𝗞𝗮𝗰𝗶 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 bounced her son on her lap as she fed him some fresh formula milk, Kaz slowly falling to sleep in her arms. She smiled lightly, grateful for the beautiful boy she made. Her life was messy, but the smile on the babyʼs face always made everything she did worth it.

Things were okay. For the first time in so long, things were okay. Rafe Cameron was going to be arrested, the pouges we all together again, and Kaz was happy. There was nobody out there who could hurt them anymore.

JJ sighed and sat on the leg of Kaciʼs chair, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and leaning forward to give her a peck on the lips. He redirected his attention to the excited son on his lap and broke out a huge grin. "What's up, Killer?" he asked with a slight chuckle, the kid being a lot hyper than usual. He brought around his other arm, pressing a freezing cold bottle to Kazʼs cheek, making the baby cringe and giggle. "Want some of Daddyʼs beer?"

"No, he does not," Kaci answered sternly, sending the dad a playful glare. JJ grinned even wider and gave her another kiss.

"Sorry, kid, what Mommy says, goes," he said with an apologetic shrug, rubbing Kazʼs bald-ish head. "He better be a blonde."

"He won't be a blonde," Kaci shut him down. "No Flores has ever been a natural blonde."

JJ shrugged. "Then we'll dye it."

"We're not dying our sonʼs hair, J."

"Why not? He'd look cute with pink rolls."

"When did it go from blonde to pink?" Kaci deadpanned him, shaking her head.

JJ raised his hands in defence. "Just a thought. Chill out, Mama." He looked away, then turned back to her with a cheeky smile, taking a sip of his drink. "He'd rock a red hawk."

Kaci rolled her eyes and playfully hit him.

JJ continued to grin, scooting closer to the two, keeping his arm around the girl. He sighed into the silence and lowered his head to press a kiss to Kaciʼs shoulder. "I missed this," he said quietly. "Us."

Kaci smiled lightly, leaning into his touch. "Yeah, me too." She laughed a little as Kaz started to play with the rings on her fingers, bending his head to lick one, making his mom cringe slightly. "Wow, you really are your daddyʼs trumpet. Dopey little thing — Kaz, please don't eat my fingers, baby."

The blonde boy gasped in mock offence, dramatically putting his hand onto his heart. "Just wait until the famous Kaci Flores anger issues hit him, see whose trumpet he is then," JJ retorted, challenging the girl as he wiggled his brows.

"I do not have anger issues," she argued, gently peeling Kazʼs fingers off her rings before he swallowed one.

"Yeah?" JJ challenged, leaning closer to her, his nose practically touching hers. "Let's ask Kie."

"I apologised for that!"

"Did you?"

Kaci looked down momentarily, taking her time to really think about it. She knew she hadn't formally apologised to Kiara for the head trauma, but she didn't want JJ to be right. So she pulled out her phone.

Knowing exactly what the girl was doing, JJ smirked, turning to Kaz. "Mommy is a sore loser, and can't stand the fact that Daddy is smarter than her," he stated cockily, making Kaz giggle and nod.

Kaci shook her head, shooting Kie a quick text in apology so that JJ was wrong. "Didn't you just offer him beer?" she argued.

JJ just continued to smirk, kissing her on the neck. "You're never too young for your first juice box," he defended, and she rolled her eyes.

Kaz clapped his hands together, watching his parents with complete and total admiration. He liked it like this. The softer moments between his family. The danger was gone, and it was just the three of them now. Forever.

However, those moments were only ever that. Moments.

Kaci furrowed her brows at the uncharacteristic spamming of cyber Pope Heyward. "Hey, look, it's Uncle Einstein," she said, handing Kaz the phone to give to his dad.

Kaz made a few noises into the speaker, which Pope spoke back to with a little humour, and then JJ was handed it, the boyʼs lips sitting into a straight line the second his ear hit the mobile.

"What's up?" Kaci questioned, playing with one of Kazʼs rattle toys that she found oddly satisfying.

JJ met her eyes with a serious look. "It's Heyward."

𖧷

𝗞𝗮𝘇 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 wrapped his arms around his honorary grandpa, seeing the pain in his eyes from the beating he had received. Kaz didn't like to see people sad, and only ever wanted to spread more love. He grinned widely when Heyward patted him on the back, sending the baby a short smile.

A few feet away, Mikel Flores could feel a small burning in his heart. He understood that everybody had considered him the enemy for a long time, and he understood that it was partly his fault for not telling the truth before it was too late, but he couldn't help but think of all the things he missed out on. Watching his children grow up on the sidelines hurt him enough, but he did it because he thought that was the right thing. He missed out on Kaciʼs childhood, on seeing Jordan grow before he died — he blamed himself for Luis. He didn't want the same for Kaz. He wanted to be a good grandparent, even if he could never take back all the years of being a bad father.

But Kaz didn't even know he existed.

JJ noticed the pain in the manʼs eyes as stood beside John B, hand on his shoulder as they listened to Heyward explain the jumping. He wanted to say something, but he knew it wasn't his place to get involved with Mikel and Kaciʼs relationship. He knew that the absence of a father figure really destroyed a lot of Kaciʼs childhood, and it screwed her up a lot more than she'd ever admit. And everybody knew by now that she was good at holding grudges for the littlest things.

The girl in question sat on the fence beside Kie, whilst Sarah helped patch up Heyward, smiling at her nephew as she did so. Kie really appreciated the apology that was sent to her earlier that day, even if it was a year too late, and even if it was only sent for Kaci to prove herself right to JJ. She knew Kaci meant the apology, she just wasn't good at saying things like that out loud. They were friends now anyway, so the past didn't really matter, but it was still nice to have the validation of it.

"Let me know if I'm hurting you," Sarah told Heyward softly as she pressed a band-aid over his head.

"You're doing fine. Thank you, darlin'," Heyward assured the girl kindly, though he still groaned in pain when she pressed it a little. To comfort himself, he squeezed the baby back, who sat on his lap and stared up at the man with so much love and admiration. The way a baby would stare at a grandfather. All the pouges meant the world to Heyward, and he loved them all like they were his own kids.

"Pop, what happened?" Pope asked, eyes wide as he leaned down to look at his dad.

The man shook his head. "Oh, I should've known better," he began, and they all shared a look of sympathy for him. Heyward didn't deserve to be dragged into this mess, he was too good for it. "He came in just as I was about to lock up. Caught me by surprise." He put his arms out, balancing Kaz on his knee, to show the others what the guy did. "Once he had me down, he put his knee in my chest, and he asked me about that...that...that key from that...that drawing you showed me." Heyward pointed at Pope, voice stuttering a little as he grew confused. "And, incase you're wondering, I ain't tell him nothing. Now did you track it down?"

For the first time since she arrived, Kaci glanced at her own dad, seeing his eyes trained on Kaz. She didn't know what it meant. She didn't know if Mikel wanted to train her baby into being a business owner with no heart, or if he actually wanted something from him.

And, in some selfish, hurtful way, Kaci felt envious of it. She and Jordan never had a relationship with their dad, and she always thought she was okay with that. She couldn't miss something she never had. But it hurt her to think that he could be a better grandfather to Kaz than he was as he father to her.

However, she immediately came back to her senses when Sarah squeezed her on the arm, standing on the other side of her and instantly knowing what she was thinking. Kaci wanted the best for Kaz, she wanted him to receive as much love and support as she could get for him, and if that meant she'd have to let Mikel into her life as family rather than a business partner, then so be it. Her baby deserved the world, and she was going to give it to him.

Kaci smiled at Sarah in thanks, which the Cameron swiftly returned. It was funny, really, how their friendship strong remained this strong after everything with their families, and both girls felt guilty for what each of them had to go through. Kaci felt bad for blaming Ward for everything, upsetting Sarah more, when it was Luis all along, and Sarah felt bad for her family being the reason Kaci lost all of hers. But they were sisters. Kaci would be nothing without her blueberries, and Sarah would be nothing without her pineapple.

And the two of them would certainly be lost without their tomato. Kie squeezed their hands, wishing she could take all of their pain and put it on herself. It wasn't fair how much Sarah and Kaci had been through, and she wished she could've done something to help. Things might've started bad in their trio, but they definitely all worked out in the end, thanks to their boys.

Pope sheepishly pulled out the key from his back pocket, handing it to his dad for further inspection. Kaz looked up, his big, beady eyes gleaming at the rusted, gold metal.

"Oh, shit, I've got him," said JJ quickly, moving himself away from John B to lift Kaz off Heywardʼs lap before he tried eating the key.

Kaci turned to him with a glare. "What have we said about swearing in front of him?" she hissed.

JJ went to say something, but then shook his head, deciding against it. "Happy wife, happy life," he muttered, pulling Kaz up onto his waist.

The statement made Mikel chuckle from behind them, Kaci reminding him so much of Marie. He wasn't sure why he was there, exactly, but Heyward invited him over. He'd never actually spent much time on the cut, and he felt a little guilty for all the poverty and mess down there, whilst he lived up in a castle estate, never having to worry about dollars or cents.

"I found it in Mee-mawʼs old apartment above the pharmacy just like you said," explained Pope, taking a seat beside his dad.

"Shit, boy, you should've gave this to me, I wouldn't have had to take a beating," said Heyward, turning key in his hands. "What's the big deal? It ain't worth anything. Why they want it so bad?"

"I don't know," Pope answered honestly with a light shrug. "First, I get this letter telling me that I need to go to Charleston. And then I meet this rich lady who wants me to give her a key that I didn't even know was in my family."

Kie shook her head. "None of it makes any sense."

Kaci nodded in agreement. "It's bullshit."

JJ tapped John B on the shoulder, ears perking up at the sound of her cussing. John B chuckled, shaking his head. Neither one said anything, not wanting to face the wrath of Kaci.

"Well, don't y'all just sit here whining about it," Heyward scolded, pointing a finger at them. "Figure it out!"

"No." Pope shook his head. "I'm just gonna give the key to that lady. I...it's definitely not worth —"

"No, no, no. Did I raise you to back from from a fight, boy?"

"No, sir."

Heyward nodded. "Well, alright," he said softly, and gestured back to the key. "Now, I...I didn't think about it before. I admit that. But now..." He pointed to his head. "Now. I'm interested. Well, did they say why they wanted it?"

"Something about an old cross," Pope told him. "I think it might be some kind of lost treasure."

Mikel furrowed his brows, taking a step forward, his presence powerful as he stood up with perfect posture and a dry cleaned suit with no creases. He didn't fit in in this scene, and he definitely didn't match the others, as they slumped around looking like they hadn't showered in days. Which they hadn't.

"Wait," the Flores man spoke up for the first time, stealing everybodyʼs attention. He locked his eyes on Pope. "Who did you say this woman was, again?"

"Um..." Pope couldn't lie, bad guy or not, Mikel Flores scared the shit out of him. He had a big reputation, and was one of the most powerful men on the island. Plus, he was Kaciʼs dad, and she was scary enough with only half his genes. "Miss Limbrey?"

Mikel nodded, and everybody waited for him to speak again. Kaci pursed her lips, not sure what to do, and JJ kept looking back at her, unsure if they hated Mikel or liked him. His head was practically spinning at this point, so he just focused his attention on Kaz, who was currently trying to wiggle out of his arms to climb onto John B.

"Yes, Carla was friends with Marie," Mikel finally said, and Kaci furrowed her brows, not having any memory of the woman. "They had a fallout just before we had Jordan, but I remember her. She had some disease, she said, and she hated Ward."

Kaci shrugged, trying to find any relevance this had to their previous conversation. "Anything about the key?" she asked, eyebrows slightly raised in sassiness.

Mikel shook his head. "No, not from what I remember, but she was obsessed with some cross."

John B patted the man on his shoulder, feeling his embarrassment, but Mikel shrugged him off.

JJ still had mixed feelings, glancing back to Kaci every so often to read from her. But, as usual, her face didn't say much.

"You know who you should talk to?" Heyward asked, going back to their conversation as he looked up at Pope. He held up the key again. "Your great-grandmother, Mee-maw."

John B nodded towards them. "We gotta get some gas in old Twinkie, but we can go first thing tomorrow," he said, and all the teens started to murmur in agreement.

"Whoo!" JJ whistled, jumping with a burst of energy as he shook a giggling Kaz in his arms. "Road trip!"

"JJ, it's thirty minutes away," Kie told him, shaking her head.

The boy shrugged. "Kaz can't tell the time yet."

"I bet he can tell it better than you," said Kaci as JJ caught up to her, snaking his free arm around her waist.

"Careful, you're going to drop the baby."

"Sorry, Princess, I'm just excited." He kissed her on the temple with a grin.

Before they could leave, Mikel spoke up, pausing the couple and their kid. "Hey, Kaci, Mayb — JJ."

The two turned around, Kaci with her usual neutral look that mirrored Mikelʼs almost identically, and JJ still had no idea if they liked him or not. Kaz didn't know who he was.

"Do you guys want to stay around for dinner?" he offered, not used to asking things like this, not used to being intimate with his family. It wasn't the way he was raised, it wasn't the way he believed the world was supposed to be. But, if this experience taught him anything, if losing his wife and two of his children taught him anything, it was to take care of the people he loved. To show them that they were loved by him. "The hotel's empty for a couple of nights, so the cooks are all ours?"

Kaci turned up to face JJ, who shrugged, never making their decisions for them.

"Maybe another day," said Kaci, voice pretty distant, as she bearly knew the man standing in front of her. "Kaz is due a nap soon."

Mikel seemed to deflate a little at her words, and JJ sent him an apologetic look before walking off to join the others with Kaci, hand still by her waist.

"Just keep working on her," Heyward advised once all the kids were gone. Mikel turned to him with a hopeful expression. "Kaci's a tough cookie, but she cracks around some." He nodded towards the distance, where the girl could be seen laughing and playing a game of slaps with John B.

Mikel nodded. "Thank you."

"Anytime, man — she's a strong kid."

"The strongest."

Authorʼs Note
jj and kaciʼs little moment at the beginning was cute, ig. i feel a lil bad for mikel but his redemption is starting at least. ngl i was supposed to kill him off and give kaci a load of trauma, but i wanted to leave her alone for a little while and work on her personal relationships.
love, tay </3