Older || Sequel To SOS

Forty-Three

"El, Elodie! Hey." Luke grabs her arm softly, stopping the way she'd been pacing in a small circle. "Hey, talk to me, pretty girl?"

"I'm freaking out, Luke. About seeing my supposed cousin or aunt or whatever the hell she is. And potentially seeing my mom. And I hate that Atlas isn't here with us. It's the first time we've both left her since she was born and it's not sitting well with me, and—"

She stops as she's pulled into Luke's chest letting him hug her tightly for a moment. "I've got you, El. Through it all. You are so strong, and we are going to get through this together. As for Atlas, she's having a beautiful day with her uncle Ash and aunt Brooke. They are more than capable of caring for her for a couple hours so she doesn't have to sit through this and distract us. Plus, there is no way in hell I was letting your mom ever see her, even from across a courtroom."

"Maybe I should just call Brooke quickly, to make sure they're okay." Elodie sighs, pulling away to find her phone tucked into the pocket of her pencil skirt.

"She's fine, El. We trust Ash and Brooke with our lives and our baby girl. Just try and breathe please?" Luke frowns as Elodie's eyes go wide, looking past his arm towards the back of the room. "What?" His eyebrows crease as she pushes past him and walks towards the man who looks nervous and slightly out of place as he enters the room.

"Who's that?" Michael's voice brings Luke back somewhat as his eyebrows go up in surprise as he watches his fiancée speak easily to the stranger.

"What are you doing here?" Elodie asks quietly as she reaches the door, not mad but definitely surprised.

"I told you last week that the twenty-eight years I missed weren't going to change anything, Elodie. From day one of knowing I chose to be your dad, and that means showing up for you anytime you need me to."

"You came for me?" She swallows thickly.

"You've done enough alone in your life, you need to know what it's like to have a parent supporting you."

"Thank you." She nods softly, toeing up slightly to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Lori took so much from us both, El. I'm not letting her have one more day, she needs to know that despite her we found each other, and despite the years we missed she doesn't get to take away the years we can have ahead of us." He whispers into her hair, rubbing her back softly until she pulls away, both turning as a throat is cleared softly behind her.

"You must be Luke, Bill Rasmussen, Elodie's dad." He holds out a hand to Luke who takes it hesitantly, eying the man up and down.

"It's good to meet you, I didn't realize Elodie had invited you today." Luke nods.

"The woman behind everything happening today took twenty-eight years of knowing our daughter from me. I wasn't going to miss the ability to support Elodie today, and to look Lori in the eyes and let her know she didn't win against me or Elodie in all of this. I do wish I'd been able to meet you in a different setting but this was important. When Elodie mentioned it in our conversation yesterday I made sure I could be here, no excuses. I've missed out on being a supportive dad for far too many years. The whole family would have liked to come, but that would have been too much so I bring all their love and support as well." He turns to Elodie with the last line, offering her his sincerity.

"It means everything to me that you came. I didn't mean to make you change your whole schedule last minute to be here though." El offers.

"I did it happily, I know you weren't asking me to be here, but as your dad it is my duty and I take that very seriously. I hope that with having your own new daughter you can understand that, Luke."