A/N: Welcome, welcome!  This will be a random collection of one-shots from all the Lin universes I've written about.  The most popular request up front was more Nora (Stranger/I Fall Apart) so here's the first one!  If you've already submitted a request, I will work on some of those in the future.  I won't be updating this daily like my other fics have been; just when inspiration hits!  I hope you enjoy. :-)

"Naaaaants ingonyama bagithi Baba!!!" Lin heard his daughter's familiar singing voice even through the waiting room door, rising above all other sounds in the dentist's office. He let his head drop and suppressed a laugh as he sensed some of the others around him crane their heads to be sure of what they were hearing.

After a few moments, again - "Naaaaaants ingonyama bagithiiiiii Baba!!"

Lin let out a burst of laughter as he stood, knowing his sixteen year old daughter, Nora, had come out of her wisdom tooth extraction  just fine and was enjoying the after effects of the laughing gas they'd given her. He stood up, poking his tongue at the side of his mouth, as one of the dental assistants pushed the door open and helped lead her out to the waiting area. Lin gave the woman a sheepish look and she just shrugged. It wasn't uncommon for patients to be pretty silly after the medication.

"Daaad!" Nora greeted her father warmly as he helped guide her to sit down in one of the chairs.

"Hey, kiddo," Lin said softly, grinning. "Sit tight a minute."

Nora continued to sing "Circle of Life" from The Lion King as Lin checked out with the receptionist. He paid the copay and listened to the special instructions for when she got home, all the while periodically begging his child to keep it down. She had fully embraced her Mirandaness, having lived with him for three years now. Bursting into song was just part of who they were.

"Alright, c'mon," Lin said, tucking his wallet into his back jeans pocket. He gently gripped Nora's upper arm to help her stand as she reached the chorus.

"It's the ciiiiiiiircle of liiiiiiife!" she belted and Lin shooshed her, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," he told the other people waiting. "So sorry."

Someone snapped a picture of them as he ushered her out the front door and into the streets of Washington Heights. It was New York City after all, and people were used to random people belting out tunes in unlikely places. The subway, the middle of the street, dentist's offices...

Luckily it was a short walk home. After a minute or so, Nora began to trail off as she forgot some of the words and her voice became a little strained. She still had some gauze in her mouth to minimize any bleeding from her tooth extraction. Lin helped steer her into their building elevator minutes later, a bit relieved to be out of view of others.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as they rode up.

"Faaaantastic," she told him dramatically. "This shit is good."

Lin gave her an amused glare. "Language," he gently admonished her. "Do you feel like some ice cream when we get in?"

"If it pleases the court," she answered.

"Is that a yes?"

"Ummm....yes."

Lin rolled his eyes as the elevator door opened. Nora rapped softly to herself as they made their way down the hall. After Lin unlocked the door he told her to go lay down on the couch. She was supposed to take it easy for the afternoon, though her energy seemed off the wall right now. Nora interpretive danced over to the couch with a flourish as Lin went to the cabinets for a bowl. A minute later, he was bringing a bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup over to his daughter. She finally sat down and began to drown her ice cream in chocolate goo.

"Nora, that's plenty," Lin told her after she'd squeezed the bottle for a good ten seconds.

"I like it," she told him, slightly annoyed. Lin had been told that the effects of the laughing gas might last a couple hours afterwards. Nora wasn't a serious kid by any means, but this was definitely out of character. He took the bottle from her hands and held it far away as she reached for it.

"Eat," he told her. She let out a dramatic groan and picked up the spoon.

"What are you, the chocolate syrup Nazi?" she asked, her mouth full of ice cream.

"Hush," he told her, picking up the magazine he'd been reading earlier. Finally, she was quiet as she began to shovel in the ice cream. The feeling in her mouth was unusual, of course, and she was having a hard time chewing normally. Every now and then a dribble of ice cream dripped out and onto her sweats. It was like watching Franky or Seb try to conquer the frozen dessert.

Nora ate the entire bowl, set it on the coffee table, then collapsed against the back of the couch. She let out a dramatic sigh as she rested her hands on her stomach. "I'ma have an ice cream bebbeh."

"Mmmhmmm," Lin said a bit absentmindedly as he read an article. Nora scrunched up her face then scooted closer to her father, picking up his right arm to drape over herself. She sighed contentedly as she rested her head against his side. Nora hadn't always been very physically affectionate, but Lin wasn't terribly surprised that she'd grown into it as a teenager. His family had always been that way and Nora seemed to naturally adapt as she became more comfortable with the Mirandas over the years. Lin gave her a squeeze as she settled in, feeling that familiar twinge of regret that he'd missed out on thirteen years of this. He relished every hug from her.

They were silent for quite a while as Lin gently rubbed at her arm, trying to soothe her. Right now she wasn't feeling any pain but the dentist had said it might come later. She had some medication to take, but she'd need time to recover.

"Dad?" she asked after several minutes of silence.

"Yeah, love?" he answered, glancing down at her.

"What do you think I was like when I was a little kid?" she asked innocently. Lin set the magazine down as Nora adjusted herself, letting her head rest on his thigh instead. That was a loaded question, one that may have crept up from her subconscious thanks to the laughing gas. Lin gently stroked at her hair as he thought. He'd imagined so many times what Nora had been like as a baby, a toddler, a little kid...everything up until he'd met her at age thirteen. Up until that day he'd gotten a random phone call from CPS when her mother had been arrested. Nora had come stampeding into their lives and it had never been the same. And he loved it that way.

"Well," he cleared his throat slightly. "I imagine you were a little spitfire, just like you are now."

Nora grinned, her eyes closed, focusing on the calming effect of her father stroking her hair. Her brain just didn't feel right at the moment and it was throwing her off.

"From what your mom told me before she died," he went on. "You were pretty rambunctious. Bouncing around everywhere, full of energy."

"I broke the couch," she told him sleepily.

"Not surprising," he said, smirking down at her. Lin thought more about Nora as a little kid. How she'd been not so far away all that time in Queens. Walking around, existing, as he lived his life in Washington Heights. Shouldn't he have sensed it? Been able to tell that a little person with half his DNA existed? He'd talked about these feelings countless times with V, unable to shake off the guilt of not being part of her life growing up. Vanessa tried to reassure him that he had no control over that. It had been Laura's choice to keep it from him. The important thing was that he was in her life now.

"I imagine you were a pretty loving little kid," Lin continued. "You like making people happy and you're full of fun."

"And full of farts," she quipped, her sense of humor amplified by the laughing gas. Lin chuckled and tousled her hair.

"Smelly," he accused her as she grinned. Lin could sense she was fading fast now. Nora's breathing began to shallow in the quiet of the apartment. His fingers gently massaged at her scalp until he was sure she was asleep. Then, he very carefully and slowly extracted himself from under her, replacing his leg with a pillow. He bent down to press a kiss to her head and covered her up with a blanket.

Lin picked up the empty bowl from the coffee table and was stopped by his daughter's voice once again.

"Dad?" she asked, her voice full of sleep.

"Yeah, love?" he answered again.

"Will you sing to me?" she asked innocently, like a little child. Lin felt a squeeze on his heart, wishing he could have done this many times before. He set the bowl back down and sat on the floor next to the couch. Part of him had the urge to start singing something silly to make her laugh but he sensed that's not what she needed right now. He began to softly rub at her arm again as his voice chose for him. A song he'd written before he'd even known he was a father to Sebastian, but maybe his soul had known all along he was already a father to this sweet but feisty one.

"Dear Theodosia, what to say to you..."