"Good evening, sir." the man sitting on the left side of the cockpit greeted Noah when he entered the flight deck.

"A good evening to you too, Captain Aigasaki. I'll be your co-pilot tonight." he sat down on the right side of the plane, skillfully strapped his seatbelt.

"It's been a while since we fly together, sir." Captain Aigasaki said in passing not really starting a conversation.

"Uhm, indeed it has been a while. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I hope us flying together after a long time is in better circumstances."

"It's my pleasure, sir," he replied in a curt and polite manner.

He is two decades older than Noah, but this young man commands respect, not for the reason that he would be the next CEO of the pharmaceutical empire of his family, but because he exudes an innate aura of authority.

Noah's face has been in a perpetual stoic expression since he received the call from his secretary. Two short beeps from his phone signals that the matter involves his daughter and is of great importance.

He regretfully left Jess without hearing her whole story. He intends to buy her dinner as an apology. She would probably refuse his invitation since she seems to be always angry at him, and he doesn't know why. He was still in deep thought when his pilot voice pulled him out of the memory of his conversation with Jess.

'Your daughter is in danger, stop thinking of Miss Zimmerman's disappointed face.' he chastised himself inwardly.

"We have an incoming call from the ground Mr. Tiefenbacher. Should we accept it?" Captain Aigasaki was asking for his permission.

"Let's listen to it," he said in a flat tone. Betraying the nervous anxiety in his chest. He has been burying his nail on the skin of his palm since his plane took off from a private hangar.

'Your daughter is home and safe.'

That one sentence was the message that was sent over their comm. One sentence that lifted the boulders of worry from Noah's heart.

He has many regrets in his life, and his only salvation was his daughter. He wouldn't know how he would survive if he would lose his only child. He sighed in relief and uttered a simple prayer of gratitude.

"Should we turn around, Mr. Tiefenbacher?" he asked his co-pilot that slumped on his chair in relief upon hearing that one message from the ground.

"We have been flying for more than six hours, Captain Aigasaki. Let's go and meet my daughter." For the first that night a smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Do you have her picture? How old is she now? The last time I met the little rascal was way back on her 5th birthday." the older man chuckled with the memories.

Noah pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, and proudly showed the man the latest photo of him and his daughter, -- Lucille. She was sitting on his lap in front of a giant Christmas tree. His eight-year-old daughter was grinning in the photo showing her visibly missing two front teeth.

A box of the latest PSP was on her lap. She asked for it as her birthday present. The other present that her mother bought as a Christmas gift was everything that was sensible and useful. Her fun birthday present is something that is always from him.

Her daughter is his most precious gift. She was born on a cold Christmas morning in a once chaotic life of him. She is the only woman that made him into a better person.

He smiled at the memory of the day he was able to carry her in his arms. A tiny human being that turned his life into a one hundred eighty degree of change.

"She has your eyes and her mother's smile," he observed from the photo.

"I wish to God that she also got her mother character, but her mother has been called to the principal office more than necessary." he chuckled.

"Daughters are absolutely joys, despite the headaches. I have four of them. And I would never exchange them for anything in this world, -- well maybe some peace and quiet would be nice." he grinned.

--

"Papaaa!!"

Noah opened his arms for the bundle of energy wearing a school uniform rushing towards his direction. When she reached his arms, he lifted her off the ground and spun her around.

Mothers who were picking up their small children in the schoolyard were giving him a disapproving look. Kids, on the other hand, were all throwing him and her daughter an envious look.

"How's school?" he asked her daughter that refused to be put down.

"So boring! Take me back with you please," she begged.

Noah watched her lips trembling in a fake sob. He chuckled inwardly at how this girl could make him dance on top of her little hands.

"Don't you have anything to tell, Papa?" he asked.

She stiffened in his arms upon hearing his question.

"Did you talk to Mama?" she whispered in his ears.

"Yes, and she was unhappy with what you did."

He wanted to tell her other things but he felt how uncomfortable she is in his arms. She refused to talk and just buried her face on his shoulder.

"Do you want ice cream?" he tried coaxing her with some dessert before they came home. Her mother won't let her eat any snacks before dinner, especially anything loaded with sugar.

She mutely shook her head, tightening her small arms on his neck.

"I am not angry. Just don't do it again because we were worried about you. It is not okay to skip class to meet your friends." he gently reminded her.

She doesn't need more scolding because for sure her mother had done enough of it.

"Just ask Mama. She knows everything," she said pouting.

He laughed, taking things in stride. Something that he would regret in the future. He should have listened better to what his daughter was saying.