"Because You Love Me" By: Kasey (c) 2000 Death threats still apply. Chapter 3. Chapter 3. It was the screaming that woke Kevin that night. It was a scream of pain, of fear, of terror, and it was coming from the bedroom where Ella was sleeping. Getting out of bed and pulling a robe on over his boxer shorts, Kevin hurried into the room, turning on the light to find Ella sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face as she screamed and cried. " Baby, what’s wrong?" Kevin sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to smooth her hair from her face, but Ella moved away, scrunching up in the corner of the bed, clutching the tattered blue teddy to her chest, her pretty face red and covered in tears. " No! Bad man hurt me! Please, don’t hurt me!" she sobbed, her tiny chest heaving with the force of her terror. " Ella, I wont hurt, please believe me. I would never hurt you!" Kevin jerked back, frightened to touch her, the terror in her eyes real. " No! Please don’t hurt me! I want Nick! Where’s Nick?" Ella screamed, looking around wildly. " I’ll go get him baby, just..." Kevin got to his feet, reaching out a hand but only having it battered away by Ella as she cried out for Nick again. " Nick!" Kevin didn’t waste any time in leaving the room for Nick, who he bumped into as he was entering Kevins room. " Kevin? What’s wrong?" Nick asked, his eyes wide with worry. Kevin shrugged, running a frustrated hand through his hair. " I don’t know. She woke me up screaming, then when I tried to comfort her, she begged me not to hurt her, and started crying for you. She wont let me touch her Nick, I dont know what else to do!" Kevin said. " OK, well I’ll go in and see if she’ll let me touch her. I’ll try and get her back to sleep. I think that maybe you should think carefully about Brians suggestion of a child psychologist. If Ella thinks that you’re going to hurt her, then she’s going to need some help," Nick said and Kevin nodded, watching as Nick entered Ellas room. He stood there for several minutes, watching as Nick took Ella into his arms and rocked her, crooning and singing to her, before he turned away and headed to the phone. He dialled Brians mobile number and waited impatiently for it to be answered. " Come on, come on," he tapped his fingers impatiently against the bedside table until the phone was answered. " ‘Lo?" " Brian, its me. I need you to make an appointment for me and Ella with a child psychologist." " Kevin? Why are you calling me at this time of morning? What is going on there?" Brian had started out sleepy, but concern soon sharpened his voice. " It’s Ella. She woke me up screaming, wouldn’t let me touch her, begged me not to hurt her. Nick’s in there now, calming her down, but I’m really worried about her. I think I will take her to a psychologist. I dont want my own daughter afraid of me," Kevin said grimly. " OK. When does your flight get in? I’ll make the appointment as soon as I can get in. I’m sure someone around here can see you tomorrow. Or is it today? I’m not too sure right now, having been woken up out of a wonderful sleep," Brian said, but Kevin knew he didn’t mean it. " Thanks Brian. I owe you one for this." " You bet you do," Brian muttered before hanging up the phone. ***** The first person Kevin saw when he, Nick and Ella got off the flight from Kentucky was Brian. Then AJ started bouncing around, with Howie laughing at AJs antics. As soon as Ella started giggling, Kevin knew why AJ was bouncing around the way he was. " Hey Kev, Nick. And this must be Princess Ella," AJ said, presenting Ella with a red rose wrapped in tissue paper. Her eyes widened as she took the precious flower in her hand, almost reverently, as though it were made of glass. She then looked up at AJ and smiled, the first real smile Kevin had seen since he had picked her up yesterday. It made his heart ache, wishing that he had been the first to coax that smile out of her. " Who are you?" Ella asked. " I’m King AJ," AJ said, ignoring the loud laugh-turned-cough from Howie," And I welcome fair Princess Ella to the city of Houston, Texas. This is Jester Howie, and...well, that’s just Brian. We’re here to whisk you away to the Castle Hilton, where you can dine upon ice-cream and chocolate chip cookies and watch The ‘Rugrats’ as much as you could possibly want!" " AJ, you’re crazy you know that?" Brian asked, shaking his head and laughing. " Of course, but you guys love me right? And so will Princess Ella here after a little while, right Ella?" AJ asked the little girl, who was staring at him, a small smile on her face. " Oh-oh Bone, you got an admirer there," Nick said and AJ smiled widely. " I may just wait around for this one. If she’s anything like her fath..." " AJ," Kevins warning tone stopped AJ before he said the word’ father’. AJ looked at him, realisation dawning in his eyes. " OK. So Ella, wanna tell me a little about yourself. Like maybe what colour flowers you want at out wedding?" AJ took Ellas hand as she giggled and led her away, leaving Kevin staring after then in bewilderment. " How does he do that?" he asked the others. " The boy has too much charm and too little time. Once he found out about Ella, he got all excited and started jumping up and down like a madman." " Like a madman?" Nick asked and Brian grinned. " OK, so like the madman we all know he is. But you should see the storybooks he went out and bought. There’s a pile of them back at the hotel. The sales assistant at the bookstore we went to must have thought we were nuts, buying all these childrens books," Brian said as the four of them started walking towards the exit of the terminal. AJ and Ella were already outside, standing beside the limo and Kevin watched as Ellas face became animated as she talked to AJ. " OK, so that takes one thing off my list to buy for her. But I still need clothes and toys and god knows what else. Nick and I made a small list on the plane, so I guess we should really go and do that now, before we go back to the hotel. And before I have to tell management about this bombshell," Kevin said and Brian nodded. " Sure, we can do that. AJ will enjoy this. He’ll probably have a lot more fun at this than at a rehearsal anyway," Brian said. " Did you get an appointment with a psychologist?" he didn’t mean to blurt it out that way, but the decision to send his daughter to a shrink had weighed heavily on his mind all night. " Yes, I found a very reputable psychologist, a Brianna Harvey. She was recommended to me by my own therapist. You have an appointment to see her at three this afternoon," Brian said. " Is it wise to choose a psychologist in a different town from where you live?" Howie asked. " I have no choice. You didn’t hear her last night. I’m frightened that there’s something seriously wrong with her. If I don’t get her some help now, god knows what will happen," Kevin said and Howie nodded. " OK, so where are we going shopping for this lovely little girl?" AJ asked when the foursome stepped outside the terminal and walked over to the limo. " Anywhere that sells girls clothes." " I dont want any new clothes," this was the first time that Ella had spoken without being spoken to first, and it surprised Kevin. " Ella, you only have a couple of dresses, you need much more than that," he said softly. " I don’t care. Mommy bought me these dresses and I don’t want anymore," Ella crossed her arms across her chest defiantly and Kevins breath was stolen from him when he saw himself in that action. " Ella, sweetheart..." " I am not your sweetheart! I’m mommys sweetheart! Not yours! I want to go home, to my mommy!" Ella said, her voice wavering right at the end. " Ella, your mommy isn’t at home. She’s gone to heaven, to be an angel," Kevin said and the five of them watched as she took this news in. Her eyes widened and then tears started to fall. " You’re lying!" " I’m sorry Ella, but I’m not. Mommy is in heaven," Kevin said softly, reaching out his hand to Ella but she wouldn’t touch him, shrinking into herself as she cried silently, hugging the teddy to her chest. Kevin watched her helplessly, feeling the sympathy from his friends, and not knowing how to deal with it, or his crying daughter.