For nearly two years Nathan had been used to waking up early even after being up several times a night and this morning had been no different. It didn't help that they would be hanging out with Naomi that day either for that had made him far more excited than he had been since the passing of Evangeline. Eva had been sleeping through the night since shortly before her first birthday, however he still woke up - if not to feed her, then to make sure she was still breathing. It was his biggest fear, losing her. Next to her, Naomi was the person he cared about however whatever they had with each other was still up in the air. It wasn't because he didn't want a relationship, it was because he was scared, terrified. He was afraid to love someone with the thought that anything could happen - that he could lose her. Nathan had lost enough people, he would lose no more. He had lost his family and his wife, he refused to lose Eva and Naomi, even if it meant to accepting the love he had for Naomi.

His day had started with a hearty meal of oatmeal, bacon and eggs for him and Eva, though she mostly ate the oatmeal and only the one that had the tiny strawberries in them. Nathan, for the past few months, had been able to feed himself while she fed herself. It was quite sad really, because it made him think about just how fast his daughter was growing up. In a matter of two months she would be two years old and Nathan just couldn't fathom it. He had raised her that long, it had been two years he'd been a widower, a single father. It was a dreaded date because Evangeline died on Eva's birthday and it was hard to celebrate such a sad day, he was thankful he'd had Naomi last October. A glance over to Eva showed her slowly shoveling the strawberries and cream oatmeal into her mouth with equally as much down her front to her diaper. He chuckled a bit causing her to glance back at him and then he returned to his food. He had learned to shower in the mornings before she woke up, however he would not change until after he had gotten her dressed. Eva's baths were usually after breakfast and this morning would be no way different.

When Nathan had finished bathing Eva, he dressed her in a lightweight, long-sleeve grey onesie. He layered a denim skirt on top of it, put on her blue converse and he placed a grey headband bow around her head. Her hair grew longer everyday and he was beginning to do small hairstyles in it like the one that Muggle cartoon baby Pebbles wore, however today he left her hair down because that was his favourite style on her. Just as soon as he had gotten her dressed, he had gotten himself dressed. He let Eva down on the floor to play with some of her toys as he dressed into a pair of jeans, a blue-grey v-neck and some black Nike's. He was mostly ready, aside from the fact that he needed to pack her diaper bag. Grabbing the blue bag from by the door, he walked back to their room and filled it with : several sippy cups full of juice, finger snacks, an extra outfits, wipes, diapers, pull-ups and toys.

Nathan had been in the process of potty training Eva, however since today they would be at the botanical gardens he stuck to leaving her in a pull up not wanting her to accidentally mess in her Hello Kitty underpants because it wouldn't be her fault. He had also remembered at the last minute to pack a small umbrella in the bag as well as suncream because he didn't know if they would be in the sun or not. However since telling Naomi about his wife and even the vampire issue, things on his plate had been a lot lighter and it felt good to have the issues off his chest. He was glad that Naomi understood their sun issue and that she understood why he was afraid of relationships and the whole nine yards. He was mostly glad that she had still stayed by their side, never treating them differently.

As Nathan finished packing the bag, he swing it over his shoulder and scooped up Eva just in time to hear Naomi at the door. Sucking in his breath, he walked to the door and pulled it open. With no hesitation, Eva reached over to Naomi. "Muma!" Nathan allowed Eva to crawl into Naomi's arms as he tried to gather himself because apparently, he'd been holding his breath and looking her up and down which could be taken as quite rude. "I - um - hi," he settled for trying to gather his thoughts and ignoring the fact that his face was now red hot. "We're - we're uhm, ready and well - you - you look great," the last bit came out as more of a whisper and Nathan averted his eyes to Eva to use as a bit of a distraction.

Nathan was so scared to get close to Naomi, afraid to hurt her, afraid that she would get hurt but most of all, he was afraid of losing her. He had already lost his first wife, he couldn't lose his friendship with Naomi, especially since she was the only woman figure Eva had in her life. Nathan was sure to go absolutely crazy if something ever happened to Naomi or even if she just decided to walk away from the two of them. She was so very beautiful.

He closed his eyes as he heard Naomi coo to Eva right before taking her. He turned around to slow his breathing and make sure that everything the two of them needed was near the door, including a pushchair so they didn't have to carry Eva the entire time because Merlin knew she was getting heavy.

Nathan smiled to her as she greeted him and he watched as she brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. His hand reached up and held it there for a moment, his gaze holding onto hers as they shared a short moment. As the words stumbled out of her mouth, he chuckled, "Not as good as you." As she questioned him, he nodded and grabbed their belongings, following her and Eva out the door.

Nathan had double checked to make sure his door was locked before allowing Naomi to lead him to the bus. The conversed about Eva and all the while Nathan's thoughts centered around Naomi and how beautiful she was and how much he really liked her. As they moved onto the bus and sat down, Naomi handed Eva back to Nathan and allowed her hand to rest near his on the seat. His gaze occasionally drifted to the fact of how close their hands were before he would glance back up to her and then to Eva. He could just touch her, brush across her skin, let her know how much he liked her but he couldn't; he wouldn't.

Nathan kept his attention focused on Eva who was sitting straight up and staring out the window. Occasionally you could hear a little sound out of her mouth describing things like 'tree', 'bird' or 'water' to which Nathan and Naomi would both smile and nod. It was cute seeing how Eva was developing and it was a proud moment to watch her discover things on her own. It was likely one of his favourite things about being a parent. Sure it sometimes saddened him to realise that his daughter was growing up but he knew she would be a bright young lady someday and that made up for the sadness he felt.

Nathan's mind wondered to the botanical gardens and whether this could be considered as a date or not. He wondered whether they were getting closer to the gardens and how much longer it would take and he even wondered whether Naomi liked him. Soon, Nathan felt Eva go more limp and her body grew heavy as she drifted off into a slee. He pulled her body close and hugged it to him, wanting nothing more than to protect her from any harm that may ever come her way. She was his little girl whether he had anymore children or not.

Nathan glanced to Naomi and took in her beauty. The way she radiated made him smile and he realised just how happy he was. And for once, he knew Evangeline would be happy too. This was what she would have wanted. She would have wanted him to move on, to find someone that was just as capable as she had been to be a mother to their daughter. That woman was Naomi.

At the touch of Naomi's hand in his, he smiled because it all of a sudden felt right - like his life was falling into place.