The next few weeks were busy with preparing Steve for the safe arrival of his daughter. There was so much to do that Kate had to help out.
Steve began work on the administrative side of things first. It was complicated as Claire hadn't named Steve on Ellie's birth certificate so with the help of social services he had to re-register Ellie's birth. With his name on the certificate he would then get full parental responsibility for his daughter.
At some point in the future if everything worked out well, he was going to ask Ellie about whether she wanted her name changed to Arnott. For the time being she would remain a Tindall as she had had too much change in her life to cope with a name change.
With the ball rolling on that side of things, there was then the job of enrolling Ellie in a new school and finding a child minder.
Kate took ownership of preparing Steve's flat for a child. It was an important job as before full custody would be awarded to Steve, social services would view his home and make sure it was a suitable place for a child to live in.
Out went the spare bed which was replaced with a child's bed and matching furniture. A wardrobe and drawers plus a book case that was filled with a few books for Ellie to read or Steve to read at bedtime. There was also a small table for Ellie to colour or hold tea parties with a host of brand new teddies and dolls just waiting to be played with. The whole room was brightly decorated to make it a nice inviting room to stay in rather than the depressing children's home decor.
Other rooms in the flat also received attention from Kate. The bathroom was child proofed and gained a box of bath time toys. The kitchen cupboards had children's dining sets and cutlery as well as being well stocked with a wide variety of healthy and child friendly foods for the first time since Steve had moved in.
"Thanks so much, mate," Steve said when at last Kate declared she was finished. He couldn't believe it was his old flat. Everything looked so welcoming for a five year old.
"You're welcome," Kate said as she hugged Steve back.
"I don't know how to ever repay you," Steve said.
"Save it for when you get a pass from social services after their visit," Kate said.
"This will definitely pass," Steve informed Kate confidently. "Ellie is going to love this place,".
"In that case as long as I'm Aunty Kate I'm happy," Kate said. She wouldn't tell Steve this, but with Mark being Josh's primary care giver she was actually quite looking forward to helping out with Ellie. She'd already offered her services for babysitting or any other care provision which Steve had gratefully accepted. She couldn't be Ellie's mum but she could be a surrogate aunt and offer care that Steve could not as a male.
That became clear to Steve as well when he was granted the opportunity of taking Ellie out on a day trip from the Children's home. His daily visits to see his daughter had continued but had always been at the Children's home where he was chaperoned by a social worker. Kate scaled back her visits as she knew it was important that Steve and Ellie bond without her getting in the way, although she did visit occasionally. Now as the relationship between Steve and Ellie got stronger, he was allowed to take her out of the home.
Lying in bed one night, Steve had awoken for some unknown reason. As he lay there trying to get back to sleep a sudden thought about his upcoming day trip with his daughter popped in to his brain and wouldn't leave it, as is common at that time of the morning.
"You alright, mate?" Kate asked the next day at work. "You look exhausted,".
"Didn't get much sleep last night,".
"What's wrong?" asked Kate.
"You free this Saturday?" Steve asked.
"Why?" Kate asked. She was but didn't want to commit to something before finding out what it was.
"I need your help," Steve begged.
"With what?".
"I'm taking Ellie out for the day," Steve explained, "and I need your help,".
"Are you sure you want me there?" Kate asked.
"I do," Steve said. "To help with toilets,".
"Pardon?".
"Ellie's gonna need the toilet at some point during the day," Steve said. "I can't take her into the men's with me. I can't expose her to bits of the male anatomy she shouldn't be seeing for many years yet," Steve started explaining what had kept him up fretting all night. "And also they are usually a health risk,".
"So you need me to take her to the toilet?" Kate repeated.
"Yes please," Steve replied.
"And this problem was what kept you up all night?" Kate asked, trying to hide a smile. Steve was really sweating over the small stuff. It was rather sweet.
"Yes," Steve said. "Please can you come?".
"Aunty Kate to the rescue," Kate replied.
Steve had decided that the zoo would be the perfect location for his first day trip with Ellie. She certainly seemed to think it an excellent idea as she was jumping about with excitement the moment Steve picked her up from the Children's home.
"Hi Kate!" Ellie greeted as she let Steve buckle her in to her brand new car seat that he had had installed. Kate had stayed in the car whilst Steve had gone to collect his daughter. "We're going to the zoo!" she informed Kate.
"You like the zoo?" Kate asked.
"Yeah," Ellie replied.
The little girl certainly did enjoy herself. Every new animal they saw was declared her new favourite until they reached the aquarium. It was darker in here with the tanks beautifully lit up so the aquatic life could be seen.
Steve paused at one tank that caught his eye. "Hey Ellie," he said, catching her attention. "Look at these," he said as he lifted her up on to his hip.
"What are they?" Ellie asked as she looked at the strange creatures swimming around.
"Seahorses," Steve said. "They're my favourite animal,".
"Why?".
"Because they are like you and me," Steve replied.
"How?" Ellie asked as she watched the little creatures very fascinated through the glass.
"Well it's because Daddy seahorses look after the babies," Steve said. "Just like I'm gonna do with you,".
"Really?" Ellie asked as she turned her gaze to Steve and then Kate, checking with the latter that her father was telling the truth.
"He's right," Kate confirmed, amazed at how easily becoming a father had been to Steve. He was doing a fantastic job trying to compare his and Ellie's situation to the animals in front of them.
"They're my favouritist animals too," Ellie declared returning her gaze to the tank until she wanted to move on.
They had certainly walked a lot by the end of the day so it wasn't surprising when Ellie had a little tantrum that she was tired and couldn't do anything more walking. Kate let Steve deal with it without interfering. He did a pretty good job in that Ellie did start walking on her own again. It was amazing what the promise of an ice cream and a gift from the gift shop could do.
"Was that ok?" Steve asked Kate her opinion on how he had handled the situation as Ellie led the way to the nearest ice cream stall.
"Not bad," Kate replied. "The odd bribe is ok, just don't do it all the time or Ellie will be totally in control of you," she advised.
"Right," said Steve as he filled that piece of advice away.
They enjoyed a nice treat together before Kate took Ellie to the bathroom before heading for home. Remembering what Steve had said, Ellie chose a plush seahorse toy that had a baby in its pouch as her gift for the day to add to her steadily growing number of toys in her collection. Steve and Kate liked her choice.
By the time they reached the car, Ellie was on Steve's shoulders as her legs had totally given up. Kate couldn't blame her. She was exhausted herself and wasnt at all surprised when Ellie fell asleep on the car journey back to the Children's Home.
"Ellie?" said Steve gently as he tried to wake her once they had pulled into the drive way and he had stopped the car. It took a few attempts to rouse her and she rubbed her eyes as she stretched and tried to wake up. "It's time to go,".
Ellie sleepily looked out the car window and realised they were back at the Children's Home. Her best day in a very long time was all over which upset her. "No!" she retorted getting upset.