"Come," Burger called, looking up from the case notes he was going over.
Tragg entered Burger's office with a cat that ate the canary grin. "Good morning, Mr. Prosecutor."
"Good morning, Tragg!" Burger grinned expectantly at Tragg's chipper demeanor. He took a sip of his coffee, figuring Tragg's good mood was about to reveal something beneficial for his current case. "Have good news for me?"
Tragg clasped his hands together in front of him. He didn't bother removing his hat as he didn't expect to be here long. "Well, I'm not sure actually. You see, I uh… found something in the hall that I believe belongs to you."
Burger immediately checked his pockets for his wallet and his keys, panic surging through him. They were both right where he expected to find them. He scanned Tragg's hands to find them empty and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Alright, Tragg. Out with it," Burger said sternly, rapidly losing his sense of humor. He hadn't meant for his tone to be so harsh, but the recent upheaval of his personal life had left him distracted and impatient.
"Any children, Hamilton?" Delighted amusement tinged Tragg's voice. He didn't take the prosecutor's tone personally. They'd worked together for so long that Tragg knew a stressed Hamilton Burger often sounded snappy and wasn't anything personal.
Hamilton's eyebrows shot for his hairline and his blue eyes widened as Tragg's words hit him full force in the gut. He hadn't had the chance to mention Helen yet to Tragg so that could only mean that his daughter had been what Tragg found in the hall.
He sucked in a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly. "I was supposed to meet my daughter for the first time tonight… She's here?!"
Tragg nodded, still obviously very amused by the whole situation. There was something about neat and tidy Hamilton Burger with a long lost child that tickled the old homicide investigator. It wasn't that he wished this sort of stress or pain on the DA. Quite the opposite actually. But there was something about learning that cautious, play by the rules Hamilton Burger had a past that was punctuated with a few impulsive decisions like everyone else filled Tragg with savage glee.
"Ran into her out in the hall. Well almost. She was uh… weighing all her facts carefully. Like someone else I know."
Burger shook his head and chuckled at his friend's good natured jab. He rubbed his eyes wearily for a moment, trying to process that his own flesh and blood waited just outside his office door, apparently as eager to meet him as he was her.
"Alright Tragg, let her in. And let the girls know I'm not to be disturbed unless it's an emergency. I'll let them know when it's okay again."
Opening the door again, Tragg nodded to the nervous young woman waiting patiently out in the hall and gestured for her to go in.
Hamilton stood in anticipation, letting out the deep breath he'd been holding. It still seemed unreal to him and his head swam in disbelief. A daughter. His daughter. What could he even say to her? Why was she even bothering with him? He could only imagine how angry he'd be with an absent father. Maybe that's why she was here? To give him a piece of her mind and she'd be justified. At best he could really only call himself a sperm donor.
So often the right words and the correct phrasing were necessary in his profession, particularly in the courtroom, but he feared they would elude him here when they mattered the most to this young woman he'd created with his beloved Alexandra.
Her heeled footsteps sounded in concert with his pounding heart. Appearing in the doorway, she stood before him; young and vibrant and beautiful and taking his breath away just like her mother had the night before. He couldn't deny the resemblance to himself though.
Tragg slipped out the door behind her unnoticed as father and daughter regarded each other, both scarcely able to believe this moment had finally come. Helen was the first to break the deafening silence after hearing the door softly click closed behind her.
"Dad?" She breathed shakily, as if testing her voice for the first time. Unshed tears misted her light blue eyes. She could scarcely believe it. All her life she'd imagined him as her mother had described him; warm, sincere, and understanding. Now the moment had come that she might finally get to experience that herself; and develop some sort of father/daughter bond with the man that her mother had left her heart with almost two decades ago.
"Hello, sweetheart," Hamilton smiled warmly. "It's about time, huh?"
All of Helen's worries and nervousness vanished at the genuine warmth in her father's welcome and her joyful smile brightened the room as the tears, now ones of joy, spilled onto her cheeks. A fierce hug accompanied them.
Chuckling, Hamilton returned the hug before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket just as he had for her mother, Alexandra the night before. He offered it to his little girl and she dabbed at the tears.
"I apologize if I've interrupted your work. I know we were supposed to meet tonight, but I couldn't wait. I just had to meet you."
"Not to worry, kiddo," he reassured her, rubbing her back comfortingly. "You come first, alright?"
Helen nodded, still mopping up tears. "Mom is going to rake me over the coals for this stunt though…," she chuckled ruefully, not wanting to imagine the fate her mother would have in store for her when she found out about Helen barging in on her father unannounced at work like this.
Burger chuckled along with his daughter, remembering full well the wrath of Alexandra Mullen. But now he was a seasoned prosecutor rather than a college student just getting his feet wet and he'd been in his fair share of relationships as well.
"I'll handle your mother, sweetheart. How does that sound?"
"It sounds like you sound like a dad already," she laughed.
For once, Hamilton Burger had no objection.