The Monster's Little Angel

Chapter 6

"Yes, sir." some of Archer's guards nodded and walked out of his office.

He had just finished handing them their duties and he sighed as he leaned back in his chair. A soft knock sounded at his office doors and he slightly looked up.

"Come in," he called.

One of the doors opened and Quinn peeked her head in, a small smile on her face.

"Hello, daddy," she said as she walked in, closing the door.

"Hi, Quinny," he greeted.

His eyes travelled to a piece of paper in her hands as she walked over to him. She sat herself on his lap placing the paper on his desk.

"I drew a picture for you, daddy," she said, pointing to the paper she had placed on his desk.

He picked it up and looked over it. Yellow covered the one half at the bottom of the page. Blue covered the other half with some of the blue going up and curving. A big yellow sun was at the top of the page, having a little orange smiley face.

He smiled at the picture. Yes, he had no clue what the heck it was supposed to be or what she had drawn but it was still cute that his little girl drew it just for him.

"Thank you, angel. What is it?" he asked sweetly.

"It a beach, silly daddy. I saw one on the TV today," she explained. "See there the sun," she pointed to the smiling sun, "there the sand," she pointed to the yellow at the bottom of the page, "and there the water." she finished as she pointed to the blue.

He nodded and set it on his desk. She turned to face him and then he asked, "Quinn, is there something you want to tell me?"

She nodded and replied, "I want to go."

He gave her a confused look. "Go where, Quinny?"

She pointed to the picture. "I want to go to beach today."

"I don't know if we can go today, Quinny."

"Why?"

"Because daddy has a lot of work to do today."

She pouted at his words as she looked up at him. Tears seemed to be forming in her eyes and this made him worry.

Archer gently wiped away a tear that managed to escape as he asked, "Quinn, why are you crying?"

"You always working and you always too busy. Don't you love me anymore?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly at the end.

He was taken aback by her question. His face turned hard and he lifted her up so she was cuddled closely to his chest.

"Never, ever, say that again. I love you so much Quinn. Don't you ever think that I don't," he said harshly.

She began to struggle against his chest, raising her head slightly to gasp out, "Daddy, you s-squishing me."

He loosened his grip on her and placed her back on his lap, tilting her chin up so she could look at him as he asked, "Why would you think that I don't love you?"

"Because you never play with me anymore. You always too busy. I miss playing with daddy. I thought we could go to beach today and play again."

He sighed at her words. For a four year old, she was very right in this situation. Ever since she turned four, he was immediately back to mafia work and having maids watch Quinn or sometimes one of his guards. He didn't hang around Quinn much after that since he had important work almost every day. Now here she was, trying to get her daddy to play with her again, like he used to.

He looked into her pretty little grey eyes and they instantly melted his heart. Around other people, he was a cold and dangerous mafia boss that could kill anyone he thought needed to die. He was a monster to most people and even big time criminals feared him. Archer was a mafia boss and that title didn't exactly send people into a state of excitement and joy.

Yes, around others he was the big, bad boss. But everyone has a weakness that can make them change. And his was Quinn.

He wasn't cold with her. Not mean or dangerous to her. In her eyes, she didn't see a mafia boss. She didn't see a killer. She didn't see the monster that other people saw. And she didn't fear him because in her eyes, who she saw was her daddy. A man who was kind, gentle and caring. And that was the only thing she saw him as.

He sighed as he said his next words, "If you promise to be good while I finish my work then we can go to the beach."

"Really?" she asked softly.

"Yep. Just you, me and a gorgeous beach."

She had a wide smile on her face as she quickly kissed his cheek and ran out, yelling 'yay'.

***

Archer had on a pair of black swim shorts and a white shirt. Quinn wore a beige cotton sweatshirt and a pair of rolled up black jeans. They walked barefoot on the beach, hand-in-hand as they strolled down the shoreline. Quinn was carrying a small lantern in her other hand as she had insisted on bringing it with them. Why she wanted to bring it with, he had no idea but he didn't question it either.

Since Quinn couldn't swim yet, Archer didn't bother bringing a swimming costume for her. Quinn then sat down, placing the lantern beside her as she lay down and rested. Archer chuckled as he sat down beside her. He then carefully placed her tired body on his lap as they watched the waves.

"The water pretty," Quinn mumbled as she lay her head on his chest.

"Yes, it is very pretty," her father agreed.

"I had fun today. Liked playing with you." she smiled.

He smiled back as he remembered earlier today. Once they got to the beach they ran around, letting the water soak their bare feet and played in the sand. He even let Quinn bury his body which made her so happy - and giggle her head off.

In a way, it reminded him of a time where he and Monica had strolled across the beach. It had been a nice day and he couldn't help but smile at the memory. He only wished that she were here now, with their daughter in between them. But, in the end, he knew that wasn't possible and Quinn was enough for him.

In all honesty, Archer had missed these kinds of moments. He missed spending time with Quinn but he had to work. He missed being able to play with her. And how he wished he could spend more time with her. In his heart, he knew he had inadvertently pushed her away and he wasn't going to let it stand. He decided that, from now on, he'd try to carve out time in his schedule just to be able to spend time with Quinn.

Soft breathing was heard, making him look down. Quinn was fast asleep in his arms. He chuckled as he slowly got up, grabbing the lantern. Archer then started walking back to his car and he only realized then how dark it had become.

He softly chuckled as he looked down at Quinn, who was still asleep in his arms. He kissed her forehead softly, whispering sweetly in her ear, "I'm glad you forced me to bring the lantern or I would have been as blind as a bat right now without it."

He lay her in the back seat of his white Mercedes Benz, placing the seat belt over her. Blowing out the lantern, he got into the driver's seat, taking a quick glance at Quinn before driving back home.