Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 58th cycle. Now cycle 59!

"Would the Parents Of"
(Younger) Sue & Brittany 3yo
Sylvesters series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

Sue would say the best days she had with her daughter were the ones where it was just the two of them, at home, but in her innermost heart it was the opposite. It was a walk at the park, or around the mall. Brittany was only three years old, so all she cared about was getting to run around and see colorful things. For Sue it meant being just like any mother with her child, and that was something without price.

One day she had taken her to the mall, to find her a new bathing suit for the summer, after having grown out of the last.

"What color do you want?" she asked as they walked, hand in hand.

"Pink! Or red… Red! Or blue? Purple!"

"Well you know your colors," Sue smirked. "Do you want one that sparkles?" Brittany looked at her as though she hadn't realized this was an option.

They had gotten to the store and, after showing her a handful of options, she'd gotten her heart set on a striped red and white suit, sparkly on the red stripes. Sue had commented she would look like one of her Cheerios.

The cashier had thought the same: she was one of Sue's former Cheerios. Sue had gotten into an argument with her, over something she would have forgotten two minutes later. When she had grabbed the bag with the suit inside and turned to take her daughter's hand and leave the store, Brittany wasn't there.

She scanned the surroundings, but nowhere did she find her little girl with blonde hair sprouting atop her head.

She called her name, loud enough that, if she could hear her, she would know it was not time to play games and she had to come out where she could see her. But she wasn't appearing, and with every second that passed her panic rose. She had always taught her daughter never to wander off, but she was three years old, and imaginative, and curious, and thinking that she wouldn't wander off if no one watched her would only lead to… well, this.

She'd searched every last corner of the store, and she was entirely aware that she was alone. If Brittany had left the store, then every second she spent inside that store was one more step for her to take, further and further away from her.

Or maybe she hadn't gone on her own. Maybe someone had seen the sweet faced blue eyed toddler and lured her away. She could already be out of the mall… Her mind was unravelling, her fear mounting along with her desperation.

Leaving the store, she turned left and right. There were so many people, so many stores, so many places where she could have gone… What was she wearing? Had she put her in the blue shirt with the flowers or the green one with the hearts? Or had it been a dress? Why couldn't she remember, she had just dressed her back up after they'd tried on the bathing suit… She couldn't see it, couldn't…

"Would the parents of a blonde haired, blue eyed girl in a yellow shirt and green pants present themselves at the information desk."

The voice had been heard overhead, and now she could see her in her mind.

Sue ran to find the desk and arrived to find her daughter sat on the counter, blissfully unaware of the terror she had inflicted on her mother. Instead, she spotted her coming and smiled. "Mommy!" she called out, almost falling off. The woman at the desk had held her in place.

'Brittany!" Sue came up, quickly scooping her up in her arms. She could feel herself shaking, and she hoped Brittany wouldn't notice. "I've told you, if I'm not holding your hand, you should stay next to me…"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, grasping on to her mother. Maybe she'd been scared, too, until they'd found her and brought her here, and now she was even more relieved to have her back.

"Come on, we're going home."

After they had left the mall, they drove home. Brittany had fallen asleep in the car. When they'd arrived, instead of taking her up to her own room and her own bed, Sue had taken her to her room, intending to put her down there. She always liked falling asleep there, in the bed that was so much bigger than her.

Sue had ended up lying down with her, holding her close to herself where she could feel warm and secure, and maybe also where Sue would know for sure that she was there, and that she had not actually lost her.

She had never loved anyone the way that she loved her daughter. There was her sister Jean, of course, but that was different. This was her child, this one little person who had loved her unconditionally from the day she was born. She was so much sweeter and kinder than what Sue ever felt she had the right to. She would put her short arms around her, squeeze her tight, give laughing little kisses, and she would tell her how she loved her and how she was her favorite person.

Outside their home, she wouldn't find many people who would consider her with so much love. Out there she had a reputation for being ruthless, fearsome. People listened to her and gave her the respect she demanded. She didn't have to be that person, not at home, not with her, and that relief was all she could ever want.

She rested there, holding the sleeping child against herself, and at some point she must have drifted off, too, because the next thing she knew, she was waking up, and something was prodding her forehead, her nose, her cheek… She opened her eyes and there was Brittany, poking her with her index finger.

"I'm going to eat that if you're not careful," she 'warned,' and the girl pulled her hand away with a giggle.

"Not my finger," she shook her head.

"Okay, fine, I won't eat your finger," Sue 'relented' and promised. "Been awake long?" Brittany nodded. "And you stayed?"

"You said not to go when you didn't hold my hand," she explained, and Sue pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"That's right, that's what I said."

Some days she wished Joe could see how good their little girl was. They had created this perfect bit of a person and he had no idea she existed. But then her bitterness over his leaving would resurface and she would think otherwise. If it had been the two of them today though, Brittany might not have gotten away.

"Do you know how much Mommy loves you?" she told her, brushing at the blonde hair in her face.

"Same as me," she nodded.

"Yeah? So how much do you love me?" Sue asked, staring into her eyes.

"More," Brittany replied decisively.

"More?" Sue asked with a smirk.

"Yes. I love you more," she reasoned, and Sue felt her heart swell.

"I love you more, too."

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!