"Can I call you Mommy?"Daddy!Jean Kirstein x Pregnant Reader (AU)

A New Beginning

(A/N Hey! It's been a long while. I thought I'd update this story seeing as though so many of you have requested me to. As someone who is pursuing a career in creative writing, it means a lot for so many people to be appreciative of my work and genuinely want to read more. Thank you, and enjoy.)

9:12am. Saturday. I didn't sleep.
"You look very happy, Maddalyn." I say, watching the girl text on her phone. She giggles, her rounded cheeks blushing. She is really growing to look like her father, I think. Cooking eggs in a pan, I hear Jean singing with a smile playing on his lips while coming down the stairs. He's dressed in sweatpants and an old band t-shirt, and his hair is an absolute mess. What a dork, I think.
"How do you like your eggs in the morning? I like mine with a kiss!" He sings in the most cheesy way possible, kissing Maddalyn and Arabel on the forehead then me on the cheek. I swat him away, laughing, as his hands coil around my waist.
Maddalyn walks out of the room, clearly disgusted by the amount of affection happening.
"She's texting someone, it seems." I whisper, placing the eggs and bacon on 3 plates before preparing Arabel's food.
"Oh, is she now?" Jean says.
"A boy, I think." I say, Arabel giggling in her high chair, her feet kicking.
Jean gasps sarcastically.
"A boy? So when's the wedding, Maddalyn?" He shouts. Maddalyn comes back into the kitchen and rolls her eyes at her dad's comment.
"No seriously. Who the heck are you texting?" Jean protests.
"Can I meet Elliot later? We're working on a group project together at school. Please?" She says in the most angelic tone possible. I chuckle.
I knew exactly what was going on. It was her first crush! Jean, being the protective stereotype of a dad he is, scoots over and looks over Maddalyn's shoulder to further investigate the texts.
"You mean like a... play date?" He asks, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Dad, we're not babies!" She sighs. Arabel giggles at this, her adorable new teeth coming through and slowly starting to show. I tickle her chin as I feed her her mushed up baby food.
"We're just gonna work on the group project together. Just cause he's a boy doesn't mean I looove him." Maddalyn firmly states to her father.
"What's his surname?" Jean asks with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yeäger, why?" Maddalyn answers, making Jean's eye twitch. And with that, I sit Jean down in the dining chair, place his breakfast in front of him, and begin massaging his shoulders. Jean was about to pass out from hearing that.
"Of course you can meet Elliot, sweetie." I tell her. "When do you need dropping off?" Jean eventually asks after getting over his pride.
"After breakfast. Please Dad?" She asks ever so sweetly. I squeeze Jean's shoulders in protest of approval. With one large huff, Jean agrees.
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"I don't understand it." Jean starts, as he's sat on the floor helping Arabel place shapes into a peg box. "One minute she's in a diaper, the next she's head over heels for some boy."
Sitting at my desk, I'm staring at my phone. One new voicemail. Marco possibly? Or my dad? I nervously arrange and rearrange the assortment of pens and notebooks and bite my nail.
"Honey?" He says, my back to him. "You seem really vacant. What's going on with you these days?" I turn around in the desk chair to meet his eyes instantly, and I brush him off by telling him that I'm fine.
"Jean, you really need to start looking for a new job." I tell him.
He lifts Arabel onto his lap and he begins to tickle her. "I know," he says above the noise of her giggles, "You know that I'm trying, right? I'm not just a good for nothing husband."
"All I'm saying is-" I begin, quickly interrupted by the vibration of my phone.
"It's... my dad." I say, my heart instantly racing at the sight of my phone screen.
"Answer it." Jean prods sternly, taking a shape away from Arabel's mouth.
Hesitant, I pick my phone up, and place it to my ear.
"(Y/N), finally! My dearest and only daughter, why has it taken you so long to answer?"
"Dad, please, what is it?" I say, weakness in my voice. I put my phone on speaker so Jean can hear the conversation.
"I'm just going to come out and say it. I know we haven't had the best relationship, but I think it's only fair you know this. Doc has given me 2 months to live. Cancer, honey." He says with his gruff voice.
I stare at Jean, my eyes widening. Jean gives me a look that I've never seen before.
"Now, as you're my only child, I want you to also know this. I've done a lot of bad things in my life. And I want to apologise. Really, I am sorry. Deeply sorry for all that I inflicted onto you and your mother."
"Dad-" I start.
"Listen, if I can have one last wish before I pass, it's for my only daughter and her family to be happy. That's why I'm making the decision to pass down all my money to you. You'll inherit all of it. My business has boomed in the last few years, and I want to hand that all down to you too. I'm sorting out all the papers as we speak." He finishes.
A single tear falls down my cheek, and I struggle to find the right words. Jean pops Arabel on his hip and comes over to stand by me, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"I'm lost for words. I'm sorry... I... Thank you. Thank you so much. You don't realise how much this means for all of us." I let the guilt of the ordeal with Marco, the stress of Jean's unemployment, and the pain from years and years of neglect from my father wash over me, and it comes out in gushes of tears. Like a toxic waterfall. What is this emotion that I'm feeling? Sadness? Anger? Then why does it feel like euphoria?