It has been three months. Three months since I got the old Scott back. Three months since me and Bobby started dating. Three months since I almost lost my dog tags. Three months since I got my dad's letter. And one month over what my dad told me he said he would be home by. He said he would be back in one or two months. Instead it's been three months. It's been over a year now.

All though it's been three months, Bobby and I haven't kissed yet. We both thought it should be saved for a special time and when we were ready to take that step. It's only been three months. We've might have known each other for over a year but…it's still a bit new to us.

Scott has been protective and gentle again. He's never harsh, unless I break some rules. He is always asking me how I'm doing and asking if I need anything. Whenever we're practicing, he's makes sure that I can handle it and telling me if he's going to hard then I need to speak up. He's been cautious; I guess the word you would use.

Storm has been very motherly. She and Scott help me with my homework when I'm having trouble. And when they do, it's like an actually family thing. Storm asks for details whenever I hang out with Bobby and she always kids around with me. It's like she's a mom and a best friend. Jean is sorta a friend. Again, we're not very close.

Bobby and I were up in my room, hanging out. Scott would be livid if he found Bobby in my room with me. We were both looking at some pictures I kept. He thought it was cute how I kept those pictures but when he asked me why I kept so many of them, I answered, "Because, every picture tells a story. Whether it's sad, funny, cute, or happy. They all tell you something different."

He looks at me with this amazed look. "You really do look on the bright side of things in life, don't ya?"

I shrug like it's no big deal. "Yea, why wouldn't I? Sometimes life can be really bad. But every life has to have some kind of happy ending. When it feels like I want to give up, I keep telling myself, 'if it's not ok, then it's not the end.'"

He stares in my eyes until he finally makes a move. He quickly leans over, kisses me on the cheek, and goes back to going through the pictures, leaving me wide eyed and speechless while he has a cute smirk on his face.

I smile and shake my head. I hear some yelling and stomping of feet downstairs and I got curious. It looks like Bobby did too because he lead me out the door, slowly moving his way through the hallways with me trailing behind him. Once we got to the main room, we saw many people crowding a person. I saw Scott, Jean, and Storm smiling at me, motioning me to come over.

After the people cleared away, I saw who it was. I stare at the person wide eyed, as they do with me. We make eye contact and at that moment, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I don't even try to hold them back. I run toward the person and jump in their arms.

My dad wraps his arms around my body, pulling my close to him, hugging me tight as he could. I start to sob as my father tries his best to calm me down. He starts to shush me and stroke my hair, whispering soft things in my ear, telling me he was finally home.

I pull away with tears still flowing freely down my face. I smile up at him and grab something around my neck. I raise it up so he can see that I kept my promise. "I did what you told me to do. I protected them. I made sure that I never took them off. Not once."

He smiles back at me and grabs something around his neck. He raises it up so I can see it clearly, the light making it shine even more. "So did I."

I laugh at little and started to cry once more. He sighs but with a small smile and hugs me close again. It feels good to have my dad back home. Our real home. One that has our family in it. One home that we're not leaving.

Scott and Storm told me that the homework wasn't due for a good while now for me so I could have some time with my dad. I look over to Bobby, not wanting to blow him off. He smiles and shakes his head, understandingly. "Go ahead, Kitten. You need this time. I'll catch up with ya later. I gotta make sure John hasn't burnt anything yet."

We both smirk at each other, knowing well enough that he already has destroyed something today. I drag my dad upstairs and into my room. I realize there were still many pictures all over my bed and I start to clean them up. My dad bends down and picks one up and turns to me before looking at it. "Why do you have so many pictures, Kid?"

I'll admit it felt great to hear him call me that again. I see him stare at the photo and make no move to put it back. I got curious and walk over to him to see what the photo was. It was an old photo. Back in the days when mom was alive. There stood dad, tall as ever, with me on his shoulders about three or four years old. He was helping me stay up, making sure I didn't fall off while his other arm was around my mother's shoulders.

We were all smiling, like a happy family. My eyes turn blue and I see my dad's eyes are swimming with tears but he doesn't let any of them fall. We both sit on my bed, me leaning into my dad and his arm around my shoulders, looking at the picture, thinking back on the memories.

We were in silence but then my dad spoke. "I feel like I should hate her. But I can't."

He was talking about my mother. I look up at him with this weird expression. "Why would you hate her? And why can't you hate her?"

My father sighs as he look me in the eye. "Because…she took you away from me. Making me believe you were dead, for several months. She made me think you were both dead. I felt like I failed you both. But mostly you. You're my little girl and I'm supposed to protect you at all costs. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

He takes a deep breath as I let the tears flow down my already rosy cheeks. "I can't hate her because she gave me you. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have you as my little girl. She gave me you and if I didn't have you then I wouldn't know who or what I am. I'll admit it; you have helped me through this life. Even through the toughest times. I'm thankful for that." He looks me dead in the eyes as he whispers, "I love you, Scout."

I look at my father, shocked. I always knew he loved me but he's never said it out loud. This is the first time he has in years. "I love you too, dad."

He wraps me in a hug as I start to sob. I know I was being a crybaby today but wouldn't you, when you haven't seen you dad in over a year and then he comes home all of a sudden with all this to say? We pull away and my dad gives me this little smirk with one eyebrow raised. "So…it seems like you and that kid Bobby are pretty close, huh?"

My eyes widen as I try to act innocent. "No. No, uh we're just close friends. That's all."

His smirk gets wider as he looks down at me. "Really? 'Cause I heard differently by Storm and Scott."

I face palm and make a mental note to kill Scott later. I can't really do much to Storm but I can definitely do something to Scott for this. I look up at the man I call father and quietly say, "He is most likely, possibly, maybe my boyfriend."

He nods his head slowly as he leans back against the wall. "Well, I better have a talk with him later. Gotta make sure he treats you right."

My head snaps up as I remember what happened three months ago. "Dad! You said you were looking for you brother, Victor, right?" I see him nod; slowly giving me this curious look but I ignore it and continue. "He came after me. Three months ago. Bobby and I were out by the little lake down the hill and he came out from the woods."

He looks at me worriedly and quickly kneels down in front of me, grabbing both my shoulders. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Did he say anything? What did he do?"

"No, I'm fine. He might've thrown me against a tree but I'm ok now. He tried to kill Bobby and it looked like he wanted to take me but he didn't get the chance. Bobby and I were fighting him when he went back to the woods. He turned back to us and said to me, 'Better be careful next time, Scout.'"

Dad looked like he wanted to kill something right then and there. I got scared for a minute and hid under my blankets, not knowing if he would throw something or pull out his claws and destroy something. Whatever it was, I didn't want to get hurt.

I didn't hear anything. All I heard was my father's heavy breathing but that stopped when I heard him sigh and sit back down on my bed, next to me. I was still under the blankets when I felt him put a hand on my shoulder. "Scout?" I didn't answer, not knowing if I should. "Kid, look at me." He knew if he called me that name, he would get me to do almost anything. I came up from under my blankets and peeked over the edge.

My dad looked apologetic for once. "I'm sorry I scared ya. I'm just worried about you, that's all. I wasn't here when that happened and you gotta understand what that feels like. Not being there to protect the people you care about when they're in danger."

I nod my head a little, coming up from the blankets and showing my face. "Yeah. I know what that feels like."

"Did he come back? Did anyone else come here, coming after you? Was there any other emergency?"

Again, I shake my head to all the questions. We both sit on my bed, in my room with the silence hanging in the air. It wasn't the awkward kind though. It's the kind when you don't need to say anything and you can just enjoy the other persons company.