Missy's week had been anything but easy…each and every day Missy had gone to work, with the whispers still floating around the office…

And on top of that, Emily had been as quiet as ever…

She wasn't a fussy little girl and rarely cried, but she was as shy as anything and Missy could tell she was upset by the fact she had gotten more and more subdued and silent as they days had progressed. This past week, being away from Missy and having to deal with the loud noises and unfamiliar faces at the crèche, it was hurting her, Missy could easily see that.

But right now it was their only choice… Missy couldn't afford not to work and having a crèche in her office block was a massive saving grace for her. There wasn't many workplaces where she would be that lucky.

But today it was Friday and Missy and Emily were looking forward to the entire weekend, just the two of them.

But the moment they had arrived back at 4.30pm, after taking a detour through the ever-darkening park on the way home, their afternoon had descended into chaos.

They had opened the front door, only to find that that their power was out and by the looks of it, had been for the majority of the day. This meant that the entire apartment was freezing cold and now plunged into darkness.

"No, no, no…" uttered Missy under her breath, flipping the light on and off as Emily stuck by her heels, looking up at her Mom a little worriedly.

"Itsh dark," muttered the little girl, slurring her words slightly, which wasn't uncommon for her.

Missy stroked the top of Emily's head stepping further into the room, the only light, currently coming from the lit-hallway behind them, through the open door.

"I know sweetie, Mommy thought she'd paid the bill on Tuesday," she said matter-of-factly, pulling her cell phone from her purse, the bright light from the device illuminating her face.

She checked her bank account quickly.

Crap, the money hadn't gone out. She know she'd SEEN the bill, but with everything going on at the moment, she had obviously forgotten to pay it.

At her side, Emily clutched at her leg.

"It's ok, Mommy will fix it," said Missy biting her lip.

God, it was freezing in here. It was late November and a chill had crept over the city over the past few weeks, with the temperature having dropped dramatically, right in time for their move.

Missy hurriedly strode across the room, searching over her box-strewn living room for the pile of letters and bills she knew was around there somewhere.

But it was dark and impossible to see a thing, even with the light from her phone.

Oh could this day get any worse?!

"Is living in the dark a new trend I haven't quite caught onto yet?" came a sudden voice from behind her.

Oh it definitely could get worse…

She turned to see Wade standing in the hallway, leaning up against her doorframe, arms folded, staring into the gloomy apartment, a big grin across his face.

Missy gave an irritated huff.

"I forgot to pay the bill, ok?" she snapped, before she could stop herself.

Why was she even having to explain herself to him anyway?

Emily looked behind her, obviously wondering who Missy was talking to, her green eyes staring suddenly up at Wade.

"Hiya Em," he said his voice sweet. "It's kinda dark in here, huh?"

The tiny girl gave a nod and waved at him suddenly with her chubby hand.

Wade beamed.

Missy gave a sigh, spinning around on the spot, checking the space around her for the bills. But beneath the piles of cardboard boxes and Emily's toys it was impossible to see anything.

"I've got a flashlight, if you want to borrow one?" offered Wade.

She could from his tone that he was smirking.

Missy gritted her teeth.

"No thanks!" she said in a high-pitched voice. "I'm fine, I-"

But before she could utter another word, Missy had tripped over a pile of boxes and come crashing down onto the hardwood floor with a bump.

Emily let out a squeak of fright.

In a flash, Wade had strode across the room, closing the gap between them, clutching a hand beneath her arm.

"Up you get, Ms Clumsy," he said in a mocking tone, which Missy did not appreciate one little bit.

She snatched her arm away from him.

"I can get up myself, thank you very much," she snarled, clambering to her feet with great difficulty on her sky-high-heels.

She heard Wade at her side let out a chuckle, as he walked back over to where Emily was still stood, just a couple of feet inside the room.

He crouched down in front of the little girl, smiling.

"Now your mommy is an independent lady," said Wade with a nod. "…and you know what? That's my favourite kind of lady…"

Emily just gaped at him for a long moment, before looking down at the floor shyly and turning around on the spot.

"She's shy…" offered Missy, suddenly gazing over at them. "She doesn't really interact with others all that well."

Wade looked around at Missy.

"She interacts with you…" he said blinking.

Missy glanced down at the floor momentarily before looking up at Wade once again.

"That's because I know how to talk to her…a lot of people, they find out that she's hard of hearing, and they just yell at her, thinking that will solve all the problems…but it just makes things worse…she hates loud noises.." Missy gave an inward sigh. "She's fine if you just talk slowly to her and make eye contact…like you should with any normal child…"

Wade paused for a second, his brown eyes roving over Missy's face.

"Noted…" he uttered simply.

Suddenly at his side, Emily let out a shiver.

It was bitterly cold in the apartment and right now Missy regretted not keeping on top of things better.

What on earth was she going to do if Emily got sick…she couldn't afford to take time off…not now…imagine what the popele ta work would say about that?

Not to mention Emily's health…the little girl struggled as it was…

Missy worried at her lip, fretting.

"Listen," said Wade suddenly, snapping Missy out of her trance. "You wanna come over to my place?"

His voice was genuine and soft.

He turned to Emily.

"I've got hot chocolate with little marshmallows.." he said in a tempting voice, causing the little girl to look up at him wide-eyed.

But Missy gave a frown.

This probably wasn't a good idea….she barely even knew this guy…

"Hot chwocolat?" repeated Emily in what was barely a whisper.

Wade smiled down at her with gentle brown eyes.

"And it sure is a bit warmer than this place is…" he said glancing back over at Missy. "In fact I think a house made of ice vodka luges would be warmer than this…"

Missy gave a gulp.

"I-I don't know…" she murmured biting at her lip, worriedly, and shifting her weight from foot to foot.

But Wade gave an easy shrug, getting to his feet as Emily watched him.

"Look it's just an offer…" he said with a chuckle. "But I do have wifi if you need to get in touch with the electricity company that way…and besides my hot cholate is pretty infamous…"

He turned to Emily.

"…The secret is lots of marshmallows!" he said in a loud whisper behind his hand, causing Emily to blink her eyes up at him curiously.

Perhaps going over to Wade's for a minute or two would be a better option, Missy thought to herself. Instead of rooting around in the dark for a missing paper bill she might have thrown out anyway.

She stared up at her neighbour warily.

There he was, in his usual sheepskin jacket and black tee, looking every inch a guy she would normally cross the street to avoid.

But it was Emily, who let out another silent shiver, who made up Missy's mind for her.

"Ok…" Missy uttered in a quiet tone. "Just until I manage to get this bill paid and get the power back on…"

Wade instantly clapped his hands together, happily, causing Emily to wince slightly, backing away from him in fright.

The blonde man looked suddenly shamefaced at the little girl's reaction.

But Missy merely walked across the room, taking Emily's hand in her own and stroking her cheek.

"Shhh, it's ok baby, it was just Wade…" she said in a soft voice.

Wade shook his head.

"Sorry," he said, looking between them.

And for the first time, Missy saw something in him…. something far removed from his usual cocky swagger. Something genuine, remorseful….honest…

"It's fine…" she said giving him a ghost of a smile, which Wade reciprocated, looking slightly relieved.

And with that, he led the way across the hallway, pushing open the door to his apartment, as Missy and Emily followed.


I'm not sure if I should carry on. I'm not really getting many reviews…

Thanks anyway to kaayrakoi, Legolas Girl 31, AngiMK, EmeraldFoxTails669 and dancindonna for leaving their feeback on the last chapter. I really do appreciate it!

Please review!