Disclaimer: The characters of Walker do not belong to me.

A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a minute. Life is crazy, and that's all I can really say. Anyway, this story here is inspired by the song 'Wings', by Birdy. Sophie's first birthday makes Bonham think of the day she was born.

Sophie had been happy all day.

She didn't know what was going on, of course. There was no way she could. But Bonham marveled at her big, bright eyes, wandering from place to place and staring at the pink and sparkly decorations. As usual, Sophie wanted to walk around with Liam, who carefully held her hands and helped her walk around the living room for what must have been the twentieth time that morning. Sophie squawked in delight when Cordell suddenly grabbed her around the torso and flung her gently into the air. Abeline, busy in the kitchen finishing Sophie's birthday cake, gently chided Cordell to be careful with his baby sister.

"Dada."

Sophie's call shook Bonham out of his daydreaming. He smiled and held out his arms for Sophie, who eagerly jumped into them. Bonham kissed her cheek and was surprised when Sophie's tiny hand grabbed his.

"Dada boo boo?."

"What?" Bonham asked.

"Dada boo boo?" Sophie asked again, carefully inspecting her father's face. "Boo boo hurt?"

Bonham suddenly realized what Sophie was trying to ask. He quickly wiped his face and smiled again, attempting to hide the tears that had just been streaming moments before. "No, princess. Daddy's not hurt."

"Dada no boo boo." Sophie repeated. Bonham wondered how it was possible, but he could have sworn he heard skepticism in her tiny voice. "Sosy kiss?"

"Always, princess."

Sophie landed a wet, slobbery kiss on Bonham's cheek, then pointed out her birthday decorations to him again. Bonham pretended to have never seen them before, delighting Sophie and making her squeal all over again. After Sophie's face, and somehow her arms, ears, and hair, were covered in birthday cake, Abeline walked over.

"Daddy boo boo?"

"Stop it." Bonham said, blushing slightly.

"I've been thinking about it too." Abeline said. "But you know what else I've been thinking?"

"What?"

Abeline smiled and looked towards Sophie, who was painting her oldest brother's face with pink frosting. "She made it."

Bonham nodded. The preceding year had been a hard one. Ironically, it had been one of the best years that Walker ranch had ever had in terms of business. But Sophie's birth, which should have been a time filled with joy and happiness for all of them, had more days than not been filled with fear, uncertainty, and a crippling anxiety that they could go from having three children to two at any time. Though that fear had mostly faded now that Sophie was thriving, it's ugly head reared itself from time to time. Sophie let out a laugh and pointed to Bonham again.

"Dada. Take."

Bonham smiled and walked over. "I'd love to have cake with you, darlin'."

One Year Earlier

Abeline hadn't even come out of surgery yet, and Bonham was already wondering how he was going to stop from breaking her heart.

Sophia was here. She was here three months early, but she was here. Part of him wanted to see her, but a bigger part of him just wanted to grab Abeline and get home. He loved both his boys, but he had never really felt a strong connection to them until he'd held them in his arms. Bonham's knee bounced up and down as he sat in the hard hospital chair.

It was then that the questions started.

How would he raise the boys without their mother around? How would he raise the boys and a premature little girl without their mother around? Would he be able to do it, or would he have to send the boys to live with family?

"Mr. Walker?"

Bonham jumped slightly. The doctor was there, finally, the one who had forcefully pushed Bonham out of the way when Abeline had been rushed to an emergency c-section earlier that afternoon. Bonham jumped out of the chair, trying to control his shaking as he asked the question he wasn't really sure he wanted the answers to.

"How's my wife?"

"Mr. Walker, your wife is just fine. She's being moved to recovery as we speak."

Bonham drew in a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Abeline was fine. Whatever came next, Bonham could handle.

"We do need to talk though. Come with me please."

Bonham didn't argue, just followed the doctor to a small office just down the hall. The office didn't look like it was used often. There were a few books on the shelf against the wall, there was a desk in pristine condition that looked as if it had never seen the use of a pen and paper before. There was a manila folder in the center of the desk, which Bonham noted was Abeline's patient file as he sat down. The doctor took a seat and took a deep breath before he began.

"As I said, Mrs. Walker did fine with the c-section. Her blood pressure rose a little higher than we would have liked, and she experienced a little hemorrhaging after the baby was born, but we were able to get all of that under control. Once she starts to get out from under the anesthesia, you'll be able to see her."

"What about the baby?"

The doctor swallowed and looked away for a brief moment. Bonham steeled himself for the worst. The doctor turned and put on the saddest smile Bonham had ever seen.

"The baby's alive. That's the best I can say right now. Obviously, she was born very, very early. The problems she'll be dealing with in the next few days…"

"Are you trying to tell me she may not make it?"

The doctor nodded gravely. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, but babies born this early just don't have a great chance."

"I understand." Bonham replied. "Where is she now?"

"The nurses are taking her to NICU. The best news is this. Sophie is able to breathe on her own. She'll require oxygen for a while, for supportive care, but she is taking breaths on her own. Her blood pressure and her heart rate is too low for our liking. We're doing what we can about that. And she's small. Very small."

"How small?" Bonham asked.

"She weighed in at exactly two and a half pounds."

A knock at the door cut off the conversation briefly, and Bonham couldn't hear anything said from the doctor or the nurse who had come inside. He couldn't comprehend how tiny Sophia was. Liam had been six pounds and fifteen ounces at birth, Cordell nearly eight, and the thought that Sophie was a quarter of that size just wasn't something he could wrap his mind around.

"Mr. Walker? Did you hear me?"

"What? Oh, no. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry." The doctor said. "It's a lot of information I'm laying on you right now. If you have any questions later on, about Sophia or your wife, ask me or one of the NICU nurses. And don't worry about asking us to repeat anything. We're here for you and them."

"When can I see Sophia?"

"That's what the nurse was saying. Sophia's in the NICU and she's ready to be seen. If you're not ready, I understand, but would you like to hold her?"

"You mean I can?"

"Absolutely. You'll have to take some precautions-a gown, washing and sterilizing your hands, wearing a mask, all that. We'll help you through that. And a nurse will be in the room at all times. But the fastest way babies recover in the NICU is if someone's holding them, talking to them."

Bonham nodded. "Yes."

The process to get into the room to hold Sophia seemed to take forever. The nurse explained to him how he needed to hold Sophia, since she was much tinier than other babies, and Bonham listened patiently. After her instructions, the kind, grandmotherly nurse smiled.

"Can I give you a piece of advice, Daddy?"

"Sure."

"Put yourself in Sophia's shoes. She's brand new to the world. She has no idea where she is right now or even who she is. She's scared enough already. I'm not telling you to not be nervous or scared, but try not to show it to her. Tell her it's gonna be okay. That Daddy's gonna be here, Mommy'll be here soon, all that. She may not know exactly what you're saying, but she'll know she's safe and that someone loves her. That's what she needs the most right now."

"I'll try to remember that."

Bonham was led to a rocking chair, next to a bassinet that held what he thought must have been the tiniest living creature he'd ever seen. Sophia squirmed slightly, and she'd been changed into a diaper that, though tiny, was almost up to her waist. Her eyes were shut and scrunched as if she wanted to cry but just didn't have the energy. The nurse murmured to Sophia that she was okay, that someone was there who wanted to meet her.

Sophia was barely the size of Bonham's hands. Despite the enormity of the stress of the afternoon, he smiled. Sophia had been a vague idea in his mind for the months since Abeline had told him she was pregnant. Now that she was here, in the flesh, he could swear he felt his heart swell inside him. Sophia's tiny eyes cracked open. Though they were unfocused, Bonham noticed her calm right away. He gently cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Hey, princess. I'm your daddy. I'm the one that was telling you all those bad jokes every night."

Sophia gurgled slightly, her minute hands curled into tight fists.

"Mama'll be here soon. She's asleep right now. She's tuckered out. You and her have had a big day. But as soon as she can, she'll be here to see you."

Sophia uncurled one of her fists. Her fingers looked to Bonham like the tiny fruit fly larvae he sometimes found in the horse stable when a particularly stubborn horse didn't finish an entire apple they were given. Bonham stroked her palm with his thumb, then felt his heart thump painfully again when Sophia grasped it and held on.

"Quite the grip you got there, huh?"

Bonham chuckled. He talked a few more minutes with Sophia, telling her all about her brothers, her mama, and her home. He promised her that, if she fought hard to come home, he'd treat her like the princess she was. Before long, he found himself rocking her in the chair, happy that her eyes were closing again in sleep.

"Mr. Walker?"

The nurse who had given Bonham the advice appeared again at his shoulder.

"Your wife's coming out of the anesthesia."

"Oh." Bonham was surprised to find that, while he wanted to see and be with Abeline, the thought of leaving Sophia hurt.

"I'll tell you what. It'll be a couple hours before we can wheel your wife down here to meet Sophia. You want me to take a polaroid of her? That you can show her until she gets here?"

"That sounds great."

Two minutes later, Sophia was asleep again in her bassinet. The nurse assured Bonham that Sophia was in good hands, that she'd watch her personally until Daddy could come back with Mommy. Bonham nodded, thanked her again, then whispered to Sophia.

"Daddy'll be back, Princess. You sleep good."