True Beauty lies Beneath the Skin (Phan)

Left You Behind (Trigger Warning)

A/N: Again, if you or someone you know has ever suffered a miscarriage, this chapter may be triggering to you. Also if you have a bad relationship with your family, this may be a bit touchy. I teared up a lot throughout this one too.

Like an ocean, distance is a beast
That can't be tamed
(Woah, woah, woah)
He left you behind
(Woah, woah, woah)
He left you behind

Dan woke up the morning of December 26th to the sound of the washroom door opening. Dan put an arm out and didn't feel Bella next to him, so he assumed that was where she'd gone. Tiny footsteps tiptoed their way back to the bed, and it shifted ever so slightly. This was when Dan decided to open his eyes. Bella sees this and winces.

"Sorry," She whispers, "I tried not to wake you up."

Dan chuckles, "It's okay," He says, "C'mere."

Bella lays back down and snuggles into Dan's chest with no hesitation. Dan runs his fingers through her long, blonde locks as he attempts to wake up a bit more. Why had Bella been in bed with him again?

He suddenly remembered.

Iesha had come to the shop last night.

Phil...

The cemetery.

Dan got goosebumps just thinking about the night before. He suddenly felt the need to hug Bella even tighter, which he did.

"I'm so thankful for you," He whispers to her.

"I'm thankful for you too, Daddy."

There's a pause.

"Dad, why did Iesha come here last night?"

Dan sighs.

"Is Phil okay? 'Cause Iesha seemed worried and Phil wasn't with her."

Bella scoots back a bit so she could look at Dan, and Dan thinks a moment.

"Well," He says, "What happened, was...a few years back, something really sad happened to Phil, and it happened on Christmas day, so now Christmas makes him sad. Iesha knew that he'd be sad and she didn't know where he was, so she came here because she thought maybe I knew where he was - and I did, so I went to go make sure he was okay."

Bella furrows her eyebrows in confusion, "But Christmas is such a happy day...What happened to make it sad for Phil?"

Dan wasn't sure how to explain a miscarriage to a six-year-old. As he tries to think of an answer, Bella speaks again.

"Wait a minute, you went to go see Phil - does that mean you're friends again?"

Dan gives a small smile, "Actually, yeah, I think so."

Bella gasps, "When can I see him again?"

"Well, actually, he's coming over a little later today - "

"What?! That's awesome! I wanna show him everything I got for Christmas and - "

"Woah, slow down there," Dan chuckles, "Phil might still be sad, and there's some things that he and I need to talk about too. But I'm sure he's gonna love seeing you again."

"I hope so. I wanna make him happy again!"

Dan smiles, "I don't think that'll be much of a challenge for you."

x

Phil woke up in a daze. He expected his head to be pounding, as it usually was on December 26th, but then he remembered that this was his first sober Christmas in a long time. Suddenly, all of the memories from the day before came flooding back.