#20 Trying to Work Things Out

"Okay dad, I think we found a great spot," Megan told her father as she examined the flat patch of grass before them. It was the last week of May and in light of the city almost being destroyed (as well as almost losing his daughter), Chief Cruz had made the decision to spend some quality time with her. He had put in a leave of absence to take a month off from police work as the Buddy Guardian incident gave him serious cause to think about his actions. Megan was looking forward to this trip too as she hoped this time could provide a fun break from the daily reminders the city gave her of that night.

Currently, the two of them were going to spend a few days in Kinado forest, a two-hour drive from San Fransokyo where'd they get to do camping, kayaking, hiking, the works. (They would have probably done Muirahara Woods if not for Bessie). So, after they packed and purchased the necessary supplies, they drove north in the family SUV to their destination; Diego even let his daughter have control of the radio, meaning a lot of pop songs he never heard of got played.

From there, the Cruzes had simply pulled up to the campsite, checked in with the registration desk and drove to one of the available spots. They parked on a site about 400ft away from the entrance, where it was mostly grass with virtually no rocks and five towering maples off to the right. It also already had a fire pit built from the previous campers as evident by the large ring filled with ashes and lined with chunks of granite, limestone and discarded bricks. What made their choice most appealing to Megan though was that it was about 200ft away from the river that laid along a rocky beach. The winding stream was fortunately located about 7ft below their elevated campsite, meaning they had a little safety net should the water level rise.

Megan took in a deep breath of the fresh air when he heard a clatter behind her and turned to see her dad struggle to get their bags out. "Don't worry. I'm coming," the young reporter informed the older one as she reached up to grab the tackle box that would have fallen to the ground if not for Diego's face keeping it back.

"Thanks sweetie. I can pack like a champ, but pull the wrong thing and it comes tumbling down," he said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, maybe start with the lighter stuff on top first, then work your way down," Megan lightheartedly teased as she proceeded to grab the floaties and the tent bag that were also trying to fall out. Once they were removed, her dad was able to pull their duffel bags filled with clothes and toiletries out, followed by setting them on the ground. He then turned towards his daughter, smiled and leaned over to give her a big hug.

"I'm so glad that we get to do this. It's been so long since we've taken a trip," Diego stated as he embraced Megan a little tighter.

She simply said "Yeah" and returned the hug too, but she couldn't help but wonder, It has been a long time, like two years. This trip honestly seemed a bit sudden, but I can't really complain. I need to take a breather from everything; he's probably still feeling a bit overprotective. I just hope he didn't bring me out here because he doesn't want me to feel neglected since him and Cass have started going out again. Both thoughts made her wince for different reasons, but her dad couldn't see it.

A few seconds later, Diego released his daughter and gave a cough before saying, "Well uh, how about we get everything set up? Don't want to put the tent up in the dark." He then punctuated his sentence with a small nervous laugh like he had been attempting a joke that clearly didn't land. Megan just gave a headshake and a sly smile as she reached for the tent bag and replied, "Yeah dad."

Although it was around 4pm now and was low 80s at the moment, there was periodic cloud cover and trees to provide shade. They pulled out the various rods and the rolled-up blue and grey rectangular tent as well as a large silver tarp to set the tent on top of. The chief then went back to the car to fetch the hammer for putting the stakes in while Megan got their temporary housing laid out on the giant plastic canvas. The young reporter proceeded to feed the rods through the designated holes and was getting ready to prop it up from behind.

"Don't worry about that Megan. I got it. Just go put the two other poles in and I'll get these pesky stakes put in," he urged as he was already bending down to hammer them in.

Megan raised an eyebrow and merely replied, "Okay." She did as she was told and within 30 seconds was done, which was quickly followed by Diego pounding the bent metal pieces in. His daughter went around to the other side to help get the long rods upwards and bend them so their tent would get the necessary elevation it needed. With some effort and a small grunt, she managed to get one up, with her dad getting there a minute later. She then worked to hole the second one down towards the ground so it could be secured.

"Careful now," Diego warned her as he began to use the old tool again, clearly not wanting her to get hurt by it.

"Dad, my hands are a foot away," she pointed out to him in a flat tone and to which he replied, "Oh, uh sorry. Just wanted to be sure." He then took a few swings with the hammer and when done, wiped the small bit of sweat off his forehead. "Okay. How about collecting some kindling while I finish unpacking the car? Sound good?" he suggested with a smile.

"Can do," Megan answered promptly, feeling glad to actually have a tasked. She only was able to get 10 steps away when her dad added, "Make sure to stay where I can see you."

"Yes dad," she answered with a slightly irritated sigh before walking off again. The 15yr old started scouring the grass patch for loose sticks that had fallen, preferably older and drier ones. Megan was tempted a few times to slide down to walk along the greenish-blue babbling river just for fun, but decided against it. We'll be going down there soon enough anyway; besides, dad seems to be in overprotective mode again, even though I thought the point of coming out was to get away from it all. But… She trailed off as she found herself realizing that she couldn't totally get away from her problem, not really. I mean, he said he was sorry and I know he meant it, but can I really say I've forgiven him completely? I love him and all, but Trina only got that far because of my dad's blind determination; but then, doesn't that mean I'm doing what he did with blaming superheroes for supervillains being around? It still wasn't that long ago and ugh…that hard, cold grip of Trina's around my chest. Megan shook her head to try and dispel the memories and anxiety in her mind, but being the intelligent young woman that she was, she knew deep down it wouldn't go away, not unless she actually confronted her dad instead of acting like it was okay (which she had been doing up to this point).

It's tough when you know what to do, but don't want to do it. Ugh. She then shook her head with a tired smile as she thought, I'm sure if Baymax were here, he would have told me not to avoid talking to my dad in the first place. I just, well, this isn't a normal thing a teen should have to talk about, so maybe that's why it's hard? She proceeded to sigh in defeat at having no other way but through in order to resolve this. I'll talk to him when I get done. Maybe then I'll find the right words. Megan then returned to her task, grateful that she had been facing the water so it looked like she was just gazing at it. The supersleuth proceeded to walk over to the other vacant campsites, collecting twigs and decent sized branches as she went; Megan even got lucky and found a thick one left by one of the firepits, clearly being used to stoke the burning wood.

Once she had her arms full (with the big stick balanced on top), she headed back towards their place to find Diego searching through the cooler. Her dad then fished around for a couple water bottles and placed one in the cup holder of her purple propped-up camping chair.

While he took a swig from his bottle, Megan dumped her kindling next to the fire circle (where her dad had unloaded some fire wood they already bought). "Mission accomplished," she proclaimed before walking over to get a drink as her dad said with a proud smile, "That's my girl. I'll get started on the fire and you can find our stuff for cooking dinner. What sounds good? Hot dogs, burgers, just skip to eating the s'mores?"

The young reporter gave a small laugh, then drank from her water bottle; 10 seconds later, she answered, "Umm, hot dogs sound yummy."

Diego proceeded to set his water into his dark green camping chair and rubbed his hands together. "Great! Buns should be in the blue bin with all the other dry things, but don't take the dogs out until I get the fire going."

Megan rolled her eyes as she smiled again at her dad needing to tell her stuff when she helped pack. His daughter then went to open up the bin and quickly found the buns on top next to the graham crackers and marshmallows. She closed the lid after retrieving the desired item and sighed. Come on. Now or never. It may be uncomfortable, but you've done braver things than this, Megan reminded herself. The 15yr old then turned towards her dad, who had his back to her as he laid the kindling down and began dousing it with lighter fluid. She set the buns on top of the bin and slowly walked to her dad, making herself so quiet that she could hear him striking some matches and tossing them into the pit, causing a whoosh as the flames spread to everything inside. Diego started to place some chunks of wood on top/over to the side of the smoldering twigs when Megan spoke up.

"Hey dad," she simply said as she self-consciously gripped her arm.

"Oh!" the chief gasped in surprise as he let the log fall and turned around. "You scared me. You find the stuff okay?"

"Yeah, I did, or at least the buns; I didn't bother looking for the hot dogs. Anyway, dad…I know you don't want to talk about it and I know I've been avoiding it too, but things are not fine for you or me," she admitted as she stared him down with all her willpower.

Her dad's face fell as he closed his eyes in guilt and looked away with the fire starting to crackle behind him. "I know you said you were sorry and I believe you, but trying to cater to me or being overprotective isn't going to erase the past and I can't really enjoy this trip while this is nagging on my mind. Now, here," she bluntly told him as she took his hands and helped him up before leading him to his chair, both ignoring the hearth they started.

Once they both sat down, she gently stated, "Let's talk." Diego was still silent as he faced Megan while on the verge of tears, clearly replaying almost losing her so many times in his head.

After 10 seconds of no speaking, the young reporter realized she'd have to go first. She took in a deep breath and sighed before telling him, "Dad, I was so scared when I got captured; I can still feel Trina's cold grip as she carried me away like I was nothing. I struggled and tried to get free but couldn't, no matter how hard I fought and refused to give up. What made things worse though dad, was the fact I could see the fear in other people too as her robotic army marched along." She paused as the echoes of the people's screams and thudding of all the Buddy Guardians' feet traveling down the streets entered her mind, making her briefly shudder.

Megan let out another deep sigh and continued. "I'm sorry dad for the loss you felt when Grandpa Gabriel died, but I almost lost you because you let that pain and prejudice towards superheroes allow a supervillain like Trina to get as far as she did. Now, I'm not going to blame you for her choices, but I just wish you would have listened to me or my friends when we told you the Buddy Guardians were dangerous," she confessed with a mix of anger and sadness as tears now started to form.

"Yes, superheroes can't save everyone, but getting in their way and hunting them down like you did was reckless and cruel. My friends went into hiding with the constant fear of being arrested and couldn't stop some of the criminals because of it. You were so focused on the danger you thought they posed that you didn't bother to consider all the good they've done," Megan passionately spoke, making her dad look more somber as the weight of the words hit him uninterrupted.

"Dad, look. There will always be someone trying to get a leg up in this world through illegal means and some don't care who they hurt to get what they want. So please dad, promise me you'll never do something like this again. I don't want you to be the villain of this story because you didn't bother to see what damage your actions could cause. I love you and I know you're better than that," the brave 15yr old requested as some hot tears started to stream down her cheeks while she reached out to touch his arm in an effort to make her father say something.

Diego lowered his head and was silent for a few seconds after Megan finished her piece, but tears started to roll off his face and onto his lap as the quiet sobbing began. He wiped them as best as he could with his arm and stifled a sniffle as he looked at his daughter with red eyes. "I'm so sorry Megan. I know no amount of words will make up for what I've done, especially to you. I thought I would be keeping you safe, but you're right. I almost made you feel the pain of losing a parent or worse because I refused to admit I could be wrong." He then wiped away some more tears while Megan did the same, both unable to contain the emotional pain.

"I keep replaying the moment you were taken over and over in my head because I can't escape the reality that I helped create the robotic horror that almost got you and everyone else killed. God, I should have just listened to Hiro when he came to warn me; it wouldn't have done any harm and it would have saved the nightmare and destruction," the chief scolded himself as he lowered his head again and shook it.

The young reporter twisted her lip as she thought of the next thing to say. After a few seconds, she interrupted her dad's downward spiral by telling him, "Dad, I can't change the past any more than you can. You, me and however many people affected by this have to work through it as best as we can. I'll still probably be seeing Trina's sneering face for weeks and you may be living with the guilt for who knows how long, but we've got to rise above those feeling in the end." She proceeded to take a deep breath as she wiped her own tears away and informed him, "For now though, we've at least done the first step by acknowledging things aren't alright. I'm sorry if you weren't ready to hear it dad, but I want us to work our way back to a healthy place; maybe it'll never be the same as it was before, but just because it's different, doesn't make it bad or dysfunctional." She then mustered up a small smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder, making him face her again. "And you know, I'm still here if you do need to talk it out again; there's also no shame in admitting you need help. I'm for sure using my support network when we get back. I love you dad, and I hope one day we both can enjoy things again without the pain getting in the way."

Diego stifled another sniffle as he greeted her with a small smile too before reaching over and pulling her in for a big hug. They both closed their eyes as they felt the strong embrace of the other. "I'm so proud of you Megan and I love you too. I can never say enough times how truly sorry I am, but I promise to never put you or anyone in that position again. You clearly have good judgement when it comes to friends and doing what's right." Her father then let her go so he could look at her with his still tear-streaked face. "Megan, I was wrong. No way around it. You mean the world to me and I will spend every day if I have to in order to earn your faith and trust in me again." He proceeded to pull her in again for a comforting hug as another round of tears streamed down their cheeks, both of them already feeling better despite the sorrow that remained within.

After about 10 seconds of awkward embracing in their camping chairs, they let go and stared at one another for a moment before the sound of burning wood crackling caused them to turn towards the fire. While they were talking, the logs had managed to make some decent flames as the hot orange embers along the bottom glowed; they had also failed to notice the sky changing to pink and orange hues as twilight began. Megan then looked at her dad again as she wiped her face clear with her sleeve and said, "Well, it seems you did a good job with the fire dad. You still good with hot dogs?"

The Chief let out a small chuckle as he stood up and answered, "Of course. I'll go get the roasting sticks if you want to get them and the condiments out."

"No problem," she replied before standing up herself. The two then got to work on their tasks, each smiling to themselves as they felt the relief that can come from confession; true, things weren't 100%, but it was at least the beginning of something. Now, they could begin to actually enjoy their trip, starting with cooking dinner.

NOTES

I hope you found the conversation poignant and didn't think I let Chief Cruz get off easy when he did do a lot of damage, but I still felt there could be hope for the two with time.

The next story will be about Momakase learning about her family swords. O_O