Delayed

Chapter One

Sam Swarek had never ignored a cry. Especially when it was clearly a child's cry that hadn't stopped said crying in the past fifteen minutes. It seemed that this character trait had been passed down on to his son, Ben.

"Dad, there's a girl under the slide," exclaimed Ben, running up to his dad who was stood looking around the park whilst leaning against the fence. "She won't stop crying and I don't think she has a mummy or daddy."

Sam frowned and ruffled his six year old's dark hair. "Thanks for letting me know, you should always help people when they're in trouble. Daddy will go help her look for her parents, why don't you play with Liam and his mummy."

It was a very safe children's park and he knew Jane, Liam's mother would keep an eye on both boys. It was most likely that the little girl had lost her parents and was scared. Being a police officer he knew a lot worse could have happened or could happen if she was left alone any longer but he had a feeling there was nothing dark about this scenario. He walked towards the slide and peeked his head under. The little girl looked up at him with crocodile tears in her big bambi brown eyes. She was still practically a baby, three years old at most. She was too young to be on her own. She was wearing pink denim shorts with a white top, both of which were dirty and her knees were scuffed. She looked like she had taken a fall and no one had been there to reassure her that everything was okay.

"Hey, are you okay under there sweetheart?" asked Sam gently.

"I want my mummy," cried the little girl.

"I'll help you find mummy," smiled Sam. "My name is Sam, what's your name?"

The girl didn't reply but kept crying. "That's okay, sweetheart, cause you're not supposed to talk to strangers but you can talk to me cause I'm a police officer. Look!" He grabbed his badge out of his back pocket to show her. It did the trick cause she was mesmerised the moment she saw it. She held out her podgy toddler arms to grab it, and he let her. She giggled to herself as she fiddled with it, Sam amused at watching a child go from hysterical to perfectly happy in a couple of seconds.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Abby Nally and I am three years old," said Abby proudly, holding up three fingers.

"Wow you're a big girl now then," proclaimed Sam, as Abby nodded her head enthusiastically. "But big girl's still need their mummies. Were you with your mummy in the park?" She nodded her head again, engrossed in playing with his badge again. "I'll help you find your mummy but you have to come out from under here first, if that's okay?"

"Okay," said Abby, and held her arms outstretched wanting to be picked up. Although he knew he was a good guy and therefore he needed her to do what he said, it always scared him how trusting children were. He reached down and grabbed her, picking her up and making sure she didn't bang her head on the slide.

"So what does your mummy look like, Abby?" asked Sam. He didn't get a reply as a loud shriek startled the child, and caused her to wriggle about. He had to keep a tighter hold so she didn't fall.

"Abby! AbbyBear, come out for mummy! Ab- Oh my god get the hell off of my child," shouted a voice from behind him. Brilliant now every mother in the park was going to think he was the fricking child catcher. "Please just let her down now or I will hurt you and then call the cops."

"Mummy, mummy," chorused Abby, trying to reach over his shoulder.

"Look, m'aam, I'm a police officer, Abby sweetheart show your mummy my badge before she does a bad thing," said Sam calmly, not wanting to turn around in case he dropped the still wiggling child.

"Okay, thank you for finding my little girl but please can you give her back to me," said the mother, relief evident in her voice. He set the Abby back down on the ground carefully, knowing she'd run straight to her mother.

"Abigail Samantha McNally, don't you dare run off again," sighed the mother, causing Sam to whirl around without breath. McNally. The bambi eyes. Andy McNally was kneeling in front of Abby, crushing her to her chest, tears in her own bambi eyes. "Mummy was so scared."

He didn't know what to say. He was staring at the woman he had loved and lost six years ago. The woman he had practically been ordered to forget by everyone around him.

"I'm sorry, mummy," said Abby, her bottom lip wobbling.

Andy put on big smiles, and he knew she was doing the parenting secret of tricking your child into being happy again. "It's okay, AbbyBear because you're back with me. Now you need to say thank you to the nice police officer who found you."

"Thank you, Sam," said Abby, with a small smile, shy all of a sudden. Andy finally whipped her head up to see him and he reckoned her look of shock mirrored his own.

"Sam," whispered Andy, her eyes widening. She stood up from her unsteady crouching position and let her hand rest on her child's head as Abby hugged her leg.

"I didn't realise," said Sam, his voice hoarse. "She said her name was Andy Nally."

"She hasn't quite mastered the Mc part yet," said Andy, with a little smile as she looked her daughter fondly. "We've been trying to work on that."

"We've?" asked Sam, knowing it was no longer any of his business.

"Abby and I," answered Andy carefully. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm moving back to Toronto," explained Sam. "Listen, An-"

"Mummy can I play in the sand pit?" asked Abby, tugging on Andy's trousers to get her attention.

"Of course you can AbbyBear," smiled Andy. "Mummy and Sam will just be on that bench over there where I'll be able to see you, okay." She glanced over at Sam. "If you want to, that is."

"Yeah of course," said Sam, not wanting her to leave his sight. "Just let me go tell Ben where I'll be."

She nodded and sat down, watching her daughter happily play. The child had forgotten all about her traumatic experience already. He walked the short distance to where his son was playing with his friend.

"Hey, Ben Buddy, you see that nice lady sat on the bench over there?" he pointed to Andy, and his son nodded his head. "I'm going to be sat with her, okay? She's an old friend of daddy's and she's the crying little girl's mummy. You can stay and play with Liam if his mummy says that okay or you can come play in the sandpit."

"I want to play in the sandpit," said Ben, after a minute of weighing up his options.

"Okay, but you need to look after the little girl for me," asked Sam. "She's called Abby."

He waited a moment and watched his son jump into the sandpit before walking back to Andy. This was just strange. He knew there was a chance he might bump into her, now he was back but he didn't think it would be so soon. He hadn't even seen Oliver and Jerry yet.

"This is really weird, isn't it," laughed Andy, when he sat next to her.

"Yeah, just a bit," agreed Sam.

"If you'd have told me life would be like this all those years ago I wouldn't have believed you," admitted Andy. "I can tell he's your kid, he's the spitting image of you."

"Yeah, he looks absolutely nothing like Monica," said Sam.

"How is she?" asked Andy, not meeting his eyes.

"Fine, I think," replied Sam. "We settled the divorce last week."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sam," apologised Andy. He smiled because he knew despite what had happened between them she was genuinely sorry for him.

"It was for the best," said Sam. "How's the paramedic?"

"I wouldn't know, we split up a month after you got married."

A silence built up between them as they mulled over their thoughts. Just over six years ago, he had been sent undercover just before they were finally going to get together. It had been a long undercover assignment and after nearly a year, he had come back to find her dating a paramedic. He had missed his chance and it had killed him. He had gone out and had a fling with Monica, resulting in her getting pregnant with Ben. He then, believing himself to be doing the right thing, married her and he never saw Andy again. He didn't know anything about her life anymore, didn't know she'd had a kid, but it hadn't stopped him from wondering.

"Abby is a gorgeous little girl, Andy," said Sam, breaking the silence. He smiled when Andy smiled at him proud as punch.

"I know," she grinned, before her face suddenly fell. "You must think I'm such a bad parent for losing my child."

"No, of course I don't."

"There was a stupid telesales person on the phone and I was trying to deal with them and when I finally managed to hang up she'd gone," said Andy, frowning. "I thought she'd gone to see the ducks (their her favourite) but she hadn't, and then I realised I'd gone looking in entirely the wrong direction and-"

"Andy, it's okay, breath," interrupted Sam. "If it helps you feel any better, when Ben was a baby I accidentally left him in a supermarket trolley baby seat. I'd put my car keys in the engine before I'd realised."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one," said Andy with a dry chuckle. "Abby learnt how to run before she could walk so she can get up to mischief when she wants to. It can be hard, especially cause I'm on my own."

"You're on your own?" asked Sam, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Not everyone is as nice as guy as you, Sam," said Andy softly. "Abby's father was a one night stand who signed his parental rights the day I told him I was pregnant. He wanted nothing to do with us."

"Oh Andy."

"I'm glad he did that," admitted Andy. "I'd rather it be this way than her having a deadbeat dead. My dad is great with her; he's been totally sober since the day I told him I was pregnant."

"That's good," said Sam. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"I didn't wait for you, Sam," said Andy sadly. "So don't say sorry because it's my fault. Then you were getting married and you were going to be a father, you couldn't have turned your back on that."

"Well I've just learnt recently you don't have to be married to the mother to be a good father," said Sam wryly. "Back then I thought I would have to, that I should do the right thing. She only agreed to marry me on the condition that I would no longer see you. Ever."

"She'd just learnt she was pregnant from a fling, believe me it can leave a girl feeling insecure," said Andy in understanding. "It hurt at the time, but I understand why she did it. Everyone cut you from my life. Your name isn't mentioned in front of me at the station. I think they thought I'd fall to pieces every time I'd hear it, and then it just stuck."

"I didn't want to not see you," said Sam honestly. "I was scared and you had been the one thing I could rely on in my life, the one thing I had wanted in my life until Ben. I told Monica nothing would happen because you had a new boyfriend but she said that didn't matter because I still fell in love with you the last time you had a boyfriend. She was right. I think if you'd have turned up at my wedding I wouldn't have gone through with it."

"I used to regret not doing that but not anymore," said Andy. "If I had, I wouldn't have Abby, and whilst it's been tough, I couldn't change that for nothing."

"I know the feeling," said Sam, savouring the eye contact they were sharing. "I can't believe I didn't know she was your daughter, I should have recognised the eyes; your eyes."

"Well to be fair, as we've established, it's been a long time."

"Too long."

"And you probably weren't expecting me to have a child in the first place," reasoned Andy.

"No, I did," replied Sam to her surprise. "Oliver and Jerry haven't mentioned you once since I married Monica. Like what everybody did to you. Sometimes I wondered whether I'd just imagined you all those years ago. How screwed up is that? I always thought that you'd married the paramedic guy and had lots of babies. I guess I just wanted you to be happy."

"I may not be married with lots of babies but me and my one baby are very happy," smiled Andy. "I don't want to pry, but what happened between you and Monica?"

"What always happens I suppose," he explained warily. "We drifted apart, the last couple of years we were just going through the motions for Ben I suppose."

"I really am sorry, Sam," admitted Andy. "I wanted you to be happy as well. Have you got joint custody?"

"Yeah," grinned Sam. "Do you really think I would just be a every second weekend dad?"

"No," smiled Andy. "You're not that guy."

"Dad!"

"Hey buddy," said Sam. "This is Andy, she's that old friend I was talking about, Abby's mum."

"Hi," said Ben shyly.

"Hi, Ben," replied Andy with a big smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"What's up?" asked Sam.

"Abby fell asleep in the sandpit."

"She was due a nap before she ran off," sighed Andy, getting up. "I better get her home."

"Did you drive here?"

"Yeah, I finally got my own car," said Andy, rolling her eyes. "It hasn't even been shot at yet either."

"I'm glad," said Sam sincerely. Andy McNally was all grown up. "She'll be cranky if you wake her up, if she's anything like you."

She narrowed her eyes playfully at him. "I'd argue but you're right. I'll carry her to the car and hope I don't wake her."

"Let me," offered Sam kindly. "She must be heavy for you, especially when she's asleep."

"You don't have to," said Andy, shaking her head. "You should stay here and enjoy your afternoon with Ben."

"You don't mind going, do you buddy?" asked Sam.

The little boy shook his head. "Liam has gone home. And I'm hungry."

"You spend too much time with your uncle Olly," chuckled Sam. "I'll get you fed buddy but first we'll make sure Abby and Andy get to their car."

Sam walked across the short path to the sand pit and his heart melted at the sight. Abby had curled up in a ball, thumb stuck in mouth, her head rested on a mound of sand. He bent down and easily picked her up. She stirred for a moment before nuzzling into her shoulder and staying asleep. He looked up to see Andy staring at him strangely. When she noticed him looking back she shook her head slightly as though to wake herself up, and blushed.

"Sorry, it's just that I never expected to see you again, and definitely didn't imagine it to be like this," said Andy, sounding slightly dazed. "Poor thing must be exhausted."

"Ben, are you okay to hold Andy's hand when we walk across the road?"

Ben stuck out his hand now and Andy smiled at the little boy and clasped onto it. He understood why Andy looked so dazed a moment a go. His son and Andy; it just looked so right. He swallowed and looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was adorable, and she was totally Andy and that made his heart swell. He had never been a big kid person. He'd always loved his nieces to bits and his son was the light of his life but he hadn't even known Abby a day and he loved the little girl.

"It's the red one on the right," gestured Andy, pressing the button on her keys to unlock it. "Her booster seat is in the back."

He nodded and opened the door, gently easing the little girl in the seat and fastening the seat belt.

"Sleep well, sweetheart," whispered Sam, placing a soft kiss on her kiss. He shut the car door quietly and leant against it.

"Thanks for that," said Andy, awkwardly.

"It's no big deal," said Sam with a quick smile. "I'm just glad we came to the park today."

"Me too."

"I wish things were different, Andy," sighed Sam, running a hand through his hair. "Had been different."

"We missed our moment," said Andy, with a sad smile. "We could have been great but life happened."

It felt like a punch to the gut. "Yeah, coulda shoulda woulda and all that."

"At least our friends will be able to say out names again," chuckled Andy, but he could tell it was forced. "And we can be friends."

"Can we?"

"I miss you in my life," said Andy. "And even if you don't want to, we will be forced to be together in friend situations so how about we start next weekend? Traci and Jerry are having a garden party for me for my thirtieth."

"You're not even thirty yet?" exclaimed Sam, his eyes widening. "God, I feel old."

Andy laughed. "You've always been old."

"That's just mean, McNally," Sam grinned, his dimples coming out. "I might not want to come to your birthday now."

"You should," protested Andy. "And of course Ben you can come too. There'll be lots of food and cake, and they'll be other kids there as well."

"What do you say, Ben?" smiled Sam.

"I like cake," was his reply, causing both adults to laugh.

"I guess we'll be there then."

"I guess so," said Andy, taking a deep breath. "I better get going. Next Saturday then?"

"Next Saturday," replied Sam. He watched as Andy and Abby drove off, with him and Ben waving goodbye. He felt as though he'd been taken back six years being with Andy again.

"She's pretty," said Ben, holding his dad's hand, snapping Sam out of his funk.

"Yeah, she sure is, buddy."