Rebecca panted on the sheets, almost choked by the twisted satin. The sweat from her bare body wicked into the fabric, slowly soaking patches of the white sheets into grey. She pushed them down and turned her head to face the figure on the pillow next to her. The smile that spread up her face was at once excited and clandestine.

"That was quite a workout." The figure was silent. Becca sat up in bed and yawned, stretching. "I guess I'd better go get a shower." She rose from the bed, dropping the sheets back and patting her bed partner familiarly. With a laugh, she winked downward. "Maybe you should come with me next time."

Silence continued from the bed, but Becca continued on to the shower happily. After the sounds of the shower's stream shut off, she came back into the room with one aqua towel wrapped around her body and another around her hair in a turban. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the figure close to her, smiling once more.

"Oh, Teddy. You've always been there for me. Ever since I was...I think Daddy found you when I was seven? And he brought you right home for me."

Rebecca smiled and stroked his fuzzy hair.

"I remember thinking you were so big then." She laughed gently. "But then I guess I grew up and you stayed small."

She looked down into the tiny glass eyes of the stuffed animal. "I wish you could come with me on these runs, but I don't think Grandmere would be particularly thrilled about it." She set the bear down with a shrug and went to her dresser. As she pulled out her clothes for the day, she realized that a good part of her mind was still jogging along in the quiet, pre-dawn chill of the French Quarter, somehow still lagging a little behind her grandmother. Really ridiculous how in shape the woman was. Or how out of it Rebecca was. With a small frown, she quickly pulled her dress over her head, shaking out the chiffon pleats into neatness.

A bell rang downstairs. She sighed and made her way to the door leading to the gallery. She looked down into the courtyard below. Sure enough, there was her father with a breakfast tray. She laughed and called down to him.

"Daddy! I thought the point of me moving into the garconnierre was so that I wouldn't be under your feet."

The man frowned and shifted uncomfortably below her.

"Well, I just thought I'd be a sweet father and bring you breakfast."

Rebecca suppressed a laugh and shrugged.

"Fine. I'll be down in a second, daddy."

She caught a glimpse of his brightening face briefly before she quickly made her way back into her room. She had been the one to suggest the move to the historic "bachelor's quarters" to the side of the Creole Townhouse. After quickly tying her hair back with a ribbon, Rebecca hurried down the steps and deftly unlocked the door, pulling it open to see her father smiling brightly to her from the other side of the screen door.

Jack bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting for his daughter to come down the stairs and open the door. He hadn't been entirely opposed of his daughter wanting her freedom and having her stay in the garconnierre was at least keeping her near to him, but as she came closer to adulthood, Jack realized just how much of her childhood he had missed. A frown threatened to overtake his happy expression but he chased it away at the sound of the lock snapping open.

"Goodmorning Ree Ree!" As much as he tried he couldn't keep the gleeful sing song tone out of his voice. Rebecca blushed and Jack took the opportunity to drop a kiss on his only child's cheek.

"Have a good run with your grandmother?"

"As good as it ever is, I suppose."

She grinned and returned the kiss to his cheek, quickly taking the tray from him. Her eyes scanned it, taking in what looked like half a dozen eggs, ten pieces of toast, grits brimming a bucket-like bowl, and a pot of coffee. She chuckled and pushed the door open with her elbow.

"Come on into the kitchen, Daddy and take a seat. There's no way I'm going to be able to eat all of this by myself."

As he made his way past her, she closed the door with a foot, listening to the screen door creak and slam closed behind her.

Jack slipped into the small dining area and grabbed two bowls, plates and coffee mugs, then opened the silverware drawer and grabbed a couple of forks and spoons.

"So, I'm assuming you aced your first French exam of the semester?" He smiled wide and ladled up the grits into the thick stoneware bowls Rebecca had bought for herself.

"And I noticed your decor is um, decidedly Creole. Any particular reason behind that?"

As Rebecca poured the two of them coffee, Jack looked around the kitchen and out into the room they had just come from. Rich mahogany wood was set into the floor and most of the furniture was just as dark. Maroon and deep violet velvets carpeted the chairs and divan and the lightest fabric in the room still felt oppressive to Jack. A glimmering crystal chandelier brightened the area a little, but not enough for Jack to get a deep breath and unless he had been mistaken, something vital was missing from the door frame.

"Rebecca?" Jack said, choosing to use her full name. "Where is your Mezuzah?"

"Mais, oui, père. Je parle déjà français parfait. Je n'ai pas besoin vraiment d'être dans cette classe, mais je l'apprécie."

Rebecca smiled widely and began to portion out the toast and eggs between the two.

"Creole? Well, I suppose I've just been imbibing the local culture since we got here. I think going to Newcomb College has helped me do that, too. I get to meet all of those pretty Creole girls and learn to sashay like them."

After a brief, exaggerated demonstration around the table complete with an indolent green gaze, Becca broke into a peal of laughter and sat down in one of the four chairs, across from her father.  He was still gazing around at her decor, his eyes resting on the door.  She picked up the coffee and began to pour it carefully into the two mugs.

"Where is your Mezuzah?"

Rebecca's hand wavered, almost spilling the coffee.  She flashed a smile up to her father and set the pot down quickly.

"Oh, gosh...I knew I was forgetting something...let me go put it up now, especially since you're here to help me with the blessing."

Rebecca rose from the table and turned to rummage in one of the kitchen drawers.  After a moment, she pulled out a long wooden case.  Running her scarlet-nailed hands over it, Becca admired the old craftsmanship and flicked it open, making sure the small pieces of parchment were inside before continuing to look for a hammer and nails in the drawers.

Jack never let his smile falter but an icy hand gripped his heart. Was Rebecca going to walk away from her faith? Jack had always wondered if he was doing the right thing, raising Rebecca as religiously as her mother hadn't been. It was easy for him to lose himself in the prayers and songs, and he had been deliriously proud of his only child when she had her Bat Mitzvah. But Rebecca had always taken things a step further. Learning faster, questioning things sooner. Maybe she would falter in her faith and end up like Li- NO. He swept that thought from his head. Rebecca was going places, and Jack would be damned if his daughter became a killer.

"Going to let your papa help you?"

"Of course, daddy."

She smiled as she finally found a small hammer and a box of nails.  She held them out to Jack with a smile.

"Could you carry these?"

As he took them into his hands and followed her, she continued to run her hands over the old wooden box.  It had been passed down through the generations on her mother's side, and had been dug out of a cardboard box in the attic when she was five years old.  It had been on the door to their house in Detroit since then.  When she moved into the garconnierre, though, her father had handed it over to her.

"Okay, ready, daddy?"

She had placed the case at an angle on the doorframe, pointing toward the inside. As her father held up the hammer and nails, she began to recite the prayer, enjoying the rhythm of the Hebrew words.

"Baruch atta Adonai Eloheinu..."

Her father chimed in with her, his calm tenor echoing through the cobblestoned courtyard, almost overtaking her own voice.

"...melech ha'olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav..."

Rebecca glanced over to her father, thinking of his face glowing with pride when she was chosen to read out of the Torah the Sabbath before.  The entire congregation was impressed with her, even if there had been clucking afterward about the impropriety of letting a woman have that honor.

"...vetzivanu likboa' mezuza."

Jack began to hammer the case to the door.  After they ensured that it was affixed properly, Becca led the way back into the kitchen.  She took a deep breath, running her hand along the table, glad to feel its physical presence, before sitting down and stirring some sugar and cream into her coffee.

"Two sugars for you, Daddy?"

Jack's heart swelled with pride as Lily intoned the prayer. After he helped nail the Mezuzah on the door he followed his daughter back into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Two sugars and a splash of cream please."

"Sure thing, Daddy."

As she fixed his coffee and handed the mug over, the phone jangled its presence in the room. She gave him an apologetic smile before rising to her feet and making her way to the phone, picking it up with a flourish.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end of the line was the familiar one of her grandmother's.

"Hey, Becca. I need you to come to my offices today around ten...I've got a very special assignment for you. And, um...don't let your father know where you're going."

The final instruction made Becca glance over to her father with brief confusion. He saw her glance and raised an eyebrow. Rebecca simply smiled back and shook her head slightly before speaking back into the phone.

"Sure thing, Gra...Gordon. I'll meet you there at ten. Bye!"

Quickly hanging the phone up, she turned back to Jack with a smile.

"I've got to go meet a friend of mine, Gordon, at...at, um, at a restaurant at ten today."

She hurriedly sat down and began fixing each of them a plate, wondering what kind of assignment would be inappropriate for her own father to know about.