6.15pm
"I'm scared" Emilia said, looking up at Rose as she held her hand. "You don't need to be scared" Rose tried to give her a reassuring smile, stopping outside the diner. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know? It's your decision darling" Rose said as she bent down to Emilia's level. "We can go home if you'd like?" She offered, but Emilia just stared at her blankly for a moment. "Henry said he would still love me even though Jack is my Dad… was he lying?" She asked nervously. "What?!" Rose asked surprised "has Henry ever lied to you?" Rose raised an eyebrow, and got a shake of the head in response from Emilia "Exactly. Henry would never lie to you darling. He will always love you, whether Jack is your Dad or not" she stroked her cheek, getting a small smile from Emilia. "Should we go inside?" Rose asked as she stood up again. "Yes…" Emilia replied quietly and took hold of Rose's hand again as they walked in to the diner and over to table that Jack was sat at.
—
"Hi" Jack smiled nervously "Hi, sorry we're late. Charlie wasn't a fan of us coming out without him" she chuckled, trying to break the ice as she helped Emilia take her coat off. Jack laughed a little before looking at Emilia "Hi Emilia" he smiled "Hi" she replied quietly and sat down in the booth opposite him, but as close to Rose as she could get. "We missed you at school today" he smiled gently, but didn't get a response. Rose looked at him apologetically and mouthed 'sorry', but he brushed it off with an understanding smile. "Did you do anything fun whilst you were off today?" He asked her "I did some drawing…" Emilia replied. "Really?" Jack asked surprised with a smile "I love drawing!" He grinned back, making Rose's heart melt a little- she knew how much it would mean to Jack that Emilia took an interest in something he was so passionate about. "Really?" Emilia looked at him finally, with a smile. "Yes!" Jack nodded, seeing himself in Emilia's smile.
"Can I ask you all the questions about yourself that you'll probably get bored of answering?" He raised an eyebrow hopefully. "OK" Emilia nodded, finally relaxing from Rose's side. "What's your favourite thing to do?" He asked. "Erm… I like going to the park with Mummy, Henry and my brothers. Charlie can get annoying sometimes but we take it in turns to push each other on the swings" she smiled, making Jack laugh "why's he annoying?" He asked, making Rose chuckle "he isn't annoying, he's just a typical 4 year old boy" she smirked, getting a shrug from Emilia. "What's your favourite colour?" He asked after laughing at Rose's response "purple" she smiled a little…
After spending around 40 minutes getting know one another, Emilia began to rub her eyes. "Tired?" Rose asked her, getting a nod in response. "We'll head home in a minute" she smiled gently at her as she passed her a napkin "you've got milkshake all round your mouth, and all over your hands" she chuckled as she watched Emilia wipe her mouth "go and wash your hands" she smiled at her as she watched her walk away.
Once Emilia was in the bathroom, Rose turned her attention to Jack. "How did you find that?" She asked nervously. "Good" he smiled "she's a great kid" he nodded "I think so" she smiled gently as she spoke of Emilia. "You and Henry have done a good job with her" he smiled gently, still disappointed he hadn't been part of Emilia's childhood so far. "Thank you" she nodded "that means a lot" she smiled awkwardly, knowing what Jack was thinking. "Would you like to see her again?… as Jack I mean, not Mr Dawson" Rose asked with a slight chuckle "yes please… only if she's happy with that" he replied, not wanting to put any pressure on Emilia. "OK" Rose said with a small smile "I'll ask her on our way home" she said as she watched Emilia walk back over, yawning once again. "Let's head home sleepy head" she said as she stood up and helped her put her coat on. "Will I see you both tomorrow?" He asked as he too stood up. "Emilia will be at school" she nodded "I'm not sure if it'll be me or Henry doing the school run though" she smiled gently. "I'll pop by your house at some point this week about-" Rose said with a knowing look as she gestured to Emilia. "OK" he smiled gently. "I'll see you tomorrow Emilia… thank you for coming" he smiled again. "Thank you for tea" she smiled back "bye" Rose smiled as she took Emilia's hand as they left the diner.
"How did you find that?" Rose asked Emilia as they began the walk home. "Good" she nodded "it wasn't scary like I thought it would be" she continued. "Good" Rose smiled back, squeezing her hand gently. "Would you like to see him again?" She asked, getting a confused look for Emilia in response "I'm seeing him tomorrow… he's my teacher, remember?" "No, I mean outside of school" Rose chuckled gently. "Ohhhh… yes please" Emilia nodded "OK" Rose smiled back as they made it up the driveway and in to the house quietly.
"Hey" Rose smiled at Henry who was sat on the sofa reading. "Hi" he smiled to the two of them as Emilia went to the sofa and sat beside him. "How did it go?" He asked "it was good… he wasn't scary" Emilia shook her head. "Good" Henry chuckled "did you have fun?" He asked, getting a nod in response. "Did the boys go down OK?" Rose asked after Charlie and Alfie. "Alfie no problems, Charlie was up and down like a yoyo of course" Henry sighed, making Rose sigh "of course…" she replied. "Right, come on Missy, it's late, head up to bed and I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in" she smiled at Emilia. "OK" Emilia groaned "night Henry" she said as she hugged his side. "Night darling, love you" he replied as he kissed her head "love you too" Emilia answered as she left the room.