Okay, here we go with another story. I've been working on this one for quite a while and I'm really excited about it. What would happen if Hanson's father had never died in the shooting that night on Valentine's Day? What if his "death" had all been a cover-up? What if Tommy had a chance to see his father again? I hope that you all like this one as much as I've had writing it! Please read and send me some reviews!!

Chapter 1- Nightmares

Tom Hanson Jr. sat in the front of his dad's squad car when they pulled up to Diane Thompson's house. Tom got out and walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Diane opened the door and stepped outside. She followed Tommy to the squad car and waited as Tom opened the door for her, allowing her to slide into the back seat, with her date following.

"You look lovely Diane." Tom Hanson Sr. stated with a smile.

"Thank you Mr. Hanson." Diane said politely.

Mr. Hanson smiled at his son and asked the all to familiar question to his son, "You ready to roll?"

"Sure Dad." Tom Jr. stated.

A few moments later the squad car pulled up to the front of the school where teenagers were flowing in and out of the school for the annual Valentine's Day dance. Tom Sr. turned around in his seat once he put the car in park and said, "Midnight sport?"

"Come on dad, we talked about this. One-thirty?" Tom Jr. pleaded.

Tom Sr. sighed and said, "Okay, one-thirty." He smiled and winked at Diane. "But only cause I trust Diane."

Diane let out a giggle and said, "Thanks Mr. Hanson." She waited for Tommy to open the door and take her hand, helping her out of the car. They walked up the steps to the school when Tommy suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Just a second." Tommy said, running back down to the car. "You're not going to bring Charlie are ya?"

"Well sure, he'd love to see you in your tux." Tom Sr. stated with a smile. Tommy shot him a look of disbelief when his dad said, "I'm kidding. I'll drop him somewhere."

"Thanks Dad."

"Have a good time." Tom Sr. said as he pulled the car out of the parking lot. Tom made his way back up to where Diane was waiting for him and they both turned to watch the police car pull out onto the main road.

"Your dad seems really nice." Diane stated. Then with a smile, she added, "What does he do?" Tom laughed and put his arm around her, leading her up to the school.

Tom was so caught up in his dream that he tossed and turned, thrashing about in his bed. His sweat-drenched hair fell over his eyes as he rolled over once again, trying to get the memories wiped from his vision. Before long the scene changed and he was once again caught up in that night.

Tom Sr. and Charlie walked into Frank's diner on their break. It had been a quiet night and both of them needed a good hot cup of coffee.

"Hey Frank, what's wrong with you?" Tom Sr. asked.

"Nothing." Frank said.

"What did you drink some of the coffee here?" Charlie joked. Tom let out a laugh as he took a seat at the counter.

"I've got to make a pit stop." Charlie said, making his way back to the bathroom. Suddenly a gunshot rang out and Charlie's body flew back into the restaurant, hitting the floor with a loud thud. Tom Sr. quickly drew his gun from his holster and ducked down behind the counter as the gunman came out of the back of the restaurant. Tom took the opportunity to fire his weapon, hitting the gunman in his left shoulder. The gunman cried out before taking aim at the officer that shot him. He pulled back the trigger and fired a round that buried itself into Tom Hanson Sr.'s chest, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. Charlie was able to see that Tom had fired another round at the gunman before he had been hit. The last thing he remembered was Tom's body lying motionless on the ground before he too lost consciousness.

Tom and Diane were sitting on the steps outside the school after the dance. Tom nervously looked down at his watch and noticed that it was past 2:00am. "I don't know why, he's never late." He murmured.

"I had a really nice time. You weren't such a bad dancer." Diane said. Obviously she hadn't heard Tommy's comment.

"You weren't such a bad kisser." Tom said with a smirk.

"Yeah?" She asked. "We should do it again sometime. But let's not wait until Valentine's Day."

"Okie dokie." Tom said. Just then a squad car pulls up and Diane states, "Finally."

Tom watches as two people get out of the squad car. His heart begins to race as he recognizes the police captain and another uniformed officer. Neither one of them says anything, but they don't have too. Tom knows in his heart that something is wrong. His dad had told him that if anything were ever to happen to him, the police captain would deliver the news.

"Tommy, are you okay?" Diane says next to him. With his heart in his throat however, he wasn't able to answer her question. Instead, he stood glued to the spot where he was standing, just staring out at the captain. No, he thought, this can't be happening….

"NOOOOOOO!" Tom screamed, sitting up quickly. His breathing was quick and he tried desperately to catch his breath. He scanned his surroundings, disoriented from the nightmare he had just woken up from. Finally he was able to get his breathing under control and he let out a deep, shaky breath. He brushed his sweat soaked bangs back out of his face and slowly laid back down on his pillow. He looked over at his clock to find the bright numbers screaming at him that it was only 2:30 in the morning. He placed an arm over his eyes and sighed, letting the tears that had welled up in his eyes spill freely. He knew why this nightmare had decided to make an appearance tonight. Tomorrow was a day that he despised. For the past eight years, the same nightmare seemed to make it's way into his routine the night before the anniversary of his father's death. Valentine's Day. He couldn't even stand the thought of the word, let alone what it stood for. It wasn't a day of celebrating love for Tom Hanson, Jr. No, Valentine's Day for the past eight years meant reliving the past. It meant being tortured by the demons that Tom Hanson Jr. just couldn't seem to leave behind. Valentine's Day was the anniversary of his father's death. The day that his world came crashing to a halt and nothing would ever be the same.

"Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day." Tom said, getting up and walking into his kitchen where he opened the cabinet next to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "Looks like it's just you and me." He said, taking the bottle and making his way over to his couch where he slumped down and poured himself a glass of the amber liquid. Bringing the glass up to his lips, he felt the liquid burn as it made it's way slowly down his throat. "Here's to you Dad." He said, pouring himself another drink and downing it just as quickly. All Tom wanted to do right now was drown away his sorrows and from the looks of it, he was off to a great start.