I'm so sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoy this last chapter, and thank you so much for all the positivity :)
He put his arm around her now, and she moved closer to him. She was just a child, and all she wanted was to be loved. She was so eminent of her mother that he was surprised when she showed normal, childlike tendencies and he suspected that he wasn't the only one. He needed to be here, to show Connie that she wasn't alone, and for Grace. He wanted to show her that her Mum had always loved her, but balancing different aspects of her life had made it difficult to show it in the way Grace had wanted her to. He had thought for a while that Connie herself perhaps hadn't had a model upbringing, although this had never been talked about between them, and that this had affected how she parented Grace.
"Your Mum needs me Grace, and I am going to do everything I can to prove to you that things will not go back to how they were before. The arguments, you feeling as though she didn't love you, or that she would rather spend time away from you than with you. That wasn't the case and you can choose not to believe me, but I think you do know that, because you love her and you know when she isn't okay. But she will be, and so will you." He paused, and gently held her to him as she sniffed, wiping her eyes quickly and flicking her hair over her back.
"My two firecrackers, eh?" She looked up at him and smiled, and he placed a gentle kiss on her head.
"I'm sorry Jacob."
"Hey, what for? Surely you weren't expecting me to give you both up without a bit of a fight?" She gave a slight giggle, and he squeezed her shoulder affectionately.
"I was angry, and I shouldn't have said what I said to Mum. I was scared and it's just..." She shrugged, seemingly unable to find the right words.
"It's okay Grace. We both understand why you said it. But we're going to try to make this work."
"Okay." She leant her head into Jacob's side and he smiled, thinking of how things were going to change, for him and Connie as well as Grace.
"Will you stay tonight?" He looked at her with eyebrows raised, and she moved closer to him. "She won't cry if you're here." Jacob squeezed her shoulder again, and smiled sadly at the girl sat next to him, who struggled to express the fact that she knew her mother needed him here that night.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. She needs you here Jacob." Grace shuffled from the sofa and Jacob stood up. She led him through to the kitchen, and on hearing the door open, Connie turned around abruptly before she was almost knocked off the stool. Grace came flying towards her and Connie instinctively wrapped her in her arms, before looking over her head to see Jacob leaning against the doorframe. He could see tears begin to form in her eyes, and he desperately wanted to go to them and embrace them both. She bent her head down to Grace's and kissed her gently, before looking back up and mouthing to Jacob words she could truly speak from her heart. He smiled, biting his lip slightly before winking at her and mouthing the same words back to her. Grace looked up, and Connie relaxed her hold on her. She stepped backwards to stand between her Mum and Jacob, who stood looking at each other smiling, her hands now folded on the counter and mimicking Jacob's posture as he still leant against doorframe. She didn't say anything, but smiled at Jacob before walking past him, going back into the living room.
"Come here, you." He stood up straighter and she closed the distance between them, he turned slightly so his back was against one side of the frame and he wrapped his arms around her waist as he brought her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, before one of his hands was winding her hair around his fingers and she brought his head down further to her height. She was stood on her tip-toes, and as their kisses intensified, his hand gradually fell from her hair and settled around the small of her back, bringing their pelvises closer together. She smiled against his mouth before pulling back, looking at him and then standing flat on her feet, bringing her hands down to his chest.
"It's going to be okay, Con." He stroked her hair, and she put her head to his chest, listening to the stead beating of his heart.
"I know." She whispered, and he held her tight before closing his eyes and turning his head to see Grace peeking from the living room, smiling. He mouthed to her and she nodded, and he head her settle down onto the sofa.
"Let's go and join her, eh?" He took Connie's hands and kissed her once more.
"You're staying?" She broke off the kiss in surprise, and Jacob laughed.
"Well if you don't want me..." She kissed him before he could continue, and he grinned against her lips before pushing her in the direction of the living room. He watched her settle onto the sofa and cuddle Grace to her, stroking her hair gently. He smiled and moved to sit next to Connie, placing his arm around her and feeling her lean into his side. He tucked her hair behind her ear and brought his lips to her ear.
"I love you." He murmured gently, and she closed her eyes before bringing her face to his and kissing him. She then turned to Grace, who had seemingly drifted off but was still curled into Connie's side. She placed a kiss in her hair, and then let her head relax onto Jacob's shoulder.
"Thank you."
He smiled sadly, knowing that now all she needed was for him to hold her. He didn't need to say anything. She knew she had fallen, and he knew that because he had fallen hard too. She had been broken, but now that she had found him and he found her, he knew that things were going to get better. This woman, this beautiful and complicated woman, along with her daughter were with him now. And to him, that really did mean everything.
