One last Chance

finally good news

*Charles*

At some point Evi and I must have fallen asleep again, because the next time I woke up she was in my arms. We had somehow managed to sleep in this narrow bed next to each other.

I felt an infinite calm flow through me.

But I was certainly not under the illusion that everything was back to normal now. We were far from it. But I was ready to do anything for it. So I carefully pushed myself up and actually managed to do it without waking Evi. She had to be infinitely tired.

I tucked her in again, then got ready and wrote her a note before slipping out of the room. I had learned from my mistakes and would do better this time.

I headed out to get breakfast. Of course we could have breakfast here, but I wanted to get a few things that I knew Evi and Aly liked. With Liliana, I could only guess, but would make an effort anyway.

I didn't waste a thought on the fact that I already had to travel again in the middle of the week. I would use the time until then and fly back immediately after the race. Everything else was not important right now. Only Aly and that she got well was important. Everything else could wait. Even the title.

It only had half the meaning anyway if I couldn't celebrate it with my family. With my whole family.

With full shopping bags I came back to the room. Aly's eyes lit up when she saw me. Evi was sitting on the bed with Liliana, doing her hair.

"Good morning, my beautiful girls.", I smiled and went to Aly to press a kiss on the top of her head.

"Daddy.", she said and reached for my hand that was against her cheek.

"How are you, sweetheart?", I asked and sat down next to her.

"Fine.", she beamed at me so much that my heart melted "Where have you been?".

"Oh yeah.", I remembered the groceries "I was shopping for breakfast. I hope you still like pancakes with maple syrup?" my daughter immediately started nodding vigorously.

"Then I did everything right.", I set the table as best I could before my three girls joined me.

Wordlessly, I held out the bag of chocolate croissants to Evi. I knew she loved them. Or had loved. But from her reaction, I was pretty sure I had hit the mark. Her cheeks lit up a little red and she was more beautiful than ever at that moment.

Without makeup, a little knocked out and with flushed cheeks. But she was the mother of my children. The woman who had defended our family and kept it alive.

My wife. And at some point, Madame Leclerc.

I still had the ring. Because deep inside I had hoped that someday I would get another chance to ask for her hand in marriage. And I would do it. I would ask her.

Not today and not tomorrow, but I would. She belonged to me as much as I belonged to her.

I gave her a smile and fully enjoyed the moment as a family over breakfast. We had so many missed moments and even if I couldn't make up for them, I wanted to fully savor the ones that were ahead of us.

After breakfast, Aly went for a lot of checkups. Evi accompanied her while I took care of Lily. She was really a very easy child to take care of and walking with her in the stroller through the little park behind the hospital made me incredibly proud. She told me pretty incoherent things the whole time, but it just made me happy to hear her voice. That little voice from that little person who had taken my heart by storm.

I had really missed way too much.

Again.

Her first steps.