"ZARA!" Nick called his daughter's name. He was furious, clearly she lied and that was something he couldn't remember her doing, not about something so important.

Amanda could see the surprise and fear in Zara's eyes as she turned to see her father standing next to her. She just hoped Nick could stay calm enough until they got home.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" the girl asked the wrong question.

"What am I doing here? I don't think you get to ask that. You are the one who's supposed to be somewhere else" he looked at the boy who wasn't sure what was going on.

"I'm just watching a movie with my friend"

"I'm sorry" Nick raised his brows, still very angry "I remembered Melody looking a bit different"

"I'm Buckley" the boy introduced himself "Zara's friend from school"

"Well you should say goodbye now" Nick gave her a stern look "we are going home"

Amanda decided not to say anything, Nick gave her a look that was a mixture of anger, disappointment, he was also sorry they had to end their date so abruptly.

"Dad…" Zara started as they walked to the exit and then to the car.

"Not right now" Nick mumbled.

Zara mouthed 'sorry' to Amanda and she gave her a sympathetic look.

The drive home was silent, Nick was staring straight ahead, not even glancing at Amanda or Zara through the rear view mirror. Zara was staring out of the window, looking as upset as Nick. She didn't mean to make her father mad, but she really wanted to go out with Buckley. They had fun and he was really cute.

Finally the uncomfortable ride was over and they arrived. Nick held the front door open for Zara and Amanda to walk inside. Amanda made sure to give him a look that said 'go easy'

"So this is why you wanted Amanda and me to go out tonight" he put his hands on his waist, pushing his jacket behind a bit.

"NO! I swear it had nothing to do with that!" Zara protested "I really wanted you to have fun, but I wanted to go out too"

"Why not just say it? Why did you lie?"

"Because you would have said no!" she cried "you know you would and it's not fair"

"This is not about fair Zara! This is about you lying, not being where you were supposed to, and it's unacceptable"

"But…" Zara wanted to say something but Nick wouldn't let her.

"No, you can go to your room and you will spend a lot of time there because you are grounded for…a long time" Nick couldn't even give her a timeline, twenty years didn't seem to be enough.

Zara turned and walked to her room, slamming the door, scaring Frannie a little.

"I just can't believe it" Nick looked at Amanda for a second and took off his jacket.

"Nick" she said, her voice was soft, trying to calm him down.

"I just don't understand it, we were talking about how sweet it was of her to force us to go out when it was just so she could do it! And without telling us!"

Nick took a deep breath and walked to the bedroom to change his clothes.

Amanda followed him there "Nick" her voice was more serious "I get that you're upset but…"

"Please don't tell me you're defending her" his eyes were pleading, as if he tried to pull her to his side

"I'm not" she stood in front of him "but I also want you to think about it, she's almost fifteen and I know you don't want to hear this, or think about it, but she's gonna want to date, because that's how life is"

"Amanda…" he tried to get away but Amanda blocked his way, not letting him move.

"You think she's gonna stay at home until she's old? Come on Nick, she knew you'd say no so she lied. It's gonna happen again if you won't listen to her"

"I just hate it that she lied to go out with this guy… Buckley? What kind of name is that? And his hair? Is he allergic to scissors and a comb?"

Amanda chuckled "lying about it was wrong, but they just went out to a movie. If you want her to trust you, you have to trust her"

"She's my little girl" he shrugged.

"I know babe" Amanda smiled at him "but she's growing up, you don't want her to hide things from you, right? If she knows you're going to make a big deal out of every little date…it's not like she won't go out to any, she's just gonna make a better excuse next time"

Nick shook his head, he knew Amanda was right, but it was too much for him. He wasn't ready for her to grow up, be interested in boys, couldn't she wait a few years? Where was the little girl he played in princesses and dragons with? But he couldn't keep her locked up at home. Nick really had no idea how to deal with this. At least he had Amanda by his side.

"Let's go talk to her" he said.

"You're gonna be able to stay calm?" she wanted to make sure he won't be too harsh on the girl.

"I'll do my best" Nick nodded at her.

Nick knocked on her door and waited a moment before walking inside. Zara was lying on the bed, still dressed in her jeans and sweater.

"We want to talk to you" Nick said and Zara quietly sat down, making room for him and Amanda.

"I'm very upset that you lied Zara" Nick said "it makes me feel like I can't trust you"

"Yes you can" Zara whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I just really wanted to go!" she looked at him with her puppy dog eyes.

"You should have been honest with us, even if you thought I'd say no"

"I knew you would, you don't even want me to have a party" her voice was so sad, Amanda felt bad for the girl.

"Look Zara, you know I worry about you, I just want to keep you safe" Zara stared at him "but I know you want to try new things so…"

Amanda's phone rang and she excused herself, knowing it was probably a case. Zara's eyes followed Amanda until she disappeared into another room.

"I'm going to ground you for a week for lying, that is something I will not accept, ever" he waited for her to acknowledge this and Zara nodded "but, you can invite this Buckley" he still didn't like him "over here, I want to meet him and you can spend time here"

"Really?" Zara was kinda surprised he agreed to this.

"Really" he nodded "but you have to promise me no more lies, ok?"

"Ok dad" she smiled.

"And no party" he stood up "you can invite a few friends, but nothing big, ok?"

"Thanks" she stood up and hugged him "and dad…" she looked up at him "I swear I wanted you to go out to have fun"

"I believe you, and Amanda loved the necklace, so thank you for helping" he kissed her forehead.

"You're gonna go out again, right?" she asked.

"Of course we will" he wondered why she was so interested, he just asked her to be honest "what's going on Zara?"

"It's just that…" she hesitated and Nick sat down again, wanting his daughter to tell him what's bothering her "I just want you to be happy"

"Honey, Amanda and I are very happy. You're the one who thinks it's gross when we kiss"

Zara grinned and Nick gave her another kiss "have a good night he said" and closed the door, feeling proud of himself for handling it with no one ending up in tears.

Not that he was too happy about this, but he couldn't stop time. He had to trust Zara to make good decisions and hope that others won't make bad ones when it came to her.

Amanda was on the phone, putting on a pair of jeans as she spoke "…how could that happen? He was being watched" she gave Nick an apologetic smile when she saw him "yeah, well, that's not good at all…I'm on my way"

"What's up?" Nick asked when she placed the phone on the bedside table and zipped up the pants.

"A witness was killed. I gotta go. You talked to her?" Amanda put on a pair of shoes and looked at him.

"Yeah, told her I want to meet the kid, doubt I'm going to like him" he watched as she took the necklace off and placed it with her other jewelries.

"I'm glad you're friends again" she walked over to him "thanks for the best Valentine's" she gave him a quick kiss "I love you"

She was about to pull away when Nick wrapped his hands around her waist, not letting her go "just a moment" he said, kissing her again, letting it deepen.

"I don't know when I'll be back so don't stay up" she touched his arm.

"Hate sleeping without you" he said before she left.

Amanda returned just before dawn, trying not to wake Frannie up, she poured herself a glass of water and walked to the bedroom. Nick was sound asleep and she watched him, he was lying on his stomach, one hand on her side of the bed and the other by his head. He looked calm and Amanda loved seeing him like this, she was glad he worked things out with Zara last night. He saw her as his little girl and just ignored the fact she was growing up.

He stirred a bit and Amanda smiled, she had to talk to him about something important and she wasn't sure how he'd take it. But it could wait, right now all she wanted was to get under the covers with him, feel his warm body next to hers. It was the weekend, they could steal a few minutes in bed together. She rushed into the shower to wash away the smell of the crime scene and when she was done she lay down beside him.

"Hey" he mumbled, her movements woke him up.

"Go back to sleep" she whispered, pressing herself to his skin.