"Can I help make breakfast?" Gavin asked Dani the following day; he was right behind her, following her as she walked around the kitchen.

"Sure thing," she said, lifting him unto the island and setting him in the center.

"You want to put jelly on our toast?" She asked, popping a few pieces in the toaster.

"Yeah!" He agreed happily.

"I'll make some eggs. How's that sound?"

"Scramb-ley eggs?" he asked. "My daddy makes 'em scramble-ley."

"I can do scramble-ley, no problem."

"And he puts cheese," Gavin told her.

"I can do that too," she promised.

She cracked all the eggs into the bowl and got the pan hot. She pulled out the toast for Gavin to put the jelly on before mixing the eggs and starting on them. He sat quietly and contently working as she finished their cheesy scrambled eggs.

"So, what do you think?" She asked as he tasted his first bite.

"Good," he smiled.

"Whew..." she said, wiping her forehead. "I was worried for a second there."

"Auntie Dani, you are silly," Gavin laughed. "Daddy is silly too. Is it Sunday now?"

"Close, just one more day. Today is a fun-day, though, remember?"

"What is a fun-day?" he asked, his eyes growing wide with excitement.

"Fun -day is a day where you do something fun all day."

"Like what?"

"You'll see. It's a surprise." She found a set of keys downstairs that went to the van outside. It had a car seat, so she figured it was the nanny's car.

"I want to know now!" He said, jumping up and down.

'Way to go, Dani; you got him too excited to eat breakfast,' she scolded herself.

"I'll tell you as soon as you are done with half of your plate," she bribed him. 

"Okay." He grumbled but quickly went to work on his food; he finished his whole plate before looking up at her expectantly.

"Okay, you earned it; we are going to the zoo today."

"The zoo with all the manimals?" He jumped up, his entire face lighting up with so much joy it brought tears of emotion to her eyes.

"Yeah, we sure are!"

"Yay! The zoo! I love fun day!" He jumped out of his chair and raced to the door, grabbing his shoes from the closet.

"One second there Gavi." She laughed. "I got to get showered and dressed. Do you want to watch  a show while I get ready?"

"Yeah. I want to see the manimals show again."

She turned on the TV, which was still on the kid's animal channel. A show about puppies was playing and he quickly got into it.

Dani still found herself showering at lightening speed her mind filling with paranoid thoughts of what could happen in the few moments she wasn't watching him.

Gavin was napping on the couch when Dani got back upstairs and she laughed at her own paranoia.

Leaving him to rest for a bit, she took the time to wash up his sheets and blankets from the night before in case they get wet, she checked the floor and did a quick clean on it just in case, but it didn't look like he got the floor wet with his accident. She did the laundry and packed sandwiches and juice boxes for the car ride.

Gavin loved the zoo and so did Dani; they walked around for hours. Whenever he got too tired, she would give him a piggyback ride.

He enjoyed the tiger the most; they spent a long time watching it. Dani made sure to get several pictures of it and Gavin enjoying himself. Watching things through a child's eyes was like seeing it in a brand new light. She was excited about each new animal they looked at as much as he was.

She was trying not to think about tomorrow and what would happen when Rocco came home. Would he be furious that Alyssa hired her and kick her out? She didn't like the idea of having to spin why she was here. The last thing she wanted to do was start out on a lie with him, but either way, she was placing herself in the middle, and one of them would be mad.

How awkward was this going to be?

Gavin was still wired on the way back from the zoo. He was taking a mile a minute about all the animals he saw, and it provided a great distraction from her anxious thoughts.

"Maybe when Mary comes, she can go to the zoo and Daddy. Daddy likes manimals too."

"He does, huh?" she murmured, carefully pulling onto their road.

"Yeah, I wish I had a doggy like Shelby, or a tiger."

"You can't have a tiger, silly boy," she giggled.

"A nice one, I could."

"Like a Gavi Tiger?" She asked.

"Yeah a Gavi Tiger like me and a daddy tiger would be a nice one, too. And! and a Auntie Dani tiger too, Yay!" he said in-between giggles.

"I think you overtired, Mr. Tiger." She declared as she pulled back into the driveway.

It was getting dark already, the zoo was nearly an hour's drive, so she had stopped for dinner not wanting to cook.

"Can we sleep in the fort again?"

"I don't see why not, but tomorrow your daddy will be home, so you'll have to sleep in your bed, okay."

"Okay."

"Is my daddy coming for breakfast?" He asked; following her inside, she led him upstairs and prepared him for bed.

"I'm not sure," she wished she had some way of knowing it was making her so nervous.

Gavin though, wow, did he ever miss his dad! All day he talked about his daddy. She noticed he never brought up his mom and found it to be a little odd.

She helped him get ready for bed, he went potty and washed his hands himself, and she praised him for it hoping his confidence would build. She still was sad for him about how upset he got over his accident.

"Can I brush my teeth too?" he asked.

"Sure, let me help a little, though." She walked over, put the paste on his brush, and gave it to him.

"You did a good job getting yourself ready for bed."

"I'm a big boy," He declared with a toothpastey grin.

"You sure are," she agreed handing him a little cup with water. "Swish this around and spit."

"Ready for the fort?" She asked once he'd finished rinsing out.

"Ready!" He raced out ahead of her, and she was smiling as she followed him.

He crawled right into the fort, where she had fresh blankets already, and he curled right up.

She crawled in next to him and laid down, he curled up to her side, and she softly stroked his hair as he snuggled in. He was so warm and sweet; her usual lonely feeling was slipping further and further away.

"Will you tell me a story, Auntie Dani?"

"Of course," she agreed in a soft voice. "It's about a tiger."

"A tiger? What's his name?"

His name is Gavi, and he's a friendly tiger. He has a big job, though."

"What is it?" Gavin asked.

"He's the protector of all the animals at the zoo."

"That's a lot!" Gavin exclaimed.

"I know," Dani agreed. "It's a very big job. But Gavi is a determined tiger, and he's also very good at his job."

"Yeah he is," Gavin agreed.

"Luckily, he has a partner to help."

"Who?" Gavin asked.

"Kiki the Koala bear," she said, seeing the bear under his arm again.

"Coooool," Gavin said, his voice getting sleepy.

"Kiki helps Gavi by warning him if any enemies approach him."

"Like the lion," Gavin mumbled, his eyes drooping.

"Exactly."

"Does Gavi have cool powers?"

"Of course, he can run really fast and jump and growl, and he has magic tickle powers too."

"That's awesome."

"It sure is."

She was quiet for a bit, letting him get more tired before resuming the story.

She started again, speaking slowly and softly. "So, one day, Gavi and Kiki were playing outside when Mr. Tree came by with a surprise..."

She stopped talking once he passed out spooned up in her arms. Dani was too tired to do anything but sleep herself and let her eyes fall closed.

**

Rocco struggled to keep his eyes open as he drove back from the airport late Saturday night. He'd been flying for hours. His incredibly anxious feeling to get home and see Gavin, and that kept him from napping on the flight. 

He had broken his phone within minutes of landing in Italy and couldn't call Alyssa to check in from his cell, although he had left a few messages from the house phone. She didn't call back, which meant she was still pissed, but he couldn't stand not hearing how Gavin was doing.

He hurriedly got his nana settled with a new caretaker, a relative of Pearl which his nana liked, and then got on the company jet to come right back as soon as the funeral was over. Luckily his Nana understood, he'd tried many times to get her to live with him and she just wouldn't leave the vineyard.

He pulled up to the house and let himself in quietly through the side door, tiptoeing through the kitchen. He turned on the dim stove light for some guidance through the dark. He stopped cold when he reached the living area. His jaw dropped at the makeshift tent.

Alyssa did this? He couldn't believe it.

He opened the little curtained sheet, and it was dark inside, but he could see the two figures curled up, sleeping. Alyssa was lying on her side, her back to him and Gavin was curled up with her.

They continued sleeping peacefully as he gazed at them in shock and wonder. A warm feeling he hadn't felt in a long time came over him.

So, some one-on-one time was what she needed; he pondered in amazement.

He decided to surprise them by joining them and stripped down to his boxers before curling in behind Alyssa.

'Damn, she smells different,' he thought; 'good though, really, good.' She shifted slightly, backing her body up towards his.

Feeling a sudden confidence towards her and not wanting to lose this thaw in their icy relationship, he leaned in closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She shifted slightly and seemed to melt right into his embrace.

Her body seemed warmer than usual, softer too? He was wasn't sure when the last time he held her was, so it was hard to recall, but he couldn't remember her ever feeling this this good in his arms.

"Surprise," he whispered into her ear as he brushed his lips against it.