Team: Alpha (Knights of Ares) (4 page)

Chapter Six

Daisy walked into the living room and smiled at Penny. “Thanks for staying. Would you mind sticking around for just a few more minutes? I want to get Honey up and you know she will want to say goodbye to you as well.”

Penny smiled and nodded, “Sure thing. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. Just. You know sometimes your past comes back to you, and you really aren’t sure if it’s totally good or not.”

“I know the feeling.” Penny murmured. “Is that why Honey was so bummed earlier? She wasn’t her typical laughing self.”

“Yeah, likely. Be right back.” Daisy murmured and went into her daughter’s room. Turning on the small bedside light she said, “Hey kiddo; time to wake up.”

Cracking her eyes Honey groaned, “Mom I don’t have to be up for school for like another hour!”

“I know baby, but I have someone that I want you to meet. Two someones. Hurry up and get dressed and come into the living room and I will introduce you to them the right way kiddo.” She said and touched her daughter's cheek.

“They are here?” Instantly the child was awake, her bright blue eyes shining. “Seriously mom? The dads are here?”

“Yes baby, now hurry. And remember to make your bed this time.” Daisy murmured and moved out of the room. Walking back to the living room Daisy smiled at Penny, “She will be out in a moment.” Sure enough Honey came running out of her bedroom, tugging on her sweater as she ran into the room.

“Whoa, slow down there kiddo.” Penny said with a smile as she caught Honey around the middle. “Hey, you be good for your momma okay? Now, I’m going home to have some sleep. Will you come by after school and feed Pinky and the Brain?”

Honey nodded happily and danced from foot to foot. “I might be able to, it depends though. Mom can tell you later.” She gave Penny a hug and then looked to her mom. “Well?”

“Soon Honey, just be patient. Sheesh.” She shook her head and walked Penny to the door. “She will come over and feed them after school. I take it that you have a flight coming up? Are you sure you are ready to get back in the skies?”

“As ready as I will ever get.” Penny said with a shrug. “Talk to you later?”

“Yep, after we have both have had some sleep. Bye Penny.” Daisy said and watched Penny walk across the lawn to her home. Closing the door she looked at Honey and said, “Listen to what they have to say, and don’t make judgments. Deal?”

“Totally mom. When will they be here?”

When the doorbell rang Daisy said, “Now.” She moved from her daughter and opened the door. “Come in.” She told the men standing there. Closing it behind them she said, “Gareth, Mikhail, I would like to introduce you to your daughter. Honey Dallas Choe, these are your dads.”

Letting Gareth take the lead since he was obviously Honey's father, Mikhail smiled at the girl and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He didn't have a clue what to say or how to act. Hell, this whole situation was way outside his comfort zone.

"Hello Honey," Gareth said softly as he crouched down to be closer to her height. "I'm sorry we haven't been around, but we honestly didn't know about you. No excuse, I know, but with the job we had; keeping in touch with anyone from our past was more than a little difficult."

Honey watched him carefully and asked, “And now? Are you going to run away now?” She asked bluntly. “Because if you are, I don’t think that I like you very much. But if you are going to stay, I think that I will like you a lot.”

"If your mom will let us be a part of your life we're more than willing to be here Honey. Mikhail has land that he's trying to get back into order, so we would be helping him most days though. I'm not quite sure how this will work to be honest," Gareth said looking to Daisy.

Daisy sighed. “She can come out after school on Fridays if you will make sure she gets back here by Sunday night? That way you can spend the weekends getting to know her?” She looked to Mikhail and then Gareth and knew that it was only right. “Holidays too if you are willing.” She wouldn't keep them from Honey, no matter how much pain it was going to cause her, Honey deserved to know her dads.

"Weekends would be marvelous but we won't take the holidays from you Daisy," Mikhail said quietly. "She's your daughter and we'll take whatever you see fit to give us."

"Weekends are perfect," Gareth said looking at Honey again with a smile. "We'll just have to remind all the lads that there are young ears in the house," he muttered with a shrug. "We'll figure it out if you're still willing to get to know us Honey."

Honey nodded. “Yeah. I do. I want to know my two dads.” She said and looked up at Mikhail as well with hurt showing in her small face because he seemed to be pulling away from her. “Are you sure about it though?” She asked and chewed her lower lip. “I mean if it’s too much trouble its okay. I just,” she shrugged. “I just want to know what it would be like to have a daddy and not just the stories of the daddies that made me with mom.”

"It's no trouble," Mikhail said quietly as he looked at her. "I've never been around kids of any age Honey so I have no idea what I'm doing here. Gareth at least comes from a large family with nieces, nephews, cousins and siblings galore. I was an only child growing up in the middle of nowhere so I'm more than a little out of my depth."

“So are you?” Honey asked softly. “Are you my two dads? Are you the reason that my mom cries sometimes at night? And was she telling the truth when she said that I was made out of love? I hope so because I hate when Margo Hughes is right.”

Licking his lips Mikhail nodded, "You were definitely made out of love little one," he murmured still unsure of what to do. "I really hope we're not the reason for your mother's crying, but somehow I'm just as sure that the fault falls onto our shoulders."

Honey shrugged. “Moms are made of strong stuff.” She looked to her mom and asked, “I really hate that they won’t answer me.” She grumbled. “Ask a straight question and leave it to a boy to not give a straight answer.”

Daisy could only laugh and shake her head. “Honey yes, they are your dads, both of them.” She said and looked from Gareth to Mikhail and dared either of them to deny it.

"She's asking a lot of questions all in one breath," Gareth said with a crooked grin. "It's a little hard to keep track of all she asks. Trying to confuse us and make us mess up with all her rapid-fire questions. Girls are so bad for that," he teased them both.

“Yeah, we are.” Honey shrugged and asked, “So which one of you called mom honey all the time? That’s why she named me Honey you know. Honey Dallas. Dallas because that’s where one of you said you were from, and Honey because you called her that.” She shrugged. “At least I wasn’t named after a car or gemstone.” She said with a shudder. “A girl in my class her name is Emerald Fiat, honest to God.”

"We called her that," Gareth told her softly. "Apparently a little too much," he shot Daisy a grin before looking back to the little girl. "I went through basic training with a guy who's parents named him Corvette. He usually just told people to call him Corey to avoid the name, but once it was out it was a fairly big discussion around the bunk house."

Honey wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “That’s just so wrong. That poor guy. Oh well. I bet he didn’t have two dads.” She said with a grin. “The kids in my class are going to be so freaking jealous. They thought that I was a liar, or worse that my mom was a horse. Now they’ll know better.”

Daisy blanched at the word horse. She had been called whore and trollop more times than she cared to admit, but she never ever dreamed that Honey was getting ribbed about it too. “Honey why didn’t you tell me that?”

Honey shrugged, “Cause you would get upset and I didn’t want you upset.” The child said pragmatically.

Shaking her head Daisy sighed. “I’m your mom. You should be able to come to me for anything. From now on, no more hiding things from me? Promise?”

“Promise mom.” She looked up at Gareth and Mikhail and grinned, “Come on, mom’s going to make breakfast. You can stay and then if mom’s okay with it you can walk to school with me instead of her. I want everyone to see you two.” She smiled proudly.

Gareth stood up and looked to Daisy, "Is mom alright with that?" he asked. "You're the one that has to live here Daisy, if it's going to make things uncomfortable for you we can figure out something else," he murmured softly.

“I’m fine with it.” Daisy said with a smile and sighed. “It’s no secret that I was with you both. This is a small town remember? Everyone knows everything about everyone that has lived here more than a month. Heck the town even knows about Penny and she’s only lived here in this town for three years, so yeah. I’m good with it. It will do them good to see that you are in her life now.”

"Alright then, we'll walk you to school," Gareth smiled down at his daughter. "I suppose we should wash up if mom is making breakfast, I doubt she lets grubby fingers near the table. Why don't you show me where the good soap is Honey, and we'll give Mikhail a moment to catch up with us yeah?" he said with a wink.

“Yeah, we can do that. Just hurry daddy Mik.” Honey said easily and led Gareth away by the hand, talking a mile a minute.

Daisy looked up at Mikhail and watched him. “She already loves you like a father, are you okay with that? It’s pretty clear which one of the two of you is her dad but like I told her and told you two, the both of you are her father in my mind. Are you going to be okay with that or do I need to explain to her that Gareth is her dad and you are, well whatever it is that you want out of this.”

"I don't know Daisy," he said honestly. "Like I told her I've never been around other kids. I was home schooled and lived on that farm until I went into the military. I have no clue what I'm doing or what to say to her. Hell, I pretty much screwed it up from the word go when she first showed up at the house. I had her ready to run back to you if you hadn't shown up when you did," he muttered raking a hand through his hair. "What do I do D?" he looked at her with a helpless expression.

Daisy felt for him, really she did. “Just love her. You won’t be able to help yourself. She’s as much your daughter as she is Gareth’s or mine. Just because your blood isn’t in her veins, she already has you pegged for her dad and with as stubborn as that child is, believe me it’s best you go with it.” She grinned and added, “Then again, maybe she does have some of your blood in her veins because if I recall you are pretty hard headed yourself.”

"Hardly," he murmured looking towards the hall when he heard laughter. Swallowing hard he let out a shaky breath. Kids scared the hell out of him. It's why he’d never had any and avoided them at all costs. "She's all Gareth, she's even got his smile," he commented taking a slight step further into the house before going fully still once more.

Daisy laid her hand on Mikhail’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Are you going to be okay with this Mik? It’s my last time asking. If you aren’t you need to tell us now. She’s already in love with you. I swear that child has been mooning over that photo all day and likely all night. If you can’t do this please be honest with me.” Daisy bit her lower lip and whispered. “When I saw her I knew she was Gareth’s. but I loved you just as much as I did him. That’s why I’ve always told her she has two dads, not just one. If it’s too much I can explain it to her.”

Looking at her he shook his head and held up his hands, "I don't know Daisy," he whispered softly. "God I'm just a fucking all round failure," he muttered shoving a hand through his hair. "You shouldn't let her anywhere near me Daisy if you knew what was truly good for her. I should have just stayed on that farm. Who was I to ever want more?" he muttered not actually asking a question.

It broke her heart to hear him saying that and she shook her head. It was Honey’s voice however that broke the silence. “But if you stayed there you couldn’t be my daddy. Do you not wanna be my daddy like Gareth does? I am not blind. I can tell which one of you actually is my biological dad, but I really was hoping that you would want me too. I wanted us to be a family together.”

Looking at her, he felt like a heel, "I don't know how to be a father Honey," he said softly. "I don't really remember much about mine, and never had any models after that to go by. I don't want to hurt you or your mother, and I'm afraid that's what will happen if I stay in your life. I just want you to be happy sweetheart and that may not be with me around."