She buckled up as she was told so. Leaning over and trying to glimpse inside the bag without actually touching it, she sniffed trying to get hints of what might be packed inside. Nothing that she could tell. Looking over at him, she was about to ask for a hint when she thought she saw something in his face. It was gone quickly though and she sat up and looked out the window contemplatively instead.

Nick pulled away from their home and looked out the window. It was a beautiful home, and had such a well kept yard. Lizzy did love to help him out there, after all, and he let her pick out her choice of flowers and plants. He pulled away, however, without hesitating, and started down the road. It was a quiet little neighborhood, and Lizzy had a lot of friends along the street. He was looking absentmindedly at the yards, watching people, and his eyes lingered on a man in the yard behind a white fence. He looked to have been working since sunup, and was warmly bronzed from the sun. He had dark hair, darker eyes. Nick looked away and turned onto the next road. Why did the male form have to play with his emotions like this? It was too much. And what would he tell Lizzy? What would she even think? What would anyone at her school think? Would they ridicule her? Oh, no, he didn't want that. Not at all. Unless he homeschooled her, which would be easy since he worked from home at his own pace. But then what? So many questions...

Seeing the park come into view, Lizzy started and paid more attention to her surroundings. Realizing her daddy hadn't said much on the whole drive over, she glanced at him curiously. As much as she wanted to watch as they drove into the park, she also was wondering what could possibly be taking up her daddy's attention. "What are you thinking about? You don't look very happy."

Getting closer to the park, drifting through on the quiet road toward the lake, Nick startled at Lizzy's words and glanced around at her. She had a look of concern on her young face that didn't really seem to belong there. "I'm fine, hon, I was just thinking about some... things. Things I shouldn't be thinking about right now, since I'm spending time with you today." He shook the concern away and let it slip off, deciding to consider what he had now. Maybe soon he would tell Lizzy about himself, but probably not today. He didn't like hiding anything from his little girl. Pulling into the gravel parking lot about a quarter of a mile's walk from the lake, he shut the engine down. "Here we are, Liz. You think you can carry that big, heavy bag?" He unbuckled and nodded to the blue bag at Lizzy's feet.

Seeing a challenge, she grinned and nodded, "Yes I can!" Excitedly, she unbuckled and opened her door. Getting the bag and lifting it with both hands, she pulled it from the car and backed up into the grass. The grass tickled her ankles. She glanced down and grinned. Oh the park was a wonderful place to be. Turning, she looked around eagerly to see who all might be here. Particularly of the four legged variety.

Nick laughed, closing his door and going around to help Lizzy close hers. She was a pretty strong little girl, since Nick had put a lot of things in the bag. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he locked the vehicle and led his daughter to the small path. "Look, there's a few down there already." He pointed Lizzy's gaze the right way. Down the hill to the lake, under the shady oak trees, dog owners had their well-behaved animals off their leashes. He couldn't tell any breeds from where they were, but a couple were especially big. Possibly Mastiffs or Great Danes. He knew most of the dog owners and the dogs well already, and newcomers were welcome to their impromptu 'playdays' with open arms as long as their pet was well behaved. "You wanna run ahead?" He asked Lizzy, offering a hand to take the heavy bag.

She turned it over without a second thought and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She couldn't wait to get to know the furry friends that were already at play. As she reached the outer area of the grassy playzone, a flash of gold leaped up towards her panting happily. Finding her face being bathed in wet licks, Lizzy squealed in delight. She used to hate it when dogs licked her, but had since learned that was their expression of love. So she chose to like it and over time had come to not mind so much. Reaching out to pet the golden retriever, she allowed the playful dog to lead her back to it's owner.

Nick smiled when she headed off on her own. He could trust the dog owners here to watch after one another, and weed out undesirables that might have unpleasant ideas in mind. Still, he picked up the pace, tossing the bag over his shoulder and taking the path Lizzy had that went down to the shady lakeside. The barking of dogs and conversation hit him halfway down, and he laughed as an overly friendly golden lab tackled Lizzy. She was used to it by now, no doubt, after they made such a religious factor of coming to visit the dog owners and their pets.

When he joined Lizzy and the dog with the dog's owner, Nick offered a smile to the man, the dog's owner. He looked about Nick's age, and was laughing at the way Lizzy interacted with his pet. "Harvey's a bit friendly." He admitted to Nick as he approached.

"There's nothing 'a bit' about it." Nick laughed, shaking his head at the dog, Harvey so he seemed to be called, snuffled about Lizzy at every inch he could reach.

Giggling at Harvey, Lizzy wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. Harvey stood it for a moment, then started walked forward pulling Lizzy backwards until she was dragging along with him. Her weight forced him to stop and he turned to lick her. Squealing in delight, Lizzy let go of him to protect her face. Turning over onto her stomach, she looked up at daddy, "Daddy daddy, we have a new friend!"

Nick shook his head, but was laughing at the free show. "Looks like we have." He glanced up to the dog's owner. "I mean, if you don't mind...?"

"Not at all! I love meeting people." Harvey's owner offered a hand to Nick. "Gene Miller. I just moved here about a month ago."

"Nick Juno, and this is my adopted daughter Lizzy." He'd never hidden the fact that he wasn't her real, true father from Lizzy. He didn't want to lie to her, and so when she was old enough to understand, he had told her that while he was her father, she came from somewhere else. And that it didn't even matter now, because he loved her no matter what.

"Oh, adopted?" Gene studied Lizzy. "But you two look so much alike!"

Nick laughed at the mention. Of course neither looked alike. Nick was dark, and Lizzy was light. Direct opposites, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Gene crouched down, pulling the overexcited dog off Lizzy. "So Liz, you like Harvey? He's still just a puppy if you can believe it. Still has a lot of growing to do!" He rubbed the dog's head affectionately.

Lizzy grinned up at him from where she lay on her back. "So Harvey is just like me! I have a lot of growing up to do too. Though daddy says I am growing up all the time, so you would think I would be all grown by now." She blinked, "Uh, sir, you look like an angel. Laying down here, you have the sky all behind you as if you exist only in the sky. That is what angels do" She beamed up at him.

Then sitting up and rolling over onto her knees, she stood and walked over to her daddy. Tumbling into his lap, she asked, "Can we get a puppy?"

Gene was beaming at what Lizzy said and Nick watched him with a small smile. He couldn't help but think about how stunning Gene was when he grinned like that, as if he'd just received a blessing from Gandhi. His bright green eyes just lit up, his white teeth showed, and all shadow fled his face. Lizzy just had a way with people, and he loved that about his little girl. She had brought the once-shy Nick out of his shell.

He lifted her and studied her face carefully. "Hmm..." He thought aloud, fighting not to smile. "I don't know... Would you take care of a puppy? And play with them, and clean up their messes, and feed them and let them sleep with you if they wanted to?" He added the last bit without really meaning it. Gene laughed, and Nick found himself hoping he'd meet the guy again after today. Lizzy really seemed to like him, and Harvey.

Giggling, she shook her head, "No daddy, if he wanted to sleep with me, I would bring him to you and we would all have a sleep over together." Inside though she started thinking. It would be nice if she could play with a furry friend more often than just when they went on these trips. And this trip was getting out of hand! Squirming, she pouted, "You took me away from Harvey. And there are so many other animals to go play with!"

Nick laughed. "Liz, you can go ahead and play! Go on, you play, and I'll keep my eye on you so nothing swoops down from the sky to snatch you up." He tweaked the girl's nose as he used to do when he 'stole' it while she was young. He loved the squeal of laughter she'd belt out as she felt for her nose and gave him an incredulous look that said, "Oh, you didn't steal my nose!" "I'll be right here, kid, if Gene doesn't mind me sticking around to talk a bit?"

Gene's stunning smile was there again in an instant, and he shook his head. "Not at all! I don't have much else to do, heard about this little pet playdate and thought it'd be perfect to make a friend or two. And maybe some for Harvey." He reached down, rubbing the dog's ears and taking him off his leash.

Lizzy happily ran off, Harvey barking after her. She played tag with him, finding that he was quite good at it. Especially with the way he could dance around her as she tried to get him. At one point, they ended up near the pond. Pausing, she stood there panting as she looked at the ducks out on the water. Harvey stood beside her, his tongue lolling out to one side as he panted too.

Seeing a mother duck bringing her babies over to the water, she smiled and watched fascinated. The Harvey barked and started to chase them. They were in the water in a flurry of wings and feathers. Their little cheeps letting their mother know that they were all there. She laughed and went over to hug Harvey. They she walked on, looking for more critters in the park to play with. Harvey trotted at her side, sniffing foliage and ground while occasionally licking her hand.

Nick and Gene sat at the base of one of the largest oak trees that were a little higher than the rest, where they could see their charges easily, even if they wandered far away. "Don't go running off too far! Stay where I can see you!" Nick shouted a warning that didn't really need said. Lizzy was no fool and she wouldn't go where he couldn't see, or at least where she couldn't let him hear her voice. Then he looked toward Gene. "New to town, then?" He asked, prodding him to detail just how he came to be new.

"Yeah, I hear this place is warm pretty much ninety-five percent of the time, so I thought it needed an ice cream shop."

Nick laughed. "Ice cream? So you opened a place up?"

Gene nodded. "Yeah. I had one up north but it's not great business half the year, so I saved up and decided I'd find a place here to open up. Don't get me wrong, I have some really unique mixes and freezes, and I sell hot things too. Kind of a best-of-both-worlds type of deal, y'know?"

Nick did know. He liked the idea, and so did his rampant sweet tooth. He watched Lizzy and Harvey explore the taller grass, digging into it and searching for strange or new things.

A stranger, a man of some sort, walk out walking in the park with his pittbull. He approached Lizzy and put on a cold grin. "You like dogs?"

Lizzy felt a strange feeling. One she couldn't describe. Hesitantly, she replied, "Yes." Then she turned to start walking back towards daddy. She was far away suddenly and wanted to be closer.

The man persisted, "I have pups for sale. If you see one you like, you can show it to your dad and see if he will let you keep it."

Suddenly interested, Lizzy asked, "Where are they?" She knew she wasn't supposed to get into strange vehicles.

He shrugged, "Over there, by that tree, I have a basket full of them. She looked and saw the tree. It had something under it. Turning, she started to walk with the man. As they got closer, she realized the parking lot was awefully close to that tree. And though she couldn't see a basket, she could see another man. Harvey was walking closer than he had been earlier.

She stopped and Harvey pressed close, nudging her back towards her daddy. In unison they turned and ran. A shout behind them reached her ears. She pumped her little legs harder. She didn't get far before something shoved her to the ground. Rolling, she turned and saw Harvey get between her and the man. His pittbull expertly started growling, eyeing Harvey's throat.

They had wandered along the bank of the lake, Nick closer to the water, and took the path Lizzy and Harvey had to make sure they could keep an eye on their respective charges. At Gene's prodding, Nick had detailed what he did for a living, writing and drawing a graphic novel and various online comics and having already had a couple others published. Gene seemed pretty impressed, and Nick was glad for that, though as they approached where they had last seen Lizzy and Harvey, that sense was replaced by one of concern and caution. "Weird... Lizzy never disobeys me. Where'd she go...?" A sudden, awful feeling of cold dread started settling in his stomach and Nick breathed carefully to calm himself. He tried to always keep a level head with Lizzy, but she wasn't around.

"Hey, take it easy, she's around. Harvey won't let her get in trouble." Gene put a hand on Nicks shoulder. "C'mon, let's head on---"

He fell silent when a snarling series of barks sounded out somewhere to their right. Nick dropped his bag and Gene darted in front of him, pulling something from his pocket that he recognized immediately as a normally police-issued 9mm. handgun. He faltered. "Woah, what the hell...?"

"Relax, it's registered. I came from a bad neighborhood, old habits and that." Gene pulled him forward and Nick regained his footing, his thoughts turning right back to Lizzy and what could happen to her in the moments after that angry bark. "Lizzy!"

He and Gene raced up a small hill to where they'd heard what was apparently Harvey, and saw a scene that had Nick's heart stilled in his chest for an instant. Two men and a pit. What were they...? Kidnappers? Rapists? Murderers? Every conclusion was worse than the last. "God... Lizzy!" He tried to go forward, but Gene stopped him.

"Harvey, back down!" Gene called. His hands were on the gun and the gun was pointed a the dog of the first man, who was glaring. He seemed to be lost for anything to do immediately. Harvey responded by taking several steps back but not taking his eyes off the pit. He was nudging Lizzy, urging her to get up and. "Liz, c'mon." Gene said. "I got 'em. Get over here." His voice was barely wavering and Nick had to vaguely wonder just how many tense situations Gene had gone through before coming here.

Lizzy heard the voice of the man who owned Harvey. Relief flooded through her and she slowly got up, clutching Harvey by the scruff of his neck as she did so. As she stood, the stranger closer to the tree whistled. Both the man and the bitpull turned and raced for the parking lot. The further man opening up a van door and climbing in.

Not waiting for further sight seeing, she turned and ran. Seeing daddy, she aimed straight for him and his safe arms. Nothing could hurt her when she was in her daddy's arms. Racing towards him, she leaped for the safety of his chest, her breathes coming in quick gasps.

Nick fell onto his knees to hold onto Lizzy, biting back tears of fear that threatened to fall. He couldn't break down in front of his little girl, he had to be the rock he always was. But it was impossible to keep the tremor out of his voice. "Oh, Liz... I told you never ever go to a stranger unless they're a police officer, or unless I can see you. Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?" He brushed her hair back---some had come loose of its braid, and fell into her face. From the corner of his eye Nick could see Gene flicking the safety on his gun and pocketing it again, bending down to Harvey.

"Hey..." Nick looked into Lizzy's eyes. "How about we get you a dog?"

Lizzy looked at her daddy, her arms tight around daddy's neck. A dog? That was what that strange man had just offered. Suddenly terrified again, she turned and buried her face in daddy's neck. Fingers gripping his shirt as a tremble went through her. The warm of her daddy came through the shirt and into her muscles, soothing her a little, but her adrenaline was still flowing pretty good. She felt a tear threatening to build and gulped it back. No crying for her. Not with daddy there to take care of her.

There was a nudge at her back. Harvey? Harvey had been there too, just like her daddy. She didn't remember much now, except running, falling, Harvey, running, and daddy's arms... but maybe... she mumbled, "Okay," into his neck wishing for all the world that she had just stayed near daddy in the first place.

Nick scooped his little girl up and held her close. "Okay." He affirmed gently. "We'll do that. And he'll protect you like Harvey did." Suddenly all he wanted was to find the creeps that had lured Lizzy away, possibly with the idea of a dog the way she had reacted to his words. Gene stepped forward. "Is she okay?" He asked, concern very obvious. Nick hesitated before he nodded.

"She will be..." He said. "I mean, it's not every day you're almost kidnapped, is it?" He rubbed Lizzy's back reassuringly. "But it's definitely going to be the last time. We'll get her a big sweet dog that's always ready to protect her from bad men." He was speaking more to Lizzy now, trying to calm the frantically beating heart he could feel pounding against him.

"Maybe you could bring him by sometime. Harvey wouldn't mind a playmate." Gene laughed, rubbing Harvey's head as he sat obediently at his feet. "And... Heh, I wouldn't mind someone around that knows the town."

Nick laughed and nodded. "Hey, Liz, what do you think? You like Gene and Harvey?"

Shyly looked over her arm at Gene, she studied him. He seemed nice. Harvey liked him and was friendly all around, so that was good. Animals had a good sense of judgment. She gave a nod. Then remembered her manners and gave him a small smile. "I like them."

Lizzy heard some ducks over by the pond. Turning and leaning over to look clearly past daddy's shoulders towards the water, she saw them. Mallards. "Oh daddy! Ducks! Let's feed them!" With her daddy near, there was no need to be unhappy. He was the light of her world. "I want to feed them daddy. Did you bring anything for them?"

Though Nick felt a bit shaken, Lizzy seemed to have bounced back from the scare quickly, moving on to the next thing on her impromptu to-do lost. He loved that about kids, able to jump away from their fears once the source of those fears were safely out of the way, unlike adults, who fretted and looked over their shoulder even when they were in no danger. “Yeah, I think I have something...” He put a hand to his side, feeling nothing there. “Aw, gads... Our bag...”

“I picked it up.” Gene said suddenly, pulling a strap on his shoulder and handing the blue cooler bag over. “I figured you wouldn’t want to leave it...”

“Thanks... It just has food in it, but it’s pretty useful.” Nick took the bag, unzipping it and pulling a small plastic tupperware container. “Here you go, Liz. I think they’ll like oats, don’t you?” Harvey wiggled a little, staring at the bowl as if it were a treasure.

Lizzy squirmed around until she was on the ground. Putting an arm companionably around Harvey's neck, she said in her best grown up voice. "We are going to feed the ducks. You have to be nice to them Harvey." Then she proceeded to lead him down towards the pond. Only once did a strange feeling of apprehension tug at her. She looked back at daddy, and seeing him, grinned and turned back around to continue her march.

Reaching the pond, she let go of Harvey and opened the container. He poked his nose questionably to sniff at the contents. She patted his head and then started tossing them out towards the mallards. She didn't want to get too close. Just in case they were a bit nervous of bigger people like her. Still it was enjoyable. Harvey sat down beside her, happily panting while she enjoyed his and the ducks' company.