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After another long day at work, Nick couldn’t wait to take a hot shower and crawl into bed with Adalind. After pulling on a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, Nick stepped out of the bathroom and quietly made his way toward the bedroom he shared with Adalind and his son, Kelly.
As he stepped up onto the last step, he heard soft whimpers coming from the single bed to his left. He listened for a moment longer to make sure he hadn't imagined the soft noises his step daughter was making in her sleep. Diana must be having another nightmare. Nick sat on the edge of Diana’s bed and brushed his fingers through her hair, “Shhh, Honey. It’s just a bad dream.”
“Daddy?” Diana whispered, her voice full of fear.
It broke his heart a little to have to correct Diana. “No, Honey. It’s me, Nick. It sounded like you were having a bad dream.” Diana sat up and crawled onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Nick hugged her back just as tightly, wishing he could scare away all the monsters that haunted his little girl. “You want to tell me about your dream, Diana?”
Her little body was trembling as she whispered, “The monster with the green eyes was trying to take me away again.”
Nick’s heart broke. “Awww, Sweetheart. You know I’ll always protect you. No monster in the world can ever take you away from us, Diana.”
“Do you promise?”
Nick leaned back a few inches so he could look into her big beautiful eyes, “Diana, I promise. I will never let anyone take you away from us.”
“Nick?” She asked, fussing with the sequins on her unicorn pajama top.
“Yes, Diana?”
“Do you think maybe you could be my Daddy too?” Her voice trembled with nerves.
“Awww, Diana.” Nick said as he squeezed her again. “Nothing would make me happier than to be your Daddy.”
Diana’s answering grin filled Nick’s heart with joy. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Daddy loves you, too.” He replied with a kiss to her forehead. “Are you ready to go back to bed now?”
Diana shook her head and asked, “Can I sleep with you and Mommy?”
There was no way to say no to that sweet little face. “Of course, Baby. Come on.”
Nick carried Diana into the bedroom and placed her down in the middle of the bed next to Adalind before crawling in next to her. Diana immediately curled up next to Nick, resting her head on his chest. Nick wrapped his arm around his little girl and whispered, “Daddy loves you, Baby.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
Nick spent the next thirty minutes relishing in the joy of his children, Diana and Kelly, and the woman who made all of his dreams of having a family of his own come true, Adalind. He didn’t expect to find bright blue eyes staring back at him when he glanced at Adalind across the bed. The look in her eyes and the small smile on her lips indicated she had heard at least a part of his conversation with their daughter. Nick smiled softly at Adalind, before adjusting Diana against him and drifting off for the night.