Daddy by Surprise

It was three o'clock in the morning and Johnny did not want to be woken up, but someone kept ringing his doorbell. He groaned as he rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. He padded down his stairs and headed towards the front door as the doorbell kept ringing. He let out a yawn as he unlocked the door and pulled it open. Rubbing his eyes, he blinked when he saw someone he didn't know standing there.

"Can I help you?" he asked sleepily. He hadn't been able to go to bed until one in the morning since he had been trying to write some new music for his band's new album. He had given up so he could try and get some sleep.

"Yeah, I was just doing my rounds and passing out the newspapers when I saw this on your doorstep," the young boy answered.

Johnny furrowed his eyebrows when he looked down to his doorstep and saw a box sitting there with a bunch of stuff in it. There was another box with a purple blanket sticking out of it and a lid on top.

"What is it?" he asked the boy.

"I wasn't sure until I looked inside. It's a baby girl and there's a note inside as well. When I checked inside it didn't look like the baby was moving. You might want to take her to the hospital," he said.

Johnny picked up the box of other stuff and brought it inside before he took the lid off of the other box to take a better look. There was indeed, a little baby girl resting inside. Her little chest wasn't moving though, so carefully picked her up, silently thanking Zacky's older sister on how to hold a baby when she had Gavin. He placed his ear to her mouth before grabbing the blanket from the box and was about to shut the door when the guy stopped him.

"Hey, you forgot the note," he said.

Johnny took the note from him and then slammed the door. He carried the little girl upstairs with him and gently placed her on his bed before grabbing a shirt and pulling it on. He slipped some sandals on as he picked her up again and rushed down the stairs. He didn't have a car seat to put her in, but when he opened his garage door he saw the paper boy walking down his driveway.

"Hey, you!" he called.

The boy turned around and then headed up towards him. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I need your help. I need you to hold her so I can drive to the hospital. I don't have a car seat," he said.

"I have to do my paper rounds though," he answered, "Sorry," he said and walked off to his bike on the lawn.

Johnny cursed and climbed into the driver's seat. He backed out of the driveway after placing the little baby on the passenger seat next to him. He drove as quickly as he could to the hospital without making any kind of sharp turns or sudden stops. He had no idea where the baby came from or why it was she had been on his doorstep, but the last thing he wanted was for her to die.

****

Johnny couldn't stop moving his leg up and down as he waited for news on the little baby girl that had been on his doorstep. He didn’t even know how long she had been there, but the doctors had been able to revive her. He stood up and started pacing the waiting room. He wasn't even sure if the hospital would give him any news on the baby considering he didn't know who she belonged to. He stuffed his hands into his pocket and felt a piece of paper. He frowned and pulled it out. After he smoothed it out, he realized that it had been the note that was in the box along with the baby girl. He walked over to a chair and sat down so he could read it.

Dear Johnny,

I know you won't believe me, but this little girl is your daughter. I was surprised myself when I found out I was pregnant. I almost got an abortion too, but as I was waiting for the appointment I couldn't go through with it. I'm leaving her in your care because I know that you have the means to be able to take care of her. I don't at the moment and to be honest I'm not in the greatest shape to be taking care of a baby either. She doesn't have a name yet, and you can either put my name on her birth certificate or not. It's up to you, but I will not be coming to you in the future to try and take her from you. I understand if you'll want to get a DNA test to prove it, but I assure you that this baby is your daughter. Please don't hate me and please don't let our daughter hate me. I will send money for child support, but that's all I can offer at this moment. I know it's a huge thing to ask considering I don't plan to be in her life, but I couldn't bear for someone to hate me. The only other thing I wish is that you don't try and find me because you won't be able too. Just take care of our daughter.

Best Wishes to you both

Love always,

Elliana

Johnny crumpled the note in his hand. He couldn’t believe that the note was true. He barely knew Elliana, but from what he did know about her, she was a kind person, but for her to just drop a kid at his doorstep and claim that it was his just didn't make sense to him. After sitting in the chair for a few more minutes he stood up and walked to the nurses' station. He cleared his throat and the nurse looked up at him.

"May I help you?" she asked him with a kind smile.

He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "Yeah, the little baby girl that I brought in earlier, is there any news on her yet?" he asked.

"What is the relation to her?" the nurse asked.

He groaned. "Please, I just want to know if she's alright. And I need a paternity test for me done on her," he answered.

"Well, I can't tell you anything unless you are immediate family," the nurse answered.

"Then can you get me a paternity test?" he asked.

"Of course. I'll page a doctor now," she replied.

"Thanks," he said.

Fortunately, Johnny didn't have to wait long for the doctor. He made sure the doctor would rush order the test because he needed to know if that baby girl was truly his. Some note wasn't going to cut it for him. After a nurse took some blood he was told to wait in the waiting room for the results, so he headed back to the waiting room.

****

"Excuse me, Mr. Seward?" a soft voice asked.

Johnny jolted awake. "Yeah?" he asked, rubbing his eyes again.

"Your paternity tests results are in," a nurse said.

He blinked his eyes a few times to focus them and then saw that the nurse had a sealed envelope in her hand. He smiled at her and took it.

"Thanks," he said.

She nodded and then went back to the nurses' station. Johnny yawned and then looked down at the envelope in his hand. The paper in the envelope would tell him if that baby girl was his or not. He needed to know for sure. He took a deep breath and then opened the envelope. He took out the paper and unfolded it reading it over five times. It was true. He was the father of the baby girl. His baby girl could have died had it not been for his paper boy alerting him to her on his doorstep. He stood up and went back to the nurses' station.

"I'd like to know some information on the baby girl I brought in," he told the nurse.

"What is your relationship to the patient?" the nurse asked.

"I'm her father," he answered. The words sounded weird coming from him, but he knew he'd get used to them. He had to.

The nurse looked up at him after typing on her computer. "She's in stable condition and the doctor said she can go home soon. She just needs her discharge papers signed," she answered.

"I'll sign them," he said.

"Would you like us to write up a birth certificate for her?" she asked.

"Can you do that? I thought it had to come from the hospital she was born in," he said.

"We can do some research if we have the mother's name," she said.

"Will it show up even though my daughter doesn't have a name?" he asked.

"Yes. It'll show up as Jane Doe until you name her," she replied.

"Well, then yeah, find that out for me. I'd like her birth certificate," he said.

She nodded. "I will page the doctor who was treating her so that he can give you the discharge forms."

"Thanks," he said.

Johnny pulled out his phone after giving the nurse his daughter's mother's name. He had to rack his brain in order to remember her last name, but once he finally did the nurse was able to search the database. He glanced at the time and realized that he had to be at the studio in an hour. He hoped it wouldn't take too much longer. He knew that the guys would flip out when they saw him walk in with a baby girl.

"Mr. Seward?" a voice asked.

He looked up from his phone and saw a doctor staring at him. "Yeah, that's me," he said, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

"Hi, my name is Dr. Sanchez. I treated your daughter and it was a good thing you brought her in so quickly. A few more minutes in the cold air and she could have died," Dr. Sanchez said.

"Is she doing okay now?" Johnny wondered.

"She's doing wonderful. We were able to bring up her temperature and after a few hours of monitoring I feel comfortable to allow her to go home with you today. If her body temperature begins to drop though bring her back right away," Dr. Sanchez said.

Johnny nodded. "Um, is there a way for me to get a car seat or anything? I don't exactly have one for her," he admitted, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Dr. Sanchez smiled warmly at him. "We have first time parent packages here. Is your wife here too?" he asked.

"No, I'm not married and my daughter's mother isn't around," he replied.

He nodded. "Alright, well we can hold your daughter here until you can get a car seat, since that doesn't exactly come with the first time parent package that we offer. We give out baby formula, diapers, pacifiers, and things like that," Dr. Sanchez informed.

Johnny nodded. "I'll get one of my friends to bring me one," he said.

"That's good. On another notion, I was informed when she was first brought in that she didn't have a name. Would you like to name her now?" Dr. Sanchez asked.

Johnny nodded. "I'd like to hold her. Maybe something will come to mind then," he replied.

"Alright, well follow me. I understand that you'll be picking up her birth certificate as well, so I will come and get you once the nurse is finished looking up the information," Dr. Sanchez said as he led Johnny to the nursery.

When they stopped in front of the nursery window Johnny looked in on all the baby boys and girls. Dr. Sanchez pointed out his daughter. "We left her with the purple receiving blanket she came in with, so she's easy to spot," he said.

Johnny nodded again as he stared at his baby girl. He had to learn how to raise another human being fast and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to actually do it without fucking up horribly. He walked into the nursery after just staring at her from outside the window and a nurse came up to him holding his daughter. She placed her in his arms and he smiled at her. Her eyes were open and he could see his own eye color reflecting back at him. She was absolutely beautiful. He looked up at the nurse and smiled.

"Can you hold her real quick? I need to make a quick phone call," he said.

She nodded and took her back. Johnny stepped outside of the nursery and pulled his phone out of his pocket again. He had yet to give his daughter a name, but he had to see if one of his best friends would come and bring him a car seat. He scrolled through his contacts until he landed on the name he knew wouldn't give him much grief over everything and pressed talk.

A few minutes later he was sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery holding his baby girl. He still couldn't think of a name yet. All he could do was stare at her. She had a small tuft of dark brown hair on her head. He leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly before pulling away again.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" the nurse asked.

Johnny looked up at her and smiled. "I think so," he answered.

"What will her name be?"

"Jocelyn Rose Seward," he replied as he continued to stare at his daughter.

"That is a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl," the nurse said.

"Thanks."

The nurse came over and lifted Jocelyn's little wrist and wrote her name on her wristband. She then wrote it on the discharge papers that the doctor had left for him to sign.

"Excuse me, Mr. Seward?" a soft voice asked.

Johnny looked up and to see a nurse standing there. "Yeah?"

"There's a Mrs. Pacheco is in the waiting room for you," she answered.

"Please send her back," he instructed.

The nurse nodded and then left. Johnny looked down at his daughter again. He was surprised that he was being so calm, but he was certain that once everything really sunk in he'd freak the fuck out.

"Johnny?" a different voice said from the door.

He looked up again and saw Zina standing there. "Thank you so much for coming," he said.

"I had to see this for myself. You do realize the guys are all waiting for you right?" she said.

"Yes, but then again they always are waiting on me. I'm usually the last to show up anyways," he said.

"This is true. And by the way, you're lucky I still haven't gotten rid of Gianna's car seat," she admonished.

He smiled at her. "I can take her home with me today, but I need a car seat. I'll go out and buy one, but I didn't want to leave her here," he said.

"Out of all my brother's friends you were not the one I thought would jump into daddy mode so quickly," Zina chuckled.

Johnny glared. "And which one did you think would be a dad first?" he asked.

"Matt, to be honest; he seemed the most fit to be a dad first," she answered.

"That hurts, Zina," he joked.

"Maybe I was wrong. What's her name anyways?" she asked.

"I named her Jocelyn Rose," Johnny answered.

"That's a gorgeous name. Can I hold her?"

"Of course. I need my hands so I can sign the discharge papers," he laughed.

Zina walked over to him and lifted Jocelyn into her arms. Johnny stood up so Zina could sit down. He grabbed the discharge papers and then quickly signed them.

"Who's the mother?" Zina asked.

"Do you remember Elliana Grayson?"

"I think so. Weren't you like together for six months or something?"

"Yeah, but she broke it off because she couldn't handle the constant touring of my schedule. I didn't blame her. My career isn't a good one to have when wanting a long term relationship," he said.

"Matt and Laila are doing alright. So are Brian and Angel and Zacky and Elena. Jimmy and Mel aren't doing too badly either," Zina pointed out.

"Yes, but they've all been together for years. When I first met Elliana I thought she could be the one for me. In fact, I had hoped she was, but I'll be fine. I have Jocelyn now and I plan to raise her as best as I can," Johnny answered.

Zina smiled. "Well, let's get little Miss Jocelyn out of here," she said.

Johnny nodded and then grabbed the discharge paperwork. Zina followed with Jocelyn still in her arms as they headed back up to the front desk. Johnny handed over the discharge paperwork and then they headed out. Zina led him to her car and told him that she'd follow him to the studio so that they didn't have to try and move the car seat now. Johnny was grateful for her help and then placed a soft kiss to Jocelyn's forehead. He headed towards his car and then climbed inside. Once he started the engine he pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the studio.

****

Johnny pulled up to the studio and saw Brian and Zacky standing outside taking a smoke break. They must have started without him, but he was fine with that since he had to be with Jocelyn. He climbed out just as Zina pulled into the spot next to him. She climbed out and helped him with the car seat.

"I'll stick around if you want to go shopping for her later," she said.

"You're the best Zina," Johnny smiled.

"So I've been told," she chuckled.
Johnny took the car seat with a sleeping Jocelyn from her and together they walked towards Brian and Zacky. They both had dropped their cigarette butts to the ground, mouths open in shock.

"Zina, what are you doing here?" Zacky stammered out.

"I got a call from Johnny this morning. He needed help with something," she answered.

"Short Shit, what's with the car seat?" Brian asked.

Johnny looked down at the car seat in his hand. "I'll show you inside," he said and walked past both of them. Zina followed him inside. Both Brian and Zacky didn't want to miss this so they quickly followed as well.

"It's about damn time you showed up Short Shit," Matt's aggravated voice said, once Johnny entered the lounge part of the studio.

"Sorry, dude, I was at the hospital all morning," he answered.

"Why the hell were you at the hospital?" Jimmy asked.

Johnny set down the car seat he was holding and then sat down on the couch. "I had an interesting surprise at three o'clock this morning," he answered.

"What kind of surprise?" Zacky's voice asked from the doorway.

Johnny bent down towards the car seat and unbuckled his daughter. He carefully lifted her out and held her close. "Apparently, Elliana was pregnant and she decided to leave our daughter on my doorstep in the freezing cold. I barely managed to get her to the hospital in time, but I did," he answered.

"Elliana was pregnant?" Jimmy exclaimed.

"It appears so," Johnny said.

"What the hell are you going to do with her when we go on tour?" Matt asked.

"I guess take her with us or see about having my folks babysit her, but I don't know yet," he replied.

"What's her name?" Jimmy wondered.

"Jocelyn Rose," Johnny answered.

"I'll be damned, Short Shit," Brian said.

"What do you mean by that?" Johnny inquired.

"Just that I didn't peg you to be the first to have a kid," he answered.

"That's what I said," Zina piped up.

Johnny turned towards him. "Well, who did you think was going to have a kid first?" he asked Brian.

Brian scuffed his shoe against the carpet. "Matt," he mumbled.

Jimmy burst out laughing as Matt let out a groan.

"Why does everyone think that I would have a kid first? Jimmy's the oldest out of all of us," he complained.

Johnny laughed. "Well, Jimmy is way too immature to have a kid right now and you just seem to be a better candidate," Zina offered.

"Well, Johnny beat me to it, not that it was a race to begin with," Matt said.

"Well, Johnny, we need you to lay down some bass tracks, so Zina, can you watch Jocelyn while he does that?" Zacky asked.

"Of course I can," Zina said.

Johnny handed Jocelyn to Zina and then he stood up so that he could lay down his tracks.

****

That evening Johnny was back at home with Jocelyn. Once the studio stuff was done for the day they all met up at his house after Zina had taken him shopping for baby stuff. Matt and Brian put together the crib in one of the guest bedrooms. He planned on painting the room later, but he needed to set up her room for the night first. He ordered a bunch of pizzas and Zacky came with some beer as they helped him arrange Jocelyn's nursery. He had made sure she had the best quality stuff so that nothing would break with wear and tear.

They were currently downstairs sitting in the living room. Johnny had bought a bassinet for the living room and Jocelyn was sleeping peacefully in there as they all ate the pizza and drank their beers.

"Hey, Brian, do you think McKenna would like to babysit every now and then?" Johnny asked.

"If you pay her, then yeah, I'm sure she'd love to. She adores babies and little kids," he answered.

Johnny laughed. "What makes you think I wouldn't pay her?" he asked.

"I don't know," he chuckled.

Johnny shook his head and took a swig of his beer. He was glad that his friends were so sincere about his new responsibility. Jimmy wouldn't leave her alone when she was awake or when she was sleeping. He sat real close to the bassinet to make sure she was okay and didn't need anything.

Zina had told Johnny that if he needed a babysitter for anything that she wouldn't mind doing it. Johnny was just grateful to have so much support. He knew that he had a long eighteen year road ahead of him, but he was certain that with a little help from his friends and family that he'd raise his daughter just fine. He just wanted to give her nothing but the best. He wanted to make sure she knew as she got older that she had a caring family.

After everyone left, Johnny picked up Jocelyn and the baby monitor that was on the side table and headed upstairs. He wasn't going to use the crib just yet. He had a bassinet in his room near his bed so it was easier to get to her when she woke up in the middle of the night. He may have been surprised by the news of suddenly being a father, but he knew he jumped into the role pretty quickly.

Of course, he was certain he'd have issues along the way, but he was positive that he'd be able to raise Jocelyn well. At least that's what he hoped would happen. He also hoped that Elliana wouldn't change her mind about not wanting to be in her daughter's life. All children needed both parents, but Johnny didn't want to have to deal with Elliana if she changed her mind. She made her choice when she left Jocelyn on his doorstep and he was determined to make her stand by her choice.