Baby Girl

You smiled when you felt the edge of the bed dip and his arm slide around your waist as he settled into your shared bed. He pulled your back flush against him and inhaled deeply. You'd missed him, missed this, these last three weeks and you knew he missed you. You fell asleep once again after hearing his whispered 'I love you.'

When you woke the next morning, you weren't surprised to still hear his snores behind you, but you were surprised that the two of you hadn't been joined during the night. Gently disentangling yourself from your love, you placed a kiss on his cheek and headed to complete your morning routine. Once complete, you headed to your little girls' room and smiled as she slept with her favorite Falcon stuffed animal clutched tightly in her arms. You watched as she silently slept for a few moments before you gently woke her.

"Lexi," you whispered as you kneeled next to her bed. "It's time to wake up, honey." You would usually let her sleep in on a Saturday morning, but you knew she would be upset if you did that the day her father came home. You watched her as she gently stirred and smiled.

At three years old, she looked exactly like her father. It peeved you at first, you'd carried her for nine months and she had the audacity to be the spitting image of her father! But as she grew, the features she'd inherited from you began to come through. Her dark skin was the perfect mixture of yours and Sam's, her smile and that cute little gap in her teeth came directly from Sam as well, but the curls on her head were yours, and funnily enough, her attitude came straight from you. Your mom would only laugh when you told her stories of Lexi, stating that you'd done or said something similar when you were her age.

When her brown eyes finally opened and rested on you, she smiled. "Mommy," she whispered. You would never get tired of hearing that.

"Good morning, baby girl. I have a surprise for you," you teased.

Her eyes lit up at the mention of a surprise, and you knew that she knew what it was. "Is Daddy home?" she asked already attempting to climb out of bed and move past you.

"Yes, he is," a new, deeper, voice answered for you.

Lexi froze, her eyes going wide at the sound of his voice before she shot past you and nearly flew into Sam's waiting arms. "Daddy!" she yelled as she ran towards him.

You loved their bond, it was one that you wished you had with your own father when you were young, and you were happy that your daughter was able to experience it. Whenever you saw the two of them interacting, you couldn't help but smile.

"Good morning, baby girl," Sam mumbled into her curls. "I missed you so much." He gently squeezed her when she replied the same.

You were in your spot next to her bed, quietly watching them with a gentle smile still plastered on your face when Sam's eyes fell to yours. Without even speaking, he beckoned you over to him and the three of you embraced for a few moments before the silence was interrupted by Sam's rumbling stomach, the noise making you and Lexi giggle.

"Lexi, why don't we go make some waffles while Daddy goes and brushes his teeth?" you offered as you reached out for your daughter. She reluctantly let go of Sam and came to you, and the two of you headed to the kitchen while Sam headed to the bathroom. You turned on some music once you entered the kitchen and placed Lexi down. She headed towards the cabinet that held the bowls and pulled out a large one for the batter while you pulled out all of the ingredients.

"Okay, Mommy. Here's the bowl," Lexi announced, lifting the bowl over her head to make it easier for you to grab.

"Thank you, baby girl. Can you pull your chair over to the counter while Mommy gets the waffle iron?" you asked, and you heard the upstairs shower turn on and the scrape of Lexi's chair move across the tile floor. Making breakfast together was something you and Lexi did often, you measured the mix and milk, and she poured. You cracked the egg, and she put it in, you helped her mix the batter together, but once it was smooth enough, she didn't need your help. The only thing she didn't help with was pouring the batter into the iron. Her voice chattered on the entire time the two of you cooked, be it asking questions or singing along to the music. Before you knew it, the two of you had whipped up a stack of waffles, eggs, bacon, and some hash browns.