Blood and Snow

Chapter Forty-Three

Baron hadn't slept very well for the past few days.

He kept having memory-dreams of his daughter. How she smiled, how she played outside with her friends, how she loved dresses and ice cream and babydolls.

How she died.

Baron took a deep breath and drank some of his coffee from the pot, contemplating what he should do.

Again, what Mason said a few days before echoed in his head. "Building a connection..." he rubbed his eyes in a distressed manner, "After everything that I've done to her?"

Baron was very aware of the fact that he terrorized Belle from the moment she got to the warehouse. He was also aware of the times when the bluenette would lean on him for comfort. How they interacted with each other was already wishy-washy, and if he pretty much asked her to be his daughter-figure, that just might throw everything out the window.

Dare he say it, he was scared of her.

'Two weeks ago, I could've killed her without a care in the world.' he groaned,  then picked up his pot of coffee and started drinking from it again.

"Hey, Baron!"

The big man choked and his coffee, slamming the pot on the table and coughing. "Oh my Scott, Baron! I--I'm sorry!" Belle jumped, apologizing profusely. The lawyer watched nervously as he slowly stopped his coughing. "A--Are you alright?" she asked him with a nervous frown. 'Speak of the fucking devil...' he nodded his head slowly. "I'm-- fine." he said, one last cough interrupting him midsentence. "Good..." Belle managed to smile a little. Baron gestured to the seat next to him after a moment. "You can sit down; I don't bite." he said, then added, "Anymore."

"Oh, okay." Belle took the seat next to him, still smiling with nervousness. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." she apologized once more. "You don't need to apologize to me. It's alright." he said, looking at the coffee pot. "Are you sure?" Belle asked. "Positive." Baron nodded with his reply.

It was quiet for a second, then Baron looked at Belle again. "What are you doing here? It's three in the morning." he asked with curiosity and a small tinge of concern. 'Did she have another nightmare?' he pulled a tight frown. "Well, I couldn't sleep tonight. I think it was a Pepsi that Happy gave me earlier., because of the caffeine-- anyways, uhm..." she paused for a second, "I figured that since I've got my own hall pass now that I'd come here and see if there's any coffee to brew."

That did check out, as he took notice of the faint dark spots under her eyes and the somewhat slouch in her posture. "You should try asking Tyreke for sleeping pills." Baron suggested. "He's asleep, and those can be addictive." Belle shook her head. Baron thought for a second, then bit the inside of his lip. "Try drinking tea." he said. "Tea?" Belle asked. "None of that 'cold southern sweet tea' bullshit. Just plain, hot tea. Like chamomile or lavendar." Baron added. Belle tilted her head at him, then straightened herself and nodded. "Okay, I'll try it." she smiled, "Thank you, Baron."

. . .

"Thank you, Papa!"

. . .

'She even has the same look on her face!'

Baron mentally smacked himself. 'Calm down, moron. Calm down.' he exhaled slowly. "Y--Yeah, no problem, kiddo." he blurted.

They both went silent, neither of them daring to address the fact that Baron called Belle "kiddo".

'... It won't kill me to try.'

"Belle." Baron said suddenly. He meant for it to be sharp, but the name itself came out as a wobble. The bluenette looked up at him with a tired blink, giving him the attention that he (clearly) wanted. "I... I have something that I need to say..." he confessed, "A story that I want to tell you. About me."