Jr watched her from across the street, she was beautiful, gorgeous and he couldn't stop staring. He'd only seen her one other time before this, early one morning when he was coming back from an early morning run and she was taking the trash out. She lived in the same building as he did, and he was guessing she'd moved in recently, though he he didn't know exactly how recently.

Today though she was carrying a couple of bags and packages in her hands and she seemed to be having a little trouble with them. He decided maybe he should stop staring, and he was about to turn his head, when he saw her bags go flying out of her hands as she tried to juggle them while opening the door to their apartment building.

The gentleman in him couldn't, wouldn't ignore her plight, so he set his cup of coffee down on his table and run out of the cafe. 

" Hey, let me help you with that" he said as he picked up some of her fallen groceries.

" Thank you, " she said, and if he thought she was beautiful before, he damn near fell in love when he looked into her eyes. And her voice, it did things to him, just those two words and he was a goner.

She smiled at him as he punched in the code to let them into the building and held the door for her.

" You live in this building?" she asked.

" Yeah, I haven't seen you before though"

" Oh I just moved in this weekend," she explained. That explained it, he hadn't been home that weekend, . 

They walked onto the elevator and he asked her what floor and she told him seventh, which was his floor. He found out her name was Thalia, and he told her his, while the elavator took them up. And then when he walked her to her door and saw that she was literally across the hall from him, he nearly jumped for joy.

He was about to ask her if they could maybe catch a cup of coffee or something one of these days, as neighbours of course, as she opened her front door and then he heard them before he saw them.

" Mamaaaa!!" he heard a couple of little voices yell just as her door opened.

" Damn, " he thought to himself, she was off limits, little kids usually meant there was a man in the picture, though when he had checked her hand it had been bare of a ring, so maybe, just maybe she was single, though it was highly unlikely, she was just too fine a woman for someone to not have snatched her up yet. Especially if she had kids.

Her kids came barelling into her, followed closely by their babysitter, " sorry, they just really missed you," the babysitter said as she took some of the bags from Thalia.

" Thank you, were they good?"

There was a look that flittered past the baysitters face that Thalia recognized as the look of one that doesn't want to offend their paycheck, but doesn't know if they can continue as things are.

Thalia sighed, and turned to face her kids, all three of them.

" Apologise," she said and her voice was stern. Jr watched in awe as she went all iron mama on her three children. He had a feeling that she had completely forgotten he was even there.

" But mama.." the little girl started.

" No, apologise now or deal with me later, your choice,"

All three kids sighed and turned to face the babysitter, and said in unison," I'm sorry, Yura,"

Thalia raised her eyebrow and waited, the kids sighed again and one by one begun to list theit sins, " I'm sorry, I pulled your hair," one little boy said.

" I'm sorry I tied your laces together and made you slip" the second little boy said.

" I'm sorry, I switched the salt and the sugar on you," the little girl finally said.

Thalia, held back her sigh, then very sternly ordered them to their room where they were under instruction to write Yura a letter of apology, " and if Yura or I do not like the letter you will do it again, now go, and you are not to come out til I call for you,"

" Mama.." they whined.

Thalia raised her eyebrow, and the children sighed in defeat, " yes mama."

Once they were gone Thalia turned and face Yura, " I'm sorry, I know they're bad, so you don't have to be worried about offending me by telling me about their misdeeds, here," she said digging into her purse to pull out some cash so she could pay the babysitter, she made sure to add a little extra, " and thank you."

Yura smiled. " It's ok, and thank you, I don't mind watching them again." and with that she left.

It was only then that Thalia remembered Jr, " Oh my gosh I'm sorry, I completely forgot about you," she said, taking the bags that he was carrying from him.

He smiled at her, " no worries, here where do you want these?" he asked not letting her take the bags from him.

Thalia questioned the wisdom of letting a strange man into her place, but he seemed nice enough. so she sighed and led him into the kitchen, where he set her bags down.

" Thank you,"

" No problem, I can see myself out."

She walked him to the door anyway and said goodbye, " hey if you need any help, I live right across the hall from you". He figured if there was no man in the picture, she'd take him up on his offer, and if there was he'd know by her lack of need for assistance, " I promise I'm completely safe, ask the neighbours"

Thalia smiled, and thanked him. She didn't actually tell him that that would not be necessary, and he took that as a positive sign.

Then she went back into the house and called her trouble makers, she loved her kids she really did, but they were a handful, and being a single parent didn't help. Sometimes she really hated her husband for dying when he did. But only when she was feeling irrational emotional and stressed, most of the time she just missed him and she was thankful he'd left her with three of the best things in her life, the triplets. He'd even named them with her in mind. Theodore, Thaddeus and Theresa, or Theo, Thad, and Terry, as they liked to be called. 

The children filed into the living room, heads hung low, letters of apology in hand. Thalia took a seat and they stood in front of her holding out their letters, she read them, found them to be acceptable and then she  told them to sit down.

" Tell me why you were mean to Yura,"

They were silent for a moment and then Terry spoke up, Terry was the unofficial spokesperson for the triplets.

" We're sorry mama, it's just we miss you, and we don't like it here,"

Thalia sighed. She knew moving had to have been hard on them, but she had recieved a job offer here, more money and better hours. Passing it up hadn't been an option.

" I know, but you haven't even given this place a chance, and not liking this place is not an excuse for being mean to Yura, think about how she feels? hmm,"

She was glad to see that they looked appropriately contrite, at the mention of Yura's feelings. Her kids might be mischievious, but they had good hearts, they just sometimes needed reminding.

" I explained remember, if we move here, you get to see me more, and we get to do more fun stuff together. I was going to take you to the park tomorrow, but not with this behaviour. So if you can show me that you can be good, maybe i'll take you next weekend. Deal?"

They nodded, and Thalia smiled, then released them to play while she went to make dinner. 

After dinner, she sent them off to go take their baths, well, for the boys to go take a bath, Terry had recently discovered that she was a girl and as such refused to take baths with her brothers, though she still insisted on sleeping in the same room as them. Goodbye innocence. And then she heard it, a scream. She went running into the room and found Terry pointing at a lizard that was very calmly laying on her bed, like " hey, how you doing? I'm just hanging out on your bed, don't mind me."

The boys looked at their mother, the fear evident in their eyes, they would never admit it, but they were just as scared as their sister. Their mother wasn't scared, she was petrified.

Thalia slowly, very slowly, like she was scared any sudden movements would startle the lizard slowly, ushered the children out of their room and closed the bedroom door, then she turned around, walked out her door and across the hall where she very calmly knocked on Jr's door and prayed he was there.

When Jr had offered his help he hadn't expected the offer to be taken up so soon, so he was somewhat surprised when he opened his door and found Thalia there. Surprised but happy.

" Hey," he said opening his door and smiling at her.

" Hi, so um, there's a lizard on my daughters bed, and I um yeah, well, there's a lizard on my daughters bed."

Jr smiled, " you need me to get rid of it?"

" Please?" she begged, looking up at him with puppy eyes. Jr couldn't have said no if he wanted to, and he made his way across to her apartment where she led him to the childrens room and closed the door firmly behind him.

He chuckled, partly because Thalia was adorable and partly because he was glad she'd come to him for help.

He picked the lizard up and opened the window where he set it on the ledge and shooed it away. Then he let himself out of the room and found four very curious pairs of eyes looking at him.

" Is it gone?" Thalia asked and he nodded.

" Thank you." all four voices said in unison. He felt like a hero, like he had slayed dragons or something. 

" You're welcome."

" Mama, who is he?" Thad asked.

" This is the nice gentleman who lives across from us, " Thalia explained.

" Hello, and thank you, mama realllly hates lizards, she probably wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight, and I'm too small to get rid of it, and Terry's a girl so she couldn't have done it and Theo needed to hold mama's hand so he wouldnt have been able to, either." Thas explained.

Jr's lip twitched in amusement at the explanation," what about daddy?" he asked.

" We don't have a daddy," Terry explained.

He refrained from doing a fist pump. 

" Well you're welcome, and i'm glad I could help," he said instead.

There was an awkward silence after that, well awkward for Thalia, not so awkward for her kids.

Terry it would seem had decided that Jr was her hero, and that he deserved to be fed for his acts of bravery and as such asked her mother if he could maybe have dessert with them.

" Please mama, he got rid of the lizard, he deserves ice cream."

Thalia smiled, " well what if he doesn't like ice cream sweet heart?"

Terry looked scandalised, " mama, everyone likes ice cream," she whispered furiously, then she turned to face Jr, " right?"

He smiled, and nodded, " I'd like some ice cream, if it's ok with your mother."

Thalia smiled and nodded, she was outnumbered, and besides it was just ice cream.