Nick and Charlie One-Shots

sometimes it happens

The sound of giggles and running feet is what greets me when I open the front door of my flat one Tuesday afternoon. I just have time to drop my bag to the floor and crouch down before my three-year-old daughter Heidi throws herself into my arms.

"Hi, pumpkin. Did you miss me today?" I ask as she pushes both her chubby hands against my cheeks.

"Miss you, daddy." She plants a big kiss right on my lips, squeezing her hands against my face. I smile and pull away a little before showering her face with kisses, making her giggle.

"I missed you too. Were you a good girl for papa?"

"Yes, daddy." She nods, smiling innocently at me. Our golden retriever dog, Daisy, interrupts us then, shoving her nose into our space and licking the side of my face.

"Ugh, Daisy." I complain, standing up with Heidi in my arms. Keeping one arm tight around my daughter, I reach back down to pat Daisy's head with my free hand. "I love you, Dais, but not your slobbery licks."

"Silly Daisy." Heidi giggles. Another laugh catches my attention and I look up to see my husband, Charlie has appeared from his office. He leans against the wall, looking exhausted, huge bags under his eyes.

"Hey, you look tired." I move closer, still holding Heidi, and rest my free hand against the side of his neck, my thumb gently stroking his jaw.

"Yeah. I've felt pretty tired all day. I took a nap this afternoon when Heidi did but now I'm behind on work." I brush my lips against his, dropping my hand to his waist where I can just feel the slight bump that's appeared in the last few days.

It's still very early so we aren't planning to tell anyone about Charlie's pregnancy just yet. Especially not our blabber-mouth daughter. It's been fun having a little secret, just the two of us for the past six weeks.

"How about I take care of our little princess for a while and make dinner so you can focus? After she's gone to bed, I'll give you a massage, if you like."

"That sounds amazing. Thank you." Heidi starts to wriggle so I put her down and she runs off to somewhere, Daisy following behind. I take the chance to pull Charlie in for a proper kiss, before bending down to kiss his stomach.

"Little peanut, please be nice to your papa. He's providing such a nice home for you for the next few months, but he needs sleep." I whisper, smiling when I feel Charlie's hands in my hair. I look up and see him smile softly.

"You're such a dork sometimes." He says affectionately, pulling me to my feet again.

"You love me anyway."

"I do." I kiss him one more time before I head off to find Heidi, leaving him to get back to whatever he'd been working on before I got home.

Heidi is sitting on the floor in the living room, an array of dolls and teddies lined up in front of her. Daisy is sitting in her bed, supervising.

"You on babysitting duty, Dais?" I ask, petting her head on my way over to sit beside my daughter. "What's happening here, pumpkin?"

"I being you, daddy." Heidi says and I frown, not understanding.

"How's that?"