Chapter 3: Tales from the Kindergarten Set (Dawn: Age 5)

"Here we are," Connor said as they stopped, hand in hand, in front of the imposing building. She stared at it rather pensively.

He stooped down so that they were at eye level. "Dawn, we talked about this. You'll get to meet other children and learn new things. Kindergarten will be fun. You'll see."

She remained clearly unconvinced.

"And I'll be right here waiting for you after school."

She regarded him with a solemn gaze. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Dawn turned her attention back to the school and took a deep breath. "Okay."

They walked into the building and were led to one of the classrooms. Inside were a number of children wearing uniforms similar to Dawn's. She looked about the room with a mix of cautiousness and curiosity. The teacher, a woman of indeterminable years and a very kind face, came toward them. Recognizing the signs of first day jitters, she introduced herself. "Hello. My name is Mrs. Mills."

"I'm Connor MacLeod, and this is Dawn Summers," he replied.

Mrs. Mills smiled at him then turned her attention to her new student. "Hello, Dawn. Would you like to come in and meet some of your classmates?"

Dawn waited a moment before releasing Connor's hand and taking hold of her teacher's. She allowed herself to be led into the room and glanced back once to give Connor a small smile.

He exhaled deeply only now realizing how nervous he was. He left the school and headed back to the shop. It had been seven months since Dawn came to live with him after her parents' deaths. A few months prior to the accident, he had changed his name from Russell Nash back to Connor MacLeod. Thanks to a well paid hacker, his background was relatively unblemished which helped expedite the custody proceedings.

Rachel adored her "little sister", and the feeling was mutual. It was Rachel who went through the Summers' belongings, chose things that she felt Dawn would want and arranged for the rest to be put in storage until the girl was older. She also put in extra time at the antique store which allowed Connor to spend more time with Dawn.

Dawn was slowly coming out of her shell. So long as he or Rachel was nearby, she was content. Connor chuckled as he recalled the time they went for high tea at the Waldorf-Astoria. Dawn declared in a loud voice that the hotel had the prettiest restroom she ever saw. The server was unperturbed by the outburst and confided that her daughter thought so too.

Connor walked past an empty playground and was reminded of what the therapist said during a counseling session. Though Dawn was dealing with her parents' deaths and adjusting to her new living arrangements, she felt that the girl needed to socialize with children her own age. Unfortunately, neither Connor nor Rachel had many acquaintances who had children. Connor would often take Dawn to the park, and though she mingled with the other children, she was quite shy.

Once Dawn became his ward, he began investigating schools. Addison Academy had an excellent, well-established reputation and was relatively close to the store. Connor denied Rachel's theory that he chose the school because the skirts were made of MacLeod tartan. Although, he had to admit that Dawn did look adorable in her uniform.

-oOo-

A few hours later Connor returned to pick up Dawn. Bubbling with excitement, she described the afternoon all the way home. After giving Rachel a hug, Dawn followed Connor into the elevator which took them to the living quarters above the store.

He slid the elevator gate open. "So what would you like for supper?"

"Pizza!" Dawn exclaimed as she climbed down the stairs to the main living area.

Big surprise, Connor thought with a grin then asked, "What would you like on it?"

"Anchovies!" she squealed jumping from the bottom step to the floor.

"Why don't you change into your play clothes, and I'll start supper?" he suggested.

"Okay," she said then sang as she went to her room. "Anchovies, anchovies, you're so yummy. I love it when you go in my tummy."

-oOo-

Supper consisted of anchovy pizza, salad, wine for Connor and Rachel, sparkling apple juice for Dawn and ice cream and strawberries for dessert.

"How was your first day of school?" Rachel asked when they sat down at the table.

"It was really neat," Dawn replied reaching for a piece of pizza. "There's a girl named Natasha, but she likes to be called Tasha. And there are two girls, Maria and Elena, and they're twins, and none of the other kids could tell them apart, but I could."

Connor and Rachel found out about Zoe who had a pet rabbit, Daniel who scraped his knee and got a happy face Band-Aid and Sean who drank a whole glass of juice in one gulp then got sick just before nap time.

After clearing the table, Connor suggested the other two watch a movie while he took care of the dishes. Like Rachel, he suspected that Dawn was a romantic as she selected "Sleeping Beauty". Once he finished cleaning up, he settled down on the couch beside the little girl. Her eyes always got wide during the final battle between the dragon and the prince.

Once the movie was over, Connor nudged Dawn's shoulder. "Time for bed."

"Okay," she sighed then turned to Rachel. "Would you tuck me in?"

"Of course, darling."

With that, Dawn gave Connor a noisy kiss on the cheek and went to her room singing the Sleeping Beauty Waltz. A few moments later they heard her run back.

"I forgot. We had to draw a picture of our family," Dawn said as she showed them a large piece of paper. In front of a large grey rectangle that bore a vague resemblance to the store were three figures.

"That's me, and that's you guys," she explained then pointed to two faces in the top left corner. "And that's Mommy and Daddy."

Connor saw Rachel's eyes glisten as she hugged the little girl. He took the picture. "Let's put it up where we'll always see it."

They went to the kitchen and posted it on the fridge.

"Perfect," he said as Dawn clapped.