Alerts are still down. sigh But this chapter was kinda fun! And I think I'm starting to feel sorry for Sam…

Chapter 6

The sound of squeaking door hinges woke her from a mildly disturbing dream involving a stage and an audience dressed only in underwear. Rae was grateful for the interruption.

"Dad?" she whispered.

"Yeah," his gruff voice came out of the dark. "You're awake?"

"Need to WD-40 those hinges," she replied, sitting up. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She felt the bed shift under her Dad's weight. "I, uh, just wanted to check on you."

Rae had no idea what propelled her dad to come to her room so late at night, but she had a pretty good idea he would not be sleeping in his room tonight. "Climb in," she said, shifting over to make room.

She heard him clear his throat. "No. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Go back to sleep." She felt the bed shift again as he stood.

"You going back to bed, or are you planning to sleep in my floor?" Rae demanded. The ensuing silence was her answer. "You're not sleeping on the floor, Dad. Come on, I don't have a queen size bed for nothing."

There was a deep, long sigh in the dark.

"I was having a bad dream," Rae tried again. "It was about lots of people in their underwear watching my history presentation."

Her bed shifted again as Dad sat back down. "Sounds disturbing. I'll have to talk to Sam about his advice on public speaking."

"I was probably seconds away from screaming."

"Can't have that." She felt the mattress sink as he lay down next to her. "Come here." One muscular arm found its way under her pillow and her head while the other wound round her waist. Rae leaned back against Dad, feeling safe and secure.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?" His breath tickled the hair on top of her head.

"What happened today?" She held the arm around her waist.

Dad shifted against her, drawing her in tighter. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Dad, if it's that bad, I'll probably hear about it at school Monday."

"Yeah, I'm not too sure about that, either," he mumbled into her hair.

"About what? Going to school?" Rae frowned into the dark. She had not been too happy about it at the time, but school was growing on her.

"Don't like you being gone that long every day."

Rae squirmed around, trying to see Dad's face in the dark. "Dad? What the hell?" She squinted in the dark room, barely making out his profile.

Dad's gentle, calloused hand rubbed her cheek. "It was a shooting," he whispered.

"That's why the police barricaded the lobby." Rae shut her eyes, understanding why Dad was acting this way. He probably had a nightmare about it and came in to check on her, assuming Dad had been able to sleep at all.

"Yeah." His voice was barely a whisper and the hand against her cheek trembled.

She reached up to hold his hand, pressed it against her cheek. "But we're fine Dad."

He shook his head at her, a dark silhouette with wild spiky hair. "I wasn't there. I should have been there." A deep sigh filled the dark room.

Rae rolled on her side, pressed her back against Dad. She grasped his arm, pulling it tight against her waist. "You're always there when it counts, Dad." She felt him hold her close, his breath once again tickling the top of her head. Rae fell asleep listening to the steady rhythm of Dad's breathing.

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Drowsy consciousness returned with sunlight. Rae kept her eyes closed, enjoying the safety and warmth of sleep. A heavy weight pinned her legs and there was a tightness across her stomach that made breathing uncomfortable. Then she heard a click.

"Sam?" Dad's voice growled close to her ear as the weight on her legs lifted and the pressure on her stomach released.

Rae opened her eyes to see Uncle Sam with a disposable camera. He chuckled, forwarding the film and clicking again. Dad's feet hit the cheap carpet with a dull thud and Uncle Sam high-tailed it out of her room, Dad close on his heels. Rae stayed behind, stretching and listening to yells and laughing from the next room. Uncle Sam was definitely going to pay for that one and there was no telling how or when. Dad could be pretty creative.

She pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt proclaiming 'Girl Power.' By the time she reached the kitchen, Dad was glaring at Uncle Sam over a steaming cup of coffee at the table. Uncle Sam, wearing a goofy smile, stood by the microwave where something was cooking.

"Morning, Sunshine," Uncle Sam said with more than his usual morning cheer. "Sleep well?"

She looked between her uncle and her dad. "After I stopped having that dream," she said, sliding in her chair.

Uncle Sam's smile faded a little. "What dream?"

One side of Dad's mouth twitched up. "The one where the audience for her history project was only wearing underwear. Really, Sam, what have you been telling the poor kid?"

When the smile dropped from Uncle Sam's face, Rae felt a small twinge of guilt. But the sparkle in Dad's eye more than made up for it. Besides, it wasn't like it was a lie. It just wasn't the whole truth. Uncle Sam was a firm believer in lying by omission, and he had taught her well.

Uncle Sam's cell went off.

"No jobs this weekend," Dad snarled, lifting his coffee.

Uncle Sam shot Dad a glare as he checked his cell. A funny look came over his face before he answered. "Hello? … Yeah, Karen, I saw it last night. … No, I didn't know either." Uncle Sam walked out of the kitchen.

"Karen?" Dad asked, eyebrows up.

Rae giggled. "Amy's mom."

"Ah," Dad nodded. "Probably just saw the morning news." A slow smile spread across his face. "Think she likes Sam?"

Rae frowned. "Everybody likes Uncle Sam."

Dad's smile turned into a wicked grin. "Not that kind of like. Do you think she, you know, likes him." He waggled his eyebrows.

Rae shifted away from Dad, not liking this conversation in the least. She shrugged, trying to find something else to talk about. The microwave went off. Rae jumped up to check on what Uncle Sam had cooking.

"Rae?" Dad asked. She ignored him, searching for a pot holder. "Rae." There it was. She snagged it, pulling out a tray of nice crispy bacon. "Sammie Rae."

Rae spun around, heart pounding. Was she in trouble now? "Sir?"

"Put it down and come here." Dad patted her chair.

Rae set the plate of bacon down on the tile counter before dragging herself over to sit beside Dad. "Yes, sir?"

"What's wrong?"

Shocked, she looked up at him. Dad was not exactly the emotional sharing and caring type. Well, not the sharing part anyway. "What? Uh, nothing."

Dad set his cup down, his head tilted to one side. "That's not exactly nothing, Rae. What's going on?" He tapped her head. "What's happening in there, Sunshine?"

Rae shrugged, studying the wood grain patterns in the table. She felt funny, like there was this hollow spot inside, and it made her a little angry. But she had no idea what to do about it. Dad leaned over, rubbed her back. It was silly, but it did make her feel better.

"Rae? That Amy girl is a friend of yours, right?" Uncle Sam strode back in the kitchen, staring down at the phone in his hand.

"I guess. Why?" She regretted Uncle Sam coming in, because Dad's hand fell away instantly.

"Am I interrupting something?" Uncle Sam asked. When Rae looked up, she saw his eyes flicker between her and Dad.

"Nope," Dad answered, picking up his coffee. "Why do you want to know if they're friends?"

Uncle Sam looked between them again, like he needed to weigh the truth of Dad's response. "Is Amy a little, uh, pushy?" He bit his lip after asking, eyes looking hopefully at her.

Rae nodded. "Actually, Amy is a lot pushy. Why?" She had a bad feeling about this.

"You have a date, don't you?" Dad snickered.

Uncle Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I think so, but I'm not really sure how it happened."

Dad laughed. "Okay, maybe we're even now." He gave Rae a gentle slug on her shoulder. "And I didn't even have to do anything." He winked at her before turning back to Sam. "When?"

"Uh, tonight?" Uncle Sam still looked confused.

Dad chuckled again. "Well, looks like it's me and you tonight, Rae. Wanna watch Hell Hazers again?"

"Uh, it may not be just the two of you," Sam said, clearing this throat.

"What?" Rae was liking this conversation less and less.

"So I'm watching both girls?" Dad laughed. "Well, what the hell. Rae, why don't you call Amy and see if she wants to spend the night?" That funny look was in Dad's eye again as he smirked at Uncle Sam. "You girls can pick out any movies you want."

"Uh, no. I really don't think a sleep-over is necessary," Uncle Sam protested.

"Maybe not, Sammy. But it could be fun." The smirk was wider and brighter than ever.

"Dad? You really think a sleep-over with Amy will be fun?" Rae asked, hoping that was what Dad meant and not wanting to know if it wasn't.

"Only one way to find out," Dad grinned at her. "Go call."