Drabble 49: My Little Girl

A/N: This drabble was requested by LaughingLadybug. We've reached one hundred reviews, guys! I never thought I would see that much attention on a story, so thank you so much for all your support. It really means a lot. And on that note, please keep it up! Enjoy!

Fitz opened the door to his home and looked around in surprise. His daughter wasn't attacking him yet. Strange.

He soon found out why, though. Anna was in the kitchen, talking with her mother.

"So you want a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting?" Jemma asked her.

"Yes!" Anna cried, beaming.

"Honey, I'm home!" Fitz said.

Anna turned to look at him and then hopped off her chair, running over to him. Jemma shook her head, smiling despite herself. "You would use that line." He heard her mutter.

He scooped Anna up into his arms and held her tight to him for a moment. "Oh, I needed that!" he said as he set her back down. "Now, what were you talking about? Is there something special happening tomorrow?"

"Daddy! It's my birthday!"

He faked surprise and then smiled. "My little girl's growing up."

Anna gave him a toothy grin and then ran out of the room.

"She really is growing up." Jemma said. "She came up to me a few minutes ago and asked what we were doing for her birthday. I didn't even have to ask her!"

"Seriously?"

She nodded.

"Damn." He said. "She's turning five, not fifteen."

Jemma raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, distracted.

"You do know that kids grasp the concept of birthdays earlier than fifteen, right?"

He nodded, lost in thought. "Our little girl is growing up." He repeated.

Jemma walked over to him, looking worriedly at his face. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just didn't realize how quickly time was passing."

"She adores you, Fitz. Don't worry about staying late at work or anything like that, because she doesn't mind. She enjoys every second she has with you."

"I wasn't thinking about that at all." He said.

She pursed her lips.

"But now I am."

"Fitz, I just assumed you were worrying about how much you saw her every day. You had that far-off look on your face that you get when you're worried."

"I know I see her enough, Jem. I know I'm a good dad. But I want to do something special with her, while she's still little."

She thought for a minute. "You could spend the day with her. She'd love that."

Fitz nodded. "I'll go ask her. We'll do whatever she wants. Within reason." He added, seeing Jemma's retort coming.

"Hey, sweetie." Fitz said, walking into her room. Anna looked up from where she was sitting on her bed, playing with her Gameboy.

"Hi Daddy." She said, looking up briefly.

"I wanted to ask you something." He said.

She paused the game and set it down, looking at him.

"Do you want to spend the day with me tomorrow?"

She gasped and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

He woke early the next morning. The clock on his bedside table read five-thirty, way too early to get up on a Saturday. But he just couldn't get back to sleep. He didn't want to wake Jemma either though. She was a light sleeper after midnight, and getting up might wake her.

So he closed his eyes and let his thoughts roam. This killed about half an hour before he realized that he was circling back to one thought: it was Anna's birthday.

He remembered the day she had been born. Fitz had been panicky enough with their firstborn, Andrew. With Anna, he had almost passed out. Jemma had been in labor for twenty-two hours, and her temper was as high as he had ever seen it. She was exhausted and impatient, and extremely hungry. He wasn't much better. He was so worried about her that he didn't sleep, even when she managed to doze fitfully. So when the time came for the final push, his knees buckled and his vision went black for a minute.

He had heard Jemma shape his name in her cry, but he was up again in a second. Anna was born another second later, and a nurse pushed him down into a chair by Jemma's side. He was given water while they cleaned Anna up, and twenty minutes later he felt much better, gazing down with wonder at his wife and newborn daughter.

Jemma had teased him mercilessly about it after, but he was fine with it. He didn't care if he had almost passed out. He'd had a son, and now he had a daughter. Everything was perfect.

Her first word was "dada." She had the cutest little voice, her laugh like a tinkling bell. She was a little elf, grinning mischievously as she made some fresh mess for them to clean up. Then she started walking. It was a nightmare, but Fitz could never forget the way the tiny hand had gripped his as she toddled around the room.

He had supported her then, and he would never stop supporting her.

Her first day of school had been one of the most painful days of his life. Watching her walk up the steps to the bus, seeing her smile and wave from the bus window… it had been hard to watch her move away from him.

And that had been a month ago.

With a sigh he opened his eyes, aware that Jemma was stirring. It was time to get ready for his day with Anna. Oh, what a day it would be.

Fitz threw open the door and ran inside, the child on his back roaring with delight.

"What in the world!" he heard Jemma exclaim from the living room.

He jogged into the living room and bent over to let Anna jump off his back. "We're home." He said as he straightened up.

"I can see that." Jemma said, clearly a bit shocked. "What did you two do?"

Fitz realized his appearance probably wasn't what it had been when he had left that morning. His hair was mussed from Anna putting her hands on his head and shoulders. The knees of his jeans were grass-stained, and his shirt was rumpled and ruffled. Anna wasn't much better. Fitz spotted a leaf in her hair, and tried to discreetly take it out.

"We went to the children's museum first, and then got some lunch at the mall. I bought her a book and then we went to see a movie, and after that we went to the park and played." Fitz told her.

Jemma smiled. "It sounds like you had a great day." She said, stroking Benji's hair absentmindedly as he lay leaned against her. "Unfortunately, Anna, it's time to calm down."

She motioned to the spot next to her, and Anna started walking over. Fitz looked at her with wide eyes, silently asking "what about the cake?" She gave him that look that made him know he had nothing to fear.

He sat down in his chair and realized it was only four o'clock.

"I think we'll give you a bath in a few minutes." He heard Jemma murmur to Anna after resuming the show she and Benji had been watching.

"Then I'll go and take a quick shower now." Fitz said.

On the way he passed Andrew's room and peeked inside. His oldest boy was sitting at his desk, writing something in large letters. "Hey." Fitz said. "Why aren't you watching TV with everyone else?"

"I just wanted to practice my spelling." He said. "I'll come out in a few minutes."

Fitz walked in and kissed the top of his head. "Alright. And remember, it's your sister's birthday."

He looked at Fitz. "Do we get cake?"

Fitz chuckled. "Yes. Now I've got to go shower."

They sang and ate cake at about six o'clock, and Anna opened her gifts from Jemma and Fitz and her grandparents (sent ahead of time in the mail; they would have a dinner in a few weeks). Then they played a board game, and then it was really time to calm down. Bedtime was drawing near.

Fitz walked with Jemma to tuck Anna in, and he did something then that he rarely did; he sang her a lullaby, his voice mixing with Jemma's to sing the little girl her favorite song. Within moments her eyes closed and her breathing evened, and Fitz bent down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you." He whispered. "Happy Birthday, baby."

Then he and Jemma walked out of the room, turning off the light and heading to their room.

"Did you have a good time?" Jemma asked him a bit later, when they lay awake in bed.

"Yeah." He said. "I honestly did."

"Benji kept asking why he couldn't go with you. I think he was a bit jealous."

"Then we'll have to give him a day for his next birthday. And Andrew too."

She nodded and settled back against her pillow, closing her eyes. Fitz did the same, exhausted.

It had been a good day.