I Won't Give Up

I fell to my knees, I was now so ready to give up. I have waited for so long to have everything I now have, and in such a short time, it would appear I was losing the only thing that made me realize so much about myself. "We can beat this, Greg. So much has happened in the medical field that we can save her."

"How can we keep taking her to Patel?" I said, looking up at Dawson who looked like he was losing all hope. "She's barely a year old, and she's already been through so much shit." I leaned against Dawson's legs, and I closed my eyes. I felt small hands run through my hair, and I glanced up to see the blue eyes of Ameila.

"Daddy sad," she said, trying to get down to me. I grabbed her, watching her face study me a little. "Why Daddy sad?" she asked, wrapping her arms around my neck as best she could.

"Mommy and Daddy are going through so much, and sometimes we get scared and very sad," I said, the tears still falling. She wiped them away as best she could, causing me to smile a little. "I love you, Ameila," I whispered, wiping away the last few stray tears.

"I love you, too, Daddy," she said, pressing a kiss to my cheek. After a moment, she asked, "Am I sick?" Dawson and I looked at each other worriedly for a moment before I looked at my princess.

"We think so, but we're going to get in touch with Dr. Patel and have him give you medicine to make it all go away," I said, hoping and praying that we could grab this shit by the horns and get rid of it. Letting out a deep sigh, I fought back more tears and said, "Dawson, call the Patel's and see if they can make a house call, please."

"Sure thing, Greg," he said, walking into the kitchen as he pulled out his cell phone. A few moments later, I heard him talking under his breath urgently.

"Daddy, will you sing?" Ameila asked, looking at me with hope in her eyes. Smiling I leaned against the back of the couch and held out my arms.

"What would you like me to sing, Princess?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist and holding her close.

"When you first met mommy," she said, her eyes beaming. I thought for a long moment, then asked her a question.

"How about when I first found out I really loved mommy?"

"Okay," she said, her beaming smile never faltering.I hummed a tune for a moment, getting the words to play through my head before singing, knowing it would make Ameila happy, but would calm me down a little.

"When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night sky. Or a beautiful sunrise; There's so much they hold. And just like them old stars, I see that you've come so far to be right where you are. How old is your soul?" I smiled when she laid her head down on my shoulder, making me truly feel like a father.

"I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love. I'm still looking up. And when you're needing your space to do some navigating, I'll be here patiently waiting to see what you find. 'Cause even the stars they burn, some even fall to the earth. We've got a lot to learn, God knows we're worth it. No, I won't give up."

I looked up at Dawson when he entered the room, the look in his eyes saying he was listening close to the words. Kneeling down beside Ameila and I, he joined me for the next couple of verses. "I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily. I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make. Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake. And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend for us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn; We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in. I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am."

We stared into each other's eyes for the rest of the song, both of us wrapping our arms around Ameila who was watching us so closely. "I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love, I'm still looking up, still looking up. I won't give up on us, God knows I'm tough enough. We've got a lot to learn. God knows we're worth it." We pressed our foreheads together and smiled when Ameila kissed us both on the cheek. In whisper, Dawson and I sang, "I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love. I'm still looking up."