Round and round and round he goes! Julian held onto a metal support pole for a vegetable stand and used centrifical force and gravity to swing himself around the pole over and over. He giggled madly, in that high pitched way that many found humorous at best, annoying at worst.

But, as all things go, the pole lost its appeal when his hand slipped and he flew a few feet and landed on the ground. "Hey, I meant to do that," he looked up at the frowning vendor. "It's alright, Papi, don't you worry or fret." He giggled again and got off of the ground.

He tossed the vendor a small bag of coins, five gold pieces in it, and took off at a run towards the fountain. "It's so hot!" He peeled off his shirt and tossed it aside before taking a leap yelling, "The baby! Somebody save the baby!" and landing with a loud splash into the fountain.

At least someone was having a good day. For Daisy, however, it had not been a good day. In fact, it had been a god-awful day, and it didn't look like things were going to get any better. But she was on top of things, she was keeping it together. Just. Walking through the marketplace with her little girl holding onto one hand, and one arm around the cardboard box balanced on her baby bump, she was managing to smile for Lizzy, who was laughing and pointing at the guy in the fountain. Then the box shifted, and the bottom fell out.

Groceries tumbled everywhere, rolling away or smashing on the cobbles. Daisy slumped as people turned to look and laugh at the disaster. On her knees, trying to pick everything up, she lost it, sobbing into a handful of celery.

Julian rolled over and sat up in the fountain, water draining from his hair and sluicing down his face. He turned to see what the crowd was laughing at and his eyes grew wide. "Mio dios!" he exclaimed as he got up and jumped out of the fountain. His jeans were sticking to his legs and with every step he took, his shoes squished.

Quickly, he got to the sobbing woman's side and began to pick up the groceries. He put them into the box and they fell right back out. "Don't cry, mamacita, Julian's here. Don't cry."

Daisy was barely aware that someone had come to help her, rocking back on her heels as little Lizzy hugged her, beseeching her mummy not to cry. One hand curled around Lizzy's back as she tried to calm herself down, lowering the celery from her face to scrub the tears from her eyes with the back of her wrist.

"It's okay, baby," she managed in a tight, hiccoughing voice, squeezing her daughter gently as she looked over at the soaking wet Julian. "Oh ....thank you." The thanks had the threat of more tears in them, but she held them at bay.

And now the kid was crying. Julian was nearly beside himself. Here was a beautiful woman, crying her eyes out. That just wouldn't do. Julian fixed the bottom of the box and hurriedly put the groceries back in. The cracking of eggs as he threw the canteloupe into the box had no effect on him.

"Hey, watch!" Julian got up then and ran about in a circle, his arms outstretched and he made airplane sounds.

Even though she was still in tears herself, Daisy was a mother first and foremost. With Lizzy in tears, she was quick to turn her attention to comforting the little girl, encouraging her to look up as Julian made aeroplanes for her amusement. It did the trick; slowly Lizzy's tears dried up, and she giggled at the sight of full-grown man playing around.

"D'you know you're all wet?" the little one asked, still leaning on her mother as Daisy set to repairing the damage done to the box's contents.

Well, at least one of the ladies had stopped crying. He stopped running in circles and bent down, hands to his knees. "I am all wet, aren't I" Do you know what dogs do when they get all wet?" He smiled and giggled, glancing over at the still sad mother. Turning his attention to the little girl, he waggled his eye brows. "They shake all the water off, like this!" Julian scrunched up his face and shook his head, water spraying everywhere.

Squealing with delighted horror, Lizzy reared back to get out of the way of the spraying water, only to then reach out and push Julian's hair off his face with her little fingers. "You talk funny," she giggled. "Not like Mummy."

Mummy, throughout this, was carefully separating what could be saved from what could not from the contents of the box, calculating what coin had been wasted because of the accident. She, too, was slowly calming down, but she wasn't so easily consoled as a four year old.

Julian giggled and took a step back once his hair was out of his face. ?"Hablo gracioso' "Pienso que habla gracioso!" He nodded wth a grin and glanced back over to the girl's mother. "Necesita mi ayuda en este momento. "Podemos jugar m's tarde, bien?"

Confronted with a different language, Lizzy backed off, looping her arm around her mother's neck again. "What's he saying, Mummy?"

Looking up, Daisy laid her hand against her daughter's back, definitely more under control now. She smiled a little at Julian, speaking in tones that were definitely English. "I'm sorry, we don't understand," she apologised. "But thank you." What was spoiled from the box could be replaced the next day. At least nothing necessary had been destroyed.

He hadn't meant to scare the little girl and he felt bad when she clung to her mother. "I just said she needs my help and we'll play later." Julian went to his knee and gathered up the box, careful to keep his hands on the bottom. "Let me get this. The evil groceries won't slip out of my hands!"

"She's not come across other languages before," Daisy explained in a muted voice, careful not to lean on Lizzy as she rose. Standing up, her bump was even more noticeable under the cling of her summer dress.

Watching Julian take charge of the box, Daisy smiled helplessly, grateful for the assistance. "Thank you again," she nodded to him as she hoisted Lizzy up onto her hip. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ..." She paused as a fact asserted itself in her mind. "You're soaking."

When she stood, he saw the baby bump and his eyes went wide. "Ah mi Dios! "Es tan hermoso! "Puedo frotar el choque peque"o de beb?" Adoro la manera una miradas de mujer cuando est' embarazada." Slipping back into his native tongue, he simply stared at her stomach in awe.

Mother and daughter stared at him, nonplussed. Even as Lizzy started to giggle, hiding her face in her mother's hair, Daisy shushed her gently, casting an enquiring look at Julian.

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand any of that," she apologised, "but I'm assuming it's got something to do with this." Her hand left Lizzy's leg for a moment to touch against her bump.

"But it's just water!" He protested and tried his best not to giggle at how serious the little girl was. "Your momma doesn't cry a lot, does she?"

Lizzy shook her head solemnly, sticking her hands under the water to scrubble them together in a facsimilie of washing them. "She did when Daddy went away," she offered innocently. "And when she told me she was growing a new baby. But Mummy doesn't cry." Perhaps it was just as well that Daisy was behind them; they didn't have to see the sadness on her face as Lizzy spoke.

Julian was crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He gently lay his hand upon Lizzy's arm and pat her shoulder. "She's a very strong lady, I see where you get it from." He really didn't know what else to say. Glancing back, over his shoulder, he gave Daisy an apologetic look.

By the time Julian looked around, Daisy had a hold on herself again, and she smiled for him, shaking her head to dismiss the apology. "What do you do, Julian' Aside from rescue damsels in distress and randomly abuse eggs?"

His arm slid around the shoulders of the little girl and he gave her a soft squeeze. "Oh, that's about it. Lots of damsels in distress in this town and eggs are evil." He put his free hand up to the side of his mouth and stage whispered, "They give you gas."

"What's gas?" came the inevitable question from the four-year old, who would have used Julian to dry her hands at that point, if he hadn't been shirtless and wet anyway. She scrambled down to find a towel as her mother grinned, chopping away at a variety of vegetables where she sat.

"He means whizz-popping, Lizzy," Daisy clarified, looking over to Julian to explain that. "We just finished reading The BFG."

Julian looked confused. "Whizz popping" BFG" Does that mean big farting gas?" He giggled at that and stepped away from the kitchen sink. "All I know is that huevos y chorizo leaves me sitting in my own little cloud the next day." He took a lean against a counter and contemplated something. "Maybe that's why nobody comes to visit me."

"Yes, whizz-popping is farting," Daisy laughed, gesturing for him to take a seat at the table if he wanted to. "She's at the age where she picks up everything, though, so try not to swear."

Lizzy reappeared, waving a towel around. "I gots you a towel for your hands, Mr Joo!"

He took the seat offered and nodded that he understood. Just then a towel was thrust up at him and he took it. "Why, thank you so much, Ms. Liz." He made a big production out of bowing and then unfurling the towel with a snap. Then he wiped his hands dry. "You are very helpful."

"You're still all wet," Lizzy complained, looking over to her mother. "Mummy, doesn't we have clothes for boys here" 'Cos Mr Joo'll get all ill and stuff." She tugged at Julian's arm. "Come on, Mr Joo, I know where there's boys' clothes."

Julian tossed the towel onto the table and resisted the girl's pulling. Wearing the dead husband's clothes was a one way trip to the front door and lots of crying. Julian wasn't having it. "It's alright, just my shoes are wet. I'll take them off and we'll put them into the oven. They'll be dry by the time dinner's over."

Daisy's hand touched gently against his arm. "It's fine," she said calmly. "We may as well get some use out of them." Managing a small smile, she nodded to her daughter. "In the big box at the end of my bed," she gave directions, nodding to Julian as well.

Julian looked up when his arm was touched. He smiled then and got up. "That's good. You didn't want to smell my feet. It's horrible!" Laughing, he followed Lizzy down the hall.

Daisy watched them out of the room, and ducked her head, shedding a few more tears in private. Though Lizzy hadn't seen it, Mummy cried a lot more than she would ever let her daughter know.

The hall turned out to be just a space big enough for a steep set of stairs. Lizzy trooped up these, turning left into the bigger bedroom on the next level. It was definitely Daisy's room - light and airy, but only half of it in use. Lizzy pottered over to the blanket chest at the end of the bed, and struggled with the lid, trying to get it open.

Julian paused at the foot of the stairs and looked back at Daisy. There was a look of regretful longing that set his usually smiling face into planes of sadness. "Estar" bien," he murmured before turning to follow Lizzy up the stairs. He crossed the room and knelt beside the trunk. "I can get this, you go help Mummy make dinner, okay?"

Nodding, obedient to most adults, Lizzy pottered back out of the room and Julian could hear her feet thumping down the steps one by one before her footsteps disappeared into the kitchen.

The room he was in was half-living, and half a shrine. A man's belongings were scattered across the dresser, as though they had just been dropped there. Likewise, there were shoes too big and masculine for Daisy's feet poking out from under the bed. But she had made some attempt to get on with her life, proven by the fact that the clothes were now shut away, and she obviously made a real effort to keep her bedroom tidy. Still, it was a strange room.

Julian watched the little girl go before he stood up and slowly took a good look at the room. The energy it gave off was very sad and he had to stop looking around or the sadness would over take him. Dropping to his knees, he wrestled with the latch and finally got the chest open. "Chinos!" He pulled out a pair of slacks and smiled. "At least we know he had taste."

"Depends on who is paying," his chuckle got a bit darker and he slid closer to her. "If you're paying, then no, it's not work. If you're being paid, then it might be work, even if you enjoy it."

"So you don't work at all?" she asked, not exactly avoiding the implied question, but not answering it either. The truth wasn't half as risque as he would no doubt imagine. "How do you support yourself?"

He winked, respecting her sidestepping around the subject of paying. "Nope, don't work. Moms and Pops set up a trust fund. I inherited about 3 mil when I turned twenty one. So I stand in the market place and wait for damsels in distress."

"Lucky you," she smiled, once again stirring the stew. "Do you find them very often, or was today a lucky break for you?" Her smile slipped a little. "Seriously, I don't usually burst into tears at the slightest little thing. It was just one step too far today."

"Today was a very lucky break for me. Not just one, but two beautiful senoritas that needed rescuing." He put his hand upon her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze of support. His eyes turned serious and he leaned to whisper. "Don't apologize for crying. It means you've got a heart."

It felt strange to have another man touch her, no matter how innocent it was, to lean in and whisper to her. Not unpleasant, but strange ....almost like a betrayal. Daisy lifted her eyes to Julian's with a wry look in her eyes. "With the amount it's been aching recently, there are times I'd rather I didn't have one," she admitted softly, raising a hand to pat his where it lay on her shoulder. Then she turned. "Lizzy, come and set the table."

There was a faint protest from the other room, but the little girl came barrelling into the kitchen, bounced off Julian's leg, and dragged open the cutlery drawer.

Julian just nodded, then kissed her cheek before his leg was ricocheted off of. "Hey! Ow!" He fell to the ground and rolled about, feigning a serious injury. "Oh, my leg! Oh, the tragedy! Oh, the guts! Oh, the glory!"

Lizzy looked horrified as he fell down, wide blue eyes appealing to her mother for help. Daisy just laughed, nudging at Julian with her foot. "Move or get stepped on," she threatened with a smile, opening the oven.

Lizzy leaned down and gave Julian a tug. "C'mon, Mr Joo, no playin' when Mummy's cookin', it's not safe!"

"Oh no, no stepping! I'm already mortally wounded!" He got up when Lizzy tugged his hand. "You sure do have a lot of rules. Are you going to teach me all of them?"

Hands on hips, a mini-matriarch for a moment, Lizzy fixed him with a no-nonsense look. "Rules don't not need teachin' when they keep you safe," she nodded firmly, taking hold of his hand in one of hers and pulling him out of the way and to the table. "Will you help me sit high?"

Julian looked confused and glanced to Daisy for an interpretation. To the question, his expression lightened. "I can help you do that. Where's the phone book?"

Daisy glanced over at them as she set the potato dish on the counter. "She's talking about common sense," she explained for Julian's benefit as Lizzy nodded firmly. "There's a booster cushion on one of the chairs already."

"Oh," then, "Oh!" as he found the chair. He lifted Lizzy easily, putting her well over his head and making a buzzing sound. "She's a bird, she's a plane! No, she's, she's Supergirl!"

Giggling loudly, Lizzy flailed her hands around, thankfully keeping a firm grip on her handful of cutlery as she was buzzed around, feet kicking cheerfully. "I can touch the ceilin'! Mummy, look, I can touch!"

"I'm looking, I'm seeing one very excited little girl," Daisy chuckled cheerfully, bringing the pot of stew and dish of potatoes over to the table. Another trip brought the plates with her, and a towel.

Julian lowered the very excited Lizzy down into her booster chair, then scoot her closer to the table. "May I have this seat, Senorita?" He pulled out the chair beside Lizzy and bowed over it. The stew smelled heavenly and his stomach growled.

"Sit down, Mr Joo, I'm hungry!" Lizzy was impatiently pushing the cutlery toward both of the other places set, subsiding as her mother gave her a warning look.

"Be polite, Lizzy, Julian's our guest," Daisy told her daughter firmly, waiting until Julian was sat down before serving out the stew and potatoes for him. A few moments later, and Lizzy's and her own plate were full. She leaned over and tucked the towel into Lizzy's collar, pausing to cut up the potatoes before handing the little girl her knife and fork. "Have at it, little girl."

Julian took his seat and waited to start eating while Daisy and Lizzy went through thier normal routine. He felt very domesticated all of a sudden. "Wow, dear, this looks fantastic!" His voice lowered in his best imitation of Ward Cleaver.

"It tastes better than it looks, I promise you," Daisy chuckled, leaning back to eat her own meal as Lizzy set to with knife and fork.