Father First| An Alan Rickman Story

Too Good to be True

     "Dad, wake up." He grunted pushing the hand she was shoving him with off of his arm.

     "Dad come on... you're at the kitchen table, go to bed!" He started to drift out of the sleep induced trance he was in, remembering why he was in the kitchen in the first place.

     He raised his head up off his arm which was now completely numb and checked his watch. Damn. 4 in the morning.

     "I'm sorry it's so late, she just left. There was just too much to talk about."

     "It's ok, darling. How did it go?"

     "Really well!  She apologized for everything and it was easier than I thought it would be to forgive her. We watched a movie and just talked. I think we will get along great! I want her to come back tomorrow." She was grinning ear to ear recounting her night and seeing her so happy spread a grin across his face too. His smile would fade over the next few weeks though.

     Makenzie did come to visit the following night... and the night after that... and every night for three weeks since then. Ashleigh had begun calling her mom and mom had quickly pushed dad into the shadows. His schedule now consisted of work followed by playing chauffeur for the two of them wherever they wanted to go. He had to be present when they were together and it was putting him in incredibly awkward situations.

     Just yesterday, he had been in a situation that led him to meet with his lawyer and give his approval for the visitations to become unsupervised. He didn't think she would be in any harms way with Makenzie and after the day he'd had, he felt no reservations in making the decision. 

     He had taken them to the mall. They spent half the day moving from store to store eyeing clothes and trying on dozens of pairs of shoes. He didn't want to get in the way so he walked several paces behind them and sat outside the stores when they went inside. It was all fine until a woman pulled Ashleigh aside to warn her that there was a strange man following them. Ashleigh thought it was rather funny having to explain to the woman that he was actually her father. Alan on the other hand, was embarrassed and fed up with the situation.

     Tonight, Makenzie would be coming over to help Ashleigh write an essay for school and Alan would get the night off. He had told his daughter he was going to dinner with a friend from the crew of new play he was directing. This, as he kept telling himself, wasn't technically a lie. He hadn't yet told her that he had been seeing the other director of the play. He wanted to be sure it was serious before bringing his new girlfriend into his child's life.

     He was excited for his date, but he was quietly struggling with the new parenting situation he was in. He had barely been able to speak to Ashleigh at all since Makenzie showed up. She used to tell him everything, but Makenzie was her new confidant. For 15 years, he had desperately wanted his daughter to have her mother present and it had finally happened. He wasn't happy though. He was too proud to say it, but he was jealous. He was the one who raised her and somehow, the woman who had never given a damn was the hero now.

     When his date, Emily, pulled into the drive, he shouted goodbye to the other room, but Ashleigh came running. She had noticed his happiness fading lately and knew what was causing that. She hugged him as tight as she could.

     "I love you, daddy. You're my best friend and my mother being here won't change that." Just as his eyes started to fill, she did exactly what he would do when a moment got too emotional and went for a laugh, "You're not fooling me... enjoy your date, she's very pretty! Just don't enjoy it too much, I quite like being an only child," she laughed.

     He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "I have no idea where you get your cheek from..." he kissed her forehead and was off.

     He was more relaxed than he'd been in a long time. They had taken their time with dinner and Emily listened contently as he told her everything that was happening in his home life. When they moved back to her car he finally moved in for a kiss and then went back for another. She had just intertwined her fingers into his silvering hair when his cell rang.

     "Hello," he wasn't hiding his frustration in being interrupted, but he wasn't expecting to hear his daughter on the other end.

     "Daddy?" Her voice was shaking.

     "Yes, is everything ok?"
    
     "Daddy... daddy..." She was repeating herself, clearly in tears, as if she didn't even hear what he said.

     "Ash, darling, I'm here. What's the matter?!"

     "Daddy... help..." she cried.

     He leaned to Emily and staring to panic said, "Call 999!" She jerked her phone out of her bag and pushed the numbers as quickly as she could.
 
     "What's happened, Ash?! Are you still at home?"

     "Yes... daddy... please..." her voice was becoming more distraught.

     He whispered to Emily, "tell them something has happened to my daughter, she's at home, give them the address."

     "I'm on my way! We've called for help as well, they are coming sweetheart." He was speaking softly, trying to calm her, but inside, his heart was pounding so hard he felt his pulse all over his body.

     Emily hung up the phone, "They're on their way, but it will take them close to half an hour to get there..."

     "Please drive me home, we can get to her faster." She placed the car in drive and sped off.

     Ashleigh just kept repeating the same phrase, "daddy help!" He couldn't understand what was happening. Why couldn't she answer his questions? Was she confused? Had she hit her head? Where the hell was her mother?

     "Ash, I'm on my way, I'm coming to help. Please just don't hang up the phone." Time had never moved slower than it did for that drive home. He clung to the phone pressed to his ear making sure he could still hear her talking. Even if what she was saying didn't make any sense, at least he knew she was still there.

     When the car finally reached his drive, he didn't even give it time to come to a complete stop before he jumped out. In a matter of seconds, he had ran up the walkway and through the front door, frantically moving through the house to reach his daughter.