After a very long flight, which only got longer after a long delay during one of the stops, the plane landed in Los Angeles, to Bandit's relief, with him getting out of the plane. It was almost eleven o'clock… of the same day he had left Australia (what was quite strange for Bandit).

After exchanging some of his money into American dollars, Bandit got out of the airport and headed towards the city, where he found a small restaurant to get some lunch. After lunching, logic dictated him to find a place to stay, knowing he would have a lot of time to get to Emily's boyfriend's house and meet Thomas, especially since he would probably be at school. However, his intense desire to meet him made him to start search for the house.

Eventually, he was able to arrive to his destination: Emily's boyfriend's place, a one story house with an attic. Facing the house, Bandit could feel his heart start racing and his anxiety increasing and, for each step he gave through the walkway in direction of the door, the anxiety would only increase. Arriving to the door, Bandit rose up one of his hands, took a deep breath, and then rang the doorbell. After some time, he heard footsteps approaching and the door opened.

Before him, appeared a Dalmatian dog with a strong-looking physic with his back full of black spots, a black year and the other a big spot sided by smaller ones and a spot over his left eye.

"Hey, there, is this… Adam Roberts' house?"

"Yes, it is" he replied. "I'm Adam."

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you personally" Bandit said, while extending his hand. "My name is…"

"You're Bandit, right?" Adam asked, while shaking Bandit's hand.

"Yes, I am" Bandit said, surprised. "How did you know…"

"Well, Emily told me a lot about you" Adam replied. "Not to mention that… you and Thomas really look alike."

"Yeah, sure…" Bandit said, while scratching the back of his head.

"Please, come in" Adam invited, moving aside.

"Cheers, mate" Bandit replied, while getting inside.

As he got inside, Bandit admired the entrance hall.

"You seem to have here a nice house" Bandit commented, while observing. "Very nice structure, resilient…"

"Impressive…" Adam said. "You seem to know something about houses."

"Well, I've lived much of my life in a Queenslander that needs a lot of care and attention, so…" Bandit said.

"I see… Well, for that, I can see you're a very hardworking dog. Taking care of a house is not a very easy job."

"You can say that again" Bandit said, a little embarrassed.

"Why don't we go to the living room?" Adam suggested.

They went to the living room, where Bandit was able to put his backpack down.

"Wow… everything looks so… quiet" he commented.

"At the moment, I'm the only one here" Adam replied. "Thomas is at school, so…"

"I know that, but…" Bandit started. "It feels strange being in a house without having running, giggling and toys all around."

"That's right… Emily told me that you have two other kids, right?" Adam said.

"Yes, two beautiful and very energetic girls" Bandit replied.

"Well then, I better make sure you can enjoy this moment of quiet the best you can" Adam said. "Are you up for a cup of coffee?"

"I would appreciate that" Bandit replied. "Thank you, mate."

Adam nodded and then went to the kitchen to prepare the coffee. While he was there, Bandit took that chance to explore his surroundings. His attention then went to the fireplace, where on it were some portraits. Curious about them, he approached the fireplace and observed the portraits. One of them contained Adam with a Dalmatian pup that seemed to be close in age with Thomas, who Bandit suspected to be Adam's son.

The next one had Adam hugging Emily, both of them with a very happy face, something that caused Bandit to make a slight smile. Despite feeling a little sadness for what happened between him and Emily, Bandit couldn't help but feeling happy that she was able to find true happiness, even if that happiness wasn't with him.

The third one had Adam and his son together with Emily and Thomas. Looking at that, he could feel his stomach make a turn, as he could see how much happy they seemed together. They really looked like a happy family, as that portrait reminded him of the one of him, Chilli and the girls that was hanged at the family room back home.

But when he looked at the last one, he could feel his stomach make more turns than ever. It had Adam with Thomas, with the former with his hands on the latter's shoulders, while kneeling, with the young pup wearing a baseball uniform and cap and holding a baseball bat. Seeing the two of them smiling caused Bandit to realize that Adam had filled in as a father to Thomas, probably during the time he and Emily started dating. That made Bandit question if Thomas would really want to come with him to Australia or even consider him as a father, when he already had Adam.

"If you want to know my opinion, you don't have to worry that much" a voice said, startling Bandit, revealing to be Adam who was back while transporting a tray with two mugs of tea.

"What?" Bandit asked, a little confused.

"You must be wondering how Thomas will react to you, right?" Adam asked, while putting down the tray on the coffee table and then sitting on the couch. "If he'll see you as a father."

That caused Bandit release a small chuckle and say, while going to the couch and receiving a mug from Adam:

"I guess it takes a father to know something like that, right? Your kid… He seems to be a very happy child, what can only reflect a great father."

"His name is Sam and he is the light of my life" Adam told. "However… I'm divorced and… he lives with my ex for the most of the week. I only see him during the weekend."

"Really?" Bandit asked. "I can't imagine how that must be. I can barely be away from my kids for a few days… even when they are a handful."

There was a pause where Bandit looked at the photos where Thomas was and then said:

"When I got to know about Thomas' existence, I couldn't help but come as soon as I could. I couldn't help myself. Even with the possibility of facing any kind of rejection from him, I just knew I needed to meet him. By the day, does he know…?"

"About you coming?" Adam asked. "No… I thought that it was for the best if he didn't get to know you were coming. I didn't want him to… avoid you."

"You mean… he hates me?" Bandit asked.

"No, nothing like that" Adam said. "Thomas is a great kid. It's just… Emily only got to tell him about you when… she got really sick. Until that moment, she would avoid talking about you to Thomas. According to her, it was not a problem when he was just a little kid, but after he got older…"

"He wanted to know more about his origins" Bandit concluded.

"Yes" Adam confirmed. "That was always somewhat of a strain in their relationship. Thomas always came to insist on Emily to tell him about you, but she wouldn't do it."

"Yeah, I know her reasons for that" Bandit said, remembering the letter Emily had written to him. "But she also couldn't lie to him, so she never told him about me. How… did he react when she told him?"

"Well… Thomas has a very strong temperament" Adam said. "He… could have reacted better. He blamed her for not having you in his life. I have to say… I never saw Thomas get so mad at someone… much less with Emily. But he's a good boy and managed to forgive her… and just in time before… well, you know."

"I used to be like that" Bandit confessed. "I would just explode when something didn't go my way, but then I would cool down afterwards. I guess… that was partly because I was a middle child. And… what does he think about me?"

"Ever since Emily told him about having you know about everything, he has been… very nervous about meeting you."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, he doesn't know if you're going to like him… or if you want him as a son at all" Adam told. "He knows you have a family of your own and he feared that you wouldn't want another kid, especially one that you didn't even know that existed. But, nevertheless, he also kept hope you would come for him. In fact, after Emily's death, he has been counting the days, expecting you to arrive. But I also know that he could hesitate in meeting you, despite everything."

"Well, he doesn't have to worry about anything anymore" Bandit said. "I'm here, ready to meet him. And I already love him, no matter what."

"For what Emily have always told me about you and my personal opinion now that I got to know you personally, I can attest that" Adam said. "You really seem like a great guy, Bandit."

"Thank you, Adam, coming from the dog that has been by Emily and Thomas' side, that means a lot" Bandit replied.

Suddenly, they heard the entrance door opening and a voice said:

"Adam, I'm home!"

"Is that…?" Bandit started.

Adam nodded and told:

"I'm at the living room, Thomas!"

Bandit hasted to get up, while staring the entrance of the room, waiting to finally meet his son face to face. As he heard Thomas' steps approaching, Bandit could feel his heart bumping faster and faster. It was then that he appeared, with his schoolbag on his back and holding a skateboard under one of his arms, saying:

"Adam, you're not going to believe what I found out at school…"

But he didn't finish, as he got to notice Bandit and started staring at him, completely caught by surprise.

"Look, Thomas, we have a special guest" Adam said, while getting up.

"Hey, there…" Bandit said, nervously, while raising his hand and waving it. "My name… is Bandit. I'm… your dad."

Thomas didn't reply, just keep staring at Bandit, unable to say anything. It was then that he started to take a few steps back before starting running away.

"No, wait…" Bandit asked, but being too late for that. "I knew it… He hates me…"

"No, he just was not expecting it" Adam replied. "It was a big shock. Just… let me talk with him. Wait here."

With that, he got out of the living room, following the direction Thomas took, leaving Bandit to wonder if Thomas would really accept him as a father.


Note: So, here you have it, Bandit comes to meet Thomas. At the next chapter, we'll have them interact with each other. Not only Thomas is physically introduced, but Adam is also introduced, with him being another character from Kodiwolf321's stories.