Mercy

"You look tired." Leland says as he opens the door for Nikki on Monday morning. "Thanks" she says laughing. "I flew in from Kona last night around 11:00." She tells him. "My best friend lives there and usually one of us flies over every other weekend for a visit." she explains.

"Oh... I used to live there a few years ago." Leland tells her as he picks up his car keys, getting ready to leave for work. "I miss it a lot. It was more laid back than Oahu." he says, thinking back to the many years he spent there. She agrees and tells him "Bye" as he leaves for the day.

Leland's phone rings later that day. "Hello?" he says, knowing its Nikki. "Hey Leland. Um, Bailee is running a fever so I'm gonna to take her to the doctor, can you tell me where the insurance cards are?" she says calmly.

"Is she alright?" he asks, getting the attention of his older brother who's riding beside him in the car. "I think she's fine, her nose is a little runny, so she might just be getting a cold. But I don't want to risk it since she's running a fever." Nikki tells him. He explains where the insurance cards are and which doctor to take his daughter to see before hanging up with Nikki.

"Is little B. okay?" Duane Lee asks his brother. "Nikki said she has a fever and a runny nose. Maybe I should take her to the doctor myself?" he says looking to his older brother for answers. "Thats what nanny's are for, to do the shit you can’t do yourself." he says changing the station on the radio.

Maybe he was right, Leland thought. But what if Bailee resents me for not being there for her. What if she grows to like Nikki more than her own father. He knew he had a lot of unanswered questions and a long road ahead of him as Bailee got older.

Later that night when all was settled he watches his daughter sleep. He couldn't believe how much she'd grown in the past eleven months. He rubs his thumb lightly across her smooth, pink cheek and smiles. "My beautiful girl... How did we ever make it this far?"

In the other room he could hear his phone ringing, he paused and turned toward the door. It was his father, they spoke briefly and he hung up the phone only to pick it up once more to call Nikki.

"Nikki, hi, its Leland. I just got a call from work and I need you to come over and sit with Bailee for a little while. She's asleep." he explains. "Um... okay." She says hesitantly. "I'll be there in ten minutes." she says before hanging up with him.

Nikki knocked lightly and walked into the house. Leland was sitting in a chair putting his boots on. She had never seen him dressed for work before; he looked so different than what she was used to seeing. He wore black from head to toe; shirt, pants and shoes. He topped his clothes off with a bullet proof vest and black gloves. He definitely looked ready for action. She swallowed realizing how dangerous his job really was. Saying a silent prayer for his safety, she walked farther into the house.

He looked up, surprised to see her standing there. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. She wore a short black dress with high heels, her hair had been fixed on top of her head. She obviously was out for the night when he called.

"Nikki...I didn't know you were out tonight." he says. She blushes a light shade of pink and says, "What? You think I don't go out at night?"

"No - I mean yes ... no... you know what I mean!" he says, stumbling over his words as he stands up. "Ive got to go, I'll be back in a few hours." he says leaving her standing there. Nikki laughs and walks down the hall to check on Bailee.

Being careful not to be too loud, Leland makes his way into the house the next morning. He knew it was still early and there was a chance that his daughter wasn't up yet. To his surprise, both she and Nikki were in the kitchen. Bailee sitting happily in her highchair.

Sometime in the middle of the night Nikki had lost her short black dress and heels and opted for something a little more comfortable, now wearing jeans and a tank-top that looked a lot like one of his.

He could hear Nikki singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to his daughter from across the kitchen as she cooked breakfast. He stopped to watch them for a moment. His daughter clapped and laughed every time Nikki would move her hands like a spider. Leland could tell his daughter had taken to Nikki right away, and it looked like the same could be said for Nikki.

Nikki always showed up early and eager each morning. She never complained or tried to lecture him on how to raise his daughter. That was more than he could say for the other women in his life. There was someone constantly nagging him about Bailee's upbringing.

Nikki looks up when she hears him come into the kitchen, Bailee's clapping was becoming more frequent the closer Leland got to her. "You're just in time for breakfast." she tells Leland as he kisses his little girl on the forehead. "Sorry I'm so late getting in. We had a rough night." he explains to Nikki who sits a plate and a glass of orange juice down in front of him.

"Really? Did you catch your guy?" she asks eagerly, sitting down next to him at the table, drinking some juice. "Finally... we only went to about seven different houses and three different parks looking for him. Meth Head - " he says pausing to bite into a biscuit she had just put on his plate. "They only come out at night....which is not so great for me when I have a small child, you know?"

"Well, that’s why you have a nanny." Nikki says with a smile. "Has Bailee eaten yet?" he asks with a mouthful of food, obviously starving and looking like he might have missed a few meals in his life, Nikki says "Yes. She ate before I started cooking. Don't worry, I wont let her starve."

"You have been so much help, I cannot tell you how much easier my life has been." he says gratefully. "Well, she's a good girl, so it makes it easy on me too!" Nikki tells him as he finishes his food.

"Are you not going to eat?" he asks, wondering why she was cooking if she hadn't eaten yet. "No... I'm on a diet. The last thing I need is bacon and biscuits!" she says with a laugh. "Actually your brother called before you got here, asking if you had made it home yet so I decided I would go ahead and cook you something. I knew you would be hungry....he said he would just call back later, by the way."

He thought this might have been the nicest thing anyone had done for him in a long time. Leland smiles and thanks her for breakfast.