A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read the story, made it a favorite and is following. I hope you''ll enjoy this chapter – it's rather fluffy :-)

CHAPTER 3

Daisy's mood had improved and with that so had Hardy's. While he was driving to the shopping center, she was chatting away about her daily life and he was happy to listen. He missed this and he regretted spending so much time at work lately. Eventually, she did tell him what the brief interchange with those girls was about. She wanted them to come to her birthday party, but apparently she wasn't 'cool' enough for those girls to grace her with their company.

He let out a quick huff and tried to hide the disdain in his voice. "Doesn't sound like people you would wanna hang out with anyways." It didn't work.

"Oh, come on Dad." She snapped at him. "That's not how that works. If you want to have a successful party, then certain people need to be there. If they're not, the whole school will know the next day."

It pained him to see how much of a teenager she had become, and even more so how quickly she got dragged down the rabbit hole of trying to be popular. He'd never succeeded at it as a teenager and still was rather low on the popularity scale. For him it didn't matter though, he knew the difference between being popular and true friendship. He preferred the later, even if that meant he only had a few people to fall back on, but at least they would be there for him with no reservations. She was a confident girl, but maybe this confidence was being eroded by the ever growing peer pressure and the general teenaged lack of compassion. He wished he could give her better advice, but he lacked the right words. And in a way, he knew that she had to make her own experiences, and all he could do was to be there for her when she needed someone for comfort and reassurance.

"If that's what it is about, then we'll just have to make sure that they get to talk about something better than who wasn't at the party." He tried to be encouraging, but judging from Daisy's face it didn't quite' work.

"And what would that be then, ey? A facepainter? Because you know, I'm not five anymore." Her sarcasm was scathing, and he flinched a little. She clearly wasn't buying his feeble attempt at comforting her.

He huffed with exasperation, "I don't know." And with more warmth in his voice he added, "… yet. But I'll think of something. I promise."

"Fine." She sounded less angry.

Better, he thought and was trying not to get too anxious about having to figure out what would be the talk of the day at a thirteen years old girl's birthday party.

They arrived at the shopping center. He parked the car and they climbed out. Daisy gave him a mischievous look.

"So which of those cars is going to be the guilty party then? I'd better be detailed with my story for Mom. You know how inquisitive she gets." Her face was drawn into a wide grin.

He pointed at the black truck on the other side of the parking row. "That one's as good as any." His grin was just as wide as hers. He put his arm around her shoulders and together they walked to the stores.

Inside, she was in charge where to go. She had it all planned out, having searched through countless fashion websites to find the right type of dress. It had to match Hardy's suit. When she had asked him what color his suit would be, he was confused. He didn't quite get why that was relevant to her choice of wardrobe and he certainly hadn't expected her to get in touch with Duncan's fiancée to find out what they had planned for him as the best man. Apparently, they had already picked an outfit for him and he just needed to get it fitted. At least it wasn't a traditional Scottish wedding, he'd rather not embarrass himself in front of his teenaged daughter wearing a kilt. Instead, he was surprised it would be a classic tuxedo but with a dark purple vest and tie. Daisy was very pleased with the color choice as purple was one of her favorites. As she pointed out to him, it matched her skin tone and hair.

Hardy was sitting on a bench in the shop, surrounded by rows of gowns and party dresses. Next to him, holding on to what seemed like a countless number of shopping bags, was a young man with a tired face. Hardy followed his gaze to a pretty young woman who was enthusiastically talking to a shop assistant. The man smiled and shifted under the weight of the bags. His gaze drifted down to the slightly swollen abdomen of the woman. The man's smile grew wider, and Hardy was sure that the woman was expecting.

A quick image of Tess standing on the porch of their house, bathed in evening light, hand on her pregnant belly, flickered across his mind. That was the day they had found out they were having a girl. He smiled at the memory, reliving some of the fluttering butterfly feeling in his stomach he had that day.

And for no other reason than being in a good mood for the first time this day, he asked, "First baby?"

The man next to him jumped, shaken out of his reverie, and dropped a few bags. A pink baby girl outfit fell out of one of them. Hardy, feeling bad that he had startled the poor guy, quickly bent down to pick up the dress and bags. Not a good idea, as it turned out that very much like earlier in the day, he felt unsettlingly dizzy when sitting up. He sucked in a quick breath and held on to the bench, eyes closed, waiting for the spinning to ease up.

"You alright, mate?" Hardy felt the man's hand on his arm. "You don't look so hot. Want some water?" He opened his eyes when the man placed a bottle of water in his hand. He cracked the seal and took a long gulp. Somewhere at the back of his head, a nagging sensation of something being wrong was starting to take hold. He ignored it and blamed it on lack of sleep.

" 'M fine. Thanks for the water."

"I don't know where she takes the energy from." The man gestured towards the woman. "I'm spent, and I'm not even pregnant."

" 'S what they call the nesting instinct. Never quite understood that concept. One moment they are too tired to get whatever food they crave out of the fridge and the next minute they drag you through all the baby stores in a 50 mile radius." Hardy remembered his own exhaustion and exasperation with the pregnant Tess. It had been rather trying at times, both tempers flaring, but it always ended up with him going along with whatever she needed.

"So, you've got kids then? This is our first." The expression on the man's face was full of pride and excitement.

"Aye, a daughter. She's somewhere in the store picking out a dress for a wedding."

The man quickly glanced over his shoulder as if to make sure they weren't overheard. Then, with a low voice and a concerned look in his face, he revealed what was troubling him. "It's a girl. She wants a girl, but I don't know. I mean, of course I'll be happy to have a daughter, but I'm scared I wouldn't know what to do with a girl. They're so…" and his voice trailed off with his inability to express what girls were like.

Hardy smiled at the man. He leaned a little closer and placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Then he said with the utmost conviction in his voice, "I assure you, there is nothing better that can happen to you than being the father of a girl." Hardy gave him a squeeze with his hand, nodded a good bye, got up and left the younger man on the bench surrounded by the shopping bags, his eyes wide with a newly found confidence about becoming the father of a baby girl.

He finally found Daisy in the fitting room area. She and the shop assistant had piled up several purple dresses and were comparing two pieces of purple colored cloth against each selection. Not quite sure what they were doing, he walked up to them and put a hand on Daisy's shoulder. She turned around, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She was beaming. A strand of her long reddish brown hair had come lose from her braid and he automatically brushed it out of her face.

With a puzzled undertone, he asked, "What's that, that you're doing? Thought you'd be trying on stuff by now."

Like always, her speech sped up when she was excited. "We're comparing the color swatches from your suit with the dresses. It has to be the right shade." And he found himself yet again at the receiving end of another 'don't-be-so-daft-Dad' stare.

He sighed and not without some doubt said, "I see." He fished his glasses out of his jacket pocket and squinted down at the price tags of the assembled garments. Bloody hell, she sure had an expensive taste. He hoped, he had been able to hide his somewhat stunned face before she could see it. He didn't want to spoil the experience for her.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame of the fitting room. He watched his daughter chatting excitedly with the assistant, holding up various dresses, eventually settling on three choices to be tried on. He watched her laugh, twirling around while holding the dresses against her tall and slender figure. He felt rather awkward when he noticed that her body started to develop curves in the right places. And the thought of her beautiful face breaking not only his heart but also the hearts of all the teenaged boys out there, filled him with pride and intense jealousy at the same time.

With a brief smile at him, she disappeared in the fitting room. It took her longer than he'd expected for her to come out and show him the first dress. It was made of some shiny purple cloth and looked a bit too puffed up for his liking.

He must have been not fast enough with hiding his dislike as she said, trying to hide her disappointment equally unsuccessfully, "You don't like it."

He decided to be honest. "It's a little... puffy. Maybe we'll look at the others, hm?"

She bit her lip and went back to get changed. He sighed inwardly. This may end up more complicated than he thought it would be. He'd never had enough tact to go shopping with Tess. He had tried but after his bluntness had made her angry and cry one too many times, he gave up tagging along. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger ending up pinching his nose.

"Dad, you look tired. When did you come home last night?" He hadn't heard her come out again. Her hand gently touched his elbow. He looked at her and tried to smile.

"Not too late." And in order to distract from a topic he didn't wish to discuss he quickly added, gesturing at the dress, "This is pretty."

This dress was a much better choice. It had a light purple color, was knee length, and had a nice cut. It made her look cute. He nodded encouragingly.

She gave him a questioning look but let it go. She then smiled and twirled around.

"It's pretty. Not too expensive. And I could wear it also after the wedding." She chewed on her lip again, clearly mulling it over.

"But... you don't love it. It's alright, darlin'. Go on, put on the next one, we'll take all the time we need." He squeezed her shoulder, turned her around and gently nudged her towards the dressing room. She surprised him by breathing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, Dad." And she ran back inside.

He was not prepared for the next dress. She walked out slowly, with graceful long strides, beaming at him. His jaw fell slightly and he choked up. He stood up straighter, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The dress was long and flowing, a beautiful shade of dark purple. It had a silk shine to it and was light around her body. She had opened up her braid and her reddish brown hair was gently framing her face, perfectly in line with the dress. She was breath taking.

He swallowed hard and tried not to tear up. It was beyond his ability to name the emotions that were running through him. He could not believe that this beautiful young woman - not girl anymore - was his baby daughter.

She walked over to him, grabbed his hand, held it over her head and made him slowly twirl her around.

"So, what do you think?" Her eyes sparkled and she gave him her most gorgeous smile.

He cleared his voice. "Oh, darlin'... it's beautiful, you're beautiful." He placed a kiss on her hair.

She blushed a little. "Thanks, Dad. Can we get it, please?" He nodded silently, not trusting his voice, and she skipped back into the fitting room. Maybe his little baby girl was still somewhere in there after all.

Of course it had to be the most expensive of the choices, but he didn't really care. She had put so much energy in finding the perfect dress. Besides, after seeing her in it, there was no way, he could have not bought it. It was perfect. And as she was very keen to point out, it would exactly match his tuxedo. She was extremely pleased with herself, and this made Hardy feel happier and more alive than he had been in weeks.

His latest case had taken a lot out of him, more than he was willing to admit. It wasn't only the hours but also the senselessness of the crime, the sheer brutality of the act itself. He always took it more to heart when the victims were women, and Baxter had warned him several times to be mindful of that fact. It never clouded his judgment, but it made keeping the emotions at bay harder. And the longer he was in the business of murder and death, the more he found himself question humanity. He hadn't been dealing with a child victim since he became a father and he was more than grateful for that. He shuddered at the idea. He didn't dare to explore what that might do to him.

"Oi, Dad, no work at home, remember! We had a deal." She poked him in the chest.

He snapped out of his thoughts and gave her an apologetic smile. She could always tell when his mind wandered off to work.

"Sorry, darlin'. So, what's next then? Do you need…" He wrecked his brain what else she may have planned to shop for.

Shoes maybe?. Wasn't that always part of an outfit?

"Do you need shoes?" His eyes widened with the question, hopeful that he might have guessed right.

She tucked her arm under his and giggled. "Dad, you're cute when you're trying to be all girly." She looked up at him, and the warmth in her eyes drove away all the lingering dark thoughts in his mind.

"I'll do that on the weekend. With Mom. Wanted to go to different shopping center."

He felt a pang of jealousy. After all what had been said between Tess and him, he didn't really want her to be part of this. And he immediately felt guilty for the thought. It wasn't about them, it shouldn't be. This was about Daisy, making her happy, and nothing else. She was not to get dragged into their arguing. Never.

"Alright then." He looked at his watch. "Maybe an early supper then? I didn't really enjoy my lunch. How about the Italian place on Main Street?" That was her favorite and she never turned down an opportunity to go there.

"I don't know Dad. I'm not really hungry." She bit her lip and frowned. She looked outright uncomfortable in her skin.

He was surprised to hear that. He stopped, took her shoulders and held her at arm's length. Looking her straight in the face, squinting his eyes slightly, he said, "That's new. You're always hungry. And you love that place. What's wrong, Daisy?"

She squirmed under his intent gaze. "Stop interrogating me. I'm fine." He recognized that tone. It was the same he used when he wanted to blow of people's concern for his well-being.

"Daisy, don't lie to me. You're not fine, so out with it." His voice had a slight edge to it, concern creeping in.

"Ach, Dad. Really? It's none of your business." And she twisted herself free of his hands and stormed off.

Hardy's face was drawn into a big frown. She had never blown him off like this before. He was only getting more anxious and he hurried after her. He caught up quickly. He blocked her path and grabbed her by the shoulder again. He tried to stay calm but the sight of his little girl being so upset with him, made him feel very agitated.

"Daisy, please. You know you can always talk to me." He tried to keep his voice level and encouraging.

"Not this, Dad. I really don't want to." Her lips were pressed to a thin line and she crossed her arms over her chest.

He was hurt. And it probably showed on his face. She looked at him and her demeanor changed. She squirmed again, clearly extremely uncomfortable with what she was going to say.

"It's just… I… I'm having cramps." She didn't look him in the eyes. Her face was burning red. She intently looked at her foot which was making circles on the floor.

"Oh." That was all he could muster. He had no idea. In fact he didn't even know how much his little girl apparently had already turned into a young woman. And for one second, he wished he hadn't asked. But then, seeing her being so embarrassed, he sucked in a breath, took a step closer and drew her into a hug. She tried to wiggle herself out of it, but he held her close, his hand stroking her long her hair.

"It's alright. I told you, you can always come to me. With anything. I mean it. Clearly, I'm not…" He tried to find the right words. "… an expert in these matters, but that doesn't mean I can't try and help to make things easier." He kissed her on the head. "Your mother claims ginger tea helps. Do you wanna go to the coffee shop and see if they have some?"

Still in his arms, he could feel her nod at his chest. He smiled. Maybe he wasn't so useless in these matters after all. He let her out of his arms, looking down at her face. She wasn't smiling but at least, she seemed more comfortable and the moment of deep embarrassment had passed. And with his arm around her, they walked over to the coffee shop.