Chapter 16

Routine was something that had always existed in the Brightmores' lives. Their existence was structured around carefully built schedules, which had been basically thrown into jeopardy as the wedding drew nearer and nearer.

The small family had always had their moments of peace to enjoy together, but now rehearsals and the wedding planner's constant visits caused these moments of peace to be more sporadic. And although not having as much time together as before did bother them, neither felt like complaining. Especially not Amelia.

The child was delighted with the wedding, and she spent every waking moment either talking about it or helping with it. She had gone accompanied her parents to buy their wedding bands, and seeing as she was their precious little girl, she was allowed to help picking them.

It was an exciting time for the whole family, and the cheer and happiness were contagious. Even B.B. and Stewart seemed to be getting along whenever they were in the same room!

It was as though nothing could spoil the good time they were having...

This and many other thoughts revolved around C.C.'s mind as she lay comfortably sprawled on the sofa in her study. She was going over the invitations and carefully organising the seating chart. She had to have almost military precision – part of her mother's side of the family barely tolerated her paternal family, so she wanted them sat as far away as possible.

The producer sighed in frustration and carelessly tossed the chart on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. She detested having to go through all this stress due to her family, but it was necessary if she wanted to ensure a tranquil wedding day.

"Why don't I just un-invite them all?" C.C. muttered to herself whilst taking off her spectacles and rubbing her tired eyes.

"Was that a rhetoric question or you want my honest opinion?" Niles piped up from the doorframe. She hadn't heard him entering the office, but she was glad to see he was carrying a big cup of coffee and some cheesecake with him.

"I know that if it were up to you, they'd probably all fight to the death for our entertainment," she began, gratefully accepting the coffee and a plate of cheesecake. "But I would like some of my family to be around by the time our first anniversary gets here."

Niles snatched up the seating chart and began to study it as he flopped onto the sofa next to her, allowing her to start enjoying her snack.

"Let's take a look-see," the butler mused aloud, going over the names and their places on the paper. "Well, I think you might actually have some of it covered already. It's all a matter of making sure the people who hate each other are all sitting at opposite ends – keeping branches of the family together, of course, but making sure they sit in different parts of the room. If you want, we can mix some of them with my family, and that way everyone can get to know each other?"

C.C. chewed her cake slowly as she thought. Mixing it up didn't seem a bad idea, actually, as long as none of her relatives got any smart ideas about being snobbish towards Niles' family...

Her father's family were better at that kind of thing, really.

Maybe if they moved the tables around, so that both families were more mixed together, it would avoid arguments. And as her fiancé had pointed out, they could all get to know each other. If they were all busy talking with other people, fights couldn't break out. They'd be distracted.

"You know...that's not the worst idea you've ever had," she told him, sticking her fork in her mouth thoughtfully as she, too, stared at the chart.

He draped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed them. He couldn't believe that in barely a month and a half they'd be getting married. It seemed like he had been waiting forever for this, but at the same time he felt like the time between he and C.C. getting together and their engagement had gone past in the blink of an eye.

He was thankful for everything he had – C.C. had been the one to give him a home, but most importantly, she had given him a family. He was still humbled by Amelia having chosen him as he father. The only thing he had wanted, was to be that for her, and finally his dreams had come true.

They had come a long way together, and for the first time in years he felt like his life was going in the right direction.

"Well... what can I say? With my muse so close I tend to have brilliant ideas," he kissed her on the side of her neck and she giggled. The seating chart slowly slipped from her hands as she shifted her body to face him and caught his lips in a kiss.

"You are an old smooth talker," she chuckled as she climbed onto his lap. "That's one of the reasons I love you."

Her hands travelled to the buttons of his shirt and played with them. The feeling was heavenly but...

"Amelia?" he rasped as she opened the first buttons and caressed his chest.

"At the Sheffields," she continued her onslaught and pushed Niles down onto the sofa. "We have all the house for ourselves."

He grinned. "Ah, if that's the case..."

Just as he was about to slip his own hands underneath her shirt, the phone rang. Neither moved for a few moments; they knew they'd rather stay right where they were.

"... It could be the Sheffields," he eventually sighed.

"Or the wedding planner," the blonde added, reluctantly getting to her feet and reaching out for her phone. "Probably Maxwell... he's always had an awful timing."

They shared a laugh and C.C. took the call.

"Hello, C.C. Babcock speaking."

It wasn't Maxwell on the other end.

Instead, a familiar voice that she thought she'd never hear again greeted her.

"Um...hello, Claire."

Patrick!

C.C. nearly dropped the phone, but managed to scramble it back to her ear, and her eyes immediately shot towards Niles.

The butler saw her panicked expression, and mouthed "Who is it?"

"Claire? Are you there?"

"Yes, yes, I am here," she quickly said. "Sorry, it's just...I wasn't quite expecting to hear from you...ever."

"Yeah, I, um...sorry about that," the Scottish man sounded more than a little sheepish on the other end. "But I had to call."

C.C. blinked, and felt her heart give that familiar, uneasy shift towards her throat, "What about?"

"Your daughter," he replied simply, before a swallowing noise could be heard. "Our daughter. I saw pictures of you and her in the paper, and, well..."

He knew...

He had seen the pictures taken on the opening night and he'd figured it out.

Come to think of it, the truth was easy to discover – the girl was a carbon copy of her, but she had his eyes and hair colour. Considering Amelia´s age (and the many details the press must have disclosed – God she was going to sue them all…), it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened and who Amelia was.

Why had she gone to that show?! She should have stayed away from the cameras, as she had vowed when she had first found out she was pregnant with Amelia.

But now it was too late, and for better or for worse, the man deserved the truth.

"Yes..." she replied shakily and went to sit down on her chair.

"I... I mean, she is my daughter, right?" Patrick asked, his voice cracking.

She considered lying – saying that she wasn't sure or that Amelia wasn't his, but it felt wrong. Of course the future she had carefully built would become uncertain – after all, Amelia had just found a father, and that wasn't Patrick.

"Yes... she is," the woman replied. She saw Niles frowning from the corner of her eye.

God... why did this have to happen now?!

Why did this have to happen when, for once in her life, things were going exactly how she wanted!

She was barely aware of the strange muffled sob that came from the other end, but eventually Patrick spoke again.

"What's... what's her name?"

"Her name is Amelia..." the producer sighed and looked at Niles, "Her name is Amelia Brightmore, Patrick."

Niles felt like all of his organs had just dropped out of his body, and even though he was sitting down, he felt like he was sinking through the furniture.

Patrick was back. And he clearly wanted to know about Amelia.

Well, of course he did. She was his, after all.

And immediately all of his anxieties – deep-rooted ones that he hadn't even realised he had – came to the surface. He could see it all now; Patrick coming to visit, getting the rights to see his little girl, taking her for day trips out, and spending weekends and holidays with her. He could see Amelia laughing and being held by him, and calling him "Daddy"...

He could see the papers in which they changed Amelia's last name – the last name that had been given to her by him – to whatever Patrick's surname was. He could see them having the closest bond – one that he thought he'd been developing with the little girl. But how could he possibly compare to her real father? He knew C.C. had chosen him over Patrick, would have always chosen him over Patrick, but it was no indication that Amelia would do the same...

He could see himself at some family event, years from now, perhaps even Amelia's own wedding, ignored and out of place because he didn't share her blood, or her name.

Side-lined because he was only the stepfather.

He could see it all, and he wanted to weep.

C.C. wanted to weep too. She didn't want Amelia to be caught up in her mistakes. Because that's what sleeping with Patrick had been – a mistake.

Granted, it had given her the most precious thing she had in this universe, but she didn't want to have anything to do with Patrick. She had hoped not to have to hear from him ever again, but it seemed destiny had other plans.

"That's... a beautiful name," the Scottish man said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "When was she born?"

"March 27th," she replied.

"Was it... was it painful?" he cleared his throat. "I... I mean, how... how did the delivery-"

"It was long, yes, but it was worth it," C.C. replied, feeling slightly uneasy due to the subject they were discussing. "She... she is an adorable little girl. Full of life. Like... like her father."

C.C. knew that what she was doing might be slightly cruel, but she wanted him to know exactly where they stood. He hadn't been in their lives before – unintentionally, of course – and she had formed her family.

"Her... her father?" the man stuttered, sounding lost.

"Yes... Amelia has an adoptive father. She... she chose... uh... my fiancé, Niles Brightmore," C.C. sighed – here came the big revelation. "He signed the adoption papers a few weeks ago, but Amelia has been calling him "Daddy" for a while now."

It sounded to Niles like C.C. was trying to dissuade the other man from getting his hopes up about something. So, naturally, his own hopes were raised. The tone of her voice, and the careful choice of her words all suggested that she was defending his position as Amelia's father.

"Oh..." Patrick said, sounding somewhat put out. C.C. didn't really care, though. If he was as good and decent a man as he had been when they were friends, he'd understand. "The man whose name you screamed when-"

"That's right," the blonde woman cringed minutely. She still couldn't believe that had happened. "We...got together, a nearly two years ago. We've talked everything over, and we're getting married in just under two months."

She shook herself out of her embarrassment of shouting Niles' name out; it didn't matter now. She had the man himself, and not just his name on her lips, when she went to bed at night.

"I see," she thought she heard Patrick swallow, down the other end of the phone again. "Is...is he good to her?"

"Yes," C.C. replied immediately, sounding confident, and making sure to look Niles in the eyes as she answered. "He's a wonderful father. He loves her very much, and she adores him, too."

She wanted to make sure he knew that Amelia couldn't ask for better. Not that biology necessarily meant better in the first place...

There were plenty of biological fathers that couldn't care less about their children (not that she was accusing Patrick of that. The poor man hadn't known anything about Amelia up until recently) while Niles, who had no biological connection to Amelia, treated her as his own.

He was her father, and DNA wasn't going to change that.

"That's good to hear," the Scottish man sighed from the other end of the line. "And I am thankful for that."

"So am I," C.C. said, smiling at Niles. She was truly thankful for him taking the roll of Amelia's father. He didn't have to, and yet she had chosen to. "He is a wonderful man..." the blonde pulled a face and looked at the floor, "And I am sorry for how things developed after... that night."

"I am sorry too. If I had known… if I had been aware I would have been there!" he said, once again sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "I am not a cad, by any means, and if I had known you were pregnant I would have supported you," again, a deep sigh left his lips. "What I mean to say is that I am sorry. I am sorry for you having to deal with your pregnancy by yourself; I am sorry that you had to raise her on your own until Mr Brightmore came along; I am sorry that... that you had to face everything alone. I do not want to intrude in your life or even in Amelia's, but I just needed to tell you just how sorry I am."

And right then C.C. felt a strange pity for the man. She knew he was a good person, and Patrick apologising to her was tearing at her heart. He'd had no way of knowing – it wasn't his fault! It was no one's fault...

"Don't be," she cut him off. "For better or for worse, Amelia is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me, and I should thank you for her..." she made a pause and took a deep, calming breath. She had never denied Amelia de right to ask about her father, and although she wasn't willing to take the title away from Niles, she still thought that Amelia, in its due time, had to know about it. "And... and if you want, I could tell Amelia about you. It's going to be her decision, in the end, but I won't deny her the truth."

"Would you?" Patrick's voice sounded hopeful. "I really would like to meet her, if she wants to meet me, that is..."

C.C. thought about it. A part of her wanted to say no, in case it ruined everything she had built with Niles. It was screaming at her that Niles was Amelia's father, and Patrick had no right to come back in and take that away from him.

But a more reasonable side of her agreed that her daughter had the right to know, and to make the decision for herself. And that this wasn't going to affect her relationship with Niles, because she wouldn't let it. She loved him, and one mistake made with Patrick before they were even together wasn't going to change that.

"I will tell her, don't worry," she said. "But it will be up to her if she wants this or not, Patrick."

"Of course, of course," there was a certain amount of delight as well as relief in the Scottish man's voice. "Thank you. I should probably give you my contact details, so that you can tell me what she says. We can come to an arrangement."

Arrangement. That caused more than a little dread to settle inside C.C., even though he was fully entitled to want to see his daughter, she was reluctant to come to any agreement which could split up her family.

Nevertheless, she reached over and got a pen and some paper to take down Patrick's details.

"Yes... of course," the woman tapped the pen against the paper a few times. "Give me your contact details."

And so, C.C. at last discovered Patrick's background. The man lived in Edinburgh, his last name was McLaughlin, he had four other children with his ex-wife and he was an accountant. Those trifles had been unknown to her until then, and Amelia had asked about them many times.

C.C. was certain that it was better that she knew so she could make her own choice, and honestly, she owed it to Patrick. If it weren't for him, then she wouldn't have Amelia.

"Well, thank you very much, Claire," Patrick said; he sounded a lot more relieved now.

"It's alright, Patrick," the former producer smiled minutely.

A small silence settled in between them. There was nothing else to say, was there? The truth was out and a decision had been made. Now everything they had to do, was say goodbye until the next phone call.

"So... uh... I guess this is goodbye, for now," she said quietly.

"Yes, I suppose," he cleared his throat again. "Well, it was good that we were able to discuss this. And congratulations on your engagement."

"Thank you," C.C. said, meaning her words. "I promise to call when I've discussed this with Amelia."

"Thank you. I will be waiting," there was another lingering silence, and just when C.C. was about to end the call Patrick spoke again. "Would it... would it be alright if I sent her gifts for special occasions, such as her birthday or Christmas? You don't have to say they are mine, but I... I would like to do something for her."

"I don't see why not," C.C. replied. "Just let me talk about you with her."

"Sure! Sure..."

Another silence.

It was time.

"Well... goodbye, Claire," Patrick said, sounding somewhat reluctant.

"Goodbye, Patrick."

As soon as the conversation came to an end and C.C. had returned the phone to its base, she burst into loud sobs.

Sighing, Niles reached forward and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against hers. For all his thoughts and fears about how the conversation had been going, it would have been so much worse for C.C..

She clearly hadn't wanted Patrick anywhere near their lives, and now it was having to happen anyway. Things were probably going to become a lot more complicated. But she needed him to provide a little voice of reason, so for all his dreaded feeling that it could lead to disaster and the end of his role as Amelia's father, he had to put that to one side for the time being.

Especially seeing as there was probably nothing he could do about it. Patrick had every right, and C.C. was doing the right thing in letting Amelia make her choice.

So even if it killed him, he had to step aside if it was what his little girl wanted.

"It's alright," he soothed, despite wanting to cry himself. "It's the right thing to do, and you know it. Amelia deserves to know, and to make her own decision in this."

"I just..." C.C. took a few breaths, and sniffed. "I just wanted us to be a family...no more complications..."

"It won't be complicated," he assured her, even if he felt like he might have been lying. "Plenty of children have parents who aren't together, or even live in the same country. It won't be so bad...besides, Amelia hasn't even made her choice, yet."

He kept it to himself that he was terrified of the moment she did, though.

"Yeah... but she is just a little girl! And thanks to my choices she has to make a decision that's even hard for grown-ups!" she burrowed her head in the crook of his neck, grateful that she had his strong arms around her, holding her together. "And I... I don't want her to choose him over you! I didn't want her to be forced to choose to start with!"

C.C. felt horrible for saying so, but it was the truth. She wanted to form a family with Niles and just when they'd done it, this happened!

It all seemed like a bad joke from fate.

"I know you don't," he tried to soothe her, rubbing her back and feathering kisses on the top of her hear. "Neither do I, for that matter, but you did the right thing. He is her-"

"Don't say it!" she pleaded, gripping at the back of his shirt. "Please... don't. You are her father. Biology can kiss my ass."

He was touched by her words, and he certainly felt like Amelia's father, but then again, it was a choice that didn't belong to them. It belonged to Amelia.

And as he held his fiancée to him, he could only hope that their girl still wanted him after she knew the truth. He had to be strong for now, and help C.C. face anything that came their way as a family.

"I won't say it," he murmured as she rocked them back and forth. "And I promise to be by your side through this."

C.C. lifted her head, allowing him to see her tear-streaked face. He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers before leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you," C.C. whispered against his lips.

"So do I," he tightened his grip on her and rested their foreheads together. "And I am proud of you."

"What did I do to deserve you?" she murmured after a short moment of silence. Her crying was slowing, but she still felt horrible. The only thing she wanted to do was sleep...

There was a part of her that hoped that this was just a nightmare and that she'd wake up any moment from then.

"Don't say that..." he kissed her again, "We deserve each other, okay?"

The blonde nodded, not really feeling like voicing her feeling of inadequacy right then. She just wanted to be held by him.

"Okay..." she sighed, tiredness seeping into her bones and making her feel like her body was tied to an iron weight.

Niles, being a seasoned Babcock connoisseur, immediately noticed her exhaustion. "Do you want to lie down?"

C.C. nodded. "Yeah... I just... I still have to think how I am going to tell Amelia about all of this and I'd rather do it lying down."

He took her to their bedroom and both slipped under the covers, and they cuddled up. As usual, C.C. lay her head on his chest and pressed her body to his side. His arm was wrapped around her back and middle; it made her feel safe.

Safe and at home.

"I won't tell her today," she spoke up, silence having reigned in the room for a good forty minutes. "I... I just can't do it today."

"Alright, love," he began brushing his hand against the side of her hips. "When are you going to tell her?"

"Tomorrow... after breakfast. Do you mind making her an extra special one? I want to pamper her a bit before facing her with this..."

"Not at all," he replied. "Do you want me to pick her up from the Sheffields later?"

"Yeah... thank you. I think I'll go to bed early today."

Niles nodded again. She needed the rest, and despite the fact that he was absolutely anguished and worried about what Amelia's choice would be, right then he had to suck it up.

He had to be strong... for C.C..

And for Amelia.

They didn't speak for the rest of the afternoon; he just held her close and comforted her. They only briefly separated when Niles put on a movie for them to watch and when he went to look for some snacks. They needed this quiet moment – they needed the comfort that being together provided.

A consolation that only the other could provide.

She fell asleep almost around the time he had to get up to go and pick up Amelia, so Niles made an effort not to wake her up as he got ready to leave. It was a blessing that the Sheffield mansion was nearby, because if he'd been stuck in the car alone for long, he would have given in to his fears and doubts.

He simply couldn't think about them right then. Right then he had to be strong.

He had called the mansion just before he'd left. Fran had actually asked him if he and C.C. wanted to have dinner over, but the butler politely refused. It was a wonder that Fran didn't push it, but he wasn't going to test his luck.

He honked the horn as she got to the entrance, and soon the former nanny opened the entrance door and accompanied Amelia to the car.

"Hey Daddy!" the girl said cheerfully.

Daddy.

His fears were creeping back up on him again. Specifically the thought that she might not call him that for much longer. She'd be giving the title to someone else...

He shook it away. She didn't need to know anything was wrong. It wasn't her fault. None of it was her fault, and the decision wasn't until tomorrow.

He had to be strong until then.

He beamed back at her and took her into his arms to give her a hug, like any normal father, "Hey there, sweetheart!"

He was going to savour every moment, while it lasted. He didn't want to give her up, but if he had to, he was going to make sure to spend all the time he could with her beforehand. Having a family was the best thing in his life, and if part of it was about to be snatched away, he was going to make sure that his last memories of it were the best they could possibly be.

He released her from the hug, and rubbed her upper arms, "You ready to get going?"

"Mm-hm," Amelia nodded, and turned back to Fran. "Thank you for letting me stay, Mrs Sheffield."

"Any time, sweetie," Fran handed the little girl's bag to Niles, so he could put it in the car. "And please, call me Fran."

Amelia grinned, "Okay. Thank you, Fran."

Fran beamed back at her, and offered a smile to Niles. Luckily, if anything looked wrong on his face, the former nanny didn't see.

At least, if she did, she didn't mention it.

Niles helped Amelia into the backseat and buckled up her seatbelt. He then slipped into the driver's seat, bade goodbye to Fran and took off for their home. He tried not to show just how nervous he was, and he did so by doing what he usually did – hearing about his daughter's day. She told him about the many things she and the Sheffield twins had done, including Fran's failed attempt at cooking and her consequently taking them out for lunch.

Usually, hearing about Amelia's day cheered him up, but right then he simply couldn't bring himself to enjoy it. It was as though the world around him had adopted a greyish hue, and he frankly didn't know if he would enjoy of a vivid, colourful reality again if Amelia chose Patrick over him.

He had become so deep in thought that he barely registered that Amelia had stopped talking. The girl was now looking up at him from the back seat, a worried look on her face.

Her Daddy was never this quiet...

She didn't know what it was, but she could sense there was something wrong. Like her Daddy was sad about something. What could it be? She refrained from asking what was wrong until Niles had parked the car and turned off the engine – she knew that, when driving, adults needed to concentrate.

"Daddy?" she said sheepishly as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Niles said, getting out of the car and moving to the back so he could open the door for Amelia.

"Are you... are you mad about something?"

Her question was tinged with fear, and it broke his heart to hear her sounding so... afraid. Or uneasy...

He picked her up in his arms and gave her the best smile he could.

"Of course not! Why would you think that?"

The girl grimaced, her eyes slowly looking away from him. "I don't know... you just look sad for some reason. And you are never so quiet when I tell you about the things I do."

Niles bit back a frown. He should have known she'd pick up on things like that.

But it wasn't his place to tell her what was going on. That responsibility lay with C.C., and she wasn't ready. She was resting, and preparing herself for what was going to probably be a very long and quite complicated talk. He kind of wished that he was, too, but that would leave no one to watch over Amelia.

So he had to make the best of it, and spare her any more worry.

Spend time with her, while she was still his daughter.

He shook his head minutely, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm just a bit tired, that's all. I didn't mean to worry you."

The girl appeared to consider him for a moment, and he held his breath, in case she didn't believe him.

But then she nodded a little, and he bounced her in his arms.

"Come on; why don't you and I go and have dinner, and then watch some TV?" he suggested, hoping to change the subject. "Your Mommy had a headache, so she went to bed early, but if we keep our voices down and let her rest, we can stay up."

It seemed better to tell her that C.C. had a headache, rather than she was upset by something. It might keep her from asking more questions that weren't going to be answered until morning.

"Really?" the girl said, growing elated as her previous worries faded away. "Can we have some of the mushroom risotto I like so much?"

Niles chuckled in spite of his forlorn mood. It was incredible just how alike Amelia and C.C. were! Both of them had incredibly similar tastes in food, movies and clothes.

"Of course you can have mushroom risotto! And we can also have some ice cream delivered!"!

Amelia practically launched herself forwards and wrapped her little arms around Niles. He was glad to see her so happy; if these were the last hours of being a father, then he intended to pamper his girl as much as he could.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Amelia pecked his cheek. "And can we watch "The Incredibles"?"

"We sure can, Little One."

After a small celebration from Amelia's part, he carried her back inside and ordered her to go up, take a bath and change into her pyjamas while he cooked. The girl complied with his orders immediately, and soon, after having taken a warm bath and having put on her comfiest pyjamas, father and daughter were sat before the TV, trays with food on their laps.

The movie was just starting, and Amelia was already on the edge of her seat. She adored that particular movie, and she didn't seem to get tired of watching it over and over again. Niles didn't mind, either – seeing her happy was the only thing he wanted, right then.

"Wow!" Amelia gasped when Mr Incredible beat Syndrome's robot. She glanced at Niles for a second to tell him about just how cool it would be to have super strength but her words died in her mouth when she found him looking at her.

But it was strange... it was almost as though a melancholy sheen was shining in his eyes. Her Daddy was definitely upset, and maybe she could make him feel better. She'd seen her Mommy do that before, so if her Mommy could, so could she!

"Daddy?" she asked, putting the tray aside.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

The girl edged closer to him and hugged him. "I just wanted to tell you that you are my Mr Incredible."

Niles felt his breath catch in his throat. He held back the tears as best he could so she didn't see him and again think that something was wrong. Well, something was wrong. It was the thought that she was saying that now, but might soon decide that he wasn't some kind of superhero anymore. He was just an ordinary man; a bystander who had been waiting with her until the real Mr Incredible arrived, and came to take her away.

But he was grateful that she thought so for now, and he hugged her back tightly.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he mumbled into her hair, and kissed the top of her head. "You have no idea how much that means to me..."

Amelia responded by hugging him tighter. It was almost like she'd never let him go.

How he wished he could be sure that she wouldn't...

But at least for now, she wasn't going to let go. They hugged for quite a while, until Amelia seemed sure that he wasn't upset anymore (he still was, but he had composed himself), and then Niles ordered the ice cream he'd suggested earlier.

He didn't want the tub to finish when it came. He wanted to be able to keep eating bowl after bowl with his little girl, if only to delay her from making her choice. He actually wanted her time to stand still. He wanted to stay there, sat in front of the TV and eating ice cream forever. He didn't want to let her go, not now, not ever.

He wanted to be her father! By God, how he wanted to be her father! But as his mind kept reminding him, it was Amelia's choice, not his. He held her close when they'd finished their ice cream and watched yet another movie. He simply wanted to prolong the night with his daughter.

As a matter of fact, neither of them knew when they fell asleep on the couch. Amelia had rested her head on a pillow over his lap, and he had made sure to tuck her in with a blanket a few moments before they'd both succumbed to their overwhelming need to rest.

They didn't know that, at a certain point of the night, they were found by C.C.. The woman had woken up when she had realised that Niles wasn't asleep next to her, which was unusual. So she had put on her dressing gown and gone downstairs after checking every room in the first floor.

She didn't know if she wanted to cry out of sadness or out of happiness – Niles and Amelia had fallen asleep on the sofa, together, and her fiancé's hand was resting on the little girl's head. Almost as though he had fallen asleep stroking her hair.

She knew that it was going to be a long and difficult conversation in the morning. The TV was still going, so they'd obviously fallen asleep watching it. Niles had probably been trying to keep the evening going for as long as possible. He was obviously dreading Amelia's answer in the morning, and trying to stretch out all the time he thought had available to him.

Her heart broke for her fiancé. It wasn't fair – he'd had time to get to know Amelia, and to love her like she was his own. She was his own, God damn it! Biology didn't mean a thing. And yet it didn't stop Patrick from showing up out of the blue so that he could have his daughter, despite the fact that he didn't know the first thing about her.

She knew she shouldn't have been so harsh; it wasn't his fault, after all. And he had said he wouldn't interfere. But this was, in a sense, interfering. It was causing them more stress than either was willing to admit for the sake of the other, and for the sake of Amelia.

It would have been better if he'd stayed out of it. Not asked. Just let Amelia have the father she'd chosen, and not put her in the position of having to pick. Let her have the father who loved her with all his heart, and didn't deserve all the problems this came with.

She'd have to wake them up and send them both to bed, but she couldn't bear it. Everyone going to bed meant the morning would come, and when the morning came... Well, there was one idea that came to mind before she had to bring them back to reality.

She dashed off into her office, and returned a few moments later with her camera. If Niles wanted to prolong the moment, she'd help him by preserving it forever. With one click of the camera, it was done.

There. Whatever happened in the morning, nothing could take that night away. It was saved, forever.

That thought was probably what made her decide that she wasn't going to wake them up. She was going to let them have this night, because they deserved it. They deserved the happiness that would be preserved forever in the picture she had just taken.

So, instead of sending them off to bed, she cleaned the living room, did the washing up and then went back upstairs to look for two more blankets. She covered Niles with the first one and carefully wrapped the other around her body. After checking that Amelia was fine and properly tucked in, she moved onto the other sofa and lay down on it.

She wanted to enjoy this family moment, too. And she'd be damned, but she wasn't going to allow anything or anyone to break her family apart.

The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes, was Amelia sighing in her sleep and snuggling closer to Niles.

AN: Oh well... what will Amelia say? What will Patrick do? You'll find out soon enough! :-P

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