It's half past eleven when Sybil wakes up to her mobile ringing. Through half-closed eyes, she first turns to her side only to find an empty space on their bed.

"Must be Larry," she mumbles, picking up her phone. "Mmm, babe, where are you?"

"Uh-hello, Nurse Crawley … Sybil?"

Her eyes open wide, shocked to hear the unfamiliar voice. "Hello? Um, yes. This is she. Who is this?"

"It's Tom Branson. We met earlier," he says quickly, his voice anxious.

Tom.

"Oh yes, I remember," she pauses. "How'd you get my number?"

"Uh, you called my number today? Shit, I'm sorry — I shouldn't have called. I just — I would've driven to the hospital but a friend came over and we had some beers and even though I'm sober, I didn't want to risk it—"

"Oh..."

"And so I tried calling the emergency room just then but all I got was a busy ring tone and then I saw your number on my phone—"

"Mr. Branson."

"And I know it was a long shot but Millie's burning up and I know I panic when it comes to her, but dear Lord, the last thing I want is to screw her up—"

"Tom."

"Fuck. I'm sorry, did I wake you up? Shit!"

"Tom!"

He falls silent and she sits up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Listen, have you taken her temperature?"

"Yeah. 39 degrees," he stammers. "That's not right, is it?"

Sybil shifts in her bed and bits her lip. "It's not ideal. Is she sweating at all?"

"Yes."

"That's good. It means that the fever is fighting whatever infection she has. First, you need to make sure she's cool and hydrated. If she complains of pains, give her some medicine."

"You mean aspirin?"

"No!" she exclaims, but then regains herself. "Definitely not aspirin. Ibuprofen or Tylenol."

"I-bubba-what?"

Sybil cringes. She remembers the man earlier today in her office and how anxious he had been. Even though, she doesn't know the details, she can tell he's just been thrust into the role of primary caregiver. If anything, she feels for him, knowing that he obviously cares a great deal for his daughter.

"Heaven help me," he says weakly and her heart swells.

She glances at the bedside clock and even though she has a long day tomorrow, an idea formulates in her head. It's crazy and absurd, after all, she has just met the man, but the nurse in her is wide-awake and she doubts she'll be able to get any sleep once she hangs up.

"Listen, Tom. Where do you live?"

He stammers, "Uh, the Crestview Apartments on Brown Street."

Brown Street. She closes her eyes and tries to imagine the route there.

"Hmm, near the cinemas?"

"Yeah."

"That's not too far from my house. "She climbs out of bed and begins looking around for a jacket to hide her pyjamas. "I should be there in ten minutes."

"Wait…what?" he exclaims. "Shit. I'm sorry, Mill." His voice goes softer. "No, I can't have you do that."

"It's no problem. It'll just be a quick visit to make sure it doesn't get serious."

"But you don't even know us?" Tom questions, surprised that a person could be so kind. "You haven't even met her."

"Well, I'll have to meet her one day. It might as well be tonight," Sybil replies. She heads out into the kitchen and grabs two bottles of medicine and a medicine cup from the fridge. "I'm just about to head out now. What apartment are you?"

"Uh, 4C."

"I'll see you soon then," and she hangs up before he can say another word.

Tom leaves Millie's room and stands in the living room, his arms on his hips while he surveys the mess. There are newspapers spread over the table and dirty plates in the sink. Millie's school bag lies next to the couch, half open and its contents about to spill out. He should clean. He really should but half of him is exhausted and the other half is still stunned that a woman he just met is on her way to their house.

While he decides to at least get the dishes done, he replays the entire night in his head, trying to think back of any signs that Millie was feeling unwell.

"What do you say, Mill?" Tom says while Millie hugs the cereal box.

"Thank you, Uncle Thomas."

Thomas kneels down and taps Millie on the nose. "That's all right, sweetie. Anything for you."

Millie grins. "Can you get me a pony?"

"Yeah, Uncle Thomas," Tom banters. "Where's her pony?"

"Didn't your Daddy tell you? He's getting you one for your birthday," Thomas replied, his eyebrows raised while he watched his best friend's face go white. Millie shrieked and her mouth went wide.

"Really?" she gasps, turning to her father. "Really really?"

"Yeah, Dad." Thomas grins as he shakes his hands. "Really?"

Tom glares at him, his face a clear 'fuck you' and he squares his jaw. "Uh, we'll see. Why don't you play in your room while I have a friendly talk with your uncle."

Millie bounces to her room, taking the box with her.

"You realise you're going to have to buy her a pony now," Tom states.

Thomas stands up and laughs. "Oh come on, she'll forget about it."

"Trust me, she won't. She's wanted one since she was three."

When Thomas leaves a couple hours later, Tom heads inside Millie's room to check up on her. She's snuggled under her covers, Bruno the stuffed monkey by her side and he's careful not to wake her up when he sits down next to her.

He moves to brush the hair from her face, but as his fingers touch her skin, he can feel her burning up.

The buzzer rings and Tom walks over to the intercom, shaking dry his wet hands.

"Hello," he says when he speaks into the box, although he knows already who's downstairs in the shivering cold.

"It's me. Sybil."

"Come right up."

He presses the button for a couple of seconds and then waits anxiously by the door. He shouldn't be nervous. Of course not. She's just the school nurse, after all. But for some reason, his heart is beating fast and he's not sure whether it's because he's worried about Millie or what an incompetent father Sybil must think he is.

There's a knock at the door and he unbolts the lock, opening the door. She's dressed in a thick, black coat with Ugg boots on her feet. Her hair is tied in a messy bun and yet still, there's a smile gracing her face.

His heart starts beating faster for some reason.

"Hi," she says. "I bring gifts." She pulls out the medicine bottles from her handbag and waves them in the air.

"Dear lord, you are an angel," Tom says and he bites his tongue when she blushes. "Um, come in."

He stands aside, letting her enter and he notices that she gives his tiny apartment a quick onceover.

"This is a nice place you have," she comments, standing awkwardly next to the dining table.

Tom chuckles. "You can say it's a mess. I don't mind."

Her gaze trails to a stack of boxes in the corner of the room. "Did you just move in here?"

"Uh, no," Tom replies. He feels compelled to lie. After all, he barely even knows this woman but something in wants to be honest with her and he can't figure out why that is. "They're actually my wife's things."

Silence falls between them and Tom mentally kicks himself for bringing that up.

Sybil shifts in her spot, fiddling with the straps of her bag and Tom rubs the back of his neck, unsure what to say.

Finally, Sybil asks, "Can I see Millie?" and Tom promptly nods, his head moving faster than a jackhammer.

He leads the way and opens Millie's bedroom door slowly, peering in as he whispers, "Mills, you awake?"

A noise comes from her bed and both he and Sybil enter the room. He takes a seat on the bed, draping his arm over Millie's body.

"Da, I'm thirsty," Millie whimpers. She opens her eyes and gasps when she sees Sybil crouching on the ground.

"Hey, it's okay, Mill. This is Sybil," Tom says softly while Millie clutches at her covers. "She's a nurse. You'll actually see her at your school."

"Well, hopefully not," Sybil chuckles. She moves in closer and waves. "Hello Millie. I heard you weren't feeling well."

Millie slowly nods.

"Is it alright if I feel your forehead?" Sybil asks, her voice gentle. "My fingers might be a bit cold, though."

Millie looks up at her father, hesitant by the request but when Tom nods his head, so does Millie.

Sybil presses her the back of her hand to Millie's forehead and can feel the young girl shivering instantly.

"Hmm, you're still a bit hot," Sybil states. "Do you feel like throwing up?"

"No," Millie croaks. She turns to her father and tugs at his shirt. "I want Ma."

Sybil feels her heart break when she sees Tom's face shattered at the request. Millie begins to cough and Tom's head snaps towards Sybil, the worry evident in his blue eyes.

"How about Daddy and I get you some water?" Sybil says, hoping to diffuse the situation, and Millie smiles, snuggling back into her bed when the adults leave her.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Tom questions, as he trails behind her in his own house. She nods and puts her bag down on the kitchen counter, pulling out a medicine bottle and pouring the liquid into the cup.

"As I said, fevers are a common part of growing up. It's good a sign that she's not vomiting."

Tom nods, listening as he fills a mug with water. "Oh, thank God. If something had happened to her, I'd never forgive myself."

"Don't beat yourself up. It's always hard being a single parent." The words leave her mouth before she has the time to process them and she winces immediately. "Shit – I'm sorry, I didn't – "

Tom cocks his head in her direction and he lets out a sigh, "You're right with that. It's not what I expected"

She leans over and places a hand on his, much to his surprise. "From what I can tell, you're a good father."

God, that's what he's always wanted to hear and even though, it's not from a friend or someone close to him, he finds the words even more touching coming from a stranger. Their eyes meet and he realises that her eyes are bright blue, like the colour of Millie's favourite summer dress. She jolts suddenly, aware that her hand is still on his and pulls it back, pretending to flick away a strand of her hair.

"Uh, we should go back to Millie," she says.

"Yeah," he replies. She walks back to Millie's room and once she's inside, he glances at his hand before shaking his head vigorously, dispelling any thoughts whatsoever.

When he returns to Millie's room, Sybil is crouching once more on the ground and Millie is sitting up, hugging Bruno.

"Here you go, Mills." Tom hands her the glass of water and she begins to sip from it. "You need to take some medicine too, okay?"

Millie shakes her head

"Come on, Mills. Please."

Millie digs her face into Bruno as Sybil and Tom share a look.

"Millie," Sybil says, "This medicine will help you get better." She holds up the cup and Millie raises her head, looking intently at them while Tom sits down next to her, rubbing her back with his fingers.

Sybil hands Millie the cup and asks, "What's your favourite thing to do?"

Millie shrugs her shoulders. "I like drawing but I'm not that good."

"I'll tell you what medicine does, Millie? This is a secret so you have to promise me you won't tell anyone," Sybil says in a hushed tone and Tom is surprised to find his daughter nodding her head vigorously, listening intently.

"Well," Sybil begins as Millie leans in. "The magic of medicine is that the more you don't like it, the better you get at your favourite thing. When I was younger, I got really sick once and my mama made me drink medicine. You want to know what happened?"

"Yeah," Millie whispered excitedly.

"The medicine made me feel much better and I was able to get back to my favourite thing in the whole wide world: ballet. I was able to dance all day because the medicine helped me. Even now, I'm able to do ballet," Sybil said proudly. "Do you want to see?"

"Uh-huh!" Millie exclaims and Sybil stands up, holding her body straight. She spreads her arms out to her side and slowly, she rises up until she's standing on her tiptoes. She lasts for ten seconds until she goes back down to the ground, taking a bow.

Tom starts cheering and Millie has mouth open wide, staring at Sybil with wide eyes.

"See, Millie, if you drink it – " Sybil doesn't even have the chance to finish her sentence as Millie immediately drinks the medicine in a gulp, scrunching her face and sticking her tongue out afterwards.

"How was it?" Tom chuckles.

"Yucky," Millie answers.

"How about we take your temperature now?" Sybil offers and Millie raises her arm. She takes the temperature from the bedside table and hands it to Tom who slips it underneath Millie's underarm. "Now, we just have to wait and see how you are. You don't mind if I make a call. My fiancée must be wondering where I am," she realises, imagining Larry coming home to an empty house.

"Oh," Tom says, caught off guard. "I mean, yeah, go ahead. We're alright here, aren't we, Mill?"

"Yep."

Sybil heads back to the kitchen and pulls her phone out of her bag but to her surprise there are no missed calls. She dials Larry's phone and glances around the room as she waits for him to pick up. There are photos on the fridge of Millie as a baby and on one particular, half the image is covered by a large smiley face magnet. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she pulls the image out to find a blonde woman smiling beside Millie. She assumes that the woman is Millie's mother as she can certainly see some of the woman in Millie but there's no doubt that Tom's features are prominent on the little girl. Where the woman's face is sharp and angular, Millie's is round and her cheeks are full. The only clear feature she inherited was her mother's blonde hair.

"Hello?" says a sleepy voice from the other line.

"Larry, are you home?" Sybil says, fixing the photo back to how it looked before.

"M-hm."

Sybil furrows her eyebrows. "Oh, well, I just popped out. You must've noticed I wasn't there."

"That's fine," Larry mumbles. "Hey Syb, I'm really tired so I'm going go back to sleep. You don't need to wake me up when you get home. Cya, babe." He hangs up before Sybil has the chance to say 'Goodnight' and she looks down at her phone, partially annoyed.

"Everything alright with the fiancée?" Tom asks as moves past her and places the empty glasses in the sink.

"Oh yes," Sybil says with a forced smile. "Everything's fine." She watches as he leans against the sink, his sleeves rolled to his elbows revealing his muscular forearms.

No, Sybil. What are you doing? "Um," she stammers, "how was her temperature?"

Tom smiles. "38.9. Went down a tiny bit since I last checked it but I guess we'll have to wait till later to see if the medicine worked."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Sybil replies. She certainly isn't taking notice of the way the muscle moves in shirt when he reaches up to scratch his jaw. No, certainly not. "Um, so keep an eye out on Millie's temperature. Check it again in four hours and see how it is. If it spikes, then give her the other medicine but just make sure that you follow the instructions on the back, since the two medications have different mechanisms when brining a fever down."

"Thank you again for coming over and helping," Tom says genuinely. "Who would have thought that today would turn out like this?"

"Well, at least I was able to meet Millie. I can keep an eye out for her at school, if you want and maybe that way, you won't be worrying wherever you are," Sybil offers, her tone slightly cheeky.

"If you could, but I'm sure you must have all the other children to worry about."

Sybil tilts her head. "True but I can multi-task. I am a woman, after all."

"I certainly don't doubt that," Tom replies and once again, she can feel her cheeks go red.

"Um, well, I better go." Sybil grabs her handbag from the counter. She slowly heads to the door with Tom following her.

"Are you sure? Have some food at least. You'd be surprised. We actually have some today," Tom jokes. "Not that I starve Millie or anything. Oh God, no."

Sybil pauses by the door and reaches out to touch Tom's arm. "I got what you meant. It's alright." Oh, he is muscular. Dammit, Sybil, let go. She does swiftly, opening the front door and moving outside to stand in the hallway.

"I say let Millie stay at home tomorrow. Nurse's orders," Sybil suggests and Tom salutes.

"Whatever you say, m'am," he replies. "I'm sure Millie won't mind at all anyway. She'll probably spend the day drawing tomorrow now that she's got superpowers." He grins.

"I'm surprised I could even do that pointe. It's been years since I've done ballet," Sybil says. She gives him a kind smile and tugs at her bag. "You have a good night, Tom."

"You too," he says and he watches while she walks away and turns the corner, disappearing from his sight.

He closes the door and leans against it, letting a sigh. It's been rough night, that's for sure and he knows that if Sybil hadn't come along, he would've probably lost his head. Admittedly, he was surprised she even came but was definitely grateful that she did.

While he heads backs to Millie's room, he wonders why he did call her. True, he has heaps of friends but the realization hits him when he stands in Millie's doorway.

Embarrassment. That's what he feels. He doesn't needs people judging him on his parenting skills in addition to their pity. Ever since Edna left, they had all been treading on eggshells around him, treating him as though he were some china doll dangling off a shelf.

He had thought about calling his mother, but the last thing he wants is to worry her especially since she only returned to Ireland earlier in the week.

"You and Millie should be in Ireland. Come with me, Tommy" she had begged him right before she left but he had refused. His wife may have run away but he certainly wasn't going to.

Millie is once again fast asleep. She's snoring lightly and he watches her for a couple more minutes, looking out for any signs of distress. He shuts the door and takes only two steps before he enters her bedroom once more and takes a seat on the floor next to her bed, watching her as she sleeps.

He remembers when she was a baby and the nights he used to stay up with her, cradling her back to sleep. It seems odd to think that that was five years ago since he can still picture it clearly in his head.

He makes a mental note to bring her back to his room later so he can keep an eye on her, but it isn't long after that Tom falls asleep, his body crushing the box of Coco Pops by the bed and his head on the mattress, only inches away from his daughter.

AN: With this chapter, scarletcourt deserves a massive applause since she turned it into something much better than my rough drafts so, THANK YOU dear!Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! I'd be happy to know what you guys think :) Goodnight y'all!