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Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Thirteen

"You have a date tonight." Gustav said when Georg answered the phone. It has been only an hour after he and Bradyn arrived at his house.

"Yeah, I do." Georg chuckled and watched Bradyn pile pillows on the floor in front of the couch.

"No, really. You do."

"What are you talking about?"

"You, me and Bill. We're going to Reeperbahn."

"How is that a date? I can't tonight." Georg shook his head and leaned back to watch Bradyn jump from the couch to the pillows on the floor.

"Yes, tonight." Gustav frowned. Georg was never one to turn down a night out.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't. You have to. Bill has a shitload of cash. All we need is to get two drinks in him and whole night will be compliments of Mr. Kaulitz."

Georg laughed. "I can't. I have other plans tonight."

"Cancel them. What could be better than a night of free drinks?"

"Not much." Georg agreed softly. "The little guy's here though."

"You have a guy over there?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

"Bradyn."

"Wass, Gay-og! Wass!" Bradyn giggled and jumped off the couch again as the pillowcase pinned to his shirt sailed over his head.

"That's cool but be careful, Bray. You almost hit the table." Georg gave Bradyn a thumbs up as the little boy climbed back onto the couch.

"So have Tom take him home." Gustav said with a tone of utter confusion. "Or have him find a sitter. That guy needs a night out more than any of us."

"Tom's sick so I'm keeping Bradyn here."

Gustav frowned. "He's sick and he called you to take care of Bradyn?"

"No, I called him and found out he's sick and he thinks he can take care of the kid when he's all curled up in bed."

"What's he sick with?"

"Some throat thing." Georg shrugged.

"So you're taking care of the kid?"

"Yes. I have the kid."

"And Tom's okay with that?"

"He didn't have a choice."

"Are you okay with that?" Gustav asked with a knowing grin.

"What?"

"You're gonna take care of Bradyn tonight?"

"Yeah." Georg furrowed his brow with concern. "Why's that bad?"

Gustav paused for second and bit his lip to keep from laughing. "He's two."

"Yeah?"

"Okay." Gustav sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "We'll be over in an hour." He moved the phone away from his mouth and shouted at Bill. "Bill! We're going over to Georg's house tonight."

"We who? I'm going to Reeperbahn."

"Georg has Bradyn because Tom's sick." Gustav explained.

"So?" Bill's voice sounded closer as he walked into the office where Gustav was sitting.

"You guys don't have to come over. I'll be fine." Georg argued. "Whoa! Bray, get down from there. You'll break your neck and then your Dad will kill me." He jumped up and reached for Bradyn who was perched on the back of the recliner.

"Yeah, whatever." Gustav said into the phone. He looked at Bill. "Don't be an ass. We're going to go help Georg."

"I don't need help." Georg grunted as he lifted Bradyn off the chair and set him on the floor.

"See you in an hour." Gustav said, ignoring Georg's argument. Georg hung up the phone and rolled his eyes.

"Is my Daddy?" Bradyn tilted his head back and looked up at Georg.

"No. That was Gustav and Bill."

"Pie appo?"

"Yeah. They're coming over, I think."

"Yay!" Bradyn threw his arms over his head and cheered. "Anen we pay?"

"You wanna play with them?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded emphatically.

"Sure. Yeah, when they come over we'll all play together. Then it'll be time for bed and Gustav and Bill will go home." Georg collapsed onto the cushionless couch and pushed the pillows back into a pile for Bradyn to jump in.

"An me?"

"And you what?"

"I go home?"

"No, you're staying here tonight."

"My Daddy?" Bradyn frowned and sat beside Georg as he pulled his little legs up onto the couch.

"Your Dad is sick so he's going to stay over in his germ filled house."

"No, me." Bradyn shimmied up on his knees and scooted over so that his knees were pressing Georg's thigh.

"You're going to stay here with me."

"No, my Daddy."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I say an my Daddy."

"You want to stay with your Daddy?" Georg asked.

"Yeah."

Georg frowned and bit his lip. "You have to stay here so you don't get sick too. Being sick sucks."

"Is sucks?" Bradyn grimaced and cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, it sucks." Georg laughed. "Besides, if you go home you won't be able to play with me and Bill and Gustav."

"Yeah!" Bradyn jumped off the couch and spun around.

"You're a weird kid." Georg sighed and used the remote to turn the music up.

"I can fye an you?"

"You want me to fly with you?"

"No, me."

"You want to fly?"

"Yeah."

"Go for it."

"No, you."

"Me what?" Georg looked down at Bradyn and shook his head in confusion.

"You hode me an fye." Bradyn sighed. "I fye."

"Oh!" Georg slapped his forehead. "Oh, okay. I get it." He stood up and picked Bradyn up under his arms. "Like this?"

"I fye like supaman."

"Okay." Georg adjusted Bradyn so that he was lying flat across his arms before he took off running around the living room.

Bradyn screeched and laughed with excitement as Georg ran down the hall, making sure not to get too close to the walls. They zoomed around the kitchen then out to the backyard and back through the living room. When Georg's arms felt like Jell-O, he set Bradyn on the floor and panted lightly. "You're getting too big."

"Gan?"

"What?"

"I fye gan?"

"You want to fly again?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn threw his hands over his head and tossed his cape over his shoulder.

"Okay but give me a few minutes to catch my breath. I'm too old for this sh- Crap." He caught himself before the bad word left his lips.

"I two." Bradyn nodded and held up two fingers.

"I know you are, buddy. You're in the terrible twos." Georg laughed as the doorbell rang. Before he could even glance at the door the banging started.

"Let us in!" Bill shouted to the beat he was tapping on the door.

"They're here." Georg made a surprised face at Bradyn as the little boy gasped and ran for the front door.

"I get!"

"I'll get it. Hang on." Georg walked up behind him and unlocked the door with a quick glance at the security monitor just to be safe.

"Come on, Listing. It's not like you have anything anyone wants to steal. Open up." Gustav shouted as the door opened and Bill rushed in.

"Pie appo!" Bradyn screeched as he launched himself at Bill's knees.

"Hey, Bray!" Bill picked Bradyn up and tossed him in the air. "What's up?"

"Wassup." Bradyn giggled and clung to the front of Bill's shirt.

Gustav smiled and reached out to mess Bradyn's hair. "How's it going?"

"I think he wants Tom."

"You think?" Gustav raised his eyebrow at Georg. "I don't think he's spent the night away from Tom since we got him."

"Yeah but he didn't freak about not having his Mom around when we first got him, did he?"

"A little." Gustav nodded and he would know. "The first night, I think. I remember him crying for her." He patted Bradyn's back and continued down the hall to the living room where he immediately went to the stereo to adjust the controls.

Bill bit his lip and looked down at Bradyn. "Well, no one's crying tonight, are you? We're gonna have fun!"

"Fun an my Daddy sick?"

"Yeah. He's got a runny nose and a funny tummy so you're gonna hang out here with us. It'll be a lot of fun." Bill picked him up and ran into the other room where Gustav was standing at the stereo.

"What's this shit you call music?" Gustav asked without taking his eyes off of the stereo.

"Uh oh!" Bradyn's eyes grew wide as he covered his mouth and looked at Gustav.

"Gustav said a bad word, huh?" Bill laughed. Bradyn nodded from behind his hand and giggled. "What should we do?"

"Say no." Bradyn shook his head and smiled.

"Tell him not to say that? That won't work. I think we should wash his mouth out with soap." Bill laughed and looked over at Gustav. "Come to the kitchen, Gustav. I want you to meet my friend Dawn. She cuts through grease, you know."

"Shut up." Gustav found music that he liked and turned the volume up. "You're not washing my mouth out because I said shit."

"Gustav, come on." Georg sighed.

"Sorry but seriously? You're worse than I am. You swear like a sailor and do you think Tom's any better?" Gustav shook his head and picked up the cushions to put them back on the couch.

"I sink we have soap." Bradyn nodded.

"Bradyn thinks we should wash your mouth out." Bill smiled and set Bradyn on the counter.

"I think Bradyn's not the boss of me." Gustav stuck out his tongue and hopped on the counter beside Bradyn. "I won't say it again, okay?" He asked the little boy to his left.

"Kay." Bradyn nodded.

"There we go. Good enough." Gustav clapped his hands together and looked at Georg. "So what do you have to eat around here?"

"Eat?" Georg asked as he squinted his eyes at Gustav.

"You have to feed the kid dinner you know."

"Oh. Right." Georg pursed his lips and pulled the fridge open. "Um-"

"You hungry?" Gustav looked down at Bradyn who just nodded and stepped between Georg and the open fridge.

"What do you want?"

"Cheese sammich." Bradyn sighed and craned his neck to look around the huge refrigerator. "An pizza?"

"I don't think I have left over pizza." Georg frowned and pushed the milk aside.

"Yeah." Bradyn climbed into the fridge and stood on the bottom by the drawers. "Deres pizza." He held onto one of the glass shelves and pointed with his free hand.

"He spotted the pizza from down there? How is he not your kid?" Bill asked as he leaned on the counter to inspect the inside of the fridge on his own. "How much do you have there?"

"Um." Georg reached in the back behind a few take out containers and pulled out the plate with two pieces of pizza on it, covered in pink saran wrap.

"Pink?"

"Kala bought it."

"Uh huh." Bill extended his long arm and took the plate from Georg's hand.

"Why would I lie about that?" Georg frowned and took the plate back. "That's for Bradyn."

"Both pieces?" Bill slid off the counter. "He can't eat two pieces of pizza. They're as big as he is."

"Fine. Whatever he doesn't eat, you can have." Georg scowled at Bill and guarded the pizza with his body. "You want it heated up or cold?" He asked Bradyn.

"Um-" Bradyn thought about it for a second and looked at Bill. "Is my pizza, Pie appo."

"Yeah, I know." Bill pretended to pout as he opened Georg's pantry.

"I have it code." Bradyn nodded and Gustav and took the paper plate with the saran on it from Georg. Gustav led him to the table and helped him into his chair.

"Can I have a bite?" Gustav asked.

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed as Gustav unwrapped the pizza and took a big bite of the top piece.

"Good stuff." Gustav said with his mouthful.

"Can I have this?" Bill asked.

"Cup O Noodles?" Georg smirked. "Sure. Knock yourself out."

"Oh, make me some." Gustav said from the table.

Bill looked at Georg for permission and laughed. "They're ten for a dollar or whatever. You can each have a dozen for all I care."

"Cool." Bill pulled three more out of the cupboard and clicked the burner under the kettle on to heat the water.

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

They ate a smorgasbord of food for dinner. From Bradyn's two pieces of pizza, of which he ate all but the crusts, to the frozen waffles Georg toasted for himself, to the Cup O Noodles Gustav and Bill had. They finished it all off with popsicles and laughed like kids at their multi-colored tongues.

It was almost nine when Gustav and Bill looked at their watches in unison and stood up to leave. "Going out?" Georg asked.

"Uh-" Gustav looked at Bill who nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, the kid's going to bed, right?" Bill looked down at Bradyn draped across the couch looking half-asleep.

"Yeah." Georg shoved his hands in his pockets.

"If you can find someone to watch him come to Reeperbahn." Bill shrugged.

"Yeah. Maybe. Probably not though. I don't know anyone who would watch him. Or, you know, anyone that Tom would want to watch him."

"You could call Kala."

"She's out on a girl's night." Georg said softly. "So, uh- Yeah. I'm gonna stay in. Put the kid to bed and stuff."

"If you change your mind-" Gustav sighed.

"I know where to find you." Georg nodded and walked them to the door.

"See ya later, Bradyn." Gustav called softly over his shoulder in case the little boy had fallen asleep.

"Bye-bye." Bradyn mumbled from the couch.

"Bye." Bill raised his voice.

"Bye." Bradyn echoed.

"He's exhausted." Bill laughed as he and Gustav stepped out onto the porch.

"Yeah, he is. Which is good. I'll go put him down then come back down here and watch some movies or something."

"Tom has it made. I don't know what he's always complaining about." Gustav rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'll call you tomorrow."

"Cool." Georg nodded and watched them walk out to Bill's car. They argued for a second over who was going to drive. Bill climbed in the driver's seat and yelled something at Gustav. He reluctantly opened the passenger side door with a few choice words for Bill and slammed it shut behind him. They waved through the windshield before leaving Georg standing in the doorway.

"Gay-og?" Bradyn's little voice startled him as the little boy walked up to him rubbing his eyes.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"Yeah."

"Where's your pajamas?"

"Doe no."

"They're in your bag. Where's your bag?"

"Doe no." Bradyn yawned.

"You wanna sleep in your clothes?"

"Yeah." Bradyn reached his arms up for Georg to pick him up.

Georg propped Bradyn against his shoulder and headed for the stairs to put Bradyn in the guestroom. "Uh oh. Teeth." Georg set him down and gave him a gentle push towards the bathroom. "I can't forget to brush your teeth or your Dad'll kill me." Georg followed him in and opened the medicine cabinet where there was a selection of new toothbrushes. He opened one and spread a little toothpaste on it. "You have to take care of your teeth."

"Yeah." Bradyn yawned as he chewed on the toothbrush for a minute, then spit into the sink and shimmied off the counter. "Done."

"Cool." Georg rinsed the brush and went out into the room to turn the bed down for Bradyn. The large bed dominated the center of the room with his leopard print comforter and black sheets. "Okay, it's time for bed." Georg said softly as he pulled the covers back.

"No, I go home." Bradyn shook his head and held his ground by the door.

"No, you're gonna stay here tonight."

"My Daddy?" His lower lip began to tremble and Georg flinched away from the tears forming in the little boy's eyes. "Peese my Daddy?"

"Oh buddy, listen your Daddy is sick. He's too sick to take care of you right now but we'll go see him tomorrow, okay?" Georg was willing to promise anything if it meant Bradyn wouldn't start crying.

"I see now?"

"We can't see him now." Georg looked at the glowing clock on the table. It was barely nine o'clock. "We might be able to call him though. Do you want to call?"

"Anen I see?" Bradyn sniffed.

"We'll call him. Then you can go to bed and in the morning we can get a really cool breakfast or something then go see him."

"Now?"

"We can call him right now." Georg walked around the bed and picked Bradyn up. He sat the little boy on his lap as he picked up the bedside phone and dialed Tom's house. After a half dozen rings, Tom answered sounding like death. "Hey, it's me." Georg said softly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Is Bradyn okay?" Tom's worry showed in his still groggy voice.

"He's fine." Georg nodded. "He just wanted to call to say good-night."

"It's after nine."

"I know."

"He should have been in bed an hour ago, Georg." Tom sighed.

"So sue me." Georg rolled his eyes. "He wants to say hi." He handed the phone to Bradyn. "There you go. That's your Daddy."

"Daddy?" Bradyn asked into the phone as he sniffed softly.

"Hey, buddy. What are you still doing up?"

"I see Gay-og."

"Yeah, you're over at Georg's house."

"An you?"

"I'm here at home. I don't feel good so you're going to stay there tonight. That's pretty cool though. You're a lucky kid to stay at Georg's."

"No, Daddy, you." Bradyn said as more tears threatened to fall.

"You can come see me tomorrow. Tell Georg to bring you home in the morning, okay?"

Bradyn raised his eyes to Georg. "I go home morrow."

"Yeah, I'll take you home tomorrow. No problem. We'll go see your Daddy."

"But right now you have to go to bed, okay?" Tom asked.

"Wiss Gay-og?" Bradyn asked softly as he held the phone with both hands.

"Yeah, you can sleep with Georg if you're worried. No problem." Tom closed his eyes and rubbed at his unshaven jaw. If Georg wanted to take Bradyn for the night, he was going to have to deal with it all. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." Bradyn said.

"Can I talk to Georg?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Kay."

"Be good."

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"I love you."

"Love too."

Tom smiled and sighed. It was amazing how hearing Bradyn say that always warmed his heart. "Okay, buddy, give the phone back to Georg."

"Kay." Bradyn held the phone out to Georg then rested his head against Georg's warm chest.

"Hey." Georg cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear as he wrapped his free arm protectively over Bradyn's little body. "He's okay."

"Yeah, he's fine. He wants to sleep in your bed though."

"I have him in the guest room." Georg explained.

"I know but he wants to sleep in the bed with you. He's a little kid and he's in a house he doesn't know. He has to be scared."

"Does he wet the bed?" Georg sighed.

"Sometimes." Tom frowned. "He hadn't in a while. You can bring him home right now if you want."

"No." Georg shook his head. "No, it's cool. He can sleep in my bed and we'll come by tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Okay." Georg nodded.

"Things are okay though?"

"Yeah."

"He had dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Did he brush his teeth?"

"Yeah, I've got it covered." Georg smiled. "Go back to sleep. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay. G'night." Tom yawned.

"Is my Daddy?" Bradyn asked as Georg hung up.

"Yeah, that's your Daddy."

"I see morrow."

"Yeah, we'll go see him tomorrow or something." Georg stood up with Bradyn in his arms and headed for the master bedroom, making a quick detour into the large bathroom. "Go potty first then we'll go to bed."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and walked up to the large toilet. He did his business and flushed before he padded past Georg to the large bed in the center of the room.

"Wait." Georg's mind raced trying to think of how he could save his bed from a possible accident. "Hang on." He reached into the linen closet by the sink and pulled out two thick towels. "Here." He laid the towels on the expensive sheets then put Bradyn on top. "There. That'll keep, uh- Keep you warm." He smiled and pulled the blanket up to Bradyn's chin. "Okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and yawned as his head sunk into the soft feather pillow.

"Okay." Georg said softly. He stood up and looked down at Bradyn. "You gonna be okay up here?"

"An you seep." Bradyn nodded.

"And me?"

"Yeah, you go nigh-nigh too."

"I will later." Georg said softly. "You go to sleep now and I'll come in and join you in a little bit, okay?"

"Ina minit?"

"Yeah, in a few minutes." Georg leaned down and kissed Bradyn's forehead like he remembered seeing his Tom do before. "G'night, buddy."

"Nigh, Gay-og." Bradyn flopped over onto his stomach under the covers and sighed into the thick pillow.

Georg went to the door and turned the light off. He stood there for a minute watching Bradyn's little back rise and fall as he breathed. He shut the door halfway and left the hall light on so the little boy wouldn't be scared before he hopped downstairs to watch his movies.

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

In the morning, Georg awoke slowly with the distinct feeling that he wasn't alone in the bed. Strictly out of habit, he rolled over with his arm extended to pull whomever it was closer to him. Snuggling in the morning was a guilty pleasure of his that none of the guys knew about. Instead of meeting the soft and warm body of Kala, he was met with the messed up morning hair of a two year old. Georg frowned and moved his hand up to feel the top of Bradyn's head before he opened his eyes. "Damn." He grunted under his breath. "I forgot you were here." He sighed heavily and fluffed his pillow before closing his eyes again. There would be no snuggling that morning.

An hour later, he felt the bed shift as Bradyn slid down and thumped his feet on the soft carpet. "Gay-og?" He asked from the floor.

"Hmmm." Georg made an acknowledging sound in his throat as he stretched his arms over his head.

"I have pankays an juice an see a dog?" Bradyn asked as he climbed up onto the bed frame to be able to see Georg.

"Ugh." Georg squeaked as he stretched again. "I don't have pancakes. We'll have to go get some. You like Wienerwald?"

"Dono's?" Bradyn frowned.

"No. Wienerwald. It's a restaurant. We can go get pancakes there."

"We go now?" Bradyn asked as he held tight to the sheets.

Georg rolled his head to the side to see the clock. "Damn. It's seven in the morning." He closed his eyes and wondered how Tom did it.

"Is cosed?" Bradyn asked. "Gay-og? Is cosed?"

"No, they're open. They're always open." Georg rolled onto his side to face Bradyn and pushed himself up onto his elbow. "Are you sure you don't wanna sleep for another few hours?" He yawned.

"No, Gay-og." Bradyn shook his head. "We hava bass an go see pankays."

"You want a bath?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Georg sat up and slowly got out of bed. After stumbling into the foot of his bed and tripping on the sneakers he had strewn across the floor, he made it to Bradyn's side. "Bath. Okay. That's in here." He put his hand on Bradyn's head and steered him out of the room and down the hall to the guest bathroom.

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

By the time they headed out of the house for breakfast, it was almost nine thirty and Georg was swearing off all little kids for the rest of his life. The bath turned the bathroom into a soggy mess with Georg getting just as wet as Bradyn. No one told Georg that naked little kids are as slippery as wet seaweed so he practically dropped Bradyn on the way to the guestroom. Getting dressed was another battle since Bradyn didn't want to wear the clothes they had packed and Georg didn't know how to coerce the child into just putting the clothes on.

When they left Bradyn was wearing his shirt backwards and the same pants he had on the day before but Georg was just glad that he had clothes on at all. They went to the Wienerwald that Georg frequented and had their pancake breakfast in a large corner booth in the back.

Bradyn dripped syrup down the front of his shirt, which was actually the back, so when they were done Georg just flipped the shirt around and smiled. "Good as new. Okay, what now? You wanna go play with Dylan?"

"Dylan ina school?" Bradyn asked.

"Oh. Yeah, I didn't think of that. Dylan might be at school. What's today?"

"I doe no." Bradyn shrugged and jumped off the curb in front of Georg's car.

"Let's call Kala." Georg reached into his pocket for his cell phone and called Kala. After listening to her laugh when he explained that he was taking care of Bradyn, they agreed to meet at the recreation center by her house so the boys could play together.

"Girls are crazy. I hope you know that." Georg grumbled as he dropped the phone back in his pocket and opened the back door for Bradyn.

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"Good." Georg strapped him in. It was after ten and right about the time he would normally be getting up so he was beginning to feel a little more human.

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

They spent the afternoon playing in the park with Dylan and Kala, who had thought to pack lunches for the kids so they didn't have to stop playing. "I forgot about that." Georg admitted as he yawned and laid flat on the grass.

"I figured you would."

"Bite me. We were gonna go get McDonald's or something like that."

"Oh, that's healthy." Kala rolled her eyes as she peeled an orange for the kids.

"Hey, I turned out okay and I lived on McDonald's."

"Yes, you did, babe." She patted his tummy and laughed. "You turned out just fine. Bradyn! Dylan! Come get some oranges!" She shouted toward the playground.

"You're so domesticated."

"Yeah, well." She shrugged and handed the energetic little boys slices of orange.

"Gay-og, come slide?" Bradyn asked as he climbed up on Georg's bent knees.

"No, I'm sleeping."

"No, you're awake!" Dylan giggled and pounced on Georg's stomach.

"Ugh! Careful."

"Come slide, Gay-og! Is big!" Bradyn stuck the piece of orange in his mouth and chewed as a trail of juice ran from the corner of his mouth.

"You're gonna get all sticky." Georg sat up and removed the boys from his legs.

"Like you're one to talk." Kala raised her eyebrow at the little dab of grape jelly left on his chin. "Go play while I clean up here. We're about ready to go anyways." She nudged him with her foot and began to get the trash together. "Don't make me kick your kidney."

"Okay, okay." Georg stood up and brushed his pants off. "Come on, demons." He scooped one little boy up in each arm and ran toward the playground growling like a grizzly bear.

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

By the time they were ready to leave the park, both boys were exhausted and in desperate need of a nap. Georg loaded Bradyn into the back seat. He waved to Kala and Dylan and headed back to Tom's house. Bradyn fell asleep on the way so Georg drove in silence, not wanting to wake Bradyn with the music.

They pulled up in front of Tom's house and parked in the driveway. "Hey, buddy, look where we are." Georg said softly as he leaned into the backseat. "Bradyn, we're at your house."

"My hows?" Bradyn rubbed his eyes as he peeled his sweaty head away from the side of the car seat. "My Daddy?"

"Yeah. Your Dad's inside. Or he'd better be anyway. Are you ready to go in?"

"I seep here?" Bradyn yawned and reached for the clasp of his car seat.

"Eh, we'll have to see about that. If your Dad is feeling better then, yeah, I guess you're going to stay here."

"Yeah, I say here an my Daddy betto." He nodded as Georg hopped out and opened the back door to get Bradyn and his stuff out of the back.

"Cool." Georg grunted and set Bradyn on the ground. His arms ached after all the playing he did with the boys. "Okay, hang on. Let me get the key." He tossed Bradyn's bag over his shoulder and leaned into the front seat again to get the ring of spare keys out of the center console. He flipped to the key with the blue plastic band around it and shut the door.

"Ringin the bell?" Bradyn asked as he stretched to reach the doorbell.

"No, no, no. Don't ring that. He might be sleeping." Georg held his fingers to his lips. "We have to be quiet." He whispered and turned the key in the lock. The alarm just inside the door beeped once to alert that the door had been opened but didn't continue to beep which would require a pass code.

"My Daddy seepin?" Bradyn whispered as he craned his neck to look up at Georg.

"H'lo?" Tom's voice echoed down the hall from the family room. "Georg?"

"Yeah, it's us." Georg raised his voice and started down the hall.

"Daddy!" Bradyn ran through the house and jumped onto the end of the couch by Tom's feet.

"Hey, buddy!" Tom smiled and ran his hand through his greasy hair. He got a good look at Bradyn's wild hair and awkward clothes and raised his eyebrow at Georg who just shrugged and sighed in response.

"I home now."

"I see that." Tom nodded and smiled up at Georg. "Thanks for keeping him."

"No problem. How are you feeling?"

"Anxious to be kid-free, huh?" Tom laughed softly. "I'm feeling better, I think."

"Bradyn's cool and all but he misses you." Georg nodded and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I can keep him again tonight though, if you want."

"No, I'm cool. I've actually done some writing today so it can't be that bad." Tom grunted as Bradyn climbed onto his lap with his knee in Tom's stomach.

"Well, at least let me hang out while you bathe or something. Because no offense but you stink."

"I stink?"

"You need a shower in a major way. And some soap and maybe some perfume or cologne or something. And maybe light a few candles." Georg waved his hand around his head indicating a good hair washing was in order as well.

"Do I smell bad, buddy?" Tom asked Bradyn.

"Yeah." Bradyn squished up his nose and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Okay then." He lifted Bradyn off his chest after getting a quick and smelly hug and stood up. "Can you hang out with Georg for a little bit while I go shower?"

"An me?"

"You want to shower?"

"Yeah."

"You had a bath this morning." Georg frowned.

"No, I sower too." Bradyn took Tom's hand.

"You shower with him?" Georg raised his eyebrow at Tom and cocked his head to the side.

"No." Tom sighed and shook his head. "No, we don't shower together. I think he just wants to hang out with me. He missed me."

"Well, there's no accounting for taste around here." Georg laughed and lifted Bradyn off the ground. "Come on, you can show me your cool dog while your dad gets cleaned up."

"Daddy say here?" Bradyn cast a worried look at Tom.

"Yeah, I'm just going to shower."

"Ina minit?"

"I'll be done in a minute." Tom nodded. "And when I'm done we can go to my office and I'll play you some music."

"You let him listen to your songs?" Georg asked.

"Yeah." Tom smirked. "He loves everything I do. There's nothing better than a huge ego boost after being sick."

"When do we get to hear them?"

"Next week. Or never." Tom shrugged. "Depends on what the kid thinks." He laughed and headed for the stairs. "Thanks, Georg."

"No problem." Georg mumbled as he set Bradyn down. "Okay. Now what's this I hear about your dog playing ball? Does she really go get it and bring it back?"

"Yeah, we pay catch an she hava ball." Bradyn sighed and walked over to the backdoor where Lucy was bouncing happily on the other side.

"Right on." Georg reached over Bradyn's head and unlocked the door before they stepped out into the backyard. Lucy went crazy sniffing Georg's dog's scent from both him and Bradyn. She then took off running around the yard. "Wow, she's pretty excited."

"Yeah. Lucy's cwazy." Bradyn giggled and walked over to the play set where she stashed her tennis balls. He tossed it across the grass and she immediately picked up on the game of fetch.

Georg and Bradyn played with Lucy for a while before Tom came out with damp hair and clean clothes on. "You look better."

"I feel better." He grabbed the top of the door frame and leaned forward. "Thanks, Georg. Really."

"No problem." Georg shook his head and tossed the tennis ball as hard as he could toward the opposite end of the lawn.

"Did he have lunch?"

"It's four. Yes, he had lunch." Georg gave him a disgusted look and laughed. "You think I'd forget to feed him or something?" He didn't mention that Kala was the one who had brought the lunch.

"I'm just checking." Tom said softly as he swayed back and forth with his arms over his head. "Bray, are you ready to come inside?"

"No, I pay." Bradyn ran after the tennis ball with a loud laugh.

"I don't know where he gets his energy. We spent four hours at the park and I chased him around and everything. He napped for all of an hour and now look at him."

"Yeah, he's like the Energizer Bunny or something."

"Like Bill." Georg nodded. "Scary shit, man."

"Speaking of which, he's not gonna be using your colorful language, is he?"

"No, I've been good." Georg smirked. "I didn't swear in front of him. Or I tried not to anyway."

"Okay."

"He wakes up at the fuckin' crack of dawn though."

"Yeah, he's two."

"I know." Georg ran his hands through his hair. "When's his birthday anyway? I mean, you've had him forever and we've never had a party or anything."

"I've had him since March. His birthday is in January."

"Cool." Georg nodded.

"Uh huh. So what're you doing tonight?"

"Sleeping. I'm running on next to nothing right now. He wore me out at the park so I'm gonna go home and order a pizza then do absolutely nothing all night."

"Sounds like a plan." Tom laughed.

"You've been doing nothing for three days now."

"I've been vomiting. That's not nothing."

"Gross." Georg crinkled his nose and reached down to pick up the ball again. "You're done with that though?"

"Yeah." Tom coughed into his hand. "I'm better."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No, I'm really feeling a lot better. I'm up and walking around, that's gotta say something."

"True." Georg laughed. "Okay then. I'll let him stay."

"Great, thanks." Tom laughed back at him.

"I'm gonna head home though. If you get sick again or whatever give someone a call."

"Someone that's not you?" Tom grinned into the setting sun.

"You can call me if you have to." Georg shrugged and reached down to pick Bradyn up and toss him in the air. "Okay, I'm outta here. Take care of your Dad, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn screeched between giggles. "Bye-bye, Gay-og."

"Bye, Bradyn." Georg set Bradyn on the ground in front of Tom and squeezed past them. "I'll catch you later."

"Thanks again, Georg."

"Not a problem." Georg waved over is head as he walked down the hall toward the front door. When father and son were alone again, Tom sighed and placed his hand on Bradyn's head to lead in him inside then shut the door.

"Are you hungry for some dinner?"

"Umm-"

"Because I haven't eaten all day so I'm starving."

"Kay." Bradyn climbed into his chair.

"Does a grilled cheese sandwich sound good to you?"

"Yeah." Bradyn smiled. "An you Daddy? You sit an have?"

"Yeah, I'll sit with you and have dinner too." Tom got out the things for dinner and chatted with Bradyn while he made up a plate full of sandwiches and cut up an apple for them to share. They ate side by side as Bradyn told Tom all about his adventures with Georg.

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

Tom and Bradyn spent the rest of the evening together with Bradyn never more than two steps away from Tom. Wherever Tom went, Bradyn was right there whether he went to the bathroom or to get a glass of water or even to answer the phone. At first it was almost annoying. He tripped over Bradyn a few times almost landing them both on their butts. The third time Tom bent to help Bradyn up. "You can't stand right behind me. I'm gonna squish you by accident."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed. "I just see you." He nodded and looked up at Tom with a sweet little smile.

"Oh." Tom picked him up. "Okay, come here." He propped Bradyn on his hip and walked back to the couch where their movie was playing. He lay on the couch and put Bradyn to his side to they could be together and still see the TV.

"I missed you, buddy." Tom said as Bradyn snuggled into the crook of his arm and sighed. He leaned down and kissed the top of Bradyn's head, letting his lips linger for a moment as he inhaled the scent of a soap that wasn't his. "Did you have fun at Georg's?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"What'd you do?"

"I pay wiss Gay-og."

"You played with him, huh? Did you watch a movie?"

"Yeah."

"What else?"

"Ummm." Bradyn thought for a minute then yawned. "I pay wiss Pie appo an Goose-gog an a dog." He wiggled deeper to nestled himself between Tom's body and the couch.

"Sounds fun." Tom adjusted his arm and placed his hand on Bradyn's pajama covered thigh. "Did you miss me?" He smiled and pulled the blanket over both of them.

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and yawned. "I cry an say my Daddy here."

"You cried?" Tom asked as strained his neck to look down at Bradyn under his arm. Georg hadn't told him that.

"Yeah. I was sad, Daddy."

"I'm sorry. I was sick though. Georg was trying to help."

"Yeah, he howp an you hava sick tummy."

"My tummy was sick, yeah."

"I like Gay-og but I say here." Bradyn nodded and patted Tom's tummy.

"Okay, you can stay here next time." Tom smiled and turned the volume down on the TV as he closed his eyes and fell asleep with his son tucked up next to him, right where he should be.

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

Tom skipped breakfast the next morning just in case any lingering nausea decided to kick in. He made Bradyn a bowl of instant oatmeal with raisins in it and sat at the table across from him. They talked about how Tom was going to have to go to work the next week and how Bradyn was going to get to hang out with Nadiehn a lot during the day and the dogs. Bradyn sounded excited, as long as he didn't have to sleep anywhere else.

They made plans to go to the grocery store to get some real food and to pick up some coloring books and crayons for Bradyn. In school they had done a lot of coloring and Bradyn said that was his favorite thing to do. Not one to stifle creativity, Tom immediately suggested getting art supplies and Bradyn had insisted on crayons.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, the phone rang in the kitchen. Tom reached around the corner and blindly felt for the handset. It rang once more when he had it in his hand before he answered it. "Hello?" He asked with an easy smile.

"Hi, Tom. It's Astrid."

"Hi." Tom took a deep breath and turned to lean on the wall. Talking with Astrid was always more draining than it needed to be and he didn't have time to prepare this time.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'll be in Germany next weekend and I'd like to see Bradyn."

"Sure. Yeah. Where are you going? I mean, you'll be in Hamburg?"

"Yes. I'm coming to see Bradyn. It would make sense to stay in the same city, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "I'm sorry. It just sounded like you were going to be in Germany for something else."

"Why else would I be in Germany?"

Tom sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Do not argue with her." He said to himself as he took another deep breath. "When do you get in? We don't really have plans but if I can get some idea about when-"

"I haven't bought my tickets yet."

"Oh."

"But I will be flying in on Friday and I'll be there until the next week."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"So can I see Bradyn?"

"Of course you can." Tom bit his lip. "When you get here, you can give me a call and we can work that out."

"I'm going to call before I get there."

"That's fine too. Whenever you know when you'll be here and what you want to do." He ran his thumbnail up the inside of his index finger with a sigh. "Do you want to talk to Bradyn?"

"No, that's okay. I'll talk to him tomorrow when I call at our regular time." She said quickly.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Okay." Tom stuttered.

"I have to go though. I'm at work. I'll talk to you later." Astrid said softly.

"Okay." Tom nodded. "Bye." He hung up and frowned at the phone. Talking to Astrid was never what he expected. Her moods were so varied it was like talking to a dozen different people. After a conversation like that he needed someone calming and happy to talk to so he dialed Tayla's number.

"Hey, you." Tom smiled when Tayla answered the phone. "I'm glad you're home."

"Hi." She laughed and her stomach fluttered at the sound of his voice. "Where else would I be at three in the morning?"

"Shit. I'm sorry" He cringed.

"You're fine." She grinned. "How are you?"

"Okay." Tom nodded with a sigh. "I've been sick this week but I'm better now. Which is good, you know, since we go to work on Monday."

"You were sick?"

"Yeah, I had this thing." Tom coughed into his hand. "I had a fever and I vomited a few times. It was nothing really. I'm okay now."

"What about Bradyn?"

"Bradyn's fine."

"He didn't catch it?"

"No. Georg came over and kept him for two days." Tom explained. "Well, he yelled at me first, then took him."

"Georg took Bradyn? Wow. How'd that go?"

"I think Georg's going to be the spokesperson for safe sex now but it went well. They both came out intact and Bradyn said he had a good time."

Tayla laughed and shook her head. "Well, I guess that's good."

"Yeah. I'm glad I got this over with now though instead of while we were recording, you know? That would push everything out another few weeks." Tom sighed. "But yeah, Monday we hit the studio and pull sixteen hour days outta our asses."

"That will be fun though. I'm sure you've missed working."

"I actually have, yeah." He smiled and ran his finger down the bridge of his nose. "And, uh- Astrid is coming out next week too. On the first. Friday."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, uh- That will be good. I mean, that way Bradyn can see her and she'll definitely show up, you know? Since she paid to fly out to see him and everything." Tayla said quickly.

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "I hope so anyway."

"How long will she be there for?"

"Um, she gets here on Friday and she leaves, I think, the next week. I don't know when."

"Oh, that's a while."

"Yeah. I don't know what exactly she has planned." Tom licked his lips. "So, uh- How would you like to come and visit next week?"

"Sure, I'd-" Tayla stopped and caught his meaning. "Ooooh, to play house for Astrid." Her chest tightened for a second as she frowned.

"Well that too." Tom said quickly. "But really, Bradyn's been asking for you and I know you were saying you were bored in Connecticut and everything. We'd love to see you again. I would."

"It's only been two weeks." Tayla smiled slowly.

"I know." Tom laughed. "But I still miss you. I wish you lived closer."

"Like, in Europe or something."

"No, closer than that."

"Berlin?"

"Closer."

"Hamburg?" She didn't know why she kept playing with the idea and Tom's head.

"Closer than that." He said softly.

Tayla laughed nervously and dodged the comment. "I'd love to come next week. When do you want me there?"

Tom noticed how she ignored his last statement and sighed softly. "Anytime you want. Like I said, Astrid will be here on Friday but it might be fun if you came for Halloween."

"Yeah, I love Halloween. That'd be cool."

"We're going shopping for a costume this weekend, I think."

"Really? Does he know what he wants to be?"

"He said he wants to be Tokio Hotel but-" Tom laughed. "I think we'll try to find something else for him to wear."

Tayla laughed and shook her head. "Sounds fun." She looked at her wall calendar and mentally went over what she had planned for the week. "How about- Hmm, how about if I come on Wednesday?"

"That's fine."

"Will you guys be busy?"

"I'll be in the studio all week anyway so yeah I'll be busy but Bradyn will be there."

"Who's going to watch him?"

"Kala and Nadiehn. Nadiehn is going to take him on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when he has school since she's on the list to pick him up and Kala is going to watch him all day Monday and then on Friday? I don't know. If you're here, then I guess you can watch him, if you don't mind, and if you're not I might just bring him with me and let him hang with the guys."

"Ouch. That's busy."

"Yeah." Tom sighed. "I was thinking about putting him in daycare for full days all week but I think that'd be too much for him, you know? He's still just a little kid."

"I can try to come earlier if you want."

"Whenever you can is fine."

Tayla pursed her lips and frowned. She had promised her cousin she'd help him move on Monday and Tuesday. "Okay, I'll be there on Wednesday. Do you want me to just go to your house when I get there to relieve Nadiehn? Or will she be watching him at their house?"

"Yeah, they'll be at Nadiehn and Bill's place. We're gonna ride over to the studio together."

"Okay."

"Thanks a lot, Tayla."

"No problem." Tayla smiled and curled the phone cord around her finger.

"Anyway, I have to get going. I'll call you this weekend though, okay?"

"Sure."

"I miss you."

"I miss you too." She smiled and dropped her voice.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Tom smiled then sighed softly and whispered, "Bye" before he hung up and shook his head. He'd give anything for her to be there with him. Anything.

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

Tom and Bradyn spent the weekend relaxing around the house and enjoying the last of the warm weather. Germany had an unseasonal heat wave so they used it to their advantage. The rain and storms would be starting soon. Astrid made her call on Saturday but didn't have any more details as far as he trip out went. She told Bradyn that she would see him in a week and he was excited about that. Tom watched as his face lit up and he bounced in the chair he was sitting in.

When Bradyn seemed that excited about seeing Astrid all of Tom's doubts faded slightly. He knew that Astrid wasn't the most responsible person he knew but seeing Bradyn happy like that was worth the trouble she put them through. He'd do anything to keep Bradyn happy, even if it meant dealing with Astrid on a regular basis.

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

Monday morning, Tom rushed around the house getting everything ready for the day. He got himself showered and dressed, then fed and dressed Bradyn before tossing his backpack together. "I go a school?" Bradyn asked with a confused and groggy look. They'd been up late the night before and he wasn't quite ready for the morning.

"No. You're going to go see Nadiehn today." Tom grumbled as he tossed Bradyn's lunch into the backpack along with a box of animal crackers. Kala had called the night before to tell Tom she was sick with a bad flu that was probably what he had the week before. In a panic, he'd called and arranged to have Nadiehn watch Bradyn all week.

"Nay-dee?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I have to go to work." Tom explained as he bent to tie Bradyn's shoe for the second time that morning. He secured it with a double knot and stood up. "Come on, we need to get a move on it."

"I have Lello?"

"Lello is in the backpack. Let's go." Tom practically ran to the garage door and pushed it open. "Come on, buddy, I'm running late."

Bradyn stood rooted in the hall with a frown. "I say here?"

"You can't stay here. You're going to go hang out with Nadiehn and the dogs. It'll be fun." Tom waved for Bradyn to follow. "I'm serious. We've gotta go. Gehen wir."

"Peese?"

"I don't have time for it this morning, Bradyn. Let's talk about it in the car." He juggled Bradyn's bag and his own stuff into one hand before he went back to pick up Bradyn and carry him out to the car. "You'll have fun at Nadiehn's. I promise."

"But Lucy?"

"Lucy has to stay here. She'll be so excited to see you when you get home. We'll have to go outside and play with her a lot tonight."

"She can come?"

"No, she has to stay here." Tom dropped Bradyn into his seat and all of their bags on the seat beside him. "Okay, let's go." He strapped Bradyn in and gave them a good tug before he shut the door and climbed in the driver's seat.

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

They made it across town to Bill and Nadiehn's house in record time but were still ten minutes late. "I should have told you to be here at seven." Bill laughed as Tom jumped out of the car.

"Uh huh. You try getting ready with a thirty pound kid hanging off your arm." Tom lifted Bradyn out of his seat and reached for the bags. "We won't be late." He tried to convince himself.

"I know. Don't worry about it." Bill laughed and walked out to help with the bags. "Are we carpooling?"

"Sure. I have to come back here after anyway." Tom shrugged and set Bradyn on the ground. "Go see Nadiehn."

"Daddy, you go too?"

"I'm going to work with Bill." Tom shook his head. "Hi, Nadiehn." He smiled up at her as she appeared at the front door. "Come on, Bray. Take your bag and go see Nadiehn. I'm running late."

"Late?"

"Yeah, Bill and I have to go to work." Tom knelt down and gave Bradyn a quick hug and a kiss. "I'll come and get you later, okay? Just like school."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and looked up at Nadiehn. "Is like Miss Hedder?"

"Sure, I can be like Miss Heather." She smiled and led him into the house with the dogs running ahead in excitement. "I'll see you guys tonight." Nadiehn took the bag from Bradyn and waved as Tom and Bill climbed into Bill's car.

"Be good!" Tom shouted as he rolled down the window.

Bradyn laughed and waved from the front door before he turned and ran after the dogs. "They're going to have a great day." Bill laughed as he started the car.

"I know."

"Come on, it's like leaving him at school."

"I know." Tom nodded but didn't take his eyes off of the front door as Bill pulled out of the driveway.

"You're really that attached to him?" Bill chuckled quickly but stopped when Tom glared over his shoulder.

"He's my son."

"Yeah, I know but, I mean, you're just going to work. You leave him at school all the time."

"Not all the time. Three times a week. This is different." Tom shook his head.

"Yeah but it's Nadiehn." Bill reached over and patted Tom's shoulder between shifting gears. "You can call him on lunch and stuff."

"I'm fine, Bill."

"I know." Bill tried not to laugh as Tom looked out the window.

"I just- I can't explain it, Bill. It'd be like if you left your house and left your right foot at home. You just wouldn't feel right. That's what this is like. I don't know how parents do it."

"They all do."

"I know."

"You do too. You're a good dad, Tom. I don't know if I've ever told you that but you are. You're an amazing dad."

Tom blushed slightly and peeled his eyes away from the window to look at Bill. "Thanks." His smile was genuine and he seemed to relax into the seat.

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

The next day, they made it to Bill's house on time and Tom seemed a lot more comfortable leaving Bradyn with Nadiehn all day. He still grumbled and complained about the long hours and not being able to have dinner with Bradyn every night but he was getting better. On Wednesday morning, Bradyn practically danced into the house and Tom was all smiles. "Tayla will be here this afternoon to get him." He told Nadiehn as he leaned against the kitchen counter. They were early for once.

"What time?"

"I think she said her flight comes in at one? So shortly after that." Tom smiled and tried to keep his feet still.

"Who's picking her up?"

"She's taking a cab."

"No, Tom, I can go get her." Nadiehn shook her head and poured more coffee into Tom's half-empty mug.

"No, see this way she can take my car home and Bill can just drop me there after we're done." Tom explained.

"If I pick her up she can still take your car, dumbass." Nadiehn laughed.

"Oh yeah." Tom frowned. "Oh well, I think she was counting on taking a cab but if you want to give her a call and arrange to pick her up that's cool. I'd call but I've already bugged her four times this morning."

"Four times?" She laughed and shook her head. "What for?"

"I don't know. Stupid stuff. Just to bug her." Tom shrugged and laughed as he took another sip. "Bray, don't forget that Tayla is coming today so you have to be extra good."

"Kay!" Bradyn jumped up and down and around in circles around Chase.

"I mean it." Tom smiled.

"I know, Daddy. I good." Bradyn looked up at Tom and nodded.

"Okay." Tom reached down and ran his hand over Bradyn's hair. "Where's Bill?"

"Getting ready." Nadiehn shrugged.

"Getting ready how? Don't tell me he's putting on his makeup for the studio." Tom walked into the hall and looked up at the ceiling. "Bill, come on! It's the studio, not a runway!"

"I'm coming!" Bill appeared around the corner tying a sweatshirt around his waist. "Ready?"

"Baby brother, I was born ready." Tom playfully dropped his arm over Bill's shoulder.

"You lie like a rug." Bill laughed and removed Tom's arm. "Nay? Did you give Tom coffee?"

"Two cups." Nadiehn nodded with a broad smile.

"Dear God, help us all. That's a lot of caffeine, don't you think?"

"He wanted it." She shrugged with a quick laugh and quickly dumped the rest of Tom's coffee in the sink.

"Yeah, okay. Fine. Let's go." Bill planted a quick kiss across Nadiehn's lips and waved at Bradyn who was watching Pocoyo on TV. "Later, Bradyn."

"Lato, Pie appo." Bradyn looked up quickly. He jumped up and ran to hug Tom. "Bye, Daddy. I see you lato?"

"Yeah. Tayla is going to come here and get you and take you home so I'll see you there, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn gave Tom a wet kiss on the cheek and squirmed to get down. "Bye."

"Bye, buddy. Love you."

"Love too." Bradyn giggled as Tom and Bill headed for the door.

"Okay, Bradyn, what are we going to do today?"

"Wass the Pocoyo wiss Chase an Jayda." Bradyn sighed and dropped himself onto the floor beside the dogs.

"Okay then." Nadiehn smiled and started the water to do the dishes. Pocoyo didn't interest her at all.

The two of them, and the dogs, spent the morning watching a little TV and then walking up to their neighbor's house to look at their horses. Bradyn was fully impressed but wanted to eat the apple instead of feed it to the horses so Nadiehn took him home and made him a cheese sandwich for lunch. They watched movies in the afternoon and napped a little while waiting for Tayla to arrive.

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

When the cab pulled up in front of Bill and Nadiehn's house the first thing Tayla saw was Tom's car parked in front. She frowned before she pulled her duffel bag out of the trunk and paid the driver. "Thanks." She grumbled and squinted as the sun reflected off the windshield. "What are you doing here?" Tayla whispered under her breath as she lugged her bag up to the front door and rang the bell.

As soon as the first chime sounded inside the house she heard the dogs barking and running for the door. "Back up, mutts." Nadiehn's voice laughed through the door. "Bradyn, honey, come here. Over here." The door opened and the dogs bounded out to greet Tayla. "Hey! Hi!" Nadiehn stepped out onto the porch and hugged Tayla as Bradyn cheered and jumped up and down.

"Tayla! Tayla! Tayla!" He grabbed Chase's backside and used it to balance himself as he jumped.

"Hi, sweetie!" She laughed over Nadiehn's shoulder and reached to place her hand on Bradyn's head.

"Hi, Tayla! Look is two doggies!"

"I see that." She stepped back from Nadiehn's embrace and smiled broadly. "Is Tom here?" Tayla asked as she stepped into the house, dodging the two dogs and Bradyn at her feet.

"No, he left his car here though. Bill drove."

"Oh."

"He left the keys too." Nadiehn laughed. "So you can take Bradyn home or whatever."

"Oh, okay." Tayla smiled and took a deep breath. "It's good to see you."

"You too." She patted Tayla's back and gave her a little smile. "You know, this little guy has been talking about you non-stop all day."

"He has?" Tayla knelt to pet the dogs and kiss Bradyn's cheek. "Have you been waiting for me?"

"Yeah." Bradyn tore his attention away from the dogs and crawled into Tayla's arms. "Daddy say Tayla day."

"Oh, your Daddy told you I was coming today?"

"Yeah an I good." Bradyn nodded seriously.

Nadiehn laughed softly, "Tom told him that you were coming in today so he had to be really good."

"Aww, you're always good, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and covered his mouth with his hands. "I good."

"I know you are, sweetie." She kissed him again and sighed. "Has he had- Did you guys have dinner yet?"

"No, not yet. I'm calling in for pizza later though. That's all Bill has wanted the last couple nights so I thought I'd indulge him."

"That actually sounds good. Will he be home soon?"

It was Nadiehn's turn to laugh. "No, not hardly. When they're in the studio they put in long days. I don't expect Bill back until seven at least. Probably closer to eight." She sighed and tucked her hands in her pockets.

"Really? That's a long day."

"Yeah but the more work they do on it now, the sooner it will be done and the sooner they can get back home and relax before the tour planning starts again."

"They're touring after this?"

"Of course." Nadiehn nodded. "The album will probably come out in the first quarter next year, which means the tour will start either in March or April or May at the latest."

"Wow."

"Yeah. So they'll be gone for another few months right when I'm trying to plan a wedding." She rolled her eyes and laughed before fighting off a yawn.

"Have you set a date yet?"

"No but it will be next fall. We've been talking about late September in North Carolina. It's still warm there and that's my favorite time of year."

"That would be nice." Tayla smiled and bounced Bradyn over to her other hip so she could set her bag down.

"Yeah but, you know, we have to wait until we get the tour dates locked down and all that to make sure Bill will have time."

"Have time to get married? That sounds bad."

"Time for the honeymoon. He could fly home any weekend and get married." Nadiehn laughed. "But I want him to have a few weeks after that so we can really get a good honeymoon in."

"Ah ha, very true. You can't forget the romantic honeymoon." Tayla cast a dreamy look heavenward and laughed. "Do you have any idea where you're going to go?"

"Bill keeps saying he wants to go to a deserted island."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but I'm thinking something not so deserted. Maybe Martinique or the Caymans or something."

"Nice." Tayla nodded. "It's secluded enough to be private but they have a spa and a resort."

"Exactly." Nadiehn laughed and shook her head. "But I'm sure you guys want to get home. He had an early lunch today, we made english muffin pizzas and they didn't take as long as I thought they would."

"Okay." Tayla looked at Bradyn. "Are you ready to go?"

"I see my Daddy?"

"We're going to go home and your Daddy will be home later, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded. "Bye, Nay-dee."

"Bye, Bradyn. Thanks for coming over today." She laughed and waved as Tayla and Bradyn headed for the door.

"I'll see you later." Tayla said as she took Tom's keys from the little table by the door and headed out to the car. She put Bradyn in the backseat with his bags, strapped him in and got in the front seat to adjust everything so she could see.

When she was settled she waved through the windshield and took off for Tom's house. It took a while for her to get used to the hugeness of Tom's car but by the time she pulled into the driveway she felt like a pro. She got Bradyn and his stuff out of the back seat and yawned as she disarmed the house and went in through the garage. Bradyn immediately went to the back door to let Lucy in. The dog spent the first few minutes sniffing at Bradyn, getting all of Chase and Jayda's scent off of him before she wagged her tail on over to Tayla to say hello.

Tayla pet the big dog's head and scratched behind her ears. She offered her a dog bone and turned to Bradyn. "Okay, buddy, are you hungry? Let's see if your Dad has any food around here." Tayla pulled the fridge open and crinkled her nose. Two pizza boxes and a handful of leftovers lined the shelves along with a gallon of milk, some juice and a two liter bottle of 7-Up.

"I have kickin nugget?"

"No, no chicken nuggets tonight. I'm going to make a real dinner."

"Noodo?"

"Noodles? Maybe." Tayla shut the fridge and looked in the pantry. "Let's see if we have noodles."

"Yeah, we have." Bradyn scooted his chair over to the counter and climbed up onto the island. "Tayla, see me." He laughed and spun around on the tile counter top.

"Whoa, hey! I don't think so." She wrapped her arm around his waist and set him on the floor. "That's dangerous. Here, come over here and help me find noodles or something for dinner." She nodded to the open pantry door. Bradyn walked over and picked things at random from the shelf while Tayla found spaghetti noodles and a jar of garlic cheese sauce. She set them on the counter then shut the pantry door with a sigh. "Okay, we have noodles."

"Yum!" Bradyn clapped his hands together and gave a little jump.

Tayla laughed and began her search for a pot big enough to make it in as the phone rang.

"I get it!" Bradyn ran over to where the phone was charging and removed it from the charger.

"Honey, let me have that." Tayla closed the cupboard and took the phone from him. "Hello?"

"I, uh- Who is this?" A soft female voice asked after a moment's pause.

"This is Tayla."

"Oh. This is- This is Astrid. Bradyn's mother." She explained, as if she needed to. "Where is Tom?"

Tayla raised her eyebrow at Astrid's sharp tone. "He's not here right now." She said after a short pause. The jealous female part of her came out in full gear.

"I see." Astrid nodded. "Well, I was calling to ask him about the visitation thing. What time will he be home?"

"I'm not sure. They're in the studio today so it could be-"

"Will it be after five?" Astrid interrupted.

"Five our time or your time?" Tayla looked at the clock over the stove and saw that it was already a quarter to five.

"Your time." Astrid said sharply. Tayla flustered quickly as she tried to count the time difference in her head. "Hello?"

"I don't- I'll have to call him."

"Can you make sure he calls me before five?" Astrid asked. "Five my time."

"I'll leave him the message, yes."

"Have him call."

"I can't promise he'll call but I'll be sure to relay the message." Tayla frowned and used all of her self-control to not 'tsk' at the girl. She didn't need anyone talking down to her, never mind Astrid.

"I just bet you will." Astrid sighed before she hung up.

"This bitch-." Tayla muttered as she clicked the phone off. She thought for a minute then dialed Tom's cell phone. She had expected to leave him a voice mail there so that she wouldn't forget to let him know Astrid called but he answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Whoa, hi. I was going to leave you a message." Tayla stuttered.

"Well, now you have me live." Tom smiled. "What's up? Are you here?"

"Yeah, yeah I picked Bradyn up from Bill and Nadiehn's place and we're home now."

"Cool." Tom smiled. "So what were you going to leave me a message about?"

"Astrid called."

"Yeah?"

"She's a bitch, Tom. She's a raging bitch and she's gonna get cut."

"What happened?" He asked quickly.

"She's just- I don't know. She's talking to me like I'm a mistress or something. She had that snippy tone in her voice. This bitch just don't know." She shook her head and sat at the kitchen table. Tayla sighed softly and said, "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know she called and she wants you to call her back."

"What'd she say?" Tom sounded worried.

"She wants to talk to you about the visitation thing."

"That's what got you upset?"

"No!" Tayla shook her head. "She told me to make sure you called and I told her I'd pass the message along but I couldn't promise you'd call and she got all bent and was basically saying I wouldn't pass the message on to you. I'll snatch that bitch bald-headed-"

"Tayla-" Tom pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just ignore her. She's had a busy week and she just wants to get the details down for her visit this weekend."

Tayla's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He was defending Astrid? "Having a shitty week doesn't give her the right to be a bitch. How about she's making my week shitty. Can I take that out on you?"

"I'm not gonna argue right now. I have work to do. We can talk about this tonight or something." Tom sighed. He didn't want to get into anything while he was working.

"Okay."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight." He bit his lip. "Bye."

"Bye." That was not how Tayla wanted to start out her visit.

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

Tayla spent the afternoon cheering herself up with Bradyn and Lucy. She made dinner and she and Bradyn ate together. She had no idea what time Tom would be done but she didn't think it would be as late as it was. At ten after eight, she was almost ready to take Bradyn upstairs to put him to bed when they heard the garage door open and Tom's soft curses as he dropped something in the hall.

"Guess who's home." Tayla whispered loudly so that Tom could hear down the hall.

"Daddy?" Bradyn whispered back as he looked over his shoulder at Tayla.

"Yeah." Tayla laughed lightly.

"Lucy! I'm home!" Tom called as he slammed the garage door behind him.

"Daddy!" Bradyn clambered up off the floor and tripped over Lucy as he ran for the front door. "Daddy! Tayla here! See!"

"I know Tayla's here." Tom swept Bradyn into his arms and dropped his bag by the door. "What are you still doing up?"

"We waitin for you." Bradyn giggled as Tayla rounded the corner with a smile.

Her heart sped up like it always did when she saw Tom and her smiled grew. "Hey."

"Hey." He smiled and pulled her in for a quick hug with Bradyn still in his arms. Tom gave her a quick kiss but held on for a little longer. "How was your flight?"

"Fine."

"And how was your afternoon?"

"Good." Tayla smiled and licked her lips.

"Did Astrid call back?"

"No." Tayla shook her head, adding "Thank god" silently. "You'll have to give her a call though."

"Yeah. I will." Tom continued to smile as he bounced Bradyn to his other hip and yawned. "I am exhausted."

"I bet. You put in, what? Ten hours at the office?"

"Almost thirteen." Tom ran his fingers though his hair then kissed Bradyn's cheek and set him down on the floor. "We started a little late today actually since we had to make travel plans."

"Where are you guys going?"

"New York for four days, then to Toronto and out to San Francisco. We'll be gone for two weeks."

"Wow."

"Yeah." Tom rubbed his eyes. "Wanna come?" He laughed softly.

"Uhh, no thanks." She laughed back.

"Seriously." Tom lowered his hands from his eyes.

"When do you leave?"

"Umm-" Tom pursed his lips and sat at the dining room table where Bradyn climbed up on his lap. "A week from Monday. The eighth."

"You'll be gone over Thanksgiving?"

"No, we get back the Saturday before Thanksgiving." He leaned back in the chair as his stomach growled. "What'd you guys have for dinner?"

"Spaghetti. Do you want me to heat some up for you?"

"That'd be great." Tom put his hand on his stomach and slid Bradyn off his lap. "Did you have spaghetti for dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Was it good?"

"Yeah. Is hot." He waved his hand in front of his open mouth and climbed onto his chair across from Tom.

"Okay, I'll be careful." Tom nodded at Bradyn and looked over at Tayla. "So really, if you want to come with us you can."

"You'll be working." Tayla made a face though he couldn't see as she dished the cold food onto a plate.

"Yeah but not all the time."

"You're pulling ten and twelve hour days here. You think it'll be any different when you're traveling to record?" Tayla put the plate in the microwave and set the time for two minutes.

"I don't think it'll be that bad."

"What are you going to do with Bradyn?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you taking him with you?"

"Yeah, of course." Tom nodded and frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You'll be recording."

"Yeah. We're recording now though and he's here."

"And you have Nadiehn watching him all week while you work. What will you do when you're in Toronto recording all day and you don't have anyone to watch Bradyn?"

"I-" Tom paused and thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"Maybe you should see if your Mom can come and watch him here while you're gone." Tayla turned back to the microwave. "Or maybe Astrid can take him."

"Yeah, right." Tom snapped back a little too roughly. "No, I'd rather try to find someone to help watch while we're recording."

"She's his Mom, Tom."

"And she's in Los Angeles working. She'd have to put him in daycare anyway so no." Tom shook his head as Bradyn yawned. "You need to go to bed, buddy."

"No lato." Bradyn frowned and lay his head on the table.

"As soon as I'm done eating we'll go upstairs and get you ready, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn sighed as Tom looked back up at Tayla.

"So if I came I'd be his babysitter?" She didn't know why she was suddenly in a bad mood over everything but she couldn't stop the words from leaving her lips.

"No, Tayla, that's not why I asked you to come." Tom leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "And that's not why I asked you here this week either. Believe it or not I want to see you. To be with you and just have you here."

"I know." Tayla sighed as the microwave beeped. She checked the temperature of his dinner before she grabbed a fork and set it on the table in front of him. "It's just- It's hard not to think that."

"I know." Tom watched as she sat beside him. "But you know that I want you here all the time, not just when Astrid is coming out or when I have to work."

"Yeah." She blinked back tears that came out of nowhere. Bradyn took a deep breath and closed his eyes, which gave Tayla something else to look at as she held her breath. "Bray, let's go get your pajamas on."

"No lato." Bradyn mumbled against his arms.

"If you don't want to come out with us, that's fine. It's not often that we're all recording at the same time so there should always be someone to keep an eye on him. And maybe my Mom or Kitsune will be able to come or something. I'll figure it out."

"No, I'm-" Her lip burned between her teeth as she bit almost hard enough to draw blood, anything to keep the unwanted tears at bay. "It's not that I don't want to go, I just-"

"You don't know what you want." He finished for her.

Tayla blinked rapidly for a second then nodded. "Right."

"That's okay."

"Can I let you know this week? I'll have to call Kaelah and my parents and everything to see what they have planned and if- If I can take off for a few weeks."

"Don't feel like you have to. I just thought it'd be nice."

"It is. Thank you for asking." She stood up and picked Bradyn up out of his seat before he began to snore. "Come on, buddy. Let's go get you ready for bed."

"No, I wan Daddy to." Bradyn whined.

"I'll be up in just a minute. I have to eat my dinner first."

"Now?"

"In a minute." Tom nodded and took a bite of his too hot dinner. He breathed around the noodles in his mouth and dripped sauce on his chin. "Ooo, it's hot."

"Yeah is hot." Bradyn giggled.

"Let's go." Tayla adjusted Bradyn on her hip and headed for the stairs to leave Tom alone in the kitchen.

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

He finished up his dinner as he listened to Tayla and Bradyn talk in the bathroom above his head. The ceiling muddled their words but their giggles were distinct and he knew that having Tayla around was good for both of them. Tom rinsed his dishes in the sink then walked lightly up the stairs to spy on his two favorite people. They were in Bradyn's room getting his pajamas on. Bradyn's hair was still damp and made his pajama top stick as Tayla fought to pull it over his head. "Uh oh! You're stuck."

"No, Tayla, fix it." Bradyn laughed as his head popped through the hole. "Wow! I was suck!"

"Yeah, you were. I saved you though." From the corner of her eye she saw Tom lean against the doorway to watch quietly, a small but genuine smile crossed his lips.

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and pushed his arms through the long sleeves of his pajamas.

"So, Bradyn, what are you going to dress up as for Halloween?"

"Gay-og." Bradyn sighed.

"You're- He's dressing up as Georg?" She looked up at Tom standing in the doorway.

"He thinks he is." Tom rolled his eyes. "Tell her what costume we got for you last week. Remember? We went to the store."

"I hava Gay-og cossume." Bradyn pouted and pulled his soft pajama bottoms on.

"There is no Georg costume. How would you dress up like Georg?"

"Ina cossume."

"Georg wears regular clothes like everyone else, kind of. How would you dress up like him? You'd look just like a regular person. No one would know you were Georg."

"I tell dem I Gay-og." Bradyn sighed and looked at Tom like he was stupid.

Tayla suppressed a laugh. "Well what costume did you guys buy?"

"A bobobee." Bradyn shrugged.

"A bumblebee." Tom smiled. "With a stinger and wings and everything."

"Wow! A bumblebee, huh? That sounds so cool!"

"An I fye."

"You can fly?" Tayla looked surprised. "That is so awesome, Bradyn. I can't wait to see what you look like in your bumblebee costume."

"He looks cool in it. I already had him try it on." Tom smiled. "And what do you way when you knock on people's doors?"

"No, Daddy."

"He's a little shy about going up to people's doors." Tom explained. "What if you knocked on the door and Tayla answered, what would you say?"

"I say Bzzzz."

"Bzzzz like a bumblebee, that's right!" Tayla laughed.

"What else would you say?"

"Ticker teet! Smow my feet! Gimme sosing goody eat!"

Tayla burst out laughing and Tom just shook his head. "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat? Who taught you that?"

Bradyn sighed and pulled the covers back. "Gay-og." He said as he flopped onto his back and pulled his blanket to his chin.

"Figures." Tom chuckled under his breath. "I swear, sometimes that kid looks at me like he can't believe I'm this stupid. What do you really say?"

Bradyn rolled his eyes. "Zoo-sis o-da zow-riss!"

"That's right!" Tom said. "Süßes oder Saures!" Tom kissed Bradyn's forehead before he turned to walk out of the room.

"Sounds like Georg is his new hero." Tayla snickered as they stepped out into the hall a few minutes later.

"Yeah, something like that. I'm gonna have to have a talk with him."

"Georg?"

"Bradyn." Tom laughed. "I need to tell him to stop listening to Georg all the time. Georg's gonna end up teaching him something that's gonna get him in trouble at school or something."

"I'm sure he already has. Bradyn's just holding on to it to use it when you least expect it."

"Shit, I can see that. Swear words uttered on Christmas morning in front of my parents. That'll make the Holidays grand." Tom laughed and wrapped his arms around Tayla's waist. "Speaking of holidays, what do you have planned?"

"For Christmas?"

"And Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving, I'm going to my grandparent's house." She smiled as he leaned his forehead against her. "I haven't missed a Thanksgiving since I was six and had the chicken pox."

"Impressive."

"You?"

"I'll probably go to my parents. They suckered me into hosting it last year but that was a mess so I think we'll be at their house."

"Cool."

"You're welcome to come if you want."

"Thank you." Tayla nodded. "And you're more than welcome to come to Connecticut to my grandparents'."

"Thanks." Tom kissed her quickly. "How about Christmas?"

Tayla shrugged. "I haven't decided yet."

"You won't be with your family?"

"We do Christmas stuff the week before. My parents usually go on vacation for the week of Christmas."

"Vacation?"

"Yeah. Alaskan Cruises, ski trips to Aspen, you name it."

"Hmm."

"Hmm." She mimicked him. "Hey, I'm sorry I got all edgy downstairs."

"It's okay."

"It's just that with Astrid calling today and everything, I think- Well, I think I just got my feathers all ruffled and started doubting why-" She stopped herself and licked her lips quickly. "Doubting a lot of things that I shouldn't."

"It's okay, really."

"I'm just being all girly." Tayla laughed softly and dropped her forehead to his chest.

His hands rubbed her back gently with his fingers trailing up her spine. "Girly is what I like." He chuckled under his breath. "You're welcome here anytime, you know that. You can come when you want and stay as long as you want. Whether I'm working or not, whether it's a holiday or not, it doesn't matter."

"I know."

"As for traveling with us, I just thought it'd be fun to see those cities together. Kind of like old times with the guys and everything. It won't be all work."

"I'd like that but, like I said, I'll have to check in with everyone."

"Well, just let me know when you do and I'll make arrangements. You can come for all of it or only for a few days or not at all. Whatever you want. I'm easy."

"So I've heard." She joked as she looked up to kiss him again.

"Oh, really?" He laughed and pulled her by her jean pockets.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, we'll just see about that." Tom laughed and tugged her toward the bathroom. "But first I need a shower. I'm all stinky."

"Fun."

"Wanna watch?"

"I'll pass." She laughed and blushed slightly knowing that she wouldn't have to use too much of her imagination to get that picture in her head.

"Wanna join me?" He raised his eyebrow in the most sexual and flirty way he knew which might have worked if he didn't yawn in the middle of his suaveness.

"You're tired."

"So?" His shirt was off before she realized he moved and his hands were at the waist of his warm up pants.

"So?"

His fingers dropped the ties at his waist and circled her hips, darting up under her shirt to try to pull it off. "We can kill two birds with one stone. So to speak." He kissed her and dropped her shirt on the floor just inside the master bedroom. "You'll like it. I promise." He tickled her side and led her into the bathroom where he reached into the shower and turned the water on hot, never taking his other hand off her back. Tayla didn't fight at all as he unclasped her bra and tossed it toward the bedroom. She voluntarily shed the rest of her clothes to join him in the steaming shower.

While under the hot water and covered in soap and shampoo, Tom didn't seem nearly as tired as he did just a few minutes earlier. He expertly shampooed Tayla's hair and practically purred when she carefully washed around his braids. They spent the next half hour under the water killing at least three birds with one stone, erasing any of the bitter or confused feelings from earlier in the evening.

When they finally emerged from the slippery shower into the steam filled bathroom, Tom wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped into the bedroom to collapse onto the bed. Tayla tucked a large towel around her body and secured it under her arm as she brushed her teeth and went to work on her hair.

"Hey, did you call Astrid?" Tayla asked as she brushed her hair in the mirror.

"Damn. No, I forgot." Tom made a face from the bed where he was lounging.

"You forgot?"

"Partly." He smiled at her then rolled onto his back. "I didn't feel like dealing with her tonight."

"She's going to think I didn't give you the message." Tayla sighed and set her hairbrush down. "Make me look like the bad guy, why don't you?"

"I'll tell her that you gave me the message and I forgot." He sat up and scooted over to give her room.

"Tom." She sighed and sat on the bed beside him.

"Don't worry about her. I can handle Astrid." Tom reached over and squeezed her shoulders in soft, rhythmic circles.

"I know but I told her you'd call."

"And I will but it's too late now."

"It's not too late in California."

"It's too late here." Tom kissed her neck and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Come on, I'll call her tomorrow. I promise." Tayla sighed but melted into the warmth of his arms. "It seems like forever." His voice dropped and rumbled against her ear.

"I was just in the shower with you." She smiled and closed her eyes.

"I know." Tom laughed lightly as he pulled her down beside him and pulled the blankets up to their shoulders. "But still."

"Long day?" Tayla maneuvered herself as Tom pulled the towel from around her body and dropped it with his over the side of the bed. The heat from the shower still radiated from their bodies and warmed the cool sheets.

"Longer than you know." He yawned. He kissed her neck just under her hair. "And this is only the first week."

"How much-" Tayla started but Tom interrupted her.

"I love you, Tayla." He pulled her tighter to his chest and sighed softly into her hair. "No work talk tonight. No talk at all, okay?"

"Okay." She whispered and placed her hands over his on her stomach. She could easily live with that.

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

Tayla woke early the next morning with Tom and Bradyn and helped Tom get out of the house on time. Without having to worry about packing Bradyn and his gear up, he actually had time to have a warm breakfast.

"So are you carpooling with Bill today again?"

"No." Tom shook his head as he took a bite of his toast. "I'm gonna try to leave a little early today. Besides, I don't have a reason to go over to Bill's this morning."

"True."

"Thanks for watching him."

"No problem." Tayla smiled and leaned on the counter as she waited for the water to boil for Bradyn's oatmeal.

"Actually, do you want to take me to the studio so you can have the car today?"

"No, I think we'll just hang out around here. We can play with Lucy since I'm sure she misses her play buddy."

"True." Tom nodded and popped the last bit of toast into his mouth as he stood up. "Okay, I need to get going."

"I go see Nay-dee?" Bradyn slid off of his chair.

"No, you get to stay here with Tayla."

"Wiss my Tayla?"

"Yeah."

"An you?"

"I have to go to work." Tom explained as he picked Bradyn up to kiss him quickly. "You get to hang out in your pajamas and play with Lucy and eat oatmeal and all that good stuff."

"Kay." Bradyn giggled as Tom set him down.

"Don't forget, it's Halloween." Tayla said softly when he came over to say good-bye to her.

His lips brushed against hers. "I know." He said before he kissed her like he wanted to. "If I'm not home by six or seven, can you take him up and down the street?"

"You think you'll be that late?" Tayla's brow knit into a frown.

Tom shrugged and kissed her forehead. "I hope not but it'll depend on what we get done today. If we want the holidays off we have to pull a lot of work out before that."

"Okay."

"I'll call though."

"Okay." Tayla smiled and kissed him again as the kettle on the stove top began to whistle. "Have a good day at work."

"I will." Tom laughed and reached around her to move the kettle to a different burner. "See you later." Tom raised his voice and waved at Bradyn sitting at the table.

"Bye, Daddy." Bradyn blew a quick kiss, then turned his attention back to Lucy as she thumped her tail against the legs of his chair.

"Bye." Tom laughed as his footsteps echoed down the hall. Tayla heard the garage door open and Tom's car start. A little tug pulled at her heart and her stomach did a flip-flop.

"This is what it'd be like if I lived here." She thought to herself. "Like we were-" She stopped that train of thought and smiled, surprising herself.

"Tayla? I have oh meal an you have oh meal?"

Tayla blinked to snap herself out of her partial daydream and sighed. "Yeah. Let's have some oatmeal and get all warmed up before we go outside." She smiled and dished out their breakfast before sitting beside him.

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

Tayla and Bradyn spent the morning playing in the wide back yard with Lucy. They came in and got dressed to play indoors and take a little nap after lunch. Tayla pulled Bradyn onto her lap and they dozed on the couch with Beauty and the Beast playing on the TV softly. When the movie was over she carefully moved Bradyn from her lap and went to the kitchen to start dinner so that Bradyn could eat before they went trick-or-treating.

After looking through the cupboards again, she decided to make Tom go grocery shopping that weekend. In a Tupperware container in the freezer she found what looked like left over lasagna with cooking instructions on the top. She found a baking pan in a dusty drawer and turned the oven on to get things started.

Bradyn woke up a short while later and helped her make garlic bread and toss a salad. "I sure hope your Daddy gets to go trick-or-treating with us tonight."

"Yeah. An I have candy?"

"Yeah, you'll get lots of candy tonight. Will you share some with me?"

"Yeah."

"Can I have one of your chocolate bars?"

"I doe have." Bradyn shrugged and frowned.

"No, after you get done trick-or-treating tonight. You'll have lots of chocolate, I think." Tayla laughed.

"Yeah, you have some an Daddy."

"Oh, it's nice that you're going to share with everyone."

"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and sat on the kitchen floor by Lucy as she snored softly. "An Lucy?"

"No, dogs can't have chocolate. She'd get very sick and we'd have to take her to the doctor."

"I doe like dockors."

"They're not that bad." Tayla cut up a carrot for the salad and popped a few pieces into her mouth. She heard the big garage door open and her face lit up. It was just after four and the only person it could be was Tom. "Look who's home!" Tayla cheered as Tom came through the door hours before his usual time.

"Daddy!" Bradyn peeled down the hall and leaped into Tom's arms. "Daddy is how-een."

"I know it's Halloween. That's why I came home so I can take you trick-or-treating."

"An my Tayla?"

"Yeah, Tayla is going to come too." Tom nodded and kissed Bradyn's temple. "Hey." He smiled as he noticed Tayla leaning casually against the back of the leather couch in the front room.

"Hey." She laughed delicately in response. "We've been waiting for you."

"I bet." Tom propped Bradyn on his hip and kissed Tayla hello before going through the house to the kitchen. "Did you have dinner yet?"

"Not yet. I'm making some of that lasagna you had in the freezer. I'm assuming that the date on it was right."

"Yeah, Nadiehn sent me home with left overs when we went for dinner last week. She's a really good cook."

"It looks like it." Tayla sniffed the fragrant air and licked her lips. "How'd Bill get so lucky?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing." Tom laughed and shook his head.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I made the salad and bread from scratch."

"Oh, so you're not totally useless in the kitchen."

"Not totally." She laughed and turned the oven light on to check the progress. "And I like how she put the instructions on the packaging. Heat for thirty minutes at 350 degrees. She's on her way to being a mom."

"Don't say that. You'll freak Bill out if he hears that."

"Ha!" Tayla rolled her eyes. "Not what I've heard. He's the one all gung-ho about having kids."

"Not yet though." Tom shook his head.

"Yeah, well sooner than Nadiehn was planning, I think." She clicked the oven light off and checked her watch. "Anyway, that's their business. In the meantime, I'll gladly take her leftovers." She laughed and reached into the cupboard for clean plates.

"Hey." Bradyn said as Tom put him in his seat. "I a bobobee an I fye."

Tom laughed and studied his son. The long days he was putting in meant less time for them to spend together and he was starting to feel it. "Yeah, you get to be a bumblebee."

"An you? You a bobobee?"

"No, I'm not dressing up."

"You're not?" Tayla asked. "You're not worried about being seen?"

"In this neighborhood? Everyone who's here knows me already." He shrugged. "It's not like we'll be wandering the streets or whatever."

"True. You'll probably stay on this street, huh?"

"Yeah. Actually, I told the guys I'd swing by and say hi and all that. So Bradyn can show them his costume."

"Where are they going to be?"

"At home." Tom shrugged.

"At their own homes? So we have to hit four different houses?"

"Uh huh. Gustav and Georg have parties they're going to so we have to be there by eight." Tom nodded. "But yeah, they all wanna see him."

"Bradyn, you have the coolest uncles in the world." Tayla shook her head as she pulled the dinner out of the stove feeling more motherly than ever before.

"Yeah. Is Toke Hoh-tell an is my unkow." Bradyn nodded and shook salt out onto the table. "And Pie appo an Goose-gog."

"What about Georg?"

"An Gay-og." Bradyn said as Tom reached over and took the salt from him. He brushed what was on the table to the floor. "An Tayla?"

"Tayla's not your uncle, silly."

"She my Tayla."

Tom paused for a second while Tayla waited to hear what he'd say. "Yeah. She's your Tayla."

"And you Tayla."

"And my Tayla too. Sure." Tom grinned and glanced up at Tayla with a soft laugh.

"You guys are silly." She shook her head and set the dinner on the table in front of them. "Eat so we can go get you in your costume, Bray."

"I have dinno anen I have candy?"

"Yeah. You have to eat a good dinner, then you can have some candy."

"Cool." Bradyn smiled as Tayla cut his dinner into small bites.

"Yeah, cool." She laughed and sat back down to enjoy the meal with Tom at her side.

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

When dinner was done, Tom offered to do the dishes so Tayla could take Bradyn upstairs and get him dressed in his costume for the night. "Go get all bumblebee'd. I can't wait to see!"

"Yeah, I a bobobee." Bradyn laughed and ran toward the stairs.

"Thanks." Tom planted a kiss on Tayla's cheek as she walked by.

"No problem." She raised her eyebrow in a flirtatious smirk and followed Bradyn up the stairs.

Tom laughed to himself and rinsed the dishes in the sink. He placed them in the dishwasher and dried his hands on the towel as he looked at the phone. As much as he didn't really want to, he had to call Astrid back. If she weren't arriving in town the next day he wouldn't have bothered but she may have had a change of plans and he would need to know.

Reluctantly he picked up the phone and dialed Astrid's number. He listened nervously as the phone rang in his ear. "Hello?" Astrid answered just before the machine would have picked up.

"Hi, Astrid. This is Tom." He said softly.

"Tom? Oh, that's right. I called you yesterday."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm just now getting back to you."

"You should get voice mail. It's a lot more reliable when it comes to delivering messages." She said sarcastically.

"I have voice mail." Tom bit his lip. "And Tayla did give me the message yesterday. In fact she called me as soon as she hung up with you to let me know and she reminded me when I got home. I just didn't feel like calling last night because I'd had a long day and I was tired." Tom's head began to ache and they had barely started their conversation. She almost always had that effect on him. He sighed softly and said, "So what time do you land tomorrow?"

"Not until nine at night." Astrid shook her head. "So I'd like to come by on Saturday."

"Okay, that's fine." Tom nodded and looked at the calendar though he didn't need to. He'd cleared it as soon as Astrid said she was coming out. "Do you know what time?"

"No." She sounded almost annoyed. "I don't know what time I'll get up or whatever. I'll just call you in the morning and set something up."

"Okay." Tom bit his lip to keep from snapping back at her.

Just then Tayla walked into the kitchen with Bradyn in his yellow and black costume hanging upside down and laughing. His hair was damp and water dripped from the ends. "Daddy, you uh-sye down!"

"You're upside down!" Tom laughed as Tayla reached down and tickled him under his arm making him giggle.

"Is that her?" Astrid asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, that's Tayla and Bradyn." Tom said into the phone.

Tayla blushed and brought Bradyn upright. "Sorry." She whispered and tried to get Bradyn quiet. "Who is it?" She whispered with a look towards the phone.

"It's Astrid." Tom said.

"Oh." Tayla did her best not to roll her eyes. "Curvo." She mumbled under her breath. (Bitch)

Tom glanced at her and furrowed his brows.

"So she's raising him now?" Astrid asked quickly.

"She's been helping me since you left him. That's nothing new." Tom explained.

"Yeah, well, it seems like she's just itching to jump in and take my place."

"Take your place?" Tom shook his head.

"She's barely seen him in the last year! Where's her place?" Tayla asked softly. "Du-te-n pizda mă-tii!!" She added a little louder. (Go back in your Mother's cunt)

Tom held up his finger to silence Tayla and turned to the phone. "Tayla and Bradyn get along and I trust her with him. She's not trying to be his Mother."

"Oh, no? You guys looked all lovey-dovey when I was out last time."

"She's my girlfriend, Astrid. What do you expect?"

"He's my son."

"I know that. We all know that. She's not trying to take your place. She's just helping me out as a friend. As my girlfriend."

"Even though I'm more of a Mom than she is." Tayla grumbled.

"What did she say?" Astrid asked though she had heard Tayla's snide comment clearly.

"Nothing." Tom said quickly. He covered the mouthpiece and gave Tayla a look. "Stop." He whispered.

"It's true."

"Tayla, stop it. Don't go there." Tom took the phone and headed for the hall. "Don't worry about what she's saying. All of this is between you and me."

"And our lawyers." Astrid snapped.

"Shit." Tom whispered under his breath. He closed his eyes and pressed them shut. "There's no reason to get lawyers involved again. We've already had this conversation."

"I don't want Bradyn around her."

"News flash, Astrid, I have sole legal and physical custody. I can have him around anyone I want and take him anywhere I want."

"Don't start that."

"What is this about? Why are you mad all of a sudden? I mean, you came a couple months ago and you were fine with Tayla then-"

"Well now I'm not."

"Why? What's changed your mind?"

"Nothing."

"Astrid." He sighed with exasperation. She could really be too much to handle sometimes.

"I've been talking with some of the girls I work with and we all agree that this is bullshit. I should be able to see him whenever I want."

"You can see him."

"Whenever I want."

"Astrid, you're going to be here tomorrow. I've already told you that you can come here anytime."

"I can't see him whenever I want if he lives over 5,000 miles away."

"You can always move here." Tom said briskly. As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. The last thing he wanted was for her to move to Germany.

"Or you could move here."

"Why would I move to California? I'm happy with things the way they are. If you're suddenly unhappy, you can move." He grabbed a few of his braids, tugging harder than necessary. "Listen, you'll be here tomorrow and we can talk about this then or something."

"Fine." She answered back sharply. "I'll call when I land."

"Great." Tom nodded and bit his lip.

"Bye." She hung up without waiting for his response.

Tom carefully slid the phone back onto the cradle and looked out at the living room where Tayla was helping Bradyn get his bumblebee wings on. He sighed, then walked over to them as Tayla smiled and patted Bradyn's stinger. "Okay, run upstairs and get your candy bucket thing."

"Candy!" Bradyn shouted as he ran for the stairs with his wings flapping behind him. Hearing Bradyn run through the house, Lucy jumped up from her resting spot by the front door and followed him up the stairs with her tail wagging all over the place.

"What is your problem?" Tom whispered to Tayla as he heard Bradyn thump around overhead. "And what were you saying? That wasn't German and it definitely wasn't English."

"What?" She asked innocently. "It was Romanian."

"Since when do you know Romanian?"

"Since high school." She shrugged. "My best friend Melina is from Romania. She moved to the US during high school and she has taught me all kinds of choice phrases."

Tom frowned. "I have enough trouble dealing with Astrid without your little sarcastic remarks and everything. She's going to be here tomorrow. I don't need this right now and you're not helping."

"What have I done?"

"Tayla, she's jealous of your relationship with Bra-"

"I can't help it that she ditched him." Tayla lowered her voice as she interrupted him.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm saying she thinks you're trying to take her place and then you go antagonizing her with that. That's not helping anything."

"Well, I am more his Mom than she is."

"But you're not."

Tayla looked up quickly and exhaled slowly. "You know what I mean."

"I don't think I do." Tom shook his head and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "Out of no where you guys have flipped out on me. She's all jealous of you and you-" He stopped for a second as a look of pure confusion crossed his face. "You're jealous of her?"

"Now you're being crazy." Tayla shook her head and looked away.

"No. Wait- You are. This all started when she called yesterday."

"Tom, why would I be jealous of her?" Tayla crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him.

"I don't know." He shook his head slowly.

"I'm not." She said after a moment's pause which proved to them both that she was.

Tom didn't answer. He just nodded quickly as Bradyn bounded into the kitchen with his little plastic pumpkin in one hand. "We get candy now?" He asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." Tom reached for Bradyn's free hand.

"Come on, Tayla!" Bradyn giggled and tugged on Tom's hand to get him to hurry.

"Yeah, come on, Tayla. Let's go get some candy." He gave her a half smile to call a truce while they trick-or-treated. The rest of their conversation would have to wait until they got home but it would continue.

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

Bradyn buzzed his way up and down the street collecting a pumpkin full of candy before they made it back to his house. "Oh, Daddy, is too much candy." Bradyn rolled his eyes as he looked at his haul.

"Too much, huh? Then can I have some?"

"Yeah." Bradyn held out his plastic pumpkin as Tom unlocked the car.

Tom took a snack sized Snickers bar and popped it in his mouth. "Yum! Okay, let's go see the guys."

"See guys?"

"Yeah, we're going to go see Georg and Gustav and Bill."

"Wow!" Bradyn laughed and crawled into his seat as Tayla got in the passenger door.

"Daddy, I sink guys comere."

"You think the guys should come here?"

"Yeah, an see."

"Yeah, well, I thought they should come here and see you too but they're stubborn." Tom laughed and hopped into the driver's seat. "They don't like me so they won't come and see me."

"No, me. See me." Bradyn giggled.

"Oh! Well, I'm sure they'd come to see you but tonight we're going to go see them."

"Day like me?"

"Of course they like you." Tom smiled at his son in the rear view mirror as he backed out. "They like you a lot."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked out the window. "I like dem too."

"Cool." Tom laughed softly as he drove down the street and headed for Bill's house, the furthest away.

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

They spent the next two hours going from house to house to show off Bradyn's costume before the older boys headed out for various parties they were attending. Bradyn rang each of their doorbells and used Georg's favorite trick-or-treating phrase to get the little goodies they had for him. Georg was the only one who was unprepared so he handed out Fudgesicles in the kitchen, which they all ate right away.

By the time they were in the car and headed home, Bradyn was sound asleep. He'd come down from his sugar high as soon as the car started and was snoring by the time they hit the end of Gustav's street. Tom bit his lip and turned to face Tayla in the darkness of the car. "So-"

"Hmm?" She looked at him and her smile dropped slightly. That 'so' meant he wanted to talk. "I'm not jealous of her." She said softly when he didn't say anything.

"I'm not-" Tom stopped and pursed his lips. "I don't know what it is."

"It's nothing."

"No, it's something."

"Tom, it's just that she shows up out of nowhere and wants to suddenly be his Mommy and that's just not cool. As a female, I don't know how she can do that. I mean, I have no connection to him at all, other than you really, and it just seems like I'm more concerned about him than she is."

"Yeah."

"Well, it's not fair that she gets to be his mother. If you don't put anything into it, you shouldn't be allowed to get anything out of it." Tayla heard the words leave her mouth but she couldn't believe she'd actually said them. "That sounds horrible."

"She put in the first two years." Tom said softly.

"I know."

"But I know what you're saying. It doesn't seem fair and maybe it isn't." Tom sighed. "But for Bradyn's sake, I have to do this. I have to try to make things work with Astrid and if that means putting up with certain things, then that's okay."

"But where do you draw the line?"

"I don't know. I'm new at this." Tom forced a small smile. "But, Tayla, I really need your help here or something. When all this went down in LA, you were the one who kept my head on straight and told me that she needed to be a part of Bradyn's life. You were right, she does. She plays an important part and all of her actions make a difference. When Bradyn's old enough to understand, he can make up his own mind."

"Tom, I know that she's important in his life." Tayla sighed. "I just- I know she needs to be around. In my head I know that but that doesn't change the way I feel. It's just petty, I guess."

"Well-" Tom shrugged.

"I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"We won't."

Tayla stared at him for a minute and licked her lips. "I hope not." She said softly.

"I appreciate your concern."

"Please don't talk to me like I'm a reporter." She made a face.

"Tayla, I'm glad that you're worried for us. That means a lot, it really does. I care about you a lot and I know you love us too. That means more than anything Astrid can say." Tom bit his lip. "But I think we're doing okay. She's getting better, believe it or not. I can handle her being testy with me as long as she's there for Bradyn and she has been lately. You don't have to have any contact with her if you don't want to. That's fine."

"I'd rather not see her."

"Then don't." Tom placed his hand on her leg. "This is my shit I have to deal with. I don't want you to feel like you're stuck in the middle."

"I am though."

"You don't have to be." Tom shook his head. "I have caller ID so if her number shows up, you can let it go to voice mail and I'll deal with it later. When she comes over to visit, you can do what you want. The only thing I need from you is just for you to be here."

"I will be."

"Okay." Tom looked over and caught her eye in the passing streetlight. "We okay?"

"We're fine." She sighed and offered a small smile.

"She'll be gone soon." He kissed her quickly, then turned back to the road. "Then we can get back to normal."

"Good." Tayla smiled and leaned against the window to watch the last of the freeway pass by on their way home.

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

On Friday, Tom left early in the morning to get back to the studio. He took a handful of Halloween candy with him to give him the sugar buzz he was sure he'd need. Tayla and Bradyn slept in a little and spent the day cleaning up Bradyn's room and his bureau. So many of his clothes didn't fit any more and being a fashion mistress, Tayla wasn't about to let Bradyn walk around in short shorts or shirts that rode halfway up his belly.

"Bradyn, these don't fit you anymore." She held up a pair of pants that were a size eighteen months.

"Is mine."

"I know they're yours but they don't fit. Let's take these clothes that don't fit and give them to other kids who need them." Tayla nodded and reached back into the drawers.

"No, I can have."

"We'll get you new clothes, okay?"

"We can go sopping?"

"Yeah." Tayla smiled and imagined Tom and Bradyn shopping for clothes. "I'll see if maybe we can go this weekend. We'll get you some clothes that fit. And that aren't stained." She made a face as she pulled out a shirt with dull red stains down the front.

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and reached into the drawers himself to help weed out the things that didn't fit.

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

When Tom came home that night, there was a trash bag full of clothes waiting by the garage door to be taken to the Heils Armee in town. "What's this?" Tom asked as he kicked at the bag.

"Is my cose." Bradyn shrugged as Tom walked into the kitchen to see the two of them eating brownies at the table.

"You're throwing your clothes away?" Tom frowned and reached over to take a piece of brownie from Tayla's napkin.

"No, we fro dem to kids." Bradyn stuck his tongue out to lick the icing from his top lip but only managed to smear it more.

"Translation?" Tom looked over at Tayla as she took another bite.

"Those are clothes that don't fit him anymore so we took them out of his drawers and we're going to give them to other kids. To the Salvation Army or something."

"Oh." Tom nodded and quickly dropped kisses on both of their cheeks. "Is there anything to eat?"

"No. Just brownies." Tayla laughed as Tom pulled the fridge open. "We just had sandwiches for dinner. Do you want me to make you one?"

"I've got it." Tom brought out the makings for a sandwich and yawned. "But save me a brownie. They look good."

"Dey yummy, Daddy." Bradyn licked his fingers as the last bite of his brownie passed his lips.

"Right on." Tom bustled around the kitchen making his dinner. He casually sat beside Tayla. "So that's what you guys did today? You cleaned out Bradyn closet?"

"And his toy chest and all that. His room is spotless." Tayla nodded.

"Cool. You wanna clean the rest of the house while you're here?"

"Don't count on it." She leaned over to kiss him quickly before she laughed. "You'll need to take him shopping and get him some more clothes that fit. You might want to get things that are a little too big that way he can grow into them."

"Okay." Tom took a bite of his sandwich while his stomach growled loudly beneath his T-shirt.

"We can go this weekend if you want. Or next week sometime."

"I'm working next week." Tom shook his head. "I think."

"Then maybe Bradyn and I will go and spend your money." She raised her eyebrow at Bradyn who just laughed in response. Tom and Tayla joined in with the laughter and each thought to themselves how nice it was to be laughing like a family.

When Tom was done with his dinner, he picked Bradyn up and yawned with the little boy as they made their way upstairs. He put Bradyn to bed and he followed Tayla back to the living room to finish off the brownies and relax on the couch. It was becoming their normal evening routine. They noticeably avoided any mention of Astrid and simply resigned to watching the TV in silence with their arms around each other.

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

Morning was a lazy time for them all and they didn't end up eating breakfast until after ten in the morning. Bradyn decided he wanted an egg picnic so Tom scrambled up some eggs and they ate on the floor in the living room since it was too cold to eat outside.

"When does Astrid get here?" Tayla asked carefully.

"Um, last night. Late last night. I guess she'll be calling today to see about coming by."

"Hmm. Okay."

"I should actually go get the phone." Tom jumped up and returned a minute later with a handful of paper towels. He dropped the phone by his plate and smiled. "This was a good idea, Bradyn. It looks like it'll be a nice day today. We may actually be able to go outside to play."

"It's hard to believe it's November, huh?" Tayla looked out the door at the blue sky.

"I know. This is strange. It's usually rainy and crazy cold by now. Not that I'm complaining."

"Yeah, no kidding. The longer it can stay clear like this, the better, right?"

"Right." Tom sat cross-legged on the floor and took a bite of his toast.

"Daddy, Lucy can have a egg?"

"No, she doesn't need eggs. She has her dog food in her bowl."

"She like egg?"

"I don't think she'd like eggs." Tom shook his head and reached over to stop Bradyn's hand as the little boy reached for his eggs. "I'm serious, Bradyn. Don't feed her eggs. If she eats them and gets sick, you're going to have to clean it up."

"Kay, I keen."

"No." Tom laughed and caught Tayla's smile out of the corner of his eye. "No, just don't feed her the eggs. She's a dog so she has to eat dog food."

Bradyn sighed and rolled his eyes. "Kay, Daddy."

"Eat your breakfast."

"Kay." Bradyn said again as he picked up his toast and took a bite, keeping his eyes on his breakfast plate.

The phone beside Tom's knee rang and startled all three of them. "Figures." Tom grumbled as he jumped to his feet with the phone in his hand. "Hello?"

"Hi, Tom. This is Astrid."

"Hey." Tom lowered his head and stepped just outside the living room. Without him saying who it was, Tayla new it was Astrid. She shuttled Bradyn and Lucy outside and to the play set. She went about chasing Bradyn up the rope ladder to the little bridge with Lucy yapping at their heels. "How was your flight?" Tom asked as he leaned on the kitchen counter.

"It was fine. Thank you."

"Are you at your hotel now?"

"Yeah, let me give you that number." Astrid shuffled papers around before she rattled off the local hotel number. "We're in room 8110. It's under the name Theo Nicholson."

"Theo Nicholson?" Tom asked as scribbled the number on an envelope.

"She's one of the friends I'm here with. She got the room in her name because she had the credit card."

"Oh, You- You're here with friends?"

"Yeah." Astrid smiled.

"Oh."

"I mean, I came out to see Bradyn but I figured while I was here, I might as well make a little vacation out of it. It'll be short but still."

"Oh." Tom said again. He wasn't expecting that.

"So some of the girls I work with decided to come too. We'll do a little sightseeing too, I guess." Astrid sighed. "Anyway, when can I come by to see Bradyn?"

Tom thought for a second. "Pretty much anytime you want. He's in bed by about eight every night and he still naps in the afternoon but yeah, anytime." He frowned slightly and thought ahead for the day. "He probably won't need a nap until one or two today so if you want to see him bef-"

"I was thinking about tomorrow." Astrid interrupted him.

"Tomorrow? Yeah, okay. Yeah, that'd be fine. What time?"

"In the morning sometime. I'd like to take him for a few hours, you know, spend the day with him since I haven't seen him in forever."

"You want to take him?"

"Yeah. Maybe we'll go to the movies or something."

"Oh." Tom was always reminded that English was his second language whenever he spoke to Astrid. She made him feel like he was speaking Alien. He didn't know why he always got flustered with her but he hated it. "Yeah, that'll be fine. You'll have to take Seppel with you though. Like last time."

"The bodyguard?"

"Yeah, our security."

"Do you really think that's necessary?"

Tom's eyebrows shot up. "Did she really think I'd let her take Bradyn without supervision?" He bit his tongue before he said the thought aloud. "Yes, it's necessary. Especially around here." Tom said slowly. He didn't always have Seppel around when he took Bradyn out but he was much more qualified to handle fans and Astrid definitely wasn't prepared to handle his fans with Bradyn.

She sighed loudly. "Fine. Okay. So can I pick him up at ten?"

"Ten would be fine, sure. How long did you want to keep him?"

"I'm not sure. A few hours, I guess. Like I said, we'll just go to the movies or to a park or something."

"Okay." Tom nodded and pulled on his lip. "Do you remember how to get here?"

"Yeah." Astrid said quickly. "I remember."

"Okay. We'll see you at ten then." Tom nodded. "Do you want to talk to Bradyn?"

Astrid paused for a second. "Sure."

"Okay." Tom pulled the door open and shouted for Bradyn to come to the phone.

"No, Daddy. I a sark."

"You can be a shark in a minute. Come talk to your Mom on the phone for a minute." Tom waved the little boy over.

Bradyn heaved a heavy sigh then rolled his eyes and walked over. "Is Mommy?"

"Yeah, it's your Mommy. Say hi." Tom handed the phone to Bradyn who took it in both hands.

"Hi, Mommy." He mumbled as he sat on the first step leading to the grass. "Yeah. Kay." Bradyn nodded and looked longingly toward the play set where Tayla and Lucy were lounging in the shade of the slide. "I a sark an I simmin a ossin." Bradyn explained softly. "No, a sark. Rawr!" Tom listened as Bradyn explained in toddler-talk what he was doing. "Kay, bye." Bradyn stood up suddenly and handed the phone to Tom.

"Are you done?"

"Yeah." Bradyn didn't even look back as he took off across the backyard again.

"Hello?" Tom asked into the phone but she had already hung up. "Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow." He grumbled as he turned the phone off and set it on the picnic table before walking out to join the 'shark' and Tayla in their playtime.

"Is she coming over?" Tayla asked without looking up.

"No, not today. She wants to take him out tomorrow."

"She's in town though, right?"

"Yeah. She brought some friends with her."

"She brought friends?"

"Yeah, I guess she's making this into another vacation or something."

"Hmm." Tayla pursed her lips and looked up at Tom, squinting into the sun. "So she's not going to see him today?"

"No."

"Okay, then we have all day to play." She smiled and pulled Bradyn onto her lap. "We get to play all day, Bray?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn cheered and wiggled on her lap. "I a sark an you a fiss an Lucy a fiss an Daddy-" Bradyn frowned and looked Tom over. "A pie-wit?"

"A pirate?" Tom laughed. "I'm not a pirate."

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled. "Is tend."

"It's pretend, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn jumped up and darted around the sand area in shark-like moves, opening and closing his mouth.

"Okay, I'm a pirate." Tom smirked down at Tayla with a raised eyebrow as he growled and pulled himself up onto the bridge over the 'ocean' and made pirate noises.

They played around in the backyard for most of the afternoon. They stopped for lunch at McDonald's and went home to relax a little and do some laundry that Tom had been putting off. The three of them sat on the couch and folded the warm clothes straight from the dryer as Finding Nemo played on the big screen TV that evening.

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

"When will Astrid be here?" Tayla asked the next morning as she rinsed their breakfast plates in the sink. She didn't want to be the one to answer the door. In fact, she'd rather be upstairs or in the backyard when she came to avoid a confrontation.

"Um, she said she'd be here at ten. Seppel will be here any minute."

"She's taking him out, right? Bradyn, I mean."

"Uh huh." Tom tied Bradyn's shoe and pulled the little boy to his feet.

"Me?" Bradyn asked.

"Yeah, you." Tom said as Tayla dried her hands and sat on the couch.

"Me and Ass-turd?" Bradyn crinkled his brow and looked from Tom to Tayla.

Tayla snorted, unable to contain her laughter.

Tom couldn't help but snicker as well. "Your Mommy is going to come and get you." Tom smiled.

"My Mommy?"

"Yeah."

"Ass-turd?" Bradyn looked confused.

Tayla laughed even harder.

"Astrid is your Mommy's name." Tom said as he gently kicked at Tayla's ankle.

"Why?"

"Because that's just her name. Just like your name is Bradyn." Tom explained as Tayla pulled him onto her lap and wrapped her arms around him.

"An Daddy?" Bradyn looked over at Tom who sat beside them.

"Me too." Tom nodded. "My name is Tom."

"Tom?" Bradyn giggled and looked up at Tayla. "An Tayla?"

"Yeah, Tayla is Tayla." Tom laughed and leaned back on the couch.

"An Ass-turd?" Bradyn asked.

"Yeah, Astrid is your mom." Tom said as he nudged Tayla's side when a new set of giggles erupted from her lips.

Bradyn sighed with a boyish shrug. "Kay. I go wiss Ass-turd?"

"Yeah, you're going shopping with Astrid- Your Mommy. Then you'll come back here for dinner."

"Cool." Bradyn slid out of Tayla's arms and off the couch.

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

Seppel showed up a minute later and entertained Bradyn until Astrid showed up right on time. Bradyn was on sensory overload, seeing his favorite person Seppel and then his Mother. He loved visitors more than anything so he was ecstatic.

Tayla ducked upstairs when the doorbell rang for the second time signaling that Astrid was there but she heard Tom open the door and greet her. "Hey, come in." Tom's voice lowered as he took in the sight of her.

Astrid's dark hair was pulled back and she looked like she was going to a club instead of taking her son out. He pursed his lips and took Bradyn from Seppel's shoulder where he was perched happily. "Hey, buddy, look who's here."

"Hi, Ass-turd!" Bradyn giggled and bounced around as he grasped her hand.

"That's your Mommy silly." Tom blushed and at that point Tayla shut the bedroom door to block her laughter.

"He calls me Astrid?" She asked quickly after hearing the door upstairs shut.

"No. We had a conversation earlier about names. We referred to you as Astrid and he wanted to know who that was. He been calling me Tom all day today."

"Hmm."

"So you guys are going shopping?"

"I think so, yeah. Maybe to the movies." Astrid nodded and picked Bradyn up, not meeting Tom's eye.

"Okay." He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, let me get you his car seat and everything." Tom took a step towards the garage.

"I have one." Seppel said softly.

"You're driving?" Tom looked up at Seppel.

"I'll drive." Astrid shook her head. "But, thank you. We can use your seat if you don't mind." She said to Seppel."

"That's fine." Seppel nodded and pulled his keys from his pocket.

"When will you be back?"

"Um." Astrid looked at her watch then planted a kiss on Bradyn's cheek as almost an afterthought. "One or two? That should be enough time, I think, since we're just going to the mall."

"So you'll be home by two?"

Astrid paused and looked up at Tom. "I'll have him back here by two, yeah."

"Okay." Tom smiled to stop the chilly tone that had taken over the conversation. "Well, have fun guys."

"Daddy, you can come?" Bradyn asked as Astrid turned for the door.

"No, you get to go out with Seppel and your Mommy. You'll have a lot of fun. Lot's of fun." Tom held the forced smile and waved as they stepped out the front door. "I'll see you later though, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded but didn't look too sure as they walked down the front steps. Tom shut the door and sighed. He didn't want to watch them pile into Astrid's rental car and drive away. Being away from Bradyn was never easy, not even when he was left with someone Tom knew and trusted. Having him out with Astrid just made his stomach tie into knots and he needed to keep his mind occupied for the next few hours.

"So-" Tayla's voice startled Tom as she walked up behind him

"So." Tom sighed and turned around. "We have the house all to ourselves."

"Hmm." She smiled and kissed him in the hallway. "How'd it go?"

Tom shrugged and bit his lip. "Fine, I guess. They'll be back by two so that's only a few hours."

"Okay." Tayla nodded. "Is she coming by again tomorrow or something?"

"She didn't say anything but I imagine she'll come by again before she leaves."

"When does she leave?"

"Wednesday." Tom sighed again and ran his hands through his hair. "Four more days."

"You can do it." Tayla took his hand and pulled him to the family room. "Come on. Let's watch something that's not a cartoon."

"Living on the edge."

"How about Pan's Labyrinth?"

"I've never seen that."

"You own it."

"I know." Tom laughed. "Gustav said it was a movie that everyone should own and watch over and over so I bought it."

"Gustav likes it?"

"Loves it."

"I didn't think he liked movies you have to read." Tayla smiled and sat in the corner of the couch.

"I didn't think so either but he always manages to surprise us."

"I guess so." She laughed and turned the TV on with the remote. "Pull up a corner. Let's watch."

"Okay, okay." Tom fell into the far corner and put his feet on the couch by Tayla's, knowing that before the movie even started their feet would be entwined somewhere in the middle.

As they watched the movie, Tayla saw Tom's eyes flicker to the clock on the wall every few minutes. She knew he was counting down to when Astrid would be back with Bradyn and she smiled at his sweetness.

When the clock read two o'clock, Tom shifted his position and placed his feet on the floor as his whole body seemed to prepare for something unpleasant. "She said they'd be back at two, right?" He asked as he used the remote to stop the movie.

"I didn't hear." Tayla shook her head.

"Yeah, she said two."

"Okay." She nodded and looked at the clock. "Then they should be here any minute."

"Yeah." Tom rested his elbows on his legs and tapped his fingertips together in front of him. Tayla sat up beside him and moved so that their legs were touching. She started the movie again to keep his mind off the clock for a little while longer.

As the minutes passed, Tom became more agitated and nervous. "What time is it?" He asked as he ran his hands through his hair with his eyes closed.

"Um, two thirty-five." Tayla said softly.

"Shit." He said under his breath. Tom stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a drink, then went to the front door to see if they were by chance waiting on the porch. Of course, they weren't so Tom slammed the front door and went back to the couch where Tayla was still sitting. The movie was playing in the background unnoticed. "I'm calling Seppel." Tom picked up the phone and punched a number into the keypad. He waited for a minute without Seppel picking up. He grumbled under his breath and hung up quickly.

The time passed slower than normal with Tom asking for the time every chance he got. "What time is it?" Tom asked softly without taking his eyes off of his hands clenched in his lap.

"Three minutes since the last time you asked. It's two fifty-five."

"Shit." Tom said under his breath as he stood up and paced behind the couch. Tayla looked up cautiously and noticed his pulse beating in his throat. "Where is she?"

"I don't-" Tayla started but stopped herself when Tom turned sharply and opened and closed his fists at his sides.

"Where the fuck is she?"

"Call Seppel again."

"His cell phone is turned off." Tom's feet stomped in the entryway as he lunged for the cordless phone on the table in front of Tayla. He pounded the number into the keypad again and waited as it rang once and went to voice mail. "Damn it!"

"Tom, just- Calm down a little. They'll be here before you know it." Tayla tried to remain the calm one in this situation, though almost everything in her wanted to pace right beside Tom. She didn't trust Astrid and it was apparent that Tom didn't either, no matter how much he tried to make it look like he did.

"If she took him-" He stopped himself as he brought his fisted hand to his lips. "If she's not here in five minutes, I'm calling the police." He held the phone in his hand and looked at it quickly. "I should call now." He turned it on and licked his lips.

"Wait. Tom, wait another five minutes. There could be a reasonable explanation for why they're late." Tayla stood up and put a hand on Tom's arm.

"It feels wrong Tayla."

"I know but Seppel is with them. He wouldn't let anything happen to Bradyn, you know that. He can keep you guys safe from mobs of fan. I know he can keep the little guy safe from his Mother."

"She's an hour late." Tom glared around the room and forced a deep breath into his lungs.

"I know." Tayla kept her hand on his arm and turned his chin to make him face her. She loved Tom more than she hated Astrid so she had to do what she could to keep him calm and if that included rationalizing Astrid's actions for the moment, she'd do it. "She's not from the area. Maybe they got lost or something. At three you can call whoever you need to but give them another few-" She was cut off by the doorbell ringing in the front hall.

"That's them." Tom dropped the phone on the kitchen counter and practically ran for the front door. He pulled it open fiercely and reached for Bradyn before they even made it through the door. "Where have you been?" Tom demanded as he clung Bradyn to his chest.

"What? We went to the mall then to a movie." Astrid smiled and shook her head. "I told you we were going to."

Tayla came around the corner and Tom thrust Bradyn into her arms. "Take him upstairs please." He said softly.

"Hi, Tayla." Bradyn laughed as he bounced excitedly in Tayla's arms. "I see a moobie an hava candy!"

"You did? That sounds fun. Why don't you tell me all about it?" Tayla turned and took two steps up the stairs.

"Wait! Let me say good-bye." Astrid made a move for the stairs but Tom put his hand out to stop her.

"Say good-bye from here." He said sternly.

Astrid gave him a look that could have melted steel. She stepped up to where Tayla and Bradyn stood. "Bye-bye, angel. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn hugged Astrid and kissed her cheek while still in Tayla's arms. "Bye, Mommy."

"Bye, sweetie." She smiled and stepped back as Tayla continued up the stairs with Bradyn.

"Where have you been?" Tom crossed his arms over his chest as he heard Bradyn's bedroom door shut above them.

"Tom, I told you we were going to the mall and to the movies." Astrid sighed and held her smile in place.

"You told me you'd have him home by two."

"The movie started later than I expected."

"You should have called."

"I- I'm sorry. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. You knew we were going to the movie and you knew Seppel was with us." She seemed legitimately sorry that Tom was upset.

"If you were going to be later than two, you should have called. You knew before the movie started that it wouldn't be over by two."

"I know. Like I said, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I can see now that it was. I didn't realize you were such a stickler for time limits."

"I'm not a-" Tom stopped and took a deep breath. "I don't like not knowing where he is."

"You knew where he was."

Tom's jaw muscle twitched as they stood facing each other in the entry way. "You should have called." He said softly.

"I'm sorry." She said again. "You're acting like you think I'd try to kidnap him." Astrid half laughed at the thought but stopped when she saw Tom's eyes darken. "You think I'd take him?"

Tom shoved his hands in his pocket. "I don't know what you'd try so yeah."

"This is lovely." Astrid rolled her eyes and shifted her feet. "I have more sense than to kidnap my own son. I know that you have full custody and I know that I'd have to go through the right channels to change that. You might think I'm stupid but I'm not, Tom."

"I don't think you're stupid."

"You'd have to if you actually think I'd kidnap Bradyn while your security guard is two feet away watching like a hawk." Her voice took on a sharp edge and suddenly Tom felt like the roles had reversed for the afternoon. Where he'd gone into the situation livid and ready to wail on her, she had turned it around to where he felt like the bad person.

"I don't think you're stupid. In fact, I think you're extremely smart which is why it crossed my mind. You'd have to be brilliant to get Bradyn away from Seppel. And when you're an hour late, that's all I could think about."

"I can't believe you sometimes. If I wanted to take Bradyn, I could do it anytime. I could take you back to court and go that way or- Or any number of ways. I-" She took a deep breath and licked her dry lips. "I don't want to take Bradyn from you. I just wanted to see him. I love him and- And this is the only way I can actually get quality time with him."

"You can see him-"

"Anytime I want, I know." She nodded. "But with you or- Her around, it's hard. He's too wrapped up in what you guys are doing or showing me things that have your names and memories all over them. When I can take him away from here it's like he's mine- Really mine again."

"He'll always be yours." Tom forced the words from his mouth. They were harder to say than he imagined they would be. Astrid's shoulders rose in a short shrug and she pursed her lips. "He will be." Tom repeated.

She nodded and kept her eyes on the floor before she looked up. "We'll be on time next time."

"Next time?"

"I'd like to see him again before I leave on Wednesday."

"Oh."

"I mean, that's the whole reason I came here."

"Yeah."

"We're going to the beach tomorrow but on Tuesday I'd like to see him again." She explained.

"Okay." Tom's heart raced in his chest. "Can I let him go with her again after the panic attack I just had?" He took a deep breath. "You want to take him out?"

"Yeah, maybe. I saw that you have a park near here. Maybe we'll just walk there or something."

"Okay." That eased Tom's mind a bit since they'd be within walking distance not halfway across town.

"I'll call you tonight after I talk to my friends and let you know for sure what time and all that, okay?"

"That's fine." Tom nodded.

Astrid stared at him for a second and wondered how she'd ever managed to put herself in a situation like this. "I'm sorry you were worried this afternoon."

Tom nodded instead of answering as he pursed his lips and breathed through his nose. "So you'll call tonight?"

"Yeah. Before his bed time so I can tell him that I'll see him on Tuesday."

"Okay." Tom nodded again. "I'll have to keep him home from school on Tuesday but I don't think he'll mind. Unless you want to take him after twelve thirty. We're usually home by then."

"I'll have to see." Astrid pulled at her purse on her shoulder. She opened the front door. "Is she-" Astrid stopped herself as Tom looked up at her sharply. Astrid's eyes traveled up the stairs to where Tayla and Bradyn's laughter could be heard behind his closed door.

"I'll talk to you tonight." Tom lowered his voice and held the door open for her. "Thanks, Seppel." Seppel nodded in response before he went out to his car.

Without another word, Astrid left the house and Tom shut the door firmly after her. He stood for a moment in the silent hall before he sighed and hopped up the carpeted stairs to Bradyn's room. "Hey." He said softly as he pushed the door open.

"Hey." Tayla stood up from the bed and walked over to his side. "So?"

"They went to the movies."

"Yeah and?"

"She didn't think it would be a big deal to be a little late. She didn't think I'd be that worried."

"Are you serious?"

"Maybe I did freak out a little bit." Tom shrugged and cleared his throat as Bradyn ran a dump truck across the floor by his feet.

"I- " Tayla stopped herself from continuing by biting her bottom lip and closing her eyes in a long blink. "Okay." She wasn't going to let herself get in the middle of whatever it was Astrid and Tom were dealing with. She would not let herself get suckered into having another outburst like before.

"She said she was sorry." Tom explained.

"Fine." Tayla forced a smile and went back to the bed where she'd left the fire truck waiting by the edge. "If you're okay with that, that's fine."

"I kay wiss dat." Bradyn giggled from the floor.

"Well, okay then." Tayla turned all of her attention to Bradyn and they finished playing their car games.

"She's going to call tonight to set up another time for Tuesday so she can see him again before she goes. It sounds like she's really trying. I mean, she came all the way here." For whatever reason, Tom found himself defending Astrid.

"It's fine." Tayla said as she looked up at Tom. "I'm glad she's growing up finally." She gave Tom a look that signaled the end of that conversation as she held out a cement mixer truck for Tom to join in the fun.

Tom took the hint and sat on the floor by Bradyn. He cleared his throat quickly before he placed his hand on Tayla's knee that was at his eye level. "Sorry I freaked out today."

"You had every right."

"Yeah but- Anyway, thank you." He placed a kiss on her knee and gave it a little squeeze. "Anyway, enough about that. What are you guys playing?"

"We're playing chase the car." Tayla explained, obviously using Bradyn's name for the game that included running the trucks back and forth.

"Sounds fun." Tom ran his truck over to where Bradyn's truck was parked and made mixer sounds with his lips. Tayla watched on with a fake smile and tried not to let the afternoon get the best of her. It was only for another few days and then Astrid would be gone.

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

By ten that night, Astrid still hadn't called and Tayla tried not to look too annoyed. It was Tom's business, not hers. They went to bed without mentioning it and slept straight through to morning when Tom's alarm clock went off at dawn.

"Call Benjamin and tell him I'm sick."

"Are you sick?" Tayla asked with her mouth against the pillow.

"No."

"Then no." She reached behind her and pat Tom's thigh. "You'll have fun when you get there."

"No, I won't." Tom's voice shifted as he scooted closer to Tayla, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck.

"Yes, you will."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She laughed lightly. "Gustav and Georg will be there. How can you not have fun?"

"True." Tom sighed and hit the snooze button. "Just five more minutes."

"Five. Only five."

"Promise." Tom whispered before peppering her neck with light kisses.

The snooze button was pressed three more times before Tayla managed to shove Tom out of bed and into the shower so that he wouldn't be late. As the hot steam filled the bathroom, Tayla let her eyes drift closed and she dozed off to the sound of Tom humming a nameless tune.

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

It was after seven when Tom finally made it out of the house, blowing kisses to Tayla while she snuggled under the covers and peeking in on Bradyn as he slept. He was running a little late but the extra few minutes in bed with Tayla had been worth it.

Bradyn finally woke Tayla up at eight thirty and they had a cereal breakfast in front of the TV while they watched cartoons. Nadiehn called just as Thundercats ended and they made plans to get together for lunch at the mall so they could get Bradyn some new clothes that fit. It was something they had to do anyway and it gave Tayla a good excuse to get out of the house and visit with her friend, who was more than willing to listen to her vent.

As Tayla got Bradyn dressed upstairs, the phone rang in the master bedroom and she ran to grab it. "Hello?" She answered the phone cautiously. She hadn't remembered to look at the caller ID and didn't want to get caught talking to Astrid.

"Hey, Tayla, it's me." Tom said quickly. "Astrid just called on my cell and let me know that she's going to come by tomorrow."

"Wasn't she supposed to call last night?"

"Uh huh." Tom licked his lips. "But anyway, she's going to come by tomorrow at eleven thirty to pick Bradyn up and take him to the park or whatever. Can you write me a note so I can call Seppel when I get home? I'll forget if it's not written down and I only have one more minute of a break here."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll leave a note here by the phone." She scribbled the message on a scrap piece of paper and taped it to the phone charger base.

"What are you guys up to?"

"We're getting ready to go to the mall with Nadiehn. She's on her way over."

"That sounds fun."

"Yeah. It'll give us girls some time to gossip and we'll pick up some clothes for Bradyn while we're there."

"Do you have my card?"

"No, but I have my corporate card. I'll just put it on there and we can voucher it back when the bill comes in."

"We can do that?" Tom asked with a frown.

"I do it all the time. Elaine the finance manager said it was easier to do that than try to figure everything out beforehand. Whatever that means."

"Oh. Okay."

"So yeah, that's what we're doing."

"Fun." Tom smiled and wished he was at home. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you tonight."

"What time? Do you know?"

"Um, six. I think. Maybe seven. We're meeting with some staging guys so, yeah, I don't know."

"Okay. I'll see you later then."

"I'll call you this afternoon."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

"I love you." Tom said after a brief pause. Through the phone lines Tayla could sense his smile and she smiled right back at him.

"I love you too."

"Give Bradyn a kiss for me."

"I will."

"You too."

Tayla laughed and shook her head. "I can't give myself a kiss. Go back to work."

"Okay, bye." Tom hung up and left Tayla smiling at the phone in her hand.

Tayla shook her head and put the phone back in the charger before going back to Bradyn's room to finish getting him dressed. "Hey guess what, buddy?" Tayla tried to sound excited for Bradyn's sake.

"What?" He asked as he bounced on his knees on the bed.

"Tomorrow afternoon your Mommy is going to come by and see you."

"Nooo." Bradyn laughed.

"Yeah, she is."

"No, she not here." Bradyn looked around the room and shrugged.

"Well, no, she's not here now but tomorrow she'll be here. What do you think you'll do?"

"Nassing." Bradyn shook his head. "She not here."

"Tomorrow." Tayla nodded.

"No, she doe like me."

"She- She what?" Her heart skipped a beat as she pieced his sentence together. "You think she doesn't like you?"

"Yeah, she doe like."

"Oh, sweetie, she likes you. She loves you bunches, just like your Daddy and I do." Tayla reached over and pulled Bradyn onto her lap as she tried not to cry. She hugged him close and covered his cheek and ear in kisses. "We all love you a bunch because you're such a special little boy." She growled into his neck to make him laugh.

"No, you silly." Bradyn giggled and raised his shoulder to stop her from tickling his neck.

"No, you're silly." Tayla shook him around playfully then kissed his forehead. "We all love you a lot, Bradyn. I'm sure she'll be here tomorrow to see you." Tayla ran the back of her hand over her eyes and prayed that Astrid would show up the next afternoon. If not, she wasn't sure how she'd react.

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

On Tuesday, Tom kept Bradyn home from school and spent the morning psyching himself up for Astrid's arrival. Seppel was working on his house so Tom was supposed to call when Astrid got there and he'd meet them all at the park. Tom was a little more calm knowing that Seppel would be there again.

At eleven o'clock, Tom took Bradyn to the front room with his snack to wait for Astrid. Tayla joined them and sat in the deep chair to read her magazine. She figured when the doorbell rang she could bolt up the stairs. It was childish but she wasn't sure she could keep her composure if faced with Astrid in person again.

"Tayla? Chex miss is good." Bradyn grinned with chewed up cracker in his mouth.

"Chex mix is good, huh? Can I try some?" She extended her hand as Bradyn placed a pretzel and a piece of cereal in her hand. "Yum." She chewed slowly. "That is good. Eat it all up."

"Daddy, want some?"

"No, that's okay. Thanks." Tom shook his head and pulled an old People Magazine from the table in front of him.

"Kay, I pay wiss it." Bradyn flopped down on the tile entryway and began systematically removing his snack from the little covered bowl he carried it in.

Tayla watched him for a few minutes before she turned to her magazine and became engrossed in the It Happened To Me stories near the end. She read through a few stories and frowned. "Tom? What time is it?"

"It's, uh-" He looked at his watch and she noticed that he was sitting forward, leaning his elbows on his knees instead of reading his magazine. "Ten after." He said with a quick glance at his watch.

"Ten after eleven?" She asked, though she knew she'd been reading for longer than ten minutes.

Tom sighed and closed his eyes. "Twelve."

"Nenorocito!" She tossed the magazine onto the table and watched it slide to the floor as she stood up and stormed up stairs, making sure to slam the master bedroom door as she went.

"Uh oh." Bradyn looked up from his snack. He'd set the Chex mix out in one layer across the tile floor and was eating them one at a time.

"Yeah, uh oh." Tom nodded and blew the air out of his lungs in one deep breath. "Tayla's a little upset."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and ate another cracker.

"Do me a favor, buddy. Can you pick up all those crackers and put them in your bowl? When your Mommy gets here I don't want to accidentally step on them and make a mess."

"I done?"

"No, you can still eat them. Just put them in the bowl for me, okay?" Tom stood up and went to the bottom of the stairs.

"Kay." Bradyn leaned over and picked up a few of the crackers to put in his plastic bowl.

"Thanks, buddy. I'm gonna run upstairs for a minute, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded but didn't look up.

Tom hopped up the stairs and walked slowly to the master bedroom. He opened the door without knocking, stepped in and shut the door behind him. "Tayla, I know you're upset but-"

"Tom, come on. She's an hour late."

"She's forty-" He went to correct her.

"It's an hour, Tom." Tayla came out of the bathroom with a Kleenex in her hand though her eyes were dry. "This is ridiculous."

"I know but what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, Tom. I don't know. But keeping him down there waiting for more than an hour isn't what you should be doing."

"Well, then what?" Tom shrugged. All he wanted was for everything to work out but nothing was. "She said she'd be here and I have to give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Oh, stop it." Tayla made a face and turned around to go back into the bathroom. She blew her nose then came back out. "Tom, I've been trying to keep quiet about her this week. I've been ignoring all of her little bouts of forgetfulness or whatever. I haven't said a word while you've let her walk all over you and I've been trying to see the good in her, I really have. But I just can't anymore. I can't!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, then crossed the room to sit heavily on the corner of the bed. "I've always supported her, you know I have. From the very beginning, I was the one who was telling you to let her see him because she's his Mother and everything but, right now, she's just taking advantage of you." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I mean, she's been here for four days and she's only seen him once? And for a few hours at that?"

"She's busy." Tom tried to defend Astrid.

"Yeah, she's busy going out with friends and hitting the clubs. Tom, she came out here to see her son, who she hasn't seen in three months or whatever, and she's planning day trips to the beach?" Her vow of silence regarding Astrid flew out the window as her tirade continued.

"That's her loss. She's his mother and I want her to see him whenever she can." Tom ran his hand over his face with a look of exasperation. "She's his Mother." He repeated.

"Yeah? Well she's not fucking acting like it. Stop making excuses for her."

"Tayla, please-" Tom sighed.

"I'm not trying to be a bitch but you can't keep letting her do this. Bradyn is getting stuck in the middle and he doesn't have any idea what to think. He doesn't even count on her anymore. Do you know what he said to me yesterday when I told him his mom was coming to see him today?"

"What?" Tom asked, though he was sure he didn't want to know.

"He said she doesn't like him." Tayla's voice caught in her throat. "How sad is that, Tom? He's almost three and he thinks his own Mother doesn't like him. That breaks my heart, Tom." She placed her hand on her chest and looked up at Tom. "Why do you think I shower him with affection every chance I get? I'm not trying to win him over or steal him away from her. I'm not trying to make him like me more or shove her out of the picture. She's doing that on her own." She wiped at her eyes quickly, willing herself not to cry. "I cover him with kisses all the time because he needs that kind of affection and his own Mother is too busy to give it to him. I don't know how you can put up with that. Bradyn is your son and you're not doing anything to protect him from feeling unloved by his mother."

Tom listened to her tirade in silence but that last line caught him completely off guard. He stared at her for a second and watched the realization of what she'd just said cross her face. Tom ran his hand over his head, then pinched the back of his neck before he turned and walked out of the room without a word.

"Tom, wait! I'm sorry." Tayla stood to follow him. She caught up with him at the top of the stairs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to say that-"

"I know what you meant, Tayla, and you're right." Tom said without turning around. He hopped down the stairs and told Bradyn to pick up his crackers. "We're going to the beach. Come on."

"We go ina ossin?" Bradyn asked as he put his little bowl of crackers on the leather couch.

"Yeah. Take your crackers off of the couch and put them in the kitchen please." Tom said as he walked to the kitchen and started opening and closing cupboards. Tayla listened from the top of the stairs as Tom went into the laundry room and pulled the drier open. "I have your swim shorts in here. Let's get you changed."

"And I have a sobel?"

"Yeah, we'll bring your shovel too." Tom said quickly. "Here, put these on and find your shoes."

Tayla walked halfway down the stairs with a frown on her face. "Tom-"

"Get your suit on. We're going to the beach."

"But it's November."

"Well, you don't want to wait around here all day do you? Forget it. We're going to the beach." Tom passed her on the stairs and went to the master bedroom to change into his suit.

Tayla stood still for a second before she slowly descended the stairs to the ground floor where Bradyn was standing with his swim shorts in one hand and a shovel in the other. "Uh oh."

"I think your Dad's lost his mind a little, honey." Tayla followed Bradyn's gaze to the top of the empty stairs.

"Yeah. We go ina ossin." Bradyn held his swim shorts out to Tayla and shrugged. "Less go."

"Yeah, let's go." Tayla knelt beside Bradyn and helped him change into his bathing suit. She threw his clothes onto the washer in the laundry room and dug around in the drier for a shirt. "Do you want your dinosaur top?" She asked as she held it up.

"No, my sark."

"Your shark?"

"Isa surfin sark."

"Oh, okay." Tayla frowned and went back into the drier. "Is it white?"

"No."

"What color is it then, sweetie?"

"Geen."

"Okay." Tayla pulled out the light green shirt with a mean looking shark on a surfboard. She pulled it over his head. "Where are your shoes?"

"Ina kitchen."

"Okay, can you go put them on for me please? I'm gonna go get changed. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and ran back through the house to the kitchen to find his shoes.

Tayla went upstairs to the master bedroom, hoping to find Tom there so she could talk to him but he wasn't there. She heard him thumping around in Bradyn's room, probably looking for Bradyn's shoes. He swore loudly and shut Bradyn's closet door hard.

Tayla sighed and opened her suitcase to find her suit. She wasn't looking forward to a day on the cold beach with Tom in a foul mood. Tayla changed into her suit then threw her hair into a ponytail. "We're gonna have to have a talk." She grumbled to herself as she pulled her jeans on over her swim suit and reached for a sweatshirt.

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

Tom bounced down the steps calling Bradyn's name. "Bradyn, where are your shoes?" He hit the bottom step and almost ran into Bradyn. "Where are your shoes?"

"On my foot." Bradyn laughed and held his foot up for Tom to see. The shoes were in fact on his feet but not secured.

"Okay." Tom sat on the step and fastened the little velcro strap. "Go get your toys and we'll be ready to go." He pat Bradyn's leg and pointed him toward the family room where the toys were.

Tom grabbed beach towels from the laundry room, then went out to the garage and opened the car to get the chairs and everything loaded into the back. Bradyn came out with his big pail filled with beach toys, which Tom tucked into the back by the chairs and their bag of sunscreen and hats.

"Are you ready?" Tom looked down at Bradyn as he tossed the beach towels into the back seat beside Bradyn's car seat.

"Yeah." Bradyn said softly as he leaned against the side of the car.

"Where's Tayla?"

"I doe no." Bradyn shrugged, then went to climb into the back seat.

"I'm gonna go get her. Don't go anywhere." Tom reached behind him and slammed the car door shut as he headed back into the house.

As soon as he stepped through the doorway into the washroom, Bradyn gasped and let loose a blood-curdling scream. Tom whipped around and stood frozen for a split second. Bradyn was standing beside the car with his face turning bright red, his mouth gaping open in a now silent scream, drool dribbling down his lower lip and his hand shut in the car door.

Tom sprung into action as Bradyn inhaled again to let another wail loose as he tried to jump up and down in place but his trapped hand wouldn't let him move. Tom pulled the car door open and tried not to look. "Fuck! Shit! Fuck!" Tom shouted as he yanked Bradyn into his arms and held his injured hand away from his body. "Tayla!" He shouted toward the house. "Tayla! Get in here now! Hurry!"

Bradyn continued to turn red before he caught his breath and screamed again. "Ooowww!"

"Fuck." Tom whispered as he held Bradyn's arm tight so that he couldn't move his hand. "Oh, shit, Bradyn I'm so sorry. I didn't see your hand there." He looked over his shoulder again as he opened the front passenger door and began to climb in. "Tayla!!" He shouted with even more panic.

Tayla appeared at the door with her heart racing. "What? What happened?" She ran over to where they were half in and half out of the car. She saw Bradyn mid-scream again and Tom as pale as she has ever seen anyone. Tom turned slightly and she saw a drop of blood fall from Bradyn's hand. "Oh my God! What happened?"

"Go get the keys, they're in the kitchen."

"What happened?"

"Go!" He shouted as he turned and sat straight in the passenger seat. He pulled the passenger door shut as Tayla ran back into the house for the keys.

She returned a split second later with the keys and hopped in the driver's seat as the garage door opened. "What happened? Should we call an ambulance?"

"No, no, the hospital is close. GO!"

"Tom, what happened?" She looked over her shoulder to back out and tried to remain calm as Bradyn wailed on Tom's lap.

"I shut his hand in the car door." His stomach turned as he tried to hold Bradyn still in his lap. "I didn't see him. I didn't see you, buddy. Oh God, I'm so sorry." He kissed the top of Bradyn's head and tried to keep from shaking. "Go left out of the gates, make a right at Rübenkamp and it's three blocks down."

"Okay." She followed his directions, going well over the posted speed limit. "Did you see his fingers?" She asked as the Notaufnahme sign came into view a few minutes later.

"Yeah." Tom broke out in a sweat as he rocked Bradyn on his lap. "I think he just cut it." He tried not to look at the blood dripping from his son's hand. It wasn't much but to Tom, it looked like gallons.

Tayla bit her lip as they turned into the emergency entrance. She pulled up just outside the double doors but Tom jumped out with Bradyn in his arms before the car stopped rolling.

Tom ran inside and straight to the check in desk. "I need help! My son is bleeding!" He said as he adjusted Bradyn in his arms.

"Where is he injured?" The nurse behind the desk stood up to get a better look at Bradyn.

"His hand. I closed his hand in the car door." Tom managed to say as his voice shook.

"One moment." She disappeared behind another door as the other nurse at the desk checked in the next person in line. "Here. Use this. Apply pressure to stop the bleeding."

"What if his hand is broken?" Tom asked as Bradyn began to cry again.

"The doctor will see you soon and can tell you more about it after an examination. Please fill out these papers. Your son will be placed in the queue."

"But he's only two years old and he's bleeding!" Tom tried not to let the anger show in his voice but frustration on top of panic only led to that emotion.

"I understand, sir. If he's still bleeding after five minutes, come and get me." The nurse smiled politely and handed Tom a clipboard. "Just take a seat and fill out the papers. Bring them to me when they're complete."

"In insist that the doctor sees him now!" Tom demanded, leaving the compress and clipboard on the desk.

"All patients are listed in order of urgency. I understand that the injury is frightening to you and your son but life-threatening injuries are first in line. The doctor will see you very soon." She stared Tom down for a second before she raised the clipboard and placed it in his hand. "Please have a seat."

Tom huffed and took the clipboard and compress over to the chairs closest to the door leading to the examination areas. "Okay, buddy, I need to put this on your hand, okay?"

"No." Bradyn cried and tried to pry his injured hand loose from Tom's grip.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I have to put this on your owie so it'll get better." Tom dropped the clipboard on the seat next to him and moved Bradyn to his other knee so that his right hand was where Tom could reach it. "Oh, shit." He whispered under his breath as he saw the cut on Bradyn's middle finger. "Okay, okay, okay. I can do this." He gave himself a quiet pep talk, then placed the compress over Bradyn's hand and squeezed gently.

"Ooooowwie!" Bradyn yelped.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Tom loosened his grip. "I'm sorry, shit." Tears rose in Tom's eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting Bradyn anymore. "Okay, we'll just keep it on there loose, okay? I'm sorry."

"Daddy, owie!"

"I know it hurts. You're going to see a doctor really soon." Tom kissed the top of Bradyn's head and held him close with his left arm. With his right hand, he tried to fill out the form but the board kept moving with every attempt.

Just as he was getting ready to toss the clipboard, Tayla came into the room. "Hey, have you seen anyone yet?"

"Just the girl at the check in." Tom grumbled. "Did you park?"

"Yeah." She nodded and reached to touch Bradyn's head. "Is he okay? Where's the doctor?"

"We have to wait."

"Let me see." She walked around the chairs to stand on the other side of Tom to look at Bradyn's hurt hand. "Tom, let go."

"What?"

"You're squeezing his arm." She said softly as she placed her hand on Tom's shoulder. His hand was holding tight to Bradyn's wrist to stop him from moving his hurt hand and he didn't even realize it.

"Sorry." Tom took another deep breath and released Bradyn's wrist.

Tayla leaned a little closer and looked at Bradyn's injured hand. "Oh, honey, it's not that bad." She shook her head and rubbed Tom's back. "It's really not that bad at all. There's just a little cut on his middle finger."

"Yeah but it's probably broken." Tom's voice began to sound panicked again. "If I broke his hand, I'll never forgive myself."

"No. Tom, really. It doesn't look that bad."

"Is he still bleeding?"

"Just a little bit. It's not dripping any more but you have it all over your shirt."

"I don't care about that." Tom shook his head and kissed Bradyn's forehead. "Can you fill out the forms for me? I can't." He looked down at Bradyn and shrugged.

"Sure." She sat beside him and took the forms and pen. Tayla filled out as much information as she could and turned to Tom. "Who is your insurance carrier? I know that I have Blue Cross through work. Is yours the same?"

"We're on Kretzschmar."

"Okay, I need your ISO/ID and what name the insurance is under." Tayla tapped the pen on the plastic board. "Then that's all."

Tom recited his ISO from memory and gave her his name as it was listed on the insurance. Tayla filled out the form, then excused herself to go turn it in at the nurse's station.

When she returned, Tom seemed to have calmed down a little bit. "You didn't need his birthday or anything?"

"January ninth." Tayla said. "I know his birthday." She smiled sweetly and gently touched Bradyn's neck. "You're doing so good, sweetie."

Bradyn sniffed and hiccuped in Tom's lap as silent tears rested on his cheeks. "Is o-owie."

"I know it is and the doctors are going to come and make it all better."

"I g-go ina o-ossin?" He said as his breaths came in little spurts.

Tayla looked up at Tom's pale face and shook her head. "Maybe we can go tomorrow."

"N-now." Bradyn said as new tears appeared at the corner of his eyes.

"You have to see the doctor now, honey. You have to see the doctor first. We'll ask him if we can go to the ocean, okay?"

"K-kay." He stammered as he rested his head on Tom's shoulder.

"We aren't going." Tom whispered over Bradyn's head.

"I know." She whispered back as she squeezed Tom's shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring way. Bradyn freaking out was understandable but Tom's nervousness and panic worried her more than anything. His face was pale and his teeth seemed to chatter with nerves. "We won't have to wait long." Tayla said softly as she looked toward the door to the examination rooms. She hoped she was right.

Chapter Fourteen