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Adam blinked, at a complete loss for words for long seconds as he simply stared into Amy's tearful hazel eyes. Had he heard her correctly? No, he couldn't have... What he thought he'd just heard her say couldn't possibly...
"What?"
The redhead tilted her head to the right as she continued to look into his eyes, the emotion nearly choking her up. She felt her heart breaking at the expression on his face, as he suddenly frowned as though he were getting angry.
"I'm so sorry, Adam... I'm so sorry for lying to you all these years, for keeping the truth from you, but... oh, God." She shook her head, her right hand flying up to her hair, some stray strands falling into her eyes. "I never meant to deceive you, or-"
"Wait a minute... Are you kidding me?" he asked. "Mandy is my daughter?"
Amy's words died on her lips, her breath catching in her throat. Silently, she nodded.
He took a deep breath as he absorbed all of this unbelievable information. It felt so incredibly surreal, as though he were dreaming it all. He gazed down wordlessly at the floor, as though studying the carpet, a million thoughts swirling through his head.
The redhead sat there beside him, trying her best not to panic as she kept her gaze on the tall blond man. Why wasn't he speaking? What was going on in his head right about now? She didn't even blink as she waited... She couldn't take it - he had to say something, and soon. It was killing her that he was so silent.
Finally, she got her wish as he raised his head moments later. He turned his gaze toward her, his emerald green eyes fixing on her, and a most displeased expression crossed his handsome face.
"I don't believe this," he muttered. He shook his head, his eyes hardening as he met her teary hazel eyes. "All this time... All these years... You... you actually kept my daughter away from me?"
Amy shook her head, although she knew his words were spoken true. She'd done exactly what he was accusing her of - and she felt like complete and utter shit for it.
"Adam, I'm sorry," she cried. "I never meant to-"
"You never meant to, but you did," he snapped, his expression quickly transforming from anger to sorrow. He couldn't believe this... He was a father... He was the father of a six-year-old girl and he'd never even known her until a few short months ago. It was all enough to make his head spin. "So, that night," he continued, "we made love and produced Mandy... Oh, God." He lowered his head once again, emotion swelling up inside of him. He was in complete and utter shock. Actually, a myriad of emotions were going through him - shock, dismay, horror, anger, regret, frustration... But by God, he loved little Mandy. He truly and fully loved that little girl. She was such an angel.
"Adam?" Amy somehow managed to stop her silent weeping long enough to shift closer to him, her small hand coming up to grip his bicep. She pulled at him slightly, turning him a bit so as to face her. Her heart nearly stopped as he turned his head to face her, as she suddenly became aware of the tears on his face. Dear lord, he was actually crying... She moved still closer to him, her throat constricting with emotion. "Baby." She leaned against his strong body, her face nuzzling against his shoulder as she clung to him. Inside, she was praying despite being non-religious. 'Please... oh, God, *please* let him forgive me,' she thought. Now that she finally had him back in her life, in her heart, she knew she could never let him go. He was the father of her child, definitely her soulmate, and the love of her life. It would destroy her if he were to walk away from her now.
Suddenly, the blond man pulled away from her, and her heart sank as she watched him rise from the bed and to his feet. So, this was it... He was going to leave - and he would probably be out of her life forever. She held her breath, her heart nearly stopping as she waited for him to say something.
"I want to see her."
"What?" Her eyes widened at his words, as she'd been expecting something completely different to emerge from his lips. Gone was the anger he'd displayed toward her only moments earlier. There were still tears in his green eyes, falling onto his cheeks, and she winced.
"I want to see her," Adam repeated. "I want to see my daughter."
The redhead stood up beside him and nodded.
"Okay... of course. Of course you can see her," she said softly. She reached up to wipe away some of the tears on her face as she led him to the door across the way, adjoining them to their child.
There was a small night light glowing from a fixture near the bed, modestly illuminating the room. The tall blond man's heart softened as he stood just over the bed, his gaze on her. She was so precious - and she was sound asleep, by the looks of it. She was laying on her back, her golden hair spread out on the pillow like a fan. A stuffed dog was clutched under her small arm, giving her comfort.
Amy watched quietly as he knelt down by the side of the bed, his hand snaking out to gently caress Amanda's long, soft hair away from her face. His gesture was so tender, so beautiful as he watched over his daughter, she was again overcome by tears.
"Oh, God..." he said softly, emotion getting the better of him again as well. He couldn't believe it as he gazed down into the girl's beautiful face. She was his - *his* daughter. He kept his gaze on her for long, long moments, turning his head away only long enough to look up at Amy, the redhead standing just behind him and slightly to his side.
She held her breath, able to detect tears still shining on his cheeks as he gazed up at her. He looked so... pensive, as though about to ask her something.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" His voice was soft as he voiced the question.
She shook her head, opening her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out for the moment.
"Damn it, Amy... I would have wanted to be there for you - during the pregnancy, and..." He glanced back at their daughter for a beat before speaking again. "... Damn it, I missed her birth, her first words, first steps."
The redhead felt absolutely awful. She recalled him having told her that he himself had grown up without a father. This had to be even tenfold difficult for him.
"I want her to know," he said. "I want her to know *I'm* her father."
"Okay," the redhead said, nodding. She reached up to wipe away some more tears. This would no doubt be difficult, but she knew it was the right thing. Mandy *did* have to know the truth - and she deserved to know Adam was her father, and to have a relationship with him as such.
The blond man stood back up and turned toward Amy, grabbing gentle hold of her arm and steered her toward the door.
"I don't want to wake her up... Come on."
They made their way quietly out of the room, and Adam closed the door silently behind him. They returned to the bed, standing over it, and Adam wiped the tears from his eyes. Afterward, he gazed down into the redhead's face. She looked so weary and upset - and scared. He could see the naked fear and insecurity on her lovely face.
"Ames?"
She calmed a bit at his usage of the nickname. Certainly, he wouldn't call her that if he was still angry, or if he meant to walk out on her.
"You... you're not going to leave, are you?" she asked in a small, tentative voice.
He softened at the look in her eyes, the tone of her voice. And in those hazel orbs, he could clearly see how very much she truly loved him.
"No," he said, backing up the word with a shake of his head. "I'm not going anywhere,"
he continued. "I'm afraid I'm in this thing for the long haul." He wrapped his arms around
her, drawing her against him and rested his chin on the top of her head as she clung to him.