Nicky tentatively stood before Jamie but when he opened his arms she ran in and let him envelope her in a bear hug. Jamie looked up at his father but Frank just smiled, then said, "Have fun. School tomorrow at 8." He nodded to Officer Janko and walked away.

Eddie asked, "Burgers and milkshakes sound okay to you? I'm kind of craving them."

Frank heard a trailing, "I love them!"

Eddie filled the car with fun conversation about anything and everything and Nicky again noticed how she brought out such a different, fun, lighter side of her uncle and smiled. She soon got drawn into the conversation too.

Once they had ordered food - Eddie's over enthusiasm encouraged Jamie and Nicky to over-indulge too - the conversation turned a bit more serious.

"So Nicky, how come you're with me today? Don't get me wrong. I love you and I've missed you and I'm so glad we get to hang out but what gives?"

Nicky paused then sighed thinking she really needed to get this off her chest.

"I think Grandpa has pretty much given up on me. And nobody loves me."

"What? That makes no sense. You know that's neither true nor possible. Tell me what happened, start at the beginning."

With that it came gushing out, "You know how mom and dad are getting a divorce. It's upsetting. I don't like it. Mom is so unpredictable. I don't know what to do or how to feel. I'm still doing well in school academically but sometimes when I'm sad and a teacher picks on me, I get frustrated and say something rude. So when Grandpa came to pick me up my teacher told him and he spanked me! He actually hit me, Uncle Jamie. And Pop was at home and knew and he didn't stop him either. Just tried to bribe me with ice cream sundaes later. And mom supported him too. Then when I tried to talk to Dad, he told me that now mom has full custody so he doesn't want or love me either. Then I asked Grandpa if he'd promise to never spank me again because I wanted this to be over and I wanted him to comfort me but he refused! So now I'm sad, mad angry, confused, frustrated and I don't even know what else. I think the doctor caught on to some of that and suggested to Grandpa that a break might be a good idea. I think that is where you came in." Jamie moved closer to his niece and hugged her. It sucked that she had to deal with all this but the divorce was a reality and they were just going to have to figure out how to help her cope.

"Nicky, dad punishes us because he loves us. Discipline is a form of love. Trust me, it took me really really long to realise that but there might just be some truth to it hurts him more than it hurts you."

"That makes no sense. It really hurt."

"Given the fact that you were offered ice cream sundaes right afterwards, I'm sure you got way less than what any of us would have. If we got in trouble it was always combined with a full grounding for at least a month which meant no desserts either."

"But it hurts!"

"It hurts for a few hours and then it's done. It is like a sharp reminder to not do the thing again."

"But I hate it!"

Nicky, Dad rarely spanks. I think the only one who got it frequently was Danny. Other than that he only uses it when you have crossed a major line or he can't use the other punishments for some reason."

"He did say that he didn't want to ground me from family time right now."

"See."

"But, but I don't want to be spanked!"

"Nobody does, kiddo. That is why it's a punishment."

Eddie sensed that Nicky did not want to hear this and was about to close up or bolt so she decided to intervene.

"This might not be my place but Nicky can I share what my relationship with my father has been like?"

When Nicky nodded, she continued, "My Dad never disciplined me. And he gave me whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, except maybe his time. That sounds like a dream but now in hindsight it really wasn't. I made some really poor choices as a teenager and I was lucky that I caught the breaks I did and turned my life around but now I do realize that it could have very easily gone the other way too. I could have turned into one of those rich, spoiled drug-addicted kids!"

"Still spoiled," Jamie scoffed.

Ediie glared at him but continued, "And then to find out that all the money came from him scamming people. Well, I can't even imagine what my life would have been like."

She paused, then continued, "Nicky, the whole system of parenthood was developed so that someone who has been there, done that can guide the kid who is still figuring things out. Are parents always right? Not really. But do they always do what they believe is best for you? You bet. For me, it took a long time to come to peace with that. That my Dad did the crimes he did out of his belief that I should have everything that I want, no matter how misguided that was. But you kid, have hit the jackpot in terms of being surrounded by responsible, consistent and caring adults."

For a while, they ate in silence.

Then Nicky asked, "But how could Dad do this to me?" Jamie smiled, noticing that she seemed to have accepted the issue with Frank.

"Well Nicky, humans are complicated, divorces are always messy. I think all three of you are going to have to be there for each other to see it through. And the whole family will always be there for you."

"Will I never have a Dad?"

"What Erin does next I can't speak to. But Jack will always be your Dad, kiddo."

Eddie piped in, "You get to decide what kind of relationship you want with him, Nicky. He might disappoint you sometimes but well that's Dads all over the world. Most men suck." She punched Jamie as she said that.

Nicky laughed and they had a good, warm meal.

After they dropped Eddie home, Nicky asked, "Uncle Jamie, can we drive around some more?"

Jamie remembered how when Nicky was a child, being driven around calmed her down. He nodded and drove, not saying anything.

After an hour, Nicky quietly asked, "Can you drop me back to Grandpa's?"

"Sure thing."

Nicky took a deep breath, trying to gather her courage.