Chapter 942

Jackson nearly trips over his own feet when he feels it.

"Are you all right?" Ella asks, pausing in her steps to turn and look up at Jackson, frowning slightly.

He just goes still, ignoring Ella, staring at the little girl because...

Was that...a question? He felt? Down...down the bond?

The little girl shrinks away from him, her mouth pulling into a thin line, and he groans a little - realizing that he's frightening her, just staring at her with the ferocity and intensity of a lion. Jackson immediately turns to the bond, very carefully passing assurance and calm down it, hoping that it's...right. That it's okay. That she can feel it and it's... normal to do that.

The little girl goes still for a second and then perks up, smiling at her father.

Smiling.noveldrama

Jackson groans aloud, his heart breaking at the sight of his little girl smiling at him for the first time. He reaches out a hand and strokes it over her dark hair,

marveling at the silky softness of it.

His little girl. His. Absolutely his.

And she smiles.

Jackson reaches for Marigold as she reaches for him, and suddenly she's up in his arms, clasped tight against his chest, and he closes his eyes, tucking his head down next to hers.

"There," Ella says with a happy sigh. "That's better. That's nice, isn't it?"

Jackson opens his eyes a little to peek at Ella, a tiny smile on his lips.

Ella beams at him, her hands clasped beneath her chin. "Daughters are amazing," she whispers.

Jackson nods once and then starts forward again, eager to keep going, to get Marigold something to eat. Because he can feel it now, down the bond, the gnawing hunger that is perhaps so ever-constant that she doesn't know any different.

Jackson sends a mental image of cheese down the bond and feels her respond with eager happiness. His face bursts into a smile.

Ella laughs and hurries to keep up. When they reach the kitchen Rafe smiles at the three of them and pushes open the door. "Supper awaits!"

They step inside and Rafe laughs a bit to see that Mark did his job - that the big industrial kitchen is empty of people, and that the simple wood table in the corner is absolutely covered in food.

"Um, I got everything I thought was good," Mark says, gesturing towards it and anxiously running a hand through his hair as he stands at the stove with an apron tied around his waist. "And I'm making macaroni and cheese. Do you think it will be enough?"

Ella laughs as she looks over at Marigold, who stares wide-eyed at the incredible amount of food on the table.

"Oh, I think it will be enough, Markie," Ella says, laughing and going to a closet, pulling out a booster seat for Marigold. "You did good!"

Things come together almost simply then, the entire group falling into the familiar routines of mealtime. Jackson settles Marigold onto the chair and ensures that she's comfortable as Mark and Rafe begin sorting through all the food,

wondering quietly about onel

what

Marigold might like. Ella finds some cheese and begins to slice it along with an apple, murmuring to Mark that he might want to check on his steaming pot of pasta. Mark gasps and rushes over to it.

Jackson watches, fascinated, as Ella slides the plate of apple and cheese before Marigold, who looks at it in shock like she's never been offered so much food in her life. She stares at it, and then looks around in wonder.

"Go ahead, Goldie," Ella says, smiling at her and cutting herself a piece of cheese. “That's all for you. And you can have more if you want it, or something else. Whatever you'd like, baby."

Marigold's face bursts into a smile as she grabs at the food with both hands, starting eagerly to eat.

Jackson's heart breaks again, for about the thousandth time in the past hour as he realizes that she...probably never has had a plate like this, all to herself. He sits back hard in his chair, just...watching his daughter eat. Fascinated and devastated all at once.

"So, what are you going to do now, Jackie?" Ella asks quietly, nibbling on a piece

of cheese.

Rafe opens a pack of crackers and sets a stack on Marigold's plate, quietly

pretending that he's not paying rapt attention.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asks, turning to Ella in surprise.

"Well, are you keeping her?"

Jackson stiffens at the question. "What?"