Chapter 7

"Still have that cueball wrapped around your finger?" Trish's giggle was the only answer Brooklynn needed to hear.

Mark and Steve were friends too and actually spent more time together than him and Glenn, only because Glenn lived states away. They often went on fishing and hunting trips, bringing home deer meat and fish to fry up, which was delicious. Trish was her closest friend beside Melina, who had lived in Texas prior to moving to D.C., after getting to David. It was his hometown and he wanted to raise their family where he'd been born and raised. That was understandable – Mark felt a certain nostalgia about Texas, which is why they'd left her mansion and settled down here.

"If we do a baby shower, it should be a surprise one. That would really make her day, I think."

"We'd have to get Dave on board, I bet he'd love to help. Or at least haul shit for us, he's nice that way." Trish laughed wholeheartedly. "We should do lunch or something this weekend, what do you think? It's been a while since we last hung out. Ohh, or better yet, we should have a girls night out! I could really use one, how about you?"

Truthfully, yes she could because of what was going on with Claira. She and Mark weren't seeing eye to eye, for some odd reason, either. Then again, Brooklynn tended to jump to conclusions when it came to him and she had worked on it over the past 17 years, getting better with it.

"Yes. Yes, let's do it. If cueball doesn't mind you going, I'd love to hang out and have a couple drinks with dinner. Maybe even go dancing afterward and just let our hair down…"

"Uh, cueball has been itching for a night to go do his own thing anyway, so I doubt he'd care. Not to mention, we all know Steve can't dance for shit." Steve had tried, bless his heart, at their wedding, but that had been such a disaster, her poor husband. When it came to sports, he was awesome, but dancing left him with two left feet.

"Hell, Mark is the same way. It's gotta be something in the water in Texas. Why don't you guys come over, stay the weekend with us and we'll have a girls night?" They all lived in Dallas, so it wasn't a huge leap. "Mark and Steve can tinker in the garage or do whatever while watching over Claira, since she's grounded, and we can go paint the town red." Dallas had a few clubs that were right up Trish's alley since she didn't care for country music.

At first, Trish almost asked why Claira needed a sitter. She was 16, then the keyword in that sentence hit her. Grounded. "Why is Claira grounded?" Claira was a pretty good kid, it seemed so odd that she would be in trouble. "Boys? I bet it's boys." She chuckled softly. Being 16… for her that had been so LONG ago, but she definitely remembered getting into trouble over boys.

Brooklynn regretted saying that word as soon as it popped out of her mouth, but there was no going back either. "Promise you won't tell anyone else?" When Trish agreed, Brooklynn launched into what happened the previous night. The fire and everything, not leaving any details out. Trish was a stickler about detail. "She nearly burned down my kitchen, so we have to get it completely remodeled and Mark wanted to do it himself, but it would've cost a lot more, so we're having Lowe's do it instead. He's upset about it, I know he is, even if he won't tell me, but binding his daughter's magic is also weighing heavily on him. That's why Steve needs to come to give him a distraction while we go out and do our thing. He's also having Bastet follow Claira around everywhere she goes."

"Wait, he's letting out Bastet?" Trish held onto that one. Last she knew, Mark's Familiar was no spring chicken, having lived an unnaturally long life due to being Bound to Mark. Of course, magic helped the feline, she imagined, that wasn't really her area of expertise. "Yeah, I'll get Steve on it. Why didn't you let the guy do it?" She laughed, honestly finding it amusing Brooklynn wouldn't let Mark redo the kitchen for her. "You guys have plenty of money and I bet it would have been good for him. Give him the basement or something."

"Yeah, believe me, I don't like it either, but he won't give Claira her own Familiar yet. Not until she proves she can control her powers and, last night, she proved she can't. Her temper got the better of her and she could've actually blown the house up." Brooklynn shuddered at the thought of that happening, turning on the street leading to the high school. "All because I took her cell phone away and told her she couldn't hang out with her boyfriend until her attitude changes. Her attitude has been NASTY ever since she started dating this Seth boy. As far as the basement goes, I already tried offering it and he turned me down, so I don't know. I fucked up again, Trish. I'm a fuckup when it comes to this relationship apparently." The man didn't even want to marry her, even after 17 years.

"You're not a fuckup, sweetie." Trish assured her friend, her voice growing quiet. "But you DO run that house by yourself, and maybe he wanted to feel helpful or useful." She didn't know the particulars, so… that was pretty much all she had advise-wise. "If you were a fuckup, do you think he'd still be with you?" Mark wasn't that kind of guy, not even with a kid involved.

"You're right, sorry. I guess I'm still shaken up over what happened with Claira and trying to wrap my mind around it. I just feel like since he works so hard at the shop, why would he want to work hard at home, you know? I thought I was helping him out, but…I guess not." Brooklynn parked the car and turned the ignition off, leaning her head back against the seat. "Do you think I should cancel Lowe's and have them deliver what he needs for the kitchen and let him do it?"

"Uh, I think you should probably talk to him about it first," Trish advised, hoping Brooklynn didn't jump the gun and make another decision without Mark. He probably didn't want to do it now, especially if he thought Brooklynn was just doing it to appease him. The fun of it was already gone, more than likely. "I'll talk to Steve about this weekend, I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Talking to Mark probably would be the smartest thing to do, given the circumstances. "Claira's on her way to the car, so let me let you go and I'll call you later to talk about this weekend." Trish agreed, both hanging up just as Claira stepped into the car, not looking happy.

Of course, she wasn't, not with a Familiar following her every move and stopping her if she tried doing something she KNEW she wasn't supposed to do. Instead of asking Claira how her day was, Brooklynn remained silent and pulled out of the parking lot to head home. She would talk to Mark later whenever he decided to come home.

When Bastet, who had been lurking all day long invisible, appeared on Claira's lap, Claira was half-tempted to smack the feline. She hadn't even felt Bastet, but now that she could see the Familiar, she could also feel her. "You're. A. Bad. Kitty." She muttered, eyes narrowed.

"Meow?" Bastet purred, kneading Claira's knee before looking across the seat at Brooklynn.

Well, Claira had tried to cut one class and that hadn't panned out at all.

Brooklynn could only imagine what kind of hell Bastet put Claira through if she didn't toe the line and followed the rules. Something told her Claira had tried to skip class, like she had threatened, and Bastet made her pay for it. No words were spoken between them, even when they reached home. Claira went straight to her room with her bookbag and Bastet right behind her. Brooklynn tried to figure out what to do for dinner tonight since her kitchen was destroyed, deciding on pizza and texted Mark to let him know she would be ordering one.

Mark let her know he was fine with that and he was swinging by the store on his way home, asking if she wanted anything. Obviously, alcohol-wise, he was getting a case. Bastet had seen Claira as far as her bedroom door before heading to disappear. Today had been a long, long day and she felt abnormally tired. Nothing to alert the Master too… neither of them was exactly spring chickens anymore.

Wine in a hot soothing bubble bath sounded perfect. She knew Mark was still kicking himself in the backside for binding Claira's powers, but Brooklynn understood why. More than understood – she approved and hoped there was a way to rid their daughter of the supernatural forever. Something told her Claira would be all for it because all she wanted to be was normal. Never in her life had she felt normal and she'd even told her mother that a time or two, which broke Brooklynn's heart. As far as the plan with Trish and Steve, Brooklynn would talk to him about it once he was home and relaxed.

When her Dad got home, the entire house knew, regardless of where they were. He had this presence and Claira figured it was his stupid magic that just seemed to emanate from him, alerting everyone to his presence. Providing he wanted them too, she had also known him to subdue it and lurk, such as the very first time she wore a bikini to a public pool. A lot of gawking teenage boys had gotten tossed into the pool. Sighing, she rolled onto her back.

"Great. Daddy's home."

Brooklynn didn't even flinch at the loud thud from his boots or the presence he carried, more than used to it by now. "Thank you." She murmured, taking the wine from him and felt his lips brush against the crown of her head. "Sit down for a minute, crack open a beer and I'll get you some pizza. I want to talk to you about a few things." Before Mark could protest, she guided him down on the couch with a soft kiss and heard the first can crack open while she retrieved pizza for both of them, along with a wine glass for herself.

"Where's Claira?" He asked when she came back. Usually, dinnertime was family time. Better yet, where was Bastet? Mark's green eyes went blank for a moment, zoning out as he searched for his cat, finally returning to the present and glanced at her. "Having a better afternoon darlin'?" He asked, shifting so she could sit down as well.

"Not really, no. Claira won't want to eat with us; she's in her room sulking right now and…honestly, I think we should just leave her alone. She wasn't happy when I picked her up and I don't know what happened, but something tells me Bastet pissed her off." Brooklynn poured the wine in her glass and leaned back against the couch, not moving to take her pizza yet. First, she would drink and then eat to soak up the alcohol…before drinking more in a bubble bath. "I'm sorry about today at Lowe's. I didn't…realize you wanted to do the kitchen yourself that badly and I figured I was saving you a headache and trouble of doing it. If you want, I'll call Lowe's and cancel and you can go get whatever materials you need to do it yourself. I didn't mean to…step on your toes or take the fun out of it for you. I just didn't want you having too much on your plate, that's all."

This was proof that this woman was crazy, Mark decided, staring at her out of wide green eyes as he chewed on his bite of pizza. After clearing his mouth, he tried not to smile, or show his exasperation. Leave it to Brooklynn to be thinking about everyone except herself.

"Darlin', all I do is go to work and then, when I get home, the house is clean and the kid is tended too. You got everything here under control, it always seems. And I feel pretty fuckin' worthless." Mark was only working as something to do because it wasn't like they were hurting for money.

Brooklynn frowned, not realizing Mark thought of himself that way and felt her heartbreak, her eyes lowering to her lap. "I didn't…mean to make you feel that way." What kind of woman was she? What kind of girlfriend made their man feel worthless? "I thought I was…taking care of you. You spent so many years taking care of me and I wanted to return the favor. I LIKE taking care of you and Claira. Living a normal-ish life and taking care of my family, that's all I've ever wanted to do. I just figured the shop was enough for you to deal with and I could hold down the fort here. I didn't wanna stress you out…especially with the stuff going on with Claira right now. I never, ever wanted to make you feel worthless, Mark. You're my best friend and I love you and I've never thought of you as worthless. Not once."

"Yeah Dad, you're her figurative rod when it comes to punishment." Claira had emerged, grabbed herself a slice of pizza and got to witness that last bit. Gross. Frowning, she plopped down into the chair, staring at her parents. "Is the moment over?"

"No. You want to borrow a cell to take pictures? You know," Mark took a swallow of his beer. "Since yours is locked away because you're grounded?" His daughter was… a bit too much like him with the attitude. Ignoring her, he reached over to cup Brooklynn's face, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

The moment was ruined, thanks to their bitch daughter and Brooklynn pulled away, downing the rest of her wine. "I'm going to take a hot bath while you deal with our bratty daughter. Join me if you want." She murmured that last bit in his ear to where only he could hear.

Nuzzling him for a minute, she headed upstairs with her bottle of wine. Brooklynn had nothing to say to Claira and would continue with the silent treatment as long as her daughter had the rotten attitude. She wouldn't put up with it and Mark seemed to have a handle on Claira she simply didn't.

"What the hell is her issue? She hasn't said a word to me and I actually came down here for family time." Complete lie.

"No, you didn't," Mark growled, no longer hungry and tossed what was left of his slice back onto the plate, contemplating his daughter. Contemplating wringing her scrawny little neck. "Elsewise you wouldn't have been such a little brat."

"Well maybe, if you hadn't had your cat follow me all day…"

"Sooner you start behaving, the sooner this all ends, Claira." Sighing, he pushed himself up before waving his palm, automatically sealing the house. "I love you, lil darlin', get some sleep."