She came home from running a few errands. Getting the food needed for tonight's dinner. A new outfit for Erin in anticipation of Thursday's picture day at her preschool. She had only been gone an hour if even that. As she balances the three bags on one hip Peg enters the front room and drops all the purchases at her feet, the eggs making a sad cracking sound in their fragile container. She closes the door behind her, spins around slowly taking in the scene, the condition of her living room. For a moment she is almost considering she entered the wrong home.

"What happened here?" Peg says seemingly to herself as she steps over a ripped apart couch cushion covered in what appears to be finger paint.

"Hi mommy!"

"Oh hi Peg!" Both Erin and BJ come bouncing in from the direction of the kitchen. Both smiling. Both covered in the same paint; she more more so than him.

"What happened here?" She repeats, trying to control the anger bubbling over.

"Just having some fun. Right Erin?"

"Right daddy!" Peg forces on her own smile and directs her focus on Erin.

"Sweetheart can you do me a favor and run out stairs and clean up?"

"But I wanna play more with daddy!"

"I know baby I know. It'll be a few a minutes." Erin looks up at BJ who gives a slight nod and she zooms past the spilled groceries to the stair case and takes them two at a time. Peg remains still and quiet her smile no longer needed or wanted staring down her husband. When the sound of the water reaches her ears she takes the keys still in hand and throws them hard as possible on the coffee table.

"Whoa Peg wha.."

"Don't start with me BJ! What the hell is this!?" She motions at the disaster.

"We were just having fun."

"Yeah I know. You said that! You have to stop letting her do whatever she wants."

"I don't."

"Yes you do Beej. I know you think you have to make up for the time you missed with her. But this isn't the way. She's not mad. She doesn't remember that you weren't here."

"Oh how do you know?! You didn't leave her! You didn't miss precious moments in her growing up. What if one day she learns the truth?!" Peg approaches her husband.

"I hope she does. I want her to know her daddy was brave and helped thousands of people and kept her and this country save. I want her to know he made sacrifices for her and me. And yes we missed him but we knew everyday he thought of us. BJ time can't be replaced those moments are gone. But allowing her to do whatever she wants, refusing to say no because you feel guilty isn't gonna make up from them." He drops his head and shoulders.

"I'm scared that you're wrong and she won't understand."

"She will."

"How do you know?"

"Because she has the purest and kindest soul just like her daddy."

"Sorry about the mess." He states looking around almost as if for the first time not realizing how out of control their daddy-daughter time had been.

"Oh don't worry you two can spend more time together cleaning it up. I'll be taking a bubble bath." Peg leans in and kisses him on the cheek, turns towards the stairs as Erin appears at the top of the landing and begins to race down.

"I'm ready for more fun daddy! I wanna play princesses again!"

"Actually sweetheart it's time to help daddy clean."

"But I wanna play! Please daddy? Please don't you love me?" Without looking. climbing the steps to their master bedrooms she know his heart is breaking.

"I do baby I do. But it's time to clean up. Go to the kitchen and get a trash bag."

"Not fair!"

"I'm not gonna tell you again. Go." Peg hears smaller feet stomping to the kitchen in a miniature protest. Be strong Beej. Be strong she thinks.