Daddy's Hands

Summary: When Amber asks Sofia what she remembers about her father, her answer surprises the blonde princess.

A/N: I seriously find inspiration in the strangest places. I was watching a rheumatoid arthritis commercial, and bam! This idea popped into my head. Lol. I'd like to know what my mind is thinking when I'm not aware of it. Haha.)

Sofia smiled toward Amber, who was lying sideways across the younger princess's bed. Sofia had not been feeling well for a few days, so Amber had decided to try to cheer the girl up.

"I spy something…golden," Amber said with a light squeal, certain Sofia would never guess her answer.

The younger girl rolled her eyes with a small laugh. "Your gown?"

"Oh! You're good at this game." She sat up with a grin and crawled over to her sister, lying down beside her and staring up at the canopy. "You must be bored, lying here all day by yourself."

"I'm not by myself… Clover is over there napping." She pointed toward the window sill with a giggle, indicating the slightly snoring bunny. Amber had come to terms with random animals popping in and out of the girl's room quite some time ago, so this wasn't a surprise. "And both Mr. Cedric and Baileywick have come to check on me. James attempted to 'scare me well' with a fake snake, which didn't work since he tripped over it."

Amber laughed, imagining her twin in the predicament. "Yes, I can see that. And what about Mother? And Daddy?"

"They both checked on me earlier too. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't checked on me yet…except maybe people from school."

"Well, don't say that too loudly," Amber advised. "We have a knack for saying one thing and having something happen as a result. You know, like those 'be careful what you wish for' things."

"I think you mean 'wishing your sister's a cat so her dad will be allergic to her' things," Sofia shot back but with a smile.

"Hey, I never specifically said I wanted you to be a cat. I just…need to watch the way I word things, I guess."

"Hmm…" She laughed a little bit and closed her eyes. "You know, when I was little and got sick, my daddy—my real dad—used to read me stories and fix me some tea and soup." She sighed and opened her eyes. "He was such a nice person."

Amber blinked, not used to the girl mentioning her father. "What do you remember the most about him?" she wondered, figuring it couldn't hurt since the other princess had volunteered the previous information.

"His hands," she said gently. "He had rough hands from working so much, but they were always gentle whenever it came to me and Mom. We used to compare hand sizes for fun." She held her hand up to Amber, who smiled gently and responded in likeness. "My hand was always so small compared to his." She sighed. "That's what I remember most though. I can sort of imagine his voice, and I remember what he looked like of course…but his hands are always what stood out to me."

"Huh… Maybe I should go take an extra-long look at Dad's hands tonight." Amber giggled, making Sofia giggle in turn. She was glad the mood wasn't so solemn anymore. It's not that she didn't want Sofia reminiscing, but she knew what it was like to lose a parent. The best thing to do, as far as the blonde was concerned, was keep their memory alive and keep moving on like they would want. "All right, sister dear, I'm going to head to bed." She reached over and hugged her carefully, just in case the other girl was in any pain, before she sat back. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm okay. Thank you, Amber." She smiled gratefully as the older princess nodded and left the room. Once she was alone, Sofia tossed her covers aside and hurried over to her closet, opening it up and stepping inside. She looked around for several minutes before finally finding what she wanted.

She took the item and headed back to bed, pulling the covers around her.

Sofia placed the now far too small dress on her bed and smiled lightly, tracing her fingers over the purple fabric and the embroidery. It was the dress she'd told Cedric about a few months ago—the one that her dad and her friends had created for her. She'd worn it when she was much younger, but now she kept it for sentimental purposes. In the back of her mind, she considered possibly giving the dress to her own daughter in the future, if that should happen.

She took the dress, still on its hanger, and hung it from one of the canopy curtains so that she could still see it if she wanted to. Sofia then pulled her covers all the way up to her chin and nestled into the covers, falling asleep once more—a smile on her face and a sense of peace in her heart.

The end

(A/N: Yes, the song "Daddy's Hands" did play a part in this story. :) I sing the song nearly every Father's Day, so it meant something special to name this story after that song. Also! As it is Day of the Dead—specifically All Souls' Day on November 2nd—I felt it right to pay tribute to the day somehow. :) My students and I celebrated with a fiesta on Friday, so that was a fun learning opportunity for them. Thank you all for your kind comments on my last story. It's never easy losing someone, but in time the heart heals, kind of like Sofia's situation, I'm sure. On a happier note, once I get settled, I plan on getting either my Baileywick story or my Amber/Desmond school project story out within the next few weeks. This is the time of the year, however, when I'm extremely busy with holidays, observations, grad school finals (thanks for those words of encouragement, Giggles! :D), Black Friday *yep, I'm crazy, hehe*, and lots of other things come up at once. I'll be around, but not very often. If you should need me, just PM me and I'll get back to you. Okay, this is a super long A/N. I must end this creatively… Um… Oh, trivia! The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis. :D Okay, that's your lesson for the day. Good night, and enjoy the rest of your weekend! Also, make sure you turned back your clocks, and enjoy that extra hour of sleep! ;) ~AquaTurquoise)