"Daddy!" Emily squealed happily, as she ran toward him, dark curls bouncing wildly. It seemed she had again lost the hair ties he had tied her hair into its usual pigtails with that morning; that girl went through more hair ties than he ever could have imagined possible.

"Hey squirt, you have a good day today?" Logan asked, as he crouched down to catch her in his arms and hug her tightly.

"Uh huh, we did paint today, with our fingers, look at my picture, that's you, and that's mommy, and that's me, and that's my doggy," Emily excitedly explained.

"Em, you don't have a dog," Logan reminded her with a grin.

"Not yet, maybe one day, maybe for Christmas," Emily hinted hopefully.

Logan chuckled, before helping Emily roll the painting up so she could take it home with her. Keeping a firm grip on her hand, they crossed the school carpark to head home.

"Hey squirt, you want to go to the park for a while?" he asked, as he was buckling her into her car seat.

"Yay!" Emily cheered, continuing to chatter happily on the short drive to the park, before she took off in the direction of the swings as soon as she was released from her seat. "Daddy! Start me off!?" she called, kicking her legs wildly as she tried to get the swing to move.

Logan watched her play happily, trying to push thoughts of what he had yet to tell her into the back of his mind, he would let her have this first. Eventually, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, he called her back so they could head home.

"What do you want for dinner squirt, should we get something special?" he asked, as he buckled her back into her car seat. Laughing as she rattled off a long list of things she wanted before he reminded her, she could only have one.

--

He pulled into the driveway not long after, the sun was set, Marie's car was still gone, the lights in the house were all turned off. With no other choice now, Logan knew it was time to tell Emily.

"Hey Em... when we go inside, it's just going to be me and you now, okay squirt?" he said softly, catching Emily's attention immediately.

"And mommy?" she asked confused.

"No sweetheart, mommy... mommy's gone to live at another house," he tried to explain.

"Are we going to live at another house too?" Emily asked.

"No, we're going to live here, and mommy's going to live at the other house, and mommy's going to come and visit on the weekends," Logan tried again.

"Oh... but why?" Emily asked, scrunching her nose up in a perfect imitation of confused Marie.

"Well... mommy needs some time to herself for a while," Logan replied softly.

"Oh... why?" Emily asked again.

"Mommy's just... a little confused right now, she's been a little stressed, with controlling her powers and all, she just needs some alone time, like you do sometimes when you get grumpy and go hide under your bed," Logan teased, earning a little giggle from the girl.

"How long will she be at the other house?" Emily queried.

"I don't know squirt, but she will come and visit, she's going to come and see you on Saturday, that be okay?" he prompted gently.

"Will she watch cartoons with me?" Emily asked with a grin.

"Maybe, you could play some games too, maybe go to the park," Logan suggested.

"Okay, that sounds fun, daddy... I'm hungry, can we go inside now?" Emily suddenly announced, changing the subject entirely.

With a chuckle Logan agreed, and Emily quickly freed herself from her car seat harness and jumped over the seat to follow him out his door. Dinner was a little more subdued than normal but though Emily did glance toward Marie's seat a couple of times she didn't say anything more about her absence.

Bedtime was a whole different story...

"Em, what's wrong?" Logan asked, hunkering down on the floor to peer under the bed where Emily was lying, hugging her favourite doll and crying.

"I- I can't kiss mommy goodnight," she sniffled miserably.

Logan froze, he had no idea how to fix this... "Uh, well, what if we call mommy, on the phone, and you say goodnight to her that way?" Logan suggested, kicking himself the minute he did and Emily's eyes lit up; he had no idea if Marie would take a call from him.

"Yeah, we can do that," Emily replied. Wriggling out from under the bed, she sat on her fluffy rug, wiping tears from her face as Logan pulled out his cell phone.

The phone rang, and rang, and cut off, turning away from Emily to hide his scowl he redialled. This time it rang, and rang, and was answered with a harsh snap.

"What do you want Logan, for God's sake, you can't even give me one day!" Marie started.

"Emily wants to say goodnight, is that alright?" Logan asked calmly, ignoring Marie's argumentative tone. He seriously had no idea what the hell had gotten into her, she had never behaved this way before. Hell, they'd never even had an honest to god fight before – well, barring that one time he forgot to put the toilet seat down...

"... Oh, um... I suppose," Marie replied, her tone suddenly softer and maybe even sad.

"Thank you," Logan murmured, as he turned back to Emily, who was now sitting expectantly on her bed waiting. Hitting the speakerphone, he set the cell down on her bedside table. "You say night-night to mommy squirt," he directed, moving away to give them some semblance of privacy.

"Mommy?" Emily called out softly.

"I'm here sweetie, are you all ready for bed?" Marie asked softly, though Logan couldn't hear the usual smile in her tone.

"Uh huh, we had Chinese food for dinner, then daddy let me watch a movie, and then I had a bath, and brushed my teeth, and I got my nightie, the one with the fairies on it..." Emily chattered happily, until Marie interrupted her.

"That's great sweetheart, sounds like you had lots of fun, listen sweetie, mommy has to go okay, but you have sweet dreams baby and mommy will see you on Saturday, okay?" Marie said, almost sounding rushed.

"Oh, okay mommy, will you give me hugs on Saturday?" Emily asked, her face falling quickly at her apparent dismissal.

"Of course sweetie, as many hugs as you want, now mommy has to go, love you sweetheart, night-night, and sweet dreams," Marie answered.

"Night-night mommy," Emily said with a smile, though the prompt ‘click’ of the line made Logan wonder if Marie had even heard the end of her sentence.

"Alright squirt, time for bed now," Logan interrupted, seeing the tears pooling in Emily's eyes again and hoping to head them off. "Which bedtime story do you want?" he asked, as he headed for the small bookcase on the opposite wall. Picking up Emily's selection he settled down on the floor beside the bed, Emily's head coming to rest on his shoulder as he read. He scented her tears briefly before her breathing and heart rate evened out and she fell asleep.

Closing Emily's bedroom door behind him, he wandered down the hallway to his and Marie's room... his room. Just the scent in the room was enough to push him away, and he eventually fell asleep on the living room couch, a half empty bottle of whiskey on the coffee table beside him.
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