For Fiona

42. Beach Day

Tim thought he knew what exhaustion felt like, but having a daughter he was constantly running around with during the day and an insatiable Lucy on most nights left him so tired he wondered if there was a word to describe his intense drowsiness, especially after working an endlessly long Metro shift. He dragged his feet through his house and walked into their bedroom. His eyes immediately snapped over to Lucy sleeping peacefully in their bedroom, and he sighed contentedly. When he did not think he had the energy to go on, he had her around to fuel him to keep going. Once he rummaged through his drawers for a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a well worn t shirt, he was already looking forward to cozying up next to her and shutting his eyes for a few moments of rest with her warmth surrounding him; that was always his only solace after a never ending and intense shift.

However, he heard the bedroom door creak before he even had a chance to touch Lucy, and he turned his head to find Fiona peering into the room.

"Daddy? Are you awake?" Fiona whispered.

He winced, because her volume was not quiet enough, and she threatened to wake Lucy early. With a tired smile, he replied back lowly, "Yeah, munchkin. You should be sleeping."

"I'm not tired."

"That makes one of us," he murmured.

"Let's wake Mommy up," she suggested and padded over to her mom's side of the bed, but then she saw her dad shake his head.

"No, no, your mommy needs her sleep. It's too early." He checked and thankfully Lucy was still asleep.

"But I want to play," she whined.

Tim scrubbed at his tired eyes. "Okay, let's go make princess breakfast and play with Kojo. How does that sound?" Her response was to cheer, so he shushed her. Another glance at Lucy, and he found she was still sleeping, which meant she was tired after spending the night alone with their four year-old. "Quietly, go downstairs. I'll be right there." He went to his wife's side to admire her for a second. He gently swept some hair out of Lucy's face and brushed his lips over her temple before changing, then he went back to her to give her one more light kiss on her head before leaving their room without so much as making a sound.

Fiona wasted no time waking up her dog, and he greeted her for the day with slobbery licks all over her face that made her giggle.

He could not believe he was still standing as he began to crack eggs. Just like how Lucy tended to sustain him, seeing Fiona play with Kojo brought him enough joy to keep him on his feet as he cooked the eggs and expertly cut strawberries into flowers the way he had been taught. When he was done, he exhaled heavily and reported, "Okay, now we can wake up your mommy for breakfast."

"Yay!" She squealed. "Come on, Kojo! We have to go get Mommy!"

Tim moved like a zombie up the stairs, and by the time he had re-entered his bedroom, he saw Fiona dancing on the bed while singing a song about waking her mom up.

Lucy heard the familiar high pitched voice and smirked reflexively, then she felt a big, wet tongue lick her face, that had to belong to Kojo, and she opened her eyes to find her dog on her side, her daughter moving with far too much energy, and then standing a few paces away was Tim with heavy bags under his eyes, yet he was smiling. "Is it morning already?" She asked groggily, since she could have sworn she had only fallen asleep minutes before.

"The sun's up, Mommy! And it's time for breakfast! Daddy made princess breakfast!" Fiona chirped.

Lucy pouted. "Fi, can you stop jumping around and give me a hug? I don't want to wake up yet."

She stopped mid movement and dropped onto her knees on the mattress, ready to embrace her mom warmly.

Through half lidded eyes, Lucy looked to Tim and mumbled, "You, too." She wanted snuggles from both of her favorite people.