Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Author's Note: Short chapter. Enjoy! And, as always, thank you thank you thank you for all your reviews! Rating may change due to the mention of suicide...
"I have therapy this afternoon." Alison, now seventeen, said to the man that sat across from her at the table.
"I'll pick you up from school and we can go together." he replied.
"Like "Ram-a-lam-a Ding Dong?" the girl smiled.
"Ah, it seems I'm rubbing off on you after all." he said as he dug in to his bowl of Cap N' Crunch. The girl watched him eat the disgustingly sugary cereal.
"That stuff will kill you one of these days." she said pointing her fork at him. She was eating a blueberry waffle with nothing on it. "Either that or it'll make your dentist very happy."
"That's what Kate used to..." he bit back his remark and stared at his breakfast companion. "Sorry." he said knowing that the mention of Kate was a sore spot for Alison, that and it usually led to the topic of her father, a man whom she hasn't spoken too in over a year.
"It's okay." Alison replied knowing where the conversation was going.
"You know you're going to have to talk to him sometime." Tony said
"Not today." Alison spat. She looked away from Tony, anger boiled up inside of her. She really needed to extract herself from that situation before she said something she'd regret later.
"Alison, he asks about you every day. He's concerned and he misses you."
"Tony, the last time I checked, the phone works two ways. He could call me if he really wants to. Lord knows he hasn't yet and it's been eight months." Alison picked up her plate and walked over to the sink, flicking the garbage disposal switch on, she dumped the rest of her waffle down the drain and set her plate in the sink. "I have to get ready for school." she grumbled, not looking at Tony as she passed by.
It had been just eight months since Alison had come to live with Tony, eight months since her father turned his back on her.
After her father turned her over to Tony, Alison lashed out with two suicide attempts, one of them nearly claiming the girl's life. Instantly Alison had been shuttled into therapy and after six months of twice weekly meetings, the dark thoughts that once clouded her mind were slowly beginning to fade away.
Alison seemed to be getting her life back on it's intended track.
Tony was a huge help. In the begining though, he was a little wary of trying to act like Alison's parent. After a talk with Alison, the two forged a friendship and a mutual respect for one another. He had set boundaries with her, and she with him. She agreed to let him know what was going on with her and he had agreed not to act too much like a dad.
Secretly though, Alison was glad Tony was picking up where her father had left off. She was still young, and needed that, although she was too damn proud to admit it.
Though he was still the flirtatious beast he had always been, the role of "father" was starting to mellow Tony out a bit.
He was thinking more about his future, and how he saw himself in five years. He wanted to be married by then with a few kids, but Tony knew that stuff like that didn't happen overnight, it took work. He knew his situation with Alison wouldn't last forever, she'd eventually go back home and patch things up with her father and Kate. Even if she didn't go home and stayed with Tony another year, Alison was a junior in high school, and eventually she'd go off to college somewhere far away. Tony knew that she wasn't his daughter, but in this past eight months, he had grown close to her, as if she were his child. Ultimatly he knew that when she left his house, whether it be college or home, he'd miss her.
"Alison wait.." Tony knocked on Alison's bedroom door.
"Go away!" Alison yelled back.
"Look, I'm sorry alright. I didn't mean to make you mad." Tony called through the door. "I just want to talk to you. Open the door Allie, please."
"Wait." Alison's voice mumbled from the other side of the door. Tony heard clicking and a moment later Alison's door swung open a little. Tony stepped cautiously inside.
"Whoa, what happened here, it looks like a bomb went off or something." he quipped when he saw Alison's messy room. Clothing was flung onto, draped over, and dotting every surface of the bedroom. Scores of actor-boy posters littered the ground and Alison's bed.
"My dresser threw up." Alison replied.
"So did everything else." Tony pushed aside Alison's clothing and sat gingerly on the bed. Since she arrived here eight months ago, Tony had only been in her room a total of three times. Once to find her bleeding everywhere after her second attempt at taking her life, once to calm her when she had a bad nightmare and once to bring her chicken soup when she was sick. Whenever they had a "heart to heart" chat, she almost always sought him out.
"What do you want Tony?" Alison asked as she searched for her bookbag.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but Kate moved out of your dad's place."
Alison's head shot up. "When?" she asked.
"Few weeks ago." Tony replied. "She filed for divorce."
"Why?"
"Don't know. You're dad, he's pretty messed up about it."
"And I should care?" Alison answered
"Alison, he's your father, you need to talk to him." Tony stressed, "What if something bad happened to him and you never reconciled with him?"
"I suppose you're going to say that, "I'll regret it for the rest of my life?" Is that what you're going to say Tony? Cause if it is, save your breath. I've heard it all before." Alison scooped up her bookbag and left.
"That didn't go well." Tony said to himself as he watched Alison retreat down the hall. Sighing, Tony stood up amongst the mess in the bedroom. He'd have to come up with another plan and soon, if he was ever going to get Alison reunited with Gibbs.