Katherine ran her tongue along the side of her cone, licking the ice cream that had begun to slip over the edge and run along the cones side. God, eating was so messy sometimes. She wrapped the napkin around the cone, starting out across the street. She hadn't seen Hayley in a day or two, Gia had stopped coming by, and Klaus was...doing whatever Klaus did. She should be happy that they were leaving her alone, but she felt like something was missing. A nagging feeling in her chest that something was missing and it hurt. 

Stopping at the corner, she waited for the crosswalk light to tell her she could move across the street, and her eyes caught sight of something that made her pause. She narrowed her eyes, and shifted slightly to get a better look. Across the street on the side walk stood a little girl, 5 or 6 in age, and she was crying. The tears streaming down her face caused Katherine's heart to ache and she flicked her gaze towards the light briefly, and then to the traffic that was moving past. Letting out a breath, she tossed her ice cream into a near by trash can, and then eyed the traffic once again. The moment the light turned red for them to stop, she was sprinting across the cross walk before the light even told her she could go. 

"Hey," she said softly, gently as she crouched down next to the little girl. The girl seemed wary of her, which was good. Being too trustful of strangers could be dangerous, especially in this town. She held her hands up in a non threatening gesture, and her lips turned into a frown. "What's wrong sweetie?" She asked. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you I promise."

The girl seemed to be weighing her options, and then finally she spoke. "I-I can't f-find my daddy..."

Katherine swallowed, fighting both sadness and anger. What kind of people just kept walking around a child who obviously needed help? Oh right, normally people like her. She let out a breath, and then smiled at her.

"You can't find your daddy?" She asked. The little girl nodded, and Katherine was happy to see that her tears had stopped flowing but she still looked like she could burst into tears again. She brushed the little girl's dark brown hair out of her face, and swallowed. "Okay, sweetie. How about you and I go look for him. That sound good?"

The little girl let out a pitiful "yeah" in response, and Katherine moved to pick her up. She staggered slightly, forgetting briefly that she wasn't as strong as she used to be. The little girl slid her arms around Katherine's neck, and the simple motion caused her throat to constrict with emotion. With the little girl being brown haired and brown eyed, it hit a little too close to home. She wasn't about to let her sit on the street and cry however, so she shut down her emotions and started down the sidewalk. 

"My name is Katherine," she said softly. "What's yours?"

"L-Lauren."

"Lauren? That's a pretty name," she murmured. "Can you tell me where you saw your daddy last, Lauren?"

Katherine managed to coax out of her that they had been last at Jackson Square, and had gotten separated in the crowd. She nodded slightly, cooing words of comfort as she placed her hand on Lauren's head, gently stroking the girls hair as she rested her head against the crook of her neck. The square was huge, and it was going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack to find this guy. She couldn't just go up to every man she saw and ask him "hey is this yours?" She just hoped that the guy was currently looking for his daughter at the same time. 

Reaching the fountain in the middle of the square she pursed her lips slightly, and cast her gaze around. No one caught her attention right off the bat, which made her slightly disappointed. She turned around slowly, and then whipped around again suddenly when she heard someone call out a name. Walking towards the sound, she sighed in relief when she heard the name clearly: Lauren. 

"Daddy?" Lauren raised her head from Katherine's shoulder, and the woman smiled bending to set the girl down as she squealed daddy out again. Crossing her arms over her chest, she watched as the two rushed to each other. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and shifted uncomfortably as the man started towards her. 

"Thank you," he spoke. 

Katherine shrugged slightly. "Don't worry about it, just doing my good deed for the day." She smiled faintly at Lauren.

"I'm Katherine..."

"Andrew," he paused. "At least let me get you a coffee or something? And I'm not taking no for an answer."

Katherine opened her mouth to argue, and then finally let out a sigh. She nodded slightly and shrugged. "Sure...why not."