Overlap

Eponine

"Listen love what're you planning on doing like if all your plans are up in the air cause we can definitely put you up for the weekend, come to Glasgow with us, take little Gracie on her first tour," Van said talking through a sip of his tea, "unless you cannae of course but you know, don't feel like you're intruding or owt cause I'd love to have yas, Bonds would be made up an all," he carried on, not seeing for a second how he overwhelmed me. Not realising until half an hour later when Gracie had woken up and he'd immediately swept her up in his arms plonking her down on his knee, chatting away to her as he helped her drink his hot chocolate.

He kept telling her that her mum was magic, that's why he was here with us now, because her mummy was just that special. He kept making me blush, embarrassing me, teasing Gracie, making her giggle and smile, getting her far too excited for this time in the evening... At least it would be normally.

"What's the matter love?" he asked quietly, stopping his playing with little Grace as he looked across the table to me. I felt daft then, realising that there were tears in my eyes. Realising that I wasn't being half as stoic as I thought I would be. "You alreet?"

He fitted into place perfectly and it was almost like he didn't see that. Didn't even notice how easily he'd slipped into the family, picking Grace up as if she were his own, playing with her and chatting with her, his eyes and heart full of a warm love I knew my little girl could feel when he picked her up. They weren't upset tears, weren't even really happy or overtired or its been a long day tears.

I think they were tears of pride. I couldn't explain it beyond that. Looking at him and her together like that left a swell in my chest I could only describe as pride.

"Uhuh," I smiled softly, that smile widening when Gracie reached out with grabby hands to me, her big brown eyes melting me in the middle.

"Honest lass I think you must be some kind of little miracle worker," he said again finishing his tea and helping me pack up Grace's things, surprising me again when instead of helping her up into the pushchair and strapping her in he grabbed her by the waist and picked her up, tickling her and playing with her. "Gracie dya wanna fly?" he asked her swinging her round onto his back, her laughter ringing out through the little cafe as she giggled and shrieked with joy at his antics. Once upon a time my heart would have been in my throat watching the boisterous way he played with her, swinging her over his shoulder as if without a care, but Sam and Dean were ten times worse.

He was causing a little bit of a scene and for a moment I was worried he was drawing too much attention to us, but it was difficult to worry about things when he was with Gracie, behaving just like a dad. That was the difference between the way he played with her and the way Sam and Dean did. Their was a cautiousness to the way he carried her and threw her around. Something there i couldn't quite describe. The only way to describe it was that he acted just like a dad.

When he stopped Gracie was still giggling in his arms, scooped up in a little bundle, her eyes bright with joy.

"You good to come to the venue with us? We'll drop your stuff in the hotel and then head straight over? Can see your brother like,"

"Uncle Johnny!" grinned Gracie, her little hand gripping the hair at the scruff of Van's neck.

"Yeah hes waiting for you angel," smiled Van poking her nose and tickling her under her chin.

"What do ya wanna do love I'll follow your lead," he asked again, his voice taking a lower tone, that concerned, gentle tone he often found himself using on me.

"No, uh.. Your plan sounds good, we haven't got much with us anyway like," I said following him out of the cafe, wrapping my arms around myself as I watched him.