Chapter 39: Comfort and Care

The dim nightlight made shadows dance on Emma's bedroom walls as I sat on her bed, stroking her hair. It was late, and she'd woken up crying about the sad lady for the third time since bedtime.

"Mommy, tell me about the dolphins," she mumbled, hugging her stuffed animal. "The ones that keep the scary fish away from their babies."

I was halfway through the story when Mikel knocked softly on the door. He stood there, hair messed up from sleep, in pajama pants and a t-shirt that fit him just right. My heart skipped a beat, even given everything going on.

"Is everything okay?" he asked quietly, noticing Emma's tears and my tired face.

"Another bad dream," I said. "Her third tonight."

He came right over and sat on the bed beside Emma, like he'd done it a million times. "Hey, princess. Want to tell Daddy about it?"

Emma looked back and forth between us, then snuggled close to Mikel, wanting comfort from both of us. "The sad lady chased me at school, but when I tried to run to you and Mommy, you were always too far away."

My heart ached. These weren't just regular nightmares. She was trying to deal with grown-up stuff a five-year-old shouldn't have to think about.

"Emma, look at me," Mikel said gently, waiting for her to meet his eyes. "Mommy and I will always be there when you need us. Always. You know how I can promise that?"

She shook her head, her fear fading a little.

"Families have these invisible strings attached to their hearts," he said, touching her chest. "Even when we can't see each other, the love string keeps us together. That's how I always know when you need me."

Emma thought about that for a second. "Like dolphins calling to each other underwater?"

"Exactly," I said, getting it right away. "Our love is like dolphin sounds—it travels through everything to find each other."

"Even through scary dreams?"

"Especially through scary dreams," Mikel added. "That's when the love sounds are the loudest."

Emma relaxed against her pillows, looking calmer than she had all night. "Can you both stay until I fall asleep? Just in case the sad lady tries to stop the love sounds from working?"

"Of course, sweetie," I said. But as I shifted on the bed, I felt like I could drop. Between Emma's nightmares, work stress, and trying to keep our family safe, I was running on fumes.

Mikel saw it right away. "Bella, when did you last get more than four hours of sleep?"

"I'm fine," I said, but I didn't sound sure.

"No, you're not. You're burning yourself out trying to do everything." He was gentle but firm. "Emma, what if Daddy helps Mommy tonight? That way, if you have another bad dream, we'll both be right here."

Emma's face lit up. "Like a real family sleepover?"

I started to say no, thinking about the boundaries we'd set and how we kept things separate to make it work. But Mikel caught my eye.

"Just for tonight," he said quietly. "So you can actually get some rest."

His kind voice and the look on his face got through my defenses. "Okay," I whispered. "Just for tonight."

We settled in on Emma's bed and a little chair next to it, making a circle around her. I thought it would be awkward, but I actually started to relax. Mikel took the late-night watch, and I dozed in the chair.

Around 2 AM, Emma stirred. I peeked through my eyes and watched Mikel gently calm her back to sleep without waking me. He hummed a song I remembered from way back when. Seeing him take care of our daughter so naturally made me feel something warm and complicated.

"She's asleep again," he whispered when he saw I was awake.

"Thank you," I breathed, meaning way more than just for the help right now.

"Bella," he said softly, "I want you to know something."

I looked at him and saw something intense in his eyes that made my heart race.

"These last few weeks, watching you with Emma through all this, seeing how fierce you are as her mom but still so gentle—it's incredible. She's an amazing little girl, and you've done it all with more grace and strength than I could have imagined."

His words hit me hard. I'd been needing to hear that for years—to be seen and appreciated for being a single parent.

"Some days I feel like I'm messing up," I admitted quietly. "Like I should be strong enough to protect her from everything, but I'm just figuring it out as I go."

"That's what good parents do," Mikel said, sure of himself. "We all figure it out as we go, and we love them enough to make it work."

"We," I repeated softly.

"We," he agreed. "If you'll let me. Not just for Emma's medical stuff or what's happening now, but for everything. Soccer games, scraped knees, teenage stuff, college. All of it."

I was overwhelmed. He was offering real partnership, not just help during a crisis.

"Mikel, I..." I started, but my voice cracked.

He moved right over and knelt beside my chair, gently taking my hands. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm scared," I whispered. "I'm scared to trust this, to trust us again. What if we ruin it? What if Emma gets hurt when we inevitably—"

"What if we don't?" he interrupted softly. "What if we've both learned enough to love each other better this time?"

I looked into his eyes, seeing my own hopes and fears, but also something stronger—a confidence that wasn't there before.

"We're different people now," I said.

"Better people," he agreed. "People who know what it's like to almost lose each other."

Emma stirred and reached for both of us, her little hands finding ours. Even in her sleep, she was trying to keep us together.

"She's been doing that all week," I said, watching her. "Like she's afraid we'll disappear if she doesn't hold on."

"Maybe it's not just her fear," Mikel said quietly. "Maybe she knows something we don't—that families need to hold on tight, especially when things get bad."

As if she heard him, Emma squeezed our hands a little tighter and sighed in her sleep.

"She's happier when we're both here," I said.

"So am I," Mikel admitted. "Being part of her routine, bedtime stories, pancakes—it's everything I ever wanted."

"And now?"

"Now I'm scared you'll decide it's too complicated, too risky, too much stress all at once." He sounded so honest. "I'm scared I'll ruin it somehow and lose you both again."

His words broke something open in me. This wasn't the hotshot businessman or the charmer from before. This was a man who knew love could be lost and didn't want to waste another second.

"Mikel," I said softly, "look at me."

He raised his eyes, and I saw the same fear I felt—the fear that hoping was too dangerous, that happiness was too fragile.

"I'm scared too," I whispered. "But I'm more scared of letting fear make the decisions."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that seeing you with Emma, how well we work together as parents, how I feel like myself again when I'm with you—maybe it's worth the risk."

He looked at me. "Bella—"

"I'm not saying we rush into anything," I said quickly. "I'm not saying we pretend the past didn't happen or that love solves everything. But maybe we stop being so afraid to try."

He looked at me with so much hope. "Are you saying you want to try? Really try, not just for Emma?"

"I'm saying that when I think about the future, you're in it. Not just as Emma's dad in the guest house, but as my partner. My..." I hesitated. "My person again."

"Bella," he breathed, and then he was closer, gently touching my face.

"I never stopped," I whispered. "Even when I felt the most hate. Even when I was so angry I could barely breathe, underneath it all, I never stopped."

"Me neither," he said, his thumb brushing across my cheek. "Every day for five years, I felt the same. Every day, I hoped for a chance to show you I could be the man you deserved."

We were so close I could see the gold in his eyes and feel his breath on my skin. The space between us felt like five years and a tiny bit of hope.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Emma mumbled. "Are you whispering about love like in my books?"

I laughed, even though my cheeks were wet. "Yes, sweetie. The fairy tales."

"Good," she mumbled, drifting back to sleep. "Love whispers are the best."

Mikel smiled at her and then looked back at me, his face soft.

"She's right," he said quietly. "Love whispers are the best."

He reached up and wiped away a tear. "Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For letting me back in. For trusting me with Emma's bad dreams and your own fears. For giving us another chance."

I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes. "Thank you for being worth the risk."

He looked at me with so much love and happiness that I couldn't breathe.

"We're really doing this," I whispered.

"We're really doing this," he said, his voice full of awe.

As the night went on, Emma slept between us. I realized that sometimes the most important things happen quietly, in the spaces between breaths and touches.

Tomorrow, we'll still have to deal with Sophia and work and all the hard stuff to do in a relationship. But tonight, in the quiet light, we'd chosen each other again. Maybe that's enough.