Chapter 4: Caring

Emma woke up, but decided to doze, snuggling into the warmth that was beside her. It had been a month since Grillby had taken both her and Lilly in and the change was quite evident. The little girl was happy and always asked Grillby for hugs, which he gladly gave her and for the past week, Lilly had been asking Grillby to either tuck her in or read her a bedtime story. He had been unsure at first, but Emma had agreed, saying they could take turns each night with one tucking the little girl in and the other reading her a story.

And Lilly felt safe sleeping on the bed instead of under it, something that filled Emma with relief. As she was thinking about that, she felt a hand begin stroking her head, but she didn't move, curious to see what Grillby would do.

The fire elemental woke up and smiled, seeing Emma was snuggled right up to him, her left hand resting on his bare chest while her head rested on his left shoulder. He moved his left arm carefully and began stroking her head, noticing she stayed still, but he saw her mouth twitch a little in a smile, indicating she was awake and knew it was him.

In the month that had passed, Grillby had become very protective of both Emma and Lilly, taking the little girl to school and hiring Emma to work in the restaurant as a book keeper. She admitted she had wanted to manage books for a store or company, but never got the chance to with her parents forcing her to marry so young. He had immediately hired her and was happy to see she had picked up on book keeping quite fast and he wasn't regretting hiring her. Sometimes, he would sneak into the office while she was working and would slip his arms around her to hug her. The first time he had done that, she had jumped about a mile, but when she saw it was him, she had relaxed, admitting he had startled her. He made sure to at least make some noise to alert her before he hugged her so that she wouldn't be so startled.

He also loved how she lit up when she was happy and when she smiled, he could swear his heart was practically jumping out of him as he fell deeper in love for her. He hadn't yet told her, but he was truly in love with her.

He now leaned over and pressed a loving kiss to Emma's mouth.

Feeling the warm lips on her mouth, the young woman pressed closer to him, deepening the kiss before opening her eyes and moving so that she was straddling his thighs and smiling at him as she rubbed her hands over his chest, making him shudder in pleasure.

"Good morning, handsome," she said with a smile.

He smiled. "Good morning, beautiful," he said, rumbling in pleasure as she continued running her hands over his chest. "Careful. You'll awaken my playful side," he continued playfully.

"Oooh, feeling frisky, are we?" She countered back playfully.

That was another thing he loved about her. Since she had been staying with him and felt safe with him, Emma had found that she had a playful side and it drove Grillby wild with love. He now quickly sat up and caught her in a gentle hug.

"Yes," he whispered huskily in her ear. "Now come here, my lovely flame."

With that, he began kissing her neck gently, making her shudder in pleasure and lean against him, closing her eyes. Grillby then moved so that he was gently pinning Emma down before he gave her a French kiss that left her breathless. "Grillby," she breathed out.

He looked at her, smiling as he was lost in love for her. "Are you alright, my love?" He asked.

She nodded before giggling. "With the way we're acting, it's no wonder people look at us and ask if we're married," she admitted, still giggling.

Grillby chuckled. "Guess we make it a little too obvious that we like each other," he said.

"True," she said.

When he had admitted he was interested in her, she had admitted she was interested in him and it seemed to be growing with each passing day.

The fire elemental now rolled onto his back and held Emma close, to which she sighed happily and cuddled beside him. Just then, the door opened and Lilly came in, looking bright-eyed and smiling as she came up to them. "Morning, Mommy. Morning, Mr. Grillby," she said.

"Good morning, little one," Grillby said, patting the edge of the bed beside him to indicate she could come up and join them. Smiling, Lilly climbed up and settled down between them, making her mother smile.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she said with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"

The little girl nodded happily before looking curious. "Mommy, can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Of course, sweetie," Emma said. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," the little girl started, but then trailed off for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Would you be okay...with me calling someone else 'Daddy?'"

Grillby blinked in surprise and Emma looked surprised before a knowing look came to her face. "Is there someone that you think would be a good daddy to you?" She asked gently.

Lilly nodded. "He's really nice and he gives me hugs, tucks me in at night, and reads me bedtime stories," she said before looking at her Mother. "So, would you be okay with it?"

She smiled. "Well, I'd be alright with it, but I think the best person to answer that question is the one you see as a father."

The child nodded and looked at Grillby, who had been quiet the whole time, surprise filling him that the child saw him as a father and wanted to call him 'Daddy'. Then again, he was fond of the little one and saw her as his daughter. He saw the little one look nervous before she took a deep breath.

"Mr. Grillby, I've often wished someone else would be my daddy after my other daddy became mean," she said. "And...I would really like you to be my daddy. So...can I call you 'Daddy'?"

The fire elemental felt his eyes tear up with lava tears as he heard the child's request and he smiled, sitting up and picking her up, to which she hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You really see me as a father, Lilly?" He asked.

She nodded, not moving from his hug. He chuckled gently. "Lilly, I would love for you to call me 'Daddy'. Can I call you my daughter?"

The child's smile spoke volumes and she hugged the fire elemental tightly. "Thank you, Daddy," she said happily.

Emma felt tears sting her eyes as she witnessed this, glad that her daughter saw Grillby as not only their protector, but her father and he equally saw her as his daughter. The fire elemental smiled and ruffled his new daughter's hair in affection. "Lilly, why don't you go get dressed and your mother and I will be downstairs to make breakfast in a bit, alright?" He said.

"Okay, Daddy," she said, giving him a daughterly kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, my little candle," he said fondly.

Lilly then hugged her mother. "I love you, Mommy," she said.

"I love you too, sweetie," the young woman said before they watched as Lilly headed out to go get dressed. Emma turned to look at Grillby and smiled. "Thank you, Grillby," she said softly.

"You're welcome," he said with a smile. "I promise you, Emma, I'll be a good father to Lilly."

"You already are," she said with another smile before they got up and got dressed, heading down to get breakfast going.

Grillby had a day off today from the restaurant, as did Emma, and the young woman was planning to take her daughter and go to get some more clothes for her and Lilly. After a delicious breakfast, Emma kissed the fire elemental goodbye and headed out with the little girl hugging Grillby and saying that they'd see him later.

"Now remember to mind your mother, Lilly," he said.

"Yes, Daddy," she said respectfully before heading out.

The bartender smiled. "Well, this will be a good day to get Lilly's surprise ready."

He went into the guestroom where Lilly had been sleeping and he began cleaning it up. He had just finished vaccuming and putting the furniture back into place when his doorbell rang and he answered it to find a delivery man at his door with a few boxes. Signing the papers and thanking the man, Grillby brought the boxes in and began opening them, smiling as he saw the contents before he got to work, having everything done by the time Emma and Lilly got home. "We're here," Emma sang out with a smile.

"Daddy!" Lilly cried out, running up to him and hugging him.

He chuckled. "Did you have a good shopping trip with your mother?" He asked.

"Yeah!" The little girl said. "I even found one of my favorite stories for bedtime!"

"You did?" He asked with a chuckle.

Emma nodded. "You should have seen her light up when she found it," she said.

He chuckled again. "Well, that is a pleasant surprise," he said. "And I have another surprise for you, Lilly."

"You do?" She asked before excitement filled her. "What is it, Daddy?"

He chuckled. "Close your eyes," he said gently.

She did so, cupping her hands over her eyes too, making Emma chuckle quietly in amusement as Grillby led the little girl to the guestroom, which had the door closed. "Ready?" The fire elemental asked.

She nodded eagerly and he reached out, opening the door and pushing it open gently before guiding Lilly forward a little. "Okay, you can look now," he said with a smile.

Lilly opened her eyes and gasped as she took in the room. The bed now had a purple fairy-like canopy over the top, a blanket with stars and moons on it, two pillows that had yellow shooting stars, and a rose-colored pillow between her pillows to complete the look. Her name was in purple block letters over her bed while the walls had been painted a light pink with white trim and there was a bookcase with her books in it, a toy chest that was filled with toys and dolls, a play table with a play tea set on it, a television that would allow her to watch movies and play games, to which a game console was already plugged into it, and a dresser that was made of maple wood and the knobs on the drawers were stars.

To say the little girl was stunned was an understatement.

"This is mine?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Lilly," Grillby said with a smile as he held one arm behind his back. "And I got you something I think you'll like."

She looked at him curiously before he smiled and pulled out what was behind his back. It was a sea turtle plushie that was rainbow-colored with a rainbow-colored shell. Lilly's eyes grew wide as she saw it and she reached out to touch it and she looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, which confused the fire elemental. "Lilly, are you alright?" He asked in concern.

The child glomped him, hugging him tight. "Thank you," she said, tears escaping her eyes.

He hugged her back. "Why are you crying, my little candle?" He asked curiously.

She sniffled and looked at him. "I...I wanted to ask for the sea turtle when I saw it in the store the other day, but...when I asked for things before, I was always told 'no', so I didn't want to say anything," she admitted before smiling at him. "How did you know I liked this one?"

"I saw your eyes light up Toriel read that story about sea turtles at school last week," Grillby replied. "From that, I gathered you like sea turtles."

Lilly nodded and hugged him again. "You're the best Daddy in the whole world," she said.

The fire elemental felt pride fill him at that and he hugged his daughter before looking up at Emma, who was smiling and a few happy tears fell down her face. Lilly then went into her new room and Grillby stood up, holding his arms out to the young woman, who went into his hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Grillby," she said. "You just made our daughter's day."

He liked that she had said 'our'. "You're welcome," he said with a smile before looking over to see Lilly was playing tea party with her new dolls. "I think she likes it."

Emma nodded. "She does," she said before making him look at her and kissing him. He kissed her back and held her close, making her sink into his arms, her love for him growing deeper and filling her with happiness.

Grillby felt his love growing deeper for Emma too and he smiled before deciding that it was time to introduce Lilly and Emma to the other monsters, who had noticed that Grillby was happier and Sans had even teased him that he had finally got a girlfriend, to which the fire elemental hadn't agreed or denied because he felt protective of Emma and Lilly, but now, he was ready to shout to the whole world that he was in love with Emma and that he was a father.

Wow! This chapter really took off on me. :) And I think I had a cuteness overload too. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418