A/N: In this chapter, Leslie, Jess's mother and Kayla's grandmother, has just died, and Kayla has shut down a bit from it. In the original story, Leslie was the victim of a car accident. Kayla and Mary were in the car with her. Kayla received minor injuries and Mary was unhurt. Kayla doesn't talk in this chapter, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to say.

I've had quite a few people comment on my tendency to make Kayla shut down when bad things happen to her. That's just the way that some people cope. Kayla always bounces back eventually. Trust me, I know from experience. Patience is the way to break someone out of a cycle like this. If it continues, get help for sure, but just letting someone be and not pushing them goes a long way too.

Ten Years Old

As it turned out, taking care of two kids and a wife was hard sometimes.

It had never seemed that way before. While it was never easy, the job had always brought him joy. Sam had always reveled in being his family's provider, protector, and whatever else they happened to need at the time. He'd held many titles over the twelve years he and Jess had been together-husband, shopping partner, Daddy, diaper changer, chauffer, disciplinarian, story teller, bad dream exterminator, Kleenex, nurse, wrestling partner, and jungle gym, among others. But lately, Sam was struggling in a way that he never had before.

Jess was depressed in a way that Sam had never seen her before. Sam had taken a week and a half off after Leslie died, and taken care of her funeral arrangements, accepted all the food and gifts from well meaning but slightly overwhelming neighbors, watched out for his father, and taken care of the girls' daily needs. But the time came when he had to return to work, and his father returned home, so Sam had pulled Kayla to the side.

Kayla still wasn't talking. She hadn't said a word in nearly two weeks, but Sam didn't know what he would've done without her. In the first few days after Leslie's death, he'd woken up and found Mary already awake, dressed, and eating breakfast. Kayla would change Mary's diaper before Sam even knew it was dirty. She would do almost anything and everything she saw needed doing-laundry, sweeping the living room floor, dishes, and she did it without being told and without any hint of complaint. Sam was grateful, but he wanted his little girl back.

Today was no different. He asked Kayla to join him on the couch, and she did just that. Sat down next to him and looked out, as if she was just blankly waiting for instructions. Sam put an arm around her, and while she didn't pull away from him, she didn't react either.

"I need to talk to you."

Kayla frowned.

"You're not in trouble." Sam said, guessing that she was afraid. Kayla immediately relaxed and looked up at him curiously. "Just the opposite. I want to thank you. You've helped me so much these last few days. I couldn't have done this without you. But I need your help. Will you help me?"

Kayla nodded.

"I have to go back to work tomorrow. Mommy's probably going to need a lot of help too. I do want you to help her, but I want you to have some fun too. It's summer break. I want you to go over to your friend's houses, play outside on your swing set, ride your bike, all that stuff. Don't spend the whole summer working, okay? You'll have plenty of time for that when you're a grown up. I want you to be a kid while you can. Promise me?"

Kayla seemed in deep thought, but she eventually nodded to her father's request.

"Good."

Sam was relieved. He hoped Kayla would listen to him. He hated resorting to making having fun an order, but he was desperate. He hadn't seen Kayla do anything remotely enjoyable in the last few days, and he just wanted her to get somewhat back to normal. Kayla got off the couch and went into her room, bringing something back to Sam. It was an old and battered copy of one of Kayla's favorite books, Ramona and Her Father. Kayla put the book into Sam's hand and pointed to it.

"You want me to read to you?"

Kayla nodded.

"Okay, Bug."

Sam was more than willing to do it. Kayla had given him more than enough over the last days. She'd not done anything for herself at all. He took the book and read to her until it was time for dinner, then read to her again before bed. As Kayla fell asleep that night, Sam took a long, drawn out look at her. She was only ten years old, but the trauma and heartache of the last two weeks seemed to have added years to her. Sam kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear,

"Sleep well, Bug. Daddy loves you."

In a throwback to Kayla's younger days, when she would seem to be asleep but not quite, Kayla grabbed Sam's hand and squeezed it. She didn't say it, but Sam heard the message. Love you too, Daddy.