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Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Twelve

Tom made it to the daycare center only a few minutes late but Bradyn couldn't have cared less. The class was outside playing with a huge parachute and Bradyn was having a blast. "Hey, are you ready to go?"

"No, you." Bradyn laughed and ran under the parachute as it billowed upward.

"You want me to go?"

"Yeah, I go lato." Bradyn laughed and grabbed on to one of the other teacher's legs as the parachute came down.

"No, we have to go now, buddy." Tom put his hands on his hips and smiled at the crowd of kids around the play yard.

"Come on, Bradyn." His teacher handed off her section of the parachute to one of the high school volunteers and walked Bradyn over to Tom. "You'll be back next week. Maybe we can play with the parachute again."

"Yeah." Bradyn held tight to Heather's hand.

"Have you thought of having him come more than two days a week? I mean, I know you have a complicated schedule but he might enjoy it."

Tom looked down at Bradyn and shrugged. "I guess we could try that, sure. I only did two days because he was just starting out and I didn't want him to freak out." He explained as Bradyn swung from her hand. "But, yeah, maybe now he'd be okay."

"I think he'd really enjoy it." Heather laughed and scooped Bradyn up in her arms.

"Okay." Tom nodded and reached for Bradyn. "Would you like to come see Miss Heather and your friends more often?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn cheered as he dove into Tom's arms.

"We'll stop by the office on the way out. Thanks." He smiled at Heather. He and Bradyn waved as they stepped back through the room to get his backpack and his hand print art project. "You look like you were having fun out there."

"Yeah, isa shoot."

"I saw that. That's awesome." Tom asked more about Bradyn's day and they decided to stop by McDonald's on the way home to get chicken nuggets. They stopped by the director's office, like Tom said he would, and arranged for Bradyn to try Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the next week but still half days. After seeing how much fun Bradyn had in the class and how much he could learn, Tom wasn't concerned about him being gone three mornings in a row.

They left the school and got lunch before going home where Bradyn immediately ran outside to play with Lucy. Tom threw the ball with them to give her a much needed workout. He laughed as Bradyn chattered to her under the slide of his play set. Tom left them alone and went to make a few phone calls while he sat at the breakfast table watching them.

He called his Mom to check in with her and let her in on everything that had happened in LA and when they got home and also to tell her about Lucy. She was thrilled that he'd finally buckled down and gotten her grandson a dog. They talked for a while before Tom started dinner and brought Bradyn inside. Lucy stood at the open backdoor and looked in with her head cocked to the side.

"Come on in, girl." Tom tapped his leg and she carefully stepped into the house. She circled the kitchen once before she found her spot under the bar where she could keep an eye on the guys as they cooked and still be out of the way. Bradyn crawled on the ground beside her and fed her some dry dog food one piece at a time. She looked up at Tom with a happy expression. She sighed and dropped her head onto her paws.

Tom smiled as he cut carrots for the salad, he felt the same way. Completely happy and content.

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Bill came over the next day to play with Bradyn and to meet Lucy. They spent almost all day in the pool or playing catch with Lucy. For lunch, Bill splurged and bought pizza for them and they sat outside to eat. They hung out until Bill had to leave for the studio where he was helping some friends record a demo. "So what are you doing this weekend?" Bill asked as they walked out to his car.

"Well, in about-" Tom checked his watch. "Two hours, we're picking Tayla up at the compound."

"She's in town this week?"

"Yeah, David called her in to work with some new girl group they have going."

"Oh. So she's working then?"

"Kind of. This weekend she is, I think, but she's gonna stay here and I'll see if she wants to stick around for a bit."

"That's cool. Well, if you guys get any free time and want to go out to the beach let me know. I bought a new toy."

"Shit, what'd you get?" Tom laughed.

"Uh oh." Bradyn pulled Tom's hand and looked up at him.

"Sorry, I need to watch my mouth." Tom laughed and winked at Bill.

"Actually, I have a loaner now until my custom is finished. It's a twenty-foot Maxim with a little cabin and everything. Sleeps six."

"Wow! Yeah, we should definitely take that out soon. When will your custom be done?"

"Three to four weeks." Bill made a face.

"Not exactly boat season."

"No, but I got a killer deal and it'll be cool for next summer."

"True." Tom picked Bradyn up as Bill hopped in his car. "See ya later."

"Bye, guys!" Bill waved out the window as he backed down Tom's driveway.

Bradyn waved before he wiggled to be set down and ran down the driveway after Bill, waving madly and shouting, "Bye, Pie appo! Bye!"

When Bill's car was completely out of sight, Bradyn came back up to where Tom stood and sighed. "Pie appo come gan?"

"You want him to come over again? He just left."

"Lato?"

"Not today, I think he's all played out but let's go get cleaned up so we can go get Tayla." Tom gave Bradyn a surprised look as they walked back in the house and upstairs to take baths.

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More than an hour later they were clean and dressed to go see Tayla. Tom piled Bradyn into the car and checked his hair in the rear view mirror. It was becoming frayed again and he made a mental note to get his braids redone.

They drove across town to the lake where the compound sat surrounded by lights and music playing through the outside speakers. "Daddy, is you wok?" Bradyn asked as they pulled up the driveway.

"Yeah, this is my work but I'm not here to work. We're going to see Benjamin for a minute and then we're going to pick up Tayla."

"My Tayla?" Bradyn perked up in the back seat and tossed Lello up in the air.

"Yeah, she's here to meet David and some girls and then we can take her home." Tom smiled at Bradyn in the rear view mirror.

"At my hows?"

"Yeah, to your house."

"Is cool, Daddy."

"Yeah." Tom laughed. "That's cool."

"Daddy, I see my Tayla now?" Bradyn pulled on the straps of his car seat. "Where's she?"

"She's inside, I think." Tom hopped out of the car and opened Bradyn's door to get him out. "Hang on, buddy. Wait for me." He called after Bradyn as the little boy started skipping toward the studio door. "Wait for me."

"No car see? I see my Tayla." Bradyn said over his shoulder as he looked around the almost empty driveway.

"Wait for me." Tom grabbed the backpack from the seat and caught up with Bradyn. He took the little boy's hand and together they walked into the studio.

"So Tayla will be the one picking out your clothes for the press meet tomorrow. You've had a chance to talk with her tonight about your styles and stuff like that. Trust me, whatever she picks will be perfect. You won't be disappointed." David explained to the small group of girls sprawled out on the shiny wood floor.

Tayla sat on the bench along the mirrored wall and looked up as they walked in. "Tayla!" Bradyn screeched as he took off running across the familiar floor. "Hi!" He flung himself onto her lap and gave her a big hug.

"Sorry to interrupt." Tom smiled apologetically at David and the girls. He made his way over to the far wall. "How's it going?" He asked David.

"It's going good. Ladies, this is Tom Kaulitz." David laughed. "Tom, this is Tiffany, Julieanna, Karissa and Brandi."

"Hi." He nodded politely.

"Hi." They said with obvious awe.

"Where's Benjamin?" Tom asked.

"He had to cut out early." David rolled his eyes and laughed. "He had a conference call he had to be on, I think. He should be in the office though if you need to see him."

"No, it's cool. I was just gonna check in and say hi."

"I'll tell him you stopped by." David nodded.

"Thanks." He sat beside Tayla as Bradyn climbed off her lap and sat on the floor by her feet to run Lello around in circles. "Hi." He leaned over to kiss her quickly as David finished up his directions to the girls who were no longer listening.

"Hi." She smiled. "You're distracting Serenity."

"Which one's Serenity?" He whispered.

"All of them." She whispered back.

Tom smiled and turned to face the girls. He moved his finger around in a slow circle and looked at David, telling them silently to turn around and pay attention. They blushed in unison and immediately turned to face David who snickered softly and continued.

"You're mean." Tayla laughed softly and bumped her knee against his.

"No, I'm not. Are you almost done here?"

"Yeah. As soon as David wraps up I'm gonna say good-bye to the girls then we can go."

"You have to go shopping tomorrow?"

"No, I have a rack of clothes all picked out. I know girl fashion better than you think I do." Tayla laughed and leaned back against the mirrors. "Just think Spice Girls without as much flare."

"I'd like to think Benjamin has better taste than that."

"I mean as far as styles go. I guessed before I came down here but I was pretty much dead on." Tayla shrugged. "I'm gonna swing by and see Marian at the boutique tomorrow though and see if she has anything I can have in case they need to dress up for anything."

"Sounds fun."

"Tons." Tayla smiled with a glint in her eye. She really did love her job, no matter who she was dressing.

David finished up his little talk and told the girls he'd see them back there the next day. "Tayla? Are you coming by in the morning or are you gonna hit the shops?"

"Um, well I have a rack over in the wardrobe center for us to use but I'm going to hit The Boutique tomorrow and see about getting some outfits there."

"Okay." David nodded.

"I can be here whenever you need me though."

"Well, we're meeting here at nine to go over the performance stuff. We'll have the dance boys here and all that." David smiled. "We'll be heading over to the arena around three to do the sound checks and all that before the show."

"Okay, I'll meet you here at about noon to go over the wardrobe so they can do a dress rehearsal." Tayla nodded as she dropped her purse over her shoulder and walked up to the girls. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Get some sleep tonight." She gave each girl a hug then walked over to where her suitcase was resting against the wall. "Bye."

"Bye!" The girls waved then giggled.

"Bye, Tom." One of the younger ones smiled broadly and waved.

"See you guys later. Good luck tomorrow." He gave them his award winning smile as he picked Bradyn up and bounced him on his hip. "Say good-bye to the girls."

"Bye, girls." Bradyn said shyly as he buried his head in Tom's shoulder. Tayla laughed and patted Bradyn's back as she leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"I heard you have a new doggie at home." She whispered as they headed out of the studio.

"Is Lucy." Bradyn smiled but kept his head on his father's shoulder.

"Wow, I can't wait to see her. Is she big?" Bradyn nodded and smiled even bigger. "I'll bet she's a lot of fun."

"She pay ball." Bradyn lifted his head and nodded.

Tom opened up the backdoor and loaded Bradyn into his car seat before he put Tayla's bags into the far back. "How long are you here for?"

"However long I want." Tayla said as she slid into the passenger seat. "I have to be here through Sunday for the girls but after that?" She shrugged.

"You can stay as long as you want. Maybe we can hit the Aquarium or something next week."

"That sounds like fun." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as Tom climbed in and started the car. "So where to now? Home?"

"Yeah." Tom smiled and casually reached over to place his hand on her knee. "Home." He thought for a moment about how nice that sounded coming from Tayla. She thought of his house as home and that just felt right. "We're going home." Tom leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before they pulled onto the main road to head home.

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When they got home Bradyn ran through the house to the backdoor shouting for Tayla to open the door. "We can see Lucy!" He bounced around as he hung on the door handle. "Come see, Tayla!"

"Okay, let's go see her." Tayla laughed and dropped her bag in the living room. "Can she come in the house?" She asked Tom.

"In a minute, yeah. Let her run off her excitement first." Tom smiled and reached above Bradyn's head to unlock the backdoor. "There you go, buddy. Show Tayla how you can play ball."

"Lucy!" Bradyn shouted as he ran out and patted her warm back as her tail wagged crazily behind her.

"Hi, there." Tayla extended her hand to let the excited mutt sniff her fingers. She was given the happy lick of approval. "What a sweetie." She smiled up at Tom who had followed them outside.

"Yeah, she's great." He knelt and picked up a ball to hand it to Bradyn. "Show Tayla how you play ball."

"Lucy, get." Bradyn shouted as he threw the ball. The dog happily bounded after it and brought it right back to his feet. Tom and Bradyn took turns tossing the ball to help her run off her excitement. When she calmed down a bit they all went back inside and left the back door open so Lucy could go in and out as she pleased.

She came in the house with the others and walked in a big circle before she finally assumed her position under the table and looked up at Tom with happy and expectant eyes. "Okay, okay." He sighed and smiled back. He pulled a dog treat out of the pantry. "Here you go, cutie." He tossed it in her direction and she gobbled it up before he could turn around.

"Do you want some help with dinner?" Tayla asked as she leaned on the counter and tried not to yawn.

"No, I've got it." Tom smiled and kissed her cheek. "If you want to go unpack or whatever now would be the time to do it."

"I'll do that later. I wanna hang out with Bradyn for a little bit. I didn't realize how much I missed him. Crazy, huh?"

"We've missed you too." He kissed the tip of her nose as she crinkled it and laughed. "Okay, go play. I'll come and get you when dinner is ready."

"What a good little wife." Tayla patted his head before she spun around to summon Bradyn from the floor beside Lucy. "Come on, Bradyn. Let's go see what kind of trouble we can get into in your room."

"In my?" Bradyn scrambled to his feet and sighed. "You see?"

"Yeah, come on and show me your room." Tayla extended her hand and waited for Bradyn to grab it before they made their way up the stairs. Tom pulled the makings for dinner out of the fridge and smiled as he listened to his two favorite voices in the room above him.

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Tom busied himself with dinner and phone calls while Tayla and Bradyn bonded a little more by playing some game that were 'Bradyn's rules' on the floor of his bedroom. He didn't ask the details but when he went to let them know that dinner was ready, they were both on their hands and knees crawling around on the floor laughing about the tickle monsters under the bed.

"Are the tickle monsters going to come eat dinner with us?" Tom asked from the doorway.

"No!" Bradyn shouted as he scrambled to his feet and pulled his shirt back into place. "Day say."

"They stay here?"

"Yeah." Bradyn ran past Tom into the hall and down the stairs as Tayla pushed herself off the floor as well.

"That kid has a very wild imagination for a two year old." She laughed and stretched her back. "I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow." With a smile and a slight cringe she placed her hands on the small of her back.

"Nothing a hot shower and massage won't help." Tom said softly.

"Oooo, are you volunteering?"

"You bet." He put his hand around her waist as she went to pass him in the doorway. He pulled her close and kissed her. It was their first alone moment since she arrive and he wasn't going to let it pass him by.

A flutter passed through Tayla's stomach as Tom's fingertips rested on her ribcage and his tongue moved slowly across hers. Flashbacks of their first real kiss in the same hall appeared before her eyes as she touched the back of his neck, feeling the heat creep up beneath her fingertips.

Tom's eyes flickered open as he left another tiny kiss on her lips and leaned back. They crinkled at the sides as he smiled and moved his hand around to her back to tickle her spine. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes." Tayla said, though her voice was shaky.

"I made pizza."

"Sounds good." She whispered. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled. He still had that affect on her and she loved the rush of having him near.

"We'd better go down before Bradyn eats it all."

"Yeah." She nodded and licked at her swollen lips but he didn't move away from her. His hips still pressed against hers. A little laugh escaped as she imagined just skipping dinner. "Come on, before it gets cold." She reached behind her and took his hand in hers as she side stepped into the hall. As much as she wanted to stay right where she was, she was hungry.

They walked downstairs blushing like teenagers as if someone might notice but the only one there was Bradyn. He was sitting in his booster seat with Lello across his lap looking bored. "Daddy, I have?" Bradyn asked when they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, let's get some dinner." Tom went about getting the pizza out of the oven where he was keeping it warm. He sliced it and served everyone.

While they ate, Tayla got caught up on everything Bradyn had been doing in his class. He showed off the art projects he'd brought home, which Tom had proudly displayed on the refrigerator, and on the inside of the pantry door. Rainbows, hand prints, puppies and houses disguised as scribbles and the letter 'B' in shiny aluminum foil.

With food in his stomach and a big day behind him, Bradyn began to fade fast after dinner. Tom gave him a bath while Tayla got her things situated in the master bedroom. Tom and Bradyn went back downstairs to feed Lucy and throw the ball for a little bit before bed. That was becoming their nightly routine and both Lucy and Bradyn thoroughly enjoyed it. Tom wasn't immune to the playfulness either and would usually go back outside to play after Bradyn was tucked away in bed.

"Okay, Bray. It's time for bed." Tom scooped Bradyn up off the floor and tossed him over his shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Bradyn squealed and wiggled. "No, Daddy!" He laughed as Tom tickled his sides. "No, Daddy! Tayla!"

"But I like to tickle you." Tom kidded with Bradyn as they headed for the stairs.

"No, Tayla."

"You want me to tickle Tayla?" Tom raised his eyebrow and turned around to face her as she followed behind them.

"I don't think so." She said with a smirk and a warning tone.

"No, Tayla my bed." Bradyn said as he wiggled down from Tom's shoulder to sit in his arms.

"She's not sleeping in your bed. You're crazy." Tom tickled him under his chin and added softly, "She's sleeping in mine."

"Tom." Tayla blushed and laughed as they went up the steps.

"Tayla my bed. Me." Bradyn pointed to his chest and wiggled to be out down. Tom set his little bare feet just outside his door and laughed as Bradyn ran across the rug and jumped into bed.

"He's amped." Tayla laughed from right behind him.

"Yeah." Tom chuckled softly and stepped into the room to get Bradyn's favorite bedtime story off the little bookshelf.

"Daddy." Bradyn sighed and rolled his eyes as he pulled the covers up over his legs.

"Whaty?" Tom rolled his eyes right back.

"I wan Tayla."

"Oh!" Tom sounded surprised. "Oh, you want Tayla to put you to bed?"

"Yeah." Bradyn squirmed under the sheets to find a comfortable position.

"You don't want me to say good-night?" Tom pretended to pout and cry.

"Nigh-nigh." Bradyn maneuvered around to sit on his knees and kissed his Daddy's cheek before he slid back under the blankets.

"Aww, thank you." Tom leaned down and kissed Bradyn's forehead before running his hand over the little boy's short hair. He looked up at Tayla standing in the hallway. "You've been summoned."

"My turn, huh?"

"He wants you to put him to bed. He's choosing favorites."

"Who wouldn't like me better?" Tayla smirked childishly and kissed him quickly in passing. She sat on the bed beside Bradyn and patted his hip. "Is this the book you want me to read?"

"Yeah." Bradyn brought his arms out from under the covers and put them over his head in a lounging position Tom had perfected years ago.

Tayla laughed softly. She'd seen his father in him a million times but it still surprised her. "You're such a cutie."

"Yeah." Bradyn licked his lips and closed his eyes slowly.

"And you're all your Dad." She looked up at Tom and winked before she turned the front page back and began to read Bradyn's bedtime story. When she finished the last sentence Bradyn yawned and snuggled deeper into his blankets. A slight movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. As she looked over quickly, Tom shifted his weight from one foot to the other and grinned at Tayla. He blushed though she couldn't see in the darkness and he was glad she couldn't read his thoughts.

"Good night, sweetie. Have happy dreams." She whispered as she leaned down to kiss Bradyn goodnight. "I love you."

"Love too." Bradyn yawned and rolled away from the obtrusive light of the doorway.

Tayla stood up quietly and placed the book on the floor by his bed before tip toeing to the door where Tom smiled and took her hand. "You're good at that. You did the voices and everything." He whispered, willing himself not to say, "I'd want a dozen more kids if I could stand and watch you say goodnight to them forever."

"Thank you." She kissed him quickly and then headed for the stairs. It was early still and he still owed her a massage.

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Saturday morning Tom, Tayla and Bradyn had a quiet breakfast in the living room while watching cartoons and lounging around. When they were done, Tayla went upstairs to get ready for her day of shopping and girl bonding. After starting a movie for Bradyn to watch while he lounged on the floor with Lucy, Tom tip toed upstairs and snuck into the bathroom with Tayla. "Hey." He smiled and nuzzled her neck from behind.

"Hey, you." She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "So what are you doing today?"

"Nothing." Tom said softly as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "We might go down to the compound, you know, see what's going on." He cast his eyes heavenward with an innocent look.

"Yeah, right." Tayla laughed and raised her shoulder to bump him off. She tied her hair into a ponytail and straightened it in the mirror. "I don't know when I'll be done today."

"That's okay. Georg's having some kind of a thing at his place tonight but we can show up whenever."

"I won't be that late. Maybe like, four. Maybe?" She frowned in the mirror and sighed. "Are you guys really coming to the compound?"

"I was kidding." He kissed her cheek. "But we can if you want us to. Like I said, we have nothing planned for today. Bradyn and I do a whole lot of nothing when you're not around." He laughed softly and leaned against the counter to face her.

"You're no fun."

"No. I'm boring. I'm a boring old Dad who would rather lounge on the couch and watch Dora or Diego or whatever."

"I doubt Bradyn minds."

"No. He's so much like me it's scary. He's content just sitting in his bean bag looking at a book or something." Tom shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest as Tayla smoothed lotion onto her cheeks. "We have our moments though. Get some sugar into us and we're doing WWE in the sandbox outside."

"I'll bet." Tayla's eyes crinkled when she laughed at the mental image of the two boys wrestling in the back yard. She reached out quickly and touched her fingers to Tom's elbow. Something about being in the same room with him made her want to touch him. There was something so magnetic about him. She sometimes found it hard to stop herself from just resting her hand on any available part of him.

Tom pulled her to him quickly and kissed her as she relaxed against his body. He tasted the fruity flavor of the Chapstick she'd used and recognized the lotion as his favorite brand of sunscreen. "Have fun shopping today." He said with a smile when he leaned back.

"I will."

"I'll call Georg this afternoon and find out what time he wants us there." He left his hands on her hips then squinted at her. "I'll call down to David if I need to reach you."

"Okay." Tayla laughed. She loved the way he could be so paternal, even with grown ups. "I can't wait to see the other guys."

"It'll be fun." Tom nodded and wiggled his hips against hers in an almost sexy way. He dropped his chin slightly but kept eye contact with Tayla as he gave her what he hoped was a sultry and provocative look. "When do you have to go?" He asked softly. The magnetic feeling was mutual and, as a man, he felt the physical need more than he thought was possible. After seeing her daily for two months, going a few weeks was practically painful for him and he didn't want to let an opportunity pass him by.

Tayla smiled and tried not to laugh as she quoted Pretty Woman. "I appreciate this whole seduction thing you've got going on here but let me give you a tip, I'm a sure thing." She stood on tiptoe and kissed him again. "But I'll have to take a rain check." Tayla left one last kiss on his lower lip and stood up straight. "Dirk will be here at nine thirty to pick me up so I have to be ready." She stepped out from between his legs and bounced through the doorway into the master bedroom.

Tom dropped his head back and exhaled sharply as he squeezed his eyes shut. She was going to kill him, he was sure of it. "Wait." He jerked his head up and went into the bedroom. "Wait, Dirk our security guy? When did you- I mean, he's coming here?"

"Yeah, he called this morning while you were making breakfast. He's going to drive me over to The Boutique to see Marian, then cart me and the clothes to the compound to meet with Benjamin, David and the girls."

"Why's Dirk taking you? I have my car here. You could borrow it or I could take you."

"I didn't want to borrow it because then you'd be stranded here. This way it'll just be easier and you don't have to play chauffeur." Tayla laughed and slid her bare feet into her sneakers. "I'll be running around a lot today between the stores and the compound." She sighed. "This way you can just come and get me when I'm done and we can go straight to Georg's. See? It's perfect."

"I don't mind driving you around."

"I know you wouldn't but really, Tom, that wouldn't be fun for Bradyn. You guys can hang out here today and then we'll go party down at Georg's tonight."

"It's not a party really."

"It's Georg's." She raised her eyebrow at him as she reached for her duffel bag of tricks she might need that afternoon.

"True." Tom laughed and kissed her again before they walked downstairs to wait for Dirk.

"Daddy!" Bradyn shouted from the living room. What he lacked in urgency he made up for volume.

"He has a set of lungs on him."

"We've been practicing." Tom laughed and looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, buddy?"

"Come see!"

"Come here so you don't have to shout." Tom laughed and pulled the front door open.

"Daddy is Toke Hoh-tell." Bradyn said as he ran into the foyer. "We go bye?" He frowned at the open door and saw Tayla with her bag. "No, Tayla." His eyes filled with tears as he clasped onto her bare leg.

"Honey, I'm not leaving." Tayla knelt down and wrapped her arms around him. "No, sweetie, I just have to go to work."

"An me?"

"You're going to stay here with your Daddy. I have to work for a little while but then you're going to come get me."

"I get now?" Bradyn's tears continued to fall as Tayla held him close and looked up at Tom with a confused look. For as long as she'd known him, Bradyn had never been clingy like that.

"We're going to pick her up when she's finished working." Tom placed his hand on Bradyn's shoulder and tried to carefully pull him off of Tayla.

"No, say." Bradyn protested.

"I can't stay, sweetie." Tayla slid her bag off her shoulder and stood up with Bradyn in her arms. "What's wrong, Bradyn? I'm not leaving for good. I'm just going to work like your Daddy does."

"Tayla, say."

"Honey, I can't stay." She shook her head and attempted to speak around the lump in her throat. "Tonight we're going to go see Georg and everyone. We're going to have a lot of fun."

"Now?"

"Not right now. I have to go to work but when I'm finished we'll go to Georg's, okay?" She kissed the hair just above his ear and sighed. "Is this new?" She whispered to Tom, who just shrugged and shook his head. He hadn't seen Bradyn like that before either.

Dirk's Jeep pulled up in Tom's driveway and the security guard beeped his horn as he rolled to a stop. "Come here, buddy. Tayla's ride is here."

"No, Daddy! No! Tayla!" Bradyn tried to grab onto Tayla's shirt as Tom held him under his arms.

Concern flashed in Tayla's eyes as Bradyn's crying turned into almost hysterical sobs as he kicked and wiggled in Tom's arms. "Tom?"

"It's okay. Go."

"But if he-"

"I've got him." Tom forced a smile and tried to wave without dropping Bradyn. "It's okay, Tayla. Just go. He'll be fine in a minute."

She nodded quickly. "I'll see you tonight, Bradyn. You can come and get me, okay? I love you, sweetie." She took a step closer and ran her hand over his hair as she tilted her head at Tom.

He just nodded and adjusted Bradyn in his arms. "Call me when you get there."

"I will." Tayla turned quickly and hopped in the awaiting Jeep.

"Is he okay?" Dirk asked as he looked back at the front door where Bradyn was still screaming and trying to free himself from his father's firm grip.

"Yeah." Tayla tossed her bag in the back and clasped her seat belt into place. "He's just- He's being two, I guess." She leaned her elbow on the door and stared at the street as Dirk backed out of the driveway.

"Benjamin wants you to come to the office first so you guys can talk about the stuff for tomorrow before you go shopping."

"Okay."

"And, uh- I think he said the girls wanted to go with you. Or something."

"Shopping?"

"Yeah."

"I don't take my clients on wardrobe hunts with me." Tayla shook her head and frowned out the side window. She wasn't upset at the thought of having to take the girls with her. Her mind was still stuck on the image of Bradyn clawing at Tom's shirt as she left.

"Yeah, well." Dirk shrugged and maneuvered the car through traffic as they headed across town.

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Tayla and Dirk pulled up at the compound a short while later and were met with a danceable beat coming from the open door of the dance studio. Tayla recognized the song as one of Lady Gaga's and she wondered what Lady Gaga was doing at the UMG headquarters.

The music stopped suddenly as two of the girls laughed and stepped outside. "Tayla! Hey, we were just getting warmed up." Karissa said as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Hi, guys." She waved quickly and looked over at the main building that housed the offices. "Is David in there?"

"No. No one's in there." Brandi shook her head. "They're in the office still, I think."

"Okay. I'll see you guys in a few." Tayla handed her bag to Dirk and nodded to the studio. "Can you drop that in there? I have to make a call."

"Sure thing." He smiled and ambled toward the studio as Tayla shoved her hands in her shallow pockets and headed for the offices.

David was seated in Benjamin's office laughing when Tayla poked her head in. "David? Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt."

"That's okay, Tayla. How can we help you?" Benjamin asked with a broad smile.

"I, uh- Can I use your phone?" She asked David.

"Sure. Absolutely. Down the hall there on the right." He nodded in the right direction. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Bradyn was just kind of upset to see me go so I wanted to make sure everything was okay back home, you know?" Tayla tried to smile as Benjamin stood up.

"I haven't seen the kid in a while. Tell Tom he needs to bring him in every now and then." Benjamin reached for his cell phone clipped it to his waistband.

"I will." Tayla nodded before she smiled at David. "Thanks." She muttered before she practically ran to his office.

Tayla picked up the phone and dialed Tom's number from memory. She saw it was programmed into the speed dial buttons on the keypad. She smiled slightly and shook her head as the phone rang in her hand.

"Hello?" Tom answered on the second ring.

Tayla breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't hear Bradyn crying in the background. "Hey." She said softly. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay." Tom lowered his voice and she could hear a door shut. "He's inside with Lucy."

"He's not still crying is he?"

"No." Tom shook his head and ran his hand over his hair. "I'm sorry about that. He's not usually so- Well, he doesn't usually freak out like that."

"I know. What was that?"

"Separation anxiety, I guess. That's what the book says but I don't know."

"Does he do that when you take him to school?"

"No." Tom shook his head and looked back through the window at Bradyn sitting on the floor with the dog. "He has cried when I dropped him off before but just a little. Not like full on hysterics."

"Is he feeling okay?" Tayla leaned against David's desk and frowned.

"Yeah, he seems okay to me." Tom bit his lip and pulled at his torn belt loop. "I think." He sighed and stopped.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what?" Tayla insisted as David appeared in the doorway. "Two minutes." She whispered to him as she covered the mouthpiece. He nodded with a worried look and mouthed the words, "You okay?" Tayla nodded back and tried to smile. "Tom, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing really. I just- I think maybe he's confused."

"Confused how? I mean, you leave him to go to work all the time. He should know that going to work means that you're coming back."

"I mean, about you."

"What about me?"

"When you were in Europe and we were touring he saw you every day. Like, almost all day every day. You guys bonded like crazy and that's- Tayla, I can't even tell you how good that is." Tom twisted the belt loop around his finger and let it go. "But then when we got back home and you left he was thinking it was just for a few hours or whatever, which is what he had gotten used to. When he didn't see you for a few weeks and now that you've come back, it's like he doesn't want to let you out of his sight."

"But-" Tayla tried to argue but found that there was nothing she could say.

"You're his favorite person in the world. Half the time I think he likes you more than me." Tom laughed softly.

"Tom."

"No, I know." He licked his lips and stepped out onto the grass. "So I was thinking, you know, that it's going to be hard when you actually have to leave to go home."

"Yeah."

"So maybe you shouldn't."

"Shouldn't what?"

"Keep coming here for a few days and then leave again."

Tayla's heart skipped a beat. Her mind immediately went to the worst of two meanings. "You don't want me to come here anymore?"

"No!" He said quickly. "No, Tayla, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant-" He sighed and furrowed his brow. He was going to be asking a lot here in about two seconds. "I meant that maybe you shouldn't leave."

"Well, I can't just stay here for-" She stopped. "You mean move here?"

"I mean, move in."

"With you?"

"And Bradyn." Tom nodded as his heart raced.

Tayla was silent. She held the phone a few inches from her ear as the logical side of her mind tried to comprehend the facts and weigh her options, while the romantic side immediately pictured the picket fence and rose border. With both sides of her mind fighting, Tayla couldn't put her thoughts together to make sense. "I have to go to work, Tom."

"Okay but-"

"We'll talk later." She interrupted him. "I love you." She added as a quiet afterthought.

Tom paused for a second and she didn't know how to feel about that. "I- I love you too." He nodded. He clicked his phone off, praying he hadn't just freaked her out but knowing he probably did.

He and Bradyn spent the day just hanging around as usual which they both seemed happy with. Georg called to make sure they were all coming before he ran to the store to get the food for the night. He expected everyone to be there by five thirty so that they could actually see the backyard before it got dark. "You're gonna like it. Really. You're gonna want to move in and live in my yard."

"Yeah, don't hold your breath." Tom laughed before he hung up and called Tayla to see if she'd be ready to go by five so that they could make it to Georg's on time. After checking with David she told Tom that she could be done by then and that she'd meet him at the compound. She'd be spending her day with the girls and that meant bopping back and forth between shopping and the compound trying to get their wardrobes coordinated and keep everyone happy.

By the end of the day, she was tired and ready for a relaxing evening at Georg's, catching up with the guys and just kicking back for a little bit. At five o'clock she was sitting on the studio floor flipping through a new catalogue she'd picked up at The Boutique that morning. The girls were getting ready to take the stage in their brand new outfits that Tayla was finally happy with. Tayla was absolutely exhausted.

She looked up quickly as she heard feet running across the waxed hardwood floor. "Tayla!" Bradyn ran over to her and climbed into her arms.

"Hey, sweetie." She kissed his cheeks. "How was your day? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, an I get you." He smiled and put his hand on the side of her face.

"Yeah, you get to pick me up. And guess where we're going now?"

"Where?"

"To Georg's!" Tayla looked surprised as she looked for Tom. Bradyn had appeared out of nowhere and it was odd to see the little one without his six foot counterpart a step behind.

"Yeah!" Bradyn threw his hands in the air and giggled.

"Okay, let's go find your Daddy." She stood up before she picked him up and headed for the door.

"Is ode?"

"Yeah, he's old." Tayla kissed his forehead and squeezed him close. "But that's okay so am I."

"An me?"

"You're not old."

"I diss." He held up four fingers.

"No, you're this." She folded down two fingers and showed him the two remaining. "You're two years old but soon you'll be three."

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "An you?"

"I'm a lot more than that. I'm this." She opened and closed her hand a dozen times quickly. "That's a lot, huh?"

"Yeah. An Daddy too."

"Yeah, your Daddy is a lot too." Tayla laughed and spotted Tom leaning against his car talking to Benjamin.

"There they are." Tom smiled as they walked up.

"Wow, look at how big you're getting!" Benjamin gasped when he saw Bradyn. "He looks just like you."

"Say hi to Benjamin, Bradyn."

"Hi." The little boy immediately turned shy and laid his head on Tayla's shoulder.

"Hey there, kid." Benjamin reached to mess his hair. "It's crazy how fast they grow, huh? It's only been about a month since I saw him but damn." Benjamin shook his head and beamed at Tom who, to his surprise, had turned out to be a great father without letting it change who he was.

"Yeah, he's growing every day." Tom nodded. He put his hand on Tayla's back and sighed. "Are you ready to go? I told Georg we'd be there by five thirty."

"Georg's having a party?" Benjamin asked.

"Eh, kind of. He's having people over to tear up his new backyard or something. He had a guy come and build a barbecue into the wall. I guess he wants to have people there in case it's faulty and blows up. Who knows, it's Georg." Tom shrugged and laughed.

"He could just be celebrating the fact that it's October." Benjamin laughed and put his hands in his pockets.

"No kidding." Tom rolled his eyes.

"Well, don't be a stranger kid. I know you'll be taking off for the studio in another week or so but swing by and see me before you do."

"I will." Tom promised. He and Benjamin talked work for a few minutes while Tayla got Bradyn into his car seat. She stood on the far side of the car to wait for Tom to be done.

"Anyway." Tom smiled and sighed a minute later. "I'll catch you later." He waved to Benjamin and pulled his door open.

"Bye, guys. Thanks a lot for your help, Tayla. You've been a lifesaver."

"No problem." Tayla grinned and meant it. With the windows rolled down, the crisp evening air came in and cooled her sunburned skin.

They pulled onto the main road and Tom sighed heavily as they headed for Georg's house. "Did you get drinks or whatever?"

"I got some chips and salsa. No one ever remembers to get that and it's what everyone craves when we do these things." Tom laughed. "So I got enough to get us through a few days at least."

"Yum." She licked her lips as her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything since that afternoon when she and the girls stopped for Subway sandwiches.

"I hava chip?" Bradyn asked as he leaned as far as he could in his seat to grab Lello off the seat beside him.

"When we get there you can have chips, yeah." Tom nodded. He reached back and handed Bradyn his stuffed dog.

"Ana sossa?"

"Maybe, I'll have to see how hot it is."

"Isa owie?"

"No, not hot like that. Hot like spicy." Tom explained.

"Is sossa?"

"Yeah, salsa can be spicy and make your mouth hurt."

"Oh." Bradyn frowned and looked at the dog in his hand. He bashed Lello's nose against the window then swung him by his ear.

"Were you able to-" Tom started.

"Daddy?"

"Just a second Bradyn." Tom glanced in the rear view mirror. "What I asked this morning? Have you given it any thought?"

"What you asked this morning? You mean-"

"Daddy, I see Gay-og?"

"Yeah, we're going to Georg's house." Tom nodded.

"About moving?" Tayla asked.

"Hmm?"

"What you asked me about moving down here?" She asked again.

"Yeah."

"An Pie appo?"

"What?" Tom looked into the back seat.

"And Pie appo and Goose-gog?"

"Yeah, Bill will be there too. Gustav and Bill, everyone will be there." Tom explained to Bradyn. He turned back to Tayla. "Yeah. have you given it any thought?"

"Actually I've-"

"Daddy, we see a dog?"

Tom sighed and looked over his shoulder quickly. "Yeah, Georg has a dog so we'll probably see him. Where's your book, buddy? Can you read your book?"

"Why don't we talk about this later?" Tayla smiled as her stomach turned into knots. She had in fact thought about his proposal all day and it distracted her from her work on more than one occasion. "Here, Bray." She turned around in her seat and pulled his book out of his bag. "Why don't you read this to us and tell us what the pictures are."

"Isa cake."

"A cake, huh? What kind of a cake?"

"Big cake and geen."

"A big green cake, huh?" Tayla laughed and looked over at Tom. "Did you have a good day today?"

"Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, we just hung out and stuff. We walked up to the park and saw some of our neighbors there."

"That's cool."

"How about you? How was your day?"

"Pretty good." Tayla nodded and looked out the window.

"Isa red dog! Daddy, isa red dog." Bradyn squealed from the back seat as he flipped the pages in his book.

----------------

Bradyn continued to read the book for the rest of their trip to Georg's house. Tom spent the rest of the drive wishing he could get Tayla alone to talk about what had been on his mind all day. When they pulled up in Georg's driveway, Bradyn dropped his book and clawed at his straps.

"Bradyn!" Georg shouted as he ran out to the passenger's side door.

"Gay-og! Daddy, is Gay-og!" Bradyn laughed and struggled to get out of his seat.

"I see that." He unlocked the power locks and let Georg pull the door open to get him out.

"Hey, how you doing?" Georg lifted Bradyn from his seat and spun him around before setting him on the ground.

"Hi."

"Bill's inside. He's been waiting for you. Guess what he has?"

"What?"

"He brought his video game. Go check it out."

"Pie appo?"

"Yeah, he's inside." Georg nodded toward the house and gently pushed Bradyn in that direction.

"Who's here?" Tom asked as he watched his son walk into the wide open door.

"The guys and I don't know. Kala's around here somewhere and her cousin. Then Rina, Julian, Nicole and Kitsune. They're here. You know everyone." He nodded to reassure Tom.

"Cool." Tom got out and pulled the food he brought from the seat beside Bradyn's car seat. "I'll take this stuff inside. Is someone cooking already?"

"Yeah." Georg nodded and slapped Tom on the back. "Glad you could make it."

"Anytime." Tom smiled and headed inside.

"Hey, Tayla!" Georg exclaimed as she walked around to the front of the car. "What are you in town for?" He pulled her in for a tight bear hug.

"I'm here to work with a new group." She smiled into his shoulder as he squeezed her again before releasing her.

"You're ditching us, huh? Out with the old, in with the new? Hey, Gustav! We've been replaced!" Georg shouted towards the back of the house.

"No you haven't." She playfully punched Georg's chest and blushed slightly. "This is just for the weekend and maybe a few days down the road. You guys don't need my expertise right now anyway."

"Yeah, I see how it is. A weekend here and there. Then a full tour. Then all of a sudden you're the Jo Bros wardrobe girl and we're stuck wearing last fall's pants with this spring's jackets." Georg sniffed and dropped his arm over her shoulder.

"I can promise you that will never happen. The day I see you guys in something awful, I'll drop what I'm doing and rush to your aid." She laughed and let him guide her to the back yard. "Besides, it's a girl group this time. They don't compare at all."

"Girls?"

"They're underage, Georg."

"They are?"

"Most of them." She nodded as she giggled. "Just say no. It'd be a bad career move. And Kala would kick your ass."

"Kala's harmless. Are you taking over as our career consultant thing now too?"

"If you even think about it, I'll put you in some nylon pants with tiny mirrors on them." She shook her finger at him but could tell he was already formulating how to work his way over to the compound to meet these girls. "Georg, I'm warning you. I'll tell Kala."

"Okay, okay. I'm not. I won't." Georg furrowed his brow in concentration. "They're working with Benjamin, right?"

"I'm serious."

"I'm just asking!" Georg raised his hands up innocently, then laughed and shook his head.

"Yeah, right." Tayla laughed and looked around the backyard. "This is beautiful, Georg. Really." She changed the subject as they stepped outside.

"Thanks." He smiled and looked around.

"I need a drink though. Where are you hiding them?"

"Like a drink drink?"

"Anything."

"Beer's in the cooler over there then Bill brought some harder stuff. It's inside at the bar."

"And sodas?"

"Ummm-" Georg looked around the backyard. "I think I have some in the fridge. Nothing diet though."

"That's okay." Tayla laughed and turned to go back into the house. She grabbed a Coke from the top shelf and popped it open as she stepped out onto the patio.

"Tayla, have here." Bradyn said as he ran over and pulled on her free hand.

"What honey?"

"Have here."

"Have here what?"

"No, Tayla, here." Bradyn hung on her hand and dragged her over to where Georg's dog was hiding under the table. "Isa Lucy dog."

"No, that's not Lucy. That's Georg's dog. What's his name?"

"I doe no." Bradyn shook his head as he squatted to be at the dog's level.

"Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he seepin."

"Oh, he's sleeping? Tayla squatted beside him and lowered her voice. "We should be quiet then, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn whispered.

"Where's your Daddy?"

"Umm." Bradyn stood up and looked around. From his height she was sure he couldn't see much but he shocked her. "Dere." He pointed to where Tom and Gustav were talking animatedly with their hands as if acting out some weird scene in an action movie. They both cracked up laughing at the same time and almost spilled their drinks on each other.

"Your Dad is strange, honey."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed as if that just wasn't news to him. He headed off in their direction leaving Tayla standing by the dog alone.

"Hey, you." Bill sidled up next to her and tapped her hip with his. "Tom said you were coming out but he didn't say for how long."

"I'm not sure how long. A, uh- A few days at least." She shrugged and smiled as she bent the tab back and forth on her can. "Where's Nadiehn?"

"She's with her family. They're doing this family reunion thing that's going to take like, a week."

"She's going to be there a week?"

"Well, she'll be back next Friday so, yeah. Almost a week."

"You didn't want to go with her?" Tayla smiled and tried not to laugh. She knew that Bill was tight with Nadiehn's immediate family but the extended family was a completely different story. They weren't as accepting as people who were, as Nadiehn put it, different.

"Um, no." Bill laughed and shook his head. "Actually, I have some work to do around here and I'll be out of town for a few days next week so I really couldn't."

"Oh, I see."

"Really. I have work." Bill blushed quickly and took a sip of his beer. "But anyway, yeah. She's in at that family reunion thing."

"I'll have to give her a call this weekend and see what she's been up to."

"She's been busy." Bill nodded then looked down as Bradyn walked up. "Hey, Bray! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in forever!" He lifted Bradyn up and tossed him in the air before finally hugging him and balancing him on his hip.

"Hi." Bradyn giggled and reached up to touch Bill's scruffy hair with a frown. "Uh oh, you have."

"Yeah, I didn't fix my hair much today." Bill squished up his nose and laughed. "Nadiehn hates it when I don't fix my hair just to hang out with the guys so, when she's not here, I just let it go."

"Nice." Tayla laughed and made a face.

"See Nay-dee?" Bradyn asked.

"No, Nadiehn is on vacation. You'll have to see her next weekend or something."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and rested his head on Bill's shoulder. "My Tayla now."

"Yeah, you can see your Tayla now." Bill laughed softly. "Did you show Tayla your new dog?"

"Is Lucy."

"Did you show her Lucy?"

"Yeah. See run wiss us."

"She ran with you guys, huh? That's cool." Bill pressed his cheek to the top of Bradyn's head. "Do you play ball with Lucy?"

"Yeah. And Chase and Jayda."

"That's right. You play with Chase and Jayda too."

"Now?"

"No, not now. They're at home sleeping right now. Where's Georg's dog?"

"He seepin."

"He's sleping too?"

"I doe no." Bradyn shrugged and wiggled to be set down. Bill set him on his feet and sighed. "Did you get some cake?"

"Yeah." Bradyn tugged at his shirt and looked around at the small crowd of people. "Tayla, see?" He used both hands and grabbed onto one of Tayla's.

"See what, honey?" She took a step to follow him. She smiled over her shoulder at Bill. "I'll talk to you later."

"No problem." He laughed and watched as Bradyn pulled her across the yard to where Gustav and Georg were trying to balance two beer bottles neck to neck.

"Gay-og, is my Tayla." Bradyn said with a giggle as he released Tayla's hand and climbed into the empty seat beside Georg.

"Yeah, that's Tayla. And who is this?"

"Goose-gog."

"And who's that?" Georg pointed into the house.

"Is Pie appo."

"And who's that?" Georg pointed towards Tom.

"Is my Daddy." Bradyn laughed and placed his hands over his mouth.

"Okay, this is a hard one. Who's that?"

"Is Pie appo."

"No, not Bill. Who's standing next to him?"

Bradyn squinted and looked. "I doe no."

"Neither do I. I was hoping you knew. You know everyone." Georg laughed and kicked his feet up to rest of the arm of Bradyn's seat. "Hey, how come you're his Tayla and I'm just Georg?"

"I don't know." Tayla shrugged and leaned against the table. "He's just- I guess, he's always called me that."

"Weird." Georg reached over to rub Bradyn's hair. "You're a weird kid."

"No, Goose-gog." Bradyn's eyes danced as he looked over at Gustav who had stopped trying to balance the bottles and was instead peeling the labels off.

"You think I'm weird?" Gustav raised his eyebrow at Bradyn and stopped what he was doing. "That hurts my feelings." He stuck out his lower lip and pretended to cry which only made Bradyn laugh even more.

"Yeah, weird." Bradyn laughed and slid out of his seat to stand in front of Gustav. "Goose-gog? Goose-gog? Goose-gog weird?" He bent at his knees to try to see Gustav's face as the older man put his elbows on his knees and covered his face.

"I'm not weird. You're weird." Gustav said, pretending to cry.

"No." Bradyn laughed even more and tried to pull Gustav's hands from his face. "You kyin? Goose-gog? Uh oh." He tried hard to pull at Gustav's hands. "Goose-gog?"

"Ahhhh!" Gustav dropped his hand and screamed as he made a face and startled Bradyn.

"No! Goose-gog weird!" Bradyn shouted and shook with laughter.

"You two are freaks." Georg shook his head and picked Bradyn up to hold him upside down in front of Gustav.

"You all scare me." Tayla smiled and took the empty bottles with her as she headed back to the house. They stayed at Georg's house, catching up with each other as if they hadn't seen each other in months and mingling with friends they really hadn't seen in a while. As it got later and Bradyn got tired, he shadowed Tayla more and more.

"Are you tired, sweetie?" She asked as she picked him up, checking the clock on the wall as she did. "Oh, it's after your bed time."

"No, I pay." Bradyn yawned and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I think you're all played out. Why don't we go find your Daddy and start to say good-bye?"

"Daddy ina potty."

"He's what?"

"Ina potty." Bradyn yawned again.

"Oh." Tayla looked up slightly amused as Tom stepped out of the bathroom in the hall. "Hey, Tom?"

"Hey." He smiled and placed his hand at the small of her back in the most familiar way. She instinctively leaned back against the warm pressure and smiled. "He's partied out, huh?"

"Yeah." Tayla nodded. "It's almost ten. I'm surprised he lasted this long."

"He had a good nap today but yeah. Okay, let's go say good-bye and head home." Tom nodded as he took Bradyn from her and hoisted his effortlessly onto his shoulder. "Come on, let's go find the guys."

"Is Toke Hoh-tell?"

"Yeah, Tokio Hotel."

"Kay." Bradyn rested his cheek on his father's shoulder and looked over at Tayla with tired eyes.

----------------

They walked out to the backyard where Georg, Gustav and Bill were standing in a circle with bottles tilted to their mouths, obviously racing.

"You let your son be around people like this?"

"It's soda." Tom laughed softly, reading the label as he tilted his head. "They know better." He winked playfully at her. "Most of the time."

Tayla and Tom stood there for a minute until they were done and Bill was labeled the chug master of the night. He let out the largest belch Tayla had ever heard. "Yeah, that's the third time I smoked them." He high-fived Tom and patted Bradyn's back. "Oh, his battery has died."

"Yeah, we're gonna head home. He needs to go to bed and we still have to drive home."

"You can lay him down upstairs if you guys want." Georg tapped his palm across the top of the bottle to make a slight popping sound.

"That's okay. I'm kinda tired too. We're just gonna go home." Tom explained with a smile as he tried to make himself look more tired than he actually was.

"Pussy." Gustav rolled his eyes and handed Georg his bottle. "See ya later, Bradyn."

"Bye, Goose-gog." Bradyn said without raising his head.

"Say bye to Georg and Bill too. We're going home buddy." Tom said softly.

"Bye, Gay-og and Pie appo and dog." Bradyn mumbled.

"Did he just call Bill a dog?" Gustav snickered, proving that they'd both had a little more to drink than just soda.

"He was saying good-bye to Georg's dog." Tayla shook her head and gave Bill a hug before moving to Gustav. "Walk us out." She nodded toward the door while smiling at Georg.

"Yeah, okay." Georg set the bottles on the short concrete wall and led the way through the small crowd back to the house. Bill put his hands in his pockets and followed the group outside.

Tayla yawned. "I'm exhausted and this little guy has had enough fun for one day."

"Yeah, I heard you." Bill nodded. "I should get going soon too."

"No way, Bill. There's a midnight limit on tonight. No one leaves before tomorrow so forget it." Georg socked Bill in the shoulder. "They're an exception because they have the kid."

Tayla blushed at the way that sounded but no one else seemed to notice. They walked out to the car and Tom unlocked all the doors to get Bradyn into his car seat behind the driver's seat. "Come on, buddy. We're going home." He said softly as Bradyn protested the straps that went over his shoulders. "Let's strap you in."

"No." Bradyn whined.

"Yeah." Tom kissed his forehead and made the buckle click.

"Good night, guys." Tayla said softly as Tom shut the car door. She hugged Georg and Bill good-bye and lingered for a minute in Georg's arms. "I'm serious, Georg. Don't go to the compound."

"I'm just going to say hi." Georg whispered into her ear.

"No." She whispered back as she grabbed a handful of his hair to threaten him.

"I can say hi and not want to bang them."

"Georg. No. Think of Kala."

"You suck."

"Promise me."

"Promise you that you suck?" Georg laughed and took a step back but left his hands on her shoulders. "I promise, you suck."

"Georg."

"I promise."

"I'm going to call David."

"I'm not going to go, damn. I have too much shit to clean up around here because I'm friends with slobs." Georg raised his eyebrow at Tom and smiled. "Your girlfriend is persistent."

"Yeah, I know." Tom pulled the drivers side door open and slid into his seat. "You coming?"

"Yeah." She leaned in and kissed Georg's cheek. "If I find out you went to the-"

"You won't." Georg shook his head and patted her butt as she walked away.

"Tell Nadiehn I said hi and I'll talk to her this weekend or something." She said over her shoulder to Bill as she pulled the passenger side door open.

"I will." Bill waved then sighed and headed back into the house. "Let's go clean." He dropped his arm over Georg's shoulder as they stumbled up the walkway.

"Those guys." Tayla said softly as she shook her head with a smile. Bradyn was sound asleep in his car seat and Tayla thought how nice it must be to sleep anywhere and anytime he wanted to.

"They're pretty strange."

"Yeah." Tayla nodded. "But you gotta love them."

"You don't have to but it makes life a lot easier if you just do it and get it over with." Tom laughed softly as he craned his neck to back out of the circular driveway since Bill's car was blocking the front exit.

They drove all the way to the main street in silence before Tom cleared his throat and looked over at Tayla for the fiftieth time. "Hey, uh-" He started, then turned his attention back to the road.

"Hmm?" Tayla tried not to yawn as she looked away from the slightly damp window.

"Do, um- Are you ready to talk?"

"What?"

"You said we'd talk later and I just wanted to see if this was late enough for you." Tom tried to smile but it faltered at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, about me moving here?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Tayla said again as she looked back toward the window. "Yeah, this is later." She nodded and brought her right foot up to rest on the seat with her knee at her chin. With one swift move she reached over and turned the radio off and the heat up. "Well, it's no secret that I love you, Tom. You and Bradyn."

"We love you too."

"I really appreciate the offer and I-"

"It wasn't an offer. I wasn't offering to let you stay here, Tayla. I was asking if you would. There's a difference." Tom explained softly without sounding defensive. They kept their voices low as Bradyn snored on the back seat.

Tayla ran her fingers over her ankle and sighed. "I appreciate you asking then. And the thought has crossed my mind on more than one occasion. I've thought about it all day in fact."

"Okay?"

"It's a huge step, Tom." She pulled her lip between her teeth as her brow creased into a familiar worry line. "I've thought of this place as home for a while. I mean, not as my home but just- I don't know. Home. I love it here. I love everything about the house and the people in it and how it feels and everything but this is big. I need to think about it."

"It doesn't have to be such a big deal."

"Yeah, it does. Moving here would be great, really it would, but it would mean uprooting my life and bringing it here with me."

"You can just pretend I didn't ask." Tom turned the heat down and the radio back on.

"No, I don't want to do that." Tayla's frown deepened as she shook her head. "I don't want to forget that you asked. I just want to think about it."

"Just pretend I didn't ask."

"Are you taking away the offer?" She asked after an uncomfortable silence.

"It wasn't an offer."

"You know what I mean."

"No. I'm not taking it away." Tom said softly. "I'm just saying to pretend like I didn't ask. I don't want you to be upset."

"I'm not upset. I just need to think about it a little. This is a big thing. Moving in together is a huge step and for me to leave Connecticut and move like, a thousand miles away? That's major. That deserves a little bit of thinking, don't you think?"

"Yeah." Tom agreed reluctantly. He didn't want her to have to think about it. He had hoped she would just say yes and make it easy. Thinking about it would make it too easy for her to find an excuse why it wouldn't work and that would be the downfall of their entire relationship. He was finally thinking about her as someone he wanted to spend his life with and she might not feel the same.

"I just need to think a little bit but thank you for asking."

"You're welcome." He whispered almost inaudibly. He bit the inside of his cheek and turned the music up a notch, letting the music fill the front part of the car and make the silence of their voices a little easier to take for the rest of the ride home.

----------------

When they got home, Tom carried Bradyn upstairs and tucked him into bed after peeling his clothes off. He shut the door carefully then almost ran into Tayla in the hall. "Hey." He nodded as he took a step back to let her pass.

"Are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah." Tom nodded and covered his mouth as he yawned.

"You sure?"

"I'm fine."

"You looked like someone kicked you in the stomach." She whispered as she placed her hand on his arm.

"I feel like it." He nodded and turned to walk to the master bedroom. He striped down to his boxers and brushed his teeth before sliding under the covers. Tayla stood at the doorway watching his unchanging routine, wondering how to fix things.

"Tom-" She started as he lay on his side with his back to her. Tayla reached behind her and pulled the door shut softly behind her. "Tom, come on."

"What?"

"Don't be mad." She sat on her side of the bed fully clothed with her heart racing. "I know that asking me to move in here with you was a big step on your side too. I know that you didn't ask just to ask." He didn't say anything or move. "I'm not saying no, Tom. This isn't me rejecting you. I love you, Tom. Probably more than I should this early in the game. We're still so new and your whole life has done a complete turn around in less than a year. I just- It scares me to think of throwing one more curve ball into your life." She took a deep breath. "Because that's what it would be. I know that you like having me here when I visit and I love being here but full time is something else. We just- I need to think about it."

"That's fine."

"Tom, please-"

"It's fine, Tayla." He pulled the blanket up to his shoulder. "I'm not upset."

"Then what?" She placed her hand on his arm and rolled him to his back so she could see his face. "Come on, I'm being honest here. Please do the same."

Tom ran his hand over his face and propped himself on his elbow. "Honestly? I'm just thinking that if you sit there and think about it, you'll come up with all these reasons why you don't want to live with me. And those reasons will be the end."

"The end of us?" Tayla's eyebrows rose at the thought.

"It's possible."

"Tom-" Tayla smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "The only reason I'm even pausing is because I'm not ready to take the next step in here." She tapped her temple. "I'm ready here." She placed her hand on her heart. "I love you and, if nothing else mattered, I wouldn't even go home this week but moving here means leaping into the next stage of the relationship. I've never gone there before so it's scary. I just need to think about it. And I know that I sound like a broken record but that's what I need."

"But-" Tom frowned and Tayla couldn't stop herself from kissing him.

"No buts, Tom. This isn't about you at all. I love you."

"I love you too." His arms wove around her waist. "I just want you here all the time."

"I know."

"You'll think about it?"

"Of course."

"I love you." He whispered as he kissed her again, smiling into her lips.

"I love you too." She used her finger to flick at one of his braids. "Are we okay now?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Really." He kissed her again and pulled her on top of him. "I'm sorry I freaked out."

"Me too."

"I'll drop it. Whenever you're ready, you just let me know."

"Thank you." Tayla whispered and placed her forehead against his as her hair fell around his shoulders. For a split second she almost said, "Forget it. I'm never leaving." But the rational side kicked in and she knew she had to think about it. "I need to brush my teeth."

"You're fine."

"Ha." She laughed and rolled off of him then went to the bathroom to change and get herself ready for bed. When she returned, Tom was lying sprawled on his back and fast asleep. He had one arm over his head and the other resting across his stomach with his fingers resting on the waistband of his shorts.

"I must be crazy." Tayla whispered to herself from the bathroom doorway. For what seemed like an eternity, she stood there watching him breathe in and out. She watched his chest rising and falling with a look of complete content on his face, his lips slightly parted and soft looking.

Fighting back tears that came from out of nowhere, she climbed into the big warm bed beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. She placed her hand on his chest and one leg over the top of his, absorbing his warmth and sighing into his chest.

In his sleep, Tom's arm lowered from above his head to her shoulder to pull her closer. His lips closed unconsciously and he sighed heavily. His breath rattled in his chest beneath her ear passing his contentment on to her as she closed her eyes. As long as they were touching, everything was right in the world.

----------------

The next morning when they woke, it was as if nothing was amiss. They made breakfast and got ready together. They got Bradyn dressed and played around for a bit before Tayla had to go to work. Rather than have a repeat performance of the day before, Tom and Bradyn drove Tayla to the compound to finish up her work with the girls. They sat on the picnic benches as Tayla and the girls sat under the tree to talk about the events they had coming up and what kind of clothes were and were not appropriate. Tayla had gotten a detailed list from Benjamin and since he knew they'd listen to Tayla about the clothes, it was her job to pass that information along.

After an hour, Bradyn was bored and wanted to go home and play with Lucy. "Okay, let's head home." Tom nodded and stood up with Bradyn's backpack in his hand.

"And my Tayla?"

"Tayla has to stay here and finish working." Tom shook his head.

"Oh." Bradyn frowned and seemed to rethink leaving.

"If you want to stay here, we can." Tom said. He'd gladly sit there all afternoon if it meant saving everyone from another hysterical display.

"Can get lato?"

"Tayla? Yeah, we're going to come and get her later." Tom nodded.

"She wok?"

"Yeah, she has to work right now."

Bradyn sighed and kept his eyes on Tayla. "Kay." He scooted off the seat and began to walk toward the car, looking over his shoulder every few steps as if making sure she was still there.

"We'll pick her up when she's all done, okay?"

Bradyn sighed and climbed into the backseat. "Yeah, we get my Tayla." He leaned forward against the straps to look around Tom's shoulder at where she sat with the others. Bradyn waved as Tom shut the door and climbed in the front seat. He too looked over his shoulder at Tayla, to make sure she was still there.

----------------

By Tuesday evening, Tayla was finished working with the girls of Serenity and had taken all day Monday to relax with Tom and Bradyn at their home. Together they walked Lucy around the block and to the park, looking more domestic and family-like than Tom ever thought they could. As much as he wanted to bring up the subject of her moving in again, he avoided it and let himself be happy with just having her there for the time being.

Bradyn spent the morning at his daycare on Tuesday. Tom and Tayla picked him up and went shopping before they had a late dinner. When they got home they went outside to play with Lucy a little bit before bed. It was a good way to wear Bradyn out and it was fun for everyone. Tayla watched them play for a while before she headed back inside to grab a sweater for herself as the night breeze picked up and coated her arms with goose bumps.

She slipped a sweater over her head as she walked through the kitchen and jumped when the phone rang behind her. Tayla grabbed the phone off the charger and walked to the back door. "Tom? The phone's ringing."

"Well, answer it." Tom laughed and shook his head as he took the braided knot and threw it for Lucy again who took off running and knocked Bradyn on his butt.

Tayla pushed the talk button as she laughed. "Hello?"

"Hi. I'm sorry. Do I have the right number?"

"Well, that depends, who are you trying to reach?" Tayla asked with a smile as she sat on the little step. She brushed grass off her knee and wiggled her toes on the cool stones.

"I'm trying to reach my son. This is Astrid."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. You have the right number. Let me get Tom for you." Tayla said.

"I'm calling for Bradyn, not Tom." Astrid said bitterly.

"Oh." Tayla said, taken aback. "Well, uh- Let me get him for you." She stood up and held the phone to her side with her hand over the mouthpiece. "It's Astrid. She's calling for Bradyn." Tayla said softly as she walked up to Tom.

"Is it eight thirty already?"

Tayla looked at her watch. "Eight twenty five but that's close enough, I guess." She handed the phone off to Tom who swung it by small antenna.

"Bray, come here." Tom shouted to Bradyn as he ran across the back wall. "Come on, your Mom is on the phone."

"No, Daddy, I run wiss Lucy."

"You can run with her tomorrow. Your Mom is waiting."

"Noooo." Bradyn whined as he begrudgingly walked back across the yard with the dog bouncing around him the whole way.

"Yeeeeees." Tom whined back, imitating the little boy. "Come on." He scooped Bradyn up and handed him the phone. "Say hi."

"Hi, Mommy." Bradyn mumbled as he took the phone and held it on his own. Tom carried him back into the house with Tayla following a few steps behind.

"Do you want me to get a bath ready?" Tayla whispered.

"I think I should put Bradyn to bed first before we go hopping in the bath, don't you think?" Tom whispered back as he leaned over and kissed her smiling mouth.

"I meant for Bradyn."

"Oooooh!" He exaggerated the word as he rolled his eyes. "For Bradyn? Sure, that'd be great. We'll be up in a few minutes." Tom laughed lightly as Bradyn continued to babble into the phone at his mother.

"Okay." Tayla smiled and headed for the stairs to give Tom and Bradyn some privacy for the call. She ran the bath in Bradyn's bright little bathroom and added some bubbles and toys to make it fun for him. The water was a little warm but, by the time he finished with his phone call and got ready, the water would be perfect.

When Tom came up the stairs a few minutes later with Bradyn in his arms, Bradyn's eyes were red and he clung to Tom. "How'd it go?" Tayla stood up from her position by the tub with a look of concern. She tilted her head to the side and bit her lip. If he was that upset just by having to say good-bye to his Mom on the phone he had more separation anxiety than she thought.

"Good." Tom nodded and sat on the toilet with Bradyn on his lap. "Come on, buddy. Tayla made you a bath with bubbles. Check it out."

"No, owie." Bradyn sniffed and wiped his hand under his nose.

"No, it's perfect. Let's get the bath done then you can go to bed."

"Owie, Daddy."

"It doesn't hurt anymore. You're just being a Drama Queen. King. Bill. Whatever."

"What happened?" Tayla asked as she reached for Bradyn's shirt to pull it off.

"When we went to hang up the phone, I knocked his knee on the wall. I think he's just tired though." Tom rolled his eyes and helped with Bradyn's shoes.

"Oh." She sat on the side of the tub, pulled up her sleeves and ran her hand over the bubbles.

"Oh, what?"

"I thought maybe he was upset by the phone call."

Tom frowned at her as he pulled Bradyn's pants off, a hard task considering Bradyn still had his arms around his Father's neck. "He doesn't mind talking to his Mother."

"No, I mean-" She paused and blushed. "I mean, saying good-bye. He seems to have some separation anxiety and I thought maybe he got upset when she had to say good-bye."

"Oh." Tom pursed his lips. "Come on, buddy, help me out here." He tugged on Bradyn's pants and dropped them on the floor before he turned back to Tayla. "No, he doesn't have a problem saying good-bye to her. So far it's just people he sees."

Tayla nodded and reached for Bradyn. "Here you go, sweetie. See? I put bubbles in there. You like bubbles, don't you?"

"Yeah." Bradyn sniffed as he sat naked on Tayla's knee. "I a owie."

"Where's your owie? Let me see."

"Here." He lifted his leg for Tayla to see.

Without so much as a red mark to identify the owie, Tayla smiled and kissed the top of his knee. "There you go. All better?"

"Yeah." Bradyn's pout turned into a smile.

"Magic." Tayla smiled back and waggled her eyebrows at the little boy. "Now, how about you hop in those bubbles and find all the toys I put in there."

"A toy ina bass?"

"You bet." Tayla lifted him over the side of the tub and settled him into the bubbles that went up to his chin.

"Thanks." Tom gently rubbed her back.

"No problem." She sighed and smiled back. Tayla refrained from talking about Astrid and how irresponsible she was and focused on bathing Bradyn.

"You busy tonight?" Tom asked as he casually bumped Tayla's shoulder with his hip.

"Hmm? No, why?" She smiled over her shoulder as she looked up at him. "What's up?"

"I was gonna see if you wanted to have a date tonight. You know, check out a movie, maybe some popcorn?"

"That sounds nice." She laughed.

"Since we can't really go out, I thought I'd bring the date to you. You know, if the mountain won't come to Mohammed or whatever that saying is."

"Right." She laughed and shook her head. "That sounds great actually. I could use a night curled up on the couch with you."

Tom laughed and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I'll go make the popcorn." He whispered so that Bradyn wouldn't get any ideas.

When Bradyn was done with the bath Tayla wrapped him in a thick towel and carried him down the hall to his room. He picked out dinosaur pajamas and a pair of thick white socks to wear to bed and sat still while Tayla dressed him and tucked him under the covers. "It's late, buddy. You're going to sleep really well tonight, aren't you?" She smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and shimmied down so his head was at the bottom of his pillow and his hair was sticking up like crazy.

"Awesome." Tayla laughed softly as she sensed Tom standing at the door watching them. "G'night, Bray. Sweet dreams." She kissed him again and gave him an awkward hug as she leaned over him.

"Nigh-nigh, Tayla. Nigh-nigh, Daddy."

"G'night, buddy." Tom waved from the door.

----------------

With Bradyn happily tucked into bed, Tayla and Tom headed back downstairs to go on their little at home date. Lucy followed them and rested on the floor by the coffee table, glancing over at the couple who weren't exactly paying attention to the movie or the popcorn in the bowl by her nose. They enjoyed the two hours alone and uninterrupted in the family room and, for once, Tayla's mind wasn't tossing the idea of moving in around. She put it out of her mind completely and focused on the moment she was in with her legs draped over Tom's lap and his mouth working slow circles across the front of her neck.

The movie ended and the very last of the credits rolled by on the screen. "I guess that means we should go on up to bed, huh?" Tom asked with his mouth against Tayla's ear.

"Mmm hmm." She agreed, closing her eyes with a happy smile.

"C'mon." He slid out from under her and pulled her to her feet. They walked upstairs together and fell into the bed in the center of Tom's room. Tayla didn't need to look at the clock to know that it was later than she thought and that Bradyn would be bounding into the room in just a few short hours.

----------------

Never one to be late, Bradyn stormed into Tom's room early the next morning and walked around the bed to tug on Tom's exposed limbs. "Daddy? Daddy?" Bradyn whispered as his fingers trailed up the sole of Tom's foot.

"Stop." Tom frowned. He rolled over as he recognized the little whispering voice. "Go back to bed."

"Is up, Daddy." Bradyn laughed and tried to climb up onto the bed, thus beginning the normal morning routine.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." Tom reached around behind him and moved Bradyn back to the floor. "Don't wake Tayla up though. Let's go downstairs."

"I see Oss-wald?"

"Oswald? Yeah, he'll be on downstairs." Tom lowered his voice as he swung his legs out from under the covers to stand up.

"I'm awake." Tayla whispered as she yawned, making her words almost unintelligible.

"We'll go downstairs. Go back to sleep." Tom whispered back as he leaned across the bed and kissed her cheek.

"No, I'm up." She insisted as she rolled onto her back. "Come up here and watch cartoons with me." She held out her hands to Bradyn who happily climbed up onto the bed and nestled himself between Tom and Tayla.

"Just remember, you insisted." Tom smiled and stood up. "I'll go get a start on breakfast. You freaks can watch cartoons." He clicked the TV on then crossed in front of it to get to the door. "What do you guys want for breakfast?"

"Umm, a chocolate chip muffin, a western omelet, apple cinnamon crepes and some bacon. Yum."

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled.

"How about Eggo waffles and scrambled eggs?" Tom raised his eyebrow in a smirk from the hallway.

"That's fine." Tayla laughed softly. "Do you like waffles, Bradyn?"

"Yeah. And raisins."

"Whatever floats your boat." Tayla shook her head and used the remote to put the TV on the right channel. "That sounds good." She craned her neck to look at Tom. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled and shook his head as Bradyn fell back on his daddy's pillow and made himself comfortable as Oswald started.

----------------

Tom served them breakfast in bed and managed to keep the spilled syrup to a minimum. When they were done, he dropped the comforter into the laundry and fetched a clean blue comforter from his closet. "I'll do the dishes since you cooked." Tayla chuckled as she took the tray with the three small plates and cups off of the dresser.

"Great, thanks." Tom laughed and straightened the blanket across the bed. "Take Bradyn with you please. I'm going to shower."

"Okay. come on, Bray. Let's go let Lucy into the house and do the dishes."

"Kay." Bradyn ran ahead of her to stop in his room to get Lello before they went downstairs to drop off the dishes and let the dog in for the day.

----------------

When Tom was done with his shower, he went downstairs fully dressed and relieved Tayla of her dish duties. "The shower is all yours" He kissed her maple syrup flavored lips and grimaced when it mixed with the minty flavor of his tooth paste.

"Thanks." She smiled and wiped a smear of shaving cream from his ear lobe. "When I get done, you can tell me what the plans are for today."

"I'll be sure to have some by the time you're done." Tom smiled and pushed the back door open all the way so that he and Bradyn could go outside and play fetch with Lucy who was nothing but energy that early in the morning.

"Cool." She turned sharply and trotted up the stairs back to Tom's bedroom where she took her time under the piercing hot spray of the water. Tayla's fingertips were puckered when she emerged from the shower wrapped in one of Tom's terrycloth robes and stood at the counter to brush her teeth.

She heard Tom's voice before she even realized he was standing in the room with her. "I talked to Bill." He said as he leaned on the doorway to the bathroom and watched Tayla scrub her face with a foamy face wash. The bathrobe she wore was one that he'd managed to swipe from a fancy hotel they once stayed at in Denver. At least he thought it was Denver. It could have easily been Dallas or Des Moines.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her reflection. "He wants to take us out on his boat today. Did you- I mean, I told him we'd go but if you don't want to we don't have to."

Tayla rinsed her hands in the sink and frowned. "When did Bill get a boat? How out of the loop am I?"

"He hasn't gotten it yet."

"Then how can he take us out on it?"

"He has a loaner, I guess. They're customizing his boat so they gave him a demo version or something." Tom smiled. "He's all excited about it though and he wants to show off his new toy."

"Okay." She shrugged and then wet the washrag under the warm water to rinse her face. "I don't care what we do. If you guys want to go out on a boat that's fine with me. I don't sail though so-"

"It's not a sail boat." Tom shook his head.

"It's a speed boat?"

"Yeah."

"What about Bradyn?"

"I'm going to keep him out of school today."

"I mean, about the boat. Can he go on it?"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's like, 20 feet I think he said. He has life vests for everyone. I checked."

"That sounds fun then. Is anyone else going?"

"I don't know. He was going to call Georg when he hung up with me but I haven't heard."

"Okay." Tayla swept the wash cloth over her face and rinsed it in the sink. "What time are we meeting him?"

"Um, I told him we'd be by before nine."

"It's eight now."

"I know." Tom smiled at her in the mirror and laughed. "We have to get a move on it."

"What if I had said no?"

"Then I'd have to call Bill and break his little heart."

"Well, I can't have that." Tayla laughed and dropped the cloth into the sink as she released her hair from the ponytail.

"Nope." Tom kissed her cheek quickly and pat her butt. "I'm gonna go get Bradyn ready. Wear something warm or bring a sweatshirt or something."

"Okay." Tayla nodded and pulled the robe tighter around her as she walked from the bathroom into the bedroom where her suitcase was laid open.

"Okay." He scooted past her and headed down to Bradyn's room to get the little boy ready to go spend the day on a boat.

Tayla changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before she tied one of Tom's well-worn sweatshirts around her waist. She sat on the edge of the bed to tie her shoes and was almost done when she heard Tom call out from down the hall.

"Tayla? Hey, Tayla! Do you think you can g- OW! Damn! Shit!" Tom dropped the plastic cup of water he was carrying as his foot slammed into the corner of his desk. "Fuck!"

"Uh oh, Daddy."

"Yeah." Tom squeezed his eyes shut tightly and tried to catch his breath as his toes throbbed. "Yeah." He squeaked.

"My knee wet." Bradyn frowned.

"What? What happened?" Tayla rushed into the office with one shoe on and the other in her hand. When she walked in she stopped and forced herself not to smile as she saw Tom bent over with his hand on the corner of the desk for support and Bradyn with his fingers in his ears. "What'd you do?"

"I walked into the desk. Damn." Tom inhaled sharply as he tried to bend his two smallest toes on his right foot. A dotting of blood appeared across the tops and he closed his eyes.

"Ouch! Which foot?" She walked into the room and placed her hand on his back as he continued to lean on the desk.

"This one." He swung his foot around for her to see then sat on the desk. "Damn, that hurt."

"Uh oh, Daddy." Bradyn picked up the plastic cup and held it up for Tom.

"Yeah, hang on to that."

"Is all gone?"

"It's on the floor. I'll have to get you some more water." Tom winced as Tayla wiped the little bit of blood away with her finger.

"Ouch, babe. You skinned it pretty good."

"I broke it."

"I don't think it's broken." Tayla smiled up at him. She kissed her finger and tapped his toes. "All better." She laughed lightly, hoping that would have the same affect on Tom as it had on Bradyn.

"It hurts."

"Well, yeah, you tried to walk through your desk. I think you just scratched it though."

"It really hurts." Tom cringed and tried to bend his toes. To his surprise they bent easily and didn't even hurt when he did it.

"Don't be a baby." Tayla said before she kissed him quickly and took the cup from Bradyn. "Come on, let's get you some more water."

"I have juice?"

"Sure, we can get you some juice." Tayla took his hand as they left the room.

"No more grape juice. He had the runs yesterday." Tom shouted after them. "And that would suck on the boat." He mumbled to himself as he squinted at his toes and bent them again. It was going to be a long day.

----------------

They met up with Georg at Bill's house just after nine and rode out to the beach in Georg's car while Bill towed the boat. The five boaters stayed out on the water until late in the afternoon when they headed for dry land to grab an early dinner. Being out in the ocean air all day wiped everyone out so, by the time dinner was done, Bradyn was passed out on Tom's shoulder and Tayla was half asleep as well.

Georg helped Bill get the boat back on the trailer. He slapped Bill on the back and told him to call when his real toy came in. Tom, Bradyn, Tayla and Georg piled back into his car and headed for home. Bradyn slept on the way while Tom and Georg kept the conversation going about the work on the new album they'd be doing in a few weeks. Tayla feigned interest for a few miles before she stared at the window and dozed off herself.

"Hey." Tom whispered as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tayla?"

"Hmm?" She cracked her eyes open and turned her stiff neck. "Ugh, what?"

"We're home."

"Hmm. Oh." Tayla brought her hand to her neck and massaged gently as she blinked to bring Tom's house into focus. "I must have been tired."

"You can say that again. You and Bradyn were snoring in harmony."

"I don't snore."

"You breathe deep, like Bradyn."

"Bradyn snores."

"Okay then." Tom shrugged and laughed as he balanced the snoring Bradyn on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get him inside and lay him down. It's been a long day."

"Yeah." Tayla unfolded herself from the front seat and cracked her back. "I don't even remember getting to Bill's."

"You must be tired." Tom grinned and nodded toward the house. "Let's go in."

"Yeah." She yawned and shut the car door as Tom hopped up the little steps to the front door. He let them in and immediately headed upstairs to put Bradyn down. Tayla yawned again and went to the back door to let an over excited Lucy in and give her a treat.

"Did you miss us?" Tayla asked as she handed the dog a puppy treat from the cupboard. "There you go, girl. Good girl." She rubbed behind Lucy's ears as the dog wiggled around the kitchen in excitement. "I wish I had a cool dog like you but we can't have pets where I live. All I get is a fish. He's cool and all but he's just not a dog, you know?" She fed Lucy another treat then poured herself a glass of water. With her eyes closed and a sappy smile on her face, Tayla leaned against the little island and took a deep breath.

"Your cheeks are all red." Tom smiled from the doorway.

Tayla cracked her eyes open and smiled. "So are yours."

"We should have put sunscreen on."

"It's actually windburn, I think. Bill's a maniac on the water."

"I know. I don't know if it was such a great idea to sell him a boat, you know?"

"I know." She laughed and handed him the glass of water. He gladly took a sip. He raised his eyebrow at her as he handed the glass back. She shook her head so he finished what was in the glass and set it in the sink. "Are you as tired as I am?"

"Well, considering you got a little nap on the way home-" Tom smirked and pulled her by the waist of her jeans toward him.

"That doesn't count."

"Sure, it does." He kissed her softly, tasting the salty sea air that clung to her lips. "Come on. I'll tuck you in." He took her hand and pulled her up the stairs to the master bedroom where he helped her out of her warm clothes and into the king sized bed. True to his word, he tucked her in under the covers and enveloped her in his arms to nuzzle her neck until she fell back asleep. Her deep breathing settled him into a similar state and they slept against each other all night.

----------------

In the morning, Tom took Bradyn to preschool while Tayla took a shower. They spent the morning together talking about music. Tom shared some song ideas he had for the new album and blushed when she complimented his writing style.

"Actually, two of these are definitely making it onto the next album. Bill helped me with that first one and Gustav wrote the chorus for that last one." Tom bit his lip and fiddled with the pen shoved into the coils of his notebook.

"That's awesome. I can't wait to see what you guys pull out for the next tour."

"It'll be smaller."

"Smaller? Isn't that going in the wrong direction?"

"No, smaller is what we need. Back to the roots of the music, you know? We've been talking about losing the pyro and all the special effects and things. We want to keep it simple, you know? Normal clothes. Instruments and mics. Simple."

"That sounds nice." Tayla nodded.

"Yeah. It'll be awesome." Tom smiled with a far away look in his eyes. Tayla loved to see him this happy over something he was so passionate about and, if he was this focused on the writing, the recording and the tour maybe he wouldn't notice that they hadn't brought up moving in together.

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For the remainder of the week Tayla, Tom and Bradyn hung out around the house and took a few excursions to the mall to get Bradyn some new clothes. At his age, he was growing out of things left and right and his wardrobe was wearing thin. Having never spent a winter with Tom, they needed to get some warm clothes for him which, in itself, was a feat.

Tayla ended up choosing a bunch of the same things in different colors for Bradyn since he was being cranky and Tom simply didn't care what she bought. That method of shopping made everything easier and made shoe shopping a breeze. With six full bags of clothes, shoes and sweaters, they left the mall and headed home.

----------------

By Saturday morning they had fallen into a family routine where Bradyn would bounce into the room at some ungodly hour to wake them up. They would sit and watch cartoons together for another hour or so. At least, Bradyn would watch the cartoons while Tayla and Tom dozed off hoping to catch another few minutes of precious sleep.

When the Oswald was over, they'd roll out of bed and head downstairs to make breakfast and let Lucy in for her food as well. As much as the routine should have scared Tayla, she found it oddly comforting and once again wondered if she was making a mistake by going home instead of just changing her home to Germany.

"So what are your plans for today?" Tayla asked as she leaned on the little island and watched Tom make breakfast like a pro.

"Well, Astrid will be calling at ten and that usually lasts for about fifteen minutes or so. After that we can do whatever you want."

"Fun." She laughed and wiggled her bare toes on the tile. "Then you're taking me to the airport?"

"Yeah. What time do you leave? Two?"

"My flight leaves at two so we'll have to leave here around, what? Twelve thirty?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Tom nodded and flipped the french toast. "What are you going home for?"

"I have to go to my house to get ready to drive to my parents on Sunday afternoon to go to my cousin's baby's first birthday Sunday evening."

"Fun." He imitated her.

"It will be." Tayla made a face at him. "Kids' birthdays are a lot of fun."

"If you say so."

"Hey, you have one now. Kids' birthdays are going to be a major part of your year, you know."

"I think not."

"Well, you have to start planning one pretty soon." She smiled and moved around to the other side of the counter to sit beside where he was cooking. "And I'm sure that since he's in school now he'll get lots of little invitations to a bunch of parties for his classmates."

"He already got one."

"He did? Did he go?"

"It's next weekend."

"So are you taking him?"

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Tom!"

"What? I don't know the kid. I don't know the parents." He shrugged and placed two more pieces on the burner in front of him.

"The kid is Bradyn's friend and the parents are normal people." Tayla smiled. "You have to let him go! He'd have a blast."

"Well, I don't know what to get a kid for their birthday."

"You're just making up excuses now. If you walk into a toy store with Bradyn, he'll point you in the right direction."

Tom sighed. "Fine. Okay. I'll RSVP." He shook his head and leaned over to kiss her quickly. "You've been in the powdered sugar."

"Who me?" She asked innocently.

"Nice try." He reached out and wiped a tiny smudge of white powder from her chin. "Bradyn, come inside. Breakfast is ready." Tom shouted toward the back door.

"I eat lato?" Bradyn stopped running and looked toward the house.

"No, it's ready now." Tom smiled and waved him in.

"Have you always been like this?" Tayla asked as she sat at the table and looked at the breakfast spread Tom whipped together.

"Like this? Like what?"

"This awake in the mornings, making breakfast, like this." She waved her arm around. "Because on the road you definitely- I mean- Well, you weren't." Tayla smiled and shook her head. "I'm just now noticing that it's weird."

"It's not weird. This is life with Bradyn. He's up early every day. He needs breakfast." Tom shrugged. "I'm just doing what needs to be done."

"I don't know. It's just different. In a good way, of course."

"Would you rather me toss cold cereal at him and hope he can find the milk while I sleep in?" Tom laughed as Bradyn ran into the house and climbed up into his chair.

"No." She laughed and playfully poked his side.

"Because I've done that before, you know."

"That's sad."

"I was a beginner." Tom reached over to cut Bradyn's french toast into bite sized pieces and sighed. "I've been domesticated now."

"Actually, you know? If you wore an apron you could be June Cleaver. Then all you'd need was a man to come home every evening. You need a Ward Cleaver."

"June Cleaver?"

"Old American TV. Leave It To Beaver?"

"Are you saying I'm June Cleaver?"

"Well-" Tayla looked down at Tom's fingers holding Bradyn's tiny fork in his hands. "If the dish washing glove fits."

"Shut up." Tom laughed and dropped the fork onto Bradyn's plate. "Eat up, Bray. You too." He nodded at Tayla's plate and shook his finger like his Mom used to do. "You need to start your day with a nice healthy breakfast."

"You're crazy." Tayla laughed and shook her head before she dutifully took a bite of the breakfast he'd made.

----------------

At ten o'clock Tayla checked her watch then stood up. "I'll just, um- Go upstairs."

"You don't have to leave." Tom said with a smile.

"I know." She smiled back and put her hands in her back pockets. "But I need to get dressed and start getting my stuff together anyway."

"Okay, but you don't have to, you know."

"I know, I know." Tayla rolled her eyes and laughed. "Just let me know when you're done." She headed upstairs to get her things packed up and was done in under an hour. When the clock showed that it was after eleven, Tayla frowned. She couldn't imagine the call lasting that long and no one had come to get her yet. With her bags banging down the stairs, she went to see what the hold up was. She placed her bag by the garage door and walked toward the back of the house.

"Hey. How'd it go?" Tayla asked as she stepped into the kitchen.

Tom took a few pieces of Chex cereal from Bradyn's largest pile and stuck them in his mouth. "She hasn't called yet."

"Wasn't the call at ten?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded and licked his lips quickly. "But we're just having a snack while we wait."

"It's a quarter after eleven. You shouldn't be waiting." Tayla shook her head.

"We don't have anything else to do." Tom shrugged.

"Lucy hava petzo?"

"No, don't give the dog pretzels. It might make her tummy sick."

"Oh." Bradyn looked down at the dog under the table who was smacking her lips.

"Did you give her some?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "She no sick ina tummy." He shook his head quickly and kept looking at Lucy.

"Don't give her any more because if she vomits I'm not cleaning it up." Tom laughed and looked up at Tayla. "If she doesn't call by noon we'll go and get some lunch."

Tayla sighed and tried not to roll her eyes. "Okay." She said softly as she bit her lip to keep from saying more. Astrid was more than an hour late and Tom was going to gladly wait until she was two hours late before he gave up on her. While Tayla admired his dedication, she couldn't help but think that Astrid was walking all over both him and Bradyn and she couldn't stand that feeling. Astrid had a lot of nerve to pull this when Tom had been nothing but helpful to her since the beginning.

Tayla sighed again then stepped over Lucy and into the backyard where she could swing on the play set alone. Even from twenty feet away she heard the phone ring five minutes later and Tom's voice answering it with his usual smiling voice. "Hello?" He answered as he leaned on the table to make a face at Bradyn.

"Hey, this is Astrid. I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to take my car in to get serviced and it was only supposed to take a half hour but it ended up taking over an hour and I just got home." Astrid sighed heavily into the phone. "Can I still talk to him?"

"Yeah, sure." Tom slid the phone across the table to Bradyn who caught it and held it with both hands. "It's your Mommy. Say hi." Tom bit his tongue to keep from making a snide remark and instead forced a smile and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hi, Mommy." Bradyn said into the phone as he held it up, forgetting about his snack on the table in front of him. He scooted off of his seat and toddled towards the family room where he sat in the middle of the floor and stared up at the muted TV.

Tom cleaned up Bradyn's snack mess and paid attention to the little boy's side of the conversation. He mumbled a lot and said 'yeah' after almost every pause. After only a few minutes, Bradyn sighed and walked up to Tom with the phone in his hand. "I done." He shook his head as Tom took the cordless.

"Hello?" Tom asked as he held the phone to his ear. "Astrid?"

"She say bye." Bradyn said as he took back his place in front of the TV.

"She's done too?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tom hung the phone up on the charger and looked out at Tayla swinging slowly on the play set outside. "Hey, buddy, how would you like to go see Bill today?"

"Now?"

"Yeah, in just a few minutes." Tom nodded and reached for the phone again. He wanted some time alone with Tayla and, as an afterthought, he realized he didn't want another scene when she had to leave.

"Kay an I pay game?"

"I'm sure he'll play games with you, sure." Tom dialed Bill's number then spent five minutes on the phone with him to ask him to keep an eye on Bradyn. Bill didn't mind watching Bradyn for a little bit. He just had plans for that afternoon and Tom had to promise to be back by three.

"I promise. I'll be back by three. Three will be the absolute latest I'll be back."

"Because if I have to take him to the club with me I'm gonna be p*ssed."

"You're not going to have to take him anywhere. I told you I'll be there by three." Tom smiled. "And thanks for watching him."

"No problem. He puts on a good game. Better than Gustav any day. That punk gets all violent and shit. Bradyn just plays to play."

"Okay." Tom made a face and shook his head. "So we'll be there in a little bit, okay?"

"Sure thing. See ya."

"Bye." Tom clicked the phone up then set it back in the charger. "Okay, you're going to Bill's. How about you go upstairs and find something to wear?"

"I have?"

"No, not pajamas. I know how much you like them but it's noon. You have to get dressed to go to Bill's."

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and headed for the stairs.

Tom watched for a moment before he stepped outside and walked over to the play set. "It's safe to come back inside." He smiled.

"Are you sure?" She grinned up at him and used her feet to stop the swing.

"I'm sure." Tom put his hands on the chains and pulled her to a stop in front of him. "Bradyn's upstairs getting his clothes ready. We're going to take him to Bill's."

"To Bill's?"

"Yeah. I, uh- I didn't want him to have a meltdown in the car when you leave, you know? Just in case."

"Oh." She stood up from the swing.

"And I could use a few minutes of quiet time." Tom laughed softly and took her hand. "Are your things ready?"

"Yeah. I'm all packed and my bags are by the door. I think I left one of my shirts in your laundry though but I couldn't find it."

"That's okay. You can get it next time."

"True." Tayla nodded and entered the house. She made her way upstairs to help Bradyn get ready while Tom went to the master bedroom to get himself dressed. "Wow, what do you have there?" Tayla asked with a look of surprise when she stepped into Bradyn's room. He had a pair of green overalls on the floor and a purple tank top halfway over his head.

"Is cose."

"I see that. Can I help?"

"Yeah." Bradyn stumbled over to where Tayla was and she helped him pull the tank top into place.

"This looks like it's a little small on you. You're getting too big for this."

"No."

"Yeah, it's kinda small but that's okay. You can wear it."

"Yeah, I wear." Bradyn nodded and reached for his overalls. "An diss?"

"Um." Tayla pursed her lips and looked into the open drawer of the dressed beside him. "Yeah, you can wear those overalls but you'll need a long sleeved shirt to go with it. It's kind of cold outside."

"Is code ou-side?"

"Yeah. Let's see-" she dug in the drawer and came up with the long sleeved shirt that matched the overalls. "Here you go. How about this?"

"No, I have diss." He looked at his tank top.

"Oh, you can wear that too." Tayla smiled and pulled the long sleeved shirt over the tank top. "See? Perfect. Now you won't be cold."

"Is perfeck." Bradyn smiled and nodded then without warning wrapped his arms around Tayla's neck.

"Oof!" Tayla put one hand back to keep her balance herself and the other around Bradyn's back. "I'm going to miss you, Bray."

"Miss me?"

"Yeah." She fell back onto her butt as Bradyn stood up and threw her center of balance off. They laughed lightly as she put her legs out in front of her so Bradyn could sit on her lap. "I'm going to my house today and I'm going to miss you when I'm gone."

"You can say, Tayla."

"I can't stay this time but I'll be back really soon to see you again."

"I can go wiss you?"

"No, not this time but maybe you and your Daddy can come to Connecticut to see me in a few weeks. That might be fun, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"Yeah, is cool." Bradyn nodded and stood up to put his hands on his little hips. "I hava shuss?"

"Shoes? Umm, sure. Go get them and I'll help you put them on." She pushed herself to her knees then up to a standing position to help Bradyn find his shoes.

----------------

With Bradyn fully dressed a few minutes later, they walked down to the master bedroom to wait on Tom. When he was done they all headed out to load Tayla's bags in the back of the car before they drove over to Bill's.

"Daddy, where?" Bradyn asked as Tom unbuckled his car seat.

"This is Bill's house."

"Oh, yeah. Is Pie appo house."

"Yeah, you're going to hang out here for a little while." Tom set him on the ground and held his hand as Tayla came around to walk up to the front door with them.

"An I pay games wiss Pie appo?"

"Yeah, you can play games with Bill."

"And Goose-gog?"

"No, I don't think Gustav is going to be here. You said you wanted to see Bill anyway. If you wanted to see Gustav I could have taken you there."

"No, I see Pie appo." Bradyn shook his head and hopped up the steps to the door. "I wing?"

"Sure." Tom hoisted Bradyn up to the doorbell and let him push the button.

Chimes sounded inside and a few minutes later the door swung open. "Hey there, how's it going?"

"Hi, Pie appo!" Bradyn's face lit up as he launched himself into Bill's arms.

"I can't believe this kid still calls me pineapple." Bill smiled at Tom. "Check this out. I bought an old Nintendo kit. Are you ready for some old school Mario Brothers?"

"Isa game?"

"Yeah, it's a game. With my luck you'll beat me at this too. I haven't played since I was probably your age, Bray." Bill set him back on the floor and ran his hand over Bradyn's raggedy hair. "You need a hair cut too."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and touched his hair as he looked up at Bill's newly cut hair.

"Come here, sweetie. Let me get a hug." Tayla knelt down and pulled Bradyn to her. "I'll see you soon." She kissed Bradyn's cheek then let him go.

"I pay game." Bradyn wiggled free of her embrace and ran off for the game room.

"Well, that was easier than I thought. At least he's not freaking out." Tayla laughed.

"Yeah but I'd hate to get to the airport and have him lose his mind in the backseat of the car." Tom nodded and placed his arm around Tayla's waist. "Thanks for keeping an eye on him."

"No problem." Bill smiled over his shoulder as he watched Bradyn stare at the wall of video games. "Did he eat and everything?"

"Yeah, he's set." Tom nodded. "I won't be long. I'm just dropping Tayla off."

"Okay, don't forget; I'm outta here at three."

"I know. Thanks." Tom nodded again and turned Tayla toward the door.

"I'll see you later, Bill." She smiled and gave him a quick hug before they stepped out the door and walked quickly towards the car.

"We're late." Tom said softly.

"I know." Tayla sighed as she looked back at the house before she opened the car door. It was harder for her to leave him this time and she felt tears threaten her eyes. She blinked quickly and hopped in the car as Bradyn ran up to Bill with a game in his hands. Bill laughed and picked Bradyn up before he shut the front door, his lips forming words that were blocked by the closed window as Tayla sat in the car.

----------------

Tom drove quickly to the terminal at the airport. He stopped on the curb between two taxis. "You seem mad." Tom said as a statement instead of a question.

"I'm not mad." Tayla shook her head but looked out the window as the car slowed in front of her terminal.

"Just pretend I never mentioned moving in." He touched her hand softly, assuming that was still the issue.

"That's not what I'm not mad about."

"Double negatives confuse me." Tom tried to laugh.

Tayla kept her eyes on the skycaps loading luggage onto carts but wove her fingers through Tom's. "Astrid makes me nervous."

"Nervous?"

"She just gives me a bad feeling. I can't explain it. And you're letting her walk all over you and Bradyn."

"She's not walking all over us, Tayla. She was late for one call."

"It's more than that." Tayla sighed and turned to face Tom. If she could figure it out herself it'd be easier to explain to Tom but she couldn't so she shrugged and licked her lips. "I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"We won't. I promise." Tom smiled and kissed her quickly as he gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm glad you came this week." He rested his forehead against hers as cars behind him blew on their horns. Tayla dropped her eyes to her lap and nodded briefly. "I love you." Tom whispered.

"I love you too." She brushed her lips against his before she hopped out of the car and pulled her bag from the back seat. As she walked into the terminal, she glanced over her shoulder to see Tom waving with a look that meshed worry with confusion. Another car blared its horn at him so he flashed a smile at her and slowly moved from the curb.

Tayla walked in through the automatic doors and shivered as a gust of cool air washed over her. For the first time, she was glad to hop on the plane alone. She had some serious thinking to do and decisions to make. Tom had said that she didn't have to decide right away and that she could forget he had even asked but she couldn't do that. Not when the biggest part of her wanted to run from the airport and take a cab back to Tom's.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander through each of the possibilities, taking into consideration all of the players. Herself, Tom, Bradyn and Astrid.

----------------

As soon as Tayla got home, she reached for her phone and dialed Germany. She knew she should be calling Tom but instead her face lit up when her friend answered the phone. "You are never allowed to leave Germany again." Tayla laughed softly.

"Well, it's nice to talk to you too." Nadiehn laughed. "What's up? What'd I miss?'

"I just got home from being there all week."

"Ugh, I miss everything." She sat on the corner of the couch to let Bill finish making the dinner on his own. "So how was it and when are you coming back?" Nadiehn smiled and made herself comfortable. It had been a while since she actually got to talk to Tayla so she wanted to settle in for a long conversation.

Tayla was silent on her end of the phone. She bit her lip and tooks deep breaths. "Tom kind of asked me to move in with him."

"Kind of?"

"Yeah."

"How does someone kind of ask that?"

"Well, he didn't come out and say, 'Move in with me' but kind of."

"Tayla, you'll have to be more clear than that. Did he just hint at it or what?"

"No, he said he didn't think it was good for Bradyn for me to come down here and leave all the time and then he said maybe I shouldn't."

"Maybe you shouldn't more here?"

"Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't."

"Oh." Nadiehn pursed her lips and sighed through her nose.

"Yeah."

"So?"

"So? Nadiehn, you're supposed to offer me some little nugget of wisdom." Tayla complained as she fell into her dining room chair in the dark.

"A nugget of wisdom, huh?" Nadiehn smiled and tried not to laugh. "It's a simple yes or no question. Do you want to live with him?"

"It's not that simple. And yes."

"So then there you go."

"But I don't think I'm ready to be domesticated just yet."

"You're not a cat."

"I know."

"Okay, ask yourself this: how do you feel when you're here visiting?"

Tayla sighed. That was the hard part. "I love it. I really do. I love Tom and Bradyn and just, everything. I'm comfortable and all that. I mean, it feels like home."

"Tayla, I don't see what the problem is."

"Yeah but when I'm there visiting I also know that I have my apartment here to come back to and that's comforting too. I mean look at you and Bill. You guys didn't move in together until you were engaged practically."

"Uh huh." Nadiehn smiled. "Do you think that's what's on his mind?"

"Oh, shit." Tayla gasped under her breath. "Shit, Nadiehn. I didn't even think about that. I hope not."

"You hope not? What kind of a girl are you?" Nadiehn smiled and looked over at Bill as he drained the pasta in the sink, making a face and turning away as the steam rolled past his face.

"I'm so not ready for that." Tayla rested her head in her hands. "No, that's not what he means. We've only been together for a few months. I mean, you and Bill at least had a few years. No, Tom wouldn't rush into anything like that."

"Okay."

"Not with Astrid still vomiting her presence everywhere."

"Ah ha! I think you've hit on the heart of the matter."

"Astrid?" Tayla asked. She'd never really thought about that.

"Maybe." Nadiehn shrugged and pulled at her lip. "What's going on there?"

Tayla sighed and planned her words carefully to try to remain neutral. Then as she remembered it was Nadiehn she was talking to she opened up. "I can't stand her." Tayla said quickly. "But I can't really let Tom know that because he's the one who has to deal with her, not me. I don't want to get in the middle there or cause any problems for him because she's causing enough of her own."

"Mmm hmm." Nadiehn mumbled. She didn't want to say anything that might derail Tayla's train of thought.

"If I moved in there, that would throw everything out of whack. If I wait until things are settled and calm between them, maybe it won't be such a big thing that I move in, you know?"

"Well, doesn't Astrid already think you live there?"

"Yeah." The call waiting beeped in Nadiehn's ear. "Do you have to get that?" Tayla asked.

"No, don't worry about it." Nadiehn shook her head. "So?"

"Well, thinking I live there is one thing. Me actually living there is another. I can put up with her and be polite on the few times I'm there to visit when she calls or whatever but having that be part of my daily life? I don't know." Nadiehn kept quiet while Tayla thought. "Also Tom-" Tayla sighed and frowned deeply. "Tom really needs to focus on getting things right with Astrid and getting into that routine. Plus they'll be back in the studio in a few weeks and everything gets so shaky right around then anyway. Don't you think adding a live-in girlfriend to that would just completely screw up everything?"

"I don't know." Nadiehn answered honestly.

"I want to be there for him for all of this. But that's hard to do when there's this big Astrid wedge shoved in there, you know? And maybe that's just my fucked up perception of this whole thing, but still."

"It's okay if that's your perception. That's what you have to go on really."

"Yeah. I just- I really want to live with him but I want all the pieces to be in place before I do, you know?"

"You're one of those pieces though, Tayla."

Tayla closed her eyes. "I know."

"Sucks, huh?" Nadiehn said softly.

"Yeah, it does." Tayla smiled and cleared her throat. "Thanks for listening to me ramble."

"Any time."

"I'm not going to move." Tayla sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Yet." She added a second later. "When it's right, I'll feel it and I just don't right now. Maybe in a little while or whatever."

"Okay." Nadiehn nodded, hoping that Tayla's hesitation wouldn't throw Tom off course.

"So." Tayla sighed deeply and forced a smile. "What's going on with you guys?" Nadiehn happily relayed funny stories from her family reunion the week before as Bill's cell phone rang on the little table by the front door.

He darted across the room and answered it before it went to voice mail. "Hello?" He asked without checking the caller ID.

"Hey, Bill. It's Tom."

Bill laughed, as if he wouldn't recognize his twin brother's voice. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Things are okay. Are you at home?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm making dinner. Why?"

"I just tried calling."

"Nadiehn's on the phone."

"Oh." Tom bit his lip.

"What's up?" Bill walked into the kitchen and sat on the counter as he grabbed a box of crackers from the top of the fridge.

"Okay so I asked Tayla to move in with me last week and she didn't say yes so now I'm like- I'm like okay now what? You know?"

"You asked her to move in?" Bill snacked on the crackers as he waited for baked squash dish to be done in the oven.

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why is that so shocking?"

"It's not." Bill said quickly. "It's just so not you."

"Yeah, well, it's me now."

"She said no?"

"She said she had to think about it."

"That makes sense."

"I know." Tom sighed. "I know she needs to think about it because it's a big step and everything. But still-"

"Don't sweat it. She's a smart girl. She just needs to make sure she's doing the right thing. You know, the whole weighing the pros and cons things."

"There are cons?" Tom frowned quickly as a whole new set of worries plagued his mind.

"Of course there are." Bill laughed. "Going from living alone to living with someone you're dating is big. It took a long time to get Nadiehn moved in here and we've known each other forever."

"She doesn't live alone. She has a roommate. It'd be the same."

"You need a nap or something. It's definitely not the same. Would having Gustav move in with you be the same as having Tayla move in?"

"Hell no."

"Okay then." Bill smiled and closed the box of crackers as the scent of the pasta wafted over to where he was sitting. "So really, don't worry about it. When she's ready to do this she'll let you know. And I'd be willing to bet you won't have to wait long."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Bill nodded. "So what are you and the kid up to this week? Are you doing anything great for the last week of freedom?"

"No, we don't have anything planned really. He keeps saying he wants to see animals so I was thinking of taking him to Hagenbeck."

"I love that zoo."

"Me too. I think Bradyn will love it. He loved the San Diego zoo too. I've been thinking of flying back to the US." Tom chewed on a hangnail for a second.

"You could see Astrid too."

"Ha."

"Is that a no?"

"That's a hell no. If she wants to see him she's going to have to fly here. I'm not wasting my time out there any more."

"Okay then."

"Bill, we were out there for a week to visit her and she flaked on us. On Bradyn."

"I know."

"So the last thing I'm gonna do is fly out there to see her again."

"I know, I was just saying you'd be there anyway." Bill sighed. "Never mind."

"I know what you were saying, Bill, and we're not doing that."

"You don't have to get all upset. I was just saying."

Tom took a deep breath to release some of his built up frustration that had nothing to do with Bill. "Sorry. Anyway, I don't even know if we're going to go. It was just an idea. My main excuse to go to the US is to see Tayla. I wonder if they have zoos in Connecticut."

"I don't know. You'll have to Google it."

"Yeah." Tom pulled on his lip and frowned. "So you really think I shouldn't worry about this whole Tayla thing?"

"I really think you shouldn't worry." Bill said reassuringly as the buzzer on the stove sounded. He turned it off then reached for the oven mitt to take the hot dish out and set it on the stove top. "Why don't you call her?"

"Yeah." Tom said softly. "I guess I should, huh?"

"Yeah." Bill fanned his mitt covered hand over the steaming dinner and looked over at Nadiehn who was still on the phone. "Nay, dinner's ready. Gimme a call tomorrow if you're still stressed or whatever."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"And let me know if you go to the US."

"I will." Tom smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"G'night." Tom hung up the phone, closed his eyes tightly and thought about calling Tayla.

----------------

"Hello?" Tom answered the phone as he propped it on his shoulder. It was Sunday morning and he was just getting ready to get Bradyn dressed for the day. He considered it bad news if noon rolled around and they were still in their pajamas.

"Hey." Tayla said softly.

"Hi. You made it home okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't call last night. I was exhausted."

"That's okay." Tom nodded. "How was your cousin's birthday?"

"That's not until tonight. I'm actually getting ready to go to my parents' house right now."

"Oh."

"So, have you decided what you're doing this week?"

"Flying to see you in Connecticut," was what went through Tom's mind but instead he shrugged. "No, I haven't given it much thought. Bradyn wants to see animals so-" He shrugged again and she heard it.

"Cool. There are zoos and stuff in Germany, right? Maybe you guys could take a road trip and see some of them."

"Yeah." Tom smiled. "That might be fun. Better than flying somewhere, huh?"

"Yeah, I think Bradyn's airplaned out. He has more frequent flyer miles than I do."

"He probably does." Tom laughed and pulled at one of his braids. "That's actually not a bad idea. I'll have to call around and find some other places around here. That sounds fun."

"Just don't forget to send post cards."

"Or you could come with us."

"You guys need a father and son vacation, I think." Tayla bit her lip.

"Do you know how much time we spend alone together?"

"Yeah but still. You're building memories with him. When he's your age he'll be able to look back and remember all these cool things you did with him. Take Gustav or something. That'd definitely build some lasting memories."

"Yeah, memories of his Onkel Gustav holding him upside down over an alligator pit." Tom laughed and shook his head. "I'll see what I can come up with."

"Okay." Tayla nodded. "And you start recording next week, right? See that'll be the perfect way to end your little break."

"We don't start until the week after next. The Monday before Halloween."

"Oh, cool. So you have two weeks you can plan to do stuff. That's awesome."

"Uh huh. Do you have plans for the next two weeks?"

"Um, not really. I'm just going to be hanging around here at home since I feel like I'm never here. I need to clean up and bond with my roommate and everything. See the family, you know, that kind of thing."

"Oh, okay."

"David called and left me a message here at home. I guess you guys are going to start planning for another tour pretty soon. He said you're going to kick off the tour before the album comes out so I'll, uh- If I'm joining you guys this time again, I'll be working on that."

Tom's smiled dipped at the corner. They were both so obviously avoiding the topic of moving in. It was like not talking about the huge pink elephant in the living room. If he could have remembered that story he'd have said something about it but he just bit his lip and sighed. "You'll be with us. Of course you will."

"Good." She smiled and through the phone line he could hear how false it was. "Well anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I made it home safe and all of that. I have to get going though."

"Okay. Well thanks for calling."

"No problem."

"I'll talk to you soon." He said softly. "Love you."

"I love you too, Tom." Tayla smiled and meant it as she hung up and sighed. She looked around at her unpacked bags and wondered if she'd made a mistake in coming home to Connecticut when all she wanted was to be back in Germany. She sighed to herself and reached to unzip her bag. "Once I get unpacked I'll feel more at home. Come on, Tayla, just unpack already." She grumbled to herself as she reached for her folded T-shirt.

Tom hung up the phone and smiled. If nothing else, just hearing those three little words made him feel better. Eventually, he hoped she'd become more comfortable with the idea and move in with him. That was all he really wanted and if she needed time, he'd give her time. All the time she could ask for.

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After a day and a half of planning, Tom and Bradyn spent the week driving around Germany to see all the different animal parks. Bradyn took on a new found infatuation with crocodiles and alligators and added Dill, a stuffed alligator, to his backpack of needed toys right alongside Lello. They stayed in hotels along the way and made each room into their own little jungle every night.

They called Tayla a few times and sent out handfuls of postcards to everyone they knew with Bradyn adding his own scribble of an animal to each one. Since they weren't home for Astrid to call Tom arranged to call her at the regular time so that she and Bradyn could still talk and, to his surprise, both calls went well.

With the weather being cool and it being off-season, they were able to visit almost all of the parks without the fear of running into a mob of fans.

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They returned to their house on Monday evening then had a quick dinner before Tom took Bradyn upstairs for bed. Bill and Nadiehn had spent the week between their house and Tom's to take care of Lucy and play with her. They left Tom a note in the kitchen saying that they had brought Chase and Jayda over a few times and the dogs had gotten along well.

Tom smiled and cleared his throat as he folded the note and left it on the counter. He'd had a little tickle in his throat the whole day and wrote it off to allergies of some sort but the aching in his head was getting worse so he tread upstairs and put himself to bed. Maybe all he needed was a good night's sleep.

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Tom should have known when he woke up with his head pounding that his week was not going to be as great as the week before. The final free week before he chained himself to the studio was not the time when he wanted to get sick. Throughout the morning routine of getting Bradyn fed and ready for school, Tom fought against the nausea growing in the pit of his stomach. He took Bradyn to preschool and managed to make it home before he vomited in the downstairs bathroom.

"Damn it." Tom wiped his mouth and flushed the toilet as a chill ran through his body. "Not now. Come on not now." Tom held his mouth under the faucet and rinsed with the cool tap water while his teeth chattered slightly. He wrote it off to just having lost his breakfast. Tom dragged himself up the stairs to Bradyn's bathroom where the ear thermometer was stored in the medicine cabinet and stuck it in his ear.

"Ninety-nine point seven. Hardly what I'd call a fever." He grumbled to himself as he walked down to his room and collapsed onto the bed with a heavy cough. His eyes burned as they closed and he knew he was going to need a lot more sleep in order to function at all. Tom set his alarm to wake him up in time for him to go get Bradyn from school before he pulled the blankets up to his shoulders and buried his face into his pillow.

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When he awoke on his own a short while later, he jerked his head up and fumbled for the clock, sure that he'd missed his alarm and was late to pick up Bradyn. To his relief it was only two hours later and he still had plenty of time. He shivered again under the covers as he reached for the thermometer and took his temperature again. One hundred and one.

"Okay, fever." Tom rolled out of bed and padded to Bradyn's bathroom again where he kept the dog eared toddler book for when Bradyn got sick. He flipped to fevers and read up on what to do. He applied it to himself as an adult. He went to the kitchen and got himself a large cup of water before he carried himself back upstairs to take his fluids and get rest. Rest was something he wouldn't have a problem getting.

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Tom's alarm went off signaling that it was time to go get Bradyn from pre-school. He stumbled downstairs and to the car. He pulled a cap over his frazzled braids before he went inside to collect Bradyn and take him home.

"Daddy seepin?" Bradyn asked as Tom strapped him into the car seat. He had both of his stuffed animal buddies, Lello and Dill, on his lap when Tom slammed the door shut and climbed in the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I was sleeping. I don't feel too hot." Tom mumbled.

"You hot?"

"Yeah."

"We go ina pool?" Bradyn's eyes lit up.

"No, not today. I feel like crap so today we're just gonna hang out inside."

"But I run wiss Lucy ou-side?" Bradyn kicked his feet to an unheard beat and bopped his head from side to side.

"No." Tom shook his head. "Maybe. We'll see." He squinted into the sun as his mouth filled with metallic saliva. "Shit." Tom grumbled under his breath as he swallowed several times to fight back the feeling of nausea.

"We have dono?"

"What?"

"Kickin dono?"

"McDonald's? Not today, buddy."

"Yeah."

"No."

"Yeah, Daddy." Bradyn began to whine with his pouty lip protruding.

"Bradyn, no. We're not going to McDonald's. We'll have lunch at home." Tom frowned and hit the accelerator. All he really wanted to do was get home as soon as possible in case he wasn't able to stop himself from vomiting again.

"Peese?"

"I'm sorry, buddy. We'll go later. Maybe tomorrow or something."

"Lato morrow?"

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow." Tom's foot pressed the gas harder as the light turned green and they headed home. Bradyn was quiet the rest of the ride home as he bounced Lello and Dill around on his lap, happily anticipating going to McDonald's the next day to get a Happy Meal.

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When they got home, Tom got Bradyn into the house and made him a quick sandwich before lying on the couch downstairs. He pulled the throw blanket over his legs and made sure he had a trashcan handy in case he felt sick again. They let Lucy into the house and Tom let her and Bradyn entertain each other while he flipped through the channels and tried to stay awake.

At eight o'clock that night, after a dinner of re-heated pizza and a container of pudding, Tom herded Bradyn into his bed and read him a story. Without kissing him goodnight, Tom turned off the lights and stood by the door. "G'night, buddy."

"Nigh-nigh, Daddy." Bradyn yawned and turned over in his bed.

Tom stood there for a minute until Bradyn settled into his sleeping position. He shut the door halfway and went down the dark hall to his own room. He crawled under his covers and turned his radio on softly to lull himself to sleep, though it didn't take long.

Being sound asleep, he didn't notice or care that Astrid never called for her Tuesday night call.

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"Daddy?" Bradyn whispered as he put his hand flat on Tom's cheek. "Daddy, wake?"

"Hrmm?" Tom cracked his eyes open and frowned at Bradyn in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy, I see Lucy." Bradyn whispered.

"No." Tom sighed. "I'm asleep, Bradyn. You can see Lucy later. Go back to bed." He pulled the blankets up to his throbbing head and scowled to himself. A sharp bark from downstairs woke him up completely.

"Is Lucy, Daddy."

"She's in the house?" Tom looked up at Bradyn with his crazy morning hair.

"Yeah."

"Oh, shit. I forgot to put her out last night." Tom carefully threw back the covers and shuffled toward the door. The dog met him on the landing halfway down the stairs with a look of desperation on her furry face and her tail wagging at lightning speed. "Yeah, I bet you've gotta go something fierce." Tom mumbled as he padded to the backdoor and pulled it open for her. Lucy bolted out the door and made a mad dash for the side yard.

"I have pankays?" Bradyn asked as he pulled himself up into his seat at the table.

"Hmm?" Tom turned from the door as he pulled it shut and locked it. "What?"

"Have pankays?"

"No pancakes today, buddy. I'm not feeling too good." Tom took Bradyn's hand and slid him off the chair. He opened the pantry door and grabbed a box of Pop Tarts. "Come on, you can have some of these and we'll watch Blue's Clues or something." Tom rubbed his eyes as they went back upstairs and crawled onto Tom's bed.

"I have two?" Bradyn pulled the box from Tom's hands and fished out one silvery package.

"Sure. Have two." Tom pulled the covers up to his shoulders and buried his face in the folds. After a minute his arm extended out of the warm cocoon and felt for the remote on the table. He clicked the buttons from memory and tuned the TV to the cartoon channel for Bradyn. "There you go, buddy. Watch that." He coughed into the darkness of the cave he'd created before he closed his eyes and went to sleep to the sound of Bradyn tearing at the foil packaging of the Pop Tarts.

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The shrill ringing of the phone on the nightstand woke Tom a short while later. For the first few seconds, he was half asleep and confused. It was dark all around but that didn't seem right. Tom frowned and put his hand out where it met his comforter and pushed it away. The sunlight coming in through the window blinded him as the phone rang a second time.

"Daddy, isa phone. I say?" Bradyn stopped stacking DVDs on the floor by the door and stood up.

"I'll get it." Tom croaked before he coughed and reached blindly for the phone. "Yeah?" He answered the phone only to stop it from ringing, not because he wanted to talk.

"Tom?"

"Hmm?"

"It's Georg."

"Yeah?" Tom pressed his free hand over his eyes.

"What are you doing? Are you sleeping?" Georg looked at the clock on his microwave. "It's noon."

"Yeah." Tom shook his head slowly and looked over to where Bradyn had returned to stacking his DVDs up as high as he could. "Bradyn, don't stack those. Come on, they're all gonna fall."

"You sound horrible."

"I know." Tom's voice cracked as he suppressed a cough.

"You're sick?" Georg asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's a throat thing." Tom left out the headache thing, fever thing and vomit thing.

"Well shit, are you trying to give it to Bradyn or what? You shouldn't be around the kid if you're sick."

"What am I supposed to do?" He fell back onto his pillow then reached under his hip to pull a Pop Tarts box out from under him.

"Call someone. Shit. It's not like you live in Siberia."

"I can do it." Tom coughed into his fist and sighed as Bradyn threw his beach ball against the wall. "Buddy, knock it off. That's driving me nuts."

"Forget that. Ten bucks says you've been lying in bed for two days and the kid's been fending for himself."

"He hasn't been fending for himself."

"What'd he have for breakfast?" Georg asked.

"Pop Tarts?" Tom guessed as he tossed the box off of the bed.

"Toasted?"

"No." Tom closed his eyes and sighed.

"Sad. I'll be over in forty five minutes."

"What?"

"I'm gonna come get the kid. You can't take care of him when you're like this and you have another two days before you're better."

"I'm fine."

"For as long as I've known you, you get sick for four days. You're two down, you have two to go. We have to be in the studio on Monday and you can't be all sick so stop arguing. I'll be there in forty five minutes." Georg hung up his phone and left Tom grumbling into dead air.

"Daddy, is my Tayla?"

"No. That was Georg."

"Gay-og?"

"Yeah." Tom shivered as he pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"I can see Gay-og?" Bradyn tried to climb up onto Tom's bed but slipped on the bed frame.

"I'm sick, buddy; you don't want to be up here."

"Daddy, I see Gay-og?"

"He's coming over." Tom nodded. "I think." He frowned and licked his lips.

"I see Emo ona TV?" Bradyn walked over to the pile of movies and picked the bright orange DVD off of the stack.

"Yeah, you can put Elmo in." Tom reached for the remote to control the DVD player and waited as Bradyn toddled over to the machine. "It's upside down. Turn it over. Go like this." Tom flipped his hand over to show Bradyn how to turn the DVD over.

"No, I see Emo."

"You can see Elmo but you've gotta put it in right." Tom coughed into his hand and clenched his eyes closed as fireworks exploded behind his aching eyes.

"Is boke."

"It's not broke. Here. Bring it here." Tom extended his hand for Bradyn to put the DVD in. "Okay, put it in just like this." He handed the DVD back to Bradyn and watched as he tried again to put it in the DVD player.

"Is boke." Bradyn sighed and shook his head.

"Damn, there must be one in there." Tom hit play and the screen jumped to life. "Yeah, let's watch this instead." He rolled onto his side away from the TV and closed his eyes against the brightness of the screen.

"Is Emo?"

"I don't know what it is but that's what we get to watch." Tom mumbled as the Teletubbies theme song started.

Bradyn frowned at the screen then looked back at his father. "I don't wan."

"This is all I have, buddy."

"Is Emo." Bradyn handed Tom the DVD.

"Ugh." Tom grumbled and took the DVD from Bradyn. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and removed the Teletubbies DVD from the player so that he could put in the Elmo one. "Damn it. Don't move." Tom put his hand on Bradyn head and ran for the bathroom.

Some wizard of luck was on his side and he managed to not vomit. Dry heaves he could handle but anything else was pushing it. He had purposely not eaten anything just for that reason. "Ugh." He flushed the empty toilet and stood to lean against the wall for a moment. When his vision returned to normal he walked back out to his bed and fell across it, too hot to be bothered with the covers. Elmo was playing on the TV and Bradyn sat entranced like only a two-year-old can be. Secure in the fact that Bradyn wouldn't move for another hour or so, Tom let his eyes drift closed to catch a much needed nap.

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"Tom? Bradyn? Don't freak out it just me." Georg laughed and bounced up the stairs. "Where are you guys?" He walked down the hall, peeking into Bradyn's room and the bathroom. "Tom?"

"We're in here." Tom grumbled with his head in the pillow as he came awake to the sound of Georg's voice. He turned his head to the side to check on Bradyn who was standing in front of the TV stacking DVDs.

"There you are." Georg appeared in the doorway. "You look like hell."

"Thanks."

"You sound like hell too. That's great though because we start recording next week, you know."

"I know." Tom cracked his eyes open and sighed. "Bradyn, seriously, if you don't leave those DVDs alone you're going to go to your room."

"Yeah right, who's gonna make him?" Georg laughed and scooped Bradyn up from the ground. "Leave those alone, buddy. That's your Dad's private collection, if you catch my drift." He winked at the toddler and messed his hair. "You're gonna come hang out with me today. Cool, huh?" Georg asked as he tugged Bradyn's pajama top down to cover his tummy. "You need to show me where your stuff is though because you need clothes."

"I have cose." Bradyn looked down at his pajamas and socks.

"You have pajamas. Let go get you some pants or something. Good God, how long have you been wearing those?" Georg grumbled as he carried Bradyn out of Tom's room. "Tom, if you weren't sick I'd go back in there and yell at you." Georg raised his voice from down the hall.

"You don't have to take him with you. You can stay here."

"In germ central? No, thanks." Georg went into Bradyn's room and let the little boy show him where his little duffel bag was. They loaded up a few pairs of pants, a handful of shirts, underwear and socks then put Lello on top.

"Georg, come on. You don't have to take him."

"I know I don't have to but I'm going to anyway."

"I go wiss Gay-og?" Bradyn asked.

"Yeah, you're gonna come spend the night with me. It's gonna be fun. We'll stay up all night and watch porno movies and drink Yoo-Hoo or something."

"Georg." Tom frowned from the bed but didn't get up to protest.

"I'm kidding. That Yoo-Hoo stuff is nasty without some Peppermint Schnapps in it." Georg laughed. "Give us a call later after you've slept for a while."

"Bring him back in the morning."

"I'll bring him back when you're better."

"Georg, you don't know the first thing about taking care of a kid."

"I know you don't keep them around when you're sick."

"You were never around your Mom when she was sick?"

"Not if I didn't have to be. He doesn't have to be." Georg smiled and scooped Bradyn up. "Blow your dad a kiss. We're outta here."

"Bye-bye, Daddy." Bradyn giggled as Georg let him slip so that he was almost hanging upside down. "Bye!" He held his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss as Georg turned and walked down the hall talking like a pirate who had just captured a thief.

"Arrrrg! You're trying to steal my ship, eh? We'll just see about that!" Georg hoisted Bradyn back up onto his hip and adjusted the backpack. He ticked under Bradyn's chin and the last thing Tom heard before the front door slammed shut was Bradyn's insane giggling.

Tom fell back onto his bed and closed his eyes. The house was eerily quiet without Bradyn around and for a moment he actually enjoyed it. With as bad as he felt, he was glad to have Bradyn out of the way for a while, even though a little pinch of something else crept into his stomach. This would be the first time they were apart since Bradyn had shown up in his life.

He yawned and rolled onto his stomach under the covers and fell asleep, putting Bradyn out of his mind so he could focus on getting better.

Chapter Thirteen