Chapter 2

Max paced up and down the corridor nervously. He couldn't keep his hands still. First he'd rub the side of his jaw and then he'd check his watch. He'd shove both hands in his pockets and then take them out again. He was waiting for Mr Phillips to emerge from behind the closed door that separated Max from his nine year old daughter.

Max was terrified. What the hell would he even say to her? Hey kid, sorry I haven't been around. Kind of didn't even know you existed! Max almost bashed his head against the wall when those thoughts entered his mind.

The door opened and Max jumped. 'You can come in now Mr Lord.' Mr Phillips let Max step past him into the room, closed the door and returned to his seat, but Max was frozen in place. The little girl that was sitting on a chair across from Mr Phillips looked so much like her mother. Her blonde hair was cut short and she was wearing dark jeans and a red jacket. She looked up at him with sad green eyes. His eyes.

'Mr Lord, why don't you come and sit down?' Phillips watched as Max stumbled over to the chair that completed their little triangle and then continued with kindness in his voice. 'Piper, this is Max. He's your father. Your mother wanted you to meet him. I'm going to let you two talk now, but I'm going to stay right outside that door so you just call if you need me. Is that alright?'

Piper nodded without a word. Phillips gave Max a stern look as he rose and left the room. The door clicked shut softly and the silence felt awful to Max. Piper stared at him forlornly.

'Hi,' Max breathed eventually. 'It's…it's Piper, right?'

She just nodded.

'How old are you Piper?'

'Nine.' Her voice was so sad it nearly broke Max's heart. He briefly wondered if he'd sounded like that when his parents had died.

'Wow.' Max took a deep breath and looked around the room. This was a lot harder than he'd anticipated. 'Look, I know that…you're probably really scared right now and I know you miss your mother and I haven't been there for you, but I am now. Ok? We can work things out and you're not going to be alone. And you can call me Dad or you can call me Max, I don't mind. It's up to you.' The words came pouring out. They were all the things that Max wished someone had said to him. 'Your…your mother wanted me to look after you. Is that ok?'

Piper looked him up and down. Max felt suddenly self-conscious. It was amazing, the way children could make you feel guilty about yourself when you couldn't care less about what adults thought. Eventually Piper nodded, eliciting a relieved sigh to escape from Max.

'Great,' Max said. 'I just have to see Mr Phillips for a minute and then we can go home. I mean, to my house. Ok?'

'Ok.'

Max gave Piper a reassuring smile, but she didn't return it. Could you have déjà vu when you were on the other side of things? He left the room to find Mr Phillips and they spent the next hour finalising the paperwork for the custody of Piper, but his mind kept straying to the sad little girl in the room down the hall. There was no way in hell that Max was going to let this kid become an orphan.

Piper watched out of the car window as Max's house came into view. She was scared and sad and just wanted to go home. All the same, her mouth dropped open when she saw Max's house. It was huge! Like a mansion! She craned her neck trying to see the top of the roof as the car pulled up just outside the front door. She was still staring when Max opened the car door for her and lifted her bags out of the boot. He chuckled at the amazement on her face.

'Do you like it?' Max asked.

'It's so big,' Piper replied quietly.

'You get to pick which bedroom you want. How's that sound?' Piper could only gawk at him. Max laughed and steered her inside. 'I tell you what, how about I just leave your bags here while you go and explore, then when you pick which room you want we can take them up.'

'Ok.' Piper shuffled from foot to foot before dashing out of the hall and into the first room on the left.

Max could hear her tramping around the house for the next hour, exploring all the nooks and crannies. He was pretty sure he heard her run up and down the main stairs three times in a row. It was a big staircase in her defence. Max sat at his kitchen table nursing a glass of wine whilst Piper got to know her new home. He was trying to quell the panic about all the things he had to do now that he was a father. He'd never thought of having kids before, but maybe that was because he'd never met anyone worth having them with.

Eventually Piper managed to find her way back to Max.

'I know which one,' she murmured so that Max had to lean forward to hear her.

'Lead the way,' Max replied, gathering up her bags and following her up the stairs. He was surprised that she found the room again without getting lost. The one she'd picked was at the back of the house with a window that overlooked a sprawling lawn surrounded by trees. The room itself contained a king size bed, a chest of drawers and an empty bookshelf. The carpet was thick and soft under their feet.

'This one,' Piper said with a note of surety in her voice.

'Ok. This one it is.'

Max helped her unpack. He folded her clothes and put them in the drawers while she arranged books and toys on the shelf. He watched her surreptitiously. There was a small frown on her face and deep sadness in her eyes. She was placing the books with care as if it was the most important thing in the world. Max thought it probably was right at this moment. It was such a small thing, organising her books, but it was something that Piper could control. Everything else in her life had completely imploded, but the order of her books on her bookshelf? That was all up to her.

Max looked at his shoes. Painful memories were floating through his brain. He'd read an entire chemistry textbook the day after his parents had died because science was to him what organising those books was to Piper. Science was eternal; it was factual, valid and reliable. It would not change. Max knew, with a horrible wrench of his gut, that the books on Piper's shelf would stay in that order forever.

'Hey, Piper?' Max called softly. She turned to look at him with those big green eyes, silent and forlorn. He had to cough before he could go on, his throat tight. 'I was thinking…maybe we could have pancakes or something for dinner tonight? Or ice cream. What do you think? Unless you like filet mignon, of course.' He tried to smile, but it wouldn't come.

'I like pancakes,' Piper replied without much enthusiasm.

'Ok. Pancakes it is.'

They finished unpacking and Max showed Piper where the bathroom was. He was suddenly struck by the thought that he had no idea what utilities nine year old girls needed for the bathroom. Actually, he had no idea what nine year old girls needed for anything. Jesus Christ, he thought, what the hell am I doing?

He managed to keep it together for the rest of the night. Piper sat at the bench and watched as Max made pancakes. It was mundane and familiar to her and she seemed a bit calmer than before. Max was relieved when he got the smallest of small smiles from her when he asked if the pancakes were good.

'Max…' Piper's soft voice floated across the kitchen like a flower caught in the breeze. Max had been in the process of dumping the dishes in the sink, but he froze at the sound of his name coming out of his daughter's mouth. It felt like he'd been electrocuted.

'Yeah?' He replied, resorting to the suave tone he usually reserved for the agents at the DEO and mentally shook himself when he realised how he sounded. He did not have to go on the defensive with Piper just because she'd used his name. In fact, that was a good sign. His heart thumped in his chest regardless.

'I…I usually watch…um, I watch a movie before bedtime.' Piper's eyes darted around and Max stared at her as if waiting for more details and then started when he realised none were forthcoming.

'Right. Yeah. Of course. Uh…I've got Netflix? You can pick one from there, how's that?'

Piper nodded and slid off her chair. Her fingers twisted around themselves as she fidgeted. Max left the dishes where they were and took her into the lounge room. He told Piper to sit on the comfiest spot she could find on the huge couch while he turned on the TV and brought up Netflix.

They scrolled through the kids section until Piper said, 'That one.' She'd chosen Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast. Max had absolutely no idea what the hell a Neverbeast was, nor did he have any desire to find out, but that didn't matter. Piper wanted to watch it and that was what mattered. So he put it on and sat on the other end of the couch, giving her some space. Since the movie held absolutely no interest for him, he found himself watching her instead. Her eyes reflected the lights from the television as she lost herself in Tinkerbell's plight. How very appropriate, Max thought dryly. Neverland. Even Maxwell Lord had read Peter Pan when he was younger. Pushing the terrible irony aside, Max focused on the innocence in her face. Piper clearly loved this movie because for the first time since he'd met her, Max thought she looked peaceful. Escapism wasn't supposed to apply to children, but that was exactly what Max was watching and it hurt because it was like he was watching himself from all those years ago. Just replace the screen with a textbook.

Eventually he tore his eyes away from his daughter and forced himself to watch the rest of the movie. It certainly didn't do anything for him, but it allowed his mind to wander for a while. When the credits finally rolled, he heard Piper yawn.

'Time to go to bed?'

Piper nodded. The sadness had reappeared. Max walked with her upstairs and waited outside while she changed into her pyjamas. When he entered her bedroom, Piper was tucked under the covers already, lying on her side and staring at something clutched in her hand.

'What's that?' Max asked, sitting down on the side of the bed.

'It's my mum,' Piper said, holding out a small hand to show Max what she was holding. Max's breath caught in his throat as he took a crumpled photograph from her gently. Eleanor Williams stared back at him from the picture, a reminder of how much Piper looked like her mother.

Max had no idea what to say to Piper. He knew there was nothing he could say that would make that pain go away and he'd hated it when people had told him that everything was going to be alright because it wasn't. So he placed the photo back into Piper's hand and curled her fingers closed around it instead.

'My room is just down the hall,' he choked out eventually. 'If you need anything, you come and get me ok? Anything at all.' Piper nodded again. God, he wished she'd just say ok. He just wanted to hear her say something. 'Goodnight Piper.'

Max patted Piper on the shoulder, too afraid to do anything else, and then headed towards the door.

'Max?' Piper called.

'Yeah?' Max whipped around immediately.

'I liked the pancakes.'

'I'm glad,' he replied with a small grin. 'Goodnight Piper.'

Max shut the door and sat down against the wall just outside Piper's room. He covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath. Being a father was not rocket science. No, rocket science was something Max knew he could do.