Three Words to Remember

I Will Always Be By Your Side

"Aw Jack! She looks like you!" was the first thing I heard when I came downstairs with Michelle. Hello to you too mom.

Alex chuckled from somewhere behind. Michelle's grip on my t-shirt tightened. I bent over to put her down on the floor. As soon as I let go of her, she ran behind me and straight to Alex. I looked over my shoulder to see him nelt down talking to her. I turned back to my parents.

"You guys couldn't have waited a few days? She still has to get used to us," I said, running my fingers through my hair.

"That's what I said," dad spoke up, "But you know how your mother is."

Mom rolled her eyes, "Excuse me for being excited. This is my first grandchild and we've all already missed five years of her life."

"Mom please," I sighed, "I already think she's kind of scared of us. We just need a little time so we can all get used to this. I promise we're not trying to keep you from seeing her."

"She certainly seems to have warmed up to Alex," she muttered, gesturing to them.

I turned around to see them sitting on the floor, doing some kind of handshake. They were both smiling widely at each other. I never knew Alex was so good with kids, but she seems to love him.

I shrugged, going back to the conversation with my mother, "Apparently her foster sister was a fan of All Time Low and had a poster of him; she recognized him right away. The familiar face probably helps."

Mom sighed, "Whatever Jack. We'll go if that's really what you want. But I swear to god we better get to spend time with her soon."

"Of course Mom," I sighed, walking her and Dad to the door.

"I'm sorry about this," Dad muttered as she followed her out, closing the door behind him.

I sighed in relief as I walked back to the living room. I feel bad throwing them out like that, but I really don't need them making this transition even harder. She's already attached to Alex, I just want her to like me too. When I returned to the living room, I saw they had moved from the floor to the couch and Michelle was sitting on Alex's lap.

When I sat down next to them, Alex looked up at me, "Did they leave?"

I nodded, "I told my mom we needed some time alone with her first. Michelle, are you okay honey?"

She moved her head up from Alex's shoulder and smiled, "Yeah. Daddy and me were making up a secret handshake."

I swore I've never seen Alex's eyes light up the way they did when she called him 'daddy.' He smiled so wide I swore his face would split in two. I was happy too; happy she was accepting him as family so quickly.

"Can you show me?" I asked her, brushing hair away from her face.

She gasped, "It's a secret for a reason! No one else can know!"

"I think we can trust him," Alex encouraged, taking her hands in his.

"I'd love to see, I truly would."

She let out an exasperated sigh, that turned into a giggle, "I guess we can show him."

~

Hours later, Michelle was tucked up in her bed after eating a dinner of pizza and a story told to her, courtesy of myself. I was sitting in bed with Alex, mindlessly scrolling through Twitter while trying not to doze off. Having a five year old was a lot more tirering than I thought it would be. But I guess the stress from whether or not she was even coming home today or not. Either way, I was beat.

"I think today went well," Alex said, breaking the silence.

I looked up at him and smiled, "It did. I think she likes us. I know I already love her."

He nodded and laid his head on my shoulder, "Me too. How could we not though? She's perfect."

I had to agree, "She is, isn't she. I didn't think I'd love her this much."

Silence fell over the room for a few minutes before Alex spoke up again, "Your mom was right you know... She does look a lot like you."

"Really? I guess I hadn't noticed," I shrugged it off and wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah," he said, "There's a little bit of her in the mix, but it's mostly you. I'm kind of glad for that too."

"I don't know what I'd do if she looked like her," I admitted, "I don't know if I could do it."

"Me either," he agreed, "I don't know what I'd do if I had to live with an everyday reminder of what she did to you."

My grip on him tightened, "I know," I paused for a minute, "It doesn't bother you, does it? Raising her?"

He looked up at me, "Why would ask that?"

I shrugged lightly, "You have every reason to be uncomfortable with it. Technically, she was conceived while we were dating. That doesn't bother you at all?"

"Of course it bothers me," he sighed, "But not for the reason you think. Yes, she was conceived while we were dating, but Jack, you didn't cheat on me. You didn't ask for it to happen. It bothers me that she's a product of rape and it bothers me that fucking Holly didn't want you know about her. But us raising her doesn't bother me."

I could honestly feel myself tearing up. I don't know why I was becoming so emotional, but his speech just kind of hit me. It honestly kind of feels like the closure I never really got. Alex and I never really talked about what happened. For a long time, I was ashamed that I had sex with someone while dating someone else. Rape or not, I felt guilty, and I guess hearing Alex say I didn't cheat on him made me feel more at ease about the whole situation."

"God Lex," I whimpered, nosing his hair, "I don't what I did to get someone as understanding as you."

He chuckled lightly before leaning up to kiss me quickly, "You didn't have to do anything because I love you, and you know that I'll always be by your side. That's what these rings mean after all."

"Yeah," I agreed, taking his hand in mine, "I love you."

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A/N: Lol here's a short one.