Daisies

Hal nodded numbly. "Yeah... it'll just be harder with the time difference and all..." He nibbled a little more on his sandwich, completely lost in thought again when his phone rang again, almost sending him out of his chair. His face immediately changed when he saw who the caller was, and he stood to answer it. "Michelle, what-" That's all he had time for before she started in on him so loudly, he had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"You called your lawyer? What is wrong with you?! Do you know how hard I've tried to..."

Hal could feel the heat in his face as he left the kitchen so Sam wouldn't have to listen in. Even so, as he paced the living room, the conversation intensified. "I was just... No, you listen to me! You think you can drag her halfway across the world to- ...Just because you have custody doesn't remove the fact that I'm her father! ...Well I'm sorry you wish you'd never been with me, but deal with it! You said 'I do,' remember? And Alison is just as much mine as-"

He threw his free hand up in the air. "I know, alright?! I know I can't do a thing about it. You've got me over a barrel. You win. Is that what you want? Is this all about you getting even with me?... How could I... No! You cannot keep me from at least talking with her! You put her on the phone right now!"

He growled as he paced a small circle, almost forgetting Sam was even there. "Alison?" His voice had changed. "Sweety look, I... What?" His pacing stopped, and his pulse came pretty close to stopping too. "No, I didn't... I never... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

As the line went dead, so did a piece of his heart. Setting his phone on an end table, he sank down on the couch and put his head in his hands. And this time, he couldn't stop the tears from falling.


Zan went home happy... glad he'd texted Destiny, and glad she seemed receptive to his attention. It was nice to have a new friend and... who knew what the future held?

The next day couldn't get over fast enough. After work, he had enough time to work on his car for a couple hours before he had to go pick up Destiny. And this time he did take a shower...

...Knocking on Destiny's door, Zan was in his faded blue jeans, boots and a his typical plain black tee, tucked in just in the front around his belt. It was too warm for his jacket today... which made it perfect for a picnic. He waited for her to answer the door, a small bunch of daisies in hand.