28th May 1997

The door to the lab swung open, the little gust in breeze telling him his girl was out of bed.

'Sassa, what have I told you about sneaking out of bed?' he spoke without raising his focus from the work before him. It worried him endlessly that he was raising his own carbon copy. She didn't sleep half as much as books, doctors and random advisors suggested was needed, and yet it seemed to be enough. Just like him. well, he slept, but to his own schedule, when he needed it, rather than having a regular habit.

She finished climbing onto the stool beside him, huffing a little 'that I need sleep for my brain development'

'Exactly, sweet pea' he nodded, eyes still on the fine circuit board he was finishing 'did you put your safety gear on?'

'Yes daddy' she knew he would let her stay a little longer if she did all the right steps before entering his workspace. Boots, lab coat, safety goggles, hearing protection.

'Alright, 10 minutes' he caved immediately 'but I want to hear all about what we learned at CERN yesterday' His little girl happily launched into a description of particle physics, the Big Bang and synchrotron radiation. He nodded along as he worked, asking questions and brimming with happiness that he had lucked out with a kid so smart. She would change the world. 'Alright I'm done, and so are you, my girl' he set down the circuit board and she looked at it curiously. 'Come on' he held out his arms to her, and she deftly avoided his eyes.

'What's the circuit board for?' She asked clearly stalling

'To put in your brain so you go to sleep when you're told to!' He tickled her, pretending to be grumpy.

'Nooooo! I don't want to be a cyborg!' She giggled, flailing about in his arms 'I'll go to sleep I promise!'

'Go put your gear away' he set her on the ground 'and I'll take you up to bed. I'll tell you about what I'm working on on the way'

29th May 1997

'Happy birthday daddy!' She launched herself onto his bed 'happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear daaaaaaddddyyyyyyyyyyyy, happy birthday to you!' Throwing her arms around him she kissed his cheek 'what's your birthday wish poppa bear?'

'My birthday wish?' He cracked an eye open 'well I already have the best gift in the world!' He grabbed her and kissed all over her face, blowing little raspberries until she dissolved in a fit of giggles.

'Your fuzzy face tickles daddy!' She squealed, wriggling from his grip.

'Well then, I better have a shave and get ready!' He kissed her temple softly 'you go on and get dressed sweet pea. What are we going to do today?'

'We've got to make a cake for your party!' She beamed. It was already her favourite part of peoples birthdays, making a cake for them with her dad. Eating the cake ranked next, but anything he did one on one with her, was her favourite.

'Yeah we do!' he slid out of bed 'what flavour should I have?'

'It's your birthday!' She screwed up her nose and almost rolled her eyes 'you have to pick!'

'Okay, okay, how about chocolate?'

'Yeah!' She jumped from the edge of the bed onto the floor, doing a little combat roll and leaping to her feet, all the gymnastics at least giving her a little practice 'I'll go get ready and meet you downstairs!'

30th May 1997

'You're 27, right, Daddy?' she asked him suddenly. She'd been sitting in the plush jet seat, colouring on her special lap table. He felt the green stare without needing to look up, but he did anyway.

'Thats right. I was born in 1970, and its 1997. 27 years' He'd become accustomed to laying out the math behind any sort of numerical question, ensuring it was normal, ensuring she picked it up as part of her background processing. Allowing her to make calculations on the fly- eventually much larger calculations. But for now, 1997-1970 was a big enough sum. 'why do you ask kiddo?'

'Miss Adria was telling someone on the phone that she was getting old. That she needed to get married and have kids of her own'

Despite his best efforts Tony felt his brow arch. So the day nanny was worried about settling down. 'Were you listening in? you know that's not polite'

'Not on purpose, she was sitting next to me!' Astrid looked upset to be accused of any impoliteness 'why does she need to get married and have kids?'

'Well, she doesn't need to, sweet-pea. But once you're a grown up, some people want to get married, and have their own kids. Not everyone. Some people never get married' he leaned forward 'Some people never have kids. And that's okay too- the freedom of choice is what makes our world special. Everyone gets to choose what they want to do' Her tousled black hair moved as she nodded, clearly thinking through her next question. He waited.

'Do you want to get married, and have more kids?'

Ah, there it was. The worry she'd been containing. 'Sassabelle, that's a big question, and I'm sorry but I don't really know. I love you so much, and being your Daddy is the most important, and the best thing I've ever done. I don't know if I want to share my life, and you, with anyone else. I like our life as it is. What do you think?'

'I like our life' she nodded 'but' another hesitation, and she worried her little lip between her teeth

'But?'

'Are you happy, without a wife? with just me?'

'Now I want you to listen very carefully' he said slowly, needing her to understand. Christ she was only two and a half, she worried too much about him. He needed to find a way to soothe her worries. Maybe he should talk to a child psychologist. 'right now, "just Astrid" is the best thing I've ever had. You're the love of my life, sweet-pea. Maybe in the future daddy might meet someone who he thinks would be nice to marry, but I'm not planning on it now. I know it's hard not to know things with certainty, but I want you to know you're the biggest priority in my life. If I think I might want to bring someone into our lives, I'm going to talk to you about it first, okay?'

'Okay' a little nod, she turned her eyes back to her colouring, but her mind was still turning 'What does playboy mean?'

Tony choked on his whiskey, putting the glass down hurriedly 'Where did you hear that word?'

Her little finger pointed to the stack of magazines on the table further down the cabin 'the rock and roll magazine has a picture of you and "playboy" in big letters. The other words were too big for me to read'

'Kid, you're too smart for me' he smiled affectionately. Great, how to explain this to his toddler. He cast his mind around. sSmplest, most innocent explanation. cruder version when she was older 'Playboy means that I'm a boy, who likes to play- in this case with things like cars and machines- not toys. does that make sense?'

'mhmmm' she nodded again, pencil moving rapidly as she coloured

'Wanna show me your drawing?'

'It's not done yet!' she used her arm to hide it from view.