A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. Please enjoy and tell me your thoughts. : )
Her dad had promised her that he'd be out in just a few minutes to play catch with her, like they had done many times. Sara had come home and from what the twelve year old could tell, she was a bit emotionally distraught. It had happened before. Mally knew her dad and Sara had tough jobs and that they faced death and awful things each day. She supposed she didn't mind that he took a break for a few minutes, so she lay down in the thick grass of their backyard and threw the ball straight up in the air over and over, catching it soundly in her glove each time. After about twenty minutes, she was getting pretty bored and impatient with waiting. Her father had taught her not to be rude and interrupt adults, but this was just getting ridiculous.
Sara had been getting on Mally's nerves a lot lately – the way she was trying to be her friend and the way she hung all over her dad. It was sickening. She hated to see them kissing or laying in each other's arms – even a gentle touch pissed the preteen off. Couldn't they keep their hands off each other in her presence?
Mally entered the house through the backdoor and headed straight up the stairs. She decided to take a bathroom break, and seeing that the toilet she normally used was "out of order", Mally had been forced to use her dad's bathroom. Without thinking, she strolled through the master bedroom and pushed the slightly cracked door open. What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks and want to vomit.
Her father was standing behind Sara in front of the counter, his shirt unbuttoned, hanging open. Sara's hands were reaching around to grab her dad's butt, while his hands were up the front of her shirt. He was kissing her neck in passion when they noticed the other body in the room. Immediately, they jumped away from each other and Sara pretended to be looking for something in a nearby drawer.
"Mally!" Nick told her, raising his voice slightly, "I thought I told you to wait for me outside!" He seemed angry with her, but it was mostly out of embarrassment. Nick knew she was twelve and she already knew all about sex, but she didn't need to see the beginnings of it. It was embarrassing for them and embarrassing for her.
"You guys are sick!" She yelled, and then stormed out the room, running for her own. Mally slammed the door and threw herself onto her bed. She couldn't believe her dad had ditched her to go feel up Sara! It was disgusting! Mally genuinely treasured the one pastime she knew she'd always have with her father – playing catch. It was there little oasis. No matter how busy either of them seemed, they always found time for that one activity at least once a week. Did he prefer Sara over her now? He'd rather be screwing her than spending time with his own daughter? Mally was so angry, so she threw her baseball at the door, hoping it would leave damage, just like her young heart had been.
Back in the master bathroom, Nick was buttoning his shirt back up, pissed with himself. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. Nick knew they needed to be careful with a kid in the house, but his instincts had just taken over. It couldn't have come at a worse time, he realized, as Mally had been especially cold towards Sara lately. Nick had been reprimanding her constantly for her rudeness towards them both. Mally just seemed so angry lately – with him, with Sara, and with the whole world. It was hard to tell if she was angry with him, or just angry. Her eyes had lit up earlier that day when he asked her to play catch with him. It had been a really busy week and they hadn't gotten a chance to yet. But then Sara came home all upset from a case, and he couldn't ignore that. He promised Mally he'd be right back, but in comforting her, one thing led to another and he couldn't stop himself. But he was a father – Mally should have come first.
Sara sensed his anger at himself and decided to say something after she'd straightened herself in the mirror. "Nick, I'm really sorry. I know that was…embarrassing." She rubbed his upper chest in comfort as he ran a hand through his hair.
"No, it's my fault." He mumbled, disappointed in himself. "She was waiting for me and we shouldn't have."
Sara looked down. "Yeah." She felt bad that she'd managed to come between the father and daughter in this case and knew she hadn't been Mally's favorite person lately. Sara had never dated someone who was a father before. It was really complicated, knowing she would always come second, but she truly did love Mally. Nick had done a wonderful job raising her and she didn't know a better, more loving father. That's why she knew this was killing him inside.
"I'm gonna go try to talk to her." Nick told her, and then left the bathroom. Sara was left in the room feeling rather alone and guilty. Why did life have to be so damn complicated?
Mally was sobbing quietly to herself, her arms clutched around her favorite bear, laying on her stomach. She heard a gentle knock at the door and her father's comforting, concerned voice. At least he knew he'd messed up. Mally didn't answer, and after several more knocks, Nick finally gave up and decided to come in. His face showed he was sorry as he shut the door gently behind him. Nick walked over silently and sat on her bed, beginning to stroke her hair.
"Mally, I think I speak for both Sara and I when I say I'm really sorry you had to walk in on that. I know that was really embarrassing. I'm so sorry." He said softly. Mally turned her head in the other direction, letting him know she wasn't letting him off the hook that easily.
"That wasn't fair to you at all. You were waiting for me outside, and Sara and I were doing something we shouldn't have done."
"No you shouldn't have!" Her voice was muffled because her face was still buried in her teddy bear. Nick gently rubbed her back, trying to let her know he understood. Discovering that your parents are sexual beings was really unsettling from what he remembered, and he hated that she had to experience that first-hand.
"I know." He acknowledged her anger. "And you have every right to be angry with us. This was supposed to be your time with me. But I saw Sara was upset and then one thing led to another, and…"
"Alright, dad! I don't need any more reminders!" She finally lifted her head, glaring at her father, her face red and tear-stained.
"Listen, why don't you take a few minutes, and…"
"No! I can see you'd rather be screwing your girlfriend, so why don't you just back and finish off? I can see how important she is to you!" Mally yelled before her mind could process it. Her blood was boiling, and she couldn't believe she'd just said that.
Nick was shocked at the words that were coming out of his daughter's mouth. Where the hell'd she learn how to talk like that? He wanted to yell back at her, but then remembered how hurt and upset she must be. Nick looked away for a moment, willing himself to stay calm. Count to ten. Count to ten.
"Obviously, you need some more time to cool off." He reasoned. "I'll be downstairs making dinner. You can come down when you're calm again and you can talk reasonably."
Nick got up off the bed and Mally buried her face in her teddy bear again, still furious with her father. She knew he felt guilty, but that didn't mean she wasn't still mad at him. How could he do this to her?
Twenty minutes later, after pushing around the ground beef mindlessly in the saucepan, Sara joined Nick downstairs, choosing to keep a bit of a distance from him. She'd heard the young girl yelling and knew it hadn't gone well.
"How's she doing?"
Nick sighed. "Not too well. She's really upset." He continued to stab at the food, working at it angrily.
"Do you think I should talk to her?"
"No." He said immediately, finally looking up at her. Nick immediately felt bad for being so blunt. "I mean. She's been really weird lately and I just don't think it would be a good idea with her right now."
To be truthful, Mally seemed to hate Sara with the fire of a thousand suns at the moment.
"Okay."
"She just needs to cool down. She'll come around." He said, but he wasn't quite convinced. Nick had never seen such a look of hurt in his daughter's eyes, and it distressed him right to his core. Sara saw he was really sweating over this one, and finally decided to step in. She walked around and pulled him into a hug.
"Hey, it's alright, Nick."
"No, it's not. You didn't see the way she looked at me, Sar."
"We got caught up in the moment, Nick. It happens."
"But I was supposed to be with her. She was looking forward to it so much and I let her down."
"Hey." She pulled back and took his face in her hands. "You are the most wonderful, caring, doting father I've ever met, and you'll get through this. Yeah, she's upset, but she'll get over it. We have sex. It's something she knows happens. She's just a little disgusted to know her father actually does it." Sara smiled a little bit and was pleased to see him offer a small one too.
Nick leaned in and kissed Sara gently on the lips. "Thank you." He whispered. Sara hopped on to a bar stool and Nick went back to cooking his famous beef enchiladas, along with a cheese one for Sara. The couple were enjoying a little light conversation when they heard a door open upstairs. Their eyes immediately met and they wondered what mood the presence was in. Mally started down the stairs slowly, knowing they were anticipating her arrival. She walked in looking kind of glum, and her outfit immediately caused Nick to throw his head back in annoyance.
Mally wore a t-shirt with a picture of a cow that said, "I love carbs!", an obvious stab at Sara, who was a vegetarian. Both adults turned to see it, and she seemed to get the rise out of them that she'd wanted.
"Mally, march back up those stairs right now and change your shirt." His face displayed a deep disappointment. Mally smiled slightly, which ticked Nick off even more. "Go now!"
When she was up the stairs, Nick started railing on her behavior. "What has gotten into her lately?" He ranted, shaking his head.
"Don't worry about it. I really don't care. She can have a little fun."
"I've raised her better than to take low blows at someone like that, even if she's angry."
Sara didn't quite know what to say, so she kept quiet. Yeah, it hurt a little bit, but she was a kid. Sara kind of felt she had a right to be angry with her and her father. They had that one coming.
Nick dished out the dinner and Sara set the table. Mally had apparently decided to stay in her room since she hadn't come back down. Nick went to the stairs and yelled up for her.
"Mally! Time for dinner!" He said shortly, joining Sara at the table. A minute later, Mally walked in with a scowl on her face, plopping down in her seat. The trio started eating in silence, all exhausted and still troubled from the day's events in their own ways.
"Mally, do you want to play catch after dinner?" Nick asked his daughter, glancing at her. Mally rolled her eyes.
"I told you before dad. Just leave it alone!" She said, her voice laced with attitude, something Nick never tolerated.
"What is your deal, girl?"
Sara shoveled at her rice, wanting to stay out of this, but knowing she was in the center of this disagreement.
Mally rarely answered back, but this time she did.
"What's my deal? I just found out your sex life is more important than me!" She fumed.
"Mally, that's not how it was, and you know it." Nick tried to keep calm.
"Whatever."
Nick gave her a death glare but Mally just kept poking at her food angrily, her chin resting in her hand. He decided to drop it for now. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence; the tension in the room thick enough to be cut with a knife. All three people were glad when dinner was over.
That night, after Mally had been up in her room most of the time by choice, Nick peeked in the door to check on her. He found his daughter sprawled out on her bed, her personal CD player on, asleep. Nick could always tell she was asleep because she frowned. It was already 10:00, her bedtime, so he quietly walked over to her bed, crouching down beside her. Nick carefully removed her headphones, the sounds of Incubus coming from within. Though he'd tried hard not to disturb her, she stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Mally sat up a little and Nick set her CD player on the floor. He reached up and cupped her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. Suddenly, all her anger seemed to be forgotten, and she looked refreshed.
"Hey." He cooed softly. "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just going to tuck you in." Nick sat up on the bed and Mally moved under her covers.
"I just had a dream." She told him, staring ahead.
"You did? What was it like?"
"It was just you and me. You took me to the park and we were just hanging out. It seemed like fun." She explained, seeming almost in a trance.
"That sounds wonderful, sweetheart."
"Yeah."
"Listen, Mally. I know you were upset tonight, but I hope you know that I will always love you with all my heart." He took her hand and placed it over his chest. "You are right here in the center, with no contention. You understand?" Nick told her seriously. Mally looked at her father and nodded, shedding a single tear.
"Good." He reached over and wiped off her tear. "Anyways. We'll hang out tomorrow, alright? We'll go to the park, just you and me. Like in your dream."
"I'd like that." She said.
"I'd like that too." He stood up and helped her snuggle up under the covers, tucking her in. Finally, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"I love you, baby."
"Love you too."
Nick shut off the light and as he left the room, and a weight felt lifted off his shoulders. They were okay.
