Lucy awoke early then silently slipped from the bed not wanting to awaken Gerard. She dressed quickly in jeans and a pink tee then found herself in the kitchen making coffee. A feeling of dread was weighing heavily on her mind as she scooped coffee into the machine. Trying to push that feeling away she found herself tidying up the kitchen until she could pour her first cup of coffee.

She was drinking her third cup sitting at the table on the veranda when Gerard found her.

“Hey, you got must have gotten up early.” He’d planned on making sure to awaken when she did in hopes of them talking before Lindsey and Bandit arrived. “How come you didn’t wake me?”

Lucy smiled slightly, “Well it was obvious you were very tired. When I got up you were snoring loudly.”

He’d grabbed a cup of coffee before finding her and set it on the table before taking a seat. “I don’t snore.” He grinned.

Lucy was trying so hard to remain upbeat. “Uh yeah, you do. I’m pretty sure the neighbors could hear you.”

Sam wandered out of the house going to Gerard’s side. He absently petted the dog while taking a sip of coffee. “Even Sam knows your lying.” He laughed, “Isn’t that right, girl? I don’t snore.”

The dog wagged her tail then licked his hand.

Lucy rolled her eyes.

Gerard took another sip of his coffee then tried to get to the elephant in the room without upsetting her. “Uh, about Linds and Bandit coming….”

Lucy cut him off, “Gee, don’t make a big deal out of this.”

Just the fact she was admitting he knew something was wrong seemed to be a step in the right direction. “It’s not a big deal.” He said slowly. “I’m just making sure you understand that.”

Lucy looked down at her coffee cup. “I know you think it’s stupid…” Her voice trailed off.

“Honey, I don’t think the way you feel is stupid at all.” He said reaching across the table for her hand. “I get this is very hard for you and I understand why.”

“Maybe she won’t like me.” Lucy whispered.

He understood her comment so he squeezed her hand, “Bandit will like you.”

“Does she even know I’m here?”

He wanted to be completely honest with her. “Yeah, she knows. Linds and I talked about it and we decided to tell her.”

“Tell her what exactly?” Lucy asked looking up.

“Linds said she was going to tell B that my girlfriend is staying with me.” He saw a look of shock cover Lucy’s face which he didn’t totally understand. “Honey, that’s what you are. There’s nothing wrong with telling B that.”

When Lucy went to take a sip of coffee her hands were trembling.

“I promise it’s gonna be okay.” He said stroking the top of her hand with his thumb.

“You don’t really know that.” Lucy said sadly.

Unfortunately he wasn’t given the time to respond because the sound of the doorbell startled them both. Gerard rose to answer the door but saw that Lucy remained seated.

“Morning Gee.” Lindsey said as soon as he’d pulled open the door.

“Hey, Linds.” He looked down at his daughter with love in his eyes. “How’s my B?”

“Hi Daddy.” She smiled. “Look” She held up her new doll.

“Wow” He bent down to examine her treasure. “Nice.”

“So where’s Lucy?” Lindsey asked.

Gerard stood back up. “Drinking coffee on the veranda.”

Lindsey moved slightly so she could stare past him. “I see.” She suddenly looked down at her daughter. “You and daddy go to the car and get your stuff.”

Gerard’s eyes widened realizing what his ex had in mind.

Lindsey smiled, “It’s okay, Gee. I’m just going to introduce myself to her.”

“Come on daddy.” Bandit was pulling on his hand. “Got lots of stuff.”

He was still staring at Lindsey. “Uh, she’s kinda nervous.”

“Nervous?”

Gerard sighed, “Well yeah. You know….”

Lindsey cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Hey, we’re past all that. You told her I aint’ got anything against her, didn’t you?”

He glanced down at Bandit then back at his ex. This was a difficult conversation to be having. “Yeah but still and it’s not just that.” He really wasn’t sure how or if he should try to explain this to her.

Lindsey smiled, “Alicia called me this morning. I understand more than you think. Now go get B’s stuff. And take your time.”

Gerard wasn’t sure if he should be happy or nervous about this new development. “Yeah, okay.” He slowly walked outside holding Bandit’s hand.

Lucy was surprised when a dark haired woman suddenly walked out of the house alone.

“Hello. I’m Lindsey.” She took a seat across from Lucy. Sam apprehensively moved closer to the new arrival. Lindsey smiled down at the dog. “And you are?”

“That’s Samantha. Sam for short.”

“Well hello, Sam.” Lindsey gave the dog a pat on the head.

Lucy watched nervously wondering where Gerard had gone.

It was as if Lindsey read her mind. “He’s out getting Bandit’s things from the car.” She stared at the dark skinned woman sitting across from her a moment then spoke. “So I understand you’re a bit apprehensive about meeting me.”

Lucy’s eyes grew wide. She hadn’t expected the woman to be so blunt. “I suppose that’s true.” She finally admitted.

Lindsey had given a lot of thought about how to handle the situation after talking to Alicia. She smiled brightly. “Well, there’s no reason for that.”

“Okay” Lucy said slowly not sure what else to say.

“Fact is you met my ex during the final days of our marriage, a marriage that was over before he met you. I’ll admit at first I was pissed but I suppose that’s a normal reaction.”

“I’m sorry…”

Lindsey held up her hand to silence her. “No reason for you to be sorry. I get that. But the facts are this…both Gee and I have moved on. I see no reason you and I should have a problem.”

Lucy stared at her. This was definitely not how she’d imagined their first meeting would go.

“I’m a lot like Alicia.” Lindsey laughed understanding how Lucy felt. “I tend to say what’s on my mind. Never did see any reason to beat around the bush.”

Lucy was starting to warm to her. “That’s good. I appreciate that.”

Unfortunately Gerard arrived before Lindsey could finish talking alone with Lucy.

“We got everything out of the car.”

Lindsey wasn’t looking at him she was watching Lucy. What she saw was heartbreaking. Lucy was staring at Bandit nervously. Lucy took a deep breath then closed her eyes a moment. The little girl’s dark hair…God, so much like Lizzy’s.

Gerard tried to break the tension. “Uh Lucy, this is Bandit.” He smiled down at his daughter, “B this is Lucy.”

Bandit openly stared at Lucy but remained silent.

“Can you say hello?” Gerard prompted.

“Hello.” Bandit muttered holding on to her father’s hand tightly.

Lucy forced herself to nod, “Hello Bandit. Nice to meet you.”

Glancing at her watch Lindsey wished she had more time but if she didn’t leave now she’d be late for her meeting. “Well” She stood up from the table. “I gotta go.” Suddenly she turned to Lucy. “I’m afraid Bandit might be coming down with a cold. Right now she’s running a slight fever. Gee has children’s fever reducer if it gets worse. Oh and she can get cranky if she’s feeling bad.” She smiled, “If she does she likes to be rocked to sleep.”

Lucy was staring at her. “Uh, okay.”

“B sit here and keep Lucy company while Daddy walks me out.” Lindsey said taking Bandit’s hand from Gerard then setting her in the chair. “And be a good girl.”

Bandit nodded but her attention was now on Sam who tail was wagging happily as the new small arrival was petting her head.

Gerard pulled open the front door then whispered. “Thank you.” He understood completely why Lindsey had explained Bandit’s care to Lucy and not him.

“Gee, I know she lost her little girl but deep down she’s still a mother. That never changes for us women. I could see how difficult this is for her. Don’t push it just let them get to know each other at their own speed.”

He hugged her. “You know you’re a wonderful woman.”

“Yeah, I know” She laughed. “I’ll call you later tonight and see how it’s going.” With that she walked out into the sunlight.

Gerard quickly closed the door then made his way out onto the veranda. Lucy looked up at him. “Uh, who’s Dora?”

“What?”

“Bandit says I’m like Dora.” Lucy said slowly hoping he’d understand.

“Daddy she’s like Dora.” Bandit explained to her father then she looked back at Lucy and smiled, “Hola”

“Oh” Gerard realized what his daughter was saying. “There’s this show B likes...”

Bandit nodded happily. “Dora the Explorer. Hola” She said again to Lucy.

“Hola” Lucy said to Bandit not understanding but trying to be polite.

“Dora is a little Hispanic girl who goes on adventures.” Gerard explained to Lucy. “She loves the show.”

Now it was starting to make sense to Lucy. She nodded, “I see.” She looked over at Bandit. “Como estas?”

Happily Bandit bounced in her seat. “Muy Bein”

Gerard pulled out a chair and sat down. “Uh, that’s about the extent of her Spanish. She really doesn’t speak the language.”

Bandit frowned. “I can count in Spanish, Daddy.”

Lucy could see Gerard had hurt his daughter’s feelings. “She speaks Spanish. She just did.”

Immediately Bandit smiled at Lucy. “That’s right, I did.” Before the adults could respond she started bouncing in her chair again. “Would you like to watch Dora?” She asked Lucy.

“Oh” Lucy wasn’t sure how to respond. She knew Gerard had voiced the idea of going to the zoo.

“Honey, Lucy doesn’t want to watch a cartoon right now.” Gerard said. When he saw his daughters frown he started to explain the zoo trip but Lucy spoke up.

“I suppose I should watch at least one episode. I mean since I’m like Dora and all.”

Bandit slipped off her chair nodding happily. “Come on.” She ran inside the house with Sam bounding along behind her.

Gerard was staring at Lucy. “You really don’t have to watch Dora right now. I’m sure if I mention the zoo she’ll changer her mind.”

Lucy slowly stood. “It seems important to her.”

He was touched how she obviously trying to make Bandit happy. As they walked back into the house he placed his arm around her.

Bandit had already selected a DVD and was putting it in the player. Once it was ready to start she crawled up on the sofa to sit next to Lucy.

Gerard was saddened when he saw Lucy’s body tense. He understood how difficult this was for her and how hard she was trying to change that.

“Daddy what’s for lunch?”

Gerard laughed, “Uh, don’t you think it’s kinda early for lunch?”

Bandit sighed, “Snack?”

He knew his daughter well enough to understand she was settling in to watch several episodes. “B…”

Bandit turned to Lucy. “Don’t you want a snack?”

A small smile tugged at Lucy’s lips. “I suppose maybe a little one.”

“See, Daddy? Lucy wants a snack too.”

Gerard grinned, “Okay, fine. How about some grapes?”

Bandit nodded as she pointed the remote at the TV.

He looked into Lucy’s eyes. “Grapes?”

“Yes, please.” Lucy answered.

He was still grinning as he wandered off towards the kitchen. When he returned with the bowl of fruit Bandit was explaining the show to Lucy. At their feet Sam was curled up contently. It would have been a beautiful sight if he hadn’t seen the look of uneasiness in Lucy’s eyes.

They ended up watching the entire DVD of shows. Several times Gerard had tried to mention the idea of going to the zoo but Bandit, excited to have someone new watch the show with her, had balked at the idea. It wasn’t until the last show was over her attention finally went in a different direction. She wanted to see the new Disney movie her father had promised they’d see as soon as it was released and it had opened just today.

“Uh, we’ll see it.” Gerard answered slowly. He’d seen Lucy frown when Bandit had mentioned the movie.

“But daddy you promised.” Bandit said looking very unhappy. “You said we’d go.”

He really wished he hadn’t promised that.

Lucy spoke up. “Why don’t you and Bandit go see the movie?”

Now Gerard frowned, he’d been afraid of this. He wanted to spend time with Lucy, to be honest he wanted them both to spend time with Bandit.

Bandit looked over at Lucy. “You don’t wanna see it?”

Lucy forced herself to smile. “I’m sure it will be good but I sorta have a headache.” She couldn’t face the idea of sitting in a theater full of children. Right now she did have a headache and needed some time alone. “Gee, you two go to the movie. I’ll just take a nap while you’re gone.”

“We’ll see it some other time.” He answered with a shake of his head.

“But daddy.” Bandit’s bottom lip began to tremble, “You promised.”

“Gee, really it’s okay. Go to the movies.” She looked into his eyes, “Please.”

Bandit was happy Lucy seemed to be on her side. “Yeah, Daddy. Movie”

Gerard could see the pleading in Lucy’s eyes. “Yeah, okay. B go get your jacket. The theater might be cold.” He waited until his daughter took off down the hall to turn to Lucy. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I’m just gonna take something for my headache and lay down a bit. Tonight we’ll all have a nice dinner together.”

He understood she was hoping they’d be gone for a while. “I hate to leave you alone.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Gerard stood and went down the hall. As he and Bandit both walked back into the room Lucy saw he was holding a glass of water. “Here.” He handed her two aspirins. “Take these.”

Once she’d swallowed them he handed the glass of water to Bandit. “Take this to the kitchen” Then turning to Lucy he bent down and removed her shoes. “Okay, woman. Stretch out.”

Once she had Gerard covered her with a light blanket.

“Here Lucy.” Bandit had grabbed a toss pillow for her head.

“Oh. Thank you.” She said softly lifting her head so Bandit could place the pillow.

Gerard stood a moment looking down at her. “Call if you start to feel worse, okay?”

“Gee, I’m fine. Just a little headache. Have fun.” With that she closed her eyes. Once she heard the front door close she expelled the breath she’d been holding.

________________________________________________

Almost three hours later Lucy was sitting on the veranda when Gerard called.
“Hey, Gee. How was the movie?”

“Good” He sounded distracted. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She answered.

“Well that’s good.” He muttered.

“Gee, what’s wrong?”

“I think B’s running a fever. I mean she feels hot and she’s sneezing a lot.”

Lucy sighed, “Oh, well Lindsey did say she thought Bandit might be coming down with something.”

“I was gonna pick up something for dinner.” Gerard said looking down into his daughter’s glassy eyes. “But I hate to stop…”

Lucy’s mind was already working. “Just bring her home. I’ll make chicken soup for dinner.” She’d been planning on making something else with the chicken but now it would become a meal fit for a cold.

“Uh, yeah. Okay.” He shifted his phone to the other hand so he could grab his daughter who appeared ready to take off. “Thanks.” With that he disconnected.

Lucy placed the cell down on the table then sighed. “Well Sam.” She said to the dog at her feet. “Sounds like we have a sick little girl on our hands.” As the words left her mouth the memory of Lizzy’s last illness flooded her mind. “No” Lucy ground out forcing that memory away. “Stop it.” She told herself.

__________________________________________

When Gerard pushed open the front door the first thing he noticed was the aroma of chicken soup.

“Hey” Lucy rounded the corner. “Soups almost ready.”

Bandit lifted her head off her father’s shoulder. “Don’t feel good.” She whined.

Lucy’s heart went out to her. “I’m sorry B. Tell your daddy to put you on the sofa.”

“Sofa, daddy.”

Gerard smiled, “Yeah, okay.”

Once she was situated on the sofa Gerard went in search of the thermometer and the children’s fever reducer.

“Lucy, I wanna watch Dora.” Bandit said staring at her.

“Oh sure.” Lucy found a different Dora DVD and placed it in the player.

As soon as Gerard returned she headed for the kitchen to check the soup. She was stirring the pot when Gerard walked into the kitchen. “It’s a low grade fever. I gave her some medicine.”

“She’s gonna need a box of tissues.” Lucy answered hearing Bandit sneezing. She turned and saw the worried look on his face. “Hey, it’s just a nasty cold. She’ll be fine.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I know you’re right. But how are you?”

Lucy didn’t want him to worry about her. “I’m fine. Now go get her tissues and tell her to get ready I’m bringing her some soup.”

Bandit ate little and as the evening wore on her fever increased. Now she was not only sneezing a cough had set in.

At nine Gerard decided it was time for her to try to get some sleep. He carried her to the bedroom while Lucy remained watching TV.

“Daddy?” Bandit said looking up at him once he’d helped her change into her jammies and climb into bed.

“What, Baby?”

Lucy had decided to change into her sweats and was passing Bandit’s doorway.

“Does Lucy like me?” Bandit asked.

Her question caused Lucy to stop just out of sight.

“Sure she does.” Gerard smiled.

Bandit frowned, “Are you sure?”

Gerard sat down beside her on the bed. “Honey, Lucy likes you. Why wouldn’t she?” In his mind he was marveling at how perceptive children could be at times. Obviously even though Lucy had tried to act normally around Bandit his daughter had picked up on the tension.

“Don’t know.” Bandit shrugged the moved to snuggle deeper under her covers.

“Get some sleep, Baby.” Gerard said stroking her hair. “Tomorrow you’ll feel better.”

When he returned to the living room Lucy was gone. A quick look into the kitchen and the study found no trace of her. He walked slowly into the bedroom and saw she was curled up under the covers.

Gerard quickly undressed, put on his sweat pants then crawled into bed beside her. “Hey” he whispered pulling her into his arms. “You okay?”

Lucy’s cheeks were wet with tears. “Gee, I’m trying.” She whispered.

With a heavy heart he realized Lucy must have heard Bandit’s question.

“I know you are, Sugar. You’re doing fine.”

“No, I’m not.” Lucy squeezed her eyes shut. “She knows…”

“Honey, it’s gonna be okay.” He wished he knew what to say that would help.

Lucy’s mind was shutting down. “I’m tired.”

While it was still early he understood. “Then go to sleep. Things will look better in the morning.” He just prayed his words would be true.

Several hours later Lucy’s eyes flew open. Without thinking she reacted by slipping from the bed.

Gerard didn’t awaken until he heard a squeaking sound. He quickly got up then moved towards Bandit’s room. There he found Lucy, with Bandit in her arms, rocking his child. Bandit’s eyes were closed, her arms around Lucy’s neck. Lucy’s eyes were closed as she softly sang a lullaby. The beauty of the scene touched his heart. Not wanting to intrude, knowing Lucy had things under control, he silently walked back to his bedroom.

When Lucy finally climbed back into bed curing up on her side he rolled over and threw his arm around. “Everything okay?” He whispered.

“She woke up...I heard her crying.” Lucy said slowly. “I gave her some more medicine then rocked her back to sleep.” She rolled over to look into his eyes. “I should have wakened you.”

“No, Sugar. You didn’t need to. You took care of her.”

Tears threatened her eyes. “When I first woke up…” She forced herself to go on. “I thought it…” A tear rolled down her cheek.

Gerard brushed it away. “You thought it was Lizzy.”

“I haven’t heard a child cry since…”

His heart was breaking for her. “You did what any mother would do. You went to her.”

Her fears were overwhelming her. “Gee, I don’t know if I can do this.”

Gerard understood her words. “Lucy, you can’t be afraid to let yourself love people. I understand how you feel I really do. I know the fear that washes over me every time Bandit gets sick or hurt. I know what I feel can’t come close to the pain you’ve known. I can’t begin to imagine…” He sighed. “But Lucy, you can’t let that fear stop you from letting yourself love.”

Lucy’s voice was raw with emotion. “When I held her in my arms… she’s so little, so fragile.”

His arm tightened around her. “Yeah, and that’s scary. I get it. But you didn’t let that fear keep you from going to her and taking care of her.”

Lucy’s eyes fluttered shut.

Gerard kissed her lips then her cheeks. “Life is scary sometimes, it can change in the blink of an eye. But you have to remember how beautiful it can be.”

“I love you.” Lucy whispered.

“Love you too.” He held her close to his heart as she fell back asleep.