Hi hi, it's ya girl back again. Not really happy with this chapter and put off posting it as long as I could but the time has come. Hopefully Kasey gets easier to write as *smile*. Please enjoy this little gremlin chapter! ~Shaymie

Kasey

Sometimes he wondered how different his life would be if he had loved Lumina the way he knew she loved him.

He could have been there for her and the kids. He knew the twins had been confused about their parents not being together and didn't understand why he lived so far away. If he had just told his family about the twins, he could have visited more often instead of needing to make excuses every time he went to the valley to see them. He missed Mara's first steps, Gideon's first words, their first teeth coming in, because he wasn't there.

Sorry, Lumina... Kasey fluffed the flowers he had placed on her grave. They were fake flowers, nothing like the fragrant bouquets her family left, but they were the best he could do right now. He didn't want to come here empty-handed. Maybe he should have left some chocolate for her. She loved chocolate but ironically couldn't stand it when she was pregnant with the twins.

She would have loved Molly's baking...

"Daddy?" Kasey straightened up and forced a smile as he looked down at his children. Now wasn't the time to think depressing thoughts. He had to be here for his kids. Mara squeezed her brother's hand tightly and sucked on her thumb, while Gideon looked up at Kasey anxiously. He hasn't really talked to the twins about Lumina's death. He knows that they understand the fact that their mother's gone, that she had been sick, but they haven't asked any questions about her.

"Yeah, Gid?"

"Mommy isn't hurting anymore, right?" Gideon's little voice sounded so broken as he looked at his mother's grave. Kasey knew Lumina had issues with her heart, but if he'd known how bad it was, he would have gone to visit more. God, if she had told him she was in the hospital, he could have gone to see her before she died. He could have made better arrangements with the twins instead of having to pick them up suddenly out of nowhere. Those first couple of nights, they slept in the bed with him because they didn't have their own beds.

Mara and Gideon were the same age he and Angela had been when their mother died. Kasey could remember asking his father a similar question. He had been too young to understand what his mother was going through, but he'd see her crying sometimes when she watched Molly sleep in the nursery. He thought babies were supposed to make everything better so he didn't know why Mom was still sad all the time.

"She's not hurting anymore, Gideon. Trust me." Kasey felt his heart break a little bit more as he watched his son step towards Lumina's grave and plant a kiss against the stone. He's not really sure what to do. Should he try to talk to the twins about Lumina or wait for them to come to him? They seemed to understand the concept of death and knew that their mother wasn't coming back, but they haven't talked about her much, if at all. Maybe they don't know how to come to him?

He's been a pretty shitty father so he doesn't blame them for not knowing how to talk to him. They were used to talking to him on the phone every day and seeing him in person every couple of months. Now they were living with him and adapting to the city and having to deal with leaving behind the people they've known their whole life. He still hasn't even told them about the planned move to Castanet. Gideon has already claimed Jack as his new uncle and made friends with the kids around the neighborhood.

Mara liked Jack well enough, but she didn't have any friends her own age. The neighborhood kids were too rowdy for her liking so she spent most of her time in the house either drawing or playing with her dolls. She tried playing with them once, but she only ended up with a headache and some bruises from being pushed around by the bigger kids. She was pretty small for a four, almost five year old, but it isn't like he can control her height. She's always been the smaller of the two.

Maybe Mara will be okay with the move, but Gideon might be upset about it.

He should have talked with the kids before just... taking the job. They're still young, but this is going to affect them too. No matter how much he told himself this move was for the kids, he couldn't deny there was a ton of selfishness involved in the decision. He wanted to see his sisters again. He wanted to see Angela again and make sure that Molly was doing okay. He hasn't spoken to them since before Molly's birthday.

"Why does Mommy have to be at such a scary place? I don't like it here..." Mara's big hazel eyes were brimming with tears. She let go of her brother's hand and walked over to Kasey, who immediately picked her up. She sniffled and buried her face in his neck. He rubbed her back soothingly, frowning as her tears wet his neck. He thought bringing the kids to see Lumina would be a good thing. They won't be able to visit at all once they move to Castanet.

"I don't wanna be here if it makes Rosie cry!" Gideon huffed, taking a step back from the grave. He frowned and glanced over at the stone. Hesitation was clear on his face. He didn't want to go, but he was willing to if it made Mara feel better. He really took after his father, didn't he? Lumina would be proud. Kasey smiled slightly at the thought. Gideon took his job as an older brother seriously.

"Alright then. How would you guys feel about getting something to eat?"

"Dude, you sure you're not hacking those things?"

Kasey grinned smugly at the envious look on Jack's face as he dumped yet another stuffed animal into the plastic bag the arcade had given him. Not his fault he's a claw machine god. Gideon's been asking to come here for at least a week now and luckily the twins' "aunt Claire" was willing to watch Mara for the day. Claire Holden was Lumina's best friend and like seemingly everyone in Lumina's life, she hated his guts. She blamed him for ruining Lumina's life, breaking her heart and getting her pregnant, which led to her dropping out of college.

She also hated him for planning on moving away with the twins even though he explained it was best for them. They deserve to know their aunts—their real ones, though he obviously didn't word it like that when he told her. Mara deserves to live somewhere that's not completely overwhelming for her, where she can actually make some friends. She's just like Molly, always saying that she's fine when she clearly isn't. He can tell that she's lonely even with Gideon doing his best to play with her.

"Maybe you need to just get on my level, Jackson." Kasey picked up the bulging bag and noticed an arcade worker giving him a dirty look. What the hell was their problem? Did they think he was cheating or something? He won all these stuffed animals fair and square, thank you very much. Gideon tugging his hand made him stop giving the worker evil eyes and look towards where his son was pointing.

"Look Daddy, that one has Cinnamon Roll! You should get one for Rosie!" Gideon had gotten into the habit of referring to his sister by her middle name just as Kasey had. He let his son drag him over to the pastel claw machine and examined it curiously. It must have been an import since he couldn't understand anything on it, but he recognized the cute little Sanrio mascots plastered all over it. Kasey hadn't planned on spending the entire day just playing crane games, but he knew how much Mara (and Molly, though it hurt to think about his sisters when he hasn't spoken to them in who knows how long) loved these characters.

His eyes settled on two stuffed toys in particular: Cinnamoroll the white... puppy-thing, and his friend Chiffon. Thanks to Molly's obsession with the characters when she was younger, he knew a lot about them. Far more than he liked. Angela never had the patience to listen to Molly's childish rambles so Kasey was often subjected to them. As she got older though, she stopped talking about her interests. Apparently Chelsea told her it was annoying.

Over the years, Chelsea would pick at little things about Molly. Her hair, her clothes, even her lisp (which crept out sometimes even after extensive speech therapy). Molly used to be more outgoing and sure of herself. Not to the level of Angela or Bridget, but she had less doubt and wasn't so hesitant. Sometimes the old Molly would come out, like when Angela was dating that bastard Mikhail and she didn't bother trying to hold her tongue when it came to her distrust of him.

The reminder of how she used to be only furthered his determination to win the Chiffon plush for her and give it to her in person when he moved to Castanet. He'd find something for Angela, too. It certainly wouldn't make up for leaving them in the dark about everything for so long but maybe it could lessen the blow a bit and make them not... as angry. Well, Molly probably won't be angry but he just knows Angela will blow up at him.

They had promised to tell each other everything. It was a stupid promise they made when they were kids, even before Molly was born, but they stuck by it like it was law. Angela said even if they had nobody else in the world, they'd have each other. She treasured the twin code like no other and he just crapped all over it. Would she even forgive him for this? He knew she could hold a grudge when she really wanted to.

"You did it, Daddy!" Kasey blinked. He hadn't even been thinking about it, but somehow he managed to win the toy for Mara. Gideon grinned and pulled the toy out of the machine, hugging it tightly to his chest. "I'll keep it safe for Rosie!"

"Okay, buddy." Kasey laughed at the serious expression on his son's face and put a couple more tokens into the machine, noting that he was running out. He'd have to get some more after this. He still wanted to do other things with Gideon. Hopefully he got this thing for Molly fast so he could actually spend some time with his son. He blew his hair from his face and focused. These stupid things were rigged, but he somehow always managed to get through the bullshit and get the stuffed animals.

He got the Chiffon plush in only two tries, after which he was escorted away so they could "examine" the machine. The employee he'd seen earlier was full-on glaring at him now. He ignored them and picked up his bags. Jack had walked off somewhere after getting a phone call so for now, it was just Kasey and Gideon. He had the key to the car so Kasey had no choice but to lug his bags of stuffed animals around the arcade as Gideon dragged him around.

"Daddy, this place is incredible!" Gideon's voice was giddy when they sat down for lunch. His hands and face were covered in nacho cheese. He'd even managed to get some on the sleeves of his hoodie despite Kasey rolling them back. But a little extra laundry was worth seeing that smile on his son's face. Jack rejoined them as Kasey was wiping up the worst of the mess. He raised an eyebrow at his best friend's reappearance. That was a hell of a long phone call.

"Everything alright, Jack?"

"Yeah, Muffy called and you know how she is," Jack sighed with a roll of his eyes. That explained it. The two of them were in the oddest on/off again relationship Kasey had ever seen. It's clear that they both like each other but they seem to be scared of fully committing. Well, Jack's scared of commitment. Muffy's all for it. The woman's been planning her wedding since kindergarten.

"You missed a lot, Uncle Jack! Me and Daddy played a buncha games without you!" Gideon exclaimed before wrapping his hands around his cup and taking a huge sip of soda. Maybe it was time to switch him to water. After the excitement of the day, he's not gonna be able to sleep. Jack gave his pseudo-nephew a small smile before turning to Kasey with an oddly serious expression and lowering his voice.

"Angela also called, Kase. Molly had a seizure. She's okay but had to spend the night in the hospital." Kasey gaped at his friend. Angela hadn't even bothered trying to call him this time around. Maybe she got sick of him letting it go to voicemail. He kept every single one of her voicemails just to hear her voice, hoping it would give him the courage to just make that stupid call.

It never did.

"This is getting absolutely ridiculous, Kasey. You don't have to tell them about the move if you're still not ready, but you need to fu-fricking talk to them already," Jack hissed, censoring himself when he noticed Gideon's eyes on him. He's been trying to watch his mouth around the kids. Kasey barely noticed, his thoughts still on his baby sister. Was she really okay or was she just saying that to try and stop Angela from worrying? And Molly always got in a mood after a seizure...

"You almost said a bad word!" Gideon said with an accusing point. He put his finger down when Kasey numbly reminded him that pointing was rude. Jack gave him a hollow smile and ruffled his hair, giving Kasey a nervous glance.

"But I didn't. So no money in the swear jar for you." Jack smirked at Gideon's frustrated groan. His near-constant swearing has funded the twins' candy buying on trips to the store. Kasey's fingers twitched. He really should call, but he didn't want to ruin his day out with Gideon. God, but if he didn't call now, he'd probably wimp out and never do it and Angela might just start to hate him-

"Whatcha doin', Uncle Jack?" Gideon's curious little voice dragged Kasey out of his spiraling thoughts. Jack let out a sigh as he scrolled through his phone before handing it over to Kasey. Angela's contact photo was on the screen, the picture sending nostalgic pangs through his chest. They had taken it last year on their birthday.

"Helping your dad fix a big mistake of his," Jack answered before turning his gaze to Kasey. "Call her, Kase. Right now. I'll watch Gideon for you."

"Wh- now? I'll just call when I get home—"

"No you won't. I know you, Kasey. You'll make some dumb excuse and put off calling her until it's too late. So I'm pushing you to do it now. You can go sit in the car if you want some privacy but you're getting this over with." Kasey huffed. Jack certainly had a point. He definitely would have pussied out of doing this. He picked up the keys and gave Gideon a quick kiss to the top of his head. Luckily he was still small enough to not be disgusted by physical affection from him.

"Thanks, Jack. I'll be back in a bit." Jack smirked at him and before he could even be stopped, leaned over and pressed the call button. Kasey felt a wave of panic wash over him.

"What the hell, Jack?!"

"Had to make sure you wouldn't wimp out. See you later, Kase."