I got the contraption set up, after giving in and finally reading the instructions, and placed Dani in. I made sure the straps were snug and carried her into the kitchen. I decided the floor was my safest bet and set her down carefully.

"Okay Dani. Time for breakfast. I know what you want, what do I want?"

Her answer was a loud wail.

"Okay, okay, I eat later. I hear you."

I ran back out to the living room for the can of formula. Dani was practically screaming, only calming when I returned to the kitchen.

"What? I had to go get it!"

I turned around, leaning against the counter to read the label on the can. More crying.

"What? You want this don't you?" Then I remembered. I bent down and picked her and the seat up, placing it on the counter.

"You're the eye to eye chick, ain't ya?"

I bent down closer to her and kissed the tip of her nose. It was the first time I kissed her. Or really meant to kiss her. Her little hands reached for my face and touched me so softly. I kissed her cheek. Her little hands poked my nose and my ear. Her fingers found the small hoop earring I wore and gave it a tug.

"Ouch, Dani girl, that hurt." I smiled down at her. She was smiling up at me.

That was all I needed. I was in love.

The tears started to fall again. I undid the straps of the seat and lifted Dani to my chest.

"You're making Daddy cry an awful lot, little girl. But I think they're happy cries now."

I'd done it. The last step. I called myself Daddy. I was in for the long haul now.

I carried Dani back into the living room and sat in the recliner with her. She stared at me with those big, blue eyes. Just smiling and making baby noises. I held her close.

"Oh Dani girl, this is going to be tough. I don't know much about being a Daddy. It's been a long time since I looked after a baby. Sometimes I can barely look after myself. We're going to have to work at this together, okay?"

Dani made a giggley sound and reached for my necklace. Man, she had a good grip.

"You got me? I'm going to make mistakes. Lots of 'em. Don't hold them against me when you're older. I'm gonna do my best."

Dani smiled up at me again. God. How could something so simple make me feel so wonderful?

"I...I love you, Dani girl. I'm your Daddy and I love you."

I hugged her tight and kissed her again as the tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Well, what do you think about breakfast now?" I laid her down on my thighs as I swiped my hand over my face. "I think Daddy's done crying, for now." Dani gurgled her approval. "Okay, first you, then me. And I'll keep you where you can see me, deal?" I shook her little hand and we made our way back to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The formula was easy to mix up. I made enough for the day, as Mom suggested. I managed to get the bottles and liners together and everything prepared with minimum mess.

"I can do this Dani." I grinned at her. "One lesson learned, a million more to go."

I stashed the extras in the fridge and took one still nicely warm bottle over Dani. She drank it down eagerly. I laughed as I watched her face. She was so animated as she ate, her little eyes were just sparkling. When she was just about finished, the phone rang.

"I don't suppose you can hold this, can you? I gotta grab the phone. I'll be right back, please don't cry."

I ran out to the living room and grabbed the phone, walking quickly back so I could talk while Dani finished her bottle. Surprisingly, Dani was calmly sitting there and burst into giggles when I returned. I slipped her bottle back in her mouth so she could finish it off.

"Hello?"

"Nick? Where you been, man? You haven't called or nothin'"

"Tone? Oh man. I'm sorry, dude. I've been....busy."

"No shit. So she's yours?"

"She's mine."

"I'm sorry, man."

"Don't be. It's going to be hard work. But I can do it."

"You're going to keep her?" Tony sounded astonished.

"Yes, I'm keeping her. She's not a toy to throw out, she's my daughter."

"Don't get all like that, man. It's just...you won't be able to do anything."

"I can still do stuff. I can still go out. I have Mom and Dad. Aaron is in love with her already...my sisters. I'm all set."

"They gonna sit for you while you go out and troll for chicks at clubs?" Tony sounded a bit skeptical.

"I think my trolling days might be done, at least for a little while. But we can still hang out. I'm sure I can work stuff out."

"Okay, Nick, I hope this works out for you."

"It has to. She's here for keeps now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony and I talked for a little bit more, just catching up on things that had happened over the past few days, before I hung up. Dani had drained her bottle dry, the liner was all sucked up to the top, near the nipple.

"Holy cow, Dani. You were some hungry girl, weren't you?"

I lifted her out of the chair again, holding her to my shoulder. I patted her back gently and she rewarded me almost instantly with a huge burp. I laughed loudly.

"You're louder than me, little one! I thought I was the master!"

I bounced her up and down gently in my arms, loving her giggles and smiles. I bounced her higher and the next thing I knew my entire upper body was covered in sour milk spit up.

"Eww, Dani! God, that's fucking disgusting!"

"Don't you swear at your daughter, young man!"

I turned around to see Mom, standing in the doorway. Dad behind her, his hand over his mouth to hide his laughter.

"I...sorry...Mom...but...God!"

Mom took Dani from me and set her in the bouncy chair.

"Get a wet cloth Nick, you both need to change."

"I need to shower, this stuff stinks."

"That'll teach you to play the bouncing game, won't it?" Dad snickered. "All dads learn that pretty fast."

"I'll say. Yuck." I peeled off my soaked shirt and tossed it towards the laundry pile. "She spit up more than I put in her. How the hell?"

"Babies can do that. It's part of their charm." Mom had got Dani out of her sleeper and handed it to me. "Now you get to learn about baby baths." She smiled at me. "Ready for your first lesson?"

"Sure." Just at that moment, the phone rang again. "Hold on, just let me grab this."

"Hello?"

"You need all the attention, don't you?"

"Wha...? Brian? What are you talking about?"

"You had to be the first one with a solo album. Did you really have to be the first one with a baby too? Do you have to ruin everything?"