The man met me at the door to the car. "My name's John and I work with Mac," he introduced as he shook my hand. He was a tall, well-built man who was clearly ex-military. He just had that build and a grit about him.
"I'm Hannah. Sorry if I seem scared. I've kind of been through a lot," I replied.
"I know. Mac warned me you'd probably be a little hesitant. We'll get you home and Mac should be there soon," he assured me nicely.
"Can we make one stop on the way? Please?"
"Where? Mac had strict orders." He was right, but I really wanted to make a stop.
"The grocery store or convenience store. This sounds stupid but Mac saved my life and is giving me somewhere to stay. I owe him something. I figured who doesn't like ice cream and it's something nice at least," I explained. "I don't have much else to give him."
"Ok, but I'm going in with you."
"Good." We stopped at a grocery store and went to the ice cream aisle. I didn't know what he liked so I grabbed Rocky Road since it was my favorite and we checked out. I paid with what little bit of cash I had, and we drove to Mac's. "Thanks for stopping," I told John softly.
"No big deal." We got to Mac's house and went inside. Mac was sitting on the couch and stood up quickly. Not gonna lie, it was reminiscent of those scenes in movies and TV shows where the dad is waiting up for the daughter who snuck out to get drunk.
"What took you guys so long? I was getting worried. I shouldn't have beat you here," Mac asked with utmost concern in his voice.
"Sorry. I stopped to get something to repay you with. It doesn't make up for saving my life, but I figured who doesn't like ice cream and I got my favorite flavor since I didn't know what you liked. I'm sorry I worried you," I told him. He seemed kind of mad.
"It's ok. I just was afraid something happened to you again. What flavor did you get?"
"Rocky Road."
"Seriously? That's my favorite too." I smiled at him. "Thanks, John. I appreciate you driving her," Mac told him sincerely.
"No problem." John left and Mac put the ice cream in the freezer.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Mac," I told him shyly.
"It's ok. You got Rocky Road, so it makes up for it," he told me with a chuckle. "But really, it's ok."
"Good," I added.
"Do you mind giving me a minute? I'm gonna try to call your dad and update him. I'll make sure you talk to him before he and I finish, I just want you to not be involved in the conversation right away because he might be pretty mad you got hurt." I went into Boze's room that was now empty but didn't want to sit in there, so I stood in the hallway. I could still hear Mac. He had it on speaker, probably thinking I wasn't close enough to hear.
"Mac, please tell me my little girl is safe with you."
"Yeah. She's here at my place. Why didn't you ever mention her?"
"I knew someone would get to her eventually and I didn't want you worrying like I always am. I check up on her after every case whether she knows it or not. Is she ok?" my dad asked. He sounded more concerned than I had ever heard him.
"She's hurt but ok. Murdoc broke into my house and took her to that same stupid room he put me in a while back. He hurt her quite a bit, but I got her out. I'm sorry, Jack. I did my best to keep her safe from him," Mac told my dad. He sounded so guilty.
"It's not your fault, man. How's she holding up with everything?"
"She seems ok, but I know she's not. She's staying here for a while. She'll be ok. I'm looking out for her. I'm just worried about where she'll go from here. She doesn't feel safe going home and I can't say I feel safe about that idea either."
"Then don't send her home. I'll pay you for her half of rent. She needs somewhere safe and you're the safest place I know. There's a reason your address is on the notecard I left her and not mine or anyone else's," my dad admitted. "I know I didn't consult you about giving her your address. I just knew you were the best option if something happened. She's the single most important thing in my life and you're the only person I would trust to keep her safe and give her somewhere to call home," my dad told him. I was glad my dad trusted him too.
"I just don't want her to feel weird about staying here," Mac explained. Why would I feel weird about it? I wondered.
"Why would- oh. Wait. You like her, don't you?" Mac liked me? I was so confused. He really hadn't known me very long.
"I don't- uh-" Mac began stammering.
"Why didn't you just say so?" My dad asked.
"I didn't think you'd be ok with it and you'd get pissed. I know how protective you are," Mac told him. "Besides, I barely know her. She's just really pretty and nice and she's been through a lot but she's hanging in there. That's the part that's hard to find in our line of work."
"Man, you're the only person I know who I'd be ok with even remotely having feelings for her. Just promise me you'll go easy on her and that you'll treat her right. She deserves the best," My dad insisted.
"You know I'll take good care of her," Mac told him confidently.
"I know. Hey, can you do the whole video call thing? I wanna see her." That was surprising. My dad rarely answered when I would call.
"Yeah. Let me get her and I'll call you." My dad hung up and Mac came to the hallway where I was standing. "Your-"
"Sorry. I didn't know. I thought you just wanted me to not say anything in the conversation."
"It's ok. I wasn't clear about it. We can talk later about what you overheard if you want. Jack wants to talk to you, so let's go call him." We went back to the living room and called my dad on video chat.
"Hey, sweetheart. How you feeling?" he asked. I wanted to cry at him actually showing concern but I held it back.
"I'm ok. Still sore and I haven't really had the chance to deal with the emotional side of this whole thing, but I'm ok. You've got the best partner you can have for your job. He saved my life," I told him. "I appreciate you caring and checking in on me."
"Yeah, he does that," he added with a chuckle.
"Glad he was there for you. Sorry I didn't answer your calls. I was in the middle of a mission and I couldn't answer. Someday when I have a lot more time, I'll call, and we can talk. I know it's been a while. I've gotta go though." That was typical. He often had to leave mid-phone call.
"Bye, dad. I love you."
"Love you too." He hung up.
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Improvise or Die
FanfictionHannah is just a normal girl, well as normal as you can be when your dad works for a secret government organization called The Phoenix Foundation. When she learns she's in serious danger, she follows a note left by her father and arrives to find non...