"God, Papa! If you are going to do that kinky shit, why can't you do it in your bedroom? I think my fragile psyche has now been permanently damaged." The sharp, and overly loud, voice of Sophia Dubenko caused both Allison and Lee to stir, not without protest.

Lee Dubenko opened one eye and looked balefully at his daughter. "Keep your voice down."

Sophie smirked as she took in the scene before her. Noticing the nearly empty bottle of vodka on the coffee table and the discarded articles of clothing, she shook her head. "Really, Papa. I hadn't realized you'd become such a depraved sex fiend." She smirked as she walked over to the windows.

"Sophia Marie Dubenko, you touch those blinds and I will disown you."

She had already pulled them open, causing her father and his companion to moan in protest and squint painfully in the bright morning sun. "Oops. Sorry Papa. My hand slipped."

"Go. To. Your. Room." Dubenko bit off each word carefully as a sharp pain rang through his head.

"Morning to you too, Papa." Sophia laughed as she walked out of the room. Lee could have sworn he heard her singing to herself as she climbed the stairs.

"Lee, no offense, but I hate her. I really, really hate her." Allison groaned and pressed her face into the upholstered arm of the sofa.

"None taken, Chapman." Dubenko was carefully trying to untangle himself and sit up. A wave of nausea made him rethink his efforts almost immediately. "Do you think you could move a little to the left, I can't breathe. Who's idea was it to spend the evening drinking again?"

"Yours."

"I was afraid of that."

"Where's my bra?"

"I'm laying on it." Dubenko winced as he reached beneath himself to tug on the offending undergarment. "I think I punctured something. Like my lung."

Later, while Allison was upstairs in the shower, Dubenko was trying his best to concentrate on his coffee and ignore the jibes cheerfully coming from his daughter as they stood in the kitchen. His head was pounding, neck was stiff, and his stomach was doing unnatural things like somersaults.

"Please just tell me you didn't actually have sex on the couch because I don't think I'll ever be able to watch television in there again."

"Sophia. Please. Not. So. Loud." Dubenko was rubbing his forehead and wincing. "It's really none of your business, anyway."

"Yeah well, I sure as hell got an eyeful of 'none of my business' this morning, didn't I? Remember when I was, what, eight or nine and I walked in on you and Mom going at it? This? Well, this was ten times worse." Sophia continued to rattle on about the atrocity of seeing her father half naked with his girlfriend in a similar state, sprawled across the living room furniture, as she began pulling food out of the fridge.

"What are you doing, Soph?"

"Making breakfast. I'm hungry. Bacon and eggs sounds really good. You know, completely unhealthy and all. Eggs fried right in the bacon grease, sunny-side up, just a little runny so that they kind of just slide right across the plate. Or down your throat for that matter…want some?" She was grinning at her father who was now slightly greenish in appearance.

"Stop talking or I'm going to throw up. On you." Lee Dubenko put his partially emptied coffee mug on the counter and walked out of the room slowly and collapsed once more on the sofa. "My child is a monster."

He didn't bother looking up when he felt a hand on his back a few minutes later. "Mmm…baby? You won't hold her behavior this morning against me, will you?" he mumbled into the upholstered cushion.

"Don't be silly. I'm sorry, Papa. I guess you really are a bit hung over, huh? Here, I made you some toast and a Bloody Mary. You'll feel better." She set the food on the coffee table and patted his back again.

"Sophie? I'm sorry, I thought you were Allie." Dubenko winced, realizing his error too late.

"What? I…her…what? You call her 'baby' now, too? That's fucking beautiful, Papa. I thought I was your baby. Me…you know, your daughter? The one you've called that for almost twenty years now? Here I am, feeling bad for giving you a hard time and trying to make it up to you and all you want is your god damned shit-faced cum guzzling penis receptacle of a girlfriend!" Sophia's voice had reached an eardrum shattering pitch as she lambasted her father.

"Sophia Marie! I suggest you select your next words very carefully. In fact they better start with 'I'm sorry' and end with "I'll never use that foul language in your presence ever again.' I will not have you speaking that way about Allison or anyone else I choose to spend my time with, do you understand me? I thought we discussed this last night." Dubenko was now standing toe to toe with the seething girl, doing his best not to completely lose his temper or his stomach.

"I'm sorry that you don't have a clue Papa, and don't worry, I'm leaving so I'll never use that foul language in your presence. Ever again."

"Sophia—"

"I hate you." Sophia stormed out of the room, passing Allison on the stairs. "And I really hate you. It isn't enough to date him, is it? You have to totally push me out of the picture too. I hope you two have a very merry Christmas together."

At the slamming of the door Allison managed to wipe the shocked expression off her face and join Lee in the living room. "Did I miss something here?"

He was standing motionless in the center of the room, a look of utter disbelief on his features. When he turned to speak to his companion his face crumbled and his voice wavered. "I'll never manage to do anything right by her, will I? Here she was trying to apologize and I may as well have slapped her across the face in response."

"You know, Lee, she could probably stand to be slapped." Allison's mood was no better than his own. Her head was throbbing and she felt as if she were being attacked yet again for no reason.

"My daughter just told me she hates me. I think she may have actually meant it." He looked like a wounded animal standing there, pained and confused.

Allison moved to put her arms around the hurt man only to have him pull away. "Lee? I'm sorry if my comment was out of line. Look, I don't know what exactly her problem with me is, or what her problem in general is, but I can't see how you could possibly handle things any differently."

He wasn't listening to her. Instead, his attention was focused on the staircase and the sounds of Sophia bustling around in her room. It sounded as if she was slamming drawers and throwing things, her activity mingled with the sounds of her crying.

"Maybe I should go." Allison said quietly.

"I think that would be for the best." Lee looked at her for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "Allie? I'll call you?"

"Sure." She kissed him quickly and gathered her things.

Sighing, Dubenko made his way up the stairs to his daughter's room. He was dreading the conversation that was about to take place, but for different reasons than the evening before. Last night he had known what to say. Now he was simply at a loss as to how to rectify a situation that was quickly spiraling out of control. He was afraid that he was not only going to botch up his budding relationship with Allison, but that he was going to irreparably damage his bond with his daughter. He knew he would eventually get over Allie if things didn't work out, but he'd never forgive himself if Sophia no longer wanted him in her life.

Knocking softly at the closed door, Dubenko steeled himself for another angry outburst from the one person who could truly still break his heart. "Sophie, it's Papa. Can I come in, please?"

"Why? Want to yell at me some more? Go away. I'm packing. I'm sure Allie, I mean your precious 'Baby' needs you anyhow." Her bitter voice cut him to the core.

"Baby, Sophia, please…I just want, I want to talk to you and not through this damned door." Dubenko leaned against the doorframe as he continued to speak, his voice low and soft. "Baby, I don't want you to leave. Not like this. Not angry with me. Sophie…" He continued to plead with her from out in the hallway for what seemed like ages, to no avail. Hanging his head in defeat, Dubenko went into his own room and gently closed the door before lying across his bed and burying his face in the pillows.

He took his glasses off and set them on the pillow before rolling over to stare at the ceiling. Dubenko squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep, quivering breath before exhaling slowly. He could feel the tears burning behind his eyelids as he struggled to quell the raging turmoil inside of him. He rarely became this overwhelmed, but when it did happen there had always only been one person who could calm his fears. With a few simple words, a touch, or merely her presence Marti had always been the calm center to his emotional storms. Marti. Oh, Marti, what am I doing? Beautiful, if I've ever needed you, now's the time. I've made a royal mess of things and I have no idea how to fix them. I know you'd be able to set things right. I've always envied you that talent.

"Marti," his voice barely more than a whisper, Lee gave into his old habit of speaking to his late wife as if she were in the room with him. It was something he hadn't allowed himself to do for many months. "Marti, how is it that I can be so damned smart when it comes to medicine and such an idiot when it comes to being a father?"

He wiped at the corners of his eyes with the pad of his thumb, then paused to study the wetness on his skin. "I don't think she even realizes just how much I love her. I know I say the words a lot. I hug her as often as I can. Call when I have the time. But it never feels like enough. I know she's never forgiven me for the way I acted when you went away. I all but abandoned her. Then I moved to Chicago and even though I asked her to come with me, I knew she wouldn't. I still left. And now, she feels like I don't want her at all. What is it? Three strikes and you're out?"

Hugging a pillow to his chest, Dubenko swallowed hard. "Marti, I can't be out. I simply can't. I need her. Sophie is all I have left of you. I can't lose you both. I just can't—"

The last time he had seriously argued with Sophie had been the day of Martina's funeral. The traumatized girl had steadfastly refused to go to the memorial service for her mother. He felt as helpless now as he had back then, trying to reach out to his daughter and failing miserably. Back then she had still been a child and was unable to cut him out of her life. Now he didn't have that safety net and he was scared of what that meant. If Sophie really wanted to, she could all but pretend he didn't exist. She lived on the east coast and while she appreciated it, she didn't need his financial support; there really was nothing but love to connect and hold them together.

But if she hates me, I don't even have that. The solitary thought kept repeating itself in his mind. It tore at his insides, pummeled his gut and broke his heart. Choking on the tears he wouldn't let himself cry, Dubenko desperately hoped for a way to salvage things. He sadly debated calling Allison and telling her that things were over. As much as he cared for the young woman he wasn't about to lose his daughter for someone whom he wasn't even sure loved him. Or ever would. He thought about going back down the hall to Sophia's room and begging her to talk to him. He thought about how close happiness had finally seemed again and just how miserable he currently was.

"Am I supposed to be alone, Marti? Is that it? Maybe I wasn't meant to be loved. Maybe I wasn't meant to be happy." He thought about the fact that he had been an only child. His father died when he was young, his mother was not the affectionate sort. Growing up he had always been a loner amongst his peers. He'd had his schoolwork for company, volumes of literature for companions. Sure he had had friends and acquaintances, but there wasn't anyone close to him. He had Marti for a while--the best years of his life had been with her. Even she was taken from him. He had lost Dedushka just before he and Marti were married. Possibly the only other person that had ever truly made Lee Dubenko feel loved had been his grandfather. And now his daughter had said those awful words to him. "I hate you." He could still hear the poisonous tone of her voice. He didn't doubt the sincerity for a moment.

A soft knock sounded on his door. At first Dubenko thought he was hearing things. Again there was a knock, a little louder, followed by his daughter's voice. "Papa? Can I come in?" She didn't wait for a response before opening the door.

Looking at her father curled up on the bed, a pillow to his chest and his glasses off Sophia could tell that he'd been crying, or doing a very poor job of trying not to, she thought. "Are you crying?" Her voice was soft as she walked into the darkened room.

He blinked and wiped at his eyes once more before sitting up. With a customary jerk of his head he tossed his curly hair off his forehead before answering his recalcitrant daughter. "No, just, just resting. What is it, baby?" He studied her face hoping to divine what she might be thinking.

"I um, I was wondering if we could talk…" she trailed off as she studied the floor.

Patting his bed, Lee tried to smile. "Sure. Come here, Soph. Come here."

As the petite teen sat next to him, the doctor couldn't help but pull her against his chest for a hug. "I love you, baby." He knew he was squeezing her too tightly but he didn't care, he just continued to hold her, afraid that if he let go she'd change her mind.

"Papa, I can't breathe." She pushed against his chest with her hands until he loosened his grip. "I wanted to say I was sorry for what I told you downstairs. I don't hate you Papa. I don't. I promise." She exhaled slowly and when she spoke again she sounded ashamed. "I just wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me."

He leaned over to the nightstand and switched on a lamp. In the now brightly lit room, he squinted for a moment before looking at his daughter. "Well, Sophia, you achieved your goal and then some. Do you have any idea how badly that stung me? I can't imagine anything that I have ever done, or failed to do, that has earned me that sort of disrespectful and outright malicious treatment from you. I have done nothing but love you from the moment you were born. Before then, really, I loved the concept of you from the moment your mother first told me she was pregnant. You may not be happy with me right now, you may be angry with me, though I don't really understand why, and you may not like the changes in my life, but what you said was uncalled for."

He took her small hands in his much larger ones as he continued. "I didn't mean to hurt you Sophia, and if I did I'm sorry. Very sorry. The last thing I want to do is cause you any pain. But I really need you to understand something here, Sophie. This is my life, not yours. I'm calling the shots here. I don't interfere with your life on this level and I never would. I want, I deserve the same respect and courtesy from you, baby. You don't have to like it, but that's the way it is. Be as angry as you want with me, that's your right. And if you really think it's the best thing for you, go home. I won't stop you. I personally think it's the wrong solution, running away from your problems instead of trying to work them out. It's also the incredibly immature thing to do." He squeezed Sophie's hands and gave her a weak smile when he noticed her eyebrows reaching into her hairline. "I know what you're thinking, and the irony isn't lost on me either, kiddo. I know that I have the habit of, if not running away from my problems then at least avoiding them like the plague. Look where that's gotten me, Sophie. I'd rather see you learn from my mistakes than repeat them." He took a breath and let go of her hands. "I'm not going to lecture you any more. I've said all I can. The ball's in your court. Stay and handle things like the adult that you are or go home to Richmond and sulk like a child. Your call."

Dubenko watched his daughter for a long moment. She hadn't said a word, just stared at him. "Sophia? Are you okay?"

She nodded mutely and stood up. The younger Dubenko got halfway across the room before turning around and walking back to the bed. Sophia leaned over and gave her father a tight hug and kissed his cheek before leaving his bedroom.

Lee heard her walk down the hall and back into her room, the soft click of the door closing and then silence. He let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Running his hands through his hair, Dubenko let out a penitent chuckle and then pantomimed banging his head against the bedroom wall.