Chapter 18

Amelia had been feeling restless the entire morning, and the silence in the house – more specifically, the lack of noise product of her father's absence – was putting her on edge.

Her mother was nowhere in sight, either. Well, to be completely honest, she actually knew where she was (she was in her study, working) but she couldn't understand why both of them had allowed the morning to be so… unusual! A normal morning consisted in her Daddy preparing breakfast and then enjoying it together downstairs before they went about their routines. That's why she had immediately noticed the disruption in her otherwise unchanging morning routine –her father was not home and her mother, who usually preferred to work in the afternoon, was already locked up in her study and busy with her work.

She knew that, whenever her Mommy was working, the study was strictly out-of-bounds, but her anguish and the nervousness caused by such an unusual morning (especially since the last time her Daddy had gone away was after a fight) had pushed her to her limits. Amelia marched towards her mother's office with a slightly unsure pace; she almost looked like a little lost puppy, looking for the safety and comfort of home and family.

"Mommy?" Amelia asked meekly as she pushed the study's door open. She immediately spotting her mother going over a few papers.

"Hm?" C.C. looked up from her papers, and frowned. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Um..." Amelia bit her lip, staring at the floor. She wasn't sure if she wanted to ask, after all. The last time she had felt like this was when her Mommy and Daddy had the huge fight.

Daddy had come back, and he'd bought a ring to ask Mommy to marry him, that time. But what if it was different this time? What if it wasn't something good this time? She was worried, and she didn't know if she wanted the answer to whether or not it was good.

"It's okay, sweetie," C.C. put down her pen, and left her desk to come and crouch in front of her daughter.

The poor girl looked upset by something, but she didn't know what that could be. Nothing had happened at school that either she or Niles knew of, her homework was all done, she wasn't in trouble, and she didn't appear injured in any way...

What could it be?

"Mia, what's the matter?" C.C. clutched at her daughter's arms lightly, holding her in place and looking her in the eyes.

The girl moved closer and wrapped her arms around her mother, relishing in the feeling of safety that being held by her provided. Her Mommy stroked her hair and placed a kiss on her temple, almost as if wanting to soothe her.

"What's bothering you, sweetheart?" C.C. asked softly.

"Why isn't Daddy here?" Amelia blurted out, tightening her grip on her mother. "Did he... did he go away?"

"Oh, sweetie..." C.C. sat on the floor and brought Amelia to her, settling her on her lap so she could cradle her in her arms.

Both she and Niles hadn't wanted this to go this way! This was supposed to be a surprise for her!

In hindsight and considering what had happened the night of their engagement, Niles mysteriously disappearing hadn't been the wisest of ideas, but now that Amelia had actually come forward, she could easily vanish the fears that were assaulting her child.

"Don't worry, Mia, Daddy just went out for a little while!" she explained, stroking her child's cheek. "He actually has a surprise for you!"

Her words quickly piqued the girl's attention and caused an immediate change in her mood and body language. A surprise? So her Daddy hadn't gone? He was just looking for her surprise?

"Really?!" the little girl exclaimed, her worried face slipping from her face and being quickly replaced by a beaming smile. "What is the surprise?"

C.C. chuckled. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?"

"No… maybe not..." Amelia snickered; her mother was gently tickling her sides.

"Then I guess you'll just have to wait and see!" C.C. said and she got to her feet, scooping Amelia up in her arms as she did so. "Now, let's go downstairs; I'll prepare you some orange juice and we can watch cartoons until Daddy gets home, okay?"

"Okay!" Amelia said cheerfully as they both began their way downstairs.

After C.C. had quickly poured some juice into two glasses, mother and daughter snuggled together on the sofa and turned on the TV. They were in the middle of a Spongebob Squarepants episode when the glorious noise of the clinking of keys echoed in the house, being quickly followed by the front door opening. C.C. switched off the TV as Amelia's head snapped to the direction of the door, which had shut again. The sound of footsteps came from that direction.

But it sounded like more than one person...

"Daddy!" Amelia cried out, shuffling herself off the sofa and heading for the front of the house.

She couldn't wait to see him. She'd missed him all morning, become certain that something was wrong and that he was leaving them both forever, and then been told that he actually had a surprise for her...

Niles grinned at her as she came hurtling towards him, "Good morning, sweetheart!"

He scooped her up into his arms, kissed her hair, and when she had finished burying her face in his neck (she had to hug him tightly just for a little while), Amelia looked up...and noticed that her father wasn't alone.

She pulled away, and Niles noticed that she'd seen the elderly couple stood behind him, so he turned so that both could face them. The old woman was fairly small and plump, with white hair and a beaming smile which made her bright blue eyes shine. The old man, also white-haired, had a lop-sided grin that said he could cheer anyone up whenever he wanted.

And they both carried suitcases with them.

"Daddy, who are they?" Amelia mumbled.

"They are my Mommy and Daddy," Niles explained gently. "Amelia, these are your grandparents."

Amelia's eyes widened and her jaw hung wide open. Her grandparents?! She really had another Grandpa and another Grandmamma? She knew that most of her friends had two sets of grandparents, but she had never thought that she'd get her very own second set of grandparents, too!

When growing up, she had gotten used to having a small family; it had only been she, her Mommy and her Mommy's parents...

But it wasn't just them anymore... now she had a Daddy, and it seemed that now her Daddy had given her a new Grandpa and Grandma, too.

"Bonjour Mia," the older woman said, moving closer to her son. She had quite a strange accent, and her eyes reminded Amelia of her Daddy's... and, weirdly enough, they also reminded her of her own!

"Hi," the child replied shyly, still clinging to her father. "You really are my Grandmamma?"

"Oui, ma petite," her grandmother replied. "My name eez Marie, Marie Brightmore! I am your Daddy's Mommy, but you can call me Mémère. Your Daddy 'as told us a lot about you!"

"Really?" Amelia asked, fascinated. "I didn't know I had more grandparents! But why do you sound so weird, Mémère?"

"Mia...!" Niles was about to scold.

But Marie laughed it off, waving a hand dismissively before her son could get any further.

"Oh, don't worry so much about eet, Niles! She eez only young, no?" Marie reached out for Amelia's hand, and gripped it tightly, in a way that Amelia actually found very comforting. "I am from France, Amelia. And where I am from, people sound like zhis."

"Oh," Mia leaned forward a little bit, intrigued by the notion of a whole other place that sounded different. She looked at the man who her Daddy said was now her Grandpa. "Are you from France, too?"

The old man chuckled in delight, "Oh, no, sweetheart. I am from England. Where we raised your Daddy."

Amelia smiled. The man did talk like her Daddy.

This new man held out a hand for her to shake, "I am Joseph Brightmore, but you can call me Granddad."

Amelia took his hand and shook it, giggling. She liked these new grandparents very much already.

"And you can call me Mia," the girl said. If everybody had gotten to introduce themselves, then she wanted to do so too! "Grandpa, is England near the USA?"

The older man chuckled again. "No, sweetie, it's really far away! We had to take a plane to get here!"

"Really?" Amelia said, taking a look of concern. "Then you must be tired! Daddy, they are old! They need to rest, don't they?"

"Mia!" Niles exclaimed, but when he caught his mother's look he decided not to chastise Amelia. Amelia was just a child, and she didn't exactly know that people weren't supposed to say things like that.

"As a matter of fact," Marie spoke again. "I do feel a little tired. But I still want to meet your Mommy! Your Daddy 'as told me a lot about 'er, too."

Amelia beamed again, bouncing her body in her father's arms. Her Mommy was surely going to love her new grandparents! They had to meet each other at once!

"She is in the living room!" the girl said. "We were watching TV together before you came! I can take you to her."

"That sounds lovely," Joseph said, coming forward and wrapping an arm around his wife. "Lead the way, Little One!"

Amelia giggled as her father put her down on the floor once again. "My Daddy calls me that way sometimes!"

"Zhat's because we used to call 'im Little One, too!" Marie explained as Mia took her and Joseph's hands and began guiding them to C.C.. "Your Daddy was once just as small as you are!"

"Really?" the little girl sounded like she didn't believe them.

"Oh, indeed, yes!" Marie, Niles knew, would be perfectly happy to talk about this as they made their way into the living room. She held her hand to her hip. "He used to be zhis tall!"

Amelia turned towards Niles, "Were you really, Daddy?"

"Indeed I was, Little One," he conceded, smiling softly. "Everyone is that height at some point in their life?"

"Even Mommy?" Amelia asked as they went through the door. "She's so tall..."

"Even me, sweetie," C.C. piped up, lifting herself from the sofa, where she had been sat nervously, thinking about how best to introduce herself to her soon-to-be in-laws. She approached them confidently, a beaming smile on her face, and prepared to put out her hand to shake theirs politely.

"Hello, I'm-"

But Marie got there first.

"You must be C.C.!" she cried, pulling the blonde woman down to embrace her and plant a kiss on both her cheeks. The older woman pulled away to give her future daughter-in-law a good look. "You are just as beautiful as Niles told us!" Marie exclaimed and pulled C.C. into a hug.

"She really is a beauty, son," Joseph concurred, patting Niles' shoulder. "And so is your little girl! Your letters didn't make them justice!"

"You wrote about us in your letters, Daddy?" Amelia queried, peering up at her father. She had gone back to her father whilst her grandparents met her Mommy and was now hugging his leg.

"But of course he did!" Marie exclaimed, pulling away from C.C.. "He told us everyzhing about you, since zhe very first time he and your Mommy first met!"

"Oh, did he, really?" C.C. asked, smirking. The panicked expression on Niles' face told her this was going to be great. "And what did he tell you about me in those first letters?"

"Maman, why don't you and da-"

"Oh, so many zhings, dear!" Marie cut a mortified Niles off and wrapped an arm around C.C.. "He was lost since day one, let me tell you zhat."

"Really, Maman," Niles tried again, an almost pleading edge to his voice. "Why don't you relax for a moment? I'll bring you tea!"

"What a good idea, Mon Cher!" Marie exclaimed, only the mischievous glint in her eyes told Niles that she had no intention to let this go. "You go get zhe tea – I have a lot to tell 'er as we wait!"

"There is no escaping," Joseph whispered to a disgruntled Niles. "Get yourself ready for the embarrassing stories, lad, you know she has plenty and she also happens to adore sharing them..."

Niles grumbled slightly irritably, sure that his father's words were true. His mother wouldn't waste an opportunity to tell stories about her son, and C.C. most likely wouldn't let go of an opportunity to hear embarrassing stories about him, either. So he made his way into the kitchen, Amelia having let go of his leg because she'd decided that she wanted to hear some stories from her grandparents, too.

He resolved to make the tea as slowly and as loudly as he possibly could, but the occasional burst of laughter – mostly from his fiancée, was still audible from the other room.

He wondered if he could delay having to go back in by baking a cake…

Or six...

But that wouldn't keep him from having to face it forever. He'd just have to deal with the embarrassment as best he could. So, he carried the tea and glass of milk for Amelia in on a tray, a plate of cookies on one side for them to all enjoy.

"And zhat was when I knew zhat he 'ad fallen 'ard and fast!" Marie concluded, and Niles could feel his ears burning already. "He 'ad only known you for one day, but I could tell – he'd mentioned you more times in 'is letter zhan he 'ad anyone else!"

C.C. smirked up at him as he entered the room, and suddenly his entire face felt like it was on fire. Of course his mother would have to tell her all about that first letter!

And she was enjoying every second of it.

C.C. turned back to Marie, resting her chin on her fist in interest, and a grin still plastered on her face, "Oh, did he now?"

It was just Niles' luck that his mother was more than willing to continue. He glumly set down the tray, and everyone grabbed for their cups and some cookies, but Marie wasn't deterred from her story in the slightest.

"Oh, my, yes!" she sipped at her tea, before continuing. "Every letter, from zhen onward, mentioned you. Eet was always "Miss Babcock said" zhis, or "Miss Babcock did" zhat, and I thought eet was only a matter of time before zhe two of you would get togezher."

Niles chanced a glance at his fiancée, only to find her smirking at him like she was hearing the best story in the entire world. Well, maybe to her it was. To him, it was just something that made him want to run from the room and hide until it was over. But as he tried to look anywhere other than at C.C., he noticed the look on Amelia's face as well. She seemed mesmerised by what her grandmother had to say, and she only came out of it when she realised her father was looking at her.

She beamed at him, too, "You really did love Mommy right from the start, didn't you, Daddy?"

He couldn't help but return her smile. He almost couldn't believe just how happy seeing Amelia happy made him – it was almost as if his entire reason of being was making her happy...

He didn't have a manual on how to be a parent, but he was learning, and the one thing he knew for a fact, was that Amelia was the most precious thing he and C.C. had in their lives. As long as she was happy and safe, then everything would be just fine. Her smile made him forget about the embarrassment caused by his mother's stories; it made him forget about every little thing that was wrong in his life – right then, only happiness existed.

He looked between the girl and his fiancée – the two most important women in his life – and he gently sat Amelia in his lap.

"Yes, Mia, I loved your Mommy from the start," he said, beaming. "Even if we drove each other a little insane."

Amelia giggled. "You did that?"

"Of course!" C.C. cut in. "Me and your Daddy had a prank war going on for many, many years! There was this one time when I got your Daddy to be mine for one whole day, and I made him build a gazebo for a terrace that I didn't have!"

Mia's little hands clasped over her mouth in shock, "Mommy! You really did that?!"

"Mm-hm," C.C. nodded proudly, her eyes glinting with mischief intended in the direction of her husband-to-be. "And I made him dye his hair bright red!"

Their little girl burst into loud, delighted laughter, and even Niles' parents were stifling giggles. He knew he was turning red again, too.

Well, two could play at the embarrassment game. And it was only fun and fair.

Though he had to be careful. He didn't want to accidentally talk about any of the pranks where someone had gotten hurt. The more he thought about those, the crueller and more guilty he felt. He knew they'd moved on from all of that, but it didn't feel right to go back to them. They were building a future together, and had to move on.

So, he'd talk about the lighter ones that they could look back on without anyone becoming upset.

"Well, what about the time I made you run all the way across town to get to a store that did, in fact, deliver after all?" he reminded her, raising his eyebrows and barely holding back a smirk.

C.C. gave him an unimpressed look, "And you never said a word, did you?"

"I distinctly remember calling out to you," Niles shrugged playfully, exaggerating his confused expression for comic effect. "It isn't my fault if you didn't hear me..."

C.C. rolled her eyes as Amelia squealed with laughter. The blonde was secretly amused by it, too, even if that part of her life felt like it had happened a lifetime ago.

As a matter of fact, she sometimes found herself wondering about its existence. Try as she might, it was almost impossible to truly and really think about the life she'd been leading before Amelia had been born. It had been such a life changing event – such a monumental change of course in her life – that her past life now seemed like a bad dream.

A bad dream full of vices, addictions, pain and loneliness.

Amelia had paved the way for her recovery, and consequently, for her happiness. Granted, her life had been somewhat incomplete without Niles, but Amelia had undoubtedly given her a reason of being – a purpose in life.

She was just glad that it had led to this, too.

She was so immersed in her nostalgic musings that she almost didn't hear her daughter's question. Only when the silence around her became too noticeable did she hear Amelia...

"But Mommy, if you had so much fun with Daddy, why did you go away?" the girl asked, comfortably nestled against Niles' chest.

That took the smile from C.C.'s face straight away; she couldn't help it. That was a slightly more difficult question. And it certainly wasn't one for company. Especially not in-laws, who were now looking more than a little uncomfortable.

It made C.C. wonder if Niles had mentioned her mental health, and her subsequent leaving, in his letters. If she'd been such a large part of his life from the very beginning, it was more than likely.

Luckily, they both seemed to have a sense of decency about the whole thing. Joseph politely inquired as to the location of the bathroom, while Marie noted that everyone's drinks needed refilling, and quickly gathered the cups to take them back to the kitchen for a refill.

Well, it wasn't exactly an opportune moment, but it was the only one they were going to get for now. And Amelia probably wouldn't wait for something like this.

No. She had to tell her, and be honest with her.

"Because..." C.C. took in a breath, and reached for Niles' hand, which she gripped tight. "Because I wasn't very well, sweetie. I had a very good job and I was surrounded by people a lot, but I wasn't happy. I was actually very very sad, and I needed some time to be by myself, away from everyone else and everything that I knew. Being around people and having that job wasn't making me happy, so I needed to go away for a while and find what would make me happy again."

Amelia's brow furrowed, almost giving away just how confused she was. And it was completely normal – she hadn't known her mother's personality from when she was a producer, and in her mind the only time she had seen her Mommy sad was when she and her Daddy had had a fight. The idea of an unhappy C.C. was foreign (if slightly unbelievable) to the girl. Her Mommy was someone who was usually in a good mood, so the notion of an unhappy Mommy was strange, to say the least.

Amelia straightened her back and looked thoughtfully between her mother and father. She then lay her head on Niles' shoulder and continued.

"And did you get better, Mommy?" the girl asked, playing with his shirt.

"Yes I did," C.C. said, reaching out and stroking her ham daughter's hair. "I actually had you, so how could I be unhappy?"

Amelia smiled, and in turn, that made Niles smile. There may have been a lot of pain and separation along the way, but it had eventually allowed for a family to form.

A family that he could call his own, and would never let go of for as long as he lived. Even if he couldn't help but wish a few things were different in the story, he was so grateful to have Amelia. She had helped her mother in ways she was too young to even realise, and she had brought them back together without even knowing it.

He adored her, and she deserved the best father in the world, which he strove to be every day.

Then, in a move Niles believed was probably more closely related to design than coincidence, his parents chose this moment to walk back in, his mother carrying the fresh round of tea on the tray. She'd refilled the plate of cookies, too, despite not actually knowing where they were kept. He supposed all mothers had certain features that were the same, namely the love and care they showed for the people around them.

They retook their seats, smiling as the little family all embraced in front of them. Niles smiled up at them over the top of C.C.'s head. He couldn't believe his mother knew how he felt about her before he even knew it himself, but he was oddly glad that someone recognised it. He supposed it was because that meant there was a chance he'd recognise his own feelings, too.

And now they were going to be married. He really and truly had everything.

AN: We hope you enjoy the chapter! We would appreciate your reviews!