The Monster's Little Angel

Chapter 7

Quinn was happily walking around her home, trying to find the best hiding place for her game with Geneva and Colleen when she noticed Slade talking to a bunch of guards. She really liked her Uncle Slade, he could be very funny in her opinion and she abandoned her game to go play with Slade instead.

As Slade was discussing a few details for the raid that they were planning, he felt a slight force grasp onto his leg. He reached into his jacket, ready to pull out his gun when he heard Quinn's tiny voice.

"Did I scare you, Uncle Slade?"

He stared down at her before allowing a charming smile to overtake his face, "I jumped so high, I thought I went to heaven."

Tiny giggles left her small body as she said, "You so silly."

"I'm extremely silly, little one."

"Can you play with me?"

Some of the men silently laughed but one glare from Slade quickly made them turn and leave. Slade wanted to object, after all he still had work of his own to do and it wasn't really his job to care for the little girl. But, as he stared into her pleading grey eyes, he knew he couldn't say no. He groaned loudly, making her giggle once more as he rubbed his face in frustration.

She's just as manipulative as her mother. That's so unfair. She doesn't even know what's she's doing!

"Fine, what do you want to play?"

"Dress up!"

His eyes widened in shock, almost popping out of his head as he quickly said, "No, no, no. We can play anything else. How about hide-and-seek or-"

"You don't like dress up?"

A small pout was on her lips, her eyes seeming to have gotten even bigger as he stared at her upset expression. He knew that if this little girl was unhappy then Archer was unhappy. And he was too terrified to find out what would happen to him if Archer found out he made Quinn cry.

A shiver ran down his spine as he forced a smile and softly explained to her, "I love dress up but you look so pretty already, we can't improve on perfection."

"Okay, then let's have a tea party!"

"You're killing me here, sweetheart."

She giggled, not understanding his frustration as she grabbed onto his hand, pulling him towards her room. Just then, Geneva and Colleen came in and watched as Quinn dragged Slade away.

"What are you up to, sweetie?" Geneva asked, trying to contain a smirk as she stared at her husband's pleading expression, his eyes begging for salvation from his tiny captor.

"Me and Slade going to have a tea party."

"Sounds fun. Don't you agree, hun?"

Slade glared at her but quickly masked it by giving her his signature grin. The one that made women's hearts melt while their knees turned weak. But, as his wife, she was no longer charmed by such a simple gesture.

"Please, save me gorgeous."

She simply smirked, giving him a not-so-innocent wave as she continued to stare at him but her next words were addressed to Quinn, "Have fun with Slade, sweetie."

His smile dropped, disbelief overtaking his expression as he was pulled away. The two women watched with varying degrees of amusement as they both chuckled at the scene.

"Betrayed! By my own wife!"

***

Archer had finally finished up his work and decided it would be the perfect time for his break. He decided to go and get Quinn so she could join him, maybe he'd even treat her to a happy meal with a small chocolate milkshake.

He had been quite attentive to his daughter, trying his best not to shut her out. Whenever something bad happened to him or in his life, he tended to push away those closest to him. He didn't always mean to do it but he knew it wasn't the best way to handle his problems. He especially didn't want to push away Quinn, his only child and basically the only living memory he had left of his beloved wife.

As he made his way to her room, a sudden scream from her made his blood run cold, "Nooooo! Stop it!"

He didn't wait any longer, dashing like a mad man towards her room, hoping nothing bad had happened to her. He was going to kill whoever dared to lay a finger on her.

"Hold on!"

He heard Slade's voice and started to worry even more. What was so bad that it even threw Slade off guard? From Slade's tone, it sounded serious. His mind wondered to the worst possible scenario and, without warning, he kicked down Quinn's door, gun at the ready.

He expected numerous enemies to be swarming his daughter and best friend. He expected the worst and so much more. What he wasn't expecting was Quinn to be sitting on top of Slade with bright red lipstick in her hand while Slade was trying to keep it away from his face.

"Daddy, you broke my door," Quinn squealed, not even noticing the gun in her father's hands as she ran towards her fallen door.

He quickly pocketed the gun in his suit jacket as he calmed his nerves and said, "Sorry, baby girl. I'll have it fixed as soon as possible."

He took a quick glance at her before moving his gaze towards Slade, who had finally gotten off the floor and onto his feet. He made his way towards Archer, a simple smile on his face.

"Hey bud-"

"May I ask why my daughter was attacking you with make-up?"

"She said I needed to look pretty. I mean, the nerve of this girl. I'm handsome enough as is."

Archer stared at his friend before a smirk played on the corners of his mouth, "There's always room for improvement."

"That's just hurtful."

"Whatever. Please go get one or two of the men to come and fix Quinn's door."

"Thank you!"

Slade practically ran out of the room, saying a quick good-bye to Quinn before disappearing from both their sights. Archer looked down to see a small frown on her face as she stared at the now wide-open doorway.

"I didn't even get to make him pretty," she sadly mumbled, looking over at her father with her eyes full of dismay.

Archer smiled as he took hold of her tiny hand, kissing her forehead softly as he said, "It's okay, sweetie. I'll have him sit still for a special make-up session with you after lunch."