I walked into Topanga's with KC.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" She asked me.

"Whatever song it is… I want to know how you felt," I told her.

"It wasn't you fault, though, Farkle," she told me.

"I know," he said. "I just want to know. I don't want to hurt you like that again, but I feel like I need to understand what that was…what you were feeling."

"Okay," she said, "well, you asked for it."

She laughed. I smiled at her. I saw my dad walk in. She saw him.

"It's not just you that you want to understand it, is it?" She questioned me.

"He wants to know, too," I informed her.

She looked at him and nodded.

She and Maya went to the stage.

"So, this first song, I'll be singing with my sister, Maya," KC said into the mic. "Then Farkle will join me. It's a song that I can relate to a moment in my life. So here's The Moment I Knew by Taylor Swift."

My dad sat next to me and looked at KC.

KC started playing her keyboard and Maya started playing her guitar.

You should've been there/ Should've burst through the door/ With that 'baby I'm right here' smile/ And it would've felt like/ A million little shining stars had just aligned/ And I would've been so happy/ Christmas lights glisten/ I've got my eye on the door/ Just waiting for you to walk in/ But the time is ticking/ People ask me how I've been/ As I comb back through my memory/ How you said you'd be here/ You said you'd be here

I looked at my dad. He looked down, then at me.

And it was like slow motion/ Standing there in my party dress/ In red lipstick/ With no one to impress/ And they're all laughing/ As I'm looking around the room/ But there's one thing missing/ And that was the moment I knew

And the hours pass by/

That reminded me of the "flight delay".

Now I just wanna be alone/ But your close friends always seem to know/ When there's something really wrong/ So they follow me down the hall/ And there, in the bathroom/ I try not to fall apart/ And the sinking feeling starts/ As I say hopelessly/ "He said he'd be here."

Maya said that she said that when she tried to talk to her through the door.

And it was like slow motion/ Standing there in my party dress/ In red lipstick/ With no one to impress/And they're all laughing/ And asking me about you/ But there was one thing missing/ And that was the moment I knew

What do you say/ When tears are streaming down your face/ In front of everyone you know?/

Maya told me that she bawled her eyes out for half an hour and came out of the bathroom with her face soaked with tears. My dad had tears his eyes.

And what do you do when the one/ Who means the most to you/ Is the one who didn't show?/

I saw my dad nod and looked back at KC.

You should've been here/ And I would've been so happy

And it was like slow motion/ Standing there in my party dress/ In red lipstick/ With no one to impress/And they're all standing around me singing/ "Happy birthday to you"/ But there was one thing missing/ And that was the moment I knew

Oh, I knew/ Oh

You called me later/ And said, "I'm sorry, I didn't make it"/ And I said, "I'm sorry too"/ And that was the moment I knew

After they finished the song, my dad stood up and beelined it to KC. I followed behind him.

"I am so sorry for what I did," he apologized. "I know I've said it before, but I've never meant it as much as I do now. I hadn't realized just how much it hurt you."

KC nodded to him.

"I forgive you, Mr. Minkus," she told him.

"Call me Stuart," he suggested. "Afterall, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll be family someday."

"Thank you, Stuart," KC said with an excited smile.

"How about you, Farkle, and Aaron go out with us for dinner tonight," dad offered.

We both agreed.

That night, KC got into my car in her favorite dress. Aaron got into the back seat and sat in his booster seat. He buckled himself in.

"Hey beautiful," I greeted KC. "Hey, Aaron."

"Hi daddy," Aaron told me.

"Hey," KC greeted me back. "We didn't take too long, did we? Aaron took forever to pick what he wanted to wear."

I looked in the rearview mirror. Aaron was wearing a dress shirt I got him. I smiled.

"No, it's fine," I told her. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she answered.

I drove to the restaurant. It's my mom's favorite restaurant.

We walked in and I told the host:

"Minkus."

They led us to our table that my parents were already at. We took our seats.

"Hi KC," my mom said with a smile, "hi Aaron."

"Hi Jennifer," KC greeted her.

"Hi!" Aaron said happily.

"That's a very beautiful dress you have on, KC," my dad complimented her.

"Thank you," KC said with a smile. "It's my favorite. It matches Farkle's eyes."

"I see," dad nodded in understanding. "Where did you get it?"

"Actually, I bought it for her," my mom informed him, "for their anniversary."

"She got me a matching tie and a white dress shirt," I said.

"Good choices, Jennifer," dad told her. "It is a very nice dress, but…" my shoulders fell, "these might pull it together."

He handed her a box. She opened it. Inside were silver earrings shaped like music notes with what looked like quarts in them.

"Wow, crystal earrings?" She questioned with awe on her face.

"Actually, they're diamonds," dad answered.

KC's eyes went wide with shock and amazement. I smiled. I definitely didn't expect him to do that.

"What?" She questioned.

"I hadn't treated you right for over a year," dad reminded her. "Farkle loves you; I should have never treated the woman my son loves the way I did. You really are perfect for him."

I looked over at KC. She was smiling.

"I can't believe…" she trailed off.

Dad motioned towards the earrings. KC smiled. She took them out of the box and my mom helped her put them in. She looked at me.

Before she even asked me, I told her:

"They look perfect on you."

"Oh, also, Aaron," dad said. Aaron looked at him. "Farkle told me that you have a black cowboy hat. So, I thought these might go with it."

He pulled out red cowboy boots.

"Cool!" Aaron yelled. It echoed. We all started laughing.

I looked around and saw people giving us annoyed looks, but we didn't care. A woman walked over to our table. It was Esmerelda…a woman my mom can't stand.

"Hello, Minkus'," she said, "and whoever you are," she looked at KC. "People are trying enjoy their evening. Is this your new child? Because as I remember Jennifer, you cannot—"

"Actually, his name is Aaron," I cut her off, "and he is my girlfriend, KC's son."

"Ah, I see," she said. She looked at KC. "Could you contain your hellion, you tart?"

I glared at her.

"As you said, Esmerelda, people are trying to enjoy their evening," dad said, "that includes us, and you happen to be stopping that from happening. So leave my family alone. That includes my future daughter-in-law and grandson."

She scoffed and walked back to her table. I smiled.

"Wow, Stuart," KC said.

"I'm glad you said something, Stuart," mom said, "because I was ready to deck her."

We chuckled.

"No one deserves to be treated like that," he told KC. The waiter brought our food. "By the way, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak with you after dinner."

KC looked a little unsure and looked at Aaron.

"Hey, Aaron," I said. He looked at me. "Want to stay over at my place tonight?"

"Yeah, daddy!" He said happily.

My dad looked surprised, but smiled.

"I'll make sure KC gets home safe," dad, assured me.

I nodded.

We finished dinner and I took Aaron with me.

Stuart's POV

Jennifer, KC, and I went out to my car. I started driving. I stopped at a hilltop.

"Why are we here?" KC asked.

"This is a really special spot for us," I told her. She let me continue. "This is where I proposed to Jennifer."

Jennifer smiled and looked at me. She knew where I was going with it.

"And where I told him I was pregnant with Farkle," Jennifer told her. "That was the best day of our lives."

"There's a park bench on the left side," I said. "Would you like to talk there?"

"Sure," she answered.

KC and I got out of the vehicle and walked over to the bench and sat down.

"Farkle told me that you've been through a lot," I stated, "and when I first asked you wasn't for the right reasons. I didn't want to get to know you. I wanted to find reasons he shouldn't have been with you. You had the right not to trust me. I hope that I've earned it now."

She nodded.

"You have," she said, "especially after tonight. You didn't have to stick up for me like that. You called me and my son family. That means more than you could ever know."

"I want to get to know you," I told her. "I want to know what you've been through. I never realized how much I hurt you or Farkle until today. Neither of you deserved it."

"You're right about that," she said. "You really want to know what I've been through?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "I want to understand you…the woman my son fell in love with."

"My father forced me to move to Texas when I was five," she said. "He had custody, so the police never looked for me. He abused me since I was four to when I was eleven."

"By abused, you mean…?"

"He hit me and beat me," she told me. I looked at her with shock. "I met Lucas and his brother, Jaxon, when I was five, and started a relationship with Jaxon when I was eight and he was nine. I was diagnosed with cancer the night my father was arrested. Jaxon and I got married when I was told I only had a few months left to live."

"I remember you telling us that," I reminisced.

"We may have been young, but we knew how we felt and what we wanted," she told me. I nodded. "I went into remission and sometime later, I found out I was pregnant with Aaron. Jax started working after school so that we'd be ready for Aaron…Then he died in a car accident due to a drunk driver hitting him on his way to the hospital for his birth."

It finally hit me. She was abused by her own father…She had cancer…She lost her husband and had her son on the same day.

"I'm so sorry, KC," I told her sincerely.

"Lucas finally convinced me to move to back to New York," she said. "When I did," she smiled, "I saw Maya again…my little sister that I hadn't seen for almost thirteen years."

"And you met Farkle," I nodded in thought.

"Yeah," she said. "Then I met Derrick."

"Who's Derrick?"

"He asked me out," she informed me. "He was a senior. I started going out with him. Throughout our entire relationship he abused me in so many different ways."

I immediately realized what she meant.

"He sexually assaulted you?" I questioned. She nodded.

"And beat me and made me feel like I was nothing," she added. "Farkle could see it in my eyes that something wasn't right. I lied to him and pretended nothing was happening. One day, Derrick had me pinned against a wall. Farkle saw it. He begged me to stay…he even grabbed my hand to stop me…but I left with Derrick because I knew he would have hurt Farkle if I hadn't. Derrick told me afterwards that he would have killed him if I hadn't."

"So you were trying to protect him."

"Yes," she verified. "Then when I finally broke up with Derrick, he tried to stab me, but Farkle stepped in the way. He stayed the night at my mom's apartment because I didn't want him to drive after he started mis stepping."

"Because of how Jaxon died."

"Yes," she said. "He slept in Maya's bed since she was at Riley's. I had a nightmare and he held me while I cried because of it."

"He really did that?"

"Yes," she told me. "Then he figured out that I had a miscarriage when he was throwing something in my bedroom trash and saw my bloody…underwear. I had two miscarriages." That reminded me of Jennifer. She had several miscarriages, and I had never realized how much it affected her until I talked to her about it a few months back. "I've started going to therapy more often now because I need to heal more. Sometimes it feels like I'm too much for Farkle, but he always says I'm not."

"You go to therapy?" I asked. "For your father's abuse, your cancer, or your ex's abuse?"

"All of it," she informed me. "I have complex PTSD."

"I never knew someone could go through that much," I admitted. "You seem to have it all under control."

"Sometimes I do," she said. "I'm not always strong."

"I'm sorry you went through all of that," I told her. "I had no idea."

We stood up and started walking back to the car.

"I really do love your son," she promised.

"I know," I assured her. "So when did Aaron start calling Farkle his dad?"

" He just did one day before Christmas last year," she informed me.

"Well, I'm glad that he has you and Aaron," I told her. "Jennifer is right. You do make him better."

"Thank you, Stuart."

"Let's get you home," I said. She nodded.

I drove her home and Jenifer and I watched to make sure she got inside the building before I drove away.