2nd chapter wee
I only own my ideas
Warnings: Maybe swearing and some description of bullying
ENJOY!
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"Lauren come on I'm hunggryyyy", Trish wined, but her friend would not be swayed.
"Oh come on, buck up just one more, we need to find a photographer."
"Hold up chic what's this 'we' crap? No 'you' 'you' need to find one, what the H? I thought you had one?"
"Ugh I did, but he was an over charging sleaze and FDR made me promise to find…oh this is new…*Cadence of Dreams*…I like it lets go in?"
"Ok, but you're buyin lunch missy", Trish huffed as they walked through the door and a little bell jingled announcing their presence.
"Hello?" Lauren called as her eyes traveled the shop decorated in light, muted blues and purples. Giant, regular, and small black and white pictures in elegant frames adorned the walls. The blonde was instantly excited, the sign outside said the photographer in residence did weddings among other events and regular family photos as well.
"Can I…help you?" The voice was obviously female and young. The ladies chuckled when a kitten popped its head over the counter and was made to look around in wonder. Then Hanna stood and smiled at their laughter. "Welcome I'm…Hannah…Mom is in…dark room…please…come, stay Fuzzums." She took her crutches and led her guests to a seating area with albums of Cadence's work to look at. Then she pressed a button that would alert her mother to the potential customers. "Would you…like drinks?"
"Water if you have it sweetie. Will your mom be long?" Lauren smiled as they took their seats and Hannah shook her head.
"Just needs…to wash hands…the chemicals." The girl smiled back as she made the geasture for 'icky hands'. "Please…look at…her work…I'll get water…Kay?" Hannah chirped.
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"Cadence McCall at your service," She stated warmly shaking their hands. "how can I…sorry. Hannah baby let me get that!" Cadence offered as she saw her daughter struggle with two cold 'pods' of ice water.
"Your daughter is so sweet", Lauren cooed, smiling at the girl as her mom helped with the drinks.
"My angel, she likes to be my assistant." Cadence smiled. "So how can I help today ladies?"
"Well I'm getting married in September and the last photographer was let's say less than what we expected."
"First off congratulations, second I'm sorry to hear, but can I say bad for him good for me"
Lauren and Trish both laughed, "I like her." The older woman chuckled.
"I just love your work, these wedding photos are fun, different, but their so pretty." Lauren gushed and added, "what kind of packages do you offer?"
~LCA~
"Baby girl your mom has her first job!"
"Go mom!…she was…nice"
"Very nice…so school tomorrow you ready?"
"Aww do I…have to?"
"Yes you have to Mrs. Adelai sounds wonderful."
"But I…don't know anyone."
"Just be your charming beautiful self and anyone gives you trouble I'll kick their punk 4th grade ass!"
"Mo-om!"
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"Hey spudley give us a cuddle"
"Daad seriously", Joe complained even as he gave his dad a hug.
"So Joe…how was school today?" Tuck asked brightly as they dug into their meal a couple hours later. His sun looked up with spaghetti hanging from his mouth and shrugged. "Nothing new?" He prodded further and Joe paused.
"Well we did get a new student so Mrs. Adelai let us play a lot of 'get to know you' type games so that was fun."
"Better than letters and maths right?" Tuck chuckled and he was graced with a smile and nod from his son. "The new kid cool?"
"She's alright I guess." Joe replied and Tuck gave an exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows. "Eww daad gross."
"Cooties right, yeah."
"Plus she's kinda weird looks like she should be like a 6th grader and she talks funny."
"Now Joe that's not nice to say…. the other kids saying that too?" Tuck asked seriously, he wasn't mad at his son, but he wasn't about to raise a bully either.
Joe got quiet and nodded, looking down at his meal. "I'm sorry are you mad?"
"No spudley I'm not mad, you know she probably needs a friend. Could you do that? Look out for her, be like your dad"
Joe perked up, "like a secret agent?" Tuck nodded and Joe beamed around his spaghetti. "I can do that, it's my mission right?"
The brit chuckled, "yep spud it's your mission." They finished the rest of the meal on lighter topics. Tuck tried not to sour too much when 'Mr. wonderful' was mentioned. He hoped it wouldn't be 'that guy' picking his son up later that week.
~LCA~
The next few days Joe started his 'mission' it was hard at first, I mean come on he was 9 and girls were gross. Still his dad was counting on him and he knew he wouldn't want to be treated this way. It started subtly; first they would just laugh when she walked by, so he started saying, 'hi' to her in the hall. Then they'd make comments when she read in class, he gave her his extra Snack Pack to cheer her up.
Mrs. Adelai was still sharp and she didn't miss Joe's kind behavior subtle as it was. She had called the boy's parents inviting them in for a quick 'meeting', mostly to thank them, but also to ask if it would be alright to pair them up when she announced the class project. Katie couldn't make it and so it fell to Tuck to meet with her. "Mrs. Adalai…has Joe…has he done something wrong?" Tuck asked as she showed him into her office.
"Oh no Mr. Hansen not at all, quite on the contrary." The older woman assured with a smile. He asked why he was here and she explained her appreciation for his son's behavior. She noticed his muted 'fist pump' and chuckled. "Hannah has Cerebral Palsy…" She sighed shook her head and added, "sweet, sweet girl, but kids fear what is different and they answer that fear with cruelty."
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Joe heard the crying before he saw her, "Hannah?"
The crying turned to sniffs and she looked up as she scrubbed her eyes. "Oh…h-hi…J-Joe." Hannah squeaked out. The crying making her talking even worse than it usually was. He was quicker than she expected and he slung his arm around her shoulders. Her eyes widened at the contact it felt foreign friendly gestures from another kid were alien to her.
"Buck up mate stiff upper lip and all that rot."
Hannah couldn't help, but giggle and he brought his arm back. "W-what does…th-that mean?"
He shrugged, "not sure really, but I heard my dad say it. So what's wrong?" She didn't try to talk for fear she'd start crying. He followed the direction of her finger and saw her crutches resting on the big kids Monkey bars. "Hold on my dad can help." Joe was gone before she could reply leaving her staring after him.
~LCA~
"Dad…DAD! You've gotta help…DAD!"
"Whoa slow down spudley, calm down", Tuck reasoned dropping to Joe's eye level."What's wrong?" He listened while Joe explained as calmly as he could. "Ok spud let's go help"
Hanna looked up from her wing tips as Joe came back with Tuck, his dad. She blushed scarlet and ducked her eyes as the brit smiled and offered hellos. "H-hi", she squeaked in reply and Joe tugged on his dad's jacket, pointing to the crutches.
It wasn't hard for him to reach them and bring them down. "Here you go darling." Tuck offered as he held them out to her. She took the crutches with a small smile. "Where are your parents luv?"
"Just…mom…running late." Hannah admitted shyly.
"Well no worries luv we can wait."
"Don't…have to…I can take…care of myself."
"I'm sure you can darling, but we don't mind, do we Joe?" Tuck asked and Joe shook his head and hopped into the swing on the opposite side.
This was all completely new for Hannah, but she liked the feeling. Her dad had been so cold had hurt her mom. "Ok…you seem…nice enough." Hannah shrugged and Tuck chuckled. What happened next she wasn't expecting. Her swing pulled back and all at once she was flying.
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Cadence came rushing up to the playground and what she saw made her heart stall. Hannah was laughing, she was smiling, and she looked happy for the first time in days. The boy must be the classmate they'd talked about and the one pushing the swings must be the boy's, father. She felt her throat go dry, he was good looking. Scratch that he was 'dead sexy'. She forced herself to calm down when she heard Hannah call for her.
"Mo-om!" the little girl called followed by a great peal of laughter. "This is…fun."
"Looks like", Cadence replied with a smile as she stepped up to the group.
"You are…late!" Hannah accused with a giggle. "I know…I know…traffic."
Cadence shrugged sheepishly, "Oh I know the drive here is ghastly." Tuck offered without thinking and the brunette startled. "Bloody hell where are my manners, Tuck Hansen", the brit offered, holding out his hand.
"Cadence McCall", she replied as she shook his hand.
To Be Continued...
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