Chapter 12 Daddy's Truck and Ava's Luck

Barney's

Ava found herself staring at her ceiling instead of getting up immediately the next morning. They'd told her to take the day so she'd planned on rummaging around Candyland again, but her thoughts wouldn't leave the hot and heavy dream she'd had about Lee. She covered her face even though no one was there to see her blush. His tight jeans were positively sinful she thought as she muttered to herself.

She dressed for her run and bebopped down the stairs. She came to a halt as she reached the bottom when she saw Lee sitting on the couch staring at the blank television. His elbows were on his knees and he was leaned over a bit, letting his hands clasp in front of him.

She frowned in concern before asking gently, "Lee? Is everything okay?"

Lee slowly looked away from the television to glance at her before looking down at the rug in front of the couch. Her eyes saddened at his defeated look. She tentatively took a few steps until she stood before him. She kneeled in front of him and gently grabbed his chin to turn his head towards her.

"Lee, I'm askin as a friend," she whispered, "What's hurt you?"

He shook his head gently as he closed his eyes and leaned back out of her reach. He opened his mouth and then closed it with a snap before opening his eyes to stare at her. She patiently waited him out. He tried to give her a smile.

"Had a fight with Lacy last night. Spent the rest of it on the couch here," he said quietly.

"I know it's none of my business, but do you wanna talk about it?" she asked cautiously.

"I feel like she's slipping thru my fingers and I don't understand why," he muttered before sighing deeply, "I don't know. Seemed like it was one big fight over a lot of little things."

"Well if you need someone to talk to I'm here," she said patting his knee before hefting herself up to her feet, "I'll be runnin in the gym if you need me."

He nodded as he watched her walk away before sighing again and leaning his head back against the couch to stare at the ceiling, "How do I tell you you're part of my dilemma?"

Gym

Ava put her earbuds in and turned on the music of her mp3 player. She huffed a bit as she stretched and tilted her head from side to side. Her run for the day helped her clear her mind a little too well. After she hit forty five laps she slowed and headed to the middle of the mats. She toed off her shoes not realizing she had an audience. She went thru her Tai Chi moves as Lee seemed to dance on her brain. She couldn't get his expression out of her head. He looked thoroughly torn in two. He must really love her she thought with a frown. She sighed heavily and pulled her shoes back on. She swerved back towards the door as she turned off her player. She was surprised to see Lee leaning against the wall with his hands in his front pockets.

"Lee?" she asked as she pulled the earbuds from her ears.

"I think we should start tomorrow with your training."

"Oh okay," she said tilting her head at him.

"You mind if I hang around here today or will I get in the way?" he asked with a smirk.

"I could always use some well toned muscle to help lift heavy objects in Candyland," she said shrugging, "Tho I kind of wanted to take a look at dad's black truck."

Lee smiled widely, "The truck huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "I'm gonna take a quick shower and be right down. You can demonstrate the problem you two have been having with it."

He nodded as he pushed himself away from the wall, "I'll go start coffee then, maybe some breakfast."

She smirked, "You keep feeding me in the morning and I'm gonna have to keep you Mr. Christmas."

He chuckled just like she hoped as she ran up the stairs to her room. Barney startled awake as he heard her clomp quickly up the stairs and shut her door. He rose a brow and shook his head before pulling a pillow over his head.

Ava showered quickly and wrung as much water out of her hair as possible before throwing it up into an uncombed, ponytail. Little water drops fell along the material near her neck. She'd thrown on a dark green sleeveless shirt and a set of camo capris. Her usual combat boots completed her ensemble. She bounced back down the stairs and into the kitchen. She squeezed by Lee at the stove to get to the fridge. She held up the orange juice and Lee nodded. She pulled two glasses down from the cupboard and filled them both. She set the table for three just in case Barney woke this early with her stomping. She felt a little guilty about that, but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. As a bonus, Lee was smiling too. He fried up some bacon and eggs while she made toast. He plated their hot food while she added jam to both of their toast piles since they shared a similar liking for it. Lee set aside the rest of the food and covered it to try and keep it warm for Barney. He turned around to pull out her chair making her smile widely. He helped her sit and then took his own place.

"With all those manners of yours I would not be surprised to find a strong, confident mother behind it," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

The smirk appeared on his face again as he took a bite of toast. Once he'd chewed and swallowed he nodded at her.

"She can be quite stern, but woe to any who touch her family with an unfriendly hand."

"That almost sounded poetic," she said raising an eyebrow.

"Her words not mine," he chuckled, "I had a cousin who was bullied in school, until she found out about it."

"Had?" she asked curious.

"He died about twelve years ago," he said solemnly, "Car accident on a Winter's night."

"I'm sorry."

"No worries," he said shrugging, "It was quick and painless at least."

She nodded quietly and they finished their breakfast in a comfortable silence.

She finished first and started the dishes. Lee finished himself and decided to dry. He couldn't help but smile at her mess of a wet ponytail and he found himself comparing her to Lacy again. Lacy had to be perfect all the time, not a hair out of place. The only time he saw her out of sorts was when he surprised her or the one time a guy she was seeing while he was gone had bruised her face. It took her forever to get ready and he respected that everyone was different, but Ava was a breath of fresh air with her laid back style and friendly nature.

Ava pulled the drain and rinsed the suds out of the sink as he dried the last dish and put it away. He turned to see her bending down to retie a lace on her boot that she hadn't quite gotten tight enough the first time. His fingers itched to put his hands on her hips. He breathed out heavily, but quietly as thoughts of his fingers trailing up her naked back slammed into him and small slivers of his last dream hit him like a mack truck. He felt guilty about his dreams of late. Ava had been the star of each one.

She stood up and turned around not knowing his thoughts. She gave him a small smile and clapped her hands together.

"Soooooo…. Truck?" she asked as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

A loud chuckle burst out of him at her enthusiasm. He motioned for her to go first and she made a sarcastic curtsy making him laugh again. She made her way straight to the truck with him on her heels. He remembered her comments about him in jeans and smirked as he realized she was just as sinful in camouflage anything.

She had him lift the hood and she carefully peered inside. She was a bit short to get a good look so she hefted herself up a bit to lean over and into the machinery. Lee couldn't take his eyes away from her arse presented to him like a gift with pretty military ribbon. He heard her fiddle with a few wires and pull a tool out of one of her left pockets. She tinkered for a bit as Lee was distracted and she muttered something he didn't catch as he noticed her forest green brastrap slip down her shoulder a bit. That tiny bit of lace and silk made him gulp hard before he realized she was asking him a question.

"What was that?" he asked trying to focus.

"Quit staring at my awesome ass and try starting the truck," she said a little louder.

"I wasn't…" he sounded unconvincingly.

She interrupted him laughing, "If you weren't I'd be offended since it's the only thing to distract you back there unless Doc came in juggling goslings."

He barked out a laugh and jumped into the cab of the truck to turn it over.

Barney woke abruptly at the sound of his truck turning over and starting. The best part was it didn't choke and die off right away. He practically leapt out of bed and threw on some wrinkled jeans before tearing down the stairs and jogging over to his truck where his daughter and best friend were laughing hard over some joke. He stopped abruptly as he realized he'd seen Lee happier since his daughter came. Much happier than he'd seen him in a long time. He sighed heavily with that thought. Well if he ended up making her happy then hell with it. They both deserved happiness and he knew it was only a matter of time before Lacy was a thing of the past. That thought made him smile wider before he took a few more steps towards the truck catching their attention.

Ava leaned back from the hood and waved at her shirtless father, "It was actually an easy fix you guys would've caught if you had smaller hands."

"Wires then?" Barney sighed.

"Yep," she said popping the 'p'.

He shook his head, "I need coffee."

"In the kitchen with breakfast Boss."

He turned to look at Lee and squinted his eyes, "Breakfast already?"

"We were up early for two completely different and unrelated reasons," she said smirking at her father.

Barney shook his head and made his way to the kitchen.

Note: A point to anyone who noticed the Firefly reference