Callie Richards glanced at the clock on the dashboard as she drove along. It felt like the numbers were taunting her, reminding her that she was late already, and getting later with every passing second. She sighed and bit her lip, unsure of what she could have done differently to make it out of work on time. She did her best, but someone hadn't shown up and she got stuck making calls to find a replacement. She was an assistant manager at a local pharmacy, a position she held proudly. She had worked there only a year before she was offered the promotion. Most of the time the benefits outweighed the negatives, but on days like today, she wasn't sure if it was worth it.

Her phone began buzzing, rattling as each vibration from an incoming call caused it to jostle in the center console. Rather than answer it, she grabbed it and threw it onto the passenger seat of her Avenger so that the noise would stop. Or at least, she wouldn't hear the incessant sound as an added reminder of her tardiness. It was the school calling to tell her what she already knew, what she was doing her best to rectify.

By the time she pulled into the parking lot and threw the car into park, she was 27 minutes late for pick-up. She hurried to the door and pressed the intercom to the office. The office administrator, Mrs. Brown, recognized her and buzzed her into the school without a word. Callie hurried into the office where a grumpy seven-year-old was waiting for her. Arms crossed, scowl on her face, and kicking her legs in irritation, her daughter was the perfect picture of annoyance personified.

"Hey, Lynette, thank you so much," Callie said quickly. "Ari, you ready to go?"

Ari looked at her deadpan.

"I've been ready for almost half an hour," she replied.

Callie bit her lip, forcing a smile on her face. Ari had every right to be annoyed with her, and this wasn't the first time she was late. Mrs. Brown shot her a sympathetic look. She understood how hard it was for Callie. She was a single parent and had no family to help out in times like these, when work unexpectedly got in the way. Ari gave her one last look before hopping off the chair in the office and heading into the hallway.

"Miss Richards, can I have a quick word?" Mrs. Brown asked.

"Ye—uh, sure," Callie replied. "Hey Ari? Just wait for a moment."

Ari's response was to tilt her head in annoyance and shift her backpack from side to side, tapping her foot. It was almost comical, but Callie felt the disappointment from her daughter at having to wait for her again.

"Listen, I know it isn't easy, balancing work and everything else," Mrs. Brown began.

Callie was still watching Ari, nodding as she half-listened.

"But as much as we understand, this isn't something that can continue. It's the fourth time in two months. We do have an after-care program if that's something that you'd be interested in signing her up for. The cost is reasonable, and she might enjoy it," Mrs. Brown continued. "Unfortunately, if this happens again, we do have to contact DCS."

"Wait, what? DCS?" Callie tore her gaze from Ari and stared at Mrs. Brown in shock.

"I realize it seems extreme, but we are mandated reports. It isn't something I want to do, but I'm required to look after the best interest of the child, no matter how much I sympathize with your situation. I know you've both had it rough and you're starting over still. At the same time, Ari deserves to know she'll be looked after and properly cared for. This is becoming more of a pattern. I wanted to address it with you before taking any action, but I want to make it clear that this can't continue."

Callie stared back in disbelief, unable to speak. How could the situation be that bad? It didn't seem like that big of a deal. It wasn't great that she had been repeatedly late recently, but DCS? Wasn't that a little extreme? All she was doing was trying her best to make a living and provide for her daughter. Everything she did was to provide for Ari as best she could, ever since Dan died. Hadn't they faced enough tragedy?

"I…I guess I'll look into the program," she finally replied hollowly.

Mrs. Brown slid a packet with information on the after-school program across the desk for Callie to take. She picked it up and stared at it blankly, still in shock.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, and we're here to help any way we can," Mrs. Brown assured her.

Callie nodded and headed out of the office, too wrapped up with the thoughts in her mind to say goodbye as she left. She folded the papers in half so that Ari couldn't see them as she approached her impatient daughter. Ari ran a hand through her blonde hair, flicking it back over her shoulder. She squared her jaw, blue eyes glaring daggers at her mom. Callie was struck by what a powerful presence her daughter had, seeming more like a teenager than a second grader.

"I'm sorry to make you wait again, kiddo," Callie said as they walked out of the building and over to her car.

Ari remained silent, dropping her eyes to the ground. Callie frowned and bit her lip, wishing she could explain in a way that Ari would understand. This wasn't how their life was supposed to be. Dan wasn't supposed to die, she wasn't supposed to have to start over again. Ari was supposed to have both parents. It wasn't fair, any of it. It wasn't fair that she got stuck in the position of being late to pick up her daughter because other people were unreliable. It certainly wasn't fair that the school was threatening to call DCS on her for being late to pick her daughter up a few times. She felt furious at exactly how unfair life was.

"Mom! Watch out!" Ari yelled, and Callie glanced up quickly to where her daughter was pointing.

She jumped back, pulling Ari with her. A nearby bush had ignited next to Callie, the flames quickly rising as it began to fully engulf.

"Oh my gosh, okay, stay back, Ari!" Callie said, trying not to panic.

She took off her coat and threw it on the bush, trying to pat out the flames.

"Mom! Be careful! Please!" Ari yelled, the fear in her voice cutting Callie like a knife.

The flames went out as quickly as they had appeared, and Callie held up her coat in confusion. She wasn't convinced what she'd been doing was enough to put the fire out, but it must have been. There were scorch marks on her coat and a few tears where the flames ripped through the fabric.

Ari threw her arms around Callie, enveloping her in a tight hug. Callie knew Ari's intense fear was fueled in part by the loss of her father. Even though it had been a few years, any situation that seemed dangerous triggered Ari's trauma response of losing another parent. Sometimes it was as simple as a car running a stop sign at an intersection. Callie was doing the best she could to help validate and ease Ari's reactions but there was only so much she could do alone.

"I'm okay, sweet girl, I'm okay. Let's just get you home, okay? Holden's going to come over tonight and play games with us. Won't that be fun?"

Ari's face relaxed into a wide grin at that news as she buckled herself into her car seat. Callie felt her heart tug in a familiar way at the sight of that smile, one that brought joy but also sadness. She could never figure out who it was that Ari's grin reminded her of. It didn't look anything like Dan's smile, but she was sure it reminded her of someone. Callie pushed the thought aside and gave her daughter a quick smile as they headed home.

"Are you finally gonna tell me the truth?" Ari asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had filled the car as they drove along.

"Truth? What do you mean?" Callie bit her lip and shot Ari a look of confusion in the rearview mirror.

Ari sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.

"The truth about Holden," she said, annunciating each word as if physically pained to have to spell it out.

"Holden? What truth? Sweet girl, I'm lost," Callie said, eliciting another sigh from Ari.

"I told Allie about how he always comes over and does stuff with us and she said he must be your boyfriend, and that you just don't wanna tell me that because you don't want me to be upset about having a boyfriend after Dad died."

Callie's eyes widened in shock, and it was all she could do to breathe as she turned down the familiar roads to their house.

"Holden is just a friend," she answered eventually, deciding to elaborate when Ari rolled her eyes. "He's been a great friend to us both, but he really is just that: a friend."

Callie left out the part where Holden had made it clear he had romantic feelings toward her and wanted more. It was hard enough for Callie to understand why she turned him down. There was always this sense she got whenever he was around. It was almost like a bad taste in the air, as crazy as it sounded. When he first came into their lives, she was physically repulsed around him. Eventually she pushed it aside, especially after he proved to be nothing but kind and gentle to both her and Ari for months.

If he were anyone else, a guy like Holden would be exactly what Callie was looking for. It had taken a long time, given how she felt around him at first, but at this point she trusted him like no one else. No one since Dan. None of her old friends had stayed in touch after she moved, and neither of them had family so there were no doting grandparents or siblings of any kind to talk to and rely on. Holden was the closest thing she had to family. He traveled frequently for his job, sometimes for weeks at a time, but he was almost always available by call or text. Sometimes he would even send them gifts while he was away, a gesture Callie had mistrusted at first to manipulate her into a relationship. Over time she realized that he truly did enjoy making her and Ari happy in those small, thoughtful ways.

To her and Ari's surprise, Holden was already outside when she pulled in the driveway. He was only a few inches taller than her, and his dark, black hair was thinning a little on top but still very much present. He had a full beard and sideburns that he kept trimmed short, along with a mustache to top things off. Callie smiled as Ari jumped out of the car and ran to give him a hug. Holden picked her up and hugged her tightly, turning in a circle as she laughed.

"And how is milady, today?" he asked, his British accent making his words seem even more proper.

"Rather well," Ari responded in a terrible attempt to mimic his accent.

Holden glanced at Callie, his eyes dancing with laughter as he kept his expression serious.

"I'm delighted to hear that. Why don't you freshen up inside, Lady Arella, while your most humble servant catches up with the Queen?"

Ari giggled and nodded, running inside before Callie could say a word.

"Gee, if only you could do that every day!" she joked, and Holden smiled, opening his arms and inviting a hug.

Callie was happy to oblige, as he was always respectful of the boundaries she had established. She knew it probably wasn't easy for him, but she appreciated his willingness to remain best friends.

"How have you been, love?" he asked, the term of endearment more an homage to his culture than his feelings toward her.

"Picked her up late again," Callie said, glancing down at the ground as she pulled away. "They told me to look into the after-school program, because if I'm late again, they're going to call DCS."

"DCS? That's outrageous!" Holden bellowed, and Callie took a half-step back.

When he saw her reaction, he tempered himself, holding his hands up apologetically.

"Sorry, love, I've just come off a rather stressful work engagement and I've had it up to here with nonsense. How can I help?"

"No, it's okay. I'll just have to come up with the money somehow, I guess. They said it's not too much, but you know how it is. I just can't control everything at work, even if I'm supposed to be done at a certain time. Maybe it's better this way, I don't know," she said.

"Don't you worry about the cost. I'll pay for it," Holden said, and Callie shook her head no. "Darling, I insist," he said, his voice firm.

Callie bit her lip. It would be nice to not worry about finding the room in her budget, but she wondered if it would give Holden the impression their relationship was moving beyond the established friendship.

"No strings, love, I assure you. I know where we stand and I'm more than happy to help in this way, especially with how difficult everything has been for you on your own."

Callie offered him a small smile.

"Thanks, Holden, I…that's really kind of you," she said, unsure of how to properly show her appreciation and embarrassed to take him up on it.

"Anything for our little angel, right?" he said, and Callie smiled despite the strange pull she felt at his words.

The evening passed quickly. After dinner, Ari asked plenty of questions about Holden's latest trip and Holden answered with elaborate descriptions straight from a movie, as usual. It was a game between the two of them, as he was very tight-lipped about what he did for work. Ari would ask questions and he would act as though he were answering honestly, but eventually either Callie or Ari would figure out what movie he was referencing. If neither of them guessed it, he would refuse to tell them what it was and insist it was the truth. Tonight seemed to be one of those rare times neither could guess.

"An auction? Where?" Ari asked.

"Just some run-down warehouse," Holden answered.

"And you really saw Excalibur there?"

"I did," Holden confirmed. "As well as Mjolnir."

"Who's Mjolnir?" Callie asked.

"Not a who, love, a what. Thor's Hammer."

Callie and Ari looked at each other and laughed.

"Laugh it up, ladies, but I'm telling you the truth. God's honest," he said, smirking at himself.

"Right, an auction with magical weapons. What were you there for?" Callie asked, deciding to join Ari in the questioning.

"A lost prophet."

"How was the prophet lost, if he was there at the auction?" Ari asked.

"Well, you see, he wasn't lost in general. Specifically, I had lost him. I had him, then I lost him, and I was trying to get him back again. I even bid my soul!"

"Your soul?!" Ari asked, eyes wide. "Did you win?"

Holden sighed and shook his head.

"Sadly, no. I lost my soul many years ago, so I couldn't really make payment. He ended up going for the soul of his mother. Almost a happy ending, I suppose. Except for the part where my lost prophet remains lost to me."

Callie shook her head, baffled.

"I have to say, this one's not ringing any bells. What about you, Ari?"

Ari shook her head.

"That's because it's all true, ladies. I must get home, even though it's Hell, and I know that Lady Arella must get to bed," Holden announced as he stood up.

Ari put up a small fight before saying goodnight and getting ready for bed. Callie shook her head at Holden and laughed.

"One of these days I'll figure out which movies these are. They have to be underground films," she said.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," Holden replied with a wink.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Thanks again for everything, Holden, really."

Holden gave her a quick hug and smiled.

"Anytime, love. Text me the information and I'll get it sorted. I'll go to the school myself if need be."

"Ooooh, scary! They don't want to have this monster unleashed on them," Callie joked.

"You've no idea," he agreed, and once again she ignored the strange pull she felt at his words.

Tomorrow would be a better day, Callie assured herself.

It all had to get better, right? There wasn't any way it could be worse.