Elle's alarm went off Monday morning, letting her know it was time to take Max to school. She rolled over to turn the annoying sound off and reluctantly got out of bed. She walked to Max's room to find it vacant. Even though she tried her best to stay calm, panic set in. She ran ran into her bedroom to grab her pistol and walked down the stairs. A warm and delicious smell reached her nose and she walked to the kitchen. She found Max sitting at the table, holding a fork and impatiently waiting for food. Tommy stood at the stove making pancakes. She relaxed and set the gun down on the counter.

"You're up already?" Elle asked, seeing as most mornings, she had to pull her son out of bed.

"I couldn't sleep. The pancakes smelled too good," he said holding up his fork.

"Well, I'm glad you're up early! I have a million and one things to do today," Elle said making a cup of coffee. "As soon as you're done eating your pancakes, you need to get dressed. I need to drop you off early. I have a bunch of custom orders that need to be out today." She had started a company that she ran entirely at home. She made custom costumes and dresses that she sold online.

"I can drop him off today," Tommy said as he flipped two pancakes onto Max's plate, which he immediately drowned in syrup. "I have a few things that I need to do around town. I don't mind."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know. I want to," Tommy said, sitting down at the table shoving pancakes in his mouth.

Elle knew her son was in good hands with his father, the man she chose to marry but, she still felt weird about it. She was weird about anybody taking care of Max. The only person she ever fully trusted around him was Merton. However, she knew that if Tommy was going to become a part of their lives she had to learn to trust him again. "Okay. This will be good. I can get a head start."

Elle helped Max get ready and walked the two of them to the Jeep. Max hoped in and she shut the door behind him. Tommy turned the engine on and Max rolled down the window to give Elle a kiss. "Bye sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

Elle watched as they backed out of the driveway. A million things ran through her mind. Even though Max barely knew his father, she knew he would be the safest with him. Nothing could harm her child as long as he was with his werewolf father. She tried to remind herself of that. She walked inside and tried to focus on the orders she had to get done.

Tommy flipped through the radio stations to find some good music and finally stopped when he heard AC/DC on a classic rock station. He laughed when he noticed Max banging his head to the music.

"How do you like going to St. Patrick's?"

"It's school," Max said, fiddling with his hands.

"Aw come on, can't be that bad. At least you get to see your friends."

Max looked down at his feet and Tommy could tell that friends were a sore topic. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"I don't have a lot of friends."

"That can't be true. You're a cool kid. Why wouldn't anyone want to be friends with Max Dawkins?" Tommy said and nudged him in the arm.

"Cause I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak. Why would you say that?"

"A lot of the kids make fun of me and call me dog boy. I do have a couple friends that I hang out with at recess but, their parents won't let them hang out with me outside school because of...because of you," Max said looking up at Tommy.

Tommy never felt as bad in his entire life as he did in this moment. All of his fears were coming true. His son would be forever treated different because of him. It wasn't fair. He was just a kid. He knew he needed to do something about it. He pulled up into the drop off line and put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Max, I'm sorry if I've made life difficult for you. I should have never left but, I'm here now. A lot of things are going to change. I'm going to make sure of that."

"Okay, Dad," Max said as he hoped out the Jeep, pulled on his backpack and grabbed his lunch.

"Love you, Dude," Tommy shouted out and Max turned around and gave him a big smile. "Love you too!" Tommy watched him walk towards a few other kids and a teacher. He wanted so bad to go to school with him all day and make sure that nobody would hurt him but, he knew he couldn't do that. His son had to learn to be tough. If it got bad enough, Tommy would get involved. He saw Merton get picked on and the effects it had on him. He didn't want that life for his son.

Tommy drove with the windows down, trying to clear his mind. He needed things to change in this town. He knew it wouldn't happen overnight but, he had to at least publicly let people know that he was back. He needed to talk to Marc Anderson, the new mayor that had taken over for his Dad. He had been a life long friend of the family and he had helped out a lot after his Dad's death. He walked into the mayor's office and was greeted by the receptionist. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

"I need to talk to Mayor Anderson."

"I'll have to see if he's available. What's your name?"

"Tommy Dawkins."

The receptionist dropped her smile and looked up at Tommy, really looked at him. "Hold on, one moment." She got up and ran to the door to Marc's office, knocked and walked inside. When she came back out, she was all smiles again. "You can come right this way." Tommy walked into his Dad's old office for the first time since he died. Seeing Marc sitting behind the desk was weird.

"Tommy Dawkins!" Marc walked from behind his desk and gave Tommy a giant hug. "It's like seeing a ghost. I thought you were dead. It's so good to see you!"

"I'm happy to be back."

"This is so great! Your Mom has been a wreck without you," Marc said and gestured for Tommy to sit down.

"Thank you for everything you did for my family while I was gone."

"You don't have to thank me. Your Father was like a brother to me."

"I know but, you didn't have to help. I know that anyone associated with me isn't exactly popular around here," Tommy said looking around at how much the office had changed.

"That's true but, I know the truth. You're a good man, Tommy. Just like your Father. I'll always be here to help out the Dawkins'."

"Well, that's kind of why I'm here. I want to be a part of this town again. I want to live, work and raise my family here but, I know it's not going to be easy. I was wondering if you could help me find a job. I figured people wouldn't be to eager to hire me."

"Certainly! I'm sure I can find something," Marc looked down at his watch. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I have a meeting to go to but, I'm happy you're back. I will do my best to find a good job for you. Make sure to give Margie at the front desk your number and I'll be in touch."

"Thank you so much," Tommy said shaking his hand. He felt good after talking to Marc. If he at least had him on his side, maybe living peacefully in Pleasantville wasn't as far fetched as he thought.

Tommy stood in front of his Father's grave. There were just as many fresh flowers today as there was the day of his burial, which had been the last time he had been there. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and took a deep breath. "I miss you, Pop," he said and looked around, feeling slightly silly for talking to a tombstone. "I can't believe it's been six years. Some days it feels like that night was a million years ago and some days it feels like it was yesterday. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should have been there to stop them. You and Mom were always there for me. Even when you found out that I was a werewolf and the town wanted me dead, you were there. You were a great Father and that's what I want to be for Max. I know I messed up when I ran away but, I'm never going to do that again. I'm going to be the man, the Father that you raised me to be. I'll make you proud of me again."