Raura's Daughter

thirty nine.

Ross' POV

I was awoken to the piercing sound of Isabella's cries as the warmth of Laura's body disappeared from beside me. I opened my left eye slightly and watched as Laura hurried out of her bedroom towards Isabella's nursery. "Shush baby, it's okay. Are you hungry?" She asked, scooping her up into her arms and patting her gently on the back. "Come on baby... it's to early to be crying like this."

I slowly forced myself out of bed and glanced at the alarm clock on Laura's cream coloured bedside table. "Four o'clock in the morning... damn." I murmured to myself before slipping into my dressing gown and making my way across the hallway towards Isabella's nursery. I placed my hand on Laura's back and carefully took Isabella out of her embrace and slotted her into my own. "Hey Bella, what's all this crying about?"

Laura began to search through endless supply bags, she was taking out bottles, diapers, toys and many other gadgets that I'd never seen let alone heard of in my lifetime before. She held the bottle up to Isabella's face and shrugged her shoulders. "Milk?" Isabella let out another loud cry and wearily Laura dropped the bottle to her side in frustration.

I began to hum a gentle tune into her ear, rocking her back and forth in my arms. Her crying immediately began to quieten down and her big brown eyes began to slowly close. "There you go baby girl." I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead and carefully placing her back into her baby pink crib.

Laura was stood in the middle of the nursery with diapers and dummies in her hand, completely dumbfounded at how quickly I'd managed to get our daughter off to sleep. She rubbed her exhausted bloodshot eyes and groaned. "How... did you do that?"

"What can I say? I'm a natural." I teased before wrapping my arm around her shoulder and guiding her out of the nursery. I closed the door quietly behind us and lead her back to her bedroom. "Do you want to cuddle?"

Laura smiled and nodded before getting in to bed beside me. She turned her body to face mine and snuggled up in the comfort of my arms. "You're so good with her." She yawned, pressing her hand to her mouth. "I always get so confused."

"I had experience with Ryland." I joked, letting out a soft chuckle. "I had to take care of him with Rocky sometimes. I guess it became a piece of cake after doing it for awhile."

"Ross?" Laura asked quietly, her hands still wrapped tightly around my torso. I nodded my head in response. "What exactly happened with your father when you were younger?"

I stared up at the ceiling and exhaled gently. It wasn't something I liked to relive, but Laura was part of who I was now. It was her right to know certain things about my family, just like it was my right to know certain things about hers. "He cheated on my mom." I admitted. I could feel my mouth become dry. The thought truly sickened me. "I'm not sure how many women he pursued behind my mother's back."

"So you grew up knowing that he was doing that and there was nothing any of you could do to stop it?" She asked in disgust.

"My mom always knew, Laura. She just didn't want to face the harsh reality. Besides, she couldn't afford to go to court and file for a divorce. She would have lost a few of us, if not all of us and would have been left with absolutely nothing."

My father was a business man alright. He knew that by having five children with my mom it would keep her house bound and unable to work. That meant no source of income and no possible way of leaving him. It was sick but incredibly well thought out. He knew that with no money there was absolutely no chance in hell she'd be able to keep us as a family or fight for us in the event of a court case.

"I can't even imagine growing up in a household like that." She murmured in disbelief. "My family has never been perfect but my parents were always honest with one another."