"Mia!" Steve shouted as he looked at his watch. He was running a bit behind schedule which was a usual occurrence for him but knew he needed to get going imminently. He needed to make a quick trip to the supermarket before heading to a mate's house with Mia for a bit of a sociable evening with the rest of his work colleagues. "Are you ready?" he asked as he made sure that he was ready to leave the flat himself. He felt very proud at remembering to pick up some lifelong shopping bags from the ever expanding pile in a storage cupboard. He would not be adding to the pile today.
"Comin' Daddy," his daughter hollered back before he heard her little feet running towards him. She appeared before Steve in a Disney princess costume that his parents had given her for Christmas. Over the top she was wearing her bright pink plastic rain coat. On her feet were her pink wellington boots.
Steve look at Mia slightly perplexed. He had intended to help her get dressed that morning but his feisty little daughter was currently going through an independent streak and had insisted she could do it herself as she was a big girl now apparently. "You're wearing that?" he checked.
"Uh huh," Mia confirmed. "Don't I look pretty?" she said as she attempted a twirl in her boots. There was a squeaky sound as the rubber of her boots refused to move on the laminate flooring. The pirouette was aborted after 90 degrees and a skid mark now would forever mark the spot where it happened.
"But it's not raining," Steve pointed out as he looked out the window. It was February and the sun was shining although it was a bit cold.
"But it's best to be prepared," Mia retorted sounding awfully like his mum Steve realised. She looked after his daughter whilst Steve was at work.
"Right, fine," Steve replied. He didn't have time to change her so they would go to the supermarket with Mia in her eclectic outfit. "You ready?" Steve checked again as he herded his daughter out of the front door.
"Yes, Daddy," Mia confidently replied. "I forgot Indy!" Mia piped up just as Steve finished locking the front door.
Taking a deep breath Steve immediately unlocked the door again. It could have been worse he told himself. They could have been half way to the shop before she remembered.
Mia scampered past Steve to her bedroom and soon returned with her favourite teddy that went everywhere with her. Indy had in fact been Steve's teddy when he was a boy, named after Indiana Jones, his favourite film character growing up. He and his bear had shared many adventures together before Steve had outgrown him. His mother had found the toy just before Mia had been born and given it to her on her birth. They had been inseparable ever since. His fur was a bit matted and one arm had been sewn back on after it had become detached, but he looked well loved. Just like a toy should be.
"Ready now?" Steve repeated as he locked up for the second time.
"Yes, Daddy," Mia answered again as they headed to the lift. Steve reached for his daughter's hand but was batted away. "I'm a big girl now," she informed him again.
The lift opened and they stepped inside. Standing on her tiptoes, Mia was able to press the lowest button to send the pair in the direction of the car park located under their block of flats. Strapping her in to her car seat they were soon on their way to the supermarket albeit at a snail's pace as the South London traffic was very congested that lunchtime.
Steve looked in the rear view mirror at his daughter as he waited for the traffic lights to change to green. Mia was looking at the world outside whilst trying to sing along to the pop song currently playing on Capital Radio. It has been just her and him for the last two and a half years. Ever since Mia's mother had left them. They hadn't heard from her since.
Steve's partner Anna had fallen pregnant unexpectedly after about a year of them living together. Steve was fairly sure she was the woman for him and had been planning on proposing to her before she surprised him with her own news. He wasn't put off. They would just have their baby first and then get married.
Everything seemed good until Mia was born. She had a bit of trouble with colic and was constantly grizzly. Steve helped as much as he could but life as a Counter Terrorism cop was busy and he needed to work to bring in the money. Anna grew distant from Steve and Mia. He wondered about the baby blues or post partum depression, but when he dared to bring it up, Anna again surprised him by telling him it was neither. She had discovered she didn't want to be a mum and had been having an affair. She left them that evening.
Steve was left to bring up the baby by himself. Although, his parents had been amazing and helped him out a lot. It was perhaps the one bright spot in all of this mess- his relationship with them had definitely changed for the better.
Steve's parents and friends kept telling him he was doing an excellent job at being a single father, but those times at night when sleep would not come he often lay awake fretting that he could do better. Particularly worrisome to Steve was the absence of a female presence in Mia's life, someone other than his mother. It perhaps wasn't so big an issue at the moment, but give it a couple of years when puberty was approaching, he was sure Mia would rather talk to a woman about periods and stuff because he certainly didn't have a clue.
He had tried dating again but nothing ever worked out. Steve was very cautious about putting his heart on the line again. And he had Mia to think about now as well. He didn't want to bring a woman in to their lives for them to split up and leave he and Mia alone again. It wasn't fair on his daughter.
When she had been a baby, Mia had needed Steve a lot which had often gotten in the way of dates and had led to the decline of a second date if he had offered it. Now she was older, Mia was less needy but any new potential partner had to like his daughter and, more importantly, Mia had got to like them back.
"Turn the radio up Daddy," Steve heard from the back seat bringing him out of his reverie. Taylor Swift was on and it was one of Mia's and Steve's favourite songs. His daughter's wish was his every command and Steve turned the volume up drowning out their very out of tune singing as they inched their way to the supermarket.
Finally they reached their destination and Steve took full advantage of an empty parent and child parking space close to the shop. Mia again refused her fathers hand as they walked to the shop but Steve overruled her for the car park which caused a minor melt down. "Do you want to sit in the trolley?" Steve asked once they eventually were in the shop.
"No," Mia replied. "Big girls don't do that,".
"Well stick close then," Steve instructed his daughter as they started in the fresh fruit and veg. Steve noticed a few smiles from other patrons as they took in Mia's fashion choice.
Steve tried to cook for him and his daughter. He had mastered stir fry's and could do a mean spag bol. Otherwise it was pizza and pasta. His mum helped her son out in this particular area, cooking a large amount of home made food which Steve froze and then defrosted during the week. His mum was an expert at chopping up vegetables so small that she could hide them in many a dish and Mia was none the wiser that she was actually eating healthily despite saying she didn't like vegetables.
Today Steve was buying what his mother had requested for next week's dishes. Steve took a bit of time choosing the best looking specimens before putting them in his trolley and moving on.
"Oh a puppy!" Steve heard Mia exclaim excitedly as he compared jars of pasta sauce deciding which was the best value for money. Mia was at the age where she adored any animal and had aspirations of becoming a vet.
Steve eventually made his decision and put the chosen brand in the trolley before looking up. Mia was not in sight. "Mia!" Steve said as he looked up and down the aisle he was in. She wasn't there. He moved to the adjacent aisle. "Mia!" Steve repeated, louder this time. She wasn't in that aisle or the next three that Steve looked down. "Mia!" He called frantically as he ran the whole length of the store looking for his daughter. "Have you seen my daughter?" He asked anyone he passed trying not to get too hysterical. "She's in a princess costume and wellington's," he described, actually thankful Mia would stand out in anyone's memory.
"I thought I saw her over there," an elderly woman said, pointing towards the exit. Steve ran off hoping that he would soon have Mia in his arms again and this would all be forgotten soon.
But he didn't find her. He ran out in to the car park to try and see if he could see her but came up negative. Trying to detach himself from the situation, Steve put his police officer cap on to try and think rationally. He decided to head to the security guard hoping Mia might have been taken to him.
It was just as he was entering the store again when Steve saw Indy bear lying forlornly on the shop floor. He went over and picked him up knowing that his worst nightmare had come true. Someone had taken his daughter