CHAPTER TWO - Finally we meet

Sunday had come slowly for Danny. He barely had any sleep the night before and had been awake since 6am. It was now going on 9:30 and he was sure he'd been pacing his living room for the past hour. Sighing he flopped down disgracefully on the couch trying to calm his mind. He had already changed his shirt three times due to he profuse sweating. He was running out of clean shirts. Running his hands through his hair he leaned back into the couch. Shutting his eyes, his mind drifted back to what occurred seven hours before.

Danny couldn't sleep. It was 2 am and in nine short hours he would meet her, his daughter. He was sure he'd never been so nervous in his life. Many thoughts had run through his mind all weekend. Would she like him? What did she look like? Would he make a fool of himself? He needed to text Mindy. She had a way of calming him down, even with her sass mouth.

Picking up his phone he sent her a text.

"Hey, so I'm going a bit crazy over here" He quickly hit send. He didn't have to wait long for her response.

"Danny, it's 2 am. Go to sleep!"

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'll let you go...see you tomorrow"

"Ugh, now I just feel bad. I guess my beauty rest can wait. What's wrong? Nervous about tomorrow?"

He looked down at her reply, chuckling lightly.

"Nervous is an understatement. What if she doesn't like me?" he typed, hesitating shortly before hitting send. It took a few minutes for Mindy to respond.

"Danny, you have nothing to worry about. You're an amazing guy. She'll be able to see that the minute she meets you. I did. Granted, I spent majority of the time trying to hide it. But I've always known you were a great guy even though you had to deal with shitty circumstances. So, stop being so nervous!"

He smiled as he read her text. After everything that happened between them, in the moments when it mattered, she still found a way to ease his nerves, even if temporarily. He was still upset at how everything went down, but for the sake of his daughter, he wanted it to work with Mindy. He wanted them to be friends again. It would take some time, but if things kept going the way they were these past couple of days, he believed they had a shot at friendship.

"Thanks Min! I guess I'll see you girls tomorrow at 11:30. Have a good night and thanks for taking some time out of your beauty rest to reassure me. Goodnight." He hit send. Putting an arm behind his head he stared up at the ceiling, watching as the shadows of the tree and it's branches danced across his ceiling. In a few short hours he was going to see Mindy again for the second time in 4 years and meet his daughter for the first time. He could do this. He knew he could. Tomorrow would be a happy day. After all, it had to be, he'd been living a dull life since Mindy left 4 years ago. 'Yes, happy' he'd kept repeating in his mind as sleep finally took him.

"Cecilia! Hurry, we're going to be late." Mindy called from the hallway leading to the front door. It was already 10:45 and the cab was outside waiting. She was sure traffic was going to be hell, especially on a Sunday. Church goers.

Quickly grabbing her purse she headed to the door. "Cecilia!" she yelled once more. "Coming!" She watched as her daughter rounded the corner, in a different dress than she'd initially picked out. This one was a yellow sundress, with a red ribbon around the waist and her white sandals with the flower on the top. "Sorry, mommy. I wanted to look extra special, since we are meeting a new friend."

Mindy smiled at her daughters words. She hadn't even met Danny yet and she was already trying to impress him and Danny was worried. "Well you are the prettiest girl, I'm sure he'll ever have met." She said smiling as she extended her hand for Cecilia to take and opened the door. Grabbing the booster seat that was sitting on the floor next to the door and headed out to their waiting Taxi.

The ride felt like hours. Cecilia was excitedly chatting in her seat next to her about meeting a new friend and all the fun they would have as Mindy looked out of the window nervously as the cab pulled up to its destination. Paying the driver she gathered up her belongings and Cecilia and headed towards the entrance of the park, where Danny already stood nervously waiting.

"It's now or never." she thought to herself as she eyed him from a far. Taking a deep breath and running a quick hand through her hair, they made their way up to Danny.

Danny had been pacing back and forth for 10 minutes, waiting on Mindy and Cecilia to arrive. The once nicely wrapped gift he'd gotten for Cecilia, had seen better days. He looked at his watch once more before looking around, hoping to spot them. His eyes surveyed the different crowds of people entering the park. Mostly tourists, he was sure. When his eye finally landed on her familiar form. Taking a deep breath, "It's now or never" he mumbled to himself.

He watched as she made her way to through a crowd of people and finally saw the little girl, at her side. Danny took in a choked breath, as he took her in. She was...beautiful. His daughter. A few days ago, he hadn't even noticed he'd had a daughter and now, he was here. He was going to meet her for the first time. He shifted from foot to foot nervously as thought of how this meeting would go plagued his mind. Shaking the thoughts away, he focused on them.

As they got closer to him he was able to get a clearer look. She definitely looked a lot like Mindy, but there was definitely some of him there. Especially her eyes. He smiled as they reached him, his eyes never leaving the little girls at Mindy's side. Her smile as innocent as any 3 and a half-year olds.

He looked over at Mindy meeting her gaze. He could tell she was a bit nervous, but her smile didn't waive either. "Hi, Danny." She said just loud enough for him to hear. "Mindy" he responded nodding his smile growing larger. His eyes moved back to Cecilia. "and this beautiful little girl, must be Cecilia?" He directed the question to her. He watched as her face beamed. "That's me." she replied giggling. "and you're momma's friend and my new friend, Danny." She said matter of factly. "I am." he said looking down at her smiling warmly. His mind temporarily having forgotten the gift he'd gotten for her. He held it out to her for her to take. "I got you something. Figured, it be a nice, new friend present." He said winking at Mindy. "Don't mind the wrapping." He joked.

He watched as she took the present from him with excitement. "I love presents!" She squealed. "Mommy can I open it?" He watched as Mindy nodded and Cecilia excitedly opened her gift. He hoped she would like it. He wasn't sure what sort of gifts a three-year old would like. So he spent a bit too much time googling Present's to get a 3-year-old girl. He was brought back to the present when he heard a loud squeal of excitement. "It's from Tangled!" She yelled excitedly as she looked at the Rapunzel doll from the Disney movie Tangled, he'd gotten her. "Thank you!" she said as she leaped forward and wrapped her arms around his legs in a hug.

He tried to hide the surprise from his face. He was so worried about the first moments of them meeting, only thinking about all the things that could have gone wrong. Rather than the moment that was happening now. The stress and fear seemed to start leaving and he smiled down at her as she stepped back looking at her doll, obviously anxious to get her out of the box. "We can take her out when we get home. Don't want her getting dirty." Mindy said, knowing what her daughter was thinking. Danny noticed the flash of disappointed cross Cecilia's face, but as she nodded he could see the realization that she didn't want to ruin the doll after just getting her. Reluctantly she handed the doll to Mindy, for her to put in her ridiculously oversized purse.

Trying to lighten the mood a bit, Danny broke the temporary silence. "So, what do you ladies want to do?" He asked his eyes moving from Cecilia to Mindy. "Playground!" He heard Cecilia respond, excitedly as she began to tug on Mindy's arm to pull her towards the entrance of the park. "Playground it is then." Danny responded laughing.

It hadn't taken them long to reach a playground in the park. They'd made small talk along the way. Cecilia telling Danny of all the things she was learning at her "school". Mindy letting him know to never call it daycare, because only "babies go to daycare" would be Cecilia's response.

Danny and Mindy were now sitting on a bench at the playground watching as Cecilia played. She had already made friends and they were now running around having fun. He could tell her personality, was all from Mindy. He didn't make friends easily as a child, he was constantly getting into fights and trouble. But with a personality like Cecilia's he knew she would never have trouble making friends. Smiling he looked over at Mindy sitting next to him. He could see the worry on her face as she watched their daughter play, in fear she'd hurt herself.

Danny laughed, when Mindy flinched as one of the little girls Cecilia was playing with almost tripped but luckily caught herself before falling, mumbling something about how playgrounds need to be more safe for children. His amusement, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Mindy. "What's so funny, Caste-lameo?" She asked raising an eyebrow in his direction. He smiled at her still amused. "Nothing, just you. 4 years ago, you probably wouldn't even be caught at a playground filled with screaming children and now, you're worrying about the safety of every child here." Mindy simply rolled her eyes at his words. "What? I'm a mom now. It's what we do. We worry about our children as well as any other children that may be in eyesight. It's some instinct you get once you've had a kid." Something, she had read in some magazine he was sure. Shaking his head and smiling, silence fell over them once more as they both turned their attention back to Cecilia playing.

The rest of the day at the park had gone just as smoothly as the beginning. They had hot dogs, ice cream, pretzels, and more ice cream, to Mindy's protest. They fed the ducks at the pond, an older kid was nice enough to let Cecilia, try out his kite. They joked and played. All in all their meeting was a great success in Danny's eyes. Cecilia had already had him wrapped around her little fingers. Anything she asked, she'd gotten that day.

Now they were in Danny's car on their way to Mindy's. Danny had offered to drive them home. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with Cecilia. And Mindy. Today being around Mindy was definitely a change from their meeting. He was still upset that her decision had caused him to miss out on seeing Cecilia grow. But there was nothing that could change what happened. All he could do now, was have a civil, decent relationship with Mindy and to hopefully become a part of Cecilia's life..as her father...not as her mommy's friend.

He shut the engine off as he pulled in front of Mindy's apartment building. He didn't want this day to end. The future was just too, unpredictable to him. He'd hoped that Mindy would let him see her again soon. His eyes fell Cecilia in the rearview mirror, she was hunched over to the side fast asleep. "I'll carry her in if that's alright with you?" He asked looking at Mindy. "That would be great." She replied before getting out of the car. Danny shortly followed getting Cecilia out of the car. She didn't even stir.

Mindy unlocked her apartment door and walked inside. Danny behind her carrying Cecilia. It was a great day. She couldn't believe how easily Danny had calmed down and his nerves and worries seemed to be at ease. She already knew Cilia would love him and how right she was. He'd definitely won her over with the Tangled doll. He had no idea it was Cecilia's favorite movie. He will as soon as he would reach Cecilia's room and see that her entire room was decorated in Tangled theme.

She showed Danny, to Cecilia's room. "Just lay her down in her bed." She whispered as she opened Cecilia's door and watched as he stepped inside and made his way to Cecilia's bed. She watched as he carefully placed her down on the bed and pulled her Rapunzel themed blanket on top of her, tucking her in. Her heart skipped a beat as he brushed her hair from her face and leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead and whispering something that she couldn't make out in the sleeping child's ears.

Mindy blinked away the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes and turned making her way into the living room. It was seeing him with Cecilia at that moment, where regret came over her. Regret at the decision she made, the times like this that she'd taken away from him.

She hadn't noticed Danny had joined her until she felt his hand on her shoulder. Jumping slightly, she quickly wiped her hands over her eyes, before plastering on a smile and turning to face him. "Hey, thanks for helping me bring her up here." she said quickly. "I didn't mind. I like spending time with her. She's a great kid. You did good, Min!" Her eyes met his and she smiled. "I'm glad we did this. I haven't seen her have this much fun in a while. And she really likes you." She told him truthfully.

"I'm glad we did this too. I want to spend time with you guys again. If that's okay?" She tried to hide the ping of guilt at his question. Asking her if it's okay for him to spend time with his own daughter. That isn't how this is supposed to be. "Of course. I don't want to keep you from getting to know her. I've done enough damage already. I just..Danny, if you're serious about this. You have to come when you say you will. You can't let her down. I've done enough of that for the both of us." She felt her eyes well up once more. "I want you to get to know her. You deserve to. I can't make up for the 3 and a half years I caused you to lose, but I wont deny you anymore. You were so great with her today." She felt the tears escape her eyes. She wasn't even sure why she was crying. She thought it was mostly relief. Relief that he knew. Relief that she no longer had to keep the burden of her lies. But most of all relief that this day had gone so well. Had meant so much to him and even Cecilia.

She hadn't seen his hands move towards her face until she felt him wipe the tears that had fallen away with his thumbs. Her eyes met his. She could see a mix of emotions on his expression, ranging from confusion to one that hit her the hardest, caring. This was her Danny, the same Danny that had, cancelled plans with a prospective girlfriend, to comfort her when Josh's secret had ruined her Christmas Party. How she'd missed him. But he wasn't her Danny anymore was he? She'd messed things up. He'd never be her Danny again. The only relationship they would now have would be strictly as parents, coming together for Cecilia's needs. Nothing more. And it tore her up inside. It was easier, when she thought she'd never see him again. But now knowing that she would see him, but never be as close with him as they were before, crushed her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Danny spoke. "No tears, Min! Not today. Today was a happy day. Today was a great day!" He was right. Today was a very happy and special day. "Yeah, sorry. Just a lot to take in." She replied, her voice slightly shaking. Silence fell over them once more. His hand still hadn't moved from cupping her face to wipe her tears.

Next, she made a mistake. Her eyes had traveled from his eyes, down to his lips just as he'd liked them. She licked her own in response as feelings of wanting to feel those lips on her own, rushed her. Before she could stop her self she closed the space between them and crashed her lips to his.

She could sense Danny stiffen with surprise and he began stumbling back until his back hit the wall, it was then that she felt him return her kiss.

The kiss was rough. It held all the frustration, anger, longing, need, and love that had been suppressed by the both of them in the last 4 years. She took Danny's bottom lip between her teeth and gently bit down. She was welcomed with the sound of Danny moaning against her lips, causing her to moan in response. Her moved to the front of his shirt and began to furiously unbutton his shirt as his tongue entered her mouth in search of hers.

She pressed her hips closer to him, feeling his hardening erection against her, causing her to moan. She broke their kiss trailing her lips to his neck, sucking and nibbling as her hands, move into his shirt, her fingers meeting his bare chest and slowly begin moving down until they reached the belt buckle of his jeans. She hesitated momentarily, which was all it apparently took for Danny to reach his senses. "Mindy, we can't." He said, his voice panting and breathless. His voice, brought her back from whatever place her need for him had taken her to and she stepped back quickly. "I-I'm sorry." Was all she could muster. She really hoped she didn't just ruin their promise of a friendship between them. He must have read the fear in her eyes. "Mindy, it's not that I don't want to..because God do I want to. We just can't. We need to work on whatever this that we are going to have first."

She couldn't look him in the eyes, so instead she chose to look down at his feet instead. She nodded, in agreement. He was right of course. If they had gone further than where they had just stopped, there would be regrets. They both didn't need anymore of those. "You should probably go." Oh she didn't want him to leave. But it was for the best, before things went any further she needed to clear her head.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He spoke as he began to button his shirt back up. "I- thanks for letting me see her today. I'll talk to you soon, yeah?" He said as he clumsily made his way to the hallway that lead to the door. "Yeah, of course."

She followed him as they made their way to the front door. "Goodnight Mindy." were his last words, before looking past her towards the direction of Cecilia's room and retreating out of her apartment. She closed the door locking it. Turning she slumped against the door and slid down to the floor, as she cried. She cried for him..as she cried for herself...and as she cried for the hope of friendship, that she was sure had left along with him.

Oh wow! Well it's been a long while. No excuse :( But I finally updated. And Danny and Cecilia finally meet.

I hope you guys liked this chapter. For all of you that are still reading this Thank you!

Here's to the reviewers:

sarj2490: Glad to hear you are excited for the next chapter. I hope I didn't disappoint :)

: Thanks for reading. Hope you like this chapter!

jenkins: Glad you are liking this story! Thanks for reading!

Sam: Thanks for the review. Yay Danny has finally met her!

: So sorry I kept you waiting this long! I'll try to do better with updates!

mygiu: here is more..took a LONG time. but it's here. LOL

quisinart4: As always Thank you for reading!

Eire Sky: Thanks! Hope your still hanging in there and hoping you liked this chapter!

Joy Booth: Hope you like this one!

Again...thank you all who are reading/still reading this fic. I'll try to update as soon as I can!