"Daddy! Ando cut my Teresa doll's hair!" The blonde five-year-old came tearing into the living room, tears and snot running down her face clutching the Barbie in her hand. She lunged herself at Eli who was trying to decide between two prints to hang on the gallery's front wall.

"Cervando! Get your butt in here right now." Eli hollered, arms full of crying kindergartener. It wasn't long before the ten-year-old slinked in, a guilty look on his face, "Did you cut the hair off Letty's Barbie doll?"

"Teresa Doll!" Little Leticia declared, holding up the doll whose long brown hair was now a sloppy Mohawk.

"I'm sorry, mija." Eli said softly, "Did you cut the Teresa Doll's hair off?" A curt nod, "Why?" No response, "If you don't tell me, you can explain it to your mother when she gets home from work." Wide eyes blinked back and Ando weighed his options. Both of his parents seemed to be human lie-detectors, but his mother…well there was nothing that got past her.

"I thought she'd look cooler." Ando muttered, shrugging as he shifted from foot to foot.

"Did you ask Letty if you could?"

"No!" Leticia said, glaring at her older brother as he shook his head morosely. Eli sighed, before sending Letty to go play with her other doll's.

"How much money have you saved from helping Tio Angel around the house?"

"I almost have enough for the Zelda—," Ando started slowly but stopped as his father shook his head at him.

"Not what I asked, little man."

"23.75." Ando nearly whispered.

"Go get it." Eli told him and when Ando made no move to do as he was told, "You destroy someone else's property you got to pay for it. How much you think Barbie dolls cost?"

"Like 5 dollars?" Ando said hopefully and Eli wished those dumb plastic dolls came that cheap.

"Try like 25. But I'll cover the 1.25 you're short on." Eli said sternly, "Now go get the money, and we can go to Toys-R-Us and get a new Teresa doll for Letty, or we can wait for Mom and see how she wants to handle this." Ando didn't need to be told again, darting into his room and coming back with a Spiderman lunch pail that rattled with change. With a quick phone call to Felix, Evie showed up to watch Leticia and Eli and Ando headed towards the store to replace the doll.

They were on the way back when Ando finally spoke up for the first time the entire trip, "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah, Mijo?" Eli replied, glad the awkward silence was broken. He really didn't like it when he upset his kids, but sometimes it had to be done.

"Who's Lilly?"

Eli glanced at his son quickly before glancing back at the road, "Why do you ask?"

"Your tattoo says Lilly." Ando stated bluntly. "You don't have a tattoo of Mom's name." The second statement was almost accusatory.

Eli thought long and hard about what to say, "I don't need a tattoo to remember your mother." He said honestly, "Lilly was your mother's best friend, she died when we were in high school." And seemed to be enough for Ando at least for the moment.

"Was she your girlfriend?" The question was so left field; Eli was glad they were stopped at a light.

"What?"

"Her name is in a heart. Girl's do that on their notebooks when they want a boyfriend." Ando stated and Eli couldn't help but laugh at the ten-year-old logic.

"For a couple months." He said honestly, not wanting to lie to his son, "But only because I didn't think your mom would give me a chance." He gave Ando a smile, "And then she gave me a chance and now she's stuck with me."

When they got home, Evie was gone and a confused Veronica was in the kitchen with Letty. "So I hear Teresa got a hair-cut." She said, as her mini-me stood behind her with crossed arms and a Navarro smirk if Eli had ever seen one.

"Yeah, but little man's making it right." Eli told her, nudging the boy forward. Ando held out the pink box with a pout, knowing that it could have been a Zelda game if he hadn't of destroyed her last one.

"I'm sorry I messed up your doll. I bought you this one…" Leticia accepted the doll with hesitation, but soon her eyes widened dramatically.

"Dreamhouse Teresa?!" Suddenly Ando was having the life squeezed out of him by the excited five-year-old, "This is way better than boring old Spotlight Teresa! Thank you!" And then she was running back to her room to introduce her new Teresa to Barbie and the gang, as Letty referred to them.

Veronica watched in amusement as father and son stared at each other in complete confusion, "I thought we got her the same doll." Ando chirped and Eli shrugged.

"So did I."

"Same character, different costume and job." Veronica piped up as she continued to make dinner, "She had Spotlight Teresa who was a fashion model and doesn't have a house or a husband or a car…But Dreamhouse Teresa is married, lives in a mansion, and has a family…all sold separately." Eli groaned, "So her list to Santa just tripled."

"Santa isn't real, mom." Ando rolled his eyes, as Eli clamped a hand over Ando's mouth and Veronica glanced down the hall where Leticia went. Once they were sure there was not going to be a hysterical five-year-old to explain themselves to, they relaxed.

"Don't say that stuff when your sister's home, Cervando. We've talked about this." Eli said, removing his hand from his son's mouth. "Just because Marcus ruined it for you, doesn't mean you have to ruin it for your sister."

"Remind me again to give Uncle Logan a piece of my mind for telling your cousin Marcus so early." Veronica grumbled.

"It was three years ago, V." Eli laughed and Veronica simply shrugged, "Why don't you go play before everyone gets here for dinner." Ando didn't have to be told twice, within five minutes you could hear a videogame start up in the living room.

"If he's playing that Zombie game…" Veronica started.

"Nah, I got rid of it." Eli acknowledged, "You can give Logan a piece of your mind for that one."

"It's on the list." She smirked, "Norris called, he's stuck fixing one of the newbies mistakes but Mac and David should be here at 6." Eli nodded at that, as he began to clear off the dining room table. "Wallace might be bringing his friend…what's her name?"

"Jenny? Jamie?" Eli tried with a shrug, but neither sounded right.

"Janie!" Veronica said successfully, "So she can have Norris' plate. Felix and Molly are coming, but Evie just left to get ready for her date so—,"

"Excuse me?" Eli interrupted and Veronica seemed to hesitate, "Does Felix know?"

"Of course Felix knows." Veronica rolled her eyes, "She's 20 years old, you think she doesn't date?"

"I think she's got more important things to be focused on with her show coming up." Eli grumbled and Veronica laughed, "What?"

"You remember what happened your first show?" And Eli thought back to that first weekend in New York and his expression went sour.

"That's not happening." Eli said, getting up to call his best friend and put a stop to this dating business he seemed to have agreed upon.

"Elias Navarro, back away from that phone this second." Veronica said sternly, as if he was one of their children and he turned around with a slight scowl, "Evie is a smart girl, she's an adult, and she's been dating Tommy for the past 2 years. Now set the table."

Eli huffed slightly, but went to do as she said, pecking her on the cheek as he passed her, "Remind me to lock up Letty until she's 30." He muttered and Veronica laughed.

"After dinner, dear." She teased, going back to finish cooking. "Oh like I was saying, Evie won't be coming, and Marcus is at his mom's so it'll just be Logan, Ophelia is running an errand for me and then will be by, and Angel of course." She looked up at him with a slight smile, "Oh, and then our guest of honor."

That caught Eli's attention, "Guest of honor? Who else is coming?" But she just smiled and went back to cooking her food. He knew he'd get nothing more out of her, the woman loved her surprises. So he grabbed 13 plates and went to set the table. Wondering who the last one would belong to.

A lot had changed over the past 10 years, mostly good with a few bumps along the way. Veronica, Mac and Norris had built and launched the best private investigation company on this coast, much to Keith Mars' dismay (though he stopped pouting about it when they opened another location in Los Angeles which raked in the big money and realized how big Veronica's dream truly was). Norris and Mac were in charge of the Department of Cyber Intelligence as Veronica had called it, while she just ran the roost. Eli's studio pretty much ran itself and Eli grew into the role of househusband pretty well, though now that Letty was in kindergarten, Eli found himself unsure of what to do the three hours she was there so he painted more. He ended up painting her the first day, which turned into a game and now Letty expected a new portrait every time she came home from school. Ophelia had finished college and gone on through grad school, where she got a Masters in Psychology. She now practiced outside of San Diego and made quite a bit of money for herself. Julio had followed a darker path, which Eli blamed himself for most days. Eli hadn't been able to keep him from falling in with the PCHers, and then after he dropped out of high school at 18 he had joined the Grimms. The phone call from jail hadn't been surprising, the drug charge had been. He was still doing time, and refused to talk to Eli while he was inside.

The house had changed over the years, Veronica and Eli had taken the upstairs once Ophelia and Julio were gone and made the basement Angel's apartment. As he got older, his health began to deteriorate, and he was forced to quit working on his cars when his hands began to shake past his control. Parkinson's was a shit disease, which it turned out that's what those shakes were the beginning of, and Eli felt he was watching his uncle waste away. He spent most of his days in the basement, unless Veronica or Eli talked him into joining them upstairs. Eli and Veronica had discussed moving the kids to the basement so Angel could be upstairs closer to them, but the old man was stubborn and liked his independence.

Logan never settled down, but one of his flings had produced him with a kid a year younger than Ando. Marcus and Ando were thick as thieves, and reminded Eli of him and Felix palling around in the 02 as kids. Norris and Mac ended up together, after it was discovered that a rekindling of their old flame at the launch party of VNM Investigations had resulted in their son, David's, conception who was only a year older than Letty. Felix and Molly never had more kids after Evie, and the young adult was glad with all the cousins she ended up with. Her babysitting service raked in cash though and Eli knew her rates were worth it though.

Wallace never settled down either, though he tried harder than Logan with each girl he brought to Wednesday Dinners. Eli thought he was still holding a torch for his high school flame, Luci, but she had married some other guy years ago. Juan and the other old school PCHers kept in touch, showed up at the summer barbeques Veronica liked to host, and all had lives of their own; some more legit than others. Juan had been in and out of jail the past few years, but Eli was always happy to get a call from him on the inside to let him know that he had seen Julio and was keeping an eye on him. Everything was so different now, but still so much was the same.

Eli was pulled from his thoughts as the front door opened and people started filling his house. The kids ran around the house while the adults drank in the kitchen and caught up while the food was put out on the table. They were just about to sit down when Ophelia walked in, broad smile on her face that they all returned.

"Is he here?" Veronica exclaimed, and Eli shot her a confused look as Ophelia nodded.

"Finishing his cigarette-," Ophelia started and Eli made his way to the door she had left cracked. He hoped she hadn't brought a guy home, that was the last thing Eli needed. Whoever was on the porch, Eli was not expecting the towering man that stood on the bottom step, taking anxious drags of nicotine.

"Nasty habit." Eli said, and the man swung around to face him. Eli was shocked, taking in the full grown man before him, "Mijo?"

"Hey, dad." Julio greeted softly, tossing the butt into the grass before walking up the steps to him. He was taller than Eli now, and looked like he spent most of his time inside working out. His face was hard, like he had seen more than he should have in his short life. He wasn't the 20 year old who got thrown in jail, he was the hardened adult they had released.

"Thought you had 6 more months." Eli said, not sure what else to say.

"Good behavior." Julio smirked, like he couldn't quite believe it himself, "House looks the same." Eli just nodded, staring at Julio in near awe, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah!" Eli exclaimed, "Yeah, come in. Foods on the table." He told him as he ushered Julio inside. Veronica squealed when she saw him, flinging herself into the man's arms.

"Oh, mijo!" She breathed, clinging to him tight, "You're home."

Julio hugged her back, burying his head into the crook of her shoulder like the child he once had been, "I missed you, mom." He told her sadly, and she blinked back tears and gave him a watery smile.

"Julio!" Ando cried, launching himself at his older brother, while Letty stared from the doorway warily. Ando had been 4 when Julio was locked up, while Letty had yet to be born.

"Letty, do you remember me telling you about Julio?" Ophelia asked softly, and the girl nodded shyly. "Well this is him." Letty inched closer and Julio knelt down to her level.

"You must be my little sister." Julio smiled softly, while Letty nodded, "Can I get a hug?" The little girl darted into his arms but quickly pulled away and went to hid behind Veronica's legs. Julio laughed at her antics, standing straight up and nodded hello to the others.

"That my nephew I hear?" Angel's tired voice came from the stairs of the basement and he emerged slowly. Julio blinked in surprise at the sight of his frail uncle and carefully pulled the older man into a hug when he came into the kitchen.

They all took their seats, which Ando made Julio sit next to him so he could fill him in on all the kinds of cars he had in his Hot Wheels collection, while Letty blushed and hid every time Julio smiled her way. Ophelia told them all about her job and Logan asked her when she was going to bring a guy home for them to terrorize. Ophelia looked confused, and her and Veronica shared a laugh, before going back to their food,.

"What?" Eli asked, catching the fact he was obviously missing something.

"I've brought Fi back with me tons of times, you never give her a hard time." She grinned and even Julio snorted back a burst of laughter. Eli still didn't understand what her best friend and roommate had to do with anything.

"Fiona's always welcome here, why would we give—," Eli started and he watched Felix's eye's go wide and Mac took a sip of water with a slight smile, "Oh!" Eli blinked at Ophelia's slightly uneasy grin, as if she was waiting for a reaction, "You and Fiona are…?"

"7 years now." She murmured, "I figured you knew." And in all honesty he should have, with the way the two acted towards each other, he had just never thought much into it.

"Oh." Eli said again, and this time Logan choked back a laugh, "Well that's cool. I like Fiona." And he did, she was an artist like him and he always had a good time talking to her when Ophelia brought her with her.

"I've been locked up for 6 years and even I knew that, Dad." Julio laughed, and Eli just shrugged glancing at Veronica who looked clearly amused.

As the night went on, everyone caught up and enjoyed the pie Veronica had made for dessert. The house emptied out after a while, leaving the Navarro's alone in the old house. Julio and Ando played video games while Ophelia was introduced to all of Letty's stuffed animals for the umpteenth time. It was nearly midnight when Ophelia headed back to San Diego and Eli told her to bring Fiona next Wednesday which made her smile.

Once the kids were in bed, and Julio was asleep on the couch, Eli and Veronica sat out on the back deck with a bottle of wine and stared up at the stars. "We did good, didn't we?" Veronica sighed happily, glancing back at the house where their family safely slept.

"Yeah, we did." Eli agreed, pulling her close to him. There were many paths Eli could have taken in life, but only one had led him here. In another life, he could have ended up a felon with no future other than maybe being a mechanic or a janitor, still living dirty. Instead he was here, his arms around his wife and his children were cared for and in their beds. This world he existed in was one of many up and downs, but it was better than any 'what if' he could have ever dreamed of, and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

A/N: ...I hope none of you are disappointed that this is where I leave you. I can't please everyone, but I hope I pleased some. I tried to wrap up without going on and on. It has been such a journey, and I can not believe it is over. Thank you so much for bearing with me, there were some moments I wasn't sure I was going to finish but here we are. Thank you for all the kind reviews over and for all the people who have been following this since the beginning (2+ years guys!) and also to those who just found it and read it all in one sitting (Idk how you did it, but I know some of you did). I bid you all farewell, or maybe...until next time (story).