monkeybaby, jlmayer, Pharmergirl, decadenceofmysoul, EmLikesToWrite, and ki4pak all get big thank yous for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to everyone else who reads and is still adding it to their favorite and alert lists. And now without further ado, the chapter that's long overdue.
Jamie walked into the kitchen after Anna's angry outburst and spotted her standing in front of the sink, her hands gripping the basin as she stared out the window above it. He walked over to her and set his plate in the sink then laid a hand on her shoulder. Her hands flexed but she didn't look at him. "I went too far, didn't I? Over a stupid boy," she asked.
"You've never been this defensive over a boy before," Jamie said gently. "Maybe this one is more important?"
"I don't know about more important, but he is the first guy to ask me out."
"Why does that matter?" Jamie asked. Anna looked up at him like she couldn't believe he was asking her that. Jamie just looked at her imploringly.
She looked back out the window and sighed. "I mean this one sets the bar, doesn't it? How my parents treat me this time and how things go between us sets the standard for every other date."
"Maybe, maybe not." Jamie shrugged. "As far as you going too far with what you said, maybe next time you get so angry or think things are that unfair, stop, take a deep breath, and ask 'what would Joe do?'."
"Uncle Joe would have sided with me."
"You think?" Jamie asked.
Anna turned and looked up at him. She sighed. "He would have agreed that I needed to be trusted but he wouldn't agree with me threatening to go to the opposite coast permanently."
"Yeah?" Jamie said lightly.
"Yeah," Anna sighed again. "I'll apologize for how I said it and the threat but I don't think I was wrong. Like I said, my dad is a detective for the NYPD and the security threat is minimal. I mean I live in Staten Island, I go to Catholic school, and seriously when was the last time Dad had a homicide case in Staten Island?"
"Your dad knows that, so does your grandpa, and they trust you. It's just everyone else they don't. It would probably kill him if something happens to you that he could have prevented."
"You mean physically?" Anna asked. Jamie nodded. "Uncle Jamie, I grew up in a family of cops, been shooting since I was 10, and can throw a baseball faster than about 75% of my baseball team. Most importantly though, I never go out with someone I don't know alone."
"Joe probably would have had you explain that."
"I know. Guess I have to." Anna wrapped her arms around her uncle and hugged him. He smiled and held her for a moment before Nicky and the boys brought the rest of the dishes into the kitchen. She pulled back and looked at her brothers. "Is Dad mad?" Anna asked.
"I wouldn't say mad, just not very happy," Jack said.
"Grampa too?"
"He didn't say another word."
Maybe you shouldn't have said it, Anna," Sean told her gently.
"I know, Sean," Anna sighed. She walked to the staircase and sat on the bottom landing, her chin resting on her hands, thinking over what to say.
"Something you want to say?" Frank asked, sitting down next to her.
"I shouldn't have threatened to go to college clear across the country," Anna mentioned.
"Okay," Frank said.
She waited but he didn't go on. By the look on his face, she knew he was waiting for her to. "And I apologize for my tone."
"Okay," he said again.
"I'm not apologizing for what I said. I know you and Dad want to protect me but I'm not the governor's daughter or the mayor's or the president's or a congressman's, my dad is a detective for the NYPD in Manhattan. I know that his job can be dangerous and sometimes he is targeted, but it's not fair to treat me like I'm a constant target. I deserve to be treated like a normal teen. If I can't use your job to my advantage then you shouldn't be able to either." Anna took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Grampa, I know what I'm doing." Anna swallowed then looked down at her hands.
"Parents worst fear," Frank said after a moment or two, "is seeing their child banged up or hurt in a way they could have prevented."
"But you can't keep me in a bubble forever. You didn't do it to your own kids, don't do it to your grandkids. I know that sometimes trust is a hard won road but you have to give a little for us to prove that you can trust us. I know that you had Aunt Erin followed when she was a kid or if she went somewhere and cops were around you had them watching out for her and I respect that. Believe me I know this world is scarier and tougher than it was when they were kids, but that's what makes us tougher. My dad—you have 35,000 cops on the force including the top brass. Of that, 300 are first grade detectives; that's one percent of the force. One percent. Now that doesn't mean that Dad is the top one percent, we all know that he could probably do a better job but he is very good and though I don't know everything he does, I know enough to know that there are dangerous people out there and you shouldn't trust everyone. I know that I do push nearly every boundary set for me—" she pleaded her case, looking up at him.
He interrupted her, "Let's be honest, you've gone at nearly every boundary like an armored division."
"Maybe," she shrugged. "I know that I'm the only grandkid you worry about going to prison because I'm a lot like my dad. Uncle Joe told me that Grandma Mary kept a jar of money above the fridge just in case Dad ever needed bail money."
"You know, you're like your dad in a lot of good ways too."
"If you say so."
"You are very protective of your brothers and your cousin. On top of that you have a gut instinct that can't be taught."
"You think Dad knows all that?"
"He does."
"So I should apologize to him?"
"You think it's right?" Frank asked.
"I think it's what's expected of me," Anna answered, looking up at her grandfather.
"But you don't think you're wrong?"
"I don't know, am I?"
"That's for you to decide."
Anna nodded and Frank stood, walking over to his chair in the living room. Danny walked into the foyer, looked around, and then leaned against the doorjamb separating the living room from the entry way. He looked at her, his arms crossed over his chest and Anna felt like a perp in the interrogation room with him. "I'm sorry for my attitude and the threat but I won't apologize for what I said," Anna told him.
"You think I don't treat you like a normal teen?" Danny asked.
"I know you don't. I'm 90% sure that you've run background checks on all of my friends. Normal teens don't have to face that. The fact that this is actually a date means you're going to want to meet him and ask him all kinds of questions that I'm not sure I want him to face—"
"What's a date?" Danny asked. "You told us that he asked you out, but not that you said yes."
"Well, I did. And the plan is to go out Wednesday night."
"Oh, it is, is it?"
"Yes, at the moment," she said softly. "Look, Dad, I don't mind you meeting him or knowing that's who I'm going out with. That keeps bad things from happening. I just don't want to know that you've run him through the system. Trust me. Verify if you must, but don't let on that you don't trust me."
"No," Danny said. Anna's jaw dropped and she stared at him. "I have always trusted you. I know that sometimes it doesn't feel that way but I do. Between your mom and me, we've raised three pretty good kids."
"So you do trust me?"
"Of course I do. Do you really think I won't be able to find out who this Kyle kid is?"
"There are three Kyles on the football team."
"Are all three of them seniors?"
"No, but that doesn't mean that they're not all 17."
Danny nodded. "Why do you feel like you can't tell me about these guys?"
"Because I don't want the third degree. Dad, you do know I'm not going out with this guy alone, right? I've seen so many crime shows and heard so many horror stories about how things can go wrong that there is no way I'd go out with someone alone, especially someone I don't really know."
"I don't know that. It's been a while since you've told me things like that," Danny said.
"I'm a smart kid, Dad. I learn from you and the four other cops I was raised by. You'd be my first call if anything happened."
"If you could call. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
"Maybe, but sometimes you miss all the fun," Anna said.
Danny laughed. "See, just like you," they heard. They both looked towards the kitchen to see Linda in the doorway. She walked over to the stairs and sat down next to her daughter. She brushed some hair out of Anna's eyes and smiled. "When I was your age," Linda said, "I rarely told my parents which boys I was going out with and when. I admit, sometimes I even lied to them and said I was out with friends when I was out with a boy I knew they didn't approve of. It led me to a lot of heartbreak and luckily I escaped 99% of things going wrong but, looking back, if I had ever been in any danger I would eventually come to appreciate them preventing it."
"I understand that, but if I don't get my heart broken, how will I ever know how good I actually have it?" Anna asked. It went quiet for a few moments. "You know, Jim's cousins call him a sheltered preppy boy. Private Catholic school, Staten Island, everything handed to him ... I'm not saying that everyone I go to school with is going to end up becoming a Fortune 500 CEO, a doctor, nurse, cop, priest, nun, or lawyer, but so few of them become criminals–violent criminals–that the statistics of me getting hurt now, are very low," Anna explained.
"We know that. Just like we know how safe our neighborhood is. Your dad knows that not everything he sees on the job will happen to his family but some of it will and it is cause for concern. Promise me that you will do a better job of telling us, or at the very least me, where you're going and who you'll be with. And you'll always call or text when plans change?" Anna looked from her mom to her dad worriedly. "We're not always going to verify it but if something does happen, it'll give the police a place to start."
"Have I ever told you I was out with friends and you eventually found out that I was out with a guy you didn't know, to your knowledge?" Anna asked.
Linda looked up at Danny as she thought it over. He shrugged but honestly couldn't remember a time when that had happened. "Not to my knowledge," Linda said.
"And can you promise that I won't get in trouble if I'm not doing anything illegal?" Anna asked.
"Just because something isn't illegal doesn't give you a free pass," Danny said.
"Okay but what if I'm not breaking the rules either?" Anna asked.
"Case by case. I will never promise that doing something in line with the rules and the law will keep you out of trouble, but we will hear you out before passing judgement or punishment," Linda said.
"Okay. I promise to do a better job of telling you where I'm going and who I'm with. And I'll try not to get so mad over your lack of trust."
"Perceived lack of trust," Danny corrected.
"Yeah, that."
"That's our girl," Linda said.
"So ... am I in trouble?" Anna asked.
"No, not this time," Linda said, quickly. It was almost as though she was trying to beat Danny to the punch.
Anna looked between the two of them then decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. So instead she changed the subject. "Mom, after school on Tuesday I was hoping—"
"Sorry kiddo, your brothers have soccer tryouts. Danny?" Linda asked.
"What?" Danny asked.
"My license?" Anna said. She clasped her hands in front of her and turned her big, brown, puppy dog eyes on her dad. "Please, I'm finally 16."
"Thursday, it's the only day I can do it."
"Dad!" Anna whined. Danny only stared her down. "Maybe Uncle Jamie—"
"Nope. You're under 18. It has to be a parent or guardian. Besides I'm not sure you deserve it."
"Please," Anna begged. "It could help with the boys and the errands and things like that. Please, please, please."
"Okay," Danny finally agreed. "I'll talk to Gormley, see what I can do."
"Thank you," Anna squealed. She launched herself up off the steps and across the room to hug him tight. "Thank you, thank you—"
"No promises," Danny said.
"I know, but thank you. Love you," Anna said. Danny smirked and hugged her back as Linda smiled.
"Now, the rest of the family has presents for you," Danny told her. Anna pulled back and looked up at him with a contemplative look on her face. "What? Don't you think you deserve presents?"
"It's not if I deserve them, I always deserve presents. Well ... almost always. But do I need them?"
"With presents it's not about what you need, it's about what you want. Now, scoot."
"Sir, yes, sir." Anna mock saluted him then went into the living room to see a couple gifts on the table. Anna opened her gifts and wasn't surprised by the baseball glove from Frank, the one she asked for, the book from Henry, the t-shirt from Jamie, or the DVDs from Erin and Nicky but when she got home she was shocked by the present from her parents.
Tuesday she found Jim waiting for her on the front steps of the school. "How was the party with the fam?" Jim asked as they walked inside.
"Great. Burgers, dogs, fries, and Dad even surprised me with chocolate cheesecake. My grandpa bought me a new ball glove and Mom and Dad got me a new smartphone. I mean not brand new on the market but new," Anna explained.
"Lucky kid," Jim said as they stopped at his new locker. He looked at her and smiled.
"Yeah, says the boy who got his brother's hand-me-down truck for his birthday." Anna rolled her eyes and leaned back against the locker next to his.
Jim sighed and shut the door. "Heard Kyle asked you out."
"He did. Tomorrow night."
"You want me to—"
"No. Derrek and Krista are going with us."
"What? Why not me?" he asked confused.
"Because it's supposed to be a double date, not a date and an overprotective guard dog staring at me more than he is his date."
"You think that little of me, Anna?"
She could tell she had probably insulted him. "No," she pacified, "I just know you. Now, I have to get to class. Start the year off right and all."
"Look at you, being all responsible and what not. You driving yet?" Jim asked.
"Test is today after school if my dad can move some things around," Anna answered.
"Well, I'll see you around," Jim said. He headed off in the opposite direction and Anna sighed. She hated that she had insulted him but was thankful he didn't seem too upset about it. She headed off to class and hoped that by lunch time everything would be back to normal between them.