Temporary Nanny

Chapter 24

I'm stunned. Absolutely completely and utterly speechless. I know I do a lot for Stella but never in my wildest dreams could I have ever expected her to call me anything but Charlie.

Yes I always saw myself as a part of her future. Though it started as a cool aunt of sorts and has more recently changed to something where I got to see her and Michael every second of every day. Like a proper family.

Even so, that word still had never come to mind.

A parent of sorts maybe. But her mom? That was a huge role. One I constantly worried I wasn't ready for. How could I be? I don't know anything about being a mother and raising a child. Let alone one that technically wasn't mine.

Not even just biologically but there wasn't even a relationship with her father.

There was no physical connection there for it to be somehow socially acceptable to claim her as my own. That's like going to the park and deciding a random child on the swings was now yours.

How does one even do mothering? People have months to figure this stuff out and now all of a sudden at 2:30 in the morning I'm a mother?

I'm frozen at the door not sure where to go from here. Do I wait for her to fall asleep then sneak in and out of Michael's place? Do I praise her for her first word? Do I correct her? Do I let her tire herself out? Do I lay her down with me?

What if she says it again? What if she doesn't stop? What if she cries if I tell her not to?

Where the hell was Michael and why wasn't he here helping me with this?!

I'm so confused and lost I'm on the verge of a breakdown. No one told me how to deal with this. There's no goddamn chapter about this in my stupid books.

And the way Michael just left makes me feel like I've done something wrong. Which isn't fair because I didn't ask her to call me this. Never mind the fact that he was the one that just kissed me.

I just..I really need Michael. I need him to tell me if he's okay with this. I need him to give me that soft smile of his and say this is okay. That everything is okay.

I need to hear him tell me I'm family again.

The house is quiet and I maneuver my way through the dark in a rush to get my phone. Stella's wary of letting me set her down on the bed but when Sarah emerges from under the covers with a lazy meow she goes easily being able to pet her furry friend.

I waste no time grabbing the phone and dialing Michael's number. I may not know much about this but I'm sure this is something we should be dealing with together.

The call goes to voicemail and I dial another 5 more times, pacing around the room. The last ring dials through a couple times until Stella's sleepy voice is calling out to me.

I hang up mid ring, my heart melting at the adorable baby blinking heavily up at me with the pregnant cat laying impossibly close to her.

With a sigh, I drop down next to the pair tossing my phone aside. Stella decides I'm too far and crawls the short distance. "Mama," she hums, propping herself up on my stomach. "Mama," her little voice comes again a little more forceful this time, almost like a huff.

"Lay down Stel." I chuckle at the little girl clearly annoyed at the lack of attention she's getting. She hums with a babbled string of attempts at words. "No talking back missy, get your butt into bed." I say lightly, tickling her side before guiding her into the laying position.

She settles herself easily with her head resting on my arm and her body cradled close. I pull the covers over both of us and let my hand run soothing fingers through her blonde locks.