I hope this chapter will explain a little more. I came up with the idea and went with it.

Chapter 44-Daniel

I was in the office, catching up on paperwork I have been neglecting. Who would have thought running a business took this much work. Sitting back in my chair I can hear my back pop. I'm not as young as I used to be, this old body cracks and pops whenever I move a certain way. It's ok though, I can deal with it, it's only when it's super cold out that I hurt. The radio was playing softly in the background, an old song, and as my ears tune into the lyrics my mind drifts back. And I feel that same pain in my heart I felt the first time I saw him, after he left for college. Shaking my head to get rid of the image, I hear a car pulling down the driveway. Standing up I look out the window, shaking my head I make my way outside. And sure enough the black SUV pulls to a stop right in front of me, and the boy I was just thinking about, a man now, steps out. We stare at each other in silence, before I gather enough courage to ask "may I help you?"

"I'm looking for my wife" he looks around and I notice he's got a manila envelope in his hand. "she's not here"

"her car is here" he says staring right at it

"she went to town with the kids" I wonder if he knows Aria is here?

"oh" he says turning back to look at me, his face, which was usually angry when he showed up here, was soft, and for a moment I saw the man I used to know.

"I can tell her you stopped by" I say, my heart is starting to race, this is the first time in 40 years him and I have been alone, face to face. "hmm" I hear him hum, he tosses the envelope through the window of his car and steps closer towards me. I don't know if he's going to try and beat the shit out of me, or something else. I'm surprised when he looks up, meeting my eyes, his voice is soft "who would have thought that my Calliope would have met your Arizona, and fallen in love" I'm not sure what to say so I just stood there. I wasn't sure if it was a dig on Zo or Callie. His next words have me understanding what he meant "Danny, I'm so sorry" my heart about leaps out of my chest. No one has called me Danny since my parents died. When I didn't respond he moves closer "I owe you an explanation on what happened"

"no" I shake my head, my voice soft and calm "you don't owe me anything Carlos"

"but I do, and I've been fighting myself for the past 40 years" when our eyes meet, I could see the tears well up in his. I take a deep breath "all I want from you is for you to either leave Lucia, and Callie alone, or be the man I know you are and love them"

"I can't" he says his voice cracking a little, he looks around, the sun was high in the sky and it was warm, he had to be melting in that suit he was wearing. I watch as he reaches up and wipes the sweat of his forehead. Without thinking I say "come inside" I open the door to the office and nod for him to go. Taking a deep breath I follow him, offering him a chair, he nods and takes a seat. I feel a little better, being inside, but I'm not sure this was a good idea. I watch him as he looks around, and nods. Looking out the big window that looks out into the dog kennels "you did good for yourself" his voice was normal, he must have composed himself on the walk in. "I have, Zo, Alex and I have built a successful business"

"that's good" he turns back to me, meeting my eyes, Callie has his eyes, and if this is the way Callie looks at Zo, then it's no wonder she fell in love. "I'm so sorry Danny" Carlos says again "I never meant to" he shakes his head "when I left, I was" he pauses, taking a deep breath "you were everything to me" I'm quiet, he sniffles "I had every intention of seeing you when I came home for Christmas" I'm still quiet, and I felt a jolt of electricity when he reached out for my hand. "my dad found the letters" my heart about leaped out of my chest, my parents didn't know, they would have said something. "don't worry he didn't tell anyone, he was too ashamed of me" he shakes his head "I don't even think he told my mom" I nod, it all made sense now but, I take a deep breath "why didn't you" I couldn't finish, my emotions were starting to get the best of me, I haven't felt like crying since Barbara died. "I tried" he says "I picked up the phone so many times" he shakes his head "and writing seemed pointless, I didn't need anyone else finding yet another letter"

"so just cut me off, without a word"

"I did what I had to do"

"hmm" I stand from the chair I had sat down in, and leaned against the desk, crossing my arms as I watch him try and talk his way out of this one. "when or why did you become such an asshole?"

"losing the love of your life, in a way I did, I" he stops, then meets my eyes again "I almost killed myself, the night I met Lucia, she doesn't know that of course" I nod, I too was at the end of my rope, when I met Barbara. "I love her, but she's not you" his voice is soft "I had fully intended on finding you that summer, at least to explain, but then Lucia told me she was pregnant"

"with Aria?" I ask, he nods "Aria isn't mine, the last guy she was with before me, was a one night stand, or something" he shrugs "but I wanted a normal life, so I" he looks up at me "I promised myself I'd be the best dad ever, and my children would never know heartbreak, but when we came back, my dad was sick, and I had to take over the business. I felt my world crumbling around me, and eventually the darkness set in. That was around when Calliope turned 10"

"I wanted to reach out when I heard about your dad, and your mom too but" I shrug

"me too" he says looking directly into my eyes "with yours, they were always so welcoming to me" I nod, and smile thinking about my parents. I hope Barb and I were the same with Zo and her friends. "oh Danny" he says squeezing my hand "I have missed you so much" his voice cracked as he said the words. And I knew, if he were to lean in just a little closer, it'd be over. Shaking my head I pulled myself back to reality, pulling my hand away. I saw the hurt in his eyes, but let it go. "all I need from you is to stop acting like an ass to your family" he nods and looks away "the man I knew would have never in a million years treated his kids the way you did" I shake my head "and you hit Lucia?" I looked right at him when I said it, I saw him flinch

"that most definitely wasn't my proudest moments, when I found out Calliope was with Arizona, I snapped. I know I shouldn't have acted the way I did with the girls growing up, but I couldn't stop" he looks back at me "I'm getting help now"

"good"

"after Lucia and Callie left, I" he shakes his head and sniffles, then meets my eyes again "I love Lucia, I do, but I'm not and never was in love with her, my heart always belonged to you" I let out a deep sigh, I really didn't know what to say to him. How could it have taken him this long to finally say this to me. "I loved you too Carlos, but we aren't those kids anymore, and I know this is not the man you wanted to be" he shakes his head "no it's not" he's quiet a moment "when I found out Callie was with Arizona, I didn't freak out because she was gay, I freaked out because she was your daughter" I nod, meeting his eyes, stood up, clapping my hands together "well I forgive you" and like I summon them we hear Zo's SUV come down the driveway "but none of it matters if you can't get them to forgive you, they are what matters, not me" I shake my head pointing out the window. "talk to them, tell them what you've told me" I see him take a deep breath and nod. I smile and lead him outside. Just as Aria and Callie were climbing out of the car "daddy?" Aria says I could tell she was confused. Lucia then steps out, "Aria is here?" Carlos asks quietly.

"she's been here since last month" I say quietly

"I, I didn't know"

"no" I shake my head, take a deep breath, "now go. Talk to them" I hear him make a noise and walk closer. And I smile as Zo, ever so protective of Callie, steps up next to her taking her hand.

"what do you want Carlos" Lucia's voice was harsh.

"I um" he pauses, turning back to look at me, I nodded "I came to talk to you all"

"dad" Zo says looking at me, I nod "it'll be alright, why don't you guys go into the house, Alex, Zo, I need some help in the kennel"

"um, ok" Zo says, she gives Callie a kiss, and leaves, Alex does the same with Aria.

"thank you" Carlos whispers I nod and follow the kids into the kennel.

"dad, why is he here?"

"I think he came to give Lucia her divorce papers but I'm not sure, when he saw I was the only one here" I close my eyes and take a deep breath "we talked, and"

"I'm not leaving them alone with him" Alex says, turning to go back out, I reach for his arm keeping him in place "it's fine, Alex"

"are you sure" Zo asks I could tell she was nervous, looking out the door where the Torres family still stood.

"I'm sure, besides we'll be right here" I prop the door open "if we hear anything, we'll go"

"ok" Zo nods and sits down.