13th January, 2027
My Soon to be Former Home
San Francisco, CA. America
I woke up next to Ela who was still asleep. She looked absolutely beautiful even when she was sleeping…but I didn't deserve her. Not in the slightest. No one as pathetic as me deserves someone like that. I quietly got out of bed and looked down at my children for one final time. Thankfully they were still sleeping. I didn't think I could go through with this plan if either of them were awake. I kissed my fingers and pressed them against both of their foreheads. My hand brushed against Kuschelt who was tucked under my son's arm. I recalled giving him that bear and how happy he was to get it. Suddenly, my mind was assaulted by a vision of my children, now much older, finding out about what happened to me.
"What kind of father are you?!"
"I refuse to believe that my father is someone as pathetic as you!" I shook my head to rid it of the vision. I slowly left the bedroom, grabbed my go bag I always had packed and left my phone on the table downstairs. They would totally use it to track me. I felt that my final act in this house would be to let Ela know that I would be giving her the life she wanted now. One without me in it. After writing the note, I took one more look around the house, sighed and walked out of it. Forever.
13th January, 2027
My Home with Lukas
San Francisco, CA. America
I was awoken by the cries of my babies. I frowned initially. Lukas was supposed to be watching them in the morning while I slept. I reached my arm over to shake him awake…but I didn't feel him there. That caused my eyes to spring open. My husband wasn't there. The babies were though. Was he in the bathroom?
"Lukas?" I called. No answer. That or I wasn't able to hear one over the cries of my little ones. I walked over to their crib and looked down into it.
"Shh little ones. Mama's here," I said gently. They continued to cry so I placed a hand on each of their foreheads. That worked. Both stopped crying and looked up at me. Tobey smiled and said "Mah!"
"Hi Tobey!" I said and smiled back at him. Izzy reached up toward my face.
"Hi Izzy!" I said and picked both of them up. Tobey had left his teddy bear in the crib but held onto me. A quick sniff of both of their pants told me that it was diaper change time. I managed to do that without any trouble and brought them downstairs. What if my doofus husband fell asleep downstairs after getting a brilliant idea in the middle of the night? Meghan had told me Monika was prone to do that and I wondered if it was a family gene.
"Lukas?" I called again. Again no response. I placed my babies in their respective rockers and went back upstairs to grab my phone to text him. I checked the home screen to see if he had texted me his whereabouts. Nothing. I pulled up his message thread and typed out a message as I walked downstairs. To my horror, I heard the phone vibrate on the table. I quickly walked over and saw something worse than an abandoned phone. It was a note. In Lukas' handwriting.
"Ela - by the time you read this, I'll be…you'll be better off without me after what happened. I can't be your husband or a father due to my shame. With me gone, you and the kids will have a better life. One without shame. Without a weak pathetic loser like me. I'm sorry Ela. I will always love you and the kids but…I don't deserve you anymore." No…no no no nonononononoNONONO! This was NOT happening to me right now! Not again! I reread the note with shaking hands while my heart started beating out of my chest.
"Failure!" a voice I remembered hearing all the time from my childhood rang through my head. "Can't even keep a husband like your sister! No wonder I preferred her! She never disappointed me!" It was my father's voice. It was coming from that beautiful portrait Lukas had gifted me on my birthday. I walked over to it and stared at my father's image. I felt like a little girl again. Powerless against his disappointment.
"Why did you drive him away?" his voice said but his painted form remained still.
"Ojciec," I began.
"QUIET GIRL!" he shouted.
"BOY!" a new voice shouted. This one I also remembered.
"Jaja?" I said out loud and looked at the image of Antoni Bosak. My grandfather.
"What have I told you about talking to your daughter like that?! You are her father! Act like one instead of a drill instructor!" he demanded. Just like I remembered. Whenever my father got on my case about something I had done, Jaja would defend me. He loved me more than my father did. I just knew he did. Why did my father hate me so much? I thought I had finally honored his spirit by joining GROM, Rainbow and getting married.
"Ela," a new voice said. This one was vaguely familiar. I remember hearing it when I was really little. I was reminded of a woman soothing me back to sleep. It sounded…motherly.
"M…Mama?" I asked the portrait and looked at the painted form of my own mother. She looked very much like me. Probably another reason my father disliked me. I reminded him of his dead wife. I bet you he blamed me for her death too.
"Call your sister. She always used to help you," she said. Right…right! Yes! Zofia! She'd help me. I frantically dialed her number and she picked up at once.
"Yes?" her firm voice answered. Before I could respond, I lost it entirely. Crying my eyes out over the disappearance of the love of my life. Lukas meant everything to me. Everything. He had given me the family life I had always wanted when I was a little girl. He had helped me reestablish a relationship with my sister.
"Zo…Zofia…he's…he's gone," I managed to get out through my bawling.
"Who's gone? Tobias?!" she asked in an angry voice. It again reminded me of my father.
"N…No…he's…he's right here," I said and looked down at my son. It reminded me of Lukas way too much. Tobias had his eyes and smile. He always had it on his face whenever he saw me. That little boy loved me so much. Like Lukas. Like right now, he was looking up at me with sparkles in his tiny eyes. I totally took that as him saying "I love you mommy!"
"Is it Lukas? What do you mean he's gone," Zofia asked calmly.
"He left a note saying he doesn't deserve me anymore," I said softly. I didn't get it. I don't deserve him was a more accurate statement. What would a great musician like him want with a stupid artist like me? He had a loving family life growing up and I didn't. What the hell did Lukas see in me?
"Hold on sis, we'll be right over," Zofia answered before hanging up. I saw the front door of her house open and she, Andrzej and Jana began to walk over. I continued to cry. I was alone again. I couldn't do this a second time. The first time I had made a brash decision and joined up with the former corporation with the name of Nighthaven. During my time there, someone who was acting as Jack Estrada, had gotten me to see sense and return to Rainbow. I was put on strict probation though with Zofia assigned as one of those to monitor me. I guess I hadn't registered Zofia and her family entering because suddenly I felt her arms wrap around me.
"Both of your cars are still here. There's no way he's gotten far," Zofia said to me.
"You know, I thought I saw him walking down the street at like 7am," Andrzej added and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dammit. Sorry."
"It's alright," Zofia said. Jana was standing over her cousins. Izzy had managed to say "Jah!" when she saw her.
"Zofia…I can't be alone again. I just can't," I said to her. Zofia continued to hug me.
"You won't be. It was my fault the first time," she said. "Find him."
"What?" I asked.
"Go find him. We'll watch the kids for you. Call Derrick. I'm sure he'll want to help too," she said.
"O...Ok…" I said and pulled up Derrick's contact information. As the phone on the other side rang I heard Zofia say "Hi Izabela! Remember me?" Derrick picked up after a few rings.
"Yello!" he said.
"Derrick. Help me," I said immediately.
"With what?"
"Lukas."
"What happened?"
"He's gone. Like he…he left me in the middle of the night. He left a note saying he doesn't deserve me."
"Son of a bitch. I figured that would happen…I'm on my way. Just need to make 2 stops. What do you want for breakfast?"
"Derrick, now is not the time for eating!"
"Food will help you think."
"Fine. Bacon egg and cheese."
"I assume your sister and her family are there too?"
"Yes."
"Righto be there in about 30 minutes. Toodles!" Derrick hung up the phone afterwards. I looked over at my children and thought about how I would tell them that daddy was gone. That triggered me crying again. Eventually I felt Zofia's hands envelop me again.
"I failed Zofia. I failed," I whimpered. If my father was actually alive and found out about this, he would never let me forget for the rest of my life. He would say it was my fault that Lukas was gone.
"What happened to him," I asked my sister. She didn't answer immediately.
"I honestly don't know. Derrick told me it traumatized him though. Did he say anything to you yesterday? What did he even do when you got home?" Zofia asked.
"He just sort of…stared at the wall for hours. I went to bed and eventually heard him lay next to me about an hour after I fed the babies the first time so I assumed he was ok and just needed some time to cool off. I thought he just needed some time to himself. Something horrible happened to him. I know it. Someone hurt my baby," I said. Zofia raised her eyebrows at me calling Lukas "my baby" but I didn't care. He was. I loved that man more than anything. He was kind to me and such a great dad. Most of the time, I found him singing our children to sleep with his guitar and that lower singing voice of his. Sometimes it's hard to determine who loves Lukas more. Me, his sister or his daughter. Izzy looks at Lukas just like I had when I first laid eyes on him in Greece a few years ago. In fact, Izzy's eyes were on her aunt Zofia at the moment rather than me.
"Izzy, mommy…mommy has to go find where daddy went. She's going to leave you with Ciocia for a little bit, ok?" I told my daughter that was looking more like me everyday. Izzy simply smiled at Zofia's profile and said "Bah!" Zofia let go of me and picked up Izzy again. I saw her lean into my sister's warmth. Huh…she's…she's more like me than I thought.
"They've been fed but some bottles are in the fridge in case I don't come back in time. Tobey's teddy bear is upstairs in his crib. If he starts crying for no reason, hand it to him. Both of them like it when you play music for them too," I explained to Zofia and Andrzej. Zofia put a free hand on my shoulder again.
"You're already a great mom," she said. "You do remind me of our own mother. From what I remember, she loved both of us equally." I glanced at the portrait Lukas had given me again and smirked at my father slightly. Take that old man.
Later I found myself standing in the driveway of my home with Lukas as Derrick's car pulled up to park. I saw that the passenger seat was occupied with someone else. The blonde hair told me it was Meghan. Of course. He had said he was bringing help…along with breakfast. He tossed me two sandwiches after stepping out of the car. He then walked into my house with another bag of take out breakfast. Probably for Zofia, Andrzej and Jana.
"Where's Monika," I asked.
"I made her stay home to nurse the broken ankle. Me and Bandit nearly had to knock her out after she heard about Lukas," Meghan explained. My heart fell into my stomach. What if…what if Lukas had actually hurt himself? What if he was dead? I could not handle it if that was the case. Derrick returned to the car after a few minutes.
"I've got a bone to pick with him later," he muttered after shoving something in his pocket. Andrzej must have insisted he pay for breakfast. I stood there munching on one of the breakfast sandwiches wondering what to do and where to find Lukas.
"You ok Ela?" Derrick asked. Bad move Castellano.
"No Derrick. I'm not ok. I woke up expecting to see my husband. Instead I found out he had left me out of 'shame' or whatever bullshit that means! What. Happened. To him," I demanded. Derrick flinched. Motherfucker was hiding something from me!
"No Ela. It would be better if he told you not me," he said. That only sparked my anger more.
"WHAT?! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" I yelled. Meghan even had to hold me at bay.
"Ela, he's not joking. It's not his story to tell. Get in the car. We might have some ideas as well as some leads," Meghan said calmly. Hearing that we had a lead as to where Lukas was got the rage inside me to subside.
"Ok…sorry Derrick," I said and started munching on the sandwich again.
"In the meantime, I contacted some of the local authorities in the area. A few of them had actually seen him walking the streets of LA wearing a backpack. He was last seen downtown. If we hurry, we might be able to get him," Derrick explained and got behind the driver's seat. I climbed into the back while Meghan went back into the passenger's seat. Derrick started up the car and the radio started playing. I recognized the band. American I think…or were they Canadian? The band was called Simple Plan. Tina likes them.
"Ooh, that's a classic," Meghan said and went to turn it up. She hesitated upon seeing me.
"Have you told her yet? I think she deserves to know," she said. Derrick shook his head. Oh great! What-fucking-else are they keeping from me?!
"Ela, remember your small little stint in Nighthaven?" he asked. I narrowed my eyes at him. The nerve of him bringing that up now.
"What about it?" I muttered just loudly enough to be heard.
"You believed that Jack Estrada was an imposter, correct?" he said. I began to answer the question when realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Jack wasn't just an imposter, Jack had been Derrick. That projector of his!
"THAT WAS YOU?!" I shouted at him. "SHOULD I GO FUCK MORE HEDGEHOGS THEN?!" I had remembered the Polish insult "Jack" had thrown at me on the initial plane ride to Nighthaven.
"You did not say that," Meghan said to Derrick as he turned down the street. He nodded.
"Looked some up while I was waiting cause Ash had told me Ela and Zofia didn't really care for Jack at the time," he explained.
"That probation period was utter hell," I growled at him remembering the meeting I had with Eliza and Harry. They told me I had to be monitored by none other than Zofia, who I still didn't really like at the time.
"You met and fell in love with Lukas did you not?" Derrick asked me. Reluctantly, I nodded. I recall being extremely angry that Zofia was coming with me to my new station in Portland a few years ago but I had learned Lukas was going to be stationed there too which helped control my anger. There were multiple talks between myself and Monika involving me working up the nerve to ask him out. I guess that worked out didn't it?
"I hate when you're right," I muttered and started scanning the streets for Lukas. I would find him. I would find him once again and bring him home.
13th January, 2027
Mission Dolores Park
San Francisco, CA. America
Our search for my husband took us all over the city. We searched last known locations, spoke with local authorities but each of our leads had turned up dead. I had started to lose hope that we would ever find him when a stranger had come up to the 3 of us while we were getting some lunch.
"Big tall guy with long blonde hair? Wearing jeans and a backpack?" they asked. I nodded.
"He's my husband. Lukas Weiss," I answered. The stranger nodded.
"Thought he looked familiar. Guitar player right? My partner saw him walking around Mission Dolores about 10 minutes ago. He said he thought the guy was from a local band from the area," they said. With that tidbit of information, Derrick, Meghan and I had raced over to Mission Dolores park. The sun had finally decided to make an appearance as we arrived as well. I took that as a good sign that we would finally find him. On any other day, I could see myself and Lukas taking the kids here and just walking around enjoying the scenery. It was gorgeous here. One thing I do have to commend America for. They have lovely parks. I don't hate living in this country but I would hate living in this country as a single mother with 2 kids. I must find Lukas. I simply must find him. The 3 of us got out of the car and started to walk around. What? No, none of us were armed. Why would we be? Also, not every American walks around with a gun all the time by the way. I feel perfectly safe in this city…granted I am a highly trained member of GROM and Rainbow so there's also that. After about 10 minutes of walking around, Derrick suddenly nudged me.
"What?" I asked, annoyed. He jabbed his thumb at a place off to his right. Sitting on a bench staring at the ground was…Lukas. He was safe. He was alive. I ran over and stood in front of him. He seemed to notice my presence and slowly looked up.
"Uh oh…" he said.
"Uh oh?! FUCKING UH OH?! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" I shouted, upsetting some other park goers. Whatever. Didn't care. Fuck 'em.
"ANSWER ME," I demanded. Lukas continued to stare off into the distance. Eventually he did speak.
"You hate me," he said.
"No I don't you supreme bonehead! I did not spend all morning looking everywhere for you because I hate you!" I said dropping the volume of my voice a little.
"I don't deserve-" he began before my own anger overtook me.
"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING YOUR CHILDREN LIKE HOW MY FATHER LEFT ME!" I yelled. Over my shoulder I heard Derrick say "Move along. This does not concern you" with Meghan agreeing with him. Lukas finally looked me in the face. It was the first time he did so since he had left on that mission yesterday. I didn't see the man I loved behind those eyes. Something had messed him up internally. That didn't make my rage go away however. The idiot had left me to raise 2 kids on my own!
"WHAT?! NOTHING?! LET ME GUESS, YOU'RE SORRY?! WELL SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH YOU FUCKING BUFFOON! YOU WERE ABOUT TO PUT YOUR CHILDREN THROUGH THE HELL OF NOT HAVING BOTH PARENTS!" I shouted at him.
"YOU DON'T GET IT DO YOU?!" he suddenly shouted back at me. Oh my. I had forgotten how terrifying he was when he was actually angry. No he has never hit or abused me. Ever. But I had seen how angry he was when we watched Derrick's interrogation videos.
"WHAT? WHAT DON'T I GET?!" I shouted back. "LET ME GUESS, YOU HAD TO NEUTRALIZE A BUNCH OF HOSTILE ASSHOLES BECAUSE THEY THREATENED YOUR SISTER OR FRIENDS! AM I RIGHT?!"
"YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT SHE DID TO ME!" he shouted. I heard his voice break on the last few words. Still didn't stop my fury.
"WHO?! MONIKA?!" I shouted. Lukas shook his head.
"No…Ela…I was…I was…" he said before he looked away from me again. All of a sudden, it started to make sense. Why Derrick and Meghan had said it was better that he told me, the thousand yard staring, the fact that he avoided looking me in the face all last night or let me hug him. Oh my god. Oh my GOD.
"Lukas," I said, dropping the yelling. "That leader woman…did she?" Lukas still didn't answer. He was staring at a point just over my shoulder. After a few agonizing seconds, he nodded. No….no. I…I couldn't…not him. He didn't do anything to deserve that. I put both of my hands over my mouth and looked over at Derrick and Meghan. Derrick nodded once. Lukas finally found the courage to look at me again. He was crying. He needed help. He needed me. I went to touch him but remembered how he had avoided my hands when I had gone to pick him up from the base. I withdrew my hands.
"Lukas, I'm not mad at you," I said softly. "Can I hold you?" I saw him make the slightest nod. Immediately I took this broken man that I still loved into my arms and he started crying in earnest. I did too. Some absolute bastard of a human being had sexually abused my husband. In front of his best friend, comrades and sister. Absolutely unacceptable.
"I've got you Lukas. She can't hurt you anymore. Ela's here," I said softly into his ear. He continued to cry and held onto me as if I had just returned from the dead.
"Do you still love me?" he managed to ask.
"Yes I do. Look at me. I love you. So much," I said after getting him to look me in the face. I even wiped a tear from his cheek while doing so. He had done the same to my own tears but his big hand was trembling ever so slightly. Derrick and Meghan were still getting people to walk away and leave us alone.
"I'm so ashamed Ela," he said. "I was reduced to a sexual thrill. I didn't even feel like a man anymore. I felt like an object."
"It's not your fault baby," I said and immediately regretted doing so. First off, because I had never once called him that…well to his face anyway. Second, I saw rage in his eyes again.
"DON'T. CALL ME THAT," he snarled.
"Alright. Ok. I'm sorry. What would you like me to call you?" I asked, still holding onto him. I felt his rage evaporate after he put his still trembling hand over mine.
"Luke or Lukas…no…no nicknames like that…" he said and sniffed. I held him close for several minutes before saying "None of us blame you for what happened. I especially don't." He didn't answer.
"I want to help you," I said. "In whatever way I can."
"Tell me…tell me you aren't ashamed of me and you…won't leave me…" he said. I repeated what he wanted me to say.
"But I…almost left you alone…" he said.
"I didn't know about what happened. I believe you. I'm not angry at you because of it," I said. "I'm just so relieved you're ok. Do you want me to keep holding you?" Lukas nodded.
"I…like this…it's nice…not aggressive," he said softly. That nearly got me to start yelling again. Aggressive?! No one assaults my husband in an aggressive manner! I am so angry at whoever did this.
"She…made me…" he began but I gently put my finger on his lips.
"Don't relive it right now. Be here. With me. You have me," I said through my own tears. I felt him hug me tighter.
"I…I called for help…the whole time…I didn't like it…" he croaked. "Then they broke Monika's ankle and I went completely insane. I'm a monster. I shouldn't be near children…"
"The man that I've seen singing 2 babies to sleep with his guitar does deserve to be around his own kids. You are not a monster. You are my husband and father of my children," I reassured him. I'm sure he'd give me more information about what happened later. I just needed him to come back home with me.
"Is…Is Monika mad at me?" he asked. I looked over at Meghan who had managed to hear his question. She looked over at her brother-in-law.
"She's more worried than mad. Come to think of it, I should let her know we found you. Let's see…yep, 10 messages asking about progress. Typical," she said and typed out a message. Suddenly her phone rang and she answered it.
"Yes Mon, we found him…Yes, Ela's with him…He's fine…I'll be back soon alright. Give him a few days with his wife ok?" she said into her phone.
"Monka," Lukas said in a small voice. I knew this was what he had called Monika when he was still really little. It was why Monika always smiled when Zoey used to do it. He reached out to Meghan for the phone. Meghan said "He does want to talk to you. Hold on." She handed the phone to Lukas and he held it up to his ear and started talking in German. Because it was slow, I was able to understand what was said. Monika wasn't frantic as she usually was when it came to Lukas but rather gentle and reassuring that she too loved him as well as everyone else at the base. I heard him say "Zoey" after a few seconds.
"Zoey still loves you. Lukas. Tina says she points to you all excitedly when she sees you on the TV," Derrick said to him. "She can even say your name correctly now." Lukas and Monika proceeded to talk for several more minutes about what had happened and what he had done.
"I'm…I'm going to go home with Ela. I don't know what I was thinking," he said and looked back at me. I could no longer see rage in his blue eyes. Just undying love for me and his family.
"Right…yes…I love you too Har-Monika," he said and handed the phone back to Meghan. I let go of him so he could get up but I still held his hand. He got up off the bench slowly and looked towards his best friend.
"Harry's going to talk to you later today alright Luke," he said. "If you want Ela in the room with him, I'm sure he'd allow that." Lukas nodded.
"Sky…Skywalker's still ok," he said. "It's not your fault either buddy. I know you couldn't have stopped it without getting shot. I'm glad you freed the others though. Especially Monika." Derrick nodded his head as Meghan put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Do me a favor Mara Jade," Derrick said to me. It had taken me a while to understand this reference but apparently Luke Skywalker had gotten married in the Star Wars books to someone named Mara Jade. I actually didn't mind that nickname. It was better than when he used to call me "Cinder."
"What's that?" I asked while squeezing Lukas' still trembling hand.
"Make sure you tell him he's loved, everyday," he said. I looked up into my husband's face and I saw that his blue eyes were still there. Looking down at me with so much affection that it nearly moved me to tears again. I smiled up at him and said "You got it Zoolander."
13th January, 2027
Rainbow Six HQ
San Francisco, CA. America
I sat in one of the empty offices with Lukas waiting for Harry to arrive. In the meantime, I had called Zofia and told her we were going to be a little while longer. I had received a photo of my babies asleep against Jana on the couch. I had shown Lukas who smiled for a second before he reverted back to the thousand yard stare. I can't imagine what's going through his head right now but what I was certain of is that he was combating those demons with happy memories. Every so often, I did see a small smile cross his lips when he either looked at me or just in general. Harry, also known as Six, entered the room and sat down behind the desk. He didn't look angry but rather relieved.
"Lukas," he said in a calm voice. "Ela."
"Harry," we answered.
"Well, let's start with what happened on the mission. You do not have to give me any specific details if you don't want to," he said, still very calmly. Lukas took a deep breath and began explaining what happened to him on that mission. First he began with the initial entry of the building which went just about as expected. Then he explained how he and Monika had split up only for both of them to get captured and bound shortly afterwards.
"Then that leader woman showed up. She was the sister of that terrorist that had captured me at the Powerwolf concert. She formed the organization as a tribute to him or something. She slapped Monika and then…then she tortured Monika…but not in the way you're thinking," Lukas explained. Harry steepled his fingers and nodded. I think he knew what Lukas meant.
"She assaulted you, correct? In front of your teammates?" Harry asked. Lukas nodded and I felt him squeeze my hand again. I squeezed it back reassuring him that I still loved him with all my heart.
"Then…then I absolutely lost it. I went full berserk mode. Like I couldn't tell friend from foe for a while. It was just by complete coincidence I didn't kill Monika, Derrick, Dom or Elias by accident. I didn't even know I could get that angry," Lukas said. He had relayed part of that information to me but I still didn't know any other specific details. He'd tell me whenever he was ready. Again Harry nodded. The guy was a psychologist so he must know what Lukas is constantly thinking.
"I assume you're not ready for any sort of physical contact other than from Ela here? Elena told me you were flinching at the slightest touch last night," he asked. Lukas nodded.
"It…it was awful…I didn't like it," Lukas said quietly.
"Of course you didn't. I don't think anyone likes getting assaulted like that," Harry said calmly.
"What's the course of action Harry," I asked.
"Well, we're obviously taking him off any assault team and I want him to stay home with you for a while," he said.
"But…but," Lukas objected.
"Lukas, something like this is no laughing matter and we are not sweeping it under the rug. I want you to be with your family. I hear your son looks just like you," Harry said and then flashed a smile at us.
"What about pay?" I asked before I could stop myself. We still needed a source of income. I had been out of work on maternity leave for a while but that only helped so much.
"He's still getting his pay. Both of you are. Don't worry about that. We'll then start him working from home for a little or even a hybrid schedule. How about you? Are you ready to come back?" Harry asked me. I looked toward Lukas. I had planned to come back now that my babies were 4 months old and still incredibly healthy but after this had happened, I think I need to take care of another baby that was mine.
"Idea. You'll work from home for a while too. Make sure our Music Man is still doing alright. It might be good for you to talk to a therapist too, Lukas," Harry said. Lukas nodded.
"I think Derrick's guy has colleague close by. I'll see if they're taking new patients," Lukas explained.
"Convenient," Harry said. "Take 2 weeks to be with Ela and your kids alright?"
"Right Harry…thanks," Lukas said.
"No Lukas, this does not count as you going AWOL again," Harry said and smiled at him. "Everyone likes your contributions to the team and the fact that you and your buddy provide the team with laughs all the time." Lukas smiled again as did I.
"Now, as for me. I should check in with Elena and Eliza about how things are going here. I expected her to meet me at the door as per usual but I've been told she hasn't even been here for weeks," he said.
"Cause she's pregnant," Lukas said before he could stop himself. Harry nodded and said "Oh yes, that's right. I knew that. I was the first one she told. Other than Jordan of course. She is over the moon about it. The best part is that I believe her and Tina are due at almost the same time."
13th January, 2027
Our House
San Francisco, CA. America
I was back home with Ela about 20 minutes after my meeting with Harry had concluded. Zofia and her family had watched the kiddos for us while we were away. I had no idea why I had decided that leaving these 3 people was a good idea. I was currently sitting in the living room watching TV by myself while Ela gave the babies a diaper change after their nap. Zofia said the babies went down almost effortlessly and that Izzy really liked her. Ela eventually came down with them and sat down next to me. She placed both babies in their rockers. Izzy saw me and she cried a little upon getting put in her rocker and not with me.
"What's that? You wanna see daddy Izzy? I know, you didn't get to see him all day" Ela asked and handed me my daughter. Izzy stopped her crying and leaned into my warmth. What the hell was I doing leaving this little girl without her daddy? She was still so cute with her short brown hair which was her mommy's natural hair color. Ela looked like she wanted to lean up against me but didn't out of courtesy. I looked at her and nodded. She rested her head against my shoulder and resumed reading something on her Kindle. It looked like a Spider-Man graphic novel. I enjoyed the company of my wife and daughter for a little bit until the memories started to come back to me.
"She stole you from me!" the evil voice rang in my head. I shook my head a little trying to rid it from my mind. I pictured her walking towards me again with her awful smile. Suddenly Ela sneezed which wiped the vision away.
"Sorry," she said and sniffed. Izzy had started laughing at the noise which caused me to smile too. I held Izzy out in front of me and she was still giggling.
"Mommy made a funny noise, didn't she?" I asked. Izzy was now looking at me with complete adoration. It reminded me of Ela on her wedding day looking into my eyes when we were dancing together as husband and wife.
"Who's that Izzy? Is that dada? Can you say dada?" Ela asked.
"D...D...Dada!" Izzy said happily. Ela gasped while I almost dropped Izzy in complete shock. Instead I gave my daughter a big hug.
"Dada!" Izzy said again and smacked my shoulder with her little hand a few times. I heard Ela pick up Tobey and start asking him if he could say "Mama." Tobey didn't do anything but stare at his mommy who had disturbed his rest. He looked over at me.
"Who's that little man? Is that Mama? Say Mama," I said to him. Tobey looked back at Ela, smiled when he actually recognized her and said "Mama!" Ela squeaked and hugged Tobey close to her body. Tobey giggled. I looked over at Ela who had tears in her eyes. She looked up at me and I could tell that she still loved me despite everything that I had done that day. That much I was sure of. This day had started out beyond awful but my daughter had finally said her first word. And it was me. Her dada. Izzy leaned against me again and I took that as "I love you daddy. You're not a loser."