Johnny pulled into Joanne's driveway and shut off the Rover, sitting in silence for a moment.

Normally a day like this would be a full-blown family affair, with Johnny meeting the DeSotos at the baseball field for Chris's first game of the season. Today was a very different story.

He almost regretted accepting the invitation. It was bound to be a hard day, especially for Chris. The boy had been so excited about the upcoming season. Roy had been too, for that matter. It had been the subject of one of many conversations they'd had throughout that last shift.

Chris's first game of the season. Jenny's dance recital. All of these usual, mundane things that they had talked about, that they had always talked about. All of these things that Roy wasn't going to be here for.

He should still be here. The thought kept echoing through Johnny's mind.

Finally, he shoved the thought aside. Today he was going to do his damnedest to make it as normal a day as possible. And sitting here mired in his own grief wasn't going to help that cause any.

He climbed down from the Rover and made his way up to the front door, rapping his knuckles against the door. The door flung open, revealing Jenny.

"Uncle Johnny!" Jenny all but threw herself at him as soon as he walked in. "Mom! Uncle Johnny's here!"

Joanne soon appeared, looking completely harried. "Jenny, for heaven's sake. Please go finish getting ready."

She greeted Johnny with a brief smile. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid we're running a little behind."

"It's okay." Johnny assured her. "What do you need me to do?"

Joanne threw her hands up. "I don't know where to start. I started packing a cooler and then I was trying to get Chris to stop dragging his feet and before I knew it you were here."

Johnny figured there were plenty of reasons that Chris wasn't exactly in a hurry to get going. "Tell you what. I'll wrangle the kids if you want to finish packing the cooler."

Joanne looked relieved, squeezing Johnny's hand. "You're a godsend. Thank you."

"Sure." Johnny squeezed Joanne's hand back in response, releasing it to start down the hallway. Jenny was soon right behind him as he approached Chris's room.

"Uncle Johnny, guess what?" Jenny asked.

"What?"

"Mom's going to sign me up for soccer." Jenny told him excitedly. "You're going to come watch, right?"

"You bet." Johnny assured her, even though he'd never watched a game and had no idea what it all involved. "Now, you're gonna have to give me a minute. I need a word with your brother, okay?"

Jenny looked worried. "Is he in trouble? Mom was yelling at him before you got here."

"No, he's not in trouble." Johnny replied. "I just need to talk to him alone. Why don't you finish getting ready and go help your mom?"

Jenny looked disappointed, but nodded before racing off again, leaving Johnny in front of Chris's door. He tapped on it lightly. "Chris?"

Silence was the only answer, so Johnny tried again. "First game of the season. Don't wanna be late, do ya?"

Again, there was no response. Johnny paused for a moment before opening the door. Chris was sitting on the bed in his uniform, his glove in his hands, staring at the floor.

Johnny closed the door behind him, unsure how to approach this. He had known it would be a hard day for Chris. Apparently, he had underestimated just how hard it would be.

He crossed the room and sat on the bed next to Chris. Maybe if he waited long enough, Chris would start talking of his own accord.

Instead, he heard Chris's breath hitch, and the boy's shoulders started shaking. Johnny immediately put an arm around him and pulled him in close. He didn't know what else to do. Chris was normally such a quiet boy that this emotional outburst caught Johnny completely off guard.

Finally, he seemed to calm down somewhat, letting out a shaky sigh. "I don't wanna go."

Johnny sighed himself. "I know you don't. But you've got a whole team counting on you. You don't wanna let them down, do ya?"

"No." Chris murmured.

Johnny rubbed Chris's arm. "It's not gonna be the same without your dad. I know. I get it. Just like the station isn't the same without him. And there's a lot of days I don't wanna go, either. But I've got a whole crew counting on me to show up, even when I don't feel like it."

Chris didn't respond for a long moment, his head still resting against Johnny. "I wish he was here."

He sounded so pensive that it broke Johnny's heart. "I know." He replied quietly. "I wish he was, too."

Johnny could hear Joanne out in the living room fussing at Jenny. "Suppose we'd better get going before your mom loses her mind."

Chris seemed to manage a little laugh at that, and he squeezed Johnny tightly before letting him go. He wiped at his eyes and nose with the back of his hand, sliding off his bed with a resolute expression on his face, and they both met Joanne and Jenny out in the living room.

Joanne still looked a bit frazzled but seemed relieved to see Johnny and Chris. She frowned slightly at Chris. "Oh, honey. You should go wash your face."

"It doesn't matter." Johnny broke in. "He's just gonna be dirty in an hour anyway."

Joanne looked as if she was going to say something but seemed to change her mind. "Chris, do you have everything?"

"Yes, Mom." Chris nodded, shoving his feet into tennis shoes and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Johnny, would you…"

"Got it." Johnny picked up the cooler. "Jenny, hold the door, would ya?"

Jenny raced ahead of him, holding the screen door while the rest of them made their way out of the house. Soon everything was loaded up and they were on their way.

It was barely controlled chaos once they got to the baseball field, with everyone climbing out almost as soon as Johnny parked. He opened up the back so that Chris could grab his bag, and Chris took off trotting across the lot to get to the field before anyone could stop him.

Johnny pulled out the cooler, setting it on the ground before closing the back and locking up. Jenny was practically under Joanne's feet, talking a mile a minute as Johnny followed close behind until they arrived at the entrance to the bleachers, finding an open spot and settling in.

"Joanne!" A woman's voice called out, and Johnny spotted that same woman coming their way with a girl around Jenny's age in tow.

Joanne sighed ever so slightly and rose to meet her. "Hello, Annette."

Annette hugged Joanne tightly. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it."

Joanne let out a soft laugh. "It just took longer than I expected to get everyone out the door."

Annette looked past Joanne to regard Johnny curiously. "And who's this?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Joanne replied quickly. "This is Johnny. He used to be Roy's work partner and, well…"

"Friend of the family." Johnny interjected, extending a hand to Annette.

Annette still seemed curious, even as she responded in kind. "It's nice to meet you. And so nice that you're here for Chris. I'm sure he appreciates it."

Johnny took a deep breath, not wanting to get into details. "Kid's having a hard time. Suppose we all are."

"Indeed." Annette nodded before turning her attention back to Joanne. "And this is our daughter Rhonda. Rhonda, this is Jenny. She's Chris's sister."

Rhonda smiled shyly, sticking close to Annette. "Hi."

"Hi." Jenny responded. "Do you want to sit together?"

"Sure." Rhonda nodded, and the two girls climbed down to the bench just below Joanne and Johnny.

"Well, that settles that." Annette laughed. "Mind if we join you?"

"No, of course not." Joanne answered.

"Wonderful!" Annette smiled broadly. "We'll be right down."

The moment Annette turned her back, Joanne let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. She's decided we're best friends now."

Johnny absently ran his fingertips back and forth along the back of Joanne's shoulders. "Probably a good thing, right?"

"I suppose." Joanne replied, glancing down to where Annette and the rest of her family were approaching them. "I just know I'm going to get roped into all sort of volunteer things."

"Well, if you need to rope someone else in, let me know." Johnny told her. "You know I don't mind helping out."

Joanne smiled a little at that, squeezing Johnny's arm in response. "I know you don't. Just be careful offering that. There's no telling what you'll get roped into."

Annette soon sat down next to Joanne, and the two women were soon engaged in conversation. Johnny turned his attention to the field, where both teams were lined up outside their respective dugouts for the anthem. He could spot Chris, his hat over his heart, a good head taller than most of his teammates.

Once the anthem was over, the players scattered, and the game was ready to begin. Normally Johnny would have been providing running commentary while Roy simply nodded along.

Johnny blinked hard a couple of times before fishing his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and shoving them on his face. Chris wasn't the only one missing Roy's presence today, but damned if Johnny was going to show it.

Eventually he became absorbed in the game, cheering and encouraging Chris's team. It did seem as if Chris's mind wasn't entirely on the game, even as the rest of the team was playing well.

The game ended with a loss for Chris's team, though only by one run. Still, it was a discouraging way to start the season. But there would be other games to come, and Johnny intended to make as many as possible.

"Mom, can Rhonda come stay the night?" Jenny asked Joanne as they were packing up.

"Oh honey, not tonight." Joanne told her. "Some other time."

Jenny sighed and gave her new friend a hug. "Bye, Rhonda."

"Bye." Rhonda responded.

Annette let out a short laugh and hugged Joanne. "We'll have to get these kids together. Chris and Timothy, too."

"Of course." Joanne replied, hugging Annette in response. "Talk to you soon."

"Johnny, it was lovely to meet you." Annette reached over to squeeze his hand. "I'm sure we'll see you again."

"Oh, sure." Johnny was a little startled but nodded. "Whenever my schedule allows, I'll be here."

Johnny picked up the now significantly lighter cooler and they made their way out of the bleachers, and Johnny looked around for Chris.

He spotted him over with his coach, who was obviously talking to him. The coach clapped Chris on the back, and Chris came trotting back over to meet up with them.

"Hey, kiddo." Johnny greeted him. "Good game."

Chris glanced up at him with a puzzled expression. "We lost."

"Well yeah, I know." Johnny answered. "But you guys still played hard. Made it a good game."

Chris shrugged. "I guess."

Johnny nudged Chris lightly. "You'll get 'em next time."

It would have been a quiet ride back to the house if it hadn't been for Jenny chattering excitedly about her new friend, about soccer, about anything and everything. Johnny couldn't help being amused, even as Joanne looked a bit exasperated.

The chatter continued even as Johnny pulled into the driveway and shut off the Rover. Chris immediately hopped out, starting toward the house, while Jenny sidled up to Joanne. "Is Uncle Johnny going to stay, Mom?" She asked.

"Uncle Johnny has his own place, remember?" Joanne reminded her. "And I'm sure he has other things to do today."

Jenny looked disappointed but nodded before waving at Johnny. "See you later."

"Don't you worry." He told her. "I'll see you real soon, okay?"

"Okay." Jenny left Joanne and raced to the door, opening it and slamming it behind her.

"I could have sworn I locked that door on our way out." Joanne sighed. "I swear I'm losing my mind lately."

"We all are." Johnny climbed down to open the back of the Rover, grabbing Chris's bag and slinging it over his shoulder before reaching for the cooler.

"Oh my goodness." Joanne was suddenly beside him. "I'll take Chris's bag."

"It's no problem." Johnny assured her. "You wanna close up the back there?"

Joanne did so and moved so that she was slightly ahead of Johnny, holding the door for him. Jenny was suddenly right there. "You said Uncle Johnny was going home."

"Turns out you guys forgot a few things." Johnny told her. "Jo, where do you want this?"

"Take it to the kitchen." Joanne told him. "I'll unpack it."

As Johnny did so, he could hear Jenny and Joanne having some kind of discussion. Joanne was clearly reaching her limit with the girl, and he figured he should probably intervene before it ended in tears.

"Everything okay out here?" Johnny asked.

"Jenny seems to think you should come back over tonight." Joanne answered. "I told her that I'm sure you have other plans."

Johnny shrugged at that. "Not really."

Joanne nudged him. "No hot date?"

"What's a hot date?" Jenny asked.

"Never mind." Joanne replied quickly as Johnny tried to contain his amusement.

"No, no date tonight, I'm afraid." Johnny answered casually. Truthfully, the pickings had been slim lately, and he was getting frustrated with his poor luck, enough that he had recently told Roy he was thinking about giving up entirely.

Of course, Roy had only laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'll believe that when I see it."

The thought of that being one of their last conversations brought on a new wave of sadness, but he shook it off.

"You should stay with us." Jenny told him. "We always watch The Muppet Show and sometimes when Dad's working we get pizza."

Johnny caught Joanne's expression out of the corner of his eye, and he kneeled down so that he was eye level with Jenny. "You do make a strong case. Why don't I talk to your mom, okay?"

Jenny sighed heavily, sounding just like Joanne. "Okay."

Soon there were sounds of footsteps down the hall as Jenny headed off, leaving Johnny and Joanne in the living room. "Johnny, I'm sorry. You really don't have to."

"Up to you." Johnny responded. "If you've had enough of me today, it's okay."

Joanne managed a slight laugh at that. "I wouldn't put it quite that way. More like the other way around."

"Hardly." Johnny scoffed.

"Still." Joanne replied firmly. "If you have better things to do—"

"I don't." Johnny cut her off.

Joanne paused before nodding. "Then we'll see you later. The kids like pepperoni pizza."

"And what about you?"

Joanne seemed to think for a moment before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not fussy."

"Doesn't exactly answer the question." Johnny replied lightly.

Joanne sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine. Sausage and mushroom."

"Done." Johnny told her. "What time should I be here?"

"Around seven should be fine." Joanne answered. "And just so you know, I don't expect you to do this on a regular basis."

"I don't mind." Johnny told her firmly. How often had he told her that recently? "Sounds like a good way to spend a Saturday night, if you wanna know the truth."

"Oh, sure. You say that now." Joanne replied with a slight laugh. "Once you meet some girl it'll be a different story, I'm sure."

Johnny shrugged. "Maybe. Anyway, I'm gonna go. See you later."

"Okay." Joanne suddenly caught Johnny in a tight hug. "And thank you for everything today. Really."

"Anytime, Jo." Johnny replied as he responded in kind.

He found it oddly difficult to let go, and apparently, so did Joanne. Once they did, and he was back in the Rover on his way home, he found himself puzzling over the whole thing.

Maybe he shouldn't be so quick to insert himself into Joanne's family life. He wasn't an adequate substitute for Roy, not even close. Not to mention that being a family man hadn't ever been on his radar.

Sure, it was one thing to be the fun uncle. Being a father figure was a whole other level of responsibility, one that Johnny was sure he wasn't capable of taking on. And that was something these kids would surely need at some point.

But Johnny supposed they weren't quite at that point just yet, and maybe there was nothing wrong with spending the evening at the DeSotos' over pizza and silly TV.

After all, there were surely worse ways to spend a Saturday night.