AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yeah, yeah. I know it's been a long time since we've updated… actually, almost two months (I am shamed – tis my fault). Anyways, Phoenix and I plan to continue this story, unless she gets bored with it and decides to dump it all on me – then I'd go all mental and kamikaze on her for doing so and forget all about it while I unleash a wrath of hell upon her! MWUAHAHAHAHA!

….. Oops….. I said too much. Enjoy! Lizzie

Me, get bored with it? Not a chance. I'm just still recovering from losing all the stories on my harddrive for a second time. I have learnt a valuable lesson now – backing up stories is a great idea and should be done regularly. Anyway, yes we've taken a while to update but... that's not our problem. See, there was this really big chicken... wait, wrong excuse. While I think up a better one, read on... Phoenix

2 HOURS LATER – 8:03 PM

Chris had not moved from his spot at the bar since he arrived and had gone through more beers than he, Ryann or either of the other two bartenders who had served him since he had arrived could count. Now, it was safe to say that he was more than just drunk – he was trashed. Half an hour earlier, Ryann had gone on her break and since then more patrons had arrived and the place was picking up in business. So it had been around forty-five minutes since he had last spoken to her and he'd been left to his own, depressed thoughts.

Chris couldn't get Kady out of his mind, and the regrets of never having been there to watch her grow up for any of those special moments. Her first word. Her first steps. The first tooth she lost. Her first day of kindergarten. Everything... it was depressing! And all of this was brought on by the fact that Kadence, now fifteen, had her presumably first boyfriend and she still didn't feel like she could trust her own father enough to tell him about this guy. It hurt... cutting deep into his heart like a knife.

"You look like your troubles have gotten worse," came a now familiar voice from across the bar counter. Chris strained himself to find the energy to lift his head, but managed to do so and saw that Ryann had returned. She was smiling her usual friendly smile and was apparently in the middle of restocking the refrigerator with alcoholic beverages. "Maybe I was wrong about the whole 'Homer Simpson' reference thing."

"Yeah, probably," he mumbled, sipping down more beer. "Who fucking cares anymore..."

"Ouch. Me thinks you've got a lot weighing you down," Ryann observed and pulled open another box. "Okay, so I'm breaking my rule. Anything you wanna share?"

"Nope."

"Okay," she shrugged. "Hey, do you know the time?"

Chris blinked rapidly to rid himself of the alcohol-induced haze that had overcome his vision and raised his wrist, waiting for his eyes to refocus (which took about ten or so seconds to do). He groaned at the effort it was taking.

"8...8:88... no... 8... 7... fuck!"

Ryann giggled and continued stocking the fridge, her suspicions being confirmed that this guy was beyond pissed. She looked up to see that Chris was putting in what looked to be a mighty effort in figuring out the time.

"Shit!"

"Dude, if you don't know—"

"No, I fucking got it!" he snapped and struggled to fight the blurriness. Finally, his vision cleared just enough. "Ah! There we go... it's... uh, 8:05."

"Geez, took ya long enough."

"Fuck you."

"I'll ignore that."

"You do that."

Ryann finished stocking the remainder of the fridge and then pushed the box aside and stood up, closing the door. Satisfied that she had done a good job, she turned around and walked over to Chris, watching him drink down the rest of his beer. A part of her was amused and knew he'd be paying for it in the morning, but the other part of her was concerned. Whatever weird, painful secrets this guy was hiding, there was no doubt it was bad. Plus his imposing physical stature and tendency to take down a lot of booze suggested he may, in fact, be an aggressive drunk. He slammed the bottle back down.

"Another?"

Ryann eyed him carefully. "You know... you're running up quite a tab, here. Maybe you oughta quit."

"Fuck that. I got money. Another. Now."

"Honey, I really think you've had enough," she seriously told him, hoping he'd get the hint. Chris glared at her.

"Sweetheart, I'm telling you that I'm not done. Now come on. I'm a paying costumer..." he bitterly replied.

"I don't think so."

"What?"

"I'm just doing my job," Ryann defended herself by holding up her hands. "I can't offer you another drink, Chris."

This, topped off with the rest of the events of the day, was enough for Chris to be more than angry.

"Yeah?" he growled, his eyes darkening. "Fine. I'll take my business to another bar; one that's a little more hospitable."

Ryann watched him pick up his keys and wallet and stand up from the bar. He had to hold onto the counter to keep from falling over completely and, for a few seconds, he stood there and tried to steady himself. Without another glance in Ryann's direction, Chris staggered off towards the door. Knowing she couldn't let him out that door and behind the wheel, Ryann took off after him, running around the side of the bar and following him out onto the sidewalk. She looked both ways, with slight panic, and spotted him making his way towards the parking lot.

"Chris!" she called out. But he didn't stop, nor even acknowledge that she was there. Seeing no other alternative, Ryann ran after him. She hadn't been behind the bar all night, so she didn't know exactly how much alcohol he had consumed. "Chris! Stop!"

"Go to hell!" he slurred back, and almost fell against the wall.

There was no way she was going to let him go now and she quickly caught up with him. She reached out and pulled on his arm, forcing him to stop and turn to her. He did, but not without sharply pulling his arm out of her grip, sending her backwards a couple of steps.

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm not letting you leave while you're completely trashed, you know."

"It's not like you have a choice."

"Oh, but I do, idiot," Ryann said and crossed her arms. "You see... I'm well within my rights to call the cops and have them haul you off to jail. Or I can just call you a cab. Either way. Better yet, I could just slash your tires."

"That's such an 'L.A.' thing to do. What is it you want, lady?"

Not afraid of him at all, Ryann stepped up to him and defiantly stood toe to toe with him.

"First of all – my name is Ryann. Not 'lady'. Call me that again, and I won't hesitate to beat your ass, myself. Second – whatever shit you're going through, I don't really give a damn. All I know is that, since we've been serving you booze all night, it's our responsibility to make sure you don't get yourself killed on the way home. It wouldn't be good for business for people to think of our bar as the one willing to sell alcohol to people and then let them drive home afterwards. It wouldn't be very responsible, yeah? And I'm in no mood to be arrested right now or slapped with a lawsuit."

"Aw geez, it's nice to know you care about your customers."

"Fuck no. I'm only in this for the tips," she grinned and bit her lip, carefully thinking out her next move. "Come on inside. I'll call you a cab."

"No."

"Are you always this stubborn?"

"Pretty much," Chris said, and looked behind him to where his car was parked, in the distance.

"And nothing I can say can make you change your mind? Seriously, I doubt I can make you come back... given your physical advantage over me." Ryann observed, taking quiet pleasure in inspecting this man, but kept her cool.

"I'm not changing my mind. Give it up!" Chris told her, exasperated, and continued walking to his car. Ryann followed, knowing that she'd get her ass kicked by her bosses if she let him go. As they approached his vehicle, she made one last ditch attempt to get him to stay

"Chris, wait!"

She saw him stop and sighed in relief. But he hadn't stopped because of her, but for an entirely different reason. He stood there, stunned, at what was before him. Ryann came to stand beside him and her jaw dropped at what it was. Chris' car had been completely smashed up and broken into. All the windows were smashed and the trunk had been popped open, with spray paint having been scrawled over it.

"Holy shit..."

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Chris yelled, becoming so enraged that he completely frightened her, and she backed up.

Meanwhile, he stormed over to his vehicle and looked into it. It appeared that someone had tried to jump start it. But, at any rate, the whole car was trashed. Ryann stood to the side and realized the trouble this would result in for the bar (since the parking lot was on the owners' property), not to mention that seeing this man completely and justifiably flip out scared her slightly.

"Chris..."

"WHAT?"

Taking the risk and defying her fear of him at this moment, she walked over to him and gently tugged at his arm.

"Come on," she quietly implored. "You're hanging with me tonight. At least until we can get this sorted out."

WITH LILY AND KADY

Kady stood in the entrance way to the living room and watched her mother, nervously. Lily was laying down on the sofa, her eyes shut, massaging the sides of her head; she had grown a little pale in the past couple of hours and it didn't take much for her daughter to realize that she wasn't feeling well. Normally, Kady would be happy that her mother was not in the mood to scream at her but, the thing is... that almost never happened. Even if Lily wasn't well, or was really busy, if Kady screwed up, she'd usually be all over her anyway. But tonight... tonight she was just laying there and not exerting much energy at all.

"Mom?" Kady stammered, daring to make the first move. She was risking her own freedom by not slipping from the room unnoticed but, still, there was something not right with her mother. And if there's one thing that Kady learned from what happened months ago, it was to appreciate Lily just a little more. "Mom? Are... you okay?"

"Hmm?"

Lily looked up, and sounded like she hadn't even noticed Kady was there, as she had expected her to have gone straight to her room and locked herself in, like she usually did when she was in trouble.

"Are you okay?" Kady repeated, taking a couple of steps forward.

"I'm fine," her mother snapped. "Just, uh... go to your room."

"Don't ya wanna yell at me or tell me I'm a disappointment or whatever?" she tried to lighten the mood a bit but Lily was having none of it.

"Kadence, you know you're grounded. For how long, though, I have no idea since I haven't been able to get in contact with your father. Just stay in your room, yeah?" Lily instructed as calmly as possible, not wanting to provoke another wave of sickness and also feeling a massive headache coming on.

"Alright. Call me if you need anything." Kady offered before heading up to her room. She wasn't normally this caring but... something really was off with her mother.

Lily let herself relax into the sofa, closing her eyes and enjoying the peace that had descended on the house. She was somewhat surprised that Kadence hadn't started blaring her music yet but was silently happy about that fact. The last thing she needed was for the bass of Kady's music to enhance the headache that she had.

Sighing, Lily rolled onto her side slightly, instantly regretting the movement. Another wave of nausea washed over her and she had to haul herself off the sofa and get to the bathroom quickly. As she was vomiting, she heard the phone start to ring. She groaned, trying to work out what to do about it. Finally, she crawled to the door of the bathroom and stuck her head out.

"Kady, get the phone please!"

"Got it!" Kady called back, running out of her room and into her mother's, picking up the extension in there.

"Myers residence, Kady speaking." She answered the call.

"Uh... hi. Is Lily Myers available please?" A woman's voice replied.

"She's... um... no, she's not available." Kady told her, hearing the sound of her mother vomiting from down the hall. "I can pass a message on to her, though?"

"Sure, that would be good. My name is Ryann Evans, I work at Duke's Sports Bar on Lee Road. I have a guy by the name of Chris Harris here. He's a little trashed, his car's been broken into and he kind of needs a ride. He's being stubborn and won't let me put him in a cab. I asked if there was anyone that could come get him and he gave me this number." Ryann explained.

"Nice one, dad. Um... I'll let my mom know. She'd probably be interested in picking him up, if only to rub in the fact that he's going to have a hangover tomorrow. Thanks for calling." Kady replied.

"Not a problem, honey. Have a good night." Ryann farewelled before Kady hung up.

"Mom... dad went out drinking and his car got broken into. He needs a ride." Kady called to her mother from outside the bathroom door.

"Ugh! Typical Chris! Where is he?" Lily yelled back, getting to her feet and washing her face.

"Duke's Sports Bar on Lee Road." Kady answered. Lily opened the door and looked down at her daughter.

"Back to your room. You're not to leave it until I get home again." She ordered.

"What if I need to use the bathroom?" Kady wondered.

"Hold it. I won't be long." Lily told her before going downstairs and grabbing her purse and car keys.

"I haven't heard your door shut yet!" She yelled up the stairs.

Kady stomped over to her room and pulled the door shut, slamming it loudly with her still in the hall. Lily must have accepted that she'd gone inside, though, as she soon left. Kady smirked and wandered back into her mother's room, picking up the phone and dialing the number for Sebastian's house. She knew he'd answer, his parents both worked the night shift.

"Yo." Sebastian answered.

"Hey, just me. I'm supposedly grounded but mom's gone to pick dad up from a bar.
I need a little freedom. Come get me?" Kady hoped, knowing she'd probably be seeing the same four walls of her bedroom for a long time to come. Why not have one last little bit of fun before her parents decided on how long she was grounded for?

"Sure. Be there in five." Sebastian replied before hanging up.

Kady grinned and put the phone back into place before going back to her room. She turned on her stereo, cranking the volume up before gathering a few things and throwing them into her backpack. Grabbing her house keys off her desk, she made her way downstairs and out the front door, locking it behind her just as her mother had done earlier. She made her way out to the sidewalk and waited for Sebastian to pull up.

Lily pulled up into the parking lot of Duke's Sports Bar about twenty minutes later. Gathering her composure and willing herself not to throw up, she got out of the car and walked inside. The atmosphere at the bar had picked up slightly, a live band playing on a wide stage at one end of the room. The noise of it made Lily cringe as she walked over to the bar. She stood there for a moment before a woman on the other side of the counter walked over.

"Hey, can I help you? Drink?" She asked Lily, already seeing that the woman looked to be in pretty bad shape.

"No, thanks. I'm here to pick up Chris Harris..." Lily explained, having to practically yell to be heard over the band. Her head was really pounding now.

"Oh, right. You must be Lily, yeah? I'm Ryann, I'm the one that called." Ryann introduced herself.

"Yeah, I'm Lily. So, where is the drunkard?" Lily wondered, looking around a little.

"This way." Ryann motioned, heading to the other end of the counter. Lily followed after her slowly.

There, on the last stool, was Chris. He was leaning on the bar, his head resting on his arms. Seedy didn't even begin to cover the way he looked. Lily groaned, realizing that she'd probably have to worry more about him throwing up on the way out than herself. She walked over to him and tapped his shoulder. He looked up and a smile spread across his face.

"Lil! Hey! Come, have a drink. Ryann, get Lily a drink and put it on my tab!" Chris called drunkenly.

"I'm not drinking, remember? Let's get you home." Lily told him, moving to help him up.

"No, no... you have to drink! Ryann's the best bartender ever! Come on, Ryann, bring the lady a drink!" Chris insisted. Ryann was watching on, amused by his antics and the fact that Lily didn't seem amused at all.

"Harris, get your ass off that stool and outside, now! I left Kady alone and we both know that's not a good idea, right?" Lily pointed out. A dark look came over Chris' face and he held his hand up, showing Lily the bandage.

"She can't possibly do anything worse to herself than what I did." He commented.

"Can I take you home now? Or would you rather walk?" Lily asked with a sigh, wanting nothing more than to get out of the bar so that she was away from the noise of the band.

"Have a drink with me first. Ryann won't get me a beer but, maybe, if you ask her for it, she'll hand it over." Chris told Lily in a loud whisper.

"Damn it, Chris, I'm not drinking! And there's no way you need any more alcohol, you're already stupid enough now. Are you trying to take over the drunken hick status that Kady gave James? Because you're doing a damn good job of it from what I see." Lily fumed.

"Aw, baby... that ain't nice! Why would you say something like that?" Chris asked, a hurt look on his face.

"Because I'm tired, Chris! I've been throwing up all day, Kady got caught shoplifting and now this! I'm worn out... I just want to go home and you're not making that easy on me." Lily replied, exasperated.

"Well, why didn't you just say you wanted to go? I thought you wanted to stay for a drink." Chris told her, getting unsteadily to his feet.

Lily slung one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him step away from the bar slightly, not saying anything more. She didn't want to continue this battle of wits with a guy that was clearly running short of them thanks to alcohol impairment. Ryann made her way around the bar and aided Lily in getting Chris outside to the car.

Kadence sat in the passenger's seat of Sebastian's car with a confused expression on her face. Sebastian had barely said two words to her since picking her up – although he had apologized again for her getting caught at the mall. Now, though, Kady was confused by the fact that it didn't look like they were headed back to Sebastian's house as she thought they would be.

"Seb, where are we going?" She asked hesitantly as he turned another corner. She had no idea where she was at this point which scared her more than he probably realized.

"I told some friends that I'd meet up with them tonight. Can't bail on them, can I?" Seb replied with a smile and a wink in her direction.

"Guess not." Kady sighed, wishing he would, just so they could spend time alone together before she got locked into her room for the rest of eternity.

"Relax, you'll have fun, I promise." Seb told her, reaching over to take her hand in his.

The gesture cheered her up slightly and she nodded, faking a smile for his benefit. He pulled his car off the road into what looked to be a vacant lot before killing the engine. He got out of the car, quickly running around to her side and opening the door for her. She accepted the hand he offered and allowed him to help her out of the car. After he'd locked the car up, they headed towards a group of people sitting around a bonfire.

"Hey, Seb's here! The party can really get started now!" A voice yelled. Several others greeted Sebastian as he found a spot to sit, on the hood of an abandoned car. He pulled Kady up next to him and waved a hand to his friends in greeting.

"You guys, this is Kady. Kady, this is... well, everyone." He told her with a smile. Kady offered a meek wave, feeling slightly uncomfortable despite the fact that Sebastian had his arms tightly wrapped around her now.

"Seb, man, you gotta try this." A guy spoke up, moving to hand Sebastian what looked to be a self rolled cigarette.

"Good stuff?" Seb wondered, sniffing at it.

"Top notch." The guy nodded, tossing him a lighter. Sebastian lit the cigarette and took a few quick puffs, holding the smoke in his lungs for a bit before letting it out.

"Smooth." Sebastian nodded. He leaned back slightly, taking another puff before offering the cigarette to Kady.

"What is it?" She whispered quietly, not wanting to look like a complete nerd in front of his friends.

"Weed. Try it." Sebastian urged.

Kady hesitated, once again knowing that what he wanted her to do would get her into a lot of trouble if her parents found out. Remembering her father's anger earlier, though, Kady decided she needed something to help her relax. She accepted the joint from Sebastian and took a small puff, erupting into a fit of coughing soon after. Sebastian took the joint from her and rubbed her back a little, hoping to ease the coughing.

"It's okay, babe. The first time is always the worst." He whispered to her before kissing the side of her head. Kady nodded, finally able to breathe again.

"Here, this'll make you feel better." A girl near Kady spoke up, offering her a bottle containing an amber colored liquid.

Kady accepted the bottle and looked at Seb for a moment. He nodded, another smile being sent her way. That smile could probably make her do anything, she figured before raising the bottle to her lips and taking a swig. The liquid burned on it's way down but left a warm feeling in her stomach. She took another swig or two before trying to hand the bottle back.

"Keep it, babe. I got plenty more right here." The girl laughed, holding up another two bottles. Kady laughed, relaxing slightly. Sebastian's friends didn't seem so bad. They weren't making fun of her or anything. It was kind of refreshing to be accepted so quickly by a group of total strangers.

A while later, Kady listened intently as someone told the group about a recent argument with his parents in which he'd told his father to go to hell and thrown a steak knife in his general direction. Kady felt a little bad for the guy, having to put up with a father like his. Sebastian ran his hands up under her shirt, making circles with his fingers on her skin. The sensation, mixed with the puffs she'd had on the joint since the first one, as well as the alcohol, left Kady feeling really good. She turned to face Sebastian and placed a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him to her and kissing him passionately, playing her tongue over his tongue piercing.

The group continued talking, completely ignoring Kady losing her inhibitions with Sebastian. It was only when two unfamiliar people came upon their group – one staggering a whole lot – that things changed. The young people assumed that these two people were parents of one or other of them and they bailed, all scattering in different directions. Sebastian and Kady, however, were too lost in their own moment to realize what was happening. It wasn't until Sebastian felt hands on his shirt pulling him backwards that he broke away from Kady and looked up. Kady looked over his shoulder and almost screamed. Her father looked like he was ready to kill someone. Chances were good that the person he wanted to kill was Sebastian.

Chris pulled the teenaged boy off the hood of the abandoned car and threw him to the ground, sending a kick into his midsection before bending to pick him up again. Kady scrambled off the car and moved to try and separate the two males but was pulled back by her mother.

"Let go! Dad, stop!"

"Kadence, get in the car!" Lily instructed, though keeping to herself her pleasure in seeing Chris beating the snot out of the guy who had had his hands on her daughter. But Kady continued to struggle against her mother's grip and hysterically screamed for Chris to let Sebastian go.

Chris slammed Sebastian against a tree and watched the boy gasp in pain and clutch at his stomach.

"DAD STOP!" Kady continued to scream as Lily pulled her towards the car.

Naturally, her father ignored her and continued to unleash his rage onto the strange, freakish-looking boy who had dared to put his dirty hands on his baby girl. He then laid a fist into Sebastian's already damaged midsection and sent the boy crashing to the ground once again. Lily watched on, knowing that there was no way she could interfere. Chris was jacked up on alcohol and rage and, given his already aggressive nature as a professional athlete, this wasn't a good thing. She held onto Kady by her waist.

"Chris!" she called out to him, hoping to verbally calm him down. "Chris, let him go! Stop!"

Chris could barely register her words as he knelt down over Sebastian, who was now groaning in pain, and grabbed his neck.

"You goddamn sonuvabitch!" he growled, menacingly, his face now red from the anger. "If you ever fucking put a hand on my daughter again I will snap your fucking neck, you piece of trash."

Kady sobbed and gave up trying to reach them, her energy wearing thin, and collapsed against Lily's body, crying against her mother's chest. Lily, through her natural maternal instinct, wrapped her arms around her daughter properly and embraced her.

"Shh, baby," she comforted, and reached behind herself, feeling around for the car door. Once she had opened the door, she nudged for Kady to get in but the girl refused and continued to watch, horrified, as Chris was now squeezing the life out of Sebastian. The younger man's face was turning blue as he gasped and spluttered for air while staring up at the very imposing, strong, man who was attacking him.

"I will fucking kill you," Chris spat at him, still paying no attention to Kady's cries or Lily's calls for him to stop. "You hear me?"

When it became clear that Chris was not going to stop and the probability of him killing Sebastian started to increase exponentially, Lily told Kady to get in the car once more. Seeing her father's state, Kady could not defy any order that came from either of her parents now and she did what she was told. After slamming the car door shut once Kady was in, Lily turned back and jogged over to Chris. She grabbed his arm and tugged on him, harshly.

"Chris, let him go!" she yelled.

"I'll kill him, Lil," Chris replied, his voice now cracking with emotion and Sebastian could detect the growing emotional weakness in him. Lily came around to Chris' side and held her hands to the sides of his head, forcing him to look at her. As soon as his eyes connected with hers, he weakened his grip on Sebastian's throat further and finally let him go.

"Lily, I—" he trailed off, as if lost as to what to do now.

"Calm down," Lily told him, softening her expression.

Without even looking at the creep on the ground, she again pulled on Chris' arm, indicating that they should get back to the car. Sebastian wasted no time in staggering to his feet and running off. From the car, Kady watched tearfully as her boyfriend disappeared around the corner of a building. Chris and Lily got into the car and the three of them sat there, each not wanting to be the first to break the silence. Finally, Kady spoke up.

"Mom... I wanna go home." She whispered. Lily turned to look at her, offering a small, sympathetic smile and a nod. As she turned back, Chris glared at her.

"How can you be so fucking relaxed about this? That guy was all over her." He commented.

"Feeling old, all of a sudden?" Lily smirked, turning the key in the ignition to start the car. Chris turned his attention, and dark glare, to Kady.

"What the hell have you got to say for yourself? You have absolutely no fucking idea how much trouble you're in, little girl." He hissed. Kady glared back at him.

"All I have to say is that you have absolutely no fucking idea how much I hate you right now." She spat. Lily was stunned by the venom dripping from each and every one of their daughter's words. Chris felt the familiar sting that always accompanied those words any time Kady directed them at him. It had been a while but he still remembered that feeling.

"Watch your mouth, girl! Wait, that would require you to keep that scumbag's tongue out of it. Forget I said anything because, Lord knows, you wouldn't want to do that!" Chris shot back heatedly.

"You two, quit it. The next time someone in this car raises their voice, I'm likely to drive into a tree to stop this fucking headache." Lily groaned, holding one hand to her head. Kady turned her attention to the scenery outside and thought up all sorts of horrible ways that her father should die. All of them slower and more painful than the last.

"Can't we just kick the drunk guy out and go home?" Kady spoke up after a few moments of silence. Chris scoffed and was about to say something when Lily held her hand up to stop him.

"I wouldn't be getting too cocky if I were you, Kadence. You've got a lot to answer for. In one day alone you've lied to me, got caught shoplifting, snuck out and been caught with a random guy all over you. Start thinking up excuses because you're going to have a hell of a long time to try them out on us. Starting tomorrow morning, I'm dropping you off at school. To make sure you get to class alright, I'll walk you there myself. And, I'll be waiting at the front gate after school to take you home where you'll go straight to your room and do your homework – door left open so I can see you. Until further notice, you have absolutely no privileges. That includes Tv, stereo, computer, cellphone, home phone, allowance and freedom. You've lost the right to have any of it." Lily decided, having thought it over just a little.

"You've got to be kidding me! You're gonna walk me to class like I'm freaking first-grader? Why don't you just slap a leash on me while you're at it?" Kady fumed, knowing she deserved a lot more than what her mother had just set down.

"Don't tempt me. Anything you want to add, Chris?" Lily asked, looking over at her ex who had been a little quiet. He looked slightly green.

"Uh... not right now. I'll think on it and get back to you both. Lil, remember the reason we pulled over at that lot to start with?" Chris mumbled. Lily nodded and silently pulled the car to the curb, allowing Chris to get out and vomit behind the vehicle.

"Slam the car in reverse and I swear I'll tell anyone that asks that it was an accident." Kady spoke, a hollow tone in her voice that made Lily think she was actually serious.

"Hush up, you. Not another word tonight." Lily warned, shooting Kady a glare before getting out of the car to check on Chris. She didn't get too close to him, her own nausea being pretty much constant. The last thing they needed was for the only sober person with a license to be too ill to drive.

"You okay, Wildcat?" She asked him, standing with her hands on her hips, watching him trying to get rid of the foul taste that she was sure was invading his mouth right now.

"I'm good." Chris nodded before holding a hand to his head at the sudden wave of dizziness it invoked. Lily shook her head, amused by the state he was in.

"After lecturing me about the effects of alcohol, maybe you should've taken it easy tonight, huh?" She told him, watching him unsteadily get to his feet from his knees.

"Laugh it up, Myers. I can drink you under the table any day of the week." Chris challenged as he staggered back towards the door of the car.

"I should hope so, given the size difference and the fact that I've never been much of a drinker. I bet James has given you private lessons, too." Lily smirked, following after him.

"Why does that just sound freaky?" Chris wondered, resting his arms on the roof of the car and looking over it at her.

"Well, you left some of the booze in the gutter, I'm sure your mind's in there somewhere, too." Lily teased before getting into the car. Chris took a few deep breaths, steeling himself for the rest of the ride home.

Upon arriving at Chris' house, with an anger Kady had not heard from her mother in many months, Lily told her child to stay put. In no position to argue, Kady did as she was told and sulked in the backseat and kept herself busy by plotting the many ways to kill her dad. Meanwhile, Lily struggled to keep Chris from falling all over himself as she helped him up the pathway to his front door. The weight of the man obviously was the biggest problem for her, as now she was practically dragging him there, while trying not to throw up or laugh at his stupid ramblings.

"I fucked up, Lil..." Chris slurred, as Lily pulled his arm over her shoulder further to keep him from slipping. "She hates me."

"She hates everyone and everything, Chris. Don't tell me this still comes as a shock to you..." Lily stated. They came to a stop so she could regain her breath.

"I don't know what to believe anymore. That kid is as warped as you are."

"Nice. Real nice."

"I'm in no mood to be nice."

"Uh huh," she smirked. "Except to that bartender, yeah?"

"Who?"

"That Ryann chick. You were, like, two seconds from seriously putting the moves on her."

It was Chris' turn to sulk and he stuck his tongue out at her in childish response, not caring how ridiculous he looked. "What? Jealous, hon?"

"Not even remotely."

They started towards the front door again.

"She's not my type."

"Hm... she seemed to see right through your act," Lily teased, mockingly thinking about it. "She appears to have high standards... so I'd have to agree with you!"

"Oh fuck you."

Chris lightly shoved her and reached into his pocket and took out his house keys when they stepped onto the front porch. As he fumbled around for the right key, Lily kept him upright and checked over her shoulder, squinting to see if she could see Kady still in the car. A few seconds later, her eyes refocused and she saw the silhouette of the girl still in the backseat, and breathed a sigh of relief. Chris finally found the right key and, after opening the door, he turned to face Lily properly.

"Look... um... I'll get back to you on what I think we should do about her, yeah?"

"Sure. No problem," she agreed and stepped away from him just a little, but kept her hands on his arms to make sure he was steady. "Take your time."

"Ya know... I know I'm the reason she does the things she does..."

"Chris, don't—"

"No, let me say what I gotta say. Chances are, neither of us will remember it in the morning. I love her more than anything, Lil... I always have, you know that, right?"

Despite their differences and the remnants of resentment she still felt towards him, Lily nodded. "I know. Chris, you don't gotta say it to me. I know you do."

"Yeah I do," he replied, and sniffed, feeling the emotion. "I mean, you saw her tonight. You heard her. It still fucking hurts, Lil. Every single fucking time she says it and has said it to me, it's killing me! And I know she does the same with you, and I know it's hurting you all the same... and I know it's my fault! Everything is my fault."

Chris clasped his hands at the back of his neck and stared up into the night sky, trying to think through the cloudiness of his mind, no thanks to the alcohol. Lily bit her lip, not knowing the words to comfort him. Even in the darkness she could see the tears in his eyes, glistening and ready to fall.

"I've been trying, Lil... and she's throwing it back in my face time and time again. I'm trying to get the hang of this fathering thing, I am! I just... I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I could've killed that slimy asshole who had his claws over her tonight and I would have..."

Lily smiled and nodded again. There was no denying that the man was trying his best, even she couldn't deny it.

"You'd protect her with your life. You'd die to keep her safe. You'd kill to give her everything her heart desires... that's what makes you a great father, Chris. You've already proved it to me and her. Like you said before... she's a teenager. She knows it, but will never admit it. Not unless you pay her, at least."

Chris smiled at that, knowing that she was right. It was always awkward between them when bringing up the past, since neither knew quite how to approach it. He sighed.

"Was I really such an asshole?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"I should never have walked out on you two... all those years back."

Lily stared at him, somewhat shocked. Please don't let this go where I think it's going... she thought.

"Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you," Chris reassured her, noting the worried look on her face. "I'm not... doing anything. I just wanted you to know that I regret it. Every damn day, ya know? If I hadn't been so stupid, then, maybe..."

"Maybe...?"

"She wouldn't be acting out like this. You wouldn't be hurting. None of this would be so fucked up!"

"None of this was going to be easy, whether you left or not..." Lily gently, with a sad tone, told him with certainty. "What happened between you and me... happened a long time ago; we were kids. Kids with a kid of our own... it was never gonna be easy, at any stage. And now Kady's at that age where she's at risk of making the same mistakes we did... God forbid she does what I did at her age - I won't be able to say anything about it without becoming a hypocrite. No matter what, Chris... you've done the best you could, and so have I. I know you didn't mean for this to happen."

Chris stood there and listened to her wise words, taking it all in as best he could without breaking down. Seeing his daughter with such a creepy-looking guy only made the reality of the situation hurt even more... to know that Kady was sneaking out with those kinds of people, getting up to God only knows what, brought to light the fact that there was no way he could stand guard over her and watch her 24-7. Drunk or not, Chris was feeling the pain of it all. His troubled baby girl was growing up.

"I have no idea what I'm doing anymore," he confessed, ashamed that he didn't know how to do things now. They were in unchartered territory.

"Neither do I. Maybe that's the way its supposed to be. Sweetie, go in and get some rest, okay? You're crashing down from the alcohol and all that anger bubbling inside you... go. I'll take care of her, and we'll work on the punishment thing when you're feeling better, okay?"

"Sure." He turned away and moved to go inside, but Lily reached out and touched his shoulder to stop him.

"Chris? Stop. Deflate your ego for a second and look at me."

With another wistful sigh, Chris willed himself to look up at her, and was surprised to see Lily's compassionate side seeping through. She pulled him to her and and they hugged, in a moment of tension-free friendliness.

"It'll work out," she quietly told him. "Okay? There's only so much she can do to us before she realizes how much she needs us. Especially her daddy. She was always daddy's little girl. That's something that no girl can rid herself of, no matter how hard she tries."

Chris was surprised again when he felt a little better when she said that, figuring that she was probably right as usual. It was hard for him to remember the last time they could exist just as friends. It could work, right?

"Thanks, Lil."

"Anytime. Go rest."

He nodded and walked inside, closing the door. Lily turned around and walked back to the car, unable to get Chris' distress out of her head. She was sure he would've killed that kid back in the lot if she hadn't stopped him. There was one other thing she was sure of, and that was that Kadence was going to be in a hell of a lot more trouble once Chris had sobered up.

Lily slid back into the driver's seat, closed the door, and switched on the ignition. As she checked the rear view mirror, she noticed Kady still sulking in the backseat, and it also looked like she had been crying. A lot. There was no way in hell that her tears were drawing any sympathy out of Lily, who silently backed the car out of the driveway and onto the street.

AUTHOR'S NOTES2: Yep, you guessed it. We're gonna screw them up even more, and it's only going to get worse. More coming soon. Lizzie

More coming soon? That's a bold claim to make, isn't it? It's like telling them to 'watch this space' or something. Oh well, we'll either keep your word on that or we won't, in which case I can blame you again. Um... nothing more to say except... aren't you all lucky to get author's notes from both of us? Now, since we were nice to you, please be nice to us and leave a review. Much appreciated. Phoenix