It has been raining for days and the darkness has been affecting everyone’s mood, especially since it is too wet outside for Lena to let her little one run around outside to burn off some of her energy. And, wow, she had a lot of it.

Lena shakes her head in amusement as she rolls the car to a stop outside L-Corp, thankful for the rare parking spot that the late evening offers them. She can see Dallas loitering in the lobby, her little one’s hair already free from her ridiculously tight braids, an extra skip added to the girl’s step as she spots Lena’s car and rushes out to jump into the front seat and offer her Mommy a kiss.

“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, sweetheart,” Lena raises a brow, “but are you forgetting something?”

“What, Mommy?”

Dallas’s brows wrinkle in confusion, but Lena can easily spot the mischief twinkling in her pretty green eyes.

“Since when do little girls sit up front?”

“Oh, uh, no,” Dallas shakes her head. “I’m a big girl, Mo—Mother I don’t havta sit in the back.”

Lena rolls her eyes and bites down hard on her bottom lip to stop the grin that threatens to blossom.

“Are you sure about that, little one?” Lena asks. “Because only little girls can get Mommy’s help in the bathtub and big girls certainly don’t need a bedtime story.” Dark emerald eyes firmly hold jade, but Dallas doesn’t budge, “alright, I guess you can be the one to put yourself to bed then whilst I have a nice glass of wine and soak in the tub all by myself.”

Dallas’s facade falls.

Game, set, match, Mommy.

“Maybe I’m just a little bit little,” Dallas concedes, pinching her thumb and forefinger together.

“Are you sure about that?” Lena barely stifles a grin, “because I know you’re really good looking after yourself especially during a storm.”

She watches as Dallas’s gaze briefly flickers towards the backseat, a mild panic coloring her features as she thinks about attempting to sleep by herself while it was lighting and thundering so violently outside.

“I’m little,” Dallas suddenly says, “very, very little.”

“Hmmm, I thought so,” Lena chuckles. “Now, scoot, get your butt in the back seat.”