Sunlight is streaming through the windows when my eyes slowly drift open. The entire setting is absolutely perfect. Soft sheets cling to my frame and a comfortable mattress caves under my weight, shaping perfectly to my body. But best of all, I am in the arms of the one I love. Her head is laid delicately on my chest and her hair is strewn over her bare back. Oh, Paige. I watch intently as her chest falls and rises steadily. She's beautiful when she sleeps.
My heart warms at the sight of her beautiful body intertwined with mine. Last night was perfect. I smile in reminiscence of her hands all over my body and of mine on hers. The taste of her tongue, the soft texture of her ripe lips, the sensation of her; they all are fresh in my mind. My body tingles. I've just made love to the only woman I've ever truly loved. Paige is my one true love. She is the sun in my world of never ending darkness.
I shift carefully to avoid waking her up. I gently slide out from under her and make my way into the bathroom. I stare at myself in the mirror. What is this? Who is the person standing before me? Who am I? Do I really even know? My mind races as the intoxicating pleasure of the previous night wares off. Being with Paige has been a sweet, sweet, escape from reality, but at some point I'll have to admit to myself that it will never last. We're undercover agents; we weren't meant to be. I sigh and push myself away from the mirror, out of its painful reflection. A tear comes to my eye as I clothe myself and head for the door. None of this is real. It can't be.
When I arrive at the hospital, I enter Ella's room to find her missing. Where is she? A four year old little girl in a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV shouldn't be hard to look after. Would the nurses notice her wandering the halls and stop her? If they really know what they're doing, the answer is "Hell yes." I wader to the nurses' station and ask Rina about my daughter's absence.
"Oh! She left twenty minutes ago for her massage therapy," Rina explains with a smile. I breathe out a sigh of relief. "It's perfectly rational that you were worried, but you don't need to be. We won't let that little one out of our sight." I smile kindly at her before walking back to the room.
I sit down on the green couch and rest my head in my hands. What the hell am I doing here? I'm just ruining everything. Ella had a chance at a happy life without my interfering, but now that I have, she won't want anything else. She doesn't understand that I'm not good for her. She could have been adopted by some nice family that could give her anything and everything she needs. I'm just making a mess of this. I mentally try to find one thing in my life that I haven't screwed up.
There is a knock at the door before a man who looks to be in about his mid thirties pokes his head in. He wears a dark pair of jeans and a blazer with his white v-neck shirt. The man's tan form is crowned with a nest of perfectly combed brown hair. He has a very professional look about him. He looks around the room but stops cold when he sees me sitting on the couch. I eye him suspiciously. He cautiously steps in.
"Maybe I'm in the wrong room…" He mumbles softly to himself. "I could have sworn the nurse said that this was Ella's room—"
"You're here to see Ella?" I interrupt his musings. He stops his fumbling and stares at me.
"Yes…?"
"This is her room." I watch him with a slightly hostile glint in my eyes. "Who are you?"
"I'm Elliot Rimon," He states more confidently than before, "and I'm the man who's supposed to adopt Ella. I was supposed to be here yesterday with my wife, but she was ill, so we couldn't make it. I came today instead." Well, he's a talker. I asked for his name and he gave me a freaking novel. I can't help but feel a little jealous when I look at this man. He's married, clearly, and is on his way to adding a child into their family. And not just any child; my child. "And you are?"
Oh look, he's impatient, too. "I'm Mike Warren," I spit at him indignantly, "and I am Ella's father." His face contorts into an expression of confusion and discomfort. He opens his mouth like he's going to say something but nothing comes out.
"But… I thought you were out of the picture. At least that's what Eden said…" Elliot says half to himself, it seems. "You were way gone according to what I heard." He chuckles to himself slightly hysterically. "I guess not even a restraining order would keep you away if you're already here against a court's ruling," He mutters.
"Are you threatening me, Mr. Rimon?" Elliot stands up a little taller this time and cocks his face in the most arrogant grin possible.
"So what if I am? It wouldn't make a difference anyway. All I have to do is call the court up and tell them you're overstepping your legal boundaries. You'll be back on a plane to whatever hole you crawled out of in no time." Elliot cockily stares at me. "I mean, look at you. You're a mess. Alcoholic and abusive ….the list goes on and on. You don't deserve Ella. She needs someone who can take care of her. She needs someone who didn't already break her heart. You left the girl once; who's to say you won't do it again?"
My anger boils over as his words sink in. The heat rushes to my cheeks as the anger spreads through my body with a bite like venom. "You crooked, cocky, son of a bitch!" My fists clench and I pull back, ready to connect them with his face. Elliot crumbles to the floor to protect himself from the blow. All I feel is my anger. I want to beat this guy into the next century. My hands ache to bruise him and make him black and blue, but something is pulling me away from him. I'm better than this. If I do this I'll only be the monster he told me I was. I can't give him that satisfaction. I lower my arms and force them to my sides. My control is slipping.
"Stay away from my daughter, you bastard." And with that I walk out the door, leaving Mr. Rimon in a heap on the floor.
