Disclaimer: Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

A/N: Wow... chapter 12 already? Brilliant. Just to let you all know, I finally put the finishing touches on the story so we will be updating regularly until we're done. Lizzie can't think of anything witty to say (other than that Phoenix is a goose) and I can't be bothered thinking so... this is it. Enjoy the chapter and let us know what you think. Thanks. Phoenix


It was 8:00 AM the next morning and once again, lying in the hospital was doing nothing to ease the mind of Kady, who stared out the window with complete boredom and even borderline depression. While she had said that Chris could drop dead and just leave like he had done the first time, she couldn't believe that he actually went through with it and left. All her life she had hardened her soul so no one could get to her and hurt her, yet after only a week Chris had managed the smash through the wall, obliterating it so quickly it made her head spin. That wasn't to say that she trusted him or was even willing to forgive him for pushing her away.

She yawned, and felt the sun beating down on her through the window, though none of the heat since the window was closed. For some reason, at night she simply couldn't sleep but during the day she was often napping or feeling really dozy. With a pained expression, Kady blinked away the tears left by the betrayal and regret. Why did she let him get to her like that? It was not fair!

Her mind drifted away, searching the deep catacombs of her mind, specifically in the area of memory. Her search ended when remembering a specific time with her mother when she was only seven years old, and had found something that got her the closest she had ever been, up until now, to knowing her father.

Kady bounded into her mother's room, coming off the high of her birthday party earlier that day. It had been a dress up party that her mother let her have, and all the fifteen children from her grade two class came to the party. Ice cream and pizza was served, as well as lots of game, and everyone had a lot of fun. The lively seven -year-old skipped over to her mother's closet, hoping to find her favorite pajamas that Lily had told her may have accidentally been placed with her clothes.

At that moment, Lily and her mother – Kady's grandmother – were cleaning up the living room from having all the kids running through the house that day. She started clawing her way through the piles of clothes that were mounted in the walk-in closet, hoping to find what she was looking for. But like any kid her age, the ability to keep things neat and orderly wasn't exactly a skill she had mastered yet, and soon enough the neat pile of clothes had turned into a huge mountain (at least by her standards).

"Mommy!" she called, growing more frustrated by the second. "I can't find it!"

"It's there, honey! If it's not in your room then it's gotta be there!" she heard Lily call back.

Kady groaned and dug her hands deeper into the next lot, and only stopped when her hand lightly hit something hard. She frowned and pulled at whatever the object was, and after a few tugs, she managed to pull it free and it emerged from under the clothes. It was a small, light red box. The curious and perceptive nature that inhabited children overtook her and she lost all interest in finding her pajamas. There was a label on it, and Kady held the box closer to her face so the dim lighting in the closet could make it easier to read.

"Pri... pri..." she stammered, thinking for the right word. Kady learned how to read when she was only four years old; Lily made the decision to teach her from a young age. Even before she and Chris split up, they vowed to give Kady the best opportunity possible to develop, and that they were going to help her to read at a young age. "Private."

Kady giggled and traced the edge of box with her index finger. She was an intelligent child, and could only imagine the trouble she'd probably be in should Lily find out she was snooping through her private stuff. But in the end, after a few moments of deliberating the pros and cons of the possible actions she could take (the best a seven year old could do, anyway), curiosity won out and she opened the box. The contents of it were dusty... three folded up pieces of paper. Kady picked up the first one and unfolded it.

" 'December 3rd, 1992'." She read aloud, and squealed happily, loving the idea of reading. She was definitely a keen reader, and was advanced for her age.

"'Dear Lily'... mommy? Wow. 'I know you are angry, and that you never want to hear from me again. But there are some things I must tell you... I know it's too hard for you to talk to me over the phone, so I decided to write.'" Kady paused long enough to bite her lip and looked over her shoulder, worriedly. Lily would really be mad if she caught her daughter reading her letters. But again, the curiosity was too strong, and Kady proceeded to read on. " 'I never meant to hurt you or Kady. You two are the most important thing to me in the world. I realize the mistakes I made, and I will do anything to get you to see how much I love you both. Please do not cut me from your lives... I love you. Please, let me call you. Let me see Kady. We can work this out, I know we can. We have been through too much to let us fall apart. We are a family, you, Kady, and I. I have recently got the chance to make a mark in the business, for WCW. It's an opportunity that I have to take, and it would mean the world to me if you and our baby was there. Please, Lily. Give us another chance to be a family. I don't want to pressure you. If you don't want me in your life, I will leave. But please tell Kady that she has a daddy who loves her more than anything in the world, that's all I ask. I love you both. Please call me. Chris'"

She looked up, with tears filling her big green eyes, realizing that this was a letter from her daddy. Her whimpers turned into sobbing and she dropped the letter. Rarely did her mother talk about her father, and she had always been curious to know more about him. Within seconds, her sobbing and crying had increased in volume, and she crawled out of the closest and sat on the floor of Lily's bedroom.

"Daddy..." she whispered.

Kady let out a gasp and clasped her hand over her mouth to keep the cries quiet. Her chest hurt from the tension of remembering a moment in her life she had forgotten for so long. But even with her hand muffling the cries, it wasn't quelling the pain at all, and the sudden remembrance of that particular memory was like a blow to the chest. Her entire perception of Chris was changing and she didn't want it to! What she remembered of that letter was that he said he'd never stop loving her, and while she wanted to believe all the evidence to the contrary (pretty thin evidence as it was), it was hard to do so.

"Oh God... Chris," she cried weakly. "Dad..."

"I'm here, baby," a now familiar southern voice entered the room and Kady turned her attention to the door and, there stood Chris, in the doorway.

He was reluctant to move forward without an encouraging word or gesture from his daughter, and it broke his heart to see her going through what she had to. He had been standing there for five minutes, too nervous to move or say anything, but his fears and concerns meant little to him anymore; the words of his colleagues had sunk in during the flight back to Kentucky.

At the sight of him, Kady's cries worsened and a weight was lifted from her shoulders; Chris could no longer wait for her to either accept or reject him and ran over to her bedside, and Kady reached for him. He didn't need to think to know what she wanted and in an instant had enveloped her into a loving hug. She cried into his shirt and allowed herself to relax in his arms, feeling the strength of him against her. For the first time ever, Kady allowed herself completely to give in to her dad, and Chris kissed her forehead, while holding his hand at the back of her head, stroking her hair. Her hands gripped at his back, and he could tell that she was no longer resisting.

"I'm here," he repeated, choked up. "I'm not goin' anywhere again."

"I'm so sorry..." she told him, now in hysterics. "I didn't mean it, I didn't!"

"Shh..." Chris comforted her and didn't relax his hold on her for a minute. For thirteen years he had dreamed of the moment where he could hold his child without any fear or doubt between them. For the first time, both were exactly where they wanted and needed to be. "It's okay, I know. You got nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart."

He pulled back enough to look at her; no longer was she the defiant, hate-filled teenager he had met over a week ago. It was weird... those eyes of hers, now, had that same look in them the day he had last seen her when she was a baby; when he had packed his things and was holding her for the last time. Even then, she was so smart – she had known something was wrong. Now, she had that same look in her eyes; that look that said how she didn't want him to go, that she needed him. Chris gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb and brushed away her tears, and then kissed her nose. A child that had been broken by circumstances and the mistakes of her parents, that not even a developed passion for the gothic lifestyle could keep away the pain of it all. Everything had taken it's toll to the point where Kady's resistance had broken, and there was nothing left for her to fight anymore. She grabbed Chris' hand and stared at him with uncertainty.

"I can't deal with this anymore," she told him, honestly. "It hurts too much."

"I know..." Chris sat on the bed properly now, and helped Kady lay back against her pillows. "This is my fault, Kady... I wasn't a father to you when you needed me. I ran away, I should never have left... I never stopped loving you, baby. Never."

"Why won't it stop hurting?"

"It will, I promise. Give it time; the pain will go away..." he said, knowing the double meaning behind her words, and kissed the back of her hand.

Warmth had returned to her, very different from two days before when she was losing blood and life because of him. The facade had been stripped away, and now his little girl was in front of him. Kady squeezed her eyes shut and then open them to make sure that none of this was a dream, that having Chris here with her now was all real. It was.

"You're not going to leave, are you? Please?"

"I'm not leaving you again, honey. I know it'll be hard, but I'm gonna be working hard so you can trust me."

"When I was seven, I found a letter you wrote to mom," Kady told him, her voice wavering and held onto his arm. "I know, dad. You loved us."

"I did. I do. I thought about you every day, ever since you were born... and it wasn't your mom's fault, it was mine. I shouldn't have left you in the first place. All she wanted was for us to be a family and I walked away from you both. And I won't forgive myself for it..."

Kady sat forward and was careful not to agitate her injury further, but it didn't hurt at all thanks to the magic of pain killers. She leaned forward enough so that barely inches separated her from Chris, and she placed arms over his shoulder and flinched when a minor surge of pain shot through her arm, though subsided seconds later. He responded by putting his arms around her to keep her stable, and was confused with what she was doing. This girl had transformed right before him – it was a long, arduous process, but both had been broken enough so now all they had was each other. And then there was Lily. Chris was sure she'd now do everything in her power to keep Kady and him separate, and would deal wit her at a later time. For now, this time was for Kady alone.

"Kady?"

"I'm okay..." she raised her head to see him again. "I tried to kill myself the other night."

Chris exhaled deeply even though he suspected as such from the moment he burst through the door and saw her sitting on the floor. It was quite different to have her admit that she tried to terminate her own life because of him. In response, he embraced her again and now it was his turn to let the tears flow.

"Oh God..." he muttered and kissed the side of her head again, taking every advantage of this moment to make up on thirteen years of lost hugs and kisses. As sappy as it was, Chris Harris was ready to be the father he never got a chance to be. And to hear that his only child tried the suicide route... it was unconscionable, and it was something that they would all have to live with for the rest of their lives. "I'm so sorry, baby..."

"I didn't know what to do..."

"Neither did I," Chris replied and pulled away, just a little but kept her in his arms. "But I do now, okay? You believe that?"

"No," Kady whispered, as honest as she could, and his heart fell. "But, um, I'm... uh, willing to try."

"I love you," he assured her and was no longer afraid to say it. He had lost her on more than one occasion and the fragility of their relationship could no longer be a reason for him to not say it and act on it. "I love you."

"I wanna say it, but I can't yet. I can't say it back."

Chris, disappointed, understood why and wasn't about to convince her or attempt to change her mind. "I know, I get it. Believe me, I get it. Take all the time you need, Kady, because I'm not going anywhere."

Kady had waited so long to hear those words from her father, and with the hugs and the words combined, she knew he was serious. Hopefully it would not take thirteen years for them to build and maintain a real father/daughter relationship and this was a start to developing one. So much mistrust and pain had been experienced between them over nine days and that was going to be worked through first. Chris rubbed her arm affectionately, and picked up the plastic cup of water beside her bed. She needed to get some fluids into her to prevent dehydration from the stress of it all.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No. I don't think I will be for a while, you know I'm pretty screwed up, right?" she chuckled and accepted the water.

"Point taken." Chris smiled as he watched her drink.

"What about you? Are you okay?" Kady wondered when she'd finished drinking, a hint of concern showing in her eyes.

"Let me put it this way... I'm not lying in a hospital bed although I probably should be. Guess I can't complain." Chris mused, rubbing a hand over the top of his head.

"Why should you be?" Kady queried, brushing some stray hair out of her eyes.

"Do me a favor and don't watch Impact when it airs, alright. I... damn it... total honesty?" Chris stalled, looking to his daughter to see if she'd accept the offer.

"Total honesty." She nodded firmly. Chris took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before hanging his head.

"I messed up Andy Douglas... pretty bad. Everything got the better of me and I snapped in the ring. He's laying in a hospital bed in Orlando. If it weren't for James and Chase... shit, I might have killed the kid." Chris admitted seriously.

"You... you're serious?" Kady asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Total honesty. He was a bloodied mess by the end of the match... and all I could see was you and Lily... I fucked up big time and I could lose my job because of it – I deserve to lose my job because of it. I'm on indefinite suspension until management have had a chance to talk to Andy." Chris confided. The regret in his eyes told Kady more than his words could.

"You didn't mean it." She reasoned. Chris looked up at her and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. And, after all I did to him, Andy was the one that finally made me realize what I had to do for you, for us. I swear his medication gave him some sort of freaky, deep wisdom or something." Chris smiled slightly. Kady looked confused.

"How did he make you realize it? I mean... was he the only one that cared at all?" She wondered, thinking that Andy was one of the last people she'd think of in terms of helping her.

"Hell no. James was at me constantly, trying to get me to call you to let you know I'd be back or whatever. Jeff Jarrett was even kind of concerned. But... Andy put a whole different spin on things, made me see them from a different point of view. He made a heck of a lot of sense." Chris remembered.

"Ugh... does that mean I have to stop thinking he's creepy?" Kady queried, remembering the day that Andy had bitten her.

"No, it doesn't at all. In fact, I would really prefer for you to continue thinking he's creepy. All guys are creepy... repeat that after me – all guys are creepy." Chris joked.

"Most guys are creepy. I can't say it about Danny." Kady refused sadly. She hadn't seen her best friend since she'd been admitted to hospital.

"Danny's alright. As long as you keep thinking of him like a brother." Chris accepted, catching the hint of sadness in her voice and face.

"Not that he probably wants me to anymore." Kady whispered.

"Hey, now... none of that. Things got a bit hairy there for a while, I know. But, things are getting better now, yeah? I'll help you work things out with Danny. I mean, how could he possibly stay mad at you?" Chris teased, pinching Kady's cheek gently.

"Get off!" Kady laughed, swatting his hand away. Chris grabbed her hand and held it in both of his own, letting them rest on the bed. They sat in silence for a bit before Kady tugged at her hand to get her father's attention. He snapped out of his daze and looked at her with an eyebrow raised, silently questioning her.

"How's mom doing? No one will tell me anything." She asked. Chris shrugged a little.

"I'm not sure. I came straight in to see you when I got back. I kind of upset your mom before I left by telling her about you being in here. Chances are I've blown things completely with her and she'll refuse to let me anywhere near you once you're both out of here." He admitted.

"Oh. Do you think we could..." Kady trailed off, suddenly not sure her request would be such a good idea.

"You want to see her?" Chris guessed. Kady nodded hesitantly.

"I'll ask a nurse if you're allowed to go for a walk. Sit tight." Chris smiled as he got to his feet. He bent down slightly and kissed the top of her head before leaving the room.

Kady sat quietly, digesting all the information and emotion that had flowed between her and Chris since he'd announced his presence to her. Soon, her true nature began to show through and she fidgeted, hating having to wait for a nurse to give the all clear before she could go and see her own mother. Deciding she didn't care if the nurse was going to agree or not, Kady slid off her bed and walked to the door of her room. Checking that the hallway was clear, Kady stepped into it and headed for her mother's room. She hadn't gotten far when someone chuckling behind her made her spin around.

"Never one to listen, are you?" Chris figured, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"I'm related to you... of course not. Don't tell me you wouldn't have busted me out of there no matter what the nurse said." Kady challenged with a grin. Chris' heart skipped a beat. She was smiling... really smiling. The simple expression changed her completely.

"Maybe I would've... but you'll never know now. Let's go see your mom." He told her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side before the pair walked the rest of the way to Lily's room.

The short trip to the next floor above them was a silent one, no doubt that they both had much to think about, and adjusting to each other on a new level. It still felt weird for her to not hate Chris and it would take a while for her to develop the trust she needed to in order to be able to call him 'dad'. They arrived at Lily's room, to see the door was closed, and since she still had issues to work out with her mother, Kady started trembling. Chris felt her shaking and looked down, squeezing her shoulder for reassurance as they stopped outside the door.

"Hey," he spoke up. "You okay?"

"It's hard, ya know? To see her like that..." Kady commented, staring at the door. "Knowing it was because of me."

"Whoa, whoa," Chris stepped in front of her so they were facing each other, his hands on her shoulders. "Where's that coming from? You didn't cause the accident, Kady."

"But I walked away," she stammered. "If I hadn't walked away, she wouldn't be like this!"

"You can't possibly know that. No one can. She went after you because she loves you, there's no way she blames you for this. It's not your fault."

Between what she remembered of the accident and what everyone had been telling her had happened, and what she saw... Kady didn't know what to believe anymore. All the information was so mixed up, to know what was right and what was wrong. Even though she knew Chris wouldn't lie to her, he was still her father, and a father's job is to always make his child feel better.

"You don't gotta sugar coat it for me, Chris. I fucked up as much as you did, remember?" she joked, weakly.

"That's true, but you have a legit excuse to get away with it," he smiled.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You can blame everything on me!"

"Aw, you'd let me do that?" Kady teased.

"Hey, that's what fathers are for, right?" Chris shrugged. "I haven't read the rule book yet."

"That'll make my life easier then," she laughed.

He gently shoved her and before Kady could protest, he reached out and knocked on the door twice. Seconds later, they both heard a muffled 'come in' from behind the door, and Kady tugged his arm to pull him back – she wasn't ready to go in, but it was too late. Chris opened the door and inside, Lily's breath caught in her chest at the sight of him. Since Kady was standing behind Chris, Lily couldn't see her straight away and so was more than willing to lay into him for what he did. The pain had been killed again for a while by an increase in her medications, at her request, and she was sleepy.

"Chris fucking Harris," she greeted him. Her mood was sour enough as it is, and to find that he was here now. "You have some nerve! What happened to leaving?"

Chris rolled his eyes. The venom dripped from each word and stung him, but since they had been arguing so often he was building up an immunity to it... Lily was really losing her effect on him.

"Good morning, sunshine!" he replied, aiming to be just as sarcastic. "Glad to hear you haven't lost your delightfully charming wit that we all know and love."

"Go to hell!" she yelled, sitting up as best as she could before the pain strengthened its hold on her and she yelped – Chris rushed forward to help her, but stopped halfway in the room when she shot him one of her deathly evil glares that actually did instill a bit of fear into people who she directed it at. "You're just lucky I can't move or—"

"Or what, mom?" Kady stepped into the room and came up to stand next to Chris, putting her hands on her hips. "He beat the hell out of Andy Douglas' ass at TNA last night, that's what happened to leaving."

"Yeah, tell the whole world, Kady," Chris muttered.

"It's not like the whole world isn't gonna see it, Chris," Kady taunted back, with a light shove.

Lily stared in shock at them standing side-by-side, not even paying attention to their bickering, and focused on the huge bandages that were wrapped around Kady's arm. It was the first time she had seen her daughter in days, even after the incident with the cutting and Chris had said he was leaving. She blinked rapidly and each time the image remained of them two. Her ex boyfriend and her daughter looked like they were, for real, getting along! They weren't at each other's throat. Kady found her mother's reaction very amusing and understood why she was so shocked.

"Kady..." Lily whispered in disbelief. "Oh God..."

Chris could see that she was caught between bursting out into tears from the horror of Kady's injury, or to be elated at the idea that they were getting along. There were no strings attached either; Kady and Chris were genuinely at peace with each other – Lily didn't need any explanation. Chris nudged Kady and leaned to her and whispered for her to go to Lily.

"And be nice!" he warned.

"Hey, back off. When am I not nice?" Kady smiled, and instantly reminded Chris of Lily, and he tried hard not to let the hardship of dealing with that obvious to either of them . She definitely had her mother's smile.

"Kady?"

Kady left his side and walked slowly around the end of the bed and over to Lily, who had outstretched her arms, hoping that her daughter would accept. It didn't take much coaxing for the once-cold, even heartless child to join her and Kady neither pushed her away or fully returned the hug, still unsure as to what the feel about all this and at the same time was nervous about aggravating Lily's conditions further.

Lily, on the other hand, wasted no time in grabbing her child's hand and pulled Kady to her. At the moment of contact, Lily started crying and in between her cries she occasionally muttered 'thank you God' or something along those lines. They held each other for several minutes while Chris stood to the side and watched them interact in a way that they hadn't done for so long, and it was very touching. Assuming that Lily wanted some alone time with Kady, he quietly walked to the door.

"Wait!" Kady called from behind him, and he turned back. "Where you going? Stay..."

Lily was confused at the niceness that was flowing well between them, and had never known Kady to be so... pleasant, especially with the man she had been cursing and wishing death upon only days earlier. That, combined with the drugs, and Lily was having a hard time absorbing any of it.

"I think you and your mom need some time alone," Chris told her. Truth was, he would have rather stayed with them, but the logical thing to do was leave them to catch up and sort out whatever they needed to.

"I'll be outside," he then saw the glimpse of nervousness that flashed in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

Kady relaxed, satisfied with that answer, and both she and her mother watched Chris leave the room and he closed the door.

"What was all that about?" Lily asked, demanding of some answers to what had been going on outside of her presence. Kady turned back to her and sat on the bed as best she could without disturbing Lily or the medical equipment surrounding and attached to her.

"What?" Kady innocently replied, acting like she didn't know what her mother was talking about

"You and Chris! What's going on? What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"Kadence..."

"Mom, seriously. Nothing. It's just... I dunno. I no longer have the desire to kill him, that's all," Kady shrugged.

Lily looked over at the closed door. Was she supposed to be pissed off with him for putting their child in such danger and for leaving again? Or was she supposed to forget it all and be happy with the idea that they were now okay with each other? Being a mother first and foremost, she opted for the former rather than the latter. But she hid her anger well from Kady.

"What happened?" Lily asked again.

"I dunno. I kinda just remembered something that happened when I was younger and... suddenly he didn't seem so evil."

"Can you be more specific?" Lily wondered, rubbing a hand over her eyes.

"Remember the night of my seventh birthday? When I was looking for my pajamas in your closet?" Kady hinted.

"The letter." Lily figured, remembering finding her daughter sobbing on her bedroom floor after she'd read it as a child.

"Yeah. I still don't get something, though." Kady mused. Lily motioned for her to continue.

"Why did you let me believe that he never cared? I mean, you never told me about the letters, never told me that my father loved me even if he wasn't with me." Kady queried.

"If he cared, he would've been there. He walked out on us, baby, not the other way around." Lily sighed.

"But you never gave him a chance to make things right... why couldn't you do that?" Kady pressed.

"Because it hurt, Kady! It was like... we weren't good enough for him... I wasn't good enough for him. I didn't want to have to go through it all over again." Lily answered honestly, the pain medication relaxing her to the point where she didn't care about holding things back anymore.

"But if you'd given him another chance then... maybe he wouldn't have left again. He realized that he was wrong and wanted to make it right but you never let him. Why couldn't you have let me have my father? The one thing I wanted more than anything?" Kady needed to know, tears stinging her eyes. She only just realized how much her mother betrayed her over the years, leading her to believe that Chris never cared or loved her, and now to have the exact opposite proved… betrayal was all she could feel. Lily reached over to touch her daughter's cheek, but in an instinctive act, Kady slapped her hand away.

"Mom, don't. Just leave it…"

"Kady, honey—"

"You knew!" she stressed. "You knew all along that my dad loved me and you let me believe that he was so fucking evil… and all that time you were thinking of yourself!"

"No, Kady, no!" Lily said, desperately. "That's not true at all, I—"

"Then why? All I wanted was to have my dad and you couldn't see past your own pain to let me have him. You were willing to hurt the both of us just so you wouldn't have to deal with it?" As the idea sunk further into her soul, Kady's rage was rising. All her life she believed that it was Chris who had betrayed her, when it was Lily all along who was pulling the strings and kept them apart. Lily reached for her again and Kady stood up and stepped back, in shock.

"Mom, you knew all those years… and you never told me. What the fuck am I supposed to feel? How do you think I'm supposed to react to that?" she sobbed. "Me believing all the time that I wasn't good enough for him, and you knew that it wasn't true! All the time when I felt like crap, and you could've stopped it! Every time I ran to my room crying after my birthday wishes never came true!"

"Kadence, I did it for us!" Lily insisted, before covering her mouth and muffling a cough and closed her eyes. Seeing her mother's distress, Kady went to the table next to the bed and picked up the cup of water and lowered it, holding the straw to Lily's mouth. Lily accepted the offer and after a few mouthfuls, she pulled away and Kady put the cup back down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…" Lily breathed and waited for the tenseness in her chest to disappear, and opened her eyes again. "Kady, I never wanted to hurt you. He left us, baby. He gave up his right to be a father when he walked out the door!"

"Wasn't that supposed to be my decision, mother?" Kady shot back.

"Chris Harris chose wrestling over you and me, Kadence. That's a fact!"

"No, that's your opinion! He told me that he wanted both…" the tears returned to Kady and she made no attempt to dry them or hide her pain. She wanted Lily to see how much all this was hurting her; she wanted Lily to know what effect this was having. She sniffed, and thought carefully before adding her next comment. "Chris Harris is my father. HE'S MY FATHER!"

Outside, Chris sat on the cold chair, leaning forward and resting his head in the palm of his hands, deep in thought. They all had a long way to go before things could settle into what would be defined as a sense of 'normality'. He and Kady still had much to learn about each other… he wanted to know about her growing up, and she needed to get to know him and who he is. Period. Now the question was – how were they going to work this? Even if things went well with him and Kady, there was still the issue of how he and Lily were going to make this work, for her sake.

All along he had been focused on Kady, without paying too much attention to how to deal with the woman he left along with his kid. Chris didn't know what to make of Lily now. It was easier since they lived in Florida now so being with Kady would be relatively easy to work out, but it was important that Lily and he got along. Much still needed to be worked out between them and that part wasn't going to go by Kady unnoticed. His trail of thoughts was broken when the door opened and Kady walked out, in a mixed haze of anger and tears. Chris stood up.

"What happened in there?"

"Mom happened, that's what!" Kady replied and flopped down on one of the seats and crossed her arms. "I can't believe her!"

"Okay, I'm almost too afraid to ask, but too curious not to," he remarked. "Spill it."

"I asked mom why she let me believe that I was never good enough for you when I was little. And she still keeps saying that it's because you left us that took away your right to be my dad and that you didn't deserve to know me." Kady's state of disbelief was not reflected by Chris' reaction to what she told him, and he sat back down next to her.

"Don't go blaming your mother, Kady… this isn't her fault, she's right."

"What!"

"I don't deserve to be your father, baby," he explained. "I never did. I lost that right when I left… and I was young and stupid in believing I could have it all, and… Lily wanted all or nothing. I… assume… she did what she did for a reason. She wanted to protect you, I guess. As fucked up as the logic seems, Kady, I've never seen a mother as dedicated as Lily. I know for a fact she'd never do anything to hurt you intentionally. Don't blame her for this, especially now… when she needs you more than ever."

"I don't get how you can defend her for what she did to you as well as what she did to me," Kady whispered. "It doesn't make sense."

"I admit your mother and I have a lot to work out. And there's a lot she and I both have to answer for… we really screwed up. But from the day you were born, all Lily wanted was to do what was best for you, or at least what she thought was best for you," Chris believed what he was telling her and most of all was not going to allow a falling out to happen between Lily and Kady now.

"But she—"

"Yes I'm pissed too that she let you believe things like that about me without telling you the truth, but the truth is… I lost every right to be your father a long time ago. Your mother saw that. And she didn't want you to get hurt again."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and Kady took the hint, shuffling closer to him and resting her head against him. "But it hurt every time you didn't show up."

"That's my fault. I had so many opportunities to come back, but I got scared… don't hold my mistakes against Lily, Kady. It's not fair to her."

They sat in silence for a few minutes to think about everything, with Kady letting Chris' words sink in and she understood what he had been saying. That didn't lessen the hurt she had from being passively deceived by Lily over the years and her understanding of the world was completely turned upside down.

"I did try, when you were little, to see you…" he confessed. "Lily would have none of it."

"When?" she sat up and frowned.

"A couple of times. There were two occasions when you were about three or four, or around that time. Lily wouldn't let me see you. And then there was another time just around your eighth birthday. I was in Kentucky, close to here, for a show, and I ran into Lily on the street. I asked to see you and she refused again."

"See! That proves my point!"

"Let me finish," Chris snapped, and Kady quickly settled back down. "Lily was scared. She said that she didn't want your life to be complicated further by me waltzing into your life when you've been settled without me, and that she didn't know if I was being genuine or not… my point is that Lily always did what she thought was best for you. And she doesn't need you hating her right now. I'm pretty sure she feels like crap enough as it is."

Kady groaned and kicked at the floor, pouting and sulking like any kid that didn't get their way would, and again Chris was making more sense than she wanted him to. He squeezed her arm to get her attention.

"It's okay to love your mom, you know. No shame in it," he commented.

"No, but it's hard to trust her now," Kady countered and slumped in her seat. "Let me ask you something…"

"Sure."

"How hard was it to leave?"

Chris touched her hand, and his heart almost stopped completely in his chest. Kady's skin was soft, just like when she was a baby. He remembered how her skin felt when he used to pick her up and she'd smile up at him and he could stare at her all day. Lily would walk into the room and watch him and Kady staring at each other for so long, as if they were silently connecting and bonding. To feel that same skin of his little girl, now a teenager, it was scary. This was his last shot at being her father and doing what he was always meant to do.

"Chris?"

"Hmm?"

"How hard was it to leave us?"

The question did not surprise him, but the sincerity in which Kady spoke – like she was a little girl again – did.

"It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The day I left, baby… every night afterwards I kept dreaming of you and your mother."

"So you never blamed mom?"

"No. On the contrary. I despised your mom for the longest time… for years after… for forcing me out of your lives," Chris calmly explained. "But that doesn't mean I didn't still love her. Or you. Things just got way more complicated then I guess either of us could imagine."

There was no point in wasting anymore time; Kady needed to go back into that room and talk properly with Lily without letting her temper get the best of her. There would be time to answer all her questions later, Chris decided, and he got back to his feet, pulling Kady up with him.

"Wait! What—"

"You and I are both going back in there to talk to her. Well, you'll do all the talking. I'll be there to make sure you don't attack her again."

"Chris!"

"Quit whining, that's what dogs do."

Lily wiped her eyes and attempted to pull herself together upon hearing the door opening, and Chris stepped in, dragging Kady in by her good arm. She shut the door behind them and he let her go once they were standing in front of Lily.

"Chris what did you say to her?" Lily questioned, nervously.

"Mom, relax! He's been defending you this whole time, so—"

"Kady! Chill," Chris ordered and stepped forward. "Lily, I think she's starting to understand. Kid, talk to your mom." He pushed her forward and then sat down on a chair not too far away. Kady looked to him for help, but all she got from him was a smirk and a gesture to go forward, and she returned thanks with an ominous glare of contempt.

"Kady?" Lily tried again. "Honey?"

"Mom, I just don't get it!" she exclaimed and sat on the end of the bed. "I mean, all you said you wanted was for me to be happy, and I wasn't happy because I never knew my father. Where's the logic in that?"

Lily turned her eyes past Kady and gazed over at Chris as he watched on, silently. Perhaps he was looking for some answers, too. They were all in the unique place where questions could be asked and answered with no holds barred, and there was no escape from it now.

"I don't have logic, Kadence. I never did. Okay, what I did was wrong I should've told you about him! But I can't change things now!" Lily was quick to explain and hoped she was getting through to her.

Kady was literally stuck looking between her parents with uncertainty, confusion, and complete mistrust. Neither of them had proved to her that they were worthy of her trust and so far they weren't on the right track to getting it anyway. Then, knocking came at the door that effectively disturbed any progress that could be made between the three of them, and without encouragement it opened. Kady groaned when Doctor Mary Taylor walked in and Lily wanted to echo that reaction but wisely kept quiet. Chris remained seated but was curious as to Lily and Kady's reactions to this lady. Following quickly behind was a man, whom none of them recognized. Mary stopped and appeared shocked at seeing Kady and Lily together, but had yet to notice Chris who was sitting against the wall.

"Kadence Myers…" she commented. "My, my… What a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh, the feeling's mutual, doc," Kady retorted and casually pushed her hair from her face.

"Kady, quiet down," Lily instructed and Mary turned her attention to her.

"Good morning, Ms. Myers," she greeted, with apprehension. "I came by with an associate of mine to talk to you; I certainly wasn't expecting to see your daughter here."

"She is my daughter – is it surprising she came to visit me?" Lily replied. Like Kady, she didn't like this woman, who was too condescending for her taste.

"Not at all," Mary quickly said, sensing the tension and wishing to diffuse it. "It's just that I thought we could talk in private—"

"Look, lady," Chris stood up, and both Mary and the man she was with jumped at noticing him for the first time. "She wants to spend time with her kid, so I don't see what the big deal is."

She regained her composure and looked back and forth between him, Lily, and Kady. "Excuse me… who are you? Can I assume that you're Ms. Myers' boyfriend?"

Kady burst out laughing and Lily bit her lip, hoping to disguise the smile of amusement. Chris smiled mischievously.

"She wishes. You can assume all you want, lady. I'm her ex. Chris Harris… Kady's dad."

Mary's eyes widened and she dropped her clipboard on the floor, legitimately startled at seeing this man here. From what she had already learned, he had supposedly left and wasn't at all getting along with Lily or Kadence Myers. This made everything all the more interesting and already an idea was formulating in her mind. If anything, this was going to be easier now that all three were together and the evaluation could go along more smoothly. She sized up Chris Harris. Definitely a big, dominant-looking guy who looked like he could kill someone with one strike.


A/N2: Hmm... reading back through this chapter I think I've realized just how evil we've been to Chris, Lily and Kadence. But it's not quite over for them yet. Trouble is brewing and things may just blow up in their faces. Or not. Guess you'll have to read the next chapter to find out. Reviews are appreciated and flames will be used to roast marshmellows. I just bought a fresh pack so... yeah. Thanks. Phoenix