A/N: I love writing for this little family, they bring me so much happiness! Happy reading!

"Jean, I'm sorry, I'm needed at the station." Lucien sighed as he entered the sitting room again after taking the telephone call from Matthew, running a hand tiredly over his face while turning to his wife and their little girl.

Looking up at him from where she was sat knitting on the settee, Lynette sat beside her while she played with her teddies, Jean smiled with a shake of her head and set the yarn and needles down in her lap. "Not to worry, it can't be helped. I know it's your night, but I'm sure I can manage giving her a bath and getting her to bed."

Lynette stopped bouncing the bear in her hand up and down when bedtime was mentioned and thought about it for a moment before she looked up at her father with tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "You're not going to be here at bedtime, daddy? But you pinkie promised you would be because you couldn't be last time."

"I know, my love, and I couldn't be sorrier about that," After glancing at his wife, Lucien crouched down and opened his arms to their daughter before she slid from the settee and made her way over to him while rubbing at an eye with the back of a hand. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up when she reached him, perching her on his hip with a kiss to her temple as he got to his feet again. "I wanted to be here, I really did, but sometimes my work means that I have to be out at night-time and there's not a lot that I can do about it."

"Are…are you going to be helping people?" She asked in a gentle voice while lacing her arms around his neck.

"I am," He nodded. "At least, Uncle Matthew and I are hoping to help people."

She was quiet for a time before she looked him in the eye again with a pout. "I guess that's okay then."

He failed to keep from smiling at how much she looked like her mother. "I have your permission?"

"Yes, daddy," She assured him. "But only if you put me to bed tomorrow night."

"I can't make any promises, but I am going to try my very best to be able to, all right?" He raised an eyebrow.

"All right." She echoed, taking an arm from around his neck to stroke his beard.

Neither of them truly registered Jean getting up from the settee until she was standing beside them and letting a hand run warmly down Lynette's back. "Lynnie, sweet-pea, why not run and get daddy's things for him? I'm sure he would appreciate it." She said, reaching up to stroke a soft curl behind her ear when she looked at her.

"Okay, mummy."

She and Lucien watched her hurry out of the room once he had put her back down, her curls bouncing wildly behind her, and once she was out of sight she took a step closer to him and slipped her arms around his waist. "I know that look, Lucien," She told him while he rubbed her arms slowly through the sleeves of her cardigan. "I know you hate not being home and I know you hate letting her down, but you can't blame yourself for this. Your job is unpredictable at the best of times and she can't understand that yet, but she will as she gets older."

"I know and you're right, of course, but I miss out on so much and I hate it. I want to watch her grow up."

"Lucien, you still have your practice here. If...if you wanted to hand in your notice as police surgeon, you could."

He looked at her in silence for a time as he thought carefully about what it was that she was saying to him. If he resigned as police surgeon and began working from home then he would have much more time for her and Lynette. Of course, things wouldn't be nearly as exciting as they were now and Matthew would likely grumble at him for a while for making such a choice, but nothing was the same as it was when he returned to Ballarat. He had a wife and daughter now. He had the family he always dreamed of and they just had to be his priority. "Mmm, I could…" He said more to himself than to her. "But wouldn't my being home 24/7 drive you insane?"

She laughed. "Of course, but I did say 'for better, for worse' when I married you, so I'll just have to cope."

"Jean Blake, you are a wonder, have I ever told you that?" He took her face in his hands.

"I think you may have done, once or twice, but I wouldn't mind if you were to say it again."

"You're a wonder…"

Brushing his thumbs against her cheeks, he leaned in to kiss her but barely grazed her lips with his before the patter of tiny feet caught his attention. He rolled his eyes in a light-hearted manner as he pulled away and she chuckled, whacking his chest mere moments before their sweet little girl came stumbling into the sitting room. Her arms were so filled with his coat, hat, briefcase and shoes that she could hardly see where she was walking and so Jean quickly moved away from her husband to help her out. "I think I found all your important things, daddy," Lynette said to her father as she raced over to him with his hat and his shoes. "I did it by myself too!"

"What would I do without you, eh?" He raised an eyebrow at her while accepting them from him.

"You would never be able to go to work," She replied. "Mummy says you would lose your head sometimes."

Glancing over at his wife, he smirked at her. "Oh, does she now?"

"I mean, tell me I'm wrong." Jean told him with a shrug.

"Funnily enough, I choose to live," He said under his breath as he tied his shoes before putting on his hat and approaching her so she could give him his coat and briefcase. He draped his coat over his arm, his briefcase in his other hand, and he and Jean followed Lynette out of the sitting room and down the hall to the front door. For some reason, their daughter always loved to get the door for them when one of them went out somewhere. Going out onto the doorstep once she had the door open, he turned back to them and crouched down to give Lynette a cuddle and plant a kiss on her forehead. "Be good for your mummy and do what she says, all right?"

She nodded. "You be good for Uncle Matthew and do what he says too."

He looked up at his wife and the look on her face made him laugh. "She knows me so well."

"I agree and she has a point," Jean reminded him. "Give the poor man an easy night, would you?"

"I'll think about it," He got to his feet again and took her waist in his hands, the way that she rolled her eyes not going unnoticed by him before he leaned in to kiss her. He allowed their kiss to linger for a second longer than he probably should have done before pulling away, wanting to make the most of it, and the faint blush in her cheeks when he looked at her again only deepened his love for her. "In the morning, we'll continue talking about that idea of yours. I think we need to think it over more before we start making any solid decisions, that's all."

"Oh, of course," She agreed. "You need to go now though or you're going to end up being late again."

"Right you are. Don't wait up for me, I'm not entirely sure how long this is going to take."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Night-night, daddy!"

He swept a hand over Lynette's curls before turning on his heel and making his way across the driveway to his car, making sure to give her and Jean a wave before he got into the front seat and closed the door behind him. He sat there for a minute once the engine was running to make sure all was as it should be, but he soon drove away and the two of them waited until he was out of sight before turning around and heading back inside the house. "Right then, Lynnie, bath-time and then I think we might just be able to squeeze in some cocoa before we head to bed, what do you think?" Jean picked up her sweet girl and let her loop her arms around her neck.

"With cream and marshmallows?" Lynette asked hopefully.

"Well, it's not cocoa without them, now is it?" Jean gave her a tickle, reveling in her squeals of delight.

Cuddling closer to her mummy when she began to carry her upstairs to the bathroom, Lynette laid her head on her shoulder and ran her hands through her curls with a smile. She missed her daddy and knew bath-time was going to be a bit less fun because her mummy never splashed her the way he did, but she had stopped feeling sad. She loved her and she was fun in her own way, always doing funny voices while reading bedtime stories and singing to her until she fell asleep, so she was in no doubt that tonight was going to be nearly as perfect as bedtimes with her daddy were.

No doubt at all.

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read. Please review!