AN: Here we are, another chapter here.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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"OK," Daryl said, balancing Sophia on her feet in the little pen that she used as a bed. "You all set?"
As soon as he released her, the three-year-old walked around her little pen and surveyed her possessions. Most of her things had been removed from the pen for the night and were occupying space in the red plastic tub that served as her toybox. It sat next to her little dresser and the extra box of blankets and other items that belonged to her. Against the other wall, Judith's things occupied space.
In the little playpen, Carol had made a pad that fit snuggly in the space and could easily be covered and uncovered with fresh sheets she sewed to snuggly fit the pad. The mattress made Sophia's space more comfortable. Sophia also had a small pillow that she very often ended up cuddling more than she used it as a proper pillow.
Sophia arranged her pillow as she wanted it and she sat down next to it. Without her asking, Daryl selected her lamb from the box and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she declared, hugging it to her face.
"Your pajamas is plenty warm enough or you still cold?" Daryl asked. "You still cold?" Sophia shook her head at him. "You like me. Like a furnace. You ain't never cold. Your Ma? She's always cold. Good for me, though. Like sleepin' with an air conditioner. I'ma put this blanket right here, Soph." Daryl hung one of her blankets over the side of her pen. "If you get cold, you can wrap up with it. You can call me, OK? But'cha got a blanket right here if you get cold. OK?"
"OK, Daddy," Sophia confirmed. "OK."
"You want anything else in there? While you sleepin'?" Daryl asked.
"Baby," Sophia offered. She started to stand up. "My baby…"
"Just sit down," Daryl said. "I'ma get your baby."
Sophia settled back down and Daryl quickly found the doll. He put it over the side of the pen and Sophia thanked him for it as she found the perfect spot for her baby to sleep.
"You good now?" Daryl asked.
"You can tell me story now," Sophia offered. Daryl might not have laughed at the words if she hadn't finished them off by tipping her head to the side and smiling at him. The little smile lifted her eyebrows. It spread slowly across her lips. It was completely and entirely the smile that her mother used whenever she was convinced she "got" Daryl with something.
Daryl never let either of them know that they really "got him" a lot less than they thought. He was usually a step ahead of where they thought he was. He liked to let them both think they "got him" regularly, though, because he loved that smile—on both the faces that were capable of making it in just such a way.
Daryl laughed to himself and sat down on the floor. He leaned against the side of the little pen and peeked in through the mesh.
"Yeah, OK," he said. "A story. I hear ya. But—you gotta lay down, Soph. Get your lamb. Get comfortable."
"Book, Daddy," Sophia offered, in case Daryl had suddenly gone entirely stupid and forgotten where stories came from.
"I hear ya," Daryl offered. "But this story? It's better'n a book story, Sophia. This one? It's comin' right outta your Daddy's head. It's a story that—it's gonna be just for you. Mostly 'cause I ain't got it in me to read about that damned llama or monkey or whatever tonight. So—you ready?"
"I'm ready," Sophia offered.
"You ready, ready?" Daryl asked.
Sophia giggled.
"I'm ready, ready."
"You really, really, ready, ready?" Daryl asked.
Sophia giggled louder and Daryl knew he had to stop. It wouldn't be long before Carol stopped by to scold him for riling Sophia up if her laughter got too loud. It was bedtime and it was time for settling down, not riling up.
"I'm ready, Daddy!" Sophia barked.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Shhhh…OK, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Settle down. Get'cha…get'cha lamb, Sophia. Here goes. Once upon a time there was this…there was this squirrel. And his name was Daryl."
"That's what…that's…it's…" Sophia stammered out, clearly unable to find her words. Daryl stopped her before she could rile herself up too much.
"That's my name," Daryl said. "I know. I'm Daddy and Daryl. But this squirrel? To start? He was just Daryl. Just like me…'cause you know, Soph, I weren't always Daddy."
Sophia sat up and looked at him, mouth open.
"Uh huh!" Sophia declared. "Uh huh! You was, Daddy, too!"
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Shhhh…" he hissed through the mesh. "Now you gotta be quiet an' lay down, Sophia, or I gotta go. Your Ma's gonna be in here an' she's gonna be on both of us. She's gonna be mad if you don't lay down an' get ready for bed. Now's the time for gettin' ready for sleepin', Sophia. It ain't the time for havin' heated discussions. Now lay down an' settle, Soph."
"You was Daddy," Sophia whined.
"I'm Daddy," Daryl offered, throwing the small child a bone. "I am. I'm Daddy. I'm your Daddy. But—Soph—they was a time 'fore you was borned when I didn't know I was gonna be Daddy. You see? Because—I didn't know you was comin' into my life. I was just boring, sad, nothing…Daryl."
"Don't be sad, Daddy," Sophia offered, keeping her voice at a dramatic whisper to avoid having Daryl remind her that this was quiet time.
"I'm not sad no more, Sophia," Daryl offered. "I'm not. But—before I had you? Before I even knowed your Ma? I was sad. But I'm not sad no more."
"Because you Daddy," Sophia said.
Daryl didn't know if it was a question or a statement. Sophia was doing as he asked. She was lying down. She was on her back with both knees up in the air, and she was rubbing the blanket part of her lamb across her lips. Because of her soothing, she was also muffling her words.
"You right," Daryl said. "I'm not sad no more 'cause I'm Daddy. Did you know it was you that done that for me? It was you that…made me Daddy? You my baby, Soph. And you always gonna be my first baby—no matter what. I love you."
Sophia moved the blanket away from her lips and smiled.
"You my baby, too, Daddy!" She declared.
"I'm your baby?" Daryl asked.
"I love you!" Sophia said.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Yeah, OK," he said. "That's fine. But—you're my baby. I'm your Daddy. And—we both love each other. How's that? That's OK?"
"OK, Daddy," Sophia confirmed. "OK."
"You wanna hear about this squirrel or you don't?" Daryl asked.
"I wanna story," Sophia whined, already suspecting that Daryl might cut her story time short.
"Then you gotta lay down, Soph," Daryl said. "Get comfortable. Get quiet. You ready?"
"I'm ready," Sophia confirmed.
"So, there was once this squirrel, see? His name was Daryl. An' he lived all alone in this big ole tree with only one other squirrel. His brother squirrel. And all he did was collect nuts and eat them nuts 'fore he went to collect more nuts."
"'Cause him was hungry?" Sophia asked.
"Yeah—he was hungry," Daryl said. "So—I mean it weren't no great kinda life, right? But the squirrel was alright 'cause he had his tree an' he figured that…that maybe he didn't need nothin' more'n his tree an' the nuts that kept him from bein' hungry."
"His brother…"
"He had that, too," Daryl said. "But then, one day, there was this noise. And so, Daryl the squirrel—see? He went to see what the noise was. And he's goin' toward the noise and he's seein' all the other forest animals—the deer and the raccoons and the possums—and they're all goin' to see what the noise is, too. And when they get there, to the edge of the forest, they see that—it's all these trucks an' things an' they all just parked there. And they got machines that's gonna come an' chew up the forest. Like—takin' all the trees. So, Daryl, like them other forest animals, he knows he's gotta go. He's gotta—take his brother an' they gotta go an' find a new forest. They gotta find—a new tree somewhere far away from the machines that's gonna chew up the trees."
"Do them get a new tree?" Sophia asked.
"You gotta listen, don't'cha? To find out. Lay your head back down, Soph. If you don't, we might not have enough time to get 'em outta the forest."
"Can they carry they nuts?" Sophia asked. "Them gonna be hungry."
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Not all of 'em," Daryl said. "But—they got 'em enough nuts to get started. So—they get their nuts and they get started. Headed outta the forest…lookin' for a new forest, right? Never knowin' if they gonna find a new forest and a new tree or…even more squirrels. Just knowin' they gotta go with all the other forest creatures."
"I don't like it," Sophia offered.
"You don't like my story?" Daryl asked.
Sophia rolled on her side and faced him. She rolled her bottom lip out at him.
"I don't like it," she said. "They sad."
Daryl nodded his head.
"Hey, I understand," Daryl said. "You don't like a sad story. So—how about we just skip some of it? How about if…I just sorta tell you the sad bits real quick an' then we skip to the not sad bits? Would'ja like that? Would that be OK?"
"OK, Daddy," Sophia said. She sniffed and rubbed her face on her pillow. Daryl was sorry that he'd made her sad. Sophia was pretty sensitive and pretty empathetic. She'd feel for Daryl the squirrel as much as she felt for anyone or anything.
"So—they was runnin' for a while, right? Even—they even caught 'em a ride on the back of this deer, see? He was goin' so fast an' he let 'em ride just holdin' onto his rack. An' they meet up with these other squirrels that's runnin' from the machines that was chewin' up trees. And it takes 'em a long time, but they find a new forest. Only—they gotta—you know—they gotta get settled. They gotta make this forest their home. Pick out trees an' gather nuts so the winter don't catch 'em starvin'."
"They get a new tree?" Sophia asked.
"They get a new tree," Daryl confirmed.
"I'm glad, Daddy," Sophia said.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"I know you is," he said. "But—that ain't even the best part of the story, Sophia. So, they get 'em a new tree and they got their nuts and all. Right? Daryl's got him a new tree an' he's just packin' it full of nuts so he ain't gonna be hungry, right?"
"With his brother?" Sophia offered.
"With his brother," Daryl said.
"What kinda—Daddy? What nuts they eat?"
"They eat—acorns, mostly," Daryl said. "Some hickory nuts, maybe pecans, an' dogwood berries. But that's not the point, Soph. So—they got like all this that they need. Right? And really this tree? It's better than their old tree."
"Why?" Sophia asked.
"Just is," Daryl said. "You want the best part of this story?"
"Yes, Daddy," Sophia said.
"They got this great tree, right? And nuts and berries and everything they could want in this new forest, right? But the best thing is—one day while Daryl's out lookin' around the forest an' he's gettin' more nuts an' stuff? He runs into this other squirrel. And she's a pretty squirrel, Soph. She's just the prettiest squirrel he's ever seen. And she's just gigglin' an' happy to see him, too."
"She weren't sad?" Sophia asked.
"I think—maybe she was. Before," Daryl said.
"She has a brother squirrel, too?"
"She has a sister squirrel," Daryl said. "So—she's happy to see Daryl, right? Because she likes the look of him. And he likes the look of her. And that's what squirrels want, right? They wanna find them someone that they can—ya know—like. So they don't gotta be sad an' they don't gotta be alone. So, these squirrels, they spend the whole rest of their fall just playin' together an' getting ready for the winter. And when the winter comes? They decide they gonna make 'em a house in that tree together."
"With brother squirrel?"
Daryl laughed to himself.
"You the smartest kid in the whole world," he offered. "You know that? Don't you worry about brother squirrel, OK? He moved to the tree next to 'em. It's a real nice tree, too. All stocked up with nuts an' berries an' everything they could want an' he lives with sister squirrel 'cause he's been playin' with her all fall, too. So, they all settle in for the winter, right? Gotta stay warm an' get fat an' happy an' ready for the spring. So the spring comes, right? An' Daryl squirrel is runnin' an' playin' with his pretty girl squirrel an' they lookin' for nuts an' enjoyin' the world like you do in the spring when you a squirrel. And Daryl squirrel—well he starts runnin' off all the fat he's stored up through the winter, ya know? Just—he's gettin' lean an' downright skinny. But his pretty lil' girl squirrel? She don't get no leaner. She's just as pretty an' fluffy as she was durin' the winter when he was cuddlin' with her to stay warm."
"I like fat squirrels," Sophia offered.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Me too," he said. "So—one day, Daryl squirrel asked her about it, ya know? An' she says he's been lookin' for nuts an' she's been buildin' up their nest all nice and soft. Because she tells him that she's gettin' all fat makin' them lil' baby squirrels."
"Baby!" Sophia squealed.
"Shhhh…." Daryl said, swallowing down his laughter. "You gotta calm down or your Ma's really comin' to get us. An' she ain't gonna be happy if we get her up outta the bed from readin' her own story to come an' tell us our story's too loud."
"Sorry, Daddy," Sophia offered. "I'm sorry."
"It's OK," Daryl said.
"They got them a baby?" Sophia asked.
"They did," Daryl said. "They got them a beautiful baby girl squirrel. She was pretty just like her Ma. And Daryl squirrel? He was so happy. Because then? He was more than just Daryl squirrel. He was Daddy squirrel, too."
"I like it," Sophia offered.
"My story?" Daryl asked.
Sophia hummed in the affirmative.
"I like it," she repeated.
"Yeah," Daryl said. "I like it, too, Soph. It's one of my favorite stories. If you're good—tomorrow I'll tell you about…about how their little baby squirrel growed up and how…how they got to do it all over again when they decided they wanted more baby squirrels. Would you like that?"
"I like that," Sophia confirmed.
"Then you gotta get some sleep, Sophia," Daryl said. "You gotta get some rest so you won't be cranky tomorrow and you won't have a hard time bein' good, OK?"
"OK, Daddy," Sophia agreed.
Daryl stood up. Without a blanket, there was no reason to tuck Sophia in. Still, he pressed his fingers to his lips and deposited the kiss on Sophia's cheek—the same one where Carol had pressed her kiss, before she'd sent the little girl off with Daryl to be tucked in, so that she could have a few moments of simple peace and quiet to relax and wait for Daryl's return to their cell.
"I love you, Soph," Daryl said.
"I love you, Daddy," Sophia said.
"Sweet dreams, Soph," Daryl said.
"Sweet dreams, Daddy," Sophia echoed.
Daryl smiled to himself as he slipped out of the cell to let the little girl sleep. He headed directly toward his own cell so he could spend the rest of his night blissfully curled up in the nest his wife had built him. It wasn't a tree, and they weren't squirrels, but they were happy. That much of the story, after all, had been true.
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AN: No worries, the scene from the last chapter hasn't been forgotten. As you know, though, sometimes our couple has other things to attend to before they get quiet time together to rehash their day.
I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!