AN: Thank you for your patience in the update of this fic
Chapter Four - Daddy
When Belle awoke the next morning, she hadn't expected to hear her daughter screaming in horror but she soon grasped what had happened. She looked to the side where Adam had been sleeping but he wasn't there any longer, instead he had gone to the farthest corner of the room. She was scared of him but that wasn't surprising, the form of the beast might scare any child.
Belle looked over at him sadly before turning her attention to Isabella. "Darling, sweetheart," she said as she picked Isabella up in her arms. "It's okay, it's all right, don't be scared, it's all right."
"But the monster?" Isabella asked as she turned her face into Belle's chest, "He's going to eat us. He's going to gobble you up," she cried and Belle saw Adam's horror as he fled from the room before she was able to stop him and calm Isabella down.
"He won't eat us," Belle said sadly as she brushed her daughter's hair back. "I promise that he doesn't want to cause us any harm, he's scared too," she whispered as she kissed her forehead. Isabella looked at her with disbelief.
"He's a monster, monsters eat people," Isabella whispered and Belle pulled her closer.
"Not this time and he's not a monster," she told her and Isabella looked around. Usually both her and Adam would comfort her but Adam had made the decision to flee to keep her from being scared. Belle wasn't going to let her think of him as just a beast. "Sweetie, that's Daddy," she told her and Isabella shook her head.
"He ate Daddy?" she asked with tears in her eyes and Belle shook her head.
"No, he is Daddy," Belle said as she sat her daughter on her lap, she placed a hand on her cheek gently. "You remember yesterday, right? The black haired man?" she said and Isabella hugged her tightly, pressing her face into Belle's chest. She nodded and Belle knew that she was scarred because of that incident. "He did something mean to you, right?" she asked and Isabella nodded in terror. "Well, Daddy saved you but he got cursed. Daddy got turned into a beast because he wanted to save you like our knight, our hero. That's what Daddy looks like now and you should know that Daddy would never want to hurt you or scare you."
"Daddy isn't a monster," Isabella protested and Belle looked at her lovingly. She was a lot like her father. Hopefully she could understand this or Adam would never get over the pain.
"Daddy isn't a monster," Belle told her daughter. "Not on the inside, he may look like a monster but he's still Daddy. He won't hurt you. You know that Daddy would never ever hurt you, don't you?" she asked and Isabella nodded slowly. "He may look very different but he's still Daddy inside. He loves you with all of his heart, we both do. He still wants to play with you and hug you and kiss you and be with you but he's scared that you'll be scared of him."
"He looks scary," Isabella cried and Belle kissed her forehead, stroking her hair back.
"I understand but please trust me. No matter how scary he looks, he's still Daddy, do you want to see him?" she asked, anxious to what Bella's response may be. The little girl nodded nervously and Belle picked her up. "Let's go find him. He needs to know that we're okay," she said and Isabella cuddled closer to her mother.
As Belle exited the room, she saw a lump behind a large tapestry and then looked down to see those large feet sticking out from the bottom. She walked over to him, pressing her hand against where his chest was. "Adam," she said softly, "can you stop hiding? It's okay, it'll be okay," she told him. She tried not to smile because this was a serious situation but she had to take note of his large body and how he had tried to hide like a child would.
"Is it?" Adam growled and Belle sighed.
"It is, it's going to be okay," she tried to promise him. Belle placed Isabella on the floor. She wasn't sure if the little girl would go running off but Isabella went closer to the tapestry and moved so she could see Adam behind it. She looked at him before running back to Belle and grabbing her hand, hiding behind her.
"Please come out, it's going to be okay," Belle tried to assure him as she managed to see him through the early morning light. Slowly he shifted out from behind the art piece and Isabella gasped, still hiding behind Belle. "Isabella, it's okay. It's Daddy," she said and Isabella looked at her father who was shaking and pushing himself against the wall.
Eventually, Isabella poked her head back out from behind Belle, "Daddy?" she asked him and he nodded. She recognized his eyes. He was terrified and her father rarely showed her those emotions. "Daddy, is that you?" she said as tears filled her eyes and the prince nodded. Isabella nervously ran forward and Adam crouched down so he could hold her in his arms.
"Isabella," he said as he held her close to him but his arms would still give her the option of running away. "I am so sorry. I'll leave and then you won't be so scared," he told her and Isabella took a step backwards. She looked at him and tilted her head to the side.
"Daddy?" she asked again and he nodded, bowing his head sadly but Isabella reached out and gently petted him. "Daddy, don't go," she begged and Adam looked at her surprised, his blue eyes showing his want to be with her. "I'll be good. I'm not scared. Please don't go," she said as there were tears in her eyes. "Don't go without me."
"I won't go," he told her and Isabella hugged his head. Adam lifted his head so that he could hold her to his chest. Belle grinned at the two of them. It was heartwarming the way that the two of them still cared so much about one another. "I'm so sorry that I scared you, my little princess," he said and Isabella cried into his chest, his fur.
"The bad man did this," she said and Adam nodded.
"Yes, he did," Adam nodded and Isabella gave a weak smile as she took a few steps backwards but her expression wasn't of terror anymore but of confusion and curiosity. She reached up and put a hand on her dad's horn.
"Daddy took on this curse to protect us, to help us," Belle tried to tell her daughter. "He did this so that that man wouldn't hurt me and you."
Isabella looked at her father who nodded.
"You can still play with me, right, Daddy?" Isabella asked as tears ran down her cheeks. Adam very gently let his paw brush against her cheek but she turned into it and cried.
"We can still play together," he told her with a nod. "If you'll let me, I'd still like to take care of you, Isabella. I love you so much, princess," he said as she gazed into his eyes.
"I love you too, Daddy" she said before hugging his head and kissing his furry cheek. Adam felt a shiver down his spine but he looked up at Belle and saw that she was trying to hold back tears at how they were interacting. Maybe things weren't as bad as he had first thought.
…..
…..
As Mrs. Potts started her work in the kitchen that morning, she worried about the young master. He was ashamed of his appearance again and she was scared that he would lock himself away and mistreat himself. She didn't know how to stop him though. He had his own family now but he would keep them at a distance and that wasn't healthy for any of them.
Mrs. Potts was putting together breakfast when she heard the door open and she looked up, she was surprised by what she was seeing but she grinned happily. There must have been a lot of progress through the night. Adam was holding Bella as he usually did, carrying her in his arms but this time in the form of the beast.
"Adam," she breathed in relief, "It's so good to see you," she said and Adam placed Isabella on the floor. "It's good to see you too, my love" she said to the little girl and Isabella turned to look at her father.
"Daddy can eat breakfast too?" she asked and Mrs. Potts took a look at the prince and nodded.
"Of course, he can," the woman grinned as she hugged Isabella and then made her way over to Adam. Without hesitation she threw her arms around him and felt his warmth through his fur. "Didn't I tell you it was going to be okay?" she asked as she let her fingers bury into the fur on his cheek. "We can take care of you, we can all take care of each other."
Adam nodded sadly but jumped as he heard the door open again and watched Cogsworth enter. The former clock took him in and nodded, having heard what Mrs. Potts last words were.
"Of course we'll take care of you," he said. "Nothing to worry about. I'll make the needed adjustments to accommodate this old form of yours. It's the inside that counts anyway. That's what I've always said."
"Thank you," Adam whispered to them as he bowed his head gratefully, "You have no idea how thankful I am to the two of you," he said.
"All in the line of duty and of friendship," Cogsworth nodded. "Well, you've lived through this condition once, I have no reason to doubt you can't live through it again and this time we're able to assist you, you know being a number of feet taller than we were."
Adam smiled gratefully but he was still worried, he felt love but would that disappear? Who could ever stay in love with a beast?
…
…
Maurice was working on another invention as he stood outside his home which had been fixed up thanks to Adam and Belle. There were still the animals that lived in the field but because Belle was married, there was a hired hand to help them. Maurice looked up as he wiped some sweat off of his brow.
"Hello there," he heard an unexpected voice and flinched as he slowly turned around and saw someone who made him feel faint. How was this man alive? He opened his mouth as he stared at the once-town hero.
"Why, hello there…Ga-gaston," Maurice said as he hid a little behind his machine. He just had to act normally. Yet, this was a man who had tried to murder his now son-in-law and take advantage of his daughter. He definitely wasn't a fan of his. "It's a surprise to see you."
"Well, I came here looking for Belle. Whether she agrees to it or not, I will soon have Belle under my command," he said and Maurice tightened a bolt.
"How's that? Belle is married now, she doesn't live here and she wouldn't leave Adam. She has more sense than tha-"
"You want to see what Adam is? The only thing that he has ever been," Gaston said before turning his hand over a bucket of water and showing Maurice an image of Adam in his new returned beastly form.
"What have you done?" Maurice asked. He wanted to get to the castle as soon as possible. He wanted to talk to his son, make sure he still understood that the outside wasn't as meaningful as the inside by far.
Gaston chuckled coldly, "Only turned him into his natural form. Who could ever love such a hideous creature?" he asked and Maurice felt his heart breaking for the family. He had to trust that Belle wouldn't leave or who knew the consequences of that choice.
End of Chapter Four
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Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Three
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