**Hi guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter (though I have a feeling lots of you will be upset....oops?) Let me know what you think!!**

Tansy's POV

"Please, just drop it. It was my fault, I got into the middle of the fight between you two fuckers don't know how to behave like grown ass men." I bit out, giving him a half stink eye as one of them had already swelled completely shut.

"Here mommy." Calla mumbled while handing me over the cup of water she'd brought with her. I softly laughed as I glanced into the cup and then at the floor, confirming the own suspicion that she'd lost almost half the water on the journey.

"Thank you, baby." I murmured before taking a sip of the water I had intended to pour onto the guys if they wouldn't stop fighting.

"Daddy you have to kiss it!" Calla abruptly ordered pointing towards my injured eye. Tanner's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, obviously not understanding the motive behind her demand.

"Whenever I get paper cuts from my coloring pages, mommy always kisses them. It makes them feel better. You have to kiss it!" She explained before she gave him an impatient and expectant look. The corner of Tanner's lips curved upward in an amused smirk before he leaned forward and gave my eye a delicate kiss.

"All better?" He asked with silent laughter. I rolled my eyes at him before nodding for Calla's sake.

"I'm cured." I snorted sarcastically. "Calla, why don't you go color in your room?" I suggested, needing to talk to Tanner privately about multiple important things. I could tell she wanted to object, but I raised my eyebrow at her. She puckered her lower lip before nodding and running off.

"Alright, out with it." Tanner demanded before helping me up off the floor, clearly knowing that he was in for a serious conversation.

"First of all, we need to talk about Calla's new nickname for me. I know our earlier solution was for me just to move in and not address the issue head-on, but we really need to think about this rationally." I stated knowingly. I saw his forehead crinkle with stress. Reaching over, I smoothed out the worry lines.

"Don't, you'll give yourself premature wrinkles." I scolded. He rolled his eyes before releasing a long sigh.

"Don't worry, I have Calla here to do that for me." He joked before taking a seat on the couch. I followed him, naturally gravitating towards him as I cuddled into his side.

"I don't know what to do." He confessed helplessly.

"Me either..." I whispered, my voice muffled by the material of his shirt.

"There's no easy answer to this. If we tell her she can't call you that anymore, then we have to explain to her why not and that's a can of worms I don't intend to open until she's much older, but if we let her continue to call you that it will put you in a very sticky situation. She's not your kid, fuck she's not even my kid, but I'm not going to burden you with this just because you really like sex with me." He said, causing me to scoff in disbelief.

"You honestly think I'm sticking around just because you're incredible in bed?" I asked, unable to comprehend his thought process.

"...you aren't?" He questioned skeptically as his eyes narrowed at me. I threw my head back and laughed at how stupid he was.

"God no! I mean, I'm not going to lie and say the sex isn't good because it so is, but that's not the only reason I agreed to this. I love that little girl more than I know I should. Unfortunately, if our little 'friends with benefits' agreement doesn't end up working out, it's going to affect her too. And in a big way." I explained while slumping back against the couch.

"I didn't really have a choice, you know. Her attachment to you makes it so that I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place where our relationship is concerned. I don't want to upset her, so we have to make this work." He insisted, causing my blood to boil with anger.

"Oh, so you're just putting up with me for her sake? Did it ever occur to you that maybe this isn't what I want, either? Huh? There wasn't an issue before when she and I were just hanging out with each other while I was working. You're the one that fucked it up by bringing me home with you!" I spat back, making a conscious effort to keep my voice down so that we didn't alert Calla to the fight that was currently waging between the two of us.

"Jesus Christ, that's not what I meant. It came out wrong, I'll admit, but stop being so fucking over-dramatic. I don't feel like I'm stuck with you, on the contrary, I rather like waking up and shoving my face between your thighs." He countered cockily. My cheeks felt like they were on fire as they turned a bright red color.

"Stop." I demanded breathlessly, having to bat his hands away from me as he smirked at my reaction.

"C'mon. You know you're my girl. I've never met anyone before that gets along so well with Calla, or that can last through more than three rounds of sex. You fit perfectly." He stated simply as if he didn't just send my stomach doing flips as it swarmed with butterflies from the implications of his words.

"You're so getting head tonight." I purred before pecking his lips and hoisting myself off the couch.

"Where the hell are you going?!" He demanded. I turned back to see him adjusting the tent in his pants as I swayed my hips.

"To play with Calla. Be a good boy and keep your hands to yourself. That dick is mine." I growled playfully with a wink before disappearing down the hall. I giggled to myself as I heard his groan behind me.

**

"Oh fuck yes." Tanner hissed out as his head lolled back against the couch. I circled my tongue around his tip while sucking, motivated by his grunts of pleasure. I bobbed my head all the way down, his dick hitting the back of my throat and threatening to gag me before I pulled back once again.

I was having far too much fun with this, knowing he couldn't be too loud without risking waking a finally-sleeping Calla just down the hall - especially after the tantrum she threw when having to lay down in her own bed instead of Tanner's since we weren't sleeping just yet. His hips jutted upwards, forcing him into the back of my throat once again. Setting my hands on his thighs, I forced them back down so that I was once again in control. My jaw was growing tired as I had been going at it for almost thirty minutes already. Deciding I was done playing around, I began pumping his length in my hand while sucking one of his balls into my mouth. Tanner grabbed a pillow and bit it to quiet his moan of pleasure.

I released him from my mouth when he roughly pulled back on my hair.

"Open." He growled out the demand before pushing me back enough to stand up. I did as he said, never breaking eye contact with him as I could already tell it was one of the things that turned him on the most. He guided his cock in before harshly fucking my mouth. Seconds later he came, filling my mouth with his hot seed. There was too much for me to hold causing some of it to dribble down my chin.

"Let me see, baby." He spoke while grasping my chin between his thumb and forefinger. I opened my mouth to show him, instantly rewarded with a look of searing desire on his face.

"Good girl. Now swallow." He ordered. I did so before licking my lips. He captured the trace amount on my chin with his finger before pulling my mouth open once again with his thumb and popping his finger in. I sucked it off with a moan, savoring the taste as if it were my favorite candy. I should not like the taste of his cum. Fucking hell, I'm in way too deep.

"So fucking sexy." He grunted.

"Let's finish this in bed." He suggested gruffly before pulling his pants up to loosely hang on his hips. I nodded frantically, wanting desperately to have him between my legs once again. He swung me over his shoulder and carried me to his room like the caveman he was. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled from my chest as he plopped me down onto the mattress. He swallowed my laughter with a passionate kiss while stripped my body of all clothing. It wasn't until we were both finally naked as the day we were born with him about to slip inside of me that my phone started to go off.

I glanced next to me at the device as he kissed his way down my neck while his fingers made their way to my already slick core. While I was curious as to what Robby could possibly have to say to me, I told myself I could always text him back later we were done. Depending if my brain isn't complete mush by then and I actually remember.

The phone call ended just as Tanner began running his length up and down my folds. I was about to yell at him for teasing me, but my phone began going off once again. I pushed his chest away and grabbed the device in my hands, seeing Robby's name once again.

"Put it on silent, baby. It can wait." He insisted while pushing his tip in. I became momentarily distracted by the sensation of his bare cock stroking my walls. I let my phone slip from my hand onto the floor with a clatter before giving into Tanner's persistent hands and deep thrusts.

About an hour later, when Tanner finally gave my worn out body a break, I sought out my abandoned phone on the floor. The lock screen lit up with the alert of my two previously missed from Robby, but that was it.

Tanner resituated himself so he was partially on top of me with his face was nestled between my tits and his legs intertwined with my own as I continued to stare at the notification, trying for the life of me to come up with a reason as to why the hell he'd be calling me.

"Who was it?" Tanner murmured against my skin.

"My ex." I said, though it came out sounding more like a question. He pushed himself up so he could make eye contact with me before furrowing his brows in confusion.

"The douchebag from your place last night? Or is are there others I should know about?" He asked, his voice taking on a condescending tone. I moved my phone away from my face so I was now giving him my full attention.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I shot back.

"Exactly what you think it means, Tansy. You're not stupid, so stop playing dumb with me." He sneered before rolling off the bed and making his way to his bathroom.

Oh no, he fucking didn't.

"Excuse me?" I growled while quickly following after him. "First of all, where the fuck is this even coming from? And second of all, how dare you!" I hissed.

"It's coming from the fact that the guy was obviously there last night to get some with you, and I need to know if this is going to be a regular thing with you for Calla's sake. I mean, I wouldn't put it past you. You did sleep with me less than an hour after meeting me or even knowing my name." He taunted with a malicious smirk. Every word of defense I was about to speak on my behalf completely disappeared from my brain as a sinking feeling of self-hatred settled in my gut.

I'm not hurt he said it.

I'm hurt because he's not even wrong.

I closed my open mouth before slowly turning and re-entering his room. I disregarded his shirt he'd given me to wear to bed and pulled my own over my head. I quickly followed it by my pyjama shorts before slipping out of his room and meandering down the hall. I found the door to Calla's room and couldn't keep myself from smiling at all the princess stickers covering it. I opened it as quietly as I could, leaving it crack behind me as I entered so I would have a sliver of light to see with.

"Mommy?" Calla whispered croakily into the dark room. The effort I had to use to keep from releasing my sobs right then and caused my chest to ache. She sounds just like I did when I was little.

Alone, afraid, scared. Seeking refuge from crying myself to sleep every night wondering why daddy didn't love me and why Mommy was always crying. Now look at me. Seeking out that love in the worst possible places.

I silently slipped under her covers before pulling her tiny body into my own. She released a content sigh while nestling her head into my neck and taking a big whiff of my hair. The corner of my mouth pulled up in a smile just thinking about all the times she told me she liked how I smelled.

"Go to sleep, baby." I whispered, able to hear the tears in my voice. I just laid there with my eyes open staring at the wall opposite her door. It didn't take but a few minutes for her breathing to even out and her fidgeting to stop. I closed my own eyes and willed my brain to shut down enough for sleep to take me, but it wouldn't come.

I heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching before they stopped. The door creaked open just a few inches more before the footsteps started up again. Moments later, I heard the front door shut as the first tear slid down my cheek.

**

The next morning when Calla woke me, it was seven a.m. and she was "going to die if I don't eat in the next FIVE minutes!" I chuckled at her while rubbing my exhausted eyes. I knew they were probably extremely red and puffy because they always got like that when I cried myself to sleep. She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the kitchen, digging her toes into the floor to try and propel us forward faster.

She intently watched me from where she sat on the counter as I made her breakfast, completely ignoring the fact that Tanner's keys were still gone from the wall hook which meant he hadn't been back since he left last night.

When I was finished with her food, I placed her at the bar top and proceeded to pull out a container of yogurt for myself, not even sure if I'd be able to stomach the small snack with my upset stomach.

"Where's daddy?" She asked halfway through her meal. My stomach rolled as I cleared my throat and wracked my brain for something to say.

"He had a work meeting come up early this morning so he left before we got up." I vaguely explained, praying to God she'd just take it and not ask questions.

"So what are we doing today?" She said seconds later, much to my relief.

"I was thinking we could-" I started, but I was cut off by my cell phone ringing loudly on the counter. "One second, honey." I murmured when I saw it was Poppy calling.

"Hello?"

"Tans, can you come to the hospital? Knox and I have been here since late last night. It's a long story, and I'll explain when you get here, but I just really need someone other than my husband to talk to." She cried softly on the other end. The air escaped my lungs as my heart kicked into overdrive. I tried not to freak out in front of Calla, but my heart was beating a mile a minute.

"O-oh my God, yes. I'll be there as soon as I can, okay? Hang tight." I sputtered, at an absolute loss as what I should do with Calla. I didn't want to take her with me for fear that the hospital would freak her out, but there was no way I was leaving her here alone either...wait a minute, Agatha! That old hag owes me big time anyway.

"I'm sorry, honey, but there's been a change in plans okay. Someone I know is sick and I need to go make sure they're okay. I'm going to call Miss Agatha and have her come watch you while I'm gone, alright?" I insisted, watching as her face instantly fell. "It won't be for too long, I promise." I murmured before convincing her to get dressed while I made a few calls.