YOUR heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest as the boat flew across the water. But it wasn't due to fear for once. No, this time it was for pure excitement. You were on your way home. And you were about to see Noctis and the others again after three long years. The boat couldn't seem to go fast enough for you. Plus you couldn't help yourself as you let the thrill take over and you screamed out your joy.

"Wooooooooo! Hooooooooooooooo!" You shouted as you couldn't contain your excitement anymore.

Your dad looked over at you and chuckled. He hadn't seen you this excited since you got your cat.

It's great to see her happy again. He thought as he kept the boat at a steady course as it thundered across the water.

He watched for a moment then let out his own shout. "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

You looked at him with a huge grin and shouted again as you raised your hand in the air as you let the excitement flow through you.

"Wooooooooooooooooooo! Hoooooooooooooooo!" You both shouted over the roar of the engine as the vessel raced across the water.

Then you dropped your hand again and gave your dad a huge grin. "Faster dad! We don't want to be late."

Your dad chuckled at you. "It's already Full Ahead Flank, honey. So unless you have rockets to put on this, this is all she's got."

"Sooooooo speaking of the boat." You started as you gave him a sweet glance. "It's okay if I take it out every once in a while, right?"

"Not in your dreams kiddo. You're too young for that." Your dad returned with a slight grin.

"But I'm sixteen now." You added.

"And still to young to try and handle a boat this powerful." Your dad added as his grin dropped.

"But I drove the gondolas hundreds of times." You argued back.

"Yes you have." Your dad said as he acknowledged that fact. "But they only go about 5 miles an hour. This boat can go up to 80 knots, or around 90 miles an hour to you. There's no way I'm going to let you drive this at that speed. Besides, you don't know how to handle it."

"Well, I know someone amazing, who already said that he was going to teach me how to drive." You said in a sweet voice as you tried to charm your dad. "Why not start with the boat?"

"Who said that I was going to teach you?" Your dad teased back.

You looked appalled at your dad. He saw this and tried to hide a slight chuckle at your shocked expression. You saw it and walked up to him and hit him on his arm.

"You promised." You said in a hurt tone as you slapped his upper arm.

Your dad chuckled at you again as he held up his arm as he tried to defend himself from a second hit. "I promised driving lessons in a car. Not in a boat."

"What's the difference? They both have steering wheels and engines." You said in a pouty voice as you dropped your head.

Your dad looked at you and smiled. You always knew how to make him melt. He wrapped his arm around you and kissed you on your head.

"Perhaps I could squeeze in a boating lesson or two in there." He said as he slightly rolled his eyes as he teased you.

Your heart leaped into your throat as you heard his words. You quickly wrapped your arms around his waist in excitement.

"Eeeeeeeeekk!" You slightly shouted as you couldn't contain yourself.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you......!" You repeated as you squeezed him tightly.

Your dad chuckled at you as he squeezed you back. "Don't thank me yet. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to handle you driving a car yet."

You looked up at him and gave him a huge grin before you leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You will handle it fine daddy."

"Yeah....we'll see." He said as he slightly rolled his eyes before he refocused back on the water.

"Your an amazing teacher dad. I'm sure we'll be fine." You sweetly said as you gave your dad a loving look.

Your dad gave you a side glance along with a slight grin.

"You can save the flattery for Noctis." He teased back. "I have had more than my share lately."

"That wasn't flattery dad." You returned as you hugged him tight. "That was the truth."

Paul tutted to himself then slightly squeezed you as his heart warmed with his love for you. He may have lost half of his family, but he wasn't about to lose you. Not at any cost.

That was why it had been so hard for him after losing Lynn. And he couldn't stand the thought of losing you as well. He didn't think that he would be able to live with himself if anything happened to you. Of course that was also probable why he was giving into you way more then he used to.

And even though he trusted you and knew that you could take care of yourself in a fight. He was afraid to have you out of his sight. Especially after what had happened during his absence.

Which was why he had had so many eyes in Altissia. He knew were you were, at all times. But in Insomnia, he was going to have to rely on Noctis and Ignis to keep an eye on you. He took in a raspy breath as this thought lingered in his head, even as the Galdin Quay restaurant came into view.

"There it is!" You shouted as soon as you saw the round dome of the resort.

It was hard to see the pier though, due to the high number of boats that were on the pier. Several people got excited when they saw your boat getting closer. Your dad eased back on the throttle and started scanning the pier for a mooring spot and for anyone looking out of place on the pier. You were back in Lucis after all, where it all went to hell on you.

You started scanning the pier as well, as you tried to find Ignis. You knew that Noctis and Gladio would meet you at the citadel. So you weren't looking for them. Only Ignis and Korn would be waiting for you. The plan was to have lunch at the restaurant so that Korn could explain the plan for getting both of you back into the city safety. Then from there you would ride in with them to the citadel. You were to stay at the citadel for a few days until your dad had a chance to get the house ready again.

Finally you spotted Ignis as he was standing by the light post at the end of the pier. Your mouth fell open as you stared at his much taller and much larger, but trim frame as he scanned every boat as it arrived. Then he looked over and spotted your boat. You couldn't breath for a moment as you stared at his, more handsome than you remembered, face as he locked eyes with you.

Then he looked behind himself. That was when you saw Korn standing behind him. Even he looked a bit older then before with his full peppered beard.

Your dad glanced at you when he saw you frozen in place. Then he followed you gaze to where they were standing.

"Ah." Your dad said. "There they are."

And with that, he slowed the boat down so that it felt like it was sliding smoothly over ice. But you couldn't seem to move as you were transfixed on how gorgeous Ignis looked. He simply stood there in his khaki tan pants and white button up shirt with the top two buttons undone. But he looked much older and stronger then when you had last seen him.

"Wow. I see Korn has had the same issues that I have." Your dad commented as he slowly started to make his approach to the dock.

"What do you mean?" You asked as you finally looked away from Ignis as you gave your dad a confused look.

"Well he's turned out to be quite the handsome young man." Your dad said as he brought the boat against the dock as you watched Ignis walk over to the front of the boat. "I bet all the senior girls are after him."

You stood frozen in place as your dad stopped the engines. Then he went out to toss the mooring lines to Ignis so that he could tie them to the dock. You dropped your head as you became lost in thought for a moment. For you hadn't even thought about that. Ignis was 17 going on 18 now and a senior in high school. He was practically an adult now. You then looked back up towards him as you heard them talking as they tied the boat to the pier.

If this is how much Ignis has changed, what will Noctis be like? Well he even still like me or even want me anymore? You though as you dropped your head again as you nervously stared at the deck.

"Alright, now that that's done." You heard your dad say as he walked back into the bridge area.

He paused when he walked in and saw you staring at the ground. Then he walked up and put his hands on your arms. But you just looked away, as you started to rub your hands. Your dad lifted up your chin with one hand so that he could look in your eyes.

"You alright?" He asked as he searched your face. "You look nervous all of a sudden. Did you see something?"

"No. I'm fine." You quietly said as you shook your head before meeting his gaze.

"Are you sure? You can just tell me if your not. You know that I'm no good at this stuff." Your dad said as he search your face.

You slowly smiled up at him. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous. Ignis has changed quite a bit and it just caught me off guard is all."

Your dad gave you a smile as he ran his hand through your hair as he put it behind your ear. "You have nothing to be nervous about. Change can be a good thing. Look at you for instance, you're now a very strong and resourceful young woman who has survived events that would cause most people to have nightmares for the rest of their lives. But you didn't let those events stop you. Instead you learned from them and became stronger because of them."

"And besides, the only person you really need to worry about is yourself. If they can't see you for who you really are, then they don't know the real you. Because anyone should feel privileged to be close to you." He quietly said in his fatherly tone. "I know I am. And I couldn't be prouder of you."

"Your just saying that because your my dad." You said as you dropped your gaze down.

"No." Your dad said as he tilted your head up so that you had to look at him again. "I'm saying that because it's true."

"And because I'm your dad." He said as he rolled his eyes in a joking matter as he released your chin again.

You slightly giggled at him at you couldn't help the smile that cracked across your face.

"You are the most important thing in the world to me." He continued in a more serious tone as he put his arms around you. "And I don't want you to ever forget that. You hear me?"

"I hear you." You replied as you gave him a hug back.

He smiled back as he held you for a moment. Then he kissed your head before he released you.

"Now come on. I hear the fish is really good here." Your dad said with a smile.

You slightly giggled again at his words.

"Not like we haven't eaten enough fish over the last three years to fill a sea or two." You joked back as you looked down.

Your dad laughed before placing his hand on your shoulder.

"I'll tell you what. I'll buy you a cheeseburger at the first burger joint we see in Insomnia." He replied back to you with a smile.

"That sounds amazing." You replied as you smiled back at him.

"Alright. Now let's debark, shall we." He said as he started to lead you off of the boat. "It's considered rude to keep people waiting."

You smiled at him as you let him lead you out onto the open deck and into the warm summer sun. Ignis felt his breath leave him as he watched you walk out onto the open deck of the boat. He knew that he had to be prepared for a few changes in you that may have taken place since he last saw you. But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw as you walked out.

For as you stepped out into the bright sun, the light made your bare skin glow. And your hair brilliantly shine as a slight breeze caught it and blew it away from your neck. His legs felt like Jell-O as he looked up and down your trim body as it was being caressed by the silky fabric of your dress as it flowed around your bare legs.

He had never seen anyone look more stunning in his life. His heart was racing and his hands started to tingle as they longed to touch your elegant skin. He had thought that you were beautiful before you left. But now he was having a hard time finding the right words to describing the true beauty that stood before him, except perhaps, angelic. Ignis took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves down again as he watched you approaching the edge of the boat. But all he could do was stand there on shaking legs and he watch you.

You nervously looked down at the stairs on the stern of the boat and at the pier itself. But as you looked around, it seemed to be easier to jump off as your dad did before he turned around and looked at you. But since you had on heels, that option was out. So you tried to figure out the most gracefully way to get off. But nothing came to mind.

That was until your dad reached over and grabbed you by your waist and lifted you off of the boat. You slightly jumped as his strong fingers firmly wrapped around your waist while he carefully lifted you off the boat and over to the pier. Ignis could only stand there as he watched your dad set you back on your feet on the pier. Nothing seemed to make his legs respond as he just stood there watching you smile at your dad.

Then you turned and said hello to his uncle. Ignis couldn't get over how much you had changed since he last seen you. You not only got slightly taller, but also a lot more developed and tone. He could see that on your chest and arms as you moved your hair behind your ear as you talked to Korn. Let alone your beautiful legs, even as you stood perfectly still on your heels.

This may prove to be more difficult then I initially thought. Ignis thought as he tried to contain himself.

"Welcome home you two. I'm glad that you were able to make it back safety." Korn was saying as you steadied yourself on the boat dock.

"Thank you." Your dad said with a smile.

"It's good to be back." You replied with a smile.

"Come. We have already reserved a quiet table for us." Korn said in a slightly deeper voice then before. "And we have much to discuss."

"Indeed we do." Paul said then turned to you and Ignis. "Perhaps after lunch we could let these two catch up, while we talk over a few drinks."

"I don't see any harm in it. There's no rush to return today." Korn said as he shook his head. "Besides, Ignis has his license now. So he can drive us back whenever we like."

"Just let me know when your ready to leave." Ignis responded as he finally felt his feet respond as he took a step towards you.

"(Y/n) wants to get hers this year." Paul said to Korn as he looked at you. "I'm not quite sure how I feel about her driving yet."

"You act like it's a death sentence or something." You joked back as you crossed your arms.

"It just might be." Your dad responded with a nervous tone.

"Don't worry." Korn said with a smile as he put a hand on Paul's shoulder.

"We can have Ignis help out with that." Korn replied as Ignis slightly nodded to Paul as he started to relax again at his uncle's words of encouragement. "He has turned out to be an exceptional driver."

"It would be my pleasure." Ignis replied in a confident tone.

Paul slightly nodded with uncertainty.

"But for now," Korn continued as he dropped his hand before he turned and started to make his way back down the pier. "Let's go eat. You two must be starving by now."

"Aye." Paul said before he turned to you and Ignis as he started to follow Korn. "Come along you two."

"Right." You and Ignis simultaneously responded.

Then you both looked at each other and smiled. It seemed that even though you hadn't seen each other in three years, somethings still hadn't changed. Which made you start to relax as you slightly giggled. Then you each turned and started to follow Korn back to the restaurant.

You felt your nerves start to get the best of you though as you walked down the pier with Ignis. Your heart was pounding and your hands were slightly shaking as you felt the uncertainty start to kick in again. That was until you felt a hand grab yours. You looked at your hand to make sure that you weren't losing your mind.

Then when you saw Ignis' hand holding yours. You slightly tightened your grip before you looked up at him. He looked back at you as he raised your hand up to his lips. Then he gently kissed your hand as his eyes locked on yours. Your heart started to pound even more as he lowered your hand and slightly smiled back at you.

"Welcome back, love." He said in accented tone that was much deeper then you remembered.

"Thank you." You replied softly as your skin tingled where his lips had been.

"Keep up you two." You heard your dad say ahead of you.

"Right." You both replied.

Which made both of you slightly laugh. Time hadn't changed everything at least. And for that, you were both very grateful.

After yet another seafood lunch. Which wasn't really bad considering you had been eating fish for what felt like forever now. And as you ate, Korn went over the plan for the next week or so.

For the first night the plan was simple. Ignis would drive everyone to the citadel for dinner and so that you and your dad could get settled. The next day you would get a chance to catch up with everyone else and check on the house. Then over the next few days, everyone would be helping with the preparation for the Founder's Day Celebration.

The celebration was to take place the following weekend. But there were still several things that needed to be taken care of before then. And it sounded like they could really use your dad's assistance with those preparations. He was, after all, thee best security manager, and his expertise was going to be needed for this celebration.

The rest of the citadel was going to help with arranging the decorations and setting up the speakers and display boards for the announcers to use. All of these would be placed throughout the entire downtown and Main Street area. Which was where you and the others would be helping out.

To you, the whole event was actually starting to sound like a lot of fun. There were suppose to be bands playing and vendors selling various products in different areas that lined Main Street. Plus there was going to various activities near the shopping center. And all of it was going to be blocked off from all car traffic to help security control the foot traffic for the celebration.

The whole event would start off with a parade that King Regis and Prince Noctis would be featured in. Then there would be the dedication to the founders, whose statues stood at various locations all across Insomnia. Then the celebration would continue as the bands would start to play until late into the night. At the end of the day, it would conclude with a beautiful fireworks display that was to light up the night ski.

You smiled over at Ignis as your dad started asking more specific questions. Like; where would people be parking? Was there going to be a checkpoint that everyone had to go through first before they were allowed to enter? How many people where they expecting? Did they have guards posted at certain intervals around the downtown area. And so on and so forth.

You didn't really care to hear the details. All you care about was being able to stay as close to Noctis as possible. And since you and the others were assigned to keep an eye on Noctis. That seemed to be the easy part.

"Why don't you two go for a stroll." Paul said as he looked at the two of you after the waitress cleared the dirty dishes. "I need to talk to Korn about a few things."

You gave your dad a curious look as he sat there. He had never sent you away like that before and it made you a bit uneasy. He saw your expression and simply smiled back.

"Don't worry. It's nothing bad." He said as he tried to reassure you with a smile.

"Are you sure?" You asked as you searched his face.

"I'm sure." He said when you didn't move.

Ignis saw his uncle nod to him, so he stood up and held out his hand to you.

"It appears as if we are being dismissed, my dear." Ignis said as he nodded to you. "So let's take our leave for now. We can take a walk along the beach while we catch up if you like?"

You looked up at him and smiled. "That sounds nice."

You then took Ignis' hand as you stood up and said your goodbyes. Then the two of you made your way out of the restaurant and towards the parking lot. Your heels clicked under you as you made your way across the deck, since the whole resort was out away for the waters edge. You smiled at Ignis as he slowly walked beside you. He slightly smiled back at you and simply led you down the walkway.

He was still having a hard time believing that you were right beside him again. Even thought he could see you right beside him and smell your gentle perfume as drifted to him with the slightly ocean breeze. Perhaps talking with you might help him realize that you were really there.

You glanced around a bit as you looked at the people on the beach as they were talking to each other. They looked like they were enjoying themselves for the most part. But you were disappointed that there were quite a few people on the beach. You had hoped to have a quiet chat with Ignis, away from strangers.

Of course you weren't even sure if he even wanted to talk or not. He hadn't really said anything since you first arrived. He had been quite for the most part. Almost distant in fact as he would occasional just stare at you. Which was making you very uncomfortable.

"There looks to be some fish at the end of the pier." He calmly pointed out, as he started to get nervous again. "Would you care to investigate?"

"Sure, let's." You replied as you gave him a curious look. Can he really see those fish from here?

"Should I carry you over so that you don't get your shoes covered in sand?" He asked as you crossed the parking lot as you headed for the stairs that lead down to the beach.

You smiled at him. It seemed that he was still a gentleman to you. Which was very encouraging.

"As exciting as that sounds, I think it would be best if I walked." You returned. "We wouldn't want you to lose your footing now would we?"

"Good point." He said as you watched his eyes darken as he looked at you.

As you approached the stairs that led to the beach and ultimately the pier, you paused for a moment so that you could removed your heels. You really didn't feel like trashing them out just to look as some fish. Ignis paused for a moment as he let you hold onto him so that you could remove your shoes without falling. Then once you had them both off, you carried them in one hand and the two of you headed down the stairs and over to the pier.

He smiled at you as the two of you started to walk across the sand. He couldn't help his heart as it started to pound in his chest as the pier got closer with each step. The sand seemed to help stead his nervous legs as they carried him across the way. Already he could feel a change in the air, as the sea salt smell started to fill his lungs and kiss his face as you both walked up to the pier.

You were glad that you had taken off your shoes before trying to walking across the sand. For the soft warm sand felt great on your feet. Even though you did have to pick up your feet a bit more since you seemed to sink in a bit more than Ignis. But you figured that was because you had less of a flat surface to cover the sand as you moved across it.

You were grateful once you reached the pier since it was much firmer. Plus the warm deck on your feet felt good. The two of you started to walk towards the end of the pier when you spotted a person behind the counter of the shed on the pier.

"Greetings." The vender said with a polite smile. "Could I interest you two in some fishing gear?"

"Not today." Ignis answered as he gave the gentleman a polite nod. "Perhaps another time."

"Next time then." He replied with a smile.

You nodded as you walked past the vendor. You felt a little bad for him since he seemed to be the only one there running the shop. But then again, it was a very small shed. There wasn't any room for another person even if he wanted anther person.

You took a deep breath as the two of you made your way to the end of the pier. The salty air filled your senses and calmed you down as you reached the end of the pier. It reminded you of Altissia and all the time that you and your dad had spent at one of the fishing spots as you talked. The thought made you smile.

He stopped just behind you as you turned more towards the water and closed your eyes. He could see you calming down and relaxing as you stood there for a moment. But watching you didn't have the same affect on him. In fact it had the exact opposite.

Suddenly Ignis' phone started to ring. You both jumped at the noise as it shattered the quiet moment. He quickly looked down as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was Korn.

"Yes sir?" Ignis asked as he quickly answered the phone.

"We have a change of plans. We need to secure their boat at the lighthouse before we can do anything else." Korn said over the phone. "Meet me at the car so that we can drive over and meet them there once they dock the boat."

"Understood." Ignis told Korn then hung up the phone.

You gave him a questioning look as he put his phone back in his pocket. He turned back to you as you turned and faced him. He could see the concern in your face as you looked at him. Which made his heart slightly sink.

"What's wrong? Is my dad okay?" You asked as you gave him a worried look.

Ignis gave you a reassuring look as he gave you a gently smile.

"He's fine." He said as he marveled at how beautiful you looked against the blue sea. "But we need to head to the parking lot."

"For what?" You asked.

"We're going to take your boat over to the lighthouse so that we can secure it at the dock. It's a hidden location that thankfully, only a few people know about. So the boat will be safe there." He said in a calm voice as he tried to bring his heart rate down.

"Oh. I see." You said as you dropped your head as you felt your heart start to pound.

"Not to worry." Ignis said as he watched you. "We'll keep you safe."

You gave him a puzzled look as he stepped forward.

"No one will get you this time." He quietly said as he stood in front of you

"Thank you." You said in a relieved tone as you gave him a relax smile.

"Shall we?" He asked as he directed you towards the beach again.

He then quietly lead you back to the beach. Then the two of you walked back to the parking lot. Once you arrived, you and your dad headed for the boat while Korn and Ignis headed to the car.

******Author Note******

This chapter always reminds me of the time that I got off the plane after my first deployment. My daughter was less then two and was in her stroller. I raced up to her and scoop her in my arms. I was so happy to see her that I didn't realize that I was actually scaring her.

No one tells you these things when you first join. But then again, not everyone is a single parent when they serve. And this isn't something that you think about when you first see everyone. Because al you can think about is holding your loved ones in your arms again.

I am glad to say that she quickly recovered from it all. And the next deployment I didn't do the same thing when I got off of the plane. Even though she still looked at me like I was a stranger. Which is why I'm glad that I no longer have to worry about leaving her anywhere where I can't get to her.

And speaking of leaving, Paul seems to be have some regrets as several memories pop up as you make your way back to Insomnia. But are they bitter sweet memories? Or will he fall into despair as the car heads back.

We shall have to wait and see in the next chapter. Until then...

Thanks for reading. :)

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