Trevor Jacobs was sitting at a table at the 9th Street Diner when the door opened and Callie and Jude came in with Stef. The siblings headed straight over to where their father was waiting.
"Hey, guys," he greeted them with a smile. "I'm so glad to see you. How's the leg?" he asked Callie. This was their first meeting in the three weeks since the fire.
She just shrugged. "It's okay. I stopped using the crutches last week."
"Good."
"And I'm not grounded anymore."
He chuckled. "Also good."
"How's your hand?" Callie wondered.
He held it up and wiggled his fingers. "Good as new."
They all figured out what they wanted to eat and gave their waitress their order. Trevor couldn't help a smile as he watched Jude and Callie enjoy their milkshakes.
"I've got something for you two," he told them. "It's nothing much, but…" He took a little slip of paper out of his pocket and slid it across the table to them.
Callie frowned slightly as she read it. "An address?" she asked.
"That's where I'm staying now. It's a pretty good place. But I talked with your moms and they agreed you can know exactly where to find me, whenever you want."
"Really?" Jude asked Stef.
She nodded. "Yeah. Your father's been doing really well, and we know that it's important to both of you to figure out where he fits into your lives. For right now, we'd still like to have me or Mama go with you if you want to visit, but you can talk on the phone whenever you want and if you want to set up a regular lunch date or something like that…"
Jude grinned. "Awesome."
"What do you think, Callie?" Trevor asked.
She smiled a little, too. "That'd be good."
"So how's school going?" he asked the siblings. "Oh, did you get your new karate belt?" Jude nodded. "Callie, do you do any sports?"
"Not really. Therapy's my main extra-curricular at the moment… But I started taking a photography class at the community college. I was thinking about putting a real camera on my Christmas list this year..." She gave Stef a hopeful look.
"We'll talk about it," was all she was willing to promise. Christmas got expensive fast with five kids.
"Maybe I could help out?" Trevor offered. "Pay for part of it. At least that way I'd know I'm getting you something that you want."
Stef sized him up for a moment, but then forced herself to shake off her defensiveness. Taking care of Callie and Jude wasn't a competitive sport. Teamwork was usually helpful with kids. "That could work," she agreed. "We'll discuss it when we're figuring out plans for the holidays."
Trevor smiled. "I'll start saving some money away. How about you?" he asked Jude. "Any idea what you want for Christmas?"
He shrugged. "Video games? Or maybe a bike? I dunno."
"Well, I know it's a couple months out, but think about it. I want both of you to have something from me under your tree."
Jude nodded. "Okay."
"So, back to school. Anything interesting going on?"
Stef listened as the siblings prattled on about the recent happenings at Anchor Beach. Having their father around was undoubtedly going to make life a bit more complicated, but she knew they'd work it out in the end. Everybody deserves a second chance. And kids can never have too many people in their lives that care about them.
Fin.
A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has left feedback along the way. With Christmas approaching, I'm going to do one final, holiday-themed installment for this series. So, look out for that this weekend.