Brian Johnson just knew something was wrong when Abby came home, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw him at the stove, peering down at the bubbling soup they would be having for dinner.

"Hey, Sweetie," he said fondly.

She looked down quickly. "Hi, Dad."

Frowning, he asked, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled.

"You don't look fine," he'd countered, coming over to feel her forehead. "You're not warm. How's your stomach?"

"Dad, I'm fine," she insisted. Then hesitated. Guilt flickering across her face. He expected her to elaborate but she did not. "Can I come up to my room now?"

Forcing her to spill it wouldn't do any good. He kissed her forehead. "Okay. I'll call you for dinner."

Ever since his wife left them, it's always been himself and Abby. They were far closer than fathers and daughters usually were. He prided himself on that. They talked about everything and anything. There were no secrets between them. So it bothered him to know that there was something she felt like she couldn't tell him.

He never wanted to be that kind of parent. The kind that felt unapproachable. He'd had those people for parents. His mom, namely, but his dad contributed too. He could never talk to them about whatever was going on because it was never truly a talk. He'd say what was on his mind, only for it to be thrown back in his face. Like that one time he received a B- on an essay, which had to do with the lack of proper instructions from his teacher and not because Bender and Andy had been fighting, thus putting him in the middle of it. He was told to straighten up, to stop getting involved because see, this was why he wasn't doing well.

It was always a lecture. Always being criticized. Not taken seriously because if he was upset now, just wait until he had real problems to deal with.

Brian didn't want to be that kind of parent with Abby. It only resulted in him keeping his problems to himself, knowing he wasn't going to get any advice or help from his parents. She deserved better. Better than what he got as a kid. He wasn't willing to put her through that.

Knocking gently on her door, Brian opened it. "Hey."

She was on her bed, holding a pillow close to her chest. "Hi."

"Mind if I take a seat?" He smiled kindly. Abby shrugged. "You know," he said as he picked up a familiar looking baby blanket, "I remember when I bought this for you." It was blue with dolphins on the front. "You were tiny. I remember when you used to grab my finger with your whale hand-"

"Daddy," Abby smiled slightly.

"Sorry, lost in memories again," he chuckled. "I just can't believe my little girl is thirteen sometimes."

"I'm not little."

"You'll always be my little girl," he smoothed down her hair. "And as your dad, I can tell when something's up. Come on, honey, tell me what's wrong."

She pushed the pillow against the lower half of her face. "I don't want you to be mad at me," she said, voice muffled.

"When am I ever mad?" He said while wondering what she could have done to think that. Abby was generally a good kid. He rarely had to punish her.

"You'll be mad this time," she whispered.

"Abby," the use of her name made her eyes lift up, "I need you to tell me what's wrong. I can't promise I won't be upset but you know me. I won't yell at you."

She was quiet for a moment. "Promise?"

"Scouts honor."

"You were never a scout," she giggled for the first time that afternoon.

"That doesn't mean anything," he nudged her.

He watched as his daughter chewed on her lower lip, eyes diverted. "I got detention..."

"Detention?" he repeated, surprised.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Abby was remorseful. "I'm really, really sorry."

Brian leaned back some, feeling deja vu all over.

"Detention?" His mom shrieked.

Brian shrunk, feeling nervousness creep up. Beside her, his dad was rendered speechless. "Detention?" he said in disbelief. "How did you get detention?"

"I'm sorry!" He started to fidget. "I-"

"How could you do this to yourself?" His mom was positively livid. "All your work for nothing!"

"It's...it's one-"

" You clearly don't appreciate all the support we've given you," she ranted, "after everything-it's all for nothing! No college is going to want you with a blemished record!"

Instead of trying to figure out why he'd received one, as he never had before, his parents lectured him. They berated him. They made him feel worse than he already felt.

He wasn't going to make the same mistakes that his parents made.

"Hey," Brian cupped her face. "Hey, it's okay."

"It is?" Abby whispered.

"Of course it is," he said soothingly. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder like she did whenever she was upset. He hated that she felt scared to tell him. Hadn't he made sure she knew she could tell him anything? "Just tell me what happened. Why did you get detention?"

"Aiden was upset," Abby told him quietly. Aiden was one of her best friends. "His cat died. He was really upset. I...I knew history was starting soon but I couldn't just leave him there. Val came with me. I didn't think we'd run into Principal Vernon. I think he would've let us if Val didn't say anything."

Of course, Brian thought with exasperation. I should have known this was Bender's fault somehow.

Valerie, or Val as everyone called her, was Bender and Claire's daughter, the spitting image of her father, attitude and all.

Abby pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said again, looking miserable.

Brian said nothing at first. He gently took her by the chin so she had to look in his eyes. "Were you afraid to tell me?"

"Well, yeah, I-"

"Don't apologize, sweetheart. I should be sorry."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I don't want you to ever be afraid of telling me anything," he told her.

Abby bowed her head. "I didn't want you to be disappointed."

"Even if there comes a time when I am," he started off softly, "it doesn't mean I love you any less." She said nothing, merely nodding as she yet again rubbed at her eyes.

"I guess I was being pretty stupid, huh?"

"You're not stupid," he said automatically. "I just don't understand why you were so worried, Abby. One detention isn't a big deal, especially when you really didn't do anything."

"But Grandma said-"

"Grandma?" Brian cut her off.

"Yeah...she told me about how you got detention once." He shut his eyes. "She says it's why you didn't get into Harvard."

"Abby, honey," Brian was not prepared for this, "like I said, one detention-"

"I know, Dad," Abby said without looking at him. "But you didn't hear her! She was really upset and that happened years ago. I didn't want you to be talking like that about me."

"You know, for such a smart girl, you're very silly sometimes," he said to lighten up the mood. Turning serious, he said, "I'm not like your grandparents. I made sure of that when I found out your mom became pregnant. I never wanted you to go through what I went through." He found that once he started, he couldn't stop. "Your grandparents, they're not bad people. They love me. They love you. They're...they're just complicated."

"I guess," she mumbled.

"I'm not going to be like them," he promised with what he hoped she knew was utmost sincerity. "And you don't have to worry about your grandmother saying anything about this either."

"Because we're not going to tell her?" She guessed.

"Well, I have no intentions of mentioning it any time soon-" He said, "-but you know she'll find out eventually."

She nodded, smile dimming.

"I'll deal with it when it happens."

His mother was not going to be yelling or lecturing his daughter the way she did to him. Brian wouldn't stand for it.

"Thanks Daddy," Abby gave him another hug. He relished it, leaning in her blonde hair. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said warmly.