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"Hey, dad." Lara pushed the door to their flat closed softly due to the state her father appeared to be in. Cillian glanced up and gave her a tight smile, "Need a hug?" When he didn't answer, Lara rounded the counter and pulled her dad in for a hug. 

It was always this time of the year when the Murphy duo felt particularly sad. Nicolette Williams-Murphy never did make it to her thirty-fifth birthday. July eighteenth was a happy day nearly fifteen years ago, but not anymore.

Cillian held his daughter lightly, Lara knew why, he was unsure if she had forgiven him for the stunt in the group chat. "It's fine, I'm not that angry anymore." He relaxed and she rubbed his back slowly, "Mum wouldn't want us to be sad,"

"I know that. It's just hard knowing she missed out on you becoming so wonderful," Tears pricked at Lara's eyes. She hardly remembered her mum, being only three when Nicolette passed away from a long term illness. Cillian drew back from Lara and held her face in his hands, Lara smiled up at her father.

He kissed her forehead and hugged her once more, "She'd be so bloody proud of you, Lara Jean." Lara chewed on the inside of her cheek, not wanting to cry in front of Cillian. 

The flat was rather dark, all of the lights except the one above the kitchen counter were off. "And she'd be proud of you, for dealing with me. And teaching me so well," They drew apart and Lara leaned on the counter, he shook his head. 

Then Cillian chuckled, "Doubt that, for the first two years after she passed I left you in Ireland like a prick..." 

"You weren't being a prick, dad. Don't beat yourself up. You were hurt... I... was a bloody baby but those memories are some of my fondest. Except for that time uncle Páidi nearly drowned me..." Lara shuddered, "I still haven't gotten over my fear of large bodies of waters because of that!" 

"Sometimes you need to be waterboarded to learn,"

"Is that what Christopher Nolan thought he was doing during Inception?" Cillian rolled his eyes at his daughter's attention to detail. Even at ten years old, she still remembered being terrified for her father when he was underwater with a burlap sack over his head.