WARNING: SPOILERS!!! ~A Watty's 2019 Submission!

Saved for Daddy Brought Home the Stepdaughter

So Dusty and Massey stayed. And with the huge amount of money Dusty was making as the voice of The Panda, he built his own new castle right down the street. Tumor had to stay with Brad and Sara though, since he didn't get along with Dusty's new puppy. It also turned out that Tumor was only five years old, so he would be around for a long time.

Brad finally got his dream of bearing a child. A few months in, and Sara gave birth to his first and only biological child, Griffin Michael Whitaker. He was the perfect addition to their growing family. Especially after Dusty met Karen.

Dusty kept his dating life to a minimum when he came back to town, but he did find love and remarried a beautiful, woman named Karen, who had also been divorced and had two children of her own, sixteen year old Reed and eleven year old Adriana. And Dusty got to know how it felt to be a real stepdad.

The night he introduced them, the whole Whitaker-Mayron family was taken by surprised when he showed up at the door with his new extended family.

"This is my stepdaughter, Adriana." He introduced as they came inside, Adriana smiling sweetly. "And my stepson Reed." Reed gave a small wave, Massey crossing her arms when he smirked at her. But Brad shook Reed's hand heartily and smiled at Adriana.

Hey, Adriana. Reed. I'm Brad." Megan and Dylan went right up to the older girl.

"Want to go play?" Dusty crouched down, patting her back.

"That's your brother and sister. You guys play nice, okay?" Adriana nodded before they ran off, and Dusty put his hand on Reed's shoulder, gesturing to Massey. "And that's your other sister, Massey. You two are about the same age."

"Hey, hon. Who's at the door?" Sara asked as she came over, dodging the kids, and Dusty smiled as he put an arm around Karen.

"Oh, hey, Sara. This is my wife, Karen, and my stepson Reed." Sara paled, her eyes wide as she stared at the younger looking woman, who claimed she was the same age as Sara.

"Oh, is it... Your wife?"

They all sat down for dinner as one big family, Sara learning about how Karen was both a doctor and a novelist, and still had time to look like an absolute model. Massey was annoying Reed as he tried to teach Dylan "what being a real man was like" and Adriana and Megan were becoming the best of friends. Griff was there too, holding Baby Griff and playing with him, while Brad spoke to Dusty, Sara, and Karen.

"Honey, you look amazing tonight." He told Sara, who laughed, having dressed a little nicer to compete with Karen.

"What are you talking about? It's just my normal clothes. That's how I look. I just got ready really fast." Brad chuckled, knowing better, before turning to Griff and holding his hands out to Baby Griff.

"Hey, Griff. Hey, little Griffy. You want to come to Daddy?" Griff gave him a look as he held onto the baby.

"What, you think I'm going to pick his pockets or something?" Brad shook his head quickly.

"No. He doesn't carry a wallet." Meanwhile, Dusty was trying to help Adriana cut her food.

"Oh, sweetie, be careful with that knife, okay?"

"You're not my dad." She told him at once, and he sighed. He heard that a lot, especially from her. He and Reed got along pretty well, but she had more trouble with him. He figured it wad because she was still young, and needed some time to get used to things. Reed was a young man who was happy to have another man in a house full of women. And having Dylan for a little brother wasn't a bad thing either in his opinion.

Dusty had come to realize that Brad was right. Being a stepdad isn't always easy. But it was completely worth it. Dusty loved being able to be there for Reed and Adriana when their dad wasn't. He was happy to be the dad that they didn't have, even if they didn't want him around. And he knew his day would come when they saw who the true dad was.

"Daddy!" Dusty turned his head from that one simple word from Adriana, who began to run towards him, quickly followed by Reed.

"Dad!" Dusty opened his arms for a hug, happy that they had finally accepted him!

"Guys, I've been waiting for you to..." but they ran past him, and both Brad and Dusty turned to see another, more muscular man pull up on a motorcycle, Adriana diving in for a hug and Reed talking to him excitedly as he took off his helmet.

Gulp

"Did you just gulp?" Brad asked Dusty, who was sweating profusely.

No." He muttered.

"I heard a gulp." Brad admitted.

"Well, a little bit, maybe." Dusty stammered. The new guy, the Dad, was a big guy. He wasn't sure if he could handle him if they got in a fight.

"Sure." Brad didn't believe him as they watched him give the two kids treats, a very similar fashion to when Dusty first arrived. "He's a lot bigger than you. He's got legs for arms." Brad was obviously just as nervous as Dusty. There was a new Dad in town, and he was going to compete for his kids. "I like him. I like him a lot." Dusty nodded, his nerves calming down a little as they watched how nicely he treated the kids, asking Adriana about her summer and patting Reed on the back. He seemed like a good guy after all.

"Yeah. I bet you he's going to like us, too." Brad patted Dusty's back.

"Remember, Loving Fence." Dusty nodded, appreciating the advice, but not really taking it to heart. He was still nervous.

"Yeah."

"Just go say hi." Brad insisted, and Dusty nodded.

"Yeah, look, I got this, buddy. Watch." He then walked over to the new Dad, who had his arm around Adriana and Reed glued to his side. "Hey. You must be Roger." Dusty greeted, holding out his hand.

"Nope." Was all he said, leaving Dusty in shock