I Won't Give Up

After everything was settled, and two pots of tea, Ms. Kadam left us and told us to call if we needed anything. Closing and locking the door after her, I quickly made my way upstairs to Dawson. I saw him cradling the baby and I smiled, feeling complete. "Daddy! Daddy!" Ameila said, running over to me with a piece of paper in her hair. "Lookit!" she squealed, shoving the paper in my hand. Looking at the multi-colored picture, I smiled again. "It's mommy and Junior."

"It's fantastic, princess!" I said, scooping her up and spinning her around, her giggling filling the room. I smiled at her and everything felt whole. Stopping and cradling my beautiful daughter in my arms, I couldn't help but gaze into her face, noticing how she resembled Dawson so much, but there was also features that didn't belong to anyone but her. Twirling a lock of her hair in my finger near her head, I gave her a loving smile. "Ready for bed?" I asked her quietly, not breaking eye contact with her.

"Mmhmm," she said, pulling herself up and kissing my cheek. "Can I say good night to mommy and Junior?"

"Of course. Can't go to bed beforehand," I said, placing her on the floor. She ran over to the bed and gently climbed in, hugging Dawson a bit awkwardly, then pressed a gentle kiss to Junior's head.

"Wait. Where is going to sleep?" Dawson asked, realizing he was still lying in her bed.

"I'll throw her in our bed and I'll crash on the couch," I said just as Ameila ran back over to me. "Once I get her comfortable, I'll grab the playpen from downstairs as well as a few of the extra blankets and pillows from the hall closet."

"Thank you, Greg," he said, looking relieved. I smiled before grabbing Ameila's hand.

"Don't mention it," I said, walking out of the room with Ameila. It was a quiet walk back, but neither of us seemed to mind. Once we were there, I grabbed her spare pajamas we kept in our room and got her changed and into the bed.

"Will you and mommy be getting back together?" she asked, causing me to look at her in surprise. I felt the tears spring up in my eyes and quickly blinked them away.

"I don't know, sweetie ... but I sure hope so," I said, sitting down gently. "Would you like a song, or a story?"

"Not tonight. I'm too sleepy," she said, rolling over to her side. I whistled and Bell soon came running in. Picking her up, I placed her at the end of the bed, and she curled up.

"Goodnight, princess," I said, kissing her forehead. She then kissed my cheek and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Daddy," she whispered as I started for the door. Smiling, I walked out of the room and into the hallway, quickly making my way downstairs. Grabbing the pen and then a few blankets and pillows, I ran back upstairs as quickly as I could without making too much noise.

Once I made it to Dawson, I noticed that Junior was asleep. Quietly setting everything up, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Dawson gently stood up with the baby and walked over to where I was. Once finished, Dawson carefully placed Junior in the heap. He moved slightly, but quickly fell back into slumber's arms.

"Ameila asked me something before she fell asleep," I said, looking down at Dawson's tired face. He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Which was?" he asked, lightly pushing me. I laughed slightly before answering.

"She asked if we were getting back together," I said, my face becoming serious. "I told her I didn't know."

"Well, for all we know, no one is coming after either of us," Dawson said, crossing his arms.

"So ... do you want to continue from where it ended? Or should we start over?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets. We stared at each other for a long moment, not a word being said. "If you want some time to think, take all the time you need. I don't want to pressure you."

At that, I walked into the hallway and started for the stairs. "Greg, wait," Dawson said, making me stop and turn. "Stay with me tonight."