Teach Me - Brollins

30.

After convincing Colby to come back to bed with her, and watching him put the binder back in the safe in the closet, Rebecca snuggled into her favorite spot on his chest and fell asleep as he ran his fingers through her hair.. her favorite way to fall asleep.

She woke up when she heard his phone ringing from where it was charging on his nightstand. She groaned after being woken up once again.

"What now?" She asked as she sat up slightly and let Colby roll over to grab the phone "It is 1AM" she said and he looked at the number

"It's Nancy" he said as he sat up slightly "Hello?" He answered the phone

"Daddy" Cali's voice was on the other end of the line

"Cali.." He said "Are you okay?" He asked

"I wanna come home" she said

"It's the middle of the night.. I will come pick you up in the morning" he said

"I wanna come home now" she said and he could hear her little voice trembling, she was about to cry, he knew that from experience

"Where is grandma?" He asked and he heard the phone being handed over

"Hi Colby" Nancy said

"Is everything okay?" He asked

"Everything is fine but she's insisting she comes home"

"I will come get her" he said as he sat up and looked over at Rebecca who was already back to sleep "I'm on my way" he said

He got up, quickly got dressed and gently placed a kiss on Rebecca's head

"I'm going to get Cali" he said in a whisper and she nodded still half asleep "I love you"

"Love you" she said muffled into the pillow "Be careful"

"Always" he kissed her gently once more

The hour drive to Nancy's house put Colby there at 2AM. He got his daughter from her grandmother, carrying her to the car with one hand and her suitcase in the other.

"That didn't last long" he said with a shake of his head as he backed out of the driveway

"It's creepy there.. she put me in the room with all the dolls"

"I've always hated that room" he shook his head

"Can we get food?" She asked

"Cali.. it is 2 in the morning and it will be 3 when we get back to town"

"Please!" She begged as her little hands were folded in front of her "Please!"

Once getting back in town, Colby sent Rebecca a quick text telling her he was taking Cali to the diner downtown before they would come home. He knew she was still half asleep when she read his message but didn't respond.

Sitting in the corner booth of the diner as they waited for their food he laughed slightly as he watched his daughter trying to keep her little eyes open.

"I used to come here with your mommy every Friday and Saturday night in high school" he nodded "We used to break curfew quite a few nights"

"You guys were bad kids" she shook her head

"We were not bad kids, your mommy was an honor student and on the debate team and captain of the softball team"

"She was an honor student that missed curfew" Cali's eyes met her father's "And you.. you were just a bad kid from what Nana tells me"

"Stop listening to your Nana.. I was a saint"

"She said you crashed two cars by the time you were seventeen and you had a lot of speeding tickets"

"Just because I had speeding tickets means nothing, there was nobody around so it didn't matter"

"There was obviously a cop around so it mattered"

"You remember how I just said your mom was on the debate team?" He questioned and the little girl nodded "You're starting to develop those qualities from her and I don't know if I like it" he shook his head and she laughed "I love that sound" he smiled "I would do anything to keep that smile on your face everyday"

"I'm sorry" she apologized and he looked at her quietly "I was wrong and you were right"

"About?" He asked

"Grandma told me that it was Mommy's fault that she died... nobody else" she stated and he took a deep breath "Why didn't you tell me that? You always let me blame you"

"Because, there will come a time in your life.. in the very distant future.. that you will have kids, and you will do anything to protect them even if it hurts you in the process"

"She also said Mom's not gonna die this time"

"She's not" Colby shook his head "It's not going to be easy on her but she's going to be okay"

"And I'm going to have a little sister"

"Or a little brother, we don't know yet"

"It's a sister" the little girl nodded

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Cali spoke up again from the other side of the booth.

"I have a question" she said

"Ask away"

"Does Ireland have states?" She asked as she looked up at him and his face was full of confusion "Should I ask mom that?"

"Yeah.. but not now, I've already woken her up once and then you did.. let's just let her sleep and ask her in the morning so she doesn't get mad at us"

"You're not supposed to wake her up!"

"Why not?"

"Cause that stops the belt"

"What in the world are you talking about?" He asked with a laugh

"It's a factory.. and what if she was making a foot and then you woke her up and the belt stopped and then when she fell back to sleep the belt started again and now my sister has a messed up foot cause you woke mom up" she said completely serious and it took everything in him to not burst into laughter

"That is not how that works kid" he shook his head

"How does it work then? Since you know so much" she looked up at him

"Ya know.. I've never read the books so you might be right" he nodded "Why are you asking about states in Ireland?" He questioned, trying to change the subject

"My name is Cali.. which was after mommy's favorite state, California" she said and Colby nodded "She said she had a lot of good memories there"

"We did" he nodded

"So what state is the new baby gonna be named after? Is it gonna be a state here or a state in Ireland?"

"Um.. I don't know if we're gonna name the new baby after a state" he shook his head

"Well what else are we gonna call her?"

"That is a discussion you need to have with your mom"

"When she wakes up!" The little girl pointed at him "No more messing up the factory!"