Hazel Clove Estate

Amell looked back down at his sanding and laughed softly. "Well... I mean... kind of, but I was never one for such things anyway." He said. He was quiet for a while and made sure to do a good job. When he was done he patted Gammie's head as he passed and got his ladder before going up and getting on the roof. "Oh damn.. Gammie, where are you? You are like... teee tiny up here!" He joked, smirking.

Gamaya laughed a little, amused that he apparently didn't like wearing a shirt. She was quiet for a bit, watching him do his work. He was intriguing. He claimed not to enjoy socializing, yet invited her along to keep him company while he worked - but, then, when they got here, they joked around a bit before going quiet. It seemed like he just enjoyed having somebody near him, which was actually kind of sweet. She frowned a bit as she watched him going up the ladder, even after he made his joke. "Be careful, Amell. That's really, really high up," she called up to him a little nervously.

Amell nodded, "Of course." He said and went to work on the roof. After a while, he came back down, patted her head as he passed and got some things like a hammer, some nails, and some other stuff before going back up and went to work. After a while, a loud curse could be heard from up top the roof. He had sliced his hand and sighed before coming down slowly. "I need to find some clothe and wrap this up." He said before going towards the lake to wash the wound.

Gamaya waited down below while Amell worked on the roof. She smiled up at him when he came down and patted her head, watching as he went back up. She really didn't like him being so high up, but she knew he'd probably be pissed if she didn't trust in him. When she heard him curse, she blinked, looking up. "Are you okay?" she asked as she saw him coming slowly down the ladder. She got up and went after him when he said he needed to wrap it up, her eyes widening when she saw how bad the cut was. "Amell!" she said, gently grabbing the hurt hand and pulling it towards her to look at. "This is really deep, Amell. You need to see a doctor so they can get it cleaned up properly. You can't just use lake water," she said, looking up at him.

Amell watched her grab his hand and shook his head, "It is fine, Gammie. I have had a lot worse and used worse kinds of water to clean it out. If you can swim in this lake, I can clean this cut. I just need to get it cleaned and wrapped. I have medicine back at Luther's. I need to finish that roof up first." He said and gently took his hand back before stooping down and cleaning it.

Gamaya blinked when he took his hand from her and insisted that he had to finish the roof. Her brown eyes widened. "Amell!" she scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "You're not going to just clean and wrap it. It's a deep fucking cut. You need to get a doctor to clean it before you do a single thing on that roof," she said sternly. Her heart was beginning to race a bit, concerned for his well-being.

Amell sighed and looked up at her, "You act like I haven't gotten a bad wound before." He said, but he saw the worry behind those stern eyes of her. "If I go to Lor and Una will you kiss it better?" He asked her and smirked. That was something he normally wouldn't say but he did a lot of things he normally wouldn't do.

Gamaya frowned when he said she acted like he hadn't gotten a bad wound before. She blinked when he smirked at her. "Yes, if that's what it will take," she said, her voice a little softer. She took off her cardigan, grabbing his hand and wrapping the sweater around it, figuring it would help with the bleeding until they got to the girls. "Amell, this is...this is literally how my husband died. I'm not losing a damn good friend so soon after losing my husband."

Amell had slept at the estate so he could wake up early enough to at least finish the roof. He got up and did what Una had told him to do with his hand before going out and starting on the roof. By the time he had finished it and came down he heard her voice first. “Old men have no damn business being on a roof of a house.” His sister, Vlora, said. A small giggle is what had him turn around. He froze in his spot when he say her. There was no damn way to deny that the small girl standing next to his sister was his ex-wife’s and his daughter. “What is this about, Vlora?” He asked.

Vlora came over with the small girl and smiled, “This is your daughter, Hazel.” She said softly, and Hazel smiled softly, waving a bit. She was scared he wouldn’t like her and he was so large and tall. This was her father. Her mother had married this man and created her. Amell looked at Hazel, “That’s… a very pretty name.” He said softly and Hazel giggled. “Thank you… my mother said you really loved that name so she said she just had to give me that name.” She said softly.

Vlora smiled at the scene, “Hazel, go explore around the lake a bit while I talk with your father, okay?” She said and the girl nodded before walking away. When she got out of ear shot Vlora turned to him. “Okay… so… man where do I even start? So… apparently after Hilda left you she found out she was pregnant with Hazel. Apparently she thought it was best that you didn’t know and I would be fucking furious but…” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Man how do I say this?” She asked and took a deep breath.

“Hilda passed away, well she was murdered.” She said softly. Amell shook his head, “No… no she isn’t, Vlora.” He said, his eyes watering. Vlora teared up, “I am so sorry, brother… but we have the best people on it.” She said. Amell turned his back on the girl and stared at the door of the estate. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It felt like he was losing her all over again. “No..” He cried and leaned down on his knees. Vlora rubbed his back softly. She slid the blood stained envelope and handed it to him. “She gave this to Hazel to give to you.” She said softly.


Amell looked up at her, blinking back tears, before grabbing the letter with shaking hands. He stood back up and slowly opened the letter. When he began to read the letter his eyes watered up again.

My Dearest Amell,

If you are reading this it means I have passed and hopefully, you have Hazel. I can’t tell you how much I miss you and how much I still love you. You were my everything and I wish I would have stayed, but it was for the best we separated. There isn’t or maybe now wasn’t a day that passed by where I didn’t miss you.

Hazel is your daughter. She is such a bright girl, Amell. She has such a big heart and she is so kind. She is a perfect mix of you and me. Please take good care of her, Amell. She is our baby. She is the last of me. Guard her with your life like I have. I am sorry I broke your heart. I am sorry for everything. I love you to the farthest star and back.

With love forever and always,
Hilda.

"Fucking... hell..." He growled, clinging to the letter. He was heartbroken and pissed. How in the fuck was not letting him know about their child a good thing? "I still fucking loved her, Vlora... I wish... I could have been there. If I tried to show her how much I loved her... I would have been there for Hazel and Hilda." He said. Vlora hugged him tightly, not knowing what to say.

Hazel looked over towards the porch and watched the two. Was he crying? She thought so. She was sad her mother had passed away too. She didn't know of her aunt or her father or his family. She was happy they found her father. She had been worried he wouldn't be okay with her. Hazel still didn't know.

Amell pulled away, "I don't know how to take of a kid or teenager." He said and Vlora smiled. "I will be here to help. She is a good girl, Amell. Very sweet and curious. I am shocked at how perfect a mix she is of you and Hilda." She said and looked over at Hazel who was looking over at them. She motioned for the girl to come over. Hazel smiled and walked over to the two. She seen that her father had been crying and she could just tell that he was saddened by her mother's death, or well she hoped he was crying because of the death and not because he had to take her in.

"Amell... meet Hazel. She is thirteen years old. She loves books and being sweet and all that." Vlora smiled. Hazel raised a hand up. "It is nice to meet you... uhm..." She didn't know if she should call him dad, daddy, father, Amell, Mr. Amell, Mr. Kawan. Amell smiled softly, "Any form of father or dad you want to use is fine." He said.

"It is nice to meet you, daddy." She said and he took her hand softly in his and shook it. She step forward and hugged him. Amell blinked and softly hugged her close.

Gamaya (outfit) was worried about Amell. Rationally, she knew he was probably fine - he'd seen a doctor, Unarelle had cleaned and bandaged it well enough, but it was still worrisome to her that he hadn't shown up for work. He was a hardworking person, after all, and the only thing she could think was that something must have gone wrong. She headed straight for the lake house, figuring it was the most likely place for her to find him. As she neared the house, she spotted him on the porch with a woman and a young girl. She looked like a kid, though she was still much taller than Gamaya was. "Amell!" she called out gently as she got closer, breathing a sigh of relief. He wasn't hurt. He looked fine. She couldn't have been happier. She slowed to a stop when she reached the porch. "Thank god you're okay. You didn't show up for work. We were worried - I was worried... but apparently you're just babysitting? When did you start watching other people's children? I feel so betrayed," she told him in a joking tone, smiling and shaking her head before looking at the women. "Hi, there," she said politely.

Amell blinked when he heard his name being called and looked over to see Gamaya coming. "Shit... totally forgot about Barynn." He sighed and blinked. "Did she just say I needed to be babysat?" Vlora asked and Amell groaned. Hazel smirked a bit but stayed quiet. "Gammie, this is my sister Vlora, Vlora this is Gammie. She is my boss' baby's momma's sister. Great cook. And this here..." He said and looked at Hazel who looked up at him with a soft smile. She knew this might be hard for him, "Hi, Gammie. I am Hazel. Amell is my father, but he didn't know until today. I am so sorry for keeping him here when he had responsibilities elsewhere. I assure you we didn't mean to worry anyone." She said softly.

Amell blinked in surprise at how well she spoke in a situation like this. She sure did remind him of her mother and his chest tightened. How was he ever going to get over her with a daughter who was so much like her?

Gamaya blinked when Amell introduced the woman as his sister. She recalled him saying his sister was coming, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. When the girl introduced herself as Amell's daughter, Gamaya's brown eyes went wide in surprise. She looked up at Amell, and then back up at Hazel. "Oh, wow," she said softly. "No, no, it's okay, sweetheart. The important thing is that your daddy's okay," she said. How old even was this girl? Should she talk to her like a teenager, or like a kid? She didn't even know. "Hazel, is it? That's a lovely name," she said before looking back at Amell. "I'll....tell Luther and Barynn that you won't be able to come into work today. I'd offer to watch her while you go to work, but I'm sure you've got a lot to process and talk about," she said. She couldn't believe that he was as composed as he was after having just found out he had a child.

Hazel giggled, "As long as it is okay. Daddy, can I go look inside of the house now? I can hurry and pick a room for myself and Auntie V and I can start to think of ideas while you two talk." She said softly. Amell was still a bit weirded by being called daddy but he smiled softly, "Of course." He said and Vlora waved at Gammie. "It was nice meeting you, Gammie. I am sure I will be seeing you around if you can be so worried about him." She smirked and walked in with the young girl. "Ahh yeah, thanks." He said. "Uhm... I might be out for a few days. I need to figure out... some shit... and uhm... get to know her a bit more, you know? She has been through..." He cleared his throat and looked away. "My ex-wife passed away... uhm pretty tragically and... it uhm it has hit me pretty hard on top of not knowing I had a daughter, you know?" He was trying his hardest not to show any kind of weakness. He sure in the hell didn't want to cry in front of Gammie.

Gamaya smiled a bit when the girl so readily called Amell daddy, waiting while he gave her and Vlora leave to go look at the inside of the house. "It's nice meeting you too, Vlora," she said with a smile before they left. When Amell spoke, she listened, her brown eyes widening when he said that not only did he have a daughter he didn't know about, but her mother had also died. "Oh, Amell," she said softly, stepping forward and putting a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I won't tell Luther your reasoning unless you want me to. That...should be yours to tell him," she said. "Do you need a hug...?" she asked, able to tell that he was much more broken inside right now than he was letting on.

Amell shook his head, "It's fine... I lost her once... what's a second time?" He asked and gently patted her head. "Nah, I will pass on the hug, thanks though." He said. She was so tiny compared to him that he would have to bend all the way down and Vlora was in the damn house and knowing her she would make fun of him when he was okay with all of this. "Thanks for not telling Luther, though he is probably going to want to know a good reason for me missing work and needing a few days. So if you could send him this way, maybe?" He asked and shook his head and looked away. He had to be strong, someone did. He was the man of the house and it was bad enough he had broken down in front of Hazel.

Gamaya nodded a bit when he said he would pass on the hug. She left her hand gently on his arm, nodding when he thanked her for not telling Luther. "I'll send him your way, then. If you need anything, just let me know, okay? She's...really tall...but I'm good with kids," she said softly. "And with food. If you need food, there's always extra food at my place. And...if you just need to talk. I lost my husband...it's not the same thing since Kallias and I were still married, but if you have anything you need to talk through, I'm happy to help, or to just listen and let you vent. I'll leave you guys alone, now," she said, giving him a warm smile.

Amell smiled softly, "Thanks... and she is thirteen. She is kind of tall for her age, yeah? Curse my damn tallness." He smiled. "I was still in love with her though... as much as I pushed it down... it was still there." He said before stopping himself from talking more about this. "I will see you later... thanks again, Gammie." He said.

Gamaya blinked when he said that his daughter was tall for her age. "I don't know what's normal for a human of her age, but I'll take your word for it," she said with a slight smirk. She patted his arm gently, able to tell that he was forcing himself not to talk. "I'll see you later. Come by if you need anything at all," she said softly before turning and leaving. She felt a bit shaken on his behalf. She couldn't imagine what he must be going through. She only hoped he'd be willing to ask for help when he needed it and that this wouldn't break him or shut him down.

Morning came and, as planned, Spencer left home and headed for the big house by the lake that Hazel had said was hers. He'd brought his little backpack today, and his sketchbook was in it, just in case inspiration struck while he was out and about. He cheerfully made his way to the lake island, excited to see his new friend. He didn't have a lot of friends, but Hazel was a lot of fun, she seemed really nice, and she had even liked his drawings, so how could he not enjoy spending time with her? He reached the house and headed up to the door, lifting a hand and knocking before taking a step back to wait.

Amell was home, reading when a knock came from the front door. He got up and opened it only to be looking at a young blond boy. "Are you Spencer? The guy who was hanging out with my daughter yesterday?" He asked the young boy. He looked like a typical good-hearted young boy. So far he didn't seem like the type of boy he would have to drown in the lake for hurting his girl.

Spencer smiled when Hazel's father answered the door. He wasn't as tall as Spencer had anticipated, perhaps because the woman he always saw him with was a dwarf and Spencer hadn't really taken that into account. "Yes, I'm Spencer!" he replied with a grin. "Hazel told me you were her dad. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hazel. Is she able to come out and play?" he asked, his smile bright and his voice cheerful.

Amell blinked when he got call Mr. Hazel but smirked, "Same here, kid." He said. "Hazel is out with her aunt at the moment but come on in. I have a few questions for you." He said and moved to the side so the kid could come in. "You can also just call me Amell." He chuckled.

Spencer smiled as Amell spoke. He had been expecting Hazel's dad to be really scary, but he actually seemed quite nice, even inviting him inside to talk while they waited for her to get back. "Oh, okay, sure!" he said, stepping inside after the big man. "Where'd she go with her aunt? I bet she went for ice cream, didn't she? My aunt always takes me for ice cream when we visit her," he said cheerfully.

Amell smiled, "they went to her aunt's friend's house, but im not sure what they are doing. Now come sit. We need to talk." He said and sat down. "My daughter is very special to me, Spencer. So watch over her when you two go out, okay? Always be with her in the city and just be kind to her. That is all I ask for." He said.

Spencer nodded a bit when Amell said that Hazel and her aunt had gone to visit a friend. "Oh, okay, cool!" he replied. He sat down with Amell and then listened while he talked, smiling when the big man was done. "Sure! I know that the islands are dangerous sometimes. My parents always say to be careful. And Hazel seems really fun, so I wouldn't want to be mean to her anyways," he said. He suddenly paused a bit, blinking. "I, um, I hope it's okay that I had Kyle walk her home last night. It was getting late and he's bigger and stronger and tougher than me," he said.