She insisted on those pink shoes
She would promise she would wear them everyday as long as she could have those pink
shoes
For the most part she kept her promise Alexis was the one that had to pry them off of her
They dangled from the ivory colored sofa
She didnt hear Alexis come in she was mesmerized by the animated characters that would hold her eye lids open until her mommy came home to tuck her in as promised
"Hello pumpkin" Alexis whispered letting her big brown eyes reflect into her little girls
"Mommy!"
Kristina held her arms open wide to reach as Alexis scooped her up into her arms
Arms and legs wrapped tightly around Alexis, Kristina noticed the man standing behind Casey
Kristina seemed to look him square in the face before tucking her head into her mommys shoulder
"Kris, theres someone I want you to meet"
Alexis pulled Kristina away from her facing her towards Ned
"Do you remember that picture on mommys dresser?"
Kristina seemed to inspect the man before her and then shook her head now clearly recognizing the mans face
"This is Ned"
"Hi Kristina" Ned said smiling
She didnt seem intimidated by his presents
"Hi"
His heart fluttered at the sound of her soft voice
"Why dont you ask Casey if she will help you put on your pjs and then you can come back down stairs with us ok?"
Kristina turned towards Casey as she held out her hand for her
Alexis and Ned watched as they went upstairs
"Im sorry I wasnt sure how to introduce you to her hey Kristina this is your father! I mean shes"
"Shes beautiful"
"Hmm?"
"Youre right shes beautiful and she does look like more and more like Kristina"
Alexis anxiety vanished by the content look on his face
"Alexis shell learn who I am I dont want to scare her, I dont want to scare you"
"It doesnt scare meI mean maybe it should but having you back, having you here with me, getting to see you with KristinaIt doesnt scare me it makes everything seem right for a change. I just regret now more than ever taking her from you"
"Were back together "
"We were back together before. And just life before and the time before that I was the one that screwed everything up"
"So it took us until now to figure it out. Thats ok, we havent lost what we had and think of what we have now"
The phone rang interrupting their conversation
The called seemed important
Ned turned to see spying eyes in the doorway of the kitchen
Ned grinned at the sight of her and she giggled devilishly
She then walked cautiously towards Ned with bunny in hand
Her now bare feet revealed her fiery red little toe nails from an unknowingly fiery little girl
Kristina took a moment to inspect Ned standing there
"This is Sam" Kristina said boldly holding out her bunny to Ned
"Hello Sam"
Kristina was pleased that he seemed to like her beloved bunny rabbit
"Was my mommy visiting you?"
So began a thousand questions of a six year old
"Yes she did"
"Why did you come back with her?"
"Because I wanted to come see you"
"Me?" Kristina said sounding shocked
"Your mommy was telling me how pretty and how smart you are and I had to get on an airplane and come see you myself"
She took a moment to ponder their conversation
"Mommy said you are her best friend"
Neds face lit up at the thought of her saying that
"She did?"
"In that picture, on her dresser, she said that you were her best friend like Molly is my best friend"
Alexis peered back into the kitchen finding Ned and Kristina in full conversation
"I see you guys are getting aquatinted"
"Were talking about our best friends"
"Best friends huh?"
"Kristina was telling me how you told her I was your best friend"
"You are"
"Thank you"
"No I should be thanking you"
She smiled her dimpled smile at him before noticing Kristina staring at them
"What are you looking at?" Alexis said as she reached to tickle her
An explosion of laughter filled the air
"Alexis Im leaving!"
"Thank you Casey for staying with her"
"She was a perfect angel" Casey said reaching out for her hug goodbye from Kristina "You guys have a good night and it was nice to finally meet you Ned"
"Nice meeting you too"
"What did she mean by finally meeting me?"
"I might have mentioned you once or twice," Alexis said grinning slyly
He was charmed
Three exciting stories of the weekend from Kristina
One glass of water
One bathroom stop
Four hugs
A few kisses
One hand shake from Ned
And a tuck into bed
"Sweet dreams pumpkin"
"Sweet dreams mommy"
A view of the city
He stood beside her staring out at the view of Manhattan
He stood beside her holding her hand
"I like your world so far" Ned said turning to Alexis
"I dont mind you being in it so far," she said grinning
They took a moment of silence to just standing there and knowing they where they belonged
Ned then broke the silence between them
And out of the blue
"Alexis, this time promise me promise me for the rest of your life"
She looked up at him without hesitation, understanding fully what her answer should be... she said
"For the rest of my life"
