Hello! Welcome back! Sorry for the delay. You know, thing happen… Life. Anyways. Um. I HAVE OVER ONE-HUNDRED REVIEWS AND IT MAKES ME FEEL SO HAPPY INSIDE. Thank you guys! I still am not sure about the Pierre situation, but I'll figure it out.
Mandie- I'm sort of confused. Is Gideon Cross a real thing, or is he just in the fanfic of Crossfire? (Read some of it, not all of it, that's how I know)
To the reviewer named "Annoyed", I'm terribly sorry that you "will never get the time back that you wasted reading this garbage". I did notice, my friend, that you only read the first chapter, and therefore, haven't given this story a full chance. Have a great day! (Seriously, your review made me laugh more than anything)
Okay my true readers, I hope that you aren't "annoyed" with this chapter. Enjoy! Xxx We start off on Monday night, after the family's tour!
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After a long day of visiting the city and a nice dinner with her parents, Maddie was exhausted. She and her parents went to bed as soon as they reached home. But the nightmares weren't far away from Madeline that night. She woke with a start at around three in the morning. She entered her bathroom and splashed water on her face to try to calm herself down. She came back into her room and sat on her bed. A small light was shone through her window, the lights from the city. She gazed out the window and memories flashed in her head. Going to school, how strict the school was. Stand up, greet the teacher, sit down, don't talk. As a vocal child, always ready to dive into a conversation, these rules were difficult for her to follow. When she would sing in her house in Germany, and Jennifer would tell her to stop. Not that she was bad, but that Jennifer was tired from her long day at work. These times were when Jennifer was a heavy smoker, and that led to her low tolerance for anything loud. She said smoking helped her migraines, but they really only made the pounding in her head worse. Luckily, Eric made her quit smoking in Ireland, getting her a prescription that never made her get another headache, and she never touched another cigarette. Maddie closed the window curtain. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Coming from the living room was a soft piano sound. Maddie pulled on her robe and made her way to the parlor where the piano was. Quietly, she watched her father play a sad tune. He looked very at ease playing the piano, swaying backwards a little when he was playing a certain part. Waiting by the doorway, Maddie decided she was going to make a small step towards her father. Of course, she accidentally stepped on the string of her robe and almost busted it, her hands clamping on the frame of the doorway to steady her. Christian stopped playing and turned to find her.
"Madeline? Are you all right?" He asked. He extended his hand and gave it to her, helping her stand up.
"Oh yes. I'm very sorry, I'm such a klutz!"
Christian chuckled and gave her a broad smile. "Another trait inherited from your mother. Did you know, that's how we met? She came in for an interview, filling in for Kate,"
"Like, Aunt Kate?"
Christian smiled. "Yes, Aunt Kate. Funny how things work out, huh? Anyway, she tripped and fell right into my office. And that's when I fell in love with her."
"That 's when? Hmm. Maybe I should take notes: trip everywhere I go. "
"Well, no, but I didn't realize it then, but I think it was love at first sight for both of us. It took a little more time for me to recognize it. And nothing has changed. Our relationship is stronger than ever, especially getting you back." He reached out and cupped his daughter's face for a moment. Maddie blushed. Then Christian asked, "What are you doing up?"
Maddie blushed again. "I had another nightmare."
"You want to talk about it?" Christian asked, fatherly concern on his face.
She shook her head. "No. I'm fine, trust me. What are you doing up?"
"Same." Christian gave a shy smile, feeling vulnerable to his daughter. It was like she didn't even know him, and it was true. She didn't know him. They were robbed of the years to get to know each other.
"You had a nightmare?" Christian nodded. "Dad, I'm sorry. You want to talk about it?"
''Not really. I just shove it aside, try to forget about it, much to Dr. Flynn's distaste." Maddie raised a questioning eyebrow. "My psychiatrist."
Maddie just nodded. She didn't know what to say. Her dad, her heroic figure, had problems. Just like everyone else. And part of her deep down had a feeling that he had been through a large amount of pain.
"Madeline, I'm not as strong as I look. My life has been filled with a tremendous amount of pain. And those things are what fuel my nightmares. I was adopted as a child, and my few memories of my life with my real mother haunt me sometimes. My biological mother had a drug problem, and let an abusive man into her life, who wasn't my father." Christian rubbed his forehead, and then reached over and patted Maddie's leg. "A short time after your mother and I were married, a man came and tried to kidnap Ana. He beat her. Your mother was trying to save your aunt Mia, and had told me that she was leaving me," He gave a scared glance at his daughter, then turned back to the front and finished on his memory, "I realized that she was in danger. When my crew and I found her and the man, she was cold and unconscious on the ground. She was knocked out then, but in my other dreams, I find Ana lying on the ground again, but she doesn't wake up. That's the other nightmares I get. And the worse ones are the ones about you." Maddie's lip quivered and she grabbed her father's hand and gave it a squeeze. He continued. "When I think about the day you went missing, I feel sick to my core. And so guilty. I'm so sorry, I should've found you earlier, I should've picked you up that day, I-" A chocked sob escaped his lips.
"No dad, there was nothing you could do. Don't blame yourself. I should've stayed on the bus. I should've done something. I was just so young. . . I didn't know. But we're all together now. We have to put the past behind us."
Christian gave her a sad smile. "You're right. Why don't you head back to bed, you look exhausted." Christian led Madeline back to her bedroom and found Ana in the hallway, making her way to the parlor.
"Hi. Is everything all right?" Ana asked.
"Yes. I was just about to go to bed." Madeline said. She gave her mom a large hug. "Goodnight mom."
"Goodnight, darling." Ana kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight, daddy. Thanks for talking." Maddie buried her face into his chest. Christian kissed her head.
"Goodnight."
Maddie pulled away and gave her parents a sweet smile, then entered her room.
"What was that about? Did I miss all the fun?" Ana asked. Christian took his wife's hand and gave a soft kiss on her knuckles.
"It seems that we both woke up with a nightmare. But we are fine now. You didn't miss much." Something still bothered him.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"It was the usual one about Madeline. But this time, you and Phoebe were taken as well. They had all three of you, tied up. You were lying on the ground, dead. Phoebe had a deep cut on her forehead and she was losing consciousness. And then Maddie, she was crying out to me. But I just couldn't move." Ana pressed her finger on his lips, stopping him.
"I'm here. Maddie's here. Phoebe is fine. We are all okay. Please don't worry Christian, the hard part is over."
Christian kissed his wife tenderly, desperately need her. But he suddenly pulled away. "Is it?"
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Yeah! Father daughter bonding. I'm still not sure about Pierre, so I just added some bonding time. And no, Christian, the hard part isn't over. Well that's all I got. Tell me what you think and leave me a review? It's very much appreciated. Lots of love. xxxx
