A/N: This is a loooong chapter! Joy. Thanks again to those who are sticking with me! This story will go on probably 3 or 4 more chapters, just to let you know. Please review!
A couple days later, Nick pulled up in his SUV to the therapists' office where both his girls were going now twice a week. They had tried it out with Carly a few times, and she didn't seem to mind it. The doctor had told the Stokes he saw a lot of hope for the young girl, and that she was slowly opening up to him. Usually, he would wait outside on Mondays for the girls to come out after their sessions, and he would speak with the therapists on Wednesday about how the week had gone. Today, however, the girls were nowhere to be seen, so Nick pulled into a parking spot, turned off the ignition, and stepped out of the Denali. The sweet, spring air brushed his cheeks as he made his way to the front door, hoping to pick up the girls quickly and get home to cook dinner before Sara got home. Nolan was at one of his friends' house for the afternoon, so Nick had an evening with his daughters to look forward to.
As he entered the waiting room of the office, he found that Carly had already come out of her session, and was sitting on one of the chairs, swinging her legs. She soon noticed her father, and looked up at him with a smile on her face. He smirked back at her and sat down on the seat next to his daughter, giving her back a few warm pats. It wasn't such a frequent occurrence to see his youngest daughter smile at him like that, so he was encouraged by it.
"How was your session, baby?" He asked her, noticing that she had a little scratch on her left arm, tarnishing her flawless young skin.
"It was good." She told him, but was never that eager to share with either him or Sara. They got selective answers from her, and most of the information about what had gone on came from her therapist. Moments later, her therapist walked out, followed closely by Riley and her own therapist. Neither of them looked too pleased, and Nick guessed his oldest had not had a very good session. Nick sighed and stood up to go talk to the two men privately. Riley dodged him and his gaze, parking herself on the other side of the room, away from even Carly. Her father's eyes followed her until she sat down with a tired plop, and buried her face between her hands. Nick sighed and looked back at the two therapists.
"Well, Carly seems better, but I'm guessing Riley didn't do so hot today?" He guessed.
Quietly, the two men informed Nick about their time with his daughters. Carly seemed to have had a hard day at school, with some girls that were in her class, and also her softball team. They had talked about it, and what she could say next time if they bothered her again. The second grader had taken to the help very well, and perked up with the new tools she had just been given. Nick smiled at that, but wondered why it couldn't be him that she opened up to, and him helping her think through her problems.
Dr. Jenkins said a quick goodbye to Carly, and she politely waved and said she'd see him next time. Dr. Carlson then stepped forward, clearing his throat before informing Nick about his oldest's session.
"Well, we had a rough day." He started, glancing at the teen, who was still staring at the floor. "She wasn't too cooperative, and seemed to have other things on her mind."
A troubled sigh left the father as he stole a glance at his teenager, who hadn't been the easiest person to live with the last week or so. "Well, I'm sorry she was giving you a hard time. I'll speak to her about it."
"Oh, well let me make it clear." Dr. Carlson moved his hand in an erasing motion. "She wasn't rude or anything. Just didn't feel much like talking today."
Nick nodded, a little relieved he didn't have an attitude on his hands. He thanked her doctor again and then turned to his two daughters.
"Alright, girls. Let's go home." He announced. Carly promptly got off her chair and walked over to him, giving him a quick hug, then decided she would like to hold his hand. He twiddled her attached hand around a little, causing her to giggle as Riley stood up and crossed the room, walking past him and her happier sibling, getting a head start to the car.
"She's being distant." Carly commented as Nick opened the door for both of them, guiding her out towards the car. Nick nodded and let out a single chuckle.
"Is that one of your vocabulary words for this week?" He guessed again. She was always eager to share them with him, especially when she was in a good mood.
The girl nodded and did a little skip as they walked to the car, something Nick hadn't really seen her do in a long time. Slowly, he knew, he was getting his bubbly, happy Carly back, but Nick just wished she would talk to him. It was hard to come to face with the fact that a stranger had better luck getting things out of her than her very own father and mother. But Nick frankly didn't care as long as Carly was happy again.
Riley had been waiting by the passenger door for her father to unclick the locks. As soon as he did, she climbed in, just wanting to curl up in her nice, warm bed, and sleep until her sixteenth birthday. However, she knows that with the report Dr. Carlson gave her dad, Riley highly doubts that he'll let her go nap in her room without at least a small discussion. As he climbs in the driver's seat, and Carly climbs in the back, Riley notes that he doesn't look angry with her. That familiar look of concern is painted on his face, which usually makes for a lengthy discussion about feelings. Riley is in no mood to talk about things today, so hopefully ignoring his questions will clue him in. She feels his eyes glancing at her several times, as he puts the keys in the ignition and buckles himself in. The silence is deafening to Riley, and she just wishes he would say something to clear the air already, just in case he's mad at her and he's in one of those 'too mad to even talk' moods, like when he found out she was skipping gym class last year.
"What?" She finally asks him shortly as he begins backing out of the parking spot, picking her head up from her hand just long enough to give him a questioning glare, like a mere glance of his eyes irritated her skin. Nick glances at his oldest for a moment, checking her expression, confirming that indeed there's a hint of that famous Riley Groves attitude. That's something he would never get with women – he hadn't even said anything, and she was jumping down his throat, asking him to explain his actions. He wondered if she got that from her mother.
"Nothin'." He tells her, in a non-threatening, docile voice, which only further confirms that she's being the unreasonable one here. Nick is being perfectly calm, perfectly mature, and she's going into a little panty-twisting estrogen episode.
Riley looks at him, waiting for him to continue, because she knows it's not nothing. When he says nothing, only shifting gears and pulling forward, she lets out an annoyed huff and shakes her head.
"I know that look. It's not nothing." Though she's only known him a few short years, she's comfortable calling him on his bluff. If he wants to talk to her, she wished he would just get over the little game he was playing and talk to her.
Nick shrugs and keeps his eyes on the road. "Dr. Carlson tells me you had a rough session." He says simply, throwing the information out there, leaving it up to his daughter to elaborate on. He hadn't pushed her; hadn't forced her to explain. Riley seemed to respond better usually when he didn't interrogate her, so to say.
A huff escapes the girl's throat and she stares out the side window in disgust. She didn't like it when adults discussed her without her there. It wasn't fair that she couldn't defend herself, and Riley knew that he was hoping she'd take the bait and start explaining herself now. "Yeah, well, I had a crappy day."
Nick scrubs his fingers over his chin and jawline in thought. A crappy day could mean many things in Riley's book. "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like to tell me about it?" He asked her nicely, flipping the air conditioner lower before they all froze.
Sure, Riley could tell him about her crappy day, but she'd probably flip out on him, because most of it was because of him, by default. It seemed all her friends and all the cool kids were having parties and get togethers, but of course she was still grounded and couldn't go to any of it. Pool parties, movies, pick-up basketball – all of it she had to miss because her father had been such a strict lamewad. She'd received a C on the English paper she'd worked so hard on, and her teacher wanted to speak to her about it after class. She'd started her period in the middle of History. She missed her best friend Allison back in Tucson. And all of it made her more and more set on the idea of spending the summer with her grandmother, but she would never let Riley come if she knew Nick and Sara didn't agree with the idea. And while she desperately wanted to talk to him about it, she also wondered if it would hurt him too much. Sure, she wasn't his biggest fan right now since he'd punished her, but she didn't really want to hurt him.
A simple shrug is his answer, but moments later his middle child starts spilling to him. "I talked about my crappy day to my therapist, Daddy." She announces proudly out of the blue, having eavesdropped on their conversation.
Nick's eyes shift to the rearview mirror, where he checks that indeed Carly looks ready and willing to tell him about her day, finally. She has that eager look that only a young child can possess, one that disappears at puberty in most cases, replaced by an angry scowl at any question about how her day had gone.
"I heard, baby." He answers, upbeat. "You wanna tell me about it?"
Her little tongue sneaks out the side of her mouth the way she is when she's thinking hard about something. "Uhhh…some girls were bein' mean to me today and I didn't like it." She tells me to begin with.
"They were? I'm sorry." I check her face in the mirror again. She doesn't seem upset about it now. Usually, if she has a problem with a kid at school, we hear all about it – very detailed, vivid descriptions. "Did you tell the teacher?"
"Uh-uh. They told me not to. But I told Dr. Jenkins." She reminds me. I nod and praise her for that, but that part about not telling the teacher raises a red flag for me.
"Hmmm." Another stroke of his hand over his mouth in concern. "Well, do you think you can tell me a little about what you told Dr. Jenkins earlier?"
The seven year old considers it for a few moments, contemplating whether it's such a good idea for her dad to know about what's been bothering her so much. Dr. Jenkins said the best people to talk to your problems about is an adult you trust. Carly trusted her father, of course, but the last thing she wanted to do was to worry him so much. He always seemed so concerned with what Riley was doing, and she did things wrong a whole lot more that she ever would.
"Maybeeee." She tells him a bit evasively, the intonation of her voice going up. It's a playful sound, yet again another sound she has not often made lately, and is music to Nick's ears. He smirks at her in the rearview mirror. Carly beams, always feeling so loved when he smiles at her like that. It makes her heart sing, to know that she can somehow entertain her father without really trying – by just being herself. She knows she doesn't have to impress him, or get all the answers on her math test right, to know that he loves her unconditionally.
"Alright," He smiles while he speaks. "Hopefully I can coax you into sharing a little more with me."
One side of Riley's mouth turns up in a small smile at the way her father talks to her little sister. He's so gentle with her, having such a tough-guy image. And though he always talks to her gently also, there's a certain tone he adopts with Carly and Nolan, that he seems to only reserve for them as young kids. It's a delicate way of talking, kind of like speaking to a newborn in baby-talk. Once the child had surpassed that stage in her life, they would never speak to the child that way again, but just for now, it is okay. It's appropriate. She missed that stage with her father – of gentle coaxing, cuddling on his lap, bedtime stories – all the tender things that her mother and stepfather had never really taken the time to do with her. Riley wonders – is she a bitter, unfriendly person because of this? Nick spoke to her like any caring father would to a teenager – still respectfully, but not with that overly-patient, gentle tone he used with Carly. It's so awkward living all the time with that reminder – that Carly is getting her childhood with Nick, and she would never be able to.
A few minutes later, the Denali pulls into the Stokes' driveway. Nick pulls it into the garage and shuts the engine off. Riley gets out quickly, planning on dashing up to her room, but she slows when she gets inside, listening to how patient he's being with Carly, helping her out, carrying her backpack for her. She decides to stop and get herself a snack in the kitchen. Part of her likes that her father is asking so much about how she's doing, but the teenage part of her wants him to leave her alone. She wishes she was at this stage of life with her dad. Nick was such a good father, really. The perfect dad. Loving and affectionate, but firm and serious when he had to be. At Riley's age, she sometimes just wanted him out of sight and mind. But if she'd known him at Carly's age, she knew she would completely adore him and worship the ground he walked on. She still loved him so much, of course, but Riley was sure she never adopted the look Carly currently had on her face, looking up at her beloved daddy as she walked next to him to the living room. A slight twinge of jealousy crossed Riley's mind. Carly had what she had always wanted at that age – a good father. And when she thought about how she'd missed her childhood with Nick, she got angry that he hadn't founded. She tried not to blame him, but she couldn't help it. He should've known she existed. He should've found her and rescued her.
Riley was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that her dad had since walked into the kitchen to fix Carly her snack. His hand on her shoulder, gently trying to move her to the side so he could get to a cupboard, startled her. When he saw he'd made her jump, his hand moved to her back to rub a reassuring circle.
"Sorry, baby. Didn't mean to scare you." His eyes check her face for any kind of emotion, like he's been doing constantly the last week. Always wondering if she's on edge, or mad at him for having to miss yet another killer party.
"That's okay." Riley says quietly, without a hint of attitude for the first time that day. Her voice sounds to him like she's been doing some serious thinking, which he is correct in. His daughter always sounded a tad sorrowful when she thought deeply about her feelings, but he didn't want to probe, considering the reaction he'd gotten earlier. She flicks her wrist back and forth several times, holding a little pouch of fruit snacks, and considers her options. It seems a prime time to open up to her dad, but part of her doesn't want to give him that satisfaction.
Nick gives her a small close-mouthed smile as he begins to pour some dry cereal into a little Tupperware bowl for Carly to snack on. He's about to turn to leave, thinking Riley doesn't want to tell him anymore, as usual, when her voice stops him.
"Uh…Dad?" She asks, a rare hint of timidness in her voice. Nick spins around and raises his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. He spies a genuine look on her face, like she wants to get something out, but isn't quite sure how to do it. She opens her mouth to speak, and at the moment, Carly scurries over and tugs on her father's elbow.
"Daddy, come watch Disney with me!" She requests, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Nick looks down at her, with all her enthusiasm, and then looks back over at Riley, who seems to have instantly lost her desire to share whatever it was with him.
"I'll be there in a minute, darlin'." He assured her, and hands the spunky kid her little bowl of cereal. She accepts his answers and takes the snack, then skips back off to the couch. Nick watches her go for a moment, then looks back at his oldest, who is now making eye contact with her fruit snacks. "What is it, Ry? You can tell me."
She seems to briefly consider it, her mouth opening for a moment, but then her front teeth gently clamp down on the side of her lip. "Nothing. I've got a lot of homework to do. I'll see you later."
Before Nick has any time to protest, Riley has rushed past him and back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her quietly. Confusion seeps into Nick's mind, wondering how her emotions can change so suddenly. He shrugs it off for the time being as teenage emotions, but mentally notes that he wants to check on her later, after he gets a chance to finally speak with Carly about what's bothering her.
The father and daughter lounge on the couch together for the completion of one Disney show – Hannah Montana. Nick pays more attention to the tiny, sweet giggles that escape his daughter's throat, that have seemed to be in hiding the last couple weeks. He feels like he'll never tire of that sound now, since it had been taken away for some time. When the show is over, and she's through with her snack, Nick reaches over for the remote and shuts the set off, then looks at his second grader. She gives him a small smile.
"I know. Homework time." She tucks her fists into the seat of the couch cushion to push herself up, but Nick gently stops her, pulling her closer instead.
"Let's leave that for a while." He tells her, and pats his thigh. "Come sit on my lap for a minute."
Carly complies, climbing into the safe haven of her father's lap, and is soon embraced by his arm arms, and a sweet, noisy kiss to the head. She giggles and rests her head against his shoulder, sitting sideways. Carly can sense he wants to ask her questions, just like Dr. Jenkins did. She's uncomfortable with the seriousness of the situation, so she absentmindedly starts playing with the collar of his dress shirt, and presses her finger into the tiny off-white buttons that line it.
"I was very proud, and very glad today when I heard you shared what was bothering you with Dr. Jenkins today." He started, giving her an idea of what he wanted to talk about, if she couldn't sense it already. She gave no visual response, and continued playing with one of his buttons, tracing the outline with her finger.
"It's good to share your problems with people, especially people who love and care about you." Nick went on gently, using the most patient tone he had developed as her father. He hoped that if he worded it just right, she would open up to him. Maybe today she just felt like sharing, and he didn't want to mess up his chance.
"And you want me to tell you what I told him?" Carly checked, glancing up a moment at his face, but then back down to his shirt.
Nick watched his daughter and then gently closed his hand around the one that was fooling with one of his buttons. It squirmed a little in his hand, so he let go a little more. "Well, I don't wanna make you, but I bet if you told me, I could help you out even more."
Carly allowed Nick to still hold her hand. "That's what Dr. Jenkins said." She acknowledged.
"Yeah?" He asked her gently. "Well, then maybe it's a good idea. I know I feel better when I talk about something that's bothering me, especially if it's been bothering me for a while." Carly nods in compliance, deciding maybe it would be a good idea to open up to her dad. "You said some girls were mean to you today at school?"
His fingers gently tousle her hair, trying to put her at ease, and remind her how much she is loved. She lets out a little sigh from her nose, the way she does when she's complacent and feeling safe.
"Not just at school." She reports softly, her voice a bit solemn now. Nick feels he might have to pull this out of her a little, the way she's telling him information just bit by bit.
"Is that right?" His hand gently strokes her arm to keep her settled and open to him. "Are they mean to you somewhere else too?"
A couple tiny nods. Her eyes stay straight ahead, not looking up at her father's for any reason. It's easier to tell him these things without seeing the sadness and hurt that will likely result from her sharing this with him.
"At softball too." She admits, chewing on the side of her lip again a bit nervously. "The girls on my team. They're mean to me."
"Which ones are mean to you?" Nick keeps his voice calm, and represses the desire to call up every one of their parents and find out which of those little squirts had been tormenting his daughter. This is his chance to get Carly's story, and he doesn't want to mess it up because of his emotions and protectiveness of his young child.
"Umm…Kelly and Beth and Michelle." Nick looks up momentarily, picturing the three girls in his mind. He'd never quite liked that trio. One game, he was seated near the dugout, and observed them laughing and making fun of some of their own teammates at bat. Nick hadn't heard what they were saying, but their body language and laughter said it all. They thought they were the queen bees of the team, and that the other girls were just there for their amusement. Beth had even talked back to the coach a few times when he corrected her. Nick couldn't stand girls with that kind of attitude, and thought they needed a little reminder about respect.
"And what kind of stuff do they do to you?" Nick braced himself, because he knew when he heard about how they were hurting his little girl, he would want to flip out and take care of it right now. He'd want to call up their parents and give them a piece of his mind. But right now, Carly just needed him to listen and hold her.
Nick listened, and felt his heart beating faster with every word, as she filled him in on what the girls did to her. Sometimes it was just calling her names, but also tripping her in the locker room, making fun of her body, calling her a Daddy's girl, and excluding her from the team, and from other kids at school whenever they were around. Nick was livid that these girls thought they could get away with this sort of thing, but he was more heartbroken that Carly had been keeping this to herself all this time. She'd been suffering in private, though his arms and ears were always open to her. For some reason, she didn't want to share with him. Right now, he didn't need to get into why that was, he needed to get into how to solve this problem for Carly. But first, he needed to make sure she knew how loved she is.
Nick wrapped his arms around his seven year old a little tighter, letting out a sympathetic sound, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm so sorry that happened to you, baby." His hand rubbed gentle circles on her back, but he heard a little sob escape her. "But I'm glad that you told me, because now I can help you."
She nodded and let the tears fall, relieved that she finally had it all out. Those girls had been horrible to her, and she just didn't want to share because that meant she had to relive it all. Talking about it hurt at first, but she should've known she could trust her dad. It made her feel better now that it was all out in the open, and she knew her father never lied to her – he would help her with this problem, and things would get better again.