Delilah buzzes anxiously around Luke as the two enter their house after being driven home by Liz. Luke sighs with a fond smile. "I'm fine, babydoll. Stop worrying."

Delilah raises an eyebrow and shakes her head. "Fell."

"Yes baby, but I'm okay." Delilah gives a look luke can't decipher and tries to make him sit down, and when he finally cooperates and does it, she looks in his eyes and over his head. Luke laughs. "Delilah, really sweetheart, daddy's fine."

"No daddy, fell, hit. Broke." She taps his forehead and points to his arm and then leg to clarify what she means like she thinks Luke doesn't remember.

Luke sighs and shakes his head with a chuckle. "I remember little one, but I feel fine, you don't need to worry about me." Delilah squints and shakes her head, brushing Luke's assurance off and clearly not believing him.

"Hungry?" She asks, and Luke raises an eyebrow.

"You're hungry?" Delilah shakes her head and giggles like Luke's so silly.

"You hungry, daddy?"

"No baby, daddy's not hungry. And when he is, he can take care of it himself." Delilah nods but still doesn't seem to believe it. It briefly occurs to Luke that he should probably stop talking about himself in third person to Delilah if he's gonna teach her to speak correctly.

"Baby hungry." Delilah states before hopping up and running to the kitchen. Luke stands too, grabbing his crutches and following her.

"Daddy- I'll make you something, bunny." Delilah looks at him with wide eyes and shakes her head.

"No! Daddy sit. Baby can do it." Luke frowns and pouts, hoping this not letting him take care of her thing doesn't last, but he doesn't argue for now. He sighs and sits, watching as Delilah flits about getting milk and climbing on the counter to get a bowl as Luke warns her to be careful - don't need her falling and cracking her head open too. Delilah huffs when she tries to get cereal but can't reach or find anything to climb.

"Daddy?" She asks meekly. Luke smiles, happy to do something, and stands to fetch it for her.

"Thank you help daddy." The blond smiles and kisses her head.

"It's, 'thankyou for helping me'" he corrects. Hey, when he's disabled and can't do much else is the best time to teach her.

"Thank you for helping me, daddy." Delilah repeats, nodding curtly.

"You're very welcome doll. Getting so good at talking, such a good girl." He kisses her cheek and sits down to let her finish making her bowl of cereal before she brings it to the table to eat next to daddy. Luke smiles and pulls her into his lap, pulling her bowl in front of her too.

Delilah gasps and turns to him with worried eyes, grabbing his injured arm gently and looking over it to make sure he didn't hurt it in the process while she scolds him. "No daddy! You hurt! Can't up." She sighs, kissing his cheek.

"Daddy's- I'm fine little girl, don't tell me what to do. I won't do anything that'll hurt me, okay?" Delilah frowns.

"Promise?"

"I promise baby." Delilah nods, obviously not pleased but agreeing anyway.

Despite Luke's hopes, delilahs independent behavior continues for the next week, not letting Luke do anything for her and trying not to let him do anything for himself. It's endearing, but Luke hates feeling useless, he likes taking care of his baby, and he feels like she being too big, he wants her to stay his little girl. What if she never lets him take care of her again?

"You hungry, daddy?" The little one asks and the broad man sighs.

"No Delilah, and when I am, I'll get myself food, understand?" Delilah raises an eyebrow at the mans snappiness.

She clenches her jaw. Things have been tense for a week. Luke is frustrating her beyond belief. He keeps doing things that she worries will hurt him, like he doesn't remember his bones are broken. And he's being awfully rude to her and very unthankful when she tries to help him out. He's taken care of her for months, the least she can do is the same for him when he's injured, so why won't he let her? They haven't even cuddled or hugged in days and all this worrying and tenseness and snapping and unusual behavior and tasks are taking an emotional toll.

"Brat." Delilah mutters before marching out of the room and to her own. Luke laughs at the remark although it's naughty of her to call him names.

"Delilah, come back here." He hears her door slam and he widens his eyes. He stands and heads for her room.

"Little girl, you do not call daddy names or slam doors."

Delilahs sat in her crib with a stuffy, facing away from the door. She sighs and grinds her teeth, tears gathered in her eyes. "Go please."

Luke sighs and complies with the request, heading downstairs, which is a slow and painful task on crutches. One of them misses the step and he falls on his ass, and slides down a bit, muttering a loud "fuck!"

Delilah gasps at the sound and quickly leaves her room with tears streaming down her cheeks, coming to lukes side.

"Daddy hurt?" She asks panickedly, looking him over and-

"No, Delilah! Leave me the fuck alone!" Luke yells in his frustrated state. Delilah jumps back and looks a Luke before sobbing and running back to her room. She knows Luke will come up after her so she barricades the door with a chair under the handle and sits on her mattress with momo to sob.

But Luke doesn't come after, despite the pang of guilt that shot through him when he realized his words and saw Delilahs reaction. He's still frustrated so he continues downstairs.

Delilah cries it out for a while wondering why lukes not trying to get in and crying more at the fact that he doesn't even care.

She does not understand. She's only been good for the most part, she's done everything she can to be helpful and make Luke happy and he acts like this. Usually when he's frustrated it because she's being a brat and she always understands why when he gets mad at her. And even then he doesn't treat her like this. She does not understand.

She stands when she calms down enough and quietly goes to lukes room, taking his phone and going back to her own room.

She opens it and goes to his contacts- which she's been taught how to do since lukes accident in case something happens again-debating on who will give her what s he wants. Liz would but she loves far away. Ashton would probably try and make her make it up with luke. Michael wouldn't, and s he doesn't think Calum would, but he might. She's not sure.

So she calls Michael. Last time he let her come over and stay the night, he'll understand she's upset with Luke.

"Hey Luke, what's up?"

"Uncle Mikey." Delilah Delilah says in a clearly distraught voice.

"Delilah? Is everything okay sweetheart?"

"No." Delilah pouts. Michael thinks the worst.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Is someone hurt?"

"...no." Delilah mutters. Michael sighs in relief.

"What's wrong then, love?"

"Daddy mean."

"He's being mean?" Michael chuckles. Delilah whines. It's not funny.

"Yes." She insists. "I try help, he no say thankyou. He yell, say 'fuck'."

Michael frowns. "I'm sorry honey, do you know why he's upset?"

"No. I help. I good. Why mad?"

"I don't know baby. Can you tell me what happened before he cussed at you?" Delilah nods even though Michael can't see her.

"I say 'daddy hungry?' And he yell 'no' and I sad. I say 'brat', I go to my room, he yell more, I say 'go please', he leave, he fall on stairs, I try help, he say 'leave me fuck alone'." She finishes her story with tears in her eyes as she gets upset about the encounter again.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. That's not very nice of him. You want me to come talk to him?"

"No." Delilah huffs. Michael frowns. "Want go Mikey house."

"You wanna come to my house? It's almost night time, sweetheart, maybe you can come tomorrow if you still want to, okay?"

"No!" Delilah whines. "Stay night Mikey house." Michael raises an eyebrow.

"Delilah, hun, I don't think you really want that. You're gonna miss your daddy if you come here for the night and at bedtime you're gonna wanna go home, right?"

"No. Don't want Luke. Bad. Mean." Michaels eyebrows dart up.

"Delilah, why don't you find Luke and give him the phone, okay?"

"No! Please Mikey, I go?" She sounds so desperate, Michael can't refuse.

"Okay, hun. I'll be over soon."

"Thankyou uncle Mikey." Delilah sighs in relief and hangs up.

She quickly packs a bag like she's seen Luke do a hundred times with studies and crayons and coloring books and pajamas and clothes for tomorrow. By the time she's done, she hears Michael knock downstairs and Luke answer the door and ask him what's up with a confused voice.

The two talk hushedly as Delilah waits upstairs and tries to listen in, but she can't understand.

"Hey Michael, what's up?"

"Luke. Delilah called me."

"She did? I'm sorry, I didn't know she had my phone."

"No, no, it's fine, but she's really upset. She asked if she could come spend the night." Luke rolls his eyes at the info.

"Brat, she's been snippy today." An: I'm sorry is snippy a used word? My family uses it but I don't think most people do lol, I think it's like an old person word. Anyways.

"I mean, that's not what it sounded like from what she told me." Michael sighs, feeling awkward about the subject. Especially when Luke bristles st his words.

"And what did she tell you?"

"She said she was trying to help you and you yelled at her and then you fell on the stairs and she tried to see if you were hurt and you told her to leave you the fuck alone." Luke bites his lip at michaels unamused and disappointed tone.

"Okay, yeah, I shouldn't have done that, but she's being a little helicopter. She's not letting me do anything for her or even myself and she asks if I'm okay every three seconds. She won't let me do so much as lift a glass without a fuss about how I'm hurt." Luke sighs.

"Yeah Luke. She cares about you. Poor you." Michaels tone is softer than his words so his bluntness isn't taken as offensively.

"No, I get that she cares but-"

"Luke, if Delilah fell off a ladder and hit her head and broke an arm and a leg, would you let her lift a finger?" Luke bites his lip.

"No, but she's my-"

"It doesn't matter that she's your submissive, she still cares and worries about you same as you do her. And she can't tell you that she appreciates that you take care of her so she wants to show you by taking care of you right now."

Luke sighs and doesn't argue although he's too stubborn right now to agree.

Delilah creeps downstairs with her bag, not wanting to face Luke but wanting out of this house right now and away from him.

Michael sees her and smiles and Luke turns around too.

"Babygirl, hey, daddy's-" Delilah shrugs him off with her eyes glued to the floor when he tries to lay a hand on her waist and walks right to Michael with her bag on her back.

"I don't think it's a good idea for her to spend the night." Luke shakes his head and Michael sighs.

"It's not up to me, but I think you two could use some time apart." Michael inputs as Delilah hides behind him.

Luke looks to the girl, who won't even make eye contact with him, and sighs. "Bunny, you understand you'd sleep at mikeys and not see daddy til tomorrow?" Delilah nods and he cringes. He fucked up.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Delilah nods quickly and the blonde sighs and nods.

"Yeah, okay. I guess." He says to mike. "Lilah, baby, can I have a hug and kiss goodbye?" Delilah still refuses to make eye contact. He hasn't wanted a hug or kiss the past week when she's tried, why should she give him one now? Even if she wants to.

She shakes her head and Luke frowns. "Okay. Bye man, I'm sorry. Thankyou. Bye bunny, I love you. Se agapó."

Delilah follows Mikey to his car. "Love you." She mutters half heartedly despite not wanting to, knowing if something happened she would feel terrible she didn't say it back the last chance she had.