Waiting was something Angie was very accustomed to these days, not that she liked it. It was boring when she didn't have her books and she wasn't happy about being back in a hospital, but Ronda had promised that this shouldn't take very long because she had connections here.

Sure enough, they got in quickly and the test was taken within an hour of them arriving. Angie bravely let them prick her finger to take some blood and watched with fascination when they did the same to Scott. He didn't even flinch.

The waiting afterwards wasn't what she'd expected.

The return of the results seemed to be taking forever!

If only she had her bag.

She looked at it, tucked away beside Ronda, with a tired sort of longing but didn't dare try to reach for it. Ronda had taken it from her, saying that until she could trust her not to run away again, the bag stayed with her. Angie was just glad the woman hadn't started to sort through it. There were a few things in there she knew Ronda wouldn't like her having.

Drawing a long, patient sigh, Angie looked around the small, sterile hallway in a more remote corner of the hospital where they were sitting.

Well, most of them. Scott was pacing back and forth like a caged lion, face set in a permanent frown as he glared at the floors.

Angie couldn't decide if he was mad or not and that, in turn, made her wonder if he was always cranky like this and if he was prone to being angry.

What if he really was worse than Uncle Curt? She didn't know how bad Uncle Curt really was, but she didn't want to find out and she couldn't help being a little worried that this was a case of the old phrase 'out of the frying pan, into the fire'. She kind of wished the other man was still here, Jason. He'd seemed nice once he wasn't chasing after her anymore and Scott seemed calmer with him around.

Ronda shifted in her seat and then got up. "I'm going to the washroom. I don't suppose I need to tell you to keep an eye on her?"

Angie bristled inside at the same time as getting hot in her cheeks when Scott fixed her with an unreadable look as he kept pacing.

"No. You do not." He said, monotone.

Satisfied, Ronda's heels clicked off to find a bathroom and Angie stifled a wave of clenching in her stomach when she was left alone with the giant lion-man stalking back and forth.

He'd given her plenty of opportunity to observe him now. In addition to being tall and muscular, a meathead or a caveman as mommy might have said, Scott had a sharp nose, strong and somewhat square jaw line that was covered in salt and pepper scruff. He looked like he might have recently buzzed his brown hair short. She didn't know what color to call his eyes yet since she couldn't bring herself to meet them for long. They were dark enough though to be a little like hers, but she couldn't imagine them ever being warm or kind, just like she couldn't picture that firmly set mouth smiling and laughing.

What had mommy liked about this man? He didn't seem right for someone as bright and vibrate as mommy had been. He wasn't anything like the way she'd imagined her daddy being over the long years of wondering and wishing.

Forcing herself not to study him for a little while, Angie instead entertained the idea of slipping over to her bag and retrieving her book. There was only one, but it was the last one mommy had ever bought her and she hadn't read it yet.

"If you're considering trying to take off, you can think again." Scott warned.

Startled, Angie peered at him from under her bangs and said quietly, "I wasn't."

"Then why are you looking at that bag."

Shifting uncomfortably, Angie shrugged a little and said timidly, "Cause it's mine and I have things in it that I want because I'm bored."

Something in her voice got a reaction out of the man because he stopped pacing, drew a long, slow breath and walked over, sitting in Ronda's chair next to her. He hooked the backpack up off the floor with his left hand.

"Here." He said with less gruff rigidity than before. The word was almost gentle now.

She reached out to take it, scrutinizing him out of the corner of her eye and trying to figure out what the angle was. Why would he just give it back when Ronda said she couldn't be trusted with it?

When she tried to take it completely, Scott's grip stayed a moment longer and he fixed her with another one of those stern stares accompanied by a dangerously quiet voice. "If you try to run off again I will catch you."

A shiver rolled through her with that promise and Angie believed him.

"I won't." Angie said, trying not to shrink under his gaze and swallowing a quiver of fear. She mentally added, 'today' because she wasn't sure if she really was done running or not. It all depended on how this all went.

"Glad we understand each other." Letting go of her bag, Scott leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms again, the air around him lifting from the dark sternness and back into gray restlessness.

Pulling the bag into her lap, Angie watched him out of the corner of her eye as she opened the bag enough to get her hand in and she started feeling around for something to do.

She'd only packed the essentials and items that she thought would be useful for her plan. Some of the items had been mommy's and she knew Ronda would not approve of them so she didn't want anyone to see. That being said…Angie's fingers brushed over the small rectangular box, mommy's zappy box and she paused to consider its uses. She really didn't want Ronda to see this one. Better to keep that for an emergency. Who knew what this day would bring! She might need it.

Biting her lips and rummaging a little more, Angie tried not to think about why she might need it. Despite how scary the man beside her was, she really didn't want him to turn out to be someone she needed to run away from or try to protect herself from. Mommy said the box was for protection against bad guys. Surely mommy didn't think Scott was a bad guy if she'd been trying to find him before she died…right?

As if hearing her worries, the book suddenly appeared under her fingertips and Angie's racing thoughts stilled with the sensation of the rough cover.

Ronda came back just as Angie got her hands on the book, pulling it from her pack and lovingly brushing the cover. If the woman was upset that Scott gave her back her bag she didn't show it.

Instead she sat down on Angie's other side and said with approval, "Now there's a good idea!"

Ignoring the intrusion into her private moment, Angie traced along the indented printing on the cover. It was an older hardcover version of the book. No picture on the cover, just the words A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett . Mommy had found it in a used bookstore one of the last times they'd gone out together before she got really sick all the sudden. She'd said it was a special one and that the little girl in the story reminded her of Angie because she used her imagination to be brave in the face of hard things.

Angie let her backpack slip carefully down to the floor and curled her legs up so she was cross legged on the chair.

Staring at the treasure sitting in her palms, Angie couldn't bring herself to open the book. It felt like if she did then whatever remnant of her mom that lingered around it would be lost.

"Mrs. Wells? Mr. Carter?" The doctor was back holding a clipboard and a well schooled expression.

Beside her Angie saw Scott grimace at the use of 'Mr' and rose to his feet.

"Well?" He asked, that gritty and rough growl back in his voice.

The doctor took a breath and held out the results. "The results are undeniably positive for a paternal match. You are Angie's biological father."

Angie wasn't sure how to feel as those words washed over her. Relief? Fear? Confusion? Dread? Did it even matter because what choice did she have in all of this?

Taking the clipboard, Scott looked at the page and nodded before handing it back without a trace of reaction. Then he turned to Ronda without so much as glancing at Angie, still emotionless and asked, "What's next."

What was next turned out to be a lot of paperwork at the hospital that legally verified him as her parent. Then after that Ronda needed to inspect his home to make sure it was suitable for Angie to live in. That was followed by more paperwork and a lot of tense conversations between the grown ups.

Jason was at the house when they got there. The three of them talked with Ronda in the kitchen portion of the small, open concept house while Angie was supposed to be sitting quietly reading or watching something on the tablet.

Feeling forgotten and out of place, Angie perched on a clean, comfortable couch and peered around the tidy, bare space. There was hardly anything besides a few pictures here and there.

"Excuse me?"

Angie gasped silently and looked over the edge of the couch with big eyes into the kitchen. Scott didn't look happy again and he sure didn't sound happy with that dangerous edge in his voice.

"You're just going to leave her here?" He said through clenched teeth. "With a complete stranger? Just like that?"

"Angie has been in a state of transience since her mother got sick, Mr. Carter. The sooner she settles into the new 'normal' the better it will be for her." Ronda wasn't intimidated by the big man glaring down at her.

"Really?" Jason sounded a little disbelieving too. "Leaving her here today ? No easing her into this? What about things she'll need. Scott's not exactly prepared to take a kid right is second."

"There's a suitcase in the car with everything she'll need this week until the rest of her things can be arranged to be delivered. Her mother left everything to her. We went through the house together a week ago and picked out the important things to her. Everything else, within reason, has gone into storage until it can be sorted through. "

"You mean until I sort through it with her." Scott nearly snarled and Angie tucked down on the couch so she didn't get caught listening in. "So this was the plan all along then. Find me, convince me to take her and then just leave her here, all alone with a stranger. What kind of a fucked up system is this?"

Angie shivered. He swore. Swearing wasn't very nice.

"It's a broken system, Mr. Carter. A very broken system that I have to try to work within." Ronda's voice took a hard edge too now. "I have a stack this high on my desk of kids who need homes and it's my job to find them safe places to live. It's not perfect. It's a bloody shit show some days, but we do our best. This scenario?! Right here? A dad willing to take on a child he never knew about? This is the best case right here. This is a good day."

Unconvinced, Scott challenged further, "I could be a complete monster and you would never know with just a glance around the house and a somewhat adequate background check, just like the damn Uncle! How can you be so sure she's getting left somewhere safe right now?!"

Cold water washed through Angie's gut at his words about being a monster, but Ronda was already answering with calm conviction.

"Because you're asking those questions, and your protectiveness for that little girl surfaced hours ago, even before you knew she was yours. I have every confidence that she'll be safe here."

"This is still a fu-"

"The walls have ears, Metal." Jason's voice interrupted the steady raising of the voices, reminding them all Angie was tucked away, out of sight on the couch across the space and fully aware of what they were saying. "Think I might take her out for a walk, maybe something to eat too."

"Thank you." Ronda sounded a little embarrassed now. "That's probably a good idea."

Angie caught the sound of a tired exhale from Scott and she felt the tension in the room start to lower again.

"Naima and Ray will be here soon," Jason said over his shoulder to Scott before he came into Angie's line of sight and smiled at her. "Hey, Angie! What do you say you and I go for a walk and find something to eat while things get organized here, ok?"

Not really wanting to listen to grown ups arguing (she'd had enough of that over the last few weeks) Angie got up silently and followed him, resisting the urge to throw a worried glance in the direction of Scott and Ronda.

She said very little the whole time Jason had her out and about. He didn't try too hard to make her talk, which Angie was grateful for. She was tired of grown ups trying to make her talk or feel better so they weren't uncomfortable. He seemed to sense that she didn't want to speak and respected it without being offended. Angie liked that. That was new.

It wasn't until they were walking back to the house after getting something to eat (Angie wasn't overly hungry, but ate politely anyway) that Jason finally asked, "So, where did you hide when you got inside the mall?"

The question wasn't laced with any kind of reprimand or hidden agenda. It was purely curious and so Angie allowed for an answer.

"I hid in the furniture store, under the black bedframe in the corner."

Jason gave her a sideways look. "We looked in there for you! You must have been hiding pretty good!"

Angie frowned a little. "I don't know. I just wedged myself in the corner between the base of the one bed and the side of the other and waited."

"Guess we didn't look hard enough in there. I thought we had." Jason shook his head and sighed. "Unless Sonny got tired of bending over and looking under the beds. Would he have seen you if he looked under?"

"Yes." Angie felt curiosity prickle and she heard herself asking, "Who's Sonny?"

"One of the guys your dad works with. He came to help look for you."

"Oh." Angie looked at her feet as they walked the last three blocks. "Does…does he work a lot? My…um…my dad?"

"He does, but we're going to figure all that out so that you're well taken care of, ok? Don't you worry about a thing."

Don't worry. That would be nice.

"Ronda's leaving me here today, isn't she." Angie said as she pretended she was a regal and stoic princess facing a great foe. She needed to be strong. This was happening and it didn't matter how she felt about any of it. There was no way out of it aside from running away again and she didn't really feel like doing all that again.

Jason's jaw shifted as if he were hiding the fact that he wasn't happy about it either and said gently, "Yeah, It looks that way, kid."

Angie stayed quiet for another block.

"Does that scare you?" Jason asked as they reached the last block. "Being left here?"

The question stopped Angie's feet and she tried to hold her head up like a queen, willing her voice not to shake.

"It doesn't matter how I feel about it. It's happening anyway."

Jason stopped too, looking down at her with a troubled kind of expression. After a second he crouched down so they were closer in height.

"Angie, honey, it does matter how you feel about it all." Jason told her seriously. "You're right, it might not change the fact you're staying here with your dad, but it still matters."

Looking down at her feet so she didn't start crying, Angie mumbled, "Oh."

"Are you scared, Angie?" Jason asked with so much care and gentleness that Angie's chest constricted.

Now that just wasn't fair. Angie had been so careful and pretending so well that she was someone else up until he asked that again.

Her lip gave a traitorous wobble.

"It's ok if you are." Jason murmured as he rested his forearms on his knees and balanced on his haunches.

"I'm always scared." Angie whispered the confession before she knew it because instead of just telling her everything would be fine and to stop worrying like everyone else had, this man was telling her it was ok to be afraid. "People tell me not to be, but I am."

Jason hummed as he studied her and rubbed his chin before asking with the same carefulness, "Are you scared of your dad?"

A flurry of emotions ripped through her and Angie blinked rapidly while watching a parade of ants go marching between her feet on the sidewalk.

"Hey," Jason bumped her arm with his knuckles, making her look up at him. There was crushing understanding in his face. "It's ok if you are. He's a big, tough, grumpy looking guy! In fact, I'm pretty sure he's one of the scariest guys I know. But you know what else?"

Fighting back moisture, Angie shrugged, not trusting herself to speak but secretly desperate for some reason not to be afraid because now that she'd had to recognize that she was, it made walking back in that house so much harder.

"You dad is someone I trust with my life. I trust him with my kids' lives. I trust him with the lives of my friends. The fact that he's scary means he's also a really good protector, and that's what he does best. Protect and take care of people. All the roughness on the outside? It's just armor. He's a gentle giant at heart. I promise."

Not really sure if she believed him or not, Angie frowned and said slowly, "He seems really angry."

"He is a little, right now. But he's not mad at you."

"Why's he mad?" Angie tried not to shiver as she glanced up the street to what was to be her new home.

"Well," Jason paused the way grown ups did when they were trying to explain something they thought she wouldn't understand. "This is a big change for him, and he's equal to it, believe me. But, if I know M- your dad, he's probably mad right now because he's worried about you . He knows this is scary for you. He knows he's scary and that you don't know him well enough to trust him yet. He's upset because he doesn't think Ronda leaving you here with him without the two of you having a chance to get to know each other is fair to you. That's all."

Nodding silently, Angie looked up the street again, feeling numb and exhausted.

"Hey," Jason nudged her arm again. "You're not alone, ok? You didn't just find your dad today. There's a whole family who's gonna take good care of you now. You've got my word on that one."

Disarmed by how well he was reading her thoughts, Angie looked at him without trying to put on a brave face for once and whispered, "I'm still scared."

He held out a hand to her and said, "And that's still ok. We've got you anyway. Come on. One step at a time."

Weighing the sincerity and truth in his words, Angie finally surrendered just a little of that strong little island she'd built around herself and put her hand in his big palm.

They walked back the last block together and Angie, while she didn't feel any less exhausted, did feel just a little braver.

Maybe, just maybe everything would actually be ok.