His Two Miracles | Thomas Barrow

Chapter 69

Thomas gently lifted Ellie from her bed and helped her to stand up, holding her hands as she steadied herself. "Good morning, my little one. Are you ready for another day of school?" he asked her with a soft smile.

Ellie nodded eagerly, a bright smile lighting up her face.

Thomas couldn't help but feel a pang of pride in his chest. His daughter was such a trooper, always eager to learn and explore, despite the challenges she faced due to her cerebral palsy. He carefully helped her into her school uniform, he carefully put on her navy blue skirt, white shirt, and navy blue tie. Then, he fastened her leg braces and helped her put on her shoes.

"Alright, my love. Let's get you off to school," he said, offering her his hand.

Ellie grasped it tightly, leaning against him for support as they made their way out of the house and down the road toward the village. The sun casting a warm glow over the rolling hills and fields surrounding Downton Abbey.

Finally, they arrived at the small school building, where Ellie's teacher was waiting to greet them. "Good morning, Ellie. Are we ready for another day of learning?" she asked with a warm smile.

Ellie beamed up at her, nodding eagerly. "Yes, Mrs. Brown I'm ready to learn new things."

As they said their goodbyes and Ellie headed off into the classroom, Thomas lingered for a moment, watching her go. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and love for his daughter, who had already overcome so much in her young life.

~

While Thomas was busy with his duties at Downton, it was break time for Ellie at school, and little did Thomas know his daughter's day was going to go from good to bad.

She was trying to play and kick a ball around, but it wasn't long before a couple of older kids, started to make fun of her.

"Hey look, it's the wobbly girl!" one of the older boys shouted, pointing at Ellie. "Watch her fall!"

Ellie tried her best to ignore them, but she was already struggling to keep her balance. As she kicked the ball, one of the boys tripped her, causing her to fall hard on the ground. Ellie whimpered in pain as she scraped her knees and hands.

The older kids laughed and continued to taunt her. "What's wrong, can't you walk properly?" another boy jeered.

Later at the end of day finishing his duties for the day, Thomas went to pick Ellie up from school. As soon as he saw her scraped knees and tear-stained face, he knew something was wrong.

"What happened, sweetheart?" he asked, scooping her up into his arms.

"The big boys m - made fun of me and p - pushed me down," Ellie sobbed, burying her face into Thomas's chest.

Thomas felt a surge of anger toward the boys who had hurt his daughter. He knew he couldn't let them get away with it. "Did anyone see what happened?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

Thomas couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. He knew that Ellie's condition made her an easy target for bullies, and he worried about her future. How could he protect her from the cruelty of the world when he wasn't always there to watch over her?

Thomas knew that Ellie was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. And with his love and support, he knew she would be able to overcome any obstacle that came her way.

He knew that he couldn't let his daughter be bullied like this. He decided to take action and went to talk to the school principal.

"I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to your daughter, Mr. Barrow," the principal said sympathetically.

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place", he replied, slight anger and frustration present in his voice.

The principal assured Thomas that he would look into the matter. Meanwhile on the way home, Thomas decided to talk to Ellie about how to deal with bullies.

"Sweetheart, I know it's hard when people are mean to you," Thomas said, holding Ellie's hand. "But you're a strong and brave girl, and you don't have to let them get to you. If someone tries to hurt you, you can tell them to stop, and if they don't, you can tell a teacher or me, and we'll help you."

Ellie nodded, looking up at her father with wide eyes. "O - okay, Daddy," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

But just as Ellie thought it was all over the two boys that had been taunting her during break time came up to her again and she quickly hid behind her father's legs.

Seeing the way acted when she saw them Thomas knew it was them that had made fun of his daughter.

Thomas felt a surge of anger and protectiveness. "What's going on here?" he demanded, his voice shaking with emotion.

The two kids turned to face him, smirks still plastered on their faces. "We were just having a little fun with the cripple," one of them said, sneering.

Thomas felt a flash of fury at the word "cripple," but he forced himself to stay calm. "I am her father and her name is Ellie," he said, his voice low and menacing. "And she's not here to be the target of your amusement. You will leave her alone, do you understand me?"

The two kids looked at each other, then back at Thomas. For a moment, it seemed like they might argue or refuse to comply. But then something in Thomas's eyes made them think better of it.

Thomas turned to Ellie, who was still crying softly. He knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "It's okay, darling," he murmured. "I'm here now. I'll always be here."

Ellie sniffled and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand looking up at him with her big, beautiful eyes.

Thomas's heart swelled with love. He kissed her forehead and lifted her into his arms, holding her close as he carried her back to Downton.

For Thomas his worst fear had come true, he had hoped that nothing would happen to Ellie and no one would hurt or be unkind to her but he knew deep down it was only a matter of time and that there would be at least one person if not two would one day take notice of her and think it a good idea and funny to make fun of her, and now he hoped that this would be the one and only time Ellie would be made fun of and nothing would come of it again, now only time would tell.