Chapter 14: Big News

Conner was in the store buying Kira some yellow carnations, her favorite flower, and a pink teddy bear for Rose. He stopped by the magazine wrack and a smile came across his face. "It's a girl. Conner McKnight and Kira Ford welcome a baby girl," the headline read. Conner bought the magazine, wanting to see what they said inside.

Conner walked into the hospital and smiled to see Kira sitting up in bed holding Rose. "Hey," he greeted. Kira looked up with a smile.

"Hey," she answered.

Conner set the carnations in a the vase and kissed her forehead before kissing the top of Rose's head. "She just woke up," Kira commented.

"Oh really?" He asked.

"Yep. Go say hi to daddy," she told the infant.

Conner took Rose into his arms with a smile. "Hey Rosie girl," he murmured. He cradled his daughter in his arms with a smile. He held her tiny hand. "Oh, look what daddy got you sweetie," he added. He sat down in a chair and reached into the bag and pulled out the pink bear.

"Conner that's sweet," Kira commented.

"Who says I can't spoil my daughter?" Conner asked.

Rose's tiny hand wrapped around the bear's paw and yawned slightly. Conner stroked her cheek with a smile. "Like the feeling of being a daddy now?" She asked.

"I can get used to it," he replied.

For the first time in a long time, Kira saw a true smile on her husband's face as he cradled Rose in his arms. Kira slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. Conner walked around the room while looking at Rose. "I promise I won't screw up this time, Rosie. Daddy's going to take good care of you. He's going to protect you from all the bad things out there," he told the infant. Rose just yawned and buried her head into Conner's chest. Conner saw the magazine article sitting on Kira's bedside. With Rose still in his arms, he picked the magazine up and sat down to look through it, not wanting to let his daughter go either. "Let's see what the press has to say about you," he commented. Conner opened the magazine and started to read it.

IT'S A GIRL!!

Soccer star for the Reefside Wave, Conner McKnight, and singing sensation, Kira Ford, had welcomed a baby girl yesterday. After losing their son, Colin, to a car accident three years ago, the two had divorced and had parted ways. Conner went off on his own with his soccer team and creating soccer camps, while Kira continued with her singing. Two years later, they were reunited in their hometown, Reefside.

Kira was engaged to backstage manager, Jeff Larson, and was to be married in the next couple of months. She and Conner were staying in the same hotel. Kira broke her engagement off to Larson and went to remarry Conner.

Conner stopped reading when he got further down the page. He looked at Rose and held her close to his chest. "Not true what they said in there," he muttered. Conner stared at the article for a minute. "Witnesses and friends say that Colin was with Conner the night he died. Some witnesses say he was ignoring Colin all night until the car hit him," he read. Conner shook his head, the anger going through his veins. "I'm not a bad father," he murmured. He kissed the top of Rose's head and sighed. "I'm not a bad father," he repeated. He glanced down at the article for a final time. "Will Rose be another repeat of what happened to Colin three years before? Some people say she won't make it to her second birthday because Conner was so irresponsible the night Colin died," he read once more. Conner set Rose back in her cradle by Kira's bed. He picked the article up and he threw it in the trash. Conner stormed out of the room.

That evening, Conner, for the first time in three years, was going to talk about Colin's death to the press, to set things straight. "I know you all have read the article that magazines have been saying about me, since my son, Colin, died three years ago. My son's death was an accident. I wasn't ignoring him that night, I was searching everywhere for him. I was at practice, my wife dropped him off for me to watch while she went to meet with her manager. Colin always whined when Kira took him to those things. So she had him come to the park…" he started. Conner took a deep breath and pushed his hair out of his face. "It was after practice, my son was playing with the soccer ball I gave him on his birthday. I was trying to find him, I didn't know that the ball had went out into the street and Colin went after it. I didn't know that he was in the street until I heard him screaming and the car screeching," he explained. Someone from the press stood up.

"If he was under your care, wouldn't you have told him to stay away from the street?" He asked.

Conner felt the anger appear on his face again. "Do you have children sir?" He asked.

"I have two girls," he replied.

"How old are they now?" Conner asked.

"Six and five," he replied.

"When they were three, did they listen to you?"

The man sat down. "I haven't spoke about my son for three years and I was hoping that my son could rest in peace. I wanted my wife and me to start over with our daughter. But how can we do that when you sit there and practically call me a bad father?" He asked.

"He was under you care," a woman replied.

Conner stared at her. "You know what, everyone of you are probably thinking the same thoughts I've been thinking for three years running. Every single night, I could hear his screams and the sound of that car. Every night, I would go into my son's room and would just play with the soccer play he was playing with. Do any of you know what it's like to lose a child like this?" Conner asked.

"No," she replied.

Conner glared at them. "My game suffered for the next two years because I couldn't stop thinking about my son. I lost my wife because I couldn't stop blaming myself for what happened. The words "what if" went through my head all the time. They still do run through my head. Before you say that I'll forget about my son now that I have a daughter, not true. My daughter will know about the big brother she never got to know. She'll know that I did everything I could to save him. I'm not a super hero where I could just save people from danger," he explained. At least he wasn't a super hero anymore. He stared at the press to hear complete silence. "Don't you judge my parenting because of a mistake I made and I still haven't stopped blaming myself for," he added. Then he left the room.

(Hospital)

Kira was watching the press conference with tears falling down her face. She looked at Rose and held her hand. "Your daddy did a brave thing sweetheart," she whispered. Kira kissed her forehead and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

(Outside the Conference Room)

Conner was walking towards his car when the press surrounded him. He ignored them until he got to his car. "One last thing, if any other magazine posts something like that about my family or me ever again. I'm suing," he informed. He got into his car and drove off.