A/N: Requested by SamBam260. Just some sweet daddy/daughter bonding with Aaron and Theo Jr., with Philodosia on the side. :) Hope you like it, Sam!
Theodosia was growing up. There was no way around it. Gone were her My Little Ponies, puffy pink ballet skirts, and trips to the mall so she could ride the carousel. Those days felt like a lifetime ago. Instead, her wardrobe was all sweatshirts, skinny jeans, and high-top sneakers. She would rather watch Mean Girls or a Marvel movie instead of My Little Pony, and these days, Aaron would drop her off at the mall so she could meet up with her friends at Sephora or Hot Topic. He was endlessly proud of his daughter, but he couldn't help but wonder where the years went.
"So, how was the mall?" asked Aaron after he had picked her up from one said mall trip.
Theo was silent for a moment before mumbling, "It was fine."
"That's all you have to say?" Aaron asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He was met with silence.
"Theo... everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, Dad," Theo said curtly. The sudden flip of her temper was so unexpected, it felt unreal to Aaron. But he knew he didn't like it.
"I don't know where this new attitude is from," Aaron said sternly. "I was just asking you a simple question. Have you been hanging out with that Janis girl again?"
"No, Dad," Theo hissed. "Can you just stop? My head hurts. I just wanna get home."
Aaron's face drew into a frown that remained for the rest of the drive home. His daughter was a sweet girl, not some moody teenager. He didn't know what was going on, and he didn't like it.
When the Burr's got back home, Theo immediately excused herself upstairs to her room.
"You're not going to have dinner?" Aaron asked before he even took his shoes off.
"I'm not hungry," Theo said quickly as she headed up the stairs.
"Theo, what's-" he was met with the sound of her door shutting before he could even finish the sentence.
He didn't see her again for the rest of the night.
Theo seemed a little more like herself in the morning. She talked and playfully teased her dad as they ate breakfast, but when they got in the car to go to school, she went silent.
"Theo? Everything okay?"
"Yes, Dad. I'm fine," Theo replied, echoing their conversation the night before.
Aaron's heart thumped rapidly. He was normally a collected and rational guy. But not when it came to his daughter.
"What has gotten into you? You weren't like this before I dropped you off at the mall last night."
"Would you just leave me alone?"
"If you keep talking back to me, young lady, I won't hesitate to pull over."
"But then I'll be late for school," Theo retorted. "What will I tell my teachers when I'm tardy and have no doctor's note? 'My father doesn't want me getting an education?'"
Good Lord, she was getting too smart for him.
"That's it, if you don't tell me what's going on with you, you're grounded."
Theo's jaw dropped. "What?!"
"If going to the mall with your friends is the problem, you won't be going anymore."
Theo grasped at her curly dark hair and shrieked, "Would you just shut up?! God, I hate you!"
In an instant, Aaron's heart exploded, and he was wide awake.
He sighed as his hand came to his forehead. Icy silence frosted the air as they finally arrived at the school. After Theo left, Aaron felt the black sludge of guilt seep through him. What had he done? He hadn't meant for her to push him away; he just liked being involved in her life. If she had a problem, of course she could talk to him. He would always be there to help. And what was worse, she might really be struggling with something, and now Aaron would never know about it.
Oh, Theo... I'm so sorry.
Since he couldn't tell Theo herself that, he said it to himself. Over and over again. On his commute and throughout the work day, he kept repeating those words in his head. When it was time to pick Theo up after work, he didn't think his practice would be enough. He had no idea how he was going to face her. On the drive to her school, he decided to take a detour to a nearby pharmacy. There, he picked up candy, a little pot of flowers, and a movie Theo had been dying to watch lately. Armed with his gifts, he felt slightly more prepared to face his daughter.
"Hey, Dad," Theo said as she slumped into the car. Before saying anything, Aaron thrust the presents into her arms.
"Here."
Theo inspected the gifts, her brow furrowed, before saying, "What's this?"
"I'm so sorry for how I snapped at you," Aaron finally said. The words tumbled out in one big sigh. "That wasn't right, how I tried to pry you. You deserve your privacy, and I'm really sorry."
But Theo shifted uncomfortably. "No, Dad, I'm sorry. I was being a real bi- a brat. I'm just..." She sighed. "I'm such a dramatic teenager. I don't hate you. Of course I don't, why would I say something so stupid?" She dropped her head into her hands, letting out a miserable sigh.
Aaron reached forward to put his arm around her, but then stopped himself. "If you ever need to talk... which you don't have to... I'm right here. And there's nothing you could possibly say or do to keep me from loving you."
Theo peeked through her mess of fingers and gave a halfhearted smile. "Thanks, Dad." She shifted in her seat before saying, "Okay. Here goes... I like someone."
Aaron's eyebrows shot up at those three words. Like all dads, they came as a total surprise to him. Sure, he should have expected to hear them, but he had never really considered that they would ever come. Especially not now.
"And I have no idea what to do! When I see him, I freak out and make a fool of myself! It's so embarrassing!" She hid her reddening face with her hands, as if this mystery boy was in the car right then, listening to her every word. "We bumped into him and his friends at the mall yesterday. I didn't know how to talk to him. I felt ridiculous. And then when we split up, all my friends started making fun of me. That's why I was so upset in the car yesterday."
Maintaining focus on the road and listening to his daughter pour her heart out at the same time was the most difficult bit of multitasking Aaron had ever done.
"Hang on a second." Without another word, Aaron pulled the car into the parking lot of a strip mall.
"Guess you finally got to pull me over, huh?" Theo asked with a smirk.
Aaron chuckled. "That was my whole plan. So, tell me about this boy."
Theo's smirk was quickly lost as her eyes went wide with panic. "Oh. Uh... you might not like him. He doesn't do drugs or anything like that, but..."
"But?"
Theo sighed. "It's Philip. Philip Hamilton."
It was a good thing Aaron had pulled over, otherwise the surprise may have driven them both into a telephone poll. "Philip Hamilton?" That name brought the image of his least favorite person to his face. His loudmouthed, obnoxious co-worker, Alexander Hamilton. He had met his son a few times at company outings and Bring Your Child to Work Day, and he knew he went to the same school as Theodosia. He seemed like a decent kid- bright, good-natured- but he was still a Hamilton. He bit his tongue and suppressed a sigh.
One problem at a time, Aaron.
"Okay," he finally said.
"I really like him, Dad," Theo said, looking up at him. The gaze in her dark eyes was solid, unwavering. "But I don't even know how to talk to him without looking like an idiot."
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Aaron asked in a low, hushed voice.
If the blush had been fading on Theo's face, it returned with full strength. "I can't talk to my dad about this kinda thing!"
"Why not?"
Theo brought her knees to her chest and rested her folded arms on them. "I mean, this is, like, girl stuff..." She didn't meet his eyes. Slowly, Aaron's heart sank.
"Your mom would know what to do."
Theo nodded, biting her lip.
When he closed his eyes, Aaron could still feel his wife beside him. He could still hear her laughter. He could feel his hand in his, a soft and gentle promise that she was his and his alone. It had been four years since her death, but it still felt fresh and raw and agonizingly painful, like a scar that reopened every morning. She would have been delighted to hear that Theo had a crush. She would have wanted to know everything about him, probably staying up for hours talking with her. She would have known just how to help Theo. Instead, cancer took her away, and Aaron was left to guide their little family all alone.
"Well," Aaron finally started. The silence felt like white noise. When he finally spoke, a part of him wasn't sure if the sound was real. "When I met your mother, I was nervous, too. She was so bold, so witty- she would often leave me tongue-tied. Just like you do."
Theo's shoulders hunched a bit as she giggled.
"I wanted to be hers so bad," he continued. "but she was the It girl- do the kids still say that?"
"I have no idea what that means."
"What I'm trying to say is, she could've had anybody in the world. And believe me, a lot of people tried. And out of all of those boys, she picked me." Aaron stared out the window for a moment, unsure of what he was going to see. "But I guess that's the strange thing about love: it will come in its time, so you don't have to be afraid. You are enough, Theo. If he doesn't like you for who you are, he doesn't deserve you."
He could hear Theo inhale ever so slightly as her gaze remained locked on him.
"Now, love can be messy, though. Just because you both love each other doesn't mean it's going to be all happiness all the time. Your mother and I used to argue quite a bit, but that doesn't mean our love was fake or broken. After we both cooled off, we would apologize, she would make fun of me, and we would both laugh about it."
Theo chuckled. "That sounds like Mom."
"That sounds like us," Aaron countered. Theo beamed, and for a moment, Aaron saw her mother. The woman Theo was named after. To keep himself from crying, he quickly pulled her in for a hug.
"I love you so much," he whispered, caressing the back of her head.
"I love you too," Theo said, her voice muffled as her face was in his shoulder.
If his arms could keep her from getting any older, he would hold her forever. And now he had a boy to compete with... if Theodosia Sr. was here, she would tell him to lighten up. To live and let live. He supposed that was all he could do. This was all part of growing up. He would be there for Theo Jr., ready to catch her and hug her and teach her, but would also give her the freedom to grow up a little and make her own choices.
"Now, let's get home," Theo said finally, a grin creeping up on your face. "I mean, you got me the new Jurassic World? Shut up, Let's go!"
Aaron chuckled. "Does this mean you're not too old for dates with your dad?"
Theo grinned. "I mean, as long as you're paying I'm not." Then she leaned forward and kissed her father's cheek. Aaron smiled warmly and started the car, the bond between them restored. There was no other way he wanted to spend the rest of the day than with his little It girl. Philip Hamilton and all the other boys out there better watch out; no matter how much they think they love her, he would always love her more.