Simon could count on one hand, how many people he truly loved and cared about. His heart has been under lockdown for a long time, and he’d never had any plans for that to change.

His son was the most important on that list.

Not many people even knew he had a son, and that was for a very specific reason. He didn’t need people poking around his business or his home life. It was the one thing he had that remained untarnished by his job.

Simon’s son had just turned two. He was being called back into regular and active duty, and while the lovely old lady who lived next door had been doing a good job at babysitting so far, he couldn’t expect her to look after Jamie for weeks at a time.

And Simon had been doing it by himself for so long, the idea of getting a live-in babysitter terrified him. People couldn’t be trusted. He learnt that lesson the hard way.

Jamie himself—and the fact that Simon was now a single dad—was a product of that.

But now he was forced into a position where he did have to find someone, and that was when you came into play. It took weeks for Simon to find someone he trusted, and that someone was you.

He knew Jamie needed another loving hand; and you could provide that.

Even if it became very clear to you that Simon would always be wary of you. You couldn’t blame him, though. His job never made it easy.

So, you moved in, and that was where everything went to shit. For Simon at least. When he was deployed, it was fine. You’d send him simple updates and photos, and it was easy.

Until the weeks in-between where he wasn’t, and he had to live and breathe the same air as you.

You were everything Simon wasn’t. You were sweet and nurturing, with the kind of energy that had people expecting flowers to blossom beneath your every step.

Jamie adored you to pieces, and watching you and him interact thawed something inside him. You were dangerous. You were his undoing.

It was late, and it had been a rough few days. Simon stumbled into the house, exhaustion weighing his shoulders down as his bag dropped to the floor with a thud. And then his eyes landed on you, splayed out on the sofa with Jamie tucked tightly against your chest.

“Jesus,” he mumbled to himself, as something in his chest shifted.

His steps were light as he approached you both, and he gentle reached over and tugged the blanket pooled at your hips—over you and Jamie.