Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

A/N: I'm sorry for the long delay once again. In a nutshell, my schedule was hectic. I'm trying my best to finish this. I hope you're still reading. If you are, then thank you.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

Realization of Fate

… But You Belong to Someone Else

Val started to wake up as the aroma of a nice, warm coffee and some bacon and eggs caught her senses.

"Seth…" she murmured.

Tyler's smile turned into a grimace at the sound of his name.

"It's Tyler," he corrected.

"What?" she asked as she sat up. "I know who you are."

"You just called me Seth."

"I did?" she asked with concern.

"Yea."

"I'm sorry. It's just that he used to bring me breakfast in bed, and the smell just reminded me…"

"It's okay, Val. You don't have to give me the details of what he used to do."

Silence and awkwardness filled the room. Val turned to her breakfast, while Tyler just stood beside her.

"Does it bother you?" asked Val.

"What?"

"That I talk about Seth."

"No. I mean, talking about Andrea doesn't bother you, right?"

"Right," she forced a smile. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I'm taking you and Alyssa to a school where I think would be best for her. Kyle and Chrissy will go there this fall."

"And what school would this be?"

"Browning Ridge Academy."

"Isn't that a private school?"

"Of course."

"And Kyle and Chrissy are going there?"

"That's what I said."

"But I thought Caitie and Jamie prefer public schools?"

"This is only until the kids reach first grade. The same goes for Chrissy. Malcolm went there before moving to Kingsport Elementary."

"Isn't it a bit expensive?"

"Well, yea, but we have the money. I'm paying for Kyle and Chrissy's tuition there as a gift for being their godfather and for all the help that Caitie an Jamie gave me."

"You mean you have the money. I can't afford that."

"Val, you provided our daughter all the necessities that she needed. I missed out on a lot. I think it would only be fair if I do this."

"I can't let you do that."

"I want to do it, and you can't change my mind."

"Fine, but when we move out of here…"

"You can stay here."

"I can't depend on you on everything, Tyler. Besides, Andrea would disapprove if we stay here."

"Me being with Andrea won't change anything."

"If you say so."

"Now hurry up and get ready before we're late for our meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler attended his daughter and helped her get ready.

"Are you ready to see your new school?"

"No."

"Why not? It's going to be fun. Kyle and Chrissy will be there."

"I miss Annie."

"Who's Annie."

"My fwiend. Annie and Jack and Emily and Sam…

Tyler gets down on his knees in front of her.

"Honey, you'll make new friends here. You're going to a new school now, and they'll see how nice and smart you are."

"Really?"

"I promise."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "Now go pick your clothes, and I'll help you put it on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Val!" Tyler yelled. "Are you done already? We're late."

"I'm coming," she said as she descended down the stairs.

"Come on," he said as he opened the door. "Andrea?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm taking Val and Alyssa to see the school she's going to be enrolled in. What brings you here?"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"I have a photo shoot in L.A. this afternoon. You told me that you'd go with me."

"Oh… I'm so sorry. I totally forgot."

"Obviously."

"I'll make it up to you."

"The flight leaves in two hours. I assume you're not even packed."

"Look, we're already late."

"And we're not?"

"I'll take a later flight, and I'll meet you at the hotel. I promise."

"You better keep it. I have to go."

"I'll see you then. I love you."

"Whatever. Just be there."

Andrea left leaving Tyler stunned and disappointed.

"I guess I screwed this one up."

"It wasn't your fault," said Val.

"I feel bad about it."

"You know, you can go if you want. We can do this later. It's still summer anyway."

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked. "I'll only be gone for a couple of days. I can ask Hank to stay here for a while to watch you two."

"Sure. You can do whatever you want."

"Where are you going, Daddy?"

"I have to go somewhere with Andrea, okay? I'll be back soon."

"You're leaving?"

"I'll be back before you know it."

"What about my new school?"

"I'll tell you what. I'll call Uncle Hank, and he can take you there."

"But I want you."

"Honey," said Val. "Daddy has to go somewhere. He'll bring you a present."

"Do you promise?"

Tyler mouthed a "thank you" to Val.

"I promise. I'll bring you tons of presents."

"Okay," Alyssa smiled. "You can go now."

With that, Tyler called Hank and ran to his room to pack.

"So much for not changing anything…" Val whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank, Val, and Alyssa just left the school. Although the meeting ended thirty minutes ago, they ended up spending more time than necessary.

"What did you think of the school?" Hank asked Val.

"I thought it was nice. I like the principal. I think Alyssa would have fun there."

"How about you, Alyssa?"

"I like the pwayground."

"Well, you can go and play there as long as you want when school starts," said Val. "So Hank, where are we going next?"

"Remember that job that I told you about?"

"Yea."

"If you don't have any plans, you can come with me right now, and I'll introduce you to my boss."

"That's fine. It's not like I can go anywhere without you."

"Where are we going, Mommy?"

"Do you want to see Uncle Hank's office?"

"I want! I want!"

"Then your wish is my command," Hank said. "Come on. There's a nice ice cream store in the cafeteria."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, the three picked up Malcolm from the babysitter. They stopped by Hank's house to pack some clothes before they headed to Tyler's house. Alyssa and Malcolm are both asleep in the backseat.

"When is Tyler coming back again?" asked Hank.

"In a couple of days. At least that's what he said."

"Why was he in such a hurry anyway?"

"Heather."

"Heather?"

"Andrea. I meant to say Andrea. Gosh, they're so alike."

"Tell me about it."

"Tyler felt guilty about his promise and left as soon as possible."

"I'm telling you - that girl cast a spell on him. She has him wrapped on her fingers."

"How did they meet anyway?"

"At a charity benefit."

"How ironic."

"Well, Tyler sees something in her that's completely invisible to us."

"I believe the shock of my life was when he proposed to her."

"At least he got a yes this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"But you said that…"

"Tyler had some dream long ago that he proposed and got a no a number of times."

"Was the girl Andrea?"

"Um… He didn't say. Maybe."

Val just decided to drop the subject. 'What's the point? It'll just add to my miseries anyway.'

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I hope you liked it! I know it took a while. Don't forget to review! Thanks for reading. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182