Chapter 2: Hearts Melting

Monica woke up and found Pirouletta's face beside hers and she slowly sat up, yawning and stretching a little. Her stirring made the dancer stir and she woke up with a yawn before smiling. "Good morning, sweetie," she said to the child.

The child smiled. "Morning," she said softly before her stomach growled and she bit her lip, to which the dancer smiled.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get you dressed and Aunty Pirouletta will take you to get some breakfast."

The dancer had found some clothes the night prior in storage and was pleased to see they were clean. She now pulled out a cute purple t-shirt, black jeans, and white socks and set them on the bed. "Go ahead and put these on, sweetie. They'll fit better than that dress you had on last night and they're clean," she said before turning to get ready for the day herself.

Monica looked at the clothes and was surprised that they were clean. She quickly dressed, sighing as she felt better in these new clothes, especially after having a bath the night before. She turned to see Pirouletta had just finished her makeup and the dancer smiled at the little girl. "Come on, sweetie. I can smell breakfast and I think the chef made pancakes," she said.

The little girl cocked her head to the side. "What's pancakes?" She asked.

The dancer felt her heart go out to the girl, but she covered her shock with a smile. "A very tasty breakfast," she said. "If I'm correct about that lovely smell being pancakes, you're in for a treat."

A knock came at the door. "Come in," Pirouletta called out cheerily.

The door opened and an eight ball came in with someone that looked like a cigar and another that looked like a rabbit in a magician's suit. "Hey, Pirouletta," the eight ball said. "We heard that there was an intruder last night, but it was a kid."

"You heard right, Mangosteen," she said.

Monica, seeing them, grew a bit scared, especially when she saw the cigar and she hid behind Pirouletta, who smiled at her gently. "This is Monica," she said to the others. "She's seven years old and apparently an orphan."

"An orphan?" The rabbit asked in shock before looking at Monica, who hid more behind the dancer. "Hey, kiddo," he said to her, seeing her peek out at him. "It's okay. We won't hurt you."

"She's only seven?" The cigar asked. "How did she get here?"

"Either a runaway or got left here on purpose, Wheezy," Pirouletta said. "She's staying here for a bit, so please, don't smoke around her."

"Hey, I might be a hothead, but even I know better than to smoke around a kid," he said.

Mangosteen came closer to the child, seeing her look at them unsurely. "Hey, it's okay," he soothed. "Can you come out so we can properly meet you?"

Monica looked up at Pirouletta, who smiled at her. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you," she said soothingly. "These are Mangosteen, Hopus Pocus, and Mr. Wheezy. Can you say hello to them?"

The child looked unsure, but nodded before looking at them. "Hi," she said softly. "Nice to meet you."

The four could at once tell that she was still a bit wary, but they didn't blame her. Her stomach suddenly growled and Hopus smiled. "And that's the real reason we came up here," he said. "Chef made pancakes and we came to tell you breakfast was ready."

"Thank you," Pirouletta said, smiling at Monica and holding her hands out in the gesture of asking the child if she wanted to be picked up. The child responded by raising her arms and the dancer picked her up, carrying her down the hallway with the others.

Wheezy smiled at the child. "I know it seems a bit scary, but you're safe here," he said gently.

"You're lucky you came here last night," Mangosteen said. "There's not another place for miles beyond the casino."

Hopus noticed that the child was watching them and he smiled. "You like magic tricks?" He asked.

She cocked her head to the side and he smiled. "Here, I'll show you," he said, taking a deck of cards and doing a few tricks with them.

Monica was wide-eyed as she saw this and Pirouletta smiled before getting an idea. "Hopus, can you show her how to make a heart with the cards?" She asked.

"Ah, one of my best card tricks yet," he said before doing so, a heart seeming to form as the cards moved constantly.

The child's eyes went wider before she looked at the dancer carrying her. "How did he do that?" She asked.

Pirouletta chuckled. "It's magic, little one," she said in amusement. "You like it?"

Monica nodded before Hopus pretended to 'drop' the cards and was scrambling to pick them up before they hit the floor, his antics making her giggle. "Hey, no fair you got her to laugh first, Hopus," Mangosteen said without heat.

"Just my charming nature," the rabbit said cheekily.

"Oh, there they go again," Wheezy said in amusement.

The dancer chuckled again. "Hate to break it to you boys, but Chips was the one to make her smile first last night," she said. "And then Dice got her to smile too."

All three were a bit quiet at that before Mangosteen spoke up. "The boss is getting a soft spot for her?" He asked in surprise.

"Why wouldn't he?" Hopus asked, smiling through his surprise. "She's a cutie. Who wouldn't get a soft spot for her with that cute little nose and those big, beautiful brown eyes of hers?"

The seven-year-old ducked her head shyly, making the others smile. "Aw, I think you made her blush, Hopus," Wheezy said. "But I agree. She's cute."

They made it to the dining area where Phear Lap, Pip and Dot, Mr. Chimes, and the Tipsy Troop greeted them, all eager to see the child they had heard about from their boss. Monica grew a bit scared and clung to Pirouletta, hiding her face with a whimper. "Hey, guys, give her some room," Mangosteen said gently. "Poor kid's still a bit scared."

King Dice came up to them. "May I see her, Pirouletta?" He asked.

Nodding, she handed him the child and he took the little girl into his arms. Seeing he was holding her and remembering how gentle he was with her last night, the seven-year-old clung to him, peeking over her shoulder at the others and Dice smiled. "It's okay, they won't hurt you," he promised. "They're just excited to meet you, sweet pea."

The group looked a bit guilty. "Sorry, sweetie," Dot said gently. "We didn't mean to scare you."

Seeing them all back up a little and look at her with apologetic looks, Monica slowly loosened her hold on King Dice's jacket and he smiled. "There you go," he said gently.

The child's stomach growled, making him smile again. "Why don't we all eat breakfast and give Monica a chance to see that you all are harmless?" He suggested.

That was met with agreement and the seven-year-old sat next to Pirouletta as they ate, the others talking about things and noting that Monica seemed to be listening, almost like she was intrigued. Tipsy Troop began telling a story of how they scared a customer by popping up on the counter after the guy had nearly been falling asleep and the guy had been so scared, he fell from his barstool and ran out the door. The others laughed at that and Monica looked at Pirouletta, who smiled gently.

"See?" She said. "They can get a little rowdy, but they'll be nice to you."

After breakfast, the others came up to Monica one at a time, introducing themselves and letting her know that she could ask them anything or visit with them when she wanted to. King Dice was happy to see his employees were helping the child to feel more comfortable around them and smiled as he picked up the child. "Well, today is half a day with the holiday being tomorrow, so we're closing up the casino at four o'clock," he said. "I have some paperwork to do in my office."

"You got it, boss," Mangosteen said with a nod. "We'll keep an eye on things."

"What about Monica?" Pirouletta asked. "Who will watch over her while we're at work?"

"I'll watch over her," the owner of the casino said.

No one argued with him, but smiled and nodded, heading out while Dice headed for his office with Monica in his arms. She seemed quite content to stay there, which made him smile, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get his work done if he was holding her all day. When they arrived, he gently set her down and she looked up at him. "Do you like to draw or color?" He asked.

The seven-year-old's eyes lit up as if he said the magic words and he chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, giving her a playful, yet gentle, boop on the nose before going to a drawer in his desk and pulling out colored pencils, crayons, and blank paper. With a snap of his fingers, a child's play table appeared and he set the items down on it before turning to her. "Alright, I've got some paperwork to look after," he told her. "You can draw whatever you'd like. I'll be right over there at my desk if you need me, okay?"

She nodded before hugging his leg. "Thank you, Mr. Dice," she said softly.

He smiled, gently patting her head and she smiled before sitting at the table and grabbing a piece of paper before looking at the crayons and colored pencils. Seeing that she was set, the owner of the casino sat down at his desk and began his own work.

A few hours later, he glanced up at Monica to see she was still drawing and he saw her smile as she placed what he guessed was a finished drawing on a pile that he guessed were other finished drawings. Smiling, he continued his work, finishing up the last few numbers before standing up and stretching, going to file the papers away and he noticed it was almost lunch time.

Monica, seeing him get up, grabbed one of the finished drawings she had done and walked over to him, looking a bit shy as she held the paper in her hands. King Dice smiled at her, finding her shyness to be cute. "How are you doing, Monica?" He asked.

"Good," she said, smiling up at him cutely.

When she didn't offer more, he decided to give into his curiosity. "Whatcha got there?" He asked, indicating to the paper in her hands as he couldn't see the drawing on it.

The seven-year-old ducked her head shyly for a moment before looking up at him with hopeful eyes as she handed him the paper. Smiling, he took it and looked at it, his green eyes widening at what he saw.

It was a picture of him and it was done with such detail that one would think the child had attended art school. "Do you like it?" Monica asked softly, looking very shy now. "I...I wanted to say thank you for being so nice to me."

King Dice blinked, snapping a bit out of his shock and smiling at her. "You drew this?" He asked in surprise.

She nodded. "I like to draw," she said. "It's my favorite thing."

"You're very good at it," he said, making her giggle and blush a little at his praise. "And yes, I like it."

Monica grinned and hugged his leg, making him smile again and scoop her up into his arms, returning the hug and she snuggled into his arms. The owner of the casino knew right then and there that there was no way he could send the child away and he was beginning to hope that Chips wouldn't find any family to take the child away because he would be lying if he didn't say he had a huge soft spot for the child and he didn't want to lose her.

A knock came at the open door and Dice looked to see Chips was standing there and the cowboy was smiling gently. "Sorry, boss, didn't realize you and the little lady were having a bonding moment," he said, not sounding completely sorry. "I can come back another time."

"No, it's fine, Chips," King Dice said, motioning him to come in.

Monica lit up at seeing Chips and gently squirmed to be put down. The dice-headed man set her down and the child ran up to Chips, glomping him in a hug and he gasped. "Whoa there, cowgirl," he said with a chuckle as he caught her, hugging her back and seeing her smile up at him. "Have to say I haven't had someone welcome me back from a mission like that before."

The seven-year-old giggled and took his hand, pulling him towards the table that she had been drawing at. He let her, curious as he saw her reach for the stack of finished drawings before pulling one out and giving it to him. Curious, he took it and his eyes widened at seeing it was a drawing of him. He looked at her and saw her grin and put two and two together. "Did you draw this for me, cowgirl?" He asked.

She nodded. "Do you like it?" She asked.

He smiled. "Yes, I do," he said before noticing the other drawings. "You did drawings of everyone?" She nodded again. "You're quite the artist."

"She is," King Dice said, showing Chips the picture the child had drawn of him.

The cowboy whistled. "She's got a good eye for detail," he said.

Mangosteen came in and smiled. "Hey," he said. "Lunch is about ready."

Monica smiled up at him and waved to him before holding up a paper to him and he gasped at seeing it was a picture of himself. He accepted it and smiled at the child. "Is this me?" He asked.

She nodded and he noticed she had a stack of other drawings in her hands and he smiled again before looking at Dice. "Hey, boss, why don't I take Monica to find the others while you and Chips talk?" He suggested.

The owner of the casino smiled. "Yes, please," he said before looking at the child. "Are you alright with going with Mangosteen to find the others? Chips and I will be along shortly."

Monica nodded and smiled up at the eight ball, who smiled back and led her out of the office to find the others. When they were out of earshot, Chips turned to look at Dice and the look on his face told the casino owner that the cowboy didn't have great news. "What did you find out?" He asked.

"Monica is an orphan, but that's not the worst of it," Chips said. "She was apparently 'sold' for lack of a better word to families but then returned sometime later."

"What?" King Dice asked in shock. "What do you mean, 'sold'?"

The cowboy pulled out a file and the owner of the casino took a look and his eyes widened with horror at seeing the file was filed with copies of papers that said 'Bill of Sale' and they all had Monica's name on them along with the names of the people she had been sold to. He guessed there must have been close to thirty of these papers and he felt his blood boil when he saw the words of the contract stated that if the customers weren't happy with Monica being in the family, then they could return her without any fees. The dice-headed man looked like he was about to be sick. "Please tell me these aren't...," he trailed off.

"Apparently, the families would 'adopt' her, but if she didn't fit in, then they'd return her," Chips said. "I checked into the families that had 'adopted' her and they're all in jail for child abuse and neglect. Police records indicated that Monica was bruised many times when they were called to the homes and one time they even found her chained to a banister of the stairs in the basement."

Now Dice really felt like he was going to be sick. "But she's just a child," he said. "Why did they do that?"

"I did some digging into that too, but my buddies said it'll take a few days to find out," he said. "But she's got no family left, boss. Last family that adopted her returned her a week before yesterday."

The owner looked up at him. "Which means...she was abandoned here then," he said, noticing the papers were all dated within a month or two of each other. "For almost two years, they did this to her. It's a wonder she even let us help her."

"Well, kids can tell when someone wants to help them and I think Monica just wants to be loved," Chips said before taking a deep breath. "Boss, I know I asked you last night if we were going to keep her, but...I'm just going to say it. I think you should adopt her."

Dice looked at him. "What?" He asked in surprise.

The cowboy chuckled. "C'mon, boss. No offense, but it's very obvious you've got a soft spot for her and I think she's warming up to us if her drawing pictures of us and giving them to us is anything to go by."

The owner of the casino sat down and thought it over. "How can she be attached to us after just one day?" He asked.

"Maybe because we haven't once hurt her," Chips said. "When she realized you weren't going to hurt her, she clung to you. She even clung to Pirouletta when she saw me last night until she saw that I wouldn't hurt her."

Dice nodded, seeing that Chips had a point. "You're right," he said. "And...I was just thinking earlier that...I want to adopt her, because I don't have the heart to send her away and I don't want her taken away from us."

The cowboy smiled. "Good thing I called up my judge buddy," he said. "You've got an appointment to discuss the adoption process tomorrow."

The dice-headed man smiled gratefully. "I owe you one, Chips," he said. "Thank you."

"Thank me by adopting that sweet little girl and for what you owe me, make me one of her uncles and we'll call it even."

Dice chuckled. "Deal," he said.

Giggling reached them and they went to see the others were smiling and holding the pictures Monica had drawn of them and Mangosteen was nuzzling the child's neck playfully, making her giggle and laugh. Phear Lap let out a whinny and gestured to his back, to which Hopus helped the child onto the skeleton horse's back. "Hold on tight," he said. "He likes to go fast."

As if to prove the rabbit right, Phear Lap took off at a gallop, whinnying with excitement. Monica looked a bit startled and grabbed onto the skeleton horse's neck, holding on before feeling someone hop on behind her and wrap and arm around her waist. She turned to see it was Hopus and he smiled as he held her. "It's okay. I've gotcha," he said reassuringly.

The child looked relieved and giggled as the horse did some silly antics before coming to a stop in front of King Dice, who was trying not to laugh as he saw Monica giggling and Hopus smiled, seeing the girl reach for the dice-headed man and he handed her to him.

The owner of the casino accepted the child and she snuggled into his arms before letting out a yawn and closing her eyes, soon fast asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. "Aww," Pirouletta cooed. "Look at that."

"She feels safe with him," Mangosteen said.

Dice gently rubbed Monica's back and she snuggled closer to him, a content sigh escaping her. Chips grinned. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger, boss," he said teasingly.

That earned him a look from his boss before the man smirked. "And she doesn't have you wrapped around her little finger?" He teased back.

The cowboy chuckled. "You got me, boss," he said.

"Does this mean...she's staying?" Dot asked.

"I think so," Pip said.

King Dice nodded. "Yes," he said. "She's going to be my daughter."

The mini bosses lit up at hearing that, to which he took as approval and nodded. "Chips, what time is your judge friend arriving tomorrow?"

"Ten o'clock sharp," the cowboy said.

"Alright then."

Monica slept on in Dice's arms and he smiled as he looked at her sleeping face, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead, to which she tightened her grip on his jacket a little before her hand relaxed, making him smile again.

Chips was right. Monica had him wrapped around her little finger and he couldn't wait to officially become her father.

Oh, the feels are drowning me right now. :)

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GoldGuardian2418