Hey babes! Here the next installment for this series. Had tons of fun when I wrote this one.
Hope you enjoy!
"Baby, are you really sure you want to do this?"
Lucas looks at his fiancé straight in the eyes, "I'm positive. I haven't seen him in four years."
"And you have a perfectly good reason for not coming back to see him."
"I know," he sighs. "I just, he's missed all of the major milestones in my life. I want him to be able to know about this one before it's too late."
"I understand. And I want to meet him."
Lucas' eyes go wide, "I don't know if—"
"Come on, please? I've heard the stories through the Academy and through you and your family, especially your mom. But I want to meet the man who is technically going to be my father-in-law."
"Fine," he sighs again. "Just please stay by me, okay? Mom always said he could be a little unpredictable. Especially because of the Berserker rage. I mean, he wasn't when I came to see him last time, but you never know. So just promise you'll stick close to me."
She nods her head, "I promise."
He smiles, "Okay. Come on," he grabs her hand in his and leads her through the building towards the visiting area.
"Ward!" One of the guards says as he approaches Ward's cell. He looks up at the guard. "You have visitors." Standing up from his bed, he waits for the guard to unlock his cell door and then walks with the guard to where the visiting center is, a bit confused as to who could be visiting him.
When he reaches the room he sees a few others who are there, but the person who catches his eyes is a young man sitting at the table in the center of the room, a young woman sitting very close to him.
"Lucas," he says with a small smile, walking up to the table. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"Neither did I," Lucas replies. "But it's been four years. I like to think I've matured a bit since the last time we saw each other. And I've thought about what you said to me last time, really thought about everything, and I think I understand now. I think I understand why you did what you did all those years ago."
Ward smiles slightly, "I'm glad you do. I just wish the others would understand that as well." Ward looks down for a moment and then lifts his head back up, "But enough of that. Lucas, why don't you introduce me to this lovely young lady with you."
"Of course." Lucas smiles over at the woman next to him and then looks back at his father, "Dad, this is Monica. Monica, this is my dad."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ward."
"It's nice to meet you as well, Monica. And please, call me Grant." He sits down at the table, looking at his son.
"Dad," Lucas speaks up. "I brought Monica here because we have something important to tell you."
"What is it?"
"We're getting married."
Ward feels something stir within him and he smiles at his son, "Congratulations. To the both of you. I hope the two of you are really happy together."
"Thanks, dad," Lucas smiles. "And there's uh, there's one more thing. I, we, want you to be at the wedding."
Ward's breath catches, "What?"
Lucas looks him directly in the eyes, "I, as your only son, want you, my father, to be present at my wedding."
Ward sighs, "I'm afraid that's kind of impossible at the moment. It's like I told you last time you were here, I'm never getting out of this place."
"That's the thing, though. I talked to the Warden and Uncle Phil, and they both agree you've been doing really well here. Your therapist even said you've pretty much been a model inmate, that you've made immense progress since your first day here. If you promise to wear one of the new tracking bracelets FitzSimmons designed, then they'll allow you to be at the wedding."
"Really? I don't know if that'd be a good idea. Even though you seem to understand, it doesn't mean anyone else does. And I'm sure there are still a lot of people out there who don't trust me for what I did all those years ago."
"If you're talking about mom, don't worry about her. Yes she'll be there, but you shouldn't have to worry about what other people think about you. Only that it's your only sons' wedding. And that I want you to be there."
Ward takes a deep breath and then lets a small smile play at his lips, "Well then, I guess I can make it."
Lucas smiles bright, "That's great. I'll make sure to get you all of the information as soon as possible."
"I don't get a ton a mail in here, so I'm positive I won't miss it when it comes in."
Lucas and Monica stand up from the table, Ward follows suit.
"Thanks again, dad, for agreeing to come to the wedding."
"Of course. I've missed every other important moment in your life; I'd love to be there for this one."
"Well, we should probably get going. We still have a few details to work out."
"Absolutely. I look forward to your wedding."
"Me too. Bye, dad." Lucas smiles and waves and then he and Monica walk out of the room.
Ward smiles as he watches his son and his sons' fiancée walk from the room.
A knock at the hotel room door causes Lucas to turn around to see his mother walking into the room, all dressed and ready for the wedding.
"Mom," he smiles at her.
"Hi, baby," she walks up to him, tears filling her eyes. "Oh, you look so handsome."
"Thanks, mom," he smiles. "Am I supposed to feel all nervous and stuff?"
"I wouldn't know, baby, I've never been married."
"Right, sorry."
She smiles softly, "It's okay, you're just excited."
"I am," he says back. "I love Monica so much and I can't wait to call her my wife."
Skye smiles, "I know. I'm glad you're marrying Monica. She's a very sweet girl."
"She's the best."
"I'm glad you feel that way. That's really good. You always want to treat her like she's the only girl for you. Never hurt her, never misuse her trust in you, never break her heart, and never ever make her fall out of love with you."
Lucas just looks at his mom, seeing a look in her eyes that he knows all too well. He's seen it many times before when he was younger.
"Hello?"
Both mother and son turn towards the voice to see Ward standing in the doorway, a sheepish look on his face. Skye's gaze fixes on him and she glares, "Ward? What the hell are you doing here? And how did you even get out?"
Ward gives her a small smile and holds up his wrist, showing her the silver bracelet hanging off of his arm, "FitzSimmons."
"Yeah. But why are you here?"
"I invited him," Lucas says, causing his mom to turn around and look at him.
"You what?"
"I invited him. Monica and I went and asked him to be here."
"Are you kidding me, Lucas?! You really thought that inviting your father here would be a good idea?"
Lucas sighs and looks over his mothers shoulder, "Hey, dad, just give me a minute with mom, okay?"
"Of course," Ward nods his head, "I'll be in the hallway."
When he leaves, Skye turns to face her son again, crossing her arms in front of her chest and raising one eyebrow at him.
"I want him here, mom. Monica and I went to the prison and spoke to him. I want him here; I want him to be here at my wedding."
"But why, Lucas, why?"
"He's missed out on every other milestone in my life. Birthdays, soccer games, my graduation from high school and then the day I got my badge, everything. If anything, this is the most important day in my life, and I'd like both of my parents to be present."
"But—"
"I know. You've told me all of the stories about what he did all those years ago, multiple times. But it's been over 20 years, mom, people change. Dad can too. I know it might still be hard for you to forgive him, or even be in the same room as him, because of everything he did that hurt you."
"Are you forgetting how he made you feel when you saw him last?"
He shakes his head, "No, I didn't forget. But that was four years ago, I was pretty much still a kid. But I've learned to accept what he's done. I'm not saying I forgive him completely, but I understand. I want to trust him, mom. I don't know how long it'll take me, it could take years, but I'm sure I'll learn to love him in some way. Not in the same way I love you, you're my momma, you raised me. But he is my father and I'm sure I can love him to some degree."
Skye just smiles at her son and places one of her hands on his cheek. "You've grown up so much," she says with tears in her eyes. "What happened to the little boy who wore a suit and sunglasses for Halloween because he wanted to be his Uncle Phil?"
Lucas chuckles, "He's still here. He's just grown up a bit."
"I'm going to miss my baby boy. I remember when you were really little and you'd get a nightmare, I'd just hold you in my arms and rock you back and forth. And I'd tell you the story of the little light in the darkness."
"I was the little light," Lucas smiles.
"Yeah, and you still are. You're what keeps me going every day. You're what gives me the motivation to live another day."
"I love you so much, mom," Lucas says and then pulls Skye into his arms, holding her tightly.
"I love you too, baby," she says back. She pulls away and wipes at her eyes, "Alright, I'm going to go out there and make sure everything is ready, okay? And I need to speak with your father for a minute."
"Okay," Lucas smiles. "But please be nice to dad. For me."
"I make no promises," she tells him, placing a kiss to his cheek and then leaves the room.
...
When Skye gets out into the hallway, she sees Ward casually leaning against one wall, his hands in his pockets, just waiting. Without missing a beat, she walks straight up to him and glares daggers at him. "You better listen to me clearly, Grant Ward. If you do anything today to make Lucas even the tiniest bit unhappy, I swear with every fiber in my being I will make your life a living hell. I will make it ten times worse than it was when you were in prison."
"I don't think that'll be possible," Ward tells her.
"Oh really? And why is that?"
"Because I never got to see you or Lucas. That's why it was so awful. I never got to talk to, or see, either of you."
"I had my reasons. You know that."
"I know," ne nods his head. "It just killed me every day, knowing you were raising our son, and I couldn't be there to watch him grow up into the wonderful young man he is now."
"You know as well as I do it's your fault you never got to see your son grow up."
He sighs, "I know. And I never got the chance to tell you how sorry I am."
"Well it's a bit too late for all of that."
"I don't think it is," he says, taking a few small steps closer to her. "When Lucas came to see me four years ago, he told me a lot of stuff. He told me how you used to cry yourself to sleep at night, and how he always tried to cheer you up. I never meant to hurt you the way that I did. I still love you, Skye."
"What?" she asks, looking taken aback.
He takes a step towards her, "I love you, Skye. I never stopped loving you. When I saw how great you were with Lucas all those years ago, it only made me love you that much more. And now, seeing you like this, Mother of the Groom, I think it's safe to say I am madly, deeply, hopelessly, in love with you."
Skye looks up at him, "Grant…" she trails off, not sure exactly what to say, looking down at the carpet beneath their feet.
He steps closer to her and lifts her chin up with one hand so he is looking directly in her eyes. Slowly and cautiously, he leans down towards her, stopping for just a moment, in case she wants to get away. When she doesn't pull away he takes it as a sign and closes the space between them, gently pressing his lips against hers.
Allowing her deep rooted feelings to take all control, Skye kisses him back and reaches her hand up to the back of his head, pulling him down closer. All of her memories of their last time together come rushing back to the forefront of her mind and she lets out a throaty moan at all of the thoughts of the last time they were intimate.
Reaching down with one hand Ward grabs her thigh and hikes her leg up around his waist, running his hand along the bare skin of her thigh. Feeling shivers course throughout her body, Skye wraps her leg tightly around him and uses it as leverage to pull herself up, wrapping her other leg around his waist and locking her ankles together behind his back.
After a moment or two of kissing, she pulls away briefly and smiles with her eyes closed. "Follow me," she whispers. "I know a place where we can get away for a bit. We still have about a half hour until the wedding. Think we can go a round before that?"
"I'm sure we can," he says back, kissing down her neck.
She smirks and then pulls his head back up, capturing his lips with her own before jumping down and grabbing his hand in hers and pulling him down the hallway to her hotel room.
Phil makes his way quickly through the hotel to Lucas' room. "Lucas," he says when he enters the room.
"Hey Uncle Phil," Lucas smiles at the older man. "What's up?"
"Do you know where Ward is?"
Lucas furrows his brows, "Isn't he out in the hallway with mom? She said they were going to talk."
"Well they aren't out there. And his heart rate is spiking massively."
"How do you know that?"
"FitzSimmons' tracking bracelet. It monitors vital signs."
"Oh, okay. Well if you can track my dad, why did you come here?"
"I don't know. I'm old."
"Whatever you say Uncle Phil," Lucas chuckles. "But come on, let's go find my parents."
Lucas walks past Phil and exits the room, Phil following closely behind him.
...
"The tracker says he should be in the hotel room at the end of the hallway," Phil says, pointing down a hallway.
"That's mom's hotel room," Lucas tells him. "I wonder why he'd be in there. I'll be right back." Phil nods his head and Lucas begins to make his way down the hallway towards the room at the end of the hallway.
"Mom? Dad?" he calls out, trying to find his parents. "Mom?"
He steps up to the door and presses his ear up against it, listening for any sign of life behind it. He hears some soft noises coming from the other side. "Mom?" he calls out as he knocks on the door. "I'm coming in," he announces as he slowly turns the doorknob, pushing the hotel room door open. He steps inside and makes his way towards the back, to where the bedroom is.
When he reaches the bedroom area, he stops dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him. He sees his dad's backside, glistening with sweat, the bed sheet covering his lower half. And he also sees what he assumes to be one of his mothers' legs wrapped his dad's waist, holding the sheet against him. "Oh my gosh," he says, catching his parent's attention. They both pause what they are doing, breathing heavily, and move their heads to face Lucas.
"Lucas," Skye breathes out, sitting up slightly and pulling the sheet over her chest, "what are you doing here?"
Lucas turns his gaze so he can't see his parent's bodies any longer, "Uncle Phil was trying to find you two. He said dad's tracking bracelet can monitor vital signs and that his heart rate started to spike. I came to find you to figure out why. Now I know."
"You uh, you weren't supposed to see us like this," Ward tells his son, looking over his shoulder. He shifts a little, causing Skye to gasp.
Lucas cringes at the noise, "You know what, I'm just, I'm just going to go now. You guys are a bit…preoccupied right now. Just uh, hurry up, okay? The wedding is supposed to start soon." Lucas turns around and quickly makes his way out of the hotel room and back out into the hallway.
...
"Did you find your parents?" Phil asks when he sees Lucas.
"Mm-hmm," Lucas nods his head, not wanting to explain.
"And? Are they alright?"
"They're fine." Lucas replies. "Let's just leave it at that. I told them to hurry up because the wedding is supposed to start soon."
"Okay then," Phil answers, a bit confused, "let's get downstairs."
*9 months later*
"Two times!" Skye exclaims. "We've had sex two times! And you have managed to get me pregnant both times!" She screams again as she pushes, squeezing Grant's hand as hard as she can. "I really hate you right now!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Ward says, wiping the sweat off of her forehead with a small hand towel. "But you know I don't regret what we did."
"Neither do I," Skye says and then sits up, screaming as she pushes. "But I hate you so much right now. We are never doing that again!"
"One more big push, Skye," the doctor says. "You can do this."
"You've got this, Rookie," Ward says. "Bring our little girl into the world."
With one last, bone crushing push, Skye screams and cries. Skye's cries are soon drowned out by the sounds of a baby's screams. "It's a girl!" The doctor announces, holding the newborn in the air for a quick moment, allowing the parents to the see their child.
Lying back in the bed, Skye lets out a large sigh. Ward leans down and presses a kiss to the top of her head, "You did great."
"Hey dad," the doctor speaks up, pulling Ward's attention to him. "Would you like to cut the cord?"
Ward swallows and silently nods his head, accepting the pair of scissors from the doctor. He looks at the screaming infant in the arms of one of the nurses and then takes a deep breath. Moving the scissors over to the umbilical cord, he cuts it where indicated.
He lets out his breath and hands the scissors back to the doctor. He looks over at Skye to see her smiling up at him.
"What?" he asks her.
She shakes her head, "Nothing. I just didn't think I'd ever get to see that."
He smiles back and drops a kiss to her forehead.
A second later, the baby is placed on Skye's chest, now bundled up in a soft pink blanket, and continues to cry. "She's so beautiful," Skye smiles, happy tears falling down her face. She cradles the baby in her arms and runs a finger gently down her face. "Look at what we did. Again."
"Yeah," he laughs, a few tears falling down his face as well. "She's so beautiful, just like her mom."
Skye chuckles quietly, "Let's just hope she doesn't have my attitude. Do you want to hold her?" Skye asks him.
He pauses, "I, I uh, I don't…"
"Grant," she says softly, "you'll be okay. Here," she hands the small child over to him. "Just make sure to support her head."
Ward does as Skye instructs and cradles the little girl in his arms, watching as she takes in the world around her. Her eyes move around, trying to see everything and everyone in the room, before finally settling on him. She just looks up at him, her wide eyes settling on his.
"Hey," he whispers to the small child, choking back his tears. "Hey there, I'm your dad." He carefully shifts her so he's holding her in one arm and uses his other hand to gently grab hold of her tiny wrist and run is thumb over the back of her fist. All of a sudden, she opens up her fisted hand and then wraps it around one of his large fingers. He smiles and lets a few tears fall from his eyes.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Skye says, admiring the gentleness that he has with their daughter. "That warm feeling you get when they first recognize you."
Ward looks at her with a glint of something in his eyes. "I don't have words," he says quietly.
"That's okay," she tells him. "I was the same way when I held Lucas for the first time."
"I still wish I could have been there," Ward tells her. "I should have been there."
"I know," Skye tells him, reaching up to place one of her hands on his arm. "But you're here now. That's all that matters. And trust me when I say I'm not letting you off easy this time around. You're gonna be present for everything. All the smiles, all the laughs, all the meltdowns, all the tantrums; every single moment, you are going to be there for every single one."
"You aren't going to be able to keep me away," Ward says, his eyes still focused on his daughter.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," the doctor says, getting both adults' attention, "but we're going to be moving you to a recovery room now."
"Oh, right," Skye says, "sure thing." She turns to Ward, "Give her here, please," she holds her arms out. Ward gently places the baby back in Skye's arms and then watches as she cradles her and talks softly to her. He just smiles.
A knock at the door has Skye and Ward both turning their heads away from their new baby to see the door to the hospital room opening. A second later, Lucas and Monica step through the door, a couple of presents in their hands.
"Hey guys," Skye smiles. "Lucas, Monica, come and meet our newest little addition." She looks down at the little bundle in her arms. "Go and say hi to your big brother, Jessica," Skye holds the baby up towards Lucas. He gladly and carefully accepts his baby sister from his mom, holding her close to his chest. He steps away from his parents and his wife, moving over towards the window.
"Hey there Jessica," he smiles down at her. "I'm your big brother. There's quite a bit of an age gap between us, but that's okay. It doesn't really matter, because no matter what, I'm still your big brother and I'm going to make sure you're always safe. Because for a long time I wanted a sibling, someone I could play with and talk to. It might be 20 years overdue, but hey, better late than never, right?"
Skye and Ward watch as their two children meet each other for the first time. They watch as their adult and married son talks to his newborn baby sister, whispering things to her as he smiles down at her.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ward asks Skye as he sits down on the edge of her bed. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her close.
She rests her head on his shoulder, "With what?"
"With Jessica. There's about a 24 year age gap. He's been an only child his entire life."
"He'll be fine," Skye assures him. "He may have been an only child his whole life, but he's a grown man now. If he can't deal with having a baby sister now, then that sucks for him."
"Yeah," Ward smiles, kissing the top of Skye's head, "It really does." He ducks his head to look at Skye, "I just want you to know that I'm really glad I'm here this time around. And I'm going to do everything I can to make up for the past."
She smiles softly up at him, "I know. And so will I." She lifts her head up slightly off of the pillow to press a gentle kiss to his lips. She pulls away and lies back down on her pillow, curling into Ward's embrace. She lets out a content sigh as her eyes fall closed, sleep overtaking her exhausted body, a small smile on her face.
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below!
I might do another installment for this, but I'm not sure. Until then, this little series is complete. Hope you enjoyed it!
Also, if anyone is interested in having their Twitter handle featured in my story Luck of the Draw, let me know.
Hope you guys all had a fun Halloween last night. My costume was a piece of paper stuck to my chest that read ERROR 404: COSTUME NOT FOUND. :) I'd love to see what you guys dressed up as. Send me some pics on my twitter (Gillybean729). :)
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!