Hamliza - One Shots ✰

Not a Bad Father

Requested by @apotatothatshipsjori. I tried to make it as close to your request as possible!

Dark clouds replace the former blue, happy sky, making Eliza bite her inner cheek as she looks up whilst speed walking to her car. The wind is blowing fiercely, howling even, creating a sound much like a whistle. She knows she shouldn't have left the house, as Alexander's the only one watching the kids at the moment, but the family's in need of more water bottles. There's a bad hurricane coming soon, and leaving Alexander by himself is definitely not a good move, but what else could she have done? Leave the children by themselves?

Eliza hurriedly unlocks her car and hopping inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She shoves the keys in the ignition and basically speeds back home, the sky growing darker by the minute and the wind only getting wilder. This hurricane's coming, all right.

It's not long before Eliza hurriedly parks the car in the garage and steps out, carrying the bunch of water bottles to the garage door. She uses her foot to turn the knob and pull open the door, her hands occupied at the moment. The loud and strong wind pushes hard onto the house—it would be very hard to not hear, and Eliza can only imagine how panicked everyone inside must be (especially her husband), which is why she practically barrels into the house. She races down to the basement as fast as she can.

Meanwhile, all this time, Alex has been trying his best to keep himself together for the kids. He doesn't want to scare them by showing them how truly terrified he is, but it's extremely difficult to do that when this hurricanes are one of his worst fears. Waiting for his wife to get home has been one of the most nerve wracking things ever, which is why a bit of relief washes over him when he sees the basement door fling open and his wife rushing down the stairs.

"Momma!" John, the youngest, calls out happily. His older brothers and older sister sit beside him, relief similar to Alexander's spreading on their faces.

Eliza gives them a tiny smile before speaking. "Philip, Angie, can you come here a second?" she asks the two.

The two oldest look at each other before standing up and walking over to their mother, leaving James and John behind. Eliza pulls them over to the wall, far on the other side of the basement, and makes sure to keep her voice down.

"I need to ask you two a big favor," she tells them quietly. "I know you're scared, but I need you guys to be strong and keep James and John as calm as you can. This won't just help your brothers, but also your dad."

"Is this because of the hurricane Dad went through?" Angelica asks with a hushed voice, her eyebrows tilting sadly at the thought of her dad being afraid.

Eliza nods sorrowfully. "I know this is a big favor to ask of you two, but your father needs—"

Philip interrupts his mother by putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We understand, Mom. Be there for Dad." Angelica nods in agreement, giving her mom a reassuring smile.

Tears well up in Eliza's eyes at the sight of her thirteen and eleven year olds being so understanding, showing that they're growing up. She pulls her children into a tight hug, kissing the top of their heads. She pulls away and gives them a grateful look before approaching her husband, who has a distressed look on his face. His head is resting against the wall behind him.

Eliza slowly sits beside him, silent for a moment, as she's listening to Angelica and Philip play a game with her other two children. After feeling satisfied with her youngest being distracted, Eliza opens her mouth to speak to her husband, but she's cut off by him saying, "I'm such a bad father."

Eliza furrows her eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"

He looks at her, incredulous, not understanding how she doesn't know what he's talking about. A few strands of orange hair have fallen out of his low ponytail, and there's a sad look in his violet eyes. His gaze moves away from her and to the floor.

"I'm pathetic. Here I am, terrified of a hurricane, and I can't even comfort my own children from a storm they've never been in before because I'm afraid. That's ridiculous. How am I supposed to protect them if I'm like this?" He sighs and shakes his head, eyes closed, frustrated with himself. "I'm a bad father, and you and I both know it. Angelica and Philip shouldn't have to look after the children because of me."

"Alex," Eliza says, eyebrows tilted sadly.

"I'm sorry, Eliza. You deserve better than a pathetic husband who can't comfort our children because he's scared. It's nothing short of pathetic." His eyes open and he locks his with Eliza's eyes. "I'm sorry you have to deal with me. I'm a coward and you don't—"

"You're not a coward!" she nearly shouts with a shaky voice, tears in her eyes. She sucks in a breath as she turns around, hoping her children didn't hear that, but all she gets is a concerned Philip meeting her eyes while the other three are laughing and talking. She turns back around. "Don't call yourself that. I don't like hearing you speak so badly about yourself."

"But I—"

Eliza shakes her head. "No 'buts.'" She leans in and wraps her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You're an amazing dad. You're allowed to be afraid. It doesn't make you pathetic. Everyone is afraid of something."

Alex hugs her back after a moment, his eyebrows furrowing and heart starting to race a little when he hears the wind getting stronger. "I love you, Eliza." He runs his fingers through her long, dark hair. Her breathing helps calm him down, besides the fact that she's hugging him.

Eliza smiles a little, pulling away from him to look at his face. She places a hand on his cheek. "Don't say that stuff about yourself again, okay? Promise me that."

"I promise," he says with a tiny smile.

"Good." Eliza turns her head to look at her children, watching Angelica and Philip struggle dealing with the younger kids being hyper. Alex watches with her before she turns to look at him. "I think we should probably go handle that now, huh?"

Alex grins. "Probably," he jokes, standing up and helping his wife stand to walk over to the children.

And for the rest of the night, Alexander and Eliza proceed to tell the younger children stories, play games, and tell jokes to keep them distracted, with Angelica and Philip assisting in doing so. Eliza stays close to her husband, leaning her back against his chest as she sits in between him. Alexander realizes how lucky he is to have such a great and supportive family.

And he learns that he truly isn't a bad father at all.