Co-parenting

Chapter 10

"Of course. I missed my little princess. I'm glad I get to spend some time with her"

Veronica gets on her tiptoes and kisses her daughter's cheek a couple of times "bye baby have fun with daddy, te quiero"

"Quiero" Valerie squeals.

"I swear Andrews one little scratch on her body and I kill you"

Archie laughs "Like I said, I got this don't worry"

Veronica stares at him and rolls her eyes. She smiles at Valerie before she turns around and walks towards the elevator.
Archie chuckles and closes the door before he walks back into the apartment, Veronica's apartment.
Valerie frowns and turns in Archie's arms towards the door. "Mama?"

"Mommy is out with auntie Katy. She'll be back later"

"Mama" Valerie sniffs. Her bottom lip begins to tremble and tears form in her eyes. "Mama Mama"

"Mommy will be back honey" Archie says and tries to calm down his daughter. He wipes her tears away and bounces her up and down again. "Daddy is here. Daddy loves you. Do you love daddy too?"

"Dada" the little girl mumbles.

"It's all good my love, don't cry. What do you want to do?"

"Snuggle!" Valerie squeals and lies her head down on her dad's shoulder. Her little arms wrap around his neck.

"Is that all?"

"Snuggle"

"I missed you so much my little princess" Archie chuckles. He squeezes Valerie close to him and kisses her head.

•••

It's past midnight and Archie sits on the couch, watching tv. This daughter is asleep in his arms.
He knows he should bring her to bed but he doesn't want to let go of her. He wants to hold her close and spend as much time with his little girl as possible.

When his phone rings, he picks up quickly so Valerie doesn't wake up.

"Hello?" he mumbles.

"Hey Archie it's Katy. Listen, Veronica is drunk, really really drunk. I'll bring her home and I need you to take care of her."

"Of course"

"I know you probably wanted to leave later but you can't leave her alone, especially because she can't take care of Valerie right now"

"That bad?" Archie chuckles.

"Mhm"

"Okay don't worry I'll stay overnight"

He hangs up and sighs.

"Your mommy had a little too much fun"
He gets up and lies Valerie into her crib. He kisses her head before he walks back into the living room.

About 15 minutes later there's a knock on the door. Archie can already hear Veronica yell and laugh. Katy desperately tries to keep Veronica quiet but fails.
Archie opens the door. Almost immediately he feels Veronica fall into his arms.