Love, Dad | Joe Cruz

Chapter 6: Career Week

Joe looks over at his fiancée and smiles. Last night he proposed, it was perfect. Everything seemed calm and for once perfect. He never wanted to leave this bed. He pulls her a little closer and closes his eyes again to fall back asleep. Chloe's alarm starts going off and he sighs while she stirs awake. She turns off the alarm and looks at him smiling.

"Good morning."

"Good morning baby how'd you sleep?" Joe asks as Chloe cuddles close to him again.

"Good. Mhm, I want to stay like this forever." She yawns out before there's a knock on the shut door.

"Who is it?" Joe asks though he's very much aware it's Tatia.

"It's me!" Tatia says sounding rather impatient.

"Come in sweetie," Chloe says a smile on her face as the door opens revealing the 9-year-old. She has on her costume firefighter pants on with a firehouse 51 shirt on.

"You guys need to wake up! I got to get to school soon it's a big day!" Tatia says.

"You still have two hours until school little firewoman." Joe says, "Come here, Chiquita." He pats the bed. She grins coming to the bed and climbing in it next to him.

"You look good in your costume. Like a real little firefighter." Chloe says sitting up with Joe.

"Thank you, Chloe." Tatiana smiles. "Now that you and Uncle Joe are getting married does that make you my aunt?"

"Well yeah but you can call me whatever you want," Chloe says looking over at the little girl.

"Okay!"

"Oh and Tatia? You can't tell anyone we're engaged we're keeping it to ourselves for now." Joe says pulling Tatiana closer to his side.

"You got it. Can you make me breakfast now? I'm hungry."

"Ooh, breakfast in bed does sound great," Chloe says as Tatiana gives Joe puppy dog eyes.

"Fine what would you two like?"

"Pancakes! And bacon!"

"We don't have bacon Tatia. I need to run to the store." Joe says moving to get up.

"Sausage?"

"Okay Pancakes and sausage coming right up." Joe grins at them before going to leave the room.

"Ooh and a cup of coffee for me please?" Chloe pikes uo before he can leave his room.

"Yep." He looks at them with a loving smile before he makes it out of the room and leave.

"You excited about the wedding? You can help plan it and we get to pick out our dresses." Chloe says and Tatia scoots closer to her.

"Yeah. I can't really remember Boden's wedding, and Casey and Dawson barely had one. Mouch didn't invite me to his. But I was only like 4." Tatia says playing with the suspenders of her costume pants.

"Well, you have a big play in the wedding."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you'll walk out just before me and toss flowers to make the path pretty." Chloe smiles.

"Cool. And I get a pretty dress?"

"Yep, we can go out and pick it together when I pick out my dress."

"Cool!" Tatiana says looking at the door.

"How's your project?"

"Good! Uncle Cruz got me a ton of pictures from around the firehouse and some articles about saves they had. Mine is gonna be the coolest one!" Tatiana says, "Plus I have the coolest outfit."