"Family isn't always blood. It's the people who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are; the ones who'd do anything to see you smile & who love you no matter what."

~Unknown

My eyes darted back and forth between Ty and Tessie as they made faces at each other in the middle of the diner.

Once we had made sure all the kids had gotten a gift and heard some of their stories, we left with a promise of coming back soon and changed quickly in the bathrooms. By the time we had made it out to the car, Tessie was going on about how hungry she was. Ty and I, thankfully, had been starving as well.

"Hello there! I'm Angela and I'll be taking your waitress tonight. What can I get you?" The bubbly woman beside the table said, a big grin on her face as she pulled a pen from behind her hear and looked between the three of us.

"I'll take a Monte Cristo and a hot chocolate please." I answered, closing my menu and looking across the table at Ty. His eyebrow was drawn in concentration as he looked down at the menu, almost squinting. I turned to Tessie beside me when he didn't answer and smiled.

"What do you want, sweetie?" She pointed at the big happy face pancake, smiling up at the waitress.

"I want this one and chocolate milk." I saw Ty get ready to protest, probably because all the sugar, but I sent him a look that shut him up before he could even start.

"And you, sir?" The waitress, Angela, said with a small smile.

"I'll just take whatever the special is today and a coffee." She grinned once more before turning around and returning to the kitchen.

"Ty, can you do me a favor and read this out loud to me." I pushed a menu in front of him, pointing at what came with one of the meals.

"Alyssa, I don't-"

"Can you read it?" I repeated, cutting him off. He sighed, rubbing his temples as he shut his eyes and shook his head.

"No, all right? It's blurry and gives me a damn headache." He snapped, his eyes shooting open so I could see his glare. I knew it wasn't directed toward me, but I still felt myself wince a little.

"Well, once your mom picks Tessie up again and-"

"I don't want to go home with, Gramma." Tessie cut me off mid-sentence, her green eyes huge as she looked at me.

"I want to stay with Daddy." She went on when neither of us answered.

"Tessie." I took her small hand in mine and smiled down at her, "Daddy and Ally have some big grown up stuff to do today, we have to go places that little kids can't go to. But you'll get to see Daddy tomorrow, okay?" She sighed, pressing her hand against her forehead and sighing.

"I guess." She mumbled. Ty was frowning, looking a little confused himself.

Angela came back a few minutes later with our drinks, also setting down a coloring page and crayons in front of Tessie who immediately started coloring.

"Thank you." I said.

"Not a problem," Angela replied, "You've got a cutie here, about as old as mine at home." Before I could explain that Tessie wasn't mine, she walked away, throwing her black hair into a bun on her way back to the kitchen.

I could feel warmth in my cheeks, not exactly thrilled to look back at Ty, I was afraid to see how he was reacting to the accidental compliment. To my surprise, he was laughing, eyes glistening with amusement.

"She doesn't even really look like you." He said. It wasn't the response I had been expecting, but I could feel myself smiling in response to it.

"I'm honestly happy she got my eyes." He continued, almost absent-mindlessly, "Her mother's eyes were so dark they were almost black."

*

We had enough time to take Tessie to the park a couple blocks from my house before Ty's mom was scheduled to pick her up. By the way she reacted when she saw it, I was sure that she hadn't been to one in a long time, if ever.

"Come on." I dragged Ty toward the swings, still keeping an eye on Tessie as she climbed around the playground a few feet away.

"I haven't been on one of these in years." He was laughing as he sat in the swing beside me, his brown bangs falling into his eyes. I sat down, swinging a little as I waited for him to look back up.

"We need to get you glasses." I stated bluntly.

"What?" He glanced sideways, surprised.

"You're squinting when you read, I see you squinting when you're driving too. If you're going to be my chauffeur and help me with this list, I need you to be able to see." He looked away, at the ground beneath his feet.

"I don't need glasses." He muttered, sounding like a teenager.

"Ty, they aren't that bad. Look." I slipped off the swing and pulled my glasses from my purse and slid them on, smiling.

"And you can get contacts if you want too." He was smiling, shaking his head.

"What?" I asked him, curious on why he was laughing at me.

"Nothing." He mumbled. I slapped his shoulder playfully.

"Why are you laughing at me, Ty?" I repeated.

"You're just-" He was cut off by the sound of Tessie yelling for him by the slide, sounding as if she were crying. We both took off, relieved to find her sitting on the edge of the slide and holding her leg.

"Tessie? Baby girl, are you okay?" Ty fell to his knees and took her face in his hands. She sniffled, looking at him and slowly uncovered her legs. I laughed when I saw the small scrape on her knee.

"Why are you laughing?" He snapped, but Tessie had started to giggle too, looking up at me as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"It's a scrape on the knee, Ty." I crouched down beside him and laid my hand on his shoulder, "You better get used to it, because she'll be getting them a lot." His eyes burned into mine for a second before he turned back to Tessie and touched her cheek again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her. She nodded, touching her leg and grimacing.

"Yes, Daddy. It hurt, but now it doesn't. It just a boo boo. I'm okay."

Even though she was perfectly fine, Ty still carried Tessie back to the car, refusing to let her walk. I dug through the trunk until I found a first aid kit and old Sesame Street band-aids that must have been Steph's.

"Look what I found!" I said, slipping beside Ty and showing Tessie the band-aid.

"Elmo!" She gasped, laughing quietly as I set the band-aid gently on her leg and kissed the top of it.

"Elmo's going to make you feel all better." She nodded in agreement.

"He will, right Daddy?" Tessie looked at Ty over my shoulder, smiling sweetly. I turned to look beside me slowly, taken back when I saw the expression on his face. He looked almost sad as he watched the interaction between Tessie and me.

"Yeah, Tessie." He replied, his eyes still on me, "He'll make it all better."

*

After getting a call from his mom asking if we could drop Tessie off rather than have her come pick her up, we drove across town to do just that. Once we had dropped Tessie off, Ty immediately turned to me. 

"How did you get my mom to agree to that?" He asked quietly, finally asking the question I knew had been bothering him all day.

"It wasn't hard." I replied. "She said we could have three hours her every day until she knows for sure that she'll be in a safe environment. Then she said she'll check it out and let her live with you." He shook his head in disbelief.

"No way."

"Yeah. I mean, I had to do a little talking up on your side, but she was fairly nice about it." I started the car, reaching to turn the GPS on.

"You're good with her. Tessie." I snorted, avoiding Ty's eyes.

"Not really. I. . . you're a lot better." I stuttered.

"No, Alyssa. I saw how you were with her, how much she liked you." He reached over and touched my hand, a little hesitant, "And I know you don't want to accept that it's because of Steph that you're the way you are with her, but you need to. Steph would want to see you like this, I know that for a fact." I shook my head, feeling my heart clench at the mention of my sister.

"I know that she asked you to have a baby on that list, Alyssa. And maybe it's not exactly what she meant, but Tessie loves you." I reached up and wiped my cheeks quickly so he couldn't see my tears.

"Stop." I whispered.

"You've done more then I could ever ask for these last couple weeks. You took a man, someone that could have been harmful or some sort of addict off the streets, you've helped me and my daughter. I know you'd like to think it's because of the list, and maybe it is, but Steph had to get the ideas from somewhere. She had to learn it all from someone." I brought my hand up to my mouth, afraid I'd scare Ty away with my crying.

"Don't cry, I'm not saying this to hurt you. I just want you to know, to understand." He took my hand into his completely, smiling sadly. "I just want you to understand that I'll help you with everything on the list, Alyssa. Down to the final request, if you want me to. Because no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done." I laid my head back against the seat, tears starting to stream down my cheeks and falling on to the top of my hand.

"I don't want to be repaid, I just. . . I want to do it for her, for Steph. I want to give her a chance to live through me, even if she's not here." He nodded, his eyes softening. 

"That's what you're doing, Alyssa. And no one could ask for any more then  what you're giving them." I wiped my cheeks again, but it was Ty who wiped the next tear that escaped my eye, his palm pressed against my cheek.

"You're doing perfect, Alyssa. And she's here with you every step of the way."  

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought! 

~ChasingMadness24