AN: something to hold you over until the season finale of Glee. (:

xox

Sam Evans stood at the white picket fence in front of the large house he shared with his Family. Hands in his pockets as a habit that wouldn't die, he looked towards the rising sun. The breeze twirled around him, tugging at his clothes and ruffling his hair before it danced away into the beginning of a September morning. A morning that he hoped would go smoothly.

For this mission...he was very unprepared for.

Upon hearing the footsteps behind him, he turned to look at the person and bore blankly into their face. To be expressionless was good for this mission. It was the only weapon he could win this battle with. "Are you ready?" He asked calmly, watching hesitance and regret consume the face before him.

He received a squeak as an answer and were it not for his trained ears, Sam would have asked said person to repeat their response. "No?" he questioned though he knew the answer.

He stood calm against the rage of emotions that burst out at him and stood strong when rushed at. He couldn't crack. Not now.

But instincts took over and rationality lost the fight as Sam sighed inaudibly and softened his stoic roster. "We've talked about this..." came his quiet voice, never cold towards this person. He simply couldn't be.

Muffled against his legs came a sobbing response, tiny but ever full of emotion. "But I...I don't wanna go!"

Eyes looked up into his, green meeting hazel and all sense of him being unreachable broke at the glance. He crouched down to eye level and gently wiped away the tears of the worried. Her sniffling broke his heart and it was taking everything he had been taught to keep his own feelings in check.

"You can't stay in the house forever." He tried to coax, only breaking into a small smirk at her furious pout and the angry wipe at her still pouring tears; it seemed she was angry at herself for crying in front of him.

"I k-know that b-but...b-but I'm not r-r-ready!" She exclaimed, shuddering between words as she tried to speak through the crying. He would have wrapped his strong arms around her and held her close, protected from what she feared. But that would mean to give in. And he couldn't.

"Why do you say that? I think you're more than ready."

"No I'm not..."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No!"

"Then you're ready."

"B-but..."

Sighing at her young struggle, Sam looked towards the open front door where a young woman watched quietly at the scene unfolding. They both knew things would come down to this but in all honesty, Sam Evans didn't think it was going to be this bad.

When he had done it, it hadn't been this bad.

Looking back into the eyes of innocent fears, a faint smile formed at his lips. "Would it make you feel better about it...if you brought along Crackers?" As expected, some sort of life breathed into her and little teeth bit down on a small lip and stood quiet for a moment.

Patience was a quality he had acquired over time and it was a great aspect to him now for he received a little nod from the victim. "Okay then, go and get him." Sam hid a smile as her eyes widened in surprise and lips dared to break into a toothy grin. Without wasting any more time, for this mission was time-dependent, she broke into a tiny run and headed inside the house, running past the woman with a very large belly.

For a moment, Sam and she shared a glance, quiet emotion stirring between the both of them before it was broken by a fit of giggles and a happier face moving towards him.

Sam received a gleeful kiss on the cheek, one that never made him cringe but ignited the true meaning of life in him and stood up to his full height as his hand reached for hers. He looked down beside him, unable to hold back the tender smirk from appearing and watched her giggle and hold tight to her companion.

"Are we ready?" He asked once more.

"We're ready, daddy." She happily smiled, making sure Crackers the pink bear was safe under her arm and her hand steadily held her dad's.

As father to a five year old, this was a great moment in his life.

This was only just the beginning.

As Sam Evans, this first day of school thing was one hell of a mission.

I hope you liked it. (: