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"Aunt Helen, that was delicious!" Andy pushed back his empty plate and looked at the mass of untouched food on the kitchen counter. "You've got enough here for an army."

"Well hon, most of it is for the Matheson family. You know Henrietta passed away and they'll need it to feed the people after the funeral," replied the elderly aunt deftly packing up a casserole.

Andy nodded, "I heard. Her daughter Carly was on my flight."

Helen looked at him sharply, "That little strumpet came back?" Andy looked at her bewildered. "First she had that scandalous affair with your brother. He was half her age for goodness sake! Then she went back to college and got herself pregnant. Her parents washed their hands of that mess and rightly so."

"Hmmm," replied Andy thoughtfully. Carly and John dating had caused quite a bit of gossip in town. The forty-year-old captain and the twenty two year old college student, no one was shocked when they broke up. John wasn't one for long-term relationships, but Carly had been surprised when he broke things off. Andy also remembered the frequent phone calls and registered letters that fall that had irritated John to no end. Finally Johnathan had threatened her with a restraining order and they had never heard from her again.

~DC~

"You were told not to ever come back," stated the burly man. His arms crossed over his broad chest effectively blocking the doorway. His craggy face showing the years of hard work on the deck of a fishing boat.

"Daddy…" began Carly in a trembling voice. Her parents shunning of her because of her pregnancy had hurt her deeply, but still she loved them. In her dreams she had seen herself coming home with Aiden by her side and her parents welcoming them with open arms, remorseful for the pain they had caused their daughter. That, oh too obviously, was not going to happen.

Carly's father glared at her, "Don't 'Daddy' me. We told you eight years ago, you are not our daughter. OUR daughter never would have gone off and gotten herself pregnant. You made your bed, now lie in it. You and your little bastard shouldn't have come."

Carly fought back a sob. She nodded her head in resignation, "Fine. She was my mother and we will be at the funeral, but after that you won't ever have to see us again." With those words she turned around and headed back to the only hotel in town. She was glad she had left Aiden with Patty Kieskan, her best friend from high school. Off and on through the years people had made side remarks about her being an unwed mother, but in this day and age, it wasn't all that uncommon. It hurt her deeply to hear those words from her father.

She parked her rental car and was about to track Patty down when her emotions began to overpower her. Digging her fingernails into her palms to stay her tears, she all but ran towards the hill over looking the bay. Sitting under the lone tree she gave in to the inevitable and began screaming into the wind. Eight years of pain and sorrow poured from her. Seeing rocks lying around her she picked them up and began hurling them at the ocean below. Just as she was about to let loose with another volley she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

For Andy, no trip back to Homer was complete without a going out to the point to look out over the bay. He'd been going there since he was little and the beauty of it still struck a chord deep inside him. As he approached he thought he heard screaming. Wondering what was going on he picked up his pace. The sight he was faced with was heart rending. There on the hill screaming like a mad woman was Carly Matheson. The wind whipped her long hair wildly around her head. He had decided to slip away and leave her to her moment, when the wind caught his hat and blew it off. The movement captured her attention and she spun to face him.

The raw emotions he saw on this woman's face before she began locking herself down made him want to hurt whoever had caused this. Waves of pain and despair rolled off of her. "Carly? Can I help you hon?" he asked in the quiet calm tone he used with spooked horses.

Carly glared at him and huffed, "Thanks but no thanks. Just getting something off my chest."

Andy chuckled dryly, "I can see that."

"So what do you want? Or are you here to throw stones at the town trollop too?"

Andy held he hands up in the surrender position, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks. I definitely live in a glass house. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you didn't have the homecoming welcome you expected."

"To say the very least," she replied acidly.

"You've been quite the talk of the town," began Andy.

"Tell me something I don't know. "Oh look there's the town slut, Carly Matheson and her illegitimate child. I heard she fucked the entire Washington State football team…blah blah blah. It makes me SO fucking angry! I mean, your brother screwed how many girls? And from Homer alone? That's all fine and dandy. But oh, I hook up with him for the summer and then he dumps me. I go back to school and find out I'm pregnant and everyone casts me out!" Her ranting through, Carly collapsed to the ground sobbing.

Andy sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms, holding her as she cried. Brushing her hair back out of her face he gently caressed her tear stained cheek.

"I'm serious Carly. What can I do to help?" he insisted. She silently shook her head "You both are family, and Hillstrands always stand together."

"We've taken care of each other just fine for the last eight years. Thanks for your concern though," answered Carly sharply.

"I know, I know," placated Andy. "Carly I have to be honest. Aiden is my nephew, and having not been a part of his life is really weighing heavily on me. Seriously, Hillstrands stick together through thick and thin. Aiden shouldn't be any different."

"He doesn't know he's a Hillstrand," she replied in a soft voice.

"But I do," he said firmly. Andy cocked his head, "Who else knows that John is his father?"

"You, Patty, a lawyer. That's it," she shrugged.

"A lawyer?" Andy's eyebrows shot up.

"I had papers drawn up in case something ever happened to me, " Carly shuddered, "the thought of Aiden in the foster care system…" the last part choked her up again. She took a deep breath, "I wanted to make sure that someone knew he did have family out there."

"And now his family knows." Andy tried to put as much feeling into his expression as he could. If push came to shove, he didn't have a leg to stand on and Carly could by all rights keep him away from Aiden.

Having a family for Aiden was like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey, Carly so badly wanted to take it, but eight years of bitterness was hard to give up. "What are you going to tell your brother?"

Andy was silent for a few moments, "The truth, eventually. I don't know how or when. He needs to know, he has that right as a father."

Carly laughed bitterly, "Welcome to real life. "Right" and "fair" are not guaranteed."

"No, they aren't" he agreed. "How about we meet half way? You introduce me as your friend, and let Aiden and I get to know each other? Would that be so bad?"

It was Carly's turn to be quiet. "How dedicated are you to this? I won't have someone flitting in and out of his life. I know you fish, that's different than promising to show up and then bailing on a little boy."

"If I say I'm going to be there, I'll be there," assured Andy. "Are you taking Aiden to the funeral tomorrow?"

"After the warm welcome I received? No, it would be better if he didn't go. I don't want him to see that."

"What if he spent the time with me?" Andy offered and then grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, no disrespect, but I'm not going to the funeral."

~DC~

Aiden looked at his mother eagerly, "You mean I get to go out on that boat and go fishing?" His face had lit up when she had asked if he would like the opportunity.

"Sure, if you want to. This is Mr. Andy, he's a friend of mommy's," Carly smiled as she watched the emotions race across her son's face.

"ALL RIGHT!" yelled Aiden, completing a signature arm chop. Déjà vu once again hit Andy in a wave. This boy was more like John than Scotty would ever be. Carly smiled thinly and said to Andy "I know."

~DC~

The funeral was as awful as Carly had dreaded. Her father ignoring her pointedly and the hushed whispers of the mourners. She clung to the knowledge that Aiden and Andy were having a much better time.

Aiden propped his feet up and leaned back in his seat. Crossing his arms over his chest he looked at Andy, "My mom looked real pretty in her dress."

Andy was watching the horizon, hoping to spot some sea life to share with his nephew. "What? Oh, yeah she did."

"So are you just taking me fishing because my mommy's pretty?" the little boy asked.

That caught Andy's undivided attention, "Absolutely not. Your mom is a friend of mine and she knows I hate to go fishing by myself. It's just not much fun unless you have someone to talk to." Andy wondered what had made the boy that aware of adult intentions.

"But you do think my mommy's pretty right?" Aiden insisted.

Andy smiled, "Yes, your mom is very pretty."

Satisfied, Aiden smiled, "I think she is too."

Aiden sitting quietly in the chair hadn't lasted very long and through the course of the afternoon Andy had barely kept his nephew from falling overboard more times than he cared to admit. Like his father Aiden talked nonstop and Andy hadn't had to ask but a few questions here or there to get him to spill his life story.

By the time Andy took Aiden back to his mother, he was exhausted and had gained no fewer than a hundred new gray hairs. As Carly approached Aiden shot towards her like a bullet. Anticipating the greeting she quickly crouched down and absorbed the impact by sweeping him up into the air. He hugged her tightly, "Mom! You'll never guess…" Aiden's narrative of the afternoon's activities took several minutes to pass along and was said in what seemed to be one breath. Pausing, he sucked in several lungfuls of air.

Andy grinned broadly, "He's a great kid, Carly." He really meant it. Aiden was all Hillstrand, and raising daughters of his own he had wondered what it would be like to have a son. Now he had a good idea.

"Thank you. Yes he is," Carly smiled back warmly. "Great kid" was not often spoken in the same sentence as "Aiden" by others. The loud, brash, impulsive nature he had often got him into trouble. Carly smirked, "How many times?"

"How many times what?" asked Andy innocently.

Carly laughed, "How many times did he almost fall overboard?"

Andy groaned and swiped his hand across his face "Too many."

Aiden jumped up and down, "Mom, I almost fell over one time and all Mr. Andy could get hold of was my underwear. I got a big wedgie."

Andy paled, that sounded soo bad. "I couldn't get his shirt, his pants were riding low…"

Carly waved her hand, "I get the picture. If I didn't think I could trust you, I wouldn't have let him go with you."

The talk of underwear sparked Aiden's memory, "And mom, Mr. Andy likes to go commando just like me! We're twins!" each word was punctuated with his hands.

"Is that so?" she commented lightly. Like most children his age, underwear, farts, and poop were like the word 'boobies' to eleven year olds. Give the words too much attention and you had a bomb of hilarity ready to go off.

"And I told him you liked lacey underwears. But girls wear panties, not underwear. Boys don't wear panties. Mr. Andy? You don't wear panties do you?" he asked.

Andy turned scarlet, "Uh nope. Sure don't."

Aiden screwed his face up in thought, "Do you wear underwear sometimes?"

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