"Hmmmmm..."

"...Check mate!"

"What?! But how?! Got me again! You're getting good at this game, Elle." Enigma commended the little girl after she won another game of chess against the detective. She gave a small smile as the detective rubbed her head. He and her have been playing the game since two days ago, and he was glad to see her improving, especially this fast. He wanted to ask her the question, and now seemed like the best time. Well honestly, when is there really the best time to ask?

"You like being with me, don't you?" he asked. The girl nodded quickly in response. The detective chuckled deeply as he began to reset his side of the board when he heard her speak softly and quietly.

"...new papa?" she asked nervously. The detective paused as he looked up at her a bit confused. He then examined her expression and body language. From that tone of voice, her expression, and her breathing, her old "papa" didn't treat her right.

"Er...w-well...only if you want me to." the detective reassured her, or at least tried to. It didn't do a whole lot, except worry her more. The detective, deciding that he shouldn't try to get her to talk about it, ended up doing something he knew he shouldn't do, but he has to know.

"Only do this if you're comfortable, ok? I want you to use the toys down here to show me what they did to you." he said. After being hesitant about this, she did so. Using the various little toys lying around, Elle illustrated what the detective deduced were the events that took place when she was a child.

"Me...Papa...bad men...Demogorgon..." we're names she would give to the game pieces and little toys, making noises and made the pieces move in certain ways to show what happened to her. The guilt-ridden detective sat there and watched, piecing together the toys and what they were doing connected with her past. He was getting more and more moved each time she showed a new scene and as it played out, his brow quivering more and more and he became full of regret for making her do this. He could feel her pain as it grew and grew, which was evident from her voice continuously welling up and getting more and more shaky. As soon as the detective saw her shed a tear and heard her sniffle, he instantly hugged her and gently pulled her into his lap, slowly bringing the loose edges of his coat together around them both. As she snuggled into him, he pulled her closer and rested his head on hers, kissing her forehead occasionally.

"I'm...so sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. I know I shouldn't have asked you to do that, but I had to find out what your old papa was like. I want you to feel safe when you're around me," he wiped her eyes when he said this. "I'm nothing like your old papa. I will not make you do anything you don't want to do. I will never put you through those painful experiments again. I will not force you to do anything if you aren't ok with it or if you don't feel like you can. If you fail or fall short at something, or anything at all, come to me, and we will make it right. Do not be afraid to tell me or ask me anything, or if you are scared, for I will not be angry and I will come, I will comfort and help you. I will answer your questions and give you the best advice that I can give. That is what a true father does. What that man gave you was fake. I assure you, I am not fake." The detective explained all of this to Elle, hoping that she would understand. When he was finished, she kind of just looked up at him, seemingly processing all of this. Oh no...did I say too much? Did I overwhelm her? Did I say something wrong? Did I - Enigma progressively got more and more nervous and scared when he could feel something lightly jabbing his chest. He looked down to see Elle poking him there.

"Sorry, kiddo. Got, uh, lost in my own thoughts. What do you need?" he said gently.

"...dad..." she said softly, pointing up at him. The detective wasn't sure why, but when he heard this word, he could feel his heart wrench, for a lack of a better term. His eyes start to fill fast with tears as he can feel his face start to tense up and his throat close a little.

"...what?" he managed out in a shaky voice.

"...Dad..." she said again, a little louder, pointing at the detective more boldly. Tears streaming down his face and profuse sniffling were the only thing that the detective could respond with as he was overcome with...joy? In all of his life, the detective had almost never cried for any reason except sadness and loss, but now he was so overcome with joy that he couldn't even think straight. Tears, sniffling? Out of...joy? I've never heard of this before in my life. If it feels so good, then why am I crying? At that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the case, not going to the library. A kid who he had been looking after. A kid who he had been looking after for a few days had just called him dad. A hand was laid on his face. "...sad?" said a crying Elle. The detective kissed her cheek and hugged her closely and tightly, saying,

"No, I am...good. Better than I've ever been. Are you happy?" Through sniffling, he could hear her say "Yes..." "Good, and I want to keep you happy. I will take care of you and make sure no one is going to hurt you. And no one is going to change that."