Flight Of Fate

Chapter Nine - Confessions

Kira rolled over and snuggled deeper into the soft feather quilt, wrapping it tighter around her shoulders. A sleepy smile lifted her lips in a gentle curve as she sighed in contentment.

And her eyes flew open.

She shot upright in bed with a gasp of panic.

"Relax," a deep male voice said quietly.

Her head flipped towards the sound at speed, and her heart thumped an irregular rhythm. Thranduil was sitting in a large armchair a few feet away from the bed. Eden lay nestled against his chest, sucking contentedly on a bottle, and almost asleep. A lamp set back in the corner cast a cosy glow over them.

"She was beginning to fret and you were sound asleep," he continued in the same soft, calming voice. "I did not want to wake you – you needed your rest. She is perfectly safe."

Kira swallowed as she mentally willed herself to stay calm. She didn't know what to say.

"I bought a couple of boxes of the baby formula when I went into the drugstore, some more bottles, and some sterilising tablets," he said. His eyes moved from his child to her, then back again. "And don't panic – I have done this before."

She forced some sort of smile in response. "Thankyou," she said. She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "You didn't have to. You could have woken me. I don't normally sleep through her waking up for a feed."

"Kira...you are worn out. I can see it in the way you carry yourself. I can see it in your eyes," he said, looking back over at her. "Accept a little help once in a while; it's not a bad thing. And it isn't like I'm going anywhere with her. I took her down to the kitchen while I prepared her bottle, then brought her back up to feed her. Relax."

She lowered her gaze guiltily to the quilt. "I've not had any help with her since she was born," she admitted.

"Have you had the offer?"

She shook her head. "No."

"I'm sorry," he said after a short silence. "I know that it wouldn't have been easy for you. I wish that I'd found you and I would have been there for you; both of you."

"I tried to find you...to tell you," she whispered. "I felt that you had a right to know...but I had no idea what your last name was, and had no clue where to start. I did ask the airline, but they refused point blank to give me any information, no matter how much I begged and pleaded."

His heart twisted. Eden had finished her bottle so he set it to one side and carefully changed her position so that her head rested on his shoulder. His hand looked huge as he gently patted her little back. "I was met with the same resistance," he told her. "I tried everyone, from insurance companies, hospitals, everyone. I hired a private investigator, but even he couldn't come up with anything."

Sad eyes met his. "Why were you so desperate to find me?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly.

He inhaled deeply through his nose and clenched his jaw as he held her gaze. "Because I was desperate to find out what had happened to you. I wanted to keep in touch. Hell...I wanted to be with you. I didn't want to walk away from what we'd built between us. It was precious to me."

She sniffed hard as her head lowered. "It was to me too," she whispered. "I don't know what I thought you might say if I found you, or if you would even want to talk to me-"

He shifted in the chair, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward a little. "Why on earth would you think that?" he interrupted.

She shrugged. "Just...just everything."