Nightingale

Joel and I were engaged. We were going to get married. I was going to be his wife and he was going to be my husband. We were going to be a family. Joel David Kanitz asked me to marry him.

It was hard to wrap my head around, but the ring on my finger flaunted it. It would stare back at me every second of every day.

"Congratulations, Sav and Joel," everyone said as we did a champagne toast.

John downed his, then escaped to the kitchen. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he reached for the bottle of Jack. He lifted up the bottle and drank straight from it. Next, he moved to the back door. I tried to watch him, but Joel put his hand on my waist, pulling me from John's watch.

"Momma, is Joel gonna be my new daddy?" Ellie asked, putting her little hand on my leg.

I bent down to pick her up. "No baby, your daddy is still your daddy. Joel will help Mommy take care of you. Why don't you go outside and sit with your daddy? I think he wants a hug from his favorite girl in the world."

Once I put her down, she ran outside, calling for her dad. "I hope you know I don't want to replace John in her life," Joel murmured to me, kissing the outer shell of my ear.

"I know, baby," I told him. He pulled my lips to his. "Guess what?"

"What?" he countered.

I smiled and kissed him again. "You, my love, are stuck with me forever now."

"Forever and ever, babe," he teased.

~

"You ready to head home, Savannah?" Joel asked, Ellie asleep in his arms. I nodded. "I'm gonna go put her in the car and I'll be back to say bye to everyone."

I nodded again and kissed him. He went out the front door and I went to the back to find John and talk to him before Joel came back. He was laying on a lounge chair with the bottle of Jack next to him.

"John," I murmured.

He sat up, looked at me, and took a swig from the bottle. "What, Savannah?"

"I love you."

He downed another swig. "You can't marry him." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Marry me instead. Marry me, Savannah."

I sat next to him. "Oh John."

He pulled on my hand to look at the ring. "This ring isn't you, Savannah. You don't even like it and you know it."

Sighing, I looked at the ring also. He was half right. I did like the ring, but it wasn't me. It wasn't one I would've picked out. "John, you're drunk. I'm going to have Ken take you home."

"Kiss me, Savannah, please."

"I can't, you know that," I told him in a sad voice. "We're taking Noella home with us. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Nodding, John took a swig, which ended up finishing off the bottle. "I love you."

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I love you, too. Forever, John O'Callaghan."

"Forever, Savannah O'Callaghan."

With a smile, I went back inside. It was just in time, just as Joel walked back inside. We said goodbye to everyone together and made our way to the car.

The drive was short. Joel held my hand the whole time. He was smiling like a fool. "I can't believe we're going to get married," he murmured.

"Let's do a fall wedding, so it isn't too hot," I suggested.

Joel looked at me as he stopped in a parking spot. "Baby, we can do anything you want. I want it to be your dream wedding."

I got out of the car and went to the back seat to get Ellie. She wrapped her arms around my neck. "Mommy, where's Daddy?"

"He's sick, baby. Daddy's gonna come get you tomorrow, though."

She nodded and rested her head back on my shoulder. I carried her upstairs to her room and put her in her bed. I kissed her head, then tucked her in. "I love you, mommy. Tell Joel I love him."

"Okay baby, get some sleep."

I left the bedroom and went to find Joel, who was changing in our room. "Ellie says she loves you," I told him.

"I love her, too." He kissed me. "And I love you."

~

He hovered over me, his lips trailed down my neck, across my chest and neck. His left hand grasped my waist, pulling me to meet his hips. I let out a breath while my hands grabbed his back. They pressed hard into the skin.

Joel let our lips meet again, along with our hips. He turned me, which caused my body to lean over the counter. The cold granite pressed against my stomach. His lips kissed my back while his hand slid between my thighs.

I moaned out his name as he touched me. His free hand reached forward to grab my left hand. "You are mine," he whispered into my ear. "This ring shows that you are mine forever."

"I'm yours," I whined out. "God, Joel."

His fingers moved in and out of me quickly. I felt him, all of him, against my warmth and he was soon inside of me. He filled me, in more ways than one.

He kissed my neck, pulled out, then turned me. His hands pushed my body up on the counter so I was sitting on it. His hands slid across my breasts and then he entered me again.

And the whole time, I thought of John.

~

"Daddy, I don't want Joel to be my new daddy," Ellie said from the back seat. She had a purple sippie cup between her legs as John glanced at her from the rear view mirror.

He sighed. "He won't be, sweetie."

She took a drink from her cup. "Daddy, why do you look sick?"

"Because I don't feel good. But don't worry, you won't get sick," John assured, knowing that she would freak out. Ellie nodded. "Noella, you know that your mommy and I love you very much, right?"

"Yes Daddy," she said, barely paying attention. She pushed back her dirty blonde hair, a color that resembled John's, and scratched her little button nose.

As John drove, he kept glancing at his daughter. She really was the only good thing left in his life. Of course The Maine was still good, but he would give it all up for his daughter if she asked. He would give up anything for her. Noella Sparrow was his world. She was his everything.

"Noella," he said softly.

She looked up. "Yes, Daddy?"

He glanced back, smiling at her. "Don't tell your mom, but how about we go get some ice cream?"

Hanging out with his daughter was exactly what John needed. Even though she reminded him of her mother in all ways, it was still a good distraction. Noella kept him laughing and happy when all he wanted to do was get completely plastered.

When John saw Joel propose, he felt the edges of his heart start to crack. When he saw Savannah say yes, his heart shattered. Everything fell to the ground at that point. His head, heart, and stomach were all at the bottom of the pool.

He remembered seeing Kennedy look at him, a shocked expression. None of them had expected a proposal, at least not any time soon at all. None of them except for Eric, who had been smirking. He had known the whole time. John found out about an hour later that Joel had asked Eric about it. Since Savannah's father hadn't been around much since Ellie was born, she didn't have a father figure nearby or in contact. Joel knew that Savannah told Eric everything, or close to everything. He asked Eric for his blessing, which he gave. Along with Eric, Aiden and Lorraine also knew. John wasn't surprised they knew, since it was her siblings, and he wasn't surprised that they didn't tell him since they weren't John's biggest fans ever since what happened. Eric keeping the secret, however, was very surprising.

As John sat with his daughter at the ice cream shop, his phone rang. It was Kennedy.

"Hey Ken," he answered.

"Hey, how are you doing today?"

With a sigh, John thought for a moment. He had to word his answer carefully because of Ellie. "Bad," he chose to say.

"What are you up to?"

Ellie giggled as she ate her ice cream. "Ice cream with El."

It took a second for Kennedy to reply. "Are you okay, John?"

"Yeah," he told his friend.

He took a spoonful of his ice cream, then told Ellie to wipe her chin. "I meant when you aren't with Ellie, when everyone else goes home. I know you love Savannah."

"There's nothing I can do about it, Kennedy," John said softly.

Ellie stood up and said she had to use the bathroom. John told her where it was and watched as she walked the ten feet to the ladies restroom.

"How do you feel?"

The singer put his head in his free hand. "Honestly, I'm terrible. I didn't think this would ever happen. The only thing keeping me sane is Ellie. If she weren't here, I would probably have alcohol poisoning by now. I don't know what to do."

"Do you love Savannah? With your whole heart?"

"Of course."

Kennedy sighed once more. "When I talked to her yesterday, she said she couldn't be with you. And I agreed with her. You two can't be like you used to before Ellie or even when she was a baby and your parents watched her all the time. But maybe more has changed than I thought. Joel is a good friend, but you're my best friend. And if you really, one hundred percent, completely and whole heartedly love Savannah, I will help you get her back."

"She's happy with him," he simply said. "I can't ruin that for her. I need to let her be with who she wants."

"She wants you, John."

Ellie exited the restroom. "And I want to crawl in a whole and die, but I can't. I have a daughter and a band and friends and a life."

"You deserve to be happy, too," Kennedy murmured.

As Ellie sat back down, she grinned up at her dad. She took a bite of her ice cream and then giggled as it got on her nose. Her laugh rang through John's ears.

"I am, I have my daughter. Who else do I need?"