Author's Note: So… it's been a while since I updated this story (or any of my stories really.) I am sorry for that. What started as a break for myself after Christmas morphed into me starting to write some original fiction, and then this whole Covid-19 situation happened. I eventually found myself in a funk where, because of my anxiety, writing was sometimes the last thing on my mind. However, I've recently found myself with the creative juices flowing again, so… here we are.

For this chapter, I decided to focus on the boys mostly since with Mal and Jane, there wasn't really a father figure mentioned, and with Evie, while yes, Florian could be understood as a father figure for her, he wasn't really mentioned all that often. And I didn't want to force characters into roles that they hadn't been placed in or had much emphasis on before. It would feel too patronizing, so I figured just a passing mention of the girl's father figures would do. After this chapter, I have just one holiday left, but probably won't start writing that until near the end of the week since I'm also finishing up the next chapter of "Devil's Due" which should be up also later in the week.

Thank you for your patience, and again, I'm sorry I took so long.

Please enjoy…

Father's Day

Actually, more like a week before…

Jay and Carlos were with Audrey and Jane at the mall. While it wasn't any more packed than usual, the boys definitely noticed a theme when they looked at the entrances and display windows of certain stores. They also noticed that the girls seemed to be leading them around those certain stores and "recommending" things to them.

"So, did you get your Dad anything?" Jay asked Audrey as the four of them sat at the food court.

Audrey nodded. "I'm giving him the day off." Everyone stopped to look at her in confusion. "From running the Kingdom. So, he and Mom can just spend the day doing… whatever it is they do for fun on a day together."

"If you're giving him the day off to spend with your Mom, who's going be in charge?" Jane asked.

"I will be," she answered in the obvious. "What?" she asked as she once again saw the looks on their faces. "I can handle running the Kingdom for one day," she told them, almost insulted.

The other three nodded in ascent and carried on with their food.

"What about you? What do you do for Father's Day?" Carlos asked his girlfriend through a mouthful of chili fries.

"Babe, manners," Jane laughed at him, causing him to swallow hard and cough from doing so.

"Sorry."

Jane reached over and dabbed at the corner of his mouth with a napkin, getting a small piece of chili off his face. "I usually just call or send a card to Chad and Ben's dads," she answered Carlos's earlier question.

"Seriously?" Jay asked her.

"Yeah, I spent a lot of time with both of their families growing up, and the both of them always said they treated me like one of their own."

"Are the two of you getting Coach something?" Audrey asked.

"Thinking about it," Jay answered, while taking a bit of his pizza.

"Well you better hurry, it's next week," she reminded him.

"We never would've guessed that, what with you two pulling us into every men's clothing store, shoe store, and gadget store in here," Carlos said sarcastically.

"Figured that out?" Jane said guiltily.

"You two weren't exactly being subtle," Jay laughed, then gave a small grunt when Audrey poked him in the ribs.

"Well, we figured that, um, that…," Jane began, then trailed off, not really knowing what to say without coming across as a little insensitive.

"We get it," Jay said, finishing Jane's thought without having to say it out loud.

"So are we gonna talk about what to get Coach?" Carlos asked Jay as the two of them were in their room. Their double date with the girls was over, and they were settling back in after dropping them off at Jane's house. Carlos tried playing a video game on his handheld but the question kept nagging at him so he decided to see if Jay had any ideas.

"I don't know, never really got my Dad much back on the Isle," Jay said from his own bed. "Usually just stole… well, anything really; didn't really think too much about what."

"I don't think that's gonna fly," Carlos muttered as he tossed his handheld next to him.

"The stealing or not getting something?"

"Both. I mean I know Coach said we didn't need to get something for him, but –"

"It doesn't feel right not getting him something," Jay finished Carlos' thought as he sat up in his bed.

The boys had been racking their brains for the last week trying to figure that exact question. But this wasn't exactly an occasion they had practice with. They'd tried asking their friends what they were doing to try and drum up some ideas. Mal said she was painting a portrait of King Beast as a beast, and another of him as he looked now. She said it was kind of like a before and after type of thing. It wasn't what they would assume was a normal gift, but they gave her points for originality. Evie was designing a new suit for Florian. They wondered how she would get his measurements without giving herself away, but knowing their friend, she'd find a way.

"He likes fishing," Jay told Carlos.

"If your saying we should take him… remember how much we don't? We're not patient enough for it," Carlos countered. Jay shrugged in agreement. "He likes cars," Carlos tried suggesting.

Jay humph-ed. "Yeah, we'll get him a car. You have that kind of money?"

"Yeah, didn't think that through," Carlos rationalized.

Both of them sat there, continuing to think. After a couple of minutes, Jay has a thought. "I got an idea, it's a little out there, but I think it might just get the job done."

Carlos looked at him expectantly. "Well… what is it?' he pushed when Jay remained silent.

Actual Father's Day...

The evening was hot, but under the back porch's awning, the heat was a little more bearable. Jay and Carlos, Liz and Coach, and the twins were sitting at the round picnic table, finishing up with the small barbecue they'd been having. Liz had just finished having the boys take care of the trash, and she was smiling at all four of her boys now that they were seated again.

"So how was the food?" she asked her husband.

"Good," Coach said as he also looked at the now clean table. "Although, the barbecue sauce didn't taste like the normal stuff you buy," he commented to his wife.

"That's probably because I didn't do any of the cooking," she said.

"Then who…?"

Liz's smile grew a little more. Shen then motioned over toward Jay and Carlos.

"You two? really?" Coach said in surprise.

Jay gave a small nod, while Carlos offered up a, "Uh, yeah."

"Gotta say, now I'm even more surprised. And impressed," he told them.

"Evie talked us through some of it," Jay revealed. "Mostly with the chicken since we didn't know how to tell it was done."

"And the burgers and sausage?" Coach asked.

"We've seen you grill those… we paid attention," Carlos told him. Coach tried not to look a little touched at that revelation, but he knew that a small smile did creep onto his face.

"Where'd you get the sauce?" he asked.

"Evie," Carlos and Jay answered together.

"When we told her we were going to do this, she sent it to us. Apparently she made it herself," Carlos explained.

"Tell her I'll pay for some," Liz said, getting a small round of laughs from the table. "Okay, boys, I figure now is as good a time as any for your gifts," she corralled the conversation. Shawn and Mark ran into the house to get their presents, returning a minute later with a box each. While they were gone, she looked over at her eldest boys, and Carlos just pulled out an envelope and indicated that it was from both of them.

Once they were ready, the twins went first. Coach opened the boxes, and tucked into each box was a Father's Day card. "These are great, thank you boys," Coach told them as he looked at the shirts they gotten him. Although, judging by the knowing smile on his wife's face, he was fairly certain that Liz was the one who did the shopping.

"Guess were up next," Jay said.

"Right," Carlos said nervously. He then handed the envelope over to Coach. "This is from both of us," he added when he felt Jay nudge him with his elbow. Coach looked over at Liz. She raised an eyebrow to convey to her husband silently, "I have no clue what they got you." He opened the envelope, and read the card.

Thanks for taking us in

It was written in Carlos's handwriting; which Coach was thankful for since Jay's handwriting left something to be desired. But both of them signed it. His attention was caught however by the slip of paper clipped to inside of it. He pulled it free and examined it. "A receipt?" Carlos and Jay looked at each other, and were each trying to get the other to explain what the gift meant. "Boys, one of you, please," Coach said interrupting them.

"Well, uh… you see," Carlos started.

"We got you a trophy," Jay said quickly, looking at Carlos impatiently.

"A trophy?" Coach asked slightly confused.

"You broke the trophy didn't you?" the twins asked in unison.

"No we didn't break the trophy," Jay told them. He then crumpled a napkin in each hand and threw them at Shawn and Mark, hitting them in the face.

"Hey," they said.

"We didn't know what to get you," Carlos shouted over the commotion in order to stop it. When everyone was looking at him, he continued. "Me and Jay aren't used to doing anything like this, so we didn't know what to get. But we figured, Coach… trophy, it made sense. So we had one made that said 'Happy Father's Day'", he explained.

"The problem was, by the time we decided to do this, the guy at the store told us it was impossible to have by today. So we figured, give you the receipt to show you what we got until we can pick up the actual trophy," Jay added.

"It'll be ready Tuesday," Carlos finished.

Coach stared at them, slightly puzzled. Then, to everyone's surprise, he began laughing. Carlos and Jay looked at him, confusion now written on their faces. They looked toward Liz who was just as perplexed. "Is that a normal reaction to a Father's Day gift?" Jay asked.

"No. It's not even a normal reaction for him," she answered.

"I'm… I'm fine, this…," Coach tried to speak, but his continued laughter prevented full sentences. After a nearly another minute of laughter, he was finally able to calm himself down enough to catch his breath and try again. "I'm fine, really, I am. And I'm really touched by the gift boys," he said to Jay and Carlos. "I just… I think this the first time a father – any father – has ever gotten a receipt on Father's Day. I'm going to be telling this story for years," he said beginning to laugh again.

"Well… there you go, boys, he… likes it," Liz affirmed for Jay and Carlos. And honestly, as confused by her husband's reaction as she was, she still found it endearing. She also found the gift idea that Carlos and Jay came up with to be completely sweet – and original. She reached for her phone and then opened up its camera. "Okay, since we've gotten through the gifts… weird as it was near the end, now I want a picture of all my boys," she said, motioning for Jay and Carlos, and the twins to crowd in around Coach. All five of them began to complain about having to take a picture before Liz silenced them all with a look.

"It's Father's Day, and I am getting a picture of my husband and his sons," she said annoyed. "Don't make me repeat myself," she added calmly when none of them moved. Recognizing the fact that her calmness was only for show, and they knew what would happen if they didn't let her have this, everyone immediately crowded in.

"All of you say, 'Happy Father's Day'," she smiled as she looked at the sight of her family.