Author's Note: So... I was originally planning for this story to go in a completely different direction, but after some thinking and some inspiration from a good friend of mine, I've decided to change the trajectory of the plot to this story. I can't wait for you all to read the remaining chapters that I have planned! For now, please enjoy chapter 13! As always, please leave a review, bookmark, or favorite!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from The Nanny whatsoever. I just own Sab.
Waking up the next day was more painful than a hangover for Maxwell Sheffield himself. The whirlwind of events from the previous night had left the Broadway producer in complete shambles. He truly had no idea what to do at this point. Should he apologize to CC? Should he accept Sabrina as his daughter? Or should he just let them be and focus on his own family with Fran? Many questions were running through his mind, and from the argument that had escalated throughout the whole household, it was safe to say that the whole family most likely knew about the situation. Although, they couldn't blame Maxwell for not knowing about Sabrina's familial relation to him. He had been in the dark from his business partner for 20 years, and the way things were going between them after their fight did not seem promising for their careers. He sat alone at his desk knowing CC wasn't going to show for work trying to focus on the new musical that was coming out. However, he couldn't seem to shake off the large bombshell that had been dropped on him the previous night. It also made him think about dissolving his and CC's partnership, which was something he would've never thought of doing in a million years. He had respected CC and her work for many years. He never thought he'd see the day where he would immediately cut her off from his life. Sure, there were incidences where she made advances at him, but now that he knew the reason for those advances, he was very wary of her. He stared down at the contracts in front of him and rubbed his temples, not knowing what to do next for his work.
If Maxwell had felt traumatized by the news, Fran was just as shocked as he was. She and Niles had overheard everything through the intercom, and she didn't want to believe the news at first. She immediately thought that CC had been using Sabrina as a pawn to get her and Maxwell together. All of the moments where they claimed to be friends Fran thought were fake, and CC was deceiving the pop star. At this point, Fran thought CC was being driven insane at the fact that she and Maxwell were now engaged. She knew CC was always envious of her, but she never thought that CC would stoop so low like this. Fran didn't want to believe that CC was telling the truth though. She wanted her to know that she did not appreciate the words she had spoken to her future husband about the previous night. It was almost as if CC's grand finale at making a move on Maxwell had crossed the line. Fran did have a plan of her own though, and she couldn't wait to tell Maxwell about it. She decided to bring up his tray of coffee to his office, sporting her usual short and colorful attire. "Hi Max! I got some coffee from downstairs," the big-haired woman called out to her fiancé as she walked in the office.
Maxwell was too immersed in his own thoughts that he didn't see the love of his life walk in the office at first. He was trying to get the thoughts of the previous events off of his mind, but nothing seemed to be working. Hearing her nasal voice made him perk up and smile. He saw that she brought over some coffee, since Fran figured he was stressed out. "Oh, thank you darling. You don't know how badly I needed that," he said as he stood up and helped Fran set the tray down on his desk.
"I'm sure I do, honey! And you don't know how badly I needed this," Fran said grabbing him by his tie and pulling him in for a kiss. Maxwell reciprocated and pulled her in for an embrace holding her tightly in his arms. After a while of enjoying their intimate moment together, they pulled away and Maxwell headed back to his desk. Fran went over to the other side of his desk, since her usual space she sat on was occupied by binders and papers. "How are you feeling since last night?" she asked. She then sat on the other edge of the desk, to where she accidentally pressed the intercom button on.
"Oh Fran, I'm a bloody mess," Maxwell started out. Normally, he would've scolded the nanny for sitting on the other side of the desk since that was where the intercom was located, but since he wanted to vent, he wasn't paying any attention. "I'm sure you've heard this already - and don't say you didn't know, because I'm sure you and Niles were listening in on the intercom - but CC is the mother of my eldest child.. and my eldest child happens to be my former lead actress. I - I don't know what to say or think. I didn't think CC would end up... you know.."
"Why are you still believing that?" Fran questioned him putting her hands on her hips. "You're really allowing Miss Babcock to spill you this story so she could win you over. And what makes it worse is that she's using Sabrina as bait to guilt trip you! You can't possibly believe that what she told you was true!"
Maxwell sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He leaned against his desk chair before looking up at Fran. "Fran.. I'm afraid it's true. We had an affair while Sara and I were married.. before Margaret was born," he admitted up front to his fiancée. He really didn't like talking about his affair with CC, since that was a point in his life he regretted the most. "She never told me she was pregnant.. she just lied to me saying that she would be in Europe for five months. How could I fall for something as stupid as that?"
Fran reached for his hand and squeezed it gently trying to reassure him. "Oh honey, you know Miss Babcock. It wouldn't surprise me with all of the things she's lied about now," Fran started off. She had a genius idea for Maxwell to hear and was hoping he would go along with it. "Don't worry though. I think we may be able to get rid of this little issue for a long while.."
The Broadway producer furrowed his eyebrows. Fran was onto something, and normally this wasn't a good thing. But since he had somewhat of a falling out with CC, he was willing to listen to Fran for once. "What do you mean by that?" he asked her. "What kind of plan do you have in mind?"
She smirked and then leaned more towards him, which caused the intercom volume to go up. They still hadn't realized that the intercom had been turned on the entire time they were talking. "Well.. I know Dr. Bort has a special place for certain therapy patients where they need to go and be fixed.. as they would call it," Fran proposed to Maxwell. "I think Miss Babcock would then finally learn her lesson that she can't have you for herself! And then you won't have to worry about both of them!"
At first, Maxwell didn't know if sending CC to a mental institution was a good idea, let alone leaving his daughter alone without care. However, he didn't feel close to Sabrina at all, and CC had gotten on his final nerve. Maybe this actually was a good idea, and Fran was onto something. "You know what? Maybe that isn't such a bad idea after all.." he said smirking up at Fran, who had let out her signature laugh.
"I told you!" she playfully slapped his arm. "Miss Babcock will be stuck in the looney bin, the teenage witch will be off your shoulders, and you'll be free as a bird!" Fran chimed as she leaned in to accept a kiss from him.
"Oh darling, I didn't think this would be a good idea at first, but this is utter genius!" Maxwell cheered. "All I really wanted to do was fire CC, but maybe this would be the best for her. Surely she would gain her sanity back after a few months, right?" he asked Fran as he reached over for the extension phone next to him, handing it to her.
"Of course! Now let me call Dr. Bort and admit her anonymously," Fran emphasized the last word and winked at him. "Although I think my voice gives who I am away." She was about to start dialing the number until she heard the office door slam open. This caused both Fran and Maxwell to jump in fright. What they didn't expect was Niles standing at the foot of the office entryway, looking extremely irate. Since the intercom was turned on, he could hear their entire conversation going on in the kitchen: from berating Sabrina, to sending CC away. He had made a promise to CC that he would protect her daughter in case anything were to happen to her, but he also knew how close Sabrina and CC were. Niles knew that if CC were sent away, Sabrina would've been depressed and devastated without her mother. He was also quite shocked at how Sabrina's own father was taking this. Maxwell was actually condoning this idea? He was okay with hurting his own daughter? Niles had to stop this madness from happening.
"Put the phone down or nobody gets hurt!" Niles shouted angrily seeing Fran hold the phone in her hand. Fran had never heard or seen Niles this angry before in her life that she had put the phone down in shock. She watched as the butler stormed in the office and threw his cleaning supplies on the green sofa. "Sir, I am going to speak freely about this matter, and I don't care what you say or do in return," Niles started out to Maxwell before he angrily spat. "How dare you even agree to an idea of separating a mother from her daughter! And to think this would be your daughter you would be hurting! This is absolute madness, sir, and I will not allow you to dial Dr. Bort and send Miss Babcock away!"
Maxwell's jaw dropped hearing Niles defending CC and Sabrina. He had thought he turned the intercoms off in the house, so seeing his butler become angry about them was a bit of a shock to him. "What the devil are you talking about!?" Maxwell asked angrily at Niles before he turned his head to Fran. He was about to say something, but then finally noticed that she was sitting on the intercom button. "MISS FINE!" he shouted before Fran jumped off of the table. "You're sitting on the intercom!"
Fran's eyes widened and then she straightened out her short skirt. "Okay.. we're back to Miss Fine again.." she muttered to herself before she placed her hands on her hips and walked over to Niles. "Niles, you got some real nerve shouting at Mr. Sheffield!"
"And you have some real nerve coming up with such a ghastly, selfish idea," Niles retorted back. "It's such a shame, Miss Fine. I thought you were a better person than that. What if this were you and Miss Margaret being separated? How upset and hurt do you think you'd be?"
"This isn't about me though, it's about Miss Babcock!" Fran said back to the butler. "Besides, he thinks I came up with a great idea! Isn't that right, Mr. Sheffield?" Fran motioned over to Maxwell who was standing up by his desk.
"You know, old man, I have plenty of questions for you, but I don't have the time for this nonsense. Maybe you should start to mind everyone else's business and focus on your own," Maxwell stated sternly to his butler, who wasn't having any of it.
"Maybe you should start being a father!" Niles shouted at him clenching both of his fists. His comment took Maxwell by surprise, but also allowed him to grow irate with his butler. He already wanted to fire CC, now he was thinking about firing Niles as well. "Sir, I am very disappointed in you. You care to a certain degree about the children here, why can't you care about another child of your own? You can be upset with Miss Babcock all you want, but she's also the mother of your daughter. What you're agreeing to is absolutely outrageous and heartless!"
Maxwell defensively stepped towards his butler, leaving Fran to watch the commotion between the two of them ensue. "What is absolutely outrageous and heartless, Niles, is CC keeping my child away from me. You have absolutely no business in this," he spat out.
"As a matter of fact, I do! I made a promise to Miss Babcock that I would watch over her daughter if anything dire were to happen to her," he retorted grabbing his belongings on the sofa. "Did you know Miss Sabrina was trying to leave to California today, sir? You could've stopped her from leaving, but seeing as you have no care about her in the world, I figured a deadbeat like you would never even think of that idea."
Fran gasped hearing Niles call him a deadbeat father. He was anything but that towards Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. In that instant, she knew that Niles was dead meat by the look Maxwell gave him. He was definitely angry with him, but also in shock that Niles would actually have the nerve to say something like that. "How dare you put that bloody term to my name," he gritted his teeth at his butler.
Niles didn't seem to care though, as he was about ready to head out the door. "You've always said to tell the truth, sir," he said calmly as he began to put his coat on. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a priority to attend to: stopping Miss Sabrina from leaving New York." With those words, Niles left the house instantly. He knew Maxwell wouldn't want to welcome him back to the house after this ordeal. It wouldn't simply be right after the way he had seen him treat CC and Sabrina. He slowly grew to care very greatly about them both and wanted to see them reunited again. The first step was to get the little Babcock out of the airport as quickly as possible before her flight left.
LaGuardia Airport had never been more crowded on a Saturday afternoon. It had been quite difficult to get into the vicinity passing through all the incoming and outgoing traffic. So many people were heading everywhere across the country. Planes were coming in and flying out to the respective destinations of the passengers. Nothing was different about airports for Sabrina as she had been to too many of them throughout her career. Traveling with Bernie gave her some experience to see the entire country and some parts of the world. She knew the entire spiel by herself at this point.
Passing through the crowd was tough enough to find her terminal. She knew where to go, but there were times where she'd find herself getting lost. To her, this was just another adventure. Sabrina remembered the outgoing flight to Los Angeles was coming from Terminal 26 in the B sector, so it was quite a long walk until she would find it. On her way to the terminal, she looked around at the other patrons in the airport. The fact that she was alone once again suddenly hit her as she noticed some families around her. Some daughters were interacting with their mothers, and she started to have flashbacks. She could picture her and CC together once again having fun on their off days like they used to. Whenever she saw a mother hug her daughter, she saw herself and CC. Whenever she saw a mother and her daughter laughing together, she saw herself and CC. Whenever she saw a mother tell her daughter she loved her... she saw herself and CC. Sabrina quickly tried her best to rush away from the crowd and to her terminal as fast as possible.
Once she got to the terminal, she set her carry on luggage down and covered her face in her hands. Even though she was angry with her mother, she really was going to miss her. Her heart was aching, and she felt horrible for being the one to abandon her mother like this. Sabrina loved her mother dearly and deeply, even though she knew she had to talk to her eventually. But she didn't know if there was ever going to be a time for that. Her own father didn't care for her, and CC was vulnerable in delivering the news. She felt alone and didn't have anyone to feel comfort from. Sabrina thought about running to Bernie's arms the minute she would get back to California. At this point, Bernie was her only source of comfort, but she was out of arms reach.
"Attention passengers: flight 1746 to Los Angeles has been delayed 3 hours." The intercom had gone on which made Sabrina perk up. She huffed angrily hearing that her flight back home was delayed. Now she was forced to be stuck in New York for three more hours, which was killing her inside. The faster she were to get out of New York, the quicker she would forget any of the events that had happened to her over the past year. Every burning memory she was experiencing was killing her, but not because she wanted them to cease to exist, no. She missed her mother. Now she finally understood why CC never told her about her father. Sabrina was definitely upset about this matter, but not at CC. Maxwell didn't want to accept her. CC did, even when she thought she didn't deserve the acceptance and love.
After a while of sitting down at her terminal, Sabrina felt her stomach rumble. She hadn't had the chance to eat since the previous day and didn't feel quite hungry due to how upset she was. Now the hunger was finally kicking in, and with this extra time gained, she figured that she could use something to eat before her flight. Sabrina stood up and looked around to see if there was anything good around to eat. Of course, the only available options were McDonald's and some Mexican restaurant. Of course, it was too early for any Mexican food, so she decided to try and walk towards the McDonald's. However, after only a couple of steps, she stopped her tracks after hearing a very familiar voice behind her.
"I made you some lunch before your flight.."
Sabrina recognized that voice instantly. She couldn't help but plaster a smile on her face. All of her worries about the past events have disappeared, but at the same time, she felt extremely guilty knowing she would have to leave this certain individual behind as well. He had been so good to her, even when she was acting completely obnoxious. She appreciated him and wanted to repay him for all of the times he had done her favors. She also thought about Dominic. She was going to miss him too, but there was something about the man behind her that stood out to her. "Niles..?" she asked turning around to face him. The smile had fallen from her face before she faced him. She wasn't sure how to react to his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"
"I packed you your favorite turkey cold cut," he said as he passed her a brown paper bag, like the one he had given her with the desserts in them a couple of months ago. Sabrina couldn't help but smile back at the kind gesture from the butler. All of the memories they had shared together back in the house had finally come back to her. She took the paper bag and then held it close to her chest. "Thank you," she replied softly. However, she couldn't understand why Niles had followed her to the airport though. He couldn't have possibly gone out of his way to the airport to deliver her a sandwich. "What are you really doing here?"
Niles sighed and walked towards the girl closer. He knew that she was quick to inquire about his presence even after he had given her something to eat. As Sabrina was taking out her sandwich, Niles replied, "As far as I'm concerned, I still have a promise to keep to your mother. Even though nothing dire has happened to her... or so I think... I still promised her that I would look after you."
Sabrina lowered her head and then walked over back to her terminal, where she sat down. Niles had followed suit, taking the seat next to her. "Well.. lucky for you, my flight's been delayed three hours, so you have from now until the time I get out of here to look after me... then your duties are over," she muttered before taking a bite of her sandwich. She couldn't help but crack a soft smile at the taste of the food. She was quite the sucker for whenever Niles cooked her something. This was one of the things she was going to miss about New York besides his honest tenderness towards her.
"My duties are not over until Miss Babcock says so, and quite frankly, she still would like for me to know that you're not alone," Niles responded back with concern. This made Sabrina look down at her hands anxiously.
"Since when did you suck up to my mom? This is so unlike you," she asked him before turning to face him again. She took another bite of her lunch and then started to chuckle. "In fact, I thought you and her consistently butted heads. Now you're just being submissive."
"This has nothing to do with being submissive, Miss Sabrina," he replied. "I've known your mother for over 20 years, and for the life of her, that woman was unable to hold down any sort of relationship whether it would be friends, family, or romance." He watched as Sabrina raised her eyebrows amused at what she just heard. "My point is, I've never seen your mother this happy before in my life. I've told you this already."
"I know, and I hate being reminded of that! Don't try to make me feel guilty! I have to leave this waste of space in three hours," she spat before she took another bite of her sandwich. She tried her hardest not to be vulnerable in front of Niles as that would save her from embarrassment, especially now that she was in public.
"I'm sure you hate being reminded of that, but it's true. I know CC Babcock better than CC Babcock knows herself," he pointed out before he let out a heavy sigh. He was losing Sabrina, and he couldn't afford to let that happen. He hadn't seen CC in a couple of days, but he could imagine how broken the woman must've been. Her daughter was her world, and for her to lose her again would kill her. "Look... I know this is the last thing you really want to hear right now... but please reconsider this decision. Not just for your mother... but for Master Dominic... and for well... me. We don't want you to leave New York."
There was that twinge of guilt that she had dreaded to feel. Sabrina grimaced and looked away from the butler not wanting to show him her vulnerability. He was right. Sabrina should've reconsidered her decision long before she had left the penthouse with a small suitcase. She had kept most of her stuff there just in case she were to return to her mother, but didn't move out completely. To try and deter her thoughts away from her family, she decided to talk about someone else. "Dominic can find somebody else. I don't deserve him.. something will probably break us apart in the future anyways," She was known for ghosting her dates, and Dominic seemed to be no exception.
Niles couldn't believe what he was hearing from her. Of course Sabrina deserved her shot at love. He couldn't take hearing any condescending words from her about herself. "What on earth are you talking about? You're a beautiful girl. The man thinks you're an absolute treasure. I'm sure nothing will ever happen to you both," he reassured the girl.
"What's the point? He'll like me for a while and then drop me off the face of the earth.." the teenager responded glumly as she finally finished her sandwich. She was grateful that he made her this lunch, but she still felt upset. She couldn't stop thinking about the previous night's events. "...just like my father."
Hearing that made Niles clench one of his fists. After the verbal confrontation he had with the Broadway producer, he hated to hear that come out of the girl's mouth. He watched as a couple of tears fell from the girl's cheeks, and it broke his heart. He wrapped an arm around Sabrina and brought her close. "First of all, he is not your father. He never was and never will be. Sure, he was part of the creative process, but that dim-witted twat is not your father. I had a serious talk with him and Miss Fine not too long ago, and I put him in his place," he started out. Sabrina was listening intently to the butler. He was very protective of her, and she appreciated that so much even though she wouldn't verbally admit it. "Second of all, you deserve to have someone like your mother to watch over you and guide you. Someone who will pick you up at your deepest, darkest place and will show you the utmost love and appreciation. Someone... who won't leave you alone." He reached over to wipe Sabrina's tear away from her cheek, and she couldn't help but blush. That gesture reminded her of her mother. "You've gone through hell and worse in your life, and I cannot let you continue down that dark path. I've seen how happy you become... I can't let you lose that."
Sabrina felt like sobbing. Niles was so endearing and protective of her, and it made her heart grow two sizes. She shivered as she brought her hand up to her cheek to where Niles wiped her tears away. "Mom used to wipe my tears away just like that.." she mumbled.
"And she probably still would do it," he replied back to her with a soft lopsided grin. "I'm going to make one small request, and I'm hoping you will follow through with it, dear. Give your mother another chance. Please... you know exactly why she kept this news from you. She loves you and probably wouldn't know what to do without you... come home... to her... to us," he said to her hoping he would convince her.
The girl lowered her head to think about her decision. She had already promised Bernie that she would be back in LA in the afternoon, but after this conversation with Niles, she was having second thoughts. She felt her entire body start to quiver as she suddenly felt a withdrawal. Sabrina missed her mom, and felt horrible that she had to try and comfort herself the previous night. All of a sudden, tears poured down the girl's face and she felt herself shake. Niles saw this and stood up from his seat, pulling the girl into a hug to which Sabrina complied. She buried her face in his coat letting the tears stain it. For once in the past 24 hours, she felt like she wasn't alone. She had Niles, and he sure was fulfilling his duties to the fullest. She couldn't express her appreciation and gratitude that she had for him. She pulled away and sniffled looking back at him. "I miss her, Niles," she croaked wiping some more tears away. "I wanna go home... back to my mom."
"There's the Sabrina I know," he said with a soft smile as he wrapped an arm around her taking her suitcase in his free hand. "Come along, let's go back home, darling." Sabrina stayed in his embrace as they exited the airport. She couldn't wait to see CC again after not being able to bring herself to talk to her. She wanted to hold her and apologize for her reaction. She missed everything about CC.. she missed everything about home.
It took a good hour and a half for Niles to drive Sabrina back to the penthouse. He couldn't remember the last time he was at CC's place, and never thought he'd see the day to where he would ever step foot in there again. Yet here he was, dropping off his supposed archenemy's spawn.. who he had grown to love dearly. He guided Sabrina up to the penthouse in which she started shaking again, this time out of nervousness. "What's the matter?" he asked her.
"I'm just scared.." she said to him. "What if she doesn't want to talk to me? What if she's not home and she's truly gone? What if I don't ever get to see her again?" she asked and used hand gestures and flailed them around her head. Niles quickly stopped the motions and held both of her hands tightly.
"Oh goodness, calm down," Niles said trying to reassure her. Sabrina stopped trembling and he continued, "Just let me greet her and then I will give you your signal. Alright?" He watched as Sabrina nodded her head, complying with his request. She walked behind him as he then reached out to ring the doorbell. They waited for a good two to three minutes before CC unlocked all of her locks and answered the door. She looked miserable and upset, still wearing her pajamas from the previous night, her hair tousled from tossing and turning in her bed, and her eyes with bags under them from lack of sleep. Niles' heart broke at the sight of her. He had never seen CC so depressed in her life. "What do you want?" she grumbled seeing Niles turn up at her doorstep. He was the last person she wanted to see today.
"Miss Babcock, I don't mean to intrude as it looks like you're getting ready to go to a zombie convention... but I stopped by to deliver something to you," he replied, not helping himself to quip at her expense.
CC rolled her eyes and walked away from him. "Will you just... shut up and go away? I'm not in the mood for this, Niles," CC was about to walk away from the front door until she heard a soft voice coming from the outside of her penthouse.
"Hi Mom.."
The older woman stopped her tracks and widened her eyes as she had sworn she thought she heard Sabrina's voice. This couldn't be... did Niles actually pick up Sabrina from the airport? Did he actually convince her to come back? CC couldn't turn to face her daughter as she still felt so much shame. Instead, she felt tears roll down from her eyes. "I understand.." the girl started out as she started to walk towards her vulnerable mother. "I understand why you never told me about him. If I had known he would act like this around us... I wouldn't have told myself either," she said as she continued to walk towards her until she was close behind her. "I had second thoughts about leaving... a lot of things were running through my mind.. but the most important thought was... well... you." Sabrina let out a shaky breath trying to compose herself. "Mom I... I don't know what I'd do without you... I don't need my father to be happy. I already have you. I was happy when we first found each other again and have been happy since. I don't care if you're the only family I have... I love you. This is all I ever want." CC closed her eyes and smiled sadly feeling that familiar warmth in her heart. "Niles convinced me to come back. If it wasn't for him, I'd be on the plane already... I thought I would be going home... but the truth is... home is where the heart is... and I am home."
CC finally turned around after hearing those heartfelt words from her baby. The moment they locked eyes on each other, they both started to sob profusely. It was like finding each other once again. Not being able to contain herself, Sabrina quickly threw her arms around CC, who had done the same. They both couldn't let go of one another in that moment. Even though it had been less than 24 hours without each other, it still felt like an eternity. CC's hand smoothed out her daughter's hair in her embrace and she placed several kisses on top of the girl's forehead. She couldn't express in words how much she missed her and needed her to come back home. "Honey.." she croaked looking down at Sabrina softly smiling. They both reached out to wipe each other's tears and couldn't help but laugh as they both had the same thoughts. "I'm sorry.. for causing you such trouble. I... I wouldn't have known what to do with myself without you... I couldn't risk being separated from my baby again." She let out a shaky breath and then said calmly, "I love you. Please don't leave me again.."
Sabrina shook her head and smiled back at her mother saying, "I won't ever leave you again. I promise.."
They brought each other back into their shared embrace. CC then looked over at Niles, who was standing by the door to the penthouse smiling at the sight of the mother and daughter reuniting. She smiled through her teary eyes and mouthed, "thank you," to him. Seeing Niles nod in appreciation, she smiled softly and closed her eyes, rocking her daughter gently in her embrace. CC finally had her baby back again. The thought of losing her was unbearable, and thanks to Niles, she had Sabrina back in her arms. Even though she dreaded the thought, CC needed to find a way to repay him, but it was going to be difficult. However, Niles had plans of his own. As he watched CC and Sabrina embrace each other, he thought of a great plan to get revenge on Maxwell. It would probably cost him his job, but after looking at the two women he cared for the most, he knew it was going to be worth it.