Chapter Four

It was almost midnight when Trevor made it home.

Their game had been in the afternoon and despite the late hour, the team had traveled home right after, thankfully by air to make the journey bearable. Trevor felt tired to his bones, desperate to face plant into his bed and sleep for a full twelve hours. He doubted he was going to get that, given Gabrielle knowing when he would be home, but still wanted to sleep.

Kicking off his shoes in the doorway, he carried his bag into the kitchen, dropping it on the floor in front of the fridge, and grabbing a quick drink. There was a light from the living room, and he approached slowly. The TV was on, flicking infomercials across the room as the only light, highlighting his mother and Nick, both asleep. The former was on the couch, stretched out and dead to the world, the latter propped up in the armchair.

Trevor’s lips quirked up and he padded across the room, nudging Nick’s shoulder with his hand. Jerking awake, Nick blinked furiously, looking startled.

“You’re home.” Though surprised, his voice was low enough that he didn’t wake Trevor’s mother, or thankfully his daughter.

“I am,” Trevor said, amused. “Thanks for staying.”

“No problem,” Nick stretched, and Trevor darted his eyes to his mother to keep from looking at the stretch of skin exposed by the drag of Nick’s t-shirt. “I can go, now that you’re back.”

“It’s fine.” Trevor waved a hand toward the hall. “You might as well take the spare room. Mom’s not gonna wake till morning now, even if she’ll bitch about her back in the morning.”

Nick’s brow furrowed, looking concerned. “Are you sure? I don’t know when she fell asleep, but–”

“Take the spare room,” Trevor said. “Honestly, Nick.”

“All right.” Nick rubbed at his eyes, climbing to his feet. “Nice points by the way.”

“You watched them both?” Trevor asked, raising his eyebrows.

Nick shrugged like it was no big deal. “I’m a Dragons’ fan.”

Trevor felt like an idiot for thinking otherwise – hoping that Nick liked him – but shrugged easily. “What can I say, I really want that Cup.”

Nick snorted, slapping Trevor on the back. “Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning, Mr – Trevor.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Nick,” Trevor said, tongue-in-cheek.

He could hear Nick laughing quietly as he left the living room. Trevor maneuvered around the coffee table to turn off the television and dragged the blanket from the loveseat to cover his mother.

The sight of his own bed after two nights without had Trevor groaning in relief, but it wasn’t as profound as his joy at seeing Gabrielle again. He really needed to move as soon as possible, get her a room she could call her own. He should have turned the spare room into one for her already, but he’d wanted her close those first few days and hadn’t been able to shake himself from the habit. Now with plans to move into a bigger house, he didn’t see the point.

Giving her a soft kiss on the forehead, he tucked the duvet back over her and let himself look for a beat before the pull of his bed was too much to ignore.

Though it felt like he’d only been asleep a couple of hours, when Gabrielle’s shriek of, “Daddy!” woke him from a deep sleep, the clock on the bedside cabinet told him it was closer to 10 in the morning than 9.

Turning over, he could see Gabrielle was already hanging onto the foot board, grinning up at him. Half of her hair was coming out of the braids that didn’t look like his mother’s work, and she had sleep marks on her face. “Hey, baby.”

She wouldn’t be satisfied with waiting for him to wake up before getting out of bed, so he tossed off the covers with a groan. He felt refreshed enough, though he could do with sleeping for another twelve hours. Working the kinks out of his shoulders, he grinned at his daughter and lifted her from the bed. Gabrielle immediately threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. “I missed you, daddy.”

“I missed you too, sweetheart.” Trevor buried his nose in Gabrielle’s hair, let himself smell and hold her, reminding himself of what she felt like, how wonderful she was. “I love you.”

“I love you too, daddy.” Gabrielle pulled back, tapping his cheeks. “Can we have breakfast?”

Trevor chuckled, getting to his feet and settling Gabrielle on his hip. “What do you fancy this morning?”

While Gabrielle listed off the many cereals they definitely didn’t have in the house, Trevor nodded and hummed in the appropriate places, pretending to think about whether or not he wanted to give her any breakfast at all. He could see his mother on the couch, but he didn’t know whether she was awake or not. The door to the spare room was still shut, so he assumed Nick was still asleep as well.

“We have to be quiet, okay?” Trevor said, settling Gabrielle in her chair. “Nana and Nick are still sleeping.”

“Mr. Nick’s still here?” Gabrielle asked with wide eyes.

“He is.” Trevor kissed the top of her head. “So, did we settle on a cereal?”

“Toast,” Gabrielle said decisively. Then, “And juice.”

“Of course, you can have juice,” Trevor said, making a surprised face around the door of the fridge. Gabrielle giggled. “So, what did you do with Nana and Mr. Nick?”

Gabrielle kicked her legs back and forth against the legs of her chair. Thankfully she was barefoot, so it wasn’t making much noise, but she looked happy enough. “Mr. Nick drawed with me.”

“Drew,” Trevor corrected gently. “Mr. Nick drew with you.”

“Drew,” Gabrielle echoed, drawing out the vowel and screwing up her nose. It was an expression Trevor had seen on his own face, thanks to pictures and a mirror. His heart lurched, and he smiled as she threw her arms out. “And then he played with me this much time.”

There was no telling how long that actually was, so Trevor gasped. “That long?”

“Yes.” Slapping her hands down on the tray, Gabrielle leaned forward a little. “He’s very good at playing with cars, Daddy.”

Though he had been expecting his future to consist of dolls and cuddly toys, Trevor had been surprised by Gabrielle’s demands for horses and cars and ocean creatures. Not that Trevor had refused her any of those, though he’d lamented to his mother that all of his sisters’ toys were useless. She had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was an idiot, and to be glad she was happy.

As if Trevor would force her to play with something she didn’t like.

“Wow.” It was high praise. Gabrielle didn’t even like to play cars with Donna or her aunties, none of whom made the appropriate noises, apparently. Not that any of them could figure out what made the perfect noise. Trevor suspected it was a personality preference for Gabrielle. As much as she loved her aunties and Nana, she gravitated toward Trevor and her Grandpa. The counselor who had come court-mandated had told Trevor it was because the female figures in her life had been shitty for the most part, so it would take trust on their part to change her mind.

The thought that his baby girl had been anything less than loved was abhorrent, and Trevor was determined to right her feelings toward people in her life.

“So,” Trevor said, placing a plate of toast and a cup of juice in front of her. “Would you like Mr. Nick to come to our new house with us?”

Though he’d wanted to talk with his mother before explaining the move, and in hiring Nick, it felt like the perfect moment. Gabrielle picked up a piece of toast, staring at him in confusion. “Why?”

“Well,” Trevor said, sliding onto one of the stools at the island, nursing a cup of coffee, he tried to find the right words. “When Daddy has to play hockey, I can’t leave you on your own.”

“Nana is leaving?” Gabrielle didn’t look particularly upset, but her emotions could turn on a dime, so Trevor had to be careful.

“Nana has to go home and look after Grandpa. He might wander away if she wasn’t there,” Trevor said, eyes wide.

Gabrielle giggled, biting into her toast. She chewed and swallowed, looking serious. “I don’t want Grandpa to get scared. Nana should go.”

“Exactly,” Trevor said, thanking the powers that be that he had such an intelligent daughter. “So, I thought maybe Mr. Nick could look after you when I have to go.”

There was a moment’s silence. “Can’t I come with you?”

“I wish you could, baby,” Trevor said honestly, an echo of something he told her every time. “Sometimes even Daddy doesn’t want to go. I need to make sure you’re taken care of.”

Gabrielle sighed, eyes watery, but she took another mouthful of toast. Trevor gave her time to think about it, sipping from his coffee. There were sounds from the living room that indicated his mother waking up. Looking over her shoulder, Gabrielle smiled. “Morning Nana.”

“Morning darling,” Donna said, gliding into the kitchen and smothering kisses over Gabrielle’s face. Gabrielle giggled, kicking her legs.

“I’m glad you got home safe.”

Trevor accepted the kiss from his mom and squeezed her wrist. “Thanks for staying, Mom.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Donna said, waving him off. “Anything for my little Princess.”

Gabrielle grinned around another mouthful of toast.

Trevor stuck his tongue out at her just to see her giggle. He loved making her laugh, loved her when she was happy, when she was sad, even when she was sleepy.

The door to the spare room opened, Nick standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall, hair flat on one side, and pants riding low on his hips. Trevor didn’t know where to look, and it was probably karma for something he’d done in his past life, that Gabrielle chose that moment to say, “I think Mr. Nick should stay.”