For Fiona

22. A New Bike

As Tim busied himself in the kitchen making breakfast, he felt a subconscious smile stretch across his face, and he looked outside to see that the sun was shining brightly. He was happy. The world was happy. All was going so well he thought he was dreaming. The sound of small, hurried footsteps pattering on the stairs made him glance over his shoulder just as Fiona came bounding into the kitchen with Lucy close behind, and he decided that if he was dreaming, he never wanted to wake up.

"Daddy! Can you tie my bow, please?" Fiona requested and held up a green ribbon.

"Of course. That's my job," he replied before taking the ribbon and expertly tying it after many mornings of practice. "There," he said when he admired his work. "You look so pretty."

"Thank you, Daddy!" She beamed and went over to the corner of the kitchen where Kojo was sitting.

Lucy poured herself a cup of coffee as her heart swelled watching how Tim was such a great father in all of the little ways just as she had suspected. She took a sip, enjoying the warm caffeine coating her throat, then abandoned her mug to slide an arm around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. "It never gets old watching you with her."

He gave her a smirk, but before he could retort, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, then she pecked the spot just beneath his jaw, her lips brushing his skin in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. "Luce," he warned lightly, though his voice lacked any real bite.

"What?" She asked innocently into his skin, her arms moving to circle his waist. She pressed her lips to the side of his neck, clearly enjoying how his stoic demeanor faltered when she got close. When his mouth start curling, and so did hers.

"I'm trying to cook breakfast here," he pointed out while shaking the spatula in his hand.

"Breakfast could wait if you called in sick," she countered and nibbled his earlobe until his breathing hitched. "You're really going to work and leaving me home alone all day," she husked.

"You won't be alone." He looked over at Fiona giving Kojo a belly rub and said, "You've got them."

"But I'll miss you," she pouted, unconcerned with how needy that sounded. "We haven't had an opposite shift in so long."

He was honestly already dreading being at work knowing his family would be home without him and that he would not see Lucy a single time at the station all day. It sounded agonizing, especially when he had been stealing kisses from her in the middle of work quite recently.

She saw him start to frown and leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth. "I know you'll miss me, too."

Tim set the spatula down and took the pan off of the burner before turning enough to face her then reached up to hold the sides of her neck. "Yes, of course, I'll miss you." When she smiled at that, he captured her lips deliberately even if it was only for a few moments, since they had a captive audience.

"Mommy and Daddy have more princess kisses than the books, Kojo. Isn't that fun?" Fiona asked her dog. "We have the best family if they're better than the princess books.

Lucy almost fell over at her daughter's words. "Did you hear that?" She whispered lowly to him. "We have the best family."

"We sure do," he confirmed quietly and pressed his lips to her forehead. No, he never wanted his dream to end.

"You do realize that now that she said that, you have to give me a princess kiss before you leave for work."

"I was already planning on it," he shot back playfully. "But, now I have to give you two."

"Two? Why?"

"One for Fiona, and one for me." His hands drifted slightly lower on her waist in a way that was becoming more comfortable as he was growing more familiar with running his fingers over her body. Despite the fact that they were mostly clothed each time, he felt closer to Lucy with every passing second that he was learning the slopes and contours of her frame.