A/N: Here's another oneshot for you. I was a little disappointed with the number of reviews from my last fic Take the Edge Off. Check it out if you haven't yet! And I hope you enjoy this one!
It was a typical Thursday night. The members of the Shannon family were around the house just passing the time before bed. Zoe had gone to sleep hours ago, as she had school the next morning. Josh sat on the couch, gently strumming his guitar. Maddy's mother and father worked in the kitchen, making themselves lunches to bring to work the following day. Putting down her Plex, Maddy made her way to the kitchen where she sat down at the counter and watched her parents for a few moments.
"Hey Mom," Maddy said eventually, her tone casual, "is it alright if I go out with Mark tomorrow night?"
Elisabeth Shannon smiled. "Of course honey. What are you guys going to do?"
Maddy giggled excitedly. "I have no idea! He wants to surprise me."
"How romantic!" Elisabeth gushed. "I'm sure it'll be great."
"Hold on just a second," Jim chimed in, holding up his hand. "I don't think I like the idea of you going somewhere with him and me not being aware of your whereabouts."
Maddy rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous Daddy, do you honestly think Mark would take me anywhere unsafe? He's almost as protective as you are."
"Fine," Jim sighed. "But you'll have to be back by ten then."
"Ten!" Maddy exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Not kidding," said Jim. "You let Mark know that you have to be home by ten. Not a minute later or I might actually kill him."
"Jim," Elisabeth said, trying to diffuse the situation. She quickly quieted when Jim glared at her. Raising her eyebrows and sending him a glare of her own, she walked off to their bedroom, shaking her head.
"This is ridiculous," Maddy said incredulously. "Mark and I have been together for almost two years. I have the right to stay out later with him."
"You're my daughter," Jim stated, getting angry, "and so I have the right to veto your rights. You will be home by ten and that is final."
"No," Maddy said, putting her hand on her hip. "I'm an adult and I will come home whenever I damn well please."
Jim was taken aback. Maddy had never defied him like this.
"Excuse me?" he asked, his temper really flaring now. "What did you say, young lady?"
"I am not a child!" Maddy practically screamed, her temper matching her father's.
"Maybe not legally," Jim pointed out, "but as long as you are living under my roof, you will follow my rules."
"Fine then," Maddy said, her tone venomous, "maybe I'll find another roof to live under."
Jim's eyes widened in shock before narrowing. "If you think for one second that I am going to let you live with Mark then you must be delusional. Now go to your room, and I never want to hear you talking back to me like that again. Understood?"
Maddy surveyed him for a second with baleful eyes before turning and walking defiantly out the front door.
For a moment Jim was frozen. He watched her retreating form with a startled look on his face before he lunged towards the front door and exited onto the porch. Maddy was already on the road.
"Wait just a minute!" he screamed after her. "Where do you think you're going? It is nearly midnight! Come back here right now! Right now I said! You are so grounded! For a month…a year! Madelyn Shannon are you listening to me?"
Maddy ignored him, continuing to stride briskly through the darkened colony. Eventually, her father's screams faded into the distance as she turned in the direction of Mark's house.
Upon her arrival, she quickly walked up the few steps to the door before knocking. After a few moments with no response she knocked louder. When she received no answer, she sighed and pursed her lips. She was disappointed, but not entirely surprised. She knew he liked to work the night shift so that he could spend his days with her. It often made her wonder when he found the time to sleep.
Grabbing the spare key from under the flower pot next to the door, Maddy let herself into Mark's darkened house. She considered waiting up for him, but she knew his shift wouldn't be over for another hour or two, and the fight with her father had left her mentally and emotionally drained.
Deciding she should just go to sleep, she walked into his bedroom and stared at his bed. She had never slept in his bed. She had never even been in his bed. She wondered briefly what he would think when he came home and found her asleep in his home. Would he be angry? She didn't think so, but the thought still made her uneasy. Too tired to analyze the thought further, Maddy looked around the room before spotting one of Mark's olive green t-shirts hanging off the back of a chair in the corner. Stripping out of her clothes, she pulled it on and inhaled his scent before climbing into his bad and promptly falling asleep.
Mark arrived home at 2 o'clock in the morning, eager to climb into bed and get a good night's sleep.
Reaching out to open the front door, Mark frowned when he found that it was unlocked. He never left his door unlocked. Instantly growing suspicious, Mark drew his gun before cautiously entering.
Everything seemed to be as he had left it. He looked around quickly, searching for any potential threats in the main living space, before moving into his bedroom. He paused at the door, confused by what he saw.
In the moonlight that streamed in through his bedroom window, Mark could see a figure curled up on his bed. He approached slowly, every nerve in his body alert, before sighing in relief when he recognized his girlfriend.
Taking a step closer, he stepped on something soft and looked down to see her clothes in a pile on the floor. Looking back up at Maddy, he studied her more closely and realized she was wearing one of his shirts. He swallowed thickly and took a deep breath.
As he stood there like an idiot, contemplating why she was here and trying to decide if he should wake her up or just let her sleep, Maddy eyes fluttered open and she let out a yawn.
"Mark?" she murmured, looking up at him sleepily.
"Hi," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "May I ask what you're doing here in the middle of the night in my bed wearing my shirt? Not that I'm complaining. I'm just extremely curious."
"My dad and I got in a fight," she explained. "It was pretty stupid now that I'm thinking back on it. I was angry about the curfew he set for me and it kind of just got worse from there."
"So you left?" Mark asked, his eyebrows knitting together in mild disbelief.
"Well," Maddy said hesitantly, "first I threatened to move out. Then I left."
"You told him you were moving out?" Mark asked, his disbelief growing. He sat down on the edge of the bed as he waited for her reply.
"He said that as long as I lived under his roof I had to follow new rules. I told him I'd find a new roof to live under." Maddy frowned. "But I don't want to live under a new roof. I was just so angry. I didn't think."
Mark rubbed her back soothingly. "Well," he said, "it's too late to go home now. Let's get some sleep and we'll go over and talk to them in the morning."
Maddy nodded and scooted over on the bed, making room for Mark. He quickly stripped down to his boxers before climbing in beside her and gathering her into his arms.
"You're not mad right?" Maddy asked after a moment, her head nestled against his shoulder.
"Mad?" Mark was confused. "Why would I be mad?"
"I don't know," Maddy said. "I kind of just broke into your house stole your shirt and went to sleep in your bed. I didn't know if you'd be angry with me."
Mark stroked her hair. "First of all, it's not breaking in if you use a key. I wouldn't have told you where the key is if I didn't want you in my house. And you in my shirt and in my bed? Not exactly things to be upset over. It looks better on you anyway."
Maddy giggled quietly. "It's good to know I have somewhere to go if things ever go sideways. Like a back-up house."
Mark chuckled, pulling her in tighter against his side. "Well, if you ever have the need for a back-up house, you are welcome here anytime. Rest assured that I will always be here to put a roof over your head."
"I know you will," Maddy sighed, "and I love you for it."
"I love you too Mad. I love you too."
A/N: I'm going back to school today, so I might not have as much time to write, but I'll do my best! I have a whole long list of Maddy/Mark ideas! Obviously, reviews are like fuel for writing. The more I get the quicker I write a new story. So review! Tell me what you liked or hated. Tell me anything, I honestly don't care. Just hit that button and write something so I'll feel pumped up enough to get another fic out!