On the Court #Wattys2015

CH 21: To Gain And Lose

"But there's a very small chance you can have it or that your kids will."

"I'm sorry to hear about your condition but what you're telling me is...John isn't my dad, you are?"

He slowly nodded, gulping down the nerves that came with his confession. After years of only receiving emails from Kelsey--that he needed help to read--he finally met his daughter.

"I hope you're not disappointed," he softly said, gazing into her gray eyes that were the same as his. 

 Toni softly shook her head, not really knowing what to say. "I... I don't know how to feel right now."

"Want me to leave you guys alone?" Darren murmured, looking at Toni.

"No...I-uh-just need a coffee."

"You don't really drink coffee."

"I'm gonna start," she nearly snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. He bit at his lip, thinking he better leave it alone.

Joseph and Rory followed behind Darren to get their treats. 

During those long five minutes Toni told Dominic that she needed time to soak all of it in. He understood completely but told her not to leave him waiting too long. She smiled and waited as Darren came back with the kids and their drinks. They all had a small chat and Dominic made sure that no sad topics would be brought up. 

It was almost one in the afternoon when Rory started getting fussy and Joseph fell asleep against Darren.

"I think it's time for us to go."

"I see," Daniella smiled, "It was very nice to meet you." 

"You too."

Toni stood up and picked up Rory who was slowly lolling to sleep. Dominic wrapped his arms around both of them and breathed in. "Don't be a stranger."

She smiled against his shoulder and answered back, "You have my number."

They let go of their embrace. Dominic and Darren shook hands and so did Daniella. 

"He's so cute when he's sleep," Daniella cooed, nodding towards Joseph who was in Darren's arms. 

"Hopefully he'll stay that way" Toni laughed. 

"Bye, bella," Daniella smiled, waving at Rory. "Bye Bye," she whispered. 

"Tan lindos son tus nietos," Daniella smiled at her brother. He smiled and nodded.

Toni turned towards Darren with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"She said our kids are cute, Toni" he smiled with a slight tease to his voice.

Toni laughed and bit at her lip. She felt like her life made a little more sense. She was happy now. She wanted to focus on the future now and hopefully Dominic was going to be in it.

***

After putting Joseph and Rory to sleep for a nap the exhaustion hit Toni hard. Darren saw it and knocked her legs from under her before carrying her to his room. She didn't even have the energy to argue.

Darren took care of her. Taking off her shoes and changing her pants from the tight jeans she wore to some sweats.

"I can dress myself," Toni murmured, snuggling into his sheets. 

"What kind of host would that make me," he smiled. He stripped off his shirt and changed into some basketball shorts before getting into bed with her. "So about today..."

"I don't even want to talk about it right now."

"That's fine."

"And since you want to be a helpful host, why don't you pack my bag?"