Gina couldn't believe it was the weekend already and more than that she couldn't believe she was at an airport, waiting on April who would make an appearance any minute now. She released a nervous sigh and glanced at Knox whose eyes were strained on the area April would come from. His face epitomized excitement and impending joy.

He turned to Gina as if sensing her eyes on him. "Do you think she'll like the room?" he asked, raising a questioning brow.

Gina wasn't sure how to answer the question seeing she didn't know much about the child but she had a great feeling she would. Knox said she liked yellow, so he had gotten the room painted in that particular colour with nature paintings lining the walls. It didn't have much toys as was expected for a child to have but Knox had made it known that April was a very mature kid who prefered books to toys.

"I think she will," Gina reassured with a warm smile.

Knox nodded and gently wrapped his arms around Gina's shoulders before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for being here with me. It means a lot."

"Don't mention it."

"Daddy!" a voice screamed. Both Knox and Gina's head snapped around to find a small girl in the distance with an elderly woman standing beside her. April wore a beaming smile as she ran towards Knox who briskly walked to meet her.

Gina watched in complete awe as Knox propeled her up into his arms and hugged her tightly. April's face was buried in the crook of Knox's neck as she laughed and cried with laughter. She wore a hooded sweater that covered her head and her upper body, jeans and a pair of sandals.

Gina now felt a bit awkward and nervous more than ever before but suddenly April looked up and met her gaze, a wide grin stretching across her slightly pale face.

"Hi," she said, waving at Gina who couldn't help smiling while she waved back and greeted her with the same reply.

Knox turned with a winning smile, headed towards Gina while April tightened her grip around his neck.

"I miss you so much dad and I have so much to tell you," April exclaimed.

"I miss you too pumpkin and I have a whole lot to tell you too."

She giggled and turned to Gina when they stood before her. Up close Gina was able to see her lovely blue eyes and the warm pink on her cheeks even though her face was pale. Her tiny mouth was a pretty peach that sat above a firm chin.

"April, this is my wife Gina who I told you about and Gina, this is April," Knox announced with a noticeable joy to his tone.

April stuck out a hand. "Nice to finally meet you. You're all dad ever talk about," she grinned.

Gina chuckled and took her hand. "Ah, nice to meet you too," she responded a bit timidly.

"And this is Norma," Knox said, glancing at the woman who stood poised with a faint smile.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said and fully smiled, One that wrinkled the corners of her green eyes and hinted more at her age. Her naturally gray streaked blonde hair was scraped back severely to the back of her head, complimenting the ankle length skirt she wore with a matching loose top.

"Likewise," Gina replied warmly.

"Well now that the introductions are over, I think it's time to go home. What do you ladies say?" he asked, his gaze shifting from Gina to April.

"Sounds great. I can't wait to see your new house and my bed. I'm extremely tired."

Knox's concerned gaze turned to the nanny. "I think it's a little jetlag sir. She's fine," the woman reassured, knowing from where his concern stemmed.

"Yes dad, I'm fine. I promise," she said, kissing him on the cheek which made Knox chuckle. Gina smiled.

........

They arrived at the house thirty minutes later where Norma was directed to her quarters in the pool house, leaving Knox, Gina and April to the house.

"Can I take my jacket off now? Norma insisted that I keep it on until we arrived here," April murmured, already beginning to pull the zipper down.

"Was there a reason she wanted you to keep it on?" Knox queried.

"No, she just didn't want other kids to stare and make fun of me. I told her I didn't mind but you know how she is," she explained, shrugging off the jacket.

Gina pretended not to be shocked but she didn't know how well her act was brought across. April seeing her expression laughed.

"You should see your face," she giggled, causing Gina to send a shocked apologetic look Knox's way. He managed a smile. "It was my choice to have my hair shaved after I was done with my chemo."

Gina was baffled. She didn't know if it was wise to ask why but she was curious as to why a kid would choose to have a bald head.

"Why?" she asked nonetheless.

"I just wanted to show some of the kids at the hospital that they could be brave too without hair, you know. I didn't want them to feel alone," she smiled sweetly. "I'm going to grow it back but I like how it is now. I don't have to worry about having it combed," she laughed and Gina couldn't help but laugh too, wondering how it was possible for a child to possess such brave courage.

"That's my little brave princess," Knox exclaimed proudly.

April blushed. "May I see my room now?"

"Ofcourse, follow me."

Gina cleared her throat. "I'll just get lunch in order," she said, scampering to the kitchen.

She went there to find the maid. "Can you have lunch prepared, Martha. Something an eight year old would like, I guess."

The woman smiled. "Ofcourse ma'am."

Gina smiled her thanks and sighed. Minutes later, Knox entered the kitchen alone.

"Why didn't you tell me April was... bald? I would have known what to expect. My expression might have offended her!" Gina exclaimed.

"I didn't think.... I wasn't thinking about that at the time and clearly April wasn't offended. She's a strong kid," he reassured, rubbing Gina's shoulder.

Still, Gina was a bit upset about it, but she didn't plan on prolonging the argument.

   "I um, I asked Martha to prepare lunch. I didn't know what she liked, I just..." she trailed off, seeing the look Knox was giving her. "What?"

      "Gina, everything's gonna be fine. You don't have to worry," he softly said, his gaze locked with hers.

She slumped her shoulders and ran her hand across her face. "Yeah... Where is April?"

     "Upstairs taking a nap," he informed. "Turns out she likes the room very much. I've gotta get her some more books though."

       "Great." clearing her throat, she tucked a loose strand of brunette hair behind her ear. "Listen, I just remember I'm meeting Sally in a bit for her fitting. I'm gonna head out for a bit."

Knox's gaze was skeptical, but he offered a smile and replied, "Ok."

    "Yeah, I'll be back," she said, tipping to kiss him lightly on the lips before she moved towards the door.

Once on the outside, seated in her car, Gina sighed and closed her eyes for a minute, trying to clear her thoughts. It snapped open when her phone began to ring.

She dug it out of her pocket and glanced at the unknown caller ID. Hesitantly she answered,

     "Hello."

      Nothing but slow breathing which caused a chill to run down Gina's spine. She was about to hang up when a familiar voice stopped her.

      "It's me Fred."

Gina swallowed, shocked by what she heard while at the same time contemplating whether or not she should just hang up and block his number again. She just didn't want anymore drama.

      "Please don't hangup," he said, as if sensing her motive.

Gina swallowed and looked towards the house to see if anyone was in range. Knox in particular.

       "What do you want, Fred?" she asked, a bitter whisper.

       "To see you," he said.

Gina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She sighed instead. "That can't happen, I'm sorry."

      "Please, I just want to talk to you," he said in a plea-like tone.

     "You're talking to me now, so go ahead before I decide to hang up, Fred" she stated drily.

      "In person. Please, it's important."

Gina rubbed at her temples and looked to the house where Knox was in with his child. She just needed some space to get her thoughts in order and after the lie she told, Gina figured she would have to eventually go somewhere to pass the time.

      "Where?"

_______

Author's note:

Heeey guys! Hope you are all good! I hope you all liked this chapter. If so, please consider leaving a vote...

Thoughts....
How's April?
Is Gina meeting Fred a bad idea or...?
Lemme know in the comment and once again huuugge thanks for the continuous support. Lots of love...

Laters baby...
Xoxo
Juju