FicWad

Lauren sighed deeply after Mikey left for work, walking into the kitchen, smiling as Dahlia tried to grab ahold of her coffee cup. ‘’I can tell you’ll love coffee when you’re older, Dali,’’ she laughed, picking up the cup and taking a sip.
She had been happy to be back with her daughter, and for the past 6 months she had healed from the gunshot wound she had sustained, stuck at home, but content to stay with Dahlia, at least until she began to think of Gerard again. Mikey had supported her, been the doting husband, but she could tell that he wanted to know what had happened whilst she had been gone.
‘’I wanna be a superhero when I grow up..’’ Dahlia insisted,
‘’Yeah? Well, I’m sure you’ll be the best superhero there’s ever been. What’s your name gonna be?’’ Lauren sat on a stool next to her daughter; Dahlia frowned, launching into thought for a few moments.
‘’I wanna be called…Coffee Girl.’’ She nodded,
‘’Coffee Girl? ’’ Lauren laughed, shrugged, ‘’well, I suppose it’s better than some of the other ones I’ve heard.’’ She looked down at the kitchen counter, really wondering if Dahlia would think badly of her if she ever found out about her killing her parents. The nightmares had stopped, and Lauren felt at peace, but a part of her still seemed to be attached to Gerard. He was like a ghostly force, taking over her thoughts. She wanted to tell him how thankful she was that he hadn’t left her there to die, that he’d helped her – even if she had still been shot, he had done everything that he could – they couldn’t have been prepared for what had happened.
‘’Mommy, when can we go out to the park again like we used to?’’ Dahlia questioned. In a few months, she would be four years old. Lauren didn’t want her to have to grow up, and see how ugly the world could be – but she feared that she had already condemned Dahlia to never live a truly normal life.
Lauren plucked Dahlia from her stool, holding her soft form close, watching the garden outside with weary eyes. Dahlia’s fingers twirled Lauren’s hair, ‘’I like your hair, mommy. I wish I had black hair…’’ Dahlia murmured.
‘’You can always dye it when you’re older,’’ she reminded the little girl.
‘’Mmm... .’’ Dahlia agreed, burying her face into her mother’s shoulder, her fingers now clutching Lauren’s red sweater. Dahlia didn’t see Gerard as he walked up to the glass double-doors, Lauren was the first one to spot him, her lips stretching into a smile.
‘’Uncle Gerard’s here, Dali.’’ She grinned, placing Dahlia down on the kitchen floor to stand, and walking to the double doors and opening them. Her arms wrapped around Gerard’s neck before he could utter a word, holding him tightly against her.
‘’I missed you,’’ she whispered, and his arms enveloped her, also, the familiar smell of coffee and cigarettes overwhelmed her senses.
‘’I missed you too, Sugar,’’ Gerard smirked a little, pulling out of her embrace as Dahlia began tugging at the leg of his jeans.
‘’Pick me up, please.’’ She asked, and Gerard laughed a little, pulling her up,
‘’Hello, Dali,’’ he greeted. Lauren could see that he was trying to push away the cold inside of him, to not show his darkness to the little girl.
‘’Uncle Gerard!’’ she exclaimed, her fingers reaching up to pet his now-shorter red hair.
‘’How’ve you been?’’ Gerard asked,
‘’I’m gonna be a superhero!’’ Dahlia exclaimed.
‘’That sounds like a good career choice…’’ Gerard placed Dahlia on the stool that she had sat on last time he had visited Lauren, and turned to face Lauren herself; ‘’Can we talk?’’ he asked,
‘’Yeah – come on.’’ Lauren took his hand, pulling him into the next room. Once they were there, she closed the kitchen door, and once again wrapped her arms around Gerard’s neck, this time pressing a soft kiss to his lips – making a small sound as he deepened the kiss, holding her closer. Her body was already responding, it was like it had missed him as much as her mind had. His skin, his lips, the way his dark eyes would covet her.
‘’I missed you....’’ he breathed, breaking away from her and pressing his forehead against hers.
‘’Gerard…I’m so sorry for the way things were…Mikey shouldn’t have just left you there....’’ Lauren began, but Gerard stopped her, holding up a hand,
‘’No – you had to go to the hospital. That is one factor Mikey and I agree on, at least.’’ Gerard explained. Lauren took ahold of Gerard’s hand, stroking her thumb across the top of it,
‘’I don’t want you to change, Gerard. I don’t want you to try and be something you’re not.’’ Lauren admitted.
‘’I’m not trying to be someone I’m not. I just want you,’’,
‘’I want you too…’’ Lauren murmured, her eyes travelling down to the floor. She couldn’t deny that she wanted to get away, to run away with Gerard and never look back.
‘’You should get Dahlia – we should leave.’’ Gerard spoke up suddenly.
‘’Gerard..Mikey is her father...I can’t....’’ Lauren sighed, tugging a little at her ponytail. What should she do?
‘’Stifling yourself in the name of his feelings isn’t the thing to do. Come with me, and we can be together – Dahlia will see what it’s like to travel…but we’ll settle down as soon as she starts school – it’ll work!’’ Gerard pressed.
‘’I...I want to…’’ Lauren nodded, ‘’but…how do we do it?’’ she asked.
‘’Get Dahlia’s things, pack them in a bag. I’ll try and explain to her, okay?’’,
‘’Yeah…Yeah, okay..’’ Lauren ran up the stairs to Dahlia’s room, also reminding herself to pack some of her own things. She packed two suitcases, one for Dahlia, and one for herself, making sure that she grabbed Dahlia’s unicorn, and her favorite books, and added them into her own suitcase. She dragged the two down the stairs, and set them down, breathing slowly for a few moments, just observing what she had done.
She was finally leaving Mikey. She would be with Gerard, with Dahlia, and they would travel until they were far, far away, and then they would have a completely new life.
Simple.
Or maybe not so simple, she thought for a moment of the heartache Mikey would feel. Of the confusion Dahlia would have, as she missed her own father. Mikey was now back to working non-stop, though. In some ways, it was the same as if he was still around. She cursed herself at that thought, but then realized that if she stayed with Mikey, she would never truly be happy. It killed her to admit that to herself, but it was the truth.
‘’Ready…’’ she spoke as soon as she was back in the kitchen. Gerard nodded, picking Dahlia up from her stool – her face was filled with confusion,
‘’Mommy, why are we leaving Daddy behind?’’ she asked,
‘’We’re not leaving him behind…we’re just going on a trip, and we’ll come back and see your father one day, okay?’’ she promised. She wouldn’t just take Dahlia and never let her see Mikey again, but she’d have to stay away until Dahlia was older, until she was ready to see Mikey again.
‘’Oh, like a vacation?’’ Dahlia asked,
‘’Yeah, just like that,’’ Lauren took Dahlia from Gerard, and he picked up the suitcases, Lauren opened the front door, and they all stepped out, and got into Gerard’s car.
When he started the engine, it suddenly occurred to Lauren that it was real. The weight of her decision and the question of whether it was the right thing or not plagued her, but when she thought of never knowing what could have been and staying with Mikey – she decided that it was the right thing – she might pay for it later, but right then, it seemed like the best thing to do. With Mikey oblivious at work, and her monsters gone, with Gerard driving steadily forward, and Dahlia on her lap in the front seat.

It felt like the whole world was slowing down to push them forwards.

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A/N: So that's the end - at least for this story. I'd like to thank each and everyone of my readers, and I hope you'll enjoy the next installment of these stories, once it's up and posted!