Howdy lovelies, if you're reading this on the very day it was posted and are a fellow Digimon enjoyer then happy Odaiba memorial day! If not then happy Tuesday and hope you enjoy the chapter! ~Shaymie

Kasey

"You didn't have to do this, Molls."

When he texted her the other day asking for her donut recipe so he could pack a treat for the kids' lunch, he wasn't expecting her to come over today to make them herself. Apparently she didn't trust him to cook them right even though she said he handled the dough perfectly. He'd never learn to do anything on his own if she kept coming over to handle everything. She shouldn't have to cook for him or clean his house.

She shouldn't have to take care of him because he was too damn depressed to do it himself. God, he's supposed to be the one taking care of Molly, taking care of his kids. It's what he promised Dad and Lumina. He didn't have time to sit around and mope over his problems. The kids weren't going to feed themselves. His job wasn't going to work itself. He had to get it together.

And he had to stop relying on Molly like this. She had enough work to handle on the farm. As rare as it was for him to admit it, Angela was actually right. Molly was taking on way too many responsibilities. If she hadn't immediately gotten defensive and thought they were ganging up on her, he would have said that. There was no getting through to Angela once she got an idea in her head.

It felt like too late to say anything, especially since it was all said and done now. Molly made the cakes the other day and decided to freeze them to keep them fresh. Chase helped her bake and decorate them, and he was also coming over later to help with the party. Maybe then Kasey will finally get the chance to talk to him. He wanted to know more about the guy Molly seemed to be head over heels for.

She obviously trusted him a lot. She trusted him enough to tell him the full story of what happened to her. Even her closest friends didn't know about it. They just thought Molly stopped being friends with Chelsea because she realized that she was a bitch. Chelsea probably didn't even realize how lucky she was. They could have pressed charges but Molly chose to just put the whole thing behind her.

Even when they weren't friends with each other, Molly still was doing her favors.

"It's no problem at all," Molly hummed, adding another donut to Mara's lunchbox. She let him help out at first since they also needed to make breakfast. Then Kasey burnt the toast and nearly overcooked the potatoes and Molly kindly, but very firmly, shooed him out of the kitchen, saying that she had everything handled. He could tell by the subtle twitch of her brow that she was getting irritated so he decided to back off.

Molly had infinite patience for anything but people messing around in the kitchen.

Kasey drummed his fingers against the dining table anxiously. Breakfast was handled. So far so good. This birthday had to be perfect. It's their first one with him. The thought of it was nerve-wracking, to say the very least. He knew they couldn't care less about big parties or expensive gifts despite having lived in the lap of luxury. Lumina raised them well.

God, Lumina... This is their first birthday without her. It shouldn't be hitting him as hard as it is. He felt this overwhelming sense of guilt. Claire was right. He was a selfish coward. He practically took advantage of Lumina's kindness and left her with two kids to raise on her own. He knew she was in love with him and never talked to her about it, just tried to pretend it wasn't happening.

He wanted to tell her to stop holding out for him. Even if he did gather up the courage to break up with Jill, getting together with Lumina wouldn't feel right. She didn't deserve to be a rebound and he didn't want to risk hurting her more than he already had. He just didn't trust himself not to screw anything up. The best thing to do would have been to let her down gently and hope she eventually moved on.

Things could've been simpler if I just let myself love her...

"I might be a bit late to the party," Molly announced suddenly, snapping the lunchbox shut and setting it to the side. She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and gave him a tiny smile. "I have a doctor's appointment today. It shouldn't be too long but I figured I should tell you anyway."

"Is everything alright?"

"It's nothing serious..." Molly's voice wavered slightly, her cheeks flushing a pale pink. "It's just a check-up and um... some girl stuff. I don't think you'd want to hear about it."

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Kasey blurted out. Molly squeaked and flushed even pinker, blonde-tipped curls flapping around as she shook her head. He let out a breath of relief even though he knew it was a ridiculous thing to ask in the first place. She's not like him or Angela. She wouldn't just sleep with a complete stranger. Her entire life, Molly's had dreams of marrying some princely type in a fairytale wedding.

That... probably wasn't happening, but it was nice to have dreams.

"Wow, Mr. Chase! Your food almost tastes as good as Aunt Molly's!"

Gideon grinned, his face covered with pizza sauce and cheese. He had a knack for saying the most perfectly insulting things with a smile on his face. He was completely oblivious to the chef's reaction. Chase's brow was twitching as he attempted to keep a neutral expression on his face. Poor dude.

Angela was anything but neutral. It started off as a snort until she fully burst into laughter, leaning into Luke's side for support. Kasey rolled his eyes at his sister as he wiped his son's face. He looked over at Mara to see if she needed help but she'd been eating carefully to avoid dirtying her clothes. Now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn't have bought them new clothes when he knew they'd spend most of the party running around with their friends.

Besides, he could put up with washing an extra load of clothes if it meant seeing his kids happy.

The party's been going well so far. Mara and Gideon have been having a blast playing all the games Angela and Luke spent most of the day setting up. Molly was currently heading over from her appointment, but at this point she wouldn't really need to do anything. Chase had the food under control. Angela said he'd been here for hours prepping all the food with Molly until she had to leave.

Pizza, wings, garlic bread, salad, and even a fruit platter? Was Molly planning on making all of this herself? She's insane if she was. What would she have done if Chase hadn't offered to help? Would she have rescheduled her appointment or just skipped it altogether? She made it seem like the appointment wasn't for anything serious, but the last thing Kasey wanted was for her to abandon any sort of doctor visit for his sake.

"Laugh it up, Angela. Just remember who's cooking your food at the bar tonight," Chase said in a deadpan voice. Angela raised her good hand, probably to flip him off, before remembering there were kids around and quickly putting it down. Instead she sat up in her seat and smirked at him.

"I already told you I'll eat anything. Nothing you do can phase me." God, wasn't that the truth. Angela had a bottomless iron stomach. Kasey's tried to prank her with food in the past and he lost every single time. He finally gave up on it when she devoured a slice of cake sprinkled with ghost pepper flakes like it was nothing. Apparently it just added a slight kick to the cake.

The kids ran off as soon as the last bit of food left their plates, with the exception of Mara, who took the time to gather her trash together neatly. She gave Kasey a hug before following everyone else to the treehouse. Way to just absolutely melt his heart. Gideon never shied away from hugs but it was extremely rare for him to initiate them. It meant a lot to Kasey that his kids still even wanted to hug him.

Lumina always said that he worried too much about the kids' opinion of him. Was it wrong to have that little bit of doubt at the back of his mind, eating at him? He was barely there for them. They should hate him. He wouldn't have blamed her if he badmouthed him when he wasn't around. He knew the people in the valley did, sometimes right in front of the kids. They thought he was a deadbeat loser. It's a goddamn miracle the kids didn't pick up that same opinion of him.

Angela and Chase were still firing off their banter as Kasey got to work cleaning up. His sisters were kind enough to let him use their land for his party. The least he could do was pick up the mess. With a trash bag tucked under his arm, he walked between the two folding tables they'd set out and started picking up the trash.

"Need any help?"

Kasey yelped, the half-empty solo cup he'd just picked up falling to the ground. Miraculously the soda inside only splattered on the ground and missed his shoes by the narrowest of margins. He let out a heavy sigh and looked over his shoulder. Taylor and Paolo had come to the party unsupervised, but Owen decided to hang around to keep an eye on Chloe. He claimed that she turned into a fiend once she had a bit of sugar.

This was the second time now Owen's somehow managed to sneak up on him. Once again he wondered how someone so big managed to be so quiet. It's unnerving.

"Heh, sorry about that," Owen chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. He was the perfect definition of a gentle giant. Kasey was admittedly intimidated by him at first. Who wouldn't be? The dude's massive, with biceps that were nearly bigger than Molly. Guys like that back home weren't exactly the nicest to be around.

But Owen was all smiles and freckles. No wonder he was one of Angela's best friends. She didn't let people in easily. She struggled to drop her tough girl persona around people and it scared them off. Not to mention most people back home remembered how awful her temper was when they were younger and steered clear of her for their own safety. It was nearly impossible for her to lose that reputation.

It started right after Mom died. That was when her temper was at its absolute worst and she snapped at anyone she thought even looked at her or Kasey wrong. With how much Molly cried, none of them were getting much sleep. Dad took on extra hours to pay for Molly's medical bills and asked Angela to help Aunt Dee keep an eye on Kasey and Molly. Which was certainly a lot of responsibility to put on a four year-old.

For months Angela pushed people away, especially if they tried to offer their condolences. Even Jack wasn't safe from her rage most days. She didn't start to chill out until she met Muffy and Reina but by then it was too late. The damage was done. At least here, she had a new start. He remembered her texts early on about how excited she was to meet people who wouldn't judge her immediately. Who could have predicted she'd end up finding a boyfriend among all of them?

Kasey decided to accept Owen's help since Angela's been getting on him about making friends. At some point he had to stop blaming it on work. He got plenty of time to himself when the kids were with their friends. He's just... forgotten how to make friends. He had the same friends since he was a kid and most of them had all but abandoned him after Dad's death. Some of them stuck around as drinking buddies but when he decided to go sober, they saw no reason to talk to him anymore.

"What made you decide to be a teacher?" Owen asked, picking up Mara's neat pile of trash and tossing it into the bag. "Ange said you used to work in a warehouse or something."

"It was the only job available here. And I..." Kasey glanced over at Angela. She was currently teasing Chase about his crush on their sister and daring him to ask her on a real date this time around. He felt his cheeks flush as he lowered his voice to finish the sentence. "I missed my sisters. I know it's lame because we weren't even apart for that long but it was weird not having them around."

"Why're you actin' all embarrassed? It's normal to miss family, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, but I can't let Ange know! She'd make fun of me!"

"Make fun of you for what?" Angela turned away from Chase mid-sentence, her eyes bright and teasing. Shit. Of course she'd be paying attention. Kasey looked to Luke in the hopes that he'd distract her somehow but he was currently devouring what had to be his fifth or sixth slice of pizza. It's a good thing Chase set Molly's food aside before he even served anyone because Angela and Luke were absolute monsters.

"Uh..."

"His haircut! He didn't want you to know that he cut it himself!" Owen laughed and slung a heavy freckled arm around Kasey's shoulder, nearly bringing him down to the ground. The save was unexpected, but appreciated. Kasey knew his sister, and she never knew when to leave things alone. Angela snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Dude, I already knew you cut your own hair. It looks like shit."

There was a loud gasp above them followed by the sound of tiny feet pattering against hardwood. Gideon stuck his head out of the treehouse window and pointed an accusing finger at Angela.

"Swear jar! And make it double 'cause it's me and Rosie's birthday!"

"Wow, Rosie's out cold," Kasey murmured, brushing a strand of light hair from his daughter's face. He'd somewhat expected this. She got overwhelmed and overstimulated easily. Even at recess, she tended to stick close to the school, where she could see him through the window as she drew. Sometimes he worried that she was a bit too attached to him. She always got anxious when he wasn't around, and it tired her out every time.

She was the same as him. Lose one family member and immediately cling to the next closest one. For him it was Molly. Kevin and Mom were back-to-back hits and he didn't know how to deal with it. How could he, when Dad could barely handle it? When Dad was barely speaking and Angela was angry at the world and Aunt Dee was doing everything she could to help, Molly was the only comfort Kasey had.

He initially thought that Mara's clinginess was a phase. Thought she'd loosen up after some time had passed and make some friends. But she wasn't anywhere near as close to the other kids on the island as Gideon was. Anytime they had any sort of playdate, she'd always hesitate before joining the others, like she didn't want to leave Kasey. She was a little bit better about spending time with Molly or Angela but she'd still always dash over to Kasey when he came to pick her up like it had been days since they last saw each other rather than a few hours.

Would just telling her he wasn't going anywhere help? Lumina probably promised the same thing and look what happened. He knew it was something that couldn't have been helped, but Mara might have seen it as some sort of abandonment.

"Tell her I said good night, okay? I have to get this kid home." Angela ruffled Taylor's hair and ushered him off. He looked back to wave at Gideon over his shoulder. Kasey was relieved that Craig's shitty homophobic attitude hadn't ruined their friendship. They haven't been on that side of town since then. Mara was scared of Craig and Gideon... Well, Kasey was honestly scared that Gideon would bite the guy or something.

"Do you need help getting everything home?" Molly looked up from the leftovers she'd been putting together and grimaced. If the two cakes weren't bad enough to need to carry home, there were all the presents. He supposed if he really had to, he could keep some of the toys in the treehouse. It's not like they'd open them all up and play with them all at once. But then there were the bigger things.

An entire dollhouse for Mara. Some fancy Lego sets for Gideon. And most shocking of all, a pair of bikes for them. They used to belong to Chloe and Luke, but the guys clearly had no more use for them and decided to repaint them and re-gift them. Now Kasey understood why Owen and Luke had asked for the kids' favorite colors the other day.

He looked down at Mara in his arms and sighed. Even if she hadn't fallen asleep in his lap, it would have been impossible for him to bring everything home by himself.

"If you guys don't mind..."

Owen and Luke hauled the heavier things into the treehouse to keep them safe in case it started to rain. Molly seemed pretty confident she could handle carrying the new set of paints Mara was given, along with a bracelet-making kit and a couple of dolls. Gideon and Paolo promised to be extra careful with the cakes and begged to carry them home. Molly made extra sure they were covered so the kids couldn't try to sneak a bite.

Molly really outdid herself with the kids' birthday cakes. He knew that baking them was a collaborative effort but the designs were definitely all Molly. Mara's cake was a pretty shade of purple. Lilac, Molly said. There were little frosting flowers dotted around the border and, in the very center, Molly's delicate script read "happy birthday, Mara!" Kasey couldn't even imagine how long that one cake took to decorate.

In comparison Gideon's cake was dark blue and simple, the only decoration on it a rather detailed dinosaur drawn in frosting. Maybe Molly should have focused on art instead of ballet. The painting she did on the kids' bedroom wall was simple and stylized, the creatures mostly coming out as cute little faceless blobs, but it was still really good for something she made after ages of not doing any kind of art for years.

Kasey came to an upsetting realization as they all walked into town.

His kids were five years old. They weren't babies or toddlers anymore. Like Gideon explained excitedly to the circus leader when they stopped by the church today for an early tour, they were "a whole hand old" now. Before he knew it, they'd be two hands old. Then three. They'd be independent. Wouldn't need him to tuck them into bed anymore or kiss their ouchies better. God, is this how Dad always felt? He cried at every birthday.

Chloe, Paolo, and Gideon walked ahead of the group, the other kids telling Gideon everything he should expect from the circus. Gideon was ecstatic. He fell in love with the elephant when they visited the church grounds a few hours ago.

"Daddy, we gotta take lots of pictures so we can show Aunt Claire!" Gideon giggled excitedly and shifted the cake in his arms. Molly's mouth twitched slightly at the mention of Claire. Kasey probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't happened to glance over at her. Unlike Angela, Molly hasn't really stated her opinion on him choosing to spend Thanksgiving in Mineral Town.

He couldn't really tell if that was a good thing.

Thanksgiving was Molly's favorite holiday. She loved having Dad at home finally taking some time off. She loved being able to cook for everyone and coming up with new recipes for them to try. This is the first Thanksgiving they're actually celebrating after Dad's death and he's not even going to be there for it. He hoped he could at least call.

Mara woke up when they got to the house but didn't want to be put down yet, leaving Kasey struggling to unlock the door with one hand. She's lucky she's so cute or he'd be a bit more frustrated. He sighed when he finally got the door open and stepped aside to let everyone else in first. This is probably the only time he's glad Molly helped clean his house the other day. It would have been embarrassing to have people walk into his depression mess.

All of the toys were put away into a closet for later. Molly put the cakes away in the fridge, eyebrows furrowing as she took in the state of it. He could expect a lecture about that later. He told her that he was going grocery shopping today while the kids were out with their friends but he just ended up taking a nap. It was a well-needed one and he knew even Molly wouldn't argue with that, but she'd probably just get on him for not sleeping enough at night.

Paolo went home and Luke left to meet up with Angela for their date night. Kasey wondered how they didn't get bored doing the same things over and over for their dates. They either stayed home to watch movies or ate dinner at the bar, which they did most nights anyway. Jill would get upset if they even repeated dates twice a month. Then again, Angela wasn't high-maintenance like his ex.

Chloe wanted to stay over longer, but Mara was already starting to doze off again and even Gideon was looking a bit sluggish. Owen wished them a happy birthday one last time and headed out. Kasey sighed and smoothed down some wispy bits of Mara's hair. It's done. He got through their birthday and it wasn't a disaster like he thought it'd be.

"Daddy..." Mara mumbled, lifting her head from his shoulder with a wide yawn. "Can Auntie Molly tuck me in tonight? Since she never gets to?"

"If that's fine with her." He looked to Molly for her answer, only to see that she was blinking away tears. "Molls?"

"Sorry, Kasey. I'm just... really happy. I love you all and I'm really glad you're here. Can I hold her?"

Kasey nodded and passed Mara over. She immediately hugged Molly and started patting her back. He chuckled under his breath as Gideon ran over and hugged Molly, clearly not wanting to be left out. Molly wrapped an arm around him. He forgot how easily emotional Molly could be sometimes. Dad once said that she had too much love in her. She loved lots of things: friends, family, music... He's never met someone so happy to just exist before.

He could learn a thing or two from her. Stop moping about what couldn't be changed and just be happy with what he has.