Missy sighed, staring out of the window…

Snow had begun to drift across the city, barely enough to make a light dusting on the sidewalk, but nevertheless, snow was still snow, and Emily was transfixed by it.

Anything that couldn't take the little girl's mind off Wade was a blessing..

Wade had unfortunately broken his promise…and had not returned that night with Christmas decorations for them …neither Missy nor Emily heard from him the following day…

Missy had wanted to swallow her pride and send him a text, even going so far as to pick her phone up, her fingers hovering over Wade's number, but she had quickly placed her cell down again.

Perhaps he was just like the rest of them…

Missy had worried at her lip as Emily had asked about him…wondering where he had got to.

"Waydee pwomis?" the toddler had said in a slurred voice, titling her head up at Missy.

In Emily's eyes a promise had been a promise. And to let her down like that….yes, he was definitely just like the others.

It was now Monday evening, around a day and a half since they had seen or heard from their neighbour.

"Snaw," said Emily, who had crawled up onto the back of the couch to watch the white whispy-flakes drift by the window.

Missy smiled gently, nodding and toying with Emily's tufty brown hair which was today tied up with a bright red bow.

"Yeah, snow, baby," she said in a soft voice.

"Ca we see Waydee?" asked the little girl after what was barely a beat, peering up at Missy with wide green eyes.

Missy gave a gulp.

This was why it was always just the two of them…other people only let them down…..…broke their hearts…

"I don't know, sweetie," murmured Missy, trying to desperately think of a way to change the subject.

A promise was a promise, in her eyes too.

"Listen…how about we get you in the bath and ready for bed, ok?" smiled Missy, picking Emily up into her arms, with a slight groan. "You can wear your new Rudolph jammies your Great Aunt Leslie sent up for you, yeah?"

Emily nodded, chewing on her finger as Missy carried her into the bathroom.


Missy, having bathed Emily in a tonne of bubbles and read her a story before she drifted off, walked into the kitchen.

She hadn't even had a chance to change from work, still in her navy pencil skirt and pale blue blouse. But her high-heels had long been kicked off. So now Missy padded across the tiled floor on bare-feet, grabbing a mug, and flicking on the kettle.

All she wanted now, was a hot drink and her own bed.

But before the kettle had even had a chance to boil, there came a sudden gentle knock on the front door.

Missy froze momentarily, not knowing whether she had been hearing things. It was only 7.30 but Missy never had visitors.

It was only one person it was likely to be and Missy was still angry with him. After all, he had let Emily down. Broken a promise to her.

That was all Missy was angry about…of course it was…

She scowled, storming through into the living room and out into the hallway, before tugging the front-door swiftly open. But her angry expression faltered slightly as she saw what was on the other side…

Stood there, was indeed the man she had expected, Wade Wilson…

…but his face was covered in dried, red blood, that had obviously poured from a fresh wound, just above his eyebrow.

He stood, propped up against the wall, beside her door, clutching at his side and breathing hard.

"Hey there, beautiful Mama-bear," he said, flashing her a half smile. But Missy could tell that he was in a lot of pain.

"Wade?" said Missy questioningly, her mouth agape and her eyes widening.

And she barely had a second to react, as Wade stumbled forwards, his body giving way beneath him.

Clutching her hands to his chest, she managed to keep him upright, dragging him hurriedly over to the couch trying not to hurt him in the process.

She had seen him a little bruised in the past…that time when she and Emily had trick or treated at his door, but that was nowhere close to this extent.

She eased him down onto the couch-cushions, hearing him give a groan of pain as he sat, his entire body feeling limp beneath her grasp.

"Sorry I missed you last night…" he murmured. "I got kinda….held up."

Missy's eyes travelled across his bloody face. One of his eyes was swollen and puffy, but there was honesty in his gaze.

"W-What happened Wade?" she asked shaking her head.. "Who did this to you?"

But Wade let out, what sounded like a chuckle, but his voice was too hoarse.

"Perks of the job…" he merely uttered, his brown eyes falling to the floor.

Missy let out a long breath of air.

Maybe Wade was dangerous….maybe he was far too dangerous to be around Missy and her daughter…

Every parental instinct she had, was telling her to throw him out there and then….but Missy remembered how Emily had looked at him….

How his presence in their lives had made the little girl so full of life….happier than Missy had ever seen her.

Missy paused…looking down at him…before making up her mind…

It only took her a few moments to gather everything she needed and she was back, perching before him on the edge of her coffee table.

"I'm gonna need you to sit up, sweetie…" she said before she could stop herself. She noticed Wade let out a smirk.

"I should get myself beaten up more often…" he said pulling himself up with great difficulty, wincing as he did so. "If it means I get an upgrade from 'annoying neighbour' to 'sweetie'.

Missy rolled her eyes.

"I need to get this jacket off you," she said, in a soft tone, ignoring him comment. "See what damage's been done."

And with that, Missy gently pushed his tartan sheepskin coat from his broad shoulders, helping him slip his arms out of the sleeves one by one.

She was relieved to see there was no blood at the side he was clutching, but could already see the enormous purple bruise that had blossomed across his ribs, through his white vest.

"So you gonna tell me who did this to you?" Missy asked, placing his coat, down onto the far end of the couch, leaning in close to him, tilting her head slightly, causing her long caramel hair to trail across his knee. "I have Emily to think about…should I be worried about this neighbourhood?"

Wade opened his mouth to say something but swiftly closed it again, shaking his head. It was a second or two before he finally spoke.

"This happened across town…" he uttered, staring into her eyes. "…you don't need to be worried. I got myself into this fucking mess…"

Missy, looked a little worried. "I-Is it drugs?" she asked, her voice quiet.

But Wade merely shook his head once again, before giving a long sigh, that Missy felt had nothing to do with the pain.

"It's not drugs…Geez…I know you're gonna kick me out when I tell you this and probably never wanna fucking speak to me again….but just know I'd never have put you or Emily in danger. EVER!," he said, before pausing, and running a hand down his bloody face. "I'm a mercenary….in other words…I get paid a lot of money to do a lot of bad things…"

His eyes, once again, drifting downwards, landing on his knees.

"I'm just a bad guy that gets paid to fuck up worse guys…and this time it backfired," he said, slowly. "Epically. So yeah, that's what I do for a living…not a gigolo or a meter maid."

Missy froze, her green eyes on his face, searching his features. Her stomach lurched slightly, a feeling lingering there that she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"You're not a bad guy…" Missy murmured suddenly, picking a clean white facecloth and dipping it into the bowl of warm water she had brought over, before dabbing it to his temples. "Emily doesn't think so at least."

Almost instantly Wade's eyes drifted up, his gaze meeting with hers.

"And do you think so?" he asked her after a second or two, his voice quiet.

Missy merely blinked, lifting her fingers gently to his chin.

"I don't either…" she uttered softly, her heart thudding within her ribcage, as she wiped the damp cloth down his long cheek.

Neither of them spoke, for what must have been about five minutes….until all the blood was gone, leaving just a puffy eye and a deep gash along his temple. But he looked a lot better to say the least.

Missy gulped, placing the, now red, cloth down into the water.

"We should take a look at your ribs…I think you might need to go to the hospital…" she said, biting on her lip.

But the merc grinned.

"Is this just an excuse for you to get me to take my shirt off?" Wade asked, raising a scarred eyebrow at her.

But Missy shook her head, shooting him a look. "Shirt, now, Wilson."

Wade gave a sigh, eventually doing as he was told, like a scolded child. He tugged his white vest from his head, giving a loud groan of pain as he did so.

"Fuuck me, that hurts!" he said with a groan, tossing his head back against the couch cushions and breathing hard.

Missy felt her breath catch in her throat slightly.

Wade was toned and fit...she had already known that….but his torso was broad and she could see that a hot slick of sweat had beaded at his collarbone.

She gave a gulp, feeling the tops of her cheeks getting warm, as she looked down at the bruise at his side.

It wasn't as bad as she first thought, but definitely looked very painful.

"I really think you should go to the hospital…" she said, a little concernedly, tracing the bruise with a mere whisper of a touch, trying not to hurt him. "They can check you out a-and make sure you're ok…"

But Wade gave a smirk. "Nah….I'll be fine…" he said with a pained shrug. "I've had worse than this, believe me."

Missy didn't want to believe him. She didn't want to imagine worse.

"But if you've got a pack of frozen peas in that freezer of yours I'd sure fucking appreciate it," he said, closing his eyes and giving a gulp of pain.

Missy peered up at him worriedly, before giving a nod and getting to her feet.

But she was just about to turn and walk away when Wade suddenly reached out for her hand.

"Hey…thanks…" he said, his tone different now, gentler almost, their fingertips brushing hers softly.

But Missy merely gave him a smirk.

"Well, you've done enough for us," she said in a half whisper. "I supposed I needed to return the favour."

With that, she dropped her eyes downwards, pulled her hand from his and walked into the kitchen.

At the freezer door, she gave a long sigh, her fingers gripping the handle tightly.

He was probably right…any normal person would have screamed at him and told him to go but here she was looking after him…taking care of the man from across the hall.

But there was no way she could believe that he was the man he described himself as.

With Emily he was so gentle…and with them both….well, he had taken care of them…like their guardian angel…from across the hallway.

Missy bit at her lip before pulling the door open and rummaging around for the pack of peas.

But as she headed back into the living room, less than a minute later, brandishing the freezing cold packet, she stopped abruptly at the sight that met her eyes.

"Baby, what are you doing up at this hour?" said Missy cocking her head slightly at Emily, who was now wriggling her little butt onto the couch beside Wade.

"Waydey…" said Emily in a quiet voice, giving a wide smile, before clambering onto his lap.

Wade gave an 'oof' of pain as her little knees collided with his bruised ribs, but didn't make a big deal of it, instead grabbing the little girl around the middle and tugging her into a more comfortable position.

Emily looked up at him, her little mouth falling open, and her chubby little hands reaching out for his puffy eye, but Wade laughed, holding her at arm's reach.

"Hey there Em-bear…aren't you supposed to be in bed?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows in her direction.

But Emily shook her head, giving a giggle and scrunching the sleeves of her little pyjamas in her hands. "Naww."

She pawed at his bare chest.

Missy smiled, folding her arms over her blouse and strolling towards them.

"Come on young lady," said Missy in a firm voice as Emily glanced up at her. "Wadey's not feeling very well, you need to let him get some rest."

And with that Missy made to lift Emily from his lap, but the little girl gave a pout, her bottom lip jutting out slightly.

Wade grinned.

"Well, you know what would make me feel a lot better?" said Wade in a playful tone, brushing his thumb across Emily's pudgy little cheek. "A cuddle before you say goodnight."

Emily looked at him with wide, green eyes.

"Cwuddle?" she asked, before her eyes drifted up to her Mom. "Mommy cwuddle Waydee too?"

At this, Wade's grin widened as Missy blushed a deep scarlet colour.

"Oh yeah, I would definitely appreciate a nice long cuddle from your Mommy too…" he said raising one single eyebrow in Missy's direction, as she tutted and rolled her eyes. "But just one from you would be awesome for now, and if I'm lucky I might get one from your beautifully-hot Mommy later.…."

"Okway," said Emily happily giving a nod, before wrapping her arms suddenly around Wade's neck.

He smiled, giving her tiny back a little rub, before she finally let go and Missy heaved her from his arms.

"Right then, back to bed, Little Miss Mischief," she said rubbing her nose against Emily's, as the little girl giggled and the pair of them disappeared off into the bedroom.


It only took Missy a few minutes to get Emily tucked into bed, and back off to sleep.

Pulling the little girl's bedroom door shut behind her, she walked back into the living room, to where Wade was still resting on the couch, the pack of frozen peas pressed to his side.

She watched him for a long moment, before walking around him, tucking her long caramel hair behind her ear.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" she asked, wincing herself, just by the look on his pained face. But he merely shot her an easy smile.

"Nah, why would I do that when I've got my own super-hot nurse right here," he said teasingly.

Missy shook her head.

"But I was sorta after a favour…." he said, looking up at her, her tone changing slightly. "So when I got beaten up they took my cell phone, wallet…and, well, my keys….so I was kinda hoping I might be able to crash here tonight… just until I can get to a locksmith tomorrow morning…"

He raised his hands aloft.

"You can say no…I have a buddy who owns a bar not far from here, so I can always-"

"Of course you can stay…" said Missy cutting across him, her voice serious.

Wade's eyes locked onto hers.

"Are you sure?" he asked gently. "Because I promise I'll be out of your hair before Emily even wakes up…"

But Missy smiled.

"It's fine…" she uttered, shaking her head. "She likes having you here…"

Right at that moment, something inside Missy was rising to the surface. Thoughts and feelings she had pushed away for so long, and yet that moment Wade and Emily had shared mere minutes ago, had brought it all to the surface.

Wade smiled back, plucking a cushion from the far side of the sofa and placing it behind his head.

"No, no…" said Missy suddenly taking a step towards him. "You should take my bed."

Wade looked up at her, the slightest of bemused frowns making its way across his face.

"As much as I would love to be in your bed," he said in throwing her a playful look. "I'd prefer, in both scenarios, for you to be in it. I'm fine with the couch, seriously."

Missy bit her lip gently, staring down at the half naked merc before her.

"Well… you know where I am if you need anything?" she said tearing her eyes away from his, her cheeks flushing once again.

Wade looked skyward.

"As tempting as that sounds…I really think I would pass out before I even got past first base…" he said shaking his head, with a faux-sigh of longing. "But I'd definitely give it my best shot…"

Missy shook her head, smirking and tossing him a fluffy white blanket from her armchair, before heading off towards her bedroom.

"Night, Wade," she uttered, pausing at the door, her hand on the light switch.

"Night, gorgeous baby-momma," he replied, making himself comfortable, and settling down for the night.

Missy couldn't help but smile to herself, flicking off the light switch, before heading into her bedroom and shutting the door behind her with a the pair of them soon drifted off, into a warm comfortable sleep. The best either of them had had in a long while…


It's a slow burn. Sorry about that…but progress will be made…very soon…

Thanks to dancindonna, starrat, Legolas Girl 31, Raging Raven, jonstar1034, AwesomeFangirlOtaku01, Smaug the Golden, AngiMK and petite-yoyo for reviewing the last chapter.

Let me know what you thought about this chapter and what you think about Wade/Missy in this story so far.

Please review!