A few days later Manisha gets out her diary, "Mum, Dad," Graham smiles at that still not used to hearing those words. "I think it's time to tell you why I was so hurried to leave where I have been. Minus the fact I was looking forward to seeing Mum again."
"What is wrong Sweetie?" Ace looks at her.
"You two should sit down." Ace and Graham grasp hands as they sit down.
"I tried to cultivate relationships there of all kinds."
"What happened?"
"I was trying to find a way to leave my city. I was getting threats."
"WHAT!" Ace stands up.
"I don't know why, but it seemed some people didn't like me for some reasons."
"If I."
"Mum, I am not leaving again."
"I still need to protect you, you're my daughter."
"It's in the past now." She hands her diary, "Mum read this." Ace shakily grabs the diary and opens it. Graham puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I am right here Ace, I will always be here." Ace opens it and starts to read it, Manisha makes some tea for the three of them.
"Mum," Ace looks up, "are you ok?"
"My Sweet Little Angel, Mummy is here." Ace gets up and hugs her daughter. "There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of you."
"Mum I worked through it all, and now I am home."
"I still hate to think of what you went through, I am your Mum, that is my job."
"My job too as your newly appointed Dad."
"I almost forgot what it felt like to have a family."
"I was along the lines with you, because while I have Tegan and Nyssa for about 20 years, there have been a number of things I have kept from them. It wasn't until I started seeing Graham that I started to tell them things."
"Like what?"
"Most people I told them that I loved at one point ghosted me. Or many in my teen years I would start to fall for, well, let's just say something would happen that made me glad that nothing happened. Even though something did happen with Sorin," Ace shudders, "it turned out he was a very distant relative."
"What do you mean?"
"We had the same ancestor, the Doctor made sure that was defeated, by nearly breaking me."
"You told me about that Ace."
"I know Graham." Ace turns to Graham. The small family sits in silence knowing things are changing.
"The Doctor mentioned a few days ago that there is a way Graham could also adopt me, even though I am an adult."
"There is. Is that something you want?"
"I do, why haven't the two of you been to work?"
"It was my week at A Charitable Earth, and Nyssa knew the moment I had you back home, I would want to stay home with you."
"Graham?" Ace looks at him.
"Kate called me telling me to stay home with the two of you."
"Why?"
"She saw that we were a family, Ryan said that he was going on a different trip."
"So it is just the three of us?"
"It is." Graham thinks to himself, 'I wish there was I could figure out a way to get the ring.'
"Graham, where did you go?"
"What do you mean?"
"You just had a look about you, that you would get when your mind goes far away."
"I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Something that I want to get."
"What is that?"
Graham kisses her forehead, "something I hope you'll love." Ace looks into his eyes to see him smiling with his eyes.
"I'm sure I will love it."
"I have a feeling I know what it is," Manisha has a slow smile growing on her face.
"What do you think it is?" Manisha starts humming. Ace, recognizing what her daughter is humming, looks at Graham and takes his hand with her left one hoping this will send a silent message to him. They share a smile and Manisha looks at them hoping to be in on the plans when Graham decides to pop the question to Ace.
When Manisha stands up there is a knock on the door. She looks at Ace who nods for her to answer it, "hello, Nyssa and Tegan is it?"
"That's us. It's great to see that you are home now. You will have to meet our kids, Neeka and Adric."
"Adric finally got into contact with the two of you after almost a year," asks Ace as she fully sits up.
"Yes, he called telling us that he will be coming home soon."
"That's great."
"We wanted to see how the family is?"
"We're doing great. We are only missing one of our members, Ryan, but he is away again." Tegan goes into her bag and takes out a stack of papers.
"Oh we have some paperwork here for Graham and you and Manisha to sign. It is from Kate, she said her Father put these aside for an occasion like this." Ace grabs the papers from Tegan's hands.
"It's the adoption paperwork."
"She knows the two of you are not married yet, but as it has been with everything in your guys' relationship, we can see it coming, case in point what happened Saturday."
"Ooh I have a feeling it is, well at least the proposal is going to be happening quickly, with the little bit of conversation that I overheard the other day."
"You heard that?"
"A little bit of it. I gotta say, even though I just met Graham, he's cool. That is why I have already been calling him Dad."
"How does it feel, Graham, to have a grown up daughter?"
"Weird, but a good weird."
"We just wanted to give you the paperwork, so by the time you two do walk down the aisle she is legally the daughter to the both of you."
"Thank you Tegan."
Tegan and Nyssa leave and Ace and Graham open the paperwork, "so what do you say Dad, want to adopt me?"
"Of course I do Daughter." Ace just looks on knowing that she has a non-toxic family now. The first McShane/Dundum to have one in generations since her grandfather was killed in action during World War II.
