Peeking into the store window, Squirrel spotted a female at the register and another walking around the women’s shoe section. They gestured for the Magpie to stay put, then hurried inside. A few wide grins, laughs, and graceful hand gestures later, they waved for him to enter.

“Celine here is going to help our little girl find some shoes. Isn’t she sweet?”

As if the entire past hour hadn’t happened, Squirrel was cheerful and smiling at their new best friend. They took Ellie from the Magpie’s arms, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, then set her on the floor and took her hand.

“Want to pick out some shoes?” they asked her and nodded happily at her non-response. Pulling her from aisle to aisle, Ellie showed no interest as Squirrel pointed out pair after pair of shoes. “You don’t like any of them? There must be one you want.”

Slipping free from their hold, Ellie tottered to the end of the row and halted in front of a wide selection of rain boots. Squirrel hurried to her side and crouched, following her gaze to a pair of pink ones, the clear coating shining in the light.

“You like these?” they asked, but Ellie only stared in return, her eyes moving between Squirrel and the tall, rubber shoes. “Are these the ones you want? You can have whatever you want.”

The Magpie joined them, squatting beside Squirrel. Ellie pointed at the pink boots and her grey-blue eyes widened as they met his.

“You want to get those?”

Her head barely bobbed and he huffed. It would have been nothing to someone else, hardly a nod, but Squirrel grabbed her waist and leapt from the ground, spinning her in the air. She whined for them to put her down, but it didn’t bother Squirrel.

Placing her back on her feet, they kept their hands firmly gripped to her. “Did you just answer a question, my little Ellie mouse? You’re so precious!”

Ellie ignored them, her eyes moving back to the Magpie. She pointed again at the boots and he nodded.

“Yes, you can have those,” he promised. Just that one gesture, that one reaction, was so satisfying. Any other three-year-old would have easily chosen ten pairs of shoes they wanted, but the fact that Ellie showed interest in anything at all was amazing.

It didn’t solve any of the other problems – the trauma, the nightmares, her fear of men – but perhaps there was some hope for her and this ridiculous plan after all.

Squirrel shifted over to him and whispered, “Big softie,” as Celine kneeled on the floor with Ellie. He ignored it, too fixed on this stranger.

“Good choice,” the woman said sweetly, smiling at Ellie but getting nothing in return. Instead, Ellie snatched the boot, then shuffled over to the Magpie. “Oh, no, dear. We have to measure your feet and get you the right size.” She reached out to take it away, but Ellie recoiled, clinging tight.

The Magpie took the boot from her hands and set it on the floor. She only stared. “It has to match your feet.”

Giving her a gentle shove, he moved her back toward the woman. Without any fight, Celine measured her size, then pulled a box from the shelf and checked the fit. A quick payment later, throwing Ellie’s old shoes into the box since she refused to remove the boots, they were standing back outside on the sidewalk.

“Did you know-” Squirrel flashed a playful grin, watching the traffic drive by. “-only one percent of this city’s cab drivers are female?” The Magpie eyed them as they raised a hand to the nearest vacant taxi, calling it over to the curb. “Have fun walking home!”

Before he could say anything, his friend was gone, giggling and waving through the window as the cab sped away. With a low groan, he glanced down at Ellie, who was too busy looking at the new boots on her feet to care about anything else.

“Wow, sweetie…” The three were standing outside the warehouse, staring at the used car the Magpie bought for their trip north. Squirrel was barely holding in their laughter. “This is really a piece of shit.”

“I can’t exactly show up in a Lexus,” he pointed out, folding his arms.

Public transportation was out, since the sight of any adult male resulted in Ellie shaking and whimpering, scrambling up his chest to curl around his neck. Buying a car was the only option left.

Swallowing a giggle, Squirrel traced a finger around a large spot of rust. “True, but, you still have to get there. Is this thing even going to make it that far?”

“It’ll be fine.” That was a fact. He had tested it himself that morning driving around the city. “It looks bad, but it runs well.”

“You’re hopeless.” Their obvious teasing had no impact on him, so Squirrel leaned down and patted Ellie on the head. “I’m going to miss you, little mouse. But you’re going to have fun with your dad out in the boonies.”

Ellie blinked but gave no other response and Squirrel sighed. After throwing his suitcase into the back and shutting the creaking door, the Magpie lifted the girl and sat her in the passenger seat.

“Call me with any updates,” he directed his friend, buckling Ellie in. The strap was too high to sit over her chest, so he moved it behind her back, then carefully closed her door.

Squirrel clicked their tongue against their teeth but smiled. “Of course, dear.”

“The tiniest movement, I want to know about it.” Walking around to the driver’s side, he paused and added, “Don’t get caught. The Suns aren’t a group to mess with.”

Waving him on, the Magpie ducked into the seat and started the car. It hitched as the starter caught, but the engine rumbled and he shifted into drive. Squirrel peered into Ellie’s open window with a wicked grin.

“I could sleep in the same bed and they still wouldn’t know I was there.” They blew a sweet kiss and winked. “I’ll miss you, Maggie.”

With a grunt and a quick raise of the hand, the Magpie lifted his foot from the break and pulled away. He couldn’t guess how this would turn out, but he also couldn’t spend any longer in this city.