Chapter 6: Adoption

The rest of the day had gone by peacefully as the other customers met Emma and Lilly and welcomed them warmly. Asgore then teased Grillby about keeping his romance a secret, to which the fire elemental blushed and Toriel, trying not to laugh, playfully smacked her husband, saying he was the same way when they were dating, to which he blushed too.

Lilly had at once liked Papyrus, Sans, and Gaster, who were surprised she didn't find them scary, but happy that she was comfortable around them. Even the Royal Guard dogs liked the two humans and vowed to protect them like they did the king and queen.

Grillby gave a thoughtful sigh as he wiped down a few tables during the lull before the dinner crowd, his mind thinking on a few things.

Lilly saw him as a father and even called him 'Daddy'. That made him happy and he had watched her transform from a frightened, unsure child to a happy little girl. His mind then drifted to Emma, who smiled more and enjoyed their dancing lessons that he had been teaching her.

The fire elemental paused in his work as he thought more about Emma. She would wake up in the morning and kiss him, saying she looked forward to that every morning. He did too and Emma had giggled when learning that Grillby was a cuddler and to his delight, she was too and they would happily cuddle.

"She really is beautiful," he thought to himself. "I wonder if she'd say yes if I asked her to marry me?"

He had been seriously thinking about asking her that. He knew from what she told him before that her parents had forced her to marry and the man that had been her husband wasn't a good person, hurting her and her daughter and the icing on the cake was Emma's parents saying they wanted a grandson instead of a granddaughter.

That made Grillby furious. "How can they say that to such a precious child?" He asked himself. "She's been though so much, but yet, they treat her like she's not worth the time of day."

His hand clenched over the cleaning rag and his other hand rested on the wood counter, smoke beginning to rise from where his hand was pressing into the wood. Who could be that cruel to a child?

Emma was coming through the kitchen to go ask Grillby about some checks she was unsure of how to enter in the books when she smelled smoke and grew worried, looking around the kitchen, but the cook was taking a break and the stove was off. Her worry growing, she quickly headed out the doors from the kitchen to the bar and saw the fire elemental leaning down in it, his clenched hands proving he was thinking about something that upset him and she saw that his hands were starting to smoke now. It was a wonder the cleaning rag in his right hand hadn't caught fire yet and the wood of the bar was starting to crackle a bit. "Grillby," she said, going up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Grillby, look at me."

Hearing her voice, he turned to her, his face taking on a look of confusion at seeing her worry. "Grillby, your hands are smoking," she said.

He looked down and drew his hands back away from the bar and the rag, looking to see that there was an imprint of his hand on the bar now and the rag had started to turn black from being smoldered in his hand. "Grillby, take a deep breath," Emma said to him.

He straightened and did what she asked, but his shoulders were still tense. "Oh, handsome," he heard her say softly. "Come sit down."

Grillby didn't argue as Emma led him to a chair and she got behind him. He was curious as to what she was doing before he felt her hands on his shoulders and he drew in a breath as she began massaging the tense muscles there. "Relax, handsome," the young woman breathed into his ear. "Relax."

He felt helpless to do anything but obey and he let out a sigh of relief as her hands worked on the tense muscles and it felt good. He leaned his head back and Emma smiled as she saw his eyes were closed, indicating he was enjoying the massage. After about fifteen minutes, Grillby felt his muscles finally loosen and he sighed again in relief. "That feels good, Emma," he said.

"I gathered that from how you turned into a limp noodle once I started," she giggled.

Knowing she was teasing him, he suddenly reached around and grabbed her, making her gasp in surprise before he pulled her from around the chair and the back of her legs hit his left leg, making her lose her balance and fall right into his lap and his arms. Before she could protest, he dove his face down to her neck and began kissing her neck, making her gasp this time in pleasure. "Just as I make you melt in my hands when I do this," he said teasingly, but a loving note in his voice.

Emma turned red, but giggled. "Silly," she said before sitting up in his lap, looking at him. "But seriously, what happened that you burned your handprint into the bar?"

The fire elemental looked embarrassed about that. "I...I was thinking about what you had told me about your folks being mean to Lilly and your ex-husband hurting her and you," he said, his arms tightening a little around her. "I just can't understand how someone could be so cruel to a sweet girl like Lilly, or how a man who supposed to be your husband treats you like trash instead of a treasure?"

Emma sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, there's a lot of people like that in the world today, Grillby," she said gently.

He hugged her, nuzzling her neck. "If you were my wife, I'd treat you a thousand times better than he did," he admitted. "I'd never hurt you or treat you like you weren't worth my time. And I would never hurt Lilly in any way."

"I know," the young woman said soothingly. "And Grillby, you have gone above and beyond to be the best father to our daughter. She smiles more, she acts like a kid, and she loves you as her father. And me, you treat me like a queen and you've never hurt me or Lilly. I know you'd never hurt us."

Grillby sighed and looked at her. "I'm sorry I scared you, Emma," he said. "I usually have better control than that."

"We're all prone to losing our cool now and again, handsome," she said. "Just make sure you don't decide to take it out on the bar again."

She said this teasingly and he chuckled, looking at her lovingly. "Oh, Emma," he said, pulling her into a kiss. She pressed closer, returning the kiss eagerly. A gentle throat clearing made them jump and they turned to see the cook was grinning.

"Lilly's looking for you two," he said gently.

"Oh, thank you," Emma said with a smile, but a blush came to her face. Grillby's face had a bluish hue as they both got up to check on their daughter.

The next day, Grillby made a decision and was soon at the courthouse, going inside and to his surprise, he saw Gerson there. The old turtle smiled at him. "Hello, Grillby," he said pleasantly. "What brings you here, son?"

"I was hoping to speak to a judge concerning adopting a little girl and a something else," the fire elemental explained.

"Well, come then," the old turtle said. "Clark and I need a break. Today's been a bit exhausting."

Grillby followed him to an office where another judge was and the judge greeted him warmly. "Gerson has spoken highly of you, Grillby," he said. "Now then, what can we do for you?"

"I was hoping to ask if it was possible for me to adopt a little girl I have in mind," the fire elemental said. "And...perhaps even look into something for her mother too."

Clark looked at him understandingly. "It's Emma and Lilly, isn't it?" He asked.

Grillby blinked. "How did you know?"

"The judge that helped Emma divorce her abusive ex asked me to oversee their case for him and I agreed," he said, pulling out a case file that was pretty thick. "I've been keeping tabs on them too and they seem to be doing well."

"They are," Gerson said with a smile. "That little girl is vibrant and runs to Grillby, calling him 'Daddy'."

Grillby blushed a little at that, to which Clark smiled. "And my sources say that Emma seems to be quite in love with you, Grillby," he said.

The fire elemental took a deep breath. "I...I hope she is," he said. "Because...I want to ask her to be my mate."

Clark smiled again and looked at the file. "Well, the paperwork is in order and the ex and her parents can't legally get her or Lilly back," he said. "They'd have to deem her an unfit mother, which will be impossible to do."

He pulled out some papers. "My friend actually included adoption papers in here in case Emma found someone who would love her and want to adopt Lilly," he continued. "If you just sign these, Gerson and I will be happy to make them official."

Without delay, Grillby signed the papers, smiling when Clark said that Lilly was officially his daughter. "She's going to hit the roof when you tell her," Gerson said. "Are you going to ask Emma to be your mate at the same time?"

"Yes," the fire elemental said.

"Then take these," Clark said, handing him some papers. "You and Emma sign these and bring them back here when you guys are ready to make it official."

"There's also another way," Gerson said gently. "A soul bond."

Grillby nodded. "It's how we monsters bond to our intended mates," he said.

Clark smiled again. "Make her happy, Grillby," he said. "She deserves it."

"I will," he promised, taking the papers and thanking the two, heading for home with the good news of Lilly officially being his daughter, but also with a proposal for the woman he had been falling hard for ever since he first saw her.

Looks like there will be a union to celebrate soon. :)

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GoldGuardian2418