Complicated | Calum Hood (Sequel to Unexpected)

40.

24 weeks

Calum

"Daddy!" Paisley calls from her room across the hall. Jes nudges me with her foot from her spot, tangled up with me in bed.

"I heard her." I mumble. " 's early."

"It's 10 Cal."

"Fuck. It doesn't feel that late. I wanna sleep."

"It's tough being the favorite. Go see what she wants."

I sigh and roll out of bed, gathering my sweatpants from the floor and sliding them up my legs before throwing a t-shirt over my head. I use the heel of my hand to dig at the sleep residue in the corner of my eyes as I walk towards Paisley's room.

"Daddy play princess tea party with me!" She screams as soon as I enter the room. I grimace slightly from the volume of her request but oblige her and take a seat at the table. I know I need to make the most of these opportunities since soon both mine and Jes' time would have to be split between her and Ry.

"How do I play?" I ask taking a seat in the tiny chair she's offered me. I'm slightly weary that I may break it due to my size but what PK wants, she gets.

"You have to get ready for the party daddy."

"How do I do that?"

She doesn't reply just handing me a princess costume that apparently she intends for me to wear. It's a children's size so I stare at it confused for a moment before grabbing two hair clips and clipping it to my shirt like a front facing cape.

"Daddy, I have pretty nails too?" She says looking at my gel nails and then me quizzically.

"You want me to do them for you? Or do you want me to get mummy" I ask and she points to me. I take the opportunity to stand from the tiny seat and grab the black polish from the bathroom. At least this seems to have gotten me out of her original plan. Jes may kill me for painting her nails black and not something like hot pink but my girl wants to match her dada. Who am I to stop her?

"Okay you have to hold real still." I tell her taking a seat on the floor and her little hand in mine. I dip the brush into the lacquer wiping off the excess before slowly beginning to coat her nails. She stays rigid, refusing to move even a little until all ten of her small fingernails match mine. I blow softly on them trying to help them dry.

"Daddy, what if my brother doesn't like me?" She asks crawling into my lap but being careful not to mess up her newly painted nails.

"Aw, Pais he's going to love you! He's gonna sleep and cry a lot at first. You did the same thing when we brought you home and you were a baby. But he's gonna get older and bigger and look up to you. You guys are going to be best friends, like me and Auntie Mali."

"Mommy and Daddy are going to have to do a lot with Ryker at first but you're always going to be our first baby and we love you very much. We're gonna need your help making sure he's okay. That's part of being a big sister." She nods and cuddles into my chest and I hold her tight giving her a kiss on the top of her head. She's so big now. She can run and play and talk in broken but understandable sentences. I know she's going to be a great big sister and I can't wait to see both of my kids together.

•

"Okay so what's the plan for tonight?" Jes asks me as she sips her glass of orange juice across from me, Paisley in her high chair munching away on a pop tart.

"We're meeting at Ash's and going to some place downtown that just opened. Michael is doing a DJ set, we're getting an uber home, and then hopefully my drop dead gorgeous wife will still be up and want to." I indicate my intentions with a quick raise and lower of my eyebrows.