When Angie woke, she was disoriented and shaken to find herself somewhere that was not her old room in the big house she and mommy lived in.
As the harshness of reality rushed back over her, just like it did every morning, Angie was doubly disoriented when she remembered that she fell asleep on the couch last, watching a movie, not in here.
Someone carried her here while she slept and there was only one person who could have done that.
Her dad.
Sitting up and looking at the door, Angie tried to put the pieces together from the night before and decide if she was actually still scared of him or not.
He'd been patient with her, understanding and at times even tender, just like Naima had said. There was hardly any gruffness in his voice last night and he'd felt calmer, like he'd turned back into the person who checked her hands after she broke the glass again.
Yes. He'd been very different from the man who raised his voice and swore at Ronda. Especially after that horrible awakening.
Angie felt her face heat at the memory of waking up in her own wetness and she hurried to double check the sheets underneath her. They were dry, thank heavens. She still couldn't face the fact that she'd wet the bed and she was both mortified and grateful that her dad hadn't been angry about it.
Then there was the whole thing with her backpack.
Even in the light of morning she still had no true desire to run away again and she didn't like the idea of being alone to face 'bad guys'. The thought of her dad keeping them away from her was much more appealing. He was fearsome enough that she believed him when he said he was good at it.
Slipping out of bed, Angie got herself dressed and went to the door, stepping softly so that she didn't alert anyone to her presence.
All of a sudden she was scared again.
Well, maybe scared wasn't right. Apprehensive seemed to fit the fluttering feeling in her gut better as she rested her hand on the door knob. Sure, her dad had been quiet and gentle last night, but what if he got grumpy and growly again?
Still…Angie fixed in her mind the image of him crouching next to her, tucking a pillow onto the couch for her head, handing her Russell and covering her with a blanket. Then there was the fact he tucked her into her bed after she fell asleep.
Clinging to both those thoughts, Angie opened the door and crept out.
He was in the kitchen when she found him, standing in front of the sink with a mug of something and looking out the window.
"Good morning, Angie." He greeted her without turning around. There was a hint of gruffness to the words, but for the most part he was speaking as quietly and smoothly as last night, soothing her worries.
"Good morning." Angie murmured, approaching with way more hesitation than she liked.
He turned and fixed her with a calculating stare before saying, "You're up earlier than I thought you would be."
"Oh…is…is that ok?" Biting her lip, Angie spotted the time on the clock. He was right. It was early. Only 6 am.
"Uh huh." Her dad almost smiled and she caught the way his eyes crinkled a little. "Are you hungry?"
Truth be told, she wasn't and hadn't felt hungry for nearly two weeks, but she didn't want to make a bad impression so she said, "A little."
"What do you usually eat?" He asked, leaning against the counter and taking a sip of his drink. Angie guessed it was coffee but she couldn't be sure.
"I'll eat anything." Angie offered because she didn't really care at this point. Food was food and adults got upset if she didn't eat what they put in front of her.
Something about the way he measured her with that keen gaze made Angie feel, just for a second, like he knew exactly what was going on inside her head.
"Ok." He accepted it suddenly, setting his cup down and opening the fridge. "Grab a chair and bring it over here."
Eager to get off on the right foot today, Angie hurried to obey. She had a hard time not dragging it across the floor though and she couldn't lift it easily. By the time her dad was done picking through the fridge she'd only managed to bring the chair a quarter of the way.
Wordlessly, Scott picked it up with one hand and set it in front of the counter near the sink.
Before Angie had a chance to feel like she'd failed somehow, he jerked his head and encouraged quietly, "Come on. Up you get."
She stepped past him, forcing herself not to give him a wide berth, and climbed up onto the chair so she was standing. He moved in beside her and pulled down a blender from the cupboard to her left.
"Ever made a smoothie before?" He asked as he plugged the cord into the wall and then moved behind her to grab the items he'd put on the other counter.
Angie shook her head. "No…we…we bought them a lot though."
She couldn't bear to say who she bought them with, but something told her that Scott already knew who she meant.
Humming, her dad said, "It's noisy and messy, but also kinda fun. What kind should we make? We've got bananas, and strawberries, then there's frozen peaches and mango in the freezer. Could also go with a berry blend."
Little by little, Angie's nervousness started to leak away as she focused on the task. Somewhere in the back of her head she noticed that she liked that he made it a team effort and didn't just ask her what she wanted.
"Well…what one do you like best?" She heard herself asking curiously.
"Me?" She was rewarded with a surprised, but warm eyebrow raise from Scott as he glanced at her. With her standing on the chair she was a lot closer to being at eye level with him, but he still had to tilt his head down. "I like lots of them, but I think my favorite is strawberry and banana, with some yogurt and orange juice. Sometimes a little protein powder too."
"I like strawberries and bananas." Angie told him truthfully, heart picking up a little when she realized how much she was talking to him and that so far things seemed ok.
Nodding, Scott looked at her again with something she couldn't identify glimmering in his eye.
"So, do you think we should make that kind?" He asked.
"If…if you do." Angie's moment of distracted confidence left her all the sudden and she started to retreat again.
"Why don't we give it a try, see what we think. If we don't like it, we can just make a new one." Scott handed her the bunch of bananas. "Peel two of those for me, please."
Relieved to have a job, Angie set to work.
The first went well and she dropped it into the blender when he told her to. The second one she fumbled and it bounced off the counter into the sink, still half piled.
Such a little thing to goof up, and yet Angie felt like she'd broken the cup all over again as she stared at the fruit in laying in the sink.
"Hmm. That one got away, didn't it," Her dad commented mildly, his tone slipping into a breezy little growl for a second before he seemed to catch himself and said more gently, "It's ok, Angie. Just pick it up and keep going."
She leaned over, reaching on her tippy toes and grabbed it, not seeing the way her dad held a subtle arm behind her when she teetered at the edge of the chair. By the time she was upright on her feet again, he was back to spooning yogurt on top of the frozen strawberries and the first banana. Angie added the second and waited for him to tell her what to do next.
He tossed the peels in an empty bowl and pointed to the corner cupboard beside the dishwasher. "Garbage is over there. Go toss those, ok?"
She scrambled down and by the time she was done with that a sudden pang of hunger stabbed through her as her tummy rumbled. Pausing on her way back to the chair, Angie frowned at her stomach. It hadn't done that in a while.
"If you want bragging rights for making your first smoothie, get back up here." Her dad just finished pouring in the juice and secured the lid while Angie hurried to climb back up beside him, nervousness momentarily forgotten again. Once she was there he pointed to the lid and said, "Always check to see if that's clipped down before you turn it on or smoothie goes everywhere, and I mean everywhere."
Angie made a little face and she tried to picture what that would look like as she scanned the kitchen slowly. Her dad caught it and smothered a smile before saying, "I've done it twice. It got on the ceiling, all over the window, all over me, and up the cupboards."
Looking up, Angie was impressed that it got on the ceiling. They were pretty tall.
"Do you want to push the button?"
Head snapping back to the task at hand, Angie just barely noticed the way her dad's arm lowered from where it had raised behind her when she craned her body back to look at the ceiling. Not paying much mind to it, she debated taking him up on the offer of pressing the button and making the contents of the container spin together.
Suddenly nervous of him for no particular reason other than she remembered it was a thing, Angie avoided eye contact and nodded shyly.
"Press that one first. If it's not enough, we go with the next one."
She hesitated to lean in front of him to reach the button, so he lifted the whole thing up and placed it in front of her.
He'd been right. It was noisy to make a smoothie, but watching everything mash together and spiral around was decidedly entertaining to watch and Angie had to agree that it was fun.
Once it was done, Scott poured out the contents into two cups and tilted his head towards the table. "Go sit."
She did so quickly. For the first time in what felt like a long time she was actually looking forward to eating breakfast and felt hungry.
All too soon the smoothie was gone and Angie was still hungry.
A large blueberry muffin materialized in front of her along with a strawberry yogurt and Angie didn't waste any time devouring those too. She finished the yogurt and was mostly done eating the muffin when she paused and remembered herself.
Her dad was sitting across from her still, though she knew he had to have gotten up at some point to get the muffins. She'd just been so focused on the smoothie she hadn't noticed. There was something that she thought could have been amusement lingering around his mouth even though he was looking out the window again.
"Thank you," She said politely once she'd finished her mouthful.
That was definitely amusement hiding in his expression because a soft smile slipped onto his face when she said that.
"You're welcome." He said, picking up his phone and looking at it.
A little self conscious now, Angie finished her muffin and made sure she didn't have anything on her face.
When she was done, her dad turned his attention to her instead of his phone.
"You still hungry?" He asked.
Angie shook her head.
"Ok. We have some stuff to talk about." He grew serious and Angie's tummy started to flip flop like it had first thing this morning. "First off, this whole thing is obviously a big change for both of us. I won't lie, there's going to be some bumps along the way, Angie, but I'm hoping you and I can work together to keep those to a minimum."
Nodding silently, Angie studied the table and her fingers itched to start tracing patterns on the wood.
"How much did Ronda tell you about my job?" Scott asked.
Still studying the table and failing to resist the urge to trace the patterns in the wood, Angie answered, "She just said you're in the Navy and you have to go away sometimes."
"It's a little more complicated than that, but essentially, yes." Drawing a long breath, Angie sensed her dad lean forward, resting his arms on the table and clasping his hands together tightly. "Angie…I promise to always tell you as much as I possibly can, but there's some parts about my work and my job that I can't tell you. I'll always try to answer your questions as honestly as possible, but there could be some that you need to accept won't get answers sometimes. Do you think you can do that?"
Puzzled, Angie braved a peek up at him and she was struck by how grave and serious he was.
"Are…are you a spy?" She asked curiously, trying to figure out why there would be things about his job that he couldn't tell her and that was the first thing that popped into her mind. It fit actually. He was exactly the way she imagined a spy would be.
The graveness melted away instantly and the seriousness broke with a soft chuckle. Warmth flooded his face as he looked at her and shook his head, voice still laced with amusement.
"No. I'm not a spy. I'm a Navy Seal."
Only a little disappointed, Angie concentrated on not losing her nerve and asked, "What does a Navy Seal do?"
Her dad sobered again and seemed to be choosing his words carefully as he explained. "We work with our team to keep people safe from bad guys. Often we have to leave really suddenly because someone needs our help right away. A lot of the time they're in another country, so we have to be gone for a few days at a time, or sometimes even a few weeks at a time."
Angie chewed her lip and her tracing got a little faster.
"What…what happens to me, when you have to be gone?" She could only manage a whisper this time.
"Naima is going to be looking after you when I have to be away. You'll stay at their house until I can come back and get you. You'll be with two other kids. Jameelah is your age, and her little brother, RJ is three."
Nodding bravely, Angie kept tracing the patterns.
"When I'm not away, I go to work at the base during the day, usually just on weekdays and it would usually be while you're at school."
Distracted from the conversation about his job, Angie paused in her tracing at the mention of school. She would have to start soon. She was sure of it. It was the a few weeks into the start of the school year, after all.
Picking up on her shift of demeanor, her dad added, "You'll be going to the same school as Jameelah, same class too. She's very excited about it, actually. I have the rest of this week off from work, so we don't have to worry about that yet, but come Monday we have to start getting into routine, Angie. That means you'll start school and I'll go back to work."
His use of 'we' made Angie feel a little better.
"Ok." She said, trying to pretend it was going to be ok and that she was like Queen Elsa. Magical and hiding it so people couldn't see. If she felt too deeply then everyone would see her magic and-
"Do you have any questions?" Scott asked.
That seemed like a silly thing to ask because when Angie stopped the little game in her head, coming back to reality, she was brimming with questions. The only problem was she didn't know if she dared to ask them all.
"You can ask anything, Angie." Her dad seemed to read her mind and Angie finally met his gaze again. "I promise to answer truthfully and as fully as possibly."
Surprisingly the first question that popped out of her was, "What do you do when you're at work?"
She wanted to know because when he went into the office to talk to Ronda he'd looked a little roughed up and today he had a slight bruise on his chin, mostly hidden beneath his scruff. His knuckles weren't smooth at all. They looked like they hit things a lot and the more she studied them, the more she noticed they were peppered with scars and calluses.
"We practice different ways to keep people safe from bad guys. We train in the gym and have to stay in really good physical fitness. Sometimes we practice running and swimming. Other times we might have to pretend that our friends are the bad guys and it's a little like a serious game of laser tag or capture the flag." He paused and seemed to deliberate with himself before adding, "And we practice shooting and fighting."
Certain words stood out to Angie as he talked. Bad guys. Shooting. Fighting.
She didn't know if she wanted the answers to a whole new set of uncomfortable questions flooding her mind, so instead she said, "You keep people safe from bad guys…is that why…last night you said you could take care of any bad guys for me?"
The serious, stone expression faded into warmer lines again and her dad nodded. "I will absolutely take care of any bad guys for you, any day of the week…but I don't think you need to worry too much about that."
He glanced up at the clock and added, "If you're interested, and we don't have to if you aren't, you could come see a little of what we do. I was thinking of doing a gym workout. It won't be overly interesting for you, but I could show you a few things after around base, if you wanted."
Curious, but remembering she'd caused a tone of trouble the previous day, Angie ducked her head and asked, "Am I allowed back after running away?"
Her dad snorted suddenly and the crinkles around his eyes were back. "Are you kidding me? You're already a legend. Everyone wants to know how you got off the base without getting caught."
"They aren't mad at me?" Angie lifted her head hopefully.
"No. And even if some of them were, they wouldn't dare mess with you."
That gruffness slipped back in as he talked and Angie suppressed a shiver before daring to ask, "Why?"
Getting up, Scott headed to the sink and set their dishes in it. "Because you're my kid and I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I can be very scary when I want to be."
"Oh." Angie had to think about that because while she agreed that he absolutely was scary and would likely be positively terrifying if he chose to be, she actually liked the idea of that trait being used on her behalf. She added more to herself than to him, "That makes sense."
Regardless of who it was for, Scott's mouth still twitched into a small smile as he moved past her.
"If you want to go, let's get moving."
Deciding that doing something was better than just sitting around, Angie hopped off her chair and followed him.
"Hey! Kid! You really shouldn't be up there! That equipment isn't a jungle gym, you know. Whose kid are you anyway!?"
Looking up from his set, Metal spotted Echo team's newest recruit standing under where Angie had settled while he did his routine, looking up with his hands on his hips.
The small girl had been sitting silently against the wall under an underused piece of equipment, going nearly unnoticed by anyone who came into the gym. The only reason they did eventually spot her was because the flash of her honey curls were so out of place and drew the eye.
Metal was amused to find that sometime in the last ten minutes Angie had climbed the piece of equipment and was perched on top like a cat, mostly hidden in a shadow as she read her book and even more concealed than she'd been before, yet able to see everything in the gym.
She probably scared the punk with how quiet she'd been and he was embarrassed about it.
"Leave her alone," Metal spoke more menacingly than he'd intended, sending the young pup skittering back a step from his kid. "She's fine and she's not hurting anything."
Echo's kid wisely left it alone and went to the other side of the gym where his teammates laughed at him and quietly gave him shit for being dumb enough to mess with a legendary team guys' kid.
Ignoring the others, Metal glanced at Angie, not even pausing in his weights and nodded, "Be careful. Ask for help getting down if you need it. You're fine."
The alarm that had been on Angie's face dissipated and she relaxed again, even gracing him with the tiniest of smiles before she went back to reading. She'd finally opened that book of hers for the first time. A Little Princess. He'd read it himself when he was her age along with several other classic stories that weren't considered to be for little boys at the time. He'd found them comforting, speaking to his grief after he lost his dad in a way books typically geared towards boys didn't. Maybe the book would speak to her grief as well.
He hadn't been sure if bringing her along was a good idea or not, despite Blackburn pulling strings to allow it because the man understood what Metal needed right now better than he let on. This was part of his world and if they were going to get to know each other he may as well share as much of it with her as he was able to right now. That and, if he was honest, he desperately needed the work out. Few other things could calm his mind like working himself into the ground until he hurt all over.
About four minutes later members of Bravo trickled in, undoubtedly catching wind that he was on base with Angie and offering their support in their own way. By the fifteen minute mark the whole team was in there, scattered around the gym and drifting within close enough vicinity to him for a brief chat. They knew better than to try drawing him into conversation past the appropriate salutations, but he appreciated their presence all the same.
Now, the one they did try to draw out of her solitude was Angie and Metal tried not to watch like a hawk in the mirrors every time one of them approached her. It wasn't that he didn't think they would be careful with her, or kind, he was more curious how she would react and ready to intervene if it didn't go well.
Trent and Brock went over the best out of the new faces. They both had the good sense not to try too hard but still acknowledged her with a smile and a wave when they walked under her 'hiding' spot. Angie afforded them each a serious little wave in return, but she seemed relieved when they didn't stop to speak to her.
Clay and Sonny had the least well received first impression, mostly because the Texan was ribbing the younger member when he still didn't realize where Angie was perched. Metal couldn't be positive because it was hard to get a read while he was bench pressing, but he got the feeling that his girl seemed to perceive the teasing as bullying. She glared down darkly over the top of her book until Brock caught Sonny's attention, subtly indicating the child and he looked up. The sharp little orbs disappeared behind her book again the moment his head rose and the smile faded from his bearded face.
The silent head shakes from the others kept Sonny from trying to salvage it and Clay decided he was happy with not having made the worst impression so far, so he didn't try to catch her attention for a while afterwards.
Jason and Ray got the brightest reaction from her when she spotted them. It was subtle the way her head perked up and she actually edged forward out of her shadow so they would see her.
They stopped under her perch and while Metal didn't hear what they said to her, it made her smile.
"How'd you get brownie points with the kid, Ray Ray?" Sonny asked when they joined them.
"You not receive a warm welcome there, Sonny?" Jason asked.
Trent snorted and took a drink of water. "Sonny got a glare."
"We got very pleasant waves." Brock added smugly.
"A glare?" Ray was already fighting a smile. "Now, why would Sonny get glared at by our sweet girl over there?"
"I do not know, but I gotta make it right or Full Metal here is likely to let mini Metal over there bury me."
Metal stayed completely neutral and said nothing when they all glanced at him. Something about the idea of his kid being referred to as Mini Metal felt natural. The name ignited a flash of pride and dread, which was terrifying. He'd be damned if he let anyone see it.
"You were busting Clay pretty good when you came in. Maybe she thinks you're a bully." Brock suggested softly as he spotted for Clay.
"We all know how Metal deals with bullies." Clay puffed. "Maybe you better worry for real about her burying you, Sonny boy."
"Metal. How do I avoid getting the death glare from your kid again?" Sonny asked quietly, only half serious.
Staying blank, Metal didn't pause in his reps as he turned his stare on the other man.
The silence spoke of itself and Sonny recognized how dumb the question was on his own. He quickly worked to make amends so that he didn't have two identical glares following him around and Metal accepted the apology.
The workout turned into a sparring session between him and Sonny.
Truth be told it was exactly what he needed and Metal's mind stopped spinning the second he focused on the match.
It wasn't until he'd slammed his teammate into the mats the fourth time and Jason jerked his head to the right that he remembered Angie was still perched up high and could see the whole thing.
She was watching with wide eyes, slack face and slightly open mouth. He couldn't decide if it was awe or fear on her face. Maybe both.
"Right. That's it." Metal helped Sonny up abruptly. "Time to head out."
"Yeah, I keep forgetting you've got papa bear duties now!" Sonny winced in the middle of a roguish smile and waved at Angie. Apparently seeing him get the crap knocked out of him by her dad made up for whatever offense he caused earlier because Angie allowed a tiny wave back.
Grunting a non committal reply, Metal made his way over to Angie and tapped the side of the equipment.
"Time to go. Come on down."
She immediately dropped the book on the floor and wiggled herself off the edge carefully. Her feet slipped as she tried to find the footholds she'd used climbing up and a light gasp escaped her lips as she dangled in mid air.
Before her arms started to shake, Metal was reaching up and catching her around her middle with both hands.
"Let go."
She hesitated.
"I've got you, Angie. Let go."
The child did and he guided her controlled fall backwards into his arms and chest.
She craned her head back to look at him almost instantly before he could crouch to set her on her feet, a flurry of emotion flashing through her eyes at the sudden close contact.
"You ok?" He asked, pausing.
"You're all sweaty," She blurted with brutal honesty before a look crossed her face that clearly said she hadn't meant to say that out loud.
A genuine laugh slipped past his lips unexpectedly, foreign even to his own ears and bringing stunned looks from across the gym. Metal ignored them and set her gently on her feet, saying, "Yeah, that happens when you go to the gym."
Angie took a pace back, biting her lip, and picked up her book. "I meant to say thank you…not that."
Humming with less growl than he usually used when around Bravo, Metal hovered his hand behind the back of her head and guided them both past his team on the way out.
"Good to see you. Try not to have too much fun. I'll be back next week." He said as they collectively took a short break and took the opportunity to see Angie more personally this time. Hunting for her in a mall and waving while she hid up on a perch didn't count.
He felt bad for the kid. On base in the gym wasn't exactly the ideal place to introduce them to his kid no matter how badly he'd need the work out. It was what it was now though.
For her part, in the face of subtle scrutiny, Angie tucked in closer to him and remained there when the team moved into a loose semi circle before them. There was more intention to the action than there had been earlier today because instead of moving away when she noticed how close she'd gotten, Angie shifted a fraction of a step closer still.
"You're coming to the BBQ this weekend though, right?" Jason asked, his demeanor light and easy when he smiled softly at Angie. "We'd love to have everyone there, and I know there are people anxious to meet Angie…if she feels up to it."
A note of relief shone through her eyes right before she ducked her head when he added the last part. Her index finger started tracing the lines on her book slowly as she listened intently to the adults.
Metal nodded, glancing down at the girl standing less than three centimeters from his hip now. "It's possible. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. Lot's going on."
"Of course." Jason dropped it instantly. "You know who to call if you need anything. We'll be there."
"Thanks."
"Can we introduce ourselves to the little lady before you leave?" Sonny asked almost meekly, which made sense. He was a sucker for kids. "Cause, Uncle Sonny would really like to ah, make a better impression than he did earlier and some of them think you might have the idea, Angie, that I'm some kind of bully because of the way I was teasing Uncle Clay here…"
Angie's dark eyes flicked up, calculating and weighing his sincerity even if it was a short stare.
"I promise he wasn't being mean to me." Clay chimed in, giving that little baby blue eye squint and smile that always disarmed people. "And I tease him worse some days. We don't mean anything by it. It's all in fun."
It worked on Angie because she looked at Sonny again and said solemnly, "You were at the mall."
Sonny nodded, cheered to be the first she actually spoke to, "Yes ma'am. And you were not easy to find. You've got my respect there. Must have ninja blood just like your daddy there."
Angie's little brow furrowed and she glanced at Jason like she wanted to say something else but thought better of it.
Metal watched, arms crossed and fascinated by the silent exchange and Jason's sudden grin.
"Well, you see Sonny, here's the thing," Jason had a tone that they all knew well. "Turns out if someone had actually looked under every bed frame like they were supposed to, we would have found our girl here a lot faster."
"I did, Jase!" Sonny protested, then he shot a look at Angie and added in a worried tone, "Didn't I?"
Angie's tiny head jiggle was nearly imperceptible, but it brought a surge of glee to the rest of the team.
Snorting, Ray took charge and said, "While we let Uncle Sonny's head get wrapped around that one, would you let me introduce the rest of them to you, Angie?"
Casting a look up, Angie waited for Metal to gave her a nob before she nodded too.
"So, we're all a team, and for us your team is your family, which is why you now have six Uncles. On the left you have Uncle Trent. He's the one you go to if you hurt yourself, want ice cream or need someone to watch Star Wars with you."
Out of the corner of his eye, Metal saw Angie perk up at the mention of Star Wars.
"It's nice to meet you, Angie." Trent greeted her with all the ease and relaxed confidence of his skill set, waving a little from where he'd long since seated himself. By now they pretty much had the gym to themselves.
Angie waved timidly and he even got a tiny smile.
Ray kept going, "Next to him is Uncle Brock. He's in charge of our very special four legged teammate, Cerberus. He's also quick to give hugs and always knows where to find the desserts."
Interest flickered through Angie again and she looked questioningly at Jason, once again communicating effectively without saying a word.
Nodding, Jason smiled. "Yup. Cerberus is the coolest dog in the world that I mentioned."
"Do you like dogs, Angie?" Brock asked, trying and failing not to sound too eager.
Metal was nearly positive that they all had a running bet to see who could get Angie's affections the fastest. Maybe he should get in on it too. He felt like he had about as good a chance at gaining her trust as the rest of them at this point.
Head ducking down, Angie nodded with more vigor than before.
"Cerberus is just sleeping in his crate! I could go get him!" Brock was already half leaving and his offer awarded him a hopeful head raise from Angie. Seeing victory, Brock smiled and said, "It'll only take a minute!"
Shaking his head, Jason winked at Angie and said, "Told you. Let's officially introduce the last two here, shall we? You know Uncle Sonny by now. He's actually the most likely to let you get away with anything and is widely considered a favorite Uncle due to his childish nature. Uncle Clay here comes across as a quiet and innocent young man, but if you ever need help with a prank, he's right there and will probably take the fall for you too."
The soft, shy, "Hi. Nice to meet you." was all they got from her and Angie's head stayed bowed.
They took it gracefully, not bothered by her lack of enthusiasm.
Sensing a shift in Angie, Metal glanced down again at her and decided it was time to keep this train moving.
"Come on. There'll be lots of time to get to know all these knuckleheads. I need to clean up before we go. Brock will come find us with the pup." Metal put light pressure on her shoulder and instead of jumping away like he expected, Angie almost leaned into him. He nodded to his team shortly, though with subtle gratitude that he knew they'd pick up on. "We'll see you around."
Relief shivered through her when they started moving and she stayed tucked close to him, head down and gripping her book a little too tightly. In response he allowed his hand to keep resting with firm pressure on her shoulder.
"Didn't mean for you to get ambushed like that." Metal told her in a low voice. "They're good people, given half a chance. All of them."
"It's ok." Angie offered in a small voice. "I'm sorry if I was rude."
Shaking his head firmly, Metal stated, "Nope. You weren't even a little rude."
Pointing to the chairs in the hall outside the changerooms, he fixed her with a mildly stern look and ordered, "Sit. I'll just be a few minutes."
Blushing at the unspoken promise that if she took off he'd just find her again, Angie plopped herself down with a tiny huff and clenched her jaw as she opened her book again.
Sonny was passing at that exact moment and he stopped dead in his tracks, nearly choking on his water.
"Well I'll be damned. She really, truly is your kid, Metal! That whole thing, right there…that's absolutely like looking at a Mini Metal!" Sonny tried and failed to stop a laugh when Angie cast an anxious and simultaneously withering look at him. "She even glares exactly like you!"
"Yeah?" Metal's tone shifted with a warning. "Well if you keep that up you might find out if she kicks like me too, and I won't stop her."
Still laughing, Sonny wisely disappeared into the changeroom and Metal hesitated to follow.
Fixing Angie with another mildly stern look he added quietly, "You don't kick people unless I say it's ok to. Got it?"
Shifting abruptly with a certain air about her that immediately told Metal he was in trouble, Angie asked a little too seriously, "When would it be ok? I thought it was never ok to kick people."
Opting for a hasty retreat until he could think of an appropriate way to explain without digging himself into a deeper hole, Metal said, "We'll talk about it in the car. Wait here."
When he came back Angie was still sitting where he left her, only this time she wasn't alone. Beside her was Brock and already half laying across her lap was Cerberus. The smile on her face was one of the first true expressions of joy he'd seen so far and Metal slowed his approach so he could take it in properly.
Her words to Brock were extremely soft and quiet, but she was talking rapidly and without a trace of fear while pouring over the dog in her lap with great affection. The way she had the brute of a pup acting like a complete marshmallow made his stomach twist. Cerberus was a great dog, but he didn't usually warm up to people like that right away.
Angie spotted him nearing them. He anticipated her smile to fade, but instead it grew just a little and her eyes brightened before she dropped her head and went back to rubbing the dog's ears, answering whatever question Brock had just asked her with a whisper.
Damn it. That smile was breathtakingly adorable and he was pretty sure he'd do just about anything to see it more often.
Shit. Just…shit.
He was going to have to get her dog. Someday.
There would be no way around it. With his luck it would have to be a rescue dog too. Probably end up being a cranky fighting breed like a Pitbull and she'd turn it into a sweet lap dog in a sweater that would tear anyone else's arms off. Maybe that wasn't so bad. The idea of her having a loyal protector when he was away had some serious appeal the more he considered the picture in his minds eye.
Brock looked up when he came to stand in front of them and grinned, equal parts smug and genuinely happy to have been the one to bring a smile to Angie's face. Not only that he now had bragging rights to being the one she'd spoken to the most so far.
"We were just talking about our favorite dog breeds!" Brock told him.
"And all the cool stuff Cerberus can do." Angie added, stifling a giggle when the dog lifted his head and licked the end of her nose affectionately like a puppy.
Metal struggled not to fall into his typical gruff demeanor with Brock sitting there. In the end not whipping the smile from the child's face took priority over maintaining his reputation and he said almost gently, "Looks like Cerb's made a new best friend."
Brock nodded, "Yeah! Angie has the makings of a great dog handler with the way Cerberus took to her instantly!"
Angie's cheeks grew warm with obvious enjoyment at the idea of working with dogs and Metal swore inside his head again.
Yup. They were getting a dog. Not today, but someday. He wouldn't even be surprised if it was within the next year. Hell, if she asked him for one tomorrow he'd be tempted to say yes even though all logic said that wasn't remotely practical right now.
"That's good." He said, "Cerb's a good friend to have. You're a lucky girl."
Nodding, Angie's smile faded a little as she looked back down at the dog laying across her legs. "I guess we have to go now."
"He'll be around lots, Angie." Brock assured her. "You can see him again in a few days if you end up coming to the BBQ."
Awarding Brock with a shy smile, Angie ruffled Cerberus's ears again and whispered, "Bye bye Cerberus!"
The dog licked her nose again and hopped off her lap, sensing snuggle time was over. He trotted over to Metal instead, smiling up at him and nudging his head under his hand for a scratch. Not one to deny the animal any sort of reward for good behavior and secretly/not so secretly fond of the dog, Metal obliged silently.
"Thank you for letting me meet Cerberus." Angie said politely to Brock. The thank you was utterly genuine even if it was spoken to her shoes.
"You're welcome!" Brock said warmly, "It was really great to meet you, Angie. We'll see you around soon, ok?"
Angie peeked up from under her wispy bangs and allowed another smile before casting a look of longing and affection at Cerberus. Metal could tell she wanted to pat the canine again, but she restrained herself, waiting for him expectantly instead.
"Come on. I'll show you a couple things on the way out." Metal offered, hovering a protective hand behind her back without thinking when they started walking and nodding a wordless 'thank you' to Brock over his shoulder.