"Steve, wake up. Come on, man. I heard you all the way from my room."

Steve's eyes popped open, the images of his nightmare melding with the sight of Soda, who stood beside his bed. "Oh my God. This never happens anymore."

Soda perched on the edge of the bed, seeing that Steve's body shook, as he put the rumpled covers back over him. "I know. It scared me when I heard you cause I haven't for a while."

Steve reached for Soda's hand, still finding it easily in the dark, as he reeled from the dreams. "Don't leave."

"I won't. I'll stay here til I know you're okay."

"I'm too old for this, Soda. I'm too old to be doing this at night. What did you hear?"

"You were cryin' out, pleading, stuff like that. The way you have before with nightmares."

"Sorry I woke you, man. I know we've both gotta get up early. What time is it anyway?"

Soda gave the digital clock on Steve's nightstand a glance. "About three in the mornin'. Plenty of time left to sleep."

Steve burrowed under the covers, keeping his hold on Soda's hand, as the darkness of his dreams began to give way to the peace of knowing where the present moment found him.

Soda squeezed Steve's hand. "You think you're good now, buddy?"

Steve nodded against the pillow, letting go of Soda, as his eyes closed. "Yeah. I think so. Thanks, Soda."

"It's fine, Stevie. It doesn't matter how old we get, I've still got your back. Even in the middle of the night." Soda tucked the covers tighter around Steve, lending him the sensation of safety. "Especially in the middle of the night."

"Watch me, Daddy!"

Samuel stood in a pair of swim trunks, watching Emily jump into the pool with a huge splash. "I see you, sweetheart. Great jump!"

Emily spun around in the water, her blond hair in braids. "Come swim with me!"

Samuel stepped closer to the edge of the pool, his eyes fixed on his daughter, even with her confident swimming.

"Come on, Daddy! Then, I can ride piggyback!"

And I can hold onto you, Samuel thought, as he stepped down into the water, the tiny waves stirring his memories.

Emily climbed onto Samuel's back, arms wrapping around his neck. "I'm so glad you came swimming with me."

Samuel held onto Emily's legs that had wrapped around his middle, able to feel her rest her head on his shoulder. "Me too, Emily. Me too."

"Well, hot damn, I finally get to be a real uncle!"

Darry saw Soda's smile that lit up his middle brother's face. "Well, just hang on. She ain't pregnant yet. But we're going for it."

Soda took the TSC cap off his head, smacking Darry with it. "Ya'll have been married for almost two years. What have you been doing all this time?"

"I don't think you really want to know the details of that, little buddy."

"Are you ever going to stop callin' me that, Dar? I ain't a kid anymore."

"Don't count on it. Because you'll always be my little brother, even when you're my kid's Uncle Soda."

"Katie, may I take you out to dinner tonight?"

Steve heard his own voice, rehearsing the question he wanted to ask, as he sat in his car that was parked in TU's lot.

Giving up on eloquence, he tried again. "Hey, Katie. Want to grab a bite to eat with me?"

Steve let his head drop onto the steering wheel. Why am I making this so hard? he asked himself. What the hell is-

A knock on the window broke into Steve's thoughts, and he looked up to see Katie on the other side of the glass. He rolled the window down. "Oh. Hi. I was just about to get out and go to class."

Katie held two textbooks and a binder, her hair loose along her back and shoulders. "Hi, Steve. What are you doing later tonight?"

Steve stared at Katie, noticing her light purple eyeshadow that went along with the blouse she wore.

"Steve?"

"Huh? Oh. Um, I don't have any plans."

"Then, how about dinner at my place?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you then."

"Aren't you coming to class?"

Steve looked over at the books in the passenger seat, remembering where he was and why. "Oh yeah. Just let me grab my stuff, and I'll be along in a minute." He rolled the window back up and grabbed his keys and books, as he mumbled to himself. "And, hopefully, I'll act normal tonight."

"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."