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"Hunter..."
He frowns with his eyes closed. He hadn't heard that voice in two years, and it wasn't supposed to be heard at all.
"Hunter?" the warm voice questions softly. The man turns his head towards the sound as he opens his eyes, which widen when he meets the honey-brown eyes of his wife...
His dead wife.
"Love..?" he asks, voice slightly breaking. She smiles lovingly at him as she moves closer to him, and he can actually feel her breath touching his skin.
She opens her mouth, but her usual tender voice turns high, childish as she speaks.
"Wake up!"
Hunter jerks awake, suddenly covered in sweat as his breathing and heartrate spike. His eyes are fixated on the wall at the end of his bed as he tries to calm himself down, but his mind drifts back to his dream again. Soft giggles make him snap out of it and he glances around the room to find a pair of blue eyes staring at him. The eyes start to sparkle as the young girl laughs and turns around to run out, but she doesn't make it to the door as Hunter immediately wraps his arm around her waist and scoops her back up.
"Ella Bree Black," he calls, the five-year-old now laughing hysterically in his arms, "what do you think you're doing?"
"STOP," she screams out, "LUCI!"
The Pitbull's ears twitch as she raises her head from her bed. When Ella screams again, the dog gets up and stretches before walking up towards the bedroom.
"She can't save you!" Hunter calls out.
"Yes, she can!" the girl squeals as the dog jumps up the bed and squeezes her body between the two. She presses her paws on Hunter's bare chest, who groans as the short nails dig into his skin. He lets go of his daughter, now trying to push the Pitbull away that doesn't stop licking his face.
"Lucifer, stop it," he orders, giving her head a final push, "that's gross!" Lucifer withdraws her head, her paws pushing even harder, as she tilts her head at him. "Good girl," Hunter praises and the female dog lets herself fall on top of him, making him grunt as he strokes her head. He scans the room, but Ella has disappeared. "Ella?"
"I'm hungry!" she exclaims from outside the bedroom, making her dad sigh.
"Well, what do you want then?" He sits back up, pushing Luci off him as he swings his legs around the edge of the bed.
"Pancakes!" Hunter pushes himself up and walks out of his bedroom, Lucifer following him from right behind. He finds his daughter on top of a small stool, peeking into the refrigerator.
"We don't have the ingredients to make pancakes," Hunter claims, "I'm sorry, sweety." Ella turns around, turning on her puppy eyes.
"Please?" she pleads and Hunter can hear himself sigh.
The next moment, the two of them are in the local grocery store.
"The damn puppy eyes..." he mumbles as he pushes the shopping cart forward, swearing he can hear Ella giggle from inside the shopping cart. The two of them, but mostly Hunter, collect the ingredients as well as some other things. They stop at the cookies & candy stall, Ella's eyes growing. "Alright, you can pick one thing," Hunter announces as he gets her out of the shopping cart. The moment he lets her go, she runs towards her favorite section. "And one thing only!" Hunter grabs his phone, scrolling through his newsfeed when a notification pops on his screen.
'Intruder Alert. Proceed with caution.'
"Ella!" he calls and the girl watches him from afar. "We gotta go." She runs back to him, throwing a packing of chocolate chip cookies in the shopping cart. He lifts her back into the cart before walking up to the cash registers. A few minutes later, they arrive back at the apartments and he pulls his daughter behind him.
"Daddy?" she asks confused, "What are you doing?" The two of them walk into the hallway of their apartment and Hunter turns towards his daughter.
"I need you to stay behind me and be very quiet, okay?" he instructs and she nods. "Good girl," he tells, grabbing the doorknob. He quietly opens the door, his arm reaching for the baseball bat he keeps next to the door. His fingers fold around the handle, raising his hand as he pushes the door further open. He lets his arm fall back down at the sight of the man on the couch, who's pampering Lucifer.
"Can't unlearn your skills," the man announces.
"Uncle Nick!" Ella exclaims as she runs to the man, hugging his legs.
"Wow, you've grown since the last time I saw you!" Nick states and the girl smiles as she looks up at him. Hunter puts the bat down next to the door, carrying the bags towards the kitchen.
"What are you doing here, Nick?" he demands, unpacking the groceries.
"Why don't you play with Luci, Ella?" Nick suggests and Hunter can hear a pair of feet and paws leave the room. He walks up to Hunter, leaning back against the counter. "I need your help," he begins.
"I told you this when I left," Hunter interrupts, "I can't just help out now that I am a full-time dad."
"I know," the director says, "but the world's safety is depending on it."
"The world?" Hunter asks as he raises his eyebrows. Nick stays silent as thinks about his next words, watching the former agent continue unpacking. Hunter freezes when Nick outspeaks his words:
