New Beginnings

[Det. Noah Miller]

It had taken a number of long, arduous months before the Miller's were able to find themselves a home that suited their needs.  The court had ordered their previous home to be sold and the sum divided, forcing the family to relocate.  The embattled police detective was relieved to put the nasty divorce behind him and attempt to move his family forward.  Now that they had a place to settle he hoped his two children could begin their own adjustment.

The last of the boxes had been brought in and set in the proper room.  The new house was smaller than the one they had recently moved from and it was a long way from being the type of place they could call home.  Tons of boxes were stacked against bare walls giving every room a cold, almost sterile feeling.  Noah stood in the kitchen, looking out over the room before lowering his eyes to the tiled floor.  He was trying to picture a time when the house felt like home.  When the warmth of family overtook the feelings of uncertainty and the dull ache that remained in his stomach.

Movement from the corner of his eye snapped Noah out of his trance.  He glanced to the side and offered his daughter a small, weak smile.  "Hey."  He said before moving to the kitchen counter where one of the boxes sat and dug around for a glass.  "Did your brother get all his stuff up to his room?"  He asked, moving to the sink and filling the glass with water.  "Oh."  He said, turning off the faucet.  "Make sure you get through all your boxes."  He paused to take a short sip from the glass.  "So we can report anything broken to the moving company."

[Kaylee Miller]

Well, shit, the brunette thought as she looked over the mess of boxes she was supposed to call her room. In truth, it wasn't all that bad. It was an adjustment they'd all get used to eventually. After all, this had to be better than living with someone who didn't want them around, right? Right, she nodded determined to herself. After all, this might have been a smaller house, but there was one less person to worry about.

The brunette stepped out of her room and moved towards the kitchen, a warm smile forming on her plump lips upon seeing her father, seemingly lost in the middle of the chaos.

"Yeah, I think so," she said with a light shrug. "I've been on his ass for the past hour, so either he started pretending I wasn't there, or he got tired of me nagging and decided to get his work done." She offered her father a innocent shrug as she swung up on top of one of the counters. "I know, I know," she said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "I am the adult here, you know," she quickly added jokingly.

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah couldn't help the soft chuckle that came with his daughter's witticism. Sometimes, usually when Kaylee had to straighten his tie before work or remind him to eat in the evening, Noah truly wondered who, exactly, was taking up the role of parent. His head shook faintly as he studied his daughter. She worried him the most. It often felt like the teen was in a fragile place in her life and this sudden, crushingly drastic change had left him scrambling to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

"Yeah, well, you can start paying the phone bill." He replied without missing a beat. He paused just long enough to take another drink from the glass before turning around and leaning against the kitchen counter. Kaylee could all but see the gears working in his mind. He hadn't stopped thinking since the day he was blindsided by divorce papers. "How're you doing?" He asked, his expression and tone growing sober. He studied his daughter for a moment, gauging her reaction.

[Kaylee Miller]

"You wish," the brunette replied in turn, snorting as her feet swung back and forth from the counter she was sitting on. She watched her father curiously; he seemed to be taking it the hardest out of them, or maybe his kids were simply trying to stay strong for him. In truth, Kaylee felt too angry to be sad about it. She was genuinely pissed at her mother for doing what she did. Who in their right minds left their husband and kids behind, just like that?

Shrugging, the brunette placed her hands in her lap, fingers intertwined. "A little tired from the moving, but I guess it's a great exercise," she said. After all, being a lacrosse player, she needed all the muscles she could get. Not that she really needed it, with her power and all, but she liked to pretend she was just another normal kid who needed the same amount of practice as everyone else. Even if she was a god out on the field. "Can't seem to find my lacrosse stick, though," she continued, more so to herself.

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah's eyes shifted to look at his daughter, a thing smirk playing at his lips. "I do, actually." He replied, his light tone belying the somber, sober thoughts that danced around in his mind. Yes, there was anger felt in spades at the sudden dissolution of what had previously been a model family. Noah was downright furious at the blatant disregard for the life he and his now ex-wife had built. In an instant it felt as though twenty years had been thrown aside. He would've taken it much harder if he'd had the chance. Two kids whose lives he was now charged with rebuilding wouldn't allow him to stop and think long enough to get over it just yet. Sometimes he did feel as though his son and daughter were taking a much healthier, constructive stance for his sake. But that was part of being a family, wasn't it?

A slow nod followed Kaylee's response. Noah turned and leaned his back against the counter, arms folding across his chest. "I'm pretty sure I saw it in the stuff that went into the garage." He answered. "I'll dig it out before you go to school tomorrow." He fell silent for a moment, his eyes dropping to the floor in front of him. Even the pattern in the linoleum tiles felt awkward and weird. He briefly wondered if he'd ever get used to this new life he was stumbling into. "Oh." He perked up as something came to mind. "I have a meeting with the chief tomorrow afternoon. Can you pick your brother up from band practice at five?"

[Kaylee Miller]

"Awesome," she replied simply. She didn't see any particular need to go into the garage; it was messy and filled with boxes. It sounded like quite the tedious task, so in truth, she was glad her father would take on that task. It surely wasn't something she envied him for.

Running her fingers through her hair, she feigned a shocked expression and put her free hand to her chest. "What, are you letting me take the car? For real?" she said, the mock surprise laced over her voice. "And you're letting me drive the second most precious thing you have? Oh my." Then, the smile splayed out over her lips and she jumped off the counter. She took a step toward him, leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Sure thing!"

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah gave a snort at Kaylee's obvious, yet overly dramatic excitement. It wasn't unexpected, rather he would've felt more upset if she hadn't responded in that way. At least by carrying on it showed the sarcasm and wit she got from her father wasn't being pushed aside by the tension and stress from the move or recent split of her parents. "Easy there." He said, giving her a wary eye. "I'm not going to be home that late. And you can't leave him here to go off and do whatever. We have a lot of unpacking to do before I set you free."

"Right." The detective nodded curtly even as the smile touched his lips at the sweet gesture. He looked to his daughter and shook his head. "I'm letting you take the second most precious thing in my life only to go pick up the most precious thing in my life, so, remember that."

[Kaylee Miller]

"Of course you'd torture me even further," she said, rolling her eyes. Though, the smile wasn't far off, either. She knew that all of this meant that she had to step up. And even though she wouldn't enjoy it, she understood that it was important and she was ready to step up.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "That's just so not fair." She was amused, if nothing else. "Forget it. Deal's off until you've mended my wounded ego." She crossed her arms over her chest, staring expectantly at her father. Then a notion hit her and she grinned. "Or I could just punish you by getting a tattoo and a sleazy boyfriend." She didn't even know if she liked boys, but that was hardly important.

It wasn't as if she was interested in getting one.

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah paused a moment to study his daughter as she spoke. The light smile on his face never wavered throughout the idle, almost playful banter between them but Noah's mind was constantly being pulled to the turmoil that was now surrounding his family. It wasn't fair to ask Kaylee to take on this much. It wasn't fair for a 17 year old girl to cope with losing so much while having to shoulder the heavy burden that was to come.

Kaylee's response snapped Noah out of his subtle trance. His brow furrowed for a brief moment and then he laughed. He lifted his hands palms up to signal his issuance of submission. He was a cop with a 17 year old daughter. The struggle to keep from being the prototypical overprotective father was very real and very difficult to cast aside. "You win, you win." He said waving his hands. "Find yourself a nice boy who's looking to go pre-med and..." He hesitated a moment before finally giving in with a sigh. "And after you pick up your brother you can take the car, only one friend though." He pointed a finger sternly at Kaylee. "And be back before dark." Noah's features hardened just a bit as he tried in vain to maintain some semblance of authority. "I'll be home in time for dinner."