Hey everybody! I think it's been quite a long time since I last uploaded a oneshot, right? Well, it was about time I uploaded one anyway.

I've been going through the lyrics of some of Elvis Presley's songs and this one got my attention. It's called (obviously) "Don't Cry Daddy", and the lyrics just gave me the idea for this oneshot. Besides, my grandpa just died last week :( ...and I felt like writing about death, in some way. Y'know, writing is a good way to express your feelings when you feel (kind of) troubled. I'm including my Lilo/Stitch OC kids, Kolohe and Iniki, but this is NOT the sequel to "Bring back my Angel" I talked about. Let's just put it as a "What if" story, okay? Oh, and I didn't explain the reason as to why Lilo is dead in this story. I'm letting that to your imagination...

Enjoy! R&R!

Don't Cry Daddy

Damn sun. Stitch thought as he felt the hot rays hitting square against his face, pulling up the covers to hide his head and bring some darkness to his tired eyes. Again, he had only slept two hours or so last night.

He hadn't been able to sleep for the last three months, ever since Lilo was gone. He wanted so badly to recover those many hours he had wasted crying or just staring at the ceiling, but he couldn't. He needed her warmth beside him; he needed her comforting words and her uplifting smile to keep him alive and cheerful, but it all was gone. Gone…

But then again, as many other times, he couldn't stand being in the same bed that he had shared with her. It was all too painful for him. Grumbling, he stood up slowly, instead of jumping out of the bed, as he had used to. His body immediately compelled about getting up, telling him that it needed some more rest to fully recover the lost strength, but Stitch ignored it. He walked out of his new room. The dome was now occupied by the kids because of the same reason that didn't let Stitch sleep: it reminded him too much of Lilo.

Today I stumbled from my bed
With thunder crashing in my head
My pillow still wet
From last night tears…

Dang it, the fridge was empty… again. It was the fifth time in the week, and it was only Tuesday! Stitch looked around to see what he could fix himself for breakfast and he found some round, small eggs. He didn't even bother himself with preparing them; he just threw the white eggs into his big mouth, gulping them down. Ugh, they didn't taste good at all. Maybe some coffee would help in getting off that awful taste of uncooked eggs, Stitch reasoned.

Going straight to the coffee pot, he checked if there were any remains of coffee from last dinner. He found just a little, which made him annoyed. As if wanting to retaliate with something… with anything, he chewed and gulped down the coffee pot as well. Nani wouldn't be too happy after this, he heard somewhere in his head. "Who cares?" He snapped back to no one in particular, but himself.

His stomach was still growling with hunger, which made him look for something else to eat. Hmm, the drawers were empty. The cabinets were empty as well. "Blitznac, are we already out of food so fast?" He thought as he registered everything.

"Stitch, you bad boy!"

He snapped around, looking for the owner of the voice, the voice he had missed so much. But nobody was there to be seen. Soon he fell into the realization that his mind was playing tricks on him. Growling with hurt and somewhat of anger, he plopped down on the floor, thinking of how she would call him bad boy whenever he did something that she didn't like. "Lilo… I miss her…"

"I hate her."

"What do you mean you hate her?"

"Ih, I hate her! She told me that love is more powerful than death… it was a lie! A LIE! SHE LIED TO ME!"

"No, it's not a lie! She didn't lie to you!"

"Naga…! Stitch love Lilo! Stitch… love… Lilo…" He spoke aloud by first time, trying to convince himself that he didn't hate his wife. He didn't hate her; he loved her a lot… maybe too much. And maybe that was why now he thought he hated her, because she had left him. He fought those thoughts very often, but they would always come after him as a ghost.

And sometimes, when he was totally convinced that he didn't hate her, but missed her and wanted to be with her again, he had yet to fight against other thought: giving up on this miserable life so he could be reunited with her once more. If it were only him, it'd be a lot easier to say that, but then he always remembered that he still had Iniki and Kolohe…

And as I think of giving up
A voice inside my coffee-cup
Kept crying "but…"
And ringing in my ears…

Bringing his hands to his face in a frustration manner, he felt some more tears starting to leak out of his eyes. "No, no, NO! Not again! Blitznac Stitch, stop it right now!"

"Daddy…?"

Stitch's head snapped up. Standing in front of him was a distressed Iniki. It was one of those rare times when she had actually caught her dad crying, and she knew the reason of his tears. She had cried a lot because of that same reason, but she didn't like to see her dad crying. He was her hero, her knight in a silver armor… and to see that brave warrior and knight in such a state just made her more depressed.

"Iniki…? What you doing… so early?" Stitch asked confused, wiping his tears hastily off his cheeks, but it was already too late. She had seen them.

Don't cry daddy
Daddy, please don't cry
Daddy, you've still got me and little Tommy
Together we'll find a brand new mommy

"I couldn't sleep at all last night. I kept twisting on my bed and then the sun was up." Iniki explained in Turian to her father. "I wish I could sleep just as much as Kolohe does…" She added in a quiet voice.

Stitch sighed, knowing what her daughter meant. Kolohe had been sleeping a lot ever since his mom had passed away, unlike him and Iniki, who had lacked of sleep. But Kolohe wasn't any better than they were. Stitch knew it.

"Don't you say that." He replied in Turian as well. "Your brother is very, very sad too, just like you and I are."

"At least he gets some more rest." Iniki insisted.

"Not so sure about that." Stitch thought sadly. He motioned his daughter to sit down beside him, and she did so quietly. The girl rested her head on her daddy's shoulder, while his arm had gone around her shoulder as he held her closer to him.

"Dad… where do you think mom is right now at?"

Stitch shifted uncomfortably after his daughter's question. "Well, I don't… I mean, I… I think she's in a better place."

"Oh great, is that the best you could think of?!"

"So, if she's in a better place, why are you crying?" Iniki questioned once more.

Stitch's voice was almost cracking, and it went out as a barely hearable whisper. "I miss her a lot…" He caressed Iniki's long ears, feeling the soft fur of her head under his hand.

"I miss her too." She added in a whisper. She clutched to her dad's body, and then Stitch noticed she was trembling. It wasn't long before he realized she was weeping. "And I miss you too…"

Daddy, daddy, please laugh again
Daddy, ride us on your back again
Oh, daddy, please don't cry…

"Me too…"

Stitch lifted his head to see Kolohe already standing in the entrance of the kitchen, sparkling tears brimming at his ebony eyes. He fought to keep them back; he wanted to be as brave and courageous as his dad was, and there was no way he was letting those tears roll down his cheek, nor even get out of his eyes. However, all of his courage and bravery faded away when he detected tears rolling down his hero's cheek. Containing himself no more, he let the tears burst out.

"Come here…" Stitch asked softly to his son, lifting little Iniki from the cold kitchen floor and then leading to the living room, letting himself fall onto the couch. Kolohe did the same, hiccupping and wiping a few tears off his eyes, cheeks and nose.

Why are children always first
To feel the pain and hurt the worst?
It's true, but somehow
It just don't seem right…

Both kids wept, and Stitch could only hold them to his chest, hoping that this would calm them down a little. "God, I hate it when they catch me crying… they always end up crying too. And this all is my fault." He thought, bringing them closer. His tears fell on Kolohe's silky blue hair and Iniki's fluffy midnight-black fur. Both kids felt wet their heads and wept even more, knowing that their dad, their daddy, was crying just as much as they were.


"Dad… I miss mom…" Kolohe wept.

"I know… I know… I miss her too…" Stitch started, but Kolohe interrupted him.

"But I don't like to see you sad… I liked it better when you would just smile and make us laugh, and play with us, and watch a monster movie with us…" He said, his childish voice drilling at Stitch's head. Did his pain hurt them that much…?

'Cause ev'ry time I cry I know
It hurts my little children so
I wonder…

Will it be the same tonight?

Without saying a single word, he stood up and walked into the corridor. The kids lifted their teary eyes to see where their dad had gone to, thinking that maybe he had gone to lock himself in his room again.

But that wasn't the case this time.

They could just hear steps on the attic and then the steps faded away. Stitch was left into view in almost no time. Two surfboards with vibrant, shiny colors were beside him.

"Let's get these un-dusted at the beach… before we forget how to." The blue experiment said with a soft smile. The kids still had tears in their eyes, but a smile had formed on their lips.

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The kids were screaming in delight as the crystal waves collided against their surfboards, lifting them high and then pushing them to the shore. Stitch had brought his special floats and a little device that Jumba had invented for him some time ago so he could breathe underwater, in case he fell into the sea when a wave hit them. It had been so long since he had last used them, yet he could remember perfectly how to make them work.

Kolohe shared the surfboard with Stitch, while Iniki had the other one all for herself. From time to time, Stitch would switch places with his kids, sometimes falling into the water and then having to swim to the closest surfboard. He was glad he could "swim" now. Several years back, when Lilo and he were still kids, he couldn't have.

Soon they got tired and swam to the shore. The kids were somewhat hungry, so Stitch got some food for them (thank goodness that even though he had no money, there were a few distracted tourists). He would take them to the movies later, to see the newest zombie movie they had, using the same methods that he and Lilo used when they were kids and had no money for the cinemas.

He had already left a note to Jumba and Nani, saying that he was going to spend the whole day with his kids. He knew they'd understand because they had asked Stitch to go out sometime to clear off his mind, but he was too stubborn and depressed to listen. They'd be happy after knowing this.

It was a beautiful day, indeed. Stitch wondered how he couldn't have done this before, because it felt so right… how could he have been so stupid as to try to close his eyes to everything, to give up when everything was so good? The sky was a bright blue and the clouds floated lazily as the wind carried them to another place. Maybe the only bad thing was that it was hot, but Hawaii was pretty hot on summer, being a tropical island.

The day passed by pretty quickly. Soon the sky was a dark navy blue and the first stars were already twinkling, though it was almost as hot as it was in the day. The furry alien and his kids got home when it was already night. Everybody was having dinner, and Nani invited them to have some, but the kids were so tired that Stitch took them to bed, telling the others that he'd be back.

It had been a lot of time since Stitch had gone into the dome. He observed everything, a part of his mind submerged in remembrances. The furniture and toys had changed, but there was still the same atmosphere that used to be there when Lilo and he were kids and slept there. The five-year-old twins got into their respective beds, closing their eyes as soon as they felt the pillow to their heads. Stitch kissed them goodnight, and then walked to the lift, pressing the red button.

"Thanks, daddy…" He heard Iniki say before the lift brought him down.

He was quickly done with his dinner, replying to Nani's questions and talking a bit with Jumba about the day. His niece Sarah listened intently at everything he had to say about her cousins, smiling almost the whole time as she ate. Even Kale, Nani and David's youngest kid, who had been crying before at something he didn't want to eat, listened at the tranquil voice of his "Uncle Stitch". But Stitch wasn't there for long.

Back in his room and under the covers, he started to think again. Now he felt a lot better than he did in the morning, but he still couldn't help feeling that something was missing. He sighed, knowing what it was. It was the same sensation of emptiness he felt whenever he thought about his deceased wife.

"Cheer up! You've got your little kids, and you must be strong for them. That's what Lilo would have done if it had been you the one who died."

"Poor kids… how will they do without their mom?"

"Maybe you could get a new one for them."

His eyes opened when that thought crossed his mind. No! It was too fast! He still needed to get over Lilo, and besides, he loved her too much to even think of another female experiment or girl… but what about his kids? Would they need a new mom?

In that moment Angel came to his mind. It was true; they had broken up several years ago to be just friends because, well, their thing did never work. Stitch and Lilo fell in love and Angel had moved on with Reuben. But maybe this time could be different. Back then they barely knew anything of the other, and now they were friends. Besides, Reuben and Angel had broken up a few years ago, and since then Angel never dated any other experiment. He had seen her in Lilo's funeral, after a lot of time of not seeing each other…

Don't cry daddy
Daddy, please don't cry
Daddy, you've still got me and little Tommy
Together we'll find a brand new mommy

"Naga… too soon. And Stitch… still love Lilo." He thought aloud.

"I'm not saying that you won't love her anymore. I'm just saying that it'd be a good idea if you just moved on with someone else…"

"Naga… too soon…"

He turned on his side, facing the wall. He found a family picture of Lilo, him and their kids when they were just two years old. Stretching out his arm, he took the picture and brought it closer to his eyes and fixed his eyes on Lilo, the raven haired girl that had taught him so many things about love and family…

"What would she have done if she were you?"

A sob escaped his lips. "Meega naga nota… Stitch need Lilo…"

And so did his kids. He knew that. That was when he realized that he was getting depressed once more over the same thing. He didn't like it when this happened. He felt selfish, thinking only of how much he needed Lilo, and of how much he missed her and how much HE wants her back.

"But I don't like to see you sad…" Kolohe's words rang through his ears.

Suddenly, he felt someone shoving at his arm. Scared, he put back the picture on the night table and snapped his head back to see who had shoved him. Two kids stared back at him.

"Can we sleep with you tonight?" Iniki asked softly. "We had nightmares…"

Stitch moved to make some room for them. "Oki takka. Come here…"

Two bundles crawled up to Stitch's bed and laid by his sides; Iniki at his right and Kolohe at his left side. Iniki could feel her daddy's pillow a bit moist. She hugged him.

"Don't cry Daddy… we're here with you…" She said comfortingly, nuzzling her nose into her dad's fluffy blue fur.

Stitch had been about to protest, saying that he wasn't crying, but he opted for just hugging them back. "I won't…"

Of course, he knew that wasn't true at all, but at least he'd try. He had to be strong for them. They needed him…

Don't cry daddy
Daddy, please don't cry…