0.o.0

Brody smiled at his daughter sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat of his truck. The road lie ahead, open and waiting, and he had no idea what to do now. He was her only parent, and she was coping with the loss of her mother, and survivors guilt, because she'd been in the wreck that her mother died in, saving her.

And she never said it, but Brody knew enough to know that the past few months had been hell on his little girl. And she hurt constantly, both emotionally and physically.

Maybe that's why when Beau and Rex called, offering him his old spot on Llanview PD back, he accepted. The old saying went, it takes a village to raise a kid, and the people in Llanview had helped him so much when he was coping with his own problems before..

Maybe now, they could help him raise his daughter. Or at least figure out how to help her cope with her loss, the guilt she felt at living.

Brody was at a loss as for what to do, because Jade was very closed off emotionally, and she mostly kept her grief internal, she didn't share it with him.

As soon as the sign came into view for Llanview, Brody took a deep breath, and gently tapped his daughter awake, smiling as he said "We're here, Jade."

" Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean you seemed all set to take the job with the Marines, daddy.. If your country needs you.." Jade said quietly ,her words dying on her lips as her father shook his head and said "No, Jade.. You're my little girl and right now, you need me, pixie."

"Dad, I just.. What if these people all hate me?" Jade asked as they drove past Llanview High, where she'd be starting in a few days. She stared out the window, quietly observing the town, wondering what it was going to be like, living here.

Would she still hear the sounds of metal on metal, shattering glass every single night when she tried to get some sleep? Would she still hear her mother's last words to her as she faded from living mere inches away in the next seat?

She winced even now thinking about it, and she rubbed her arms, clearing her throat. She knew her father was skittish, he wasn't used to being a father, and a single one at that, so she tried her best not to be a problem.

That being said, she just wanted to go to sleep sometimes, never wake up again. She hated that her mother saved her, but still died in the end.

The words of their last argument still rang in Jade's ears as clear as if it'd happened yesterday and not almost a year ago now.

She'd been saying how horrible her mother was, because her mother was an alcoholic who seemed to only care about two things in life, the bottle and men..

And that night, she'd shown just how much she really loved Jade.. Jade learned the hard way, too little and too late that her mother might not have been the best parent, but in the end, she did love her.. And now, she had to live with everything she said, and her mother dying right in front of her eyes.

Her aunt Nadine had been trying her best with her, until Brody could get his head on straight, get to his daughter, but in the end, she'd given up on Jade.

And her father came along, and lately, Jade really was trying to work through the pain and her feelings, but she hadn't been able to do so.

But in the year her father spent at her side, in and out of physical therapy for the damage the wreck did physically, Jade had learned to trust her father. She'd learned that no matter what, her father was going to be there with her, good or bad.

She knew this, but still, she found herself worried that one day, he'd get sick of her depression, her downward spiral and he'd walk away, wash his own hands of her too.

Brody sighed as he turned into the driveway of the small house he'd rented near the high school and the police station and parking he said quietly, "What's on your mind, Pixie? Wanna talk to dad?"

"No dad, I'm fine, really.. Just sleepy I guess." Jade lied as she looked at the small house, smiled her best convincing smile as she raked her hand through caramel brown hair and carefully stepped out, standing in the driveway.

"It's not much, Jade.. But maybe it'll be home eventually." Brody said to his daughter as he hugged her from behind and sighed, wishing he could just get into her head, see what she was really thinking.. He remembered the talk he'd had with Nadine, about her suicide attempts, the scars on her small arm and the bite mark, all the self inflicted wounds on his daughter's body.

To be honest, Brody had been surprised that Nadine even kept Jade and tried to help as long as she had.. Then again, Julie, Jade's mother had been a close friend of Nadine.. So it'd probably been more out of loyalty and duty to her, than her being a sister who loved her brother, loved her niece.

Digging through his pockets, he fished out the keys and helped Jade up the stairs, she was still having a little trouble, a little stiffness in her legs walking around.

"Dad. I can walk." Jade managed to say as he sat her down on the couch in the living room and walked into the kitchen, looking through the refridgerator, groaning when he realized that there was nothing to eat in the house.

"Feel like going to a diner for supper?"

"Sure dad." Jade called back as she gritted her teeth and stood, leaning heavily on the couch to do so. This was another reason she hated going out, doing anything.. Though she hated to admit it, she constantly felt people staring at her scars (both self inflicted and left over from the wreck at the end of last year, the one that'd killed her mother), and she hated it.

Not that she was really vain, but she hated being stared at, hated feeling ugly.

And she'd never felt uglier inside and out than she did now with everything that'd happened.

Brody helped her back into the car, and they drove to the diner, parking.

"We can't go somewhere with drive thru?"

"Sweetie, Llanview really doesn't have a fast food place.. And you're going to have to get out of the house sooner or later, I mean there are two more weeks left of summer." Brody countered as he sighed and helped her out of the car, then into a booth in the diner.

He noticed that two heads slightly raised up when she entered the diner... one belonging to Jack Manning, who he could care less for, but the other belonging to Shane Morasco, the teenage son of his best friends Gigi and Rex.

He smiled politely at Shane, who nodded back, and turned his attention back to the sketch pad in front of him.

Jade sat staring a hole through the menu and once when she looked up, she noticed a dark haired boy looking at her. She scowled at him,and standing said "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, wash my hands, daddy."

Brody nodded and when she'd went to the bathroom, Gigi wandered over with Rex and sat down.

"Let me guess.. Julie's daughter."

"No, my daughter with Julie." Brody said as Rex spoke up and asked, "So.. Jade's okay, right?"

"Not really, man.. It's like she's got this wall up, nobody gets in... I rarely get a glimpse into her mind and as her dad, it scares the shit out of me, that she could want to kill or hurt herself so many times." Brody spoke honestly, as Rex nodded and said "You know Shane's tried that once."

"When? Why?" Brody asked, alarmed.

Gigi explained and then they watched as Jack headed off Jade, who was on her way out of the bathroom.

Jack stood and smiled at the shorter girl. "Do you need some help? I noticed your limp.."

"And I noticed you look like another arrogant prick. Mind moving? If I wanted help or pity, I'd ask for it. Did I?"

"No but... No need in being such a bitch.." Jack said calmly as he raised a brow at her.. His charm wasn't working? What was with this?

"Oh trust me, there is. Just leave me alone, okay?" Jade said as she went to walk around him, but he reached out, catching hold of her hand, managing a smile.

"My name's Jack."

"And mine is none of your concern.. Look, I'm not gonna be some rich asshole's charity case. Trust me, if you really knew me? You'd know I'm not worth the time." Jade said quietly, her nostrils flaring in slight anger and embarassment.

Shane cleared his throat and said from the next booth, "Jack? Stop being a dick and let her go."

Jack snickered at Shane's nerve then said "Or what, Wheezy?"

Jade rolled her eyes in disgust at Jack's quick switch from decent guy to all around douchebag. She smirked and then said "I knew it.. The good guy thing was an act."

Walking, or limping rather, she slid back into the booth next to her father, and silently sipped her milkshake while watching the blond boy drawing at the booth across the diner, hint of a hidden smile.

On their way out of the diner, after her father said goodbye to his friends Rex and Gigi, she wandered over and sat down cautiously, almost at the very edge of the booth and said quietly, "Earlier.. Thanks for that."

When Shane looked up to at least tell her she was welcome, the girl was gone. He raked his hand through his hair and when his mom and dad got back to the table, he asked who she was and Gigi explained everything about the girl.

Shane couldn't help but feel bad for the girl, but he knew as soon as school started, she'd be on the 'cool kids' side, and she'd probably pick on him too.