From across the hallway

Part 31

It was a Saturday, and after the week Missy had had, she was very much looking forward to this weekend and spending some time with Wade and Emily.

Not only had Missy been lumbered with the biggest pile of paperwork to do, but she had had to stay late three night's this week to take notes at financial meetings the company was having.

And worst of all was that Missy knew that in three months' time she would likely be out of a job. And that was that.

And as hard as she had tried, she hadn't even had an interview for another job yet. She must have applied to at least fifty companies so far, but hadn't even been called back for an interview for any of them.

And time was ticking away...

But today, she would try her hardest and push this from her mind. She needed to enjoy this day, for it was the day where her baby girl was turning three years-old.

Emily had been looking forward to her birthday for so long. She had seen a commercial on TV a few weeks ago for a purple toy unicorn that came complete with a hairbrush and pretty hair accessories.

Emily rarely got attached to toys. She had her favourites of course, but none she really played with more than the others. But this was the first thing Missy had seen her pretty enamoured with.

So this morning, Emily had come bounding into Missy and Wade's room, waking the two adults from their comfortable sleep at the crack of dawn.

"My birfday!" she squealed loudly. "It my birfday!"

Clambering up onto the bed, she crawled up between the pair of them on her hands and knees.

"Waydee," she uttered excitedly, poking at his long face. "It my birfday."

"I know it's your birthday Baby-Bear," the tired merc uttered in a playful tone, his eye still closed. "But can't we celebrate it when it's morning? I need at least seven hours sleep a night, especially when your Mom keeps me up so late..."

Emily giggled, leaping onto his chest. "Noh, it my birfday now!"

Wade left out a groan before grasping the tiny little girl around the middle, causing her to squeal with joy as he tickled her sides.

Missy smiled to herself, stretching beneath the sheets and opening her sleepy eyes.

She ran a hand through her long, tousled hair, propping herself up onto her elbow.

"Morning sweetie," she said a pleasant tone. "Happy birthday."

And with that, Missy leant forwards pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

Emily shucked away, beaming, before holding her hands out for her Mom.

"I get pwesant?" asked the toddler, as Missy tugged her into her chest.

The caramel-blonde woman chuckled, her green eyes flickering up to Wade's.

"Maaaaybe," replied the merc. "But you sure you've been a good girl for your Mom this year, huh?"

The now  three year-old, turned to him, pouting. "I bin gud," she replied, before turning back to Missy. "I bin gud, Mommy, yesh?"

Missy couldn't help but smile.

"You have, baby," she said, smoothing down her little brown tuft of hair. "You have."

It was close to noon when Missy, Wade and Emily finally made it out of the apartment.

Emily, of course had been delighted with her gift and had played with it, still in her tiny white fluffy onesie, for about three hours in total.

In the meantime, Wade had kindly made breakfast for the three of them, and Missy had headed in for a quick shower

But now the three of them had made it across the city in a cab, and here, to the City Zoo.

"You having a good time baby?" asked Missy as she walked hand-in-hand with the toddler who was eating a strawberry ice cream.

Emily, whose face was now covered in sticky pink goop, peered up at Missy, licking her lips. "Yesh," she replied, her words slightly slurred.

Wade, who had his arm thrown haphazardly around Missy's neck, grinned at this

He had been the one to treat them all to admission tickets, and to Emily's ice cream, and as far as Missy was concerned he had made today just perfect.

This man, who she had met across her hallway less than a year ago, had become all she and Emily had ever wanted. He was kind, funny and treated them both like princesses.

Missy knew of course that his job was risky, and on more than one occasion he had returned battered and bruised, or covered in blood, but he always promised to keep she and Emily safe and Missy trusted him to keep that promise. Above all else.

She was seriously in love with him, but knew than in the back of her mind that if he was to leave them, like Scott had, that her heart would completely break in two, and from that pain she would unlikely be able to return.

But that would never happen...right?

"So what's your favourite animal so far, Chicken Little?" Wade asked Emily, as the three of them stopped next to a low wall.

"Liyons!" said Emily quickly, taking another lick of her ice cream, smearing it further around her mouth.

Emily had loved the lions and had even received a few 'aww's and adoring glances from other Moms as she and Wade had both had a contest to see who could roar the loudest, the merc holding the birthday girl up in his strong arms as they did so.

Right now, Wade grinned and grasped Emily around the middle, before lifting her and placing her gently onto his shoulders so that she could take a good look at the penguins over the wall.

"The lions?" said Wade with a nod, grasping her tiny feet, steadying her, as she dripped strawberry ice cream all down his shirt.

"Yesh, Waydee is Daddy liyon and Mommy is Mommy liyon!" said the hyped-up three year old with a happy squeal, bouncing up and down on Wade's broad shoulders.

Missy chanced a glance at Wade.

She could tell he loved it when Emily referred to him as a Daddy.

Not directly of course, she had never called him it outright, and neither of them would force it of course, but nevertheless, Wade always had the stupidest smile on his face every time it happened.

"Nice. So does that make you the little lion cub?" asked Wade looking enamoured with the tiny girl sat up on his shoulders. "I thought you were a baby-bear?"

But Emily shook her head. " I not ber, silly Waydee," she said with a giggle, dripping more ice cream down Wade's shirt.

The merc gave a chuckle as the trio moved off to look at the zebras.

All three of them happier than they ever had been, looking today, like the most perfect family imaginable.

Nothing could mess this up for them now.

But what none of them seemed to notice, was a man, stood with his own partner and tiny daughter, staring over at the three of them...

....his piercing blue eyes following them carefully as they went.