My Promise To You

Celebrate

BEN POV:

I jump up from sleeping, I pant for minute before getting up, I go to the bathroom and shower and everything because I was sweating and ew. I grab a fresh shirt and pants. I walk out of the room to go downstairs. "Daddy?" I look over and see Dani. "Hey! What's up?" I ask concerned. "I can't sleep." She whisper. I take a deep breath and kneel down in front of her. "Neither can I." I whisper. "How long have you been awake?" I ask quietly. She shrugs. "We both know I can't count." I smile. "Well it's about 5 am. Do you want to go get some breakfast? It's a little early but, you're probably hungry right?" She nods. "Let's get you dressed."

"Why were you up?" Dani ask drinking her chocolate milk. We decided to go to this comic book/cafe thing in Greendale. Why is there so many Dale's? Ohh! What if a guy named Dale lives in Riverdale? "Dad!" I snap out of my thoughts. "Ahh! I had a bad dream." I whisper. "How bad?" She ask I swear to god she sounds like Toni more and more. "It wasn't that bad." I lie. It was really bad. Tomorrow is my birthday, Jason isn't here. Everything is coming back. "Why were you up?" I ask concerned. "Mommy put me to bed really early." I smile. "Why?" She ask quietly. I laugh quietly. "We umm... wanted some time... to talk." I whisper. We were having sex! I can't tell her that. "Oh!" She smiles. "Eat!" I insist. She eats the rest of her breakfast sandwich. "Why do you get fries?" She ask quietly. "Because I'm a adult." She smiles. I look at my phone and see a text from Toni. She's obviously pissed. I text back saying we're in Greendale. "Mommy is gonna be mad!" She whispers. "What?" I look at her. "It's mommy. You've had the same ringtone for her for a while now." She remembers. "How do you know it's mom?" I ask quietly. "Well you said it was mom a few times." I smile. "You love mom." She whispers. I nod. "Forever." She smiles.

"Where were you guys?" Toni ask as I sit down at my desk. "Neither of us could sleep! So we went to get breakfast." I tell her my voice low. "You could have left a note." She smiles. "Sorry. Dani was pulling me out the door." I look up from my work. "Are you ok?" She ask quietly. "I heard you get up but I knew you needed time." I take a deep breath and think for a second. "I'm fine! It's just my birthday is tomorrow. Jason isn't here." I confess. Play with my paper. "I just wish he was here. Physically." I tell Toni. She takes a deep breath. "What about the dream?" She ask quietly. I look down and shake my head. "Ben. What did we talk about?" She ask quietly. "I had a dream that... Jason came back from the dead and it was just weird. I don't really remember what happened because I blocked it out." I tell her honestly. She nods. "Is there anything special you want tomorrow?" She ask quietly standing up. "Not really." I smile. "Well obviously something." She urges on. I think for a second. "I would love to call in sick for work tomorrow. But we need the money!" I joke. She looks at me. I get and walk over to her. "No balloons!" When Jason and I were small children he popped a balloon in my face as I was blowing it up. It has given me anxiety every since. It's weird I know. "I know the deal." She kisses me. "Why did Jason do that to you?" She ask quietly. "He thought it would be funny and wouldn't cause me almost 30 years of trauma." We both laugh at the stupidity of my anxiety. It's really dumb but I was young anything that is slightly scary is scaring. "Have you talked to him lately?" She ask quietly. "No." I'm not summoning his soul! It's kinda like praying not without the whole religious thing. "You should. We both know he's not gonna answer but..." Toni shrugs slightly. "Maybe you can get some stuff off your mind." She tells me. I take a deep breath. "Maybe but I was just going to bottle up my feelings until I explode." I say not so sarcastically. "Ben." She gives me that look. "I'll think about it." I whisper. She kisses me. "I love you." She smiles. "Forever." I kiss her more a passionately way. She goes to my neck and I see Dani standing at the door. "Babe!" I tap her back. "Code blue." She stops and straighten her shirt. "Sweetheart!" Dani smiles. "That's gross!" She scrunched her face.

"I told you it would be something small." Toni says sitting down next to me and handing me a can of Pepsi. "You were right." I whisper. Everyone has gone home, except my mom, only because she's spending the night to spend the day with Dani; plus she's a hour away from here. Dani and Jason are in bed. "I'm getting old." I whisper. "No you're only 28. You still have your life in front of you." She smiles. She's right. "I wonder when B and V are having a kid." She whispers. I look at her. "What?" She looks confused. "Is Betty pregnant?" She ask excitedly. "No! Only because they had the same problem we almost had. They are thinking about adoption! Don't say anything to anyone. Veronica was drunk and spilled." I say. Toni smiles. "Finally!" She jokes. We hear a door open. "Some people are trying to sleep." My mom says opening the door to Nana Roses old room. "Sorry we're not used to having people down here. We're also used to being in our room." Toni smiles looking at my mom. "It's ok." She goes into her room and we look at each other; we both start giggling. "We should go upstairs and check on the small humans." I smile and we go upstairs. I go to Jason. He's sleeping peacefully. "Babe!" Toni runs in waking Jason up. "Unless Dani is dying you don't need to run in here!" I say as Jason starts crying. "Well. She's fine but I think she's coming down with something." I take a deep breath. "If she's not feeling well in the morning we'll do something about it right now you need to get Jason back to sleep because you woke him up."

"Dad." I wake up to Dani right in front of me. She's patting the bed softly. "What's up baby?" I ask quietly. "I don't feel well." She whispers. "Like you're gonna throw up or have a headache?" I ask sitting up a little. I feel her forehead and it's burning up. She's naturally very warm but this is unusual. "I have a headache and I'm tried." I get up and pick her up. "Let's take your temperature." I whisper going into our bathroom. She sits on the counter and I take her temperature. The thing beeps. "102. You have a fever." I give her some medicine to take. "Let's get you in bed." She latches onto me. That's how you know she's really sick; she won't let you go. I go to her room and she lies down. "I'm gonna get some ice to cool you down. Ok?" She nods. I run downstairs, get a ice pack and some water for the both of us. I go upstairs and sit on her bed. I place the glass down and place the ice pack on    my daughters head. "Drink some water sweetie." She takes a sip of water. "I'm tired." She whispers. "Go to sleep. It's late anyways." I rub her hair. "Can you stay here?" She ask quietly. I nod. "Of course." I lie next her hand rap my arm around her. I don't know how much time went by but I look outside and the sun has risen. I sit up. "No." Dani latches on. "Do you want to eat?" I ask quietly. She shakes her head.