"No, Uncle Soda. That's a double yellow. So it means you've gotta move to the next one."

Soda saw Emily's blond pigtails bounce, as she shook her head back and forth. He reached for the green gingerbread man, sliding it along to the next yellow spot on the Candyland path. "Oh, I guess I lost my head for a minute there, Emily Beth. I don't know what I was thinking."

Emily took a card from the stack in the center of the game board, drawing the ice cream float. "Don't be silly. You can't lose your head. It's stuck to your body." She moved her red gingerbread man to the spot the card specified. "Yay! I'm way ahead of you!"

"Yep. You're going to beat me to the candy house and eat up all the candy and ice cream."

"Don't worry. I'll save you some chocolate. I couldn't eat all the candy without sharing with you cause I sure like you a whole lot."

"I like you a lot too, sweetie."

Emily drew another card, holding it out to Soda. "Look! You've gotta go all the way back to the gumdrops!"

Soda moved his gingerbread man, sliding it to the space with a pair of gumdrops on it. "Well, you're going to win for sure now. You're real good at this game, you know?"

"But it's not hard. You just have to go where the cards say." Emily drew the next card, then moved her gingerbread man to an orange space. "You've gotta practice a lot too. Daddy tried to show me how to play checkers, and I didn't get it at first. But now, I do. Cause we played over and over again."

"That's true. If you keep playin', you get better."

"I even beat Daddy at checkers once. He's really good at it too. Mommy says she never wins when they play, but I did."

"You must be real good at checkers too."

"I am! My favorite part is telling Daddy to king me." Emily looked down at the game board with its colorful path and the two gingerbread men, then back up at Soda. "It's your turn, Uncle Soda. Do you want me to pick a card for you again?"

"Yeah. I do."

Emily chose a card, turning it over to reveal a pair of lollipops. "Hey, you might even catch up with me. 'Specially if I get stuck in the swamp!"

Soda slid his gingerbread man to the space with two lollipops. "Well, if I do get to the candy house first, I'll save all the ice cream just for you."

Emily launched herself forward, her arms wrapping around Soda. "I love you, Uncle Soda. I love you more than all the candy and ice cream in the whole world."

Soda hugged Emily back, touching her blond head, as he stared at the gingerbread men that had toppled over into the Lollipop Woods. "I do too, Emily Beth. I love you more than all that too."

"Yeah, she's really going to keep liking a guy, who can't stop talking to himself every time he looks in the mirror."

Steve combed his hair that was no longer full of grease or swirls, as he focused on his reflection, the image not revealing any trace of his history. She truly likes you, he told himself, as he stared into his own blue eyes. She could turn out to love you, and you can't let the past mess that up.

"Hi, Daddy! I just beat Uncle Soda in Candyland!"

Samuel caught Emily up in his arms, as he was barely through the front door. "Oh, you did, huh? You must've been trying so hard because I've heard how good Uncle Soda is at that game."

Soda saw Samuel wink at him, as he put the game board and the gingerbread men back in the box, along with the playing cards. "Yep, Emily Beth. I would've won if I hadn't gotten stuck in that swamp."

Samuel put Emily down on the floor, then knelt in front of her. "It's time to get your p.j.'s on and brush your teeth."

Emily stomped her foot in protest. "But I don't want to, Daddy. I'm not sleepy yet!"

Samuel had to hide a smile when he saw Emily start to yawn. "It's close to bedtime, Emily Elizabeth. Now, go do as you're told. Remember how we've talked about rules and listening to Mommy and Daddy?"

Emily sighed, as she looked down at her feet with their purple socks. "Yeah, I remember. I'm not going to get a timeout now, am I?"

Samuel shook his head, as he kissed Emily's cheek. "No, sweetie. Not if you listen now and no more arguing."

Soda watched the exchange, seeing Emily then run off to her room. "You're firm but fair."

Samuel stood back up to his full height, letting Soda see the smile he'd been hiding. "Because I have to be, especially at this age."

"Lucky for you, she's nothin' like I was at four."

"Oh, I bet. I can see you giving your parents a run for their money."

Soda picked up the single blue gingerbread man he'd left out of the Candyland box, turning it over in his fingers. "Yeah. They had their hands full."

Samuel watched Soda for a moment, before touching his shoulder. "Hey, what's going on there? And be honest with me."

Soda tucked the game piece into its box, as a sigh escaped his lips. "I'm just feelin' some things. Cause of Emily. You know how I can be."

"Yes. I do. It hits you sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Not as much as when she was a baby, and I wasn't sure about my place. But it does."

"I'm glad you listened to me back at the beginning, Sodapop."

"Back at the beginning of what?"

"Everything with Emily. I told you as soon as we knew this adoption was a possibility that you could come to me with any thoughts or concerns you had. I'm glad we've kept communication so open."

"Yeah. Me too. I sure have needed it, huh?"

"Yes. It's also been good for Emily because the adults in her life are on the same page and so connected with each other."

Soda looked toward the hallway, where Emily had ventured to her bedroom. "Yeah. It is. And I sure can't imagine my life without her."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! I think my brain needed to switch gears for a little bit, and I love how this turned out:)