Title: Glasses
Summary: William has a short chat with his daughter about the importance of a Shinigami's glasses.
Notes: This is just a short little thing to keep myself from going crazy basically. I'm still trying to flesh out a fic involving Undertaker. It's giving me some trouble. I also mentioned once in one of my other fics about Abigail taking William's glasses often when she was little and always wanted to use it so here it is. In this, I'm thinking Abigail would be about four or five years old.
It had been a long day, and William T. Spears was ready to go to sleep. There was just one small problem standing in his way: his daughter Abigail. Despite her mother putting her to bed shortly before going to bed herself, Abigail was wide awake.
That was why he found himself sitting at the foot of her bed with Abigail curled up next to him. She was completely awake and no amount of coaxing so far had convinced her it was time to sleep. No, she did not want a story. No, she did not want a glass of water. No, she was not scared of something. She just was not tired.
She could tell how annoyed he was growing and shifted uncomfortably. It was the truth. She was just not ready to go to sleep.
"Am I in trouble, Daddy?" she asked finally, her eyes wide and curious.
"No," William said wearily, "but by now you should be fast asleep."
Abigail was close to pouting. She was not sure if he was telling the truth or not. Then she inched closer to him, her mind thinking the only thing that made sense to her at that moment: if he cannot see me, I will not be in trouble.
William picked Abigail up and settled her on his lap, hoping that she would nod off soon if he held her. She leaned against him and sighed softly. Then, with a glance up at him, she made her move. As quickly as she could, she reached up, snatched his glasses off his face, slipped down to the floor and hurried out the door and down the hall.
William shut his eyes and suppressed a groan. Abigail had snatched his glasses before, but he was thankful she chose to do it while at home, where he knew his surroundings. Slowly he rose to his feet. Chasing Abigail late at night while he was tired was not a favorite past time of his.
He stepped out into the hall, pausing to listen. The sound of her giggles seemed to be coming from behind him. He turned and, making sure he would not stumble over anything, made his way to the living room.
At the door, he paused again. She was hiding in there, trying to stifle her giggles so he could not find her. "Abigail," he began sternly, "give my glasses back otherwise you will be in trouble."
The giggling stopped. His eyes swept the blurry, darkened room. There was a hint of movement behind the chair in which he chose to relax after a long day. Quickly and quietly he made his way towards the chair. Before Abigail could hurry away and hide again, he bent down and picked her up. She struggled, his glasses clutched tightly in her hand.
Instead of berating his daughter, William sat down in his chair. He released her, allowing her to stand in front of his chair. He did not expect her to hide again. From what he could see, she was shuffling her feet and looking nervous, still holding fast to his glasses.
"Abigail," he began softly, "do you realize why glasses are important to us?"
Abigail thought for a moment about his. "Because they help you see?" she asked softly.
"Yes, that is part of the reason," William began. "We also have to work very hard in order to get them."
"How hard?" Abigail asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. She stopped shuffling and took a tentative step closer to her father. "Will I have to work hard?"
"Very hard. Years of classes, homework, tests, and a highly difficult final exam."
Abigail looked at him with awe. "You don't have glasses then?"
"We do get glasses, but only trainee glasses. They all look the same and are not nearly as strong as these," he said, reaching forward to tap his glasses. Silently she stood on her toes and placed his glasses back on his face. "Thank you," he told her.
"What else makes them special?" she asked. She finally began to show signs of being tired, yawning after she finished her question.
William was silent for a moment, searching for the words that would make it possible to explain things that his young daughter could understand.
"Do you understand what your mother and I do when we go to work?" he asked her. When she nodded, he said, "These glasses allow us to see things more clearly than we could without them. Do you understand?"
Abigail shook her head, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she did.
William rose to his feet and picked her up. "I'll explain it better in the morning," he told her as he carried her to her bed. He knew, though, that she would forget their little discussion in the morning. He tucked her into bed, hoping that she would remember enough to not grab his glasses and run away with them.
Minutes later, after changing into his pajamas, he slid in bed himself, careful to not wake Annabelle. He removed his glasses and folded them carefully before laying them on the small table beside the bed. He was asleep almost instantly.