JC held her to him as they enjoyed the silence. It crossed his mind how lucky they both were to have the schedule they did, especially after so many years and so much life lived.

Hannah smiled as his hands felt warm against her skin; comfortable and safe as she laid against him. She felt young again; grateful their paths had crossed after all this time. Certain they were supposed to. 

The moment was interrupted by a continuous buzzing from Hannah’s phone next to her on the nightstand. Getting up carefully, Hannah pulled a sheet around herself as she unlocked her phone and smiled.

“Good News?” JC sat up a little, noticing her expression. 

“It’s Olivia’s daycare,” Hannah blushed.

“Everything ok?” he asked.

Hannah smiled at his concern “Oh...Yeah. They send me updates. She drew a mouse…” she beamed.

“A mouse?” 

Hannah nodded “Yeah...They’re reading ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.’ Looks like Livie gave HER mouse pizza…” she laughed. 

JC’s eyes crinkled as he laughed “Lucky mouse…”

Hannah bit her lip “You wanna see?”

JC’s eyes softened, studying Hannah for reaction “Um...Is that...Can I?”

Hannah scooted closer to him, kissing him quickly. “Yeah…”

She scrolled to a picture, holding it out for him to see. 

Taking her phone, he smiled as he looked down. A cheesy smile looked up at him, hands firmly gripping the paper she held. Her hair was up in a bun, a few pieces having found their way loose. Just like Hannah, he thought. Four uneven circles were colored in gray crayon with black scribbles making it look like a mouse. Next to it, a red and yellow triangle vaguely resembling a slice. The look on Olivia’s face was unmistakable, though. She was proud to show off her artwork. 

JC took a breath as he looked back at Hannah. “This is pretty cool, Annie...She’s pretty good…”

Hannah grinned, taking her phone back as she sighed. 

“Saturday…” she looked back at him.

“Saturday what?” he asked.

“Do you wanna meet her Saturday? No visit scheduled, so…”

JC grinned. “Really?!”

Hannah giggled at his excitement. “Yeah...Really...We can keep it casual. Lunch at my place?”

JC took her hand, rubbing his thumb across it.

“What’s her favorite place to eat?” he bit his lip.

Hannah thought for a second, laughing as she answered. “McDonald’s”

JC smiled “Then I’ll bring McDonald’s…”

Hannah giggled “YOU’RE gonna go to McDonald’s?”

JC shrugged “Why not? How bad could it be?”

Hannah shook her head “No sweet n sour…”

“What?” he tilted his head in confusion.

“For her nuggets. She hates it. Barbecue...And no soda...Apple Juice”

JC laughed “You run a tight ship, mama…”

Hannah laughed back at him “Surprise me for food…”

JC grinned “No pressure…”

Hannah smiled “It’s not me you’re trying to impress…”

JC sighed “Yeah I know…”

She squeezed his hand. “Hey...Just be yourself. She’s gonna be excited to meet you…”

***

JC swallowed as he walked in. He knew this was a big deal. He knew this could make or break whatever second chance he had with Hannah. He loved kids, but he had never felt so nervous meeting one before. 

Hannah smiled as she looked at him “She isn’t gonna bite you….She hasn’t done that since she was like 2…” she joked. 

JC smirked “Good to know…”

He followed her into the living room, where a dirty blonde little girl sat glued to the tv. She had Hannah’s eyes. Not noticing them walk in, she giggled at the action onscreen. His eyes went to where she was looking.

Marshall! He knew this one. “Paw Patrol.” He smiled to himself, and had never been more grateful his brother’s kids were obsessed.

“Hey baby….What ya watching?” Hannah cooed.

JC felt himself soften at Hannah’s maternal tone. It soothed even him. 

Olivia’s head snapped in the direction of her mom. “SKYE!” she answered excitedly as JC took note of her favorite character. 

“Cool! She’s awesome. Can you come here for a second?”

Olivia ran over to her mom, pausing when she noticed JC next to her.

“It’s ok baby...I want you to meet someone…”

Olivia cuddled up to Hannah, clinging to her leg. 

Hannah gently pushed her forward to look at JC.

“Olivia...This is mommy’s friend can you say hi?”

“Hi…” she whispered, barely peeking out from next to Hannah. 

JC smiled nervously and crouched down a little “Hello Olivia. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Josh.”

Olivia nodded.

“Liv… Josh brought us nuggets for lunch. Is that ok?”

Olivia’s eyes lit up “Oh...Yeah!”

JC watched her expression change, a smile reaching the corners of his eyes. “Do you like McDonald’s, Olivia?”

Olivia stepped a bit further away from Hannah’s leg, smiling shyly and nodding her head “Yeah…”

“Cool! Me too! But not sweet n sour sauce that’s yucky!” he winked at Hannah, silently thanking her for the inside tip she had given him earlier that day. 

Olivia giggled “BAH-BA-CUE!”

Jc smiled, holding up the bag of food he had brought “I got some”

“Happy meal?” she asked curiously. 

“Maybe...You wanna see?” he asked. 

Hannah grinned as she watched her daughter open up to him a little. 

Olivia nodded “Ok…”

“Livie ...Go wash your hands ok? We can sit at the big table”

“Okay, mommy,” she smiled before running off. 

JC let out a breath and Hannah rubbed his arm as they made their way to the table “You ok?”

“Yeah,” he bit his lip, “I think so...Hannah she’s ...pretty damn cute…”

Hannah beamed from ear to ear “Thank you...Just relax, Jace…”

JC smiled “Easy for you to say... Oh! I didn’t know which toy to get her so I got ...both? Hot Wheels or Barbie…”

Hannah giggled “DEFINITELY Barbie, but she does have a couple hot wheels she plays with, too” she winked “Good job…”

JC grinned. “I like you as a mom, Annie…”

Hannah blushed “What do you mean?”

He shrugged “You’re happier, more confident…”

Hannah laughed “Oh I have no idea what I’m doing half the time...She’s a pretty forgiving audience, though…”

“MOMMY I CLEAN…” Olivia came running back, hands out to show Hannah.

Grabbing them gently, Hannah gave them a once over “Hmmm...They look good to me….What do you think, JOSH?” she winked as she looked to JC.

JC swallowed the lump in his throat quickly, stepping a little closer to Olivia as she watched him.

“Um...Let’s see...Yep! Definitely ready for nuggets…” he replied.

Olivia giggled before climbing into her booster seat at the table and reaching for the bag, crawling almost onto the table to get to the bag of food.

“Hey! Young lady...Can you ask nicely, please?”

Olivia gave her mom a shy look “Can I have it, mommy?”

“Can you thank Josh for bringing it first?”

JC smiled. “Hannah it’s fine-”

Hannah cut him off with a look and he stopped.

“Thank you, Josh…” Olivia said softly.

“You’re very welcome,” he replied gently as he removed the happy meal from the bag and handed it to her as she grinned. 

They sat eating, Olivia mostly interacting with Hannah as she tore her nuggets into pieces almost strategically to eat them. Every few minutes, she was looking up to stare at JC, sizing him up in her way.

“Livie...Staring is rude,” Hannah gently reminded her. 

Olivia’s eyes moved to Hannah. “Sorry…”

Hannah smirked. “Don’t do it again…”

“Mommy He’s your friend?”

Hannah smiled and nodded as she grabbed one of her fries “Yes he is…”

Olivia smiled in JC’s direction “Do you write books, too?”

JC smiled. “Uh...Well...I write songs…”

Olivia’s eyes lit up as she looked to Hannah “MOMMY! …”

Hannah giggled and nodded “Yep...He sings too,” she whispered close to her ear. 

Olivia snapped her head back to JC “YOU DO?”

JC was red as he swallowed his bite of food “Um...Sometimes…”

Hannah gave him a look as she shook her head. 

“Mommy...Can I show him my piano?” she whispered to Hannah, low enough for JC to strain to hear what she was saying. 

Hannah smiled and nodded “Are you done eating?” she looked over to Olivia’s mostly eaten meal. 

Olivia nodded. “You sure?” Hannah confirmed. She nodded again.

“Ok. Go wash your hands and get it. DON’T run.”

Olivia smiled and hopped down, making her way back to the bathroom.

JC stared in awe. “She’s REALLY well behaved…” he blinked at Hannah.

Hannah covered her mouth in a laugh, raising her eyebrows “Ohhhhh not always…She’s showing off a little…”

JC grinned “Sounds like her mom…”

Hannah’s jaw dropped as she laughed and tossed a fry at him. “RUDE…”

Olivia returned, toy keyboard in hand, and walked to stand next to JC. “See!” she set the piano down on the table, banging on the keys.

“Whoa! That’s pretty cool, but ya know what? It’ll sound better if you don’t hit it so hard...Can I see it?” he held out his hands in request. 

Olivia twisted her body, a shy consideration, before she handed it to JC. 

Staring at the tiny instrument for a second, he used one hand to play a simple melody and hum the notes. “See? Like this…” he smiled at Olivia.

She clapped and grinned at him “Cooool!”

Grinning back, he raised his hand for a high five, which she immediately gave him.

 “You wanna learn how to do that?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Ok...Come here…” he smiled. Picking up the keyboard, he cleared a space in front of her booster seat as she crawled into it.

Hannah was silent as she watched in wonder. It was a perfect moment; one she could not have ever imagined just a few years ago.

“Ok Olivia….Listen…” He softly pressed each key for her to hear “E...G...B..D...F...Every good boy does fine…”

Olivia giggled “I’m a girl!”

He laughed “Yes! You are ...What about Every good...BUNNY does fine?”

Hannah covered her mouth, her grin almost embarrassing her.

Olivia nodded in excitement. “I wanna do it!”

“Ok” he chuckled.  “Press that….now that...now that…” he guided her slowly as she pressed each key in order.

“Nice!” he clapped “You played piano!”

Olivia was smiling ear to ear “MOMMY I played piano!”

Hannah was beaming “I heard it baby...That was so good!”

“Okay you sing!” Olivia looked up to JC.

JC smirked “You’re just like your mommy, huh?”

Olivia looked at him in confusion “Uh huh…” she charmed.

JC laughed, finding a button he knew would be on the keyboard. “Ok...You play. I’ll sing ok?”

The melody to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” started and Olivia scrambled to press keys in random order. 

JC sang along in perfect harmony to the pre-recorded sound as Olivia giggled.

Hannah eyes were misty as she quietly grabbed her phone, snapping a picture of the two of them. JC blushed as he caught her out of the corner of his eye.

An hour later, Olivia returned to watching tv on the couch, eyelids a little droopy from the excitement of the day. 

Hannah stood with JC at the front door. 

“Well, She’s amazing, Annie,” JC smiled.

“So are you…” Hannah smiled back.

JC bit his lip. “We should do this again...all of us…”

Hannah nodded “Yeah...We will. Slowly, Jace…”

JC placed two hands on either of her arms, “That’s fine…”

“Thank you,” Hannah whispered. 

“For what?”

“For trying...For being so nice to her…”

“Thank you for letting me meet her…” he replied.

Hannah sighed “Makes things pretty real, I guess…”

JC grinned “Things are pretty real, Annie…” He leaned in for a quick kiss. 

Hannah blushed as her face fell into a glow.

Looking back to the sofa, she called “Livie...Josh is leaving...Do you wanna say goodbye?”

Olivia’s head popped up from the couch before she scooted down and made her way over to them.

“You’re going to your house?” Olivia asked him curiously.

“Yes I am,” JC spoke softly to her. 

“Mommy,” she whispered, tapping Hannah’s leg.

“Yes, baby?” she asked.

Olivia got a shy look, gesturing for her mom to get closer. Hannah gave her a knowing look, kneeling down to her level as Olivia whispered in her ear.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?” Hannah smiled. 

Olivia grinned and looked up to Josh. 

“Can you come back and sing again?” she asked him, hopeful. 

JC grinned, his whole face lighting up “As long as its ok with your mommy, I’d love to!”

Hannah blushed, looking down to Livie “I think that’s a really good idea. 

“Yay!” she cheered as she did a little jump. “Ok, bye!” she smiled at him. 

Hannah and JC both chuckled as she ran back to watch her show.

He stole another quick kiss as his hand lingered on her cheek. “Ok...I’ll get out of your hair. Call me later.”

Hannah bit her lip “Ok. Bye Jace…” 

Hannah walked over to sit next to Olivia, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. “Hey Livie...Did you have fun today?”

Olivia smiled and nodded her head “Yes, mommy…”

Hannah smoothed her hair back as she looked at her. “What did you think of Josh?”

Olivia looked up at Hannah “Mommy he’s cool…”

Hannah laughed. “Yeah...I think so, too…”