Author's Note: This story was inspired by Piece By Piece by Kelly Clarkson. This is a KevEdd tale.

Twenty Years Ago...A bright July day, the summer before freshman year...

"DAD! Where ya going?," Kevin asked.

Jason Barr had pulled his car out of the nearly empty garage and was loading it with suitcases, some old, most new. And he didn't even look up at his only child as he responded to the question posed to him.

"Away."

Kevin knew that tone. His dad had effectively finished their conversation before it began. But, if Kevin's flaming red hair and piercing were any indication of his temperament, it was that he wasn't going to let the issue at hand drop just like that.

"H-How long ya gonna be gone?"

"You know for how long, Kevin," Jason said with a sigh as he closed the trunk.

Kevin swallowed hard and willed himself not to cry. He coudn't believe this was happening and yet, here they were. For the past two years, his parents relationship had deteriorated. With every promotion his dad had gotten at his job at the candy factory in town, they saw him less and less. Which was fine, except when they did see him, he was in various stages of drunkenness with the intent of getting as drunk as possible.

The problem was that he was not on top of his game at work. Kevin's mom, Rebecca, tried her damnedest to get her husband help, but he refused. After missing one too many business meetings because he'd spent the night at the hotel bar, he was fired. Which just trigged a depressive cycle he didn't want to come out of.

Rebecca finally issued an ultimatum, your family or your beer. Jason spent the night she dropped that bomb on him at the bar. She had all of his things in the garage boxed up by the next afternoon. And over the course of six weeks, Kevin slowly saw his father disappear out of their once happy family home.

But he had plenty of classmates and teammates who's parents had split up, so he knew that while he may have lost his dad in his day to day life, that didn't mean he had to lose him completely.

"When can I see you again?," he asked and wanted to kick himself for how small and pathetic his voice sounded.

"I don't know, Son," Jason said as he polished his sunglasses on his shirt, before putting them on and getting in the car. "Ask your mother."

With that, he started the car and drove away. Kevin blinked a few times in disbelief, tears falling with each blink. He slowly backed back into the garage as he didn't want to risk anyone seeing him looking as lost as he felt. Taking a breath he headed back inot the house, but not before hearing the sound of light laughter drift through the cul-de-sac.

As he hit the button to close the garage door, he saw who the sound of laughter belonged to.

Edd

The smartest of the Eds was walking down the street with Big Ed who was acting weird as always and Double D couldn't stop giggling at his tall friend's antics.

"How can he be so happy?," Kevin thought.

He knew it was ridiculous, but he was jealous of Edd's seemingly obliviousness to his world falling apart. He also knew that Edd would be the best one at the moment to help him piece his world back together again. Since seventh grade, they'd gotten closer. The summer before was crazy. But they survived and even became friends.

It was Edd who was there with an open bedroom window, and a floor to crash on during his parents fights and his dad's drunken rows over the past eighteen months or so, even though he regularly chastised Kevin about the risks of falling out of the tree next to the window. After one near fall, Edd begged him to just text or call first and Edd would be at the back door in a minute.

So the floor became the couch. And Edd never asked any questions, just made sure Kevin had plenty of pillows and blankets and breakfast the next morning. But when Kevin was ready to talk, he was there to listen. Unlike Nazz, he just listened. Edd became the sounding board Kevin needed to piece through the mess that was becoming his life.

After his dad left, Kevin paced in the kitchen and wondered if he could talk to Edd. This was bigger than his parents fighting. His dad was gone. But he knew he needed to talk to someone and do it as soon as possible, otherwise he didn't know what he'd do, but he knew it wouldn't be good.

Kevin: U free?

DD: I will be in about an hour. Come through the back. I'm grilling chicken for dinner tonight.

Kevin sighed with relief. He could wait an hour.

Kevin: OK cool. U'll need a book n ur glasses

DD: I'll be sure to have them ready. :p See you soon! :)

Kevin couldn't help but smile through the tears that had insisted on falling as soon as he got in the house. Edd would be free and he could talk this thing out.

An hour later, he's in Edd's backyard and the ravenette is bent over the grill poking a couple of chicken breasts with a meat thermometer. Seeing Kevin come in, he gave him a small smile and then turned his attention back to their dinner. It was after dinner that Kevin was ready to open up.

He needed the meal, but also Edd's company. There was no pretense with Edd. He was always there with a plate of food, something to drink and a listening ear. The listening ear was the best part. And in their conversations, Edd would usually be curled up with a book, reading glasses in place. For Kevin, it was as if he were a psychologist that didn't take notes. He asked questions, would give the occasional "Hmm," or "Ah," to let you know he was listening, but because he really just listened, Kevin could sort his thoughts out and piece things back together.

As Kevin gazed up at the summer night sky, he spoke.

"He left today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"When will you see him again?"

"Don't know. Says I need to talk to Ma about it."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Kevin."

"Don't be. This wasn't your fault."

"I certainly empathize with you," Edd said as he put his book away.

Kevin cocked a brow.

"What?"

Edd snickered. And Kevin's heart twisted at the sound and Edd's grin.

"I feel your pain, Kevin. While I do not know how it feels to have a parent leave, I do understand that it can't feel good. As I've dealt with my own issues that have caused me tremendous pain, I do know what it's like to be hurt, especially by others. My hurt understands yours."

"Oh. Why didn't you just say that, Dweeb!?," Kevin grinned as Edd face palmed.

Eighteen Years Ago...The Thursday before Spring Break, junior year...

"Does he even know you're coming?," Nazz asked.

Kevin shook his head and grinned at the side eye his best friend and Edd gave him.

"Really, Kevin, what's your plan here?," Edd asked.

"Aww, you worried about me, Double Dork?," Kevin asked with a sly grin.

"Yes, I am," Edd said as he sat up straight and looked his redheaded, pigheaded friend in the eye.

Edd's concerns were warranted. Jason Barr had made no attempt to communicate with his son at all since the day he left. For Kevin to show up in California seemingly out of the blue couldn't go well in Edd's mind.

"Look, I want to see my Morai, anyways. She said I could have my Daideo's Harley when I got my license. I just have to come out to get it. So Ma got me a ticket so I can go see her and pick up the bike. I'm gonna throw a few visits in with my dad and come home," Kevin shrugged.

Edd and Nazz spared each other a glance, but they knew Kevin's plan was solid. He had been saving money up for a trip to California ever since he got his motorcycle license a year ago. His boss, Justin, at the body shop he worked at, had been letting him use his old Kawasaki to practice on. Kevin got his license on the first try. Everyone knew about Kevin's grandfather's legendary Harley and that it was Kevin's prized inheritance that he had been itching to get his hands on since he was a kid.

"So this will be like a two birds, one stone, thing," Edd mused.

"Basically."

"But what about where you're gonna stay and how you're gonna get around?," Nazz asked.

Kevin and Edd looked at her very quizzically.

"I'll be staying with my Morai," Kevin said slowly. "I'm taking a taxi to her place, but I'll be driving the bike back home."

"Oh," Nazz said as the realization of how silly her question may have sounded dawned on her and stuck her tongue out at her two best buds as they snickered at her.

"Yeah."

"What about hotels on the way back, though?," Edd asked. "You're only 18."

"Ma is calling in to all the places I check in at with her credit card. Money is money. Not like they can deny me a room when I'm going to be alone and only staying the night."

Edd sighed and spared Nazz another glance. She just frowned and shook her head.

"I've got this, guys," Kevin said as the bell rang, signaling that their shared lunch period was over.

"Fine, but you call me as soon as you get there," Edd told him as he headed back to class.

"Me,too," Nazz said as she poked him in the arm for emphasis.

"Yeah, yeah."

Kevin came back home on the old Harley three days early, broke and completely heartbroken. He enjoyed his visit with his grandmother, but he didn't see his father for more than 20 minutes the entire time he was there. He stormed out of the house when he saw that Kevin had only brought enough money with him to fix up the Harley and get gas and food for the trip back to Peach Creek.

"I hate to say this, Kevin," Moari Barr said to him over breakfast the next morning, "but your father isn't going to be the father you need him to be. I raised him better, but he'd rather raise the bottle. You are a Barr man, but you are better than him."

Kevin tried to digest what she said as he spent the day working on the bike in her carport. And his dad broke in the house and took what little money Kevin had left and left a note saying that as a parent, he was just taking what was due him for raising him. As far as Jason Barr was concerned, a good kid like Kevin, with a job to boot, owed his parents his help. And Jason wasn't above taking it by force.

Upon discovering what happened, his grandmother gave him what little money and nonperishable food she could afford to spare on her fixed income and Kevin hightailed it back home. The sooner he got back to work, the better. His mother called in to a hotel every night of his nearly four day journey and he called Edd every night in tears.

When he got back to Peach Creek, Edd outright told him to never speak to his father again.

"You don't owe him a damn thing, Kev! And any parent who feels their children are nothing more than the means to an end, doesn't deserve anything their children give them, be it willingly or by force."

Kevin knew he was right, but the child in his heart yearned for his father's love and attention, no matter how screwed up a way he got it.

Seventeen Years Ago...Last day of school, senior year...

"Hey."

"Hello, Kevin."

They were standing in the parking lot of the student parking lot for the last time.

"Wanna ride?"

"Sure."

They take a long ride to the lake, then take a gravel road up to the various lookout points that surround the lake. Once the gravel turned into dirt, Edd hops off the bike so Kevin can safely push it to their own spot. It's so well hidden, no one knows about it but them. You can see all of Peach Creek, the lake and on a clear day, all of downtown Peach City. It's perfect for stargazing and the city's fireworks display on the Fourth of July. And it's also a nice quiet place for them to talk and think.

Once they settled down on the blanket Kevin had taken to keeping in the Harley's saddlebags, so Edd woudn't lecture him about how germy it was to sit in the dirt anymore, Edd got a book and his glasses out of his messenger bag and started reading.

After a few silent moments, Kevin spoke.

"Cal Tech, huh?"

"You'll be at USC, Kevin. I won't be that faraway."

"Still, it's gonna be weird to not see everybody everyday."

"C'est la vie."

"Say la what?"

"C'est la vie. It's French for such is life."

"Why didn't you just say that, ya dork!," Kevin snickered as Edd glowered at him over his book. "I hope you know Spanish, too, D. We're gonna be spending the next four years in second Mexico."

"My Spanish is just fine, Kevin."

Kevin sighed as he laid down and clasped his hands behind his head.

"He called the other day."

"Oh?," Edd said as his heart skipped a thousand beats before starting violently back up again. It was so sudden and painful that the ravenette had to lay his hand on his chest in an attempt to steady his heart beat.

But rage and fear also filled him. As soon as the media picked up that Kevin was going to USC on a full ride football scholarship as their new first string quarterback, Kevin's father started calling in a sad attempt to repair his relationship with his son.

It was interviews that he gave to any media outlet that would listen that infuriated Double D. He tried to either make himself out to be a martyr who never got to see his son because of his bitch of an ex, or a hardworking dad who was only absent because of work. All lies. All disproven by Kevin's coaches, teammates, classmates and teachers. Edd had put the cul-de-sac on notice not to say anything as he knew the truth would eventually come out. Still didn't stop Jason Barr from trying to get back in with Kevin.

And if Kevin is telling Edd that he called, that meant that Kevin actually picked up the phone this time.

"Yeah."

"What did he say?"

"Wants to get together as soon as I get out there."

"Look, Kev, you know how I feel about him. But you're 18 now and thus an adult. You are free to pursue any relationship you so fit with your father."

"I know. I just...I can't avoid him anymore, you know?"

Edd nodded. When Kevin's grandmother died that spring, so did Kevin's ability to travel to California and be able to avoid his father. Morai Barr had banned her son from her house after he stole from Kevin. And Kevin had refused to see him since. But now, he had no excuse. No buffer. He'd have to face the man whether he liked it or not.

"Ok, I'll come to as many games as I can, but if I see him..."

Kevin waved him off.

"I know, I know. Why'd Eddy have to teach you how to throw a punch, Dude?"

No one had really bullied the Eds when they got to high school. The cul-de-sac wouldn't allow it. But when Double D came out sophomore year, Eddy made sure that his best friend knew how to defend himself with his hands if he had to. He was only in a handful of fights that his friends and neighbor's had to drag him away from before the bullies left him be. But the point was made. Double D had a mean left hook.

"To protect you from your father," Edd quipped.

Kevin snickered as he tackled Edd into a half-nelson and gave him a noogie.

"Thanks, D."

"Kevin! I can't breathe!"

Fourteen Years Ago...New Year's Day, junior year of college...

USC Vs Ohio State in the Rose Bowl for the NCAA D-1 Football Championship. The entire cul-de-sac and their families came out for the game. It was a nail biter, but USC pulled out with a win. Kevin was being heavily scouted, but he promised his mother and Edd that he'd stay in school until he graduated before thinking about putting himself in the NFL draft, even if teams were falling all over themselves to get him to change his mind.

And his father was pissed.

As they celebrated the win at Kevin's favorite steakhouse in LA, a drunken, thundering voice was heard over the happy chatter and friendly bantering.

"You know, it wouldn't have been such a tough game if you had scanned the field like I taught you and caught that blitz in the third quarter."

Everyone's head snapped up to see who dared to interrupt their happy party.

Jason Barr

As he leaned on the doorframe, beer in hand, it was striking how similar and dissimilar father and son were. Jason was 6'2 to Kevin's 6'5. They had the same build, red hair and green eyes. But where Kevin was tanned and toned, Jason was pale and flabby, with a beer gut. Where Kevin's freckles were oh, so handsome, Jason's made his skin look weathered and you couldn't tell were his age spots ended and his freckles began.

"No one saw that blitz," Edd said angrily, not because Kevin missed it and got sacked, which made him lose the ball and gave Ohio State another touchdown, but because Kevin's father was there to rub it in.

"Double D? HA! What do you know about football?!"

"Plenty."

"If you learned it from my son, you don't know much," Jason laughed as he took another long swig of the posion that had destroyed the last seven plus years of his life.

Enraged, Double D stood to confront the man, only to be quickly drug back into his seat by Ed and Kevin.

"Dad, what are you doing here?," Kevin asked exasperatedly.

"Just came to celebrate with my champ!"

"Your champ!? You insulted him as soon as you walked in the door!," Edd screamed.

"What's it to you? You sleeping with him or something?!"

Edd went red as Kevin paled and Nazz tried her best to not giggle as the rest of their friends sighed or groaned. It was a well known secret that Kevin and Edd were close. But while most everyone had their suspicions, especially since Edd was already out, Kevin and Edd weren't talking because according to both young men, there wasn't anything to talk about.

"I am not sleeping with your son," Edd said, ice, venom and a slight tinge of bitterness of all things in his tone. "And there's no good reason for you to walk in here and behave this way."

"I'll do as I damn well please. I'm still his father," Jason said as he swayed into the room.

"Some father," Kevin said as he stood up and walked over to him.

"Da hell you mean, boy!?"

"Get out, Dad," Kevin hissed between clinched teeth as he drug his father by the ear out of the room.

Twelve years ago...a bright day in September...

Kevin comes home to find Double D in bed wearing the jersey he got for him to wear to all of his home games, purple shorts and red socks, working on his laptop. He slinked into the bed and threw his arms around Edd in a low hug as he laid his head on his lap. Edd closed the laptop and ran his hand through Kevin's bangs.

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself. How was practice?"

"My everything hurts."

"Everything?!"

"What?! Are you gonna initate something for once?," Kevin asked as he quickly sat up, eyes wide and a gleeful smile on his face.

"Kevin, I initated our entire romantic relationship," Edd smirked as Kevin blushed.

It was true. In the year following USC's championship win over Ohio State, they had to confront what they were head on. Jason's drunken questioning aside, or maybe because of it, especially their reactions to it, the giant pink elephant in the room had to be acknowledged.

Edd hadn't missed a home game since freshman year. And he'd schedule at least three away games to go to. Kevin spent his bye week and every weekend after football season with Edd. He either came to Cal State or picked up Edd and they took a road trip together. Spring Break was spent in Capistrano. Holiday breaks were taken in Peach Creek, but at Nazz's New Year's Eve party's, they'd take silly selfies at midnight to avoid the make out fest their friends were in as the clock struck the dawn of a new year.

Except the night before the championship game, they went to bed early to be well rested for the game, but not before taking a selfie neither could bear to post, but became the wallpaper to both of their phones. They were in a staredown, but happy grins were on their faces and as Double D hit the button to capture the moment, the flash of light lit up a spark he had for so long refused to acknowledge in Kevin's eyes. And it scared him because he knew what he wanted to do with it, but didn't know how to go about it. What scared him even more was the fact that he knew he had the same spark in his own eyes.

After dinner, Edd was going to beg off any after party shenanigans, until Kevin and only Kevin stopped by the hotel suite he was sharing with Ed and Eddy. The look in his eyes said two things: that he wanted to talk to Double D and he wanted to do it alone. The other two Eds quickly left the room to hit up LA's night scene as Kevin waited for Edd to show up. Edd didn't even know he was there until after he got out of the shower. After recovering from the near heart attack that shock gave him, he settled down on the couch next to his most athletic friend.

"Do I need to get a book?," he had asked.

"No."

And Edd saw that spark flash in Kevin's eyes again.

And as Kevin ran a hand down his face, he glanced at Edd, who was suddenly right next to him.

"Kevin, I have to do something and you can tell me to stop or that you don't feel the same, but I need to do this ok?"

Kevin nodded slowly and Edd quickly pressed his lips to Kevin's. And time stopped but it was as if everything in Kevin's world had finally been put back together. For nearly seven years, Edd had been the one that helped guide Kevin through his own feelings about his parents divorce and his relationship with his father.

Piece by piece, he helped Kevin build the new world he was to live in and then live in it. He was there for him as friend and confidant in ways that Rolf and even Nazz couldn't be. Edd was his best friend and since high school, especially after Edd came out, so he knew he could pursue more, Kevin wanted more. But he was still stuck in a painful cycle of what ifs that the pain of losing the one person you think you'll always have to love and trust can bring.

But now, the only thing missing from Kevin's life, was the love he needed to help heal the holes his father's absence and lack of trying to be more available had left in him. But that kiss slowly started to fill those holes. And he didn't want it to end, but all too soon Edd's lips were gone from his.

"Why'd you stop?," Kevin had asked, a small, shy smile dancing on his lips.

So Edd grinned and kissed him again.

And now, the Chargers #1 draft pick, is questioning whether or not his boyfriend is going to initiate anything.

"Yeah, but..."

"But, you've taken the initiative ever since. And I can't initiate anything now because I have to make dinner and you have to check your messages," he said as leaned in for a kiss just like he did the first time and Kevin melted into him like he always did.

As Edd made dinner, Kevin checked the messages on their land line for all his business calls. They had two phones on both sides of the bed. One for the house, one for their business calls. Edd was a freelance mechanical engineer and worked from home. But Kevin would still need a line to field through calls for his job, too. And today, his phone's New Messages light was blinking like the lights at a rave.

After making notes for the usual meetings with sponsors and his agent, as well as new updates to the team's workout and meeting schedule, he got to a message from his father. He needed help. And his child's heart ached. Whenever his dad called for help in the last year since he signed with the Chargers, it was always for money.

Edd and Rebecca had made sure that part of his contract included a clause that he not give money directly to his father for anything. Because there were so many organizations that could help the man, Rebecca especially didn't see a reason why Kevin had to pay to bail him out.

After Morai Barr died, Jason burnt through his payout from her estate in a matter of months. Rebecca wanted to spare Kevin's finances that wreckage, especially because he had Edd to think about, too. Jason was furious when Kevin told him why he wouldn't help him the first time. They'd only been dating a year at that point, so how did a boyfriend of all people take precedence over a father?!

Again he went to the media. And again Edd begged everyone to let the truth make its way out like it always did. When Jason found out where Edd lived and went to confront him about "Getting in the way of what's rightfully mine!," Kevin bought a house in one of San Diego's most secure gated communities and moved Edd in the next day.

"I can't let him get to you again," Kevin had told him. "You're mine, so you stay with me."

He erased the message and went to the kitchen and knew then that this relationship wasn't just going to be long term, it was for life.

Edd was cooking as he always did, but he also made sure that Kevin's portions fit his diet, and he was on the phone with his agent making sure Kevin wasn't over booked.

"He needs his rest, Max! He came home and told me his everything hurt. He's no good to anyone if he's overworked and I won't have that...No, not just because of that, but because he has a contract to the team to fulfill that requires him to play every Sunday like he's Iron Man or something...Exactly! Thank you! Ok, ok, you figure it out, I have to feed him now...Goodbye, Max."

Edd was red as he hung up the phone and Kevin quickly wrapped him in a hug.

"Don't mind him, D. You know he only does that to get a rise out of you."

"Wonder where he got that idea from," Edd said snarkly as he plated their dinner.

"Haven't a clue, Babe," Kevin said with a sly grin.

Edd just threw a dish towel at his head.

Ten Years Ago...Mid-April, Peach Creek...

The wedding was held in the alley of all places. It was well hidden and all the people they wanted there knew where it was, so no need for invitiations. The reception was held at the park. Nazz made cupcakes and Rolf roasted a pig. Jimmy and Sarah brought the sides.

"Do you need anything?," Kevin had asked as they planned the event.

"Just show up."

Kevin showed up and then showed off as he gave Edd white gold band encrusted with a dozen blue diamonds from Tiffany's. Edd never asked for anything, so Kevin felt the need to give him the best. For Edd, he got what he really wanted.

Kevin

Eight Years Ago...a physical therapist's office...

"You'll be out for the year, Kevin, but if you stay on top of your exercises, you should be good to go next year," the doctor told him.

Kevin sighed and spared a glance at Edd.

"How often does he need to be here?," Edd asked as he pulled out his phone.

"Right now, four times a week. You're young, Kevin, so you should heal up fairly quickly, but do know that this place is gonna become your second home for the next few months."

"He likes a touch of coffee with his hazelnut cream and sugar," Edd said as he added Kevin's PT appointments into their new daily schedule.

"Says the man with a dozen jawbreakers in his pocket," Kevin grinned.

Edd just smiled and shook his head. Kevin couldn't understand how he got so lucky. He saw the blitz, but just couldn't get out of the pocket fast enough. Now he had a broken leg and would be out for the season. The break was clean and easy to set and if he stayed on top of what he needed to do to heal, he'd be fine. And he knew he would because he had Edd.

Edd rearranged his schedule to accomdate Kevin's new one. He never missed a doctor's appointment, he asked for the second opinions and scheduled the surgery. He was there to drag Kevin out of the bed when he needed to get up and he was there to cuddle with him when he needed to rest.

He saw guys all around the league go down to an injury and lose their families in the process of trying to heal because the provider was down, so the wife or girlfriend would move on to the next best thing to maintain her new status quo.

And he knew that Edd wasn't loyal just because he was a guy and Kevin's best bro. He was loyal because he was Edd. Edd loved him and was there to take care of him like he always did because he loved him. Love. That's all it was. Plain and simple.

Six Years Ago...Three AM...

"Why is she so fussy, Babe?," Kevin asked with a yawn as he walked into Little Emma Ashlynn's nursery.

Edd stopped the glider he was sitting in and looked down at his baby girl as he ran his hand through silky, curly auburn locks. Tear filled blue eyes blinked back up at him.

"She's got colic is all. She'll grow out of it eventually, but for right now, we deal with a very fussy baby," he cooed to the child, who started up her wailing again.

And then he giggled and as usual Kevin's heart twisted at the sound, but his sleep deprived brain couldn't comprehend what Edd found so funny.

"Go to bed, Hon. I'll be there in a bit," Edd said as he started up the glider again and Emma slowly started to calm down.

"You sure? You don't need anything?"

"I'm sure."

Kevin doesn't know what time Edd came back to bed, but he does know that waking up with Edd in his arms and Emma in Edd's was the best way to start the day.

Four Years Ago...Peach Creek...

"Can't believe you're done, Dude," Eddy said as he carried another box from the moving truck inside Kevin and Edd's new house.

"It was time. My leg can't take much longer, so I wanted to get out while I could still chase after Emma," Kevin shrugged.

He knew his retirement was a shock to everyone in the league. But getting out while he was on top was always apart of his dream and when the Chargers were looking to trade him, he just left instead. He could get started on his life after football. Time to excecute his business ventures, time to be the Dad to Emma that she deserved and time to love on Edd like he deserved.

They settled in Peach Creek to start living the rest of the best years of their lives.

And things were good. So good...

Two Years Ago...Peach Creek Elementary School...

"You know, I can always homeschool her," Edd whispered to Kevin as they walked Emma to her first day of kindergarten.

"Edd."

Edd sighed and then gasped as Emma dropped he and Kevin's hands and ran into the brightly lit and decorated room and started exploring. Kevin had to half drag Edd out of the room as the ravenette started to cry.

"It's like a piece of my heart is gone, Baby," Edd sobbed into his husband's shoulder.

Kevin set Edd back from him by his shoulders and looked the man who put his pieces back together in the eye.

"You're a great father, Edd. We've done everything we could to prepare her for today."

Edd nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a small, strangled sob. Kevin drew him back close to himself in a strong hug.

"You know how I like jigsaw puzzles, right?"

Edd nodded as he sniffled.

"You know why, right?"

"Because all the different pieces always make something nice and whole," Edd pouted.

"And no matter how many times you take it apart and put it together..."

"As long as you have all the pieces, things will be nice and whole again," Edd finished for him.

"Exactly. She'll be fine. You'll be fine. And tonight over dinner, she'll tell us all about it and things will be nice and whole again."

And they were.

Today...Peach Creek Memorial Hospital...

Kevin nudged the hospital room door open with his foot and leaned on the doorframe as he took in the room. His father was laying in the bed, his long body looking worn out and frail, tubing coming out of his arms and an oxygen mask on his face.

"Hey, Dad."

Jason gave a heavy sigh as he took the oxygen mask off his face.

"What're you doing here, Kevin?"

"Can't a son come see his father?"

Piercing green met firey emerald.

"You picked a mighty fine time to do it."

"Aw, Dad. Don't be like that," Kevin said with a sarcastic snicker.

"Kevin, I have done nothing but try to be the best father I could be to you and you finally show up when I'm on my fucking death bed and for what? You're the one with all the money! You don't need shit from me."

Kevin shook his head as he went to the dying man's side. His breathing had become labored during his little monologue, so Kevin eased the oxygen mask back on his face.

"I don't want shit from you, Dad. Especially since you ain't got shit that I want or need for that matter. Just came to tell you something."

"What?"

"Twenty years ago today, you left. You chose alcohol to your family. I did ask Ma when I could see you again, and you know what she told me?"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"She said that you said that you didn't need me. But the way you've treated me for the past twenty years says otherwise. The only reason why you are where you are now is because of your own actions. I don't know why you tore your life apart and tried to take me and Ma down with you but it took me years to put the pieces back together again. And for the longest time, I thought you were a missing puzzle piece in my life. Now I know that you were never the right piece, because if you were, you wouldn't have done what you did to me and Ma or yourself. You definitely wouldn't have gone after Edd the way you did. Now, don't get me wrong, you're still my dad and I will always give credit where it's due. But consider this conversation my last piece of anything to do with you. The next time you need to call someone for help, try the yellow pages. I'm sure there's someone out there that can actually help you."

And with that, Kevin left.

When he got home, Edd and Emma had a new puzzle out on the coffee table.

"What's all this?," he asked with a grin.

"One thousand pieces of something Emma wanted to see nice and whole on our coffee table," Edd replied with a sideways glance to his daughter who was already working on a few edge pieces.

"Emma?," Kevin asked.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Gimme some edges."