Karen had been chatting with Bridie the housekeeper at the kitchen table, Katie was sitting in her high chair playing with some squeaky soft plastic bricks.. she was having great fun throwing them on the floor and watching her nanny having to retrieve them.

"Hey how my favorite ladies" Bono exclaimed cheerfully he went over to Katie and kissed her on the cheek, "and hows daddys little girl"

Katie responded by handing him one of her squeaky bricks and gurgling. Bono obligingly squeezed the brick to make it squeak much to Katie's delight

"We are just about to have lunch" Karen then said getting up from the table to go over to the stove where she had Katie's dinner heating up over a hot pan, "you are welcome to join us, that if you like strained beef and carrots and peas" she grinned

" Mmmm, Sounds delicious" Bono replied. The thought of Bono sitting down to Katie's lunch made a funny picture in Karen's head and she stifled down the overwhelming urge to start giggling

"Hey is my little sweetheart getting another tooth coming up at the bottom?" Bono asked as he watched Katie chew on one of her plastic bricks

"Yeah they are starting to come through at the bottom, she already has two at the top" Karen informed him "she is chewing everything in sight that she can get her hands on"

"So I can see" Bono smiled.

Karen came over with the bowl to feed Katie and was about to start feeding her "Here sweetie have this, its much nicer tasting than that plastic brick" she said as she took the plastic brick from Katie's hand. "Look do you mind if I have a go?" Bono then asked, Karen looked round at him, not sure what he meant.

"Feeding Katie" he explained

"Oh yeah... sure, if you like" Karen replied getting over the surprise and handed him the bowl. Then went to sit next To Bridie and watch Bono at work.

He tentively put some of the mushed up food on the small plastic spoon, and put it to Katie's lips with a frown of full concentration.

Getting the taste of the food Katie obligingly opened her mouth and let him feed her. Bono was looking pleased with himself. He started to get a little more adventurous now he was getting the hang of it.

"Hey I seen this done on tv and other people doing it with their kids" he then said turning to Karen and Bridie, and he then proceeded to pretend that the spoon with the food on it was a train and making choo choo noises as he brought it up to Katie's lips. Katie seem to take on to the idea and decided it was fun which encouraged Bono more to keep doing it

Karen and Bridie sat next to each other watching the little scene in amusement nudging each other and grinning "I just wish I had a video camera" Karen hissed to Bridie wistfully, "This is has to be one of those classic moments"

But Bono hadn't finished surprising Karen that day, when an hour or so later he came up to the nursery "Look why don't take the afternoon off and I will look after Katie for a while"

Karen's eyebrows rose, wondering if she had heard right.

"Why are you looking at me as if I have suddenly grown two heads?" Bono enquired.

"N-Nothing just that-" she broke of there not daring to tell him to his face that this was the first time he had made such an offer and it had been the last thing she had expected.

"I know I know" Bono grinned saved her the embarrasment of explaining herself "Stop looking so worried I am sure I can manage one afternoon, it will do you good to get a break"

"W-e-ll if you are sure" Karen said still sounding uncertain, "You will be ok without me around.. she can be a bit of a handful"

"I will be fine" Bono assured her "And I am sure I will be able to handle her alright, if I can deal with Presidents and politicians.. how hard can it be looking after a six month old child?"

"Karen decided not to answer that, perhaps it was better Bono found out for himself

A while later Bono finally managed to convince Karen he would be fine with Katie on her own, she left him lots of instructions, about her favorite toys and her blanket, if she started crying she could be teething and told him where to find the gel to put on her gums, and made sure he had her cellphone number to call her just in case.

She finally left to do some shopping in Dublin for new clothes, that she had been meaning to do for sometime and had never got the chance.

Bono stood in the nursery looking down at Katie who was sitting in her playpen "right" he spoke up, "You and me are going to have some fun" he bent down and lifted her out of the playpen and carried her over to the rocking chair he sat down with her on his knee, "Well...I have been told by your Aunty Livvy we have to start to get to know each other. so this is as good a time as any"

Katie stared up at him with big brown eyes then give a gurgling laugh she reached out her hand trying to grab at his earring Bono laughed and jerked his head back out of her reach "be patient you will get your own earrings soon enough no doubt. for now you are not getting your hands on mine I like my ear in one peice"

To distract her he got up again and decided to take a walk down the stairs with her in his arms.. he wandered into the living room wondering what they could do to amuse themselves then caught sight of the photo of him and Angie when they had just got married sitting on the wall unit and it had been happier days before the drugs had took hold.

He went over and picked it up and showed it to Katie who immedatly grabbed it to investigate it.

"You know who that is.. that is your Mammy.. you look a lot like her... I only wish she was here to see you" his expression became more solemn, " I know she would be so proud of you" he suddenly felt the twinge of guilt he had experienced before with the the thought if he hadn't gone down the road to fame and fortune through the music business maybe Angie would not have had such easy access to drugs and got hooked and might be still living

But he had not much time to dwell on it as Katie started to get restless dropped the photo and start to cry.

Bono fought of the feeling of sudden panic at this new dilemma, "hey whats up kiddo" he tried speaking to her soothingly jiggling her in his arms, "is your gums hurting?" Bono's mind raced trying to remember where Karen told him she kept the gel.. then wondered perhaps if she was hungry and wanted a bottle...he hoped it wasn't her diapher that needed changed.

"Ok" he muttered into himself "I can handle this. its no big deal... what ever happened he was determined he was going to do this without ringing Karen....