God he hated these trips to La Guardia. When he drove out there to get Julia, it seemed to take forever, but when he drove out there to put her on the plane back to Florida the minutes seemed to fly by.

He looked over at her. She was all but grown up now. Not his little tomboy any more. He knew so little about her. But how could he know more? She'd only been three years old when he and Gloria had divorced and the judge hadn't exactly been generous with the visitation schedule.

Of course that was Lennie's fault. What judge in his right mind was going to give a cop with a lousy temper that he had managed to loose more than once during the proceedings a decent visitation schedule with his daughters, let alone custody of the two little girls?

"Dad, Earth to Dad," Julia said very amused.

"What honey?" Lennie said coming out of his reverie.

"Wow, hope this thing has autopilot," Julia said.

"Yeah, it sort of does," Lennie replied as he pulled the car into a short term parking space even though he'd gotten them there two hours before her flight.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Julie said as they began unloading her bags.

"Nope they're priceless," Lennie said as he loaded himself down with her bags not letting her carry anything.

"Aw, come on not even for me, Daddy," Julie said.

"Oh, that's no fair. OK when we get to your gate I'll tell you," he promised.

"Ok tell me, tell me, you promised," she teasingly badgered him as they sat at her gate waiting for her flight to be called.

"Well, now I don't know if I can," Lennie said with a laugh.

"Why?" She said with the slightest trace of a pout.

"Well, I was thinking how grown up you seemed. And how much of that growing up I've missed," Lennie explained, becoming sad as he said the last.

"Oh Dad," she said as she turned awkwardly in the hard plastic chair in the waiting area so she could get closer to her Dad, trying to put her arms around him to hug him.

"Maybe you haven't always been there, but I've always felt your love, Dad," Julia said and laid her head down on his shoulder.

Just then her flight was called.

"Damn, there's never enough time to say all the things I want to say once I work up the courage to start talking," Lennie lamented.

"You don't have to say anything Daddy, I know," Julia said. She kissed her Dad on the cheek and collected her purse and carry-on luggage.

A lump formed in Lennie's throat, as he hugged his not so little girl and watched her head toward the gate. He stayed and watched as she walked down the jet way, and he stayed and watched the plane taxi away, only then did he start the trip back from La Guardia, a trip which would seem to take forever as a piece of his heart flew off to Florida.