Nick smiled back at Lizzy when she turned toward where he and Gene stood, and sat on the ground to keep her in sight. Hopefully she would stay in his line of sight this time but if she wandered off, he'd be on his feet in a second. Gene followed suit, pulling out his phone as he settled on the grass alongside Nick and fiddling silently with it for a moment. "Found some ads for puppies around town." Gene said, shaking the phone in Nick's direction. "Oooh, one family's selling purebred Vizsla puppies!"

"What the hell's a Vizsla?" Nick leaned sideways to stare at the screen.

"They're not well-known, but they're really friendly, great with kids and pretty easy to train with the right motivation. You'll have a pretty good watchdog for Liz, too."

Nick studied the month-old puppies in the photo. There were six, four with blue collars and two with pink. "That'd be nice, actually... Young ones can be taught, and bonded easier with people..."

"Yep." Gene grinned. "If Liz wants, we can all go take a look today. I bet she'd love to convince her daddy to go be tackled by a gang of puppies."

Nick laughed, nodding and watching the little blonde girl and the dog alongside her. If anything Harvey had already claimed her, but he was sure Gene wouldn't be having that.

Lizzy had spent quite a few joyful moments with the water fowl when she felt her attention wondering. Turning, she patted Harvey on the head and looked back to see what her daddy was doing. Instead of watching her, he was looking at something Gene held and talking with him. Feeling a tinge of jealousy that her daddy was giving someone else his attention besides her, she turned and frowned at the water.

Like all smart kids though, she realized it took a lot of energy to be feeling grumpy and thought it over. Hadn't she wished only this morning her daddy had someone besides her? Sure, it wasn't some pretty woman on the street who could be her mommy, but guys like having best friends to hang out with too. So they could have a family friend. Nothing wrong with that. Smiling at Harvey, she patted him again, "Come on Harvey, let's go bother the adults. They are being boring, just sitting there." Together the two stood and companionably walked back. "Hi daddy. Hi Gene." She said, walking up to them curiously, glancing between the two as she did.

Gene and Nick glanced up as Lizzy and Harvey approached, and Nick smiled. "Hi sweetie. There's a family selling puppies in town, and Gene said he'd show us the way." He glanced sideways and smiled a little. "Even though he doesn't know anything about the town, seeing as he's new to the parts and all."

"Well, you could always ride with me and show me the way." Gene grinned as if the idea were the most wonderful he'd ever come up with. "I mean, I can follow you to your place and you guys can hop in my car and be my own personal GPS. I'd have to take Harvey home first though..." He held a hand out and the retriever moved forward, flopping down on the grass in front of Gene.

Nick studied the man and his dog. They'd saved his little girl. He looked Nick in the eyes when he spoke and never stuttered, never shifted oddly. He was trustworthy. Good. Dogs had good instincts when it came to humans and Harvey adored Gene. "Well, Liz, what do you think?" Nick looked around to Lizzy.

The idea of puppies was a thrilling one. In Lizzy's mind she could envision countless little cuties of all colors and furriness running up and down the stairs and playing on her bed. The picture was a delightful one and it lit up her whole countenance. She would have many friends to play with and that would be great.

Looking at daddy and watching him talk to Gene, Lizzy wondered if maybe the puppies would allow daddy to have more friends too. But who needed lots of friends when they had each other. Was daddy perhaps needed more time to himself? Was that perhaps a reason to get her a puppy? No, surely not. Such thoughts weren't happy and so weren't worth her time.

Letting the adults talk, Lizzy went and crawled into daddy's lap. A strange sensation in her stomach made her feel a bit lonely. When daddy asked her what she thought, she grinned up at him, "I think that would be great. Can we have two hundred puppies?"

Nick wrapped his arms around Lizzy and let her curl up on him. She was an endlessly affectionate child and he loved that---hopefully she would remain like that even as a teenager, though he was dreading those years. His mind kept going to horror stories of other parents hating how their kids grew into unpredictable prison escapees. He didn't want his little angel to turn into a blonde-haired devil, though he'd love her either way. He laughed. "Two hundred?" He repeated. "I think we'd have to buy a bigger house. Why don't we start with one? One that'll grow up to be big and sweet, and will keep you away from bad people." He clung to Lizzy at the idea of losing her somehow. No, he would never lose his little girl. And he'd teach that puppy to make it a sure thing.

Gene laughed. "Well, the day's young. Wanna get going now?" He pocketed his phone and looked from Nick to Lizzy. Harvey wriggled but didn't get up; he seemed excited.

Giggling as daddy held her even closer, she agreed, "Okay, one for now. " Then with a pause, she added, "now has come and gone. Can we get more than one?" She twisted around to see if she had made him smile again. That was always fun. Her daddy was the best and in his arms, no harm could touch her.

Glancing at Gene, Lizzy decided he was a pretty fun friend. "Sure, are you going to ride with us?" She rather liked the fellow. There was really nothing wrong with him that she saw. Besides, he had Harvey. Beaming at him, she added, "we have a picnic basket full of goodness that daddy packed. We can always share on the way or something." Who didn't like food after all?

Nick laughed and shook his head. Lizzy was too smart sometimes for a seven year old. He looked at Gene when Lizzy spoke to him and could see the man mull it over for a bit.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind riding with you. If you don't mind following me to my place so I don't gotta come all the way back here. Harvey's gotta take a breather too, he's had a lot of excitement today." Gene grinned, reaching for Harvey and ruffling the fur around his ears. The dog looked blissful, all too happy to be with his owner.

"Sure, that sounds good to me." Nick rearranged Lizzy and stood, placing her on her feet and shouldering the blue bag as Gene did the same. "We'll follow you, okay?" He looked at Lizzy for confirmation.

She grinned a bright grin and turned to run ahead towards the car. Laughing and giggling all the way, with Harvey bounding to keep pace with her, Lizzy pumped her legs for all she was worth. Reaching the car, she collapsed in a fit of laughter as Harvey started licking her face. She pushed his head away and looked towards her dad.

That blue bag held a really good meal. She couldn't wait to get some of it. Standing, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Hurry up! I'm hungry!" Also, she suddenly felt too far from daddy's arms. What if those men came back?

Nick laughed and shook his head, hurrying forward with Gene on his heels. "Okay, okay! On our way!" Up the hill, they emerged onto the parking lot area.

"Harvey! C'mon!" Gene patted his leg and Harvey bounded forward, tackling Gene and sending him into the back of his car, a low green thing. "So you'll follow me?" He asked Nick from across the lot.

"Yeah, we'll be behind you! If you get lost we'll help after we're done laughing."

Gene rolled his eyes and opened the driver side door, and Harvey jumped in. Nick opened Lizzy's door and when she was in, he handed her the cooler bag to pick around in as they drove and went around to get in as well. When he started the engine, he waited until Gene had pulled away and stopped before following. "Well, this was a... different kind of day, wasn't it?" Nick asked, glancing to Lizzy as they followed Gene.

Lizzy sobered up at that. The memory of how the man had tried to get her closer to his other friend not so easily dismissed when she wasn't playing. What had he wanted with her? She had never seen him before. "Daddy..." she asked hesitantly, "Why did those men want to take me away from you?" It was strange. Were they lonely and in need of friends? "Do they not have wives or something?" They were too old for school or otherwise they would have had many friends. Perhaps they needed a puppy too.

She looked past her daddy's shoulder out in front of them. She could see Gene's car as they were following them. But he didn't have anyone special and he was perfectly happy. She amended her question, "They must not have any puppies. Gene is okay and not scary. Can we get those men puppies so they won't scare me anymore daddy?" She looked up at him through the rearview mirror, concern in her eyes.

Nick pursed his lips. Lizzy was so frank, saying what was on her mind while at the same time trying to be cautious about how she spoke. She was much older in her mind than she was in age. He busied himself with staring out the windshield, watching Gene's car move toward where he lived. "Liz..." He paused, rubbing his chin in thought. "You know, there are bad people in the world. Some people are bad because they like to be. Those men that tried to take you from me are the kind of men that are bad because they like to be bad. Because they want to be bad. And nothing we do to try to change them will help."

He looked at her in his rearview mirror. "But Lizzy, you know there is bad in the world. I promise you, though, I'll never let any of that bad stuff get you, okay?"

She looked trustingly back at him. "I know daddy. I'm sorry I didn't stay closer to you today. It made it harder for you to help me didn't it." Looking ahead at Gene's vehicle, she added, "At least you had Gene to help. I saw his gun when I was running to you. At first it scared me, but it turned out alright." A moment passed before she added, "Maybe when those bad people become tired of being mean, they will become kind. Then they won't be lonely anymore." It had to be lonely, being mean all the time. "There was a kid at the park last fall. He was mean and no one would be his friend. He got nicer and now we all play with him."

Peaking towards the food basket, she begged, "Can you make Gene go faster? I want to eat our food." She grinned up at her daddy, wondering once again who he had for friends. She was just a kid. Was she enough?

Nick smiled. "Well, sweetie, we can only hope, can't we? Grown-ups are so stubborn, though, they don't change very well." He followed Gene through a quick right turn, away from the main road and onto a smaller one. This one had large trees on either side of the road, giving shade to the area.

Glancing back, he laughed. "Well you can always eat one of the oatmeal bars I put in. That should be enough for a while, don't you think? And if not, I did put two in just in case!" He looked through the window more specifically, studying the houses he passed. They were actually brownstone apartment buildings, old, and large, but cheap to rent or buy.

"Thank you daddy!" He really was the best dad ever. He thought of everything. Happily, she dug in and pulled out a bar. Working at the wrapper, she carefully got it off and put it back in the basket. Leaving wrappers or such in the car made her daddy sad. Then she blissfully sat back and studied her snack. Eyeing it, she then proceeded to take bites.

It wasn't long before she had it polished off and was happily looking out the car window. What would her puppy be like? He or she must be lonely and waiting just for her. She would have to look carefully until she found that puppy. Looking at daddy impatiently, she asked, "How much longer? I want my puppy. It must really want me too."

Nick smiled, pulling to a stop on the curb behind Gene's vehicle. "We'll be getting there soon, love. Gene has to help us get there, or at least tell us where we're heading. Then we'll get your puppy and they'll make sure to love you and keep you safe, just like me." He watched Gene take Harvey into one of the buildings, vanishing for only a few moments, then reappearing without Harvey. In a few quick strides he was at the car, sliding in. "So we're headed to Victory Avenue." He said. "House on the end. Know where it is?"

"Yep." Nick smiled, earning a bigger one in return before Gene buckled himself in and looked back at Lizzy. "Hey you! Feel good?" He folded a leg underneath him so he could see Lizzy better.

Feeling all snuggly and warm inside, Lizzy beamed. That smiled only widened when Gene hopped in, though it fell slightly when she noticed no Harvey followed. Maybe pets weren't allowed in vehicles. She would probably have to get a wagon to hook up to her tricycle so that she could take her dog to the park. Or better yet, he could run along side her! That would be fabulous! But it would take forever to get there with just her three wheels. Maybe daddy would get a wagon to pull behind the van.

Contented with her assumptions, Lizzy nodded to Gene, "uh huh." Gene was so friendly. Maybe they could all get to know each other better. Daddy didn't have many friends over. Maybe she should speak up, even if it was the guy's place to ask others out to supper. But wait, daddy might not want Gene over. She would have to ask his permission. But she couldn't do that with Gene in the car. Wait! There was a solution to that as well. "Gene, would you plug your ears for a moment? I have a question for daddy."