I spent a long night transferring Kiara's care over to Gabe. He was exhausted, but I explained to him that she'd kissed me and that I couldn't reject her. He knew that he had to do this so that I didn't hurt her. But I did end up hurting her.

I shouldn't have left the way I did. Because I came back to find my kiwi in tears. When she saw me walk in she wiped the tears away and immediately started speaking.

"Vivi. I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you to kiss me like that. I didn't mean to-to be so forward. I th-thought it would be ok, b-but I w-won't repeat it I-if you don't wa-want—" She started before I cut her off by grabbing her in my arms and connecting our lips.

She shook in my arms, but kissed back with just as much fervour if not more. Before I knew it, I was being pushed onto the bed, her tears falling onto my cheeks and she kissed me passionately.

I pulled away, and immediately looked into those confused green eyes of hers. Tears dropped from her eyes even now as she expressed her love to me by kissing me.

"Don't cry." I said, wiping her tears away.

"W-why did you give me to Gabe? I want to stay with you, I don't want to go anywhere without you..." She cried.

"Give you to Gabe?" I asked.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"I didn't give you to anyone. I made Gabe your caregiver, which means I get to kiss you and touch you and be more intimate with you and no one can tell me it's wrong." He said.

"B-but I was better." She said.

"What?" I asked her.

"I was better. You said we couldn't be more intimate until I got better. But I got better, Vivi. Can't I just stay under your care?" She asked me, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Hey. Relax, baby. What's going on here? Why're you so upset right now?" I asked her.

"I don't wanna be under Gabriel's care." She sobbed, hugging me tightly.

I just let her cry, holding her tightly and flipping us over so that I was on top of her. That calmed her a little, but she hung onto me like I was going to run away.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." I told her, scratching her head the way she liked it.

"B-but I want you to never leave me. I love you and I'm scared of you not being my caregiver, Vivi. I only want you. Please." She cried.

"You'll only have me. There's nothing to be afraid of, Kiwi." I told her as she sobbed.

Her sobbing continued for quite some time, and I just shushed her and tried to calm her down.

"Come back to me, Kiwi." I whispered in her ear.

She started giggling and wiping her tears away, then she connected out foreheads and looking into my eyes.

"I like it when you say that." She giggled.

"You do?" I asked, kissing her neck.

"Vivi, no." She giggled, pushing me away from her neck.

"Why? Can't I kiss my sweet kiwi on her neck? You know I've been dying to kiss you for so long. God, you really drove me insane." I said to her, moving so that she was crushed beneath me and I could kiss all over that pretty face.

This time I didn't try avoiding her lips but targeted them specifically.

"Vivi!" She squealed, pushing me away.

"I want kisses, baby." I said, sitting up and pulling her into my lap.

"You can have all the kisses in the world. But tell me about why you don't want to take care of me anymore." She said.

"Baby, the only person who's going to take care of you, is me." I assured her, not understanding what she was going on about.

"Then why don't you want to be my caregiver anymore?" Kiara asked me.

"Baby... I don't want to be your caregiver because a caregiver can't do this." I said, pulling her closer and capturing her lips in mine.

She smiled into the kiss and kissed me back, pulling away eventually.

"So, now I have to go with Gabriel?" My baby asked me.

"Oh, baby, you're never leaving my side if it's up to me." I told her.

"It's not up to you." She giggled. "But really? I can stay at home with you?"

"Of course, Kiwi. Of course, my beautiful, kissable, adorable girlfriend." I said, pulling her into another kiss.

I was showing her everything that I'd kept hidden inside of me before. It was all pouring out in one big wave of excessive affection and love.

"Hey... I'm not your girlfriend." She giggled.

"What? Why not?" I asked.

"After that kiss yesterday, which was my birthday, you just left me there confused and sad. I cried because of you on my birthday. And you scared me into thinking that I had to leave you and that you didn't want me anymore. And you think that you can just claim me as your girlfriend?" She asked.

"Aw, I'm sorry, baby. I never should've done that to you. I swear I'll never repeat it. I'll always be clear and I did clear things up now.... doesn't that make it at least a little better?" I asked her.

"No.... Ari taught me well.... I won't accept that title until you ask me." Kiara smiled, very happy with herself.

"Fine, come here." I said, kissing her again and again.

"Ok, ok." She giggled, pushing me off her. "I love you, Vivi, but that's too much, baby."

"Since when does my little kiwi call me baby?" I asked, kissing her forehead.

"Vivi! You're acting weird." She giggled.

"No, I'm not! How did you expect me to act after being deprived of those beautiful kisses for so long? Huh?" I asked, making her giggle.

"Ok, ok! Can we get breakfast now?" She asked me.

"No. Not until you promise that you're not going to cry about me again. It was stupid of me to leave the way I did, but I wanted to kiss you for hours and I knew I couldn't. I had to go make it legal for me to kiss you first." I told her.

"You won't hurt me like that again, right?" She asked me.

"Never. Never in my life, baby." I promised her.

"Ok. Breakfast time?" She asked me.

"No. I think it's supper time for you, Kiwi. It looks like you haven't slept." I said, noticing the dark circles under those pretty eyes.

I kissed her forehead and she nodded.

"I'm sleepy." She agreed.

"Alright, if you're hungry we can eat a little before we get some long overdue sleep." I said to her, feeling exhausted myself.

"You can carry me everywhere and feed me." She said, crossing her arms.

"Alright, you can be a spoiled kiwi. I did act like an idiot yesterday, so I think you deserve a little extra pampering." I smiled, kissing her cheek and picking her up.

I carried her to the kitchen and I found Momma helping Aunt Sophie make some waffles. She handed me a plate with enough for both me and Kiara to have a good breakfast and I took my girl and our breakfast to the dining table. I sat down and I fed her as much as she wanted and then ate the rest and off to bed we went.

Kiara was already half asleep when we got to bed, but I had her get ready for bed properly. She still had her hair tied in a ponytail and had on those uncomfortable pants that she didn't like sleeping in.

I brushed her hair out for her and then gave her a foot massage before bed. In all honesty I felt really guilty about the way I'd left her on the night of her birthday after that kiss.

She was dozing off as I massaged her feet and once I was done, she let out a sigh of contentment and whispered something softly.

"Kiss."

I smiled and leaned in, placing a short but very sweet kiss on her pretty pink lips. She smiled and then snuggled into my side. She was out before I knew it, and it didn't take me long to fall asleep too.

I had a very peaceful sleep and I woke up with a weight on my belly.

"Pwetty we colour?!" The toddler on top of my abdomen said.

"No. Not again." I said, pulling Kiara into a tight hug and stuffing my face between her shoulder and neck.

"Hey, Sweetie. You wanna take a nap with me?" Kiara said softly.

"Yeah." The toddler agreed, jumping over me and kicking me in the side in the process.

I groaned and kissed Kiara's neck before attempting to sleep again.

Luckily, I didn't hear another peep and I was able to fall asleep again. I genuinely never wanted to leave that bed. Just staying there with Kiara forever would be a dream come true.

The next time I woke up, Kiara was still asleep and no toddlers were in sight. Kiara was angelic when she slept. I'd never seen anything more beautiful. From the day I saw her in the hospital to this very day. After all the progress she'd been making, all the stress and tears, she was just as angelic.

I was content just brushing her hair away from her face and watching her sleep soundly. But then she started frowning in her sleep. This wasn't uncommon. She was having a nightmare.

Usually, it wasn't too bad. But this time it was horrifying. In an attempt to wake her up, I had wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead. It woke her up alright, but she was screaming at the top of her lungs and she immediately started sobbing.

"Hey, hey. Sh.... sh.... I'm right here." I said, kissing her desperately on her forehead, cheek, nose, everywhere but her lips. I just didn't want any intimacy to scare her if she wasn't sure where she was.

Momma burst into the room looking concerned and she saw what was happening, coming over to me and sitting beside me on the bed while I held my girl close to my chest.

"Nightmare?" Momma asked.

I nodded my head, feeling Kiara's nails digging into my bicep. She let out another blood curdling scream.

"Hey. Hey. Vidal is here, baby. Sh.... I'm right here." I said softly, kissing her forehead again.

"There's a line that you say... it calms her down... like when your dad tells me he's all mine.... what is it?" Momma asked me.

"Oh...." I said, looking down at Kiara.

"I'm sure it'll work." Momma said.

"Come back to me, Kiwi." I said gently, rubbing her back.

She immediately relaxed quite a bit. I kissed her forehead and smiled softly at her.

"Come back to me, Kiwi." I repeated.

She curled up in my lap and hid her head in my neck.

"Is my kiwi back?" I asked her.

She nodded her head, crying softly.

"You ok, Princess?" Momma asked her.

She nodded her head and she let out a sigh, reaching up to wipe her tears away and sit up.

"I'm ok. I'm fine." She said, getting up and going straight for the bathroom.

"No, no. Let's be clear about one thing, Kiara. You don't walk away from me after something like that. Even if you're actually fine... I need to hold you for a minute." I said to her.

This day had been full of tears and clearing things up, but we'd be alright in the end. We got through so much, this wouldn't stop us. Nothing would.