Flashpoint Braddock's Daughter

Fighting Lesson

A few weeks later I woke up to the smell of bacon and pancakes filling the house. I say up, stretched, and walked downstairs seeing dad standing at the stove. I walked into the kitchen and went over to stand next to him, "Goodmorning sunshine." He flashed a smile down at me and put the tongs he was using to flip the bacon over down and turned to face me, holding his arms out for me. I have always been a cuddle bug when I'm tired and he knew that. I let out a grumble and walked into his arms and tucked my head under his chin with a yawn. He chuckled and kissed the top of my head, "I thought you'd like some bacon with your pancakes today. Since you and I have the day off, we can do whatever you want." I looked up at him and backed up a bit. "This isn't about what's been going on lately, is it? With the whole school thing and all?" 

He sighed and went back to flipping the bacon, "I know that you don't want to talk about any of it. But you've been through a lot lately. It'd be nice to just have a day to do whatever you want." I took a deep breath and looked at the ground. He was right, I had been through a lot, and I didn't want to talk about any of it. But it would be nice to have a day with him when I didn't have to worry about someone I love getting shot or killed. After a moment I nodded, "Alright. That actually sounds kind of nice." He looked back at me and smiled, "Good. So what do you wanna do?" He took the bacon off of the stove along with the pancakes and made me a plate before handing it to me and making his own. We sat down at the dining table and began to eat the breakfast he prepared. 

After a little bit of thinking, an idea struck me. "So we can do anything I want today? Like anything?" I asked carefully. I knew that phrasing along was probably going to make him panic a little bit but I just needed him to answer the question. He looked up from his plate and focused on my face like he was examining it, "Well, within reason, yeah." I nodded and looked back down at my plate. For whatever reason, I was embarrassed to even think about asking my question. It wasn't that far-fetched at all, especially with our jobs. "How about, you teach me how to fight? Or at least how to defend myself if I was to get into a fight?" I played with the food on my plate with my fork. I heard him take in a breath and noticed him shift a bit in his seat. "Alright. I can do that. We'll have to go to the station though. Just for a better environment," I looked up to meet his eyes. He had a small smile on his face as he took a sip of his orange juice. 

A few hours later we were in dad's truck headed to the station. I was in some yoga pants and a tank top while dad was in a tee and basketball shorts. Once he pulled into the parking lot and turned the truck off he looked at me in the passenger seat, "Are you sure this is what you want to do today?" I looked back at him confused, he had seemed happy to teach me earlier so the sudden change shocked me. "Yeah, I mean I'm gonna have to learn it anyway aren't I?" Dad let out a sigh and nodded his head, "I know. But I'm just saying it doesn't have to be today."

"Dad, think about it. I've been taken hostage way too many times. And every single time, I panic because I don't know how to defend myself properly. I just don't want people to look down at me and think that I'm an easy target. I mean I'm already the smallest and youngest person on the team, let alone the youngest to ever be on the force.  I don't need people thinking I'm the weakest too." I couldn't meet his eyes as I talked, I was still embarrassed to even be talking about this. He reached his hand out and put it under my chin making me look up at him. "Alright listen to me. Yes, you are the youngest member. But you are not at all weak. You are stronger than you ever know. You're brave. Hell, sometimes you're so brave it scares me half to death. But if this is what you want, then I'll gladly teach you." 

I looked at him and nodded slowly, "This is what I want." He nodded and opened his door, "Alright, let's go then." I did the same and walked into the station next to him. The rest of the team was there for a workout day and when we entered they all turned to face us. "Hey, it's your day off. What are you two doing here?" Spike stopped what he was doing and smiled at Dad and me. I smiled up at him and dad answered before I could, "Just gonna show her the ropes. Her decision, not mine," He put his arms around my shoulders. Spike smiled, "Ohhhh ready to kick ass huh?" He playfully punched my arm, and I nodded with a smile, "Yeah I think it's about time I know how."

With that, Dad led me into a private room with training gear inside. He set down the bag he had brought and took out fighting mits. You know, the ones that trainers use so that their clients can punch their hands and it won't hurt the trainer. He put them on and turned to face me, "Okay, let's just see what you know first. Throw a punch." I nodded and got into a stance and watched his hands as I threw my first punch into the mit. He nodded and told me to stay standing exactly how I was. He walked to my side and used his leg to adjust my stance. "There," he said going back to standing in front of me. 

We were in the room for a few hours and I was breathing heavily, exhausted from everything. Dad put down the mits and nodded at me, "We should stop for today. But we can continue another day. You've done great today." I looked up at him and placed my hands on my hips, "Thanks. I feel like I got hit by a bus though." Dad chuckled, "Yeah you'll get used to that. It won't be that bad for long. Come on, let's go home."