Good evening! Here's what became the third part of the previously two-part story ;D Sorry it's a little later in the day than usual, I got a bit stuck with it.

Thank you, Hawk, for your review, and I'm sending good wishes to you :) Thank you also to 2NYwLove, lemonpiegirl, PatriciaF and ChibiDawn23 for your reviews :)

'You know your daughter will have questions to ask,' Stella warned Mac in an undertone as the pre-school concert drew to a close.

'I'm fully prepared for that,' Mac told her as they began to applaud, not turning his gaze from the stage.

'Right…'

Mac sensed rather than saw Stella's raised eyebrows and sceptical look.

After the curtain fell, they made their way to the backstage area to find Holly. As soon as she saw them, their daughter broke free from the chattering, giggling, tinsel-draped crowd of her classmates.

'Mommy! Daddy!' Like a small tornado, Holly hurtled towards them, throwing herself into Mac's waiting arms as he crouched to meet her. If it hadn't been for Stella's support the impact would have knocked Mac flat on his back. As it was, Holly knocked the breath out of him and reminded him that the situation earlier had left him with more than a few bruises and scrapes.

'Hey, baby,' he wheezed while Stella scooped Holly safely into her arms.

'Daddy!' Holly pointed to his head with a finger full of drama. 'What happened to your head? Have you hurted yourself?'

'Only a bit,' Mac said, his hand going involuntarily to his forehead. 'Uncle Hawkes and I had to, uh… stop some bad guys from stealing money from someone.'

Holly's mouth dropped open. 'That's very, very bad.' She gave the band-aid a poke, asking with deep interest, 'Is it hurty?'

'Not too much…' Mac winced and Stella moved Holly's arm away.

'Be gentle with daddy, sweetie. No more poking.'

''Kay,' Holly sighed, then her face brightened. 'I know what will make daddy feel better.'

'And what's that?' Stella crinkled her eyes in a smile at the little girl, while Mac took a guess at what Holly would suggest.

Holly patted her mother's cheeks. 'Hot chocolate and ice-cream at Fluffy's!'

'I had a feeling you might say that.' Mac grinned. He looked at Stella. 'What about it, mommy?'

'If it's going to make you feel better, then we probably should,' she said, keeping her face straight as she put Holly down and began to help her on with her coat. 'But is only daddy allowed to have hot chocolate and ice-cream, or can we have some, too?'

Alarmed only briefly, Holly's face relaxed and she shook her head. 'Silly mommy. We can have some, but daddy gots to have the biggest, 'cause he was hurted.'

'I see,' Stella said, nodding seriously. 'Daddy will be happy about that.'

'Absolutely.' Mac grinned. 'All right then, we better head over there.'

A little later, all three Taylors sat together in the cosy warmth of Fluffy's Diner, surrounded by Christmas lights, sipping hot chocolate and (in Holly's case) slurping ice-cream.

'Does your head feel better, daddy?' Holly asked, turning to him a face daubed with chocolate.

'Much better, thank you, baby,' he said, throwing a quick grin to Stella. 'Hot chocolate was a good idea.'

Holly gave a nonchalant shrug. 'I have lots of good ideas.'

'You do, baby,' Stella agreed, her lips twitching.

'Next time I hurt my head, I'll know what to do,' Mac said, but Holly turned serious folding her arms and lowering her eyebrows as she scowled at her father.

'No, daddy. No more hurting your head, 'cause it makes mommy sad and… and it makes me sad, too…'

To Mac's dismay, her bravado failed and she crumpled into tears.

'Hey, hey, baby girl, it's OK, don't cry. Listen, it's OK…' Shuffling close to her, Mac wrapped her in his arms.

'It… it makes me hurted inside when you get hurt, daddy,' she spluttered and Mac sighed, holding her tighter as he looked guiltily at Stella.

'Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I don't ever want you to feel sad or hurt inside. I promise to be more careful and try not to get hurt again, is that OK?'

Her head pressed into his neck, Holly nodded, her curls tickling his skin. Mac held her close, and Stella scooted closer sliding her arm around him. The most precious beings in his life, Mac knew, feeling humbled all over again to know how precious he was to them.

At home, later that night, with Holly comforted and sleeping, and Stella in his arms Mac murmured, 'Sometimes I forget how lucky I am…'

Gazing up at him, starlight shining in her eyes, Stella brushed his cheek with her fingertips. 'Today's been a reminder, for both of us.'

'You and Holly…' he began, and faltered, and Stella drew him close.

'I know,' she murmured, 'I know.'

And no more words were needed.

Thank you so much for reading! Please do leave a review, I'd love to know what you think :D Lily x