A/N- Thanks so much for your reviews guys, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)


City Of Angels

Chapter 2: The Show and Tell

"Miss James gave me this for you Daddy." Elizabeth smiled, holding out a piece of paper with her name written on the top. "You has to sign it for show and tell tomorrow."

"Let's see." Nathan asked, bending down as Elizabeth pointed out her name at the top of the paper, and then Haley's name at the bottom. "It says you have to take your favourite toy to school." He explained, indicating the second sentence as Elizabeth narrowed her eyes to try and comprehend the letter.

"So which is your favourite? Hula Barbie? Princess Barbie?"

When Elizabeth shook her head, grinning, Nathan was out of ideas, as there was no way she was taking in a basketball to show her class mates. As much as he wanted that to be a reality, he knew he could only dream about having a child that shared his love of all things basketball, so until then, he would have to make do with pink and dresses and barbies.

"You're my favourite."

"But it says a favourite toy baby." Nathan laughed, showing her the piece of paper again. "I'm not a toy."

He knew that if Brooke was here right now (which he was entirely glad that she wasn't) she would argue Elizabeth's case, reciting the story of the boy toy auction, and all the other times he was 'played with.'

"But you're my favourite." The little girl pouted, crossing her arms-something Nathan hadn't witnessed before. If she had picked up habits like this from her first few days at school, there was no telling what she might come out with after a year.

"Well we'll see."

For the second time that week, Nathan placed the small slices of pizza on Elizabeth's plate, accompanied by a few vegetables he'd tried (and failed) to cook properly in order to give his daughter a well-balanced meal. He silently told himself that one day soon, he'd have to buy a cook book, or at least have Lucas show him how to make a lasagne.

It came as no surprise to him that Elizabeth loved eating at her Uncle Luke's house, (partly because Brooke was almost always there, clad in some kind of skimpy outfit that she knew accentuated every curve she had) and he had tried to remember how to make the béchamel sauce without forming lumps, and which way to lay the sheets of pasta so that the sauce didn't overflow into the oven. But his first two attempts at trying the dish himself had failed, resulting in take-out from some place or another, and from that moment, Nathan had vowed not to ruin another piece of crockery.

"I'm sorry it's pizza again baby." Nathan smiled, smoothing Elizabeth's soft hair. "But I'll try something new soon, I promise."

"It's okay." She shrugged. "The other kids think it's cool you let me eat pizza. Their Mommy's and Daddy's say they can't have it until they're big."

"See? I'm a cool Dad right?"

"Right."

They continued to eat, the television turned off until they had both finished their meal, and Elizabeth had been excused from the small table in the corner of the kitchen. Nathan had always instilled rules like this upon his daughter, knowing that if he really wanted to become a good father, Elizabeth had to learn good manners and family values.

So he smiled when the familiar sound of 'Dora The Explorer' flooded the apartment, breaking the silence that had lasted only seconds.

----

He'd tried everything to get her to stop crying. Trying to prize his daughter away from his leg was easier said than done, and after he had failed, Nathan knew the only thing that would get her to stop that morning would be to agree to her taking him to school for show and tell.

After wiping Elizabeth's tears and washing her face softly with a warm flannel, Nathan dug out the smartest shirt he could find (the one he'd had since senior prom at high school) and the most uncreased pair of pants to wear to stand in front of Elizabeth's class mates.

"Mr Scott" Haley smiled as he lowered Elizabeth from his back,-something she wouldn't stop doing after her first day at school. Nathan had encouraged her to walk, skip or even hop along the sidewalk, but in his daughter's eyes, nothing beat 'arriving in style' on his back.

"Call me Nathan." He replied. "Please."

"My Daddy's come for show and tell."

Haley smiled again, brushing her hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry Mr Scott, Nathan, but parents aren't generally allowed to be in the classroom unless they have permission from the principal."

"That's the thing." Nathan began, rubbing the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "I'm what Elizabeth brought from show and tell."

"Oh…"

"I tried to get her to bring one of her barbies but we kinda didn't agree on that one did we baby?"

Elizabeth shook her head grinning. "My Daddy is my favourite toy."

Haley laughed and Nathan joined in, glad that the situation had been clarified. "Well then I guess you'd better hold onto him Elizabeth."

Nathan endured a morning of number games and singing the alphabet with too many little faces staring up at him as though they'd never had an adult sitting among them before. Lunch time had been chaos, and he was more than grateful when Haley invited him to join the others in the staff room.

"I never realised meal times could be so noisy." He laughed as he took his seat beside Haley and another lady who looked a good ten years older than him.

"And messy." Haley nodded, agreeing as Nathan took a bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had made for himself in a matter of seconds before leaving the house that morning.

"I always knew they could be messy. Unfortunately, pizza is one of the messiest meals and popular choice at our apartment."

"So what do you do Mr Scott?" Nathan was asked by an overweight man sat at the other end of the table. He seemed to be scrutinizing his every move, and Nathan wasn't at all sure whether he wanted to answer.

"Um, I haven't had a job for the last four years. I wanted to raise Elizabeth myself."

Upon receiving judging nods, Nathan continued, encouraged by Haley's warm smile beside him.

"Her Mom isn't around so I'm doing the best I can. I'm going to start looking for a job once she settles in here."

"I'm sure she…" Haley began, but was interrupted by the same man from earlier.

"Children need to be left to their own devices. It's no good that parents pamper them until they go to college."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, but undeterred, carried on his explanation to Haley. "I'd rather be there for her when she needs me. I've experienced not having parents around enough and I didn't want that for my daughter."

"Elizabeth's a lucky girl." Haley nodded, making apologetic eyes at the man sitting next to her. "You seem like a really great father."

----

"This is my Daddy." Elizabeth told her classmates proudly when it came for her turn to show and tell. "He's my favourite toy."

"Don't be silly." A boy shouted from the carpet. "Your daddy can't be a toy."

"Uh uh." She argued back, hands on her hips as Nathan ducked his head with embarrassment. He hadn't ever counted on his daughter forcing him to go to school for show and tell, but then, at nineteen, he hadn't counted on becoming a single father. Stranger things had happened, and Nathan continued to sit on the chair provided for him by a sympathetic Haley.

"He's fun." Elizabeth began. "He gives me a piggy-back ride to school every morning, because we arrive in style. He makes me pizza more than once a week, and I don't have to use a fork."

At this point, Nathan began to feel his cheeks flush as Haley simply smiled next to him. He wasn't quite sure why any of this should matter, especially since his daughter was telling this to children her own age. But it did, and Haley's opinion mattered to him.

"He reads me stories and he does all the different voices with actions." Elizabeth continued proudly. "And when we play basketball, he always lets me win."

It turned out that Nathan playing basketball was a big hit with the boys, who had begged their teacher to let Nathan teach them how to dribble at afternoon recess. Questions of "Miss James, please can Mr Scott play with us?" and "Please can he come back tomorrow?" had taken their toll on Haley, who had taken a seat on the bench while watching Nathan hoist each child in turn to the net on the side of the building.

"You're quite the idol around here now." Haley laughed as Elizabeth clutched his hand at the end of school that day. Children were now coming up to ask her daddy for piggy-back rides and pizza, and as mush as she had enjoyed telling them all the good points about her daddy, he was just that: her daddy.

Nathan simply shrugged and forced a smile, still highly embarrassed about the broadcasting of what many people would describe as questionable parenting skills.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Haley asked, suddenly aware of her intentions. It didn't look good for the first grade teacher to strike up a quick friendship with a single father, and she quickly straightened out her shirt making sure that everything was in place, and nobody could find anything to exploit.

"Tomorrow." Nathan nodded, pulling on Elizabeth's hand as they turned away, hasty smiles for the recognition of something more than just a friendship.


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