Hey there, my fellow writers and readers. I hope you're doing great with your stories; I know I sure do sometimes. Well, here's a brand-new oneshot I cooked up for 8 Simple Rules (which was formerly titled "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" until after the death of John Ritter). It's set after the 2-part episode Goodbye, and was inspired by the Season 1 episode "Every Picture Tells a Story." My favorite scene in Every Picture Tells a Story is where Carter Tibbits tells Rory he has something that Carter looks for in all the kids who are in his at-risk youth program — character. (Plus, John was great in that episode, as he usually was in all the 8 Simple Rules episodes with him in them. He made that show what it was, he did a fantastic job portraying Paul Hennessy, and he was also a great dad to his kids in real life — especially his son Jason. He will be missed.) And one part is where Rory mentions the contest the family held when they wanted to pick a place for their two-week family vacation is a reference to the Season 1 episode Give it Up, on the condition that they give up a bad habit. (Rory's was tattling.)

So I decided to type this up. Hope you like it.. :)

Disclaimer: The geniuses at ABC own 8 Simple Rules. The lyrics to Point of Light by Randy Travis belong with their respective owners. I own the fanfics that I cook up from time to time.


A Great Man and a Great Writer

Carter Tibbits' POV

Rory Joseph Hennessy. That kid's a great young man.

He has something special in him that I look for in all the kids in my at-risk program, and that's character. I wish they all had that.

After all, Rory does. He sure is a fine young man.

Plus, his father Paul was a writer — and a great one at that, too.

I often read the "Slice of Life" column, and it sure gives me a good laugh. After all, I'm all about humor.

And I sure could use a good laugh right now, as I'm feeling very sad. The reason why is that Paul is gone. When I got the news that he'd passed away from a heart attack, I was devastated. I will miss him a lot. But at least I will have all those columns he wrote to remember him by.

And I sure do see a little of myself as a kid whenever I look at his son, Rory. After all, Paul knew that I was right when I remarked that Rory was a "nice polite boy" too. I just knew he was — I could sense Rory had something special in him.


Rory and I were sitting on the couch in the living room. It had been the first time I got to see what the inside of the Hennessy house looked like, and I had to say that I was very impressed. After Paul showed me his laptop and all of the "Slice of Life" columns he had written, I remarked that he did a great job writing all those columns.

"You see, Mr. Tibbits," Rory began, "my dad is a great writer. He sure knows how to type his thoughts too."

I noticed Rory's grin as he finished.

"I see," I replied. "Well, I've read his column, and it's great that your father's a writer too. I've said this before, Rory — you sure got something I look for in all the kids I work with in my at-risk youth program, and that's character. You got it somewhere deep inside your heart. You just need to find it and unearth it; think of it as a buried treasure, and you're the treasure hunter."

"Really?" replied Rory, an intrigued look on his face; I nodded. "Huh, now there's something new." He grinned.

I smiled. "Yeah. I was once your age, and you remember me saying that I grew up the eighth of nine children." Rory nodded. "Well, I always wanted to write a column myself. Like a gossip column, or an advice column."

"Wow," said Rory after I finished. "Well, get this, Mr. Tibbits. It was summertime, and one day, Dad, Mom, Bridget, Kerry and I, we had this contest to see where we would go on vacation for two weeks. We all had our own ideas for where we wanted to go. Bridget wanted to go to Mall of America. Dad preferred the cabin at the lake. Kerry wanted to stay home. And Mom liked the idea of visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Sarasota, Florida."

"Really?" I remarked, fascinated as I listened. Rory nodded. "Well, where did you want to go, Rory?"

"I liked the idea of space camp. They had zero-gravity chambers, and you got to sleep in real astronaut bunk beds."

"Ah, space camp," I nodded. "Cool."


That kid of yours, Paul — he sure is something special, and he's a cool kid. I'm sure that, even though you're gone physically, you'll always be with him spiritually, and he will always have your voice in his ear.

I will miss you, Paul. You raised one heck of a son. I'm sure he misses you too. After all, he sure does have a sense of humor, he laughs a lot, and he has a cool grin.

Like father, like son.

I look at Rory, and I remember those words.

And as I look at Paul's picture, I just want to say one thing.

"Thanks, Paul. You were a great man and a great writer — and you always will be."

All it takes is a point of light,
a ray of hope in the darkest night
If you see what's wrong
and you try to make it right
you will be a point of light

~Randy Travis, Point of Light


Well, I hope you liked reading this as much as I did writing it.

This oneshot is dedicated to John Ritter, who (as Paul Hennessy in 8 Simple Rules) helped inspire me to write. After all, he was a force of nature, and swept through people's lives, leaving nothing but laughter in his wake. Nothing made him happier than making others laugh.

RIP Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 — September 11, 2003). Although you are gone physically, you're still here in the movies and TV shows that you starred in, as well as in our hearts and memories.