W A R N I N G 
this chapter's gonna be pretty graphic and may be potentially disturbing

"I don't really think this is a good idea." Daniel said nervously as he eyed the cold ice.

"Please, Danny," Ellie pleaded. "It's Christmas-"

"It's the 22nd." He scoffed with a roll of his eyes

"It's almost Christmas," Elle corrected. "Look," She began, "The lights are gorgeous, there aren't actually that many people skating and I promise I won't let you fall." He stared at her a moment before sighing.

"Fine, fine." He gave in and the girl clapped her hands with a squeal before pulling him into a hug, which he returned. They got our skates from the counter and slipped their feet into them. "Why do you want to skate so much?" He asked as we tightened the laces.

"When I was little I would go skating all the time with my mum," She answered with a smile as she thought back to some of the few pleasant memories she had of her childhood.

"That sounds nice. My family was a whole bunch of shut-ins." He replied as they stood, walking to the rink. Well, Elle walked, Danny waddled with as much poise as he could muster to keep his ego intact.

"I'm sorry," Ellie frowned, hating the idea that he'd ever been unhappy.

"Don't be," He shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. I'm fairly certain that if I didn't start doing magic I'd also be shut off from the rest of the world." She nodded in understanding as she stepped onto the rink with ease, immediately spinning around to face Danny. The man tentatively put one foot on the ice, then the other. He wobbled and instinctively threw his hands out. Elle grabbed them and tugged him forward to keep him uprighyt. His cheeks flared and she giggled.

"Are you blushing?" She questioned.

"Shut up." He muttered, embarrassed. "Your nose and cheeks are red, are you blushing?" She laughed and shook my head.

"I'm cold," She replied.

"And who's to say I'm not?" He challenged with a smirk.

"You win this round, Atlas." Elle then tugged him forward and they began gliding on the ice. He let out a high-pitched noise of distress and the woman couldn't keep from laughing at each one. She kept his gloved hands in her own as s spun around to where she was skating backwards and facing him. "How did you get into magic?" She asked. Something she'd always been curious about but had never found the right moment to ask.

"Procrastinating my studies," He answered simply with a grin, making me laugh.

"So little Danny Atlas sat on his bed with his books and cards in his hands?"

"Essentially," He answered. "What made you want to be in the FBI?" He asked, getting the hang of being on the ice. She hummed in thought and turned to skate on his left, one of his hands still in hers.

"Mainly knowing that there were so many shitty people in the world. I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't do anything about it. My dad was one of those shitty people. I couldn't stand it when I found out and that was when I knew I needed to help," He stared at her for a moment with his brows furrowed in sympathy.

"What'd he do?" Elle slowly slid to a stop. Her gut was begging her not to tell him. Every other person she dated or befriended and told left, worried that shhe could turn out like him and she didn't blame them. Ellie had had that same worry before. But she couldn't bear the thought of Danny leaving her. She didn't want to lose the butterflies she felt when she saw him, the smile he seemed to have saved especially for her and though Elle knew he loved mhere, this could very easily change his mind.

"You don't have to tell me-" He began, noticing her internal conflict as he, too, slid to a stop, people ignoring and going around them as thought hey were invisible.

"No, I have to tell you," She replied and gulped down her fear. "He... He killed people. A lot of innocent people," She heard him take a big breath in shock and her stomach twisted. "I had no idea. He'd always come home with presents; stuffed animals, lollies, toys," She listed, "Even came home with a dog once. He seemed like the perfect dad," She told Danny as he stayed silent. "But after a while, he just gradually got worse." I looked away from Atlas' piercing blue eyes. "He started hitting my mum. She tried to hide it from me but I could see the bruises. Then, he started to hit me. But, of course, it didn't stop there," She took a shaky breath as tears threatened to roll from her eyes. "One night, my mum and I were making dinner when we heard my dog, Poppy, yelping and barking. Then suddenly, it stopped. Dad came in and he was laughing to himself and was covered in blood. Mum and I didn't know what to do so we just stood there, terrified out of our minds. Mum went to reach for the phone but he stopped her. He told her 'Anne, don't you dare touch that phone. You do and I'll kill you and Lara' then, he just asked when dinner was going to be ready as if the situation we were in was completely normal. I had to sit down in front of him as he asked about my day at school like he wasn't covered in Poppy's blood," She paused, needing to take a breath before she continued on. "The day the cops came was a fairly normal day for us. We were just at home. My dad gave himself up to them, but not without shooting my mother first. Thankfully, she survived and we were helped by two men from the FBI in the Behavioural Analysis unit. Mum and I went into therapy sessions and here I am, working with the men who saved me." She finished with a resigned sigh, "Danny, I can completely understand if you want to leave me-"

"Why would I want to leave you?" He questioned suddenly almost taken aback by the question and Elle frowned at him.

"Apart from the fact my father was a serial killer?" She retorted sarcastically.

"You're not your father." He stated resolutely. "You are nothing like your father and you won't end up anything like him. I don't want you to think that your family defines you. I know for a fact that the blonde haired green eyed girl I fell in love with fights against that and she'd never be the one to hurt people." Her breath hitched and she tried to blink back the tears that threatened to spill over. "Hey..." He cooed, "You okay?" Elle nodded and pulled him into a hug. His arms wrapped around her waist tightly.

"Thank you." She muttered into his ear.

A/N:

Basically Elara, my poor child, did not have the greatest of dads :(

x Clara

P.S. ALL OF YOUR VOTES AND COMMENTS WERE AMAZING OH MY GOD THANK YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!! PLEASE KEEP IT UP :D