"Where's Daddy?" six-year-old Cammie asked. Her mom looked at her and sighed, a small smile playing across her lips.

"Well, I don't know dear. Maybe you should go look for him," Rachel Morgan suggested before she entered the kitchen. "But if you don't find him soon, I just might have to make tonight's dinner all alone…" she teased.

Cameron quickly threw down her backpack and sprinted outside. She quickly looked in the bushes, giggling the entire time. When she discovered that Matt wasn't behind them she flew back into the house. "He's not outside!" she announced.

Rachel looked at her daughter and laughed. "Sweetheart, he hid there yesterday. Why would he hide there two days in a row?"

Cammie pivoted around and started up the stairs. She looked under the bed in her room, but knew it was pointless because there was no way anyone could manage to fit under there with all of the toys that were crammed under the mattress. "Daddy? Where are you?" Cammie sing-songed. "Come out, come out, where ever you are!"

After searching through the guest room, her room, and the master bedroom, she didn't know where else he could be hiding. But then the closet door swung open and Matt snatched up his daughter. A burst of giggles escaped Cammie's mouth. "Put me down! Put me down!" she begged.

Matt moved his fingers along her ribs, tickling her. Cameron couldn't stop the laughs that were coming from her. "S-stop!" she gasped in between laughter. "S-stop ti-tickling m-me!"

Matt planted a kiss on top of her forehead before setting her down on the floor. "I love you, Cammie."

"I love you, too, Daddy!" she screamed. Cammie then ran down to help her mother cook dinner.

BREAK

Cammie got back home from her first day of 6th grade. "Hey Mom!" she yelled from the doorway. She slung her book-bag down and casually strolled over to the kitchen. "Where's Dad?" she asked.

Rachel looked up from the ham she was attempting to slice. "He'll be home soon. He just got a little caught up at work. Can you help out a little, kiddo? I need someone to hold the ham still while I slice it…."

Cameron laughed at her mother. "You have to cook it first. Then you can cut it a lot simpler."

Rachel let out an exasperated sigh before abandoning the ham and going next to her daughter. "How about this: you and I go to Wal-Mart really quick, buy an already cooked chicken, take it out of the box and then pretend we cooked it. Sounds like a plan?" Rachel offered.

Cammie nodded and laughed. She hurried over to ham and wrapped it in aluminum foil before placing it in the freezer. "I swear Mom, you're going to end up killing Dad and I by giving us salmonella!" Cammie exclaimed.

Rachel had gotten her purse and pulled out her keys. "Let's get this show on the road, kiddo."

The two of them rushed out of the house.

Once they got back from Wal-Mart, they both saw that Matt's car was already in the driveway. "Uh-oh," Cammie sighed. "How are we going to do this?"

Rachel grabbed the plastic bag and passed it to Cammie. "I'll go in and distract him. You'll open up the chicken and put it on the serving platter, alright?" Cam's mom explained.

Cammie smiled and reminded Rachel, "Um, Dad's in the CIA. I highly doubt that I'll go by unseen."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at her daughter. "You're the Chameleon, Cam. You're the pavement artist, remember? You may be eleven, but I know that you can do this, Cammie," her mom reassured her.

Cammie swung open the car door and hopped out. She creped around to the back door and noiselessly stepped into her house. Cameron looked over at her parents. They looked picture-perfect. Matt had his arms wrapped around Rachel and his chin was resting against the top of her head. Rachel had her head lying against chest, with a sad look in her eyes.

Cammie popped open the box and quickly threw away the trash. She tossed the chicken onto the platter and gently set it down on the table. "Dinner's ready," she announced. She noticed that Rachel had tears streaming down her cheek, as did Matt. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong?" she asked, rushing to her parents embrace.

"Let's eat first. I'll tell you during dinner. Cammie nodded. She led her family to the table. One by one, they got their piece of chicken. What seemed to be a fun and playful evening was quickly turning into a dark and stormy one.

"Cammie," Matt began. "I've been assigned to a mission."

Cammie felt her heart sink. "Oh. What do you have to do?"

"It's a secret," he replied.

Cammie looked down at her hands. "Level six clearance?"

Matt chuckled. "Level seven."

Cammie looked back up at her dad. His eyes looked vacant and his face looked drained. "I wish you could stay," she mumbled.

"Me too, sweetheart. But, this is my job. I love you, Cammie."

"I love you too, Dad." Cammie didn't realize the tears that were sliding down her face until one landed on her hand. "I love you too," she repeated.

BREAK

Cammie sat in the front row during the funeral. She didn't want to. She wanted to sit somewhere near the middle and blend in with the crowd like her dad had taught her how to do. Rachel stood behind the podium. Great sobs racked her entire body as she finished the final line of her speech. "This world will never forget you, Matthew Morgan."

Cammie stood up and took her place behind the podium. She watched as her mom left the stage and plopped down in a bright red seat. "My dad was a wonderful person. He could make me smile through the tears and laugh through the pain. He always told me that heartbreak wasn't easy, but that time heals. I'm sure that he meant it in a different way, but I don't think my heart could ever be shattered the way it was two days ago. This is whole different kind of heartbreak, and I don't think time will ever make the hole in my heart leave. The last two days I haven't cried. My dad had always to stay strong through hard times, but I know he would approve of crying during this scenario. But I haven't cried. I don't feel sad. I feel empty, numb, vacant. That's the way my dad looked before he left us to go on his work trip. It was like he knew what was going to happen." By this point, Cameron had completely soaked the top of the podium.

"I'm not disappointed in my dad for not living. I'm not angry that he didn't try harder. I know my father, and I know that he struggled to stay here for as long as he could. I'm happy that he's not struggling anymore. He's safe now. No one can hurt him. He's in a better place. But for some reason, this isn't enough to satisfy me. I know it's selfish, but I'd rather him be here with us and have to live with the hurt and pain then to leave us to be all better. I miss him. I miss the way he used to hold me and lay next to me when I had a bad dream. I miss the way he would kiss my forehead every morning and tell me 'Good luck,' with his happy-go-lucky grin. I miss everything about him. I simply miss him. Matthew Morgan was a great man, a great role-model, and an even better father to me. I'd give anything for him to be with me and Mom right now, but I know that no matter what I do or say, he's never coming back. But he will always be my guardian angel. I love you, Daddy."

Sad, I know. But today is my Daddy's birthday so I wanted to type this up as a little tribute to all of the wonderful Father's out there.

~Spencer