Daddy's Girl

Chapter Four: Calm Before the Storm

Michael stepped off the jet and felt the Miami sink into his bones. The air was heavy and humid, making his clothes stick to his skin as he began to sweat. A sleek black sedan waited by the hanger, a driver wearing a suit, glasses, and a chauffeur's hat standing next to it. Michael thanked the flight attendant as she handed him his bag and climbed down the steps of the ramp. When he reached the tarmac, he felt the heat from the ground soak in through the soles of his shoes, and quickly began to walk towards the waiting car, eager to get out of the heat.

"Welcome to Miami, sir. Let me take that for you." The driver greeted Michael cheerfully, taking Michael's bag and depositing it in the trunk as Michael slid into the air-conditioned interior.

When the driver got in, Michael began to tell him where he wanted to be dropped off, but the driver didn't give him the chance. "I've already been given the address, sir. Please fasten your seat belt."

Michael was suddenly suspicious. "Where were you told to drop me off?" he asked.

"At your home, sir." Replied the driver, plainly puzzled.

"Alright then…" muttered Michael, aware that he wasn't going to get much information out of the guy. The driver rolled up the partition and began to drive. The traffic was light for the time of day, and the limo was able to get through downtown and over the causeway quickly. Michael felt a sense of trepidation when he began to recognize the area the car drove through, and it was nowhere near his loft. Apparently to the CIA, his 'home' was his childhood home where his mother and daughter resided.

When the car pulled up across the street from his mother's house, Michael saw the Charger sitting in the driveway looking none the worse for wear despite the fact that he'd turned it into a flaming road block almost two weeks ago. Reaching for the door handle, Michael froze as Cassidy rounded the corner, wearing over-alls with her hair in two neat braids running down her back, dragging a large trash barrel behind her with her good hand, her other arm still wrapped in it's electric blue cast. When she reached the curb, Michael opened the door and got out.

Cassidy barely glanced up at the sound of a door opening, then looked up again quickly when she realized who it was. "Dad? DAD!" Cassidy cried, letting go of the barrel and running to her father.

Michael caught her up in a hug, and then was almost knocked over when his daughter wrapped her legs around his waist. "Hey chickadee." He whispered in her ear as she buried her face in his neck. When she let go and pulled away, Michael saw that she was crying, and felt like the world's biggest asshole. "Ah Cassie I'm sorry…" he began.

"Where were you?" Cassidy demanded. "You were gone over a week and then Grandma- who had a concussion and was worried sick- gets a call from Fi. Fi is pissed and swears she's gonna kick your butt the next time she sees you. Jesse was in the hospital because his leg got infected and Uncle Sam was ready to punch some guy in an ugly suit when he dropped off the Charger but wouldn't tell us anything!"

"Cassidy I swear I would have come home sooner if I could have! That first week I had no way of contacting anyone- I called Fi as soon as I had the chance."

"But where were you? Why did those men take you away?"

"Who told you-"

"Grandma. She was ranting at Sam about those men taking you away and how the last time you disappeared it was for 10 years and-" Cassidy started to get worked up again, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"Shh…" hushed Michael, taking Cassidy into his arms and kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry you were worried. I'm back now, and I'm back for good."

Cassidy looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "You swear?" she asked, sniffing.

"I swear. I took a job I never thought in a million years I would ever want just so I could be here in Miami and be with you."

"You…you did?"

"Yes." Michael affirmed. Someone cleared their throat delicately behind him, and Michael turned to see the driver standing next to the car, holding Michael's overnight bag with a look of determined patience. Extricating himself from his daughter's hold, Michael apologized to the man and thanked him, tipping him and taking his bag.

"You know Grandma's really mad at you, right?" Cassidy asked as the two walked up the driveway, Michael's arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah I know… Any ideas on how to placate her?" Michael asked, half joking.

Cassidy thought for a second before shrugging and shaking her head.

"Hold on a second, I need to check out the Charger." Said Michael, plopping his bag down on the ground.

"Fi already walked around it with a mirror to check the underneath and checked it for bugs." Said Cassidy, picking up Michael's bag.

Michael stopped and looked at his daughter. "And how close were you when she did this?"

"On the porch. Fi said she didn't want me too close in case something was wrong."

"Good." Michael said, relieved by Fiona's good sense. There was an unsealed white envelope made of heavy paper sitting on the passenger's seat. Michael reached in through the open window and pulled out a piece of paper with a business card attached. The letter was short, saying:

Michael,

You car has been repaired at no cost to you as a thank you for all your hard work. Please try not to damage such a nice car again too soon- she is a vintage classic.

Sincerely,

James Teagan.

The business card read: James Teagan, Office of the Inspector General, CIA. On the back, someone had hand written a phone number in ballpoint pen.

"What's that, Dad?" Cassidy asked

"Just a note from a… work acquaintance. Lets head inside."

Michael and Cassidy opened the front door of the house and went inside. Michael wrinkled his nose at the familiar smell of cigarette smoke.

"She's been smoking in the house again, huh?"

Cassidy nodded. "It's gross. I don't spend a lot of time in here. It's been all I can do to have her not smoke in my room whenever she checks in on me."

Michael shook his head. "Sorry, kid."

Cassidy shrugged. "Grandma Maddie!" she called, "You might wanna come out here!"

Madeline shuffled out from the back of the house. When she saw Michael, she froze for a moment before looking at Cassidy. "Cassie, honey go watch TV or something in your room please. Your father and I need to have a chat."

Cassidy knew to get out before the fireworks started. She kissed Michael on the cheek and ran through the kitchen and out the back door.

"Ma, I-"

"Michael you had me so worried! What on earth happened to you?" Madeline was furious. "One moment you're talking to Jesse and Sam and Fiona, and the next you're getting into a car with men in suits!"

"They were from my old job. They wanted to talk to me about the information Vaughn wanted."

"And? That took over a week? You didn't just leave Fiona or me this time Michael- you left your daughter confused and worried. Fiona and I are adults, and while we may not like it when you up and vanish for days or weeks at a time we can handle it. But your daughter? She's not even 15 years old! Her mother just died less than a month ago! How could you do that to her?"

"Ma I didn't have a choice!" Michael exploded. Madeline jumped at his tone, and he forced himself to calm down before continuing. "I was stuck in a windowless box of a room for a week answering questions with a million of my own unanswered. And after that, I had a meeting with another guy so high up that the only person he reports to is the director. I had one chance to call, and I called Fi. Didn't you get my message from her?"

"Of course I did, Michael. She called here right after. But why did you just call her and not Cassidy or me?"

"I didn't want the number traced."

"What?"

"A phone trace takes at least a minute, and Fiona knows that. She knew enough that when I said I only had a minute, there was no time for questions. If I had called you or Cassidy, you wouldn't have known that. You and Cassidy are leverage. I can't let anyone else use you against me- not after Vaughn…" Michael suddenly found it hard to finish talking.

Madeline's expression softened. "Oh Michael… I'm just so glad you're home and safe. What happens now? Are we in danger?"

Michael shook his head. "No, Mom. If I did things right, no one I care about will ever be in danger again."

"What do you mean?"

Michael ran his fingers through his hair. "I took a job."

"A job? A job doing what?"

"Working for the government."

"So you got your job back then." Madeline's expression soured.

"No. No, I don't think I'll ever get my old job back. This one is along the same lines, but I won't be in the field. I'll be here."

"In Miami?"

"Yes."

"By choice?"

"More or less."

"Michael, that's wonderful! What about your being burned and not being able to travel or…"

"Erased. Like it never happened. I have my life back."

"What about Jesse?"

Michael nodded. "Jesse did get his old job back. He'll be going back soon, I expect."

Madeline smiled at her son. "Well I'm glad it all worked out. Are you staying for dinner?"

"I think I want to take you and Cassidy out tonight." Michael grinned at his mother. "I feel like celebrating."

"That's sweet, Michael, but I have poker tonight. Why don't you take Fiona with you?"

"I haven't told her I'm back yet."

Madeline studied her son carefully. "Well you'd better call her soon, before Cassidy does."

Michael nodded again. "Is she still staying at that motel we stashed everyone in?"

"I think she's back at her apartment. Why?"

"I think I'd better go see her in person. She deserves that after the hell I've put her through."

Madeline lit another cigarette. "If I were you, I'd hope that she's in a reasonable mood."

"I think she will be- I called this time." Michael gave his mother one of his most charming smiles. "I think I'll bring Cassidy with me though; her apartment building had a pool, and I'd bet she'd love to go swimming."

"But she can't get her cast wet!" Madeline reminded Michael sharply.

"She can just go up to her waist. Or get some sun- she's too pale. And thin- have you been feeding her?"

"I've tried! All the girl practically lives off of is yogurt! I'll tell you Michael, if I wasn't sure she was your daughter, that fact would cinch it for me!"

"I'll see if I can't get her to eat more at dinner tonight then. I'll see you later, Mom."

Michael walked out of his mother's kitchen and towards his daughter's room in his mother's garage. He had to rap on the door a few times to be heard over the music that blared in his daughter's room. When she opened the door, she was sweating heavily, and dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"What's up, Dad?" Cassidy asked, pitching her voice over the music

Michael slipped past her to turn down the music. "How do you still have any hearing?" he demanded. "That was way too loud, Cassie."

"Sorry. I was working out. So? What's up?"

Michael smiled at his daughter. "Feel like going for a swim?"

Cassidy was content to cool her feet in the pool and soak up some sun while Michael and Fiona talked. Michael left Cassidy on a chair lathering on sun block and went in search of Fiona. Walking down the hall and knocking on her door, Michael felt the urge to stand to the side in case Fiona was armed and decided to shoot at him through the door. Instead, she opened the door and regarded him for a moment before stepping aside and letting him in. Fiona hadn't been living in her apartment long when the showdown with Vaughn had happened, and there were still boxes that lay unpacked in her hall. Michael had to admire her apartment in contrast to his old loft, and was about to tell her as much when she sucker punched him square on the chin, knocking him back.

"Ow!" Michael exclaimed, holding his jaw.

"You deserve more!" Fiona yelled at him, her accent thickening in her anger. "You're gone a week- a week- before I get a cryptic and very brief phone call to let me know you were okay! And the whole time you're gone I have to console your mother and daughter, make sure Jesse was alright- he was in the hospital you know- and make sure Sam didn't drink himself into liver failure!"

Michael massaged his jaw. "Fi, I'm sorry. I called as soon as I could- I swear!"

"Were you locked in a room with no phone?"

"Yes!"

Fiona paused, her rage tempered slightly. "So what now, Michael?"

"Now I get some ice for my jaw and have you change so we can go to dinner."

"Dinner?"

Michael sat down on Fiona's couch. "I wanted to tell you in person: I'm not burned anymore. I have my life back. My credit, my bank accounts, my identity."

Fiona sat in an armchair. "So that's it? No more fighting, no more people pulling strings, no more Miami? You're off again?

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not a spy again."

"Then what are you then?"

Michael grimaced. "A case officer."

"You? You're a paper-pusher? Are you being punished still?"

"I chose to take the job."

"Why?"

Michael took the business card out of his pocket and handed it to Fi. "That guy? James Teagan? I met him in D.C. He is the Inspector General. He sat across from me in a hard metal chair and told me that some very powerful, very dangerous people want me dead. And worse still, that they knew who and where I was and would stop at nothing to get to me. As a private citizen, I don't have the protection I would need to keep Cassie, or my mother, or anyone else I love safe. As a case officer, I would. The fact that I would still be making a difference, even if it was from right here in Miami, means that I'd still be doing my job, just in a different capacity."

"Here in Miami? You're staying in Miami?" Fiona asked, surprised.

"Yes. I want to be near Cassie. And I want to be near you." Michael couldn't look Fiona in the eye. "Fi, that day at the hotel, with Vaughn and the explosives…I almost lost everyone I cared about. I'm so thankful that Vaughn couldn't get Cassidy, even if he did get my mother."

Fiona dropped the card and moved to sit next to Michael. Tenderly, she lifted his chin and kissed where she had hit him. Michael shifted, wrapping his hands in Fiona's long hair and kissing her long and deep. When they finally broke the kiss, Michael whispered, "Cassidy's down by the pool. We don't have long."

Fiona smiled against his mouth. "It's been too long, Michael. We won't need long."

*This will be the last update for a few days everyone; I'm having wrist surgery tomorrow and won't be able to type well or painlessly for a few days. Thanks for all the reviews! Be back soon, so stay tuned!