"When are they coming?"

"Soon."

"When is 'soon'?"

Metal drew a slow breath and pictured Angie's sweaty, terrified, hurting face in his mind before answering. They'd been home together for nearly a week now and while she was well enough for short walks outside around the block, she wasn't strong enough to do anything to expend her restless energy. That was coming out in other ways now and it was trying his patience.

"They said they would come as soon as they were done with work. That should be in the next hour."

Angie huffed and started to root through her lego bin again.

Metal could tell the kid was nervous and excited all at once about people coming to see them. He'd done his best to keep her happy and occupied, but there was only so much she could do right now. Baking, drawing, reading stories, playing games with Lego and making up stories together could only take them so far in a day. Then there were only so many times they could watch the same movies, and he wasn't ready to let her watch Star Wars yet because he wasn't convinced it was appropriate for her tender heart. That was a point of contention between them, although Angie took it as good a grace as she could. Metal had been forced into promising to re-consider at a later date when her bad dreams were back under control.

She'd been in his room the last four nights because of nightmares. He couldn't decide what was the better trade off; her sleeping through the night, dream free, but having multiple Disney songs permanently stuck in his head (to the point of knowing all the words), or her having a few more bad dreams and him getting woken up through the night all because she watched Star Wars. With the later option his mind would be free from 'Let it Go' and 'You're Welcome' spinning through his head constantly, but the former meant they were both sleeping well.

He wasn't accustomed to being 'dad' full time. Jason was supposed to be bringing his gear for him to clean, giving him something more to do at home. He loved his kid and he had another week off with her, he just hoped he managed to keep himself busy enough. Somehow he managed to do workouts at home, modified greatly to fit around Angie. He incorporated her into the line ups as best he could. Letting her count reps and hold a timer entertained her for a while. Then she would want to do something active too and get cranky because she couldn't so he'd have to think up little rehab workouts he'd gotten from physio over the years after injuries.

Her temper was showing more and more this last week. That was frustrating and amusing all at once. His therapist said it was a good sign. If she felt safe enough to show her bad moods, she felt secure in her relationship with him and viewed him as her safe place of unconditional acceptance. He wanted a second opinion on that one and was meaning to speak with Angie about talking to a therapist with him next week when she was more on the mend.

"Can you help me find another one of these?" Angie asked hopefully, big eyes tracking over the where he'd been brooding by the counter.

Obliging, Metal headed over to play Lego with her. Other than the break he'd had when Naima and Jameelah came over to 'play' a few days ago and to drop off Angie's homework, he'd been her only playmate and company. So far as he could tell, the kid didn't mind it and mostly neither did he. Anything to keep restlessness at bay.

"Did you finish those math questions this morning?" He asked as he picked through the bin with her, hunting for the tiny piece she wanted. Needle in a haystack. Maybe he should suggest adding ' 'search for the tiny lego piece amidst the multitudes of others'' to the list of training Green Team had to go through. Lord knew it took patience to do so.

When Angie didn't answer right away, Metal nudged her with his toe.

"Angie. Math?"

Humming while batting at his hand to stop him from sifting more Lego because she'd spotted a piece she wanted, Angie nodded seriously, "Uh huh. I finished it."

"Good."

Car doors slammed shut in the distance and Metal lifted his head.

"They're here!" Angie announced suddenly, hopping up from the couch as if to run to the door which definitely had the voices of her Uncles outside.

She stopped, second guessing herself after two steps.

"Go let them in." Metal encouraged with glinting amusement.

"Will you come with me?" Angie pleaded with a backward look, suddenly subdued and terribly shy.

"Yeah…what's this?" Metal pushed himself up, noting stiffness in his knees. He might have overdone leg day a bit. "Why are we shy?"

"I don't know…" Angie mumbled.

"You know they love you and like spending time with you, right?"

Angie nodded, but still reached for his hand, gripping it tightly as they went to greet their guests.

Metal was eager to see them. Bravo had been gone since the day at the hospital when Angie went into surgery. He wanted to make sure they were all alright and get a sense for how things went.

"Hey! There she is!" Sonny was bursting through the door first, loud as ever but seeming to be toning it back for the child's benefit. Turned out he did remember what Metal'd told them all about her getting overwhelmed by the noise of all of them together and her fears about being teased and them not liking her. "Hiya, Angie! How are you feeling?"

Tucking just a hair behind Metal's hip, Angie allowed a shy smile and answered the Texan, "Better. How are you?"

"Me?" Sonny grinned as he adjusted his cap over the half hidden cut along his browline. "I'm ready to play with Lego!"

"We got more!" Angie offered generously, not noticing the fresh injury. "I'm still building that one!"

"Is that a dragon!?" Brock asked, following where she pointed as he stepped aside to let Cerberus in. "Cool!"

"Cerberus!" Angie cried with obvious delight, popping out from behind her Metal and reaching out as the dog trotted up to her. She giggled when the animal licked her cheek.

"Annnnd the rest of us are chop liver, I see how it goes," Jason teased lightly. When Angie's face fell as she looked up at him, he hurried to reassure her. "That's alright, Ang. Cerb is the best of us, after all. We're used to it."

"Hi, Uncle Jason." Angie greeted, still unsure as she let her arms slip free of Cerberus's neck and she stood up properly again.

"Ignore him," Brock urged kindly, stooping down without a hint of hesitation to give Angie a hug. The little girl returned it with equal parts shyness and eagerness. "He's just jealous that everyone loves Cerb more than him."

"Well, I really can't compete with that tail," Jason sighed, pretending like he hadn't been feeling bad that he'd already set the sensitive little soul in front of him off a little. "How are you doing, Angie? You keeping that big, cranky dad of yours in line?"

"Oh, she keeps me in line," Metal grumbled while affording his daughter a small smile. "Turned me into a baker, a hairdresser and a Lego architect, all just to keep me out of trouble."

Angie's uncertainty slipped and she gave him a face that clearly said she thought he was being ridiculous as she declared frankly, "You don't get into trouble, Daddy!"

"I know! You keep me too busy!" Metal told her with growing warmth, momentarily forgetting his team. In the past few days the child was allowing for more and more frequent, lighthearted teasing on his part and seemed to take enjoyment in chastising him for being silly. "If I didn't have you I'd get up to all kinds of things that might get me in trouble."

Narrowing her eyes, Angie's mouth twisted as she considered the thought doubtfully.

"What kind of trouble?" She asked, drawing snickers from her Uncles.

"Oh…you've walked right into that one, Metal," Ray teased, bringing up the rear as Trent and Clay entered too.

Thankfully Clay was carrying an enormous, plush, stuffed bear. Probably the only time Metal was going to welcome seeing something so excessively large and fluffy come into his home.

Angie's eyes went huge with obvious delight as Clay approached with the stuffed animal.

"Found this guy all alone and thought he might need someone to take care of him!" Clay told her, his quieter demeanor shining bright and gaining him points right along with his choice of gift.

Wordless, Angie nodded, reaching for it as Clay passed it to her. It was nearly as big as her.

"Thank you, Uncle Clay!" She said, breathless as she squeezed the bear and peeked out from behind its ears at Clay.

Clay's ears went a subtle shade of pink and he smiled warmly, "Glad you can take care of him! He'd be lonely at my house!"

"What are you gonna call it?" Trent asked, not at all offended that he hadn't been greeted yet.

"Bombur." Angie answered without a hint of consideration.

Metal smothered a chuckle and gave a singular nod.

"Great name for a bear," He said.

Pleased, Angie turned those big brown eyes on him and asked, "Can I put Bombur in my room?"

He'd been around enough in the last while to know the second intention behind that question. Angie still pretended her stuffed animals could hear her and talked to them when she thought he wasn't listening. He had no doubt she meant to introduce her new bear to her friends.

"Be quick." He told her.

She scampered off to her room with Cerberus close on her heels.

For a moment he was alone with his team.

Sonny, Brock and Clay were already elbows deep in the Lego, unashamedly engrossed in building submarines, fighter jets and a fortress to hide them in.

"Bunch of kids." Metal muttered without any malice, shaking his head.

"She looks like she's doing well," Trent commented, reminding him that the last he'd seen of the kid was at the hospital.

"Yeah! Life's starting to come back. She's still pretty weak and tires easily, but it's coming along."

"Kids are resilient." Jason said, also watching the hall where Angie vanished and keeping his voice low. They'd all learned quickly that those little ears had a habit of listening in when they shouldn't be. "You've got, what, another week with her before you're back?"

"Yup."

"Not climbing the walls yet?" Ray asked.

"Not yet. You brought my gear, right?"

"That we did." Said Jason. "Miss you out there."

"Don't get sappy. It doesn't suit you. Besides," Metal tried not to bristle. "I'm where I'm needed most."

"Never said you weren't." Jason answered quickly, giving off an air of 'hands up, backing away'. "If you need more time with her-"

"Two is all I can do for now. Leaves room for more down the line."

"We'll make it happen-"

"I'll see where we're at the end of next week." Eyeing the way that his team was holding themselves, Metal added casually, "What have I missed? You guys look like hell."

"Trent jumped off a cliff!" Sonny told him brightly.

"More like fell." Trent muttered. "Thankfully into water."

"Clay got bit by a snake." Ray sighed, sounding for all the world like a tired mother.

"Sonny threw it at me!" Clay protested.

"It was in my boot!" Sonny shotback as if that fixed everything and Clay was overreacting.

"Brock took a lesson from your book and cut its head off with a fork," Jason told him with equal parts amusement and annoyance. "It was my fork. Took it right out of my hand. I'd been eating with it."

"So the usual then." Metal grumbled. "Bunch of knuckleheads- Angie I can see your shadow."

A guilty face peeked around the corner to the hall and Angie said earnestly, "I wasn't eavesdropping!"

"Uh huh? Then what were you doing?"

"Just standing!" Angie insisted, growing a touch bolder when she caught the lack of true reprimand in his tone. Those nervous movements shifted and she got hopeful. "Uncle Sonny could see me! And Uncle Clay looked right at me! It's not eavesdropping if people know you're there and it was hard to not overhear."

Well if she didn't have him there.

Ignoring the poorly stifled snickers disguised as coughs, Metal weighed out just how far he wanted to push this and if it was really worth upsetting his kid over. She had a point…

"Alright. Fair enough. Go play Lego with your Uncles. They need a lesson on better storytelling than just tactics."

"Are you coming?" Angie asked, all of the tension leaving her shoulders minus a flicker of worry in her face.

"Yup."

"Can we come too?" Uncle Jason asked, sensing Angie still hadn't exactly gotten past the last time they'd all been there and he'd gotten after Sonny for playing with Lego. Then he'd gone and put his foot in his mouth right off the start this time with the chop liver comment.

Angie accepted his request graciously and they all ended up building with her for nearly an hour. They conversed about as much as they could, leaving out pointed details and comments that told Metal all he needed to know without Angie overhearing something she shouldn't. If she clued in to them talking in 'code' she didn't show it. Instead she ended up sandwiched between Jason and Clay working on an elaborate underwater fortress complete with flowers and interior decorating. Angie was practical about it. Everyone had a bed and everyone had a cupboard and there was a kitchen and a bathroom. Sonny added the weapons and promised it was only for sharks.

After another hour Sonny, Brock and Angie went out for a walk with Cerberus. It was weird not going with them and Metal caught himself glancing at the door one too many times as he got a few more details about the last spin up.

Rough as it had been, he didn't regret his choice. His brothers were fine without him. His kid wouldn't have been.

"Angie back to school next week?" Clay asked curiously.

"If she's up to it." Metal answered. "I have a feeling she'll avoid it until she can't anymore."

"Oh?" Jason eyed him suspiciously, knowing there was way more to it than just a kid not wanting to go back to school.

"Bullies." Metall muttered. "Couple little snakes, keep gettin in her head. Parents have received several complaints, but nothing changes."

"Getting in her head?" Jason frowned. The man hated being the last to know things and he hated bullies more. "What do you mean getting in her head? Getting in her head about what?"

"Me, mostly. Comments about 'hope you're safe at home, Angie' and my personal favorite, 'your dad kills people for a living'."

"Shit! You have got to be kidding me-" Jason rubbed his chin and closed his eyes tight. "The poor kid."

"These those two that Naima mentioned to me?" Ray asked.

"Probably." Metal answered evenly.

"I had to punch my bullies." Clay said thoughtfully. "I guess that doesn't really go over well anymore, does it."

"Nope."

"You have taught her how to throw a punch though, right?" Trent asked seriously.

"Not yet. It's on the list."

"Good." Trent sat back and continued gravely, "She's enough like you that I don't see that little girl taking the abuse forever. She's gonna take a swing at them one of these days, you know that, right?"

"It's crossed my mind a few times. I'm not gonna punish her if she does take a swing. Hell, I'll get her ice cream if she does."

"Justttt…be careful with that one," Ray warned. "I taught Jameelah to punch a few years ago and she decked a kid in gym class for saying something mean to her friends. I wasn't exactly clear enough on the 'when this is appropriate' part of the lesson. We got in some pretty hot water over it."

Jason grinned, "Oh yeah! I remember that! That was awesome."

Ray snorted, "Maybe for you."

There was a commotion at the front door then and a short moment later Sonny waltzed through the door, ducking so he could fit with Angie perched on his shoulders. Her cheeks were rosie from the cold air and she was bright eyed, smiling even though she looked exhausted from the walk.

Metal didn't care if he came across as a mother hen. He was up and reaching for Angie, letting her slip backward off Sonny's shoulders into his arms instead and setting her on her feet delicately.

"How was the walk?" He asked, crouching in front of her, trying to get a better feel for how tired she was and what might be hurting.

"Good!" Angie told him happily, patting Cerberus as he trotted past. "I got all the way to the park before it started to hurt!"

"That's my girl," Metal offered his fist and she met the knuckle bump proudly. "You didn't over do it?"

"No…well…" Angie hesitated, clearly in deep mental debate with herself and prompting further questions.

"Are you hurting right now?"

"A little," Angie sighed, shuffling closer and half leaning into his shoulder. "I'm more tired than hurting. Uncle Sonny carried me back the whole way so I didn't push past it like I did the other day."

"Good. Thank you."

The evening wore on and before long Angie was headed to bed. By that point she had warmed up to everyone enough to want to stay up longer than she really should be, but Metal was just happy with the progress that he didn't want to discourage it, so he let her stay up.

It was Trent's lap she invited herself into above everyone else. She let Clay read to her for a bit until it became a competition between all the Uncle's passing the book around, taking turns and wanting to know who was better at reading. In the end, when she'd finished being entertained by their antics, Angie slipped from Trent's arms and went to her father instead.

She handed him the book while half rubbing her eye, saying sleepily, "They did a good job, but you still do it the best, Daddy."

"And here I thought I was out of a job," Metal answered half gruffly as he scooped her daintily up and let her snuggle in under his chin. He knew full well she had every intention of falling asleep there and he didn't mind one bit.

Angie didn't really answer, merely mimicking his wordless grumble by way of reply instead followed by a tiny huff of contentment when she was comfortable.

No one dared say a word to tease him or make fun of the big, bad, scary, eat your soul and bury you alive 'Full Metal' snuggling his little girl with all the tenderness in the world. Frankly, Metal didn't care if they did. Didn't bother him. He was still himself, kid or no kid.

For Angie, having her Uncle's over had been fun and utterly exhausting. She'd been so anxious the whole time, wanting to get along with them because she knew it was important to her dad. As time wore on, she found that anxiety lessened greatly, but they were still all somewhat unknowns and she was slow to fully trust them.

Uncle Trent and Uncle Brock probably had the largest portion of her trust these days. Uncle Ray was still somehow 'off limits' in her mind because he was Jameelah's daddy and she didn't want to intrude on that sacred ground. Uncle Clay and Uncle Sonny were worming their way into her heart by playing with her, but she still worried about them teasing her too much.

Uncle Jason was the most tricky right now because every time she saw him she got a flash in her mind of that moment in the hospital where she thought her dad was going to leave her and go with his team instead. Uncle Jason was in charge of the team. He must have called Daddy away from her, didn't he? And that had been scary. So very very scary even with Uncle Trent there.

Didn't Uncle Jason call Daddy away every time he got spun up?

The deepest question in her heart was 'when would her dad get called away again?'

She'd loved and trusted her Uncle Jason until recently. Now it was hard not to feel like he was an enemy, taking her only parent from her whenever he wanted.

At least that's how it felt.

Given the worries buried in her young mind, it wasn't surprising that she had a nightmare that night about Daddy going back to work.

When she woke Angie was sure she hadn't called out, but Scott came across the hall anyway.

He didn't say anything when he saw her sitting up in her bed, wide awake and watching him enter the room. Instead he crossed the floor with a steady, measured pace, and nudged her to move over when she didn't speak either.

Only when his back was settled against the headboard and Angie was tucked in with her face buried in his chest did Scott murmur, "Want to talk about it?"

The lump in Angie's throat grew and she shook her head. She didn't want to tell him yet. They'd been doing so well and it would spoil everything and who knew how long they had left-

Uh oh. That thought made the tears worse.

"Angie…" There was a soft, growling note to the coaxing. "Come on, little bear. What's going on?"

Well. Perhaps she could just tell him a little of it and not the part about being mad at Uncle Jason for always taking her dad away from her.

Drawing a shaking breath in a feeble attempt to calm herself, Angie whispered, "I don't want you to go back to work."

The thumb rubbing circles on the back of her neck slowed to a near stop before Scott inhaled deeply and resumed.

"I don't want to be away from you either, kid, but we both know I have to go back to work soon."

Lower lip trembling, Angie managed the rest of her confession through growing moisture, "I miss you when you're gone and I don't want everything to end! I want to be with you ."

Scott didn't answer really. He just shifted his arms so she was enveloped closer and seemed to brood while his steady heartbeat lulled her back toward sleep even as small sobs and hiccups still shook her body.

Finally, he spoke again.

"We may not be home all day together, day after day, like we are now, but nothing is going to end, Angie. We're still going to keep doing things together, learning and growing. I'm still going to make you drink your water and get after you for climbing the furniture and leaving your Lego out, we're still going to go climbing when your homework is done, we'll still bake and draw, and I'll still read to you. We'll go on adventures and so much more. Me going back to work isn't the end, kid. I promise. I love my job, but you're my whole world. Nothing will change that now, got it?"

"I don't like when you're gone." Angie mewed. "I don't want you to-to be deployed!"

"That's not for a bit yet-"

"Jameelah says you're gone for months! "

"Angie, that's not something you need to worry about right now-"

"I want you here! "

A note of impatience slipped in as Scott said a little more forcefully, "I am right here !"

Small though it was, Angie shut down at the hint of irritation, saying nothing more and crying instead with forcibly held in sobs.

Scott sighed and leaned his head back with a soft thunk.

"Deployment isn't something we can solve tonight and we both need some sleep, kid. Let's solve one problem at a time. We've got time yet before I go back to work and plenty of time before we get deployed after that. Right now, just try to go back to sleep, alright? I've got you, and I love you."

Angie didn't agree at all with her fathers reasoning or logic, but she didn't want to make him mad. She could handle his bouts of irritation during the day, but at night she didn't have the strength.

As if sensing it, Scott rubbed a soothing circle on her back and hushed her.

"We're good, little bear. I'm just tired. We'll talk about all this later, I promise. Close your eyes. We got an early start tomorrow if we're gonna get those extra chores done at the Perry's."

Oh yeah. She forgot about that.

Huffing out a wet sigh, Angie reached blindly for her tissue box so she could clean her face. Her short arm couldn't reach so Scott grabbed it for her instead.

"Relax, listen to the rain." Her dad tugged her blanket up around her shivering shoulders and then started snagging small strands of her hair, inspecting how well the braids he put in her hair earlier that dad held up. Satisfied, he let them drop and get more comfortable, presumably closing his eyes as well as he slumped down to rest his head on the new, large, plush stuffed bear that was serving as his pillow.

Angie did as she was told, unhappily shoving aside her worries and settled for the long road back to sleep. After a while of trying to distract herself from her deeper torments, Angie had a question flickered into her mind and she needed an answer to it.

"Daddy?"

"Hm." Scott grunted more than hummed, indicating he was half asleep again.

"Daddy? Have you ever been skydiving?" Angie asked softly, half lifting her head.

Scott's reply was gravelly.

"Several times. Why?"

"Because I want to go skydiving."

"Really."

"Yeah!"

"We'll talk about it. Go to sleep."

"I want to skate too. I don't know how and I want to. Do you know how?"

"Yes. I will teach you. Got to sleep."

"Wh-"

"Angela you're pushing it."

That warning growl wasn't harsh, but it clearly communicated to Angie that she was nearing the end of his patience.

"Sorry, Daddy."

"Save the questions for the morning."

"I'll forget them then." Angie mumbled under her breath as she resettled her head.

Scott didn't answer and Angie dutifully tried to fall asleep, but instead of putting questions to rest, more crept in from all sides.

Some of them were ones that had been lurking for weeks. Since before she was in the hospital.

The question of her dad's drinking habits was still haunting her and she hadn't had the courage to ask.

Wiggling her toes, Angie mentally scolded herself for thinking about it right now. Obviously now wasn't a good time to bring it up and she was pretty sure Daddy was sleeping already.

"Angie if you don't stop moving-"

"Sorry!"

"What's gotten into you? This isn't like you."

"I don't know! My brain just won't be quiet!"

A long suffering inhale and exhale caused her head to rise and fall where it was resting and she felt his scruff catching on her hair at the top of her head.

"Alright." He rumbled tiredly. "What's rattling around in that head of yours."

After a long debate, Angie's little voice whispered softly, "Daddy? Are you still awake?"

She almost hoped he wasn't anymore.

"Uh huh," Scott answered, his voice vibrating under her ear. "What's on your mind?"

Unsure and a little worried, but deciding she couldn't stop thinking about it until she had an answer, Angie's voice confided into the darkness.

"Can…can I ask a question?"

"Is it keeping you awake?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then ask."

"Do…do you get drunk when you drink whisky?"

Instantly alert, Scott went tense and his head lifted off the pillow a little.

"When? When I drink it here at home sometimes?"

Angie's voice was small when she answered him. "Yeah."

"No. Never. Not since you came to live with me and especially not since you told me about being scared by it."

"Ok." Relief flooded through Angie and she practically melted into him further.

"You thinking I was?" Scott asked after another heavy pause.

"Maybe a little. Heard Uncle Sonny mention you really liked it and…I don't know."

"Thought we talked about it and you knew that you were safe."

Guilt blossomed at her suspicion and fear, Angie felt bad over the confusion and possible disappointment in her father's tone.

"I'm sorry-" Impossible as it seemed, that voice got smaller yet.

"No. If we need to talk about it again, which we do, then we talk about it again. What's got you spooked?"

There was no getting out of it now. She may as well tell him the truth and be able to go back to sleep.

"Find that glass sometimes…the whiskey glass." Angie whispered. "But…but I never see you drink it, so…so I thought…what if…what if you drink it and then what if-"

Angie broke off, uncomfortable and struggling to explain the dark worries in her heart.

"Angie, I have a bit sometimes, like we talked about, but never ever enough to get me drunk and never enough that I can't take care of you properly."

"Ok."

"Would it make you feel better if you saw me drink it?"

"I don't know."

"Are you worried I'm not telling you the truth?" Scott pressed further, something shifting in his tone so that it was almost urgent.

Angie shrugged, whispering, "No…I just…I don't know what you being drunk would look like, and what would happen if you did drink enough and what if- what if you got drunk by mistake and…and…what would happen then?"

Completely serious, Scott answered, "Ok, so how about we talk about what that would look like and how much I would need to drink to get drunk, and then we talk about all the many reasons why that is not going to happen."

"Ok."

"Alright. So, first off, the amount I have some nights after you're asleep is one small drink. That's all. It would take several big ones for me to start feeling like I was drunk, mostly because…well because I'm a big guy and I have a ridiculously high tolerance for alcohol. After that, if I drank more, especially in a short space of time, I would get drunk. For me, depending on the environment, I don't change much. I talk a bit more if it's the right group of people, laugh more, make stupid jokes, but mostly I've been told I'm not much different than what I usually am. Now…if I get very very drunk, I turn into an as- I mean- I turn into not a nice guy. I pick fights and get into trouble and that's why I don't do that anymore, so you don't have to worry about that one. I'm not him anymore."

Angie wasn't sure how she felt about all that, but it was comforting that he didn't change much until he had a lot to drink. Angie wondered what would have to happen for him to do that and 'be that guy' again.

"Angie."

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were ok and if you had any more questions."

"Oh…um…no."

"Are you sure?"

Better to leave some for another day. Asking one was hard enough and she was always worried what answers she might get.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright. Would you please go back to sleep?"

Angie burrowed in and tucked her nose down with a contented sigh, showing how amiable she wanted to be and satisfied at least in part with his answer about the drinking at home question.

Oh, but there were so many more to ask.