It's wintertime, so there was no school. Ulrich was being tutored by yet another teacher to bring his grades up. But he was really daydreaming for the most part. The whole ordeal was more of an annoyance to him.

But when he wasn't daydreaming he was more conserved about XANA, wondering of he'll attack now that he wasn't on Kadic. When the tutoring was done, so was Ulrich, he couldn't stop thinking about that morning."

Flashback:

Mr. Stern was glaring at his son, "You're grades are pitiful! I mean, you're just barely passing!" Ulrich closed his eyes and rolled them behind his eyelids. "Look Dad," Ulrich said, trying to remain calm, since his mother is really sick and get a heart attack from fright, "I really am sorry, but things are getting tough, I mean I'm having trouble sleeping, this girl Sissi, has been stalking me since day one…"

Mr. Stern interrupted him, "Well she's a hell of a lot better then those good for nothing kids you hang around with!"

That was the last straw. Ulrich then talked softly but with great presence. "Look, Lucas," Ulrich snapped, using his father's first name, "You don't know crap about my friends, and you know absolutely nothing about who I am!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Mr. Stern snapped. "A control-freak who thinks he has the god-like abilities to control my life! You know…I'm just tired of trying to forge me into this perfect person. Hey, I guess I learned something from you…how not to act to my kid. I hate you."

Mr. Stern was stunned by what he just heard, he didn't move a muscle, just stood there. Ulrich walked back to his room to resume his work.

End Flashback.

It was nighttime, Ulrich slipped his coat on, a pair of boots, and silently walked out the door. When ever he and his old man had fights, he always took a walk at nigh, when he wasn't studying. The snow lightly crunched under his footsteps.

As normal, he went across the park and the church and the temple. His head was down the whole time, so he only knew this by the time he could see on his glowing watch.

He lifted his head and saw the full moon. The moon was a quarter moon when he left. He looked around his environment, an abandoned railroad.

"'Evening stranger." said a voice. Ulrich turned around and saw a homeless man, a little large, African heritage, long black hair and beard, with some white hairs every here and there, in front of a can with a fire in it.

He could have sworn he wasn't there before. "Come on, sit down." said the stranger. Ulrich reluctantly sat down on a near-by tree stump.

"Here, have some tea, green tea, picked the leaves meslef" the stranger handed him a clay cup. Ulrich was really reluctant to drink the tea. The stranger chuckled, "Don't worry. I'm clean, no filth, no illness, no nothin'"

Ulrich drank most of it in one gulp. A bit weak for his tastes, but it definitely warmed him up. The man gently took his tea cup. He swirled it around a few times, stopped, looked into the cup, and swirled it again. "Have problems at home kid?" asked the stranger.

Ulrich was surprised that he knew that. "Yeah, how did…" The stranger interrupted, "It's in the tea leaves kid. Now tell Richard what's the matter."

Ulrich opened up the first time in a long time. He ended with, "You know, sometimes I think about running away during my walks. I rather be alone here then to live in a house with a father who hates his own son."

Richard looked and said solemnly, "Never, in all existence is there a father who ever hated his son. You see there are three types of fathers. One, is the kind that didn't give birth to you, but loved you. I know a handful of these people, some aren't even in this realm.

"I know one personally, his biological father hated him, preferred his daughter. He even burned his son, on his face. His uncle however was his Dad, loved him, raised him to be a hero, because his own son died and still had fatherly love left in him. This isn't your father.

"Then there is the Divine Father, the father to all Creation. He loves everything in this and many other universes. While others use Him as an excuse to kill others, these are not His words, He wouldn't ask anyone to do that. Even the fallen angels are loved by Him. It causes Him great sadness to see them fall and to see horrible things happen here, but He knows the humans have a great capacity of great love and light. You're dad again isn't this, that's for sure.

"You're dad is the third kind, the kind that love his son, wants the best for him, but they vary. You're Dad can be a bit of a control freak, but he just want you to avoid his mistakes, actually he is scared right now, he knows you're gone."

"W-what?" Ulrich was startled. "Look into my fire, and you will see," said Richard.

Ulrich couldn't believe what he was seeing (there was no sound). His father was calling the police, his mother was sitting on the chair crying. When his father finished his call, he kneeled and prayed.

"Bet you didn't know you're dad was religious in his youth. He stopped because some bad things started happening, he didn't know that He loved him."

The man touched Ulrich's forehead with his pointer finger, and images flooded Ulrich's mind.

The death of his grandfather, his dad roughly his age. The injury that crippled his grandmother, again, his father was his age. The death of his uncle, when his father was a young man. More and more sad thoughts and memories flooded his mind.

"He has all these in mind," Richard stated, "He doesn't want a missing son on his conscience."

With that said, Ulrich sprinted away from the man, not only fearing for his father, but for himself.

'This man's insane, he's got magic or something!' He managed to get to his house in much shorter time then he thought, he also saw no police men.

Ulrich opened the door. "Who is it?" said a voice. "D-dad, it's me." Ulrich's parents rushed to the other room and hugged their son.

Ulrich told them of his walk, that he thought it was 9:00. For once his father wasn't angry, only happy to see his son's home ok. Ulrich's mother, still sick went to bed, still glad that her son was ok.

Before Ulrich left for bed, he said, "Hey Dad?" Mr. Stern looked at his son. "I'm sorry I said I hated you. I was just angry."

Mr. Stern sat down and said, "You know, it's my fault really. You were right, I'm a bit of a control freak. But I only do that, because I love you. My life is just a mess, but I don't want your's to be. Good night son, I love you."

"Love you too Dad." Ulrich entered his room. There stood the man. "Whoa! What the hell?"

Richard shushed him and said, "Now, I believe a thank you is in order."

"For what reason?" "You don't think I'm just some hermit off the streets do you?"

Richard then grew thinner, his appearance became younger, his beard vanished and his hair became fully white.

"What are you?" Ulrich asked. "I am your Guardian Angel." Richard said smiling. Ulrich kneeled. Richard then said, "Now, save that for the Lord." "Thanks, you allowed me to see my father as a person." Ulrich said.

As Richard began to disappear, he said smiling, "I did nothing, you did. I just helped you there."

(A/N: I just thought a story about Ulrich and his dad should be made in this collection. Lyoko498)