Julian had insisted on helping clean up after dinner. So the dishes were done side by side with Daisy as Lizzy dried the plates and placed them in a stack to be put away later. "I've not done dishes by hand since I was a bambino." It felt rather safe, warm and all together domestic. These were things Julian wasn't accustomed to but found that he was enjoying immensely. Of course, he played, placing handfuls of bubbles on both Lizzy and Daisy. "Bubble fairies!" He laughed out loud and sank his hands back into the water.

With a 'pfft!' Daisy blew her bubble beard into smithereens, revealing her smile as Lizzy giggled happily. The little girl had taken to Julian very well, which was something of a blessing for Daisy. For a while there, she had been sure that her four-year-old daughter was never going to make another friend ever again. And even if he was an adult, he was just a little boy pretending, still.

Pulling the plug on the sink as she rinsed the last of the cutlery, Daisy turned, drying her hands on a towel before passing it to Julian. "Right, little girl," she addressed Lizzy with a stern smile. "Jammies and teeth, and maybe Julian will read your story tonight. If you ask him very nicely."

Lizzy's eyes immediately went round as she batted her lashes at Julian, tugging on his borrowed chinos. "Please, Mr Joo, will you read to me" I gots lots of books, you can choose and everything!"

Julian wiped his hands on the towel and leaned back against the counter. "I don't know. What's in it for me?" He winked playfully at Daisy. "Do I get some sugar?" He folded the towel carefully and placed it over the kitchen faucet. "Because, bed time stories are no good without just a little sugar."

Lizzy turned solemn again. "Mummy says no eatin' at bedtime," she provided as an answer, looking to her mother for confirmation.

Daisy, for her part, had found herself blushing at the playful wink aimed in her direction. "You're a flirt, Mr Joo," she murmured under her breath, before confirming Lizzy's statement. "No, we can't have anything after we've done our teeth. Julian means kisses, Lizzy."

"That's right." He nodded and reached up to tap his cheek. "That's where the sugar goes. It's empty, nobody's given me sugar in so long. I'm almost a diabetic now." He went to his knees and clasped his hands together, as if begging. "Please, give me some sugar!"

Giggling shyly, Lizzy hesitated for a moment, then leaned over and pecked at his cheek. Moments later, she was scurrying out of the kitchen and up the stairs, shouting back, "What's a dibble-tetic?"

Chuckling, Daisy ran a hand through her hair. She gave Julian a warm smile. "I haven't seen her this excited in so long. You're an angel, Julian."

Julian gasped audibly when his cheek was kissed and he fell over backwards. "I'm saved by the Lizzy!" He looked up and waggled his brows when the little girl was gone. "This angel has horns and a tail."

"This daisy has thorns," she countered with a confident smile, leaning her hip against the counter, one hand on her bump. "You don't have to read to her if you'd rather not. It just came out, feel free to say no."

"Oh, I don't mind." Julian remained on the kitchen floor, hands going behind his head as he got comfortable. "She's a good girl and has been a lot of fun to play with. And you've not chased me away yet, so I think I'll hang out for a bit."

"You're welcome to," Daisy assured him, as a thump from upstairs announced to her that Lizzy was in the process of getting into her pyjamas. "We haven't had company in a very long time." She let out a tight-sounding breath as she spoke, swallowing a little to get her composure back under control. "Of course, you can't stay down there."

"How long has it been, Daisy?" Julian lost the smile and looked up at her seriously. He didn't want to pry, he just wanted to know what he was up against if things turned serious. He double blinked at that thought. Since when did he ever get serious"

She bit her lip, her expression not so sad as it might once have been on hearing the question. "Six months, give or take a week," she answered quietly. "I thought the worst was over, before I found out I was pregnant. But it is over now. I have more good days than bad days now."

"Oh." Julian did a sit up and spun around on his behind to look up at her. "Well, I think it's safe to say that you've a friend in me." He nodded solemnly. "And if you ever need some help, I'll be around."

She smiled gently. "You're very kind to offer," she said softly. "But you barely know us. All you've seen is tears over spilt milk and one meal - it's hardly enough to base wanting to be our friend on." There was a ceramic thump from another area of the floor above, and she lifted her head, calling to her daughter. "Do you need a hand, Lizzy?"

"I knows good peoples when I sees good peoples." He grinned brightly and looked up towards the ceiling. "Story time" Or is she usually this noisy?" Getting to his feet, he wiped his hands together.

"Oh, no, that was Lizzy trying to stand on the toilet to brush her teeth, rather than the chair that's in there for that purpose," Daisy chuckled. She absently ruffled Julian's hair on the way past. "Excuse me a moment, I better check on her."

Julian laughed at the mental image and barked at Daisy when she ruffled his hair. Once she was upstairs, Julian took a stroll around the downstairs. He wasn't really looking for or at anything in particular, he just was wanting the ladies to have their privacy. He came upon a mirror and he stood, staring at himself for a long while. Canting his head this way and then, then turning profile and smacking his stomach. "Getting old, hombre."

As Julian slipped from the room, Daisy tucked Lizzy's teddy into the covers with her, bending to switch on the night-light before she made her own quiet way to the door. With a last look at the sleeping girl, she flicked the main light off, and drew the door to, leaving it open a crack. With a smile to Julian, she gestured for him to go downstairs. "Thank you for that. I sometimes think she must get bored of hearing me telling her stories."

"I don't think so. She really admires you a lot." He smiled then and turned to softly step down the stairs. "I really should go," he laughed, "but I don't want to."

Daisy beamed for a moment at the praise. No matter how easily it came to you, it was always nice to be told you were a good parent. She laid a hand on Julian's back as they walked down the stairs. "You don't have to go straightaway," she told him. "You're welcome to stay - have a drink or something before you give in to courtesy and run away."

"Well, how can I possibly refuse such an invitation' I'm warning you though, tequila makes me a little crazy." He laughed and the hand on his back was very much noticed. He was just amazed that he hadn't tried to take advantage of Daisy yet.

"Well, thank you for the warning," she laughed as they came to the bottom of the stairs. "The only alcohol I have in the house is red wine, though - apparently I'm allowed to drink a small glass a day. Care to join me?"

"It's a date." He grinned and took the final steps into the lower living space. "It sounds like a getting to know you kind of date, but a date anyway. And I have to be honest, by this time I've usually got the chica pressed against the wall and ravishing her."

"I'll bear that in mind," Daisy smiled, rolling her eyes as she stepped into the kitchen. "Although you'd find it hard to press me against anything at the moment. Baby on board, and all." For some reason, she didn't find his honesty threatening or upsetting. He was telling her he found her attractive, and she wasn't worried about that. What was slightly worrying her was the tiny voice answering the sentiment in kind in the back of her head.

"I think that may be it. Never been with a pregnant woman. I'm very careful; no glove, no love is my motto." He grinned then and found a comfy spot on the couch to sink into. "And nobody has shown up with paternity test papers, so I'm sure that there's no baby mama drama."

She slipped into the living room, unopened wine bottle and two glasses in her hand. "You must not have any piercings on the appropriate place then," she grinned, wondering where her confidence in speaking about that had come from. Was she deliberately making the most of having a bump to hide behind" "From the way you're talking, I would assume you've been with quite a few women."

"No tats, no piercings. God gave me this body, can't defile it." He chuckled and reached for the bottle of wine. "Not going to talk about the others. It's very bad mojo, senorita."

She handed the bottle over, sinking onto the couch beside him and finally kicking her shoes off. "I have to say, I've never met anyone quite so upfront as you are," she admitted, watching him curiously. "Do women generally just fall in your lap when you turn on the charm, then?"

"No need to hide the past, Daisy. If you do people find out and it's a big mess. Best to be up front and honest. Mostly it takes a lot of alcohol before any falling into my lap happens." Turning the bottle sideways, he took the cork between his teeth and pulled on the bottle.

"Then you're obviously not targetting the right women," she mused thoughtfully, watching him uncork the bottle with a slow smile. "Anyone who wants you just because they're drunk isn't worth the effort, Julian, and it'll never last." So spaketh the voice of experience" Probably. She held out the glasses for him to fill.

After much tugging and twisting, the cork finally came free. He spat it into his hand and reached for one of the glasses. "Never wanted it to last, to tell you the truth. Life is too short to spend it all with just one woman. There's a lot of fish in the sea, lots of colors and shapes and I love to dive."

"Ah, so you're a playboy," she nodded with a wide smile. "I know the type; generally they're not too content to spend an evening with a four-year old and her knocked up mother." She chuckled, deliberately staying away from anything painful in the conversation. She didn't want to cry on him again.

He poured the glass of wine and when he held it out to her, he had an astonished look on his face. "Yes! Yes! Which is why it's so strange for me to even be here. But I want to be here. I don't know what it means, but I don't feel like running away."

"Maybe part of you wants to be mothered yourself," she suggested, swapping the full glass for the empty as he passed her the wine. "Or God forbid, you're beginning to think about settling down. A practise run with another family isn't a bad idea." Yes, she was teasing him, curling her feet up beneath her on the couch as she grinned.

"My mother would say hell was freezing over, on both parts." He laughed and took the empty just to fill it and put the bottle down. "I don't know, Daisy. It's just been a lot of fun hanging out with you and Lizzie. You guys are pretty cool."

She chuckled at that. "Most people our age who are single wouldn't agree," she smiled, sipping her wine. "Most of the other people I know are already parents."

Julian snorted and shook his head. "I'm a playboy, not a gigolo." His nose scrunched up impishly. "I don't need the money, so what?s the point' I'd get sued for sexual harassment and have to close up shop. Then I'd be labelled a sexual predator and my life would be over!" He was getting more dramatic and gesticulating with his hands wildly at this point. "Then you wouldn't allow me to see Lizzy and I'd have to die!"

She snorted with laughter at his theatrics, reaching over to poke him with a toe. "Calm down," she laughed. "If anyone can do it, you can. Hell, I turned around after I met Tom. Before then, no one in their right mind would have considered me mother material."

"You, turned around?" His brows arched up and he sat back. "Ok, you have to tell me how wild you used to be." Julian seemed anxious to hear all about her steamy past. He had quite the imagination and hoped that he barely touched the surface.

Chuckling, Daisy curled up on the couch again. "Well, I did say I knew the playboy type, didn't I?" she reminded him. "What kind of girls hang out with your set?" She grinned; it wasn't much information to start with, but she wanted to see if he could guess what she used to do for a living.

"Mostly hos and sluts." He shook his head and lay back on the floor. "No way you were either of those, so maybe a scene chick, but I doubt that, even."

Still grinning as she watched him try to work it out, Daisy shifted to be able to look at him as he lay back. "I was a model," she said innocently enough, nodding to a framed picture on the wall. "That's me, up there. And believe me, I did everything."

Julian turned his gaze to the picture and his eyes bugged out. "Whoa, one hot mammacita!" He turned his excited grin onto her. "What's everything" Were you a playgirl?"

She laughed at his excitement. "No, I never made it to Bunny status," she shrugged with mock regret. "I tried my damndest, though. Never did a full nude, I only went topless, but it was enough. You name it, I've taken it on a night out."

"Wow, you were a wild woman." This amused Juilan greatly. "Do you ever wish you could go back to that?" Julian sat up and hugged his knees to his chest, crossing his ankles. "Because I can get ahold of some Tijuana Gold, if you want."

"Maybe once in a while I'll start getting nostalgic," Daisy admitted with a smile, shrugging one shoulder. "But what I've got now is so much better than what I had then. And it's almost impossible to describe."

"Well, the offer's there." He nodded and lowered his chin to his knees. "Family life is better than getting high?" Julian didn't see it. "I guess it depends on the family. Mine is loco."

"I'm not taking anything while I'm pregnant, and probably won't until both children sleep through the night without breaks," Daisy pointed out, patting her bump. The baby inside kicked back, making her chuckle a little. "My own family was a mess. The family I have with Lizzy an-" She caught the slip almost before it happened, correcting herself. "Well, it's much better."

He agreed that she shouldn't be doing anything illegal while she was pregnant. Catching the pause in her voice, he unwrapped his arm from his knees and reached out to pat her knee. "You can say his name, Daisy."

She paused again, looking down at his hand for a long moment. "Tom," she said finally, meeting his eyes with a sad smile. "His name was Tom. He changed my world, and then, just when everything was going right, he left." She looked away, clearing her throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry, you don't want to be hearing this."

"He's still a part of you, Daisy. Talk all you want. It won't scare me off." He grinned and grabbed her foot. "Got it!"

His playful snatch at her foot caught her out of the downward spiral to tears, bringing back her smile as she wriggled her toes in his grasp. "If you tickle me, I will wet myself," she warned him cheerfully. "And I will make you clean it up."

"Now that's just nasty." He scrunched up his nose, let go of her foot and scoot away from her. "Really, maybe you should get up and go to the bathroom. You know, so there's no accidents."

She laughed again at his reaction. "Lord help you if you're ever called on to change a diaper," she chuckled, curling her feet safely back underneath herself. "You think a little wee is bad?"

"I've changed diapers," he said a bit defensively. "There's a difference between baby wee and adult wee. Baby wee is cleaner." He nodded firmly. "And adult wee is....well....it's just nasty."

"When it's alcoholic and dehydrated," she clarified laughingly. "Healthy adult wee isn't that much different from baby wee." Part of her couldn't believe she was having this conversation with a handsome man who could make her melt with one foot massage; most of her was laughing in varying parts of amusement and relief.

"Wee is gross, regardless. If it weren't, people would drink it like champagne." His face screwed up into a sour expression and he shuddered. "Ew."