Dad came strolling into the kitchen that morning doing a little move. He wore a bright grin on his face that was kinda creepy. He must really be in a good mood by the looks of things. He was even singing softly under his breath, one of those cheery tunes from the radio. He was seemingly oblivious to the stares he was getting from the rest of the family.

"Uh, Danny?" Aunt Becky said slowly, "are you okay?"

"Never better!" Dad chirped. "In fact, this is probably the greatest day of my life."

"Are you gonna clean?" Nicky asked him, causing Uncle Jesse, Michelle and Stephanie to snort.

Dad ruffled his hair. 'You bet I am but that's not why today's so great."

"Care to enlighten us then?" Uncle Jesse said dryly.

Dad did another move, pouring himself some stamping coffee into his favorite mug. Stephanie recognized that one. It was the one Mom had given him during the last father's day she was with them. "Vicky's coming over for dinner."

"Vicky?" Uncle Jesse said, his eyebrows flying up to his hairline.

"Your ex fiancée Vicky?" Joey said in surprise. "That Vicky?"

"Do you know of any others?" Dad said.

"Dad," Michelle said, "when did you and Vicky get back together?"

He rubbed the back of his back. "Somewhat recently."

"Are you guys engaged again?"

"No," Dad said carefully, "not quite."

"So you're just dating?" Michelle didn't seem to really get it.

"For now," Dad said.

"And she's coming over for dinner to-" Aunt Becky let the question hang.

"Just to have dinner with all of us," Dad said. "I want this to be a special dinner so I want everyone to wear their nicest clothes." A collective groan went through the kitchen, all except from Aunt Becky. No one else was particularly fond of the idea. Dad rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Come on, everybody. It's not that bad."

"Why do we have to get dressed up?" Michelle asked. "Vicky's been here before."

"This is different, Michelle," Dad told her. "This is our first get together with us back as a couple. I want this to be perfect."

"As fun as that sounds, Daniel," Uncle Jesse said, "I think me and Becky and the boys have plans."

Aunt Becky swatted him. "No, we don't. We'll be here."

He groaned. "Beck. Trust me, you do not want to be here when he's...like this."

Aunt Becky ignored him. "If you want, I can help you with dinner," she offered.

"That'd be great!" Dad told her. "While we do that, the rest of you can clean the house."

There was another groan.

"What's there to clean?" Michelle mumbled to Stephanie. "He's already done everything."

"I know right," Stephanie muttered back. "I saw him cleaning the mailbox yesterday. He didn't want the mail to get dirty."

Sometimes she wondered if he knew other people could see him.

/

Stephanie was in the midst of throwing and tossing out every article of clothing she owed in search of something suitable to wear for tonight. With her Dad set on everything being perfect, his worrying was worse than usual. He was clearly nervous about how this evening would go. Thus far, it had only been him and Vicky on their dates or whatever Dad wanted to call them. He hadn't yet involved the rest of the family. She was fairly sure if Vicky hadn't been acquainted with them all before, Dad would wait even longer, likely just have it be him, Vicky, herself and Michelle.

She blew out a puff of air. This was so difficult. She didn't usually struggle with what to wear but she did want to do this one thing for her dad. Although, this wouldn't be easy, seeing as over the years, her style had started to lean towards casual more than it had when she was a kid. She did own a few dresses, like three. And what should she do with her hair? Dad was using the oven so leaving it down wasn't an option. Maybe a simple ponytail?

She heard Charlie's footsteps come around the corner, stopping at her doorway. She knew it was him because she'd become accustomed to hearing it lately.

"I like what you've done to the place," he remarked.

She turned to face him, her hands on her hips. "I'm going through a crisis."

"Mhm and what's this 'crisis'?" He drawled, using air quotes.

"I need help figuring out what to wear," Stephanie told him. She saw his expression change. His eyes went big and he did not look pleased by the idea.

"No way!" He said loudly.

"Please?" She begged.

"No!"

"You're my best friend in the whole world," She tried, sticking out her lower lip.

"What part of I don't do girly things are you struggling with exactly?" He groaned.

"Well, Gia's busy and I need help," she said.

"You have an aunt, right? And a sister. Two actually."

"DJ's busy, Aunt Becky is out and I'm not asking Michelle," She rolled her eyes.

"Why me?" He whined. "What did I do?"

"Please? I'll really appreciate the help," She beamed.

"Look, babe, the help you need, I can't give you."

"It'll be quick," She promised. "Just tell me which looks better."

He glared at her, though it lacked any real heat. "You owe, Tanner," he scowled.

She showed him her options as she explained the situation. "Dad's ex fiancée and now girlfriend is coming over for dinner. He's obsessed with everything turning out perfect so he told us to wear something nice and I don't know what to wear. I can't wear this-" She held up the white dress with sunflowers on it, "it's probably not what Dad envisioned when he said to wear something nice."

"So don't wear it," he shrugged.

"There's also this-" It was a dark blue dress that fell right at her knees. "If I wear this, I'll probably wear my white tights with it."

He gestured for her to continue.

"Or I have this-" It had brown, blue and white stripes. It was slightly shorter in the front but longer in the back and the sleeves came down to around her elbows. She'd have to wear tights or something else underneath this one as well. "What do you think? Which one looks better?"

He shrugged.

"You're not helping"

"Try them on, I guess," he said. "I can't tell by just looking at them."

"Okay," She agreed. She couldn't decide between the black or white pair of tights so she grabbed both, heading towards the bathroom to quickly change. She chose the blue one first with the white lights underneath and did a little twirl when she came back into the room. Only...she was in her socks and fell straight down on her knees-luckily the back of the dress didn't come up.

When she glanced up, she saw that Charlie had lowered his head and was snickering at her expense.

"You know, a gentleman would help a girl up," She huffed as she got back to her feet.

"Well, I never claimed to be one," he said teasingly. "Nice going there, Tanner. Never knew you were such a klutz."

"Shut up."

"Don't make me do it."

"Do what?"

"The thing."

"What's the thing?" She snorted.

"This," Charlie messed up her hair by taking the longer portion and throwing it over her head, inevitably contributing to any tangles she'd get.

She flipped it back, narrowing her eyes at him.

He grinned cheekily.

"I hate you."

"Wish you hated me enough not to ask me to help with your girly things," he grumbled.

"Oh, stop whining. How does this look?"

"Like a dress," he said.

"It feels a little short," She didn't like that. "What if I have to bend now?"

"Maybe you should demonstrate for me-I'm kidding. I'm kidding," he put his hands up when she glared at him.

"Pervert."

"Prude."

"If you think that's the way to get a girl someday, you're mistaken. Trust me."

"You underestimate me, babe," he winked. "I could get any girl if I wanted to."

She scoffed. "Oh, please."

"It's true. I just prefer not to."

"Oh, wow. Didn't know I was friends with an expert."

"It's okay," he patted her on the head. "You'll learn."

She pushed his hand off.

"I'm going to try on the other one," she told him.

"Yeah, okay."

She came back in the striped dress with black tights on, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt at getting rid of the tangles he caused. And she was careful not to fall this time. "How do I look?"

"Fine."

"You really know how to make a girl feel good."

"I could think of something better."

She wrinkled her nose.

He smirked. "I didn't say what that something was. You're the one that went there."

"Oh, please. Don't act like you're innocent."

He didn't acknowledge that. Instead, he told her, "Go with that one."

She looked down. "You think?"

"Yeah. It looks nice on you."

"Okay, what about my hair though?" She wondered. "Should I do a ponytail or something different?" After she brushed out her hair, she put it into a high ponytail to show him. "Is that good, you think?"

He stood there for a second. Then he came closer to her-the closest he'd ever been- gently tugging a piece of hair out of the ponytail from each side to hang down beside her face. "I've seen you do that before."

She had. It was an easy hairstyle for work that kept her hair out of her face and gave a bit of flair to it. She didn't think he really noticed, though.

"Kinda takes away from how dorky your glasses are," he motioned to the aforementioned thing.

"They're not dorky."

"You're not seeing what I'm seeing, babe," Charlie said. He was studying her critically. "You could do better. A lot better."

"How rude," she said. "I've worn these for a while."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"I wish you could stay for dinner," she said with a small smile.

"What, does it just pain you to be away from me?" He teased.

"Sure," she deadpanned.

"I can't blame you," he shrugged. "It's a disadvantage of being so desirable."

"I don't know how you get through each day."

"Me either," he said. "Now tell me, Tanner, why do you want me to stay for dinner?"

She shrugged. "I had fun when you and your parents came over. You know, except for me and my big mouth...which I don't think I apologized for."

"You don't have to," he murmured. "It's fine. And as much I'd hate to break your heart, we've got people coming over too."

"Oh," Stephanie said. "Okay."

He continued. "I guess you could say they're my grandparents."

"You guess?"

He sighed. "They are, technically. They're my dad's parents. My adoptive dad," he elaborated at her puzzled look. "It's just weird to think of them like that."

"Why? Are they nice?"

"They are, it's just-" He hesitated. "I've never had grandparents before."

She nodded understandingly.

"I don't know how to act around them. I don't know what to call them. I usually don't call them anything."

"Have you asked?"

By the look on his face, she'd say that was a clear no.

"I'm sure they wouldn't care," she tried to be comforting. "I'm sure your parents told them about...everything."

"It's been six years," he reminded her.

"So?"

He glanced at her then shut the door. She knew why; privacy. "People might not say it but they expect you to move on by now. It's been six years, I should be over it. Regardless of whether they say it or not, people expect that."

"Do you think your parents expect that of you?" She frowned.

"I don't know," he was starting to pace. "I..I mean, they usually don't hug me or touch me unless I've said it was okay and they give me space when I need it but I know they wish it was different."

She bit her lip.

"The first year or so, everybody pities you. They don't expect much out of you at all because you've been traumatized or whatever." His nose wrinkled at the word traumatized. "Then, little by little, they expect things to change. You're expected to be a completely different person and no one understands how hard it is."

"I'm sorry." What else could she say? She wished in some way she could relate to help him better but she couldn't. She couldn't because all of this was new to her. "Do you really not like being touched?"

Flashbacks came to mind of all the times she'd touched him-like at work when they'd each been trying to win the bet and she'd put her hand on the back of his neck. Or when she moved his hair out of her face. Or when she'd lightly hit him for saying something stupid.

Crap, she was such an idiot!

Of course he didn't like it. He was probably so used to being hit that was where his mind went before all else.

"Not really," he admitted.

She looked down. "Oh."

"What's that look for, Tanner?"

"I'm sorry for touching you. You know, before," She said earnestly. "I wasn't thinking."

"You don't have to apologize," he repeated.

"Yes, I do," she argued. "I should've asked first." What a crappy friend she was. "Does it scare you?"

He seemed startled by the question. "What?"

"Touching. Does it scare you?"

"I'm not-" He started to say but then backtracked. A look of shame crossed his face. "I don't like it. I don't know what's going to happen."

Because he could be hit.

Because that's what he automatically assumed.

"Did you think that when I touched you?" She said softly.

He sighed. "I knew you wouldn't hit me."

"Charlie."

"I guess I was a little nervous, okay?" His voice came out snippy but then another emotion passed over his face.

Regret.

"I'm sorry. I should go-"

"Wait," She blurted out.

He halted.

She stopped forward slowly. "Have you hugged someone since getting away from your dad? Really hugged someone?"

"Not really," he swallowed. "I don't really hug back."

"Then I can hug you?" She whispered.

"I can't hug you back," he told her honestly. "I just can't."

"Then is it okay if I do it to you?"

The silence was so loud, it made her heart pound. She saw his expression change, saw how he was mulling it over. She could hardly believe it when he whispered an okay.

"You mean it?" She had to make sure. "You're not just saying that because I asked?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Okay," she breathed and slowly went forward. She wrapped her arms around his middle, her head just under his chin. She pressed her face into the side of his neck, which was covered by his shirt. Out of habit, he went a bit stiff but then as the seconds passed, he loosened up.

She felt so content there. Even if the circumstances for this happening weren't the greatest. It was kind of strange. To think, she was hugging Charlie and it was actually nice and warm.

She didn't know why she almost didn't want to pull away.

/

The doorbell rang.

"Can someone get that! Dad called out nervously.

"I got it," Stephanie volunteered, seeing as she was the only one there. She got up and saw Vicky's cheerful face. "Hey, Vicky."

"Hi, Steph," Vicky gave her a hug. It wasn't at all like the one she shared with Charlie. For one, it was a mutual thing and second, Vicky had given her a squeeze, something she couldn't do with Charlie. Why am I still thinking about it? She was being totally weird about it. It was just a hug, nothing major. Vicky then held her at arm's length, examining her. "My, my. You've grown so much. What grade are you going into this year?"

"Twelfth," Stephanie answered promptly.

"My goodness, already!" Vicky gushed. "It just doesn't seem possible."

"I think the same thing sometimes," Stephanie laughed lightly.

"Tell me," Vicky said with a nudge as they walked away from the door, "are there any young men you're seeing? I know your father didn't mention any but I'm sure there's someone you're interested in."

"Oh, no," Stephanie shook her head. "There's not. There's no one."

"Really?" Vicky said.

"Yeah, I haven't really dated anyone since a few years ago," Stephanie told her as they sat on the couch and got comfortable.

"Well, that's alright," Vicky patted her on the knee. "It'll happen when it happens." She took a glance at Stephanie's attire. "That's a lovely dress you have on and I love your hair. Very nice."

"Thanks," Stephanie smiled. "Dad told us all to dress nice."

Vicky laughed. "That man. I'm going to feel so underdressed!" She was wearing a pair of jeans and a nice blue blouse. It was a stark contrast from how the rest of the family was going to look. "Let me guess, he's been fretting about this being perfect?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Unfortunately, I know him well enough by now," She winked. "Where is that dad of yours, anyway?"

"In the kitchen," Stephanie said. "He and Aunt Becky are making dinner."

"In that case, I'll go see if I can help. If you don't mind, that is?"

"No," Stephanie grinned. "Go ahead."

"Alright," Vicky got up to leave.

"Vicky?"

"Yeah, Steph?" She turned back around.

"I hope everything works out with you and Dad this time," Stephanie said sincerely.

She received a sweet smile from Vicky in return. "I hope it does too."