Emma was in the hospital for about five hours. She was bathed and cleaned up and diagnosed as being seriously underweight with numerous cuts and bruises all over her body, it was obvious that she had been raped multiple times which seemed to break me more than it broke her.
She was given some fresh clothes and a few injections to improve her energy levels as well as a full roast dinner which she devoured in less than three minutes, the hospital, without hesitation, allowed her to another portion.
"How're you feeling?" I asked Emma, it still hadn't sunk in that I'd found her yet. This whole day just felt so surreal.
"The best I've felt in five years." She said, biting her lip as she leaned her head on my shoulder.
I looked down to the ground and smiled, "I can't wait to see Ruby's reaction." I said, gazing over at Emma.
"How much does she know?" She asked me.
"Everything." I told her, "Ruby's my whole world."
"W-what if she doesn't like me? I- I don't want to ruin what you two have." She said, her worried eyes wandering about the hospital.
"Emma. Every single day that I come home from work, the first thing that Ruby asks me is 'did you find her?' And every day I have to say no." I met Emma's gaze as I spoke reassuringly, "Ruby is infatuated with the idea of finding you. She loves you already."
A tear streamed down Emma's cheek as I held her close, "let's get you home."
One of the officers had given me a lend of the police car for the day, so I opened the door for Emma who sat comfortably in the passenger seat beside me.
Although it had been five years since we'd seen each other, it seemed we had nothing to say.
I just wanted to look at her, I was so overwhelmed with emotions to speak. I interlocked my fingers with hers and brought her hand to my lips, kissing it gently and slowly.
"You're not still living in the flat, are you?" She asked me, making me laugh as I wiped another tear from my eye.
"We literally moved out yesterday." I told her, pulling onto my street.
"Really? where are you living now?" She questioned.
"Right here." I said, pulling over and parking on the curb outside my house.
"Oof, this looks like an upgrade." She said, taking my hand which rested on the handbrake.
I looked over to her and my eyes began to water again, I interlocked my fingers with hers and placed one hand on her cheek, brushing back her long blonde hair.
"God Emma... I missed you so much." I told her, leaning my forehead against hers and feeling her breathe unsteadily next to me.
"I'll get you inside." I told her, kissing her hands then kissing her lips quickly, I just wanted to treasure every part of her and every second I was with her.
I lifted her inside and onto the sofa in the living room, wrapping a blanket around her.
"Birthday cake... w-what day is it?" She asked as I made her a cup of tea.
"It was Ruby's fifth birthday yesterday." I told her, remembering exactly how Emma took her tea.
"Five years... oh my god..." she sighed, more tears filling up her eyes before she covered her face with her hands.
I walked over to her, putting down the mug of tea on the table and kneeling on the sofa beside her, my knees either side of her legs while I stroked her face.
"It's gonna be alright, Emma. It's just gonna take some time to get your head around today." I told her, running my hands through her hair before letting her lie on top of me. I held her so close that I could feel her heart beat against mine, the warmth of her skin in my arms. I draped the blanket over us and we fell asleep.
I began to wake up when I heard a knock on the door, I checked the time, it was twenty-past three. I slid out from underneath Emma and the nerves began to creep up within me as I unlocked the door to see Ruby at the threshold.
"Oh Ruby- Ruby I'm so sorry I was so busy-" I began, kneeling down and hugging her, who obviously had to walk home by herself.
"Did you find her?" Asked the little girl who had never seen her mother before.
"Yes." I told her, biting my lip and willing the tears away. "Yes I did."
Ruby's eyes became wide with a mixture of shock and confusion, she had become accustomed to the answer no.
"R-really?" She asked.
"She's very tired at the moment- so you'll be gentle?" I said, taking her hands as I opened the door into the living room where Emma had sat up and gleamed over at Ruby, smiling though her eyes were glistening with tears.
"M-mummy?" Asked Ruby, who had waited her whole life for this moment.
"Yes, Ruby..?" Replied Emma, who could not even fathom what was happening.
Ruby ran from me straight into the arms of her mother, making the tears jolt from my eyes as I stood back and witnessed the one thing I had waited five years for.
"Me and daddy missed you so much." Said Ruby as Emma wrapped her arms around her precious daughter.
"I missed you too." Whispered Emma, burying her face into Ruby's hair as I sat down beside them.
Ruby stopped hugging Emma then started hugging me, looking up while I reached over to Emma and kissed her on the lips quite passionately, feeling as I did when Emma had just given birth to Ruby.
"Eew..." Giggled Ruby while we split apart.
"What?" I laughed, hugging both Emma and Ruby.
"You put your tongue in her mouth!"
"No I did not!" I defended, laughing and blushing, seeing Emma and Ruby this happy together in one place just made me overwhelmed with emotion.
"Why are you crying?" Asked Ruby.
"I don't know, I'm not sad." I replied, wiping away another tear while I held my family close, never wanting to let go.
"Happy tears?" Asked Ruby as I looked over at Emma, seeing the resemblance between their beautiful smiles.
"Yeah, Happy tears."
The End
YOU ARE READING
Did You Find Her?
Short Story[COMPLETE] Robbie Daniels is a thirty-seven year old police officer, his main case was the disappearance of his wife, Emma five years ago, just one day after his daughter Ruby was born, a case of which he'd never solved.
