Parental Obligations: Of Bad Attitudes and Crunch Buddies

Elizabeth was startled by the question, and she laughed when she saw the half smile on Danny's face. "I don't have anywhere to be so I ask you: why not wear your favorite pjs at two o'clock in the afternoon?"

Danny nodded. "That's a valid point." He felt a little awkward talking to a girl whose name he didn't even know. "Name's Danny Messer."

Elizabeth hesitated, glancing toward the bedroom. "Elizabeth," she finally said, omitting her last name. She put the lid back on the tub of ice cream she'd been eating out of. If her mom knew, she would be quite cross. Eating ice cream out of the tub, drinking milk out of the carton, licking a serving spoon...all unacceptable. "I'll go get...her."

Danny raised his eyebrows at the wording of that statement and watched her walk into the bedroom. There was something about the shape of her eyes and the playful smile that was familiar.

Elizabeth was unbelievably amused to see her mom trying to calm the girls down. "Hey, mom," she greeted her mother seriously. "You have a guest. My hostess skills need a little brushing up so I thought I'd leave that part to you for now."

Lindsay looked up at Elizabeth. "What?"

"This guy. I think he was going to shoot me, but I stopped him," Elizabeth said. "I told him not to pull his gun on innocent girls."

Lindsay jumped up. "Stay here," she ordered.

Elizabeth grinned at Grace and Samantha. "This is going to be fun," she said when she was sure her mom was out of earshot.

Lindsay first view when she walked out of the bedroom was of Danny eating a cold piece of pizza and drinking a beer. "Did you pull your gun on my daughter?" she asked crossly, forgetting briefly that he had no idea that Elizabeth was her daughter.

Danny choked on his pizza. "What?" he asked dumbly.

"Elizabeth said you pulled your gun on her," Lindsay said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I did not pull my gun on her," Danny protested. "She scared me and I reflexively reached for my gun. I didn't pull it out--or touch it for that matter!"

Lindsay calmed considerably. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Lizzy has a tendency to...over exaggerate."

Everything fell into place as he remembered Lindsay's waking words from a few months earlier. "So, you have a daughter," he stated.

"Two actually," Elizabeth said, walking into the kitchen holding Grace's hand with her right and Sam's with her left. "Elizabeth Monroe. This is Samantha and you already know Grace."

Both girls looked a lot happier than when Lindsay left them.

"We wrapped up our case," Danny explained, turning to Lindsay. "Stella and Mac went to catch a coupla hours of sleep. They'll be here around five. I thought we could do something, but..."

"Don't worry about it," Elizabeth said with a smirk. "Me and Sam'll just go back to our closet."

"What?" Danny asked.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "She means you'll have to include them in whatever it was you'd wanted to do."

Danny nodded and looked over at Elizabeth. "I was thinking of watching a, uh, movie," he said.

Elizabeth quickly shook her head. Danny shrugged, silently telling her she should pick. "Park," she mouthed silently.

"I meant," Danny amended, "We should go to Central Park."

Lindsay gave him a weird look. "I guess that'll be fun." She turned to the girls who were all nodding appreciatively.

"The hair dryer's in the bathroom, right?" Elizabeth asked with a mischievous smile, fingering the towel on her head.

"Yeah," Lindsay said.

Elizabeth crouched down and whispered something in Sam's ear. The little girl frantically shook her head, but Elizabeth gave her a stern look and went into the bathroom.

Lindsay watched curiously as Sam scuffed the floor with her foot. Finally, after letting out a soft sigh, the little girl straightened with a determined look on her little angelic face.

Sam swallowed the frightened feeling that was telling her to hide and walked right up to Danny and held out her arms to be picked up. Elizabeth had told her he was a nice man, and Elizabeth had never lied to her.

Danny looked over at Lindsay and shrugged at her shocked look. He obediently pulled Sam into his arms. "My name's Danny," he said softly, noting how shy she was even after such a bold move.

Sam didn't say anything, but she offered a timid smile.

Grace smiled to herself. Maybe Danny could help them be friends! "Hey, Danny!" she said cheerfully.

Sam flinched and automatically leaned away from Danny. If not for his quick reflexes, she would've fallen. She closed her eyes and tried to get her breathing under control.

"Hey," Danny said soothingly. "Breathe. It's okay. I've got you."

Lindsay quickly walked over. "Sammy?" she said softly.

Sam opened her eyes and looked straight at Danny. His heart went out to her, and he pulled her close.

Lindsay was shocked when Sammy laid her head on Danny's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What?" Danny said defensively. "I have a way with the ladies."

Grace sighed, realizing that taking Sam on as a friend was going to be a little harder than she'd initially thought. It was okay though. If she'd learned anything, it was that persistence was key in getting what you wanted.

Elizabeth came out of the bathroom wearing a white tank top with her pajama bottoms. Her hair was in long layers and looked really good. Lindsay didn't think so. "What did you do to your hair!" she gasped.

Sam sighed. "Told her," she muttered.

"Your hair. It was so long," Lindsay moaned. The longest layer came a little longer than midway down the teen's back and the shortest layer came to her chin.

"It's long," Danny pointed out helpfully. It really was long and beautiful.

Lindsay turned to Danny with a look that could've stopped the Titanic. "Danny, her hair was down to her butt when I left--"

"That's right, mom," Elizabeth said casually, putting her hand on her slim hip. "You left. You weren't there to tell me not to cut my hair. You don't have much authority over the phone."

Lindsay swallowed her anger. "We'll talk about this later," she promised with barely concealed anger, conscious of the fact that they were dragging out their problems in front of Danny.

Elizabeth shrugged, honestly not caring. It didn't matter to her when she got yelled at. If it had to be put off then so be it. "Great job, Sam," she cheered when she noticed her sister in Danny's arms.

Sam gave her a thumb's up and a small smile. She knew Danny was a good guy, and, even though she had to be encouraged to go to him, she was glad she did.

Danny frowned in confusion. He felt like he was intruding in a family matter. "Umm, Lindsay," he said carefully.

"It's okay, Danny," Lindsay assured him with an obviously fake smile. Her eyes begged him not to bail on her.

He turned to Elizabeth. "Is that what you're going to wear to the park?" he asked, referring to her pajama pants.

"What is your problem with pajamas?" Elizabeth demanded with no real hostility. "This is as good as it gets, cowboy."

"Right," Danny said. "I guess we're all ready."

Elizabeth crouched down to Grace's level. She had been quiet since coming from the bedroom. "Hey, Grace. Why don't you ride on my back? Seems my sister found a new favorite person."

Grace nodded. "I don't think Danny's Sam's favorite person," she said honestly, climbing onto Elizabeth's back. "He's nice, but I really don't think he would be anyone's favorite person."

Lindsay burst out laughing at the affronted look on Danny's face. "It's okay, Danny," she said. Having been on the end of brutal, childish honesty, she was sympathetic to his need for an ally.

"I think he's mom's favorite person," Elizabeth said impishly. They had made it to the front of the apartment building. Lindsay unlocked the car doors for everyone to get in.

Danny shrugged off the embarrassed look on Lindsay's face. "Lil Montana, I think me and you are going to be pretty good friends."

Lindsay turned to Danny. "Her name's Elizabeth. There are plenty of nicknames you can get from that. How 'bout you stick to those?"

"I think it fits though," Danny argued. "Montana, Lil Montana, and Baby Montana."

"I love it," Grace cheered.

"No," the three Monroe females chorused.

"I think we're outnumbered," Danny informed Grace. He released Sam so she could be buckled into the middle of the backseat.

"Nuh uh," Grace said. "We have momma and Mac."

Danny felt the familiar pang when she called Stella momma. He knew Stella really was Grace's mom, in the sense that Stella cared for her as a mother would. It took weeks before Grace was brave enough to say what she felt in her heart: that Stella was her mom. Even then, it had slipped out.

Still, it made him think of Holly and how much she had meant to him before she died.

"So you three are outnumbered," Danny said, reaching into the backseat and gently poking Sam in the side.

An unexpected giggled made its way out of Sam's mouth. She blushed an adorable shade of pink.

Grace giggled and experimentally poked her. She froze, not sure whether or not that was allowed.

Sam turned to her and smiled softly, realizing that she needed to be brave. Grace had been really upset over making her cry earlier. She poked Grace back.

Grace laughed loudly.

Sam was delighted by the noise and poked her a couple more times.

Grace wiggled in her seatbelt and laughed as she tried to get away from Sam's merciless fingers. "Stop," she begged.

Sam immediately stopped, concerned. "Sorry," she said, bowing her head.

Grace poked her. "You're not really supposed to stop."

Elizabeth grinned as Grace tried to coax Sam into playing the silly little game. Due to her shy nature, Sam didn't make friends easily. She got picked on a lot though so she didn't really have much experience playing with people her age. It was good that Grace had taken a liking to her. Maybe it would bring her out of her shell.

Danny looked over at Lindsay who seemed to be concentrating awfully hard on driving. "You okay, Montana?" he asked worriedly.

Lindsay didn't look away from the road. "I'm fine," she said shortly.

Danny shrugged and turned his head to watch Sam and Grace. They had moved on to some sort of clapping game Grace had learned in school.

"No," Grace said patiently. "You bring your left hand up and your right down."

"I did," Sam said.

"No. This is your left." Grace grabbed Sam's left hand.

"Oh."

"Now try it again. Good. Now hit my hands then clap your hands. Now, we do it all over." Grace was very happy Sam caught on so quickly. It had taken her a lot longer, but no one needed to know that.

"We're here," Lindsay said cheerfully.

"We'll do it later," Grace promised. "Right now, we can climb that tree over there."

Elizabeth grabbed her arm. "No climbing trees," she said sternly, hiding her amusement.

"Okay," Grace agreed, carefully shaking her off. There were some pretty cool bugs that her new friend just had to see.

Sam was a little more afraid now that she was in a public place. In the car and in Lindsay's apartment, she could open up a little. There were a lot of people there.

Lindsay climbed out of the car. "Grace, go with Elizabeth," she said gently.

Grace gave Sam a worried look and complied.

Lindsay bent to Sam's level and looked her in the eye. "Grace is really nice, and Elizabeth will be with you the whole time. I'll be on that bench over there with Danny, okay?"

Sam looked down at her hands. "What if I you leave me?" she asked.

Lindsay's heart ached. The question was perfectly valid, but had never come up before then. "I won't leave you, Samantha," she whispered.

Sam looked up at her. "You promise?"

Lindsay nodded, not trusting her voice. She helped Sam out of the car and watched her join Grace and Elizabeth.

"How old are they?" Danny asked, leaning against the car. He shoved his hands in his pocket and waited for Lindsay to lock up the car.

"Thirteen and four." She wasn't in the mood to watch him mentally work out the math. "I had Lizzy when I was sixteen. I was home schooled for my last three years of high school and I got out of there as soon as I got my high school diploma at eighteen."

Danny followed her to a bench where they could keep an eye on the girls. "Where have they been since you've been here?" he asked. He didn't want to pry, but his curiosity was getting the best of him.

"You mean you didn't believe that I locked them in the closet?" Lindsay tried to joke.

Danny shrugged. "I've seen your closet. There didn't wasn't room for two girls. Unless you had them stuffed in the boxes..."

Lindsay laughed. "They were with my parents. I--I knew it was probably a mistake at the time, and I definitely know it was now, but it was my only option at the time."

"What about their dad?" Danny asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he needed to know.

"Charles Young is a terrible father. Every once in a while, he'll drop in, scramble our lives a little, and leave." The bitterness in her voice had a hint of longing that didn't go unnoticed by Danny.

"So, he's--I mean, is there--" Danny stopped, trying to get his thoughts together.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Charlie was my childhood sweetheart. I was so sure we were going to get married, but he had a lot going for him. One time was all it took and I was pregnant. He tried to do the right thing and marry me, but I could tell he wasn't doing it for the right reasons. If we had gotten married, he would've resented me forever for "trapping him." He went away to finish high school after I turned down his proposal."

"But it wasn't once," Danny said, feeling faintly ill at the thought. "Because there's Samantha." He was fishing. There was a chance that she might be some other guy's kid. Lindsay just didn't seem like that kind of girl.

Lindsay shrugged. "Like I said, Charlie came back every once in a while. Once when Lizzy was three, another time when she was six, and the final time when she had just turned eight. He missed her birthday of course. He was a successful lawyer and promised he would stay and take care of us, for real this time. Of course, I fell for it. As soon as I told him I was pregnant, he left. He sees the girls when he blows into town, but he only stays for a few nights at a time."

"Oh, so it's like a umm touch and go relationship," Danny said, trying to put it delicately.

Lindsay chuckled at the wording. "No. He stays in a hotel when he comes into town. I'm done with his empty promises."

Danny didn't let his relief show. "Why did you leave them in Montana when you came here?" he asked, changing the subject.

Lindsay tensed up. "It's complicated," she said quietly. "I don't think we should talk about this."

Danny was confused by the freeze out. "Okay," he said. "How about telling me...about Elizabeth?" That seemed like a safe subject.

"As I was trying to get through college, there was a lot of reading and a lot of studying. She was two by that time and pretty well behaved. I only left her with babysitters or the daycare when I had class. Late night studying or assignments were done with her there. Believe it or not, she was a lot like Sam. Quiet, thoughtful, shy. Of course, she was totally smart.

"By the time she got into kindergarten, she already knew more than they could teach her. She was automatically advanced to first grade where she could actually learn something she didn't already know. Little Elizabeth didn't speak up in class 'til the third grade. No one knew her name until fifth grade when she kicked Ralph Hull's bullying ass." Lindsay grinned. "I will never forget that day."

Danny saw that Lindsay was getting sucked into the memory of that day. He didn't want to be left out. "Tell me," he urged, nudging her shoulder.

"I was at work when I got the call. Of course I was excused. When I got there, Elizabeth, who was really small for her age, was sitting on a bench beside this really big kid giving him a long-winded lecture. I don't know why they were even left in the same room together, but I stood around the corner as Elizabeth told this kid that he needed to be nicer...bla bla bla. It was mainly about not picking on people smaller than him. Anyway, I walk around the corner and this huge kid, with his black eye and split lip, is staring at Lizzy like she was the best thing since sliced bread."

A slow smile spread across Danny's face. "You're kiddin' me!" he exclaimed.

Lindsay shook her head. "No. From that day on, he had the biggest crush on her."

Danny laughed. He wasn't really that surprised. The Monroe women seemed to have that effect on people.

"Ahem," Elizabeth said. "If you're through talking about me, scoot over."

Danny gave her a wide grin. "What's the magic word?"

Not one to play that game, Elizabeth sat herself on the sliver of space between Danny and Lindsay and wiggled until she had enough room to sit. She ignored Lindsay's annoyed huff and Danny's disgruntled look. "Grace is trying to get Sam to touch this big beetle. She's been trying to get her to do it for, like, ten minutes."

About twenty feet away, the two girls were crouched looking at what was apparently a beetle.

"So, has she told you why she abandoned us at the evil GPs' house?" Elizabeth asked cheerfully, effectively breaking the comfortable silence.

"Uh," Danny said. "No."

Elizabeth snapped her fingers. "Don't feel bad. She hasn't told me either."

Lindsay sighed. "Lizzy--"

"Oh, look. This still isn't the time, is it?" Elizabeth was still watching Grace and Sam even though she knew Lindsay and Danny were looking at her.

"No," Lindsay said after a few moments. "It isn't."

"So," Elizabeth said, figuring she would make the situation a little more uncomfortable. "Did she tell you about Kenny?"

"Elizabeth Danielle!" Lindsay snapped, her temper flaring.

Sam's scream saved Elizabeth. Grace laughed when Sam tackled her, joyfully joining in on the battle that Sam was determined to have.

Lindsay and Danny separated the two while Elizabeth cheered them on. "What's going on?" Lindsay asked, sending Elizabeth an angry look.

"She touched the bug!" Grace said laughingly. "It was on its back and she touched its footies!"

Elizabeth understood immediately. "The bug wasn't going to hurt you, Sammy. He just thought he was gettin' a new buddy!"

Sam kicked the ground and muttered something under her breath that had Danny laughing.

"Two words," he said. "Crunch buddy."

Grace gasped. "He didn't want a crunch buddy! Beetle crunching is bad!" she said, horrified at the very idea.

"I think we should go back to the apartment and watch a movie," Lindsay said. "There will be no crunching or wrestling or violent contact of any kind."

"Darn," Elizabeth said. "I was thinking of something along the lines of Captain Crunch-ing."

"No," Lindsay said. "You just ate and you can wait for dinner."

Elizabeth put her hand on her hip in what Danny realized was a defensive stance. "Yes, mom. Sorry, mom."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and offered a hand to Grace and the other hand to Sam. "Come on. I'll even let you two pick the movie."

Grace's eyes lit up and she peeked over at Sam. She was watching Elizabeth with something akin to trepidation. There was no excitement in her eyes, just fear. What of though?

TBC...What a difficult chapter to write! I'm sorry it took so long, but I was having problems with inspiration and stuff.