Disclaimer: Mabel, Rylan are mine. Daphne and Ian are not.

A/N: sundaym0rning Thanks for your suggestion. Hmm... It was an interesting thought and I did apply it. At the end. Thanks for it! I hope you like this chapter. )


Chapter 1

"Oh Mabel, won't you play with me?" Rylan pleaded. "Please? I'm bored, and I can't go out to play with my friends because it's raining."

"Oh no, dear, I'm busy. Can't you play with your toy cars? Or your wooden blocks?" The servant suggested as she glanced down at the five-year-old child.

"No, I don't want to. I'm tired of playing with them. Please play with me, Mabel." The boy said as he tugged the young woman's sleeve.

"I'm really sorry, sweetie, but I can't. I've got to tidy up the rooms, go buy the groceries and prepare dinner. Why don't you go play with your puzzles then? Or your other toys?" Mabel knew the child had plenty of toys. They were given by relatives, colleagues of his father and his father himself. Though everyone knows that he has no lack of toys, they still do not fail to bring at least one for him where visiting the Wallaces.

Rylan shook his head and asked, "What about after that? Can you play with me then?"

"After that, it would be dinnertime already, Rylan. And after that I've got to wash the dishes, and then it would be bedtime." Mabel answered as she bent down and pinched the boy's nose lightly. "Now, I'm sure you'll find something that you'd want to play with." She smiled, then left the room, leaving a disappointed Rylan behind.


He sat on the swing, gazing up at the dark sky which was tinted red from the rain. All was silence. Silence all around him, except for the slight creaking of the swing each centimeter it moved. Everything looked so peaceful… the sky which was doused with a mixture of red and orange seemed to drown out all his sorrows and unhappiness.

How he wished he could soar like those flock of sparrows do… fly with them, and be as carefree as can be. How he wished to be able to look down upon the earth one moment and up at the sky the other. How he wished to flap those tiny wings forever, till the day he found his Momma.

Till the day he found his Momma… Momma.


Ian Wallace returned home from work wearily.

Just as he was about to open the front door, he noticed a lone figure sitting on the swing the garden. He could easily recognize the figure from the back.

Setting down his briefcase he strode towards the little boy and plopped down next to him. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air and resting his arm around his little shoulders, he then turned to the child. "My dear chocolate pudding… what are you doing out here?" Fondly he called his son by his nickname and tousled his dark hair.

But Rylan made no movement.

"Rylan?" Ian leaned forward and waved his hand in front of the boy's face. "Rylan?"

Suddenly the child spoke, "It's not fair. It's just not fair." The young child mumbled under his breath. "No, it's not."

"What is not fair?"

"It."

"What is 'It'?" Ian was on his edge now. he had not a single clue to what his son was talking about. "What are you talking about? Rylan, what are you saying?"

"It's just not fair…" Ian heard a sniff. "All my friends have a Momma to love them, to play with them, but I don't!" Rylan whispered weakly. "It just isn't fair…"

"I –" Ian began to argue, but then clamped his mouth shut. The boy's heart was already shattered, he needed no more. Ian tried in a more soothing tone. "But you still have me, don't you?"

The boy never replied, and Ian gave up.

"Come on, let's go on inside. It's cold out here."


That night, Ian could not sleep. Rylan's words kept haunting him.

It's not fair! All my friends have a Momma to love them, to play with them, but I don't!

He tossed and turned in his bed.

On my own. You are not my friend. I want to play with someone who loves me. Someone who loves me…

The words kept replaying in his mind.

Go to sleep. He scolded himself silently. Rylan's all right now. He doesn't blame you anymore. What are you worrying about? Just get him a toy or bring him somewhere he likes to go tomorrow.

"Yeah. I'll just get him what he wants. It'll be fine." He said out loud to calm himself.

But deep down inside, Ian knew very well that a toy or a vacation would not be able to satisfy the boy. He knew what Rylan wants, and what he needs, but was not sure if he could give that to him, like the way he could shower him with toys and gifts.

What Rylan really wants is a mother's love.


Ian Wallacewas all tired and weary after a day's work. Seriously he would not mind some good news – no, not at all.

Pushing the door open, a lady stood up from the couch. Everything after that was a blur, once he heard the four words that made his day: "Honey, I am pregnant."

TBC...