Lucy McClane raced down the hospital hallway, frantically looking for room 252E. The nurse at the nurse's station had told her that her father was "resting comfortably" in that room. Obviously the woman had never met her father because resting wasn't something her father ever did - let alone comfortably. Knowing her dad, he was probably giving his doctors a hard time and griping about the bad food.

Slowing down, she finally reached the correct room, last on the left side of the corridor. Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply to calm her nerves, Lucy prepared herself to enter the unknown. The call at one o'clock in the morning from her father's doctor informing her that "John McClane had been involved in a shooting-related incident and was currently at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens awaiting treatment" had thrown her for a loop. Doctor Perkins had assured her that her father was stable, but would be staying at the hospital overnight for observation. Apparently, he had broken two ribs when his police-issued Kevlar vest had deflected a bullet earlier that evening.

The fifty-minute trip to the hospital hadn't calmed her down, even though she knew her father was alive and well. First off, she was furious that her father had even been involved in a shooting. She knew from speaking to him earlier in the week, that he had this weekend off and was planning on spending it relaxing in his apartment in Brooklyn. What he'd been doing in Astoria, Queens at midnight and how that translated into a police-involved shooting, she'd never figure out. Lucy fully intended on squeezing the whole story from her father when she saw him.

Trust John McClane to get into trouble on his only weekend off in a month and wind up in the emergency room.

Opening her eyes, she reached out her hand to push door to her father's room open, a faint light coming from the interior of the room guiding her way. She entered quietly, not wanting to wake her Dad if he actually was resting. The partition that surrounded the bed was pulled fully around, so she couldn't see her father. Creeping closer to get a better view, Lucy reached a gap in the curtain and peaked her head inside. She saw her father lying in bed.

He was awake - and he wasn't alone.

Nothing in her life would have prepared her for the shock of seeing her father kissing another man. As far as she knew her Dad was straight! He'd been married to her mother, for God's sake.

But that wasn't the most shocking aspect of the sight. No, it was who her father was kissing.

Matt Farrell.

Reluctant hero, John McClane's sidekick, pain-in-her-ass, Matt Farrell who never called her after the Fire Sale drama. Now she knew why he never called. Jesus, Matt was gay.

Correction, Matt was gay with her father!

Lucy tilted her head upward and sent a prayer to the Man upstairs to give her the strength to deal with this. Her next notion was that she needed a drink - a very large drink - and time to let this new milestone settle.

Obviously her father was feeling fine. From the way Matt and he were going at it, her father was more than fine.

Walking backwards a few steps and turning around, she hastily left the room and stood in the hall trying to quell the racing thoughts in her head.

Lucy wasn't upset that her father had decided to try an alternative lifestyle. No, her father deserved to be happy. Ever since her mother had remarried eight months ago and moved to Northern California with her new dentist husband, she knew her father had been lonely and despondent over the knowledge that Holly and he would not be getting back together. Her parent's marriage was truly over. Lucy had accepted that and now it seemed as though her Dad had also.

In the wake of her Mom's remarriage, the madness surrounding Thomas Gabriel had happened. But the aftermath of that event had actually been positive. She and her father had never been closer. Her Dad came down to Rutgers at least twice a month and had dinner with her. But now he called first, not stalking her and any prospective boyfriends in the middle of the night like a lunatic.

She'd spent the Thanksgiving holiday at her father's apartment and they'd had a great time trying to figure out how to cook a turkey together. Thanksgiving dinner hadn't been the gourmet meal her mother usually made, but it had been good - and they'd done it by themselves. Father and daughter. Together. That was what mattered.

However, somewhere in this newfound closeness, her Dad had left out an important piece of information. He was seeing someone.

A very male someone.

Lucy was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Matt standing beside her until he spoke, "Hey, Luce."

"Matt," her voice was clipped and curt.

"Your Dad noticed you were here..."

The famous McClane sarcasm interceded and Lucy interrupted, "He noticed. Really? I thought you guys were too busy sucking face to notice I had arrived."

The blush that crossed Matt's face would have normally been amusing to view, but at the moment Lucy wasn't feeling anything but anger. In reality, Lucy wasn't upset because Matt and her father were a couple. No, she was more irritated because her father hadn't told her about this new development in his life. It made their closeness of the past couple of months seem false because if her father felt secure enough to kiss Matt in a semi-public place, then their relationship wasn't just some fling.

Lucy heard Matt stutter out a response, "We didn't realize you were there." Then his voice got more forceful, "Shit, Lucy could you give your Dad a break for once? He was shot tonight. He could have died if he hadn't had his vest on!"

"Okay. Let's see, I get a call from a doctor telling me my Dad's been shot, I come here and find you making out with a man old enough to be your father and I'm supposed to chill out?"

"Well, I guess when you put it like that you have a right to be a little upset-"

Lucy groaned. Men were so dense sometimes. "How about we skip the you and him part and maybe you could explain to me why my father was in Astoria at midnight on a Friday when he was supposed to be off this weekend? How did he get shot, Matt? And since when does my father wear a vest off-duty? Hell, he's never worn one on duty!"

Matt looked sheepish and looked at the floor for a moment before responding, "Your Dad was getting off work late, he had some paperwork to finish up at the precinct. We had plans this weekend."

"Doesn't explain why he was in Astoria and not in Brooklyn near his house."

"I live in Astoria, Lucy."

Oh.

Matt continued, "Your father was stopping at the corner liquor store in my neighborhood picking up a six-pack when two men came in to rob the place. I am sure you can imagine what happened next."

Lucy laughed. "Dad stopped the robbery."

She watched as Matt smiled for the first time since he'd come out of her father's room and said, "As only John McClane could. By the time I heard the sirens and realized something had happened, your Dad was calling me on my cell to tell me the paramedics were taking him to Sinai. I arrived here just as the doctor was telling your father he'd broken two ribs because the vest he'd been wearing. While it saved his life when the robbers shot him, the impact still messed him up."

"Did the police get the robbers?"

"According to John, one died on the scene and the other was transported here for surgery. I don't know if he made it. I'm sure John's captain will tell us more in the morning after they come by to take his statement about the shooting."

Lucy nodded, understanding police procedure as only the daughter of a cop could.

"And the vest?"

Suddenly Lucy heard her father's voice behind her; "I started wearing one because Matt asked me to."

Lucy spun around to see her Dad leaning against the wall, his features a little pained.

Matt quickly went over to him and put his arm under her father's to hold him up. She could hear him say, "Jesus, John, the doctor told you not to get out of bed. Your ribs are broken, so you need to take it easy."

"Yeah, well since it seemed you two weren't coming back in my room anytime soon, I figured I'd come out here and join the party. Hello, Lucy."

Father and daughter looked at each other, gazes locked until Lucy felt her heart break wide open, until she couldn't contain herself any longer. She ran to her father and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, hey, watch the ribs...old man bones here." John smiled crookedly at her and Lucy forgave him instantly for everything. They had come too far in the past couple of months to let a paltry misunderstanding come between them. All of them had survived Thomas Gabriel, certain death and Lucy didn't want to be angry with either of them anymore.

As John held her, Lucy melted into his embrace and sighed, "Daddy." She could feel his strong arms come around her in reply. They didn't need words; the bond between them spoke volumes.

All that mattered was her father was alive, the rest would work itself out later.

The End