do I?"

"No, no, you don't."

"You play with me alla time an'..."

"Maggie, Maggie...stop thinking, baby. Please. Uh, it's a little complicated, and I promise you, it's not anything you have to worry about. It's just, uh, a..." He looked to Eames for help but she just shrugged and looked for all the world like she was enjoying this way too much.

Maggie looked dissatisfied. "But you al'ays answer my questions, Daddy."

He ran a hand over his mouth and then through his hair in frustration. "You never asked me a question like this before."

"Is there a door or somethin' you put-a baby in? Why put him inside at all an' why can' you take him out so I can hold him?"

"He has to get bigger before he can come out, honey."

She frowned again. "If he's bigger, how does he get out?"

"He, uh, the doctor...the doctor takes him out when he's big enough."

"Oh. How big is big enough?"

"December, Maggie. In December he'll be big enough."

"That's a long time, Daddy. Will he hurt you, Mommy?"

"No, baby. Not any more than you did."

Her eyes got bright with sudden realization. "How did you put me inside Mommy, Daddy? An' how long did I stay in her?"

"Thanks, Alex," he grumbled, listening to her snickering behind him, well out of his reach. He readjusted Maggie on his lap. "Nine months, mouse. That's how long you were there and how long the baby will stay, too." He knew he had to give her an answer she could accept or she'd be asking John or Mike...oh, shit...no, he had to handle this. He could just imagine Logan's reaction. Eames just laughed. Logan would never let him live it down. "It's just...a Mommy and Daddy thing, that's all. When you get older, it'll be easier to understand, but right now, uh...it's...just trust me on this one, all right? No one gets involved with this except Mommy and Daddy."

"So when I get big, I can pick a daddy for my own baby and ..."

"Sweetheart, please don't worry about that now. But yes, it'll all make sense when you're big."

"Like when I'm six?"

"Six is still too little. Wait until you're at least, uh, thirty-five..."

"That's a long time."

"Not really, it's not." He kissed her forehead. "Please stop thinking about it now and let's just watch your movie, can we?"

"Why are you sweaty, Daddy?"

Eames started laughing all over again and Goren frowned at her. "I'm just a little warm, mouse, that's all." He pulled her closer into the crook of his left arm. "Will you start the movie already, Eames?"

Eames pressed the 'play' button. He looked over at her and she smiled. Maggie also looked at her. "Why are you way over there, Mommy?"

"I was just going to get something to drink. Do you want a cup of juice, Maggie?"

"Yes, please. Apple juice."

"Bobby?"

"I think I need another drink," he muttered.

She laughed again as she disappeared into the kitchen.

She sat on the bed and waited for him while he put Maggie to bed. She had fallen asleep in his arms, as he'd expected she would. When he came into the room, he undressed quietly. She watched the muscles in his back flex as he slipped off his t-shirt. "So why did you happen to have that movie with you?"

He didn't turn around. "Maggie likes it."

"There are others she likes more."

"When she's with me, she asks for that one."

"Why?"

"Probably because I read her the book."

"You read her Treasure Island...oh...so that's why she wants to play pirates every time she comes home from staying with you."

"Very good, Alex."

"Oh, come on, you can't be mad about what happened earlier."

"You mean about you leaving me hanging with her like you did? I'm so glad you found that so damn funny."

She snickered again, tried to stop when he looked at her, but failed. "I'm sorry."

"Like hell you are."

"Okay, I'm not. She thinks like you do, and I think it's only right for you to deal with her when she gets like that."

"You think I haven't over the last few years?"

"So she's asked you where babies come from?"

"No, that's a new one. It would have been nice if she'd made it a simple question. 'Where's the door?' How did she come up with that?"

"I told you, she's like you. And she would never have accepted the stork answer, anyway. She's smarter than that." She gave him a smile that was all mischief. "So exactly how do babies get in there, Bobby?"

He studied her intently. "How soon we forget, Eames. Do you need me to remind you?"

She saw the smile play at the corners of his mouth and she knew she was forgiven. She tried to jump away from him, but it was a quick chase across the bed and then he fully refreshed her memory on just how babies got where they did.

A/N: Hope this was worth the wait...the books I mentioned were credited to their authors, and Muppet Treasure Island (along with its delightful characters) belongs to Henson Productions.