"Thank you for helping Jolie and Austin out with this. It means more to us than you could ever know," Stacy told her husband, Scott. They were never officially divorced so technically he was still her husband.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad I could do this for her," he said.

Her Dad looked up at the house.

"You guys have a nice place here Stacy. Do you like it? Living back in your hometown?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Actually I do. It's nice being back here close to family." He nodded. "Do you want to come inside and visit while you guys wait for Austin to get home?" she finally asked and he nodded, following her and Jolie into the house.

"The house looks great Stacy. I love what you've done with it," he said, impressed.

"Well it's not like the house we were used to in New York, but it feels like home."

He nodded and said, "That's good. Hey, ummm. I was wondering if you and I could sit down and talk for a bit after I get done talking with Jolie and Austin? There are some things I need to discuss with you."

"Umm. Yeah," her Mom said with some hesitation in her voice. "Sure. We could do that."

Her Dad came back into the living room and sat down on the couch with Jolie and they talked. She showed him the Homecoming Dress that she had picked out and he was really impressed. Then they talked for a little bit about how school was going and her plans for Harvard next year.

Her phone dinged and she looked down, seeing a message from Austin.

'I'm back home now. Can you come over and talk?

'Sure. I'll be right over. I'll have someone with me that's dying to meet you,' she answered back

'

Jolie texted back.

Austin was wondering who in the world she could have with her. He really just wanted some alone time with her so he could talk to her about what Chaz and Mandy said so he could set a few things straight.

He heard the doorbell ring and when he went to answer it, there was a man as tall as him with a full grey beard that was very neatly groomed wearing a silver business suit. He was the kind of man that was instantly intimidating and Austin could tell he was a very confident, powerful guy right away just by his presence when he entered a room.

"Austin this is my Dad, Scott Watson. Dad this is my boyfriend, Austin Fox," Jolie said.

Austin shook her Dad's hand and said, "It's very nice to meet you sir. I wanted to say that I really appreciate your offer to help with my situation. It really means a lot. I want you to know I've never been in any kind of trouble like this before."

"Well Jolie told me the whole story and knowing that the reason you beat the guy up was because of him hurting her, shows me that she means a lot to you. If I had been here I honestly would've been tempted to beat him up myself after hearing what he did to my daughter. I'm going to do everything I can to help you guys out. I actually came up early this morning and got a lot of work done on the case already and I've got some news for you guys. Can we sit down somewhere and talk about it?"

"Sure. Come in," Austin said, leading them to the dining room and they sat around the table as Jolie's Dad opened his briefcase and brought out some documents and a laptop.

"So I visited earlier with Ryan Gentry at the hospital and his Dad Mason Gentry and their lawyer. We took official statements from each of them. Mason wrote this letter to the prosecutor and I'd like to read it to you if you don't mind?"

Austin said, "Yeah go ahead. I'd like to know what he says."

"Okay Mason says 'I have known Austin Fox since he was 5 years old and started in kindergarten with my son Ryan. They became best friends in second grade and have been inseparable ever since and when Austin's Dad passed away in a car accident when he was seven I stepped in and took over that role as a father figure in his life whenever I could, so Austin has been like a second son to me. Often times when people ask how many kids I have I would say 3, two boys and a girl because I included Austin as part of my family. Ryan and Austin were so close they grew up feeling like brothers. My biggest regret in life is that I spent so much time working because I thought that I needed to leave this legacy of wealth to my children that would last for generations. I neglected to be around for my children as much as I should have and I spoiled Ryan and let him get away with far too many things. I didn't see him that much so the time I did get to spend with him I didn't want to spend punishing or yelling at him. As a result he never really learned that his actions have consequences so he's made some really bad choices in his life. What he did to Austin is the worst one of those bad decisions he's ever made. He betrayed his best friend slash brother by sleeping with his girlfriend and then physically hurting and threatening his new girlfriend to keep her quiet about it. That's the reason Austin assaulted Ryan and Ryan and I have talked it over and both agree that his actions were justified. Ryan regrets what he did to Austin very much and hopes that he can somehow forgive him one day and consider him a brother again. We are officially requesting that Austin receive a deferred sentence, where he gets probation with no time in jail, and agree to the charges being dismissed once he completes his probation. Austin has never been in trouble before and is a great kid with a very bright future and we look forward to seeing him go to Harvard and becoming a doctor one day. I couldn't be more proud of him and am lucky to call him my son."

Jolie's Dad Scott laid the letter down and looked over at Austin, who was sitting there in shock, trying to process what he just heard. He was overcome with emotion at hearing Mason call him his son, being reminded of his Dad's car accident, and the fact that they wanted the charges dropped. He leaned forward and put his face in his hands and cried. He hadn't cried in years. Not since his Dad died but at that moment he couldn't help it. Scott laid a hand on his shoulder and Jolie came over around the table and wrapped her arms around him. Austin sat up and wiped the tears away and shook off the emotion.

Jolie's Dad said, "I have an official sworn statement from Ryan also requesting the charges be dropped and I've already sent in copies to the prosecutor's office for review. Now we just have to wait for the hearing to see if the prosecutor approves it but with you having no prior record of being in trouble and being at the top of your class in grades for years and set to go to Harvard I see no reason why it won't be approved. Plus Mason said that he's good friends with the Prosecutor so at this point it's really just a formality that we have to go through."

Austin took a deep breath and exhaled. "Mr. Watson, I don't know what to say. I'm just so grateful that you came all the way here to help me. Thank you."

Jolie's Dad said "You're welcome. I'm in a similar situation as Mason. I've spent years building up my reputation at work and focused so much on making money that I lost focus on what's most important, my daughter. When Jolie called me and told me your whole situation I knew I had to come here and help the man that she loves. I'm really glad I was able to do that for you guys. I'm going to try to be around more often and take some time away from work whenever I can."

Jolie walked around the table and gave her Dad a big hug and started to cry. "I love you so much Dad. Thank you for doing this."

They all stood up and Austin shook his hand and thanked him again before they all started walking towards the front door.

"Oh I almost forgot. There's something else. Being an alumni of Harvard and head of my graduating class they've had me come back many times to lecture and speak to the students because of how successful I've been. I've got a lot of connections and pull there, so I wrote an email and also mailed an official letter to the admissions board today and explained your whole situation to them and that the charges are being dropped. I haven't heard back yet but I'm hopeful that we'll hear back soon."

"Really?" Austin asked. "That's amazing. Thank you sir!"

He was so overcome with emotion that he threw his arms around Jolie's Dad and gave him a hug, patting his back. Scott hugged him back and patted his back also before letting him go.

"I owe you big time sir. I don't know how I can ever repay you for everything you've done for me," Austin told him.

Scott looked at him and then at Jolie and said, "The best way you can repay me is to be good to my daughter and make her happy. If she's happy, I'm happy. That's all I could really ask for as a Dad."

Austin smiled over at Jolie and said, "I can definitely do that sir. Thank you."

Jolie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her Dad and gave him a tight hug and started to cry.

"Thank you so much," she said softly through her tears. Finally she stepped back and opened the front door and said, "Dad you can go ahead and go next door and have your talk with Mom. I need to stay and talk to Austin for a bit. Okay?"