*1 Year time-skip*
"Nick? You ready to go?" I was stood in the living room of his house, waiting while he got ready for our date. His and Imogen's divorce had gone through pretty quickly, although it took a while for Nick to be okay enough to admit that he wanted to go out on a date with me. I made sure we took it slow, knowing everything was still very new for him. But tonight was our two-month anniversary, and I wanted to take him out for a special dinner to celebrate.
"Papa said he doesn't know what to wear." Abby piped up from the floor by the coffee table where she was doing some homework. "He couldn't decide between two shirts."
"Oh." I smiled at her and made my way to his room where he was stood by the bed, looking between a pale blue shirt and a deep red one. "Go with the red." He jumped a little and turned to face me.
"You scared me."
"Sorry. Abby said you were having trouble deciding."
"Yeah. I just want everything to be perfect."
"It doesn't matter to me if it's not. The only thing I need is to have a nice dinner with you, but we'll miss our reservations if we don't get going soon."
"Sorry, I'm done." He hurriedly pulled the red shirt on and ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times to tame it. "Let's go."
"You look good." I followed him back to the living room where he kissed the top of Abby's head.
"Amber will be here in half an hour, okay? Make sure you call me if she doesn't come. And don't answer the door if it's not her. There's dinner in the refrigerator for you both and ice cream for after. And don't forget you've got school tomorrow, so no late nights. You should be asleep when we get back."
"Yes, Papa." Abby smiled, and I saw her roll her eyes a little when Nick turned his back on her. I had to bite my lip to stop laughing. Nick was being a little over-protective, but I understood. It was the first time he was letting her stay at home by herself, even if it was only for a few minutes until Amber could get here. Normally, I'd bring Nathaniel and Alexis to stay with her, but they were with Ben for a few days, getting to know their new sister, Keira. "Have fun with Charlie."
"I will. Be good."
"Bye, Abby. I'll see you later." I waved at her, finally managing to guide Nick out the front door. "Alright, let's go enjoy our date."
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Two days later, all five of us were at Nick's place for the afternoon. Nathaniel and Alexis were in the living room with Abby, watching TV while Nick and I were making dinner in the kitchen.
"Papa?"
"What's up, princess?" Nick looked at his daughter, who had appeared in the room, looking a little nervous and scared. "Is everything okay?"
"Can I ask you a question?" She asked quietly.
"Uh, sure. Here, come and sit at the counter. Do you want Charlie to go away for a bit?"
"It's okay. He can stay here." Nodding, Nick moved to sit beside her.
"Okay, what's wrong?"
"I want to stay with mummy."
"Stay with mummy? For how long?"
"I don't know. Maybe forever." I swear I could see Nick's heart stop at that moment. Not only had he lost his wife, but he was maybe about to lose his daughter, too.
"Why? Don't you like it here?"
"I do. But mummy says that I'd really like living there. And I remember when we went on holiday, it was so nice there."
"You know, you'd have to start at a new school. And you'd have to leave all your friends behind." The little girl nodded, and I stopped what I was doing, going to stand by Nick to be supportive.
"I know. I've been talking to mummy about everything. She said there's a special place where they can help me be okay at school. And she said there are lots of kids near my age where she lives." Clearly, she'd been thinking about this for a while, and I could feel Nick's heartbreak at finding this out.
"Abby, are you sure you're not letting mummy force you to live with her?"
"She said she doesn't want to force me to do anything. But she said she wants me to be happy. Don't you want me to be happy, Papa?" Her face was so innocent, looking up at her papa just then. I could hardly believe the conversation that was playing out in front of me.
"Of course I do, sweetheart. I just, I don't want you to rush into this. It's a big change and not one we can change back quickly." Nick was forcing himself not to cry, I could hear it in his voice.
"Please, Papa. I really want to. I'll come back to visit you all the time. I promise."
"I..."
"Nick." He turned to look at me. "If she wants to go, you have to let her. This is exactly the same as when Imogen left."
"But..."
"Don't make her hate you for forcing her to stay," I whispered low in his ear so that Abby didn't hear. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before turning back to her.
"Abby, if you really want to go, I'll talk to Imogen, and we'll sort something out. But I need you to promise me something first, okay?"
"Okay."
"I want you to take a week to really think about this. Before you go making any serious plans. Think about everything you'd be leaving behind here if you go. If, at the end of the week, you still really want to go, I'll start getting everything sorted for you."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Thank you, Papa. I love you."
"I love you too, Abby." She hugged him tightly before rushing out of the room again, presumably to tell Nathaniel and Alexis, who I guessed she'd already talked to about this.
"Nick? Are you okay?" I asked him after he was silent for a while.
"I lost Imogen. And now I'm losing Abby? Why doesn't anyone want to stay with me? What am I doing wrong?"
"You're not doing anything wrong, Nick. I'm staying with you. And you have to admit, Imogen is doing so well over there. I think Abby will do well, too. Neither of them is forgetting you. Or stopping loving you. They're just doing what makes them happy. Like you are."
"But she's my little girl."
"She always will be. You heard her, she'll come back and visit all the time."
"I love you, Charlie."
"What?" I wasn't sure I'd heard him properly. Neither of us had said the 'L' word to each other yet and this moment was definitely not when I'd expected to hear it for the first time.
"I love you. You're the reason I'm making it through this in one piece."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'm doing something right then."
"You are." He looked at me hopefully, clearly wanting me to say it back. Was I ready? Honestly, I was ready the first day I realised I had feelings for him.
"I love you too, Nick." Leaning over, I kissed him gently. I would always be here for him. No matter what life threw at us, we would get through it together.
