InsaneJournal

The sight that greeted Linus when he entered his home was nothing he had ever imagined he'd ever see. While it was true that his wife and his middle child had a contentious relationship, he'd never expected to walk in and find them having a knock-down-drag-out physical fight. And as his presence hadn't seemed to warrant their notice, he voiced one version of the many questions running through his head.

"What the hell is going on here?!?"

That got their attention. For a moment, mother and daughter just stared at Linus as if he'd teleported into the room, rather than unlocking and opening the front door the way he always did. They separated--or, rather, Daisy Grace shoved Jessie away and stood up, leaving the teenager sprawled on the floor.

Daisy Grace wore only underwear (which made the whole situation even more mind-boggling) and sported several developing bruises, a swollen lip, and a bloody nose. She grabbed a silk robe from the floor and quickly slipped it on, covering herself and tying the waist tie as she start to make her way to Linus.

"Linus, honey, I can explain--" she began, only for Jessie to interrupt from where she now sat on the floor.

"Yeah, Mom, I'd fucking love to hear you explain to Dad why you were fucking Doctor Strigidae in our godsdamn fucking living room!" Jessie struggled to her feet and stood with her fists clenched at her sides. Her black t-shirt was ripped in couple of places and their were long scratch marks on her arms. She had scratches on her face as well. Jessie also sported a rapidly developing black eye, bloodied lip, and a streamingly bloody nose.

Linus looked from Jessie to Daisy Grace and back again a couple of times as he processed both the scene and his daughter's revelation.

"You had sex with Damien in our living room?" he managed to ask.

Daisy Grace produced a nervous grin. "Linus, let me explain, it's not as sordid as she makes it sound."

"Like fuck it wasn't! I have to deal with seeing that for the rest of my fucking life now." Jessie's interjection got her backhanded across a scratched up cheek with a smack that seemed to echo in the silence that followed.

Linus pressed his lips into a tight line. His next words came ice-calm and eerily soft-spoken. "Daisy Grace, if you lay a hand on my daughter again, I will call the police and have them arrest you for abuse. As it is, I haven't decided that I won't call them anyway, so I suggest you go put some clothes on."

Daisy Grace opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again when Linus squared his shoulders. She made her way up the stairs without another word, leaving father and daughter alone in silence.

Linus seemed to deflate once his wife was out of sight. He looked back to Jessie, who seemed to be fighting back tears. He sighed and held out his arms. "C'mere."

Jessie gave a mild protest of "I'll get blood on your suit" before giving in and crumpling into her father's embrace, clinging to him tightly. Linus held her close and stroked her hair. "I love you. And I want you to know I believe you." He pulled back slightly and gingerly took her face in his hands to get a better look at her injuries. He pressed his lips against Jessie's forehead, which was about the only uninjured spot on her face, then handed her a handkerchief. "Need to get that nosebleed stopped."

She nodded and Linus started to sit them down on the couch before he remembered that certain things had happened in the living room.

"I think the couch is safe," Jessie muttered. So the sat down beside each other, Jessie with her elbows on her knees and head down, pinching the handkerchief to her nose, and Linus with his hands in his lap, fingers laced tightly together.

"Do you want me to get the police?"

"...I kind of started it? The yelling, at least. She started the shoving and the powers part of it."

Linus rubbed a hand across his face. "You two had a fight with powers first?" That explained the state the room was in.

"Yeah...but mine kinda went on the fritz so it ended up old school. So...it's not like I didn't hit her, too..."

"I know, kiddo. But you said she made it more than yelling. And you very clearly got the worst of it, Jess." Linus paused for a moment and rubbed Jessie's back. "And I know it's something that would really piss her off if I did call them. And that's exactly what I feel like doing right now. Just stay there, I'll be right back."

Linus stood and made his way to the living room phone. This was going to be one hell of a process, but a little heat never bothered him. "Hello? Yes, I'd like to report an instance of child abuse..."