But when he heard the sound

Of the kids laughing in the background

He had to wipe away a tear from his eye

A little voice came on the phone

Said "Daddy when you coming home"

He said the first thing that came to his mind

Soft breathing can be heard in the slightly ajar bedroom as a 10 year old Cecilia slept peacefully, her dreams keeping her company tonight. Clutched tightly to her chest, was the small toy that her mom got her when she was just a toddler, a little green lizard. She didn't know why but that small little toy was her only way to sleep in the empty apartment that she was usually in nowadays. Moving around in her sleep, her left hand twitched slightly, her face still peaceful.

The front door was opened softly, a soft murmur was heard in the living room as footsteps began to go around the room. "Damn it..." The person who turned out to be male grumbled as he bumped into a coffee table, knocking over a vase that was in the middle. Before he had a chance to catch the glass, it shattered on the floor, waking up Cecilia with a sudden start. "Shit!" The unknown male cursed beneath his breath, but loud enough for him to be heard from her room.

Cecilia clutched the lizard to her chest, her little heart pounding in her chest as she sat up in bed. She closed her eyes and breathed out softly as she scooted from the middle of the bed to the edge. Taking off her covers, she placed one foot on the hardwood floors of her bedroom, her lizard still in her arm. Nibbling on her bottom lip to keep it from quivering, she placed her other foot on the floor and got up, slowly tip-toeing over to the door to try to peek through the small crack. She almost let out a small whimper when a sudden light blinded her eye, she took a step back and started to rub it furiously.

Finally getting the small dots from her sight, she peeked through the crack once more, she didn't get to see the guy very well. She saw black hair in what looked like army people would have, shaved but still, have hair. Narrowing her eyes in hope to see further, which didn't work very well, she tried to see what kind of clothing he was wearing. She just saw a black short sleeved shirt, he wasn't wearing a jacket so she could tell. The rest of his outfit was covered by the light gray couch that was in the middle of the room. Kneeling down, she placed her lizard in her mouth, holding it by its neck using her teeth.

Slowly opening the white door to her room with her head, she tried her best to do it quietly as possible. She didn't want to spook the guy, if that happened, he might try to shoot her if he was a robber. 10 years isn't a good age to kick the bucket, she knew that much. Crawling quietly to the living room, she hid behind the couch just as the unknown person walked over to the kitchen to only open the fridge. She wondered if he was just looking for something to eat, maybe he was homeless and needed someplace to sleep? No! Her mother would kill her if she let a strange person in the house, she didn't like people in the house other than them two. Three including her lizard toy.

Crawling quickly to the farthest side of the couch, she hides right there, dropping her lizard down. "Lizzy. Check him out!" she whispered low enough to her little toy, propping him up on the arm of the gray little furniture. She waited for him to say something, he wasn't saying anything. "Lizzy! Information is needed now!" She whispered to him again, still, nothing coming from the little lizard. Taking a deep breath and exhaling softly, she went on her knees and peeked from over the arm of the couch just in time for the guy to see her. "Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission, Lizzy!" She shouted from her spot next to the couch, she went into a little ball, waiting for the guy to start shooting.

"Cilia?" The guy didn't start shooting but instead called her name, he sounded familiar to her. She heard footsteps, large footsteps go into the living room but then back up some. "Cecilia? You still there?" He sounded a bit worried, confused, and almost sad at her reaction to him seeing her. She uncovered her head from her little ball shape she was in, she peeked over the couch once more. "Hey there kid- no, no don't hide... again..." He tried to talk to her but she just hid again, this wasn't going anywhere like this. Rubbing the back of his tan neck, he wondered just how he was going to talk to her.

He then noticed the little lizard that was sitting on the arm, he got an idea. Clearing his throat to speak to it, he placed a hand on his hip and his other arm just hanging lazily. "Lizzy, was it?" He would try to get her to show herself using the little green lizard that was there 'guarding' her. Cecilia blinked a few times before she realized that the man was talking to her, no, to Lizzy. Not showing her face, but only her little hands, she grabbed the toy and looked for his head. Nodding it, she wondered if he saw that. "Well, my name is Nate. And I was wondering if I could talk to the little one you're protecting." She shook his whole body violently, showing extreme dislike with that idea. "No? Really? Ah man... I don't know what to do know if you won't let me..." Nate, if that's his real name, sounded very sad that Lizzy didn't agree to that idea.

"Will you not let me talk to her at all?" He waited for Lizzy's response, again it denied his request to talk to the little one controlling it. "Even if I say I'm her dad?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the reaction to his question, a few seconds pass by, half a minute, a minute. "L-Lizzy?" He wondered if he did something wrong until her little hands disappeared and she stood up from behind the arm, she was sniffing softly. Her black hair was a mess from barely waking up. She was holding her arm, she had a foot stepped back in case he tried to do anything. But it was clear that she was crying a bit, her eyes were red and the tears were still on her cheeks.

"Don't get scared sweetheart... It's really me." Nate smiled softly, taking a step forward, his arms outstretched to her and he went down on one knee. "Come to d-daddy." His voice cracked a bit, he was close to crying when he thought that Cecilia was about to run away from him. She looked at him, wiping the tears that were starting to fall again, she suddenly ran over to him, jumping into his chest. He almost lost his balance, he didn't think she'd jump into his chest like that. "Cecilia?" He said her name softly, petting her messy black hair that was so much like his own.

"Daddy... Daddy... Daddy..." She kept saying his name, she didn't want this to be another dream again. Every time she said his name, he'd vanish from her arms and she would be alone in the darkness. Cecilia's soft crying turned into bawling as she realized that this was real, that her dad was finally home. "Daddy!" She called his name once more, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, tears and snot getting on his, now dirty, black shirt.

Nate hugged her close to his chest, happy that he's finally able to hold his daughter in his arms. He kissed the top of her head, holding back the tears that want to fall down. "I'm here sweetheart... I'm home." He thought he heard her talking but that was just her sniffing in his shirt, he carefully sat down so he wouldn't tip over. He rested his head on her own head, her hair getting in his face but he didn't mind it. He then heard her ask him something, "Are you leaving again?" He was right, she did say something earlier, but he lifted his head and shoot it gently. "No Cecilia. I'm staying here. With you and your mom." He knew where she was, he made sure to stop by the law firm before coming home, he wanted to see her real quick.

He then started to pet her head again, trying to calm her down again. When she finally stopped sniffed, he noticed that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Sighing happily, he gently picked her up and got up from the floor, holding her close to his chest as he took her to her room. He figured that was her room, the door was opened, and the sign "Cecilia's Room" gave him a clue. Going to her bed, he leaned forward, gently placing her on the bed, to only see her small hands clutching his shirt as if he'd leave again. Somehow taking off his shirt, he lifted her arm up and let her hold the shirt, he had a tank top underneath.

Heading out of the room, he closed the door and whispered, "I here, baby girl." As he was about to completely close the door, he heard her say, "I.. love... you... Daddy..." She said that in her sleep, it made his heart clench and a few tears fell down his face. "I love you too Cecilia."