10 years later

They say that time heals all wounds. This, I can attest to. I didn't go to the wedding. I flew off to Los Vegas where I cradled my wounds with a bottle of gin and few bad decisions. The women, the music, the dimly lit clubs with strobe lights that illuminated my weary soul. I fucked shit up when I was 23, had the time of my life. Everything was pleasure. If it did not bring a wise smile to my face, then it did not exist in my world. She no longer existed in my world, so I was free to be the savage beast that she tried to calm with the caress of her voice and that soft…soft touch. I only matured after I felt something softer, the sweet little hands of someone who looked just like me. He became my world, even after his mother left us. He is the sole motivation for my personal development and growth.

The sun kissed the sky on a sweltering afternoon in California. Danny was on an extended vacation there with his son. The gentle acoustics of the ocean was disrupted by a disgruntled exchange.

"Nathanial," Danny grumbled as he chased the 9 year old along the beach. "Nate, come on!" He was panting and half out of breath. "When I say it's time to go, it's time to go!"

"You have to catch me first!" The child looked over his shoulder at his struggling father and giggled. This gesture caused him to unknowingly crash into a little girl's sand castle. He stopped when he realized this.

The girl stood there cold-faced, but solemn. Her big brown eyes, though gentle, were fixed on him with the most piercing gaze. Her long, curly brown hair danced in the wind as she stood with her arms fastened across her chest.

"Great, look what you just did." She was eerily calm. Her friends, who were sitting nearby stood up to defender her.

"You have to help her fix it," A blonde-haired girl said snappily.

"Yeah, that isn't nice!" A skinny red-head tried to sound tough.

Nate shifted on his feet nervously. He focused his attention on the girl with almond skin, whose castle he had just destroyed. "I can fix it!" He grabbed a bucket and shovel and threw some sand in it and then flipped the bucket over to create a tower that quickly crumbled.

The girl uncrossed her arms and chuckled. "You have to wet the sand a little so that it sticks." She kneeled down beside him and helped him to gather another round into the bucket.

He shuddered when her hand and brushed past his.

"I'm Laini, by the way," she offered a smile

"N-Nate," he pulled his hair back casually into a low ponytail. Then he grabbed the bucket and sprinkled a bit of water onto the sand and compacted it together. This time, when he flipped over the bucket, the sand held the form.

"Ooh, Laini, his castle is even better than yours!" One of the girls perked up.

"It's not a competition, Alice," Laini grew irritated by the defeat.

"Well if it was, I would win," Nate said tauntingly.

"Please, you didn't even know how to build a sand-castle until like 30 seconds ago."

"Yeah, but it only took me 30 seconds to learn how to make one and I still did it better than you when you already knew how to do it!"

Laini grew defensive, "You don't know how good my sand castle was because you just came over here and ruined it!"

"I did that sand castle a favor. It was a disaster when you made," he teased her.

Laini frowned and did the unthinkable: she stomped Nate's freshly done sand castle and then grabbed a fist full of sand which she threw at him yelling as she did. "Ugh, you're such a cocky little brat. Evolve!"

Nate started to head off, laughing as she chased him with more sand. "Haters" he called back when he realized she was no longer following him. He ran right into his father.

"I told you, I'm no chasing after you anymore. Next time, I'll leave you here to get eaten by the sharks," Danny remarked in a tone that was supposed to seem serious.

"You can't scare me anymore dad. I've evolved." He said with adult-like sophistication.

"You've evolved?" Danny chuckled at his son's choice in words. "Great, next I need you to evolve into someone who does their chores when they're supposed to. Evolve into a young man who listens for once instead of being hard-headed all the time." He nudged his son as they prepared to leave the beach.

"Oh, wait, Dad! Can I use your cell phone real quick?"

"Um, no sir. You're not doing games right now. We still have to pack the bags. I'd like to stop back at the hotel before we—"

Nathanial snatched his father's phone out of his pocket and took off again.

Danny stopped in his tracks. He looked toward the sky. "Is this my punishment for all those years of being rebellious?" He just shook his head.

The girls were still talking about him when he went back over there. They were packing their things as well.

"Hey," Nate approached the girl with the wavy brown hair. She looked at him, clearly unamused. "I thought maybe you could put your number in my phone."

"That's your phone?" He handed her a brand new iphone 7, which she marveled at for a moment before saying, "Sorry, I'm not allowed to give out my number to strangers."

"But you can give her yours!" The girl with blonde hair chimed in. She reached into Laini's bag and pulled out a cell phone.

"Anna, that's my mom's phone," Laini whispered to her friend, but she didn't listen.

"Here ya go."

Nate looked to Laini for permission to proceed. When she shrugged, he put his dad's number in the phone.

"Now, you are going to call me, right? You're not just gonna leave me hanging here."

"I might if I get bored enough," she shrugged.

Nathanial chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Okay," he tried to suppress his smile. "Goodbye Laini." He said on his way off.

"Bye," she waved slowly.

The tender moment was interrupted by a woman's voice. "Who are you waving at, little bit?"

"I'm not little anymore, mom," she grumbled, "I'm almost 10 years old."

"Almost 10? Sweetie, you just turned 9 a couple—You're right. You're a growing girl. I'm gonna have to stop babying you." She kissed her daughter on the forehead lightly and then looked up to notice the supposed babysitter napping in the sun.

"Really, Regina? You're supposed to be watching the kids not sun bathing." She threw a beach ball at her childhood friend. The girls giggled.

"What? Huh? Lacey! What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing asleep, Regina? Anything could have happened." She kept her voice down.

"It's fine. They're fine. I only dozed off for a few seconds….or minutes. They were just goofing off with some boy they met."

"A boy?" Lacey nudged her daughter.

"Just a friend, mom. Not even that. Just some jerk who's trying to ruin my life."

"Good, honey all boys are jerks who will try to ruin your life," Regina assured her, "just ask your mom." This, she said beneath her breath.

"Oh, right. Sweetie, I need my phone back."

"Daddy called," Laini added meekly. "I ignored it just like you said."

Lacey shifted uncomfortably. She looked around hoping that none of the girls heard that. "Thanks, hon."

Laini handed her mom the phone.

"Go on, put your sundress on. It's time to go."

Lacey smoothed a piece of hair behind her ears. At a distance she could see two figures walking side by side, spitting images of one another, a father and son. She could not distinguish those figures because their backs were turned toward her, and yet she stared aimlessly in that direction for no reason at all: pondering, wondering.

A/N: Okay, I know this is not the story you guys were probably expecting/ hoping for, but how do you feel about this little branch off about Lacey and Danny's kids? Let me know in the reviews if it's worth continuing.