(6 years later)
On a warm sunny afternoon in Quebec, Helena was outside playing tag with her blonde haired friend, Julia while Clara and Aiden sat on the front porch watching from a distance. They both grinned at the sight of her chasing Julia around the yard as her long dark brown hair flew into the wind. The two little girls were giggling without a care in the world.
"Julia, slow down so I can catch you!" Helena shouted in her high pitched voice.
Aiden could hear bits of Clara's accent in her voice, causing a smile to appear on Aiden's face.
"Never!" Julia shouted back. She was laughing so hard that she eventually slowed down, allowing Helena to tag her.
"Tag, you're it!" She yelled before making her getaway.
Clara rested her head on Aiden's shoulder and smiled. "Papa should be here any minute," she said with hope in her voice.
Alex would usually visit her and Helena three times a week and he would often spend as much time with her and Clara as he could. Helena enjoyed her grandfather's company since he told her a lot of made up stories about magic, and she would always be intrigued to know more. He'd often do the same thing when Clara was a young girl.
Helena didn't seem to notice her grandfather pull into the driveway since she was too busy running away from Julia. Clara stood once her father got out of the car and she greeted him with a hug.
"Papa," she smiled warnly as he hugged her back.
"How's the little one?" He asked once they both pulled away.
Clara turned to see her daughter giggling as she and Julia seemed to occupy themselves by chasing a butterfly.
"She's pretty hyper," she stated with a chuckle.
Only when Helena stopped running was when she caught sight of her grandfather. "Grandpa!" She shouted while sprinting towards him.
"Helena," he greeted her while kneeling down to her eye level with open arms.
Helena did her best to wrap her whole arms around his big form while gently wrapped his arms around her. Once they pulled away, Helena started jumping up and down excitedly.
"Julia is here!"
Both Clara and Alex laughed as Helena made her way back to Julia in the yard. Aiden coupdn't help but smile. Helena reminded him so much of Lena. Not by her appearance, but by the way her eyes lit up when she got excited, or when she would make up silly dances she would do around the house. It was something about her spirit that reminded him of Lena and he would often worry when Helena would go over to Julia's house. He would get suddenly nervous if something bad were to happen to her without him there to protect her. He wasn't sure where he got this from. Maybe from the loss of Lena?
Aiden saw Helena stop and chat with Julia. She glanced at her mother only to see her preoccupied woth talking to Alex. She then dashed towards Aiden looking awfully excited.
"Papa?" Helena said once she stood in front of her father.
"Yeah?" He said with a low chuckle.
"Can I spend the night at Julia's house?" She asked while fiddling with her fingers seeming a bit unsure about what he'd say since she usually asked her mom if she could come over to Julia's.
"Yeah," he nods, "Just make sure it's okay with your mom."
A wide grin appeared on Helena's face as she nodded and ran over to her mom aaking the same question.
"Of course, but make sure you have pajamas, a sleeping bag, toothbrush, haiebrush, and whatever else you need," she rambled.
"Okay, mama! I'll be right back!"
And with that, she ran inside to pack a few things. Once she was done, she ran back outside with a bag in her hand. "I'm ready!"
"I'll take her," Alex told Clara when he saw her reach for her keys.
Clara was a bit relieved upon hearing this since Helena and Julia would constantly sing songs in the car quite loudly everytime she or Aiden would drop them off.
"Oh, thank you. I can finally catch a break," she said gratefully causing her father to chuckle at this.
Clara felt Helena's little arms wrapped around her leg. "I love you, mama."
"I love you too, sweetie." Clara said before gently picking her up and peppering her face with kisses causing Helena to try and break away.
"Mama!" She attempted to pull her face away, "Stop, I wanna say goodbye to papa!"
After a few seconds of trying to get a proper kiss, Clara gave up.
"Alright, alright. Go say goodbye," she said before setting her down on the ground.
Helena took the opportunity to run away before Clara could slobber her face with more kisses. She made her way over to her father and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you, papa."
"I love you too, kiddo," he said while hugging her back. "Stay out of trouble, okay?"
"I won't get in trouble, papa. I promise."
"Okay, I'll take your word for it," he chuckles.
"Goodbye, papa."
"Goodbye," he said.
"Stay safe..." he mutter after Helena started to run towards her grandfather's car.
Alex made sure Helena was buckled in the back seat before backing out of the driveway. As watched them leave, he couldn't help but grow a little concerned. This was the first time Helena had ever stayed over at someone else's house. Clara took notice of this as she sat back down beside him.
"Aiden," she sighs, "She'll be fine. It's just one night."
He sighs, "I know, but what if something happens?"
Clara began to rub his back. "What could happen? She has been over there plenty of times. What harm is it for her to stay one night?"
Aiden thought about it for a moment before turning to her. "I guess there isn't any harm in it, but I just...hope she stays safe."
"She will. Stop being a worry wart," she smirks causing Aiden to give her a playful shove before wrapping an arm around the back of her neck.
"Alright, I'll try."
"You say that everytime."
Aiden didn't respond as Clara leaned into him, enjoying the feeling of being close to him.
"Besides, her spending the night at Julia's means we can finally get some alone time," she smirked devilishly and Aiden knew all too well where she was getting at.
"What do you have in mind?" He raised an eyebrow with a smirk growing on his face.
"Well..." she began to lightly tug down the hem of his shirt, "Maybe we could have a little...fun."
She trailed off and bit her lip while gazing up at Aiden with a look of pure lust. Aiden returned the look as Clara leaned toward and inched her face towards his lips until their lips were barely touching.
"How does that sound?" He felt her warm breath on his lips and felt his heart skip a beat.
Clara used her right hand to caress his cheek feeling the light stubble as her left hand explored his chest.
"It's been a while hasn't it?" He said softly eliciting a nod from Clara.
Clara then smashed her lips onto his, savoring the only alone time they would have in months. Aiden was quick to kiss her back with the same amount of passion as he wrapped his arms around her. After a series of passionate kisses, Clara finally broke the kiss and whispered, "Let's go inside," before taking his hand and leading him inside the house.
Journal #20
My little Helena is growing up so quickly. I know she's only six years old, but it felt like it was just yesterday when I gave birth to her or when Aiden and I would have to take turns changing her diaper, especially in the middle of the night when she would whine and wake us both up.
Aiden has been nothing but loving towards her and I'm not sure what he was so worried about. Helena enjoys spending time with him and he constantly worries about her. He tries to play it off, but I know better. He acts more like a worried grandma rather than an average father.
Everytime I come home from my job and I see him preparing dinner or playing with Helena, I always have this thought that he could be my potential husband. The thought of marriage occured here and there and I've even spoken about it with him before and he didn't seem to have a problem with my last name being changed to Pearce, but but nothing has happened yet. Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise me with a ring.
As for Helena, she seems happy by herself and she often treats Julia as a sibling, si we haven't thought of having another child. All I really want to do is make her happy and that's my responsibility as a mother, but I know I can't protect her from everything. She will face hardships, but I'll make sure I'm there for her every step of the way no matter what age she is. That is a promise I am willing to keep with my life and if she happens to ever find this journal then I hope she understands that I never meant to do anything bad, nor did my father. We just got caught up in some crime drama.
Who am I kidding? I know she is smart and capable enough to find this journal and when she does, I hope she can forgive me, papa, or even Aiden and I really do wish for her to have a normal life without getting caught up in danger that was causing by her parents past. I love her with all of my heart and so help anyone who tries to hurt her. Not only do I love Helena dearly, but also Aiden, my lover and the father of my child. He and I have been through a lot together and all I really want for us and for Helena is to stick together when times get tough as a family.