Guys, I got this chapter done sooner than I expected, but when I got to thinking about everything that I have left for this story, it came together rather fast. I do have one more chapter left for this story, as I have said from the start that I never knew how long it would be. I am excited about the next few stories that I have planned to share with you all. I want to get Hart of a Kinsella closer to its ending point before posting any new stories on here.

The final chapter should be up either at the end of the week or some point next week as I know what else I need to put into the chapter, I still have to figure out how I want to go about it.

I did want to put more in about the dinner at the end of this one, but I like where I ended things.

Enjoy!

"I don't know what you are so worried about," Aria commented, watching her dad as they drove to Zoe's house early Wednesday evening. "It's not like we are going to conspire against you," she laughed. "On second thought that might not be a bad idea," she teased him.

"I'm not worried about what you, and Zoe get up too. I trust the both of you," he commented, casting a quick glance at his daughter as he drove. "What I am worried about has nothing to do what the two of you can possibly get up to," he elaborated a bit more, for his daughter. He could see how much his daughter is looking forward to spending the night with Zoe, that he has no worries how that would go for the two of them. He knew they got along, and they wouldn't have any problems. More than anything, they would find a way to get him to do more things against his wishes.

"In that case, you shouldn't worry much about Meatball," she sighed, leaning back into the passenger seat; her gaze going from her father to the road they were traveling along. "What time I have spent with him, he's nothing but a big softy. And he does feel sorry, as far as I can tell. But what do I know; I am only a teen," she retorted rolling her eyes.

"You, sweetie, know a lot of things. Half the time you may be wrong, but that is part of growing up," he teased, wanting to see his daughter smiling and not sitting in the car with a frown on her face. "And I have a bit to worry about. Meatball may be soft, but it's not that easy to bring everything up again, once you have let it go," he explained it the best he could. He didn't want his daughter to be worried about how things would turn out, that wasn't for her to worry about. "You brought enough stuff with you, what do you plan on doing while at Zoe's?" He asked, getting her to think about anything else.

"Stuff," she shrugged, avoiding telling him anything.

"Does this stuff have a name?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Sure it does," she told him. "And I am certain that Zoe will tell you when you ask her about what we did, but it's just girl stuff dad, nothing you need to fret over," she smiled, pushing open her car door, when Wade turned the car off, in Zoe's driveway.

"Hey, you know she won't tell me anything you don't want her to tell me right?" He questioned her, getting her to stop and stay seated in the car.

"I know, Zoe wouldn't; it's against who she is, unless she feels she needs to tell you something, but I can assure you that it won't be anything like that, because I would tell you something like that if that was the case," she assured her dad. "Again can we go in before Zoe thinks we are having a party in our car?" She asked, getting out of the car this time, Wade following suit.

"That is something that I know, and you give me no reasons to worry over, boys aside," he told her, on the walk up to Zoe's door. Aria knocking on the door.

"That you know of," she smirked, looking back at her dad.

"Don't you even dare joke about that," he warned, a smile on his lips.

"Whatever, pops," she retorted rolling her eyes, turning to the door the second she heard Zoe on the other side, pulling the door open, seeing her wave them in before walking off again, the phone pressed to her ear. "I'm going to take this upstairs to Zoe's old room," she announced, holding both her bags up, walking upstairs, leaving her dad by the front door.

Wade shut the door behind him, walking in the direction that his girlfriend walk off in. He saw her leaning against the counter an annoyed expression on her face.

"Mom, I really have to go." He heard her say. Realizing that she was on the phone with her mom, he went to back out of the kitchen. Before he could do so, Zoe found her way to him, wrapping an arm around his waist pressing her free ear against his chest. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. He chuckled softly hearing his girlfriend's mom's muffled voice through the phone. "I don't have time to debate this very closed topic with you; I am hanging up now, bye mom," Zoe told her, hanging up the phone and placing it on the counter next to them.

"Should I ask?" He questioned.

"She's not happy that I moved back here. She was under the illusion that I would be coming back there. We've been running around in circles about the whole thing for a while now. She can't understand that I need to be here," she sighed, pulling him closer now that she had both arms wrapped around him.

"Or maybe she's come to realize how much she needs you in her life, and she doesn't want you to leave her like she had done with you," Wade suggested. "Simply put she is scared that you will forget about her."

"That is just absurd," she told him, closing her eyes. If she let herself think about it, everything he said, made sense to her. "I wouldn't forget about her. I have forgiven her for what she did as it was best for all of us. We made amends, and we built a bond of sorts; I can't just walk away from that," she retorted.

"No, you can't. Even so, it doesn't matter how many times you say it or assure her of it; she finds it hard to believe, and before you say anything trust has nothing to do with this, so don't pull that card," he told her.

"Huh, amazing you still know me," she teased. "I can't move back there, but I can show her over time that I won't be writing her out of my life now that I live states away and not practically next door to her," she resolved. He kissed her head, lingering a few extra moments.

"I thought you invited me over for dinner before meeting up with Meatball?" He questioned. "And from what I can see there is no amazing food being cooked, so what gives?" He asked, making light of the tension she held in her body. Feeling her relax against him is one of the best feelings in the world.

"I ordered pizza," she shrugged. "Couldn't figure out what I wanted to make, and by the time I could figure out something it was too late, so I ordered in," she explained, pulling away hearing the knock on the door.

"I've got it," he told her, quickly pecking her lips, moving through her house to the front door to pay for the pizza before Zoe could tell him otherwise. After paying for and giving the delivery guy a tip, Wade called up the stairs for Aria to get washed up for dinner.

"I could have paid for it. I did order it and intended on paying for it," Zoe told him, placing plates on the table, going to the fridge to get them all something to drink with their pizza.

"I know you could have done so, Zoe. I don't mind paying for pizza. Next time when we go out you can gladly pay the bill," he told her.

"I'll just plan the whole night," she teased, opening the pizza boxes Wade sat on the counter top side by side as each pizza was a different kind.

"I will keep that mind," he said, hugging her from behind, catching her lips with his own the second she looked back at him.

"Can we not do that by the food?" Aria asked, walking into the kitchen. "I would like to keep my food down," she dryly told them, grabbing a plate from the table and helping herself to the pizza, ignoring the laughter coming from her dad and Zoe.

"I make no promises, peanut," Wade stated, grabbing a slice of pizza walking to the table to one of the empty spots.

They kept the talk to a minimum while they ate, laughs still shared around the table when someone told a story about the days events. Before they knew it, Wade was taking off with Zoe's suggesting of coming back to spend the night with them if he wanted to, if not, they would see him Thursday morning at school. Wade didn't know what he would do; it depended on how his night with Meatball went.

"Now that dad is gone," Aria spoke up, taking her attention away from the last bit of her school work. "How did you convince him to let Mitchell come over for dinner?" She asked. She didn't mind that his parents needed to come either. If she were going to date Mitchell, she would need to meet his parents as well and this way she could do so in her own home where she could feel a bit more comfortable.

"I didn't convince him to do anything. It came up and he agreed to do it, because he knows that you are growing up, and he needs to adjust to that fact," Zoe told her with a soft smile. "It's a good thing, Aria." The girl in question nodded her head. "Can we talk for a minute about something that has been on mind since Sunday?" Zoe asked, suddenly feeling nervous about the conversation at hand.

"Sure, what's going on, Zoe?" Aria asked, moving to face Zoe more fully, curious to know what Zoe had to say.

"There was this feeling and I talked to your dad about this, and he feels the same way, and I wanted you to know that whatever goes on with your dad, that I will always be here for you Aria. If you need me, I'm not that far away, whatever the status is that I have with your dad, I wouldn't fully walk away, not from either of you. It'll be a bit harder for you to get rid of me than some breakup, if it comes down to that," Zoe told her.

"Even if things end badly between you and my dad, I could still come to you if I wasn't comfortable enough in going to my Grandma or my aunt Becky?" Aria asked, chewing on her lip, looking down at her hands.

"Of course you can. If anything happens with your dad, it will not have any effect on our relationship, Aria. If you need me, I'll be there, okay?" Zoe asked her, seeing the smile forming on her face.

"Okay," Aria smiled. "Nothing is going to happen with you two is it?" She asked then. "I mean I haven't seen him this happy in a long time, and I don't want something to happen to that happiness," she quickly rushed out.

"Sweetie, I love your father. He makes me happier than I have been in a long time as well. I have no plans for what we have to end, if anything I want to keep moving forward with him, if that is okay with you?" Zoe asked knowing how close Aria and Wade were to each other. She didn't want to ruin that, just add to it.

"I don't mind at all; it would be nice to have another woman around the house," Aria beamed at her. Moving in with Wade and Aria is a thought that often crossed her mind, it was a thought that she wasn't ready to say out loud or suggest it happening for a while longer yet. "Can you help with my Biology homework?" She asked, not letting Zoe get too hung up by the comment she had made.

"Sure," Zoe smiled, moving over to look at what Aria needed help with, pushing everything else to the back of her mind.

Across town, Wade pulled into a parking spot outside the tavern that he would visit with Meatball, back when they were in college and the best of friends after things with Zoe went south. Meatball had been the one there for him, when he felt like he had no one else. It was silly as he had his mom and his brother, but they didn't get that he didn't want to wallow in self-misery over what could have happened if things were different, he wanted to get wasted and forget about all the heartbreak he was dealing with. The tavern also was the place where he first set eyes on Amiya. At first, it was a fun little fling with her until he saw her with some other guy, that is when jealousy crept up on him, and he had to force himself to admit that he was in love with her and a fling with her just wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted to be with her. Commit to her.

Shaking thoughts of his past from his mind, he got out of his car, locking the doors behind him, he entered the dimly lit place, quickly seeking Meatball out in the corner sitting at the table they had once claimed as theirs back in the day. A smile over those thoughts snuck up on him. He stopped to get a beer from the bar, giving him a chance to keep his memories at bay and get his thoughts in order over what it is he would be saying to Meatball. Because after everything they have been through, he has missed his friend.

"Wade, you have to know how sorry I am about how things have turned out. I wasn't trying to steal your wife from you," Meatball rushed out the second Wade sat down at the table with him. "It wasn't even like that, when she left you," he sighed, wrapping both hands around his beer bottle. "I know she did things wrong, that instead of telling you that she wanted out, that she didn't love you anymore, she ran away leaving and wrecking her relationship with both you and Aria," he said with a gulp.

"I know all of this Meatball. I did have a sit down with Amiya." The talk with his ex-wife wasn't as soon as he liked, but they hashed everything out, for the most part. They, however, couldn't see eye to eye when it came to Aria. "With how everything turned out, it was easier to blame you than it was to blame myself for ruining my marriage with Amiya. I fell out of love with her, and I thought that I could pretend that I hadn't stopped loving her for the sake of Aria. That if I came clean, that things would be different for Aria and Amiya. Nevertheless, I thought that I could find a way to love Amiya again, I just couldn't do that," Wade told his friend with a heavy sigh.

"You know that isn't the case right?" Meatball asked him. Wade nodded his head, as it is something that everyone has told him. "Amiya would still have run; she was scared, just like you were and instead of talking it out, she did the wrong thing. That guilt you feel, Wade, you have to forgive yourself for it. You're not at fault here. Amiya was scared from the start, don't you know that?"

"That she didn't know if she could be a mother?" Wade snarkly questioned, running a hand over his face, taking a long pull of his beer. "I know that, she said it from the moment we found out she was expecting. I was scared of being a father, but I stuck with it, and being a father is the best job in the world. You know that feeling," he said referring to Meatball's kids. "We can sit here and drag up everything from what happened, but it isn't going to do either of us any good as we can't change what happened. Amiya made the choice to leave without saying a single thing. She ran to you, which threw you into a weird place to be. And I hated that she ran to you instead of coming and talking to me about things. You fell in love with her and there is nothing wrong with falling in love. And you look happy, Meatball; you really do. And I can see that you make Amiya happier than I have ever made her," Wade told him, spinning his bottle in a circle within his hand.

"And you're happy with Zoe," Meatball told him. "We can't change what happened in the past, but we can move forward, Wade. And I want to be friends again."

"I want that too, Meatball," Wade told him with a smile on his face. "How has life been treating you?"

Just like they old friends fell into an easy friendship once more. Things would be different this time around for them, but they saw no sense in letting the past effect them. They couldn't control things back then, and now they took the chance they had to control where they went with their friendship. They both made mistakes along the way, but those mistakes turned out to be more than a mistake, they were amazing turns of events for the both of them.

And crawling into Zoe's bed to end his night, wouldn't be the worst way to end his day. He couldn't think of a better way than to be curled up next to his girlfriend to start a Thursday off with. He would tell Zoe what transpired with Meatball to an extant, that is.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Aria's nerves were on high alert. Zoe had spent the night, helping keep her mind from what disaster dinner could possibly turn out to be with her dad meeting Mitchell for the first time along with his parents who made the whole thing ten times worse than it should be. Her dad meeting her potential boyfriend is one thing, meeting his parents as well, that was insane, wasn't it?

Aria kept herself busy in her room the whole day, rearranging her bedroom now that she could move back into her room, when her dad painted her room for her two weekends ago, and now that her dad found the time to bring her bed and things into the room, she wanted to move things around and what better time to do that then when you want to avoid thinking about the night ahead of you?

Aria was the one to open the door when they knocked, as she was the one walking down the stairs to see if her dad or Zoe needed her help.

"Hello," she smiled, biting back her nerves. "Please come in," she told them, moving to the side to let them in. She shared a small hug with Mitchell. "Dad, Zoe," she called out, shutting the door. Wade and Zoe shared a look with each other, making sure that everything in the kitchen would be fine while they went to the living room to meet their company. Wade followed behind Zoe.

"Mom, Dad, this is Aria," Mitchell introduced them to the girl he wanted to take out on an official date, depending how this dinner went.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both," Aria smiled, shaking their hands.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Mitchell, hasn't stopped talking about you for days now," Kathy his mom said, making her son stand there being embarrassed. Not that he was alone in that moment, as Aria blushed, her nerves turning into embarrassment, over that.

"All good things I hope," Wade said, coming to a stop in front of them.

"Mr. Kinsella, this is my mom, Kathy and my Dad, Truman," Mitchell said introducing his parents, before they could say more to embarrass him further. He didn't take any music classes, so he didn't get the luxury of knowing Aria's father, other than the stories he has heard from his follow classmates.

"Please call me Wade," he said, shaking hands with both Kathy and Truman. "I assure you that I have heard nothing but good things about your son," he smiled. "This is my girlfriend, Zoe."

"I didn't know you were dating the music teacher," Truman blurted out, his own face turning a pink color. "I apologize for that. We've met Zoe at the school once or twice from when we've had to drop off some medicine for Mitchell," he explained how he knew of Zoe.

"It's fine really," she assured them with a soft smile. "We've had a long and a bit of a complicated past," Zoe smiled, moving closer to Wade, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"In other words, they have known each other since they were kids, dated and broke up and have since reconnected and relit the fire simmering between them," Aria explained, with a very dramatic eye roll.

"Something like that," Wade chuckled. "Please do make yourselves comfortable. Dinner will be a bit longer. Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked.

With drinks being served, Wade and Truman sat in the living room getting to know each other while Zoe and Kathy finished up with dinner in the kitchen, even though Zoe told Kathy she didn't have to help; Kathy, however, insisted she do something to help. In the midst of it all, Mitchell and Aria snuck off to her room, leaving the door open as she didn't want to be in anymore trouble than necessary.