Fitz POV

I wasn't sure what I needed to do. I felt like my whole life was a never ending story of second guessing myself. Should I trust my gut? Should I get advice from others? Should I go to a place where no one knew my name? Those were questions that plagued my brain on a daily basis but I wasn't sure. I had no clue what to do most days, so I tried my best to do right no matter what.

The woman had only said a few more words, and they continued to ring in my ears.

"No hospitals. No police. Please."

I looked around knowing sooner or later there would be someone that noticed the car on the side of the road. I wasn't sure which direction she had come from, but she had mentioned a car and I knew that she had been in a wreck. My housing development sat off the highway and although you needed a code to get into the gated community, I knew there were different ways of getting through the wide Iron Gate around the border. She would've been able to fit through one with no problem. It was a safe neighborhood so I hadn't felt too bad about not getting the remainder of our side gate finished. Now I regretted it. That's what seeing a wounded, half conscious woman at your backdoor does to a person.

I held off on calling the police like she had requested and carried her into my home. She wasn't heavy and for that I was grateful. I made sure to lock my back door but stopped in the middle of the kitchen wondering where I should take her. CJ's room was definitely off limits and seeing how she snuck into my bed most nights, I knew I couldn't set the woman up there. The only place I could think of was my home office. While the downstairs bedroom had been turned into CJ's playroom, the room on the other end of the hall, separate from our rooms was my home office. There was a typical desk and laptop, comfortable chair that I did most of my thinking in, and just under the window in the room, was a couch. It took up most of the wall and was simple but the most comfortable place in my home with the exception of CJ's and my bed.

Walking up the steps, I made sure her arms and legs didn't hit the banister. I should have tucked them closer somehow, but I hadn't thought of that. I had to bend down and use my arm to open the office door before kicking it the rest of the way open, hitting the light switch and moving into the room. I wasted no time laying her across the couch before taking a step back to look at her. There was a cut over her right eyebrow that wasn't very deep but I knew I had to get it cleaned up and bandaged. She had on a long sleeved shirt and with it shifting as I carried her, I could tell she was bruised on her stomach and maybe part of her chest as well.

I turned around fast and jogged down to my master bathroom before opening the cabinets and moving things out of the way to grab at the first aid kits inside. I had made my own first aid kit years ago based on my daughter's needs. She thankfully hadn't gotten hurt a lot growing up so it consisted of things that fixed boo-boo's- usually artificial ones- the occasional bleeding fingers from her nail biting and scrapes here and there, so the two first aid kids I had gotten as baby shower gifts were still fully sealed.

When I came back into the room, I cleared off a small side table and brought it closer, sitting everything on top before turning to her and pausing. What should I start with? Would she wake up? I wasn't sure. I bent down and lifted her shirt a little to see a few scrapes on her stomach, one that wasn't much of a scrape, but a cut. It wasn't really deep from the looks of it and for that I was glad. Realizing I hadn't thought this through clearly, I ran downstairs and got a mixing bowl and filled it with warm water. On the way back up, I grabbed a two towels and washcloths from the linen closet and made my way back into the room to start cleaning her up. It's not that there was so much blood, but the amount that was there, was smeared all over her skin. I tried to be as gentle as possible while wiping her skin clean before rinsing the rag in the water and repeating.

I had begun to rub ointment on her larger cut when I noticed her calm breathing pattern change. Her breaths began to come in and out in shorts heaves and when I noticed them stop I looked up and noticed her eyes open. She was holding her breath and staring at me with wide eyes. Her body had frozen and her eyes held fear that I knew ran deep into her core. I could tell she was confused to why a stranger was on his knees in front of her and touching her. She began to shake her head and try to scoot away from me but winced in pain before bringing one hand to her head and the other to her stomach. I knew she was in pain.

"You're ok." I tried to speak as quietly as possible so I wouldn't scare her.

"Who are you? Where I am?"

"My name is Fitz and you're in my home. I found you in my backyard a little while ago and you asked me to not call the police or take you to a hospital. Do you remember any of this?"

She didn't speak, but nodded her head.

"What happened to me? It hurts."

I noticed her head fall back against the pillow behind her and witnessed the first few tears make their way down her cheeks.

"You have a small cut on your head and stomach and a few scrapes other place. I'm sure you're in pain. Let me help you. Are you allergic to any type of medication?"

I watched her head shake again and I stood up straight.

"I'm gonna grab some water and look to see what I have for you. I know I have a few things that will help. Just sit still and I'll be right back."

I moved as fast as I could through my bathroom medicine cabinet knowing that was the only place I kept adult medicine. It was up high and CJ couldn't reach it at all which made me comfortable. I found the Tylenol 500 and knew that was the strongest thing that I could give her. I took the steps two at a time and went to grab a bottle of cold water before taking the steps again and going back into the office. I helped her sit up and held out the water and pills to her. She didn't take them at first and glanced between me and my hand several times before I spoke up.

"It's Tylenol 500."

She nodded and took one of the pills in her mouth before washing it down with water.

"I'm just going to finish this up for you."

She looked down and I could only assume her mind registered to what had awakened her. I moved as gently as I could placing a large piece of gauze on her stomach before grabbing the medical tape and securing it on her skin. She was tensed up but I did my best to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.

"I'll be honest, I'm no doctor and although it doesn't look too bad I think you might need to get it checked out just in case."

"I'll be ok" she looked around disoriented before she tried to sit up again. "I need to get back to my car. All my things are there and I need them."

"Do you know how long it took you to walk here? If it's been a while someone could have reported the accident and police would've cleaned up the scene and gone through the car by now."

"I remember it being just after eight the last time I checked the dashboard."

I looked behind me at the clock on the wall reading eight forty-six and wondered if everything would still be there. Their town was just on the way into the city and I knew it would be hit or miss whether someone had gotten to the scene already. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her soft voice.

"I have to have my bag. It's all I have."

I heard the crack in her voice and wondered what all was in the bag and why it was all that she had. Was she running from something? Was she hiding from something or someone or just starting over?

"Tell me how I can help you? I have no idea the direction you came from so I can't promise that I can find your bag. But maybe I can help you. Can you tell me your name?"

Liv's POV

I stared at him intently wanting to know if he had an ulterior motive but it didn't matter if he did or not. I couldn't trust him. I was a daddy's girl growing up and once your trust is partially broken by the one man that should never break it, there's a wall that comes up. Those walls can mean different things depending on the person and some people had walls that never came down. My walls had been up for what seemed like a long time now and I didn't have any intentions on letting them down anytime soon.

"Nicole."

It was the first lie that I would tell him, but it was the only way I felt I could have any control.

"Hi Nicole. When is the last time you've eaten? Are you hungry?" his voice was gentle.

I didn't want to answer him. I had no real reason to listen to anything he said. But he was helping me and I had to be just a little bit grateful that he hadn't left me for dead.

"Where were you coming from?"

I didn't answer him.

"Were you driving long distance or were you already in North Carolina?"

I still didn't answer him.

"Is there someone I should call? Your parents? Siblings? Friends?"

I remained silent and turned my head away from him. I didn't need him to see that I really didn't have any of the loved ones he'd mentioned.

"Is there any question that you will answer? I need to know that I can at least trust you if you're going to be in my home. Please."

"I'm fine. I need to go find my bag and leave."

There was no way I could stay in this house. I knew I was in an office in his home but who knows what lie beyond this room? Who else lived here? Would there be a female presence demanding answers from her boyfriend or husband about a strange, wounded woman being in their home? I couldn't take the chance of someone finding me and reporting me. I had come so far.

I saw the look on his face and somewhere deep inside of me, I felt just a little bit at ease. He had kind eyes and every time he looked at me, he seemed genuinely concerned. I could see the wheels in his head turning and knew he wanted to try a different approach.

"Can you tell me what hurts? I understand that you want your bag, and want to leave but I can't let you leave just yet. I think you are far more injured than you think."

I watched him move away from me and look me over.

"I'm fine." I went to remove my legs from the couch and winced in pain. "Ahh" I felt tears immediately spring to my eyes and he must have known I was in terrible pain because he resumed his position, kneeled at my side, and spoke in a quiet voice.

"What hurts? You need to tell me what hurts?"

I didn't have a reason to not comply this time.

"My ankle and my side. And my arm"

I couldn't stop the tears from falling freely and to be honest the physical pain was a great excuse to let out some of the internal pain I had been carrying around.

"Ok, don't move. Let the medicine kick in."

My head leaned back against the pillow and I cried, bringing my hands to my face with hopes that my crying would make him uncomfortable enough to leave me alone. Instead I could feel him move closer to me and put his hand on my hair smoothing it back gently. Was he trying to soothe me? Who was this man? I didn't mind the feeling of his hand rubbing gentle patterns and it was minutes later that the ticking of the clock on the wall, along with the pattern of his touch soothed me to sleep.

Fitz POV

Once I made my way out, it didn't take me long to find the abandoned Honda Accord. It wasn't a horrible wreck, but seeing the car off road and the side of it slammed into a tree made me understand her injuries more. She definitely had bruising that I probably wasn't aware of. It wasn't like I could get her out of her clothes, but I needed to take a look at her ankle and definitely her arm and side. She'd slammed the left driver's side into the tree and would've sustained the injuries on that side.

I didn't turn on my hazard lights so I wouldn't draw any attention, but used my flashlight to look through the car and locate the infamous bag she constantly referred to. I wondered why she never called it a purse and now I knew why. It was in fact a bag. A very large bag that looked like a purse but was bigger than any purse I had ever seen. You could carry a shit ton of stuff in this thing. I brought it back to my car before grabbing the sweater I noticed in the front seat as well. I grabbed the keys when I noticed there was what looked to be a house key occupying the ring and went back to my car.

It was barely a six minute drive back to my home. I arrived back to see that she was still sleeping where I left her and when I glanced at the clock I could feel the day's happenings catching up to me. I rarely stayed up past ten-thirty and that was less than an hour away. Covering her with a blanket, I made sure to leave the door open before going down the hall to my bedroom and leaving it open as well. If she needed me in the middle of the night, I wanted to make sure I heard her. I lied down and replayed the events of the past hour over in my head before taking a melatonin and turning my fan on high. Still there was only one thing on my mind.

What am I going to do about tomorrow?

She had awakened once in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, and after I helped her get to the bathroom across the hall, I offered her more Tylenol which she accepted.

It was around ten when my phone started buzzing on the nightstand next to my bed and I answered it knowing it would be CJ calling to wake me up. If she was home I would've been awake by now but my mother was always kind enough to not let her call me before ten so I'd have a chance to finally sleep in.

"Morning Bug"

"Morning Daddy!" her voice was cheerful, not concealing the fact that she was more than happy to hear from him.

"Hi, did you sleep well?" I yawned and sat up to stretch as she began talking to me about her morning. It was hard to believe she had done so much and the day had barely started. I had been awake for nearly two hours and after checking on Nicole I just laid in my bed resting.

"Are you and grandma gonna do anything special today?"

"I dunno. We are going to the park and she told me we could get ice cream before I come back home as long as it doesn't spoil my dinner."

"Well I'm pretty sure you're gonna eat dinner before she brings you back."

"Nuh-uhn. Grandma is gonna bring me back early cause she gotta go to her church and help them. She told me so."

Fitz took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair hoping that his daughter was mistaken.

"Bug, let me talk to grandma."

"She's taking her shower and I'm supposed to stay on her bed and talk on the phone with you. I can't take the phone to her cause it will get wet and she's naked, daddy."

That was not a mental picture I needed at the moment. Leave it to my daughter.

"Okay, well as soon as grandma gets out of the shower you give her the phone okay?"

"Okay. Daddy, can we paint my nails?"

"As long as grandma says it's okay, yes. Thank you for asking."

"No, I don't want grandma to paint them, she does them messy. I want you to paint them when I come home. I want them red so I can show my friend in my class at school."

"You're not getting red."

"But daddy!"

"No but daddy. No red polish until you're ten, you know the rules."

That rule had changed. When she was three and she picked up the color polish I told her she had to be six to wear the polish. When she turned six a few weeks ago it was as if she remembered the conversation and she'd asked for red polish for her nails as a gift. I changed the age to ten that day.

"Fine then"

"Excuse me? Do you want no polish tonight or do you wanna try again?"

"Sorry daddy."

"Thank you. I accept your apology."

She stayed silent for a few seconds and I knew she was embarrassed and upset with me for correcting her. She could get away with most things, but her attitude was one I never tolerated much of.

"Bug?"

"Can I get off the phone now?

I knew how upset she was and I was okay with that. I wouldn't dwell on her sour mood because I knew my daughter. She had a three minute bounce back period and she'd be fine.

"Yes you can get off the phone. Make sure you tell grandma to call me when she's done."

"Okay"

"It's very important, Bug."

"I will daddy."

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you too"

"Bye bye, butterfly"

"Take care, polar bear"

I sighed and dropped my phone next to me. She sounded so sad and I couldn't stand it. I was gonna have to buy some damn red polish.

I groaned loudly and stopped when I heard a noise coming from down the hall. Jumping up from my bed, I moved swiftly down the hall and found Nicole in the hallway leaning against the wall for support.

"You should've called for help."

She didn't respond to me, and I didn't waste any time scooping her up in my arms and carrying her back to the couch.

"Is the couch comfortable enough for you?"

She just nodded.

"Did you sleep okay?"

Another nod.

I got frustrated far too easily at her silence.

"Are you going to say anything or just nod your head? I'm really trying here but it'd be nice if you could actually speak like a damn person."

I didn't expect my voice to be that loud or my tone that harsh. I saw her stiffen and felt guilty for blowing things out of proportion. I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that my daughter would be coming home and I had a stranger in my house that I knew hardly anything about that was not willing to share a thing about herself.

She'd spoken. She'd said something but it was so quiet that I had to ask her to repeat herself.

"I said I was going to the bathroom just now and wanted to find a way to brush my teeth and wash my face."

That's two for two. First my daughter, now her. I had to get my shit together.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

I looked at her and silently pleaded for her to accept my apology, but she stayed silent and I couldn't blame her.

"Wait here, I'll bring you some things to freshen up."

I went into my bathroom and grabbed an extra toothbrush before looking in the cabinets and grabbing an extra towel and washcloth as well and taking it back into the office.

"Let me take this into the bathroom then I can take you in there. I can give you some privacy. Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

I noticed her swallow a few times before she answered me without meeting my eyes.

"Maybe some toast? Is it too soon to take more of that medicine? I think my ankle is swollen."

"It's definitely swollen and when you're done we need to elevate it. I'll bring up some toast and more meds once you're all finished. Do you need a lot of time or…"

I trailed off not being able to finish my sentence. What I wanted to know is if she would be freshening up her whole self or just washing her face and brushing her teeth but that wasn't something I felt comfortable asking.

"I'll be fine. I can wait until you're done with the toast."

I nodded once before carefully lifting her and taking her into the bathroom. I left without a word and closed the door partially and jogged to my room to get my phone before going downstairs. I had just started brewing my coffee when my phone rang and I picked it up immediately noticing my mother's name displayed.

"Hey mom"

"Hi son, I heard you wanted me to call you back for something important."

"Yea, CJ said you guys were coming early because of something at church?"

"Yea I have to fill in for our director today because she's out sick."

"I really hate to do this but do you think you could keep CJ one more night? There's some stuff going on that I really need to take care of."

"Fitzgerald, this isn't going to go over well with her and you know it. You should have prepared her for this. I won't keep her here if she's going to be upset about it. You can talk to her and see what she says."

I heard shuffling going on and knew she was giving the phone to CJ. I finished fixing my coffee and took a sip waiting for her to get on the phone.

"Hi daddy"

"Hey Bug. I need to talk to you about something. Daddy has some work that he needs to do today and it's a lot so I was going to let you keep having your sleepover at grandma's and then you can come home tomorrow. Would that be okay? You would stay just one more night."

I waited to hear what her reaction would be and after a few seconds of her not speaking, I knew my plan wouldn't work. She was crying. When CJ cried, nine times out of ten, she made no sound. Tears would simply stream down her face and she'd cry until she fell asleep. She perfected the silent cry at about age two and I never understood how the tiny baby that would scream for hours on end could suddenly shift gears and cry silently.

I knew I couldn't go through with it.

"Bug don't cry, it's alright. I'm gonna tell grandma to bring you home today okay? I don't want you crying, Bug okay? I'm gonna see you in just a little while."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Let me talk back to grandma."

She handed the phone over right away and I could hear her footsteps as she ran away to have some time to compose herself. She hated to cry in front of anyone except me. She'd let the tears fall for hours in front of me, especially if it meant she'd get her way in the end. I spoke to my mother for a few more minutes assuring her that she could bring CJ back when she needed to and hung up shortly after finalizing times.

I wasn't sure what I needed to do now. I just knew that I had four hours to do it before my little girl would be bursting through the door and demanding my attention.

Liv's POV

Before I opened my eyes, I could feel his presence close by. I could feel his hands on me as well. I looked down and noticed him re-propping my foot up on a pillow before he laid a cool towel on the swollen limb.

He was extremely gentle each time he was near me but I could tell he was cautious as well and I knew why. At least I thought I did. He had a daughter. I wasn't sure the night before, but after having time to myself in the bathroom today, I could tell by the decorated room that he had to have a daughter. The bathroom was immaculately cleaned so I had no idea of knowing if he only saw his child part time or if she lived with him full time and he was just a very clean person.

He hadn't said much to me today and refused to answer request about if he'd possibly have time to look and see if my car was still there or not. He only helped with my ankle and he helped tie a bandage around my stomach where we'd found fresh bruises from the accident. He moved from my ankle and checked on the bruises again before re-wrapping it. I watched him glance at his watch and it was then that I noticed he was no longer in his pajamas. He had on sweat pants and a short sleeved t-shirt along with some running shoes.

"I'm gonna need do some things downstairs for a few hours and I might run out, is there anything you need me to do before I go? I'll be up to check on you but it might take a while."

I stared at him and wondered what he really meant. Had he found out about me? Was he leaving so that the FBI could have free reign to come in and take me away? Was I already being deceived by the ounce of kindness I saw in his eyes?

"I can leave if you need me to."

"That's not what I said. I just have some things to do."

I turned my head away and looked at the wall that had become so familiar to me. It was a strange, yet beautiful shade of green. Whoever painted it had changed their stroke two different times on a certain spot but it almost made it look better.

"Can I ask you something?"

I looked at him just in time to see him nod once, so I continued.

"Does anyone else live here with you?"

"If I say yes, can I trust you to stay quiet up here?"

"Why won't you let me leave? You have no idea who I am and you're willing to let me stay here."

"You're hurt and you can't make it very far on your own without injuring yourself further. And I might not know you, but I don't think you can cause me any harm."

"How can you be so sure? I could be a serial killer"

He took a few steps backwards towards the door and spoke quietly before he turned to leave.

"Your eyes tell a different story."

Fitz POV

What did my mother do to my child? She had to have given her candy or sugar of some sort because my child was bouncing off the walls as though she had no home training. The second she had gotten home, I took her outside to ride her bike around the cul-de-sac and she was more than excited. We hadn't gone on our normal bike ride through the park this weekend and he knew she would love to get outside and ride. She never liked to wear her helmet or elbow and knee pads but it was a take it or leave it deal. She'd complain about it, and then forget all about them once she was peddling. We had been out there for a good twenty minutes when she began her normal begging about taking her training wheels off.

"Bug, we're not taking them off today"

"But you said I could when I grew up and you said I grow everyday so I grew up. Can you take them off?"

She always seemed to have a damn point.

"How about we play with your chalk paint first, then we can work on your training wheels. We need to get some water and take a break."

She looked around until her eyes fell on the box of chalk paint I had brought out with us and her face lit up and she agreed. She loved art and I was glad it was a good enough distraction for her for the moment. I helped her pull out the different color paints and brushes from the box and together we got to work on the sidewalk outside of our home.

Her favorite thing to draw had always been our family but it broke my heart every time I saw the picture. A man, a child and only on occasions would she add my mother to the picture. Usually it was just the two of us and I always wondered if she wished she could draw a mother in the picture.

The day my little girl asked "where's my mama?" was a day that would always stick with me. We had been at her three year old graduation and as she and her friends ran towards us parents, there were so many calls for "mommy" and "mama" that my little girl looked at me confused and not understanding what her friends were talking about. She watched as her friends hugged their dads, but then get smothered by a feminine woman that was unfamiliar to her.

"Where's my mama?"

"Look daddy." She was suddenly in my lap with her hands against my cheeks, forcing me to look at the painting she had abandoned.

"It's us!"

I looked at her stick figure drawing and smiled at the familiar father and daughter duo. If I was just the two of us for the rest of our lives, that would be just fine. She would always be enough.

Liv's POV

I felt like I was frozen. The couch seemed to have a hold on me and I couldn't' move an inch. But I knew it wasn't the couch keeping me there or even the fact that I was in pain and desperately needed another dose of medicine. It was her voice. His little girl was home and I listened to every word she spoke from the moment she burst through the door screaming about the rain.

I heard when they'd gone outside and rode her bike and when they'd come back in a short while later, I heard her become upset about a painting being ruined by the rain that started to pour. She had such a soft voice but it was powerful and it made me smile hearing Fitz bend to almost every request she'd make. He referred to her as "Bug" so I had no clue what her name was or even how old she was. With the way she whined- not that it was annoying, rather it was precious-I figured she might have been about five years old. But what did I know? I hadn't been around someone that age in years.

I heard Fitz speak in a hush voice when they were downstairs and I wondered if that was normal or if he was trying to keep his voice from reaching me. The little girl didn't pick up on it, and used her voice in whatever volume she saw fit. Just from listening, I learned a lot about the pair downstairs. Saturday's were pizza night if they stayed in and I assumed Fitz dialed the number to their regular spot because I heard the little girl speak into the phone and greet whoever was on the other line by name before ordering their pizza. She giggled a lot and I could only assume this was normal for her.

"Grant special please!...You know what it is Mr. Thomas! Cheesy chicken and a salad with extra blue cheese, please!"

Her giggling continued and I heard them start to set out plates and cups for when their food arrived. I almost wondered if her calling was just for fun after hearing the pizza arrive only ten short minutes later.

"Daddy, can Diane come over and eat with us and watch a movie?"

"Not tonight Bug. I missed you, so it'll just be me and you."

I wondered if I wasn't upstairs if he would've said yes and that made me extremely guilty. Things got quiet when they started eating and slowly but surely, the aroma from the pizza made its way into the room and I knew it was fresh Italian style pizza. My stomach growled and I could only hope that once the little girl was sleeping, Fitz would bring me more toast. As much as I would've loved a slice of pizza, I didn't expect any and I was perfectly okay with that. I heard a movie start up a short while later and the smell of popcorn now filled my nostrils, making me even hungrier.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a noise and when I looked at the door, I noticed it being pushed opened and Fitz appeared on the other side of it. I almost licked my lips at the sight of two slices of pizza on a paper plate.

"I need to get back down there but wanted you to have something. Sorry I couldn't bring it sooner"

"No this is perfect, thank you" I was surprised he was even able to think of me being here and was grateful. He handed me a new bottle of water along with two pills before he turned to leave just as quickly. Him giving me two pills instead of one at a time like he had before made me wonder if that was his way of telling me he had no plans of coming to check on me tonight.

I knew there was a part of me that hoped that wasn't the case.

I inhaled the pizza and savored every last bite of the garlicky crust. I could eat that pizza for the rest of my life and be completely happy.

I wasn't sure what movie they were watching, but before I knew it, the constant loud giggles from the little girl lulled me to sleep. It was hours later when I woke up and I turned to read the clock in the pitch black room but couldn't make anything out. I sat up against the back of the couch and bent my leg to inspect my ankle. The swelling had gone down a little and I bent it a little to get the blood flowing after having it sit still for so long. Using the couch for support, I moved to stand up and took a few steps around the room, being sure to take my time. It definitely still needed time to heal but the fact that I could walk around, even a little, was progress. I started back to the couch, but knew I couldn't hold off on using the bathroom any longer. There was no way I would last till the morning, but I didn't want to take any chances of the little girl seeing me.

I moved to the desk, looking around for anything that could help me find out what time it was and found a tiny flashlight in the top drawer. I turned it on and pointed it at the clock to see that it was after eleven o'clock. The little girl had to be asleep.

I turned the door knob as quietly and slowly as possible before pulling the door just an inch open and waiting. I pulled it open a little more and waited again before finally opening it the rest of the way. I glanced down the hall and noticed there was no a nightlight on, illuminating that side of the hallway. I took a deep breath and moved quietly into the bathroom and closed the door just as quietly as I had opened the other one. I locked it just in case and went to use the bathroom. It looked different than it did the day before. Before the bathroom was nearly spotless and now the hand towel was left in a wrinkled mess on the counter, the shower curtain had been pulled back and there were toys everywhere. There was also a small amount of toothpaste left in the sink and a little shirt, skirt and pair of panties on the floor in front of me. That made me understand that she must have lived here full time.

Cleaning myself up and washing my hands with the water on low, I debated in my head whether or not I should flush the toilet and chance it waking the little girl up. Normally I would never question whether or not to flush a toilet, but this time I had to weigh the pros and cons. Thinking that I could move fast back into the room without alerting the little girl, I flushed the toilet and moved as fast as I could out of the bathroom, and gasped at the figure in front of me.

"Shit, you scared me." I said looking at a sleepy Fitz across the hall from the bathroom.

I took in his appearance and I had to admit he didn't look half bad after just waking up. His hair was disheveled and that one rebellious curl seemed to have a mind of its own. His pajama pants were low on his waist and the t-shirt he wore was snug, showing off his body in the best way. I blinked a few times to clear my head and it was then that I realized he had been speaking to me.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry. I heard a noise and got up to check on you. Sorry I didn't come in before, she kept me pretty busy, then I crashed."

"It's okay. Thank you for dinner and the meds. I really needed them." I spoke truthfully. His kindness was foreign to me, but I appreciated it. I had no clue if I would ever be able to repay him.

He nodded his head and I stood there not sure if I should say anything else, but wanting to ask him a billion questions.

"So that's your little girl?"

He sighed and looked up at me as though he knew he couldn't keep her a secret any longer.

"Yea"

I noticed him shuffle his feet and could tell that he was uncomfortable speaking about her and I wondered if it was because I had been so closed off.

"I take it your ankle is feeling better? You're putting some weight on it."

"Yea, it was manageable and I knew I couldn't hold off using the restroom any longer."

He sent me a small smile and looked as though he wanted to say more but held back. It was then that I realized this was the most normal conversation we'd had since he found me just a day ago.

Fitz POV

There was so much I wanted to say to her and ask her but I knew now was not the time and I was too tired to fight the feeling I had in my gut to go back to bed.

"Well, I'll let you get back to bed. I'll be sure to bring up something…"

I stopped speaking when I noticed her attention was no longer on me, rather it was focused behind me. I could hear my daughter's tiny feet dragging on the floor as she walked towards me and when I turned to see her, she was rubbing her eyes and had stopped in her tracks as she noticed I wasn't alone. This is exactly what I was dreading.

"Who is she, daddy?"