Heather let out a tired sigh, dropping her bag by the door as she walked into her apartment. She could not wait to change into more comfortable clothes.
Despite only working for a few days so far, her body felt heavy and drained of any sort of energy. She guessed it was down to herself putting too much pressure to prove herself on her shoulders.
"Mom!" The voice of her six year old bounced through the apartment, a smile pulling on Heather's lips as she listened. No time for moms to be tired, though.
Juliet Tapper rushed to her mother, wrapping her arms around her mother's legs. Heather laughed, kissing her daughters head and hugging her back just as tight. She really was a light in her life.
"Hey baby! Were you good for Freya?" Heather asked, pulling back to look at her daughter properly.
Juliet looked exactly like Jake. Brown eyes, brown hair, her smile. It was all her father. But the attitude was all her mother.
"Yep! Even ate all my lunch," Juliet smiled proudly, following her mother to the kitchen.
She watched her converse with Freya, making sure Juliet had actually been good for the day before she bid her goodbye.
"Amazing. Hey dad misses you, what do you say to going to get ice cream with him?" Heather asked, picking back up the conversation she had been having with her daughter.
She watched Juliet's face change, the little girl looked a little upset for a second. An odd appearance to her usual bright smiley face. Especially where her dad was concerned.
"Is it just him? And, are you coming?" Juliet asked, moving closer to her mother and grabbing her bigger hand in her smaller one.
Heather frowned. Her daughter savoured quality time with her father. She usually spent hours talking about anything with Jake and he loved her company right back.
Heather nodded at the questions. She and Jake had planned this anyway but she hadn't been expecting Juliet to ask her like this.
"Yeah, I think we're going for dinner too," Heather mumbled, brushing her daughters hair out of her face, cupping her cheeks softly.
"Yay! I'll go get ready,"
Watching her bounce off down the hallway to her room, Heather's eyes followed her until she was out of sight. She made a mental note to get to the bottom of her daughters lack of excitement about their trip out. And the 'just him' comment.
***
The low- lying sun provided a glow to the evening, a chill still in the air but the warmth of the day was lingering.
Walking along the street, Heather smiled catching sight of Jake only a few feet ahead of them, letting her daughters hand go in the process.
"Dad!" Juliet smiled, rushing to the news anchor, her mother not far behind.
Heather watched the two, Jake crouching down to catch her smaller body in his arms, hugging her tight to his chest.
"Hey little bug! Ugh I've missed you," Jake smiled, burying his head in her hair for a second.
This was all leaving Heather extremely confused. Juliet seemed beaten up about something, Jake was being more affectionate than usual. What was going on?
Jake was the greatest dad and Juliet never had to beg for his attention. No matter how busy Jake got with work or his books, Juliet was always a priority.
"Missed you more," Juliet smiled, pulling back from her father, her smaller hands holding his cheeks.
Jake looked like he was in thought, attacking her face with kisses. Then he smiled, nuzzling his nose against hers.
