Lean on me

Chapter 16

"Thank you." She says, pulling the brunette into the room. She shows Gen the dresses she has laid out on the bed. "These are the only ideas I have that dad won't find a problem with." Gen laughs and looks at them briefly before turning to the younger girl.

"No offense, but these will all make you look like a nun." She says. Sloan nods. 

"Exactly." She says. "If a dress doesn't go down low enough or shows even a little bit of cleavage, Dad freaks out." 

"It's because he made a promise to look out for you and has pretty much been your dad since he found out your mom was pregnant." She says before shrugging slightly. "You're his little girl. He's just looking out for you."

"He's smothering me." Sloan says, not having anyone else she can talk to about this. Sure, she can tell Danneel but Sloan knows Gen won't repeat a word of this to Jensen. Danneel might feel she's obligated to tell him. 

"How do you mean?" Gen asks. Sloan sighs, moving the dresses and sitting on the edge of the bed, tucking her leg underneath her and turning to face Gen as she sits down. 

"Ever since I was a little girl, Dad's never tried to stop me from doing something. He would let me play in the mud, do things that might hurt me, where whatever I wanted until I turned thirteen and then he starts getting worried about boys." She explains. "But then two months ago happened. Now, he's handing me with little kid gloves like I'm gonna break if I get so much as a scratch."

"He's just trying to look out for you." She says. 

"I know and I appreciate it. I really do." Sloan says, sighing as she runs her hand through her hair. "But I'm not a little kid anymore. He needs to know that I can take care of myself. He needs to know that I can handle myself and wear clothes that don't make me look like a freakin' nun and I'm not gonna break." 

"Just give him some time." Gen tells her. "You suffered a major trauma and he's not quite sure what to do or say." 

"Well, Grayson was there too." Sloan points out. "Jared's not treating him differently is he?"

"Grayson isn't as shaken up as you." Gen informs the teenager. "He doesn't really talk about it much and he has nightmares every now and then but they're no where near as bad as yours are."

"I just wish my dad would remember what he told me when I was little." Sloan says, receiving a confused and interested look from the brunette. "When I was five, he would drop me off at a daycare center while he went to work. There was a little boy there who would always pick on me and make fun of my name. So, one day I came home and asked Dad why he had to name me Sloan. 

"He said it meant 'warrior' and that when I was a baby, I was really sick so he wanted to give me a strong name. He used to call me 'Little Warrior' and told me I could do anything and was strong enough to do anything because I was stronger than most people." Sloan smiles at the memory before sighing. "I just wished he remembered that and believed it now." Gen reaches forward and pats the girl on the leg comfortingly. Sloan takes a deep breath and gives her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump all that on you. I just don't know who I can talk to about this stuff and know they won't tell Dad." 

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you feel like you can talk to me about these things." She says with a smile. Gen claps her hands together and stands up. "Now, let's find you something to wear." Sloan smiles and stands up, the two digging through her closet.

After fifteen minutes of pulling items out and tossing them to the side, the pair finally decides on a light blue halter dress that stops just above Sloan's knee. Sloan pulls on a pair of lace up brown leather boots that stop in the middle of her shin before Gen drags her over to the dresser, sitting her down in the chair in front of the mirror. She goes to work on the girl's makeup, giving her a natural look with light eyeshadow and light pink lipstick and a thin line of eyeliner before moving on to her hair. Gen curls it and puts two sections of it in braids and overlapping them in the back. Sloan grabs her favorite ring from the top of her dresser and works it onto her finger before Gen helps her into a brown leather jacket.