Chapter 2: Proposition

Grillby woke up the next morning when he felt someone stirring and sat up to see it was Emma, who opened her eyes and tried to get her senses back after being unconscious. Lilly woke up too and hugged her mother, who hugged her back. "Lilly," she said in relief.

The fire monster felt it best to speak up then. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Emma startled at the unfamiliar voice and turned to see the monster beside her. A shriek left her and she scrambled off the bed, but her legs gave out from underneath her as she fell to the floor. Grillby at once got up and came around the bed to see if she was alright, but the young woman was already trying to crawl away, clutching her daughter close, a look of pure fear on her face.

Seeing that she was in a panicked state, the fire elemental decided to approach cautiously and he held up both hands in the universal gesture of showing he wasn't armed and wouldn't hurt her. "Shh, it's alright," he said, keeping his voice at a soothing tone. "I'm not going to hurt you or your daughter."

Emma held her daughter close as she tried to crawl backwards, but her legs were weak from running and not eating much. She looked at her daughter, seeing that she had no injuries. "Lilly, are you alright?" She asked.

The child nodded before turning to smile at Grillby and then turning back to her mother. "Mr. Grillby helped us last night, Mommy," she said. "After you fell down, I tried to get help, but no one would even listen to me except him."

Emma looked at her daughter. "Go on," she said, instinctively knowing that her daughter wasn't lying.

"He followed me to where you were and he asked how you got hurt. I...I didn't really tell him, but he seemed to know," the child said before looking a little worried. "I know you told me not to talk to strangers, Mommy, but I couldn't wake you up after you fell down and I was scared for you and you said that if I ever need help, I should find someone to help."

The young woman nodded. "I did tell you that," she said.

Grillby began to approach cautiously again, still holding his hands out in the placating gesture. "I truly mean you no harm," he said, noticing Emma still looked scared. "You had some horrible injuries last night."

"He healed you, Mommy," Lilly said, a smile on her face. "He said he's got healing powers and he made your bruises go away."

"I did notice I wasn't in pain like I was last night," she admitted before looking up. "Wait, how long have I been out?"

"Since last night," Grillby said. "I'm glad you woke up this morning."

Something about his voice was calming her down and she took a deep breath. "Thank you," she said. "For helping me and my daughter."

"You're welcome," he said before kneeling beside them. "Come, why don't we get some breakfast? I'm sure you both must be hungry."

Lilly perked up at that and Emma smiled. "A little," she admitted before noticing he moved closer. "What are you doing?"

"I noticed you are too weak to stand up," he said gently. "I can carry you until you are strong enough to walk again."

"He's really strong, Mommy," Lilly said with a grin.

Emma weighed her options and sighed. "Alright," she said with a nod.

Grillby gently slid one arm under Emma's knees and another behind her back. "Can you wrap your arms around my neck?" He asked gently.

Nodding, she did so as she realized he had asked so that he wouldn't accidentally drop her as he picked her up. Standing to his feet, he made sure he had a secure hold on her before he started walking with Lilly right beside him.

"Wow. You're tall," the young woman said in awe.

Grillby chuckled. "Thank you," he said as they made it to the kitchen. Gently setting Emma down in a chair, he got to work on whipping up breakfast and it wasn't long before they were all eating.

Emma was feeling better with each bite and she was beginning to believe he had healing powers because she wasn't in pain and was feeling stronger now. She smiled as she knew she would have to thank him in some way.

After they had finished eating, Lilly giggled. "You were on fire, Mr. Grillby," she said, still giggling.

He chuckled, reaching over and tickling the child's sides, making her giggles grow louder. "You haven't been speaking to a friend of mine who loves puns, have you?" He asked teasingly as he let the child escape the tickle torture and run over to her mother, who was chuckling as she stroked her daughter's head with a motherly smile.

Putting the dishes in the sink, Grillby turned to Emma. "Why don't I get Lilly set up with some cartoons and then you and I can talk?" He suggested.

Lilly perked up at the word 'cartoons' and her mother smiled and nodded. The child went up to Grillby and took his hand, to which he gently squeezed her hand and led her to the living room, turning on the television and putting on some cartoons that he knew were good for children. "Alright, if you need anything, your mother and I are right in the kitchen, okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Okay," she said before hugging him. "Thank you, Mr. Grillby."

He chuckled and hugged the child back. "You're welcome, Lilly," he said before standing up as she sat down. Seeing she was all set, the fire monster walked back into the kitchen and saw Emma smile at him.

"Thank you for being so nice to my daughter," she said.

He smiled. "I have a soft spot for kids," he admitted as he sat down in a chair beside her. "Lilly mentioned a few things last night that worried me and I was hoping to ask you what had happened."

He worded this question gently and Emma took a deep breath, looking at him and seeing he was looking at her like he wanted to hear what she had to say, to really listen to her. She looked down at the table before nodding. "I'm on the run with my daughter," she said. "To escape both controlling parents and an abusive ex-husband."

She sighed. "I didn't realize how controlling my parents were until they forced me to marry someone they had chosen for me when I turned eighteen. I wasn't even allowed to date. It was just instant marriage.

"And then they began pushing for me to have a child, but I felt I wasn't ready for that. They basically told me that I will have a child or else."

She paused here, hugging herself. Grillby scooted his chair closer and placed a gentle hand on her back, rubbing her back soothingly in hopes of helping her to calm down. She looked up at him, a grateful look on her face before she looked sad. "When Lilly was born, I thought they'd be happy, but they weren't. Apparently they had wanted a grandson, not a granddaughter." She sighed. "I began seeing signs that there was trouble, especially when, after two years of marriage, I caught my husband cheating on me and when he found out I knew...that was when the abuse started."

The fire monster felt sympathy for the young woman. "How long?" He asked gently.

"For two years," she said. "I finally had had enough and I decided that I was done with being told what I could and couldn't do. I'm an adult now and I can make my own decisions." She took another deep breath. "I looked around for a judge and found one that was horrified by what I had told him and he helped me to divorce my husband and escape from where we were. I brought my daughter with me and the judge pulled out the divorce papers, which I filled out and signed. He went to meet with my ex-husband under the pretense of being a business partner and tricked him to sign the papers."

She paused here. "He took a big risk, because judges aren't supposed to do that, but he did it for me and Lilly. When he came back with the signed papers, he signed them and made them official before putting us on the bus to out of town. I had grabbed what money I could, but my daughter and I only have the clothes on our backs. I was hoping when we arrived yesterday that I could find a motel for us to stay in, but the beating I had taken yesterday from him before the judge helped us had really taken a lot out of me and I guess I blacked out."

"To which Lilly found me and asked me to help you," Grillby said with a nod.

Emma nodded before looking at him. "Why did you help us?" She asked curiously.

"Because I can't turn a blind eye to abuse," he said. "Us monsters have morals and don't take it lightly if someone's been abused." He then had a horrifying thought fill him. "Your ex-husband didn't hit Lilly, did he?"

"No, but he threatened to," the young woman said.

That coincided with what Lilly had told him last night and he nodded. "Emma, you and Lilly can stay here with me," he said. "I promise you that you'll both be safe and I won't allow any harm to come to either of you."

She looked at him and smiled, seeing he was being truthful. "On one condition," she said. "You let me dance for you."

Grillby cocked his head to the side curiously as that was an unusual request, but he nodded all the same. "Alright," he agreed. "For now, let's see about getting you both settled with some necessities."

Looks like Emma and Lilly now have a place to stay, but what kind of dancing does Emma mean? Now, I will keep this story rated T, just to let you all know. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418