Hah! I'm beating the writer's block!
Kudos go to walkin-on-cloud-9 for the basic idea of this chapter, I just took the suggestion and ran with it, and to all who enjoyed Mrs. Bixby, she's back!
Disclaimer: Got nothing.
Chapter 25.
Today was the last day that Sam would be going to daycare. Ginny wasn't nervous yet. She would start getting nervous on Monday before she dropped Sam off at Malfoy Manor to spend the entire day with 'Gramma' Malfoy. Sam was excited. She'd already bragged to everyone at daycare and her entire kindergarten class that she didn't have to go to daycare anymore, because Gramma Malfoy was going to play with her after school now. No one knew who the Malfoys were, of course. But after Sam described the house to everyone who would listen, they were all suitably impressed.
They were going out for dinner that night, the three of them, so Draco was collecting Sam from daycare and then getting Ginny from work early so they both could get changed at home before they headed out to a restaurant that Draco was resolutely refusing to tell her the name of. Apparently they were also meeting his mother there, they were celebrating something, but he wasn't telling her what until dinner.
"Are you alright, dear? You look a little bit distracted." Mrs. Bixby asked her, touching her lightly on the arm. Ginny jerked out of her reverie and smiled down at her.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Bixby, you're right, I am a little distracted."
"Thinking of your young man?"
Ginny blushed, and stared intently at her notepad. Mrs Bixby laughed girlishly.
"Not to worry, dear. I don't mind. You remind me a lot of my husband and myself when we were young. He distracted me quite a bit, don't you know."
"Well, maybe we'll be as happy as you and your husband have been. Time will tell."
"I'm sure you will, dear. You're seeing him tonight, I take it?"
"Yes. He's taking Sam and I out for dinner with his mother. We're celebrating something, but he hasn't told me what it is yet."
"How exciting!"
"Oh yes. And somewhat vexing, I assure you. Now then, would you like your usual today, Mrs. Bixby?"
"Hm. Actually, I think I'll have something a little different. I think I'll have a tuna salad sandwich instead of a turkey sandwich."
"Excellent choice, Mrs. Bixby."
"Yes, I thought it was definitely time for something new."
"I couldn't agree more. I'll have your lunch for you in a just a couple of minutes, you're in luck today, Mrs. Bixby, we've got a quiet crowd."
"I should rather say that you're in luck, my dear." The elderly lady said, nodding at the door. Ginny turned around and smiled. Draco had just come in, holding Samantha by the hand and looking slightly...well, discomfited wasn't exactly the word, but he didn't look his normal self. Ginny dropped Mrs. Bixby's sandwich order by the kitchen on her way over to where Draco was sitting Sam in one of the booths, and sitting down himself, still looking slightly out of sorts.
"Hey you two, you're a bit early. I thought you were going to hang around the park for a bit before you came for me." She greeted them, leaning down to kiss Sam's cheek, and then running a hand across Draco's shoulders.
"Well...there was a slight change in plans. Can I talk to you?" Draco asked, looking up at her with pleading eyes. Ginny frowned.
"Now?"
"When you've got a moment, soon. Please?"
"Well, right now I just have one customer, we're pretty quiet today. Let me get her fixed up and we can talk out back. We can leave Sam in the kitchen, Joe loves her."
Mrs. Bixby's sandwich appeared in the window as Ginny was going to look for it, and she took the opportunity to bring Sam back to the kitchen. Joseph delighted in telling her all of his secret recipes, and Sam loved to listen. She took Mrs. Bixby's lunch to her.
"There you are, Mrs. Bixby. I'll be out back for a moment or two, if you need anything before I come back, Mae's just over there, and she'll be happy to help you."
"That's just fine dear." Mrs. Bixby said, tucking in to her lunch. Ginny turned back to Draco and indicated that he should follow her. She led him out to the back alley, where he'd found her to ask for that second, most enlightening date. Ginny turned to him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"What's going on? Did something happen? Is your mother okay?" She asked, a million reasons for him being out of sorts running through her mind.
"Mother's fine." He quickly reassured her. "And, well, it's hard to explain. Nothing actually happened, but..."
"Draco, this keeping me in suspense is not good for your health." She warned him.
"Okay, okay. I went to pick up Sam at daycare, right? She must have told everyone that I was coming in the 'fancy' car to get her, because I swear there were about three dozen noses all pressed to the window when I pulled up."
"That's the way kids are, Draco."
"I know that. Anyway, moving on. I went in to collect her, and she was sitting playing with this other little girl, they were in pretty deep conversation I think. As that Miss Peabody was handing me over her jacket and bag, Sam and this other little girl come running up and she says, 'Mary-Ann, this is my Daddy. Daddy, this is Mary Ann.'"
Ginny's eyes bugged out of her head and her hand shot up to cover her mouth as she sputtered. Draco continued, starting to pace around the alleyway.
"I didn't know what to do, I mean, I guess it's great that she likes me that much, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with her calling me that yet, and I don't know how you feel about it, but it wasn't like I could correct her, I mean, I couldn't exactly say 'actually, Mary-Ann, I'm not her Daddy, I'm just the guy who's dating her Mummy'. And Miss Peabody was no help, I think she was laughing at me behind those giant glasses of hers."
"What did you do?" Ginny asked, hiding a smile behind her hand.
"I said, 'Hi, Mary-Ann. Nice to meet you.' Then I told Sam that it was time to go. Sam made some kind of face at Mary-Ann, but she came and put her shoes on. What do I do? What do you want me to do?" He asked, looking very much like he wanted to go into a panic, but since he'd probably never panicked before in his life, he wasn't quite sure how. Ginny couldn't quite hide the snicker that escaped her. Here she'd been imagining all these horrible things happening, and he was just freaking out over her daughter calling him 'Daddy'. Another snicker escaped, and this time he heard it and turned to look at her.
"You're laughing. Ginny, you are laughing. Why is this so funny?" He demanded, coming to a stop in front of her again. Ginny stopped trying to hide her amusement and laughed out loud.
"Oh Draco, you've worked yourself into such a state." She stopped laughing, mostly, and played with the lapels of his jacket. "I think I can explain some of this. Sam and this Mary-Ann have been playing a game of one-upmanship ever since they met. Both of Mary-Ann's parents are lawyers, so she has every creature comfort, the way Sam tells it, she was always bringing in new toys to play with, and make everyone jealous of how well off she is. You know how smart Sam is, somewhere along the way, she figured out that Mary-Ann rarely sees her parents, they're both working practically all the time. So she counters Mary-Ann's new toys with the amazing times she has with me, and lately, you. Do you remember our first date, when I was depressed that Sam had been asking about her father?"
"Yes, of course."
"She only asked because Mary-Ann had been bragging about her father going on a business trip, probably mentioning something about a bunch of gifts he was going to bring back for her. Sam had no idea what a Daddy was, and Mary-Ann explained it to her in the way that only five year olds can, and then teased Sam because she didn't have one. It sounds like Sam saw an opportunity to get the last laugh on Mary-Ann, that's all."
"So I've become a pawn for a five-year old. Wonderful." Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him.
"Oh, admit it, you love it."
"Fine. I admit it. Without Sam's escapades I wouldn't be able to show off the wide variety of human emotions that I've discovered I actually have." He said with a grin.
"Exactly."
"I'm still not sure how I feel about being called 'Daddy'. You and I've only been dating for barely two months."
"Well, if you're that worried, I'll talk to her about it. But I have a feeling that it was just a one time thing." Ginny said, to reassure him. He nodded slightly.
"I don't hate it, by the way. I just think it's a little too soon for it." He told her. It was Ginny's turn to nod.
"It probably is. But, you are the first man in her life that isn't an uncle of sorts, remember. I know that she likes you, and aside from being 'Mr. Draco', she doesn't have a definition to fit you into. And let's face it, you're the closest thing she has to a Daddy right now, or has ever had. So, I'm not really surprised."
"Well, when you put it like that..."
"Why don't I have a talk with her, find out what she's thinking. Then we'll figure out if she keeps calling you 'Daddy' or not, okay?" Ginny suggested.
"You've got a deal... Although..." He trailed off, and Ginny looked up at him quizzically.
"What?"
"Well, we could make my being her Daddy a legal fact, rather than a biological fact, don't you think?"