"This is Alfie." He answered his phone without even looking at the number. He was at work and about to go into clean the Lion's Den out. They had locked them out in the yard and it was threatening to rain so they had to get it done quickly to give them the chance to get back inside if they wanted too. Their three cubs and Momma didn't love the rain, she always hid inside on wet days.

"Alfred Hollister?" The voice asked after a small delay.

"Yes." No one ever called him Alfred so he was already on edge.

The man introduced himself from a legal firm in Australia, Alfie barely registered his name. He quickly racked his brain wondering if he had forgotten anything or left something unfinished or unpaid back in Perth. It had been more than three years since he left and he had only been back once very briefly for a wedding of his best mate. "I'll get straight to it if you don't mind. You are Alfred Phillip Ruzek Hollister?"

"I am. What's this about?"

"Do you know Jedda Ingram?"

"I haven't seen her for years. We knew each other, though yes."

"I see." There was a brief pause on the line and Alfie felt something creep over him. "Ms Ingram sadly passed away about a two weeks ago."

"Shit, what happened?"

"I cannot discuss that just yet. Were you aware that Ms Ingram had a young child?"

Alfie's heart started thudding in his chest and his palms were sweating. "No."

"Mr Hollister, the child's birth certificate lists you, Alfred Phillip Ruzek Hollister of Chicago Illinois as the father of her child."

"What?" He was pretty sure he didn't hear that right.

"You are listed as the child's father. Do you think this could be a possibility?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her in more than…" Alfie had to stop and think, how long had he been back here. Sam had his third birthday a few months ago now, that's all he could remember. He came home when he was almost two months old . "…three years. But if you are asking if we had a relationship before then, then yes."

"And your last contact with Ms Ingram?"

"Before I left, over three years ago. I honestly haven't heard from her." Alfie had forgotten all about what he was doing at the time, luckily he wasn't doing anything that required much thought, he was cleaning out the wheelbarrows ready for the Lion's pens. "Are you sure?"

"Well at this stage all we have is a birth certificate but I have been instructed by the State to find the child's family. The child had a third birthday recently."

"Is it okay?" The words caught in this throat, it sounded wrong. "I can't keep calling it the child, that sounds cold."

"She is, she is being cared for by a lovely foster family at the moment."

"It's a girl?"

"Yes, a three year old girl." The lawyer continued. "Ms Ingram didn't want her family to be involved. Do you know much about them?"

"No, I never met them, she didn't have anything to do with them, she grew up in an abusive home."

"I have to ask, as her father, once that is established of course, do you intend to take custody of the child."

"Yes." He answered instantly, he had no choice, no desire to do anything else and no second thoughts. If this child was his, he wanted to know her and take care of her. It was the right thing to do and the only thing Alfie could do. Hell even if she wasn't his child he'd take her if she had nobody, no child deserved to be an orphan. He knew that better than anyone.

"Okay." The lawyer explained what was going to happen next. He was going to send Alfie some documents to read about the identification processes and he would need to submit at DNA sample. "We will talk you through the next steps once you have read them. For the welfare of the child in question we are keen to get this sorted."

"Right." His mind was spinning. "Oh, what's her name. She has a name; can we call her that instead of the child?" It was annoying him, the way he were talking about her like she was a thing, a possession, she wasn't a possession she was a little girl who was all alone.

"Her name is Adelaide. Although she likes to be called Addy." Alfie's heart skipped several beats. Up until that moment he had so many doubts and questions but that name, he remembered Jedda telling him when she had asked about his sisters and he had told her how close he was to his youngest sister. 'Iris Adelaide, what a beautiful name. If you ever have a daughter you should call her Adelaide. Addy for short.'

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood still. What the fuck just happened?

Now, less than two weeks later he was in Australia getting ready to meet a little girl who had no idea who he was and who had changed his whole future.

Alfie was already up when Iris finally emerged from her room. Her wet hair was tied up on top of her head and she was still in a robe, if she was relaxed Alfie was not. He was staring out the window. "Good Morning." Iris headed to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. "Sleep well?"

"Not really."

"You nervous."

"Yeah, and all that. Nervous, scared, terrified, nauseous." They were meeting Adelaide today. It had been two days of lots of legal processes, assessments and conversations which had frustrated Alfie. He had kept his cool although he exploded at Iris last night after they talked to everyone back home.

"Excited?"

"A little bit." He chuckled. "Yeah a little bit."

"I have a good feeling Alfie."

He turned away from the window. "Sorry about last night."

"What happened last night?" Iris sipped her coffee as she watched him over the rim of her cup, her eyes twinkled a little as she smiled. It was her way of letting him know they were okay, it was over. That was last night, he was tired and stressed and Iris didn't take it personally. She was well aware that Alfie was just overwhelmed and struggling to deal with it, she knew that by coming with him she was going to be a punching bag, figuratively of course. Alfie would never hurt anyone, that wasn't in his nature. Iris could handle a little bit of a verbal stoush, she'd been handling him for years and Iris was probably the best place out of all of them to deal with Alfie right now.

He was doing his best but he was in turmoil. Iris could see that and she was going to do whatever she had to do to get him through this. Alfie had amazed her though, throughout it all not once had he had doubts about what he had to do, he had no other option and he didn't want to do anything other than meet his daughter despite being terrified. He'd set his heart on her already, it was all planned in his head and Iris was worried about what might happen if it didn't go as Alfie wanted it to.

"Thanks Bug." Alfie made himself another coffee. "How's Colt?"

"Loving every minute of taking care of Pops, who is grumpy. His elbow hurts apparently and nobody cares." Adam had banged his elbow last week and it 'swelled like a bitch' and he took it out on everyone. Colton was bearing the brunt of it right now.

"He's a good guy Bug. Not many boyfriends would stay home and take care of his girlfriend's grumpy old Pops while she is swanning about in another country."

"I kinda like him."

"Me too. He's good for you. You should keep him."

"I think I might." Iris chuckled. She had no plans of getting rid of him. He rocked her world every day and their six months apart had only intensified those feelings they had for each other; they may not know what the future held for them with regards to a family but they knew they'd be together. "Can you imagine all the stories Pops will be telling him?"

"You will have a lot of explaining to do when you get home."

"Yep, apparently he was rabbiting on about when I pushed you down the stairs last night."

"You did push me."

"I don't remember but I am sure you deserved it. You used to pick on me all the time."

"Not true, you were the only one that liked me. I was good to you." Alfie had always adored Iris, from the moment she came home from hospital they had to watch him like a hawk because he was always smothering her with his love. Lola and Mae were bitches to him some days so he foisted all his love onto his 'Bug' and not much had changed over the years. Alfie had a sweet spot for Iris and she certainly adored her brother. He had been a little emotional when she pulled her train out of her carry-on bag on the plane. She never travelled without it, Iris had always treasured it and Alfie loved that she still carried it with her.

Iris held her brother's arm and could feel him shaking as they walked into the room at a very non-descript building in the city. It felt strange that this office building held his future. She gave it one last squeeze and let it go as Alfie shook hands with the lawyer and was introduced to the representative of the Department of Child Protection. "It's nice to finally meet you." She smiled at him sweetly, trying to get him to relax. He had been getting tense at home and you could see it on his face, he was a bit of an open book in that regards. He introduced Iris next.

"Right first of all I will get Adelaide's Foster Mum to come out and say hello, she will take you in to meet Adelaide. She has been told you are coming and is looking forward to meeting you, although she doesn't know that you are her father yet, that is the decision of the Psychologist, they want to see how this goes first. She is a very happy sociable little girl but we don't know how she will react; she has met a lot of new people in a very short space of time and it's been a bit hit and miss. Sometimes she is happy and other times it overwhelms her. It has been a very challenging time for Adelaide but she is doing so well considering. We just don't know." It was a lot to take in and the women spoke so quickly it was hard to follow. Sometimes it felt like everything was being rushed.

Iris rubbed his back; he was so nervous. His hands were shaking and he clasped them together. He didn't really know what to do with them. She was glad he wasn't here alone, Alfie was such a sweet guy and he felt things deeply, perhaps a hang-over from their childhood. He adored his nephews and niece, and to find out that he had a daughter had thrown him for a loop but he was doing his best.

Alfie met Liz, Adelaide's foster mom and she talked to them both a bit about what Adelaide likes and talks about. "Would you like to meet her?"

"Absolutely."

Alfie followed Liz and Iris hung back a little. The little girl was sitting by the window at a small table doing some drawing. She was with her Nanny, Jedda had employed Tara to look after Addy while she was at work and had been with her for almost a year now. When they arrived earlier Addy had been excited to see Tara waiting for her, she hadn't seen her for a since she was placed in her foster home.

"Adelaide, honey." Liz spoke to her gently. "There is someone here who would like to say hello." She pushed Alfie forward a little. "This is Alfie."

"Hi." She said sweetly and then went back to drawing. "I make card."

"That's nice. It's nice to meet you, Adelaide." Alfie squatted down beside her. He was blown away, she definitely had Jedda's colouring but his Mom's eyes and he felt a little bubble rise up in him. He swallowed hard, it was overwhelming seeing his daughter for the first time, he wanted to hug her but didn't want to scare her.

"I Addy."

"Well it's nice to meet you Addy." Alfie laughed a little, this girl seemed like she had a bit of spunk about her. "That's a great card."

"You want it?"

"I'd love it."

"I not finish."

Tara moved so that Alfie could sit with Addy and he started drawing with her. She looked at Tara who assured her that she wasn't going very far, she was just going to talk to Liz.

"What are you drawing?" Alfie asked her softly. He could not have been more nervous as he tried to focus on the little girl in front of him and not every other thought that was crashing through his head.

"A flutterby." She drew a crooked circle and then giggled. It was the cutest little laugh. "They pretty."

"They are very pretty."

"Who's that?" Addy pointed to Iris who had sat down at the table across the room to watch them together. She thought Addy was beautiful and seeing Alfie with her was the sweetest thing. She wanted to take a million photos and videos but they had been told they couldn't take her photo just yet. They had no legal claim to Addy at this stage.

"That's my sister. Her name is Iris." Alfie watched her check out Iris and he smiled at Iris, he liked that she had tears in her eyes. "We call her Bug."

"I no sister."

"I have three."

Addy held up four fingers. "I three. I had a birf..day."

"Are you? That's a big number. Liz told me you had a birthday, was it fun?"

"Yes, I had cake."

"I love cake." Alfie felt like he was all at sea as Addy just smiled at him.

"You draw." She tapped Alfie's drawing. He was a talented drawer, not that he did it much anymore, he more liked to doodle than actually draw anything. He drew a giraffe.

"Do you like it? Do you know what it is?"

"A 'raffe."

Alfie smiled, he liked that she knew what it was. "It is a giraffe. I love giraffes."

"They funny." She stretched her neck up and poked out her tongue. Addy drew something on a piece of paper and gave it to Alfie. "A 'raffe." It was just scribble but he didn't care, he was going to hang onto that.

"You talk funny." Addy looked at him curiously.

"Do I? That's because I come from a different country." His heart was beating rapidly, he had no idea what he'd do if Addy told him that she didn't like it or that her Daddy was from another country.

Addy seemed happy with that for now. "Oh."

Alfie spent about two hours with Addy, she played with Iris also and happily talked to both of them. While Iris was having a tea party with Addy, she was diligently pouring Iris a 'cuppa' Alfie talked to Liz and Tara.

"What does she understand about what's going on?"

"We are not really sure. She does keep asking for her Mum, when she is coming home. Jedda often worked double shifts so that wasn't unusual for her. I think she is starting to think something is wrong but doesn't understand it. We keep telling her that her mother died but she has no idea what that means."

"I don't really remember what Iris was like when our parents died." He saw the look on both Liz's and Tara's face and realised that just as he didn't know much about Addy's life and what happened to Jedda, they hadn't been told a lot about him. They knew he was living in the US and didn't know he had a daughter but that was about it. "Our parents died when Iris was three years old, so she was the same age as Addy is. I was seven. From what our grandparents told us she didn't understand and kept asking for them. She doesn't remember them at all."

"I'm sorry."

"It was such a long time ago but I really feel for Addy, not only because she is my daughter, but because I know how much I just wanted my Mom at the time." Alfie welled up a little, right now he could have done with his Mom to guide him, or his Dad's steady hand. "I still miss them."

Tara liked how emotional he was, she could tell he had a big heart and felt he would be just what Addy needed. Unconditional love. "Will you take her back to the US?"

"Everything is so up in the air, we are working through all the legal stuff, getting custody sorted but I'd like her to have family around and that's where all my family is. I know Jedda didn't have family but I am sure she had friends who became like her family and probably were the only family Addy knew."

"Jedda was a wonderful Mum, she adored Addy but they lived a pretty quiet life. There were never a lot of people around her, there were only a few close friends." Tara knew Jedda better than anyone. "She'd want Addy to be surrounded by people who love her. I think her childhood made her very protective."

"My family loves anyone who walks through the door. She'll get lots of love and attention. I have two older sisters as well as Iris" He told them how jealous they were because Iris was here and they weren't. "They would have all come if they could. I have a nephew who is about six months older than Addy is, a niece who is just turned two and a little nephew who is 6 months old."

"What do you do?"

"I am a Zoo Keeper."

"Addy loves animals. Jedda always took her to the zoo." Alfie smiled at that, he hoped that was because of him. Jedda may not have told him about his daughter but maybe she did tell Addy about him.

"I was working at the Open Range Zoo when I met Jedda, my Dad started that Zoo before he died. We grew up around Zoos and animals. Maybe I can take her there one day?"

"She'd love that." Tara really liked him. He seemed to just want to do what was best for that beautiful lonely little girl. She would miss her but if she got any positives out of this whole tragedy was that Addy may get a beautiful family out of it.

"I'd love to take her." It was going to be a bit of back and forth for the next week or so. Addy had to get to know him and feel comfortable with him first and foremost. "She doesn't know who I am?" It was more a statement than a question and Alfie was a little confused about why they didn't want her to know who he was.

"She will soon." Liz reassured him. "The Psychologist wanted her to meet you first before introducing that to her."

"Why?"

"Addy's been through a lot the past few weeks, how she reacts to you determines how they will introduce the fact you are her father. They are just trying to do what's best for Addy."

"I get that." He ran his hands over his face. "I'm just anxious, you know."

They had an appointment with the Child Psychologist tomorrow. Alfie would see her first and then they would bring Addy in to talk to them both. Liz organised for them to spend some time together in the morning at a local park and then Addy would see him again in the afternoon, and hopefully Addy would be happy to see him. Alfie talked to a Child Psychologist before he left the US and they suggested that he didn't overwhelm the little girl with lots of affection, touching or gifts too early. It would be better if he built at base for their relationship with mutual trust, fun and play rather than try and 'buy' her love. It made sense, but now he had met her he just wanted to scoop her up and love her. He wanted to take her home with him, he didn't want to leave her behind now that he had met her.

Tara gave him a notebook, she had written down some things that Addy liked. What she ate, what she didn't like, songs she liked, her routines, TV shows she watched, her favourite toys. She added some photos, including photos of her as a baby and drawings so that he could get to know her a little more. He thanked them both and held it tightly in his hands. It was like his whole life was in that notebook now, he knew, at least, Addy's whole life was in it.

Crouching down in front of the little girl he said goodbye. "It's been fun to meet you, Addy and thank you for my card, I love it. Liz thinks we should all go to the park tomorrow, would you like that?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Bye." Addy waved at him as she held Liz's hand.

Alfie just stood and watched her go and Iris eventually touched his arm. "Alfie, let's go."

"God Bug, what just happened?"