A/n: Happy Halloween everybody 🎃

I hope you'll have a fun day :D

Pov y/n

When you don't want a certain day to arrive, it feels like it rushes by in super speed, at least that's what happened over the past week. I was kinda busy with work and putting furniture together and spending as much time with Scarlett as possible, that it just flew by and now the day is here.

The knot in my throat tightens involuntarily and I try to take a deep breath to contain myself.

I glance over to my side, to look at Scarlett, who also doesn't seem as happy as she usually does. Rose walks between us and is unusually quiet, she either is sad as well or senses that the mood is a little down right now. I wish I could be in a better mood for her but this is just hard.

Scarlett and I aren't together that long now, about three months but we spent so much time together and I already love her so much, that imagining her being across the country hurts my heart.

She has to leave today and as much as I dreaded this day, it is now here. It's not that I think we can't handle this, it's just that it will be hard. Scarlett already gave her suitcase to be put in the plane, so now the next thing to do is say goodbye.

I press my lips together, worried they might tremble otherwise. When I see the security, I know it's time and my heart aches a little at what's about to come.

Scarlett stops and so do Rose and I. She seems sad as well and I can see her eyes watering a bit but there's no tear, yet.

Rose looks up at her mom and Scarlett smiles and crouches down, pulling Rose into a long hug. She peppers her face in kisses and Rose giggles a little, which makes my heart a tiny bit lighter.

"I love you so, so much, my sweetheart. We will call and facetime whenever you want and it's possible. I will only be gone three months and in between, you can come visit me, we just have to see how you're getting to LA and who goes with you. I will come back after it's all done, don't worry." She says and wraps her arms around Rose's back, keeping her close. Rose nods and looks at her mother. She nods in understanding and smiles a little but I can still see the sadness in her eyes.

"I love you too, Mommy." She replies and plays with the strands of Scar's hoodie. "Can I ask Dad to call you when I can't sleep?"

The question is so pure and innocent that it only adds to my emotions and I have to hold back a little noise. Scarlett tugs some hair behind Rose's ear.

"Of course, baby. I just can't promise you that I'll pick up right away because for me it's gonna be earlier but I will definitely answer as soon as I can. And maybe your dad can also help you fall asleep." She offers and Rose hums and nods a little.

"But you are better." She insists, making Scarlett smile.

"I will try my very best, okay?" Scar says and Rose nods before hugging her mom. Scar kisses her head and waves her hand through her daughter's hair.

"I will miss you." Rose whispers and I hear a little sniffle.

"I will miss you too." Scar replies and when they let go, I can see she does her best to hold back her tears.

I never thought about it but this probably isn't a new situation for the both of them. Scarlett shoots a few movies during the year and probably has to leave Rose at her dad's for that, so saying goodbye maybe is something they do more often than I realize. It still seems to be hard on the both of them, which I totally understand.

Rose gives her mom a kiss before stepping away and letting me say goodbye. She brought her octopus, Mr. Mouve, in her little backpack and now gets him out to hug him. I turn to look at Scarlett, who gets up and turns to me. With a few quick steps I am in front of her and wrap my arms tightly around her, burying my head in her hair that smell so familiar. She holds me tight as well and nuzzles her head a little into my shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you like crazy." I whisper, feeling tears sting in my eyes.

"I will miss you so incredibly much." She whispers back and I grab onto her hoodie a little.

"We will call or at least chat regularly, okay?" I ask, the knot in my throat making it a little hard to talk.

"Of course, we will, angel. We will chat daily and we will see how often the call will work. We'll figure it out and after a few couple of days, we'll find a routine." She promises and pulls back a little, resting her forehead against mine. I feel her breath on my face and close my eyes, trying to soak all of this up to remember it when she is away.

"We can do this." I say.

"Yes, we can. I believe in us." She agrees and I smile at the words that kind of became our couple's mantra.

"I believe in us too." I reply and she connects our lips in a sweet kiss. I return the kiss with just as much emotion as she started it, wanting her to know how much I love her.

"You will see, those three months will be over sooner than you think. And besides, maybe we can arrange a few visits in between, then it isn't too long until we see each other again." She says after pulling away, her hands cupping my face. I nod and lean into her touch.

"That would be very nice." I say and she smiles softly, brushing her thumb over my cheek.

"I love you." She says softly, her eyes staying on mine.

"I love you too." I answer, holding the eye contact.

After a few seconds of gazing into each other's eyes, I turn my head a little to reach her palm, kissing it and making her smile.

We lock eyes again and as if on que, we both reach one hand out to Rose, who stood there and let us have our moment. She quickly squeezes between us and we hug for a long moment until we let go. Scarlett turns around to look at the security and the board with all the flights. Rose sniffles a little and raises her arms towards me. I pick her up and sit her on my hip. She rests her head on my shoulder and holds onto me with one arm, the other holding Mr. Mouve.

When Scar turns around again, she smiles at us.

"I have to go now." She tells us and a new wave of sadness washes over me.

"I love you both so much and I can't wait to talk to you after the flight." She says and comes a step closer, giving Rose a kiss on the forehead and me one on the lips. It's not rushed, even though she has to go now but she still makes sure to show us her love.

"I love you." I say back and Rose almost speaks at the same time. "I love you too, Mommy."

Scarlett takes a breath and waves at us before heading towards the security. We wave back until she has to turn around. But even though she isn't facing us right now, I don't want to go just now.

So, we watch her going through security and when she is done, she turns around one last time, waving. We wave back until she disappears behind a corner and is gone. My stomach drops a little as the realization hits and I press my lips together in an attempt to fight my tears.

"It is okay to cry when you're sad." Rose says in a sweet voice and I look down at her. She looks sad but not like she wants to cry. I brush over her hair.

"Thank you." I say and slowly make my way back towards the exit.

"You are allowed to cry. It also always makes me sad when Mommy has to leave." She shares and I glance at her. She holds Mr. Mouve close and snuggles a little into me, clearly not happy that her mom is leaving but handling it. A single tear runs down my cheer that I wipe away. Rose notices and hugs me.

"She will come back soon, she always does. And she also calls. Sometimes she reads me goodnight stories over the phone, they are not as good as when she is here in real life but it is still a very nice feeling. And it always helps me when I'm sad and miss her. Maybe you can ask her to read you one too when you miss her a lot." Rose suggests and I can't help but smile a little at her adorable words.

"That is a very sweet idea, little dolphin. Maybe, I will ask her to do that." I say and Rose smiles widely, hugging me again. She might be a child but she definitely knows how to cheer me up and that is definitely something she inherited from her mother.

"And you also still have me. You can always cuddle with me when you're sad, it always makes me feel better when I get cuddles." She offers while I step into the car park.

"Yeah, cuddles make me feel better as well." I agree and kiss her temple. Rose smiles happily, seeming a bit less sad and I have to admit, so do I. We will manage to do this somehow.

I unlock the car and buckle Rose up before getting into the driver's seat.

Scarlett and I talked about this before she left. She gave me the spare keys to her car, just in case I ever needed one. Most of the time I take the subway anyway and don't need a car but if I have to buy some more furniture or other bigger stuff, I can use it.

I also got a pair of keys to her house and when she gave them to me, I almost cried because this is such a huge sign of trust.

She literally gave me a key to her whole life here in New York without a single bit of doubt. It made me so happy and I was so moved by the gesture.

I mean, I will mainly be at my own apartment those next couple of months because neither Scar or Rose are there but if I wanted a piece of clothing from her that smells like her, I could take it. In fact, she gave me permission to do just that, especially after she packed two of my hoodies and a t-shirt into her suitcase because "they smell like me and are so much more comfortable than hers".

But not only for that I can go to her house, also for building Rose's treehouse. So far we bought everything I need and if I need more, I will buy it afterwards but I did the math and with the amount of material I should be fine.

I am allowed to use Scar's toolbox, that makes it easier as well. She paid for all the material needed for the treehouse, since it's gonna be in her backyard and I already have the hours of work I put in there.

The streets of New York are busy as always but I safely maneuver us through the traffic. The radio silently plays the kids channel and in the mirror I can see Rose wiggling in her seat a little to the song.

We arrive at Scar's house and it feels weird to be here without her.

Rose's dad will come pick her up soon and I will walk home then but like this, the car is safely brought back to the house.

Rose and I go inside, since we have a bit of time left, and go to the kitchen for a little snack. She is still a little more quiet than usual but I let her process, needing a bit of time to myself as well.

I open the fridge and to my surprise, I see a container with sandwiches inside.

I grab it and my heart melts at the little note on top: Your favorite sandwiches, to cheer you up a little

Scar really thought about everything before she left. I show the note to Rose, who smiles happily at it before I grab two plates and serve the sandwiches. They taste as amazing as Scarlett's food always does and I take a selfie of Rose and me with the sandwiches to send to Scarlett once she isn't on the plane anymore.

After that I quickly wash off the plates and put everything back while Rose is sitting on the living room, paying with Mr. Mouve.

All the stuff she needs is already at her dad's, so she is ready to go there as well. Some of her clothes are in my apartment as well, just in case she will stay over for a weekend or so.

I haven't really talked to Rose about it, or her dad, but I highly doubt, that I won't see Rose for the next three months.

Her room is fully furnished and decorated and we also bought the toys she wanted when we went to the store. It looks pretty good and even though the room is small, Rose loves it and gave me some of her favorite books to put in the bookshelf there. I think she caught on to the fact that it is her room, at least in some ways. Sure, I can also use it as a guest bedroom but the decoration makes it obvious that it is designed for a child.

I walk over to Rose and sit on the couch, watching her for a few moments until she gets up and comes to sit next to me.

"Will I still see you when I live with Dad?" She asks and I hear a bit of sadness in her voice. I angle my body towards her and give her my full attention.

"Of course, you will sweetie. I am always here for you and I would love to spend some time with you. Just because you live at your dad's for a while, doesn't mean I love you any less. You are still my favorite little dolphin." I assure her and brush some hair out of her face. She smiles a little and plays with the tentacles of Mr. Mouve.

"But how can I tell you when I want to spend time with you?" She asks with a little frown. "Mommy had you in her phone, so she could always text or call you but I don't have a phone."

I nod in thought before getting up and grabbing a sticky note and a pen. Rose's eyes follow me around and she watches as I write something down. I hand her the note and she looks at it.

"That's my phone number, you can always text me there and call. I will do my best to pick up and answer as soon as I can." I promise and Rose grins a bit.

"Can I call you from everywhere with this? Even with my Dad's phone?" She asks with big eyes and I can't help but smile at her question.

"Yes, you can. But ask your dad before you just use his phone, okay?" I make sure she knows and she nods. She looks at the note before looking up at me.

"I'd much rather stay with you while Mommy is gone." She almost whispers and I am not sure if my heart melts or breaks at her words. I lift her onto my lap, waving my hand through her hair.

"That is very sweet of you, Rosie. But that would be a little difficult you know, because I am not a legal guardian for you. Your mom and dad are the ones who are supposed to take care of you and when you need to go somewhere, they are the ones to take you because they are your parents." I try to explain and Rose seems a little confused.

"But you are my Mama, why can't you take me?" She asks and looks up at me.

"That is true but I am not legally your mother and as long as you are under 18, that is required to be seen as your legal guardian." I explain. Rose scrunches up her nose a little.

"But can't you do something to become that to me? Like, can't you tell them you are my Mom as well?" She asks and tilts her head in question, something her mother also does sometimes.

"That would be called adopting. I would have to adopt you legally as my child then." I tell her and Rose hums. Since she doesn't ask, I suppose she knows the term. I honestly don't know the rules on adopting very good, or at all but for now this should be enough.

"Why don't you adopt me then?" Rose asks after a bit of silence and my heart jumps a little at her words. I never truly thought about this option since she has Scar and her dad and it doesn't really matter then if I am legally connected to her or not.

"Is that something you would want?" I ask her, feeling my heart beat in my chest. Rose looks at me again and nods in all seriousness.

"You are my Mama, why can't it be legal then?" She asks back and excitement rises inside me. But I take a deep breath, I need to think about this before I make any promises right now. And I also, most definitely talk to Scarlett about it.

"Yeah, why not?" I repeat her words thoughtfully.

For now it seems to be enough of an answer for Rose and she leans a little more into me, so I wrap my arms around her.

My mind spins a little with our conversation just now. Rose wants me to adopt her, to legally become her parent. There are many things to think about and to take into consideration but if I'm being honest, I want to do it, I want to be her legal parent.

A/n: A sad chapter with a cute ending... how will we hold up without Scarlett in New York?

Thanks for reading and love to you all