Title: Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon
Rating: K
Pairings: Danny/Lindsay, Flack/OC
A/N: 1) a little future Danny/Lindsay fic that was begging to be written!
2) This is the re-jigged version, I had a bit of gender confusion with one of the characters! a bit thank you to gwen24 for pointing it out to me, and to gwen24 & Hypedupash for their reviews on the original!
Despite the gloriously sunny afternoon, the play park was virtually empty. A lone 3 year old girl ran towards the climbing frame, her dark blonde curls glowing almost golden in the sunshine. Two women sat on a nearby bench, accompanied by a stroller each. The women were engrossed in conversation while simultaneously watching the girl as she began to attack the climbing frame with an enthusiasm only small children seem to possess.
"Mommy, watch me climb!" she called, looking over her shoulder to check the women were watching. "You be careful Cara." Lindsay Messer called back. "Okay Mommy! Gonna go all the way to the top sos I can tell Daddy!" Cara grinned before mounting her assault on the climbing frame. Lindsay turned to her neighbour, and best friend, Cali. "I swear that girl has no fear at all!" She winced as she realised her daughter was already halfway up the climbing frame. Cali laughed, "yeah, she's not at all like her parents, they're both such wimps!" Lindsay lightly punched Cali on the arm and smiled. "And you haven't picked up your husband's sarcastic sense of humour at all!" The women's laughter was interrupted by a small cry from the stroller closest to Cali. "Looks like Ava agrees with you Linds, either that or she needs a diaper change!"
Again the women were interrupted by a shout from the top of the climbing frame. "Look Mommy, I'm at the top! Tell Daddy I went to the top! And I can see Uncky Don! Uncky Don has ice-creams, ice-creams Mommy!" Lindsay rolled her eyes; Cara definitely shared her father's love of food. "You better come down then honey, else Uncle Don will eat your ice-cream."
"No Mommy! Don't let him!" Cara screamed, horrified at the thought of someone eating her ice-cream. "I'm comin' down Mommy, don't let him!"
Cara was halfway down the climbing frame, checking over her shoulder at regular intervals, when Don Flack returned from the ice-cream van, an ice-cream cone in each hand. He handed his wife one cone before leaning down to kiss her forehead as she beamed up at him. With his free hand he stroked his daughter's face, amazed as always at how she seemed to be the perfect combination of Cali and himself, his dark hair and blue eyes, her pale skin and small nose. He reluctantly withdrew his hand and sat down on the bench next to his wife before looking up to see Cara still halfway down the climbing frame. "C'mon Cara, I'm gonna eat your ice-cream if you're not down soon." He teased, grinning slightly. "No!" Cara screamed, "No Unky Don, don't eat it!"
"Well get yourself down here then!" He called back. Cara suddenly started to sob, clinging desperately onto the climbing frame. "I can't, I stuck." Her sobs became louder as tears began to run down her face. Don quickly jumped up and handed Cara's ice-cream to Lindsay, before dashing over to the climbing frame and plucking Cara off it. She wrapped her little legs round his torso and flung her arms around Don's neck, her tears running from her cheeks onto the collar of his t-shirt. "I'm sorry sweetie, was Uncky Don being mean to you?" Cara's head nodded against his shoulder as her sobs began to subside. "I'm sorry Cara, shall we go see Mommy and get your ice-cream?"
"Yeah," she hiccupped as Don walked back to the bench, "But none for Unky Don." He grinned as he carefully placed Cara on the bench next to her Mom, "Ok, none for naughty Unky Don."
Ice-creams eaten, the group left the play park. Cali pushed Ava in her stroller, Don's arm firmly round her waist. Lindsay pushed her youngest daughter in her stroller, Cara happily dancing alongside as they walked. It wasn't long before Cara started to fall behind, so the adults stopped to let her catch up. "Tired Mommy." She mumbled when she caught up. "I know sweetie," Lindsay replied. "We'll soon be home, you can sit down then." Cara stopped and held her arms up to Lindsay. "Up Mommy, wanna go up." Lindsay sighed, she had hoped that now her daughter had reached her third birthday that she'd stop wanting to be picked up or to ride on the stroller all the time. She crouched down in front of her daughter, "Sweetie, you know you're too big to go on the stroller now, there's only room for Bella, and I can't pick you up and push the stroller at the same time. You're gonna have to walk honey." It was so much easier when Danny was there, he was always more than happy to scoop up his eldest daughter. Unfortunately he was stuck in the lab and wasn't due to finish for another hour. Cara began to sob quietly as Lindsay hung her head. She had to be tough; she couldn't keep giving in to her daughter when it wasn't practical to give her what she wanted.
"Unky Don to the rescue!" he grinned as he lifted Cara up and swung her round. "If you ask Aunty Calista nicely maybe she'll put you on my back for a piggy back." Don's grin fell slightly as he saw the look on his wife's face. "Stop calling me Calista," she said through gritted teeth. "You know I hate being called Calista!" Don stuck his bottom lip out like a sulky schoolboy, "I'm sorry, forgive me?" He pouted. Cali took one look at his 'puppy dog' eyes and melted. "Oh ok!" She grinned before planting a kiss on Don's sun-warmed cheek and lifting Cara out of his arms and onto his shoulders. Cara held tightly onto Don's head as she got used to her new position. "Ok, Cara sweetie, you kinda need to take your hands off Uncle Don's eyes else he won't be able to see!" Lindsay laughed as she realised exactly where her daughter's hands were. Cali and Cara both burst out laughing when Don mimed feeling blindly for the path in front of him. "Silly Unky Don!" Cara giggled as she moved her hands onto his forhead. "Now, home!" She added, pointing towards the park gate.