A/N: Last chapter was quite full on. I wrote this one months ago and decided that this was the best place to fit it in. Keep a look out for a story based on the relationship between Alex and Sandman – COMING SOON.

Because I got confused the ages of Dave's kids are: Rach: 18, Hailey: 14, Mel: 12

Dave

While being somewhat hesitant Jamie, much to the delight of her son, decided to spend the rest of our time in Washington at my place. With her best friend, Alex, joining us for her final night in town her date with the Sandman had supposedly gone extremely well and while she insisted nothing had happened she didn't return from her date until 10am the next day.

A few months past and Christmas was just over a month away things were going slowly but great with Jamie and while there was no kissing and no sex there were more and more hugs every day not to mention the occasional rooming together. Despite the woman's constant habit of closing up and cutting me out of her inner circle I had long worked out that I was absolutely in love with the woman idiosyncrasies and all and I was struggling to remember that her gorgeous three year old was not my own. Having spent so many Christmases alone I decided to invite Jamie and Eli to spend this one with me and after what had happened during their last stay with me I was surprised when they actually accepted, although I do have the feeling that young Eli had something to do with that. I didn't care what had caused Jamie to say yes I was just stoked that I would have company for Christmas, for the first time since before my second divorce I wouldn't be alone.

One Tuesday night I was at the arena supposedly getting ready for my match, Eli had the flu so Jamie had left him at home with her parents which meant I had a night off baby sitting. I loved looking after the young boy aside for the fact that he made me miss my girls even more than usual. The first week Jamie was doing ringside photography had me looking after Eli 3 nights in a row; every night after the show I, much to the annoyance of their mother, I rang my girls. We were finishing the shows late and by the time I was able to ring the household had already settled down for the night. Once Michelle's partner starting answering the phone yelling obscenities at me I stopped, deciding to call my girls before the show instead, unfortunately they tended to be at their after school activities and the inability to get hold of my children made me miss them even more. Anyway I was sitting in my locker room and was meant to be starting to get ready for my match but Jamie had recently lent me a book by one of her favourite Australian authors and I'd gotten caught up in it. I was so distracted by the world of Bryce Courtney that I nearly didn't hear my phone cell ringing,

"Dave speaking" I finally answered without even looking at the caller I.D a rare incidence for me.

"Hey dad"

"Rachel, so great to hear from you how are you and your sisters?" I gushed out so glad to hear my eldest's voice, in reality she was Michelle's daughter but I had adopted her just after Michelle and I were married.

"Good, busy. I'm just ringing because mom said I had to tell you that Hailey, Mel and I are coming to stay with you for Christmas"

"Really? That's fantastic."

"Yea well we wanted to go skiing with our friends BUT MEL got suspended the other day so mom says that she'd rather us come stay with you especially since Tyson and her are going to Australia for like two weeks or something."

"Mel got suspended? What for? Why didn't anyone tell me?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing my youngest, my baby girl, my 12 year old got suspended from school.

"Yea she skipped, I don't know, like a week of school or something and I think there was something about smoking in there as well. I guess you weren't around so Tyson just dealt with it, he's really good with her," I was heartbroken I was being replaced by some, some guy.

"Anyway, we finish school on the 20th, mom and Tyson will drop us off at your place on their way to the airport."

"Well I get home that morning so that will work great and how long do I get with my gorgeous girls?"

"Mom and Tyson get back on the 8th of January so I guess until then,"
"You know you girls will have to travel with me, as the World Champion I can't get out of work. I get Christmas off but then I'm working January 2nd then from the 6th until the 9th."

"Yea we know," I could nearly hear her rolling her eyes,

"Mom's going to organise for us to get off school the days that you have to be on the road." My eldest sounded far from pleased about the situation, I didn't blame here she was 18 and because of her little sister wasn't allowed to go skiing with her friends and probably the guy she had a crush on.

"I'm so happy, I haven't seen you girls in ages! Oh yea you know that lady I told you about?"

"Yea, Jane or something?"

"Her name is Jamie, well her and her son will be with us for Christmas as well,"

"Great whatever, I don't care as long as she doesn't sleep in your room. Look I've got to go, just be home by about 6pm on the 20th of December and don't worry we'll eat before we get there. We'll see you then," Rachel sighed, she didn't want to come and now it was going to be made even worse by the fact that she'll be stuck with some random woman and her three year old son.

"Is Hailey or Mel home? I'd love to talk to them"

"No Mel should just be on her way home from a meeting with mom and her counsellor and Hailey is out with Mark."

"Alright give them my love. Love you to Rachie bear" I smiled using the pet name I'd given her not long after we'd met.

"Yea bye dad," once again I could nearly hear her rolling her eyes before she ended the call, it hurt me that she didn't say that she loved me back but I knew the girls were still angry over my relationship with Angie.

I was over the moon that my girls were going to spend 20 days with me; I couldn't even force myself to be disappointed that they weren't coming by choice. I had to tell someone; no, not someone, I had to tell Jamie so I raced through the arena dodging superstars and stage hands on the way. I finally reached the photographers office and burst through the door, the show had only just started but I knew Jamie would still be in the office as she was only working half the night.

"JAMIE you wouldn't believe the phone call I just got!" I cried out when I saw her across the other side of the room,

"Oi 'Tista, you know the rules we stay out of your locker room and you stay out of our office," one of the senior photographers announced stopping me dead in my tracks,

"Leave him alone Hayden. Dave lets go outside and you can tell me about your phone call," Jamie the ever calm and collect said directing me out of the office.

"So what is this phone call you got that you just had to come bursting into my office to tell me?" Jamie smiled as she sat down on a crate in the hallway.

"My girls are coming for Christmas, all three of them! They'll be with me from the 20th of December until the 10th that's 20 full days! I'm so excited. My girls; Rachel, Hailey and Mel they'll all be here and for Christmas too I never get them for Christmas and now they're going to be here for TWENTY days! TWENTY DAYS! They were going to go skiing with their friends but then Mel got suspended and Michelle said they had to come stay with me while her and Tyson are in Australia."

"That's great Dave, I'm so happy for you"

"I only got to speak to Rachel, the other girls were busy but I told her that you'd be with us over Christmas"

"You know what Dave? How about you have Christmas with just your girls, it's such a rare occasion for you and I wouldn't want to put any more tension on your relationship"

"But I really want you to meet them"

"And I will, when they travel with you. Besides my mom keeps going on about how she wants us to spend Christmas at home, after all she hardly ever gets to see us anymore."

"Jamie you are so great," I smiled pulling her into a hug as we hugged it sunk in; Mel got suspended for skipping school and smoking. I pulled Jamie away and sat down besides her,

"Mel got suspended, she's only 12 and she got suspended for skipping school and smoking. I can't believe it Mel was always my baby girl, a real daddy's girl right from the beginning. I was her first word, I was watching her play and she looked up at me and pointed and said 'Dada', that was the happiest moment of my life. She always had to be in my arms, and it broke her heart the day I moved out. Hailey was always close to her mother and I missed those vital stages of Rachel's life so while we were close there has always been the fact I'm not her real dad hanging over our heads." I felt tears in my eyes; I couldn't believe what was happening my baby's were growing up and I was missing everything. They didn't even feel it important enough to tell me that my daughter had been suspended, no Tyson just dealt with it.

"I'm loosing them Jamie, they're still angry and hurting over my relationship with Angie. This trip is my last chance, if I can't fix it they'll be gone for good. I've missed so much of their childhood, I don't want to find out that they've gotten married and Tyson walked them down the aisle 6 months after the event."

"Oh Dave, that wont happen. It'll be okay you'll get home on the 20th and your girls will arrive and you'll have the best 20 days and you'll get close to your girls again. It'll be fine"

"Promise?" I asked looking up through now tear soaked eyes,

"I promise," she smiled then she surprised me by taking my chin in her hand pressing her lips against mine. It was amazing, her lips were so soft, so gentle; the first and only time we had kissed it had been wild and I'd initiated it, but now she was in complete control and I was a hundred and ten percent ok with that. The whole world seemed to disappear around us; we had entered our own universe.

That is until someone cleared their throat.

"Jamie get up to the gorilla you start in 15 minutes." It was Hayden the guy that had kicked me out of the office not all that long before.

"Sorry Davie, work calls," she whispered slowly pulling away. While Eli had called me Daidee or Davie since the day we met Jamie had only ever done it mocking her son. To hear her call me Davie made my insides turn to mush. While it wasn't a name I was generally fond of I had no issues with her whispering it while her lips were just millimetres away from mine.

"Its ok I should go call Mel before my match. Can I room with you tonight? I don't want to be alone" I replied kind of pathetically, but I didn't care, I was tired and emotionally worked up.

"Yea alright and talk to Mel, don't get angry just talk. Remember how you were at her age"

"Don't say that" I groaned attempting to make a joke and gaining a slight smile for my efforts, I knew if I wasn't careful she'd close up again and there way that she wouldn't after having taken such a major step. I stood up and put my arm around her shoulder,

"I'll walk you to the gorilla"

"No, you go call your daughter," she said kissing my cheek and pushing me in the direction of my locker room. I looked back and smiled I seriously loved that girl and one day I'd tell her that, once I could be absolutely certain that she wasn't going to hurt me. In a lot of ways Jamie and I had a lot in common we'd both been seriously hurt when in came to relationships, and I certainly wasn't going to race into another one only to get hurt again. But I'd shown her a weaker side of me today and she'd responded well, she wasn't derogatory or anything, in fact she knew exactly what to say to make everything alright.

I headed back to my locker room and stared at my phone for about five minutes before slowly dialling my youngest daughters phone number and pressing the call button,

"Yo talk to me"

"Hey hun, its dad"

"Oh hi dad, Rachel said she was ringing you today so I guess she told you about my suspension?"

"Yea, what happened?" I asked trying to sound like a calm and caring father.

"I don't know, I just hate school dad. It's so boring, I'm not like the other kids I don't need the teacher to explain things a million times over they say it once and I get it. The teachers think I should go straight to high school, so do I, but mom and Tyson says I have to stay in seventh grade. I just get so bored so I do projects at home, my room is covered with stuff I've researched even a 5000 word essay I wrote on the Korean War, it was so interesting to research. The teachers don't give me anything challenging and I get bored so I go to the Museum or the art gallery or there is this awesome little bookstore, oh I love it so much. I'll go there and the owner will let me sit reading for hours, I've found this Australian Series called the Tomorrow Series it's about these kids who have to survive when their country gets invaded, its pretty easy reading but I love it. The bookstore however only gets one of the books every six months so I get caught up in one and have to wait ages, I tried to read the American copies of it but they're not the same." She explained passionately as I listened in shock, trying to believe what she was telling me.

"You're telling me that you skip school to go to the Museum, the art gallery and a bookstore because school is boring?"

"Yes, oh I love the Art gallery they have some of the best photography there. I wish my pictures could look like that but my camera sucks. Dad I've learnt more from skipping school than I have while I've been"

"Rachel said you were smoking as well?" I asked trying to get everything to sink in.

"Rachel is just trying to cause trouble; smoking has started to become a big thing at school so I decided to do some research into it I got some kids to give me some cigarettes and I looked into them, I did my own experiments to see if what they said was true. Rach found the cigarettes in my room and blabbed to mom, no one believed my story of course no one ever listens to me. I tried telling mom and Tyson and the teachers what I was doing when I wasn't at school and they didn't believe me. They judge me on how I dress and the fact that I dye my hair, they don't even look at my grades."

"They actually let you dye your hair at that school?" I asked, knowing that they went to one of the best private schools in the state if not the country.

"No, but they know you pay so much money for us to attend that they're not going to expel me." She then began telling me about what she discovered about the Korean War, I knew that it wasn't a topic studied greatly in school especially not in grade 7 but her knowledge just blew me away.

"Have you tried telling your mom and Tyson and your teachers what you've learnt?"

"Yes but they don't listen to me dad you're the only one that has. They just think my skipping school is just me letting out pent up anger about you and mom getting divorced and you guys getting re-married, but its not! School is boring, I'm the top of every class I get bored and steal Rach and Hail's textbooks and read them then I actually help them with their homework"

"Wow, I can't believe what I'm hearing. I'm so happy"

"Why? Because no one listens to me?"

"No because your not going off and doing drugs and because your just so smart. I'm so proud of you baby girl except for one thing skipping school, no matter how bored you are, just isn't on. Perhaps I can talk to your mom and maybe organise a meeting at your school with your mom and me where we can look at your grades and see what is really going on, Tyson shouldn't be making the big decisions in your life"

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would baby girl I'd do anything for you and your sisters, even if I have to take time off work for it," I had no idea how I would manage to get time off but for an issue like this I'd do anything.

"If you're not happy then something should be done about it."

"Thank you so much Dad, I love you," Those three words made my heart just melt it was such a rare occasion that one of my children said them to me, Rach couldn't even say them earlier.

"I love you to baby girl"

"Dad I've got to go, Tyson is making me have dinner with him and mom no one else has to just me, some sort of punishment for skipping school"

"Tyson shouldn't be punishing you; he's not your father"

"I know, I said that to him and mom said that he has the right to since he's here everyday and your not"

"I'm so sorry about that baby girl, I miss you girls everyday."

"Yea well it doesn't seem like you even want to see us"

"I know and I'm sorry" at that point I heard a male's voice call for Mel to 'get off that damn phone and come down to dinner'.

"Dad I've really got to go,"

"Ok, enjoy your dinner I'll call your mom sometime during the week"

"Thanks love you bye"

"Love you too" I replied to the dead line, I couldn't believe how Tyson was taking the role of my children's father. And my girls thought that I didn't care and that I didn't want them around, which was so far from the truth it wasn't funny.

Later in the week I tried to call the mother of my children, I got Tyson a couple of times but eventually called Michelle's cell phone and got her to answer. I spoke to her about Mel, just like I'd promised but she got stuck into me saying that I was never around and I never cared so who did I think I was coming in and questioning her and Tyson's parenting. All I knew was Mel's side of the story I didn't know what really happened I was just trying to come in and cause trouble. What really got me was how she said that the day I married Angie I gave up the right to father my children. I ended up having to end the call; my heart was breaking as I heard the words that she said.