"Are you mad at me?" She was sitting in the passenger seat of her own car, looking over at her father, who was trying to concentrate on the road.
Stevie had a couple of glasses of wine towards the end of the evening, after Jess had caught her and Lindsey kissing in the kitchen and even though she was fine, it was Barbara that insisted that her father drive her home and Lindsey follow behind to bring him back... She was oblivious to what had happened, but she really wanted the two of them to have a moment to talk, so that was what seemed right. And no one dare argue with Barbara...
"Have I ever been mad at you before?" Jess had been totally silent for the first ten minutes of the ride, so she was slightly surprised that he even replied.
She sank down in her seat, chewing on her lower lip as her eyes instantly started to gloss over. "You should have been sometimes." Stevie admitted, tilting her head to the side to look over at the man that had always protected her...
He kept all of her secrets, no questions asked, which is something she had never, ever taken for granted.
Jess's eyes stayed locked on the LA traffic, heart sinking into the pit of his stomach as he suddenly felt bad for not welcoming her at dinner the way he should have. "It's not easy being mad at your children, Stephanie." He told her as he finally glanced over at her, but only for a brief moment... The look in her eyes was enough to break his heart.
She brought her hand up to her face to wipe away some of the tears as she nodded her head softly. "I've never thanked you for all that you've done for me, dad." She whispered, wanting to reach out for his hand but a little too nervous that he'd pull away. "Between raising Penny and helping me..." she reminded him, even though it was impossible for him to have forgotten.
On the night she left, he had told Barbara that he was playing cards at the neighbors, but he actually helped Stevie get a car back to California and then once she got there, he arranged for someone to pick her up a few days later. He had always known that she'd bought the house in the canyon and he'd visited a couple of times throughout the years... Mainly around the time she was in and out of rehab.
Jess had never approved of her choices, but as her father, he had to help her- he couldn't just sit back and not. So, even though she definitely struggled at times, he never let her get too far out of sight. In fact, he was always trying to give her things to look forward to and keep her involved, even at a distance.
There were many times when Penny had big events at school or in her dance classes, he would call Stevie to let her know, hoping she would make the trip out. And he always mailed her pictures, keeping her updated on all of Penny's firsts...
He tried his best and Stevie was always beyond grateful for that.
"You do what you have to," he shrugged lightly, starting to feel a little sentimental as well, even though that wasn't his intention. "That's what it's like to be a real parent." He knew that was a little low, but just because he wasn't mad at her, didn't mean he couldn't be a little annoyed with her.
Stevie took that with a grain of salt, mainly because she knew that he didn't mean to offend her... He was just having a moment and she understood that. "Are you going to tell Penny about Lindsey and I?" She wondered a moment after a short silence had come and gone.
"Why would I tell Penny something like that?" He scoffed, shaking his head lightly as he shifted in the set to get more comfortable, even though he wasn't sure it was totally possible when that was their topic of conversation.
"I don't want her to be upset with him, that's all." Stevie held up a hand in defense, trying to assure her father that she wanted what was best for the two of them too.
Jess paused for a moment, taking that time to think about how he wanted to reply before he did so. "Penny is our girl..." he told her in a more gentle tone of voice. "Your mother and I have spent the last two decades doing whatever we needed to make sure she had the best life and never lacked anything." He added, not trying to make her feel bad about it, but also trying to explain as best he knew how. "But you're also my girl..." he nearly whispered that as he looked back over at her, this time cracking a little smile.
Stevie had always been his pride and joy, even at her worst... She was the center of his world from the moment she'd entered it and nothing she did was ever bad enough to not want to protect her too.
"And I would never do anything to hurt either of you, so no..." he was being kinder- already aware of the fact that being harsh with her never worked that well. "You don't have to worry about me telling anyone anything that you wouldn't want them to know." He assured as he felt his vision begin to blur as well.
He had missed her more than words could express, which is why he didn't even try to.
"I love you, dad." It felt like it had been ages since she'd said that and in all reality, it had.
He was the one that took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I love you, TeeDee." He rarely ever called her that- it was more of Barbara's thing, but he was feeling a little extra emotional that night. "But you and Lindsey can't hurt each other again." Jess was constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place... Or stuck between Stevie and the rest of the world.
He was always on her side, no matter what though.
Her head fell back against the seat, still staring over at him as she cried. "I'm getting married to another man in three weeks..."
