"I thought I'd find you here." Keith startled Ava out of her thoughts.

Karen had called him as soon as Ava ran out on them. She figured that the child wouldn't want to have anything to do with her, at least for the time being, so she contacted Keith.

Ava had always been able to talk to him about anything and she really needed him right now.

He found her on the bridge with her knees held up to her chin.

It wasn't an ideally safe place for her to be, but no one really stopped to sit around and it was relatively calm and quiet.

And it wasn't dark yet.

"Did Maddie tell you I was here?"

"Yup."

And it was true.

The first place Ava had gone, was to her friend's house. It made sense that Keith would look for her there.

"I'm not going back." Ava croaked, her voice strained from all the crying she had done.

"And I'm not here to make you go back." He shocked her.

"No?"

"Nope. I just wanted to know if you'd like the company."

"I don't care. It's a public place." Ava shrugged.

It didn't seem like it, but she really did want his company.

She always wanted his company.

"You know, I spent a lot of time up here myself." He spoke nonchalantly, looking out onto the river.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah." Keith nodded. "Whenever I was confused or I had a fight with my dad, or I just needed to be alone, I'd come here. There's something about bridges that have that effect on people." He sighed when she still didn't budge. "Look, your mom told me what happened. She's beside herself with worry...…but you have every right to feel the way you do. I'm not here to tell you to go and make up or forgive her. You'll do that in your own time. I just want you to know, that I understand why you feel that way."

Ava nodded and looked out into the water at a boat passing under. "She lied to me. I'm mad at her."

"I know, honey." Keith put a hand on her back. "It's okay to have those feelings."

And those must've been the magic words, because no sooner did they leave Keith's mouth did Ava throw herself in his arms for a second round of tears.

"I love you, Uncle Keith." She whispered so softly, he almost didn't hear her.

"I love you, too, Munchkin." He kissed the top of her head. "Don't ever forget it."

"Daddy? Did you always love me?" Ava asked her father as the two made their way through the aisles of the local supermarket. It was late and she was tired, so Dan let her ride in the basket of the cart to give her legs some rest.

Dance class had run late that day, so Ava didn't have as much energy as she normally did.

"Of course I did, Baby." Dan handed her a few boxes of oatmeal to put in the cart.

"Oh."

"That mediation still bothering you?"

"Yes."

It had only been a day since the failed mediation, but everything about it was still weighing heavily on Ava's young mind. She couldn't believe that her mother didn't tell her the truth.

She was trying her best to get over it and to understand it, but she couldn't.

It was too big a betrayal.

Finding out that the woman she thought was her mother, wasn't actually her mother in the eyes of the law was a devastating blow.

Ava could've been taken away at any point over the past nine years, or she could've been with her father.

She could've at least gotten to know him sooner.

She was so frazzled inside that the more she thought about it, the less she was willing to try to comprehend anything pertaining to the subject.

"I'm sorry you had to find out about everything that way." Dan apologized sincerely.

"Mama's been lying to me." Ava bit her lip. "She never told me about the letters you sent me, or that you wanted me…..or that she really didn't adopt me. She always said that not saying anything is the same as lying. Why didn't she tell me?"

"I think she was scared, sweetheart." He cupped her chin.

"Of what?"

"Of losing you." He explained. "It's not easy to adopt. You have to go through a whole bunch of legal stuff before you even get close to getting where you want to be. I'm sure your mom didn't tell you because she didn't want you to be afraid of losing her the way she's afraid of losing you."

"Why didn't she tell me that?"

"I know you're a big girl and all, but you're still only nine years old. You're still young. She wasn't trying to hurt you, Baby."

Ava just shrugged and picked at her shoelaces. "I don't wanna talk about it anymore, please."

"Fair enough." Dan respected her feelings. "What's next on our grocery list?"

Looking down at the small slip of paper that she carelessly scribbled things down on, Ava mentally checked off the things they already had in the cart.

"Carrots." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I don't have to eat those, do I?"

"You sure do." Dan laughed at the look on her face. "They're good for you."

"Wait, stop!"

Dan furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden volume in Ava's voice, but stopped the cart anyway. "What is it?"

"I need Fruit Loops, Daddy." The little girl played with the zipper on her sweater.

She adored that sweater. It was black and with accents of blue and white. Everyone who went to her dance studio had one and it made her feel like she was a part of something.

"You don't need all that sugar for breakfast."

"Please, Daddy?" Ava moved closer to him and bat her eyelashes. "I love Fruit Loops."

"Okay, Fruit Loops for carrots. Take it or leave it." Dan negotiated.

He knew full well that wasn't how parenting was supposed to work, but Ava was adorable and he couldn't resist.

"How about Fruit Loops because I had a bad day yesterday and you wanna make me feel better?"

"No dice." He smirked.

"Fine." Ava huffed. "Fruit Loops for carrots."

"Go and get 'em." Dan lifted her out of the cart and set her on her feet. "I'll meet you in the produce section."

"Can I get Lucas his favorite, too?"

Ava figured that she was having a hard time with the mediation, then her brother must be, too. It might be nice for him to come home and find his favorite cereal.

"I think he'd like that."

"Thank you." Ava smiled and raced off to find what she wanted.

Luckily for her, she didn't have to go looking for very long because the cereal wasn't too far from the oatmeal. Unfortunately, she forgot to ask her father if she should get the regular size or the large size and she didn't want to go all the way over to the produce section to ask him, so she picked up the largest size as she figured it would last longer.

One box of Fruit Loops and one box of Lucky Charms.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment from the little independence her father just allowed her to experience, Ava skittered to the produce section and put the boxes in the cart. "I got 'em!"

Dan was on the phone and it looked important by the way he held a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. Ava watched his facial features change before he hung up the phone, heaving a big sigh.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" She asked, standing on the front part of the cart while holding on.

"Your brothers decided they wanted to spend a couple hours in jail." Dan rolled his eyes. "Looks like we're making a stop."

"Oh….should I put this back?" Ava figured that since the boys were in jail, they'd drop everything and go pick them up as soon as possible.

Though, she was curious to know what it was they were in for.

Maybe they put on ski masks and robbed a bank.

Or maybe they got caught spraying graffiti somewhere.

The possibilities were endless.

"No." Dan shook his head. "There's no reason why you can't have your cereal. They're big boys. They can wait and sit with the consequences of their actions until we're done here. Let's go."

"Okay." Ava tightened her grip on the car as her father led her to the cash register. She found that she really liked this late night grocery shopping. Her father was a really fun person to hang out with, even going as far as to make a food run enjoyable.

Once they came to complete stop, she hopped back down and helped put the groceries on the belt before, naturally, getting distracted by the candy in front of her.

"What do you want?" He smirked, watching her eye the sweets that were, oh so, strategically placed just so.

"A lollipop, please."

"Okay, get two. You can eat one now." Dan decided that since she was so well behaved despite being exhausted, that it was fine to reward her a little.

He just hoped that after the sugar, she'd be able to sleep.

Fortunately for him, the wedding was the next day, so it wasn't as if it was a school night.

"Thank you." Ava picked out two blue raspberry lollipops before grabbing another. "Can I get one more?"

"You want to share with your brothers?" Dan read her mind.

"Uh huh."

"Go ahead." The man smiled affectionately as she handed all three to the cashier.

"Do you want one, too, Daddy?"

"You're sweet. No, thank you."

The more time he spent with Ava, the more amazed her was by her.

She was the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful little person he had ever come across. Her resting face included a beautiful smile and her heart was so big and full of love that he almost couldn't comprehend it.

But it only made him miss those first nine years even more than he already did.

He would've loved to see her little personality develop and grow throughout the years.

"You must've been a good girl today." The cashier opened up a conversation, snapping Dan out of his thoughts.

"I got Fruit Loops, too!" Ava spoke proudly.

"Wow!" The woman gasped. "Aren't you a lucky one?"

Ava nodded enthusiastically as the woman handed her the lollipops after ringing them up. "Thank you!" The small girl shoved two in her pocket, reminding herself not to eat them because they were for her brothers.

And as an incentive, she held onto her own so that she would be able to see it whenever she wanted to.

"Alright, I've gotta pay for this stuff. Scoot." Dan leaned down and blew a raspberry on Ava's cheek, making her giggle and move out of his way.

"She's so cute."

"Thank you." Dan nodded at the stranger as he swiped his credit to pay for everything. "Alright, Baby, it's time to go. Say, 'Bye-Bye'."

"Bye-Bye!"

"Enjoying your lollipop?"

"Yes." Ava nodded as her father carried her into the police station. Dan thought that she would've fallen asleep during the car ride over, but she proved him wrong. "How did Lucas and Nathan get arrested?"

"They were doing something they weren't supposed to be doing." Dan refused to give her any more information than that.

"Like what?" She asked as they climbed the stairs.

As a nightly chill ran through the air, Ava cuddled closer to her father in an effort to keep warm. It was spring and the weather was getting warmer, but the nights were still a little nippy. She was glad that she was wearing a sweater and sweatpants because her leotard and shorts definitely wouldn't cut it right now.

"Never you mind." He tapped her nose. "Eat your candy."

There was no reason to tell her that Nathan and Lucas got busted for drunk driving. He saw the way she looked up to the both of them and he didn't want to ruin that.

It was up to them to tell her, if they chose to do so.

"Ah, Mr. Scott." An officer greeted him at the front desk once they entered the building. "Are you here to take your sons home?"

"I am." Dan set Ava down so he could take out his wallet and post bail.

The little girl took that as an opportunity to look around the room. She had never been inside of a police station, so she was a little curious as to what went on in a place like this.

And it didn't look like much.

It was like watching the 'Andy Griffith Show'.

No excitement.

"Don't go wandering off." She heard her father call her. When she looked his way, he pointed at the nearby waiting area. "Actually, go sit right in one of those chairs until I come get you, okay?"

"Okay." Ava nearly pouted before she remembered the lollipops. The sooner that her father bailed her brothers out of jail, the sooner she could give them the sweet treat.

For now, she would continue to eat hers.

And it wasn't long before she saw the two of them being led away by their father. They didn't look any different than they had when she saw them that morning.

Well...except for the cuts and bleeding lips.

Ava immediately knew that they had been taking swings at each other and wondered why they just couldn't seem to get along.

Nathan was a nice person and Lucas was a nice person.

Friendship between two brother shouldn't have been this hard.

"C'mere, Baby." Dan lifted her back up.

Ava could feel the tension in the air, so she kept her mouth shut as they left the building. She knew there was an argument brewing. Whatever it was that her brothers started in their cell, they obviously didn't finish and she didn't want to be the next target for the sharp words they'd, no doubt, throw around.

What a night.

"You look really pretty."

"Thank you." Ava smiled at her friend. "You look handsome."

After talking to Keith about the exact details of what a wedding entailed, Ava found out that she could bring a 'Plus-One'. It was explained that, usually, a 'Plus-One' was of the opposite gender, but she didn't have to worry about that and could invite whoever she wanted.

But if Ava had to wear a dress and matching shoes, then she wanted keep sticking to tradition.

Carter was the perfect person for the job because when he found out that ties weren't optional, he almost rolled his eyes. But he did feel a little better when Keith gave him the special job of being the ring bearer.

"Thanks. I hate this tie, though." The boy pulled at his neck as if he were being choked.

"Why don't you loosen it a little?" Ava suggested, pulling the knot down slightly to give his neck some breathing room. "Is that better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"So…."

"So…." Carter chewed on his lower lip. "Keith's getting married to Jules, huh? How do you feel about that?"

"I like Jules." Ava shrugged, walking around the church's courtyard with Carter following. "She's really nice."

"But?"

"But now I'm gonna have to share Uncle Keith." Ava huffed. If there was one thing about Ava-Rose Scott that people should know, she didn't like sharing the people she loved. "He's not gonna be around as much. Maybe he'll forget about me."

"He's not gonna forget about you." Carter assured her, sitting down on a nearby bench before making room for Ava to sit beside him. "He loves you."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Ava sighed, looking down at her pristine white shoes.

They weren't the worst things in the world, but the stockings were horribly itchy.

It felt like she was stopping to scratch every five minutes!

And the more she thought about it, the itchier she felt!

"Don't do it Keith! Just get out while you can! It's all a lie!"

The two kids turned to see Nathan holding a beer in his hand, staggering several feet away.

This wasn't good.

"Isn't that…?"

"Yup." Ava couldn't help but roll her eyes.

This family couldn't go one day without the drama. Not one.

What was wrong with him now?

"He's drunk!" Carter's jaw dropped.

He remembered seeing his older brother stumbling in from a late night party. Liam had been very drunk and a friend drove him home so he wouldn't have to get behind the wheel.

Their parents were pretty upset with the teen's choices to drink, but they were proud of him for knowing that he was too incapacitated to drive a car.

"There's no such thing as forever!" Nathan took a final swig of the alcoholic beverage in his hand before throwing it.

Ava flinched as the glass shattered and looked at him with wide eyes, though he had no idea she was there watching.

He was so hammered, she didn't think it would make much of a difference if he had known she was there.

"What are you doing?" Dan grit his teeth, having exited the chapel to see what all the commotion was. "This is a church!"

"Oh, shut up, you hypocrite!" Nathan scoffed, pointing an accusatory finger at his father. "I know what you did!"

"Nathan, it's okay." Deb rushed towards him. "Let us help you."

And it was a good thing they came to his rescue, because Ava couldn't put herself in the middle of that mess.

"Do what?"

"Be happy again."

"Happy?" Nathan laughed drunkenly. "You don't even know how to be happy, Mom. Haley and I never stood a chance with you."

"Is that what you think?"

"You." Nathan pointed at his father. "Did you hire Chris, too? Huh?"

"Don't make me knock you out, son."

Nathan muttered sometime unintelligible and attacked his father, making Ava gasp and hop to her feet in complete shock.

She wanted to help, but even at her tender age she knew better than to approach anyone who had been drinking the way Nathan had.

Dan was no slacker, but he didn't allow his son to get the better of him.

Soon enough, Lucas raced over and jumped in between them. "Hey, come on! Hey!" He pulled Nathan away. "Don't do this to Keith. Not here. Alright?"

Nathan stopped struggling, but he didn't answer.

"Come on." The blonde spoke gently and led him away.

Ava just knew that this wedding wasn't going to go as planned.

She couldn't explain how.

She just knew.

And Nathan was only the beginning.

"Okay, are you ready?" Deb asked Ava, fixing the flower crown around her head.

The child had been begging to have her hair straightened for the occasion, but none of the adults would let her do it. They told her that maybe it'd be possible when she was a little older, but for right now, her natural curls were just fine.

"Yup." Ava nodded. "I have my basket and my flower petals."

"Good, and you know when to walk out?"

"After you and Mama."

"Excellent." Deb smiled. "Remember, head up, not down." She gave her last piece of advice before walking down the aisle. "You and Carter link arms when you walk."

Karen and Ava locked eyes, and Ava wanted so much to speak to her, but they didn't have the time.

So instead, she just smiled.

But a smile was worth just as much as words.

There was no hostility in a smile.

Karen seemed to relax and smiled back before she followed Deb.

And Ava waited for the two women to make it to the alter, before she linked arms with her best friend and took her first step.

She felt all those eyes on them, but she didn't freeze. She just kept walking and lightly sprinkled the floor with the flower petals she had been given.

Once they had made it all the way down to the altar, they turned and took a seat with Brooke, Peyton, Jake, waiting for the big moment to begin.

"You did so well." Peyton praised as 'Here Comes the Bride' began to play on the organ.

The entire church stood up and waited for the bride to make her appearance.

But she didn't.

The only person who emerged from that doorway, was Andy.

"I'm sorry." He spoke regretfully. "She left."

She left.

And that look of devastation on Keith's face would never leave Ava.

She watched as he ran down the aisle after having gotten the keys to Lucas' car, ignoring everyone who had tried to get him to stop.

Jules had left Keith at the altar.

She had actually left.

It certainly made her problems seem that much smaller and insignificant.

If only she knew that this was only the beginning.

"Nathan?" Ava opened her brother's apartment door and slipped inside. "Are you home?"

Though Nathan didn't respond, she could hear him shuffling in his room. She knew he'd probably get upset with her for barging in his room when he didn't tell her she could come in, but she really needed to talk to him.

"Nathan?"

"What do you want?"

"I saw you at the wedding…..I'm sorry you're sad."

"Whatever."

"I miss Haley, too. I'm mad at her, but I miss her." Ava continued, watching as he threw some clothes in an overnight bag. "And I bet you miss her a lot more than I do."

"Is this going somewhere?" Nathan snapped, stopping exactly what he was doing to look right at her.

The nine year old flinched, making him feel guilty, but he didn't express it. He just went back to packing so he wouldn't have to see the result of what he did.

"But you can't push everybody away because she's not here." Tears sprang to Ava's eyes. "She's not the only one that loves you."

Silence filled the room and Ava hoped she was getting through to him.

"If you wanna go see her…..you should go see her. Maybe you won't be so sad anymore…maybe you will." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you before. I just didn't want you to be sad…..but it's okay to be sad sometimes." She dug into the pocket of her jean jacket and pulled out a lollipop, holding it out for him to take. "Just don't be sad forever, okay?"

She didn't think she'd get a response from him, because he was still deep in thought and that was okay with her. Sometimes being there for a loved one meant just…..being there.

"Well, I gotta go home and get out of this stupid dress. I'll stop bothering you now." She tried to joke. "See ya later."

Ava sent one last smile his way before turning to leave the room.

"Ava." Her brother's voice stopped her, causing her to turn around.

"Yeah?"

Nathan didn't say anything. He just knelt down and tapped her nose, pulling her into his arms.

"You're gonna be okay, Nathan. I'll never leave. I promise."

A/N: For facial reference, Carter is Jensen Ackles as a child. China, Lauryn, and Sierra Mcclain for Maddie, Harper, and Amelia respectively.