Homer stood at the end of the driveway of his fathers old house. It was a place he had not been back to in almost five years, if he had the ability he wouldn't ever want to come back. But circumstances beyond his control told him otherwise. His own father did not even care if he didn't visit him for Christmas, so Homer took his word and spent Christmas with Jenna at her parents house. That was never going to happen again.

He let out a sigh, a new change was in his life now, and he hoped it would end positively one day, at the moment though, it didn't seem that way but then again life was full of surprises. Finally after staring at the dilapidated old house for a good five minutes, Homer made his way to the front door and knocked on it. It wasn't long before he heard shuffling from the living room where his father was most likely watching some kind of game. Homer already warned his father that he was coming back. Abe didn't sound too happy about it, but he knew his son needed a place to stay for a little while until he found a new job and a place of his own.

The door finally opened and there stood Abe in a wife beater shirt and sweatpants holding a duff beer. His hair was starting to recede more and it was grayer. Homer was of course expecting his father to be holding a beer when he opened the door, but the gray hair? It had been a while he guessed.

"Finally made it eh?" Abe asked as he stared at Homer's two giant suitcases, the only things that were left of his life in Key West. Mostly t shirts and shorts, the shorts though would probably not be worn as much, it was time to start wearing jeans again.

"Yeah," Homer replied.

"I trust you will start job hunting tomorrow?" asked Abe.

"Of course Dad, but first I need to lug these suitcases upstairs and get settled if you don't mind," Homer said as he grunted and pulled his suitcases into the house, Abe only watching and showing no sign of helping.

"Suit yourself, but when six months arrive, you are out of here even if you don't have a job," Abe said as he made his way back to his chair, the very same chair he sat in before Homer left. This time it were holes in it and the color was fading, but that didn't seem to bother Abe.

Homer grunted in annoyance before picking up one of his suitcases and brought it upstairs to his room, he would grab the other one in a moment, he knew he would never make it to the top with both without falling over from exhaustion. When he finally reached his room, he found that it was in the exact way he had left it. His chest of drawers still where he left it, his comforter on his bed still the same, and a Led Zeppelin poster he left behind still there. It made him wonder if his father had ever even bothered to enter his room, his chest was covered in dust and when he put his suitcase on the bed, dust flew every which way making him cough for quite a while before finally catching his breath.

He could barely stand being in there and made his way downstairs to grab his other suitcase. And once he finally got that one in, he ran downstairs to find the vacuum. Unfortunately it was not under the stairs like he remembered it being.

"Dad, where's the vacuum?" Homer asked.

"Oh I gave it to Jasper a couple of months ago, been meaning to get a new one," Abe replied as he took a swig of beer.

"And did you ever dust my room while I was gone?" Homer asked.

"Eh once or twice," Abe replied with a shrug.

Homer rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen to grab a duster and some polish. Luckily his father was smart enough not to give that away, and without a second thought, Homer was cleaning his room in hopes of bringing it back to its original shine. Two hours later, he was only half done, and exhausted. So far he had dusted off his chest of drawers, changed his bed sheets and cleaned out one of his suitcases. He was now lying on his bed waiting for his bed sheets to finish in the dryer before even thinking about getting any sleep. He knew he was done for the day and that he would have to finish everything else tomorrow.

It was after a few minutes of lying on his bed that he decided to see if maybe his father was in the mood for some company, so he made his way downstairs and took a seat in the old couch he used to find himself sitting on. For a few moments, he watched an old Andy Griffith show with his father until a commercial came on distracting Abe for a few minutes.

"Still cleaning up up there?" Abe asked.

"Nah, I'm done for the day, I'll finish tomorrow," Homer replied with a tired sigh.

"That's good," Abe replied as he took a drink of his beer.

Homer stared at his father for a moment, hoping to maybe get more than the few words that he recently said. But so far his father wasn't interested in the fact that his son, who he had not seen in almost five years, was back home again. Truthfully he actually enjoyed living alone without anyone, never had to worry about making dinner or giving his kid advice. Homer was old enough now to take care of himself any way, he didn't need his father, that was why he was going to kick him out in six months. Hell he could do it tomorrow if he wanted to, but maybe some good would come out of it.

"So you don't want to hear any stories from me?" Homer asked, hoping to do some bonding with his father.

"Well from what you told me in the past, it was basically fishing, giving fishermen beer and breaking a girls heart, so no not really," Abe replied as he scratched himself.

Homer sighed, what a great homecoming this turned out to be. For the first time in a very long time, he felt very much alone and wished with all his heart that Jenna was there for him to help him through this. But of course he messed it all up, he was going to have to solve this problem on his own and hopefully something good would come up. At the moment though it did not feel that way. His father showing no excitement after not seeing him for almost five years, no job waiting for him, and a future he was unsure of. He stared at the television screen, Abe was watching some show about a police detective that required you to pay attention, but Homer just couldn't, too many thoughts were brimming in his head. Finally he made his way to his room, and shut the door behind him. After a few minutes of thinking things over, he lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling wondering what the next day would bring.

Over the years, Homer had gotten used to getting up early for fishing. So of course once the light hit his bedroom the next morning, he was awake. For about an hour he tried to position himself to sleep longer, he had nowhere to go at the moment, save for job hunting and most stores were not even open yet. Finally, he gave up trying to sleep. Not only that but he could smell his fathers coffee brewing downstairs, hopefully there was enough for him as well. Quietly he went downstairs and entered the kitchen where his father was busy cooking up bacon, toast, and grits. It look delicious and Homer could not help but drool at what he was seeing.

"Mornin' son, you're up earlier than I expected," Abe said as he flipped over a slice of bacon.

"I know, just used to being up early for fishing, I guess I'm gonna have to adjust to that now," Homer replied as he looked over at the coffee pot. There was still plenty of coffee leftover so he grabbed a cup and helped himself.

"You never know, you could get a night job," Abe said.

"Yeah maybe, but we'll see. I will do my best though to get out of your hair," Homer replied.

"Don't have to worry about that, I don't have much any way," Abe replied as he pointed to his graying head.

Homer could not help but chuckle a little before taking his first sip of coffee, which he then swallowed with a sour face. Moe definitely made better coffee than his father. Luckily Abe did not notice, Homer quickly put the coffee down and opened the refrigerator door and went for the orange juice instead.

They ate in silence, Abe never asking for any details on his life down on the southernmost point of the United States. Homer found this a bit disheartening and was almost about ready to get up and take a shower when the phone rang. Naturally Abe answered it but quickly turned it over to Homer. It was Barney, apparently he was up early and ready for a new day as well.

"Moe will be searching for a place to have a new bar, I was thinking of job searching around town and was wondering if you would like to join me? Moe also told me to keep my eyes open for any potential places to do a bar," Barney said.

"Sure I'll come with you, maybe we can work together again," Homer replied, a little excited that his best friend was ready to look for a new job a day after they returned to Springfield.

"You want me to pick you up then?" Barney asked.

"Yeah sure, I don't think my dad will appreciate me using his car any way," Homer replied as he stared at Abe who gave his son an angry frown for even thinking about borrowing his car.

"Okay I'll pick you up in a little while," Barney said.

And so the two best friends spent their day roaming around Springfield searching for jobs that they could easily get. When they were lucky enough to find a place hiring, they would take the applications and put them in a folder for later. So far took applications from the nearby grocery stores, a movie theatre, a few fast food joints, the library, and even a few construction places. By the end of the day, they had a nice collection of applications, but after driving around all day, both were about ready to just fall over and sleep. Which they of course did, they could write the applications in the morning.

When morning arrived though, Homer and Barney were both awakened by Moe who wanted them to come see a place that he had found that he believed would make a good bar. Together Homer and Barney drove to the location that Moe specified. Their first reaction to the area was that it was a little run down. Most of the buildings were unoccupied and the stores that were open were shops that probably would not last long unless they had good business. That was definitely something both Barney and Homer worried about with Moe, he needed good business to stay in what he liked, so this new place would either do well or do horribly.

Looking at the shops nearby, they noticed that there was a glass store, and antique store and even an air conditioning store appropriately titled It Blows. Of course both of them could not help but laugh at the store that was next to where Moe wanted his bar. A store that sold musical instruments and made it sound friendly and fun, King Toots.

There was a side area where Barney could park the car next to the building Moe was thinking about buying. Moe was already by the front door, talking to two businessmen about selling the property to him. One was a fairly tall guy with clean cut hair and had a very calm looking attitude. The other man was a little shorter and more husky. He was writing things things down as Moe and the other man discussed what was going on. They looked friendly and Moe seemed really happy about what was about to happen, but of course they had to see the place for themselves. When Moe saw Barney and Homer walk up, he instantly waved and invited his two friends over.

"Oh here are my two buddies I told you about, Aaron, Don, I would like you to meet Homer and Barney," Moe said once Homer and Barney got close and quickly shook each others hands.

"Nice to meet you boys, now I know Moe here is going to be the one running the place but he was insistent that you two help him out. I have already warned Moe that this is going to be much smaller than what he is used to," Aaron said.

"Yeah but it might be better that way seeing as how running such a large business in the Keys brought on a few challenges," Moe replied.

"Very true, and perhaps you will do better than the last business here. It was a restaurant but...well...we really don't need to get into that, do we Don," Aaron replied as she nudged his short companion.

"No definitely not," Don said, never taking his eyes off his piece of parchment.

"Was it bad?" Moe asked.

"Was it bad? Was it bad? Let me put it to you this way, if the mafia ever returns near here, you are to respect them, casting them out is not an option," Aaron replied.

Homer and Barney both looked at each other nervously. They knew that Moe needed to do what he loved most. It was his passion and the only thing that really made him happy, but was he willing to work in a place where the mafia was known to visit?

"We can give you a nice rent price for the first three months, just in case it doesn't work out," Don said.

"That might work, but let's look at the inside of this place first. I want to be sure I like it before saying yes," Moe said. Both Aaron and Don nodded and took out the key to open the door to the old restaurant.

According to Aaron and Don, the place had not been occupied for nearly two years and it really showed. Cobwebs and dust hung from every solid surface and ever nook and cranny the boys could see. There was a faint smell of mold in the air and in one spot near where the restrooms there, there was a small puddle of some sort of liquid just sitting there, a ring of unknown substance surrounding it. It really looked like a dive and both Homer and Barney were very unsure of what to make of the place.

Moe on the other hand, didn't seem to take much notice of their nervousness but stared at the place with fascination. He stared long and hard at where the tables and chairs were, and imagined them cleaner and more inviting to people who wanted to come in for a good drink. There was a bar there in slight disarray because of lack of use, but he could fix it all up in a jiffy, it wouldn't be too hard for him. Barney and Homer noticed the smile that was creeping up on Moe's face, and both knew what that meant. He liked what he found and hopefully it would work out for him in the long run.

"I'll take it!" Moe finally said after many long minutes of thinking things over.

"Wonderful! We will fill out a lease for you and once you have that signed you can start working on it as early as next week," Aaron said with a big grin.

"Oh good, I have some nice plans for this place," Moe said with a smile as he looked up at an old lamp on the ceiling. "I could hang something much nicer up there."

"Are we part of this plan at all?" Homer asked.

"You can help me set up the place, but I really don't now how good business will be. I'm gonna have to start out small, with just myself, if that's alright," Moe replied with a little nervousness in his voice.

"Yeah I guess, we need to fill out all those applications any way, don't we Homer?" Barney asked.

"Oh yeah, I am so looking forward to that," Homer replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"You guys looking for a place to work too?" Don asked as he overheard the conversation.

"Yeah we used to go fishing for Moe here, and help with cooking, looks like we are on our own now," Barney said sadly.

"Well if you guys want a temporary job while looking for something better, I can get you one if you would like," Don replied.

"You will?" Homer asked.

"Sure, my brother owns his own janitorial service. They help clean schools around the area. I know cleaning probably isn't your thing, but it can be a start for the both of you," Don said.

Barney and Homer both looked at each other curiously. Janitorial work wasn't something they ever really wanted to do. Cleaning was not something they enjoyed, but did they really have a choice at the moment? After all, they needed to stay on their feet and not rely on their family for money. While doing that they could apply for other places and get something better in the long run.

"What's the pay?" Homer asked.

"A little above minimum wage," Don said.

Homer stared back at Barney again, both shrugged. Homer did admit that he needed to stay out of the house and away from his father at the moment and he would not have to feel lazy about not doing anything all day. Yeah this job would be good for now.

"I'll take it," Homer said a little reluctantly, but still with pride.

"Alright, I will inform my brother tonight," Don replied as he shook Homer's hand before turning to Barney. "And what about you?"

"...Well, I'll get back to you on that," Barney said as he nervously twiddled his thumb.

Barney was never the best at cleaning and it showed especially after a messy night working on the grill or after catching a very messy fish on the boat. More than one occasion, Homer had to clean up what he left behind including some very rotten looking fish guts that had been left out in the sun for far too long. Homer remembered how he smelled like a dead fish for a week, Jenna of course hated that and would not go near him for quite a while. So maybe Barney would find something else, he had parents that cared enough to help him right now, Homer didn't. Sure his father left him his bed and a roof over his head. But that was all he was going to offer him right now. No free food, no money, or anything else that would be essential. Yes, Homer definitely needed this.

"Well let me know, for now though, looks like my brother has a new employee and I bet he will be very happy to take you in," Don said as he walked out with Homer, Barney, Moe and Aaron.

"Tell him he will not regret it," Homer said with a smile.

And with that, everyone went their separate ways. Ready to take on new challenges and ready for a brand new and interesting future.

A/N: Ugh, have you ever wanted to fall asleep while writing a chapter? I think I did this several times, maybe even sleep typed. Probably explains why the last half is not as good as the first half. But meh, I did my best. So yeah Homer is now going to be a janitor, will he find a girl while doing this or just get high off of chemical fumes? Keep reading and you'll find out.

Also as you can see I changed the name of the story, why because it was too damn long. I really hated explaining to people about my story and what the title was so I shortened it, I think I made the right choice.

Well please review when you feel the need, and thank you all for the warm welcome back. I'm glad you all accepted me back.