A/N: I had actually planned for most of this to be in Chapter Four, but couldn't fit it in. So I decided, "What the hell, I'll just set it the year after that!" FYI, they're back in Japan now.
Every day, almost without fail, Erika would ask if Daddy was coming home. And every day, Carly or one of the nurses would answer, "No, sweetie, we told you... he's not coming back until October." Erika would walk off dejectedly, only to ask the very same question the next day.
It wasn't like she lacked things to do. She had a baby sister to play with, plus her collection of antique porcelain dolls and her miniature D-Wheel models. And she could also go outside; Jack and Carly had bought this mansion last spring specifically for its sprawling grounds, complete with a life-size playhouse. It would be any four-year-old's paradise...but for Erika, things weren't the same unless her father was around.
Sometimes, Carly thought, it was hard to be the boring parent.
Finally, though, the long-awaited day arrived. Erika insisted on wearing her best dress...even to dinner. Carly had been sure that there would be a crisis involving spilled food or drink, but luckily no such thing happened. She realized that it would be impossible to get Erika to go to sleep, so she allowed her to stay up long past her normal bedtime.
"Now remember," Carly cautioned as Jack's car pulled into the driveway, "Daddy's flown all the way from Australia today. So he's going to be tired and might not be able to..."
"DADDYDADDYDAAAADDDDYYYYYYY!"
Well, so much for that.
The door crashed open (Jack seemed incapable of entering a house quietly), and Erika ran toward it, continuing to shriek in excitement.
"Now who's this?" Jack demanded. "This can't be my daughter...she's too big! Are you all hiding Erika in a closet somewhere?"
"No, Daddy, I'm here!"Erika insisted.
"Impossible. My daughter's a tiny little girl. You look practically ready for university!"
"Now, don't confuse her..." Carly started, but neither of them were paying her any attention.
Jack continued, "Well, seeing as you're not my daughter and all, you probably don't want to play Airplane, right?"
Erika's face lit up.
"Yes I do! Do Airplane!" she shouted.
'If you insist..." Jack said mock-reluctantly. Then he lifted her up and twirled her through the air, making appropriate airplane-like sounds all the while.
Just watching this always made Carly's stomach knot up in worry. But Erika loved it, and Jack had never once dropped her. It was something, seeing the bond they had. She couldn't possibly be feeling jealous, could she?
After a few minutes, Jack dramatically said that his arms were too tired to do this anymore (though Carly thought that this might not be exactly true), and sat on the couch with Erika on his lap.
"Hmm...I guess you're my daughter after all!" he said.
"Where's my present?" the girl demanded immediately. Carly facepalmed.
"Erika...be polite," she implored. Last year, Jack had given Erika a tiara with real diamonds on it, so now she would probably be expecting something even grander.
Jack didn't seem to be offended, though. All he said was, "I may have picked up a thing or two when I was in Milan...but it's getting a bit late. How about we save it for tomorrow? That way, your sister can get her presents too."
Erika pouted, but didn't talk back. Really, Carly supposed, for how much Erika was spoiled by her father, she could have turned out a lot worse.
The three of them sat on the couch together for a while longer, while Jack told them about the many interesting things that he had seen during his months abroad. Then, rather abruptly, he cut himself off and said, "Well, Erika, don't you think it's about time for you to get to bed?"
He shot a significant look at Carly. So he had noticed she was there after all.
Erika made a token effort to protest, but even she seemed to realize that she could barely keep her eyes open. So she went off with her nurse making minimal complaints.
Once Erika was safely ensconced in her room, Jack asked Carly, "So...shall we?"
"It would be my pleasure," Carly replied. They walked down the hall to the master bedroom, taking care to lock the door behind them.
Once they had satisfied themselves (Jack had considerably better manners this year), and showered, they tiptoed upstairs so Jack could see his younger child.
The seven-month-old Rosie was fast asleep in her crib. Her full name was Martha Rose, but Erika had insisted on calling her Rosie and the nickname stuck. She already had quite a bit of dark hair.
Jack whistled softly.
"And I thought Erika had grown a lot...by the way, they both pretty much look like clones of you," he remarked in a whisper.
"Erika's blonde," Carly pointed out.
"Yeah, when she was a baby...but now it's more sandy-colored."
"Well, that still counts as blonde in my book. Plus, Rosie definitely has your chin."
"I guess there's that," Jack conceded. He and Carly stood there quietly for a long time, her head resting on his shoulder. Well, it had taken them a while to get their life situated, but now things were looking up for them.