Dreamer

Chapter Sixteen

Tia's POV

December 26th, 2018

I bounced Violet on my knee, hoping it would soothe her cries as I was blowing up the white polkadot covered purple balloons. Shawn was tying them with white balloon strings. Violet was teething, she had been for a few months. As I finished the last one I grabbed one of her teething toys, handing it to her. She just through it at Shawn. "No ma'am, Violet Rose!" I stated firmly. I handed the balloon to Shawn, carrying Violet to the bathroom. I placed her on the counter, grabbing the baby orajel from the drawer. I took the cap off, squirting a tiny bit on the tip of my finger, then placing the tube on the counter. "Open your mouth, Vi." I told her, and she just kept screaming her head off. I gently open her mouth with my free hand. I run the gel across her gums. I wash my hands, then put the gel up. Violet's cries slowly turned to soft whimpers after a few minutes, and she rubbed her eyes. "Mama..." she whined, and I froze. "Babygirl, can you say that again?" I asked, not sure if I heard her correctly. "Mama..." Violet said again, and I picked her back up again. "Shawn! Shawn!" I yelled happily, kissing Vi's forehead as I ran down the stairs. Shawn rushed over in a panicked frenzy. "What's wrong, Tia? Is Violet okay?" He asked, and I nodded. "Do it one more time, please?" I asked Violet. "Mama." Violet said, and Shawn took her from me, spinning her around. "Your first words! You said your first words!" He yelled in delight. Suddenly, the oven beeped. I scurried to the kitchen, grabbed my oven mitts. I open the oven, carefully pulling the cake out. I place it on the counter with the oven mitts underneath. I grabbed the purple icing from the cabinet over the stove, and then I got the icing tools from the junk drawer by the fridge. I place them on the counter, and then I went to the cabinet beside the sink. I open it, scanning the shelves for what I was looking for. When I spotted the edible cake decorations I carefully grabbed them, carrying them to the counter. I then walk over to another cabinet, opening it. I search through the pots, pans, and other dishes of the sorts, looking for the cake plate. Once I find it I pull the plate out. While I wait for the cake layers to cool so I could place them on the plate and put them together, I head into the living room. Shawn was still playing with Violet and celebrating her first word. It was so sweet. I stood in the doorway, smiling at the two. My heart was warmed by the sight. Vi wasn't crying and screaming from the pain in her mouth anymore, Shawn wasn't stressed out from his lack of sleep for various reasons, they were happy.

~ Two Hours Later ~

The doorbell was ringing every few minutes, signaling another guest, although more times than not it was guests. I reviewed the guest list in my head, seeing who all was here. Camilla, whom is extremely sweet. Katlyn, who was so kind and funny. Karen, who is firm, yet funny. Manuel, who is like his wife. Neither of the two are fond of the fact we share custody of a child that is neither of ours biologically, but love Violet non-the-less. Gina Ann, whom is slightly upset she didn't get custody, but is still happy she's allowed to come visit Violet as she pleases. William, who's only here for his granddaughter's birthday. Alanna, whom was a little ill do to a lack of sleep from Marlowe learning to sleep in a big girl bed. Marlowe, who was currently trying to get Violet to run around with her. Suzanne and Rob, Brianna's parents, were there and rather angry, especially at Brianna. Brianna was late, but there, and drunk. With Dylan Kislin, who was also drunk. Brianna had obviously developed some new habits since court. Grayson was there too, and he was with Shawn in the backyard. They were grilling for those who could chew food. Those who couldn't had mashed potatoes and soup. Andrew was there too, and he was also with Shawn and Grayson. Jefferey was there, along with Augustus and George. Augustus was with his dad, and George was playing with her two new friends. Then there was Chandler, he was- where is Chandler? He hasn't shown up yet. Ding! There he is. Never mind. I walk over and open the door, finding a dishelved Chandler. I stepped outside, shutting the door behind me. "Chandler, are you okay?" I asked him, and he just shook his head no. I hugged him close, and he hugged back. "I don't know who I am without the two of you." He admitted, bawling his eyes out. "I need you to pull it together, just until we can get upstairs." I asked, well I stated. I pulled away enough to grab his hands, guiding him into the house and up the stairs to my room. I shut the door behind us, allowing privacy. I walked over to Chandler, rolling his sleeves up. The cuts had healed from months ago, and a few small ones were still there. He was trying so hard, I could tell. "You're doing so much better, Chandler." I stated, excitement in my voice. I looked up at him, smiling. Chandler gave me a weak smile. "Oh my gosh, what am I doing, Tia? I'm acting a mess at my daughter's first birthday party." Chandler said, pulling away to wipe his eyes. "Hey, hey, you're okay, Chandler. Hey, do you wanna hear what she did this morning? I can even see if she'll do it again if you want." I coax, and Chandler nods. "She said her first word." I told him, and wrapping my arms around his torso. "What did she say?" He asked excitedly, and I smiled. "Mama." Is all I said, and he laughed happily. "Can we go see if she'll say it again?" He asked me curiously, and I nodded. I pulled away, and going over to the door. I opened it, and we headed downstairs. Chandler and I found the three small children playing on the carpet in front of the couches. We sat down beside them, watching for a few moments. Marlowe was playing with an American Girl doll, Violet was playing with a Sophia the First doll, and George was playing with a stuffed doll. She usually had something soft. George is nine months old, Marlowe is three years old, and Violet is one year old. Suddenly, Violet notices Chandler and squeals. She drops her doll, crawling over to him. Chandler picked Violet up happily, holding her in the air. Chandler smiles at his daughter. "Hello, my sweet baby girl!" Chandler exclaimed happily. "Dada! Dada!" She exclaimed, and everything went silent. Everyone was looking at Violet. "Her second word!" Chandler cheered, and I laughed happily. "Can you say your first word?" He asks her, and Violet giggles. "Mama!" She squeals, and Brianna runs over. "She wants me..." She slurred, and Vi begins to cry, making grabby hands at me. "Mama! Mama!" She yells, and Brianna grabs my hair. I yelp, grabbing her arm. I dig my fingertips into her wrist, the side on her forearm. She screams, letting go. "What was that?" Brianna screams at me. "What was that? What did I do to you? I am raising your daughter because you are incapable of it! She knows me as her mom, not her mother!" I yelled back, looking over to see Chandler rocking Violet. Shawn comes in, the others trailing behind him. "What's going on in here?" He demands, seeing Brianna and I on the brink of a fight. "Leave, Brianna. You don't want to ruin your daughter's birthday. Especially not her first." Shawn demanded, and with that, Brianna and her boyfriend left. Rob and Suzanne followed. "How about presents?" I suggest to lighten the mood. Chandler carries the baby to her the present tables, placing her in the middle of one of the empty tables. Shawn hands her the first present, reading who it was from first. Chandler asked us to wait a minute, saying he forgot her present in the car. Chandler arrived back a few moments later, carrying a square present wrapped in purple wrapping paper with unicorns. Violet loved purple, and unicorns. Vi's first present was from Alanna and Marlowe, and it was a stuffed Rarity from My Little Pony. Next was a princess tiara from Jefferey, George, and Augustus. Andrew gave her a toy purse that came with a play iPhone and pretend make up. Camila gave her a toy microphone. Katelyn gave her a doll. Karen and Manuel gave her a baby hockey jersey. Rob and Suzanne gave her a shot glass, which Shawn and I quickly got rid of. Brianna gave her a baby crop top, which Shawn and I also got rid of. Gina Ann and William gave her a little chair that looked like a director's chair. Grayson gave her PomPoms for the Atlanta Brave's. Chandler gave her a little onesie that said "I'm a Walker Slayer in Training." There was a picture of her in a Carl hat. She also got a couple bows with unicorns on them from Chandler, and a stuffed unicorn. I gave her a unicorn costume, and a jacket with a hood that had a unicorn horn on it. Shawn gave her a pair of light up sketchers covered in purple unicorns. After the presents the food was served, and then the cake and cake pops. The birthday party wasn't eventful after that, but it was fun. Well... until the very end. Chandler and Shawn led me into the backyard, telling me that they needed to talk to me. "Tia, neither of us can keep going like this." Shawn stated, and Chandler nodded. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "You need to choose. Me or Shawn?" Chandler asked, and I sighed. I waited a moment, and then I made my decision. It was obvious as to who I would choose. "I choose..."

A/N: Hello, lovelies! Please don't kill me! I need votes please! I'll wait three days for them to all come through! If I don't get at least one I can't do a sequel like I had planned because there's going to be two endings. The reader will get to choose. If I do get me vote(s) then I will create the last chapter, and I will begin the sequel! Just let me know if you wish for Shawn or Chandler to be Tia! Please vote, vote, vote!