In the kitchen Hannah was starting to prepare dinner and Pierce was on the front porch sneaking a smoke. Just as he lit his Djeram cigarillo he saw his kid coming down the street with her two friends, Ricky and Tyler. His smile faded as it became clear that she was limping while leaning on Ricky with Tyler busy circling his bike around the two as the trio slowly made their way. The boys sounded like they were returning heroes, with Pierce catching the words "awesome", "kablam", "bloody", "kick" and "face". Pierce began slowly walking towards the trio, picking up the pace, heart beating hard against his chest as her injuries became even clearer. Her clothes were torn with blood and dirt ground in, while her new Savannah Sand Gnats baseball cap was missing its bill. But it didn't stop there, she had a black eye, scratches on her right arm, blood was smeared under her nose, on her chin and in her hair.

"Eli, what happened?" Pierce asked as he dropped the thin cigarillo and carefully lifted his daughter up into his arms. "Who did this to you?"

"I said Shepard was fearless, didn't I Ricky?" Tyler shouted as Ricky grinned. "She whooped that boy! If Broder hadn't stopped her, pulled her off … I bet that boy would be in the hospital. Or maybe even dead!"

Ricky nodded, "Yah, dead. Zombie dead! Broken nose zombie dead!"

Tyler hopped around on his bike, "Broken face zombie dead with blood oooooooozing dead!" He lost his balance and tipped over onto the ground. Pierce looked down to see the boy sprawled under his bike but smiling up to show that he wasn't hurt. He got up, carelessly brushed the dirt off and then re-mounted his bike, "Shepard could'a put him the grave … zombie punch!"

"I'm okay daddy, honest." Shepard said above her friends' remarks, embarrassed and trying to calm her father's worried look, despite the injuries. She tried to smile, which unfortunately revealed a tooth missing, causing Pierce to grimace, "Oh, shit Eli! What's preacher woman gonna say?"

Her two friends continued their "really, really double dead with a zombie macaroni booger dead!" while Shepard went to pull out her missing tooth from her jean pocket carefully, causing her father to adjust how he was carrying her so she had access. The movement was hurting her but she was stubborn, and once she had the tooth she held it up and smiled. Pierce couldn't help but laugh and she clenched her hand shut and placed her head on his shoulder.

"..triple double dead with zombie goop and pizza worms for eyes dead!" Tyler laughed.

Pierce looked at the two little boys who continued trying to zombie one up each other and he couldn't help but teasingly whisper to his daughter, "These are really your friends, Eli?"

Shepard shifted her head on his shoulder, "My zombie goofy friends."

"Of course, I should have guessed?" He laughed as the four reached the Shepard property. What could he do? He knew that he and his daughter were about to face music that would not be danceable to, so he tried to lighten their dead man walking up to the house by sharing in the childish humor.

"Yep, Shepard is tough! She beat up a 14-year-old man!" Ricky cheered on the sidewalk. "He was as big as you, Mr. Shepard! Big with muskles! I mean muscles!"

"Na, don't fib Ricky," Tyler said as he rode around in circles on the street, "He wasn't that big, but he was big and Shep, she sure beat him good! Shep bloodied his nose with a really cool head butt!" Tyler mimicked the head butt and lost his balance again. Boy and bike were once again on the ground. Pierce understood why the kid's pants were dirty with small tears. It wasn't playing hockey, it was his riding skills, or the lack of them.

"What boy?" Pierce asked as he stayed at the edge of the property, putting off the inevitable.

Shepard put her arm around her dad and put her head closer to his neck as Tyler explained, "This goober from Chicago, Illy … nos?"

"Illinois," Ricky corrected.

"That's what I said," Tyler stuck out his tongue. "Anyways … he thought he was tougher than us, calling Shep names and then picking on E-wackie … She zo-"

"Zombie dead him," Pierce stopped him. "Yes. I get the point."

Just then Hannah came out on the front porch looking for Pierce. "Oh, double shit! Eli, we are toast."

Hannah saw Pierce holding Shepard and worry spread across her face as she left the porch towards them. Pierce told the boys to go home and quickly whispered to his daughter, "Just remember champ, we're in this together."

Shepard nodded against his neck as Hannah reached them, "Baby, what happened?" Shepard knew that her mother was worried and as she started to tell her that she was fine, she looked up and saw the worry in her eyes. Shepard hated it when her mother looked worried and felt crushed anytime she made her cry. Afraid to say the wrong thing causing the dreaded latter, Shepard lost her voice. She didn't need to say anything really; the blood, bruises, and black eye said enough … but Hannah lost it when her daughter smiled weakly revealing the missing tooth. "Oh, no! Pierce, her tooth?" Tears welled up as Shepard opened up her dirty hand and the missing tooth moved slightly towards Hannah.

"Well, tooth be told," Pierce tried joking, but Hannah was not impressed and she quickly got the two inside as her husband told her that their daughter had been in a fight. As he placed Shepard on the couch, Hannah raced to the first aid kit and was back by her daughter's side before he had taken two steps from her.

"Baby," Hannah whispered as she began cleaning the blood and dirt off her daughter. "Pierce, please go start a bath for Elizabeth while I take a look at her."

"Eli's okay, Hannah," Pierce said, unsure himself but hopeful that it was just one of those moments in a kids life of scrapes and bruises. He had plenty of those moments growing up in Georgia himself, fond moments actually. He still remembered the time he took on the local bully and paid with a tooth of his own. Yep, this kid was his, he grinned as he stood over the two on the couch. He watched his wife examining their daughter and then saw the beer still behind his chair. A beer would be nice right about now, he thought. Who you kidding boy, a bottle of whiskey will be needed after all this is over!

Shepard saw the tears on her mother's face and tried to reassure her, "Really, mom. I'm okay. It's not as bad as it seems. Some of these bruises are from the hockey game, not the fight."

Pierce flinched. Run old boy, escape while you can! he thought as he began to slowly back out of the room.

"What?" Hannah asked, but before Shepard responded Hannah sensed her husband's movement behind her, "Pierce, don't move."

"What?" He tried to sound innocent but knew that she was already starting to piece things together, "I was just going to go sta-"

"Husband, think about where you are treading." Hannah said as she continued to minister to her daughter's injuries. "I would advise honesty if you want peace in this house again."

Pierce dropped his head and mumbled "I told Eli that she could play hockey with her pals this afternoon at the park." How this woman had so much power over him was a mystery. I'm a grown man, dammit! he thought, I've got just as much right to let my kid go and play! I'm her father after all! Pierce looked up to stand his ground when he saw his daughter's black eye, tooth on the coffee table and the preacher woman's watery eyes looking up at him. His head dropped again as he muttered, "I'm sorry."

"So this afternoon when we …" Hannah's voice trailed off as she looked up at her husband, tears forming in her eyes.

Pierce looked into his wife's eyes again and remembered her kisses and her body from earlier, "Woman, you know that what we did this afternoon was honest. I mean, it might have started as a diversion, but once I felt your -"

"Remember what it felt like," Hannah stopped him, wiping her eyes; "You won't be feeling it for a while." Hannah turned back to her daughter who had moaned, "Baby, where do you hurt?"

Shepard slowly raised the left side of her shirt to show bruises at her rib cage section. Hannah caught her breath and began checking her ribs. Pierce angry at himself for feeling guilt, letting his wife scold him like a child and at the fuckwit that hurt his child puffed out his chest and looked down at his wife, "I'm sorry Hannah, but I didn't think … hell, woman … she's a kid. She's supposed to get cuts and scrapes now and again. It's a rite of passage for every kid!"

Hannah removed the mutilated cap from her daughter's head, then held up her daughter's bruised, bloody and tooth missing face, "Is this your idea of cuts and scrapes? She looks like a boxer!" Shepard squirmed as Hannah's grip tightened.

"It's not that bad," Pierce weakly responded as his chest deflated.

"No? Well then let's send her to Pamplona to run with the bulls next year! Or better yet, stow her away on an Alliance ship so she can fight turians! Wait, rite of passage you say? Why stop with turians when there are those … oh, what do they call them? The quarians made them?"

"Geth?" Pierce asked confused.

"Geth! You can strap that old beat up rocket pack you have in the garage on her back and aim her towards the Perseus Veil! She might get a few more scrapes, burn marks, lose a limb even, but that's okay! It's her rite of passage!"

"Momma, fight geth?" Shepard looked confused. "That's silly. Why would I fight things called geth! Daddy, what are geth?"

Pierce couldn't help but laugh at his wife's outburst, "They are zombie aliens with glowing worm eyes and spikey teeth!"

"Pierce!" Hannah fought from laughing and looked back at her daughter who was starting to giggle, "You think that's funny too, my little hoodlum?"

Shepard saw that her mother wasn't laughing and lowered her head, "No, ma'am."

"I would not have approved you playing hockey, especially with boys," Hannah made it a point to look at her husband when she said boys, "But while hockey is one thing … fighting? You were fighting instead?"

"I'm sorry, momma. I was just going to play hockey with the boys, uhm guys," Shepard answered as her mother began wiping her face again, "We were beatin' this other team … You should see Broder play. Daddy, he can really -"

"The fight Elizabeth," Hannah would not be sidetracked; no matter how hard either Shepard tried.

"The fight," Shepard sighed, "well, one of the bigger boys on the other team started to pick on me. You know sayin' things like 'girls ain't good for nothin' and just stupid boy things."

"Elizabeth, that is no excuse to fight," Hannah instructed, "people with strong moral character and intelligence can handle ignorance without fighting. I am really disappointed in your behavior."

Shepard grabbed her mother's hand that was wiping her face, "But I did ignore what he was saying. And I guess because I wasn't fighting back the boy started picking on E-wackie … I mean Ewald. Telling him that he was ugly, stupid and …" Shepard stopped midstream and lowered her face.

Hannah raised her daughters face up by the chin again, "And?"

"He called him a bastard," Shepard half-mumbled with her eyes fighting back tears.

"Elizabeth that is no reason to resort to violence, you know that." Hannah responded. "And you are not to swear."

"Hannah, she was just …" Pierce started to defend his daughter, as he sat in his oversized leather chair, but the look on his wife's face shut him up. "Fine," he mumbled as he rose back up and grabbed the empty beer bottle, "I'll go start her bath, if you don't mind."

Hannah did a double take at the bottle in his hand, shook her head then turned back to her daughter and checked the area where her tooth used to be, "We'll need to see the dentist tomorrow as well as the doctor." The sound of running water from the bathroom was heard as Hannah continued checking out her daughter's injuries.

The room grew quiet and the light outside faded, the streetlights starting to come on and as the room began to darken, Hannah turned on the lamp behind Shepard. The young girl couldn't help but feel good as her mother nursed her but wished that she wasn't upset. There was something about Hannah that made Shepard want to protect her mother. Shepard was too young to really grasp what she felt, her need to make Hannah happy, to keep Hannah safe and at peace was always there. Her mother always appeared strong and in control, but Shepard even as a child sensed her mother's vulnerability.

As Hannah gently stood her daughter up and started stripping her down to her underwear in the living room, Pierce shut the curtains. "Her bath is ready, Hannah."

"Mommy," Shepard choked out, "I'm really sorry. I know that fighting was wrong, but it was awful. When Ewald started to cry … I don't know, the boy started to laugh at him and then so did others. The fuckwit even spit on him … I just couldn't …."

Hannah looked at her husband, "Nice … One of your words, husband?" Pierce rubbed the back of his neck, squinted and then sat in his chair. "Elizabeth Whisper Shepard, what that boy did was wrong, but you were also wrong in using your fists! I will not have a violent daughter. Do you hear me?" Hannah cupped Shepard's face in her hand, "Why do we not fight?"

Shepard looked at her mother, "They that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

"Don't ever forget that." Hannah admonished her and then gathered up her daughter's dirt and blood stained clothes. Shepard standing just in her underwear, bruises on her legs now also displayed, began to softly cry.

"Hannah," Pierce said as he sat forward. "She was just sticking up for someone weaker."

Hannah shook her head, "Pierce, she should have looked for another way to protect Ewald. Violence is not acceptable. What happens next time some-" Hannah stopped, realizing that her daughter was crying and when she saw the tears along with all the bruises couldn't help but soften her tone. "Shh, baby, please don't cry." Hannah got on her knees and looked at her daughter eye to eye, "I love you Elizabeth, and I understand that you were trying to protect a dumb boy!" Hannah normally didn't make jokes so it never failed to make either Pierce or Shepard laugh when she did. "I just don't want your life to be filled with bad things like violence. I want you to grow up and be a ballerina or a pianist or even a mechanic if you want … Anything but a soldier, boxer or zombie killer!" She kissed her daughter on the nose, wiped away the tears on her cheeks, "Now stop laughing and take your bath … my whisper that shouted today." Hannah smiled and then turned to her husband who was also laughing, "You and your daughter are grounded for a month for your dishonesty and her fighting. While you Ms. Shepard have trash duty for the next two weeks for swearing and you Mr. Shepard will sleep in the guest bedroom for the same two weeks … and don't ask why. Everyone understand?"

Both Shepards nodded and as Hannah tossed the dirty clothes at Pierce and collected all of the nursing items, she directed Shepard to take a bath again and then went into the kitchen. Pierce looked at his daughter, bruised, bandaged and contrite. He placed the clothes on his chair, went over to her and knelt down on one knee, "Eli," he whispered, "I am very proud of you. You stood up for your friend and that is important."

Shepard still had tears coming down her cheeks and as she wiped them away she whispered, "Mom is mad at me … I've disappointed her."

"No Eli," Pierce kissed his daughter on the forehead, "She just doesn't want you to think that violence is the answer. Your mom wants you to look for other ways to stop people from being ugly. I know that sometimes words just aren't enough, but you should use your wits first and your fists last. Understand?"

Shepard nodded as she could hear her mother in the kitchen opening the oven, "Dad, I couldn't stop punching him. I was so mad! I'm sorry that I lost my temper, I'll try and do better next time."

"Pierce, please help me get dinner prepared." Hannah called from the kitchen. "Baby, go take your bath."

Pierce gave his daughter a butterfly kiss on her cheek, causing her to giggle as she pulled away from him. "Preacher woman and I are very proud of you Eli … don't you ever doubt that."

As he walked out of the room, Shepard limped over to the big picture window. She could hear her parents whispering in the kitchen and she hoped that her mother would not be upset for too long. As their whispers continued, Shepard peeked out the curtains to look at the stars which were shining bright this evening and just as she was about to turn away, a shooting star raced across the sky. Shepard closed her eyes and made a little girl wish.