Here, Here, and Here

*Tom’s POV*

I knocked on the door. I hoped she was here, she told me one o’clock, but I was a bit early (it was only quarter of).

“Who is it?” a small voice asked from the other side of the door.

I smiled, Caoimhe turned four today, “It’s Tom.”

I heard the lock click and wondered how on earth she reached it. It was very hard for me to know that she’s my daughter and to not be able to tell her or to have her call me daddy. She opened the door, peeked her head around it and smiled at me.

“Caoimhe, you don’t just open the door. It could have been a nasty mean man coming to get you and take you away from your mommy” I heard Reaghan say from inside the room.

Keevie got this crestfallen look on her face, “But it’s Tom, he told me so.”

“Rea you’re scaring her half to death” I say patting Keevie on the head.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was you, but you of all people should understand” she said opening the door wide, “Imagine if someone wanted to take her because of who her father is.”

“I don’t have a father Reaghan” Caoimhe said looking up at her.

“I’m sorry” Reaghan mouthed as she saw the sad and hurt look wash over my face.

“Don’t worry, that’s what I’m here to change” I regained my happy face, “Is Avy here?”

“Mommy’s dancing” Caoimhe butts in not knowing that I’m not really talking to her.

“Where is Mommy dancing?”

“Tom, she said something about the ballroom” Reaghan answered for Keevie.

“Okay. Will I see you at the concert tonight Keevie?” I asked before leaving.

“Yes!! Mommy’s letting me go tonight!” she yelled and jumped up and down.

“Hey Caoimhe?” I say getting to her level and motioning for her to come closer, “Happy Birthday.” She gets a wide smile on her face and high-fives me.

I head for the ballroom and stop in the door way. I always loved to watch her dance. She was so good at it and if she hadn’t torn her ACL she’d be doing it professionally. When she dances is when you see the real Eibhlin and the real her is quiet and graceful and lost in her own mind. I looked up as she went on her toes and spun herself, moving fast as her socks slid on the polished floor

*Eibhlin’s POV*

I went as far up on my toes as I could without the right shoes. After half a second I spun myself in an unsteady way because my socks have no grip the on smooth, shiny floor. As I spin I gain speed, my socks slide in tight rotations against the floor. My eye catches something that wasn’t there on the first spin around. As I look again my knee gives out and I collapse to the floor, the room spinning so fast that it would have made anyone else throw up (I have a high dizziness tolerance). I grabbed my knee in pain and rolled onto my back.

“Hold still Avy, let me pop it back into socket” I hear a familiar, comforting male voice say.

I open my eyes and see Tom reaching for my knee, “No, don’t touch…” I grunted.

“Just relax” he said and at that point I didn’t care. I knew it would hurt to pop it back in, but it would hurt more if it didn’t.

He grabbed my leg and popped my knee back into socket

“Ahh” I groaned and gritted my teeth. He put a hand over my knee and the other under my ankle and then he straightened it out slowly and bent it again even slower.

“How’s that feel?” he asked straightening and bending it again.

“Like a bitch” I exhale.

“Come on; let’s see if you can stand up.”

I propped myself up on my hands and he grabbed my elbow. With a little effort I was standing and he helped me hop over to a chair.

“Ow” I complained.

“You know you shouldn’t be dancing without your brace” Tom says.

“Alright, Mom” I say in a huff.

“What ever, do you want me to get you your brace now or later?” he ignores me.

“Later, right now we need to talk” I take a deep breath and start right in, “Tonight is Caoimhe’s birthday right” he nods his head, “so I was thinking you, me, and Caoimhe could go out to dinner before the show and we could tell her there. It would kinda be a birthday present.”

“Perfect” he says trying to stay calm, but I know that he is ecstatic at the idea.

“But there are some conditions” I say and he gets a more serious look on his face. “Number one: we only tell her, no media, and no fans. To be honest your fans kind of scare me, they are that intense or obsessed might be the better word.”

“Actually I completely agree with you. I know first hand about the psychos out there and I do not want them knowing about my daughter” he interrupts me.

“Yeah. Number one goes along with number two: we have to be careful of how we act around each other. Meaning you can’t act like her father in public and I can’t act like you’re her father in public. Everybody that knows about this, Bill, Georg, Gustav, Reaghan, have to know that this is the most private part of not only your life and mine, but also theirs.”

“You know that Georg and Gustav have no idea right?” he asks slouching in his chair relieved at my conditions.

“Yeah” I smile, “We’ll just see how long it takes them to figure it out.”