Disclaimers: See part 1

Rating: PG

A/N: We are going to jump again this time but only to Father's Day. I've had this in mind for quite some time.

Father's Day weekend, Charles got to experience s few firsts of his own. On Saturday, the family found themselves in Roxbury at a regional track and field meet. Charles, Margaret, Charlie, Ben, Honoria and the Mr. and Mrs. Winchester Sr. came to support the two girls in their events.

Emerson, ever the athlete, had qualified for 100m, 200m, 500m, hurdles as well as long jump and high jump. Mary, who was happily in a different age division than her sister, had qualified for the same track events and triple jump. Emerson place first in 100m, 200m, long jump and high and second in 500m. Mary had placed second in her three running events and first in triple jump. Only the hurdles were left and Charles was beaming with pride.

"I can't believe how well they're doing!" Ben said to Charles. "They are really talented. I mean, what other sports do they do?"

"Well right now, they just finished winter swim team; they were at state championships for that two weeks ago and both placed in the top three in all of their events. They were wrangled into soft ball at school last month as well. Over the summer they still have swim team as well but for club," Charles explained. "Emerson played soccer, volleyball and basketball during the school year and Mary just played volleyball but she was in the school play."

"And they did well with their studies as well?" Charles Sr. asked.

"Their marks haven't arrived yet; Girl's Latin mails them out the last week of June but I spoke to both of their teachers and they were more than pleased," Charles boasted. He was tremendously proud of his girls.

They lined up for the final event which was hurdles. Mary's division was going first. When the starting gun went off, the girls started down the track. Mary had grown over the spring and had a clear advantage; she was at least three inches taller than all the other girls having sprouted that spring. She made her way down the track, effortlessly going over the obstacles and came in first which put a giant smile on her face.

"Well done Mary!" Charles yelled. After Mary got her last medal, she jogged over to where her family was sitting and got some more praise from the rest of her family. When Emerson's division was called, Mary was seated between her parents waiting to see how her sister would fair,

"She seems so much smaller than everyone else," Cecilia pointed out.

"She is," Ben added. "By a few inches at least."

"Yeah, but she has longer legs and funny hip joints," Mary offered.

"What do you mean funny hip joints?" Charles asked. Emerson had never complained of sore hips.

"She's double jointed and has a funny range of motion, I think it's called. Coach O'Toole noticed it and that's why she does it and why she's so good," Mary explained.

The starting gun sounded and Emerson was off like a shot down the track. She had a large lead going into the last hurdle when her toe caught and she tripped. She did a full somersault but still managed to get back to her feet and come in third. She was mad at herself for falling and didn't take any notice if she was hurt.

Charles and Ben on the other hand, could tell that she was hurt. She was limping and had dark streak that ran from her knee up under her shorts. Her white track t-shirt also growing dark patch forming on the shoulder.

"She's hurt, "Charles said as he put down Charlie and walked over to his daughter, with a bit of speed in her stride. Ben followed Charles to see if he could be of any help.

As they got closer, they heard Emerson berating herself and Coach O'Toole trying to get her to see that she was hurt.

"I cannot BELIEVE I missed that last one," she bemoaned.

"Big Win, you're hurt," he said trying to get her attention using her nickname.

"No, really, you are. Emerson you are covered in track rash," he said as Charles walked up.

"Sorry I messed up Dad," she said as he approached.

"Emerson, I don't care if you won or lost, I care if you are injured," he sad firmly.

"Yeah, sit down Em and let's take a look," Ben said trying to assess the situation.

"Ouch!" she said as she did what she was told.

Sure enough, she was skinned from her knee to just under her shorts and all up and down her right arm from elbow to shoulder.

"It's track rash," Coach O'Toole explained. "Less bad than road rash because the track is dirt but worse because it's the devil to clean out."

"What's the best way to clean it?" Ben asked, seeking the professional opinion on the matter.

"Soap and water will get most of it off but after that, you need to scrub and clean it out. Where it's dirt you have no idea what's on the track and you don't want that much raw skin getting infected," Coach O'Toole advised.

The entire family went back to Charles and Margaret's house so they could have a little celebratory bbq and so Ben could help clean up out Emerson's track rash. She showered which got the bulk of it off but as promise, it was now time to scrub. She was in her shorts with a shirt pressed over her chest for modesty, sitting on a chair in the kitchen. Charles grew a bit pale as he saw the extent of her scrapes.

"You know, I can do this Charles if you want to go help with the grill," he offered seeing that while this was going to without a doubt be painful for Emerson, it would be just was bad for her father.

"I can do this. I'm her father, it's my responsibility," he said as he picked up the nail brush which was sitting in a bowl of rubbing alcohol. "This will sting," he advised.

"Just get it over with," she said, gritting her teeth.

Ben picked up the second brush and pointed to her shoulder. "I'll to high, you go low," he said to Charles.

Emerson hissed as they started to scrub the rest of the dirt out of the scrapes. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out.

"You're doing great, Emerson," Ben said, "I'm nearly done."

Charles had much more dirt to get out and was finding that he had to scrub hard to get it out. Her raw skin was starting to bleed.

"I'm nearly done baby," Charles said. He looked up and saw a tear rolling down her face. Her eyes were scrunched closed and her face contorted in pain but she did not make a sound.

"I'm finished," Ben declared. "Need help Charles?"

"There's a lot of debris round her knee," he said as he tried to be gently.

"You're going to need to pour alcohol on that in order to get it out," Ben said as he reached for the bottle. She groaned in pain when the liquid came in contact with the cut. "You are doing so much better then the last time I was hurt. In Korea, your Mom and I got caught in a hut during some shelling and a piece of the ceiling caved in. I got a hunk of wood stuck in it and she had to dig it out and pour alcohol on it to clean. I'm pretty sure you could hear the screams for miles," Ben joked, trying to break the tension.

Tears were rolling down her face but she still wasn't making any noise. Charles was thankful; had she cried he would have had a much harder time dealing with the situation.

"There. All done," Charles declared. No sooner were the words out of his mouth, Emerson sprinted for the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Ben and Charles were behind her and could hear her retching into the toilet and sobbing.

"Emerson, open the door," Charles said in his 'Dad' tone.

"She won't until she stops crying," Mary explained as she came up behind her father and her uncle. "Emerson doesn't let people see her cry when she's hurt," she explained.

"Why ever not?" Charles asked.

"I don't know," Mary said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen her break bones and have stitches put in but she's never cried."

"Best leave her alone then," Ben suggested.

"Yeah Dad, leave her be. When she wants to be around people again, she'll come out. Dinner's ready."

Sure enough, Emerson emerged from the bathroom 20 minutes later. Her face a bit flushed but otherwise, you could not tell she had shed any tears.

Later that night, after he tucked the two youngest in bed, he knocked on Emerson's door. She was lying on her left side with the injured side up. Charles sat down next to her and looked at the raw, bruised skin.

"Emerson, I want you to know something. You never have to be afraid to cry in front of me, especially when you're in pain, alright?"

"Ok," she said, tears pooling. "Dad, could you please get me an aspirin? It really hurts."

"Of course, sweetheart," he said gently.