Complicated

Chapter Seventy One: Daddy's Girl

Her eyes, that's where hope lies

That's where blue skies

Meet the sunrise

Pat Monahan – Her Eyes

It was the middle of the night or at least the early hours of the morning and Don was up clad in a pair of stone grey sweats and a white wife beater. His daughter was nestled in the crook of his strong arm burrowing even closer to the warmth of his body. In his firm hand was a bottle of milk he was using to feed his hungry daughter. She suckled from the teat of the bottle, chugging into the silence of the dimly lit kitchen her startling blue eyes focusing on her father.

Grace was completely out for the count in the bedroom. When he had left her she was lying flat on her stomach, face buried in the pillow. He had on purposely taken the baby monitor and put it on his side of the bed on a lower volume so he would be the recipient of all the baby's wants and desires.

"You Jenny, need to cut your mom a little slack." he told his little girl pointedly. "I know colic hurts your little tummy but sometimes your unruly and that's not nice."

Jenny pulled away from the bottle grumbling and waving her balled up fists at her father, seemingly in response to his words.

"Jenny." Don tutted, using the tea towel draped over his arm to wipe the dribble from Jenny's pert lips. "I mean it."

Jenny grumbled once more before Don popped the bottle back in in his daughter's eager mouth.

"I'm gonna take that as a promise baby." he said softly.

Don waited until Jenny had drained the bottle dry before depositing it in the sink. He manoeuvred the baby so she was propped up against his shoulder. He rubbed his hand along Jenny's back in soothing circles in attempt to wind her.

The colic seemed to have evaporated over the past few hours. For that he was relieved. After giving Jenny a bath and reading her a brightly coloured story book she had settled right down. His daughter fascinated him, every little thing she did he found himself utterly delighted by. He could spend hours watching the raise and fall of her minuscule lungs as she slept. She was a daddy's girl, Grace had said when she got back home from Adam's place looking dishevelled but refreshed.

If he was honest he could see that she had needed a break. Grace loved their daughter, he could see it in every smile she gave to Jenny, in the patience she exhibited with their daughter. Don knew his shifts didn't help, she was run down spending all this time alone with their month year old infant. Everyone loved and adored Jenny but they forgot about Grace. His wife thought of herself as an incubator for the past nine months and someone needed to let her know that wasn't the case and that her needs were important too.

He hadn't expected to be able to juggle all of this quite so successful but the truth was he enjoyed the focus it gave him and he was a natural with the baby. It was just the relationship that he was lax on recently. Being dependable was something he had been frighteningly good at before Maplin and he thought now even though he could never be completely fixed that it was time to start being that person once again.

The baby let out a small belch and somehow Don knew that the worst was over in that respect, it was time for a good night kiss and bed again.

"What a good baby you are." Don approved, carrying their daughter back towards the nursery.

The little girl was already beginning to doze off upon his shoulder. He could feel her tiny heart beat like a humming bird in her chest as he hugged her closely breathing in that fresh, baby soft smell. He kissed his daughter upon the forehead before he lay her down in the crib that he had constructed . He covered her with the pretty yellow blanket and tucked it around her small form.

"Goodnight Jenny." he whispered to their baby girl before flicking the light switch off.