The Not So Lonely Lone Wanderer Book 1

Chapter 13- The Beginning of the End

There was little sound in the small set of rooms, just a whirr of the fans and the occasional odd, nearly subliminal noise of the headphones in Arianna's ears. Head down over a book, feet bouncing in time to whatever she was listening too, she looked younger than her soon to be seventeen years as she sprawled on her bed in a tank and sleep shorts. Long legs gleamed a dusky gold in the dim light as her father observed for a moment, amazed that this was his child. When had she grown-up this much, so much like her mother it brought her loss up in an ache that never seemed to lessen. In fact it got worse as she grew, as she began drifting farther afield and so subtly that James hadn't realized till now.

Knocking on the doorjamb, he slipped in and sat next to her on the bed, fingers tucking her hair back on one side so he could see her profile.

Wide eyes looked up at the touch, their depths filled with warmth when they saw who it was. "Hey dad. You done in the lab early tonight." Her fingers dropped the earbud onto her book, then snagged his hand to rub her cheek on it. "Everything okay?"

"We ran the one round of tests and figured the next one could wait till morning." Leaning in a bit, he peered at the book with a growing look of surprise. "Population Genetics? Do I want to know?"

Arianna laughed and shook her head. "I hear that all the time. You probably don't want to know. I think I've tapped all the other books in the vault library, figured it was time to finish off the textbook section."

Ruffling her hair, her comment brought a more serious expression. "Arianna, about those two men you spend time with...."

She cut him off with an upraised hand, swinging feet around so she sat cross legged on the bed next to him. "Come on, dad, not again. We've gone over this about a dozen times."

James nodded and grabbed the hand, closing his fingers around it so she couldn't pull free. "And I'm still not sure it's the best thing for you darling. There are others your own age..."

"Like Trent?" Arianna snorted in irritation. "Dumb ass grinding his pelvis into my ass at every opportunity? Ooo, or Wally, Paul Jr. or maybe Butch? The choices are...." She looked around, needing inspiration and fell on the text. "They're genetically thin on the ground and you know it. Both Chris and Hunter are different. They don't care that I'm nerdy or bored with things that most of the residents find enthralling...." She paused while her father listened intently. "They just accept me as me. Like you do, and Stanley and Jonas and Amata..." Her voice trailed off.

Sighing, he pulled his daughter into his arms, cradling her like he had when she was younger. It had been a long time since they just sat down and spent time together that wasn't in a lab or over a hurried meal so he could get back to work as soon as possible. Realization began to dawn, late but clear. James left her to her own devices much too often and while the independence and capable way she handled things had always impressed him, it left her with gaps in her learning that had nothing to do with intelligence and much too much free time. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I let you muddle through too much on your own. You struggling now is because I didn't do my job as a father. I should have spent more time with you. We should do more together......"

Leaning back, she halted the flow of words to place a kiss on his chin, affection in the expression and tight hug bestowed on him. "Daddy, you did fine. I'm just a little different then the other girls. And you have to admit, way less annoying."

James relished the closeness, cuddling her a bit tighter before reluctantly releasing her with a chuckle. "Yes, less annoying." He kissed her one last time before standing and walking towards the exit, stopping at the door with an ironic smile. "You did it again, distraction and redirection."

Back on her stomach, Arianna grinned back at him. "Yeah, you know for a super smart doctor type you do fall for it on a regular." Pausing before tucking the earbud back in, she favored him with a loving smirk. "Love you daddy."