A/N: This is the final chapter, guys :) Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews, favorites, and alerts. They mean the world to me. And, without further ado, enjoy.

Chapter 8

My dad came back the next day.

I heard the tentative knock before my mom did, but I let her get it anyway. I felt safer hiding behind my bedroom door, looking out to see what would happen.

"G-Gilbert?" my mom exclaimed in confusion. "Honey, I mean, Gilbert, what are you doing here?" She was clearly surprised by his presence, but if she was mad about him being here, it didn't show. As a matter of fact, she almost seemed…kind of glad that he was here.

"Hey Liz…" my dad said with a small smile. Then, without warning, he wrapped my mom up in his arms and held on to her. "God I missed you so much…" I heard him whisper, his voice hoarse and weak.

My mom slowly hugged him back. "I missed you too, Gilbert…" she whispered back. Pushing him away from her gently, she got a good look at his face and smirked. "I see you cut yourself shaving his morning," she said with a small laugh. My dad rubbed the back of his neck and smirked.

"Well, you know, not everyone's perfect…" My mom practically beamed at him.

"Roderich, look who's here!" she shouted down the hall to her husband, my stepdad…it was going to be tough getting used to calling him that.

Roderich certainly hadn't been expecting my dad to be standing there. "Oh! Hello Gilbert," he said cautiously.

My dad gave him a once over with his eyes before smirking and pulling Roderich into one of his arms and giving a playful noogie to his hair, laughing all the while. Roderich definitely looked out of place and I smirked at his predicament. My dad eventually let go of my stepdad and punched him playfully in the arm, saying, "You better be taking good care of Liz, pretty boy."

Roderich rubbed the spot on his arm where my dad had punched him. "Yes, well, I'm doing my best…" My dad then looked back at my mom, noticing the slight bulge in her belly. The smile that grew on his face was a soft one.

However, he immediately snapped his attention back to the conversation. "So, Liz, do you think I could…talk to Lovino for a sec? Take him outside for a few moments and stuff?" My mom looked surprised for a second, but then smiled as she nodded.

"Lovino! Sweetie, look who's here!" she shouted towards my bedroom. I finally emerged, slowly walking up towards the happy group by the front door. I was still having trouble trusting my dad after the other day…

"Ve~ Mommy!" Little Feliciano came running down the hall with a drawing of a bowl of fruit in his hands. Damn, it actually looked realistic…crap, why did he have to be born with all the talent, yet no brains? He ran right past me and actually bumped into our dad's legs. Looking up at what he had just run into, he tilted his head as if he was trying to remember who this man was.

My dad smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. "How you doing, squirt?" I noticed a slight shake in my dad's voice…He hadn't been there to see Feliciano grow up. Finally, he turned his attention back to me.

"Hey kiddo… want to go for a walk?"

My dad and I talked for hours. We walked to a nearby park and sat down on the bench which overlooked a small lake with a few ducks in it. He began by telling me exactly how he felt when he failed to rescue that little girl… The image has never left his mind. He felt like a failure, like he was worthless and he hated himself for letting someone so precious die before he could save them. He told me that to lose a kid would be the worst pain a parent could ever have…and he blamed himself for giving that little girl's parents that pain. And, to top it all off, he kept having nightmares that it was really Feliciano and I who had died in that fire. That part I didn't know about.

He explained a lot about his drinking too. He told me it allowed him to forget what happened for at least a few moments, but it never actually fixed anything. He'd rather be drunk and ignorant than sober and aware. It was difficult to keep that feeling of ignorance, however, and so he drank more and more until he became dependent on the stuff.

He was probably still addicted. Just because he hadn't had anything to drink today didn't mean he wouldn't go back. He promised me he would check into an alcoholic anonymous support group once he got back to his apartment.

After that, my dad explained what he had been doing in life. How he got the crappy apartment, how he got fired, how he was desperately in search of a job…and also how much that drawing I had made meant to him.

It was then my turn to talk. I spoke about everything and anything that came to mind. My feelings towards Roderich, who wasn't as much of an ass as I originally thought. I spoke about how I thought mom acted differently and how I wouldn't let her in. I spoke about how I knew nothing about Feliciano despite having lived with him all his life.

It was…refreshing. I felt safe and secure during the entire conversation, and for the first time in a long time, my head was…clear. Actually, truly clear. I had my dad by my side. I had my family close by. And I had myself, who I knew better now that I had gone through all the trials and tribulations that the divorce brought upon me.

That night, I slept soundly.

So yeah, that's the whole story. I wrote everything down, just like Feliciano said. I'll write a short ending to this.

Our family never became…perfect. It still had its flaws. But for the first time in a long time, we were…happy. Actually, truly happy. I found myself with the urge to smile again, and…let's just say I haven't smiled in a long while.

Dad did check into a support group and got a lot of help dealing with his drinking problem. He visits all the time now and has a job at this insurance company, but it's only temporary. He's currently taking classes to get his license to become an EMT for the fire department. The station, after finding out that he got himself clean, promised that once he was qualified, they'd let him back in. It made him really happy.

My mom gave birth to a healthy baby girl, who they've decided to name Andrea, the name of the little girl who died in that fire. She was really cute.

I became slightly closer to Roderich. I didn't mind him as my stepdad anymore. He was an ok guy…still kind of annoying though.

Feliciano was happy that I was happy. It's like he could sense that everything was getting better. I finally met his best friend Ludwig…I don't like the look in that kid's eye, so I'll be watching out for my little brother from now on.

As for me, I think I'm doing pretty ok. High school is a bummer, but my grades have improved and everyone's really proud of me.

Everyone…everyone really cares about me. I can feel it. I know it.

And I care about them.

Signed,

Lovino Vargas

A/N: I really want to thank you guys once again. You're all super amazing and you've made me a very happy author :) I want to apologize for not giving a warning that this chapter would be the last, but by the time it crossed my mind, I had already posted the chapter. This fic was a challenge for me because I was really out of my norm writing these characters, as well as first person POV, but you guys have received it so well and I really want to thank you for that :)

Until next time,

~Smrtypantz