Chapter 27
Danielle just stood there for a good few minutes, just staring at him. He did just the same; they just stood there looking at each other, studying each other. Finally he gave a small smile, and she broke, she let her tears fall and she flung herself into her Daddy's arms. "Daddy!" She whispered, as she held on to him tight. She felt him hold her just as tight, and she felt truly happy for the first time since she had last seen her daddy, and was allowed to hug him.
Spike let out a shaky breath when he heard his little girl. He held her so tight he was afraid he would break her, but he couldn't help it he had missed her so much. And she really was beautiful. She was her mothers' daughter after all, but she had her own beauty about her, that he knew she would have the moment he had held her as a new born. Then the ulcer began to set in, if a vampire could even have ulcers, she was too pretty. He decided then and there that if any teenaged, hormonal, males, of any kind, even looked at his little girl the wrong way, he would revert back to his scourge of Europe days, that bloody chip in his head be damned.
He pulled back and looked at his only daughter and smiled. He gently wiped her tears from her face. She had his eyes, but he also noticed that his little girl wasn't as innocent as would have liked for her to be. She had probably seen just as much if not more than he had, for her to have just the slightest bit of innocence left in her signature that he quickly filed away in his mind, and recognized as his little girl. "Hello princess." he smiled as he continued to look at her. "I'm sorry I missed so bloody much of your life." he told her sadly. She quickly shook her head, and he just looked at her in question and confusion. "You were always there when it mattered." She said with a shaky voice. He was about to ask how, when she held up her hand and continued. "The darkness. It has been my best friend since I was a little girl. It reminded me of my daddy. I could even talk to it and pretend it was you. The odd thing was it always seemed to give me answers in return.--- Okay that sounded way to Drusilla like for my taste." She chuckled for a moment. "But more than that you have saved my life countless times even if you don't even know it." he looked at her completely bewildered, but she just smiled and tilted her head to the side. "How do you think I can head the Military back in Cantaria? What preteen knows battle tactics wellenough to head a military? -- Here's a little hint. The battle tactics… they weren't mine, but the ability to pull them off was in my blood."
She chuckled as his eyes widened as he realized what she had been saying. "See daddy, you never really left me, I kept you right here, by my side through everything." she placed his hand over her heart. "I studied your battle tactics and your fighting abilities and used them to my own advantage, so in a way I had you with me in here, too." she placed the tips of his finger to her right temple. "Like I said you were there when I needed you." she smiled up at him again, as she saw pride shine in his eyes. "Love you princess." He spoke with a strangled voice, but she heard the love and pride in it all the same. "Love you, too, Daddy."
"Come on in for a few minutes princess, it's time you met some of your family." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but feel like a little girl again who would follow her daddy anywhere. Yep, she was still a complete Daddy's girl.