Crisis of Confidence

Part 2: More Than It Hurts You

By: ioanhoratio

A/N: Danny and Lindsay deal with a two year old with an attitude.

Two year old Lucy Messer was angry. She wanted gummy fruit snacks and Mommy was being so mean telling her no. Lucy didn't want the plate of cheese, crackers, and sliced strawberries in front of her. She wanted fruit snacks.

"Lucy eat your lunch please," Lindsay scolded her daughter for what felt like the hundredth time.

"No!" Lucy argued, "I don't want dis!"

"You are not getting fruit snacks Lucy. I've already told you that," Linsday answered back beginning to lose her patience.

Lucy's childish emotions got the better of her and she began crying loudly.

"What's all the fussin' about?" a freshly showered Danny asked as he walked in the kitchen buttoning up his shirt.

"Lucy doesn't want to eat her lunch," Lindsay explained, giving Danny the condensed version.

Danny sighed. Meal time had recently turned into a daily battle. With Lucy's growing understanding of what it meant to have choices she often found things to argue about. The most prevalent argument these days was her desire to dictate what she ate and what she didn't. Ususally her choice contained a high concentrate of sugar and that was obviously not something either he or Lindsay would allow.

"Fine," Danny said simply, "just let her go hungry."

"No!" Lucy screamed kicking her feet, "I hungwee!"

"Then stop throwing a fit and eat what Mommy fixed for you," Danny said sharply.

"NO! Fwuit snacks!" Lucy wailed as she knocked her plate to the floor spilling her lunch.

"Lucy!" Lindsay cried out in dismay.

"Enough," Danny snapped, "Time-out, right now."

"No!" Lucy screamed again, "Daddy No!" Lucy's face was turning red and large tears were rolling down her face.

Her pleas were ignored as Lindsay moved to her daughter and lifted her from her booster seat at the table. She carried the crying child to the time-out rug and sat her down.

Lucy fussed as if she were being tortured.

"Do not get up until we say you can," Lindsay instructed as calmly as she could to the tiny screaming banshee in front of her.

Lucy ignored her mother and immediately got back up.

Lindsay grabbed her daughter and sat her back down and said simply but forcefully, "Sit down."

"No! No, no, no!" Lucy hollered as she wiggled her body back and forth.

"Lucy," Lindsay growled, "enough. Sit down now!"

"I eat! I eat!" Lucy promised hysterically.

"Too late," Danny called from across the room where he knelt cleaning up Lucy's mess, "You don't get to throw your plate to the floor and go crazy."

Lucy began crying louder. She again tried to get up and again Lindsay sat her down.

"Don't get up again Lucy," Lindsay warned.

"Go away! Hate you!" Lucy shouted at her mom and then fisted her tiny hand and swinging her arm as hard as her little enraged body could, smacked Lindsay in the face.

Lindsay was so stunned she could only stare at her daughter.

"Did I just see her hit you?" Danny asked with disbelief. Lindsay didn't answer him.

"Did I just see you hit your mom?" Danny roared at Lucy.

"No Daddy! A'cident," Lucy bellowed, "I sowee, a'cident Daddy!"

Danny immediately scooped up Lucy and carried her down the hall to her room.

Lucy began bawling and crying out, "Mommy! Mommy!"

Lindsay could see Lucy reaching for her over Danny's shoulder and every instinct in her as a mother wanted to rush to her daughter but Lindsay knew that now was not the time to interfere with Danny's parenting. So Lindsay slowly pulled herself up and picked up where Danny had left off cleaning up Lucy's lunch. Her mind filled with thoughts of her little daughter. Lucy had thrown temper-tantrums before. She was a normal toddler who was testing and experiencing the world around her but she had never been so mean before. Lindsay had never heard her beautiful daughter use the word hate before and to have it directed at her nearly broke her heart. And if the look on Danny's face was any indication he was feeling much the same way as she was.

Danny place Lucy on her bed and said tightly, "If you ever hit your mom again I will take every single one of your toys and throw them in the garbage."

"Daddy..." Lucy began.

"No Lucy," Danny interrupted, "Do not get off of this bed until I tell you to. Do you understand?"

Lucy's yowling again began in earnest.

"Lucy do you understand?" Danny shouted over her cries.

"Yes...sir..." Lucy hiccupped as she threw herself against her pillows.

Danny said nothing more as he walked out of his daughter's room shutting the door firmly. He then went in search for his wife.

He found her in the kitchen making sandwiches for them to eat. Danny reached out and stilled her busy hands with his and turned her to face him. His eyes immediately took in the angry red spot on her cheek where Lucy's fist had made contact.

Knowing exactly what he was looking at Lindsay said, "It's alright Danny. She's too small to hurt me."

Danny scoffed, "I can't believe she hit you."

"I know," Lindsay agreed turning back to the sandwiches, "I didn't know how to respond."

"I have never been so angry with her Linds," Danny confessed, "I mean sure I've been frustrated by her or upset by her but I have never been so angry at her but when I saw her swing at you I nearly blew a gasket. What happened to my sweet little girl? Lucy is such a caring, good-hearted person. She has always been so kind and loving. Why is she actin' like this?"

Lucy's muffled wails could still be heard throughout the apartment. Forcing themselves to ignore the sound, Lindsay handed a plate of food to Danny and carrying her own they sat at the table.

"I think," Lindsay began, "She's just testing her limits you know? This is why they call it the terrible twos. She's seeing how far she can push."

"Well she's gonna get a big push back this time," Danny declared, "I told'er if she ever hits you again I was gonna throw all her toys away. There's no way in hell she is ever gonna think it's ok to hurt you."

Lindsay couldn't help the small smile that formed; not only because Danny was so quick to come to her protection but because she knew how difficult it was for him to punish Lucy and she could tell his bravado was covering for his own sadness.

"I'm proud of you Danny," Lindsay told him, "I know how upset you were by what happened but you handled it well."

"Ya think?" Danny asked sincerely. Lindsay could tell he was questioning and second-guessing his actions.

"Absolutely," she assured him.

Lucy's crying had finally quieted down and Danny sighed, "I think we should say no kid's shows today and no more coloring books for the rest of the day either."

Lindsay thought about the punishment Danny was offering. Lucy really enjoyed watching Little Einsteins and Charlie and Lola in the afternoons and coloring was on of her favorite things to do.

"Do you think it's enough or is it too harsh?" Danny questioned. He didn't have a book to tell him the exact answer or a formula for crime to punishment ratio.

"I think we go with what feels right and I feel like your idea is appropriate," Lindsay said honestly.

Danny nodded, "This parenting thing doesn't get any easier does it?"

Lindsay chuckled, "At least we are muddling through it together. Just wait until she hits puberty then it's really going to get fun."

Danny groaned, "Let's get her to three first then we can worry about that."

Lindsay laughed.

"A'right I betta go get'er," Danny said with resignation. He wasn't really looking forward to the discussion he was about to have with his adorable daughter.

Lindsay watched as Danny made his way to their daughter's room and felt her love for her husband grow. He really was an amazing, concerned father who tried his best to do the right thing. Lindsay considered how lucky she was to be the only person to truly see that part of Danny and how privileged she was to have him as her partner.

Meanwhile, Danny pushed open the door to Lucy's room and thankfully found her still in her bed. She slowly sat up staring at him with her tear stained face and sniffled.

"Daddy?" She asked timidly.

"You can get up now," Danny assured her and watched as she carefully climbed down from her big-girl bed. He took her delicate hand in his stronger one and they silently made their way to the kitchen.

The moment Lucy saw Lindsay she ran to her and flung herself into her mother's arms.

"I sorwee Momma," Lucy mumbled sadly into her mom's neck, "I sorwee."

Lindsay wrapped her arms around her crying daughter and whispered words of comfort and love into ear.

Danny sat down next to them and gently rubbed Lucy's back and steeled himself for having to punish his little girl. "Lucy," he called and waited until she looked at him, "Lucy, no matter how upset you are, you are never allowed to hit ok? Especially Mommy. Mommy loves you very much and works hard to take care of you and it's not right for you to hit her. You will never be allowed to treat her that way. Do you understand?"

Lucy nodded.

"Because you hit Mommy and refused to listen and obey you will have a punishment," Danny explained.

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut pushing the tear onto her cheeks and then down her face. Danny felt his resolve slip but knew it was important to teach Lucy right from wrong.

"No more kids show today and your coloring books are going into time-out for the rest of the day," Danny said quickly--a verbal form of ripping off a band-aid.

Lucy began crying softly but not the hot angry tears of before. These were tears of a lesson learned the hard way. Danny held out as long as he could but then pulled her onto his lap and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Alright Lucy-girl," Lindsay cooed, "How about we dry up our tears, fix you some food, and we can eat lunch with Daddy before he has to go to work. What'd you say?"

"Ok," Lucy said lifting her head. Danny rubbed his nose against hers and she giggled.

"Cheese sandwich?" Lindsay asked her and Lucy nodded her head with vigor.

"Mom," Danny whined as he settled Lucy in his lap facing the table, "this girl doesn't like cheese."

"Oh really?" Lindsay asked feigning shock.

"Daddy," Lucy cried, "I wub cheese."

"What?" Danny exclaimed playfully, "You don't like cheese, do you?"

"Yes I do!" Lucy giggled.

"Oh well, in that case you are pretty lucky to have such a nice mommy who will make you a cheese sandwich," Danny pointed out as Lindsay set down a Tinkerbell plate with a cheese sandwich that had been cut into triangles and had the crust removed.

"Tank you Mommy," Lucy said.

"You're welcomed baby," Lindsay responded with a kiss.

"Thank you Mommy," Danny teased indicating his own turkey sandwich.

"You're welcomed baby," Lindsay responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, no kiss for me?" Danny asked indignant.

Lindsay quickly gave in and kissed him too.

Lucy just giggled.

Oh toddlers and food…a nightmare just waiting to happen!

Thanks for reading!