All American Dad

Safe

Clint quickly explained everything that had happened to Laura. Laura sat on a chair crying while Clint wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"What's going to happen to Lillian if Steve is a fugitive?" Laura asked in between sobs.

"He's coming for her. He promised me that." Clint reassured her.

"He can't just take her on the run." Laura protested. "She's been through too much already."

"He will take care of it. He's not going to put her in any danger." Clint insisted.

"When is he coming back?" Laura asked nervously.

"Soon as he finds a safe place where he can settle down with her." Clint answered and got up. He walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. "He said it might only take him up to a month." Clint muttered as he grabbed an apple.

Laura rolled her eyes, got up, and paced back and forth in front of the table. "This isn't right. Lillian can't live like this."

"Got a better solution?" Clint sighed.

"She could stay with us." Laura smiled. "She fits in well, she gets along with the other kids, she already has a bed..."

"Laura." Clint shook his head sadly. "She belongs with Steve. He's her dad."

"But she's happy here." Laura protested. "She wouldn't have to worry about people hunting her down. She wouldn't have to worry about Steve leaving her again."

"Because he's already left her for far too long." Clint hugged his wife tightly. "I know you want to protect her, but being here isn't exactly safe either." He kissed her forehead and leaned to whisper in her ear. "She needs her father."

Laura sighed and sniffed. She glanced over Clint's shoulder. Her eyes met a row of pictures hanging on the wall. The children had painted them the night before. Lillian's was covered in red, white, and blue. A color scheme she always gravitated for. Her father's colors. The colors that made her feel at home. The colors that reminded her of her favorite person in the whole world. The person she cried for nights about because she didn't know where he went. The person she had no idea if he even loved her. The person she hoped would come back and hug her. The person that saved her that day she was abandoned. The person that showed her love when everyone she knew hated her.

Laura sobbed onto Clint's shoulder, and he held her tighter. "I just want her safe."