Bayley had been pacing around the living room area in circles ever since she had really gotten ready for the day. Earlier in the week, she had gotten called to Ms. McMahon's office and, after having a talk with her principal, was told that she was successful in finding Tyson and that he would be coming back to Emerald Pines in a few days. With the big day finally here-a Friday, as a matter of fact-Bayley was just feeling nervous, even more nervous than she did when she first started going to school. She just couldn't believe that the day was finally here that she'd get to meet her dad. 'I just hope he'll like me when he meets me,' Bayley thought, her hands bunching and unbunching in the skirt of the light pink and plaid dress she had gotten from her Aunt Naomi for Christmas.
As they watched Bayley pace around, Roman, Seth, Dean, and Sasha weren't quite sure of how to help the ponytailed brunette calm down. After all, with this being a pretty big day for her, they could understand why she was feeling nervous…they just wanted Bayley to calm down a bit before Tyson got here. Seth was almost set to get up and walk over to Bayley when knocking at the door got the attention of all five Gems.
Rising from his seat, Dean walked past Bayley to the door, where, after a look through the peephole, he opened the door to who was on the other side. "Well, it took you long enough to get here."
So, just who was Dean talking to at the door? The mystery visitor's identity shall be revealed...IN THIS CHAPTER! =D I hope you all enjoy the chapter, my dolls. =)
"I know. Sorry about that. I had my alarm set to make me up earlier, but I slept through it. Traveling long distances can really wear a person out, so I'm just trying to sleep off that exhaustion," the person Dean was talking to said with a slight laugh.
"I'd imagine it is," Dean said, a laugh of his own escaping him. "Well, don't just stand outside all day. Everyone's inside waiting for you."
"I'll bet they are," the person said. Being heard taking a breath, the person then said "OK. I'm ready. I'm ready to see everyone."
"That's the spirit. Don't worry, everyone's been looking forward to seeing you as well. So, come on in," Dean said before turning on his heel and walking inside.
Hearing Dean say "Come on in", Bayley's head snapped up as she stopped nervously playing with her skirt and she found herself joined by Seth, Roman and Sasha. Watching as Dean walked inside with the person that was at the door following behind him, the ponytailed brunette swallowed to help fight the dryness in her mouth as she watched their guest approach her and the others: The new guest in the house was a man with fairly short spiky brunette hair, and was wearing a white and blue striped polo shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white and blue Nike tennis shoes. As Bayley watched this man come to a stop at the front of her and the others, she could see that the man was looking down at her just as her gaze went upward to meet his eyes.
Looking between both Bayley and their guest, Seth cleared his throat as he rested a hand on Bayley's shoulder. "Bayley. This ...this is Tyson that I told you and Sasha about a few weeks ago. Tyson, ...this is Bayley and another fellow Gem, Sasha."
Remembering the story Seth had told her and Sasha about her parents, Bayley swallowed again to try to fight the dryness she began to feel before saying "Are ...are ...are you my dad?"
At first, Tyson couldn't bring himself to say anything as he looked down at the ponytailed brunette that was an older version of his daughter. After all, the last time he even saw Bayley was when she was a baby-almost a year old, at that. So seeing that his daugther had grown so much while he was gone had Tyson feeling quite surprised...and also, a bit sad that his daughter had grown so much in his absence. Shaking away his surprise, Tyson nodded as he said "Y-Y-Yes, Bayley, I am. I'm your dad. And, like Seth said, my name is Tyson. It's ...quite the pleasure to finally meet you again after so many yea-" Tyson barely had time to finish his sentence before he felt himself get almost taken off his feet as Bayley had ran forward and caught the older brunette in a tight hug as she buried her face in his shirt to hide the tears that were now streaming down her face. Feeling both the hug from his daughter and her tears, Tyson said nothing as tears of his own began to roll down his face and he returned Bayley's hug with an embrace of his own.
Seeing the embrace between Bayley and Tyson unfold in front of them, the other four Gems shared a smile that things had gone so well so far. Bayley was now reunited with her father, and Tyson was reunited with his daughter. This was all something that seemed to be escalating pretty quickly, so it came as a surprise to Seth, Dean and Sasha when Roman cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Tyson? Maybe you'd like to spend some time out with Bayley today. After all, it's been a while since you guys were together, so why not go out and spend the afternoon together somewhere?" Roman suggested.
Tyson wiped his face before saying "That sounds like a pretty good idea, Roman. What do you say, Bayley? You feel up for spending a day with me? So that we can both get to know each other?"
Looking up to meet Tyson's gaze, Bayley pulled away and, a smile on her face, nodded as she said "Sure!"
*insert any and all manner of Squee's and Squee-like reactions here* OK. So, it looks like the big father-daughter meeting between Tyson and Bayley went quite well...so far. Sure all they've done so far is share a hug, but it seems like the real test of things will be when Bayley and Tyson spend a day out together (at Roman's suggestion, surprisingly enough). Just how will their day out go? That shall come...next chapter. So, until then, don't forget to R&R please. =)
(*insert slight shiki94 apology here if I gave anyone flashbacks to Aquamarine with how Bayley first really identified Tyson as her dad* ^^,)
