Song: The Scientist

Artist: Coldplay

Characters: Jim Brass/Ellie Brass

Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions

Oh, let's go back to the start

Running in circles, coming up tails

Heads on a science apart

Of The Heart

Waiting is not something Jim Brass does well.

His patience over the years has dwindled down to almost nothing, and now he can't tell if it's because of the jobs or if it's one of the perks of old age. Right now though, he's calm. He's leaning against the brick wall of one of the nicer casino's because, even though she's a prostitute, his daughter still has a little class and he knows she doesn't work just anywhere.

There's no guarantee she'll come by, but hell it's worth a shot in his mind. She's his daughter and as soon as he'd heard she'd made her way back to Vegas for some higher paying clientele he'd dropped all his plans for the night and began his stakeout.

He's watching people walk by, and by now it's easy to tell who is who in this town. The man who's walking out of the casino with his head down while muttering under his breath is an addict. He can tell by the way his fingers curl and uncurl, gripping the imaginary stack of poker chips in front of him as he paces. The woman leaning against the bus stop, skirt riding so high on her thighs he wonders why she even bothered, she is a prostitute. And by now he's tired of giving every excuse as to why he knows that.

Jim's head turns slightly when a shiny silver Porsche pulls up, tinted windows keeping him form identifying any of the occupants. He's ready to turn away when the door opens and a long tanned leg appears, followed by the rest of its owner and his heart nearly stops.

"Hey dad." Her gravelly voice cuts through the silence that had been hanging around him, bringing him back to his reality as he sat and surveyed his daughter with a clenched jaw. She looked so much like she had the last time, skimpy clothes and dark hair complete with the cigarette that hung limply between her gloss covered lips.

He tries hard to suppress a sigh.

"Ellie," her name sounds foreign in his mouth, like it isn't his name to say because lord knows he hasn't been the best father, just as much as she had made little to no effort to forge some sort of contact between them. "Heard you moved back to Vegas."

She nods, takes a drag and exhales a cloud of smoke into the air. "Yeah, I guess I needed a change."

He scoffs and shoves his hands deep in his pockets. "A change? I don't consider this much of a change."

Her eyes flash because even though the words sound harmless she knows what he means. And Ellie hates to admit that he's right. Blowing out another cloud of smoke she moves to lean against the wall beside him, leaning her head to the side and sneaking a glance at her aging father.

The years had taken their toll on him, he looked tired and run down and for a fraction of a second she worries that maybe, she is the root cause of his new look. But she quickly shakes the thought and sighs louder than intended. As much as she wanted to say that this man wasn't her father she knew that it wasn't true. He was the only father she had ever known, the only man who still cares enough to keep coming back.

"Hey El," a small smile tugs at her lips when she hears her childhood name and she lets out a small sound of acknowledgement.

"How long are you staying?" the question is a whisper, mainly because he fears the answer. Ellie looks at him, seeing the sadness in his eyes and wondering what the hell she was supposed to say or do. She decides that maybe, just maybe the man deserved a break.

"A while, I'm not sure yet." He nods, still looking at the busy strip.

"Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"I'm at a hotel." He decides to take the chance he always does, hoping she doesn't break his heart once again.

"Wanna use my spare bedroom?"

She smiles and straightens up, looking at her father with a feeling she hadn't felt since she was fifteen years old.

"Yeah dad, I'd like that."

I decided to use a different interpretation of the song and I think it fits the two well. And, although the ending in the song isn't as happy I just had to cut poor Jim a break. The man's a teddy bear, he deserves a little love don't ya think? Hope you enjoyed and thanks for all the reviews!