* Please Review! So I really hope you guys dont think this is moving to slow. I really wanted to take my time with this.*

" Are you going to say anything to your dad?" Van asked as he stood on the dock with a fishing line in the water.

He glanced down at his girlfriend as she leaned back with her arms behind her and her hands supporting her upper body. She tilted her head up towards the sun and closed her eyes. His eyes zoned in on the small dark spot on her throat, his mark. He smirked as the memory of the giving the mark went through him. He had his own marks on his body from her, little bite marks, scratches on his back, a dark spot on his chest, right above his right nipple.

" I don't know. I thought about that last night when you were sleeping. I'm not sure I should." She said.

Van nodded as he started to chew on the left side of the inside of his lip. He looked back at his line and sighed. He understood, he got how hard it was to talk to a parent about something. He had a million things he wanted to ask his dad about his mom but just couldn't bring himself to do it. His mom leaving was hard on Van but he knew it was even harder on his dad. Deep inside him, he didn't want to ask Chad for fear of hurting him even more. If he did that...Van was scared his dad would retreat more into himself than he already was.

" I get that." Van said. He looked down quickly when he felt her touch his leg. She smiled up at him, pushing his cargo pant leg up to touch his bare skin. Van smiled then looked back at his fishing line. She wrapped herself around him, sitting on his shoe. Van looked back down at her as she pulled into him like a child would do a father. " What are you doing?" He asked as he laughed.

" Sitting on you." She said while she continued to rub his leg. Van grinned and shook his head but looked back to the water.

" You're a strange girl." He said, bobbing his line up and down.

" I'm your strange girl." Avalon said, making him chuckle. " So for lunch, let's make sandwiches then go to your house and eat them with your dad." At once Van's smile, laughter, and good mood started to dissolve. She met Chad, spent time with him, Van thought that was all she wanted, that she would be satisfied and not want to see him again. Van started to frown.

" I don't know." He said quietly. Avalon grabbed at his thigh and started to pretend to crawl up his leg. She continued to stare at him, rubbing herself against his leg, his hips, his stomach, then against his chest as she rose up between his arms. She kissed the left side of his neck, then right, then the center.

" I think we should." She whispered before she kissed against his chin.

" Av..." Van looked at her again as she took a hold of his hips. She blinked at him and shrugged. Van groaned and looked away, knowing he was going to give into her. " Okay, yeah. He'll like that."

" Good." She snuggled into him, slipping her hands around his waist to settle them into his back pockets. She closed her eyes and let her head rest against his chest. He took a hold of the line in one hand and put his other arm around her shoulders. " I like you." And his smile was back.

" I like you too." Van answered.

NRNRNR

Van stretched out on Avalon's couch with her tucked into his side and her head on his chest. One of her hands was under his shirt and her finger tips were running slow circles around his stomach. One of her legs was over his. He had both his arms around her tightly. They were relaxing from a long day. They fished, went swimming, had lunch with Chad then spend the rest of the day with Jason and Flip. Gideon was due back anytime so they were soaking up the alone time while they had it. The TV was on but they weren't really watching it. Van was thinking about how nice it was to be a relationship like he had with Avalon and she was listening to his heartbeat. She was taking in his scent and his warmth, knowing Gideon wouldn't let the young man spend the night with her.

" Does your dad like me?" Avalon asked.

" I think so." Van answered. And he meant it. Chad had actually made an effort to talk to her. He had asked her a few questions, quietly, and he had barely looked at her when he did, but it was something. Once, Van even thought he had seen Chad smile. " So tomorrow night, there's another concert. You want to go with Jason and Flip?"

" Yeah, sure." She said at the same time the garage door started to open. She lifted her head up as he looked down at her. " Shit...I don't think I'm ready to see him."

" Do you want to come and sleep at my house?" Van asked. Avalon sighed and shook his head.

" No, I have to face him sometime." She said.

She pushed against the couch to bring her head up to his and kissed him lightly. The couple kissed quietly a few more times before Van slipped his tongue into her mouth to taste her. One of his hands went to her neck to draw her closer and into him more. His thumb stroked at her cheek while his fingers flicked back and forth to feel her hair better. She tilted her head to give him a deep entrance into her mouth and moaned slightly. He could drink in her kiss forever.

" Meet me at midnight." Avalon whispered. She offered him up another quick kiss.

" Yeah okay." Van answered. She didn't need to tell him where, he knew where. They would take the row boat out and spend a little more time together. They pulled away with both smiling. Together, they stood up and waited for her dad to come into the house.

After greeting her dad, Van took his leave. Gideon looked tired and almost annoyed to see him and Van didn't want to be on his bad side. Avalon had walked him him down the stairs, kissed him goodbye and Van walked out. Now he was walking home with his hands in his pockets and his head down. He started to bite at the inside of his lip again. He looked back at her house then straight forward again. He loved their alone time and was actually sad that it came to an end.

" Hi, Daddy." Avalon said as she jogged back up the stairs.

" Has he been here the whole time?" Gideon asked from his spot in the kitchen. He opened the fridge and snatched out a beer.

" Yeah. It's gets super dark and creepy here at night." She said. She smiled as he turned around and popped open the bottle. " Did you have a good time?"

" Yeah, it was a blast." Gideon said with a roll of his eyes. " I love confidences." He muttered as he brought the beer to his mouth. Avalon laughed, reaching the island in the kitchen so they were standing across from each other. She leaned forward, crossing her arms over each other on the top of the counter.

" You do love them." She said, swinging slightly from side to side. He closed his eyes and relished in cold liquid washing down his throat. Beer, that was the vice she let him have, because liquor made him mean and they both knew it.

" So Van slept here?" Gideon asked after bring the beer down. Avalon sighed loudly while rolling her eyes as she stood up straight.

" Yes!" She explained in a playful annoyance. " And I slept him all over the house, even in your bed."

" Disgusting." Gideon spit out. Avalon laughed while shaking her head. " You know, some daughters respect their fathers. Some daughters don't talk about that shit to their fathers. How in the hell did I get stuck with you?" Avalon laughed again and started around the island towards him.

" Just lucky I guess. Did you eat?" She asked. " I can make you something."

" I'm not hungry." Gideon said. Avalon came to her dad's side, wrapping her arms around his waist when she did.

" I missed you." She said with her eyes closed. Gideon sighed and set his beer down. He put one arm around her first, then the other. He squeezed her hard before dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

" I missed you too." He whispered into her hair.

" I have news for you and I think you're going to be proud of me." She said.

" And what's that?" Gideon asked.

" I got a job." Avalon said.

NRNRNR

Van was waiting in the dark, by the row boat, shortly before midnight. His dad was sleeping, the sky was clear, it was warm and quiet. It was a perfect night. He kept his hands in his pockets while he held his breath to try and hear her. He usually beat her to the boat so he wasn't worried that she hadn't gotten there yet. Ideas were flowing through his mind. He knew Chad won't mind if she stayed over so he was thinking about asking her to go home with him the next night. She won't that night because of Gideon just getting home. He won't ask to sleep at her place because the look in Gideon's face told Van all he needed to know about what the answer would be. Hell no. Gideon's tight grip on his daughter actually made sense to Van now that they had found out what they had. He had had a wife and daughter who had been killed. He had another wife and daughter and that wife ran out on him. Avalon was all he had left...

" Van?" He turned around and smiled at the sound of her whisper.

" I'm here." He answered. She came out of the bushes and sighed at the sight of him. Van grinned. She had changed her clothes and was wearing a white, strapless sundress. The moonlight was glistening off her tan shoulders and she had pulled her hair up and off her neck.

" Hey, wow, you look great." He said.

" Thanks." She answered as she reached him. Van started to frown at the look on her face. She wasn't smiling like she usually was when they saw each other. There was no excitement in her voice or her eyes.

" What's wrong?" He asked. Avalon rolled her eyes, placing her hands on his shoulders. Van's own hands went to her hips. He pulled her into his body as she circled his neck.

" I told Gideon about the job and he got mad. He is refusing to give my birth certificate." She said while they hugged. She stepped up on her toes to reach him better. He squeezed her waist and snuggled his face into her hair.

" Why would that make him mad?" Van asked. His hands moved up her back and spread open just to touch her more. They turned their heads towards each other, with him bending down so she didn't have to stretch so much.

" I don't know. I asked him that. I said he should want me to get a job, be a good member of society and not be a drain on him but he just yelled I didn't need one because he would always take care of me and walked away." Avalon said. " If I don't get that, I can't work." Van frowned and pulled away to look at her better.

" That's so weird, Av." He said.

" I know. I mean, he was really mad at me too. I thought he'd be proud but he wasn't." She said.

" Maybe he's just tired." Van said. Avalon didn't look convinced but she nodded.

" Yeah, maybe. Can we just go out onto the boat now?" She asked. Van smiled then grinned.

" Hell yeah." He pulled away as her hands slipped down his chest. They both smiled while their hands clasped together. Van started walking backwards, pulling her along with him and soon, they were both laughing.

Van rowed them out to their favorite spot then dropped the small anchor. Avalon kept her smile as she laid down and lifted the hem of her dress. Van, with his eyes locked on hers, pulled his shirt over his head, balled it up then laid down over her. She lifted her head for him to slide the shirt under her to offer her a small amount of comfort.

As his lips found hers, he reached between them and quickly opened his pants. He pulled his fast growing erection before reaching up her dress. Like she did every time he touched her, Avalon moaned into his mouth and arched her back up to press her chest against his. She was already ready for him but his fingers moved between her warmth and her panties anyway. As slowly as he could, Van started to rub slow circles around her small nerves. She grabbed at his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin at once. He loved that small bite of pain that came with the movement.

" Van." She whispered. " Now."

He was off her in a heartbeat. She laughed with her cheeks inflamed as he pushed the dress up. He grabbed at her panties and yanked them down. As soon as they hit the boat floor, he was back on top of her, pushing his way into her to give them both what they wanted. Unlike the time in the shower, and the three times in her bed, then the shower again, this was going to be fast. It had to be and they both knew it.

" Shit." Van cursed against her lips. Faster...harder...Van grabbed at the boat above her head and squeezed his eyes shut. His hips pumped and thrust. She lifted to meet him, pulling them both closer and closer. She whimpered and whined and then the explosion hit. Her legs shot up and closed around him. Her mouth dropped open and one of her hands yanked on his hair. She clamped down on him, sending trembling sparks of bliss through him. Then it was Van's turn.

Afterwards, Van helped her with her panties then adjusted her dress before fixing himself. They smiled and talked, making plans for the next day while he rowed them to shore. Once the boat was dock and tied off, they made out for a few more minutes before they parted ways. His lips, his tongue, were coated in her taste and her warmth. His hair was sticking up in the back from her hands pulling at the strands. Van rubbed at his lips while he smiled and watched her disappear into the woods.

Van turned and started towards his own house. At first, he was just walking but that quickly changed and soon, he was running. Sprinting really, to get home. He was grinning as the night air whipped by him, cooling his overheated skin. His tongue went out and over his lips. He loved that they were still tingling from her kisses, loved that he could still feel her touch and hear her moans. He loved that his shoulders stung slightly from the dig of her nails.

Van slowed his pace as he hit his house. He slipped in quietly then locked the door. He hurried to his room and snatched up his flashlight. He went right over to the window, pointed the end of the flashlight at her house then made to flashes of light. Seconds went by before the light flash was returned from her window. He grinned again then looked into his telescope. She came into view quickly and was waving from her balcony. He gave another flash, letting her know he had seen her. That was their sign, their way of letting each other know that they had gotten home safely.

" Goodnight, Av." Van whispered to himself. He pulled his shirt off, kicked off his shoes then crawled into his bed.

NRNRNR

One month later:

" Avalon." Gideon said, walking into his daughter's room while she finished braiding her hair one morning.

" Dad." She said.

He put his hands on his hips and stopped walking when he was standing behind her while she was sitting at her vanity. He frowned at her reflection but she wasn't looking at him. She was watching her work. Things between them had been off. She was upset, angry with him and Gideon knew it. Why couldn't she just accept that having a job wasn't the answer to everything? Why couldn't she just accept the money Gideon was offering her? She wanted a drivers license, he'd produce the birth certificate for that. She wanted a car, he'd buy her the one she wanted. She wanted to travel, he'd take her anywhere but he would not, and could not, allow her to get a job. A job would lead to more independence and that would leave to her leaving him. No, Gideon could not handle it if she left him.

" I think...you should...invite Van and his dad over for a cookout." He said through gritted teeth. Her fingers pause and her eyes flicked up to his face through the mirror. She started to smile but caught herself and stopped it. She blinked slow and long.

" I told you, Chad is in a wheelchair, there's no way to get him into the house." She said quietly. She looked back to her braid and started to fasten it.

" Then we will cook outside. We have a picnic table in the back and a grill." Gideon said. Avalon sighed, looking back at her father again. She tilted her head and studied him in a way Gideon was used too. She studied him like she studied art, with a critical eye.

" Why? Why do you want to do this? You barely speak to Van when he's here. He has breakfast and a lot of dinners here and you barely look at him." She finally said.

" I know that but you really like him." Gideon answer. He brought his hands up and placed them on her shoulders. He gave her a squeeze and a sigh. " And it's time I do something about that, don't you think?" Avalon smiled and nodded.

" Yeah, I do. So this weekend?" She asked.

" Sounds good." Gideon leaned down dropped a kiss to the top of her head. " Never forget how much I love you, that I would do anything to keep you safe and happy."

" I love you too, Dad." She said.