It was a beautiful afternoon outside. The sun was in the process of setting down below the horizon, leaving off a warm orange glow upon the grasses and buildings. It was not exactly warm out, but it was not that cold either. This day was actually a special day; celebrated by most people, but not exactly considered a holiday.

Dr. Hare was sitting at his desk, face down, scribbling a message on a piece of scratch paper. He smiled at the thought of the person he was sending this letter to. Dr. Hare made sure that this letter to him was efficient and sophisticated, so could show him how much his son has grown over the past ten years.

"Harvey, old chap," a voice said from behind, "may I borrow your stapler?"

Dr. Hare instantly recognized this voice. Without breaking contact with his letter, he answered, "Sure thing, Mordred. Just grab it off of my desk."

Binary Bard went up to his desk to take the stapler. He caught Dr. Hare writing something on a paper, and curiously asked, "What are you up to?"

"Writin' a letter to my old man," replied Dr. Hare, glancing at him. "Haven't seen him in years, but I always write to him on every Fathers' Day."

Binary Bard had not met Dr. Hare's father in real life, but he has seen him in pictures. His father seemed like a swell fellow, though to some surprise, he was just like his son; dressed in a rabbit costume. Only, while Dr. Hare had a pink rabbit costume, his father had a black one with red goggles, matching his belt. He also had slightly lighter blond hair, and his eyes were brown.

Dr. Hare folded up the paper and retrieved an envelope from his desk drawer, fitting it neatly inside.

"You know," Binary Bard started, "my father was a scientist, as well." Dr. Hare looked up at him again. "Yeah?"

"Well, somewhat. He usually dabbed on and off various types of sciences, but I could tell his favourite was astrology." He sighed thoughtfully. "Every week, he'd take me to the planetarium back in Astro Knights Island when I was a boy."

Dr. Hare finalized his envelope by applying a stamp on the top corner. "Sounds neat!" He stood up with the letter in his grasp. "Say, what's your dad's name again? I forget."

With a smile, Binary Bard said, "His name is Arthur."

Dr. Hare and Binary Bard walked out of his room. Dr. Hare went to go put his letter in the mailbox outside, while Binary Bard went back to his room.

Stepping into the living room, Dr. Hare suddenly felt a little uneasy. Suddenly, his stomach growled.

I sense a disturbance in my stomach, he thought. Looking back down at his letter, he concluded to get a small snack first. He could not deliver a letter on an empty stomach, even if the mailbox was a few feet from their house.

When Dr. Hare first entered the kitchen, he saw Hyper Hawk on her phone, sitting at the table. Dr. Hare smirked. "Hey, Hawk."

She looked up from her phone screen. Her face seemed a bit different than usual... almost emotionless. However, she tried to smile back. "What's up?" she said.

"Oh, just gettin' a little snack." He started walking to the fridge, when Hyper Hawk spoke again, noticing the envelope in his hand. "What do you have there, Doc?"

"It's a letter to my dad," he beamed. That moment, Hyper Hawk immediately stopped smiling. Dr. Hare noticed right away. He was clueless at first, and accidentally asked, "So what're you doing for your dad this Fathers' Day?"

Tears started to well up in Hyper Hawk's eyes, but she tried her best to blink them back, as she was reminded of what day it was.

She answered with her voice quivering, "I don't have a dad."

Dr. Hare also stopped smiling and widened his eyes in realization that he should not have said anything. He already knew this, but had forgotten about it right at that moment. "Hawk... I'm sorry..."

"No- it's okay," she said haltingly. The more she spoke, the heavier the urge to cry was. He went beside her and kneeled down, attempting to comfort her. Then, a streak of tears glided down her warm face. Hyper Hawk hastily wiped it away, not liking to cry in front of her friends.

"Hawk..." Dr. Hare began.

Binary Bard walked into the kitchen to find him. "Hey, thank you for letting me borrow your stapler," he said. "I only needed to staple some documents my father gave me a few years back!"

Hyper Hawk suddenly could not take it anymore. She stood up and quickly said, "I need some fresh air." Then she went outside, slamming the door behind her.

Dr. Hare looked at Binary Bard, looking surprised.

"Was it something I said?" Binary Bard asked him.

Hyper Hawk sat on one of the concrete steps leading up to the house. She was hunched over and buried her face in her knees, softly sobbing to herself. She knew that crying never solved any problems, but she had a hard time concealing her emotions, especially on Fathers' Day.

It had been over ten years since she had lost her father, but she still recalls it as if it were only a few days ago. She could not clearly remember what had happened, but the last thing she could recall on that dreadful day was her mother crying, while her father's copilot quietly explained to her what had happened. The only words young Hyper Hawk heard from him were:

"...storm... angry... shot lightning... crash-landed... our golden blimp is still intact... broke my arm... didn't survive."

Hyper Hawk had always mourned that very day, even if she had successfully forgotten which day it was. She just kept shaking herself and weeping, until she heard someone approaching her direction and humming to himself. She sniffled and quickly wiped away her hot tears.

He spotted her on the steps. "Ahoy, lass," Crawfish said tiredly. He had been on foot and peg leg all day at work, and could not wait to sit down.

"Hi, Cap'n," Hyper Hawk, with an obvious hint of gloom. Crawfish stood in front of her.

"What be troublin' ye, lass?"

Hyper Hawk desperately wanted to talk to her friend, but her hiccuping sobs blocked her throat. She swallowed down and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Talkin' makes ye feel better." Crawfish sat down next to her and patted her back. "Remember this; the strongest always cry the hardest," he said. "I believe yer strong enough ta tell me through yer tears."

She glanced at him. She did not want to be mean to him; she did not intend to be. He only wanted to help her, and she knew this. Hyper Hawk cleared her throat. "Cap'n... you know what day it is, right?"

"Ehh..." Crawfish rubbed the back of his neck. "The nineteenth, right?"

Hyper Hawk gave a stuttering sigh. "It's... Fathers' Day today." Crawfish then understood. "Oh... is that why yer..."

"Yeah," she said under her breath. She looked at him again, seeing his still expression. They were both silent for a while, sitting there as the sun gradually went down.

"Can you tell me about your dad?" Hyper Hawk asked, trying to change the subject. "Aye," he started, turning his body slightly to her, "they called him, 'Davy Jones', the most scalawag pirate in the seven seas. Retired now, the ol' sea-dog is, but his sword he passed on ta me is a memory I can never let go."

She nodded. "That's cool."

Crawfish hesitated, but he asked, "So what was your auld pop like?"

Hyper Hawk bit her lips, then said, "He was a cool guy." Her eyes darted to the ground. "He always wanted to be like his dad; daring and enthusiastic. But my grandfather got in a shipwreck."

"Really?.. What happened?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, something to do with the lighthouse, but after the accident, my grandmother fell into depression... especially when she was about to give birth to my dad." What still bothered Hyper Hawk is that he had not even married her grandmother, and she grieved until her own death.

"Oh..." the pirate mumbled under his breath. "So... what was yer grandfather's name?"

Hyper Hawk simply replied, "Valiant."

She felt the cool breeze brush against her hot face, and she sighed again in relief. She went on, "Anyway... my dad soon became an adventurer. After he built this really cool blimp..." -she swallowed down again- "...the one I have now... he started to explore many different islands across the waters, along with his best friend, his copilot. I called him 'Uncle Tavi'. I don't remember his real name... They never gave up on exploring every island in Poptropica."

Crawfish said, "Yer father sounded like a bold fella."

Hyper Hawk nodded in agreement, and looked back forward at the sunset. "I miss him so much," she said after a short silence. She took a deep breath to prevent anymore tears.

"Y'know," Crawfish suddenly said, "I'ven't told anyone else... but I was a father once."

She immediately looked back at him. "You were?"

"Uh, sort of." He glanced up at the sky and choked back his own emotions before telling her his own story. "When me hair was still brown, I used to have a lover. Her name was Elise... She was the most beautiful lass in all o' Fort Ridley. But..." Crawfish paused for a moment, looking down at his lap.

Hyper Hawk leaned closer to him. "What happened to her?"

Crawfish shook his head and muttered, "No... what happened to me?"

"Huh?"

"When I became the most greedy and treacherous cap'n o' the seas, I left her fer me ship n' crew ta go hunt fer more treasures. She..." He put his fist over his eye to prevent any tears from flowing. He took a deep breath, putting his hand back on his lap. "She never told me she was pregnant with me daughter."

Hyper Hawk put a hand over her mouth. "Oh my god... How did you find out?"

"One of me crew members told me. After that, I immediately started ta returned in me ship to Fort Ridley t'look fer Elise. It took me years fer me ship to journey back there... but I never found her, or our child." Crawfish glanced at Hyper Hawk. "That's why I attacked th' Fort... in rage n' hatred."

She put one arm around him for comfort. "I'm so sorry that happened," she told him.

He replied with empathy, "It's quite alright, lass... Elise actually always wanted a daughter... And whatever she wanted, I wanted for her."

Hyper Hawk's eyes lit up as she stared at him. "I bet you would have made an awesome dad."

Crawfish smiled to show some live happiness. "Thanks, lass... And I bet yer a great daughter... Yer father loved you n' yer sister very much."

For the first time for that day, Hyper Hawk's lips curled into a smile. She put her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Cap'n. I needed to hear that."

He hugged her with one arm and patted her, holding her for awhile. Seeing how dark the sky was getting, he said, "I think we'd better head inside. I don't want you to freeze."

Hyper Hawk nodded and stood up with him to go back inside the house.

Binary Bard, Black Widow, and Director D were having dinner in the kitchen, while Dr. Hare was sat at the couch, still grasping his envelope. He still felt guilty about reminding Hyper Hawk of what day it was, and sulked on the couch because of it. The four of them looked over at the front door when they heard it open, and were surprised to see Hyper Hawk coming inside, followed by Captain Crawfish going to sit in his chair.

Dr. Hare instantly shot up and ran up to Hyper Hawk. "Hey, are you alright?"

She nodded her head in response. "I'm okay now... I just needed to go outside." He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry I reminded you about what day it-"

"Harvey!" Binary Bard shouted from the kitchen in attempt to shut him up, but Hyper Hawk looked at him. "No, Mordred, it's all right now. I'm over it." She turned back to Harvey. "I'm... sorry for being all sensitive."

"No," he said, hugging her close, "no, it's not your fault. I understand you."

She looked up at him. "Can I spend the night here again?"

Dr. Hare replied, "Of course, you can." He then pulled away from her and picked up his envelope from the couch. "I'll be right back," he said, going towards the door. "Just gotta put this in the mailbox." Then he went out.

Hyper Hawk was all ready for bed, dressed in her night gown and sitting on the couch. She stood up to go turn off the light in the living room, when someone came out of the hallway. She looked to see who it was and saw Crawfish, walking across the room to his chair.

"Hey, Cap'n," she said. "What're you looking for?"

He retrieved something off his chair and smiled at her. "Forgot me book." He started to go back into the hall to his room as he added, "G'night, lass!"

"'Night, Dad!"

Crawfish stopped and glanced back at her. "Hm?"

Hyper Hawk looked at him. "I mean- Cap'n."

He looked at her for a second, then nodded in comprehension and continued to return to his room happily. Hyper Hawk switched off the light and lied down on the couch with a smile plastered on her face.

And on that day on, she had already planned to give Crawfish a card every Fathers' Day.

*Author's Note*

Please remember that, on every Fathers'/Mothers' Day, even if you don't have a father/mother, you are never alone. Your parents, friends, and other family members will always be there for you, and will always love you no matter what happens.
Happy Fathers' Day.