Golden Love ~Tom Daley~

Goodbyes.

~~PAULS POV~~

I woke up at 8 to do some work. I walked down to the kitchen to get my cup of coffee before I went into my office. I looked at the couch and saw Mike and Joules curled up together. I just chuckled.

Alright here's my thoughts on Joules and her Oh so complicated life.

There are no words to discribe how proud I am of her and her diving career. When my wife Caroline died it was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through and especially being left with 2 young girls it was even harder. But I had to become their support system. More so Joules than Addy. When Joules insisted on quitting it broke my heart that she wanted to. Luckily I had Mike here to help to convince her that Caroline wouldn't want her to. Which she wouldn't. Caroline loved seeing her compete. She told me just before she died how proud of her she'd been and that she knew she could win a gold medal one day. And when she did, I was so so so incedibly proud of her, like any parent would be.

Now, moving on to her love life. I'm one of those lucky Dad's who doesn't have to pull the information out of their kids. She's always happy to tell me everything. Sometimes it's a little more than I want to know however. So when she told me about Tom I was happy for her. She lite up when she talked about him and to hear that he's gone through pretty much the same thing it warmed my heart. One thing about Joules is that she keeps her emotions with her Mother in because she feels like no one understands how hard it is. She even has a hard time talking to David and Abby about it and they're her very best friends. Michael on the other hand is very patient with her. When he came right after Caroline died Joules didn't say much. To most people they would get annoyed but Michael just sat and layed with her to keep her company. She would talk to me about how happy she was to have Michael there and how the pain would go away having him around.

When I told him about this he said he was more than happy to do it. I can tell that Michael really truely cares for her. I know he would never ever do anything to hurt my Joules. Now as for this Tom fellow she says he wouldn't but the whole cheating thing really makes me question him. I know now that he didn't cheat but he's not on my favorite people list right now. Him showing up here though shows me he really does care a lot for her. I wish I could get to know him more...

I got my coffee and went towards the front of the house where my office was. I sat down and logged on the computer checking my email and responding to the important ones. I then called my stock manager and spoke to him to see where we were at. Luckily the buisness was booming and we were more than financially secure.

I took a sip in my coffee and went back to my computer. I logged onto my Twitter and my jaw dropped. 30,000 followers..HOLY MEATBALLS. I scrolled through my timeline only to see Muchael had tweeted about me. "@MichaelPhelps: Chillin in Ohio for a few days with @JMcCrey and @PapaCrey. Hoping for some good prank action!" I laughed he got me good. Wasn't expecting that. I grabbed my phone and walked into the living room snapping a quick picture of Michael sleeping with his mouth hanging open. I sent the picture to Twitter. "@PapaCrey: @MichaelPhelps is a tad bit sleepy. Guess winning all those medals tires you out [twitpic]" Man I crack myself up.

The doorbell rang. I checked my watch. Wow 9:30 already. I opened it up and a very cheery Tom Daley was standing at the door. "Hello there." I smiled.

"HI! I was wondering if Joules was up?"

"Umm no. Her and Michael are still sleeping."

"Oh, well I can come back later then." He started to walk away.

"No, really you can come in. I want to chat with you if that's alright."

"Uhm alright." he gave me a confused look. I moved aside and showed him into my office. I sat in my chair and he sat across from me.

"So, tell me. Why are you here?"

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Why are you here in Ohio. I'm almost positive that you have like a million press things you should be doing over in England. I read online this morning that yuou canceled some book signings and important interviews to come here."

"I did sir. I came to explain to Joules that I didn't cheat on her at all. And that i still want her in me life."

"Look kid. I love that you care that much about my daughter to do all that. But why would you want to hurt your image that much just to get my daughters approval."

"Because I care about her."

"You've only known her for 3 weeks."

"But it feels like a lifetime."

"Can we stop with the corny romance movie lines. What are you looking to get out of all of this?"

"I'd like to be with your daughter, as a couple."

"How? You do realize that there's a huge ocean between the two of you."

"Why should that stop us? If we fight for it enough we could make it work."

"How is any relationship just starting out going to work with an entire ocean between you two? And especially because you have school and so does she. You both need to focus on that."

"I don't see how this could effect us."

"Look Tom. I admire your persistance. But I think that maybe you need to go back to England work on school and you book and diving and then maybe in a couple of months once everything has settled down and we all get in a swing of things maybe something could happen."

"You're telling me to leave and forget about Joules?"

"No, I'm not saying forget about her. I'm saying take a break. If you still feel as strongly about her in a few months as you do right now then I think it'll be something we can all think about. I seriously think that's what Joules needs right now. She is really confused."

"Well if you think that's best for her then i don't think that I can really argue. I just want her to be happy."

"Tom, I really think you and her could be great together. Just not right now."

"Well thank you sir. Can I at least go and say goodbye to her?" he asked.

"Yeah. She's in the living room." he got up and headed to the door. "Tom."

He spun around. "Yeah?"

"I really meant what I said. I think the both of you could be perfect together. Just when you two aren't so young and unestablished."

"I understand sir and deep down I know this is best."

"You're a good man Tom." I smiled.

"Thank You sir."

~~TOM'S POV~~

I walked into the living room to see Michael and Joules laying next to each other on the couch. As much as I hated to wake her. As a matter of fact as much as I hated to even say goodbye to her I knew her Dad was right and that we should just leave eachother for a while and see if the feelings were still there months down the road. I walked up to Joules and shook her awake.

"What? What's going on?" she sat up.

I kelt down so that I was at her height. "I just came to say goodbye."

"What? You're leaving? Why?"

"I am. I think it's best for the two of us. Your Dad and I chatted and I realize you and I need to be apart. Give us sometime to see if the feelings we have for eachother are real or not."

"Tom. You don't have to leave though." she insisted.

"Joules. You and I both know I do. Go have fun in South Africa and start school. We'll see eachother in a few months at competition and we can talk then. We're still friends and I'll care about you no matter what. Plus I'm always a phone call away."

"If this is really what you feel is right I'm not going to stop you." She put her and on my cheek. "I'll miss you." she smiled.

"I'll miss you too. Like crazy." i put my hand on top of hers."

"Goodbye Tom." she leaned in a kissed me. It was actually quit passionate. Your classic goodbye kiss.

I let a tear slip out. "Goodbye Joules. I'll tlk to you soon." I said sadly. And with that I got up and walked out to the door. Sadder than I've been in a long time.