allllllllright, now that we've all seen how retarded i am when it comes to computers... :D

sorry about that !

i suck at proofreading, once i have something written i have to post it, i cant read it again until a couple days later so i didnt even think to reread before i posted.

thanks to the ones who caught it !

anyway, heres the next chapter.

if it starts not making sense at all, just lemme know again, i'll fix it, promise ! :)

ps--jordinajamaica:: sorry babe ! i was tryin to rush through and do that last minute, i must have missed you ! thanks for the support ! :)

enjoy (:

--mtc.

He was still in partial shock.

He had been sitting motionlessly for what had seemed like forever, but in reality had only been mere minutes. Nonetheless, he remained speechless. What exactly was he supposed to say?

He had a daughter.

A living, breathing daughter.

And she had kept that from him for all those years.

He wanted to be angry, he wanted to be furious with her, to explode at her for keeping this a secret for so long. He wanted to call her a liar, a hypocrite, a fraud. But he couldn't. He knew that deep in his heart, he couldn't. There was absolutely no way he could bring himself to be so cruel to her. He loved her too much, and he knew that all of the hatred towards her that he thought was building up inside him was just his mixed emotions speaking. None of it was true, he had to realize that before he said or did anything stupid. But what was he supposed to say in the mean time?

As he glanced over at her, he realized that she was staring at him sadly, tears slowly rolling down her cheek. As much as he wanted to wipe them away, he was still too shaken to do much of anything.

"Danny, please say something. Just say anything, let me know that you're okay."

He wanted to open his mouth and give her what she wanted, his reaction to all of this. But truth be told, he honestly didn't know what to say. Catching a lucky break, they both heard footsteps heading their way, and before he could say anything, the doctor was making his way down the hallway towards them.

"Ms. Monroe, your daughter is out of surgery. It was a complete success, however, she will still be in a coma for the duration, or until her body feels it has healed itself. It may be an hour, it may be a few days. All we can do now is wait."

The two were running down the hallway as soon as the words "your daughter is out of surgery" had passed his lips.

---------

Walking into the recovery room, hands still clutched together, they didn't know how to react, but seeing that helpless little girl all bandaged up almost broke them both completely. She looked so frail, her little head covered in white cloth, wires protruding from her arms, a tube inserted in her little nose so she could breathe. How could this have happened?

In all the years since Bailey had been born, Lindsay never thought she would have to see her daughter like this. Not in a million years would she have ever expected such a tragedy to happen to her little girl. It made her think she was a failure as a mother; she hadn't been able to protect her own child, how was she going to be expected to take care of her for the rest of her life?

Danny's arms encircling her waist reassured her that everything would be okay; he could sense her fears radiating off of her worn out body and held her tighter as he stared at the little girl laying in the giant hospital bed.

His little girl.

His mouth agape, he slowly released Lindsay from his arms and made his way over to her bedside ever so quietly, fearing that he would startle her even though he knew it would be some time before she would wake.

He knelt down beside the bed and gently ran his fingers up and down her cheek, heat radiating from her face at every move he made. He took in her every detail, completely in awe of every little thing about her. The way her nose seemed to be scrunched up ever so slightly, the small curve in her lips that made it seem as though she were smiling, the way her dirty blonde hair swept over her face. He couldn't seem to get over the fact that this little girl he was staring at, this tiny being, was his daughter. She was his and Lindsay's own creation.

And she was perfectly flawless in every way.

He softly brushed the few strands of her hair that were protruding from her bandages away from her face. She felt so small in his hands, like she could break at the slightest touch; he was afraid that touching her too much would break her in two. As he continued to stare in amazement at his daughter, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to look back, he knew it was Lindsay. Her touch was forever engraved into his body's sense of living. Without breaking his gaze from the peaceful child sleeping in the bed, he reached his hand up and grabbed onto Lindsay's shaking hand, trying to steady it, but realizing that he was just as jittery.

Silently, Lindsay knelt down beside him, their shoulders touching, reaching her other hand up to hold the little girl's.

"She's perfect," he barely whispered, only audible to Lindsay who had been waiting for him to speak since they had been secluded in the dark hallway. All she could do in response was nod.

They stayed this way for awhile, neither one of them wanting to break the moment of peace they now had. He watched the slight rise and fall of Bailey's little chest, making sure she was breathing every second. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her forever; he had only known her for about a month now, she couldn't slip away from him now.

The doctor eventually came back into the room, breaking up their family time. He said something about too much blood, blah blah blah, she would be okay, blah blah blah, but all Danny and Lindsay were focused on was the tiny child laying in the bed. They tried to be interested in what the doctor was saying, but truthfully, they didn't care about all of the medical jargon. They just wanted to be alone again, just the three of them to be together like it should be.

Or, how they wanted it to be.

It was still eating away at Lindsay. What was going on in Danny's mind? Sure he was still standing next to her, holding her hand, reassuring her just by being there. But was he only doing this out of kindness? Would he change and seek revenge once all of this had blown over? Much like Bailey awakening, all she could do was wait. If she rushed this, she feared he would explode from the pressure and ruin any chance of anything they were building forever.

Hands still intertwined, they listened halfheartedly while the doctor told them that Bailey was going to be taken for post-op testing, they should go to the family wing and rest for a little while.

They just smiled, wanting to laugh inside at the doctor's joke. They couldn't rest. Their daughter had just had major surgery, resting was the last thing on their minds. Nonetheless, they made their way down to the cafeteria to get coffee while they waited. They sat in silence for awhile, avoiding each other's gazes, Danny swirling a swizzle stick in his coffee and intently watching the swirling patterns it made in the liquid. He knew she was waiting for him to say something, but he still didn't know what to say to her.

He was beyond happy that Bailey was his. If they weren't currently in a hospital, he would have shouted it from the rooftops. But the fact that she only told him because he was chewing out the man he thought was her father was really starting to get to him. Had that been the only reason she had told him? Or was she planning to tell him all along? These were the questions that haunted him, but the only way he was going to get an answer to them was to talk to her. This, he was not so sure he was ready for.

But he couldn't just abandon her. She needed him and he needed her. If he left, he wouldn't only be killing her inside, he would be lost as well.

He needed to take a walk, to clear his thoughts, but he just couldn't leave her like this. And having her there with him would only cloud his views even more. Maybe he should just come out and say whatever was on his mind. No, that wasn't a good idea, he would just dig himself into a deeper hole. But he couldn't just keep everything bottled up inside. That would only eat away at him until he exploded at her, which he didn't want to do at all.

"Danny…do you…do you hate me?" He could barely make out her voice; it was barely above a whisper, and she spoke so sadly, he almost couldn't respond.

"Lindsay, how could I hate you?"

She stared down at her feet, shuffling them on the floor underneath the table. "Montana, look a' me." He took his hand and gently raised her chin so she was sadly staring into his eyes. The sight alone almost made his own tears begin to fall. "Lindsay, I would have to be a complete idiot to hate you. You and that little girl mean everything to me. There's no way in hell I could ever hate you. Why would you think that?"

She opened her mouth, hesitated, and then began to slowly speak again. "I didn't tell you that you had a daughter. I let you think she was Cameron's and then…and then this all happened and--"

She began to grow more hysterical by the second, and as he saw this happening, he got up from his place across from her at the table and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Shh, shh, stop your cryin'. It's gonna be okay Lindsay, I promise you. Why don't we take a walk?" He wiped the tears from her eyes as she nodded, and he helped her up from the table. He held her hand every so gently, rubbing his thumb up and down the back of it, and led her away from the cafeteria, making their way down the hall.

It was a while before they picked up their conversation again, neither one knowing how to start off. Eventually, Lindsay began again, trying to mask the sadness in her voice.

"She's got your eyes you know." She sadly smiled up at him, him returning the gesture as he squeezed her hand gently.

"Well she's got your smarts. Everything that kid says reminds me o' you. Except for that crack about the Mach 5. What have you been teachin' her for the past four years?"

They shared a nervous laugh, both hoping to break up the tension.

"Did you really think I could ever hate you Montana?"

"Well, I kept her from you. I should have contacted you somehow, but I thought if I did, I'd be ruining your life, your bachelorhood. I didn't want to spring a kid on you out of nowhere."

At this, he had to frown. "It wouldn't have be springing a kid on me. She's ours, Linds. We made her. That beautiful little girl was made out of our love, how could you think that telling me about her would ruin my life?"

"I don't know, you just didn't seem like the type that would ever want to settle down," she replied shrugging.

"Maybe not at the time, no. But you I know how much I love you, I wouldn't have just abandoned you like that. If there was anyone I would ever settle down with, you know it'd be you. You're the only one I've ever wanted to be with, Lindsay."

They had stopped down a long, unoccupied hallway, now facing each other. He had his hands resting on her forearms, she as well, both gazing dreamy-eyed at each other. He longed to kiss her, but knew this wasn't the time or place. Instead, he moved his arms, pulling her into a passionate hug instead, resting his head on top of hers. She pulled herself closer into his embrace, never wanting him to let go. She silently cried into his shoulder, leaving tear stains in the cotton of his shirt, but he didn't care so long as she was safe in his arms again.

They reluctantly let go of the comfort of each other's arms when the doctor once again found them, baring test results.

"Your daughter passed with flying colors. She should be awake soon, but we're going to have to take things slowly for the first couple of days. She won't be able to return home right away, but our hope is to get her out as soon as possible."

They both nodded, smiles on their faces, hugging once again at the news of Bailey's health status.

"For now, we'll have to ask you to reside in the family suites. Visiting hours are over, but since your daughter will be staying her for a while, you're welcome to the beds and facilities we have there."

They simply nodded and proceeded towards the suites, which turned out to be much like any other hospital room: extra beds, a few televisions and chairs and such. They found a couch, neither of them wanting to sleep, but both completely exhausted. As they sat on the couch, Lindsay cuddling up to Danny under the blanket, he turned to her and reluctantly began to speak again.

"Lindsay…what are we gonna tell Bailey?"

She hadn't even thought about this. What were they going to tell their little girl? They couldn't just spring this information on her all at once, could they?

"It's okay, I mean we don't have to tell her if you don't want to," he said sadly after she hadn't responded for quite some time.

"No, no I want her to know. I want her to know who her daddy is, and I wouldn't do that to you Danny. I wouldn't deprive you of being a father to our baby girl. I'm just not sure how we should approach this. We'll just have to see how it goes. Take things slow, let her adjust."

"I'd like that. Lindsay, you really don't understand how much I love that little girl. It just kills me that you hadn't told me sooner."

"Are you still mad?" she replied reluctantly.

"I'm not, I'm not mad. I'm just…I'm frustrated, that's all."

"Danny, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean for it to happen this way. I wanted to tell you so many times, but--"

"Hey hey hey. How many times I gotta tell ya, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I'm the one who screwed up, remember? Everything will be alright, I promise you. This is the best thing that could've happened to me."

"Really?"

"Are you kidding me? I love that little girl with all my heart, the fact that she's mine just made my life a thousand times better. You gave me this gift Montana. If you're apologizing for that, you've got it all wrong."

"I love her too. And it wasn't just me that created her, you know. You gave her to me too. I've never thanked you for that."

"Well, you kinda couldn't," he replied with a laugh, squeezing her tighter against his frame.

"Thank you Danny, for giving me the greatest gift I could ever ask for."

He kissed her forehead gently, and in doing so, brought her face centimeters away from his. They were facing each other again, and he didn't know what to do. Her hands suddenly on either side of his face gave him the answer. She was pulling him down closer, their lips now millimeters apart. They were so close to making contact, and right as they were about to taste each other for the first time in what had seemed like forever, a doctor had come sprinting into the room interrupting them.

"Ms. Monroe, your daughter is waking up."

That was undoubtedly the fastest either of them had ever ran in their lives.