Enter Lily, Aron, Lou.
Lou. Measured words. Careful. "Do you have anything else to tell us, Lily?"
Lily. Looks up. "That I'm not sorry?"
Lou. Bites her lip. Trying not to smile.
Aron. Thoughtfully. "Lily, I appreciate that you stood up for your little sisters, and there will never be a time when I would get angry at you for doing that."
Lily. Smirks. "I sense a 'but' coming sometime soon."
Aron. "Yes. But you could have handled the situation much better. Fighting is not something we condone. Okay?"
Lou the pragmatist. "Unless it's absolutely necessary. I mean, I'm a cop, I carry a gun, sometimes I have to use force. But even in my line of work, force is the absolute last resort, when it means saving an innocent life or protecting someone from an actual physical threat. I know that if your little sisters were in that kind of danger, I would want you to fight like hell."
Lily nods curtly, but looks at Lou with more respect than before. "Yea. Okay. So I should've maybe handled it differently. But Dray and Trace just stood there, you know?" Smirks. "I think everyone enjoyed it."
Aron's lips tighten faintly. "I'll deal with Dray later. Regardless of how it felt and how much you think those girls deserved it, fighting like that isn't something that your mom and I can ever condone." Pauses, looks at Lou, who nods. "For that reason, Lily, you're also grounded for the same length of time you're suspended."
Lily grimaces, but nods. "Okay."
Aron stands. "I have to go pick up Katie. Be back in a few." Bends down to kiss Lou on the lips, then ruffles Lily's hair. She leans into his hand for just a millisecond, and Aron half-smiles down at his daughter.
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