[edited]

"Dani," I whisper, shaking her awake.

"No," she mumbles.

She really is my daughter.

"Don't you want to go to school?" I ask.

"No," she mumbles, tiredly.

"Why not?"

"Tired."

I sigh. I pick her along with the small blanket she cuddles with when she sleeps. I make sure to keep her covered as I walk downstairs. I turn on the kitchen light as she whines, and buries her head in my chest and covering up more. I chuckle lightly.

I walk over to a cupboard and open it up. Apple Jacks, Frosted Flaked, Fruity Pebbles, and oatmeal.

"What do you want to eat, Dani?" I ask.

No response. God damnit. How do I wake my damn child up?

"Dani," I say firmly, but gently.

I bounce up and down a little. She whines loudly.

"Stop daddy!" she whines, getting annoyed.

"Dani, you need to get ready for school," I inform.

"No," she pouts.

"Tell me what cereal you want."

"No!"

"Danielle Natalie Clifford, tell me what you want!" I scold.

"No!" she screeches, making me jump a little from the sudden yell.

"That's it, Dani. You're going in time out," I sigh.

"No!" she cries.

I carry her over to a corner. I set her down and walk away. She begins to cry hysterically. I set the timer on my phone for five minutes. I sit down at the table with a groan.

I've never actually had to deal with a day like this. I never really had to wake her up until her school started. She's usually done pretty good with getting up. There were a few days where mum had to force her up, but she never reacted this bad.

Fae walks down. "What's going on down here?" she asks. 

"Dani wasn't cooperating with me, so I had to put her in time out. Did her cries wake you up?" I ask.

She just nods.

"Sorry," I say apologetically.

"No, it's fine," she sighs, sitting at the table with me.

The timer on my phone goes off. I walk out to Dani, whose cries were now whimpers. I look to see her curled in a ball in the corner that I had left her in.

"Baby," I say softly.

She looks up at me with her teary eyes. Stay strong Michael. Don't cave in.

"You know what you did wrong, right?" She nods sadly. She looked like she was about to cry again. "Do you have anything you want to say to me?"

She nods again as a tear slips. Fuck, it's really hard to not cave in. "I'm sorry daddy," she whimpers. She begins to cry again. God damn it Michael! Just hug her!

I do as my conscience says and I hug her. I stand up rocking her back and forth so she'll stop crying. "Baby, stop crying. You're fine. Let's get you ready for school," I hush.

She nods, burying her head in my chest. I walk back over to the cupboard.

"Okay, what do you want for breakfast?" I ask again.

She points to the Fruity Pebbles. I grab the box and grab a bowl from the next cupboard over. I dump a little cereal in and put the box back. I walk over to the fridge and open it. I grab the milk and walk back to the bowl. Once I finish everything, I set it on the table.

When I go to set Dani down, she whines and clings to me.

"Dani, you need to eat your food. You'll run late for school," I sigh.

She shakes her head and holds on tighter. Of course. This is so like her. She always gets clingy after she gets out in a time out. I don't exactly know why, but she does.

I sit down in the chair. She looks at the bowl. She scoots to the edge of my lap and picks up er spoon, digging into the cereal. She takes a small bite. She frowns in disgust and forces herself to swallow. Tears come to her eyes.

"I don't want Fruity Pebbles, daddy. They're icky," she whines.

I sigh and grab the spoon. I pick up cereal and take a bite.

"Baby, this is your favorite cereal, and it tastes perfectly fine," I inform softly.

"No!" she whimpers.

Tears come to her eyes.

"Baby, why won't you eat?" I sigh.

"Icky," she mumbles.

She buries her head in my chest. After I few seconds, I feel something wet on my shirt. I look down to see Dani crying.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. You're okay," I soothe.

"Want to go get dressed?" I ask.

She nods and whimpers in my chest. She begins to cry softly.

"Baby, what's wrong? You need to tell daddy," I sigh.

"It hurts," she mumbles, more tears falling from her eyes.

"Baby, what hurts?" I ask.

She points to her lower right stomach. What could be wron though? Maybe it's just growing pains?

"It'll go away," I soothe.

I rub her back before walking into her room. I set her on her bed and walk to her closet. I pick out little gym shorts and a tshirt with a cupcake on it. I put her outfit on along with sandals.

She holds her arms up, so I lift her onto my hip. I walk downstairs free she lays her head in my shoulder. She begins to whimper again.

"Baby, you're okay. It'll go away," I hush, kissing her forehead.

Fae walks downstairs. She had gotten dressed and put makeup on.

"Where are you going?" I ask, grabbing my keys.

"Well, first in going to Calum's house to pick up Mali. Then Mali and I are going shopping," she explains.

"Oh, well tell Calum that I love him and I can't wait to see him tonight," I joke with a wink.

She giggles and nods. "No problem."

I slip on my shoes before walking out to my car. I set Dani in her car seat, buckling her in. Her lip beings to wobble again as tears well up in her eyes.

"It hurts daddy!" she sobs.

Something isn't right...