"So….what shall we get your Mommy for her birthday?" asked Wade as he and Emily strolled hand-in-hand through the park on a warm, breezy afternoon. "I hope you've got some bright ideas Chicken Little, because I've got nothing….nada….and if we don't find something by the end of today, I've got a feeling your favourite mercenary is going to be well and truly, in the doghouse."

The two year old peered up at him with wide eyes.

Wade knew it was unlikely she had heard him, but he still liked to chat to her anyway. He gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that everything was A-OK.

"Mommy biwfday tommowow," said Emily matter-of-factly, giving a tiny nod of her head.

"Yeah, that's right," said the merc grinning. Every time the two year-old spoke, it made his heart feel like it was fit to burst.

Wade had had a pretty rough time of it lately. He'd had two jobs go badly, and currently the merc was sporting a large purple eye and a couple of cuts around his temples, from where he had had a glass smashed over his head in a bar.

But despite his roguish, haphazard appearance, Emily didn't seem to care. She today, looked as perfect as ever compared to him, in a little navy coat, matching shoes and some leggings with giraffes on visible underneath. Her hair was, as always, tied up in a little red bow.

" I made Mommy pikshur," she said triumphantly.

But Wade gave a grumble, narrowing his eyes in jealousy.

"Alright, Little Miss Perfect," he retorted in a playful voice. "But remember you could puke on her and she'd still love you… I, on the other hand, don't quite have that same charm. So that's why we need to come up with something good."

The pair came to a stop by a bench, Wade bending down and lifting Emily so she could sit down, before he came to rest beside her.

"So what do you think? Earrings?" he asked the two-year-old.

But Emily instantly shook her head.

"Noh Mommy has lotsa earins," she said, giving a disproving frown.

Wade leaned forwards, looking at the toddler, linking his fingers together.

"Alright alright, then how about…some perfume? It's a classic, right?" he said confidently. "Or how about some super-sexy underwear?"

He waggled his scarred eyebrows at the little girl, who merely huffed back at him.

"Noh," she uttered sternly.

Wade gave a long sigh.

"Then I'm stumped," he said defeated. "I give up. I'm going to just try and blag it and go for a big bunch of flowers. You think she'd like that?"

But Emily, who stood up on the bench and waddled over the edge to peer over at a large white pile of pigeon poop, shook her head.

"Noh…" she murmured disinterestedly. "Waydee, I need to go potty."

She looked up at him, batting her green eyes, and Wade Wilson melted right there and then.

He gave a sigh as Emily waddled over to him, trying to climb onto his lap.

"Potty it is," he said placing his hands beneath her arms and lifting her, as he got to his feet once more. He balanced her on his hip easily. "But this doesn't let you off trying to help me find a present for your Mom, alright?"

Emily gave a giggle, placing her fingers into her mouth.

"Awlrite," she answered, tucking her head beneath his chin as they walked.


Five minutes later and Wade and Emily arrived at a place close by, that the toddler now knew very well indeed.

Not that Wade would ever tell Missy that, of course…

Sister Margaret's School for Wayward Girls was a place that Wade and Emily frequented more often than not when the pair went for their daily walks.

Emily would always complain that she was thirsty or needed to use the bathroom at the exact point when they were furthest away from home. And the only place that always seemed to be close enough and friendly enough, for Wade at least, was Weasel's bar.

Wade pushed open the familiar red door, Emily still clutched in his arms.

"So how about a puppy?" he asked the tiny toddler conversationally. "Everyone likes puppies…I think your Mommy would love a Great Dane or something right?"

"I lik a puppy," said Emily instantly. "My biwfday soon."

Wade grinned.

She wasn't wrong.

It was Emily's birthday next month. She would be turning three.

Missy had already bought her a gift, something Emily had had her eye on for a long time. But for both their sakes, thankfully it wasn't a puppy.

Wade, hoping he could distract the toddler for long enough to make her forget about his promise of buying a dog, approached the bar.

"Well if it isn't Wade Wilson and Princess Emily," came Weasel's sudden voice from behind them.

The bespectacled man appeared, wearing an un-ironed flannel shirt, a collection of dirty glasses in his hands. He tickled Emily's cheek as he passed.

The little girl smiled shyly, before burying her face in Wade's hoodie. "Need potty," she said in a quiet voice.

Wade chuckled. "Alright, alright, let's get you sorted."


A minute or two later, Wade and Emily reappeared from the otherwise empty women's bathroom.

A trip to the bathroom always took longer than it should, mainly due to the fact that Emily was bossy when it came to Wade doing things her Mom normally did for her. She constantly gave him instructions. "Noh Silly Waydee, you noh do my dwess up lik dat," she had just told him in a reprimanding voice, as he fiddled with the buckles of her dungaree-dress.

Luckily for her, the merc had a soft spot when it came to her scolding voice. In fact she reminded him a lot of Missy when she told him off like that.

As they approached the empty bar once again, Wade lifted Emily up so that she could sit on one of the battered old bar stools.

"So," said Weasel giving them a lop sided grin. "What do I owe this pleasure?"

Wade, who pulled a second stool up right beside Emily's, took a seat, leaning his elbow on the sticky bar.

"Well, Em-bear and I are trying to find a present for Missy for her birthday tomorrow," said the merc, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "And this one is not giving me anything."

He ruffled the top of Emily's head, causing the little girl to pull away from him frowning.

"Noh, don' " she said, shooting him a dark look.

Weasel gave a bemused smile, folding his arms across his chest. "Leaving it a bit late if her birthdays tomorrow aren't you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

But Wade gave a huff.

"The thing about Missy is, that she won't even give me the tiniest hint about what she wants. No. She just expects me to know!" he said scowling.

He and Missy had been dating for around six months now, and if Wade was honest, it had been the best six months of his life.

For the first time, he truly felt like he was part of something, part of a family. There with two people who loved him, and who he loved unconditionally back.

"So what do you have planned so far?" asked Weasel, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Dinner and a proposal?"

Wade shot him an unimpressed look.

"I don't think Missy's quite ready for a Wade Wilson-style, get down on one knee, proposal just yet, thanks," the merc replied in a sarcastic tone. "And dinner's out of the question because of this one…"

He gave Emily's side a little tickle, causing her to squirm way from him yet again.

Weasel gave a shrug placing his palms down flat onto the bar.

"Then I give up," he said shaking his head. "Apart from a slap-up meal and a piece of expensive jewellery, I have no frikkin' idea what you can buy her, man. Women- not really my forte…"

Wade gave another sigh.

"What do you think Chicken Little? You think she'd like it if I whisked her away for a night and ditched you with a sitter…nice hotel…bubble bath…massage from yours truly…?" he asked the two year old who looked up at him her tiny mouth agape.

"Noh…me shaty wif Mommy…Mommy lik me besht," replied Emily with a nod.

Weasel gave a chuckle. "Cheeky little shrimp isn't she?" he said loudly, before moving off to serve a burly guy who had just entered the bar beside them.

Wade grinned down at Emily.

"You're not really making this easy for me, baby girl," he said turning to face her fully and peering down into her little green eyes.

"I made Mommy pikshur," repeated the little girl, smiling up at him happily.

She placed her little sticky paw onto Wade's knee, and in that moment Wade had, what he would call, a brilliant idea.

"Actually, a picture kinda sounds good," he said beaming.


"Happy birthday!" said two loud voices in Missy's ear, breaking through her pleasant sleep.

The caramel-blonde woman gave a huge stretch and a groan, as she felt a tiny little body suddenly bounce on top of hers.

She opened her eyes to see Emily's little face peering down at her, brandishing a large crumpled painting in her hand.

"Mommy, I made yoo pikshur on yor birfday!" said the toddler with a laughing squeal, as she was suddenly lifted off her Mom, by two large hands.

"Hey, Chicken Little," came Wade's voice as Missy pulled herself up into a sitting position. "I know you just loooove to steal my limelight but-"

His voice was playful and teasing. But before he could finish, Emily cut across him with a loud. "Noh Waydee! I wan Mommy!"

She reached her free hand out making a grabby gesture for Missy, who gave a sleepy pout and obliged her daughter.

"Awww come here, baby," she said taking her into her arms and peering down at the picture in her hand. "Wow, is this for me?! Thank you."

And with that Missy pressed a kiss to the top of Emily's head.

"For yow biwfday," said the toddler contently, playing with Missy's long blonde hair.

"It's lovely," said Missy admiring the crudely painted picture of what was most certainly the three of them- Missy, Wade and Emily.

In the picture, wavy Missy and Wade were holding hands, with Emily stood in the middle of them holding a large blue blob in her hands.

"An tha's dog I wan' for my birfday," the two year-old said quickly, pre-empting Missy's question.

Missy smiled, glancing over the toddler's head at Wade, for the first time this morning.

She had seen him just a few hours ago…under these very sheets, of course, but even now, Wade gave her the biggest grin, as seeing her for the very first time…

"Morning…" she mouthed, feeling a blush creep across her cheeks. For the merc was standing there naked, save for a pair of Scooby-Doo boxer shorts and a dazzling smile.

"Happy birthday, Yummy-Mommy," he mouthed back.

Missy's eyes flickered down once more to Emily, who was busy babbling to herself, her fingers tracing over the figures she had painted.

Missy, in this moment, felt so in love….with Emily, with Wade…with her life...

But at the back of her mind a horrible nagging feeling rose to the surface. Missy still had not been able to find a new job and it was almost August now….a few more months and that would be it.

But the caramel-blonde woman smiled, pushing this out of her mind…if only for this morning.

"And this," said Wade suddenly, braking Missy from her thoughts. "…is from me…"

He came to perch beside the pair of them on the bed, handing Missy a small wrapped object.

Missy raised a single eyebrow at him, smirking.

"It's not an engagement ring, is it?" she shot teasingly, but inside her ribcage her heart seemed to pound faster.

Wade grinned.

"Pfft. You think I'd really propose to you in bed…..on a Thursday morning…at 7am?" he said sarcastically. "Ok….I admit…..that sounds very me…..but you wait for that proposal…because when it comes….it's going to be fucking amazing….."

Missy laughed, her green eyes meeting his chocolate ones.

God, she loved him.

Finally tearing her eyes away, she removed the neat wrapping from her gift to reveal beneath a large blue satin box.

Tentatively she opened it, and smiled warmly…

..….for inside, was an expensive looking locket on a long silvery chain.

"Open it.." urged Wade in a quiet voice, looking on, as Emily did the same, falling silent to look at her Mom in awe.

Missy pursed her lips, doing as she was told, and opening the locket, to reveal a tiny photograph of Emily on the inside.

Missy turned it over in her hands a few times, her heart seeming to race within her ribcage…

"You like it?" asked Wade, after Missy was silent for a long moment or two. For once the merc's voice sounded slightly nervous and very far removed from his usual cocky tone. "Because it took me forever to get this one to stand far enough away so I could get a picture that small."

He tugged the tiny toddler into his lap, causing her to squeal in delight at his contact.

And in that very moment, Missy felt more in love and more happy that she had ever been in her entire life. And it was all down to these two.

She gave a wide smile, blushing slightly.

"I love it. Its beautiful Wade," she said leaning into him.

Wade gave an inward sigh of relief which Missy caught, his shoulders un-tensing slightly as he did so.

"Phew! Thank fucking god," he said in a playful voice. "Oh and if you want to put a picture of me in there too at some point, I made sure that there was extra space."

He grinned at her as Missy smiled back, rolling her eyes.

"Sure thing," she replied, biting at her lip, but her smile was genuine. "Thank you, Wade."

The merc moved in closer towards her.

"Don't mention it," he replied, as Missy placed her hands gently to Wade's long face and pressed her lips to his.

In a flash, Wade had grabbed her around the waist, and in that moment, all three of them toppled backwards onto the mattress, Missy letting out a half-laugh, her lips still attached to the merc's.

But she didn't let go…

Even when Emily got to her feet, the pair of them still kissing before her, and folded her chubby arms across herself.

"Noh. Noh kissin' naw…" she said bossily, trying to peel the two adults apart. "I wan bwekfast!"

Missy chuckled into Wade's mouth, but it was still another minute before she would finally peel herself away from the mercenary.

It WAS her birthday after all…


Sorry for the delay, I'm just so busy with Christmas stuff at the moment. Hope this chapter was ok though? Would like to hear what you honestly thought of it.

Thanks to The Happy Kitty, dancindonna, Smaug the Golden, Guest, Legolas Girl 31, Raging Raven, Guest, Momochan77, BellaFantasia, AngiMK, jonstar1034, petite yoyo, AngieDent13 and Carlypso.

Did you like this one?

Please review :)