You don't realize how exhausted you are until you have time to sleep.

She remembered her father saying that after he had finished up Hamilton. The twins were newborns and Lin and Vanessa had just gotten engaged. The family's plan was to jet off to England to live abroad while Lin would film 'Mary Poppins Returns' and Lia was going to get her first taste of online schooling. They had had a week break in between all of the craziness and Lin's parents had surprised the couple with a few days away in the Dominican Republic.

Lia had been insanely jealous at the time that she was left behind with her grandparents as her parents embarked on a tropical vacation. She pictured them living large: drinking endless margaritas, jet skiing, and ultimately living their best lives as a childless couple. She had been shocked when they returned to New York and relayed the details of their trip.

The only time they had left their hotel room was their last day, which they spent on the beach. Beyond that, their days had consisted of catching up on all of the sleep they had been missing out on and an excess of room service meals. When Lia balked at the notion that they had wasted a dream vacation, Lin adamantly disagreed. He had said it had been the most relaxing vacation he had ever taken. Until he had the chance to leave the city where he had been inundated with fame, shows, and the reality of going from a single man to a engaged father of three in less than a year, he hadn't realized how big of a breath he had been holding in. Having a few days to truly refill his cup had been exactly what he had needed.

Lia fully understood the sentiment ever since she had told her parents she wasn't going to go to MIT. For the past three years, it felt as if her life was always about the next step. Having to study for the SAT. Take the SAT. Retake the SAT. Apply to MIT. Get into MIT. She thought once she got through all of that, she could finally relax. She hadn't actually realized the breath she had been holding in until she was able to fully release it. Even without knowing where she was going to school or how others would judge her, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt so relaxed. It also helped that she had been forced to do nothing but sleep the majority of the week.

She, fortunately, had started to feel better after a few days at home. Unfortunately for the Type A student, she had yet to be fever free long enough to convince her parents to let her go back to school. One of the things that had brought her some delight during her quarantine was the extra time she had to talk with Justin. She had been slightly anxious of the thought of talking with him again since their last night together. He had been so open and vulnerable with her, and she still questioned if she had handled it appropriately. But, their daily texts had been a source of entertainment and although they weren't diving into hugely substantive conversations as she was recovering, it was still nice.

"You're lying!" Lia exclaimed into her phone during a mid morning chat. It had been the perfect time as Justin was in between his classes and Lia jumped at the opportunity when he asked. Even the studious teenager couldn't study all hours of the day and she was going a bit stir crazy. Her dad had been working from home, but she could only take so much of him asking her opinion of a key change before going insane.

Justin's voice rang through the speaker of Lia's cell phone as he described the most recent group session and their normally reserved group leader. She heard streamless chatter and the whooshing of the breeze in the background, "Becca was biting her lip so hard to stop from laughing that I thought she was going to need stitches,"

"But why would you think you would get sympathy for cheating on your boyfriend with his best friend and then being pissed when he tells you he isn't going to take you to prom anymore?"

"She already spent over five hundred dollars on a dress,"

Justin's sarcastic wit was something that had attracted Lia to him since day one.

"God, Courtney is such a piece of work," she commented, "And you told me I was being too harsh when I said that time limits should be implemented per person."

"I will say," Justin replied, " Group has been less amusing without your subtle expressions."

Lia rolled her eyes while simultaneously smiling at his sarcastic comment. Lia was often the recipient of a glare from their group leader, which was always concurrent with Justin choking back laughter, as Lia's face spoke volumes throughout their sessions. It was widely known among the group that whenever someone was going on for a particularly long time or complaining about 'first world problems' they could look to Lia for some light entertainment.

"Don't worry," She replied, "Me and my subtlety will be back soon enough," She shook her right foot against her mattress as she felt it start to go numb after staying in the same position for pretty much the entire morning, "How did your econ final go?"

"Alright," He replied without missing a beat. Lia knew one of his favorite subjects was economics and figured he was just being modest , "Now to get through the rest of them."

Lia nodded, although she caught herself once she remembered he couldn't even see her, "Two more, right?"

"Yeah," Justin answered, "And then I'll be home the entire winter break."

Lia could hear the strain in his voice. They hadn't talked about the subject of his family since the night in his room. Justin hadn't brought it up in the few conversations they had had, and Lia wanted to respect his boundaries.

She took a sip of the lukewarm tea that was sitting on her bedside table, "Well, maybe we'll get to see each other a few times to break things up,"

"What? You have to fit me into your schedule, Miranda?" Justin quipped.

Lia couldn't hold back the laugh sitting in her throat, "Besides the obvious holidays that are coming up, I'll be lucky if I get to freely roam the streets of New York before June for graduation,"

"What for?"

"Was I the only one there when I stayed in your dorm until three in the morning and my parents nearly called the police?"

"I remember that well," Justin said with a dry laugh, "But you said everything had worked out, right?"

Lia racked her brain of their conversations from the week, "You mean because I told you they've stayed home and watched movies with me?"

Upon his affirmative answer, Lia chuckled, "That's because they're not sadists who feel bad that I've been sick. I can pretty much guarantee they haven't forgotten about that night,"

"But wouldn't you be grounded already?"

"Ohhh, you have never met the mastermind that is Vanessa Nadal," As Lia spoke, her phone vibrated with an incoming text from her dad. 'You good?'

She spoke back up as Justin prodded on, "My mom figures that if they ground me now, while I'm already stuck at home feeling like shit, it will just be more of a punishment for them who will have to listen to me complain about it all day," Lia quickly texted her dad back with a skull emoji in a dramatic fashion, "If she waits, then my first moments of freedom will be met with the stinging reminder of what an idiot I was."

"Damn..." The last syllable strung along, "That is..."

"Diabolical?"

"I was going to say genius," Lia laughed out loud, although she had to agree. Her mother was a genius - even when it came back to bite her in the ass.

She overheard Justin saying hi to a man's voice in the background before he returned his attention to Lia, "And maybe I could,"

"Could what? Be a genius?" Lia asked in a playful tone.

"Meet your mom. Or, well, your parents."

Lia's mouth gaped open at the offer, grateful this was a phone call and not a facetime. She hadn't expected that response at all, "Uhh... why?"

"A. it is half my fault that you were out all night and I think I should apologize to them in person," he said, "and B. they seem like pretty cool people."

'What do you want to eat?' She received another text from her aforementioned father, as she responded to Justin's comment, "I promise I'm not lying to get out of this conversation, but my dad is texting me about food which means he's probably on a break. Can we talk more later?"

"Sure," Justin replied, "Eat something, Lia. Feel better."

Lia cringed at the dopey smile he always seemed to make appear on her face, "Thanks. Have fun studying,"

"I won't!"

They hung up and Lia was left with nothing but her thoughts. The idea of Justin meeting her parents... wow. One of the first times Ayden had come over to their apartment, the night ended with her mom in labor with the twins. Although she knew that Justin offering presumably meant that he wanted things to progress with Lia, she didn't know what that actually looked like. She still had no idea where she'd be in the Fall, not to mention the elephant in the room that they would eventually find out. How do you politely say, 'Hey mom and dad. Here is this guy that I really like who also happened to indirectly cause his sister's death. Can you pass the salt?" Her parents were the least judgmental people she knew but even they had their limits.

She rolled off her bed, feeling slightly woozy as she slipped on her slippers. It was probably time for her to take her next round of meds after she tried to swallow down some food..

She roamed the apartment, confused when she didn't spot her dad in the kitchen. She heard a faint sound of a piano playing that grew louder as she reached her dad's closed office door. He was probably playing around with a new song that he was stuck on.

"Well, it's been nearly twenty-four hours since I last threw up and if I see another bowl of soup I will probably end that streak," Lia announced as she opened the door to her dad's office, only to realize rather quickly that Lin wasn't alone.

Lin held a tight, closed lip smile of sympathy for his eldest as he turned around from his piano bench. "Hi honey."
"Hey Lia," Tommy Kail, one of her father's long-time collaborators and best friends, spoke up on the zoom conference her dad was in, also joined by Alex Lacamoire in another zoom box. Lin's box included the teenage girl who hadn't looked at a mirror in days, which was clearly shown, dressed in an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants, and a beet red face after reporting the embarrassing state of her stomach. "How are you feeling?"

The extremely mortified teenager stood still as she processed while being well aware that she was still in the same embarrassing position - emphasized by the three sets of eyes still staring back at her disheveled state.

"You didn't tell me that you were still working," She whispered through gritted teeth towards her dad.

Lin furrowed in his eyebrows, "I asked you what you wanted to eat,"

Lia seethed, "Why would you text me that when you're still working?!"

"Because... I'm a good dad?" Lin offered cautiously, with an apologetic smile. "I figured you were hungry by now,"

"You could have told me you were busy!"

"Lia, if it helps," Alex interrupted the father daughter standoff, reminding both that they still weren't alone, "I was with your dad when he was throwing up in some random person's bushes after getting drunk at a Heights cast party."

Lia, shook her head in spite of herself, as the murmurs of laughter started at the awkward but funny situation. If she wasn't on the other end of it, she knew she'd be joining in.

"So, really Lia," Tommy repeated, "How are you actually feeling sickness wise?"

"Alright." She let out a loud sigh as she sat next to her dad on the piano bench, undoing the monstrosity that was on top of her head and quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "I'm at least on the other side of it all. What were you all working on?"

"We were talking about Fosse/Verdon stuff and I was getting their opinion on one of the new Disney songs I was working on," Lin said, "We were actually getting to a good stopping point. Guys, if you don't mind, I'm going to get off and hang with this one for the day,"

"No problem, man," Alex spoke up, "I'll text you once I hear back on the edits. Feel better Lia!"

Tommy expressed the same sentiments before Lin exited it out of the zoom and closed his laptop. After a few moments of silence, Lin bursted out in laughter.

"Shut up!" Lia squeaked out, lightly slapping her dad's arm as she buried her face in her hands at her mortification. Lin wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her in close.

"Mi niña, mi pequeña," Lin laid a kiss on his daughter's head, "It could have been worse,"

"How?"

"You could have walked in when I was doing a live broadcast on Twitter,"

Lia let out an audible groan over the soft laughter of her father at the comparison. She'd knew she'd be fine. It was just another embarrassing memory to add to her list.

"Come on, kid," Lin stretched out his knees as she stood up from the piano bench, offering a hand to Lia, "Let's find you something to eat. And it definitely won't be soup."

Lia begrudgingly took her dad's hand, laughing shamelessly at the unfolding of events. Things were never dull in their household.

___

"And then Mrs. Santos said that's why you should always wash your hands," Stella finished a long-winded story over Facetime later that evening, regaling the group with an incident that included what was thought to be brownies but was actually dog poop.

"Well I'm glad you did," Lin told his youngest daughter, his wife sitting next to him as Lia ate some toast at the dining room table.

"I didn't see the dog that pooped it but it must have been a big dog, because the poop was HUGE!" she told him.

"I'm eating!" Lia called from the table.

"Lia!" Stella called out, missing her older sister.  Lin tilted the iPad towards Lia and she waved from the table. 

"Hey, Stel," she called out after chewing.  "I miss you!"

"I miss you too," she told her big sister.

"Wait, I wanna see Lia!" Sebastian called out from nearby.  Lia walked over, keeping her distance, and smiled for her brother.  It was rare that she was away from her siblings, and she realized how much she was going to miss them next year.  A couple days away from them and her heart was aching.  How would she stand to be miles away from them for months at a time?

"Lia, look what I made!" Sebastian excitedly reached for a Play-Doh creation he'd made earlier with his abuela.  "It's Batman!"

"So it is!" She told him, acting impressed.  It was very obvious that Sebastian had received the creative Miranda genes.  He was constantly creating things, whether it was with clay, singing, or putting on a show.  Stella seemed like she was going to be a strong-willed woman like her mother when she grew up.  She already knew how to sway people to get her way.

"Mommy, when do we get to come home?" Sebastian asked, melancholy.  It was hard to be away from home as a toddler, even though they'd stayed with their grandparents many times.

"A couple more days, sweetheart," Vanessa told him.  "Lia's feeling a bit better but we don't want you to catch her germs."

"But what if you catch her germs?" he wondered.

"Well, it's mommy's and daddy's jobs to take care of our children, even if they're sick," she explained.

"Okay," he said, looking disappointed. 

"It's time for dinner!" Luis announced from the kitchen.  Stella and Sebastian said goodbye reluctantly and Lin tossed the iPad on an open couch cushion.

"It's so quiet without them," he observed out loud.  Vanessa laid her head against his chest as he stroked her hair.  As parents, they sometimes wished for peace and quiet but without the constant voices and giggles it got almost too quiet.

Lia walked around the couch and found a spot on the single chair, examining her chewed-to-hell fingernails.  She really did need to find better ways of dealing with her anxiety.

"So, I was wondering," she began, causing her parents to look over at her.  "After I feel better...could I maybe invite Justin over for dinner?  He'd really like to meet you both.  And the twins."

Lin and Vanessa looked at each other.  So far, Justin's presence in their daughter's life had been a bit shaky.  All they knew of him was that Lia had met him at therapy and that she'd stayed way too late at his house.

"Uhh...sure," Vanessa chimed in.  "I'd like to meet him too."

Lia could sense they were a bit wary.  "I promise he's a really good guy," she told them.  "He's just going through some stuff like me.  And we got carried away the other night."

"Carried away?" Lin asked.

"Nothing happened, Dad," she groaned at him, not wanting to field those sort of questions.  "We were just talking."

"Uh-huh," he said suspiciously.  Lia rolled her eyes.

"Mom!" Lia sought her mother's help.  Vanessa patted her husband on the knee, remembering the discomfort of explaining her relationship with Lin to her own father.

"When you feel better we'll invite him over," she confirmed.  "But you need to put a pause on visits to his dorm.  It's not appropriate."

"Mom," she said, slightly exasperated.  "I'll be in college in a few months.  I should be able to go where I want."

"But you're not yet," Vanessa reminded her, standing up to go to the kitchen.  "You're still in high school and you're only seventeen."

Lia felt the urge to argue further, but thought better of it.  They hadn't officially grounded her yet, so she knew she needed to tread lightly.  If this relationship with Justin really was going somewhere, waiting a few months wasn't a big deal.  She needed to take baby steps with her parents.

Lia bit her tongue.  "Okay," she agreed reluctantly, standing up.  She'd been feeling better that day, but she was reminded that she was still recovering as a wave of tiredness came over her.  She stretched and yawned.  "I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

"Okay, sweetheart," Lin told her.  "Have a good rest."

___

Normally Lia loved storytime in Mrs. Garcia's first grade class.  Today, though, she couldn't keep her mind on the story.  Her tummy hurt.  Not her tummy, exactly.  Lia wasn't quite sure what was ailing her little body, but once again she slumped down on the carpet, feeling the need to lay down.

Her teacher, confused by her normally angelic student's slouching, looked at Emilia Nadal Miranda.  "Lia?" She called out gently.  "Sit up please."

Dutifully, Lia straightened herself, sitting criss cross applesauce just like her classmates.  Mrs. Garcia continued on about the adventures of Knuffle Bunny, a story she loved.  Her daddy had read it to her countless times and he always did the best voices.

Only minutes later, Lia felt the aching return and once again she laid down on the floor.

"Okay, students," Mrs. Garcia ended the story.  "Return to your seats and get out your Writer's Notebook and a pencil."

The students began to move but Lia was sluggish.  She knelt down next to the child, putting a hand on her shoulder.  "Lia, are you feeling alright?"

"My tummy hurts," she complained, rubbing at her belly, off to the side.  Lia was never one to complain unless something was really wrong.

"I'm sorry," she sympathized.  "Do you feel like throwing up?"

Lia shook her head no and whimpered a bit.  Mrs. Garcia felt her forehead and she didn't feel warm.  She had barely eaten her lunch.  "Well, let's have you visit the nurse and see if you feel better after laying down."

Mrs. Garcia helped her up and asked another student, Joey, to help walk her to the nurse.

Hunter Elementary's nurse, Mrs. Jones, had only seen Lia one other time, when she'd thrown up all over the floor in kindergarten.  As the first grader came in, she could tell something was bothering her.  She guided her to lay down on the nurse's bed and got out the thermometer.

After finding no temperature and hearing from Lia that her tummy hurt, Mrs. Jones gently pressed on areas of her tummy.  One area in particular on the lower right seemed sensitive.  Lia seemed to be in more pain that she'd expect for a simple tummy ache.

"I'm going to call your mom," Mrs. Jones told her.  "I think you might need to see the doctor."

She called her mother, Vanessa Nadal, and the phone went straight to voicemail.  Checking her records, she found her father's name and phone number.  She took in a breath and let it out.  His musical, In the Heights, was one of the most talked about topics for Hunter faculty. An alumni student making it to Broadway?  Everything she'd heard about him indicated he was about the nicest guy ever, but it was still a bit intimidating to call him up.

Seeing the caller ID from Lia's school, Lin excused himself from his meeting and answered immediately.

"Hi, this is Lin," he answered.

There was a slight pause before a female voice answered, "Hi Mr. Miranda," she began.  "This is Melissa Jones, the school nurse at Hunter.  I tried her mother, but she didn't answer.  I know you're probably busy."

"It's no problem," he assured her.   "What's going on?"

Mrs. Jones explained the situation, telling the now worried father that she believed Lia needed to be checked out by a doctor.  The symptoms were pointing towards appendicitis. 

"I'll be right there," he told the nurse.  His colleagues knew if his kid ever needed him, she would always trump whatever was going on.  Lin was out like a flash, catching the A uptown to Lia's school.

When he arrived, Lia was asleep on the nurse's bed, a blanket over her.  After a brief conversation with Mrs. Jones, Lin knelt down next to the bed and gently began stroking her hair.

"Lia?  Sweetheart?" He called to her gently.  Her forehead wrinkled in pain as she woke up and opened her eyes.  Lin's heart broke as she began to cry and whimper.

Lia was in pain but relieved to see her daddy.  It was okay now that he was here.

"Daddy," she croaked out as she reached her arms up for him.  Lin leaned down and carefully hugged her, not wanting to cause her any pain.  "It hurts."

"I'm sorry, baby," he said gently.  "We're gonna go to the doctor and find out why and get you some medicine, okay?"

"Okay," she whimpered as he helped her sit up.  Lin carefully picked her up in his arms, cradling her to him.  As a parent, there was nothing more terrifying than your child being hurt.  He didn't know what was wrong or how to help her.  He couldn't fix it.  The only thing he could do was hold her and get her to a doctor quickly.

At the doctor's office, Lia stayed glued to her father's lap.  Any time he tried to transfer her to the exam table, she clung to him and began to cry.  When the doctor ordered an X-ray, it took a fair amount of coaxing and promises of ice cream to let go long enough to lay for the picture.

When Vanessa was finally able to arrive an hour or so later, she was asleep again in his lap.  The doctor had ordered emergency surgery to remove her appendix, which was in danger of bursting.  The thought of their child going under anesthesia and being cut with a knife was terrifying to the young parents.  They didn't want to transfer their terror to Lia, so they gently explained that she was getting some special medicine to go to sleep for a while.

Lin was barely able to hold it together as he held Lia's hand while the anesthesia was administered by IV.  After one last kiss to her forehead, Vanessa and Lin shakily walked to the waiting room.  They were assured this was routine.  The doctor had performed over a thousand of these surgeries.  Lia was young and healthy.

Lia was groggy.  She could tell she was waking up, but her body was fighting it.

"Lia," her father's voice gently called to her.  Her eyes fluttered open to see her dad smiling down at her.  She squinted her eyes, realizing it was now.  She was seventeen years old and at home, recovering from the flu.

She looked at him for several seconds before a tear fell from her eye.  Seeing it, Lin gently wiped it away with his thumb.  "Hey, what's wrong?"

Lia bit her lip and felt an ache in her throat.  She was lucky enough to have her father in her life now.  Lucky enough to have someone so caring and loving as a dad.  Back when she was six years old, sick at school with what turned out to be appendicitis, she'd needed that man.

"Couldn't you feel it?" She asked him, her voice raspy from sleep.

Lin narrowed his eyes.  "Feel what?"

"Me?" She whimpered.  "Couldn't you feel that I existed?"

Confused as to where this was coming from, Lin gently rubbed her arm.  "You mean when you were little?"

She nodded.

"I'd always hoped I'd have a daughter like you someday," he answered.

"I needed you," she told him softly.  "I had a dream.  That you were there when I got my appendix out.  I needed you."

"I wish I could've been there," he told her, meaning it.  He wished he'd been there for so many things.  So many moments, joyful and difficult.  Moments he was meant to be there.

"How did you forgive Mom?" She asked bluntly.

Lin took in a breath and let it out.  "She was young and in a very difficult situation," he explained.  "I can't judge her for that."

Lia found Lin's hand and linked them together.  "I wish you'd been there."

"Me too." Lin leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I still remember that day perfectly. When mom told me."

"It was after we got in the wreck, right?" Lia had been told very little about the conversation that had forever changed her life.

Lin nodded, sliding himself onto her mattress. This conversation was going to take a lot longer than his knees could handle, "You were in the back resting, and I was out front waiting for your mom. I was terrified to see her. I hadn't seen V for over fifteen years and then I land her kid with a broken arm and concussion?"

"But that wasn't your fault," Lia interrupted him as she recalled the details from that day three years earlier, "It's not, like, you were driving drunk or speeding,"

"You were still hurt," Lin stated plainly. He'd never get the image of an unconscious Lia covered in blood sprawled in his car, "And I was the adult who was driving. The look on Vanessa's face when she came through the doors... I had never felt worse."

"Take this." Lin snapped open the packet of medicine he had brought in, "Mom and I are going back and forth with each other in the waiting room. I start crying, which only pisses her off more," Lin let out a dry laugh as he could clearly see the memory play out in his mind. It felt like a lifetime ago and as if it only happened yesterday.

"She's yours," The crack in Lin's voice was enough to make Lia's welled up eyes spill over, "I was getting praise from everywhere about my way with words and, even still, nothing could have prepared me for the way two small words would end up changing my entire life."

"Were you mad?"

"Yeah," Lin didn't miss a beat as he answered honestly. Lia deserved the full truth, "I was really mad. And hurt. I had never felt more betrayed in my entire life."

Lia's grasp around Lin's hand got tighter. It wasn't often that she had the chance to comfort him. "How'd you get past it?"

Looking at his daughter laying in her bed sick, not that far removed from the fourteen year old in a hospital bed. It was deja vu, in a weird way. "I saw how quickly the love I had for you took over. In literal seconds, you went from my high school girlfriend's daughter to mine and I would have done anything for you. I didn't know a love like that could exist. I knew that your mom felt the same way."

Lia stayed quiet while she processed her father's words.

"Do you remember when we were still in Wales? And Seb had to get stitches?"

"How could I forget?" Lia muttered out a response.

Lin continued on, "And you didn't sleep the entire night because you felt so guilty that he had gotten hurt when you were watching him? Even though it was an honest accident."

Lia's eyes narrowed in on her dad as she sensed where the conversation was headed.

"You felt that way because you love him and because you're the best big sister in the entire world," he smirked as he saw the completely expected eye roll from his sick teenager, "You felt a responsibility to keep him safe. Now, multiply that by a thousand and that's maybe a percentage of what it feels like as a parent."

Lia's eyes were directed at the setting sun over the GWB bridge. Having lived in Brooklyn most of her life, she never had a specific affinity towards the landmark. Over the past few years, just the view had become a safe haven.

"Your mom has always done whatever she thought was the best thing for you," Lin continued, "Whether we would have made the decision ... your mom was barely an adult when she had you. I can't imagine how scared she was to not only choose to be a mother, but choose to do it alone."

Lia pushed herself up in her bed, a deep sigh turned into a yawn escaped her. It was hard to picture her mom as someone who was scared. It was more than likely the veil of parental perfection still over her eyes, but also because Vanessa was a pragmatic person. "She still had a choice." she responded solemnly.

Lin offered a small smile to his stubborn daughter, but the slight shake of his head told a different story, "She thought you not knowing me was better than the possibility that you would know me but not have me. And looking back at who I was, I don't blame her." His mind transported him back to the young kid with Broadway on the brain. The kid who lost out on the best thing that had happened to him because of his goals. And almost missed out on a lot more. "I was selfish. Self-centered. I was a shitty boyfriend, mija."

Lin wiped away the tears from his daughter's cheeks, "Being a dad to you and the twins is single handedly the greatest thing about my life. And I'm really grateful that your mom gave me a second chance."

He handed her the glass of water he'd brought.  Lia sat up and gratefully took it.  "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a semi," she admitted, her body aches mirroring her emotional state.

"How about a bubble bath?" he suggested.

Lia nodded and her face brightened up a bit.  Lin stood up and headed to the hallway bathroom to draw her a bath.  After he'd left, Lia slouched in her bed and rubbed a hand over her tired face.  She could hear her dad singing as he prepared her bath, like she was still a kid.  She smiled and closed her eyes.  It was amazing to her that her dad didn't outright resent her mother.  Heck, he'd forgiven her so much that he'd married her.

Three years.  That was all the time she'd had with her father and that would have to be enough.  All the missed bedtimes, piggyback rides and trips to the ice cream store had to be let go.  If she dwelled on all that she'd turn into a bitter, miserable person.  She had now.

Lia realized the little time she did have with him was quickly coming to an end.  In a few months, she'd be off at college and then she'd soon be an adult, living her own life.  Never again would her father be part of her life every single day.  Just a few months and it would all be over.  The sorrow of it hit her for the first time.  She'd been so focused on the next step and making the right choice that she hadn't been treasuring her time at home with her parents.  Most kids her age were anxious to get away from home.  In a way, she was too.  Being able to spend more time with Justin, or another guy of her choice, would certainly be refreshing.  But they'd never be a family like this again.

Lia sighed and pushed herself out of bed.  She found some fresh underwear and pajamas and walked towards the bathroom.  Her dad was still singing as he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Bubbles await you, mija," he called to her.  Lia smiled and stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm going to miss you, Dad," she told him honestly.

Lin could sense his kid's thoughts and emotions were all over the place today.  As the father of a teenager, he was grateful they had a good enough relationship that she still wanted to hug him and be around him.  He hugged her back tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Love you, kiddo," he told her.

They parted and Lin began to walk away before he heard Lia call out to him.  He turned around and looked at her, a mischievous grin on her face.

"In my dream, you promised me ice cream," she told him.  "Are you paying up?"

Lin chuckled, tucking his hands in his pockets.  "Siempre, mija.  When you're all better, it's a date."