Pacing back and forth in her spacious bedroom, Amy chewed anxiously on her bottom lip. Although she'd gone furniture shopping with Christian that day, she'd only been in her new condo nearly one day. It had taken a course of three days for the person before her to move out, and one more day for her bedroom furniture to be brought in by the moving company. Except for her bedroom and the bathroom, the rest of the apartment was relatively empty. Her eyes shifted every now and then towards the cordless phone that sat on her nightstand, debating whether or not to make the call.

The call that she knew would either make her or break her. She'd been home for over an hour, and although she had told Kimber she'd do it, she hadn't been thinking half as clearly then as she was now. She'd been under the influence of the coke she'd snorted. When she'd gotten back, she'd gone into the bathroom. For a few minutes, she'd stood shirtless before the mirror, staring intently back at her own reflection, but more so, at her breasts. They weren't A-cup flat, but they weren't ample either. Kimber was right. She could definitely benefit from going up a cup size. It would definitely be a change for the better. After all, she was long overdue for a makeover, and who knew, this might actually get her a date with a cute guy.

She halted her pacing, shaking the doubts and worries out of her mind and stepping towards her full-sized bed, lowering her petite frame onto the comfy mattress. A deep sigh escaped her, lifting her hand up to reach for the phone. She hesitated before finally snatching it off its base and dialing the number for the McNamara/Troy office. The number that was stationed beside the cordless phone. She had scrawled it on a hot pink piece of notepad paper. She swallowed the huge lump that had taken form in her throat as she listened to it ring. Once. Twice.

"McNamara/Troy, how can I help you?" An unfamiliar but kind female voice spoke.

It took her a moment to get the words out. "Um...can I speak to Dr. McNamara please?"

"May I ask who's calling?"

Her mind went blank. Shit. What was she supposed to say? Of course she'd already met her father's partner, but she'd only spoken to him once, and although he was trained to handle requests like this on a normal basis, this was far from normal to her. She was Christian's daughter.

"Hello?" The voice came again, more intent this time.

She blinked, snapping out of her thoughts and saying the first thing that came to mind. "Sorry. Amy Gellar."

"One moment please, I'll see if he's available."

The woman put her on hold for a minute. A minute that, to her, felt like an eternity. Then, at long last, she heard the familiar and friendly voice she'd came in contact with a few days ago. "This is Dr. McNamara. How may I help you?"

Her heart began pounding in her chest, trying mercilessly to think of the right words to say. "Um, h-hi. This is Amy Gell--well, Amy Troy. I'm Christian's daughter. We met before. Do you remember?"

There was a slight hesitation before Sean answered. "Yes. Amy, of course. I remember. What can I do for you? If you're looking for Christian, he's not scheduled to work today."

"I'm not. I actually just went out with him, but I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Why? Are you and Christian experiencing some problems?"

"Oh! No, it's not like that. We're getting along fine. It's about...something else."

"Oh, all right. Well, what can I do for you then?"

As hard as she tried to form a coherent sentence, she simply couldn't. Although she'd gotten this far through the conversation and her nerves should be subsiding, they weren't. Her heart rate clearly had no intention of slowing down. Not until she went through with this as planned.

I can't do this.

No, she could. She could do anything right now. Her mother wasn't around to disapprove of the things she did. She was free to do whatever the hell she wanted. No! No, she wasn't. She couldn't! Could she? It would be stupid. She could wind up hating herself for it afterwards. Or maybe, just maybe, she'd feel ten times better than she did now. It would sure give her self-esteem a boost, and that's what she needed.

"Hello? Amy?"

Realizing that Sean was still on the line, she pushed her thoughts aside for the second time and spoke softly. "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry." She took in a deep breath, attempting to calm her pounding heart. "Um, I was wondering if...you might be able to--if I could come in for...a consultation?"

There was a moment of silence from the other line. Suddenly she wished she hadn't said anything at all. She wished she had just hung up or told him to forget about it entirely. Well, it was too late for that now. Not sensing he'd even reply, she nearly jumped out of her skin when he finally did. "A consult? Are you actually considering plastic surgery, a girl your age? If you don't mind my asking, exactly how old are you?"

She exhaled sharply, part of her wishing she had thought to ask her father instead. No, that would be worse. Much worse than this. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stammered a reply. "I-I'm nineteen, and...yeah. I was thinking about getting...breast implants. If that's okay."

He paused for a moment before sighing softly. "I'm sorry Amy, but I think you'd better speak to Christian about this first."

"I can't," she replied abruptly. "I wouldn't feel comfortable talking to him or even having him do this. It would be too weird, and if he found out I was even thinking about it, he might not even let me do it."

"Look, in the off chance that you did come in for a consult and schedule something, there's no guarantee that he wouldn't find out eventually. Also, as his partner and best friend, I don't feel its right that I keep something like this from him. Neither should you. He is after all your father."

She hadn't realized just how difficult it might be to reason with her father's partner. After all, he was more than his partner. As tempted as she was to hang up and can the whole idea, she couldn't bring herself to let go of the phone. He was right though. Even if she did have the surgery, Christian would be bound to find out. One way or another. An irritable sigh escaped her. "Well, I'm still old enough to decide what I want, aren't I? I mean, I'm legal. Can't I just come in for a consult? There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Of course not. Technically, you are of legal age." He paused once more, exuded another sigh and then continued. "I have an opening tomorrow around four thirty. I can see you then, but I can't make any guarantees that Christian won't find out before that time comes."

"Deal. Four thirty sounds good to me."

"All right, then I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Dr. McNamara."

"You're welcome."

After the two of them exchanged good-byes, she slowly brought the phone away from her ear and set it back onto its base. Her brows stitched together in consideration, a migraine already taking form in her head. For a long moment, she sat there contemplating what she'd just done and wondering if she'd been stupid to do it. She knew she was running a huge risk in her father finding out about her possible boob job, and the fact that he might end up finding out before she even came in for the consult. All of it was making her head throb ten times more than it already was. No. She couldn't deal with this right now. She had to get her mind off it, and she knew just the way to do it.

Turning around, she reached over and grabbed her purse from the opposite side of the bed. Reaching inside, she pulled out the small white envelope that Kimber had given her. Within a matter of minutes, she'd be feeling ready to face the world again.


Christian sat restlessly in the chair behind his desk, his jaw tight and his eyes gleaming with hatred as he stared back at the man that sat across from him. The asshole who had put such a damper on his child's life. The asshole who had gotten what was coming to him, and Christian prayed would continue to get what was coming to him for years to come. He'd inflicted so much hell upon Amy and he deserved to burn there for all eternity. With a frustrated sigh, he removed the cap from his red pen and averted his gaze to the forms before him. "Let's get this bullshit over with."

"None of this bullshit would be happening if it hadn't been for you." Frank Gellar remarked scornfully. Since Christian's assault on him, there was a purple tint around Frank's now swollen left eye, and a dark red hue around his broken nose. "You could have avoided the whole thing if you'd stayed the fuck away from my daughter--"

Flashing him an icy cold glare, he cut the man off before he could say anymore. At the same time, trying relentlessly to keep his rage from overpowering him, but it was a task in itself. "She's not your daughter anymore asshole! She's mine! When are you going to get that through your God damn head?" He snapped.

The man sat back in his seat, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. His expression was rigid as he stared Christian down. "What merrits you to call yourself her fucking father? I'm the one who raised her, not you!"

He willed himself to take in a breath before he exploded, but it didn't prevent him from throwing down the pen in his hand. The impact of the pen hitting the desk caused it to bounce off and sail to the ground. If he'd had it his way, he would rather have liked to see it bounce off the desk and hit Frank in the eye. "I'm her biological father! Incase you're just now joining the likes of the sane, you're nothing more than her foster father, which means you had absolutely no part in her conception. Your name sure as hell wasn't on the birth certificate, mine was, and if you need more proof of that, you might do well to talk to your ex-wife. Assuming that you haven't kicked her to the curb as well."

Frank's expression remained rigid, as if Christian's words hadn't had any effect whatsoever. "So you've told Teresa who you are." His words were more in the form of a statement rather than a question. "That's not going to do you any good. She knows who you are, but say that I do believe you...not a damn thing is going to change. You'll give me my surgery or any rights that my ex-wife has given you will be gone within a blink of an eye."

A huge lump formed in his throat as he felt his heart constrict in his chest. Even though his emotions were threatening to overpower his rage, his gaze remained stone-cold. He recalled his previous conversation with the asshole, in which Frank disclosed he had potential information on him that would destroy his parental rights to Amy. Going to her mother with it would be one thing, but if he somehow found evidence to take to the police, he could be facing more than just a custody hearing. "I already told you I'd give you your God damn surgery. Why the hell do you think I'm even here? I didn't exactly wake up this morning looking forward to seeing you, but since I've been forced to do so, let's just put the bullshit aside and get it over with." He pushed himself back an inch or two in his chair, dropping his gaze to the floor and searching for the pen he'd dropped a moment ago.

The sound of Frank's voice escalated with his next words. "You think I wanted to see your face?" He rolled his eyes before they narrowed irritably on Christian, who had found his pen and shot the man a glare after he'd reached down to pick it up. "I want to get this over with as much as you do, but if you don't watch what you say, you're only going to make it harder for yourself. Payback is a bitch."

Now, more than ever, Christian wished he could finish this guy off once and for all. Break something else besides his nose. Break his neck or better yet, his leg. Break both his legs so he couldn't get near his daughter again. At least not anytime soon. He clenched his teeth together, his grip tightening on the pen in his hand. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What the hell do you think it means?" Frank brought his hand up, gesturing to his nose, "you broke my nose you son of a bitch, and if you don't watch your mouth, I'll do the same thing to you."

A scoff escaped him, turning his head away and mumbling under his breath, "been there, done that." He leaned in a little closer, setting his forearms upon the desk. Hatred gleamed within his eyes as his voice took on a gravely tone. "You're not going to do shit, to me or my daughter. I'm going to give you your God damn surgery, and then you're going to get the hell out of our lives, do I make myself clear?"

"You're wasting your breath because as I told you before, you're not keeping me from seeing her. I'm still her father whether either of you like it or not, and there's nothing you can do to change that."

"Bullshit!" Christian shot up onto his feet, the chair nearly toppling over as he did so. As hard as he'd fought to get control of his temper, he couldn't hold back anymore. His rage snapped like the strings of a guitar, and along with it went the tone of his voice. "Once I file a restraining order on your ass, you'll see a change! You won't be able to come anywhere near her again, and if you keep harassing her with phone calls, I'll find a way to block those too."

Frank sprang up to his feet, placing his hands firmly on his hips and stepping towards Christian's desk until the two men were face-to-face. "Go ahead and try it asshole! Teresa won't be the only one who will know how fucked up you are. I'm going to look like a Saint compared to you once my daughter knows the shit you've done. The kid won't go anywhere near you, she'll come back to me."

"She won't believe a God damn thing you say. She's not that stupid."

"She'll believe it, once she hears it from someone else. I have my sources you son of a bitch."

Before Frank realized what was happening or Christian knew what he was doing, he quickly stepped out from behind his desk, covering the distance between him and the man in two quick strides. He lunged at Frank, seizing him by the neck and slamming him up against the wall a split second later. "You're not going to do a God damn thing, do you understand me?" He sneered, his heart pounding madly against his chest. He continued, bellowing the last eight words of his sentence. "If I find out you've screwed with her head in any way, you'll be getting reconstructive surgery for the rest of your God damn life!"

"What the hell is going on in here?" A familiar voice demanded. "Christian! What the hell are you doing?"

Christian was too caught up in his rage to realize that anyone was even speaking to him. His hold on the man grew tighter as the man struggled to free himself. Frank pulled his right arm back, his hand clenching into a fist, but before the hand could connect with his face, Christian's free hand shot up and grabbed the man's wrist firmly.

"Let go of me...you son of a bitch!" Frank managed to utter through his clenched, and slightly crooked front teeth.

Christian didn't make a move to fulfill his command, but before he could shout at the asshole anymore, he felt a firm hand settle down on his right shoulder and saw another hand settle on Frank's shoulder, instantly forcing the two of them apart. He would have been outraged by the action entirely if he hadn't looked up, coming face-to-face with none other than a peevish and bewildered Sean.

Sean stole a glance in Frank's direction before turning his attention to Christian. "What the hell is wrong with you Christian? What's going on in here?"

He huffed, planting his hands firmly on his hips as his eyes shifted from Sean to Frank, who was fuming in much the same way he was, and then back to Sean. "Stay out of this Sean. This asshole brought it on himself."

"You're the asshole! You attacked me!" Frank sneered.

"Oh bullshit! You were just looking for an excuse for me to mangle your face again."

Sean's brows furrowed inquisitively, his gaze shifting between the two men before him. He held up a hand, stepping between he and Frank. "All right, that's enough!" Christian could sense that Sean didn't trust either of them not to go after the other, therefore, he put himself between them. Turning his head, Sean looked over at Frank, the bewilderment still present on his face. "I'm Dr. McNamara, and you would be?"

Frank shot Christian a glare before meeting Sean's gaze. "Frank Gellar." The man sighed in frustration, taking a step towards him. "I was here for a consultation, but this son of a bitch took it upon himself and attacked me again. Oh yeah, he's done it before. How do you think my face got like this?" He brought his hand up, gesturing to the damage on his face.

"Oh I can answer that question." Christian took a few steps towards Frank, his voice escalating in the same manner as before with his last five words. "This whole situation started when you put your hands on my God damn daughter!"

As Christian and Frank inched closer to each other, Sean kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. He brought both his hands up, his arms outstretched on either sides of his body, keeping the two from going any further. "That's enough!" He shouted. His brows lowered as he countered Christian, "Christian, go wait in my office! I'll finish Mr. Gellar's consult."

As much as Christian wanted to stay and beat the shit out of the man, he knew that arguing with Sean would only make matters worse. Frankly, he was somewhat relieved that he'd offered to finish the consultation. If he stayed in that room any longer with the prick, he would probably kill him. He exchanged a look with Sean, exhaling sharply. His eyes shifted back to an expectant Frank, sending him a look of vexation before finally turning and stalking towards the open door. Even before he reached the door, he could sense his best friend's eyes were still on him. Not caring what either Frank or Sean said, he exited the office, slamming the door behind him.

Once he reached Sean's office, he simply couldn't find it within himself to remain in the same place for too long. He began pacing back and forth, trying to get a handle on his temper before he exploded and put his fist through the wall. It felt like he'd been waiting a century for Sean to return, and with each passing minute, he was getting more and more frustrated. Finally, about ten minutes later, the door opened and Sean stepped inside. He could tell by the firm expression on his partner's face that he was about to snap at him.

"Look Sean, before you say anything--"

Sean cut him off before he could go any further. "What the hell did you think you were doing, Christian?" He demanded. "That's no way to treat a potential client! What the hell is the matter with you? Do you want us to get hit with yet another lawsuit? We can't afford to lose anymore business. The Bobbi Broderick case was bad enough, and now this?"

He exhaled sharply as he shot a glare his way. "If you'd let me speak for one God damn minute, I'll tell you." He sighed deeply, bringing both of his hands up to his head, pressing the heels of his palms against his forehead. "That asshole got what was coming to him. After all the shit he's put Amy through..." His voice trailed off, his hands falling back at his sides. He shook his head, his gaze averting to the ground.

Sean's brows stitched together in bewilderment. "Amy?" He paused for a moment, seeming to contemplate the thought before his expression changed. He solemnly nodded his head. "He's her foster father, isn't he?"

He scoffed, placing his hands firmly on his hips before lifting his chin to look up at him. "That asshole doesn't deserve to be called a father, and no matter how many God damn times I've tried to tell him, he can't get it through his head. If it came down to it, she'd sure as hell choose me over him." He felt his temper rising to the surface once again, but he bit back his frustration and began pacing back and forth once again.

"Christian, whether you want to believe it or not, he is still her father. In some sense of the word, but what gave you the right to hit him to begin with? Declaring his own parental right to Amy doesn't earn him a broken nose or even a black eye for that matter. You're lucky he's not pressing charges."

"That's not the reason I hit him!"

"Then what was it?"

Christian stopped his pacing and met eyes with him. His jaw tightened up, as he swallowing the lump in his throat. His voice was soft but firm. "He attacked her Sean. When we were in Vegas, he showed up and he attacked her." He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, feeling his emotions rising to the surface, but they were a mixture of emotions. His heart constricted in his chest and his mouth went dry. He felt a hollowness in his chest and a chill creep down his spine. His muscles tensed up as a rush of adreneline pulsated through his veins, much in the same way it did when you felt a desire to hit something. "That wasn't the first time he'd done it either. From what she told me, he's been abusing her her whole life. He's probably been doing it since she was..." He turned his head away as a painful recollection of his own childhood floored him.

A deep scowl came over Sean's face, his brows furrowing in concern. For a long moment, he didn't say anything. Finally, he spoke but in a gentle tone. "I'm sorry Christian, I didn't know. Have you talked to her about possibly filing a restraining order? That might be the best thing you can do for her right now, if you want to make sure she's safe."

He shook his head in discouragement. "I can't do that. If I did that, this bastard will find some way to turn her, and her mother against me." He swallowed hard, the flood gates threatening to burst open at any moment.

"What makes you say that?"

"He told me!" Christian cried audibly. "He told me that if I tried to file a restraining order against him or refused to give him his God damn surgery, he'd bad mouth me to Amy and her mother, and somehow find a way for them to see me for the prick that I am. He's got ties Sean. He's got some inside source working against me. Amy might not believe a damn word he says, but she might if she heard it from someone else." He brought both of his palms up to his forehead once again, the tears burning in his eyes.

Sean sent him another look of bewilderment. "An inside source? Who do you think it could be?"

He shook his head. "Hell if I know." He brought his hands down and stepped towards the window on the left wall, allowing the ray of sunlight to cast a warm glow against his bronze skin. "What am I going to do? I'm screwed either way I look at it. If I give this asshole his surgery, there's no guarantee he won't come after her again, and if I even try filing a restraining order, he'll screw up everything. I'll never see her again." His voice shook with emotion as he uttered his last words.

Sean crossed the room to where he was standing, setting a reassuring hand on Christian's shoulder. "I don't know Christian, but you'll figure something out. We'll figure it out together. We'll do whatever we can to make sure Amy stays your daughter...and you stay her father. Hey, we've been through tougher times together, haven't we? This isn't any different."

He sighed deeply, a single tear rolling down his cheek. As many times as Sean could snap at him about unauthorized office behavior, and lack of better judgement, it was times such as this when Christian could use an ounce of hope. When the odds were against him, he still had his partner, his best friend, and his brother, Sean. He couldn't ask for more. Except maybe to see that son of a bitch, Frank Gellar, behind bars or better yet, dead. A few more tears trickled down his cheeks, his bottom lip trembling as he fought to gain control of himself. "I can't lose her Sean. Not now and not like this." Suddenly, he found himself uttering words he never thought he would hear himself say. "I love her."

Sean managed a small smile, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "I know you do," he spoke softly, "but the best thing you can do for her now is to keep her safe. Be a father to her, the best that you can be. And if she needs a safe place to stay...she's always welcome at the McNamara house."

He shook his head, although the offer still warmed his heart. "The problem isn't finding her a safe place to stay. She's already got that. There isn't a chance in hell he'll find out where she's at, but then again, I don't know half of the shit he's capable of." He exhaled sharply, bringing one of his hands up to his face, hiding his teary eyes from the sun and from his partner.

"I don't necessarily think he'll stalk her, do you?"

"Like I said, I don't know much about this asshole as it is. There's no telling what he'll do."

"If she's with you, I hardly doubt he'd try and hurt her."

His hand fell back at his side, stepping away from the window and away from Sean. He bit down on his bottom lip, supressing his frustration. All emotion was beginning to evaporate and that familiar vexation was back. His jaw tightened up, clenching his teeth together tightly. "If he even tried it, I'd kill him," he sneered.

Sean sighed softly, stealing a brief glance at his wristwatch. "Well, in regards to his surgery, which I've put on the books for Wednesday afternoon, it might not be a good idea that you operate until you're sure you can get a handle on yourself."

He knew exactly what Sean meant by those words. With the way Christian had gone off on Frank, he didn't trust that he could operate on the man without purposely harming him in some way shape or form. "I'll be fine." He pivoted on his heels and started towards the door to head back to his office. Even though he'd given him the benefit of the doubt, in all honesty, he didn't know if he would be fine. He paused when he reached the door, looking back over at his partner, noticing he had rounded his desk and was tending to the disarray of things that sat on top. His brows furrowed inquisitively, forgetting for a moment if they had anymore consults scheduled for that day. "Got another appointment?"

Sean raised his eyes from the things before him. He hesitated before answering his question, but went right back to the work at hand as he did so. "I have a consult coming in at four thirty."

Christian took a step towards his desk, his brows arching expectantly. "I'll sit in then." He scoffed. "I need something to help get my mind off all this drama."

Sean froze at his choice of words, which didn't seem to baffle him in the least bit, until he quickly lifted his chin and answered, a little more abruptly than Christian would have expected. "Actually, I think can handle this one on my own. That is, if you don't mind."

It didn't seem to make any sense why Sean wanted to take the consult on his own, when clearly, they had been doing most of their consults together, but if the patient had made the appointment with him instead of both of them, it was out of his hands. Although he was the tinest bit stung by it, he simply shrugged it off as nothing. "In that case, I'll be in my office," he turned back around to walk out of the room, "trying to salvage what's left of my parental life." He shook his head in disbelief, exiting the office without another word.