YOU bit into the burger and seemed to be in heaven. As the combination of meat, cheese, bread, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and lettuce danced across your taste buds. You closed your eyes as you enjoyed the flavor. You had forgotten how good these tasted. Ignis watched you hum your delight.

"You seem to be enjoying your burger." Ignis commented as he slightly smiled at you.

He couldn't help but to enjoy watching you savor each bite as he ate a fry.

"You try living off of nothing but fish for three years." You said before you took another bite.

Ignis gave you a strange look. "Only fish? Really?"

Paul started laughing before he ate a fry. "It wasn't all fish."

You gave him a stern look as you chewed.

"I mean sure, we had it a lot." He added as he grabbed another fry.

You paused as you cocked your head at him.

"But it wasn't every single night. We tried to have something else every chance we got." He continued as he was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Uuuuuugh." You groaned after you finally swallowed your food. "What my father is neglecting to say, is that in Altissia, fish is the primary source of food due to the locality. There isn't exactly a lot of open fields there that can be used to raise animals. So to be able to eat anything other than fish is kind of a luxury and can be quite pricey. Sure they may have had the monster fights every night. But there was never any guarantee that you would get any good meat from the animals that died after the fights were done. Most of the time the meat was tainted or poisoned. So they would use it to hunt or fish with instead."

"You know I never even thought about that before." Korn said as he watched you take another bite. "You have learned quite a bit while you have been gone."

"That she has." Paul chimed in. "In fact, she even memorized every street in Altissia like the back of her hand. I think she even knows every vender."

"Not quite every vendor." You corrected.

"Some of them never did trust me because I wasn't 'born' there." You said as you did quotes marks in the air for emphasis.

"You memorized all of those streets?" Korn asked as he looked at you.

"Believe it to not, there aren't really that many to memorize. Plus its kind of like Insomnia, in the way, since the whole city is broken up into sections. All I did was learn each section separately then just put them together like a jigsaw puzzle." You explained then ate a few fries. "Holy shit, even these taste better."

"Hey, language." Your dad said sternly to you.

"What?" You asked as you ate a few more.

Paul just shook his head as he decided to drop it before it went down hill. "So after we're done here we'll head to the grocery store so that we can get the food and cleaning supplies that we'll need. Then I'll start calling the utility companies once we get back to the house so that we can get everything turned back on hopefully today and tomorrow. I want to have us in the house well before the celebration starts."

"Don't you think that that might be pushing it a bit?" You asked as you ate a few more fries.

"No." Your dad answered.

Then he gave you a direct stare. "We have been out of our home long enough. It's time to go back for good."

"I want to be home just as much as you. But I'm worried about you pushing yourself too far." You added before you took a drink as you gave him a concerned look.

"I'm fine." He answered back firmly without meeting your gaze. "Just let me handle things, alright? I am the parent here."

"You may be the parent, but your also a person." You returned as you stopped eating for a moment as you search his face. "If you push yourself too far, you'll collapse just like anyone else."

"It's not for you to decide when I should stop!" He sternly answered as he gave you a stern look.

"I never said that I was deciding for you!" You glared back.

"I just don't want to see my dad destroy himself as he works himself to death instead of taking care of himself!" You ended with force.

"That's my choice!" He shouted back, which made a few heads turn in the restaurant.

You dropped your head in frustration. His tone told you that nothing you said was getting through to him. But you knew that if he kept going the way he was, he would be so far gone that you would never get him back again. He would be more wrapped up in work then ever and he would further push away the only family either of you had left. Suddenly the burger and fries didn't look so good anymore.

"I'm not hungry anymore." You said as you put your burger back down.

"I'll be waiting by the car." You said as you stood up and wrapped up your half eaten food in the burger wrapper.

Then you walked away with your half eaten lunch and threw it in the trash can by the door. Then you shoved the door open and walked outside. Ignis stood up and wrapped up his own food as he gave your dad a hard look. Korn gave Ignis a concerned look.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Ignis said flat tone as he left the table.

Ignis gave Paul a disappointed look as he walked away.

Korn then turned to Paul and sighed. "She's only worried about you, you know."

Paul dropped his head. "I know. It's just....."

"That's not how it's supposed to be. It's not her responsibility to be worried about things like that." He quietly said as absently ate a fry.

"She wouldn't be worried if you would let her know what's going on. You might be surprised at how much that will help the two of you" Korn said as he searched Paul's face. "And it wouldn't hurt if you started taking better care of yourself. It might even help you to pay more attention to those around you."

"I don't see how that would help." Paul absently said as he stared blankly at the table.

"And besides, what does that have to do with anything?" Paul asked as he glanced at Korn.

"When was the last time that you sleep a full eight hours in one night?!" Korn asked as he could see the bags under Paul's eyes.

"I............I don't know." Paul answered as he looked down at his food. "Perhaps last night."

"Really? Because the royal staff told me a different story. They mentioned to me this morning that they saw your light on well after midnight. That was two hours after I left last night." Korn returned as he sat back and crossed his arms as he gave Paul a stern look. "Of course they also told me that (y/n) hadn't done much better than you. Which is odd for her, since she use to sleep through the night when she stayed at the citadel before."

"So your spying on us now?' Your dad asked before he gave Korn a side glance.

"Hardly. But I am worried about both of you." Korn said as he gave him a concerned look. "And right now I need you at your best. And your not at your best when your this tired."

Paul dropped his head because he knew that was true. He hadn't been getting much sleep. And the sleep that he had gotten was mainly due to pure exhaustion taking over. But that seemed to be the only way he could sleep. Because every time he tried to get a normal night's rest, he would be plagued with nightmares that would wake him up in a pool of sweat. It was only if he passed out that he was able to get any sleep at all.

And there had been multiple nights he had noticed that your light was still on as well. He had thought at first that you had been staying up late to work on projects for school. But then when he had peek through the door a few times. He saw you just sitting on the balcony looking out over Altissia. He had even seen you there again last night as you looked out over the garden when you were talking to Noctis. Which was due to him sitting quietly on his own balcony in the dark.

Of course he also knew that you had left your room last night as well. In fact he had heard your door and the conversation in Noctis' room through the open balcony door. Which was when he had decided to interrupt the two of you. But even after that, he couldn't sleep. So he sat up reading some of the plans for the celebration.

"Don't you see?" Korn continued. "She's getting those vibes from you. So not only are you hurting yourself, your hurting your daughter as well."

Paul sat there for a few moments as his heart sank with the words. He hadn't really thought about how his behavior might affect you. He simply had been to consumed in his own grief. But now that he thought about it. He realized that your reactions were showing him that he had started to close himself off again. And that had not been his intention.

He had done that once before in Altissia. But that time, Camelia had forced him to take some time off to spend some quality time with you. That was when he had gotten to know the beautiful young woman that had taken over for his little girl. He smiled to himself as he thought about the relaxing mid-day lunches and lazy afternoon conversations while the two of you fished. Then there was the long walks as you both talked as you tried to better understand each other. He had learned more about you then he had ever expected to.

"It seems as if (y/n) isn't the only one who received lessons from Camelia. Perhaps I should use them." Paul said as he dropped his gaze as he took a long drink.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

You were sitting on the curb staring at the car as if willing for it to take you somewhere other than there, when Ignis came walking up. "Hey."

"Hey." You said as you gave him a quick glance.

"You could have finished eating you know." You said as you dropped your gaze.

As soon as you heard him, you knew for a fact that he had just thrown his food away like you had. Which certainly didn't make you feel better.

"And just how am I suppose to eat, when I know that your not?" He asked as he sat down beside you.

"But aren't you hungry?" You asked as you looked at him.

"Perhaps." He replied as he gave you a slight smile. "But I can always make us up something when we get back."

You smiled at him then dropped your head. Then you brought your legs up to your chest as you wrapped your arms around your legs. You hated the idea that he had thrown away his food, just to check on you. But at the same time it was a sweet gesture. Which of course made you feel guilty for your reaction to your dad.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." You said as you stared at the ground in front of you. "He just makes me so mad sometimes."

"I can understand your frustration." He said as he looked at the ground too.

"My uncle and I have had a few rough patches ourselves after my dad died." Ignis added in a low tone.

"And I can't say that we always agree and get along." Ignis continued before he looked back at you. "But we have learned to meet on common ground."

"Besides it's only natural to be upset when your concerned about someone. But arguing with them isn't going to get you anywhere." He continued as he watched you.

"I know." You quietly said as you leaned against knees.

"Just give him time." Ignis quietly said as he tried to comfort you. "He'll come around soon enough. Just give him time and patience."

"I know. And I have." You quietly returned.

"Three years worth of time and patience." You said as you dropped your eyes. "But I don't know if he'll ever be the same. I've waited and supported him. I've done everything that I can think of to try and help out. But it just doesn't seem to be enough. I don't know what else to do. I had missed him so much for so long. I couldn't wait to get him back.

"But the man that I got out of Gralea, that wasn't who I knew anymore. His old self wasn't as distant and he didn't try to push me away all the time. I just wish we could go back in time. And go back to the way things were. In fact it doesn't have to be the exact same. I know I'm not the same. But I just.........." You started to say before you had to pause and take a raspy breath as a tear rolled down your cheek.

"I just want my dad back, you know." You said as you looked at Ignis.

Right as you did, you heard someone come to a stop behind you. You turned around and looked up. You saw your dad standing there with his mouth slightly open like he was going to say something. But you quickly looked away from him and stood back up. Then you quietly walked to the other side of the car so that you could get in before he could say anything.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the afternoon was quiet between you and your dad. The group split up in the grocery store so that the shopping would be faster. You and Ignis started in the produce department. While your dad and Korn headed for the freezer section. Then you met in the middle by the canned goods before heading to the cashier.

Then the group split again after the groceries were brought in. Your dad headed up to his study so that he could call the utility companies. While the rest of you stayed in the kitchen and started clearing out each cupboard before cleaning and reorganizing each one. It wasn't until you were almost done, that Korn went up to check on your dad. Leaving you and Ignis alone to finished up in the kitchen.

Paul heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." He called as he set down the picture that he had been looking at for the past five minutes.

Korn walked in and found Paul sitting behind his solid oak desk with a stack of bills in front of him. They looked like some of the old bills since they were already marked as paid. He also noticed a notepad that had some prices written on it. He figured it must be the current prices for each one.

"Finished already?" Paul asked as he met Korn eyes.

"I left them to finish. And at the rate their going, they should be done in about half an hour or so." Korn stated as he looked at Paul.

"Sounds good." Paul said as he absently nodded his approval as he became lost in thought about the issues that he had been facing on his side.

"Any luck with the utility companies?" Korn asked as he could see the frustration on Paul's face.

"The water, sewer, and trash are done." He said as he pointed to the prices on the sheet. "I was even able to get the electricity turned back over to me again. So their done for the most part. But I'm still having issues with the internet, cable and phones. They don't seemed to be as user friendly as they use to be."

Korn chuckled at his comment.

"Well you've made more progress than most." He said as he sat down on the couch that sat up against the wall. "I'm impressed that you got it down to just those three. Perhaps you could try them again tomorrow."

"Oh, I got a hold of them today." Paul interjected. "The problem is that they can't come out until Friday and today is Sunday. I was hoping to be back in the house completely by Wednesday."

"You could still be here on Wednesday." Korn answered as he looked at Paul. "But your going to be very bored. Unless you just watch movies every night."

Paul smiled as he remembered doing just that with you at estate in Altissia. "That's not a bad idea. But that would be a lot of movies."

"What about your office at work? Do they have you set up there yet?" Korn asked as he watched Paul.

"They have to recreate all of my accounts and reactivate my security clearance again." Paul said as he sat back with an exasperated sigh. "They told me that it could take up to two weeks to get me up and going again."

"It's never easy to bring someone back who's been undercover as long as you were." Korn replied as he watched Paul.

"Tell you what." Korn said as he relaxed back on the couch. "I'll let you use my office at the citadel until you get set up at your office."

Paul looked at him with a slight smile. "I appreciate the offer. But I don't want to interrupt your work. And I'm sure that you'll be needing it."

"Eventually, yes." Korn answered. "But this week I'll be out of office most of the time since I have to take care of a few things out in town."

"Oh." Paul answered. "Let me guess, celebration set-ups?"

"Precisely." Korn answered calmly back at Paul.

"Well considering that the work that I would be doing concerns the celebration, it might not be a bad idea to work out of the same office this week." Paul answered as he smiled back at Korn.

Korn smiled and nodded his agreement.

"Alright, I'll take your offer. At least until I get everything hooked back up." Paul said with a smile. "Thank you."

"Consider it a slight sanity check for me." Korn answered.

Paul gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, my secretary, Sara, tends to be very nervous when I'm around her." Korn answered. "And I'm curious to see if it's just me or if she is just naturally like that."

Paul slightly laughed at him. "You do tend to make people nervous."

"So I've been told." Korn returned as he pushed his glasses back on his face with his middle finger.

"Are you planning on letting her go if it turns out to be you?" Paul asked with a smirk. "I would hate to be a part of someone being let go because you made them nervous."

"I wouldn't let her go. I would simply move her to another office. She's good at what she does and I don't intend to let her go because of nerves. But at the same time, I don't want her uncomfortable at work." Korn answered.

"That's understandable." Paul replied with a smile. "Alright then. I'll see you in your office tomorrow morning then so that we can get started."

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile......

"There." You said as you put the last glass away. "All finished." You said as you smile proudly at the well organized cupboard.

"I must say that I'm a bit impressed with the changes. It looks good." Ignis said as he stood by the island and looked around at the well organized and displayed kitchen.

"Let me see." You said as you went over and stood beside him.

You glanced around the kitchen and was very pleased with the end result. The glass door cabinets now proudly showed off the dishes, where as the food items were now out of sight. The spices were now proudly displaying in the cabinet beside the stove. With the exception of the ones that you used on a daily basis. Those you now have sitting on the back of the stove for quick access.

"Your right." You said with a smile. "Everything in the kitchen does look good."

"Yes it does." He quietly returned as his eyes started to run up and down you as you stood there proudly beaming at your work. It seems that she has come a long way since her time at the citadel. I wonder what else she has learned since she left.

"Well," you started to say as you turned and looked at him. "Shall we finish up."

"Of course." Ignis said as he turned away from you to grab the broom and dust pan.

You gave him a curious look as he returned with his eyes on you.

"Here. I'll sweep and you can pick it up." He said as he handed you the dust pan.

You simply nodded at him. He then quickly and expertly started to sweep up the kitchen. And in no time at all, he had the dirt in a neat pile. You stepped forward and knelt down as you placed the dustpan down on the ground for him to sweep up the dirt.

But you couldn't help but slightly blush as his barely brushed up against you as he sweep up the dirt. You had to look away from him as you felt your cheeks heating up from his closeness. You weren't quite sure why. But you suddenly became very shy with him as he finished up the last part of the floor.

Then right as the last of the dirt was in the pan you heard Korn and your dad coming downstairs. So you quickly stood up to dump the dust pan. But as you turned to walk away from him, you kept your eyes averted from Ignis. You didn't want him to see you slightly flustered from him.

"Wow." Paul said as he looked around with a smile. "I'm impressed. It looks great."

"Thanks." You both quietly replied as you gave him a shy glance.

"Wonderful. Well, now that that's done. Shall we head back?" Korn said as he watched Paul open up each of the cupboards for a closer look.

"Yeah." Paul said as he closed the last cupboard door. "We can come back tomorrow and start to go through all of the closets and dressers and decide what clothes don't fit us anymore."

"Sounds good." Korn said as he looked at Paul.

You dropped your head as you thought about going through you mom's clothes. She had let you wear her clothes before. But this was going to be different. You wouldn't simply be borrowing her clothes anymore. You would be taking them.

"In fact the timing will be perfect." Korn added as he looked at the group. "His majesty is holding a private VIP ball the night before the celebration, as a way of welcoming some special guests to the city."

"Since when was this in the plan?" Paul asked as he stared a Korn in disbelief.

"Since you two decided to come back." Korn answered with a smile. "He wanted to welcome the two of you back without causing a big fuss."

"Big fuss huh?" Paul asked as he crossed his arms in front of himself. "I think that a ball qualifies as a big fuss."

"To his majesty, a ball is small when compared to the rest of the celebration." Korn said with a laugh.

"Ah-huh." Your dad replied before he looked back at you.

"Well then, perhaps after you go through your mother's clothes, you and Monica could get the rest of your wardrobe." Paul said to you as he tied to talk to you again.

"Yeah." You quietly said.

You had actually hoped that your dad would take you this time. But it looks like he was going to use this as another way of pushing away. Which made you sigh as you dropped your head.

At least I'll get to ask Monica more about Talcott if we go out. You thought as slightly shuffled your feet.

Ignis careful watched you. He could see the hurt you were feeling just by how your shoulders seemed to droop as if your spirit was being broken. He could only imagine what you were thinking as you stood there. But he had a feeling that you had hoped that your dad would have taken you shopping instead.

"You know, I need to grab a few things myself. I could always take you with me." Ignis said as he tried to cheer you up.

"Thank you." You said as you gave him a sad smile before you looked away from him again. "But you don't have to. I'm sure that you have more important things to do then go clothes shopping with a girl."

"Then let's invite a few more people." Ignis said as he slightly turned you back to him. "We can see if the others want to go as well. I sure that Gladio won't mind. And I'm certain that Noctis could use an outing."

"Would that really be safe?" You asked as you searched his face. I thought that it was too dangerous for Noctis to be out of the citadel?

"I'll make sure of it." Ignis said with a slight smile. "Besides, we haven't had a chance to hang out since you got back."

You couldn't help the slight smile that started to crack across your face. "Okay then. It sounds like fun."

"I'll set it up then." Ignis said with a smile as he felt his heart rate slightly increase when he saw you beaming back at him. Any time with you is always enjoyable for me.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

The car ride back to the citadel was quiet for the most part. The only talking was between Korn and Paul as they talked about the specifics for the ball. But it wasn't about the music and lights. Instead it was about the security and the check-in process of the guests as they walked inside the citadel. None of which was exciting to you.

The only thing that you were excited about was being able to dance with Noctis again. Let alone the possibility of being able to dance with Ignis again. But this time it would be in front of more people than just Marge, Jim and your dad. You smiled at this fact as you leaned against the backseat of the car as your dad drove to the citadel for the night. Ignis simply sat quietly beside you as he occasional glanced at you. You gave him a slight smile before the two of you watched the city going by the windows.

Once you got back to the citadel, you and Ignis both headed to the kitchen to start dinner, while Paul and Korn went to talk to King Regis in his study. You smiled as you followed Ignis into the happy, noisy, kitchen as everyone was busy making their various dishes. Which seemed to get louder as you made your way to the back of the kitchen. Everyone was greeting you with open arms and a few very firm hugs. Ignis simply smiled as he enjoyed the scene as he watched the whole kitchen staff light up again to have you back.

Ignis leaned up against one of the counters as he watched the staff ask you what seemed like a hundred questions about Altissia and Gaulden Quay.

"It's good to see her smiling again." Ignis heard a soothingly accented voice say from beside him.

"That it is." Ignis responded back as he watched you happily chatting and laughing at the comments from some of the kitchen crew.

"How did she handle the house?" The concerned female voice asked.

Ignis' smile dropped as he remembered you crumbling in his arms as you held the necklace that you found on your vanity. He tried to swallow down the tightness in his throat as he remembered the helpless that he felt to take away your pain. All he could do was hold you as you shuddered in his arms with grief. He knew the feeling, but it didn't make it any easier to watch you deal with it.

"It went as well as can be expected." He quietly said as he looked down. "It's not easy for anyone to go through the loss of someone. Especially after they witnessed their own mom's murder right before their very eyes."

"No, I don't suppose it would be." Marge said as she put her hand on his shoulder. "But that is where support and love will help her to heal. And I know that you will be one of the main people that she will turn to, to help her heal."

Right then you looked up and meet his eyes as you smiled at him. He gave you a big smile back as he put his hands on the counter and slightly nodded back. He once again saw that sparkle in your eyes started to dance with excitement as you smiled back. He knew then that you were truly glad to be back where you belonged.

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

I do apologize that this did take a bit longer to come out. I was slightly side tracked by life as it once again threw a monkey wrench at me that I wasn't expecting. And since this affected some very close to me, I couldn't help but to focus on them solely. After all, what kind of wife would I be if I ignored my husband's struggles.

Of course it does help to remind me of what is important to me. And also what it means to truly support each other. Just like how Korn and Paul will hopefully support each other as they try to handle being in the same office as they get everything ready for the Founder's Day Celebration. Especially with Sara being thrown into the mix.

Of course to Paul there seems to be something familiar about her that he can't quite figure out. But will it be enough to distract him from the task at hand? Or will it fill in a gap that he has been trying to fill for a very long time? Keep an eye out for the next chapter as we start to find out.

Thanks for reading. :)

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