#16-All This Time
Type: Deleted Scene
Timeline: After EomE 1 + before EomE 2
Summary: Eric finds the safe house where his niece had been hiding and finally meets her for the first time
The night was dark, with only a few dull, incandescent bulbs breaking through the night. The neighborhood was quiet and still, peaceful in a way. Although that peace was shattered by the occasional car that would drive-by or distant barking.
The only thing that was out-of-place in this cookie-cutter, slice-of-apple-pie suburb, was a shadowy figure. And if anyone glanced outside, their windows and on the slim possibility tha they spotted the figure, they wouldn't be able to see any detail about him. His face was hidden behind a dark hood and cowl with only his silver-grey eyes which glinted with visible sadness.
Eric Everton sat there in the shadows of suburbia, as still as a statue. Cloaked in darkness, just on the edge of the light of a street-lamp, Eric had to smirk at his situation.
It was a visual representation of his life.
Normality, and a sense of safety and security, had all been within reach and view…. but the shadows had always clung to him. Clung to him and his family as though it was a stink. Chains, invisible and heavy, were wrapped around him, and would be until he was in his grave.
He sighed.
Maybe this time, it will be different.
Maybe this time…. Eric can finally shake it off.
Eric dismounted from his motorcycle and taking a hesitant step forward, moved toward a house that was a clone of the others. Except, much unlike the houses that surrounded it, the front yard was scattered with toys that a young child, a girl by the looks of things, would play with. Eric's normally sure steps faltered as his feet hit the sidewalk, following the colored cement to the door. He licked his lips worriedly as he came to the door, his stomach turning anxiously. His heart pounded in his ears.
You can do this Eric.
He raised a shaky hand and knocked, three hard knocks, on the door. Eric removed his hood and cowl quickly as he waited three minutes in silence. After a brief beat, and almost as an afterthought, Eric tugged his sleeve over his Hidden Blade. He waited, tensely and looking over his shoulder constantly, until, on the other side of the door, he heard movement. Not a moment later, the door swung open and Eric was greeted with the sight of a tired, cranky middle-aged woman.
"What the hell do you want?!" She demanded harshly.
Eric, the speech that he prepared mentally, vanished within his mind, gaped in shock. "Uh-"
"Do you know hwat time it is?!" the woman asked.
"Eleven-fifteen?" Eric supplied, feeling rather uncertainly.
"Eleven….Fifteen! So what gives you the goddamn right to knock on my door at eleven-fucking-fifteen-in-the-goddamn-night?!"
"I-I was sent here."
The woman rolled her eyes. "Check the number next time."
Eric halted the door before the woman slammed it closed, looking her dead in the eye and holding her gaze. In a soft voice, he whispered, "Please. My name is Eric Everton. I'm with the Assassins. Maya….that is, my sister's dead. She told me about my niece, her daughter. She…. she told me to watch over her."
During his explanation, the woman allowed the door to open back up, and she watched Eric's face closely. Whether it be so she could see if he spoke any falsehoods, or because of the grief that overtook his face, almost causing him to buckle and collapse underneath.
Finally, the woman gestured for him to enter the home.
It was furnished and decorated sparsely with the carpeted floors covered in pictures drawn by a child. Tears prickled his eyes as he saw down on the plush couch, the woman moving around him to sit in the armchair. There was a beat of silence.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Eric didn't say anything, just nodded.
"Evangeline doesn't know about you?"
"I didn't even know she existed until after Maya…." His voice choked with emotion, so he cleared it. "I didn't know."
"Well, I'm sure Shaun would appreciate it if you took care of his daughter."
Eric nodded, licking his lips. He sniffed. "After all this time….after all we'd been through…I didn't even…."
The woman, her name still unknown to him, reached forward and placed her hand on his in a comforting gesture as he struggled to compose his emotions.
"It's okay." She assured him. "You can grieve freely here. I won't judge. And you're welcome to stay here as long as you would like. And I'd recommend you stay here for a while. I have my doubts that you know how to take care of a toddler."
Eric shook his head, leaning on his knees heavily. The woman started to walk away but he called her back. "What's your name?"
She turned around. "Marianne Louis."
"Thank you for everything, Marianne Louis."
"You're welcome, Eric Everton." She lingered at the threshold of the hallway. "Evangeline's asleep right now, but do you want to get a little peek?"
He swallowed, nodding. Marianne gestured for him to follow, which he did so. The two went down the hallway, until they came to a door that was overly pink.
"Go on in." Marianne ordered softly. "I'm going to go and get a bed set up for you."
Eric didn't hear her, his eyes staring at the foam lettering that spelled out 'Evangeline'. Another door that separated him from a life-changing revelation. His hands grasped the handle and for a moment, he paused uncertain and unsure.
That moment passed as quickly as it came. Eric's arm, moving on it's own accord, turned the handle and he gently, silently, pushed open the door.