CHAPTER FIVE

The nurse opened the door and allowed the two teens to pass her into the room, "Doctor Silver – these two young people would like to speak to you." At his look of confusion she quickly said, "They are friends of Erin."

"Than come on in you two, I don't have much time," Mel looked up at the clock at the right side of the wall, "I have a four thirty appointment."

The nurse closed the door as Annie and Dixon walked closer to Mel than from the door.

"I have never met you before – at least Silver never brought you around the house." Mel said tilting his head and sadness clouded his eyes at the sound of his daughter's name fell from his lips.

Annie was relieved to hear that Silver's father actually called her by the chosen name that she herself wanted to be called. "My adopted brother, Dixon, and I just moved here, Mr. Silver. My name is Annie Wilson by the way." She moved forward with her right hand outreached for the older man to take.

Mel took the offered hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you." He smiled over at Dixon whom had remained where he was with his hands deep in his pockets. "So you two say that you are friends of my daughter?" Pausing and letting Annie's hand go. "H-how is she?" He asked in a slightly unsure voice. His hands played with the end of his white lab coat.

"She's good." Dixon said. "We have actually been dating for the past three months."

Mel raised his right eye brow on that note, "You don't have to sugar coat it for me, I know Silver isn't good. She hadn't been good since --"

"You don't have to go into that. Silver filled us in." Dixon said in a slightly rough voice.

Mel nodded. "Of course." He licked his lips.

"Mr. Silver ..." Annie paused, she didn't know how to start with Silver's father … after the experience she had with Mrs. Taylor three days previous. At least Mel wasn't a drunk or a druggie. Plus they had a neutral ground here, they were in his dental office – with patients out in the waiting room – so Silver's father wouldn't want to be too loud or make too much of a scene – right?

"Why don't you two sit down." Mel said nodding to two chairs that were across from his dental chair. He watched as brother and sister sat down and looked at him tentatively. "I don't bite." He said with a small smile.

Annie licked her lips. "Mr. Silver I came here today – because I want to grant Silver's Christmas Wish."

"What has my daughter wished for?" Mel asked fully knowing what the wish was.

"She wants her family back together." Annie said. "But, she knows that you and Ms. Taylor won't ever be in love again – that your marriage has ended for good. All she truly wants is for you and her mother to just get to the point of forgiving one and another – too find a peaceful place in your life so Silver can feel the security she had when she was a small child."

Mel sighed, "I fear that's not possible."

"You don't think your daughter is worth the effort?" Dixon said in a hot voice, his face had heated up since entering Mel Silver's outer room. He had such a nasty vibe about Mel Silver – even more so since being in the presence of Jackie Taylor. Here sitting in front of him – mere feet away – was the man who destroyed his family – drove his ex wife back to the bottle and back to crack – devastated his young daughter to the point of where she didn't easily trust anyone. For what? Just for a lousy fuck!

"My daughter is always worth the effort, Dixon. It's just that I had completely destroyed my marriage and my daughter's love in me with one single act." Mel said in a dead tone staring straight into the boy's eyes. He shook his head and his hands clenched in his lap. "But you wouldn't understand that now would you, boy?" His right brow rose a bit.

Dixon's jaw clenched.

Annie shifted uncomfortable. She was missing something here. Something huge between Silver's father and Silver's boyfriend. She just put it off as a father being over protective of his daughter – that no male would be perfect for his little girl. She hid a smile – her own father was the same way. She warmed up towards Silver's father more because of this one act.

"Mr. Silver – I wish to grant Silver's Christmas Wish and I aim to do it this year." Annie said in a soft voice in the dead quiet of the room.

Mel slowly turned his eyes to Annie's and met open brown eyes. He noticed that she had pain and suffering in them …. "You have no idea what you are asking, Annie. It won't happen. This year or the next or the next – like I said before it may never happen." Tears sparkled his eyes. "Silver never wants to set eyes on me ever again."

Annie scooted her rolling chair towards Mel, putting a hand on his arms. "Silver was hurt, angry, devastated." She swallowed around the lump in her throat. "She loves you, and always will."

Mel looked down at Annie's hand on his arm. The scene that happened in this very same room almost four years ago came speeding up in crystal clear memory.

Mel was just climaxing just as a whispered "... Daddy …." hit his ears. He quickly looked up and saw his precious thirteen year old daughter with her right hand on his door knob – her innocent blue eyes wide and shining with tears. He quickly rolled off the body that he had just finished fucking. He made sure to pull one of the blankets that they had brought earlier around his waist.

The woman quickly got dressed and left the room – father and daughter just stared wide eyed shocked silently at each other. For some reason the door click brought father and daughter back to life.

"How could you do this?" Erin whispered with tears sparkling in her eyes, she refused to allow them to drop. She had to stay strong. She had to get answers.

"Erin," He whispered holding out his hands, shaking his head and turned and grabbed his boxers and turned around. He quickly slipped his boxers on underneath the blanket, than he grabbed his pants. Once he had the zipper and button in the proper place he turned around. He grabbed his shirt and slipped it on. Slowly buttoning up the shirt.

"I asked you – how could you do this?" Erin said in a hard dead voice.

"Erin …." He tried once more to speak, but no words came. He just stared at his daughter.

"I believed in you, daddy, I believed in you." She whispered. "I heard the rumors of what you did to mom in the past, but I saw the love that you had for her. I saw that you would never ever hurt her. So I didn't believe the rumors – the truth – how could I when my daddy …." She couldn't go on. She began to shake and she wrapped her arms tightly around her body.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." Mel whispered with tears rolling freely down his checks. "I'm so sorry that you had to find out about me this way. That you had to find out what a dirty cheating bastard that I am this way." He stepped forward with his arms out – but he stopped after a few steps seeing that Silver's body language screamed don't come near me. "I love your mother very much – this indiscretion doesn't change that. They never do."

"They … there's more than this one!' Erin shouted.

Mel bowed his head.

The scene quickly dissolved and another one took it's place.

Jackie and Mel were screaming at one another with Erin in the middle trying to beg for peace and quiet.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS HOUSE AND FAMILY MEL SILVER!"

"JACKIE JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR GOD'S SHAKE. I'M SORRY FOR BETRAYING YOU AND HURTING YOU AGAIN! I'M SORRY FOR DESTROYING THE FAMILY. BUT WE CAN STILL MAKE THIS WORK!"

"I TOLD YOU WHEN I AGREED TO MARRY YOU AGAIN MEL, THAT IF YOU BLEW IT ONE TIME AGAIN THAN IT WOULD BE FUCKING OVER! NOT ONLY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME YET AGAIN …"

"STOP! PLEASE STOP! MOMMY AND DADDY PLEASE STOP. PLEASE!" Erin's screams tried to over come her own parents screams.

"NOT ONLY HAVE YOU BETAYED ME YET AGAIN … BUT YOU HAVE BEEN FUCKING EVERY WOMAN THAT HAS COME YOUR WAY SINCE WE GOT REMARRIED. HOW FUCKING COULD YOU DO THIS TOO ME!"

"YOU KNEW WHAT I WAS WHEN YOU CAUGHT ME THE FIRST TIME, JACKIE, YOU KNEW!"

The scene dissolved and another scene quickly took it's place.

Mel set the last suitcase by the door. He turned around and walked back to the living room – where a silent Erin was sitting with Kelly next to her with her arms around her, and David glaring angry at him.

Mel licked his lips - "Erin ..."

"Don't call me that – my name is Silver." His daughter said in a dead tone, she didn't lift her eyes up to him.

"Silver baby girl, my sweet and precious baby girl, I'm so sorry." He said his hands twisting at his sides. "I'm sorry for hurting you so much – I'm so sorry for destroying your trust in me – your father."

Silver looked up, "I have no father." She spat out.

Mel tried to blink by the tears but he couldn't stop them from falling. He walked up and knelt down in front of his daughter - "I understand that you are angry right now, Er … Silver, but in time – perhaps way down the road you'll learn more of the way life is. Once that happens than perhaps than you can learn to forgive me."

"Get out of my sister's life, Mel, and never come back." David's steel voice said from behind him.

Mel silently begged his daughter with love shining from his eyes not to be kicked out of her life and her heart. He just saw a deep craven hole where love for him used to reside. He stood to his feet slowly and walked to the door. Stopping he turned back too find David had moved over to stand in a protective space by his sister's side. "I'm so sorry."

Silver just simply watched with dead eyes as her father tried once more to silently plead for her to continue to love him. Mel shook his head and turned and left the room.

"I haven't seen Silver since that day." Mel softly finished speaking.

Tears fell freely down Annie's checks … she wasn't even sure why he had decided to tell them all this. All this private and personal information. But, it seemed too her that it was a release for him to finally be able to speak the words what had been buried deep into his soul for almost four years.

"That's not true," Mel said with a shake of his head. "I have her blog on alerts of course. I saved every single one of my beautiful daughter's blogs. Just so I could watch her, hear her voice. Even through her voice is always angry … I know that she's not truly angry at anyone but me. That even through she says angry and bitter things against other people, it's truly me that she's ranting too." He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

"She talks about you." Annie softly said. "She talks and even through her words are bitter – her eyes and her soul tells a completely different story."

"She hates me and she'll never forgive me." Mel backed away from Annie and stood to his feet.

Before Annie could speak there was a knock on the door, the same nurse whom had shown Annie and Dixon into the office walked in. "I'm sorry Doctor Silver, but your 4:30 is here."

"Oh right." Mel said quickly wiping his nose with a Kleenex, his eyes widen as he looked at the clock. "It's 5:45."

"I felt it wise not to distrub you, doctor." The nurse said in a kind voice. "I wouldn't have brothered you, but the patient has another appointment at 7."

"It is quite all right, we are finished here." Mel said in a firm voice. He turned his eyes at the now standing Dixon and Annie. "It was a pleasure too meet Silver's boyfriend, and her new best friend."

"Please Mr. Silver come to our house for Christmas, Silver would love to see you." Annie softly said.

"I'm sorry Annie, but no." Mel said. "I can't destroy my daughter's Christmas, as I have her life."

Annie wanted to beg more, but Dixon firmly put his hand on her shoulder and nodded tightly towards Mel – before leading her from the office. Annie looked over her brother's shoulder and saw that Mr. Silver was getting himself back together with shaking hands.

END CHAPTER FIVE