Jess Mariano's Daughter

My Girl

Jess's POV

I get in my car and punch the steering wheel. What a dick. And of course she has a boyfriend, why wouldn't she? She's Rory, she's amazing. But why did it have to be that dickhead?

I start the car and start driving, heading home. All I want to do now is see my little girl. With the dive back I won't be home until about one in the morning.

This is going to be a long drive.

--

I had called the guys this morning to see how everything was going. They said everything was going fine.

Lory would ask at least three times a day when I would be home, and other than that was completely fine until bedtime.

She refused to sleep unless she was in my bed. She hasn't transitioned to a toddler bed yet, so she has a crib next to my bed.

She would sit and cry until finally she crawled over the bars of her crib and dropped herself onto my bed. I had it set up to where her crib was pushed up against the side of my bed.

Then she just curled up and went to sleep. I pull up outside of Truncheon. I grab all of my stuff and make my way in.

I make it up to the apartment and over to my bedroom. The apartment was just one big room, and only the bathroom was separate.

It was kind of like Luke's, but a bit bigger and there was a little area separated by a curtain. That's where Lory and I sleep.

I drop my bags, slip off my shoes and jacket and crawl into bed, pulling Lory close to me. I don't even care that I'm in Jeans, I just want to sleep.

--

I wake up when I feel something on top of me. I open my eyes and see Lory laying on my chest staring at me.

She is laying flat on top of me, with her arms on my chest, chin resting on her hands. When she sees my eyes open she pulls herself up so her face is hovering over mine, eyes big, smiling wide.

"Daddy awake," she whispers.

"Good morning to you too," I reply.

"I missed you," she says, pouting.

"I missed you too, Lore," I say, pulling her into a hug.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

She sits up and bounces on me.

"Pop Tarts!" she cheers.

"Ow, okay," I replied.

She's not Rory's, she's never met her, and yet she somehow acts so much like her.

"Is everyone else up?" I ask her.

"Don't know," she states. 

I get up and pull back the curtain and see a couple of the guys are still asleep and the others are just hanging out, drinking coffee, or having breakfast.

Chris happened to be one that was asleep. I turn to Lory, who is now standing next to me.

"Go wake up Chris," I tell her.

She smiles and runs up to his bed, climbing up and jumping on his. He lets out a groan of pain.

"Why small child?" he asks.

You can hear the pain in his voice.

"Good morning, Uncle Chris," Lory says, but not quite getting all the letters out.

I get Lory and I both fed and dressed and then we head out to go to the park. She's not big on playing with the other kids, but will for a while if they come up to her first.

She likes to watch the dukes swim in the pond. She loves the swings and that is by far her favorite thing to do at the park.

After a couple of hours at the park we go back home because it's starting to get cold. The two of us hang out for the rest of the day while the others work.

Just a day filled with spending time with my girl, those are my favorite kind of days. 

Yes, I want her to feel safe and happy even if I can't be home with her, but I never want her to get used to me not being there. I will always be there for her.