Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Tyler

Holding a sleepy babygirl just did something good for my soul. I patted Tinsley's diapered tush as she sat in my lap. Every so often she would yawn, her blinks getting longer and longer. Her lovie, Count Cluckula, was tucked under her arm and she sucked hard on her pacifier. I didn't imagine she would win the fight against sleep for much longer.

My phone rang in my pocket, and she jumped at the noise. "I'm sorry, Teenie," I soothed.

Elliot's face flashed across my screen, and she sat up quickly. "Dada!" she squealed.

After sliding the bar and unlocking my phone, I positioned her where she could see Elliot's face.

"Hey, babygirl," Elliot cooed into the phone. I loved watching the two of them interact. Elliot was such a good Daddy, such a good man.

"Dada!"

Travis and Maddox chuckled at her. She really had a chokehold on the ‘cutest Little girl' title.

"Are you having so much fun?"

"Yas-huh, Daddy."

"What did you guys do?"

"Swim, snackies, chalks, Uncle Travis sayed ‘fuck'," she rambled. Travis had said the curse word when he'd tripped over a barbie doll and dropped his beer.

Travis tossed a throw pillow at us. "Hey, I said I was sorry!"

"Travis, don't expose my baby to such crude language, you asshat!" Elliot yelled through the phone.

The Little girls giggled.

"You are all terrible examples," Maddox scolded.

"Terrible ‘xamples," Tinsley parroted.

"I'm glad you're having fun, baby. Are you getting ready for your nap?"

"Nu."

"No? It's almost one. Are you sure you're not getting ready for a tiny rest?"

"Nu."

"Well, what are you doing then?" Elliot asked, amusement coloring his tone.

"Uh…. getting tattoos."

Snorting, I kissed the side of her neck. Those were bold words for a Little girl terrified of needles.

"Oh yeah? What kind of tattoo?"

"Dick. A big dick."

"A dick tattoo, huh?"

"Huge dick tattoo for Reagan too."

"The biggest dick I've ever seen… and I've seen at least two," Reagan added, joking about her ménage.

"We all know I have the biggest dick in this relationship," Maddox said, baiting Travis.

"Oh, fuck you," Travis responded.

Tinsley gasped in my lap. "Sayed fuck again!"

This time, Elliot snorted. "You are all so naughty."

A cheesy grin covered her face. " So naughty."

"I love you, babygirl."

"I love you, Dada."

"I have to go back to work, but I'll see you soon."

"So soon."

"Tell Uncle Tyler to check his email, okay?"

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion, but she nodded. "Okay, Dada."

"Good girl." They exchanged a few more words before Tinsley ended the video call.

"Check your email," she ordered, a tiny finger pointed at me.

Flipping her over my lap, I make a big show of checking her pants.

"Uncle Tyler!" she giggled.

"I was just making sure I didn't put your sassy pants on you today."

I sat her back in my lap and she threw her arms around my neck and rested her forehead against mine. "I love you."

Warmth filled me at her genuine words. "I love you too, Teenie. Very much." I hoped after this week, she had a better understanding of how much.

Maddox met my eyes over her head and clutched his heart. He and Travis had been a huge part of our upcoming surprise. We couldn't have pulled it off without their guidance.

I settled Tinsley against my chest and popped her pacifier back in her mouth. She rubbed the foot of Count Cluckula against her cheek—a sign of how sleepy she really was. A few pats to her bottom was all it took for her to finally give up the fight and sleep. After making sure she was napping deeply, I stood and settled her on the couch. Reagan climbed up beside her, and I covered them both with a blanket from the pile the family kept beside the couch.

"Night night, little one."

Reagan flipped onto her belly and pulled her sloth closer. "Nini, Uncle Tyler."

Elliot

Opening the front door, I slid off my shoes, and quietly crept into the living room. Maddox had sent me a picture of the girls napping on the couch and I didn't want to wake them. The last thing I needed was a crabby Little one on a four-hour road trip.

Travis waved when he saw me and motioned toward the sectional where Tinsley and Reagan were snuggling under a big blanket. Both were sucking a pacifier and holding their favorite lovies. I took a reverent moment to just enjoy the sight of them both so relaxed. Being able to bring her peace like this made me feel complete.

Travis held up a beer and I nodded before following him out into the spacious backyard.

"Did you manage to get everything done?" Maddox asked as I plopped down in a chair.

"I did, thankfully."

"I think she and Reagan spent a large part of their day trying to figure out what you were up to." Tyler laughed.

"Oh, definitely," Maddox agreed. "I was expecting at least one spanking for being sneaky today."

We all laughed. "Thank you for helping us pull this off," I said.

"Please, Travis is more invested in your relationship than you guys are."

"Oh, fuck you, Maddox," Travis grumbled.

I popped open my beer before asking how their day had gone. I was so proud to hear Tinsley had been such a good girl. She wouldn't be able to thrive like this if it wasn't for our small village of support.

"Yeah, the only time she really struggled today was with her first diaper change and then again with her bottle. She got nervous and there were a few tears, but we told her how proud of her we were, and she did much better with her protein bottle," Maddox said, filling me in.

"Thank you for your support. I really hope we can get her comfortable in her skin in places outside of the clubs. She's doing well, though."

"Yeah, she's made so much improvement," Maddox agreed.

"I think that she will be more confident after this week too. I believe you'll be surprised with how quickly she grows more confident in who she is," Travis added. "Reagan made huge strides after we started our relationship."

"I hope so," I answered.

"And you know we'll help you wherever we can along the way," Maddox encouraged.

"Thank you both. We're all very grateful for you three and your willingness to be open with us."

Maddox and Travis both shrugged sheepishly. They were great with the Little one, but not so great at accepting our gratitude.

"I changed her before they fell asleep so she should already be good for the drive up. How long will it take you to get there?" Tyler asked. He already knew how long it would take us to get there, he had a full schedule in his email. I knew he was just asking due to nerves.

"Where are y'all going anyway?" Maddox added. "I know the big plan, but didn't pay attention to the little details."

"Helen, Georgia. It will take us about four hours to drive to," I reminded him, chuckling. Maddox was really scatterbrained.

"I googled some images. It looks pretty cute," Tyler said, probably happy to change the subject.

"Yeah, they've turned it into a really charming Bavarian village. It looks like a Russian fairytale from what I've seen online."

"I hope you two enjoy it. You both deserve a break." Tyler took a sip from his bottle of beer.

"Yes, don't answer your phone for anyone!" Maddox warned.

Tyler threw a beer cap at him. "He's still a doctor. He has a responsibility to his patients, even on vacation."

Nodding, I agreed. It was never certain there wouldn't be an emergency, but I would always be there for my patients if there was. Tinsley understood that so well; Maddox, not so much.

After I finished my beer and a glass of water, I scooped my Little one off the couch. She stirred in my arms, and I swayed her back and forth. Once she'd settled, I carried her to the car and buckled her in.

Tyler handed me her diaper bag. "Have fun, call me when you get there, okay?"

Hugging him, I took the bag and walked around to the driver's side. "You're gonna be okay?" I asked after a second. I got worried about him when he was alone.

"Yeah, I have plans to go to the Braves game with Onyx and Emily. I also have some other buddies I can check in with. I'm good," he assured me.

"I'll answer if you call," I promised.

He nodded. "I swear I'll call if I need you."

I got in the car, waved once more, and backed out of the driveway. My excitement over the trip grew with each passing mile. I couldn't wait to create sweet memories with my baby.

An hour and a half into the trip, Tinsley started to stir. I rubbed her leg softly.

"Dada?"

"Hi, baby, did you have a good nap?"

"Good nap," she answered with a stretch. After she was a bit more awake, she looked out the window. Her face was drawn tight in concentration.

"Not home," she finally said, turning to look at me in suspicion.

"No, we're not on the way home." I chuckled at her reaction.

"Where?"

"Well, where was Daddy going to take you for a getaway last time?"

She processed my words for a second before she lit up. "Helen?"

"Yes, ma'am! A whole week of fun."

"A week!" She squealed.

"A week!"

"So fun!" she shrieked.

"Daddy's planned lots of new adventures for us."

"Tubing?" she asked. I'd told her many stories about tubing with my grandad growing up. She'd been very curious about it.

"I booked our tubing days already and I planned a trip to Anna Ruby Falls."

"Waterfall!" My Little one loved seeing the waterfalls. We had a bucket list of ones we wanted to see together.

"You know it. I even packed you a pretty new dress and the tripod so we could take some new photos for the house."

"Good job, Dada," she praised.

I smiled. "Thank you, little love. I also did some research and found the best places to eat."

"Yummy food?"

"Only the yummiest," I promised.

"Cannie store?"

I scoffed. "Of course! I'm not missing out on candy apples. Are you?"

"Nu! Thank you, Dada!" She grabbed my hand and held it tight. "Thank you. So fun. Love being with you."

"Thank you for coming with me. We're going to be doing lots of fun things, but my favorite thing is going to be spending time with you." I pulled her hand up to my mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of her knuckles.