**sorry for the long wait guys**

"What do you mean I'm your father? I have no kids... Sandra didn't you tell them?" His eyes narrowed angrily at each of us but I could sense something behind them, a mixture of disbelief and belief, fear and a wariness of what this could mean.

"My mother... Mary. She found out she was pregnant with me about the time you left her and she decided not to tell you. I just recently found out myself", I explained taking a step closer to him. I knew how this hard it was to take in this information; it had hit me like a ton of bricks at the time. But this had to be worse for him. I knew I had a father, I just didn't know anything about him and I resented him for the most part of my life. He, on the other hand had no idea he had a child somewhere.

"You're lying", he said, although his voice sounded like he knew somewhere deep down inside that I wasn't "Why would Mary never tell me if we had a kid together?"

"I highly doubt she's lying, Darryl", Sandra stepped in just then carrying two little plates of pie slices "She and her boyfriend look like good kids. They have no reason to come all the way over here to lie to us"

I smiled at her, appreciating her support at this moment in time. Noah held my hand in his, letting me do the talking but still offering support through our joined hands.

Darryl looked like he was processing this bit of news that had come at him out of nowhere; his eyes becoming unfocused and glancing everywhere like many thoughts were running through his brain.

"Well you look just like Mary, that's for sure. And you look right about the age", He ran a hand through his hair and sank down to one of the chairs near him "Oh my God, I actually have a kid"

"I know this must be hard for you to take in..." Noah started, breaking the heavy silence.

Darryl ran his hands over his face, shaking his head. "Damn right it is"

I almost laughed at his choice of words, but this wasn't that kind of situation.

"We want you to know we mean no harm or have any bad intentions", he squeezed my hand in his and looked at Sandra who was nodding and giving us a wistful kind of smile.

"I just wanted to meet you", I said, my voice sounded small and frail so I cleared it "And give us the opportunity to get to know each other"

He shook his head again and I think I saw a tear brimming in the corner of his eye. "I just don't get it. Why would Mary never mention this to me all this while? I mean, I know we didn't end on the best of terms, and I know I screwed up and didn't handle it properly" he said and I wondered if he was trying to convince us or himself. He shook his head again and groaned out loud. "This is the last thing I could have imagined would happen to me"

"I understand if you need some time to process all of this and clear your head", I said. I couldn't help the heavy feeling of disappointment that washed over me. I mean what did I actually expect? Did I think the guy would throw me a big party and welcome me with open arms into his heart and his home? I was way in over my head to think this encounter would end happily. I tried to suppress the hot rush of tears to my eyes.

Noah as if sensing how I felt, squeezed my fingers between his. "Ellenore just really wanted to meet you. It's kind of late to drive back now so we'd just find a hotel to stay in tonight. You could call if you want to meet up and talk or meet up or anything really"

I nodded and tried my best not to sound choked up. "Yeah I would really like that"

Darryl stood up suddenly, startling the both of us or mostly me, I think.

"That's nonsense. No kid of mine will sleep in a hotel when her dad has a perfectly fine house for her and her... boyfriend", he gave Noah a look over which I think kind of creeped him out a bit "To stay in. You're welcome to have dinner with us tonight. I think I'd like to get to know my daughter too". And then he gave us a kind of shy almost heart breaking smile which was weird considering his less than cheerful demeanour when we initially met a few minutes ago.

I smiled right back at him.

Now, this could actually be the start of something.

Dinner was lovely. More than lovely actually, it was better than anything I could have expected. Every minute I spent with Darryl, I felt some part of me that I had actually never really felt begin to grow and bloom.

While Noah had gone to help Sandra out with dinner, insisting that we needed some time alone together to talk, just the both of us, we had actually gotten to know quite a few things about each other. I learnt that Darryl, my dad was a contractor here in Tribune. It didn't sound like much but he was actually sort of a big shot in town and lots of people wanted him to run for Mayor in the next elections.

He joked that he didn't know why these people would want a grumpy mayor, but he was more than happy to oblige if that's what they really wanted.

I could see where I got my self-depreciating humour from.

I told him about my life of course, told him about mom and Watson and our little family and how I was studying Engineering at NYU and was currently interning at Stinson ad Co. He said he was proud of me and that he was happy to know I had inherited his 'awesome' genes. (Insert eye roll here).

Things got a little personal when he started telling me about his battle with cancer. It was prostate cancer and he had gotten it in his early thirties. They caught it a bit later, and it had already done a lot of damage although it was supposed to be one of the less threatening forms of cancer. It had sapped a lot from him; his money and youth but his greatest regret was that he wouldn't be able to procreate. And then he said I was like a gift from heaven, and even though he had screwed up in his life, I had come along and given him some sort of hope. This little bit caused us both to tear up, needless to say.

Afterwards we had dinner and Sandra's stir fry chicken and brioche was enough to drive the rest of the anxiety I was feeling right away. During the meal, they told us how they met and fell in love, Sandra complaining that it had taken him ages to confess he was in love with her, he was that stubborn. It was a really cute story. Shortly after that, they demanded to know everything about mine and Noah's relationship and how we got together. To say it was complicated was an understatement, so we told them a few details leaving out the crazy ex boyfriend and ex girlfriend part. I let Noah take the lead on the story telling and I just sat there glowing, watching him talk about me... about us. It was also fun watching Darryl grill Noah, his eyes sharp as lasers as he questioned Noah if he lived a rich-and-party-boy lifestyle and watching Noah squirm in his seat when he tried to reply.

Finally dinner was over and I helped Sandra clear the dining table and wash the dishes while the boys bonded over ESPN.

"Ellie... Darryl may not say it, but he's really happy to have you here", Sandra suddenly said as she towelled a plate dry and handed it to me to place back in the dish rack.

I smiled bashfully. "You think so?"

"Yes", she took a deep breath and turned to face me "He was always really affected by the fact that he couldn't have children, and also felt really guilty because I married him which meant I couldn't have any children of my own either"

"Why didn't you guys try adoption?" I inquired reaching for another plate to towel-dry.

"Oh we tried a couple of times but it never really came through. After that, we just kind of gave up. Honestly, I didn't really mind. Having kids was never a big priority for me, that's why I married Darryl without a second thought, but I knew it bothered him more than he let on", Sandra explained to me

I nodded in understanding.

"Well, it's good to have you here now", Sandra smiled at me, drying off the last plate "And I hope you can stay awhile"

"Oh, actually... We have to head back tomorrow, Noah's father had a business conference and we just took a couple of days off to see how this turned out", I explained to Sandra, feeling a little bummed out we couldn't stay longer

"That's okay. You need to come visit us again, okay?" she said pulling me into a hug "And with that gorgeous boyfriend of yours too. That boy is so head over heels in love with you"

"And I, him", I smiled brightly as Sandra and I pulled apart.

"Oh, young love is so precious", Sandra told me wistfully "Ah well, excuse me while I go set up the guest rooms for you guys"

"Oh I could help, Sandra", I offered

"Nonsense", she waved me off "You're our guest. Now go join Darryl and Noah in the living room, I'm sure they're missing your company"

I nodded and left the kitchen, heeding her advice. I found Noah and Darryl sprawled out on the couches in the living room. I joined Noah on the big one and when I got close; he pulled me onto his lap and kissed my cheek tenderly.

I was melting inside until I caught the sharp glare Darryl was shooting Noah. Noah caught it too and quickly lifted me off his lap to sit beside him on the couch. Poor Noah, I had to clap my hand over my mouth to keep myself from sniggering out loud.

We all just sat there watching television and talking. Sandra just us sometime later and we talked till it got late and Darryl and Sandra decided to go to bed.

"Let me show you to your rooms, guys", Sandra informed us and we both got up. We followed Darryl and Sandra down the hall and Sandra showed me to my room first. I walked in and Noah made to come in with me but was held at bay by Darryl's hand firm against his chest.

"There would be none of that in my house, buster", Darryl informed Noah, shooting him daggers with his eyes.

"O..o..of course sir", Noah stuttered, practically quaking in his boots "I just wanted to wish Ellie a good night"

It all fell on deaf ears. "Come", Darryl gripped Noah's arm in an iron grip "I'll show you to your room"

I smiled as I watched Darryl lead Noah off and hugged Sandra, wishing her a good night. I started getting ready for bed, and was about to go brush my teeth when I heard a slight knock at my door.

My first instinct said Noah but with the frightened look on his face when Darryl had dragged him off, I doubt he had worked up the nerve yet.

I went to the door and opened it and it was Darryl standing there.

"Hey", I said softly. I was a bit surprised.

"Can I come in?" he asked which was rather tentative for such a brute man.

"Yes, sure come on in", I opened the door wider, allowing him to pass through.

The room was filled with a bit of awkward silence for a while as Darryl and I just stood there facing each other and no one saying anything. Darryl looked like he had a lot of conflicting thoughts running through his mind. Finally, he shook his head and spoke.

"Ellie, I just want you to know that I'm really really sorry for everything", he shook his head and began to tear up "This is all my fault. If I wasn't such a jerk to your mother, if I hadn't left her so abruptly, she would have told me about you and you wouldn't have had to grow up without your father and me, without my daughter"

"It's in the past now, Darryl. I forgive you and now we can move on", I said to him, starting to get a little emotional myself.

"But still, I'm sorry for missing out on your childhood. Mary must hate me and I can't blame her"

"I'm sure she's over it. She's really happy now", I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder, in an effort to offer him some form of reassurance.

"I'm happy to hear that. I... I... would like to get in touch with her perhaps, and ask for her forgiveness. It's something that has been bothering me a lot all these years, it would really mean a lot to me if I could make things right and ultimately, if she could forgive me", Darryl confided in me.

"I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem. I'll get you her number in the morning", I said to him. I had to call her first, though. I hadn't told her about how my life had taken some crazy turns these past two days.

"Thank you, Ellie", Darryl looked right at me "It really means a lot to me to have met you, and I hope we can have a closer father-daughter relationship from now on"

"I would really like that as well", I said through my glistening eyes and was a tad shocked when he pulled me in for a tight hug.

"Goodnight sweetheart", Darryl whispered into my hair

"Goodnight... Dad", I whispered softly as we pulled apart smiling shyly at each other. I watched as Darryl closed the door behind him and I wiped the dampness that was gathering at my eyes. I finished brushing my teeth and was climbing into bed when my phone rang.

It was Noah, of course.

My face contorted into a huge grin as I picked up the phone. "Hi baby", he said to me in a husky tone once I picked up

"Hi my scared little lover boy", I teased him while tremors shot to my toes at the sound of his voice.

"Oh please don't start with that", Noah huffed "Is the coast clear?"

"What?" I asked him slightly confused

"Has your dad gone?"

"Umm... yes?"

"Okay", he said "Come open the door"

I clicked off the call and went to my door, opening it. Few seconds later Noah came in and before I knew what was happening, our mouths were immediately fused in a mind-numbing kiss which lasted for quite a while.

"I had to give you a goodnight kiss", Noah whispered to me, panting a bit in an effort to catch his breath.

"And I'm glad you did", I smiled at him, trying to regain my breath as well.

"How did it go with your dad?" Noah inquired playing with the few tendrils of my hair that were falling onto my face

"It went great, actually", I linked my arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him again "Thank you so much for bringing me here, I couldn't have done it without you"

"And you never have to go through anything alone ever again. I'm here now. I love you, Ellenore", he whispered against my neck, sending shivers through my body where his breath fanned my neck.

"And I love you, Noah Stinson... so much", I said before we began to kiss hungrily once more. His hands roamed my body and I feared I couldn't keep myself upright any longer.

"Come lay with me", I whispered to him. "You won't get in trouble, don't worry", I added cheekily.

"Oh... it'd be so worth it", Noah grinned and hauled me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist. He laid me down on my bed and lay down beside me, tucking my back against his front and our legs tangled together.

And as I drifted off to sleep, I felt him kiss my neck and heard him say. "I love you, Ellenore. Don't ever forget that"

A/N: Hi hi to my beautiful readers. Thank you for still giving my story a shot even though I kept you waiting for so long. My life has been crazy busy for a while now but I'm excited to resume updating. There's more to come so stick with Noah and Ellie. As they say, good things come to an end ;). Don't forget to vote, share and comment! Xoxo
-Crystal