The Act of Forgiveness

10

"Shh, Evie." I heard from behind me as I burrowed closer to the sheets and sighed contently. My eyes felt raw and my throat was sore, I winced as last night's memories came rushing back to me and my chest tightened with fear again. "Poppy?"

I rolled over to look up and see Jasper's worried eyes. He held Evelyn with one arm and a plate of toast in the other.

"Yeah?" I asked, sitting up a little and reaching up for Evelyn. She was still dressed in her pajamas with messy hair spread across her head.

"Are you alright?" He perched himself on the edge of the bed and set the plate on my knees.

"Yeah, thank you for breakfast." I smiled and took a bite of toast as Evelyn played with my hair. She looked at me and popped her mouth open, expectantly waiting for some bread.

I placed the toast against her lips and she crunched down on it, laughing when the crumbs tumbled down her chest and onto the sheets. I didn't have the heart to tell her off for making a mess because her eyes lit up at the simple action.

"Evelyn and I slaved over the stove on this breakfast for hours!" Jasper sighed dramatically and I giggled a little as he rolled closer to me, hugging my legs through the sheets.

"Thank you Jazzy." I handed him a piece before grabbing Evie and holding her tightly to my chest. "I love you little bug, sorry for not taking care of you last night."

"I think Jensen had a freaking blast playing with her last night, she almost didn't leave when I told her that Evelyn had to go to bed." Jasper laughed and laid on the other side of Evelyn to create a little baby sandwich.

We were content, being a little family.

"I'm so glad you're here." Jasper whispered, pressing his lips against my forehead and leaving them there for a while.

"What should we do today?" I asked rolling over a little to place the empty plate on the nightstand.

"Does Evelyn like the park?" Jasper asked while trying to smooth down her unruly hair.

"Yeah is there a good one close by?" I wondered, patting her hair down playfully and tickling her ribs a bit.

"Yeah just down the street. Please don't be upset if you see any paparazzi, the obsession will die down after a while but it's just a shock to everyone right now." He warned me as he swiped the sheets to free the crumbs.

"It's okay one of them will get a cute family picture." I laughed a little but soon began finishing off the toast and getting ready for the day.

I gave Evelyn a bath in the tub that attached to her nursery and dressed her up in a sweet little skirt that had suspender like straps across her chest that covered a white shirt. I made up a little bun on the top of her that bobbled when she moved around.

I dressed myself in simple shorts with a pink blouse trying to remember that it was hot compared to Seattle's weather.

Jasper looked adorable in his khaki shorts and button up shirt with Sperry's on his feet. He had the biggest grin as we walked out of his apartment and headed towards the elevators.

We decided to push Evelyn in the little stroller that we had brought from Seattle. She could only walk for a very short distance while holding someone's hand and we didn't want her to tire out too quickly. Jasper had made a big deal about pushing her around and so I let him do his daddy duties as he pranced around with a goofy grin on his face.

"It's only about three blocks and thankfully its not rush hour." Jasper's grin never faded as we stepped out into the overwhelming sun. It felt as if we had moved closer to the sun, even though I knew that wasn't possible.