A/N: for the prompt 'bicycle' from my march prompt list!

Henry learned to ride a bike without the option of training wheels, on the subtle slope of the street outside his childhood home in the year 1971, which was the year of his fifth birthday. Maureen, two years his senior, had learned when she was only four and now she rode her bike to school every day. Henry would be starting school in the fall and his father reminded him as the heat from the pavement shimmered in the air that if he didn't learn now, Maureen would leave him behind every morning. He'd get lost trying to find his way to school, Patrick said.

Henry had never been lost; in fact, he'd never been anywhere alone. The mere idea of it made him feel small and fearful- two things that Henry knew, at the age of barely five, his father hated.

This knowledge did not stop him from crying when he tried to pedal the bicycle, wobbled, and crashed unceremoniously into the July-hot pavement, skinning both knees and the palms of his hands only for his father to demand that he get up, dry his tears, and do it again.

By the time Henry went inside at dusk, dried blood caked on his skin, he had developed a particular loathing for the bicycle that he now knew how to ride effectively. That same autumn, he learned to be alone when he walked by himself to school as Maureen sailed ahead on her bicycle.

It did not take a genius to know that this was the origin of his obsession in the spring and summer of the year 1999 with their firstborn daughter's bicycle.

It started just two weeks after Alison was born in March of that year, when four year old Stevie was still sleeping and her parents were standing in the dawn half-light of the kitchen. Elizabeth was cradling newborn Alison against her chest, rocking rhythmically back and forth as Henry scooped aromatic grounds into the coffee filter.

"I was thinking," he said to Elizabeth in a soft voice, glancing back at her, "that maybe it's time to get Stevie a bike."

She looked up from Alison's head of dark, tufty baby hair where it was nestled at her collarbone and raised her eyebrows at Henry.

"A bike?" she asked. "Now?"

Her incredulous tone made sense, but Henry had lain awake the night before after his two-am turn at changing the baby, and thought through his response.

"I hear you," he said, "but think about it like this."

He reached up, took two mugs from the cupboard above the sink, and looked back at her.

"It's something I can do with her," he said. "Isn't that what all the parenting advice is when you have a new baby? That you should find a hobby to do with the big kid so they don't get jealous?"

Elizabeth hesitated.

"I mean, I guess," she answered. It's a bit of a reach, was the part she left unsaid, but it hung in the air anyway.

"And," Henry pressed on, "her birthday isn't until November. If we wait that long, it'll be too cold outside to teach her. But giving her a bike for her birthday or Christmas and then making her wait until it warms up to learn is sort of cruel to a five year old."

Elizabeth bit her tongue on the verge of pointing out that they could teach Stevie to ride a bike in the wintertime. Henry, clearly, was well beyond reasoning.

"Okay," she said slowly, shifting Alison in her arms so that she could take the cup of coffee he offered her. "I mean, we can think about it, but I think maybe she's a little too young, anyway."

Thankfully for Elizabeth, the conversation was derailed by the arrival of Stevie herself when she raced into the room in her pink pajamas, blonde hair everywhere, and headed straight for Henry's arms.

But the bicycle conversation was not on the shelf for long; March's mild days gave way to warm afternoons in April, and Elizabeth caught Henry flipping through an ad that had come in their weekly mail, perusing an entire page of bikes that ran from tiny toddler tricycles to mountain bikes with prices in the high three digits.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked, startling him out of his thoughts when she leaned over the back of the chair he was sitting in. Caught, he smiled sheepishly at her and then turned to look at her fully. When she looked into his face and found his expression preemptively pleading and his hazel eyes earnest, it was immediately clear to her that the bicycle conversation was about to turn in his favor.

"You really want to do the bike thing, huh?" she sighed.

"I do," Henry answered. "I just keep thinking about how much fun it would be to watch her ride around in the driveway."

Elizabeth laughed in spite of herself.

"Okay," she relented. "But listen- training wheels, right? And the whole-" she gestured vaguely "-knee pads, elbow pads, whatever kind of pads they have these days."

"Of course," Henry answered eagerly. "We'll get all the pads."

"Because she's not even five yet, so-"

"I know," Henry said. "All the pads and the best helmet there is, I promise. Crash-tested and kid safe."

"Alright," Elizabeth agreed- and as she headed upstairs to check on the baby, she thought that it really might have been worth it for the smile on Henry's face.

By the end of April, spring was in full swing, and on a sunny Saturday near the end of the month, Henry's bicycle plan finally came into action.

He woke Stevie a little early- something that he and Elizabeth normally took great pains not to do- and they quietly left the house together while Elizabeth and Alison were still asleep. Stevie, who had recently taken to reminding everyone she spoke to that she was exactly four and a half, seemed to relish the one on one attention.

"Where are we going?" she asked Henry over the cinnamon roll she was clumsily eating at the little cafe he had brought her to for breakfast before the main point of the outing. He smiled at her now as he patiently reached out to wipe a bit of frosting off of her cheek.

"Well," he said, "we're going to get you something really special."

Stevie tilted her head inquisitively, her little eyebrows drawn together.

"Like cinnamon rolls?" she asked, and Henry laughed.

"Even more special than that," he told her, and leaned in across their tiny corner table so that he could whisper conspiratorially to her.

"A bicycle," he said, and watching her eyes light up was every bit as worth it as he had imagined it would be.

"For myself?" she asked eagerly, and Henry nodded his head.

"Yep," he said. "All for you."

In an instant, Stevie's last bite of cinnamon roll was shoved into her mouth and she was on her feet next to the table, her light-up tennis shoes blinking at the force of her jump to the ground.

Henry laughed and ruffled her hair as he drained the last bit of his coffee and stood up next to her.

"Let's get going," he said, offering her his hand. And they were off.

Henry was not sure where Stevie had gotten her indecisive nature, but he and Elizabeth always did their best to be patient with it. On this particular day, he thought it even more important, so he waited it out as Stevie wheedled between the pink or yellow bike options, and then repeated the process with the helmet and knee pads set. Then, he took her two aisles over and helped her choose a bell and detachable tassels for her handlebars.

In the end, the whole ensemble was buttery yellow, and by the time they pulled into their driveway and Henry unloaded Stevie's brand new bicycle from the back of the car, the midday sun gleaned off of its shiny surface.

"Can I ride it, Daddy, please?" Stevie asked as she pushed her car door closed and ran around the front of the vehicle to stand before him in the driveway.

"Soon, munchkin, I promise," Henry laughed. "We have to go see Mommy and Alison and have some lunch first. But I'll bring you right back outside after we eat, okay?"

Stevie agreed, but it did not stop her from casting a longing look at the bicycle where it leaned against the house.

Inside, Elizabeth was wearing Alison in a sling on her chest while she chopped baby carrots on a cutting board into thin strips. She looked up, smiling, when she heard them come through the front door, and Stevie raced into the kitchen immediately, chattering to Elizabeth about her new bike and the tassels they had chosen.

Henry cut in to kiss her lightly and to study her expression for traces of unease.

"Wow," Elizabeth said to Stevie. "Did you buy a nice helmet, too?"

"Yes!" Stevie answered. "It has flowers on it! And Daddy said it was the most important part."

Elizabeth chuckled and ran her free hand over Stevie's blonde hair as she caught Henry's eye.

"He did, huh?" she asked, fondness creeping into her voice, and Henry smiled.

"Of course he did," he said as he scooped Stevie up into his arms and she giggled. "Let's go wash these hands."

Lunch was a quick affair; neither Henry nor Elizabeth had ever seen Stevie so eager to eat her carrots, and as soon as she was finished she was on her feet and begging Henry to eat the last of his sandwich so that they could go back outside and test out her new bike.

"Because you promised!" she insisted.

"I know," Henry laughed as he popped the last bite of his lunch into his mouth. "Alright, let's get to it."

Stevie cheered, and ran to the door to start pulling on her shoes. Henry leaned over the table where Elizabeth was still sitting and paused to run his fingers over Alison's soft hair.

"You wanna come watch?" he asked. Elizabeth smiled up at him, a little bit knowingly.

"Maybe in a little bit," she said. "You guys go ahead."

Henry kissed her lightly and then he was gone; she watched him go after Stevie, listening to the hum of their chatter as he caught up with her in the hall and led her outside. The truth was that she did want to watch, but she knew that this was important to Henry and she wanted him to have this moment with their daughter. But it would not stop her from a little bit of spying; she rose from the table and went to the living room window a moment later, peeking from behind the curtains.

Outside, a tender scene was unfolding as Henry knelt on one knee in front of Stevie and reached up to fasten the clasp of her yellow helmet. Something squeezed tight in Elizabeth's chest at the sight. Their daughter beamed at Henry and he smiled lovingly up at her. For a brief moment, Elizabeth thought back to another sunny day when Henry had also been on one knee. She could not have imagined then that in less than a decade she would have been here, with her baby in her arms, watching that same man blossom into the father he had always feared he might not be able to become.

Elizabeth herself had never had any doubt.

Outside, Henry smiled at Stevie. The bike was ready and equipped with training wheels, while Stevie herself was outfitted with her helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads.

"Are you ready to ride?" he asked, and his smile stretched bigger when she grinned.

"Okay," he said, and helped her onto the seat. When she was settled and her sneakers were waiting on the pedals, Henry crouched down next to her again. He squinted against the sun and focused on Stevie's face. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement and when she grinned at him, he was reminded, somehow, of himself. Stevie deeply favored Elizabeth, with her light hair and blue eyes, but in this moment, he was struck by that something in her face that was his own.

"Listen," he said softly. "I know you're very excited about your new bike, but before we go, I want to tell you something."

"Okay," Stevie said. She was almost vibrating with anticipation, but made an adorable effort to zero in on what he was saying to her. His hand rested on her little shoulder, and he kept her gaze.

"I want you to know that no matter what," he said, "if you don't like riding your bike, or if you're tired or it's too scary, you can always just tell me. And we'll stop right away."

"But I like my bike," Stevie said, and Henry smiled.

"I'm really glad you do," he said. "But this goes for anything. You can always change your mind about liking something, and Mommy and Daddy won't make you keep going while you're scared. You can always take a break or decide that you don't want to keep going. Especially with learning to ride a bike. It can be scary sometimes, and you might fall down. So if that happens, all you have to do is tell me and we can stop. Alright?"

"Okay," Stevie said with a little shrug. "But I'm very brave, so it's going to be fine."

Henry laughed, and swallowed down the small lump in his throat.

"You sure are," he agreed. "Okay. Ready to bike?"

"Ready!" Stevie cheered.

A moment later, she was off, sailing paces ahead of him with her yellow tassels fluttering. It was just training wheels, and the harder part would come later, but Henry still had to swallow hard at the sight.

When he glanced back at the house, it was to find Elizabeth standing on the porch with Alison in her arms, smiling brightly at him.

"Look, Daddy, I'm doing it!" Stevie called out, full of joy and pride.

"Good job, sweetheart," he called back to her.

And just like that, the old memory of burning pavement and the feeling of resentment faded away a little bit to make room for this memory, of spring air and his daughter's laughter.

Elizabeth looked on, and thought that perhaps Henry had been right about the bicycle after all.