Glancing at his shirt clad back, I let out a sigh of releif. I was never going to take him wearing clothes for granted again. I mean, holy shit. I had never been one of those girls that only dated nice looking guys. I liked nice guys. Lucy's father was a bit chubby, but he had opened doors for me. Until he managed to start sleeping with me. Then be became a jerk.

Nick, though, was not chubby. He wasn't shorter than me. Jesus, no. My face began heating up again, just thinking about it. He was massive, all muscle and smooth skin. He didn't have the sculptured gym body, but was fit. I knew he ran. Other than that I didn't know what he did. I didn't even know what he did for work.

He had been so tired when he got back that morning. I had been drawing Lucy's morning medications up, hoping to get them ready before she woke. Then I could draw her a bath and get her ready for the day. Nick hadn't even noticed me, dropping his bag on the floor and collapsing onto the couch. I waited, thinking he would get back up again. He had still been there after I gave Lucy her medications, breathing slowly.

I had thought I would just remove his shoes for him, but wound up getting him to bed. I had just about had a heart attack when he stripped. There had been so much skin. Then the bright underwear, clinging to his ass tightly. What an ass. He was definitely a runner, is that rounded ass was any indication.

He had fallen into bed, leaving me with the strenuous task of getting his blanket out from under him. Leaving his clothes in the washing basket, I had gone to get Lucy ready. The image of him last night, and the one of him this morning, was going to haunt me for years to come. Especially the one of him hugging himself, a faint blush filling his cheeks and his bare feet poking out beneath his loose jeans.

Turning back to Lucy, I watched her watch Nick leave. Her eyes swung to mine, a grin filling her face. Reaching her shaking hands, she made it clear she wanted to be picked up. Unable to refuse her, I did. We would up watching a movie, snuggled up on the couch. I didn't mind that it was a Disney movie. Lucy loved it, and I was delighted to see her so interactive.

~~~

The park was a little chilly, the trees shading everything and ensuring little sun got through the canopy of leaves. Lucy didn't mind the chill, excited about the park. I wanted to take her on the slide, but knew it would be too difficult on my own. I had forgotten to pack the oxygen tank holder. It was still drying after Lucy threw up on it, the other day. Instead, I pulled everything to the ground and sat. Lucy shook her arms, letting out an excited squeal.

I had to be careful about her legs, them too weak and useless to shift with her movements. Grabbing a spare sheet I had in the chair, I rolled it and put it beneath her knees. That would support them enough. Lucy didn't notice, too excited about being able to touch the grass. She had never been able to before, and I was suddenly hit with panic. What if she was allergic? What if she got bitten by something?

Forcing myself to release the panic, I joined Lucy in playing. Her hands were shaking too much to properly get a grip on the grass, but she was at least able to feel it. There was an obvious improvement, though. She was able to do much more than what she had been able to months ago. You didn't notice it from day to day, then it just springs up on you.

"Look how good you are!" Clapping, I crushed her closer to kissed her cheek. Gargling, she brought a hand to my cheek. The little fist was seizing, twitching against me. I didn't notice, grabbing it and kissing it.

"You're my beautiful girl, aren't you?" Running a hand over her curls, I was glad I had put them in pigtails. She looked adorable with little pigtails. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I tried taking a decent photo. I hated selfies, until Lucy was involved. Getting a good one, however, was impossible.

"Need some help?" Glancing up, I saw a smirking Walker. I hadn't seen him since we met.

"Walker. Hi. Actually, I would love some help" handing my phone over, I let him work out how to use it. He didn't seem to have any problems, easily snapping a couple pictures. Thanking him, I checked them out. I was right. Lucy looked adorable. This was getting framed and going on the wall. I still had to get all the other ones developed. I would have to take Lucy down to the local shops later, there was a target there that printed photos.

Walker took my smile as an invite to join us, sitting to my right. Not too close to be suggestive, but close enough that he was obviously sitting with us. His dog joined us, off the lead. Lucy screamed, getting the dogs attention. He happily sat beside her, nuzzling her hand. She squealed again, shaking both hands. Up and down.

I laughed, righting her when she started to fall to the side. She was so eager to get her hands into the Alaskans fur, probably her face too. I could easily imagine her attempting to eat it. She was going through that stage, still, where she just wanted to eat everything. I was just glad she was so interactive, compared to how she had been right after the brain injury.

"His name's Moose" Walker was leaning back on his hands, an easy smile on his face. I could help but notice his chest, highlighted with his position. He had a nice chest, with heaps of definition. So much definition that you could tell through the shirt. He brought a knee up, getting comfortable.

"Moose?"

"Yeah. When I first got him, as a tiny pup, he used to watch T.V with me. Like David Attenborough and stuff. Then there was this episode about these Moose. He was fascinated. Didn't want to eat, too busy watching it. So I named him Moose. Didn't have a name before that. It was just 'dog' or 'bud'" the killer smile was back, all perfectly white and straight teeth.

"Sounds like he was well educated as a pup" my eyes had returned to Lucy, but darted to Walker when he chuckled. It was a low, sexy chuckle. A gust of wind did nothing to his hair, making me think he had some gel in it or something. Artfully messed. He was a looker, but maybe too poised.

"Definitely. I was even reading my text books to him" I smiled, looking back down at Lucy. I felt like a bitch. I was practically judging him, but he was being nice. Open and honest. And he hadn't had any problems with Lucy, which was unusual. Rare. People usually at least stared.

I mean, he had been staring- just not at Lucy. I got worried. Did I have something on my face? I knew my hair was a bit messy, and needed a cut. The strands were blowing everywhere, only held back by the hair tie. I wasn't wearing make up. My clothes were worn and old. I didn't even know what I was wearing, to be honest. I could, however, easily describe Lucy's outfit. And her hair. Why would I care that I probably looked like crap if my little girl looked adorable?

Deciding the relax, I ignored the staring and just enjoyed myself. Lucy was happy, so I was happy. I knew she was getting too attached to the dog, and might scream when it was time to go- and not the good screams. I could worry about that later. For now, I could focus on this moment and enjoy my daughter.