Hannibal is waiting patiently in the playground. It's a lovely summer's day and kids are shouting and enjoying themselves in the playground. Some daredevils climb way to high for their mums to be comfortable. Some of them are just playing hide and seek or tag or a mixture of the two.

Hannibal stands up smiling when he sees the woman arrive with her two children. They all spot him and the two little ones sprint towards him.

"Grandpa!" they scream loudly and Hannibal smiles to himself. He'd never think he was grandpa-material but here we are. He catches the two rascals as they jump in his arms and hugs them tightly.

Their mother approaches a little slower, smiling for the entire time.

"You guys go on and play now." Cassie instructs them. "I'll be here with grandpa."

She smiles at Hannibal when she says that and they sit down together. Hannibal looks at the two siblings playing together and smiles contently.

"How are you feeling love?" he asks Cassie.

She shrugs tiredly. "I'm hanging on John."

He observes the bags under her eyes, sees she's still not quite recovered from the beatings from those bad guys.

"How's Murdock?" he asks.

Cassie sighs. "Worse than before the mission, but the doctors say he'll be all right in a while. The kids miss their father." she concludes, looking down sadly. "I miss him."

Hannibal drapes his arm around her and gives her all the support he can right now. "He'll pull through it kid. He always does. And this time he even has a reason."

Cassie looks up at him. Hannibal smiles at her. "Abi, Stu and you off course. I don't think there's anything that can keep him away from his family for long."

Cassie looks reassured by this, but Hannibal isn't finished yet. "When they brought you in unconscious, I though he'd snap for sure. He was hanging on by a thread as it was. But the boys and I agree, we think you were the reason he didn't snap." he explains. "You didn't see him there kid. It was like you gave him a reason to keep hanging on."

Cassie smiles at Hannibal. Together they watch her children play on this lovely summer day.

The End