Okay, so the writer's block wasn't going away as quickly as I thought it was. This is kind of a filler chapter, since I actually have no idea what I'm going to do next at the moment. I happen to think it's very cute. And for the record, it's been about twenty or so years since I watched the Care Bears, everything I've written about them in this chapter I got from a website. Don't kill me if it's wrong.

Disclaimer: Got nothing.

Chapter 26

"Draco Malfoy, you did not just ask me to marry you in the back alley of a diner." Ginny said, eyebrows raised and lips pursed in a look that would freeze the blood of Voldemort himself. Draco shrugged.

"Maybe." Ginny pushed away from him, and glowered good naturedly.

"You have all the romance of a brick wall." She said. Draco grinned at her.

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean I don't mean it." He said, now giving her his best puppy dog look. She smiled again.

"I'd be perfectly happy to marry you, in time. But I'm not ready yet. We're not ready yet."

"Fair enough. We'll just keep it in mind until we are ready." He said. She smiled and kissed him.

"Ginny! You better get your ass back in here!" Mae's voice shouted out the door. Ginny pulled back from Draco and grinned sheepishly.

"Work beckons. I'm off in about an hour. There's a toy store down the street you can take Sam to, she'll happily spend an hour in there ogling the toys." Ginny told him, leading him back inside.

"Can I buy her something?" He asked, knowing that he was probably going to get a resounding 'no' on the subject. Ginny shook her head and smiled before kissing him again.

"See, this is what I love about you, you always ask before you try and spoil my kid. Alright, for once you can buy her something, but only if she begs, if she says please, and only if she uses the puppy dog look. She knows that she's not going to get everything she might ask for, and sometimes not even when she uses the puppy dog look." She said. "But please, nothing extravagant."

"Agreed."

They rounded the corner and found that the place had somehow filled up in the ten minutes they'd been outside. Ginny sighed and shook her head, heading over to Mrs. Bixby to take her empty plate with her back to the kitchen to retrieve her daughter.

Sam obediently left the kitchen and ran over to Draco by the door. Ginny was already busy with more customers, but she managed to send a smile at them before they left.

"Mummy says we're going to go to the toy store, Mr. Draco, are we?" Sam asked. Draco smiled down at her, he had to admit, he felt a little bit better now that she'd called him 'Mr. Draco' again.

"Yes, Miss Samantha, we're going to go hang out in the toy store until it's time for your Mummy to come home." He said. Sam bounced up and down and grabbed his hand, taking off out the door and leading him directly to the toy store in a matter of minutes. Draco was half expecting to be dragged over to the shelves containing dolls of varying sizes, but instead, Sam made a beeline for the games and puzzles first.

"Look Mr. Draco, they still have it." She said, pointing at a puzzle. It was one of those giant 3-D puzzles, in the shape of a castle. It looked really complicated, but the assembled product was really lifelike. He immediately thought of Hogwarts.

"It's very nice, Miss Samantha." He agreed. She was looking at it longingly. "It's a little big though, don't you think?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Uncle Harry has big puzzles like this. He lets me help when I come over. They're so much fun." Draco studied the large puzzle. He was trying to decide if it fell under the category of extravagant or not when Sam suddenly tugged on his sleeve.

"Look at this one Mr. Draco! Isn't it cute?" She asked, pulling a much smaller puzzle of something called a Care Bear off the shelf. Care Bears was obviously some kind of Muggle thing that he hadn't come across yet.

"Very cute. What's this on it's belly?" He asked, pointing at the picture.

"It's a rainbow, Mr. Draco, this is Cheer Bear, her rainbow is s'posed to mean hope. She's my favourite, because she's always so happy." She said. Obviously, there was more to this Care Bear thing than he was aware of.

"I see. Well, being happy is a good thing."

"Haven't you ever watched Care Bears, Mr. Draco?" Samantha asked him. He shook his head with a smile.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Samantha. You'll have to tell me all about them." He said. She grinned at him.

"They're on TV on Saturday mornings, you can come watch them with me, and then you'll know all about them." She said, then she grabbed his hand once again and led him over to the stuffed animals, forgetting the puzzles. He watched her rifle through the assorted teddy bears and stuffed dogs and cats for a while, keeping an eye on his watch. After a few moments of contented 'Look at this one, isn't he silly?'s and the occasional 'Mr. Draco, he's so cute!'s he heard her squeal suddenly with what can only be described as absolute delight.

"Look Mr. Draco! It's Cheer Bear! And it's the only one! Can I have it, Mr. Draco, please?" She begged, bouncing up and down in front of him, waving a stuffed version of the puzzle she'd shown him earlier.

"Well, I don't know Miss Samantha. I don't know how your Mummy would like it if I bought you something." He said, lying through his teeth. He had permission, but he had his instructions. He wasn't allowed to buy it for her unless she made the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh please, Mr. Draco? Mummy won't mind. I'll promise to put her away, and I'll sleep with her every night, and I'll love her very much, and she's the only one! Pleeeese, Mr. Draco?" She stopped bouncing in front of him, and hugged the bear to her chest while she looked up at him with the largest eyes he'd ever seen on a child before. If that wasn't a puppy dog look, he didn't know what was. He pretended to mull it over some more.

"Well...only if you promise that your Mummy won't be picking it up after you all the time."

"I promise, I promise!" She squealed.

"Alright then. Let's go pay for it, and then we'll be back at the diner in time to get your Mummy." He said, taking the bear from her.

"Then we're going to see Gramma Malfoy, right Mr. Draco?" She asked, skipping beside him.

"Yes we are, Miss Samantha."

"And I get to wear a pretty dress?"

"That's right."

The little girl's grin couldn't possibly get any larger. The girl at the till rang the bear through quickly, and when Draco handed it to Sam again out in the street, she beckoned him closer. He bent down and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for Cheer Bear Mr. Draco." She said. He smiled at her.

"You're welcome, Miss Samantha. Let's go get your Mummy."

"Okay!"