#daddyneedstowork

[If you people aren't following the thread between selimtheproud and daddy-needs-to-work...well you should be.

Dear Elicia,

You’ve just turned one, sleeping with the new teddybear your Uncle Roy got you as I’m writing this. I’m sitting beside your bed just watching you sleep. I do that a lot…it’s still amazing to me that I was blessed with anything as perfect as you. Your hair is just like your mother’s, and you’ve got your grandmama’s eyes. I’ll show you pictures when you’re older.

I wish your grandparents could have met you. They passed away a long time ago, long before your mother and I ever met, but I’m certain they would have loved you. Your middle name, Anne, comes from your grandmama. Her name was Anne too. She would have loved a little granddaughter to make pretty dresses for.

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing all this down when I could just tell you. Well, hopefully this is where you look up and actually ask me because I’m standing right here with you as you read this. If I’m not, though…well, that’s why. Because your daddy’s work can get very dangerous, and there’s always a chance that I won’t make it home.

I will always try my hardest to come back to you and your mama, and I hope that we’ll be reading this together someday down the road when you’re all grown up and laugh at how silly I was back then, but I’ve never been the kind to leave anything to chance. Hopefully you’ve found that out on your own, growing up with me.

It scares me, Elicia. I know you probably think your daddy’s invincible and not scared of anything, but that’s not true. I get scared every day, every time I look at you and think that there’s a chance I won’t be able to see you grow up, be there when you start school or when you find a boy you like. I’m scared I’ll miss your whole life. You’re growing up so fast right before my eyes as it is, and I’m scared to miss even a single moment of it.

I love you so much, sweetheart, you and your mama both. I don’t know how I got so lucky as to have both of you in my life. I can only hope that one day you find someone who makes you feel the same way your mama makes me; and he better treat you right, or else he’ll have me to deal with. Or your Auntie Riza, or your Uncle Roy.

You have such a wonderful family, Elicia, and you’ll find that out as you get older. Roy and Riza are two of my closest friends, and then there’s Uncle Alex that Daddy works with. You already love sitting on his shoulders; it makes you taller than everyone and you laugh so much.

Never stop laughing, Elicia. Never stop smiling. You have such a good one, I hope you never lose it. You have a brightness to you that’s catching, even when you’re sound asleep, even at just a year old, and I can only look forward to seeing that light grow with you.

I don’t know what else I can say. You’re the world to me, princess, and I want the best for you of everything. When you read this, I hope I’ve been able to show you that. I hope that the man who’s put the ring on your finger today is everything you ever dreamed of. And I hope that your life will be even better than mine was. I can only imagine how pretty you look right now, and I want you to know that no matter what, I will always, always be proud of you.

I love you, Elicia

It had been a long time since he'd set foot on this street. Since he'd set foot in this city, in fact. He looked up at the buildings around him, mere outlines against the sunset sky, and took a deep breath. What was he going to say? What could he say, after being gone so long and without even a message? Would they even believe it was him? Well, he'd have to find out sometime.

Pushing open the door of the apartment complex he'd stopped in front of, he headed up the stairs. The way was a familiar one, everything almost exactly as he remembered. The wooden stairs had perhaps a little more wear, the wallpaper was perhaps a little more faded, but it was still the same building he'd left five years ago. Five years...a sudden ball of iron settled in his stomach. The building wouldn't be the only thing that would have changed.

He paused in front of a door that, though in appearance was no different from any other on that floor, would likely change his life once opened, either for better or worse he didn't know. The iron ball shifted into a slowly growing fear. Had they moved on? Had she? He wouldn't blame her...after all, he was supposed to be dead; only perhaps three people in all of Amestris knew the truth of the matter, and none of them were beyond that door.