"Life never travels the same road twice."

Guy Finley

A look around the table made him realize how much progress had slowed down. The paperwork in front of him suggested that the time frame for the project had been in its fifth stage two weeks ago. Yet here he was in a business meeting trying to frame together something that was supposed to be done a month ago.

"Wonderful. And I promised Claire and the kids I'd leave work early too." He thought bitterly as Hope studied the person presenting the patent filing status.

"It's all pretty much official at this point, there's a mandatory thirty day waiting period before the department of commerce reviews it for assurance, then the seal-"

"How am I going to explain this one? Sorry your dad's too busy dealing with attorneys and yes men to come to you. Really man, you can't do this again," he argued himself again as he half heartily listened to the man in front of him that refused to get straight to the point.

After a few more minutes of the lingering reminders of things going according to schedule, Hope rolled his eyes at the folder in front of him proving otherwise. The man finally sat down and the heads all moved towards the director's attention.

Hope gave the older gentleman next to him a nod as the latter got up and officially closed the meeting. Hope didn't want to end the meeting himself in fear that someone would try to ask more questions. Already being stuck here close to forty minutes from when he'd planned the room to be empty.

The group quietly murmuring among themselves and gathering their belongings in fair agreement left in packs as Hope remained alone with two other old friends.

"Well that sucked," said Gale reaching for his phone and whistling at the time.

"I ordered take out about an hour ago so I can only assume it's outside my office cold by now or the interns probably gobbled it all up," sighed the man releasing the top button of his dress shirt.

Looking back at Hope collecting his things he noticed the slight frantic movements and chuckled at what he knew was the root of the problem.

"Roger I think you and I better leave for lunch, I have a feeling director Einstein won't be joining us today," Gale said pointedly at the disgruntled platinum haired man who glared back. He wondered if his wife had given him pointers.

Slightly frowning back at his friend Roger looked towards Hope apologetically.

"You want us to take care of the reports?" He asked getting up from his chair reaching for the few stacks of paper in the table.

Looking down at his watch Hope looked at the gone stacks in front of him gratefully. Standing next to him was Gale with his hands in his pockets.

"Don't worry Einstein my secretary will take your calls for the night," he said assuring.

Nodding at both his friends Hope quickly said his goodbyes and left with his briefcase in hand. The drive wasn't that bad, rush hour wasn't for a while. When he got in his car he immediately went for his phone and speed dialed. Moving his car from the familiar garage park he headed towards the outside of the city limits.

Still stuck in the second traffic lights he finally got someone in the line.

"Sorry for not picking up, Faith decided to play with my purse again," said the woman flatly.

Keeping himself from laughing he drove on at sight of the green light. Keeping the happy thought he heard the crackle behind the phone line.

"Is she there with you?" He asked decoding the noise from the feedback. The four year old was more likely than not being behind it all.

Hearing a gentle shush in the back noise Lightning's voice came back. She asked him about his day and he quickly dismissed it as simply, "fine."

Somethings never changed. But for now she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Claire I'm less than half an hour away from making it to the beach. How was the hotel booking? Did you make it all okay? Sorry for-"

"Hope," she interrupted calmly. "You're on your way, you don't need to apologize. Focus on driving safely instead."

Allowing himself to laugh he voiced his false concern quickly. "Driving and being on the phone isn't considered safe, you know."

"Then hang up and pay attention to the road," she said seriously.

Keeping his eyes on the road he admitted his thoughts. Lowering his voice slightly he couldn't help but feel weak.

"I know, just wanted to hear your voice. I missed you all this weekend." Hope said softly keeping his hand to grip the phone tighter. There was a pause on the line before he heard another voice again.

"Hey dad, I found another shell. Aaron thinks they all look the same, he's trying to help me find better shells. All he does is get mad and keep saying it's his worst birthday ever." Said the little girl almost too casually.

Keeping his face from twitching at the sisterly tattletale. He kept his voice down and laughed into the phone.

"Don't worry, he's just a little tired of waiting. Be patient with him I'll be there soon. How's your mother?" Hope asked finally trying to keep his attention at the next exit towards the highway.

"Hmm….she got really red when you said something to her. Did you tell mommy y-," the too honest girl's voice left the phone line and was replaced by another pause.

"Hope sorry but we have to hang up. You're driving as we speak, get here safely," she said curtly as she failed to hide her embarrassment.

Deciding not to argue any further he smiled before asking a pensive question.

"So Faith said that her brother is upset, said something about this being the worst birthday ever. Is he really that mad?" Hope asked keeping his eyes from moving from the road.

She was silent for a while before he heard her muffled voice. It was hard to tell what she was saying. He could make a few words out and his ears perked at the voice of the stoic kid.

It took a while to hear the clash of personalities on the line. He heard his wife's voice first.

"Your father wants to talk to you."

Hope heard the grumpy reply.

"Is he even going to show up? I'm digging for shells anyways."

"Aaron Estheim I suggest you leave your shells and get up now. Your father is waiting." Lightning said applying a bit of force in her voice. For a moment Hope wondered if it was a good idea to just speak into the phone and tell his son not to worry for not wanting to talk.

Then he heard the grinded teeth of his son closely. To this day he always listened to his mother's 'suggestions'.

"Hey dad, mom's being weird again," was the first thing the boy said to him.

Keeping a grin at the irony of it all Hope kept his tone serious.

"Mind your mother Aaron. Besides it won't take long for me to get there." Hope said hearing a familiar 'tch' coming from the other end.

"You're on your way huh?" Asked the skeptical kid which in all purposes reminded Hope of his mother's 'charming' way of opening up.

"Yup."

There was silence again which made the concerned father look at his phone's signal bars and put the phone back to his ear when he saw the full bars.

"Aaron? Are you there? I don't hea-"

"Can you bring some ice cream?" The voice suddenly blurted out, startling the man at the random request.

Keeping his face as straight as possible Hope thought of the consequences from the last time ice cream caused a pissed off Lightning to ban the tasty junk food from the Estheim residence.

To this day it was the funniest moment he'd witness between his wife and her smaller doppelganger. At first it started out as a simple no from both parents. That was a given, the boy had already eaten a bag of chocolate covered peanuts. In a more personal note perhaps Lightning came a little too quick to deny their son of further treats because her favorite snack had been munched completely.

Not that it mattered because by the time Lightning had walked over to the kitchen to assist her husband cook dinner; there was the small pink haired youth with chocolate covered ice cream remains all over his mouth. That wasn't even the best part for Hope.

The fact that the five year old boy that shared his emerald eyes managed to keep the most Lightning like defiant look as he stared blankly at the popsicle stick made Hope laugh harder than he should.

The final verdict was, a pissed off wife for having a rebellious son and an equally difficult husband. Who was too busy tearing up to help her discipline their son of deliberate disobedience.

It probably didn't help either that Hope's defense was to the lines of "he's got your genes". And so the boy did and ice cream was no longer welcomed by the person in charge of the house.

Fondly remembering that year Hope chuckled at the memories of actually being home. Giving a convincing sigh of defeat he whispered into the phone.

"Alright you got yourself a deal, just don't misbehave on my way there okay?" Hope reasoned hearing a noise of surprise.

"Wait. Dad you're actually coming then?" The boy asked keeping the surprised voice from before. The man looked at the sign above him directing him to the coast exit in twenty miles.

"Yes of course, try helping your sister find some neat shells for me okay? Now pass me your mother, I love you." He said waiting for the boy to pass the phone over. The noise didn't change position for a while though.

"Yeah I'll try helping her out. Sis has some neat one's already," the boy responded as the line shifted in feedback again towards Lightning's familiar voice.

"Okay seriously though hang up, we'll talk in a bit," she said slightly agitated. Hope knew better though.

Deciding to finally let go he said his goodbyes and waited for her to drop the line. Instead…

"Hope?"

"Hm?"

"Whatever ice cream you bring over, make sure you get strawberry please." She stated as the slightly shocked man shook his head in disbelief.

"Was she listening?"

Scratching the side of his head Hope mumbled in response.

"Hope?"

"Hmm?"

...

…

"Be careful, love you."

The clicking noise ended their conversation as Hope locked his phone contently. There were a lot of things he needed to improve on. Truth be told being a father was probably the hardest job tittle he had ever had. Its easy planning ahead and making schedules about spending time together.

In his youth he felt justified for resenting his father. Always calling in late to explain how he wasn't going to make it in time for events his mother had planned. Giving Hope about as many broken promises as there were days in a year. And now look at him...

Karma. Perhaps necessary, maybe even mandatory in order to understand the term responsibility. Work wasn't easy. Years ago his attempt at creating a form of technology to help improve energy consumption was now a worldwide project. More than six different prototypes had been established in major cities around the world and ahead of it all was Hope Estheim.

There were many perks he had access due to his job as lead director. One of which wasn't on the table however was time. Keeping his attention to work and home was his main objective, the science came in secondary. Yet he treated his work as more than an investment. It was his life work, and more importantly it was a gateway for his children to walk in safely.

A better source, for a better life. That was his job mission even if it did sound like a lame slogan. Even now as an adult though, he had learned something new about life that made him appreciate his own father even more. An appreciation his younger self didn't fully understand.

And now that appreciation was something Hope was going to make sure he could share with his family. He wasn't an expert at fatherhood, but he had the best partner he could ask for to guide him forward. Funny enough as easy as it was to remember these sentiments it was even more nostalgic to think the road he was taking was the same one he began traveling all those years ago…

(Seven years ago)

They were a bit early, a little too early in his opinion. They hit the road at six in the morning to an airport that was twenty minutes away. To a flight they didn't have till nine in the morning. So why on earth was he watching groggily the zooming path of a quiet highway? Oh right…

"Hope did you get any sleep last night?" She asked innocently enough. Being fully aware he had spent the last few hours of the previous night packing up his stuff in procrastination that was partially his fault.

He didn't like complaining though, let alone to a person who insisted on driving while he laid back in the passenger seat. Lightning looking as alert and ready as he normally would be two-three hours from now with his coffee in hand.

"I'm fine Light, my face just needs a bit of waking up," he replied looking at her side reassuringly. Meeting her eyes momentarily he found himself soon staring at a blue thermos presented to him.

"It's freshly brewed from my place from when you picked me up earlier," Lightning said forcing the hot container in the cup holder beside him.

Hope gratefully smiled back but made no attempt to reach for it. For a while the gesture felt unnoticed until he heard her tap her fingers by his side of the seat.

"Drink it before it gets cold Hope," she insisted while he slowly moved his eyes to the coffee aromatic beverage. Still not budging.

He did the math in his head and he figured the thermos probably could hold the inside temperature for another hour before it started to give off heat. Otherwise he would make sure Lightning knew to ask for a refund if she had recently purchased the thermos.

Hearing a quiet sigh his attention turned to her who now kept her attention partly at the road. He was going to insist on keeping her attention at the road as well before she interrupted his thoughts.

"Your eyes are practically falling from being tired, drink the coffee please. It will keep me from looking at the road and make you feel slightly better," she reasoned as he quietly observed her.

She looked nice as usual, but her hair seemed a little different. A part of him wondered why she decided to straightened her hair today. Not that it mattered, because again she always looked pretty. But Hope had always wondered if she had always purposely kept the left front strand of her pink hair curly and now he had his answer. Apparently Claire Farron made the time to keep a certain hairstyle. Too bad he couldn't find the time to get a decent haircut.

Looking at himself at the side of the window he saw his usually long silver hair back with the wings style bangs slightly kept back from earlier today. He needed to do something about it, and clearly sleep deprivation was making him more self-conscience. Maybe he did-

"Hope!"

"Yea- Owww!"

That woke him up. His eyes crossed towards the top of his forehead where the slightly red mark still stung from the flick before. Looking at the one responsible for it Hope frowned in response.

"We need to find a new way for you to get my attention Light," he said sitting up a bit more alert than before.

Boring her eyes at him she motioned to the coffee. Not wasting any more reasons to annoy her he lifted the thermos and silently drank it in slurps. He swore sometimes she treated him like a kid. Technically he was twenty seven, a full six years older than her.

Outside this car the people that surrounded him noticed him as man with a vision. Completely respected and kept in warm light of most conversations. Yet somehow he managed to find someone who kept him in check, and probably didn't bother reminding him with her actions.

Still, he had to thankful he supposed. Not only did he have a great friend in her, but they both understood one another. They were partners.

"Feel better?" She asked as her eyes kept looking at the road in front of them.

"Yeah, are you happy?" He shot back putting down the thermos quietly back in the holder.

He didn't fully appreciate it at the time. But he didn't forget her smile when she turned to him that morning. Logically it wasn't anything meaningful, except that it was. Perhaps it was the meaningful way she said it that made him feel sure about stuff. Her being his companion to this long trip they would embark. Or maybe even convinced himself that she felt similar in respect to everything.

"Yeah. I'm happy now."

Coming up to the exit ramp to the coast outside the city Hope looked gratefully at his watch. He still had time. Not much, but it should be plenty for a few hours before the sun started to set. He absolutely needed to be there to surprise Aaron for his surprise birthday present. He wasn't going to disappoint this time.

But first things first…

"Where is the closest store from here?" He asked himself looking for a place to find his last minute errand.

There were a lot of things Hope needed to improve on. He was not perfect nor did he pretend to be. But that was okay too. He had someone who was going to help him get better at this and had two assistants that would keep him from getting tunnel vision. Hope couldn't have asked for more.

Author's Notes: Well here we are at the second part of my story. Sorry for the confusion but I planned this all to be split into different themes. The first stage was the reintroduction to Hope and Lighting's characters. And this one is more about the cause and effect of their relationship and their story to keep things together. I hope you enjoy it, and again I apologize if there is any confusion about my other story, "The Bond That Ties Us Together". That story is officially complete, I won't be uploading anything else, and this is the sequel if you will. I'm grateful for your support and really hope you enjoyed reading this. Comments and reviews are welcomed as always and I'll be tuning in soon for more! Till next time.