Twisted Games

twenty - travis

Once Taylor had hung up, I put my phone down and got out of bed to use the bathroom. On my way back to the spare room I was staying in before I found my own place, I heard a sound from Izzy's room and eased the door open a crack.

"You're supposed to be asleep princess." I whispered when I saw my eight month old baby daughter awake in her cot, kicking her little legs in her blue sleepsuit. But I could never chastise the little girl who had me wrapped around her little finger, and I smiled as I moved into the room. "Oh okay." I sighed.

Reaching into the cot, I picked Izzy up and rested her against my shoulder. She turned her head against my neck, cooing quietly. It had taken her a few days to adjust to me again, but now she was the little daddy's girl she'd always been. I felt awful for how long I'd spent apart from her at a time, but I'd make up for all of it now. Taylor was right. I needed to be with her more than anything, even though it killed me to be away from the woman I was falling in love with.

Her tufts of brown hair tickled my neck as I rocked my daughter, holding her close. I closed my eyes as I swayed gently, stroking her hair. When I'd first laid eyes on Izzy, she hadn't even had a name. Darcy had given birth, taken a shit ton of painkillers, put my name on the birth certificate and then got her sister to pick her up from the hospital. When I'd got there, Izzy had just been baby girl Kelce. I still remember the first time I looked at her, how strange it had been, but how right it felt.

-

"Thank you for coming Mr Kelce, I know this must be a bit of a shock if you weren't aware of the situation." The doctor said as she led me down the hall.

"Yeah." I sighed, stuffing my hands into my pockets. "So...I mean...how is the baby doing?"

"She's just fine. Perfectly healthy and happy. We've had her on formula milk since her mother left and the nurses have been taking care of her." The doctor said, leading me into a room full of baby cots. "Alright, here she is. Baby girl Kelce."

I looked down into the cot we'd stopped next to, at the little bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. The baby was tiny, blinking up at me with pale green eyes that were exact copies of mine. The breath was stolen from my lungs as I gazed down at her, wearing her little white hat patterned with flowers. She was a stranger, but all of a sudden it felt like I knew her.

"Hi there little princess." I whispered, reaching down and touching her cheek gently. "Apparently I'm your Dad." The baby blinked at me, and I looked at the doctor. "Did Darcy give her a name?" I received a shake of the head and nodded, looking back down at my daughter.

"Oh hey, you must be Travis." A voice said, and I looked up to see a young nurse coming in with a bottle.

"Uh, yeah. Hi." I smiled awkwardly.

"I'm Isabella." She introduced herself. "I've been taking care of your little girl while she's been here."

"Nice to meet you." I murmured, watching as Isabella held out the bottle.

"I was going to give her breakfast, but why don't you do it?"

Swallowing, I nodded and took the bottle. I had experience with Jason and Kylie's girls so knew how to take care of a baby, but since this was my little girl I was so much more nervous. Isabella nodded encouragingly at me and I sucked in a breath, reaching in and picking up my daughter. She kicked her legs in her swaddle but didn't seem to mind as I cradled her against my chest. When I offered her the bottle, the baby took it immediately and started suckling hungrily.

"Yeah, she's a good little eater." Isabella chuckled. "A lot easier than most babies."

"Wow." I murmured, watching as she drank. "Is she really my daughter?"