Lily lay in a cold waiting room, her head in her mom's lap, her eyes drifting closed as she took in the calm music of the bright room. Her mommy brushed her crazy hair with her fingers, humming songs from her nighttime CD mindlessly. She didn't know how long they had been sitting there. Spencer had disappeared almost immediately when they ran in, and Gus hadn't sat down, his dancing toes tapping anxiously on the tiles as he checked his phone over and over again.

"Is Auntie Julie going to be okay, Mommy?" Lily looked for answers in her mom's eyes. She didn't understand what had happened. Spencer had been so mad when they left the ice cream shop. Had a bad guy shot Auntie Julie? But Mommy had said that she wasn't supposed to leave the house because she had to make sure the baby was okay. That was why she had her birthday party at Spencer and her house.

"I don't know, baby," her mommy said, biting her nails. Her eyes looked sad and scared. Lily recognized that look. It was the same way her mommy had looked when her daddy first got hurt and they had to pray a lot to Jesus that he would be okay.

Dear Jesus, Lily covered her eyes with her hands. Please make Auntie Julie and the baby okay. Amen.

Lily's prayers were cut off by her mom's phone ringing in her ear. She watched her mommy's face as she listened on the other end. "Oh my gosh! … He did what? … Is he okay? … No, nothing yet," Lily looked at Gus for an explanation, but he looked just as confused as she was."

"Are you sure?" her mommy asked, putting her hand on her chest. "Right now?"

Her face suddenly looked happy, and she tapped on Lily's shoulder to push her off her lap so she could stand up and collect her purse. "We'll be right there."

"What is it?" Gus asked, walking over to them, his dancing toes still tapping.

"Carlton wants to see us," she said, scooping Lily into her arms. "You want to go see Daddy?"

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed, clapping her hands together over her mom's shoulders.

"Is he okay?" Gus asked, helping her mommy pick up her bags while still holding Lily.

"He…" she looked at Lily and then back to Gus, "I think so?"

Her mommy leaned forward and whispered something in Gus' ear that she couldn't hear. But it must have been bad because Gus' eyes got super wide and he quickly whispered something back.

"What happened?" Lily asked, putting her hands on her mommy's cheeks. She didn't like people keeping secrets from her. She was five years old now, after all. She was a big girl now.

"Nothing, baby," her mommy said, kissing her hand and nodding to Gus. "It's not important. Let's go see Daddy."

The drive to the Helping House took forever. She bounced her legs up and down, excited to see her daddy while her mommy listed off rules for her in the front seat. "We have to be very careful with Daddy. He's had a hard day today. And we have to do anything that someone in a uniform asks us to do. Right?"

"Yes, Mommy," Lily said watching the big, tall trees pass through the window.

After a forever long car ride, her mommy finally stopped the car in front of the Helping House. Lily hadn't been there since New Years' Eve, but she remembered tall statues outside of the front door and the big shiny chandelier that hung at the bottom of the stairs when they first walked in. Lily looked around the front room and saw lots of police officers standing and talking.

"Auntie Chief!" Lily said, letting go of her mommy's hand and running up to a group of officers standing at the top of the stairs.

"Hi, Lil," she said, picking her up and hugging her. "Did you come to see your daddy?"

"Why are all Daddy's police officers here?" Lily whispered.

"They are just coming to visit your daddy." Auntie Chief whispered back. "But everything is okay and now your daddy really wants to see you. Should we go see him now?"

Lily wiggled her legs to be let back down on the ground and started marching up the stairs towards her daddy's room. Since she was five years old now, she remembered where it was.

"Oh no!" Auntie Chief said, grabbing her hand and redirecting her. "Your daddy is actually in a different room right now."

Auntie Chief, one hand holding onto Lily and the other rubbing her mommy's back, led them down a new hallway and stopped in front of a closed door.

"Are you going to be okay?" Auntie Chief asked Mommy, both hands on her shoulders, rubbing her mommy's arms. Her mommy looked like she was going to cry. But why? This was exciting! They were finally getting to see Daddy!

"Let's go!" Lily said, pushing the door open. She saw her daddy, sitting in a wheelchair with his back to the door, looking out the window. She remembered what her mommy had told her about her daddy not being able to see well anymore.

Walking slowly, she approached her daddy from the side, sticking her hand out in front of her so she could touch his arm and he would know she was there.

"Hi, Daddy," she said when he turned his head. "I missed you."

He looked different than he did last time she visited him. His hair was long and looked gray like Charlotte's daddy's in her class who looked like a grandpa. And his face looked more wrinkly than it did last time. But she knew that it was her daddy because of the way his eyes crinkled at the corner when she walked around to the front of his chair and patted his lap.

Auntie Chief came up behind her and lifted her onto her daddy's lap. "Hi, Lilypad," he said, leaning forward and kissing her on her head. He smoothed her hair down with one hand and Lily could feel his eyes studying her face. His eyes were red and he looked like he was going to cry just like Mommy.

Auntie Chief turned them around in her daddy's wheelchair so they were facing the door and Mommy, who was still standing in the doorway. Auntie Chief patted her daddy on the back before walking over to her mommy, whispering something else in her ear, and walking through the door, leaving Lily alone with her mommy and daddy.

"Hello, My Love," her mommy said, still standing next to the door.

"Marlowe," her daddy said, reaching out his hand for her. "I'm so sorry."

Lily watched from her daddy's lap as her mommy rushed to their side, putting her hands on her daddy's head, and giving him a big kiss on the lips.

"Eww!" She said, giggling and covering her eyes with her hands, curling up into a ball on her daddy's lap. After a moment, she heard them break apart and looked up at her parents. She could feel happy butterflies fluttering around her belly, thrilled to be in the arms of her daddy again. They both had tears on their cheeks, and Lily reached up and brushed a tear off her daddy's face.

"Don't cry, Daddy," she said, holding his big hand that was resting on her entire belly. She felt safe again, like her daddy would protect her from the scary bad guys.

"Lily, I'm so sorry I cannot do all the things Daddy used to do with you anymore."

Lily looked at her daddy's sad eyes. But why was he sad? Wasn't he happy to see her too? She knew she was happy to see him.

"It's okay, Daddy," she said, hugging his arm closely, "I don't mind. I just miss you."

She heard her mommy's soft laugh from above her. She looked up and saw more tears in her mommy's eyes. "I agree with her."

"Marlowe, I put you through hell these last few months."

"Bad word, Daddy!" Lily reminded him, tucking herself tighter into her daddy's lap.

"Sorry, Bunny," he said quickly before continuing. "I am so sorry. You didn't sign up for this- any of this." He gestured to himself and the room. "And I'm sorry I put you through this."

"Baby, I love you." Her mommy said, crouching down to look right over Lily's head into her daddy's eyes. "I don't care what happened to you or how you look now or whether or not you can walk. I didn't only fall in love with you for your dashing good looks. I fell in love with your soul, and how you make me feel. And I still feel that just as strongly today as I did the very first night we met. Maybe even more." She leaned in closer over Lily's head. "I don't care if you look a little different or sound a little different. I just miss you. And I love you. And I want you to come home. Whenever you're ready."

"Can you come home, Daddy?"

"Not yet, Lily Bunny."

Lily felt her lip begin to quiver and her eyes felt prickly. She sniffed up her tears and wiped her arm under her nose. She was a big girl now and she didn't cry anymore.

"I'll come home so soon, Lilypad."

"Really?"

"I promise," he said, holding out his pinky finger. She took it in her own pinky finger and moved their hands carefully up and down so she wouldn't hurt his hand.

"Really?" Mommy asked, crouching down next to the wheelchair.

"Marlowe, I would move heaven and earth to be with you again."

Her mommy started crying again, hugging her daddy's neck and squishing Lily in between her parent's bellies. She giggled, giddy to have both of her parents back together again. "You're squishing me!"

"There will be plenty more squishy hugs when I get home," her daddy said, hugging her mommy tighter and squishing her more.

"Cause Daddy's coming home!" Her mommy said, kissing Lily's crazy brown curls before kissing her daddy again.

"Daddy's coming home!"