Thunder rumbled loudly overhead and the wind howled outside as rain dashed against the house.

The light knock at his door answered the passing question that surfaced in his mind earlier in the day of whether or not Angie was afraid of thunderstorms.

"Daddy? Are you awake?" Angie's little voice carried to Metal through the dark.

"Yeah. Get in here, kid," He grumbled, coming back from the almost asleep place he'd been and rolling over to face the door.

Sleep hadn't come quickly to him, if at all, since putting Angie in her bed following their usual ritual of him reading to her. He'd stayed awake for hours, staring at the ceiling and replaying the past weeks with Angie over and over again, trying to figure out where he'd gone so wrong for her to think he didn't want her. The only thing he could come up with was that his reaction when he first found out about her planted those seeds inside her heart, making her overly sensitive to any perceived rejection of her. After all, the first time she ran was because she thought he didn't want her and it made sense the longer he thought about it that she would continue to worry about it.

From there he wracked his brain, trying to come up with a plan moving forward. That only left him frustrated, mentally exhausted and determined to do better, no matter what that looked like. There was no way he wanted the kid to ever doubt he loved her again.

With that in mind he willed every ounce of annoyance from his body over being woken up and squinted at the child as she opened his door.

In the soft light from the hall, he could see Angie hesitating on the threshold as the whole room illuminated with the crack of lightning, followed by another huge crash of thunder close overhead. The house shook.

Angie's frightened whimper ghosted into the room as her small feet sped across the floor.

Seconds later she was climbing right up next to him and his arms were suddenly full of his trembling little girl.

"Hey! Shhh, it's ok, little bear! It's just a thunderstorm, nothing to be scared of."

"I don't like it!" Angie told him in a tight, panicked voice as she pressed her shaking body close and hid her face. "Can I stay with you? Please!?"

There was no way he could deny that pitiful, terrified request.

"Yeah, you can stay."

Another violent strike of lightning flashed through the night, crashing loudly and making Angie shudder.

The power blinked out, leaving the room completely pitch black now without the nightlight in the hallway or the soft glow of street lights.

He felt Angie lift her head a little from where she'd been hiding it against his chest.

"It's…it's so dark." She whispered, shivering violently now and breathing too fast. "I can't see anything."

"That's ok. I got you." Nudging her gently away from him, he gave the blankets a tug, "Here. Are you cold? Yeah? Ok, get under here then."

She moved away jerkily, like she was forcing her limbs to leave the confines of his arms, and she let him flick the covers back so she could slip under. He shifted onto his back and with the next crash of thunder, Angie was back against him, hiding her face in his t-shirt and trembling. He pulled the covers over her and locked his arm around her, holding her close.

"You're ok. We're safe." He murmured, closing his eyes and willing his body to relax, counting on her picking up on it the way she had every other time he held her.

"What if there's a tornado?" Angie whimpered. "Or a hurricane!"

"It's not either of those, little bear. Promise. Just a loud storm."

"What if the lightning causes a fire!" The child's anxiety climbed when a gust of wind made the house shift.

Just intentionally unbothered as before, Metal answered her calmly, "Then we get out of the house and call the fire department."

"But I don't want the house to burn down!"

"Angie…" Soothing the spike of distress with a patient growl, Metal brought his other arm around her, holding the back of her head and smoothing down her hair. "Take a deep breath. We're ok. The house isn't going to burn."

There was something eerily familiar about her frantic fears surrounding the storm and after a moment Metal realized that was because her mother had been one of the most anxious people he'd ever met when it came to bad weather. Angie must have picked up the same fears.

"I don't like the lightning and the thunder's so loud." Angie cried. "It made me dream about being in the ocean again!"

Oh good. Bad dreams too. Metal mentally waved goodbye to sleeping anytime soon.

"Why does thunder and lightning make you dream about the ocean?"

"B-because," Angie hiccupped and the damp spot slowly grew on his shirt. "Moana was in a big storm, and…and the ocean didn't save her and…and she almost drowned and-the waves were really big and- then I was there too! And I was going to drown!"

Wheels turning slowly, Metal tried for the life of him to figure out what the kid was talking about until he vaguely remembered Moana was a disney movie and the girls had watched it on Friday night. He'd never seen it and didn't have the slightest clue what to do with this one. Clearly he now needed to start vetting children's movies before letting Angie watch them if this last one triggered her so badly. He also made a mental note to tell Naima about just how severe Angie's fear of water was and why because he couldn't pretend he didn't feel guilty for not mentioning it sooner, especially after tonight.

Opting for logic and grounding facts, he smoothed over the two braids at the back of her head again and said quietly, "It's ok, little bear. We aren't in the ocean. You're right here, with me. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. Take another deep breath for me."

Complying, Angie managed a somewhat deep intake of air past the shuddering sobs.

"Good girl. Now another. That's right."

They repeated it again, and again until the tears started to dry up and the little girl started to calm down, shivering less and less.

Angie still flinched every time lightning flashed so Metal tried a new tactic.

"What's your favorite kind of dog?" He asked, breaking the silence that stretched over the last few minutes of Angie deep breathing without him prompting her anymore.

There was an immediate shift in Angie and she whispered, "Cerberus is the best kind of dog because he's so cool, but I like all of them. Mommy talked about getting a lab once, but we didn't have enough time to take care of it properly. I really do like labs…and pitbulls."

"Labs and pitbulls. Pretty sweet dogs." Metal fiddled with the end of her braids, asking the next question before Angie could remember it was still storming outside. "What's the best book you've read."

"Oh! Um…" Angie perked up instantly and Metal had a hold in a snort because that little trait there, the love of books, was from both her parents. "I really loved The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe actually…and Black Beauty, but it also made me cry…and…I loved the Little Princess because it had a happy ending and…and the little girl, Sarah? She hurt like I do…and she used stories to help make her feel brave and she was ok in the end, so maybe I will be too. Maybe this is just…a part of my book, and it will get better and I'll be ok in the end."

Floored by the profound, yet simultaneously simple reasoning of the child, Metal murmured, "You will be, Angie. There's still lots of your book left to go."

Angie shifted, snuggling down so she was tucked against his side with her head resting in the crock of his shoulder and chest, small arms clutched tight to her own self while she released some of the deep tension in her shoulders.

"Mommy got it for me. A few weeks before…she said it reminded her of me."

"Sounds like a pretty special gift."

"Yeah. I…" Angie's voice grew sleepy as her limbs relaxed despite the thunder outside. "I thought if I read the story I would…I don't know…I thought it would make Mommy disappear more…but…but…sometimes I feel like she's…"

"Closer?"

"Uh huh." Angie's relaxed body grew alert for a moment. "It kinda hurts and doesn't all at once."

"I understand that."

"Daddy?" Angie's tone overflowed with uncertainty, like she suddenly didn't know if she was allowed to use that word for him.

He hummed and briefly tightened his arms, indicating he was listening.

"Do you think…do you think Mommy's really still there?" Angie whispered, "Watching out for me? She promised she would be…but I can't feel her, or see her."

Thinking about it for a moment, Metal considered his own beliefs on such things before saying, "Personally, I would be willing to believe that in some way, shape or form, she's still there, Angie. Might not understand it. Might not be able to see it all the time, but I think the people we love are always there."

Angie nodded and went quiet for a long time. The only thing that tipped him off to the fact she hadn't fallen asleep was the way she kept fidgeting with her fingernails.

"Angie. Stay still and go to sleep."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I…I have a question."

"Alright, so ask, but then you need to go to sleep."

"Ok…it's just," Angie's muscles grew tight again and he could hear deep nervousness entering her soft voice, "Did…did you love my mom?"

The question came out of left field, but he really should have been expecting it. It was such a natural thing for a kid to ask.

Thankful the truth was easy to tell, he said, "Yeah, kid. I really did."

"Then…what happened? Why…why weren't you and Mommy together?"

"Honest answer, Angie?" Metal sighed, way too tired to be having this conversation, yet unwilling to shut the child down now that she was starting to trust him enough to ask the hard questions on her mind. "I don't know. I never found out why and your mom had her own reasons for leaving that I didn't know about. I never knew about you and she had her reasons for that too, I'm sure."

"But she changed her mind," Angie insisted. "She wanted to find you. She was really…she kept saying there was no one else she wanted me to end up with, that it had to be you who took me because she didn't trust anyone else. I heard her tell Rhonda that she'd made a mistake and she always regretted it, but I don't know what she did."

"I'm not sure, Angie. If I figure it out, I'll tell you, ok?"

"Ok." Angie settled again, seemingly satisfied with his answers.

"Good. Now, if you're going to stay here, you need to close those eyes and go to sleep. Got it?"

Angie nodded vigorously, suddenly remembering the thunderstorm and burrowing closer, if that was even possible.

Grumbling internally that he'd reminded her, but glad that she didn't seem as frightened as before, he added with a gentle hint to his typically gruff voice, "We're safe. I've got you. Go to sleep."

Angie gave another nod, followed by a soft sigh and she relaxed properly again.

The shivering had long since vanished. Her breathing slowed and deepened the longer he focused on keeping his own steady and calm. After a few minutes he was pretty sure she was out and he wasn't far behind her.

Storm forgotten, they both fell asleep.

Whether it was because she'd had so much reassurance from her dad that he both loved and wanted her or the fact that he'd somehow ended up home every night that week, Angie found the following school week more bearable than the last.

Ever since the thunderstorm and waking up in the morning still curled up safe and warm in her dad's arms, Angie felt braver telling him things even if he was quiet and not the one starting the conversations some days.

She started asking her own questions. Shy, simple ones that at times felt almost too childish to her, but were helpful in humanizing her father more. Through them she figured out that they shared a love for strawberries, and he didn't like cauliflower very much either. He thought out of all the Aunt's and Uncles, Auntie Naima had the most sense and he would listen to her above all the rest, but if he wanted to 'get into mischief' he teamed up with her Uncle Trent. Angie had a hard time imagining her dad being mischievous. It must have shown because he'd grinned, swore her to secrecy and then told her about the pranks he pulled on Uncle Sonny. Apparently Uncle Sonny still had no idea it was him and Angie liked that idea, along with the thought of her Uncle going 'crazy' because he couldn't find the alarm clock that kept going off in his 'cage' or the time there was hot sauce in his water bottle making his his eyes water during a briefing.

The story about the alarm clock made Angie laugh out loud, and for some reason that made her dad visibly happy. Angie could still remember the stunned look that crossed his face the moment her laugh peeled into the air at breakfast when the mental image of Uncle Sonny frantically trying to find the annoying little alarm clock tickled her imagination. After that the whole mood the rest of that morning was light, carefree after that and there was a spark of satisfaction in Scott's eye anytime she started giggling about it all over again.

When he picked her up from Auntie Naima's that evening, just before bedtime, Scott was tired but the second Angie asked in the truck if he'd pranked Uncle Sonny the lines lifted from his face and he laughed.

The answer was yes. He had.

Uncle Trent and Scott bought twenty or so of the same tiny, plastic shark and had been hiding them for weeks in Uncle Sonny's stuff. That day Uncle Sonny found one in the bottom of his coffee cup.

Yes. It was a great week.

Until now.

Picking at her dinner, Angie heaved a bigger sigh than she meant to while chewing her lip.

Neither her nor her dad had spoken much this evening. He seemed preoccupied with something and Angie was lost in her own little world of troubles too.

"What's wrong, kid. You've hardly eaten and you ain't talkin."

Still leaning her head in her arm as she slumped half on the table as she pushed food around her plate, Angie flicked her attention up. He'd finally put his phone down and was watching her, arms folded with an expression she was beginning to recognize as mildly concerned with a good dose of curiosity.

Given that he'd proven time and time again over the past weeks that he was someone she could confide in and, more importantly, someone she wanted to tell when she was troubled, Angie mumbled, "I have a problem."

"Do you want help with it?" He asked neutrally.

Angie liked it when he asked things like that. It made her feel grown up even though her problem made her feel incredibly small.

"I…I need to get over my fear of drowning." Angie blurted.

Expression carefully controlled as always, Scott gave a nod of acknowledgement and adjusted his hat. He almost always wore one and his ball cap was nearly always backwards. Angie thought it suited him and that it was funny when he took it off and had wild hair.

"I think I can probably help with that," He told her confidently.

"I have to be better by next Saturday." Angie told him in a small, defeated tone.

Surprise flickered over his face as he paused, but her dad took it in stride.

"Ok. Why the hurry?"

"Because Jameelah decided on a pool party for her birthday." Angie tried to explain. Her dad waited patiently for her to say more as he took a sip of his water, so Angie chewed her lip, adding, "She asked me if it was ok…cause she knows I don't…love…water."

"And?"

"I said it was ok and that I would still come. But…my other friends don't know I'm scared and I don't want them to find out just in case."

"Just in case what?"

"In case they stop being my friends at school someday and then tell the other kids and then everyone finds out and makes fun of me."

Scott blinked once and nodded again with a small shrug, accepting the politics of grade school without trying to fix it. That was another trait she was starting to love about her dad.

"Fair enough. Alright. We'll see how comfortable we can get you in the water before next Saturday. This is the same birthday party Jameelah was begging your uncles to come to?"

"Yes."

"Good! That makes it easier."

"Why?" Encouraged by the firm confidence of her dad, Angie lifted her head from her arm.

"Because I'll likely be there too and promise I won't let you drown."

Angie straightened, a flood of absolute consolation rushing into her. "Oh! I hadn't thought of that!"

A small smirk appeared as amusement flickered in the air around Scott, not that Angie could figure out why. Either way, the gentle pride and warmth coming from her dad made her feel like maybe this wasn't as terrible a problem after all.

"We'll start tomorrow. Oh. And everything's finally been moved to the storage unit. I think we better go take a look through it afterwards."

Brightening, Angie said, "I can bring my books home?"

The amusement grew as Scott nodded. "Yeah. You can bring your books home…though we might need to get you a better bookshelf. Yours is filling up pretty quick already."

Buzzing with happiness over the idea of her 'friends' being back in their rightful place in her life, Angie suddenly found that maybe she was hungry after all and started eating.

She missed the fond head shake from her dad.

At first Angie had been determined and confident that, with her dad helping her, she would face the swimming lesson with all the bravery of Lucy in the Narnia stories. Unfortunately, by the time she was dressed, coming out of the change room at the pool and ready to go, her stomach was turning violently and she felt sick.

"Daddy…I don't think I can do this anymore," She told him when she reached where he was waiting for her near the doors to the change room.

"I think you need to give it a chance before you make that decision, little bear." He answered, holding out his hand to her.

Angie took it and clung tightly as they moved across the surprisingly quiet pool deck. She didn't feel like agreeing with him and wished she could retreat, but his use of 'little bear' made her feel just a tiny bit braver and in the back of her head she pretended he was Beorn the skinchanger and she was his cub.

"I could just say I'm sick when it's Jameelah's party." She said, still trying to think of a way out of this.

"You could." Her dad agreed.

Angie could hear the 'but' lingering in the air without him even saying it and she sighed.

"Jameelah's really excited about it…" Angie mumbled, "And she wasn't going to have it at a pool if I wasn't going to go because of the water."

"Uh huh."

"She'd be really disappointed."

"That's probably true, but this is your decision."

By now they were standing at the edge of the shallower end of the deep pool. There were two. One small, warmer pool for babies and young children, and a larger, deep pool for the rest of them. Half of it was divided up into lanes, while the rest was wide open, designated for the family swim. Most of the occupants of the pool were in the lanes and there were only one or two other groups in the rest of the pool, leaving lots of space for them.

Still clutching his hand, Angie started to shiver and bite her lips.

"I guess I have to." Angie said quietly.

Giving her hand a gentle tug to get her attention, Scott shook his head. "You don't have to do anything, Angie."

"But Jameelah will be disappointed if I don't go and I don't want her to be sad."

"Ok, so do you want to work on this?"

"Y-yes." Angie tried not to choke on the word.

"Alright. Then let's get in."

Freezing, and locking up her limbs when her dad started to move to get into the water, Angie felt instant panic roll through her. It had been so long since she'd been in a pool. Once her mother was satisfied that she could swim, she stopped making her take lessons. Angie hadn't set foot in a pool since and that day at the beach was one of the first times she'd been in water in over two years.

"Angie," Scott spoke soothingly through the patient growl. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Take a deep breath and trust me."

"C-can I touch here?"

"Yes." He was already standing waist deep in the water, holding out his hands to her.

"You won't let me go?"

"I promise I won't let you go."

Shivering, Angie slowly lowered herself so she was sitting on the side and after a second or two of resistance, she let Scott lift her into the water.

The moment the water came around her legs she couldn't stop the quick scramble to lock her arms around her dad's neck. He didn't stop her or scold her for it, instead bringing his own huge arms around her.

"I've got you. Relax."

"It's cold!"

"You'll warm up. Relax. If you don't, even just a little, you're gonna sink like a stone."

"I can't!"

"Sure you can. Same as you did during the thunderstorm. Take some breaths and let yourself go limp."

"No! I can't! I can't do this!" Angie insisted, clenching her eyes shut and holding tighter when she thought he was going to let her go. Fear surfaced, mixing with a fierce stubbornness and she started to believe this was a terrible idea and was ready to argue the full hour rather than let go.

"Alright." There was an audible shrug in the word.

That surprised her. She thought he was going to argue with her or try to coax her into 'relaxing' the same way her swimming teachers had in the past.

"W-what?"

"I said alright. We can get out."

Somehow that wasn't what Angie wanted either. She both did and didn't want to get out. Getting out meant failure and disappointing her friend…and she didn't want her dad to be disappointed in her either. What if he was because she wouldn't trust him and at least try?

"I don't want to get out!"

"No?"

"No!" Angie told him, breath huffing with upset as she struggled to figure out what she wanted. "I don't want to let go and I can't relax and I can't swim! I never can!"

"Not sure I believe that," Scott told her with a light growl as he slowly moved through the water, gradually deeper. Right now Angie didn't care what he was doing. All she cared about was the fact he was still holding her. "I got hold of the reports from all the swimming lessons you did and I've talked to your old swim instructor. I know your mom had you in private lessons non stop for years and that you can swim. Just takes a while for you to calm down."

A sharp stab of guilt rippled through her for exaggerating and getting caught.

"Oh," She said flatly.

"Yeah."

Tears crawled up her throat and Angie whimpered, "I'm not scared on purpose."

"I never thought you were. I know your fear is very, very real. That's why this is your decision. So are we staying in or getting out?"

"I don't want to get out." Angie whispered. "I just can't…I can't relax, Daddy. It's too hard."

"That's fine. You hang on to me as long as you like and as tight as you like, but I'm going to swim regardless, unless you decide we're getting out."

That drove a spike of shock through her and the next thing she knew, she was loosening her arms enough to pull away and see his face. Angie felt a new kind of concern welling up in her gut. He was still walking backwards into deeper water, holding her firmly, and the water was almost to his upper arms, creeping up her back with each step.

"Swim where?"

"Length of the pool."

"B-but that's deep water!" Angie protested, and her dad stopped moving, watching her with that same steady, constantly assessing gaze of his. "I can't go out there!"

"Maybe not, but I can. If you want to stay grappled onto me the whole time, that's fine. I got no issues. I'll just take advantage of the situation and use it as a weight training exercise for the hour, which means if you don't want to give up and get out, you're coming with me the full length of the pool."

"Daddy! I don't want to go to the deep end!" Angie cried urgently, pleading with every ounce of her body.

"Ok. Well, we can't just stand here the whole time. That wouldn't be productive." Scott answered with unshakable calm and patience. Even his gruff tone was lacking right now and that fact along with the arms still locked around her were the only thing keeping Angie from panicking. "Let's work on things here, starting with you taking a nice, slow, deep breath and trying to relax."

Feeling tricked into doing exactly what she'd been determined to fight moments earlier, Angie looked down into the water. Her arms snaked around him again and she hid her face in the crook of his neck.

"I can't touch the bottom here!"

"Nope, and you don't need to. You've got me."

"I don't like not being able to touch the bottom!"

"That's fair. Take a few breaths and try to relax, then I'll take you back."

"Do I have to let go," Angie whimpered.

"No, and I'm not letting go of you, just like I promised. All you have to do is breathe and relax. That's it."

Feeling silly because she was beginning to realize how simple a task he was asking of her, but still shaken enough to confess, Angie said, "I'm scared."

"You're allowed to be, but you gotta listen to me if you want to get past this. Do you still want to do this or are we getting out? Personally, I think you can do this. You faced way worse at the beach."

"I want to…I just really don't like the water, Daddy."

"I know. Baby steps, Angie. You've got this, you just don't know it yet."

For some reason the calm and pure confidence of her father was catching enough to remind her who had her right now. She remembered he'd been the one who kept her safe in the ocean and sternly started to tell herself yet again that he wouldn't let her drown.

Finally, she did as she was asked and forced her muscles to go floppy with each breath.

"Good. See? You can do it." The moment tension started to loosen her limbs, Scott moved back to the shallows, arms still clasped around her and sank down with his back braced against the wall until the water was around his shoulders. Then he waited, encouraging the breathing and not asking more of her past trusting him.

Once she was calmer, she lifted her head and peered around the pool. There were some curious looks, but for the most part no one was paying them any mind.

"Feeling better?" Her dad asked. From where she was perched in his arms, their faces weren't that far from each other and she could see more clearly the subtle glint of pride and compassion lurking behind his neutral expression.

Angie nodded seriously.

"Alright. Ready for the next step?"

"I don't know."

"I know you can manage it, Angie. You're a brave and determined little ninja."

Again, that confidence and belief coupled with unknowingly invoking one of her favorite imagenings, Angie took a deep breath and said, "Ok."

"You got this. Let's see those skills. Time to let go of me."

"Promise I can touch the bottom?" Angie asked, looking down again and trying to guess the depth.

"Put your feet down," Scott shifted as he set her on the bottom. "There. See?"

The water only came to her armpits when her toes made contact with the floor of the pool, so Angie nodded again, still clinging to his forearms.

"Ok. First thing. You're gonna float on your back for me."

"You said you wouldn't let me go," Angie protested, forgetting that she just stated that she wanted to work on her fears because she was suddenly afraid he was going to go back on his word.

"Not letting you go. I'll have one hand on you the whole time so you know I'm there."

There was the barest, tiniest hint of his patience wearing thin and Angie didn't want to push it, so she reluctantly forced herself into a back float. As promised, Scott kept a hand hovering under her elbow as she struggled to relax and stay floating.

"Not bad. Let's see you swim the width now."

"I don't like putting my face in."

"Don't care how you do it today, just swim the width."

"Are…are you mad at me?" Angie asked, worrying at her bottom lip as she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Nope. Not at all. Get swimming, little bear. We're good."

The clipped, businesslike growl he'd been using the last few minutes softened this time and Angie believed him.

Once she'd swam the width three times, each time using a different stroke of her own choosing at Scott's prompting, Angie's fear was starting to wane to a nagging annoyance in the back of her mind. So long as she could touch, this wasn't so bad and Scott seemed to be pleased with her abilities so far! Maybe-

"Ok. Time to see you tread water. Come here. We'll need to be a little deeper for this."

Swallowing back a lump in her throat and shivering with cold, Angie forced herself to take her dad's hand. He tugged her through the water to just past where she was able to still reach the bottom.

"Alright. Let's see it."

"Don't let me sink."

"I won't. You're doing amazing, Angie. One more, then you can take a break, ok?"

"I'm not good at treading water," Angie hooked her arm around his shoulder when he tugged her closer so he could hear her better and she relaxed without thinking when she felt him rest a hand on her back. "My head always goes under and…I really hate my head going under."

"Let's see it."

Without much enthusiasm and no small amount of the fright starting to build in her stomach again, Angie let go of him and tried to stay above water.

She didn't make it very long before she started to sink and Scott hooked a hand under her elbow to keep her above the water.

"See?" She gasped, out of breath from her frantic attempt.

"I've seen worse, little bear. We can work on that. For now, come here."

Grabbing his hand, Angie glided through the water until she was back in his arms.

"Time for me to do some work. Do me a favor and hang on like you were at the start."

"Why?"

"Because, I'm about to tread water and I'm going to need my arms for a little bit."

"A-are we going in the deep end?"

Angie tried so hard not to be scared, because realistically she couldn't touch right now anyway, so what was the point of being scared of the 'deep end'? All the same. The idea wasn't overly appealing.

"Not far. Just enough so I don't kick the bottom…unless you're up for an adventure, then we can go further."

"C-could we try that later?" Angie asked, tempted by the wording, but not wanting to go any deeper than they had to.

"Yup. Hold on, ok?"

"Wait!" Angie's grip was already around his neck and torso as he stepped deeper through the water. "What if you sink?"

"If we sink then I've got a lot more training to do," Her dad growled with humor and mock offense. "Your Uncle Jason won't be happy with me if I can't stay above the surface with you."

Reassured by the light arrogance, Angie still asked, "But won't it be harder with me?"

"Not overly. I'm already treading water right now."

"Oh," Angie looked down and saw that it was true. He was treading without even using his arms because they were still wrapped around her. She hadn't even noticed the strong, lazy kicks.

She tightened her arms and rested her head on his shoulder, watching the rest of the pool curiously and feeling suddenly exhausted. It was like all the flight and fight in her evaporated all at once and she was content just to hold onto her dad, letting him do all the work while the water lapped around them.

After a few minutes it occurred to her that they'd migrated and were absolutely in deeper water now, but oddly enough she didn't care. For the first time that she could remember, she felt almost completely safe in the water. There was still that lingering, nagging panic in the back of her brain, but the longer she spent in the water with her dad the easier it was to drown it out.

By the time the hour was over, Angie was almost bored playing 'weight' for her dad and all concern that he might sink with them was gone. He could stay above the water with her effortlessly. She didn't even think he'd had to work hard at all and that was regardless of him using his arms or just his legs.

As for her, she was one step closer to being able to go to Jameelah's party without her friends finding out how scared of water she was.