Chapter 7 – Michael

'You're kind of forced to do an hour to two hours five days a week,' I commented, leaning on the doorframe of Sam's classroom. She had yet to see me, her back was pointing in my direction and her head hung low as she spoke about her past and her body insecurities. I felt terrible eavesdropping, but I was told to send the children from this class down to the main hall, and I needed to speak to her about Nicole. Or Nic, as I heard Sam called her. I loved those names. Sam and Nic. As Sam heard me speak, I noticed how tense she became as everyone in her class looked over to me. 'It's intense until you get used to it,' I added.

Sam turned around to see me and I saw the panic and upset in her eyes – the beautiful blue colour of her eyes highlighted as she bit back the tears. Her long brown hair was tied up in an elegant bun which emphasised her cheekbones. I saw Nic, who I had suspicions was my daughter, in the corner of the room painting, so interested in the paints she hadn't noticed someone had entered the room.

'Er, I got sent by your headmistress to send you lot down to the main hall,' I said simply, keeping my eye on Nic across the room. I could see Brooklyn in her, and Ella had told me she could see me in her too but I wasn't to certain. There were three Nicole's for all the reception and nursery groups at Blakeley, and another two that are just in daycare. Apparently, Nicole is a popular name. Ella had told me to lie as get sent to Sam's classroom saying I wanted to talk her and catch up, but go and ask about Nic. We didn't know how long we would be here for and I needed to find my daughter in that time. Slowly, all the students – there must have been fifteen of them – packed up their items as Sam looked down at the floor with embarrassment. Slowly, they filed out the room, some gently touching Sam's arm and thanking her. When the last student filed out, Sam got up to follow and I put my arm across the door.

'Not you,' I whispered and she turned back around again, starting to move the tables. 'Sam,'

'You shouldn't have been listening,' She whispered, wiping away a tear. I'm a terrible person.

'I know, I'm sorry,' I said, closing the door.

'What do you want?' She sighed. And I came up to her.

'I'm sorry about your past, you didn't deserve any of that,' I whispered and she turned to me.

'No one does,' She said defensively as she started to cry. She looked away embarrassed.

'No one does.' I agreed with her as she wiped away a tear. 'Come here,' I said gently, unable just to stand there as she started crying. She shook her head, walking away from me. Nic finally realised something was happening in the room, looked up and over to me grinning but realised her mother was crying and got up, ran over and hugged her legs.

'Sammy, don't cry,' Nic said softly as Sam bent down to hug her properly. Sam picked up Nic, resting her on her hip like I did earlier when the kid came out of nowhere, pulled on my jeans and started talking to me about clouds and which cloud were her favourite clouds. She then told me she could move the clouds and wanted to show me but Sam had found her by then. I didn't entirely understand what she meant but knew better than to question her. Having a niece a year older than her had at least given me an insight into what children were like; and I would never question Lily about some of the things she says.

I walked over the pair, trying to ignore the fact that Nic just called her guardian "Sammy," rather than another colloquial term for mother which immediately set alarm bells in my head, and stood awkwardly behind them as Sam continued to cry gently. Undecided still, I forced myself to put my hand on Sam's back and I could feel she tensed up slightly.

'Sam,' I said softly moving my hand around her waist to hug her slightly awkwardly with one arm. Nic immediately looked towards me and grinned, melting my heart, as she put an arm around me to almost include me completely in this family hug. In a way, it made sense that she would be my daughter. 'Please stop crying,' I whispered pathetically.

'You had no right to be in here,'

'I know I didn't,'

'That was all private stuff and you just came in and...'

'I'm sorry, Sam,'

'Sorry doesn't cut it! I don't know who you even are!' She said angrily. 'You just come here, get on with my Nic and then barge into my class claiming moral high ground? Who the hell are you?'

I hesitated. Telling Sam my suspicions would not help this situation in the slightest – and Nic was also present and watching me with a cheesy grin. I knew at some point I would have to tell Sam but it would kill her. I didn't know what to do – I hadn't considered that Nic would be this close to her guardian of all this time. I never assumed that her guardian would only be here because of her mysterious foster child who appeared out of nowhere. I couldn't take Nic away from Sam, but not could I take Sam away from Nic.

'I'm no one,' I whispered.

'Get out then,' Sam said, turning around to walk to the front of the class as I hesitated.

Well, this couldn't have got any worse if I tried.

Awkwardly, I walked back out of the classroom, closing the door behind me and hesitated. I had no idea where I was - I had been directed here by sheer luck and a few texts from Ella, who had projected to the classroom and managed to find her way. However I don't think little sister would be too happy if she had to guide me back to wherever she was so I can talk to her. I hated how much I relied on her for guidance when it came to family things. Before she moved to England I must have been so cynical and clueless.

I had just got down the hallway when I heard a voice behind me.

'Mikey!' I heard and turned around. Nic was running towards me and I immediately crouched down. The toddler came immediately up to me and hug me. I hesitated slightly before hugging her back.

'Hey Nic,' I said back to her.

'You... you are my Daddy?' She whispered, pulling away slightly and looking at the floor. I hesitated slightly, unsure what to do. Going against my own ethics, I used my gift on her. With my hand on her back, I dipped into her brain and tried to ignore all the incoherent thoughts and went straight to the room that stored genetic information. It's easy to make your gift like you imagine; if you think the brain is scatty you'll struggle but learn to organise it into separate rooms, you're good. I could see Nic's genetic make-up, flicking through the DNA to work out the chromosome pairs; something I had to teach myself how to do. I sighed, not being able to find much when I never studies Brooklyn's DNA. Just as I was about to give up, I found what I was looking for; segments of my DNA. Nic was my daughter.

'Yeah,' I whispered to her, and Nic's face lit up completely as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I picked her up, hugging her tight as I spun her around before sitting her on my hip, grinning at her. My daughter. She was my daughter. Nic grinned at me, showing where she had lost her first tooth. I noticed the freckles on Nic's cheeks and nose, and her green eyes shone back at me. I wondered why her eyes looked so familiar, and realised with a shock they were the exact same as what I see when I look in the mirror.

'Does Sammy know?' She whispered, holding a handful of my shirt like she never wanted to let me go.

'No, but you can't tell her, it's our secret okay sweetheart?' I asked her and she nodded before hesitating.

'Are you going to leave us?' Nic asked and my heart stopped. I had no idea what to do. Sam clearly hated me that much was clear. She hated me because I got on with Nic. I could tell though Nic was the only thing she really had; if she loses her she had nothing to herself. Her protectiveness made sense but it made it tricky. I realised how much I cared about Nic already – she was my daughter - and I wanted to take her back to Windsor with me and settle her down and raise her. I didn't care if I was a single Dad, Nic had become the most important thing to me now. I wanted her to grow up with me, I wanted to do the school runs and play with her hair and stay up at night when she was ill. But I couldn't break Sam like that anymore. Especially after her speech to her students earlier. Taking Nic would push her to the edge and it would be the equivalent of destroying Sam.

'No, of course not,' I told Nic and she kissed my cheek and I smiled.

'Promise, be-because you can't break promises. Sammy says people cannot break promises.' Nic said.

'Promise,' I whispered to her, resting my forehead against the side of her head.

'Good,' Nic simply said and I put her back down on the floor but she didn't stop hugging me.

'You should probably make sure Sam is okay,' I told her, and she nodded. 'I'll see you soon,' I whispered to her and she nodded.

'I love you, Daddy,' Nic said as she ran back down the hallway, looking over her shoulder with a grin before heading back into the classroom.

I sat down on one knee for a moment, staring at the carpet in disbelief. That was my daughter. I hadn't realised how quickly someone you didn't even know about the other day become such a major part in your life. In that split second, I knew I would never give up on getting Nic back. I got up, and turned around but jumped out my skin when I saw Ella standing right behind me, eyebrow raised.

'How the fuck –'

'I was right, wasn't I?' Ella simply said and I nodded.

'Yeah,' I simply said. Ella had told me in the courtyard that she thought the girl who loved the clouds was my daughter and was the one who sent me to Sam's classroom to find her. 'Yeah, she's my daughter,'

'Apology now please,' She simply said.

'For what?'

'For all the one night stand comments you made about me and Joe, and any comments about Lily being a mistake. Now you know that having a child is never a mistake,'

'What does that even mean?' I asked her bitterly.

'Oh, Nic is a mistake to you? Don't you care about her?'

'Of course I care, she's not a mistake, she'd never be a mistake. That means you regret something,'

'There we go then,' Ella said and I rolled my eyes.

'Sorry,' I said through gritted teeth as she grinned at me. 'I hate you,' I muttered and she shook her head.

'Nah, you don't,' Ella simply said. 'Get your ass back to the annex, you're babysitting before the barbeque,' She told me, stretching her arms about her head slightly as I pulled a face. 'Get used it, it'll be a full time occupation for you soon,'