Disclaimer: Game of Thrones is D&D's property, after being GRRM's property. Or else, Lancel would be the happiest kid in Westeros, should it be mine.
Summary: Kill the husband and let the father be born. That was exactly how Lancel felt ever since his wife passed away two years ago, leaving him with their only daughter to care for.
In his daughter's eyes
Chapter 6
At first, Lancel couldn't feel anything. But slowly, his being was filled with the usual exhaustion that came up after a moment of sleep. Then, he felt warmness around him, softness. Why was it so? The last thing he could remember was falling on the floor. He wanted to move but every move he tried was agonizing. The place he was in seemed so comfy in comparison! He tried to open his eyes. All was blurry. He focused and piece by piece, the room detailled itself. It was his old room, back when he was living with his parents. Was he dreaming? Why was he here? How did he arrive here? He pushed the sheets to his feet and tried to get up. The world was still spinning around, though it felt more bareable than before. He heard Lelia playing downstairs. She was here was a relief. His paternal instinct rushed back and placed her before all of his questions. He looked at the alarm clock.
"She needs breakfast... Or we'll be late for school."
He walked to the door and opened. He carefully made his way to the stairs but as he was about go down, his mother appeared, in the opposite direction.
"Lancel..." She whispered in shock
"Hi Mom." He replied awkwardly
"What are you doing?" She asked
"Lelia needs to eat before school."
Dorna smiled.
"She has already eaten."
"Then, I'll help her prepare."
"I helped her. And your father made sure she had all she needed. Janei even made her hair. She's fine, Lancel. You can go and rest."
"But..."
His mother glared at him and though he was an adult, he couldn't help but flinch. Dorna wasn't a woman known for her bad temper, on the contrary, she was believed to be the sweetest and calmest person ever, with good reasons. It was less known that Kevan brought the lioness in her to shine when it came to her cubs.
"Lancel Kevan Tywin Lannister, you'd better get your butt back into bed or I swear by the Seven Gods that I will make you!"
Seeing his face, she couldn't help but laugh and spoke again.
"Lelia is fine, Lancel. More than fine. It's great that you put her first, even while ill, but everything has been taken care of. Now, go back to bed and rest. I'll bring you something to eat. And no, I won't scold you because you didn't went straight to bed because you needed to use the bathroom first."
Defeated, he obeyed, wondering how a 26 years old man managed to get scolded by his mother like a petulant child. Laying on his bed, he wondered how he and Lelia arrived here. Who found him? Did Lelia see him? Gods, he hoped she didn't see him that way! Why was he at his parents' house and not in an hospital? His questions were cut short when Lelia entered along with her grandmother.
"Daddy!"
She ran to his bed and climbed to hug hugged her back.
"Someone wanted to see you before her school day." Dorna explained, smiling
"Grandpa called his doctor friend and the doctor friend said you needed lots and lots of rest because you didn't have enough." Lelia explained
So, his parents were involved? How?
"The doctor said you didn't take care of yourself enough. That's bad, Daddy."
She looked at him all serious before a bright smile came on her lips.
"But I love you still."
He smiled back.
"I love you too."
She went back and got ready to leave for school, accompanied by her aunt. Dorna put her trail on the bed table and sat by her son's side. She studied him for a few seconds. He looked so fragile she was afraid he'd shatter of she touched him. She wondered where she failed him. He got ill to a severe point and he never asked for help. She understood how his mind worked and she was aware that her eldest child was sadly prone to depression, having had one in his teenage years. He just looked so... So dead... She wondered how long he had been this way and blamed herself for not seeing it sooner. She was his mother and yet, she had been blind until it was too late, until he was way too much into the vicious circle of his despair.
"How did I arrive here?" He asked, breaking her thoughts
"Lelia called your father after she found you and was unable to wake you up. Kevan called Owen, he checked on you and we took both of you home. Your boss has been warned you were sick, we didn't enter into the details, but he has all the papers needed. All is taken care of, all you need to do is rest and get better." She explained
"Lelia found me..." He whispered in shock
That was worse than he had imagined. His 5 years old daughter found her father unconscious on the floor and had to call her grandparents for help... He made her do this, he forced her to do this... After losing her mother... He couldn't help imagining her fear when she realized he wouldn't wake up... He had failed her and he had failed her hard. He didn't deserve to be her father, she'd be better off without him, to be with people who could care for her and not the miserable mess he had become. He felt like crying but what good would it bring? Unless showing even more of unfit he was to be her father, how unworthy of her and of her love he was? His mother seemed to have understood his sadness as she got closer and embraced him, telling him it was going to be okay. He wanted to believe her but he couldn't bring himself to it.
"Now, eat up and rest. If you're bored, your old TV and dvd player still works and I don't think Janei will mind if you borrow on of her game devices. After all, it was yours and the twins' in the first place." Dorna said
XXXXX
Lelia woke up frightened that night. She had made a dream where she found her daddy again, unable to wake him. The doctor was here but he talked to Grandpa Kevan who cried. Then, she found herself in the cemetary, on her mother's grave and a new name was on it near hers. She tried to read it, she still wasn't able to read a lot but she could read a bit nonetheless. It was her daddy's name. Her daddy had moved to the cemetary with all the other dead people, in a neighborhood where she would never see him again, like her mommy. She didn't want that! She tried to push the grave, calling for him, but she was all alone and the storm was coming. She woke up when the thunder started to roar.
"I'm in Grandpa and Grandma's home." She tried to reason herself
She was dying to go to her daddy's room and hug him, maybe they'd sleep together. But Daddy was ill and needed his rest. She saw lights coming out of her aunt Janei's room. She carefully entered. She was watching TV, with the sound very low.
"Lelia?" She asked when she saw her
"I had a bad dream... Daddy had moved in the neighborhood where Mommy is."
Janei smiled gently to her and invited her for a hug. Soon enough, she turned off her TV and she invited her niece to sleep with her. She looked at her as she slept. Apart from the gender, she was Lancel's spitting image through and through. She remembered how she always went to Lancel after she had a nightmare. It was funny, she had three older brother, yet for nightmares, for small injuries, for anything that was scary of painful, it was always him she sought. She'd slip in his bedroom and he'd let her sleep with him through the night. It was time she paid her debt, even if the small version of Lancel she had under her eyes wasn't him but his offspring.
XXXXX
Lancel couldn't help smiling and feeling touched deep down when he saw his little sister sleeping with his daughter. It was exactly just like he comforted her years ago. He wasn't even sure she'd remember due to the age gap. However, he looked confused when his father took out a camera, hidden in a storage near his children's room and took a picture of the scene.
"Told you it was a good idea to have a camera here." He joked as Dorna looked at the result
"So that's how you have all those sleeping pictures of the boys and me..." Lancel realized
"It's not my fault you all inherited your mother's talent for cuteness and it would be criminal to let it pass without memories." Kevan replied
"You helped in their cuteness." Dorna added
"Barely."
It felt good to see his parents still so close and so in love after all these years. Lancel took out his phone and started to write.
"What are you doing?" Dorna asked, intrigued
"Making a memo. I do need to borrow your trick for cute pictures."
To Be Continued