Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! They are always appreciated.

Italics are Michelle's thoughts.

Happy reading!

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"Michelle…Michelle…"

Michelle awoke to blinding sunlight and her mother's arm shaking her gently. She grumbled sleepily and sat up farther in her passenger seat. Ms. Lennon gave her a quick nod before saying "We'll be stopping in a few minutes. Now, I want you to come in with me, but don't say anything, you understand? No matter what happens."

She nodded vaguely, and before she knew it, they pulled into Cook County Penitentiary. Her mother pulled into a parking space, and stopped. As the two of them got out of the car, Michelle couldn't help but ask "Where are we?"

"Ohio, I think, now nothing more comes out of your mouth." Michelle normally would've protested to her mother's bossy and snappish attitude with her, but because she was more curious than annoyed at this point, she kept her mouth shut.

As they walked into the jail, her mother signed them in at the front desk, and then they were led down a long, narrow hallway by a sturdy looking police officer. They soon entered the holding cells were located, and the door was shut behind them.

A very fat officer sat in a chair next to a particular cell. When he saw the two walk in, he smiled a toothy grin and got up, waddling over to them slowly.

"Hello, I'm Officer Jenkins, Miss…?"

"Carrigan, Mrs. Carrigan," responded her mother, shaking his hand politely.

Carrigan? Michelle thought to herself quizzically. Mrs.? What the hell, Mom?

"What seems to be the problem, officer?"

"Well, your mister here was drivin' under the influence of alcohol, and when he pulled over, we found a kilo of crack cocaine taped underneath…sped off like the devil, he did, took hours to catch him again. He's a slick one, I'll give you that."

Ms. Lennon laughed, though Michelle noticed the falseness behind it. "Yes, well, we'll be sure to keep him under control next time."

Just then, a man not much older than her mother came into sight from within the cell, leaning his arms comfortably against the bars. Long, blonde bangs hung loosely in front of his handsome face, though piercing blue eyes were visible through his scraggly mop of hair. He beamed crookedly at Michelle's mother.

"Rosie?" he said, his deep, raspy voice echoing throughout the room. Her mother sauntered over to him, took one of his hands and kissed it, leaving her daughter to watch awkwardly and wonder who the hell was this man.

"Hey, honey," she murmured, eyeing him seductively. "You get yourself into trouble again?"

"You know me. Always on the run from something," he said with a devious grin. Ms. Lennon turned back to the officer.

"Is he free to go?"

Officer Jenkins sighed. "I suppose…as long as you pay the ticket and the bail. He'll get his license revoked, you know."

"That won't be a problem. I don't mind driving him around too much," she said, sharing a smirk with the criminal. She dug through her purse and pulled out her checkbook. From the forced expression on her mother's face, it was clear the bail was hefty. She gave it to the officer. He opened the cell, and the man strode out, shaking out his long, lithe limbs and sighing in relief.

Michelle kept her eyes glued to the man her mother had just bailed out. There was something about him that was familiar, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Her mother slipped an arm through that of the alleged man, and Michelle followed them uneasily to the lobby. After signing out, her mother turned to the officer and flashed a dazzling grin.

"Thank you, Officer Jenkins."

"No problem, ma'am."

They stepped out into the beautiful, cool outside. Michelle gave a huff, ready to finally ask the millions of questions she wanted answered. But before she could, her mother broke their linked arms and smacked the man smartly across his cheek.

He chuckled as he stumbled, shaking his head and smiling at her in wonder. "Ah, there's the Rose I remember."

"I swear to God, Maxwell Carrigan, if I have to bail you out one more time…"

"You won't do a thing. You know you secretly enjoy it." Ms. Lennon raised her hand again to strike him, but he brought her hand down forcefully. "I understood you the first time, babe."

"It's Rose to you. And apologize to her for ruining her date; She's a bit old to be babysat, but I wasn't going to leave her alone while I saved your ass," she said, pointing to Michelle. When he took a good look at her, his eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates.

"Is that my Michelle?" he said dubiously as he walked over to her. He slid a warm, rough hand over her cheek, a slight grin tugging at his lips. Michelle furrowed her brows and inched away from his hand, thoroughly tempted to slap it away. He noticed her uncomfortable body language, and uneasily brought his hand down and shoved it into his pocket.

"You grew up fast, girl."

"Yes, she did, and you should've been around to watch it!" her mother cut in indignantly. The former convict rolled his eyes.

"Here we go…"

"What, you just expect me to see you get you out of something every five years or so, gladly drop you off to wherever you please, and not say anything about you never showing your face around us anymore?"

He sighed and shut his eyes wearily. "Rosie, do you really want to do this now? In front of her?"

"Don't bring her into this."

"Isn't that the real reason why you brought her here? To bring her into this?"

"Okay, normally, I love being fought over, but what the hell are you two talking about?" Michelle said, waving her arms wildly to stop their little argument. She figured if she didn't intrude, the two of them would be at for days. She simply wanted to know who this guy was, why her mother had driven across three fucking states to get him out of jail, and then go home to her most-likely pissed off boyfriend.

"Michelle…" her mother trailed off before groaning in frustration. That one groan from her mother made everything click in her mind. She looked at the man, Max Carrigan his name was. Salient blue eyes, scraggly blonde hair, careless attitude…how had she not noticed it before?

She kept her eyes locked on him, shell-shocked and for once at a loss for words.

"Mom, is this…is this Dad?" she inquired finally, looking between the two. Max turned incredulously to Rose.

"You didn't even tell her?!"

"I didn't want to tell her that her father left her for a hooker in Jersey!"

"Just shut the fuck up, would you?!" Michelle exclaimed, known for her quick temper. To her surprise, both of them fell silent; her mother didn't even scold her for the bad language. After an uncomfortably long silence, she exhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing mind.

"Okay…so…shit…"

"So…so this is where you've gone those times when you just randomly left for four days?"

"Well, it's kind of varied across the New England part of the country," Rose replied, glowering at Max while she spoke, "but yes, getting him out of things was what I was doing."

"So, instead of going on a business trip, you were getting him out of jail and then playing fuck buddies, am I right?"

Max couldn't help but snort at his daughter's venomous sarcasm. "That's definitely my kid."

"Shut up," both of them snarled simultaneously. Rose turned her attention back on Michelle's previous comment. "And as for you, young lady, I did not go play 'fuck buddies' as you so rudely stated. I also suggest you drop the attitude if you want any more questions answered."

"I just met my dad, for God's sake! Just because you hate him doesn't meet me I would! I've never even seen a fucking picture of him. And you…" She faced her father, who looked indifferent but his eyes revealed his apparent guilt "You didn't even try to meet me. Ever. Why? Am I just a disgraceful child out of wedlock who doesn't deserve to see her own dad?"

Neither of them said anything. Hurt tears burned at Michelle's eyes. She couldn't believe neither of them had any answers for her. She threw her arms up in defeat, walked over to the car, and got in the backseat, buckling her seat belt.

"Take me home. I don't know why you brought me here…please, just take me home," she said as tears ran down her cheeks. The two adults exchanged glances, then also shuffled over to the car. Max got in the front seat while her mother took the driver's side. Slowly, they pulled out of the parking lot and made their way down the street.

The car ride was stonily silent. Michelle angrily brushed away her tears. Well, I got what I wanted didn't I? I met him. She was disappointed and glad at the same time that her father seemed to be a reckless bum, bed-hopping across the East Coastline. Part of her didn't want him to see him settled down and married with kids. But he had waited sixteen years to meet her, and their reunion wasn't even his idea.

Although, as they continued driving, she did notice that he was constantly looking at her through the rearview mirror, and for a split second, she was pretty sure a smile lingered in those bright blue eyes.

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Argggg….angst.

Ah well. Life ain't perfect.

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