Kimi buttoned up the top of her coat as she patiently waited by the front door for her father. She was anxious to get going but didn't push anything for fear of Chas becoming upset; she knew that Melinda was a touchy subject in their house.

She started to mentally prepare herself for what was to come- she didn't want any unwanted surprises or emotional outbursts. There wouldn't be much point of her coming long if she was just crying the entire way, would there? But trying to steady herself wasn't an easy task to complete since she never actually knew the person that they were going to see.

"Ready to go?" she finally asked as Chas was tying up his shoes.

"Sure thing."

Neither of them spoke as they approached and sat down in the car, not only due to the cemetery but also because of the bitter winter cold. It wasn't snowing outside, but you could see your breath and it felt as though you could freeze to death at any second.

Chas started backing the car out of the driveway, careful to not run over any passers-by. He was positive that his daughter had questions for him, but he wasn't exactly sure that he had all the answers. It was such a long time ago. But the real question he had on his mind was this: how do you tell your stepdaughter about your old wife without making the conversation really awkward?

"All right, where to start…" Chas began, trying not to take his eyes off the road as he spoke. "You already know that Melinda was Chuckie's birth mother, and that she died when he was about one years old."

Kimi nodded as if to continue.

"Well, she planted all of those flowers that used to be in the backyard when you were little, she was intelligent and resourceful, and…"

Chas stopped talking for a second as he pulled up to the driveway in the cemetery. "She was a lot like you and your mother."

Silently, they opened up their respective doors and Kimi followed her father through the rows of tombstones. They passed through Charleston, Davis, Denninger, Ford… "Huh, where is it? I can't be getting Alzheimer's already…" Chas said worriedly.

Kimi came up to a row of three headstones covered in snow, and she wiped them off with her sleeve. The third one she studied for some time before reading:

"Here lies Melinda Finster: friend, lover, mother and enjoyer of life. May she rest in peace for all eternity and watch over her family in God's good graces."

The two of them stood there for a little bit, Chas letting a few teardrops roll down his face. Kimi felt her body freeze, and it wasn't because of the cold. She felt suddenly like she was an intruder; a person who had no right to just butt in to their lives.

"You know what really helped me get through all of this?"

Kimi turned to her side to see her father still looking at the resting place, but he had a small grin on his spectacled face. "You guys. I was an emotional wreck for a year and a half, but then you and Kira came into our lives and I've never been happier."

He put an arm around Kimi's shoulder and sighed happily. "I don't think you'd remember, but I took you and Chuckie here when you were about two years old. It made me so proud…"

Flashback…

"Ok, kids! We're almost there!"

Chas walked Chuckie and Kimi up to an old stone carving with someone's name on it. Chuckie thought that the place was terrifying, but Kimi tried to convince him that they were on an adventure and just visiting a friend of their daddy's. Chuckie carefully took his sister's hand and walked forward, confused as to why there were words on this stone block.

"Chuckie, I'm not sure if you can understand this, son, but this is where your old Mom is sleeping. She went up to heaven from here." he explained, placing Kimi on his knee.

He then motioned for Chuckie to come up and see the stone carving. The boy put his hand on the rock and giggled slightly. He then took a little flower out of his pocket and put it in front.

"That's very nice of you, Chuckie. Thank you," Chas said, ruffling Chuckie's hair. Chas then felt his daughter climb off of his knee and watched as she put down a stone, and clapped her hands together as she sat down.

Chas was nearly in tears as he scooped up his kids and pulled them in for a big hug. "You guys have no idea how much you mean to me. I love you both so much."

End Flashback

Once again Kimi didn't know what to say. She felt like hiding and never coming out, but at the same time she wanted nothing more than to meet Melinda. Kimi really had no idea why she felt such affection for the woman. Maybe it was the fact that she gave him a great brother and made Chas a knowledgeable dad. Whatever the reason was, she was grateful for her. But it was getting much too cold to stay outside, and she was sure that they'd both catch pneumonia if they remained much longer.

Chas seemed to read her mind, as he said, "Well, I think we're finished here today. What do you say we grab some lunch?"

"Yeah, I'm starving. Where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking the Java-"

Kimi turned around and gave him a "really?" look.

Chas chuckled and responded, "Just joking. Anyway, how about the Zen Teahouse? I've never been and it looks pretty good."

"Sure thing, but you're buying!" They both returned to the car and talked about anything that came to their minds. Kimi's skating practices came up a bit, as did Chas' fear of heights and Chuckie's fear of pretty much everything.

As the car left a trail of dust on the road behind them, a soft voice whispered in the air. 'Thank you…'

Our view then shifted to the horizon, hearing this repeated throughout the air, as well as a curious voice asking,

"How do you use these chopstick things, anyway?"