Playing 'minefield' in his own living room was not something Metal ever anticipated doing and yet he found himself stepping gingerly around Lego on the floor.

His foot found one particularly sharp piece that he hadn't managed to avoid and that was the last straw. The marginal patience he'd managed to scrape up before coming home to Angie vanished.

"Angela! Why is this still out?!" Metal snapped, pointing to the Lego. "It's supposed to be in your room when you aren't using it!"

Angie's eyes went big and bright instantly as she stared at the Lego. Without a single word she slipped past him and swept the whole lot off the coffee table into the bin, breaking half of what was constructed in the process, then rapidly picking off pieces off the floor before clipping the lid on and using her whole body to drag it past into her room.

Somehow getting what he wanted didn't feel good and Metal had this sinking sense that he'd screwed up something more than just snapping at his sensitive little girl. When Angie's door shut behind her the sinking sensation turned into a twisting gut and he swore under his breath.

Creeping up the hall, he paused outside her door, listening closely. When the sound of the child crying floated from behind the door, he swore silently again and stalked into his own room, closing the door firmly so he could pace in peace while he calmed down and make sure his head was on straight.

A few minutes later he crossed the hall and knocked softly on Angie's door.

"Angie, can I come in?"

The child was quiet for a spell before her tight voice said, "Ok."

When he entered the room Angie was curled in a tight ball under her blankets, facing away from him.

Circling round so he could see her face, Metal crouched next to the bed. Predictably Angie hid her face in the blankets as he did so.

"Let's talk it out, Angie. Why are you crying."

A sob shuddered through the kid and Angie said with a deeply injured air, "You yelled at me."

"I did not yell. I snapped at you."

"Your voice raised. It f-felt like you yelled at me," Angie argued stubbornly.

"Alright, fair enough," Metal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is that the only reason you're crying? Or is there something else?"

When Angie gulped back another stronger sob, he knew instantly there was something else.

"That's it." Angie lied.

"Come on, kid. I know that's not the truth."

Curling in tighter, Angie drew a shuddering couple of breaths, crying quietly before she whispered, "I left the Lego out on purpose."

Frowning, Metal leaned a little closer so he could hear better, asking, "Why?"

A harsher sob ripped through Angie as she cried, "I wanted you to play Lego with me again."

There was a lapse in time as Metal's mind caught up, processing the words and the weight they put on his chest.

"You wanted me to play Lego with you again, that's why you left it out?" Metal heard himself asked, automatically seeking confirmation.

Angie's head bobbed as she nodded while dissolving into more tears.

Son of a bitch. He felt like such an ass.

Closing his eyes and bowing his head, Metal uttered softly, "Damn it."

"I'm sorry," Angie hiccupped.

"Get over here." Metal rose to his feet and reached out, tapping her head and waiting for her to uncurl before he scooped her up. He settled with his back against the headboard and her head on his shoulder. "It's ok. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have spoken the way I did to you."

The girl didn't answer and he tried to think of some way to fix this. It was such a day already he didn't think he could managed a weeping child all evening too.

"What if we go out for a bike ride?" He suggested. "Probably do us both some good."

Angie's tears slowed and she lifted her head hopefully.

"Really?"

"Is your homework done?" He asked, figuring he better check.

Angie nodded almost too quickly, but he brushed that thought aside, figuring she was just excited to get on her bike again.

"Then let's go!"

By the time he'd lead them down the long trail, all traces of Angie's tears were gone and she was smiling, which eased the exhaustion in his bones.

She was a determined little thing. He didn't think she would make it as far as she did up and down the hills of the trail, but she kept up with a stubbornness that rivaled his own.

On the way home he let her explore one of the parks that branched off from the trail.

He had to curb his own hypervigilance as he followed a few steps behind her at the active little park, watching her try every jungle gym and swing across every set of monkey bars with the other kids. Seeing the way she went straight up the side of one play set in a manner that was not its intended purpose reminded him yet again that they needed to go to the climbing gym.

A headache formed behind his eyes and he ignored the worried looks from a few of the other parents as he walked over and got Angie's attention.

"Come on down, little ninja. It's time to go." He growled the words affectionately, bringing the biggest grin to her face. Metal wasn't really sure why she liked it when he called her that. He knew why she liked being called 'little bear' already, which pleased him because he was fond of that endearing term for her, but she had yet to confirm why she liked 'little ninja'.

"Um, Daddy?" Angie had miscalculated her descent from where she was perched on top of the roof of the play structure and she was now danging in the air above his head with nowhere to go but down.

Smothering a rueful laugh, he reached up his hands, ready to catch her. Privately he enjoyed the horrified expressions on a few of the mom's faces. A few others he could tell had children like his own because they just snickered and nodded to themselves.

"I got you. Let go."

Angie let go, completely trusting that he would catch her, and he did.

She giggled when he swung her through the air before setting her on her feet and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow.

"Let's go," He said gruffly, fighting a smile as he flicked a habitual scan for danger around the park.

"Five more minutes?" Angie begged, her eyes going big.

Huffing back a laugh, Metal said, "Not a chance. It's already nearly your bedtime."

"Ok."

Deflating a little, Angie tucked in next to him as they walked back to the bikes.

"Thank you, Daddy," Angie murmured, looking around at the chilly world around them.

"For what?"

"For this. I like being outside."

He had to agree with her there so he said, "Me too."

Watching her as she climbed onto her bike again, he remembered what drove them out here in the first place and added with complete sincerity, "Know what else I like?"

"What?" Angie asked, bright eyes piercing through him with the vibrancy for life that should be in the gaze of a child.

"I really like playing Lego with you…let's just make sure we clean up when we're done, yeah?"

A shy flush rose up Angie's cheeks and she nodded, smothering another pleased smile as they got moving.

When he was greeted by Naima at the front door a few days later, Metal should have known right away it wasn't going to be an easy night.

"So, before we let the girls know you're here to get Angie, we need to have a quick chat."

Naima hardly even said hello when he walked in the door.

"Oh? What'd I do this time?" Metal frowned, lowering his voice as he gave Naima a wary smile. This wasn't a promising end to a Thursday nor was it what he wanted to hear right after coming home from a two day spin up. At least he'd slept on the plane this time.

"You didn't do anything. It's your daughter." Naima sighed, stepping closer and lowering her voice too. "Ms. Finch came out and had a chat with me today at the end of the day. She was hoping I could pass this along to you, although she wants to follow up with you at parent teacher interviews in two weeks."

Metal had a bad feeling he wasn't going to have the quiet, happy evening with his kid that he'd been hoping to have. He nodded, indicating he was listening and Naima continued.

"Apparently Angie hasn't been completing all her homework, usually the nights that you're home with her after a few days away."

"Seriously?" Metal lifted his head and looked toward the play room where he knew Angie was.

"Yes."

Irritation and disbelief rose instantly. "I ask if she has anything every time! She says no- how many times has this happened?!"

"According to Ms. Finch, this is the second time in the last two weeks. She gave Angie a free pass on the first time because she was upfront and honest with her at the start of the day about it, but this time Angie tried to hide it because she knew Ms. Finch wasn't going to let it go again."

A humorless chuckle escaped as he shook his head, "Oh…she is in so much trouble."

"Scott, I know how you feel about the importance of honesty-"

"I am not raising a daughter who lies," Metal stated darkly.

"I never suggested you should," Naima replied, undeterred by the anger swelling around him. "I'm just saying that, in my experience, when a child lies it isn't the fact they lied that should get under your skin. It's the question of why they lied in the first place that should. You figure out why and it will better direct a fair judgment. That's all."

"Doesn't matter why," Growled Metal. He was just about ready to go and haul that kid home by her toes the longer he thought about it.

Honesty, integrity, trustworthiness. Those were the most important traits in a person. If he didn't instill those in his child, he wasn't worth anything as a father.

"Yes, it does matter!" Naima said sharply, warning him effectively away from losing his temper and reminding him she could go toe to toe with him at his worst. "When it comes to kids it really matters…now…for my part I've taken away her books until she's finished all the homework she only half finished. That's motivated her to do the oh so hated math problems."

"Of course it's the math homework." Scott grumbled. "Should have been fuckin checking that at the very least."

"Scott…she's your kid and you'll have to deal with her as you see fit, just please consider what I said. You've gained so much ground with her, don't let the fact she lied push a wedge between you. She's a child, not an adult or a teammate."

Drawing a long, frustrated breath, Metal pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright. Fine. I'll keep it in mind. I'm still gonna hand her little ass to her. She doesn't get to pull shit like that."

"You should probably also know she's downright terrified of how angry you'll be and had a meltdown earlier over this whole thing."

Naima added that one so calmly as she walked into the kitchen, as if she didn't know it would stab him right in the chest. The fact he almost said 'good' disturbed him immensely and he knew he needed to rein things in. Angie wasn't a subordinate, or a teammate who'd screwed up. She was his child, emphasis on the child part.

He took another breath as he forced himself to focus. She wasn't getting off easy on this, but he wouldn't be unfair.

With firm determination, he crossed the house and headed for the playroom. Jameelah was in her own room, reading in her bed while Angie did her homework alone in the playroom. His niece seemed to sense he wasn't in the mood to have her leap on him and Jameelah only gave a small, hesitant wave when he crossed in front of the girl's shared room.

Angie's big, red rimmed Bambi eyes lifted the second his shadow crossed the door and ninety percent of his anger cooled right there as the air left his lungs.

Naima hadn't been exaggerating. The kid was terrified.

Suddenly he couldn't even trust himself to know the right thing to say, so he pointed at the backpack next to her instead.

"Get your stuff together." He said gruffly. "Time to go."

Wordless, Angie hurried to obey. Her movements were jerky and clumsy, like they'd been their first day together. Unable to watch the ground he'd gained crumble before him, Metal turned and headed back to the kitchen to wait for the kid there.

The questioning look Naima gave him when he entered did nothing to ease his guilt and he muttered, "You're right. She is terrified."

"She just doesn't know what to expect, Scott," Naima said quietly as she washed up some carrots and peeled them. Ray was out with RJ doing the shopping. "I gather you and her haven't had to deal with something like this before. It's the unknown that's got her scared more than anything."

"I don't know what to do with this." He finally admitted in a low tone, leaning across the counter. "Tell me what to do!"

"I already did. Ask the question why. You'll make a fair judgment based on the answer."

"She hasn't been this scared of me for weeks-"

"She is not scared of you. She's scared of disappointing you and upsetting you. There's a difference."

"I don't know, Naima. There was a lot of fear in those eyes when she saw me," Metal groaned softly, rubbing his face. "I used to really enjoy being a scary SOB. Now it's a real pain in the ass…"

"You two will be just fine. You're a good dad, Scott."

Angie's soft tread brought an end to their conversation and Metal murmured, "Thank you, Naima. We'll see you later."

He turned to face his daughter and winced at how tiny she looked, standing there studying her fingers as she picked at the nails. She was small for her age to begin with and adding the stress to her thin shoulders only curled them in further.

"Let's go," He said quietly, jerking his head to the door when she dragged a guilty glance up to meet his eyes.

When they paused by the door so Angie could get her shoes on, Metal caught the shaking of her hands and his resolve to remain stern started to give way.

He crouched when she couldn't get the shoes to tie and gently took over, tying the runners for her before rising again to open the door.

The barest hint of a sob ghosted out of Angie and when he stole a look at her in the reflection of the window he could see the way her eyes were clenched shut, fighting back tears.

Habit had him reach out to slip his hand across the back of her neck, steering her out the door carefully.

Something about the action undid Angie further and the moment the front door to the Perry's home closed she started crying.

"Come on, little bear" He murmured uncomfortably, not sure if the crying and the way her tense shoulders sagged the moment he made contact with her was a good thing or a bad thing. "To the truck. Let's go home."

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" She wept earnestly as her feet stumbled into movement next to him. Her shoulders curl toward his side as if she were fighting to urge to grab on to him. "I'm really sorry!"

"I'm glad to hear that," He told her honestly as he maneuvered them next to the truck and encouraged her up into her seat. "We've got a long conversation ahead of us."

"Are you mad at me?" Angie gulped, lips trembling as her wide, frightened eyes met his again.

Damn that stabbed deep again.

He managed to answer in a calm, level tone. "A little, but I'm more really frustrated, and extremely disappointed."

The mix of relief and devastation was visible in the little girl and she ducked her head, choking on another sob as he carefully reached across and clicked her seatbelt into place when she just stared at it in her hands instead of doing it herself.

"Take a breath, Angie." He sighed as he closed the door, all anger evaporated now and replaced with a dull sense of resignation. This was going to be hell.

She cried in the back seat for the entirety of the short ride, and he was at a loss of what to say so he stayed silent, jaw clenched tightly as he glared at the road.

When they got home, Angie's heels started to dig in as they got closer to the front door.

"Come on, Angie. Move your feet! Let's go, stop draggin tail!"

Fresh tears spilled over as Angie resisted the gentle pressure his palm put across her neck and shoulders, asking in a fragile voice, "What's going to happen?"

Stopping dead in his tracks, Metal stared down at the top of her head, deep furrow appearing between his brows. "What do you mean what's going to happen?"

Angie tensed at the sharper, incredulous note that entered his voice and he started to get another bad feeling.

"I don't know." Angie whispered, tucking her chin down. Those little shoulders were nearly raised to her ears now.

"Kid, we're going to have a conversation! That's it!" Metal told her, trying not to let frustration with himself and the whole situation bleed through. "Then we'll decide what an appropriate punishment will be for lying about your homework. Now let's go get this over with."

Gulping when he added the last sentence, Angie forced her feet to move next to him again, as if she were scared of making him mad and not because she was satisfied with the answer.

He dumped their stuff by the door, not caring for once that it was in the way. The sooner they dealt with this the better. He really didn't like the way she was acting right now. They needed this resolved, fast.

"Come sit with me," He said, purposely softening his tone and body language. "Let's talk it out."

Angie let him guide her to the couch and she climbed up, curling into a tight ball on her side and hiding her face in her knees.

Shaking his head and silently swearing, Metal sank down next to her and slipped a hand under her, tugging gently.

"Right. Enough's enough. Get over here, baby girl."

Whining as she tried to hold in more crying, Angie uncurled and surprised him by fully climbing into his lap this time and hiding her face in his chest when he prompted her into his arms.

"Angie, take a breath, kid! It's ok! We're just talking about this!"

"I'm sorry!" The child wailed into his front.

"I know you are! But, seriously, kid, what's got you so twisted into knots like this? Why are you so damn scared right now?"

"Because!" Angie howled.

"Because why?" Metal tightened his arms around her and tried to will away the burning irritation that was surfacing.

"I don't want to be in trouble! I don't-I don't know what's going to happen!"

"What's going to- Angie I just told you what's going to happen! We're going to talk and then figure it out from there-"

Metal broke off as he recalled he used the word 'punishment' and 'getting things over with'. Dots started to connect quicker now as he considered what could be going through the head of his little girl. The threat of a father's punishment was historically a tool used to instill fear in children so they would behave better. That never sat well with him. His own father had never been that way and he remembered him being fair and just, unlike some of his friends' fathers. Metal always swore to himself that if he ever had children he wouldn't be someone his kids feared when they were in trouble, for any reason. In the short time he'd had his dad in his life, he always knew if he screwed up he could go to him for guidance.

Lowering his voice to a calmer tone, he said something similar to what he recalled his dad telling him.

"We're gonna decide together what will help you not make the same mistake again, Angie," he said. Then, because she went ridged, he added pointedly, "And none of that is going to include a physical punishment. Ever."

The tight wound spring in Angie's back released at his final words and she melted into him, crying harder, this time with a different pitch and rate.

"Ok…alright…" He hushed her, holding her closer and palming the back of her head. "It's ok. I've got you."

When tremors started rippling through Angie's body, Metal knew this wasn't over and he had to dig deeper.

"Angie, where's all this coming from?" He asked with as much coaxing, gentle compassion he could muster into his rough voice.

Had he done or said something to instill this in her? Was it from the past and there was a side of Catherine he didn't know about, as unlikely as that seemed? Perhaps Angie saw something in a movie, like with her being afraid of what he did for a living- Maybe that was it. Maybe his job was making her scare he would-

"There's two girls at school." Angie whispered suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. "Sarah and Summer. They…they say…they say stupid things…like that they hope…"

Angie trailed off and he waited for her to continue. When she seemed stuck, he prompted quietly, "What do they say?"

"They're the ones who said you kill people." Angie told him in the same small voice. "They said people in the military get paid to kill people, and…and then they say things like they hope I'll be safe at home with you because…"

Unable to bring herself to finish, Angie pressed her head into his shoulder and curled in tighter. He locked his arm around her with what he hoped was a comforting pressure, feeling grim and sick.

"Angie, you are safe and will always be safe with me."

The child nodded into his shirt but otherwise didn't answer past the shivering in her shoulders.

"What else did they say?" He asked, determined to get to the bottom of this, the issue of her homework and lying momentarily forgotten.

"They said that…that military people are more violent…and unpredictable…and drink a lot…and are really dangerous when they get mad because…because bad things happen to them and…because they kill people and-and-and that you never want to make them mad because-"

Angie couldn't bring herself to finish.

"Ok. First off this is not something nine-year-old's should be discussing at school," Aware that his tone shifted sharply and that Angie tensed, he drew a controlled breath and asked with more care, "Second…Angie, do you think if I get mad enough that I'm going to hurt you!?"

"No!" Angie shook her head into him and started to cry again. "I just…I just needed to make sure!"

"Angie!" For a moment Metal was at a loss for words and all he could do was hold her closer while pressing a kiss into the top of her head. "Baby girl, I don't care how pissed off I get, you are always going to be safe with me, ok? I'd rather jump out of a plane without a chute than even think about hurting you and as much as I'd love to scare the gossiping, pernicious little socks off those girls at school who keep planting this shit in your head…I'd never hurt them either."

Nodding, Angie kept sobbing and curled smaller.

"Do you believe me?"

"Yes!" Angie gulped.

"How long have you been worrying about this?"

Angie let out another whimpering little whine as she confessed, "Since the first day of school."

Metal closed his eyes and swore silently, holding his girl closer.

Weeks. She'd been frightened for weeks about making him mad and having him lose it on her! Damn it! His poor, sweet girl.

"Angie…" He breathed, kissing the top of her head again and willing the last weeks away. How had he not seen it? How had he missed this? Even after the conversation about what his job meant he should have made sure she knew she was safe. Hushing her, he stressed firmly, "I will always keep you safe and no amount of trouble you get yourself into will change that!"

"Some of the boys in class said their dad's 'tan their hides' when they get in trouble…" Angie broke off crying again, snuggling in closer as her fingers curled into his shirt. "I was scared! M-mommy didn't do that!"

"That's not happening in our house," Metal told her firmly, kissing the top of her head again and squeezing. "It's never going to be an option for us, you hear me? That slope is too slippery and I don't agree with it. Seen it go bad too many times. It's not happening here."

Gradually, Angie started to calm down. Metal waited with renewed patience until she was quieter, mental notes filing away in his brain for later as he already started formulating a plan to make sure he kept his promises. Looked like he'd be going back to his therapist for starters, just to keep his head on straight at all times. He'd also need to set up a plan for if he didn't think Angie should be near him for a bit, just in case. The alcohol was going to be a struggle. He knew it would be. It always was when things in his head got dark.

That could wait though. Right now he needed to believe he could maintain changes in his life for the sake of his child.

Finally, when he thought enough time passed, he asked, "Angie, why did you lie to me about your homework being done?"

Sniffling, Angie whispered, "The first time I forgot that I had some and…and I wanted to swim with you b-because I missed you…"

The confession took out what remained of his serious determination to not give her a free pass on this one.

"Ok. And the second time?"

Angie squirmed with guilt and she mumbled, "I just didn't want to do it and we were going to go biking if I was done."

The fact both times one of the main motivating factors for lying was so she could spend more time with him doing something fun was difficult.

"What is it about the homework that makes you not want to do it, other than it being homework?"

"It was math." Angie sighed. "I'm not good at math and I feel dumb when I try to do the pages of problems."

"So why not ask for help? I would have helped you with it."

"Because I wanted to go biking with you and my head was tired of school." Angie admitted, peeping up at him with a miserable glance that told him just how ashamed she was.

"Little bear, I want to spend time with you too, but we can't just not do the things we're responsible for. Your homework is your responsibility! And lying to me about it? That's not ok, kid. That's worse than not doing the homework."

"I know." Tears crept back into Angie's voice.

Wanting to press home the importance of honesty between them, Metal stressed, "Being able to do fun things together means being able to trust each other, Angie. If I can't trust you to tell me the truth, it really complicates things, and it hurts us both!"

"I'm sorry!" Angie whimpered.

"No more lying. Got it? Tell me the truth, and we'll work on whatever problem it is from there, ok?"

Angie nodded into his chest.

"How much is there left to do before you're caught up?"

"Four pages," Angie answered dully.

"Four?!" Metal pulled away a bit so he could look at her face again. "That seems like a lot. Don't you have time in class to get this stuff done?"

A flush worked its way up Angie's cheeks and she chewed her lips.

"I get distracted and don't do it during class."

"Distracted by what?"

Metal could see the way Angie debated pushing the question aside before she took what he said about telling the truth to heart and mumbled, "My imagination. Sometimes I…I pretend to be someone else and go on adventures in my head…during class…when I'm bored or I just…don't want to be there. Or sometimes I read when isn't looking."

"That does sound more fun than school work," Metal had to agree. "But it's getting you into trouble later in the real world when you could be going on real adventures."

Heaving a tired breath, Angie said, "I know."

Sensing he might be coming to the end of his rope with giving effective feedback here, Metal nudged Angie gently off his lap.

"Go get your homework. Let's see how much we can get done before dinner."

Doing as she was told, Angie slipped down, but she stopped before she went two steps.

"Daddy?" She turned those bloodshot Bambi eyes on him, blinking with a soft kind of trust now. "I love you."

The smile that broke the stern lines of his face came without warning and he replied warmly, "I love you too, little bear. Are we good? Nothing else is scaring you?"

Angie regarded him seriously before saying a little nervously, "What's my punishment?"

"It's finishing what you didn't get done and, you aren't going to like this, but it also means missing out on the climbing gym tonight. I was going to take you, but looks like we got things to take care of. We'll have to postpone climbing to another day."

He hated the bitter disappointment that crossed her face as she realized what she was missing out on because of her choices, but it was a lesson she needed to learn. To her credit, Angie took it like a champ. She blinked back another set of tears, but set her jaw and went to get her homework.

"Let's set up at the kitchen table," Metal said, getting up and heading for the fridge. The kid was exhausted and the only way he was going to get any work out of her was if he got her to eat something. The frozen casserole he popped in the oven to heat up wouldn't be ready for another hour.

He pulled some of the pre-prepped veggies and fruit out and tossed some on a plate along with her favored crackers. By the time he had a glass of water and a smaller glass of chocolate milk in hand, Angie had her books out.

Setting both cups next to her, he said with mild sternness, "Drink the water first, then you can have the other."

The look she gave him was comical. He never let her have chocolate milk before dinner.

"Unless you want me to take that away and drink it-"

"Thank you, Daddy!" Angie purposefully moved the cup of prized liquid out of what she supposed to be his reach and started drinking the water.

A small smile slid onto his face and he put the plate of food between them.

"Alright. Let's see what we're looking at. Division?"

"And multiplication," Angie told him with sad resignation, "And then there's word problems on the back, but I don't understand them."

"We got this, kid. Start with the ones you know."

"But, I have to go in order."

Metal made a face. "Says who?"

Angie blinked at him, "I…I don't know."

"Ok, so if there's no 'rule' that says you have to do these sheets in order, let's do all the ones you do know first!"

Encouraged, Angie grabbed her pencil and started hunting through the page, filling out the answer for all the five and two times tables.

Metal leaned forward on the table, settling for the long haul as Angie got to work.