(Quick AN:

Thanks to everyone who's read this, and extra thanks to those who've left reviews! Your support means a lot to me. :)

If you're interested, check out my DeviantArt page (the link is in my profile). I currently have pictures of Zaneeta, Claire, Courtney, and Zoe posted, and I'll probably have Rhiannon, Faye, and Virginia up soon as well. (OMG gyz I want Virginia's hair!!11!1eleven)

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the last chapter!)

…………

It was the last class of the last day of school… which is, as any student knows, the longest forty-five minutes of the year. For Jojo, whose last class was literature, it was especially boring, for he had finished with his final exam in a mere ten minutes and was left with more than half an hour to sit at his desk, bored out of his mind, not able to talk to anyone until the last test was turned in… and Jojo had apparently been one of the unusually fast ones.

He sighed inwardly in mild irritation, looking at Zaneeta, who sat two rows away from him. She was scratching her head in slight confusion at a question. Zaneeta was never very good in lit classes, although she certainly worked hard for her grades… unlike Jojo, who didn't work very hard and yet got straight A's—which were pretty pointless for him, really. School seemed pointless as well. What need did he have for an education if he was just going to be mayor someday? It wasn't like there was any job competition.

Conscious of Jojo watching her, Zaneeta looked up and smiled at him, the glow of her new dating status still as strong as it had been that morning. She mouthed "thank you" to him, still smiling with an air of hardly daring to believe her luck.

Jojo gave her a smile in return and mouthed "you're welcome". When his sisters had congregated in his room on Saturday and giggled annoyingly over boys, Jojo had had no intention of finding a date for his sister—not that he didn't want her to be happy, but because he thought the whole dating aspect was stupid. But on Monday, when being comforted by a weepy Courtney, Jojo's thoughts had drifted to his oldest sister, realizing that he hadn't once seen her cry over Claire's death… although, being her birth sibling, he could tell that it had hit her hard. But Zaneeta always took it upon herself to be the calm, cool, and collected one when calamity hit, and Jojo felt she deserved a reward for it.

I wonder if she realizes just how much help she is? he wondered idly to himself. Zaneeta was never asked to be the almost third parent of the family, she just took on that role because she liked helping out and knew she was good at it. She was really the true oldest child, not Jojo, with the responsibility that she—

Jojo's thoughts screeched to a halt with a sudden idea. He held his pencil to his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully. He chewed on it throughout the entire class, in fact, surprisingly hardly even noticing when the final bell rang, signaling the start of summer vacation.

"Heck yes!" Zaneeta said to him, as the two siblings filed their way out of the classroom amidst their cheering, ecstatic classmates. "We're officially eighth graders now! That is, assuming I passed that test. How am I supposed to remember the details of that story we read? Like it has any bearing in anything that's important! How did you manage to finish it so fast?"

Jojo shrugged. "I don't know," he said simply.

They were now outside in blessed freedom. Jojo turned to the right, while Zaneeta turned to the left. "Uh, Jojo, home is this way," she said.

"I need to go talk to Dad," said Jojo. "You go home without me."

"Talk to Dad? About what?"

Jojo sighed. Why did she have to be so persistent? "Nothing you need to hear. I need a man-to-man talk with him." Which sounded stupid as soon as he said it, but he figured that was the only way to keep Zaneeta from digging for more information.

"Ooooohhh," said Zaneeta, feigning awe. "You men and your talks. Alright, I'll tell Mom that you'll be home soon. See you later!"

"See you," said Jojo, giving a small wave and making his way towards City Hall, getting away from the crowded school as fast as his legs could carry him. Luckily, he found a cyclist who was willing to give the town's savior a lift, Jojo fitting rather comfortably in the basket on the bike. Despite the ease of traveling, Jojo sighed grumpily, anxiously looking forward to the day when he would finally hit his growth spurt. Riding in a bicycle basket was totally embarrassing, to put it gently.

The cyclist dropped him off at City Hall and Jojo cautiously made his way inside. It was not very busy that day; only a few Whos were moving in and out of the hallways. Jojo walked up to Ms. Yelp's desk, but she didn't even see him. He cleared his throat, trying to sound professional.

Ms. Yelp looked away from her computer in surprise and looked down, finally spotting Jojo standing timidly at her feet. "Well, Mr. McDodd, hello there!" she said cheerfully. "What can I do for you, hon?"

"I'd, uh, like to speak with my father. Please," Jojo quickly added. "Is he busy?"

Ms. Yelp's smile faded. "He's been working on his backlog all day… but to be honest with you, hon, I think he shouldn't have even come in today. I'm worried about him. He's still an emotional wreck, and it doesn't seem healthy for him to work like this so soon after…"

Jojo's face fell. Oh, duh, of course. Today was totally not the day to tell him what he needed to tell him. Maybe in a month or so. He'd hid his true feelings from his dad for thirteen years now; one more month was nothing.

"He did say no visitors," Ms Yelp continued, "but I have a feeling he'll make an exception for you. In fact, even if he doesn't, I'll make you go in there anyway. It'll be good for him to talk to you." She pushed the intercom button. "Mr. Mayor, you have a visitor," she said in her most businesslike voice.

"I told you, Ms. Yelp, I don't want to see anyone," Ned responded, his voice sounding tired and aggravated.

"Not even your own son?"

"Jojo?" Ned's tone immediately brightened. "Send him in!"

Ms. Yelp pushed another button and the doors slowly swung open, and she gave Jojo a smile. Jojo returned it, but his smile was small, suddenly feeling ill at ease. Nevertheless, he cautiously stepped into his father's office.

Ned pushed aside a large stack of papers so he could better see his son and gave him a big smile. "Hey, Jojo!" he said. "What brings you here?"

Jojo hesitated, weighing the situation and trying to decide if it was a good idea to tell him what needed to be said, or wait until later and make up some other reason as to why he had come visiting. "How are you?" he finally asked, avoiding the question altogether.

"You know, I'm really feeling pretty good right now," said Ned. He motioned towards the pile of papers. "You see these? These were a backlog of ordinances that I needed to review, and I'm nearly finished with them! And I'm never happier than when I've just completed a task!" He smiled, probably a bit too broadly.

Jojo hesitated again before deciding to forget about being polite. "Alright, now tell me the truth."

Ned's face fell. "Was that… too forced?"

"Just a little."

Ned sighed. "The truth is… the truth is, the work does really help, honest. It helps take my mind off…" His voice faltered and he turned his head away, his chest becoming heavy again. No, no, not here. Cry in front of anyone else, but not your son. You have to be a man for him. Of all the people who should not see you cry, your son is at the absolute top of the list.

Jojo looked at his dad sadly, almost apologetically. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come…"

"No, I want to talk to you… I need to…" Ned sighed in resignation, letting his weak tears out with heavy breaths. "Oh, Jojo…"

Jojo carefully made his way to his father's side and comfortingly put one arm around his waist, than the other, in a rather awkward hug but a hug all the same. "I'm sorry, Dad," he said. "I… I've cried a lot, too. I don't know why, I hardly knew her… but I think about her and I start…" Jojo had already cried once in front of his father and had no intention of doing so again, but he did feel his throat constrict. He swallowed heavily and his eyes stayed dry.

"Of course," said Ned gently, looking Jojo in the eyes. "She was your sister. Of course you'd be sad."

"But… but I hardly knew her. I hardly know any of my sisters," said Jojo. "The only ones I really know are Zaneeta, Rhiannon, Faye, and Virginia."

"Well, of course you'd know them better than the rest, because they're your birth siblings. But you're closer to your other sisters than you realize. You're the oldest, you're sort of their protector…"

"But that's what I'm trying to tell you… I really don't feel that way." Ned looked at Jojo questioningly and Jojo gulped, guilt and shame filling his body. No, no, today was definitely not the day to dump his problems on his dad, not when his dad had enough problems of his own! He'd just suffer through them alone like he always did.

He pulled away from his dad. "I should go."

"What do you want to tell me? You came here to tell me something."

Dang, he was as intuitive as Zaneeta. "Nothing. Nothing. Now's not a good time. I should go."

"Jojo, if you ever need to tell me anything, you can! Any time is a good time!"

"It can wait, really."

"Come on, Jojo!" Ned was smiling, much to Jojo's surprise. "For years now you've hardly said two words to me—what makes you think that now, when you have something to tell me, that I don't want to hear it? I'm dying to know!" He jumped up and grabbed a chair from the side of the room and pulled it right next to his own chair. "Take a seat."

Jojo looked at the chair warily.

"Please." Ned motioned to the chair, his voice softer. "Don't ever think that I don't want to hear what you have to say."

Jojo finally approached the chair, hoisting himself up in it while Ned sat down in his own chair. "You're not going to like it," Jojo muttered.

"Oh no." Ned's eyes grew wide with sudden worry. "You're not gay, are you?"

"What?" Jojo blinked, totally taken aback. "No, Dad, no, I'm not. Just because I don't like girls doesn't mean that I like guys either."

"Oh, good!" Ned let out a sigh of relief. "Not that I'd be mad at you if you were, mind you," he quickly added, "and if you were I'd want you to tell me and know that I'd be okay with it and that I'd want to know, because I want you to feel that you can tell me anything that—"

"Then would you let me?" Jojo interrupted.

"Oh." Ned looked apologetic. "Sorry. What do you need to tell me?"

Jojo took a deep breath, searching for the best way to explain his situation. Unfortunately, words didn't come quickly to him, and he sat in silence for more than what was required for a normal dramatic pause. Ned waited patiently, but Jojo still felt bad.

"I'm not good with words," Jojo finally said. "I never have been. And I don't like pretending that I am, either. I don't like talking with people."

Ned nodded, and Jojo took another breath, giving space for his father to respond if he wanted to. No response came, so Jojo went on, deciding to just spit it out, because he simply couldn't say things in an eloquent manner, no matter how long he tried to. "I don't like dealing with people at all. I'm happier when I'm by myself and don't have to worry about gaining people's approval. When I do have to worry about that… I worry a lot, because I know I'm not good with words and I say things I don't mean. I feel uncomfortable having to talk to people, or dealing with people at all."

Ned nodded again to show that he was listening. Jojo paused, wishing that he could find a more tactful way to say his next sentence… but maybe, by just blurting it out, he'd prove his point.

"Dad, I don't want to be mayor."

He flinched as he said this, waiting for the outburst of anguish from his father, but none came. In fact, Ned hardly looked affected. Noting his son's surprise at his lack of reaction, Ned said, "Jojo, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't already figured that out for myself."

"But I never said anything."

"Not with words… but your expressions told me everything. The thought of it overwhelms you, and trust me, I understand—it overwhelmed me at first too! But it gets easier, trust me, and—"

"Dad!" Jojo interrupted. "I don't want to be mayor. I would make a really lousy mayor. I have no people skills. You have people skills and you care about the town, so you make a great mayor. But I'm not like that."

"You'll learn," Ned insisted. "Once you actually—"

"Dad, I don't know how to explain this any clearer, but I don't want to be mayor—it's not who I am, and I know I'd be terrible at it. I wouldn't be as good as you…" He took a deep breath before dropping the second bomb. "Or as Zaneeta."

"Zaneeta?"

"You know, your daughter…" Jojo gave a small smile.

"I know who Zaneeta is," said Ned with a smirk. "But why did you just mention her?"

"She's good at handling crises. She likes to talk to people. She likes to help people. She's actually interested in government. And she'd make a way better mayor than I would," Jojo finished, feeling almost relieved to have gotten it off his chest. Even if his dad totally shot down his suggestion, at least Jojo wasn't carrying around his secret anymore.

Ned took a deep breath, looking away from Jojo. Jojo felt a small surge of hope. He was actually considering it. "But Jojo," he finally said, "Zaneeta's not the oldest, you are."

"Yeah, by like, one second."

"Three," Ned corrected gently.

Jojo snorted sarcastically. "Oh, my bad. I guess that makes all the difference then, doesn't it?"

Ned chuckled a bit at that, and inspired, Jojo continued. "Come on, Dad, I'm thinking about what's best for Who-ville here. I would make a lousy mayor—and even if you don't agree with me, you have to agree that Zaneeta would make a better mayor than I would. And she'd actually like the job!"

"She would…" Ned snapped back to reality. "But it's always been the oldest child—"

"Is there a law that says that?"

"Well… not that I know of…"

"So who says you can't break the tradition?"

Ned had nothing to say to that. Jojo piped up again. "Even if there is a law, you're the mayor, you can change it! Come on, Dad," he said, a little quieter. "For the sake of tradition you're going to make me take a job I don't like while my sister would like it way more and would be better at it, just because I'm three seconds older than she is? That's total crap."

The room was silent for a few moments. Jojo looked down at his feet, out of things to say, and feeling small and ashamed again. Crap. He shouldn't have told him this now. He was right; once he was mayor he'd get used to it and learn as he went. Zaneeta was a hard worker; she'd succeed in another profession. All he had done was dumped another needless worry on his father. Crap, crap, crap.

"You're right," Ned said quietly. Jojo looked up in surprise, and Ned looked back at him, starting to smile. "You're absolutely right, Jojo. That is crap. A person as important as the mayor should be chosen by traits, not by birth order. I'll talk to Zaneeta tonight and see what she thinks."

Jojo felt himself smile warmly. "You'll do that? Really?"

"Of course. And Jojo… thanks for talking to me about this." Ned leaned over and hugged him. "I needed to hear it."

And I needed to say it, Jojo thought to himself, to his surprise finding himself freely returning the hug. "Just don't tell Zaneeta it was my idea," he said quickly, pulling away. "I don't want her to think that I'm dumping this on her—you know, like it's something I don't want to do and I'm making her—"

"I won't tell her," Ned promised, "although I think she'd understand your actual motivations, trust me."

"Weaseling out of responsibility, you mean," sighed Jojo.

"No," said Ned, shaking his head. "You offered a solution to a problem that benefits everyone involved. There's no shame in that, Jojo. None at all."

Jojo said nothing to that, but his smile of gratitude wordlessly let Ned know how thankful he was… as Ned's smile let Jojo know the exact same thing.

…………

Supper that night had been busy and very, very noisy, the excited chattering of the kids brought about by the end of the school year almost drowning out Ned's very thoughts. He had only just barely managed to catch Zaneeta and tell her that he needed to talk to her alone, she being as anxious to leave the noisy room as anyone else was. Of course, since the meal was done, everyone was starting to disperse anyway, so with an apologetic shrug, Ned led Zaneeta to the only room where they could have any privacy—the bathroom.

And not much privacy at that. Natalie walked out of the bathroom, smiling proudly. "I plugged the toilet, Daddy!" she boasted.

"That's nice, sweetie," said Ned, although his facial expression revealed that he thought otherwise. Zaneeta smirked. "Daddy needs the bathroom now, okay?"

"What about 'Neeta?"

"Uh… Daddy needs to show Zaneeta how to clean the toilet," Ned quickly said.

"Thanks for messying it up for me!" Zaneeta said to Natalie with a smile. "You've been a big help!"

"Yaaaaay!" Natalie grinned as she skipped away.

"Nicely done," said Ned in admiration.

"Thanks. Now what's up? Why do you need to talk to me in the bathroom?"

"Yeah, about that—I'm sorry we have to talk in here, but I wanted a place where you could think without much noise, and in this house, the bathroom's about the only place…" Ned gave a slightly abashed smile as his apology and Zaneeta chuckled in understanding. "Anyway, I have a proposition for you, something that you need to think about…"

"Alright, lay it on me," said Zaneeta.

Ned paused, searching, like Jojo had that afternoon, for the best way to approach the subject. "Your mother and I expect a lot of responsibility from you," he finally said. "And I've never had any doubts of your ability to accept it, but… you don't mind, do you?"

"I know it probably sounds weird," said Zaneeta, "but I actually like it. This whole house is kind of a zoo and it makes me feel really fulfilled to help run it smoothly. I'm thinking I'm really cut out for a high-stress career, because I actually enjoy challenges. They keep me on my feet, you know? I'm thinking maybe something like a police officer, a teacher maybe, although that might bore me—"

"How about mayor?" Ned interrupted, seizing his chance.

Zaneeta barked out a laugh of confusion at that. "Mayor? That's Jojo's job."

"Yes, that's the way the tradition goes, but… it's obvious to me that Jojo doesn't want to be mayor, and you're his birth sibling, you must know that too."

"Well, yes," said Zaneeta softly. "So what are you…"

"Zaneeta, you have all the qualities of a great mayor—a really great mayor. And I don't want to deny it to you just because you have an older sibling…"

"Jojo put the idea in your head, didn't he?" said Zaneeta, with a smile of realization.

"Uh—yes, but don't tell him I told you. He didn't want you to know that it was his idea," said Ned, a little flustered. "But trust me, sweetie, it was his idea, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with it. You'd make an amazing mayor, I know it—but I want the choice to be yours. So that's my proposition—would you like to be mayor?"

Zaneeta looked at him with wide, surprised eyes. "Would I… would I like to be mayor?"

"If you need some time to think about it, by all means," said Ned quickly. "Whatever you decide, though, know that you have my full support, and you always will…"

"Dad, I…" Zaneeta's face broke into a grin of joy. "Yes, yes, I would. I would like to be mayor—oh, Dad, are you serious?" She clasped her hands and let out a little squeal. "I would love to be mayor, oh my gosh, I would love it!"

Ned felt himself sigh with relief and happiness. "The first thing I'll do tomorrow when I get to my office is officially announce you as my successor. How does that sound?"

"It sounds… oh my gosh!" Zaneeta had to wipe away a tear of joy from her eyes before continuing. "It sounds marvelous! Oh, Dad, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She embraced him in a huge hug, Ned returning it just as strongly. "Thank you so much! I love you!"

"I love you too… and I'm very proud of you, sweetie," said Ned softly. "I know you'll be fantastic."

"Well… I've got a tough act to follow," said Zaneeta, still smiling. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, I know I've said it a billion times but I can't say it enough… oh my gosh, I want to go tell all my siblings!"

"Go ahead," laughed Ned. "It's not like this is going to be our huge secret or anything!"

Zaneeta, firmly situated on cloud nine, seemed to almost float out of the bathroom, her huge smile completely infectious—Ned was smiling back and doing so so broadly that it almost hurt his face. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she was still saying before finally running up the stairs to her bedroom, about to burst with her happy news.

Ned leaned against the wall of the bathroom, smiling freely with the knowledge of the great things that were to come from Who-ville's next mayor.

…………

Later that night, ninety-five excited girls were tucked into bed. Much later that night, actually. There was no school tomorrow to warrant sending the girls to bed early… but by the time Ned had finished tucking them all in, he felt as if he was going to pass out with exhaustion.

He quickly ran through a very short to-do list for that night as he exited the girls' room—say goodnight to Jojo, make sure all the lights were turned off, take a shower, go to bed. He had a busy day ahead of him tomorrow, a day that he was actually looking forward to—speaking to Horton and Dr. Larue were both far more pleasant than signing ordinances, that was for sure.

But then, he suddenly froze in his tracks, seeing Sally with her back against the hallway wall, her face in her hand, her body shaking a bit with light sobbing. Sensing Ned watching her, she looked up in surprise and slight embarrassment, her eyes reddened. "Oh, Ned… sorry…"

Ned's heart sank with grief, suddenly remembering Claire… and realizing, for the first time, that he had spent so much time wallowing in his own grief that he hadn't even thought of how Sally was handling it. In truth, Sally was the strongest person he had ever known, so maybe it was just that he hadn't even thought to be worried about her… but she clearly needed comforting, and Ned hadn't given her any.

"No, I'm sorry," he whispered gently, wrapping his arms around her and rocking her back and forth. Sally let herself cry again into his shoulder. Ned almost began crying himself, feeling his heart breaking at seeing her sorrow, wanting more than anything to wipe it away permanently… but not knowing how. All he knew was that she was the one who needed consoling right now, not him. As much as he wanted to break out in tears too, he couldn't.

"I've been trying so hard to be strong," she murmured, "but it's so hard…"

"I'm sorry," Ned murmured again.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes… yes it is. Everything is." Sally looked at him in confusion. Ned sighed sadly. "I'm the reason you're here in the first place. You… you could have married Stuart Shepherd, and maybe you would have only had ten kids and wouldn't have had the stress of being first lady and all your kids would be alive right now and you'd have your own life that wasn't tied up in taking care of scores of children…" Not for the first time, Ned was overwhelmed with the sickening realization that Sally deserved so much, and yet he gave her so little.

"There's only one problem with that," said Sally softly.

"What's that?"

"I didn't want to marry Stuart Shepherd. I wanted to marry you."

"You wouldn't have wanted to marry me if you had known that this would happen," sighed Ned.

Sally laid her head against his shoulder. "Ned, even if—lord forbid—you and the rest of the kids all died tomorrow… I still would never, ever regret marrying you."

Ned's hands slowly stroked her back, too speechless to do anything else.

"I'll be alright," Sally murmured softly. "I have you and the kids. It still hurts to think of Claire, but… even so, I'm so glad she was in my life, even for that short amount of time."

Ned slowly lifted Sally's head from his shoulder and kissed her… gently, passionately, fully. His lips lingered on hers as he felt her almost melt into him, with a grateful surrender. How she could be so content with the little he had to offer her, Ned didn't know, but he knew that he'd give her everything he had to give to make her happy.

"If you need anything," he whispered, their lips parting, "anything at all… I'll do anything for you."

"I… I know," she whispered back gratefully.

He kissed her again, softly and tenderly, before finally pulling away. "I'll be turning in pretty soon," he said, his voice still low. "Is there anything you need? Anything at all?"

"No… I'm fine," said Sally slowly.

"Alright. I'll be there soon." He softly knocked on Jojo's bedroom door and, after a short pause, entered.

"I'm… more than fine," murmured Sally, one hand touching her heart.

Who'd have thought you could be married for thirteen years and still fall more and more in love with your husband every day?

…………

Jojo hadn't answered the knock on his door because, much to Ned's surprise, he was talking on the phone. Ned had to stand in the doorway and stare in shock for a few moments, and Jojo, noticing his father, gave a small, almost embarrassed smile, signifying both his apologies for acting so out of character and his consent at his father's presence. Of course, Jojo, being Jojo, wasn't doing much talking at all, simply giving an "Uh-huh" every ten seconds or so to show whoever he was speaking to that he was still there.

Finally, Jojo actually used some real words. "Listen, Courtney, I'd probably better go. …Yeah, I'm tired… alright, whatever… I don't care… look, why don't you just call me tomorrow, I really don't know right now? Alright… okay, goodbye… Goodnight…" He made a face of annoyance. "I'm not repeating that one. Goodnight, Courtney." He quickly pulled the phone away from himself and hit the power button before she could talk to him anymore.

"She's a nice girl," said Ned with a smile.

Jojo rolled his eyes, looking positively exasperated. "'I love you, Jojo!' And she expected me to say 'I love you too!' What makes her think she loves me?"

"If she says she does… then she probably does," said Ned.

"She's thirteen years old. She doesn't know a thing."

"You're thirteen years old, and you know a lot."

"Not about love."

"I fell in love when I was thirteen… and I never fell out," said Ned softly.

Jojo gave him a small smile. "Well, you're one of the rare ones." He handed him the cordless phone. "Could you hang this up for me?"

"Sure thing." Ned cleared his throat and gave Jojo a knowing smile. "I talked to Zaneeta today—"

"You think I don't know that?" said Jojo, snorting good-naturedly. "She won't shut up about how happy she is. And she won't stop thanking me—I told you not to tell her!"

"I didn't! She figured it out for herself!"

"She owes me big. All in one day I've hooked her up with a guy and landed her her dream job."

"A guy? What guy?"

"Ian." Jojo chuckled a bit at Ned's sudden look of worry. "Don't sweat it. I don't think it'll last very long. Zaneeta's going to get bored with him pretty soon. But she's happy now," Jojo shrugged, sitting on the edge of his bed with fatigue, "so that's all that matters."

"But what if he just causes her heartache?" Ned insisted, still looking ill at ease. "What if he just leaves her worse off than she is now?"

Jojo shrugged. "We won't know unless we find out, huh?"

"I wish there was a way of knowing before that," sighed Ned, his eyes downcast. "Sometimes I wish I could know what life holds for me, so I can better prepare for it…"

"Jeez, I don't," muttered Jojo.

Ned looked at him in surprise.

Jojo's eyes brightened with an idea. "Come on. I want to show you something." He jumped off his bed and scurried to his closet, pulling out a large box full of… objects of some sort, unrecognizable.

"What are these?" Ned asked in confusion.

Jojo pulled out one from the top. "I made this a few months ago. It's a battery-powered fan. It'll probably be really helpful this summer. These—" He pulled out what looked to be a small but clunky pair of scissors—"These are scissors I made about a year or so ago. They actually work really well for trimming loose hairs. And here's a lever. Nice to open doors with. And, of course… lots of music boxes. I'm kind of addicted to making those."

"You made… all this?" Ned's knowledge of Jojo's mechanical faculties was still new enough to astonish him when viewing his son's handiwork.

"Yeah," said Jojo with a modest shrug. "But the thing is, when I built this stuff—when I build anything, actually—I never have a finished product in mind. I just build and wait to see what it'll turn in to. Even my symphonophone—my big observatory project that you saw—I didn't really know exactly what I was going to do with that, either. I was just building because I like it." He placed his inventions back in the box and looked at it for a few moments. "I think life's like that too. If I knew what I was going to build before I built it, I don't think the process would be as enjoyable. I would feel as if I was just going through the motions. And if I knew what was going to happen in my life before it happened, I'd feel like… like I wasn't living my life for myself. I'd feel like I was just waiting for things to happen to me, not making them happen for myself. That's no way to go through life. Sure, so bad things might happen unexpectedly, but so do good things. Sometimes good things turn out to be bad later, and vice versa. But that's living. And I don't want to know which is which until I can live through it and figure it out for myself."

Jojo fell silent. It had been a long speech for him and it had seemed to totally wear him out. After a short pause, he pushed the box back into the closet with his foot, yawned, and made his way towards his bed.

Ned stared at him, his jaw practically hanging open, almost overwhelmed with his son's words of wisdom. How many times that day had that boy completely astonished him?

"Jojo?"

Jojo looked at Ned in acknowledgement.

"I know you're going to disagree with me… but you would have made a great mayor."

Jojo smiled softly. "Zaneeta will be a greater one." He got into bed and laid his head on his pillow, his eyes instantly closing in sleepiness. "Goodnight."

Ned moved to the side of Jojo's bed, pulling up the covers and tucking him in, even though he probably hadn't done so since Jojo had been maybe six. Jojo cracked an eye open and gave him a small smile, however, showing that he didn't mind. Ned sighed again, although this time it was content, caring one. "Goodnight, Jojo. I love you, and… and I can't tell you how proud I am of you. You know that, don't you?"

"I do now." Jojo's smile grew a bit wider. "And… and likewise." He closed his eyes and nestled into his pillow.

Ned also smiled, standing fondly by his son's bedside for a few moments before giving his shoulder a small, affectionate squeeze. Jojo's mouth twitched up again.

"Goodnight, Jojo," he whispered again. Then he stood up and made his way to the door, but pausing to smile at him one more time before flipping off the lights.

THE END.