A/N - Thank you so much to people who have been reviewing, it means so much to me. Here is a new chapter, let me know what you think.


Chapter Three

Flack was sat in the back of the Avalanche as Mac drove him and Oscar back to his apartment. The little boy was sat next to him staring out of the widow, backpack clutched in his hands. His eyes were red from crying and he looked tired. Flack had a strange urge to hug him but knew that would most likely scare the boy. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He had fathered a kid...this kid...and yet he didn't know anything about being a father or what they did. Oscar was obviously frightened of him and he had no idea how he was supposed to stop that.

"Hey Mac?" Flack suddenly said as a thought occurred to him. "Can you drop us off at the store near my place? I need to get some food in."

"Sure," Mac nodded. "What about your feet?"

"They gave me some flipflops at the precinct from lost property," Flack stated looking down at the dirty flipflops he now sported. Better than nothing, he mused. Jo had also kindly given him some strong painkillers before he'd left which had done wonders for his hangover, even if he did still feel a little sick. He also knew she had had a long chat with Oscar and had explained to the little boy that Flack was indeed his father and that he would have to stay with him for a while. Flack wasn't sure if Oscar even liked that idea.

Mac pulled up to the curb at the store round the corner from Flack's apartment and shut off the engine.

"You'll be okay," he nodded to Flack as he turned round to look at him.

"Yeah," Flack muttered and had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in disbelief, Mac was only being kind.

"Don't forget your Captain has given you a week off, just till you get things sorted," Mac stated.

"Yeah, great," Flack gulped as he looked down at his son. Oscar was ignoring him, looking at Mac.

"You call me if you need to," Mac said sincerely, giving Flack a rare smile in an attempt to reassure him.

"Thanks," Flack mumbled as he opened the door and got out. He walked round to Oscar's side and opened the door. "Out ya get, Oscar," he said nervously, hoping the kid would obey.

Oscar looked once more at Mac and then slid out of the seat, pulling on his backpack.

"Don," Mac said and the tall detective came over to his open window. "You might need this."

Mac held out his hand out of the window and pushed some money into Flack's hands. Flack sighed and then shook his head.

"I didn't even think," he muttered. "I'll pay you back."

"I don't doubt it," Mac smiled. "You'll make a great father, Don."

Flack stared at him in doubt. "I haven't a clue what I'm doing here, Mac."

"The fact you are here, caring for this little boy, already makes you the best parent he's got right now," Mac stated wisely.

"Thanks," Flack muttered and then turned to Oscar. "Come on, let's go buy some food."

"Take care," Mac nodded as he watched them walk off towards the store. He felt worried for his good friend, knowing that his life had been completely turned upside down by the actions of one very selfish individual.

"So we just gotta get a few things before we go back home," Flack smiled as he looked down at Oscar walking beside him.

"S'not my home," Oscar said quietly and stared at his feet as he walked.

Flack swallowed nervously and grabbed a trolley from outside the store. This was going to be difficult, not that he had been under the impression that it would be easy.

"So what do you like to eat?" Flack asked as he walked down the first aisle, he had no idea what kids were supposed to eat. As far as he was aware there was special baby food for babies, but Oscar was far too old for that. And whenever he was babysitting Luce he normally treated her to pizza or ice-cream. Other than that he hadn't got a clue what kids ate.

"I like that," Oscar said quietly stopping and pointing to a high shelf. Flack followed his finger.

"Hey, I like peanut butter too," Flack grinned as he picked up two jars. "Crunchy or smooth?" he asked showing them to Oscar.

Oscar stared between them, deep in thought before finally saying, "Both?"

Flack grinned again. "You read my mind," he stated, placing both jars into the trolley. He turned around and noticed that for the first time since they'd met, Oscar was actually smiling. The magic of peanut butter, Flack thought.

"So you like any vegetables?" Flack asked as they hit the fruit and veg aisle.

"I like flowers," Oscar replied quietly, a small smile once again appearing on his lips.

Flack furrowed his brow as he looked at his son. He wasn't altogether comfortable with the notion of his son liking flowers and more to the point it was slightly off topic.

"Ahem, flowers?" he asked as he started walking down the aisle, looking down at the little boy beside him.

"Yep," Oscar nodded and his black curls shook around his face.

"Kay, well you just point it out," Flack said, feeling completely out of his depth already.

"There," Oscar said, tugging at the bottom of Flack's shorts and pointing to an item.

"Oh," Flack said in relief. "Cauliflower, that's just great."

He picked up one and put it in the trolley along with a couple of other veg, specifically green ones and some fruit too.

"Do you like bananas?" Flack asked as they stopped by the yellow fruit. "They're my favourite. Full of potassium."

"Potaso?" Oscar , frowning as he stared at the bananas Flack held in his hands. "I like them mashed."

"Mashed bananas?" Flack said, tilting his head in thought before nodding in accord. He liked the idea of mashed bananas too.

"No, mashed potasos," Oscar said shyly.

"Oh, potatoes," Flack nodded. "Well we'll get some spuds too then."

They finished up with the fruit and vegetable aisle and then rounded the corner to the frozen foods aisle. Flack started down it, deciding he'd pick up some pizzas and ice cream for a special treat...and because he liked them too. As he turned to speak to Oscar he noticed the little boy was no longer with him and his heart nearly leapt out of his throat. He turned in a panic and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw that Oscar was standing at the end of the aisle watching him. Once Flack felt his heart slide back into place, he swallowed and walked back to where he stood.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You shouldn't go down there," Oscar stated, looking worried.

"Why not?" Flack frowned.

"You'll get eaten," Oscar said anxiously, his eyes wide and scared.

"Eaten?" Flack repeated. He felt so confused...kids were confusing. He knelt down beside Oscar so that they were face to face. "Why would I get eaten?" he asked.

"They eat you," Oscar told him, pointing at the chest freezers that lined the aisle on both sides.

"They won't eat you, buddy," Flack said, feeling somewhat relieved that he understood. "Who told you that?"

"Mummy," Oscar stated, looking at Flack in all sincerity.

"Ya Mum told you freezers eat people?" Flack said in disbelief.

Oscar nodded his head vehemently. "They eat ice-cream too and if you try to get it then you'll get eaten and you'll get froze to death."

Flack stood up again and felt something akin to anger burn through him. Clearly Devon had told Oscar that the freezers would eat him just to stop him from trying to grab some ice-cream when they were shopping. But the little boy seemed scared out of his mind and telling him he would die if he tried to get ice-cream was not the proper way to teach kids things, well, at least Flack didn't think it was.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay. They don't really eat you, I promise," Flack muttered as he nodded his head.

Oscar looked at him warily, clearly not believing his words.

"How about I show you?" Flack asked as he took a step towards the freezers.

"No!" Oscar said suddenly and latched onto Flack's shorts with his hands, unsuccessfully tugging him back. "I don't want you to go."

Flack stared down at Oscar and felt something inside himself that he wasn't too sure of, but it made him feel happy. He knelt down again and smiled at his son.

"I promise I'll be fine," he said gently. Suddenly he had an idea. "You know what I do as my job?" he asked.

Oscar shook his head.

"I'm a policeman," Flack stated. "You know what they do?"

"Save people..." Oscar said quietly.

"Yes. And we also catch bad people. We're very brave."

"Policemen are brave," Oscar agreed. "Officer Cockles in BirdyWordys is brave."

Flack blinked dumbly at his son before smiling. In the back of his mind he recalled BirdyWordys as being a children's television show about a town full of ducks and chickens that taught children different words. Lucy was a big fan of it and had made him watch it a few times. She'd even given Danny a figurine of the duck doctor 'Quackpot' telling her father that it was him. Flack thought that was funny.

"Exactly. So if I go down there I'll be fine cos I'm a policeman," Flack said reassuringly as he stood up.

Oscar still looked worried but he gently let go of Flack's shorts and watched as Flack walked down the aisle.

"You see, I'm fine," Flack grinned as he looked back at the small boy watching him. He quickly picked up a couple of packs of burgers and some pizzas. He stopped by the ice-cream.

"Hey, you like ice-cream?" he called to Oscar.

Oscar nodded his head.

"What's your favourite flavour?"

"Strawbry," Oscar mumbled.

"Great, mine too," Flack smiled as he picked up a tub and then came back over and dumped the items into the trolley. Deciding that he wouldn't make Oscar walk down the aisle they went on to the next one which had toiletries in it. Flack thought he better stock up on a few kids' medicines and such before he went to the check-out and paid. Then he carried the two bags in his hands as they left the store and Oscar trotted along beside him, trying to keep up with his big strides. Flack eventually noticed and slowed down his pace. He tried to think of something to talk to the little boy about, he wanted to know if Oscar might try to run from him again, and how he could prevent such a thing from happening. Maybe he was scary? Flack frowned in worry at that thought. He didn't have much experience with kids and maybe they thought he was scary. He was quite tall. The only kids he knew were Lucy and his brother Henry's daughter, Ola. But Henry lived out of the city now and he didn't see much of his family and Lucy he had always known so she wouldn't be scared of him. His attention was brought back to reality when he felt a tugging on his shorts and looked down to see Oscar looking up at him.

"Hey, buddy?" he smiled.

Oscar opened his mouth and then closed it, seemingly wanting to say something.

"You okay?" Flack asked.

"Yep," Oscar finally said and then kept on walking.

Flack shrugged and walked beside him. They eventually got back to his building and began the ascent up the stairs as the building had no elevator. Flack supposed he had better ring and let his sister and Grams know about Oscar. He didn't quite feel like doing it yet but they might be able to help out with childcare in the long term. Flack gulped as he suddenly realised he was thinking about long term childcare options. Only a few hours ago he'd assumed that he would be giving Oscar back to Devon and forgetting all about him. Now as he looked down at the little boy beside him he felt he never wanted to give him back to her again. And that thought terrified the living daylights out of him.

"Here we are," Flack muttered as they got to the fifth floor and then started walking along the corridor.

As they walked past, his neighbour's door opened and out came Mr. Papadopoulos, an elderly Greek man who was still sprightly for his age and went power walking every morning in the local park a few blocks over. He had a huge grey beard, twinkling blue eyes and always wore a straw trilby, whatever the weather and even when he went power walking.

"Donald, how are you?" he said joyfully in greeting.

"Hey there Mr. Papadopoulos. I'm fine. How are you?"

"Oh the day dawns well and sets upon a thousand Oleaceae shrubs."

Flack smiled back and when he noticed Oscar staring in confusion he simply shrugged his shoulders. Mr. Papadopoulos was forever talking in strange riddles and he seemed to almost know things before they happened. Once, Messer had been round and they'd got drunk and decided he must be some sort of magical wizard like Gandalf. The next day as Flack had left for work he'd bumped into Mr. Papadopoulos on the stairs and all the old man had said was, "I am indeed." The old Greek man also seemed to have an abundance of family members that were always dropping round and leaving food and sometimes, if Flack was lucky enough, he might get some too.

"And who is this strapping young fellow?" Mr. Papadopoulos asked, twinkling his eyes at Oscar.

"This is Oscar," Flack introduced.

Oscar immediately hid behind his legs and Flack felt two small hands wrap around his left knee.

"He's kinda shy," Flack muttered apologetically.

"So would I be too," Mr. Papadopoulos smiled. "In his position."

Flack stared open mouthed in confusion as the Greek tipped his hat and then turned down the corridor towards the stairs.

"He's crazy," whispered Flack to Oscar, making the little boy smile as they carried on to the apartment.

Flack unlocked his door and let Oscar in ahead of him before going in and locking the door behind him. He also shot the chain across, just to be on the safe side. Then he went over to the kitchen and began to put the shopping away while Oscar came over and watched him, half hiding behind the corner of the counter.

"Did you get orange juice?" he asked timidly.

Flack turned to look at him. "I got orange and apple," he grinned as he showed them both to Oscar before putting them in the fridge.

He then bent down to grab some more items from the bags on the floor when he felt his shorts being tugged on again. He smiled to himself; this was fast becoming a habit of the little boy.

"Yep?" Flack asked as he looked at the little boy from the upside down position he was in from being bent over the shopping bags.

"I sorry I got you in trouble," Oscar mumbled as his eyes came up from his feet and rested on Flack's face. They were wide and sad and Flack could see that tears might start appearing from them at any moment. He quickly straightened up and then knelt down beside the little boy.

"That's alright. I get it, you were scared," Flack nodded.

"I not meant to be. Mummy says being scared is only for sissies."

Flack had to try hard not to frown as he once more felt angry at Devon.

"Well you want to know a secret? I was scared too," Flack said honestly.

"You were?" Oscar asked in surprise.

"Yep. So it's fine to be scared sometimes," Flack told him.

"I get scared a lot," Oscar said very quietly and Flack felt something inside himself break a little bit. He had the strong impression that Devon hadn't taken very good care of the little boy.

"Well that's nothing to be ashamed of," Flack said in a voice a lot more confident than he was feeling. "I guess I'm probably quite scary to you," he said sadly. "And your Mum just leaving you here and going away and you don't even know who I am must be very, very scary."

Oscar looked back down at the floor and mumbled something.

"Sorry?" Flack asked gently.

Oscar looked back up at him and sniffed. He had snot dribbling from his nose.

"Has Mummy really gone away?" he asked.

Flack pursed his lips together and wondered what the hell he was supposed to tell the kid. "Just for a little bit," he finally said. "But I'm a policeman and all my friends are too and we're doing our very best to find her," Flack reassured him.

"Do I stay with you then?" Oscar asked quietly.

"Yeah, you stay with me," Flack nodded. He then voiced a question that had been worrying him for some time now. "Is that okay?"

Oscar stared at him and Flack once again felt his heart in his throat as he waited for an answer.

"I guess so," Oscar finally said and Flack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cool. So how about I put the rest of this shopping away and then we can have some ice-cream?"

"Now?" Oscar gasped.

"Yep, now," Flack replied as he picked up the last few items.

"But Mummy says ice-cream is only for a special treat," Oscar stated.

"Well Mummy's not here right now," Flack said as he turned and looked down at the boy. "You're with Daddy now and he does things a little differently."

Oscar slowly smiled at him and then nodded. Flack turned back to the fridge and took in a deep breath.

Daddy.

He had just called himself Daddy.