A week later, Sloan stands in front of her open closet doors, staring at all her clothes, unsure of what to wear for this. After twenty minutes, she sighs and looks down at the floor before lifting her head again.
"Daddy!" She yells as sound as she can, smirking when she hears Jensen's footsteps pounding up the stairs just before he bursts through her door, almost face planting on the floor, looking around the room worriedly as he tries to find out what made her scream.
"What's wrong?" He asks when he doesn't see anything that caused her to scream.
"I don't know what to wear." She tells him, gesturing to her closet. "I've never done an interview on live TV before. I don't know what to wear."
"You screamed because you didn't know what to wear?" He asks, unamused. Sloan nods. "Sloan, you scared me to death. I though something was wrong!"
"Something is wrong." She insists. "I don't know what to wear!"
"So what do you want me to do?" He asks.
"Help me?" She asks, looking up at him hopefully. "Mom's not here to help and you've done like a million of these. Tell me what to wear."
"Fine." He sighs, sitting on her bed. "You want to look nice, so no t-shirts or shorts. But, you don't want to look too formal and you want to feel comfortable but still look nice." Sloan nods.
"Great." She says sarcastically. "No t-shirts or shorts. There goes most of my clothes."
"See, it's getting narrowed down." Jensen says with a smirk.
"Should I wear a dress?"
"That would probably be best." He nods. Sloan groans and turns back to her closet.
"Most of them are too formal and the others are for warmer weather and it's the middle of December." She says. Jensen shrugs.
"So? Wear a jacket." He says like it fixes everything. Which, to be fair, it does. But not for Sloan.
"Then you would have to pin the sleeve so it doesn't dangle and it'll probably be warm there so I'll have to take it off." She explains, thinking through every possible factor. Jensen shrugs again, still not seeing the issue.
"So? I'm not seeing any problems we can't fix." He says.
"Most of the dresses I have, you would't want me to wear on national television." She informs him, rolling her eyes at his confused look. "They're either too short for your approval or that show a little too much up top and you definitely don't want that."
"How do you know I won't approve of them?" He asks, crossing his arms.
"Because you're a little over protective when it comes to stuff like this." She tells him. "If it were up to you, all my dresses would be long-sleeved, and go from my neck to my ankles."
"Hey, it's my job to keep the boys away from you." He tells her.
"You're no help." Sloan says, pulling him off the bed and shoving him out of the room just as there's a knock on the door. "Go answer the door and let me figure out what I'm going to wear."
Sloan closes the door and locks it, turning back to the closet. She pulls out a few dresses and lays them out on the bed. She stares at them, trying to determine which one is best for the interview. After a few minutes, there's a knock on Sloan's door, making her groan and roll her eyes in annoyance as she moves to it.
"Dad, I told you to leave me alone." She says, opening the door to reveal Gen on the other side. "You're not my dad."
"Nope. Much prettier." She says, making Sloan laugh. "I heard you can't find out what to wear and I'm here to help." Sloan smiles and wraps her arm around the woman in a hug.
"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.
Sloan grabs her phone and tucks the end of the empty sleeve in the left pocket of the jacket before the two go downstairs. They find the kitchen empty but Sloan fixes herself a cup of coffee before they move to the backdoor where they hear voices and laughter coming from. Gen slides the door open and they step out into the cold December air.
Sloan hears someone squeal and looks out into the yard to see Grayson chasing Tom around, his steps slower than necessary as he chases his nephew. The girl can't help but smile at the sight before turning to the men who were watching the two in the yard as well.
"Morning, boys." Sloan greets, taking a sip of her coffee. Jensen and Jared turn around and look at the two females.
"Good morning, ladies." Jensen greets. "Sloan, you look great."
"Not too much?" Sloan asks before biting her lip, still a little unsure.
"No." Jensen says, shaking his head. "You look perfect."
"Thank you." Sloan says with a smile. She sits down in the patio chair next to him and finishes her coffee as he ties her shoes. Sloan takes large gulps of the liquid, trying to swallow her anxieties with each sip.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jensen asks for the millionth time on the way to the interview. Sloan sighs in annoyance and looks at him.
"Yes, Dad." She says, her annoyance showing in her voice. "I'm sure." Jensen nods and turns back to the road.
"So, Jar I were talking and we were thinking about going to lunch after the interview." He says. Sloan nods.
"Sounds fun." She tells him. "How many people are we talkin'?"
"Just the six of us." He says. Sloan nods again.
"Sounds like a plan." She says, turning back to look out her window, watching the trees fly by.
Thirty minutes later, they pull into the parking lot of the news studio. The group walks into the building and are given directions on where to go. They walk to the area where the interview will wake place and hang out while the wait for it to start. After a few minutes, a brunette in heels and a dark blue pantsuit walks up with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Kelly. I'll be your interviewer." She introduces, holding her hand out to Sloan. She shakes it with a small, polite smile.
"Hi. Sloan." She says. Kelly gives her a smile before looking down at the dog standing beside the girl.
"And who's this little guy?" She asks, bending down to look at the dog. "Oh, I love his eyes."
"His name's Bandit." Sloan says. "He's my service dog."
"Well, we'll start in five minutes. Just be up there two minutes in advance." She instructs. Sloan nods.
"Okay. Thanks." The overly-peppy woman nods before walking away. Sloan watches her disappear around the corner before turning to Jensen. "I don't trust her." She says, voicing her thoughts.
"What?" He asks, brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"
"I don't know." Sloan says, shaking her head. "There's just something off about her. I don't trust her. I can't explain it. I just don't trust her."
"Sloan, you're being crazy." Jensen tells her. "There's nothing wrong with her."
"Dad, I have this feeling. I don't trust her." She insists, her eyes pleading with him to listen to her. "I can't trust her. I think she's going to try to pull something."
"Ms. Ackles, we're ready now!" Someone calls. Sloan looks behind her briefly before turning back to her still confused father.
"Just, please, stay here. Don't leave until this is over." She says. Jensen nods and hands Sloan Bandit's leash.
Sloan turns and walks over to the couch in front of the camera. She sits down and takes a sip of the water that was on the table for her, setting it down just as Kelly comes back and sits in the chair across from her, giving the teen a warm smile.
"Bandit, sit." Sloan says, pointing to the floor beside her right leg. The dog sits and Sloan lets his leash fall to the ground beside him as the man behind the camera gives Kelly the cue that it's time to begin. Kelly faces the camera, greeting the viewers before turning to Sloan to ask the first question.
"So, Sloan. I understand you have started working on the same show as your father." She begins. Sloan nods, still unsure about the woman's motive. "What is it like to work with Jensen?"
"Well, it's never boring." Sloan says with a small laugh. "He and his partner in crime, Jared, are a handful and sometimes it's hard to tell if I'm the kid and they're watching me or if they're the kids and I'm watching them."
"Now, we know that you're adopted." She says and Sloan nods once again. "Has that ever effected your relationship with Jensen?"
"I think it may have if I hadn't known that I was adopted. But my dad was always honest with me since I was old enough to start asking questions." Sloan answers honestly. "I remember asking him why I didn't have a mommy and he told me that she wasn't able to stay with me but she's in Heaven with the angels watching over me. Then I would ask about my real daddy and he would just say that he had to go away, which is why he's my new daddy. I think if he had always let me believe that I am his biological daughter and I found out on my own or something that I'm adopted, it would have caused problems but we've never really had any arguments or anything stemming from the fact that we're not biologically related."
"I can't help but notice the fact that you and Jensen look eerily similar." Kelly remarks, making Sloan chuckle as she nods. "How do you look like the spitting image of him if there's no biological relation between the two of you?"
"He and my mother looked a lot alike. Like, they were mistaken for twins a few times. According to my dad, I look like her, so I guess that's why I look like him." Sloan says. "Plus, they say the longer two people are around each other, the more they start to resemble one another. I've been around him since I was born so I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"There were some questions going around about how you adjusted after the shooting. Now, our sources tell us you were shot a couple times and on top of that, you lost your arm." Sloan nods slowly, not quite sure where she was going with this. "Now, I'm sure that was a major adjustment and, obviously, you had to learn to do most things differently. Was there anything that you did before that you can't do now?"
"There's actually only a handful of things that I can't do anymore." Sloan tells her. "Like, I can't put my own hair up or braid it anymore. I can't tie my own shoes. Just small stuff like that."
"What is the thing you miss most that you were able to do before?" She asks. "Take your time to think."
"It's easy. It's actually only two things." She says. "Surfing and archery."
"You know how to surf?" Kelly asks in surprise. Sloan nods.
"Not professional level or anything but I would go a few times over the summer when I had time. I loved it." Sloan says with a small smile.
"Do you think you'll learn to surf again?" Sloan thinks for a moment before shaking her head.
"I don't know. I know it can be done. And I'm sure I could figure something out, but I really don't have the time to learn right now." She explains. "Maybe when things calm down, I'll try but for right now, it's just a thing I used to do."
"Now, there are a lot of questions flying around. A lot of rumors." Kelly says and Sloan nods. "Would you like to put some of them to rest?"
"Where do you want me to start?" She asks.
"There are a lot of people saying that you were the mastermind behind the shooting." Sloan takes a deep breath, not sure if she's really ready to talk about this. "What do you have to say about that?" Sloan's family behind the camera watch with bated breath, wondering what she'll say.
"I don't know what people expect me to say." She answers honestly. "I had nothing to do with what happened. I simply went to school that morning and then everything happened. So, no, I was not the mastermind behind it."
"So why did you have a gun in your hand?" She asks.
"I'm sorry?" Sloan says in confusion.
"You had a gun, the same gun, in your hands as the other shooters did." Kelly states. "If you weren't the brains of the operation or one of the shooters, why did you have that gun?"
"How did you know I had a gun?" Sloan asks, knowing that no body besides herself and a handful of others knew about that.
"Just answer the question, please." Kelly pushes.
Sloan looks to her right to see her group watching her, wanting to know the whole story themselves but she can see clearly on Jensen's face that he doesn't like how this woman is getting it out of her. Sloan sighs and turns her attention back to the interview, a vacant look in her eyes.
"I was in the library." She says, her voice sounding almost hollow. "I left the library and was walking down the hallway when I ran into a shooter. He shot me in the leg before I managed to take him down and move on down the hall. Before I left, I took his gun from him but I had no intention of shooting anyone."
"Why?" Kelly asks. "If you didn't intend to shoot anyone, why take the gun?"
"To protect myself and others." Sloan tells her.
"We have a video that shows you pointing the gun at two other boys and shooting one of them." She says, pointing to a monitor on Sloan's right before looking at the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen, this clip was taken from a security camera from Eastover High School. Please, view with discretion as there is some graphic footage in the video."
The video starts playing, showing Sloan limping down the hall stopping in front of Billy and the other shooter at the cafeteria. Sloan forces herself to watch as Billy fires his gun and shoots her, the same place in her abdomen aching as she watches the events unfold, reliving them in her mind at the same time.
Bandit, sensing her rising panic, hops up on the couch and rests his head in Sloan's lap, pushing his head underneath her arm to make her pet him, keeping her in reality. Sloan watches herself shoot Billy before turning the gun on the other boy just before the screen goes black, probably from the explosion. Kelly turns to Sloan and the girl gives her a cold glare, nudging Bandit off the couch.
"That's your proof?" She asks, a cold undertone in her voice that no one in her life has ever heard her use before. "That's your proof that I'm some sort of murderer? If you had bothered to look at the footage from other cameras, you would see me helping a group of terrified teenagers out of the building. Was that your plan the whole time? Get everyone to think I was behind this?"
"Nobody is trying to do anything, Ms. Ackles." Kelly says unconvincingly. "I am simply showing the viewers the things I've been able to get my hands on and ask questions based on that. Now, there's still a lot of confusion on what happened that day and why you went back inside. Can you give us some insight on what happened? What you were thinking?"
"What happened was forty people were shot. Thirty-five of them, not counting one of the shooters, died. Only five of the kids who were shot survived." Sloan says, deciding not to hold back her temper or sugar coat her answers. "That means, eighty parents got the news that their child had been shot. Seventy parents were told that their child died. Have you ever been in a mass-casualty situation?"
"No. I can't say that I have." Kelly says through tight lips.
"So you don't know what it feels like. You don't know what it feels like to know that you survived while thirty-five other people didn't. Thirty-six, counting that shooter. Have you ever fired a gun?"
"I have." She says with a small nod.
"Have you ever fired that gun while aiming at another human being?" Sloan continues. "Have you ever aimed a gun at another human being, knowing you wouldn't, you couldn't, miss? Or have the though 'kill them or get killed'?"
"No."
"Well I have." Sloan tells her, an angry fire burning bright in her green eyes. "Yes, I shot one of the shooters. Yes, I killed him. And yes, it keeps me up at night, knowing I have his blood on my hands. Knowing I took his life and took him from his parents. But I also know that I stopped someone who murdered dozens of other people, one of which died in my arms, on my watch." Sloan spares a look behind Kelly, seeing the widened eyes of her father, who was hearing all of this for the first time. Sloan takes a deep breath before looking back to Kelly. "Liam James."
"I'm sorry?" She says in confusion.
"Liam James." She repeats. "He and two of his friends, Tony and Johnathan, were in the library, along with a red haired girl named Victoria Beckett. I went in to see there was anyone in there and found Victoria hiding behind a corner. I helped her out of the building and hid on the top of one of the shelves when two of the shooters entered and walked into the room that Liam and his friends were hiding in.
"They shot all three of them. Two of them died immediately. When they left, I found Liam, a gunshot wound in his abdomen, bleeding out on the floor. I had to hold his hand and do everything I could to comfort him as he was dying. I told him he would be fine. He died still holding my hand." Sloan sets her jaw and shakes her head. "He was fourteen years old. Only a year younger than me."
"I'm sorry." Kelly says.
"You can say or think whatever you want about me." Sloan says. "That I'm a murderer, a criminal, whatever. But I did what I had to do so no more kids would have to die the way Liam did. Scared, helpless, and alone, with only strangers to comfort them." With that, Sloan stands up, causing Bandit to stand as well.
"Where are you going?" Kelly asks, looking up at Sloan in confusion. "There's still thirty minutes left."
"All that left is for you interrogate and accuse me some more before you try to convince me to remove my jacket so you can show your viewers my arm and be the first interviewer to get a shot of it." Sloan says. "So let me make it easier for you." Sloan shrugs out of her leather jacket before pulling it off the stub of her left shoulder, holding it at her side and turning so the camera could get a shot of where her arm should be. After a few seconds, she turns back to Kelly. "The interview's over."
Sloan walks off the stage and passed the stunned crew members, making a b-line for the doors, her group following behind. She pushes the door open, happily greeting the cold air as it hits her skin, cooling her off.
"Sloan, I can set up an interview with someone else. Someone we know." Jensen tries as soon as they walk out. Sloan shakes her head, not facing them. "I didn't know she was going to do that. I should have listened to you. Just let me make some calls."
"No, Dad!" Sloan says, turning around. "No more phone calls. No more interviews. I'm done."
"You can't just give up." He tells her.
"I'm not giving up." She says. "I'm just laying low for a while."
"Sloan, just let me set something up." He tries again, his voice pleading. He doesn't want her to give up after one interview, going back to how she was before. Afraid and depressed, feeling alone. "Just try one more time."
"Dad I said no!" Sloan yells before taking a deep, calming breath. "Just no." Jensen opens his mouth to say something when Gen steps forward, stopping him.
"Just giver her some time." She tells him quietly. Jared starts to speak up but Gen puts her hand on his chest, silencing him too. "That means you, too. Just give her some space. She needs time to work through this."
"It's been two months." Jared says quietly.
"That's not long enough." She tells him. "Guys, she's been through a major trauma. She has mental and physical wounds, some that will never heal. Give her some space." They nod and she backs away.
Sloan has Jensen take her home instead of going to eat with them. When she gets home, she goes straight to her room and lays on her back on her bed. She reaches over and grabs the picture of her mom that she keeps on her nightstand. She sighs and rubs her finger over her face.
"I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry I disappointed you." She says to the smiling face in the photograph.
Sloan's ringtone cuts through the air and she picks her phone up from beside her, seeing Sebastian's name on the screen. She hits answer and puts the phone up to her ear.
"What's up?" She asks, trying to sound like nothing was wrong.
"I just thought I'd call and see how you were doing." He says, making Sloan sigh.
"You saw the interview." She says.
"What makes you say that?" He asks.
"You never call just to check in. We text every now and then but you hardly ever call." She points out. Sebastian sighs on the other line and Sloan can hear faint voices in the background.
"I saw the interview." He admits. "We heard you were doing one and we decided to watch it."
"'We'?" Sloan repeats in confusion.
"Yeah. We're working with the stunt coordinators today to go over some of the fights and decided to watch it on our lunch break." He says. Sloan sighs.
"So everyone saw me lost it?"
"Hey, you were totally justified." He assures the girl. "She was totally ambushing you. You did nothing wrong."
"Yeah, except blow up on national television." She says.
"You handled the situation better than I would." He tells her.
"Thanks, Seb." Sloan says. "I gotta go. Tell everyone I said hello."
"Will do." He says before hanging up.
Sloan sighs before changing into a sweat shirt and short and crawling into her bed. Bandit lays on the floor next to her and the two drift off to sleep.