The alarm was loud and the groans of complain could be heard all over the apartment.

The first one up was Will Solace who, despite having worked the afternoon shift at the hospital, had to cover for a doctor who got the cold and preferred to be away from the hospital for a couple of days. He ruffled his hair and walked towards the kitchen, the coffee machine being the first thing turned on.

Right after Will, his daughter Anastassia, walked like a zombie, silently and sleepy.

"Ana..." Will finally noticed the child, trying not to fall asleep on the table. "Go back to bed, it's like five in the morning..."

"No..." Ana complain, raising her head. "You guys are always out, can I least have breakfast with you...?" She involuntarily pouted at her father and Will could only feel guilty at it. Since coronavirus became the new normal, both Will and his partner Nico di Angelo had spent more time at the hospital than with their daughter.

"Of course, sweetie... I'm really sorry..." He turned to her and hugged her tight.

"It's not like you do it on purpose, Dad..." Ana comforted him, smiling sleepily. Will kissed her head before pulling away. "Want me to wake up Papà?"

"As much as I want him to keep sleeping, he needs to wake up as well..." Ana nodded and walked towards her parents' room, walking in very silently. Will focused on making breakfast, knowing very well that while Nico has breakfast, he will have to rush into the shower. Minutes later, Nico and Ana appeared... though it seemed like the child was carrying the adult.

"Why did you send her to wake me up?" Nico groaned loud, eyes still closed. That reaction only cause Ana and Will to giggle. "Traitors, both of you..." He grumbled, pulling away from his daughter to plop down onto the chair and eat breakfast.

"Nico, stop complaining, we have to be back in two hours..." Will drank his coffee while looking at his small family. "I know today it's Saturday, Ana... will you be alright alone?"

"Of course, Dad!" Ana agreed, beaming at him. "I'll be here, I still have some homework to do and Mrs. Fraiser is a couple of doors away. My face-mask is by the door if I have an emergency and you'll call me every hours to check on me. Oh, and there are leftovers for lunch and dinner and if not, I can call Grandma Sally to help me cook!" Both Nico and Will beamed at Ana's diligence.

It's true, it wasn't the first time they left Ana alone because of the lack of babysitter, but since there was no possibility for her to go out, that gave them some kind of respite. Plus, Ana was very well behaved and helpful. They had nothing to worry about.

"Very well, principessa... We'll go get ready." Nico said, ruffling her hair. Ana complained about it but did nothing else before finishing her breakfast. Soon, both parents were ready to go out and were greeting their daughter goodbye.

Ana, to everyone's surprise, had other plans. Sure, she had told the truth about having homework but she had never specified what she will be doing afterward. First of all, she set alarms every hour on her phone and then, she rushed to the computer to turn on the video call.

"Isn't it early for a video call?" Ana laughed at the face of her best friend Benny, who seemed like he just woke up from sleep. "On a Saturday, Ana? Really?"

"Of course! We have to take advantage of the day!" Ana argued with him, earning a groan.

"Ana, there's nothing we can do! And we do this every Saturday!"

"Be creative, Benny! We can do something to pass the time..." Ana placed a thoughtful face before snapping her fingers. "How about we start practicing dancing?"

"Have you seen me dance? Are you trying to embarrass me?!" Benny's reaction was epic according to Ana. "Plus, your new obsession doesn't dance very easy..."

"Dad says they have talent!" Ana fought him, but there was no fire behind her bite. "And trust me, Dad knows what he's talking about..."

"I still don't understand how a doctor thinks that it's good music..."

"I could take it to my grandpa-"

"Don't even go there! Last time I met your grandfather, he stared at every each of my face from inches away! That's soooo creepy!" Ana tried not to laugh at his shuddering form. Apollo had made quite the impression on Benny, and apparently it has been the target of jokes ever since.

"Well, what do you propose?" Ana crossed her arms, titling her head. The past months had been torture for the best friends, as they could only see each other like this and not even managed to go out. "I made a list and like, every option was ruled out by you!"

"Ana, just because you want to learn Italian and my last name is Italian does not mean I have to learn it!"

"What about learning to play the guitar?"

"I didn't rule out that one! I just don't have one!"

"Oh." Ana scrunched her face, realizing her mistake. It was then that her phone rang. "Hold on a sec..." Ana grabbed her phone, making a silence gesture and answered it. "Hi, Dad!"

"Hey, Ana, how are you?" Will's voice came out from the speakers and the background noise was the rush inside the hospital. "Just wanted to check on you and tell you we will be for dinner..."

"Really?!" If Will had video called her, he would have been able to see her beaming face. "And what about tomorrow...?"

"We'll work it through today and I'll let you know tonight..."

"OK! Bye, Dad!" She hung up after the call, beaming at Benny. "OK! New plans! We will learn to cook and you will help me-"

"How the heck I'm going to do that?!"

"Oh, you're intelligent, you'll think of something!" Ana waved at him, grabbing the computer and rushing to the kitchen. "Now, what can I do for dinner...?" Benny could only stare at his best friend through the screen.

He really hoped this situation finished soon.

4/4 update.

Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone!

Wow, it's been a while since I actually wrote something! Some of you may be thinking I 'retired' but to put it simple... I lacked inspiration! Sure, other things happened in the meantime, but I decided to treat you all today since today is a very special day for me...

*drumroll*

It's my birthday!

So, this weekend- if I can find some time, to be honest. I'm kind of surprised I managed to write four chapters -I'll be posting more of this series that was brought to you all by sudden inspiration!

I also want to thank all the people that, more than six years later, are still reading my stories and find it in them to laugh and get emotional with. It really means a lot to me to read all your comments- I sadly lack the time to reply to you all, but I'll give you a flying kiss!

xoxo
SilverHuntresses.