A/N — March is traditionally my busiest month at work. This year I was lulled into a false sense of calm and then BAM, it all hit. Sorry for the delays in posting. xoxo — kals

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Andrea, Tex, and Kat

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"Dad, can I ... "

Andrea's eyes shot open at the sound of a familiar voice, her brain taking a second longer to catch up, which Andrea supposed was why she was so startled by the shriek that came out of Kat's mouth. The two of them stared at each other, neither speaking, for the additional five seconds it took for Tex to bolt upright. Andrea grabbed the blanket just in time. Bad enough for Kat to catch them in bed together. She hardly needed to know that they were both naked.

"Kat? Why the hell?" Tex demanded.

Kat's eyes bulged. "You're asking me that? You tell me what the hell is going on. When did you and Andrea start ..." Kat stopped, clearly unable to force her mouth to say the words. Instead she waved her hand. "What the hell is this?"

Tex's head swiveled as he, apparently for the first time, realized that Andrea was there. She grimaced, giving him a shrug. This was hardly the first time one of them didn't quite make it back to their own room. Frankly, after the first few weeks, she woke up next to Tex more often than not. At first, she justified it on the grounds that his mattress was better, before admitting to herself that she preferred sleeping with someone else. Besides, it seemed relatively low risk. Kat wasn't usually awake until at least nine and a few times they even risked a morning quickie while she was in the house.

Andrea had been pleasantly surprised to learn that, once properly trained, Tex was capable of getting her motor running in eighteen minutes.

"Dad?" Kat demanded.

Tex's eyes bounced from Andrea to Kat and back and she was pretty sure that she detected some panic in his face. Sighing, Andrea felt around for some article of clothing and, settling on Tex's shirt, pulled it over her head. Feeling slightly better now that she wasn't completely naked, Andrea sat up. "Kat, I'm sorry that we shocked you. Your father and I ..." she paused, before deciding that sixteen was old enough for a frank discussion. "Your father and I enjoy each other's company and, yes, that sometimes means we have sex."

"This isn't the first time?" Kat shrieked, the pitch in her voice continuing to increase.

Tex shot Andrea a look that she interpreted to convey annoyance, which she returned with one of her own. If he didn't like how she was handling this, he could handle it himself. When Tex remained silent, Andrea continued. "I do not intend to discuss the specifics with you, Kat. Just like I don't intend to ask you the specifics of your relationship with Ray." That sat for a minute, before Kat looked away with a huff. "What I will say is that your father and I are both adults. Neither one of us is married or seeing anyone else. There is no reason why we shouldn't be having sex."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Kat demanded, and this question was definitely directed at her father. "How long has this been going on?"

Tex hesitated for only a second. "Since January."

Gasping, Kat folded her arms over her chest, and Andrea thought that there were tears in her eyes. "You said no more secrets. You promised."

Andrea's eyes swung to Tex, processing this new information which might — probably would have — changed how she approached the topic. But Tex had finally come to at least part of his senses. Plus, while Andrea was talking, he also managed to wiggle on his pants under the blankets, a feat that Andrea found impressive. Now he walked towards Kat, stopping an arm's length away, as if waiting for her to move. "Now Katie, I know what I promised, but this is different. You knew that Andrea and I were close. I never hid that. I just didn't think you wanted to know the details."

Kat stood, not moving, then finally nodded. "I guess that's true. Ray asked me once, if the two of you had a thing. I told him that he was high." Sniffling, Kat didn't notice the gasp of surprise that Andrea let slip. Ray asked? The kid was almost as oblivious as Miller. If he had noticed... But Kat was still talking. "But you are always hanging out and texting each other when you're not. I did think it was strange when you started going to the grocery store together. I guess I didn't want to see it. Because it was sort of like ... Andrea was replacing mom."

"No, oh god no." Andrea couldn't stop the words from bursting out, and she scrambled out of the bed despite not having found her underwear. She stopped next to Kat. "I will never replace your mother, Kat. Not for you, and not for your dad. I promise."

Kat gave her a watery smile. "I guess if you and Dad want to get married, that wouldn't be so bad."

Andrea hoped that Kat missed the way she and Tex both stiffened at that announcement. Deciding that, at this moment, three was definitely a crowd, Andrea scooted around Kat to the door. "I'll give the two of you some time."

Tex nodded absently, but his focus was on his daughter as she finally took a step forward and the two wrapped their arms around each other. As Andrea hurried down the hall to her room and shower, she tried to wrap her mind around what just happened.

What the hell jar of worms had she opened?