Long Live the Reckless and the Brave

"So here's the deal, kiddo. Whenever you need to shower, use the bathroom or brush your teeth, you call for mom." I placed Noelle's old baby monitor on the nightstand and smiled faintly at my daughter. I knew she was miserable, not being able to do anything for herself. "But anything else you need, I'm your guy."

"This sucks, Daddy," Stella groaned, looking down at her wrist and arms, both wrapped in bandages, the wounds too recent for her to try and move them. "Am I even going to be able to feed myself?"

"Probablay not at first, no," I sighed, sitting down on the bed beside her. "I've never lost use of both of my arms before. I wish I could tell you how long it'll take before you're back up and running, but I can't. I guess we'll just follow orders from your doc. You're a Gaskarth, though, nothing will hold you down. I'm sure next time you go back they'll be amazed by how quickly you're healing."

"I'm just a Gaskarth," she glared at me. "I don't have healing super powers, Dad."

"I know that, Stell. I'm just saying you're tough. You got this."

"Yeah, I guess. I just wish I had been tough enough to fight them off."

I frowned, seeing the hurt on my daughter's face. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to have a cruel girl attack her, much less two much stronger young men. What bothered me most is that they thought it was okay, not simply three against one, but two men against one woman. How I wished I could see the father of those guys and give him a piece of my mind.

"Stella, what she did was dirty. She brought those guys 'cause she knew she wouldn't get the upper hand again. Now, if you ask me, she should have went after Jack. He's the one who broke her heart and all."

"Daddy!" She groaned, shaking her head. "Please don't be mad at Jack. It's not his fault."

"Actually, it kind of is, but I'll keep my mouth shut for your sake."

Stella, in attempt to avoid more conflict, simply rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the door. She scooted her butt to the edge of the bed and stood up, her poor arms serving as more of a problem than a wound. Her eyes flicked to mine, a new frown on this lips. This was so hard on her, and in all honesty, I was ready to kill someone. The only reason Jules and I didn't press charges on those kids was for Stella's sake. After everything she'd been through, she didn't need to get mocked or picked on because she brought the police into what should have been a school-yard fight.

"Can you please help me get downstairs without falling? Since I can't play guitar or write, I'd at least like to watch the TV or something."

"Hey, maybe since there's not much else you can do, I'll take you down to the stuido with me one day. You can still stay in touch with your musical side and see how it's done."

"Really?" Her brown eyes light up like the forth of July. "Do you mean it?"

"Absolutely, Princess. I think you've earned it."

"Thanks, Daddy!" She tried to stretch our her arms to hug me, but failed. I suppose even she was still trying to cope with the fact that she'd lost use of them for a while. "Now can we go downstairs? I'm kind of hungry, too."

Doing as she asked, I helped support her so that she wouldn't stumble going down the stairs. I knew her bones still ached and she wasn't used to having her balance thrown so off course. Once I got her downstairs, I helped her settle on the couch and pulled the laptop desk up to the table - It was a pretty good table, too. Putting the remote where her fingers could still poke at the buttons, I ventured into the kitchen. Jules was already preparing lunch for everyone, which I was thankful for.

"She hungry yet?" Juli glanced at me over her shoulder. "Noelle wanted Mac and Cheese, but I also made sandwiches and there's so chips on the counter. Just take it all to her, she needs her strength."

"Thanks baby," I grinned, filling her plate with chips and pasta. "She's so upset that she can't do anything by herself."

"I still think we should have pressed charges," Juli looked at me with a serious face. "What if she has to have physical therapy, Alex? Those breaks are pretty bad. I think the least those families could do is pay for it."

"I agree with you on that," I kissed her cheek. "But we need to think about Stella and everything she's been through this year."

"I suppose so."

I smiled lightly and headed back into the living room. Stella had picked a channel and she was leaning back on the couch. I placed the food on the laptop desk and held out the fork. She looked at me a little confused, since she didn't have full function of her arms anymore.

"You're going to have to help me."

"No, I'm not." I smiled. "You're gonna do this by yourself. Now take the fork."

She looked at me with a 'WTF' kind of face, but leaned forward enough to wrap two of her fingers around it. Looking at me once more, she leaned forward and scooped up a little bit of the pasta. However, she didn't have much of a grip on the fork so she dropped it all. At first, I though she'd give up, but she tried again, this time holding the food steady. She bent down and wrapped her lips around the fork, eating all the noodles.

"I did it," she grinned, dropping the fork. "Daddy, I did it!"

"I knew you could," I sat down beside her on the couch. "Mom will bring you a drink when she gets Noellle fed, so eat up."

"Honestly, I think I'd rather have the sandwich," she giggled, wrapping her fingers around the bread so she could feed herself. "Thanks for believing in me dad."

"Doesn't matter how I feel about you," I smiled. "What matters is that you believe in yourself enough to do it."

I knew it'd take a while, but Stella would get back to her old self. For now, the only thing I really needed to worry about was caring for my daughter, and trying not to kill my best friend's son.

Notes