Author's Note: Alright, here it is, Gryphon C's first Fanfic! A small moment between the Director and his daughter, Carolina. Now, this isn't the first Fanfic I planned on writing, but it certainly is the first one I had confidence putting on here. The reason being because it was so easy to write. Yesterday night this idea popped in my head, any before I knew it, 1500 words were on the screen. Anyway, just a bit background info on this story before it starts. Read 'n' Review! But, I don't like flames, THEY BURN! Oh, and thanks for clicking on the title.


"Daddy?" the red-headed girl, of five years, peered at her father with eyes that attributed to the same hue as his. She was forced to stand on her toes, to lean over her father's desk, cluttered with paper and pens, in order to see his face.

"Yes?" the father urged his daughter to proceed with a subtle southern accent, not bothering to raise his head from his head, or look to his daughter. His depression was affecting his relationship with his daughter, ignorance restricting his actions towards her, making him seem stiff, formal, and unwelcoming. Although if the child were to put it into her own words, not nice or Job-Daddy, recalling to his attitude when working.

"Where's Momma?" she questioned her father of the location of her mother. The girl was only able to see her mother infrequently, and for short intervals if it was to occur. This had left the girl with a constant yearning for her mother's appearance, asking her father aplenty, this certainly not being the first time.

"She's..." Leonard Church, the namesake of the father, removed the hand from his grieving features and straightened in his chair, raising his arms from his desk, as if it assisted in revising his thinking.

Once his face was revealed to the red-headed girl, she withdrew somewhat, and lowered herself back onto her heels. From experience, the daughter knew to retreat when his appearance was so labored, the skin underneath his eyes bulging and easily noticeable. However the daughter stood by her father's side, waiting for his reply with caution.

"She..." Leonard began again, but still found himself unable to answer his little girl's question, feeling incapable to talk about his lover. "She has to be somewhere else right now... she has something important to do." He pushed back from the desk, and turned his chair toward his daughter, then slowly reached out to her with a open hand.

Instinctively the red head cowered from her father's hand, closing her eyes fearfully. It would not have been the first time her father had hurt her, with or without purpose. He would often times become angered when he drank liquor, which the girl had earlier seen was absent from his desk.

He faltered when he saw his daughter cringe from his slight movement, and without delay felt his heart lower and freeze within his chest. Upon reflection, Leonard Church was shocked that he even had one, or that he could feel the temperature lessen in heat. "Here," the father spoke as softly as he could, leaned forward in his seat, and wrapped his arms around the girl.

Surprised by his sudden affection, the small child flicked her eyes open and nervously stood within her father's arms. She felt secure against his body, warmed by the powerful and memorable scent of his cologne. Despite the slight abuse her father dealt her, the frail red-head felt great affection for and thought the world of him. However, indomitable and haunting memories struck her mind, still vivid with grief and discomfort. She was pinned between her love, hate, and fear of her father, as if her personality had been divided into three parts, and isolated, now distinguished as separate parts of her.

Leonard Church felt his child's detachment from him, even before now. He knew what she was thinking, when he began drinking a beverage of alcohol, what she was fearing whenever he knelt down to her. She might not of known what she was experiencing or conflicting with, but he understood completely. He knew the harm he was causing, the trauma his little-baby girl was feeling. This put a startling and frightening question before himself. How could he do this to own offspring, his own child of which he was completely responsible for? It was nearly impossible to answer, and possibly even more so to correct. Once again, Leonard found reason for the child's mother, Allison, to be here. To fix his mistakes, to keep him in check and make sure he didn't mess up his relationship with his only child. He, along with his daughter, needed Allison more than ever, and truthfully the girl's mother could perchance return deceased. Leonard lifted his daughter's still body from the ground, backed into the chair, and rested her on his lap, cradling her within his hold."I'm sorry... I'm sorry baby girl."

As she heard her father apologize to her, three gentle taps hit her head. The daughter was uncertain what they had been, until her father inhaled sickly above her. She turned her head upwards to confirm that her father was crying, his eyes red, blotched, and inflated. The girl did not know how to react to this, as it was her first encounter, of which she could remember, with him weeping. It was as if the absolute representation of her father, strong, fierce, irate, and forceful, was upturned. The perspective now known was sorrowful, feeble, attentive, and... loving. All of these aspects were contradictory to her, but the one thing that was evident, was her father's love for her. It posed her to ask, "Do you love mommy and me?" her feelings and confusion phrased in her own simple words.

The father did not hesitate to answer his little girl's question. "Of course I do, with every fiber of my being. If I was faced with the loss of both of you, every alternative is preferable," he spoke passionately with his broken southern voice, making sure his daughter heard every word of it. "You... you are my greatest creation, and your mother... will undeniably be my greatest memory," he caressed his daughter's head, letting it glide down her hair, off her neck, and onto her back.

"Daddy..." the small red-headed girl started again, as if she was pondering her words before voicing them to her father. "I wish I had more time with mommy, I just want a bit more time. She's really smart, and I trust her, she would never lie to me. And I know if someone gets angry and tries to hurt me or make me do things I don't want... she'll be as close to me as my shadow."

Leonard Church knew that his daughter was speaking of him, when she mentioned someone becoming angered and lashing out. In truth Allison had more than not protected her daughter from Leonard. She held no fear while doing so either, he would never lay a hand on Allison, he never had done so before. His daughter had been a... more convenient target of his anger when drinking. Whenever the mother's back was turned, he would abuse his daughter, he would transform into this unruly monster that had no morals. "Don't worry, you'll see her again."

The daughter sat on her father's lap, curled into his arms, wondering when that moment would be. She longed when Daddy wouldn't drink a lot, when her mother came home from doing something important, when her parents would wake up happy and have fun with her. However, his words comforted her to some measure. It did not cover up the fear and anger she felt towards her father, but gave her something kind to see in him. It prompted her to repay him, try to make him feel better about Mommy. The red-headed girl released herself from her father's arms, and stood up on the chair, between the fork of her father's legs, so that she was at height with him. She took ahold of his head, leaned forward, and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you," she said as she released his head.

As she let go he looked down, not wanting to see his daughter's expressions. He was twenty years older than her, yet she was the one that was more adult. She didn't hold a grudge against him for his misdeeds, and he couldn't even forgive himself.

"It's okay Daddy," the girl lowered herself carefully and removed herself from the chair. "Remember what Mommy always says?" she rhetorically asked her father, "The bad things you did do, don't say the things you will do," the girl stated the phrase often spoken from her mother, in her perspective.

Her father smiled feebly, for his daughter's sake, and nodded to the door of his office. "Thank you baby girl. Now why don't you go run and play now, maybe I'll play with you in a minute," he offered his daughter, hoping to make it up to her, somehow.

She smiled and let out a giggle, her dimples of her cheeks showing clearly. And without a word she ran off to the exit of her father's office. She threw open the door and rushed out excitedly, going to her room to wait for her father.

Leonard Church watched his daughter run off, and opened a drawer from his desk. He grabbed a hand-held device from it, and turned it on. The screen flashed brightly as it powered on, and he slowly tapped his hands on the device, it coming to a screen which held the image of the girl's mother. Leonard hit the play button, and the woman spoke: "Don't say goodbye, I hate goodbyes." Leonard sighed, turned the device off, and went to make it up to his daughter.


Author's Post Note: So, I'm really anxious to know what you thought of this story, as it is my first one. And I've also thought about continuing this, even though it is a bit dark. A series of short stories about Carolina's difficulty dealing with her parent's neglect towards her. But, I'll only do this if it gets good reviews. Now, thanks again for clicking, and I hope you read the stories I'll make eventually.