These Lines Were Never Established

Hayley sat up in bed looking around. She was surrounded by blankets. She’d never seen so many before in her life in one place. Climbing out of the mountain of them her little mind began to show her far more blanket than were there before they morphed completely into large towering mountains she was scaling.

Huffing and puffing, tugging at the rocks she climbed to the top. She stopped realizing the mountains were growing over a giant. Blinking she looked around, down the miles to the base of the mountains. The giant was huge! She could probably touch its face from the top of the mountains if she wanted.

Humming she reached out. Her small hand grabbed Travis’s nose as the mountains faded away and everything came back to reality. She squeaked as Travis’s eyes sprang open. Toppling backwards into the mountain of blankets she’d just scaled from surprise she huffed.

All that climbing for nothing.
Giants.

Shaking her head she began wiggling and squirming to get out of tangle she’d fallen back into.

Travis slowly sat up rubbing his nose gently. He watched the little girl wiggle before him and laughed. Scratching the side of his face he watched her pop out of all the blankets. Smiling weakly at the tousled looking girl watching him he let out a nervous laugh.

Being stared down by a two-year-old really wasn’t his thing.

Hayley watched him closely before her attention span ran out. Spinning around she began examining the large room. Her eyes landed on the large television with stuffed animals over and around it. Her head tipped sideway at the stuffed animals.

“Hayley…” Travis yawned at her. “Ya hungry?”

Her little stomach rumbled at the thought of food. Her face flushed as she slapped her hands over her stomach. Weakly nodding at this stranger she nodded. Travis smiled at her, laying back down in bed.

“Me too.” He laughed as his stomach grumbled as well.

Hayley looked down at the blankets at the sound of his stomach. There was a monster in the sheets?

“What do you want?” Travis’s words fell on lost ears as she began pulling at the blankets. “Hayley?” he questioned watching her. “What are you…oh your hands are cold!” He gasped as she found his bare stomach.

Hayley eyed the rock before her, keeping her from the monster. She pressed her hands against the hard rock making Travis groan as she pushed on his toned abs.

“What are you doing?” Travis laughed at her, confused and interested at the same time

“’eere’s ah ‘onster hunder ‘ere!” She gasped at him pushing on his stomach again.

Laughing Travis picked her up and climbed out of bed.

“That’s my stomach silly.” He teased as she hugged his neck tightly. “It’s saying ‘feed me!’ just like yours.”

“Nah-uh! Iz ‘onster!” Hayley reasoned. Snorting Travis began to laugh at her. “iz ah ‘onster!” She gasped as it rumbled again. Travis placed a hand to his talking stomach, that’s what he was got for noting eating dinner before bed.

“Then yours is a little monster!” Travis reasoned. Hayley’s eyes went wide at the sound echoing from her stomach.

Looking down at it she began prodding it with one hand through the bright yellow footed pajamas she always wore to bed. Debbie had helped Travis get the dead asleep toddler into them last night.

“iz ah ‘onster!” She gasped up at him startled as her stomach made a similar sound to his only a miniature one. Travis laughed.

“Yeah sounds like you ate a monster.” Travis stated seriously as he entered the kitchen. Debbie smiled at him from over the stove. He gave a nervous wave and laugh at his dad sitting at the kitchen table staring him down. “Hi…” He whispered. Hayley took no note of the two new strangers around her.

“Iz struck! ‘et it ‘ow!” She stated looking up at Travis panicked.

Humming Travis looked down at her startled by her words. She was still pointing at her stomach, slight panicked.

“You don’t get it out.” Her eyes went wider and she seemed to pale. “You just feed it so it goes to sleep.” He threw out there quickly. Her brows narrowed at him. “trust me.” He nodded. Hayley whined prodding at her stomach with both hands.

“She’s got your hair.” Robert stated.

Robert’s deep voice caught Hayley’s attention and her eyes snapped up to him. Swallowing she hid into Travis’s side watching the two new people smiling at her. Licking her lips she whined into Travis’s bare shoulder.

“Hayley these are my parents.” Travis smiled at her. “This is my mom, Debbie,” Debbie waved at her. “and my dad, Robert.” Hayley watched Robert more closely than anyone in the room. He was a dad.

Hayley had never known a dad before. She didn’t have a friend’s to play with that had a dad, she didn’t have a grandfather, and her mom said her dad was always working and that’s why she’d never met him before. She’d wished for her dad on her last birthday, just for a little while to know what he looked like and to know he was real.

“Mom, dad, this is Hayley.” Travis licked his lips. He didn’t want to say it was his daughter till he was sure she was.

“Hed’oh.” Hayley waved nervously. She began playing with her bottom lip to keep her hands busy and her focus off Robert.

“Hello sweetheart. You hungry?” Debbie asked gently. Hayley looked up unsure if Debbie was talking to her or Travis. “Hayley, you hungry?” Hayley nodded weakly at the question. “You two go sit down breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”

“Thanks mom.” Travis sighed heading for the table. “uh…” He looked around the room for something to sit Hayley on.

“I brought a booster seat.” Robert stated pointing to the chair. Travis breathed a sigh of relief. “I think he could do it.” Robert added watching his ex-wife. Debbie shrugged.

“Should’ve seen him when he pulled out her pajamas. It was like he’d just pulled an alien out of the bag.” Debbie laughed while Travis eyed the booster seat, trying to figure out how it worked.

“You just put it on the chair smart one.” Robert laughed at his son eyeing the small child chair. “I don’t know if she’s going to fit in it though…” He added hesitantly eyeing his potential granddaughter, who was still staring him down. “Deb,” he licked his lips as he turned to his ex-wife.

“Yeah?” Debbie asked gently, watching breakfast cook.

“Deb.” Robert stated looking back at the little girl Travis was bringing to the table.

“What?” Debbie gasped turning to him. She took note of what Robert was looking at and smiled. “I know. I hope its true otherwise it’ll never actually happen.” Robert nodded at the statement.

“She looks like him.” Robert stated

Travis put the booster seat on the chair and eyed the straps dangling on it. He placed Hayley on the table and clipped them around the base of the chair before sitting her in it. She only took up half the chair. Her hazel eyes focused on him as he stood over her. That is until her stomach growled again and she began focusing on the monster in her belly once more.

Smiling Travis sat down across from his father, smiling at the man. Laughing he looked at Hayley peering over the table comfortably.

“I didn’t think she’d fit.”

“She’s not the size of a doll dad. She’s just…small.” Travis reasoned, shrugging.

Hayley glanced around the room taking it in. Suddenly everything seemed so much larger than she remembered it from last night, but she also hadn’t looked around. Paper and pen had been given to her and most of her attention had been on Travis, the giant of a man her mother had left her with.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to fatten her up.” Hayley turned looking over at Debbie setting plates on the table. “Here you go sweetie.” She smiled at Hayley.

“Fank’ew.” Hayley whispered up at her. Her cheeks flushing as Debbie’s hand ran over her head lovingly. She sat up more looking at the food on her plate. There were piles of food on her plate. She’d never seen so much food before.

Her eyes drifted to Travis already eating. Twice as much was piled on his plate as her. Letting her eyes roll up his tall form she swallowed nervously. He really was a giant. She hoped he was a friendly one.

“Hayley eat your breakfast.” Travis pointed with his fork to the untouched plate.

The four sat eating breakfast in relative silence. Robert and Debbie were watching their potential granddaughter as she ate calmly, trying to maneuver the large fork and the food skewered to the prongs as best she could. The group found her cute as she tried to do everything she could herself.

“So…” Travis looked up at his mother while she washed dishes. “when are you going to go?” Sighing he looked at Hayley rushing out of the room, Robert slowly following her, to go get dressed for the day.

“When she fully trust me in a few days. I think that’ll be best and not have to deal with screaming, crying, scared child.” Travis stated. Debbie nodded at his idea.

“She’s really smart and determined.” Debbie stated glancing over at her son. “Was her mom smart?” Travis shrugged. “huh.” She hummed going back to dished.

“Hey!” Travis gasped getting it. “I’m smart!” He laughed.

“You were a smart kid but you weren’t like that a two.” Debbie sighed. “I’ve never met a two-year-old like that before. She didn’t even want help with her juice! A big glass of juice!” Debbie gasped.

Robert walked back into the room shaking his head.

“Where’s Hayley?” Travis asked, slightly worried.

“Getting dressed, I quote the little one, I shit you not. She flat out told me to get out and that ‘eye do’s it me self!’” Robert laughed. “You got a handful there Travis.” He laughed sitting down. The three laughed trying to figure out Travis’s situation.

“Who would you pick for god parents?” Robert pressed, tapping the table lightly.

Sipping his coffee Travis looked up at his father and sighed into the warm liquid. Smiling he leaned back in his seat thinking through all the options he had and who would work best.

“Jim or Bell.” He stated simply. “I know they’d both be good with a kid and I know them best. Then Jolene or…” he trailed off for another godmother. “Or uh…Holly.” He stated as his mind went to Ronnie Renner’s wife.

To him this was all new. He didn’t know how to pick a god-parent. Hell he didn’t know how to take care of a kid, or to even be a good parent.

Rubbing his face he huffed slowly trying to calm his swirling thoughts.