Closer 2

131.

Brett felt like the worst parent in the entire world. Like the biggest failure. He was also the worst boyfriend amd partner for once again ruining Eddy's first time holding his son by not making sure their daughter didn't wander off and causing Eddy to freak out, which caused Aiden to freak out which of course caused Benjamin to freak out.

"Elise?" he asked into a bathroom in the hallway, not really caring if it was a men's or women's bathroom. He had to find his little girl. Tears were pressing on, but he had no time to break now. He'd deal with all that later, when he knew she was safe.

"Brett!"

He turned around to find nurse Hannah run towards him with a smile on her face.

"Yeah?" he asked, not really daring to hope they had actually found her justt because of her positive face. Nurse Hannah always smiled.

"She's in the reception, perfectly fine. The receptionist is looking after her, so you can just go get her," she informed him, giving him a shoulder pat. "I've called and told them you're on your way."

Brett honestly felt like crying with relief right there and then. He pulled the nurse into a tight hug for a moment before letting her go.
"Thank you so much," he said, voice breaking. He had no time to stand around, he had to get his little angel.

The elevator couldn't move quickly enough, but it gave Brett some time to question how she managed to get to the reception on her own.

...

"Baba!" Elise grinned when he came running, chocolate ice cream all around her mouth and on her hands. Brett didn't care and pulled his girl into a tight hug.

"Oh babygirl, how did you get yourself here?" Brett asked, lifting her up and holding her to his chest. She just giggled, not understanding why baba was being so weird. The hug was really nice, though. She loved getting affection from baba.

"I'cream," Elise grinned proudly, pointing to the half melted cup on the table by the receptionist. Brett looked and finally spotted the somewhat disappointed looking receptionist. It made him feel like shit, honestly. He knew how this looked.

"Yeah? You went to get ice cream on your own, did you?" Brett asked, kissing his daughter's cheek.

"Yeaah!" Elise giggled proudly, kicking her legs a bit with excitement. "I'cream!"

"You gotta ask baba or dada to come with you, babygirl. No running off on your own," Brett sighed, giving her another squeeze before turning to the receptionist who looked like she must've heard him wrong. A moment later he discovered why.

"Baba and dada?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. It didn't sound disgusted or hateful. She really just sounded confused.

"Yeah we... My boyfriend and I are her parents," Brett explained with a small smile. "We're here with her little brothers, and we got to hold the youngest and she must've slipped out the door."

"Ohhh gosh, I am SO sorry! I have been asking her about where her mommy and daddy are and of course she didn't understand," the receptionist said, truly apologetic. "Gosh, I had no idea. I'm sorry."

Brett just chuckled a bit, kissing Elise's cheek quickly.
"It's alright, I don't think it would've helped if you knew. I don't think she knows my first name, or even her last name," he said with a small shrug. "That's gonna be her next lesson, though. For sure."