Mike Logan leaned over to pick up a mitten from the snow. A small fistful of snow sailed through the air, landing on his neck and sliding down his shirt as he stood up. He looked at the giggling wielder of the snowball. "Ok, Maggie, this means war."

With a squeal, she ran away from him, across the small yard outside his apartment building. He caught her easily, lifting her into his arms and kissing her cheek. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you ready for some lunch?" he asked her.

"And hot choc'late?"

"I always have hot chocolate for you," he laughed, kissing her as he carried her into the building.

She charged up the stairs with him right behind her. "Four hours in the snow and you can still run up the stairs. Yeah, you're your father's child."

He took off her coat, hat and mittens, then sat her on the couch and took off her boots. "Ok, how about some soup?"

"Soup!" she agreed enthusiastically.

He ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead. "Ok, munchkin, give me five minutes, then meet me at the table and we'll have soup."

He went into the kitchen and heated up a can of soup, carrying two bowls to the table. She smiled when he set her bowl in front of her. "Daddy likes 'mato soup, too."

Logan smiled. "Yes, he does."

He disappeared into the kitchen, returning with two mugs. "And here's hot chocolate for my best girl."

She giggled. "Thank you."

He sat down next to her with his own lunch. He always marveled at what a happy child she was, always laughing and smiling. "And who's your best guy, Maggie?"

"Daddy."

He laughed. He'd walked right into that one. Nothing was more true than that. "Who else?"

Maggie smiled at him. "You, Uncle Mike."

"That's right." She wrinkled her nose at him and he leaned toward her, pressing his forehead against hers. "Little bunny," he said, poking her belly.

She laughed. The one thing he did understand about Goren was his devotion to this little girl. There was no doubt to anyone who knew them that she was Daddy's little girl in every way. What truly amazed him, though, was that as devoted as he was to his daughter, his love for his wife transcended everything. He doubted he would ever find a love like that.

The phone rang as he put the dishes in the sink. He didn't recognize the number and hoped it wasn't a case. "Logan."

"Hey," Goren's voice answered. "How's Maggie doing?"

"She's fine. We just finished lunch. How's Alex?"

"Beautiful." He could hear the smile in Goren's voice.

"So what'd she give you--a boy or a girl?"

"A son. He's a tiny little guy, but not for long if he keeps eating the way he started."

Logan laughed. "Congratulations, Bobby."

"Thanks. Can I talk to Maggie?"

"Well...let me see if she wants to talk... Maggie, want to talk to Daddy?"

She bounced off the couch and ran to him. He handed her the phone. "Daddy!"

"Hi, little mouse. Are you taking good care of Uncle Mike?"

"Yes! We played inna snow and had 'mato soup and hot choc'late. Now we gonna watch a movie!"

"Which one?"

"Fairytopia! I wanna see Bibble!"

Goren laughed. "You're gonna wear out that movie."

"Did Mommy get my baby?"

"She sure did."

"She get a good one?"

"Yes, she did. You have a little brother."

"What's his name?"

"Tommy."

She looked thoughtful, and Logan saw her dad in her. "I like Tommy."

"Good."

"You comin' home soon?"

"Soon, baby. I'll tuck you in, ok?"

"Ok."

"Now put Uncle Mike back on and I'll see you later."

"Bye, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too, mouse."

She handed the phone back to Logan and skipped away. "She never holds still. If I didn't know you, I'd ask where she gets all that energy."

Goren laughed again. "Has she worn you out yet?"

"Not yet. Barek's coming over, so maybe between the two of us we can match that energy."

"Good luck."

"What's your son's name?"

"Thomas John."

"They staying the night?"

"Probably."

"You can stay with them, if you want. Barek will stay the night here if I ask her to."

"Thanks, but I promised Maggie I'd be there later to tuck her in."

"Ok, whatever you want to do."

"I'll see you later. Thanks, Mike."

"Yep. Bye."

He closed the phone and watched Maggie pretending to be a plane, all over the living room. He remembered watching Goren lay on his back, holding an infant Maggie above him, playing airplane, making those same sounds, just to make her giggle. That was before he ever knew he was her father. He had been there with Eames three-and-a-half years ago when Maggie was born, even though that wasn't his responsibility. No one else could be with her, and her husband refused to show up, so Goren had stayed with her because she needed him, and he loved her. He always took care of her. When her husband refused to have anything to do with the baby, Eames had been hurt, but Goren was there. He stepped into the father role with ease, because he adored the little girl. It took no effort at all for her to make the transition from 'Uncle Bobby' to 'Daddy.' In her mind he had been 'Daddy' all along.

Smiling, he stepped into the path of the plane, catching her and flipping her into the air. With a laugh and total trust, she landed in his arms. He flew her around the room a few times and collapsed onto the couch with her. He had no idea how Goren did this every day, but he knew that he did. With a kid like Maggie, that boundless energy of his came in handy. More than once, late in this last pregnancy, he'd heard Eames let out an exasperated sigh and tell her husband, "You gave her that energy, you chase her. I'm exhausted." Goren always had the time and energy for his little girl.

The doorbell rang, and Maggie leapt from his lap and ran to the door. He heaved himself from the couch after her and looked through the peephole. "Go ahead and open the door, honey."

She did and bounced in delight when she saw Barek in the hall. "Hi, Aunt Car'lyn!"

Barek picked the little girl up and hugged her. "How are you doing today, Maggie?"

"Good. Mommy got me a new baby!"

"She did? That's exciting, honey!" She set her down and looked at Logan. "How's Alex?"

"According to her husband, she's beautiful."

She laughed. "Of course. She and the baby are ok?"

"They're fine. A little boy. His name is Thomas John, but I don't have any other details so you're gonna have to wait until Bobby gets here.How's the weather out there?"

"Still snowing, and the streets are crap to drive on. Have you had Maggie out in the snow?"

"All friggin' morning. Her favorite game is to drop a mitten and see how much snow she can get down my back when I pick it up."

Barek laughed again. "I like that game."

"Ha, ha. So does she."

Maggie came bouncing over to them. "I wanna go outside. Can we?"

"Outside?" Logan groaned.

Maggie tilted her head and said, "Pleeeeeeze, Uncle Mike!"

Barek smiled. "Of course we can, sweetheart."

Clapping her hands, she ran to get her coat while Logan glared at his partner. "We were gonna watch a movie, Barek."

She looked at the DVD that was sitting on top of the player. "Barbie Fairytopia?" She raised her eyes to look at him. "Barbie? You'd rather watch Barbie than go outside?"

"A tall, leggy blonde? Sure, why not?" He nodded at the backpack in the corner that had Maggie's clothes, some DVDs and a few books in it. "If her dad can watch half this stuff with her, I can suffer through Barbie. She wants to see something called a Bibble."

"Well, you can watch Barbie and the Bibble when we come back inside. I want to go outside, too."

"I don't know if I can handle the two of you ganging up on me."

"Don't be a wuss, Logan."

"A wuss? Hey, I've been taking care of the little whirlwind since five this morning. She hasn't been still for five minutes. I don't think..."

"Exactly," she cut him off with a smile as Maggie brought her mittens to them. Her coat was on, upside down. Laughing, Barek fixed it for her, putting on her mittens and hat. "Let's go, Uncle Mike," she said sweetly as Maggie ran for the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he grumbled, following them out of the apartment while hiding a grin.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner time was fast approaching and Logan was starting to worry. He set some water on to boil after the movie ended. Barek joined him in the kitchen. "Boiling water?"

"Dinner. Spaghetti I can do, and fortunately, Maggie likes spaghetti."

"Did you enjoy the movie?"

"At least I found out what a Bibble is." He looked at the clock. "I wonder where Goren is."

"He's at the hospital with his wife and newborn son."

"He promised Maggie he'd be here to tuck her in. He'd never break his word to her."

"Do you want me to call Alex and ask her if he's left yet?"

"Not yet. Let's see if he shows up for dinner."

He finished the spaghetti and hunted for Maggie, who was playing hide and seek. She was a good hider, and he would have had more trouble finding her, if she wasn't giggling. Then she jumped out at him and he acted startled, making her laugh even more. He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, where he helped her wash her hands. Then he brought her to the table. "Let's try to get more of the spaghetti in our tummies than on the table and floor, ok, Maggie?"

She picked up a piece of spaghetti and looked at it, then put it in her mouth, nodding. "Good s'getti, Uncle Mike."

"Thank you, my dear."

"Where's Daddy?"

"He'll be here. He probably got held up in the snow."

"Maybe he's gonna stay with Mommy."

Barek smiled. "You wouldn't mind if Daddy stayed with Mommy?"

"No. Mommy needs him, too, sometimes." She frowned a little, but then the frown vanished and she said, "I gotta share him."

Logan choked on his food. Barek glared at him, but bit back her comment. He washed down the rest of his mouthful with his beer. She turned her attention back to Maggie. "So, Maggie, are you looking forward to Santa coming?"

She nodded. "Mommy says I'm a good girl."

"That means a lot coming from Mommy," Logan commented. Barek kicked him under the table. "Ow! What?"

She gave him a warning glare, but he just grinned. After dinner, Logan cleared the plates and looked down at Maggie and her immediate area. "Spaghetti explosion. It got away from ya again, kid."

Barek lifted the little girl into her arms. "Let's put you in the tub while Uncle Mike cleans up after the spaghetti monster."

Maggie giggled and smiled at Logan. He touched her nose. "You get in your pjs and, if Daddy's not here yet, you can pick another movie. Aunt Carolyn and I would love to watch another movie with you while we wait for him."

"Ok."

As he cleaned up, he found himself growing more concerned that Goren wasn't there yet. He tried to convince himself that it was the snow, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened.

A/N: As usual, they're not mine; they belong to Dick Wolf. ButBarbie belongs to Mattel. I tried to write Maggie's dialogue as a three-year-old would speak, but I kinda suck at that. So just use your wonderful imaginations and remember that she's just 3-1/2 ( and yes, some three-year-olds do have that much energy!). I've been wanting to do a sequel to Choices because that was such an awesome story to write (and a lot of you seemed to like it), and a plot finally came to me. Tell me what you think and, as always, suggestions are welcome. Sometimes you guys really do help me as the plot develops, so don't be afraid to jump in with any suggestions. Enjoy :-)