“Hey there, little one,” he coos. “You want cuddles from your mummy?”
As he steps closer with her, I can’t help but stare at him and wonder if he’s actually a guardian angel, sent to protect me and my little girl.
“Here she is.” He smiles down at Bobbi. “Here’s your mummy.”
He shifts close, handing her to me, and I snap out of my awe and fall into a whole new daze as my hands finally hold on to my daughter for the first time since she was born eight weeks ago.
There are so many tears. I give up trying to stop them. There’s really no point. I’m completely overwhelmed, filled with joy that mixes with the heartache of knowing we’ve been kept apart for so long.
I didn’t come prepared for feeding, so Ringo helps me lift my hoodie and shirt, peeling down the cup of my bra to free my breast, and I spend a few anxious moments trying to get her to latch on, knowing she might struggle if she’s been bottle fed all this time.
Ringo helps me as much as he can, and after a few attempts at sucking, Bobbi finally latches and starts drinking from me.
I thought this would be more awkward. That I’d feel creeped out or something, given what Ringo and I have been doing since my milk came in, but it just feels so natural. Like I was always meant to do this. Like she was always meant to be mine.
“Shit.” Ringo chuckles, and I glance up to see his amused expression through the haze of my tears. “So that’s how it’s done.”
A laugh bubbles from me, and he grins, shooting me a wink and lowering to his haunches to sidle up close.
“Stop it.” I giggle. “Don’t make it weird.”
“Oh, this isn’t weird. Just you wait until I want my feed.”
I snort at his playful teasing tone, shaking my head as he looks at me and Bobbi with so much love.
He presses a kiss to my arm before reaching up and stroking his fingers down the side of Bobbi’s cheek.
I grin at how his fingers look ginormous compared to Bobbi’s. Everything about him now seems so huge and manly, because everything about her is so tiny and dainty.
We spend some time, just the three of us, feeding, and learning how to burp her. She gives me the gift of a dirty nappy, and I don’t even hesitate to change her.
Ringo spends some time holding her cradled in his huge arms, and I think I fall in love with him even more, for treating her just like a father should.
I don’t know who her real father is, and I don’t think I ever want to know. None of those predators matter. The only thing that does, is Bobbi, and the man holding her, willing to step up and be her dad.
When she gets sleepy, I’m not really sure what to do with her since she’s still technically, not full term, so Ringo helps me put her back into the humidicrib, and even though it’s hard to leave her, I need to let her sleep while I find out what the hell Elizabeth Stone intended for my daughter.
Out in the living area, we find Daniel huddled on the floor in the corner, and JD gestures to the other bedroom.
“The women are being watched in there,” he explains. “There’s been no mother and son reunion yet.”
“Good,” I snap, feeling the softness fall away as I gear up to deal with my daughter’s kidnappers.
Taking my hand, Ringo leads me into the room, and we find the two women bound by their wrists and ankles, sitting against the headboard of the double bed, with tape covering their mouths.
Shit. These guys don’t mess around.
“I need you to explain to me what the hell you were thinking by kidnapping my daughter?” I snap, and while Caroline rolls her eyes, Elizabeth starts trying to talk behind the tape.
Vender reaches over and tears the tape off, making Elizabeth gasp.
“I was only trying to protect her, Abbey,” she pleads. “From the cult. From the danger that follows you because of it. She was too fragile to move around too much, but we needed to get her somewhere safe, and as you can see, she’s been doing great. Growing fast.”
Elizabeth takes a deep breath, smiling around at everyone in the room like she’s some sort of saint.
“She’s due to come out of the crib this week. She’s a strong little girl.” Elizabeth’s lip wobbles as she starts to cry. “I just wanted to keep her safe… when I found out about what that church really was… what my husband had forced Daniel to do.”
“I get that you think you’ve done a good thing here,” I snap, feeling my anger bubble to the surface as I stare her down. “And I appreciate you keeping Bobbi safe and looking after her. But the fact of the matter is, you kidnapped her. Made everyone, mademethink she’d died. Do you even know what that’s like, Elizabeth? To lose a child? To feel your heart shatter?”
