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Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Five

When Tom woke up the next morning the room was dark, though light was peeking in around the edges of the thick drapes covering the windows. "Ugh." He grumbled as he rolled over to check the time. It was almost eight thirty and for a moment he was thrilled that he was able to sleep in a little later than usual. The hadn't slept past seven thirty in a long time. "Bradyn?" Tom sat up straight in the bed and felt the sheets beside him. Bradyn wasn't curled up against his chest like usual and Tom felt a small finger of panic work it's way up his spine.

He flipped the bedside lamp on and swung his feet over the side of the bed in one quick motion. "Bradyn?" He asked in a normal voice.

"I seep." Bradyn mumbled into his pillow from the foot of the bed. He'd managed to shimmy his way to the bottom of the bed where the thick comforter was bunched up all around him.

"Sorry." Tom whispered as he dropped his pillow beside Bradyn's and flipped around on the bed. "Are you ready to wake up now?" He asked softly.

"No. I seep."

"Okay." Tom smiled and watched Bradyn clench his eyes shut in a vain attempt to go back to sleep.

"Daddy, go seep." Bradyn pushed Tom's shoulder gently. "Doe look."

"You don't want me to look at you?"

"No." Bradyn frowned with his eyes closed. "You seep."

"I'm not tired." Tom tried not to laugh as Bradyn tried to bury his face in the blankets. "I'm going to take a shower, okay?" Bradyn didn't answer. He just cracked his eyes open and gave Tom a look he knew well. The look that said 'Do what you want, just go away.'

"Okay." Tom whispered and pushed himself off the bed to take a quick shower before Bradyn officially woke up. He shut the door halfway and kept an ear out for tiny feet hitting the floor as he soaped up and took care of business.

He finished up and dressed himself before putting gel on his braids to tame the loose hairs. He made a mental note to have them redone soon. "Hi. Up." Bradyn grumbled as he rubbed his eyes on his way into the bathroom.

Tom shut off the electric shaver and looked down at Bradyn. "What's up?"

"Hi."

"Hi." He lifted Bradyn and set him on the counter. "Guess what we're gonna do today?"

"Go ou-side?"

"Well, yeah, we're going outside but we're going to go get your hair cut this morning and we're going to go buy you a stroller. How does that sound?"

Bradyn frowned. "I have sroller?"

"Yeah, I think we're going to need one if we're going to be hanging out here for a few weeks. We're going to go to Sea World and stuff like that."

"Cut hair?" Bradyn tentatively touched his hair which had grown out a little and looked uneven.

"Yeah."

"And you?"

"No, but-" Tom stopped and looked in the mirror. "I really need to have mine re-braided."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and yawned.

"Let's get you dressed and your diaper changed and we'll head out. How does that sound?"

"Is good." Bradyn nodded as he reached for Tom.

Tom lifted him off the counter and they went out to the room to get him ready to head out for the morning. "We'll pick up some McDonald's for breakfast. You haven't lived until you've had a egg McMuffin."

"An egg?" Bradyn asked as Tom strapped the little sandals onto Bradyn's feet.

"Yeah." Tom nodded.

"And you?"

"Yeah, me and Seppel. Maybe Saki too." Tom shrugged. He'd have to see what they thought before they all headed out. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and jumped off the bed while holding Tom's hand.

"Let's get outta here." Tom laughed and they walked hand in hand down the hall to the cafeteria room that was in the process of being taken down. They located Seppel and let him know that they were heading out to get breakfast and run some errands.

"I'll meet you at the elevator in a minute." Seppel nodded as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Tom and Bradyn waited for Seppel before the three of them left the hotel in search of a mall with a McDonald's.

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After breakfast, a haircut and a run into the children's store to get a top of the line stroller for Bradyn, they stopped at a park by the hotel and let Bradyn play with some other kids for a little while. Tom watched with a proud smile as Bradyn shared the other children's toys and took turns on the slide. Somewhere along the road he had learned some awesome manners and didn't throw a fit once while they were there.

Tom strapped Bradyn into his stroller and let Seppel know that they were going to walk the three blocks back to the hotel. Bradyn sat back and enjoyed the ride as Tom enjoyed the walk outside. He ducked in the side entrance of the hotel restaurant and cut through that way to the elevators where he met up with Seppel again. The six minutes of privacy was just what he needed and he sighed with content as they went up to their floor.

Tom's room phone rang as he set Bradyn on the floor. "I get!" Bradyn screeched as he made a ran for the phone. Playing in the park gave Bradyn an abundance of energy and Tom cringed as he watched the little boy bounce.

"No, I'll get it." Tom laughed and reached over Bradyn's head for the phone. "Hello?" He asked with a soft laugh as Bradyn tried to scamper up his legs.

"Tom?" Astrid's familiar voice annoyed Tom.

"You're not supposed to call here." Tom said quietly as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I wanted to see if I could see Bradyn tomorrow." She explained.

"From now on, all contact has to go through our lawyers." Tom sighed. "Your lawyer should have told you that."

"He did but I tried calling Mr. Thompson and his office was closed already so I thought maybe you and I could work something out."

"If you waited too late to call my lawyer you can try calling tomorrow to set it up. Don't call my room to try to weasel your way around the agreement that you wanted in the first place." He hung up as Bradyn scurried onto the bed and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Go horsie!" Bradyn laughed and jumped up on Tom's back.

"Not now, buddy." Tom shook his head. "How about some dessert? You want some ice cream?"

"And Gay-og?"

"You want Georg to come over and eat ice cream?"

"Yeah."

"Because he lets you put caramel and nuts and everything on it?"

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed.

"I think Georg is out with Kala and some friends. How about if we see if Bill will come over? He's leaving tonight so he can come over and say good-bye."

"No, Gay-og."

"Georg isn't here."

"No eye keem?"

"No, we can still have ice cream but Georg isn't here so it'll just be you and me."

"No Gay-og?" Bradyn pouted.

"Last week Bill was your favorite." Tom laughed and shook his head. "Georg isn't here. He's playing with some big kids."

"Pay game?"

"Yeah, you could say he's playing a game."

"I pay?"

"When you get bigger." Tom nodded and swung Bradyn around so that he was in front of him. "Let's call and get some ice cream then we can watch Cars. How does that sound?"

Bradyn sighed and rolled his eyes like only a toddler can. "Kay."

"Okay then." Tom picked up the phone to order the ice cream.

"Cawin Pie appo?"

"You want me to call Bill?" Tom pressed his fingers down on the hang up buttons.

"Yeah. Pie appo and eye keem. And have speekos." Bradyn nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." Tom nodded and dialed Bill's room.

He let it ring four times before he reached to hang up. "Hello? Wait, I'm here." Bill panted as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm packing. What are you doing?" Bill laughed. "Damn it, I think I just broke my elbow." He held his elbow in his opposite hand as he cradled the phone against his ear.

"Just hanging out. Bradyn and I were going to get some ice cream and I know you're heading out tonight so I was going to see if you wanted to come over?"

Bill looked around his half packed room and cringed. "I only have like-" He stopped and sighed. "Yeah. I'll be over in like ten minutes."

"You sure?" Tom asked, noticing Bill's hesitation.

"Hell yeah. I can't turn down ice cream with the kid. Especially if you're paying the bill."

"Right." Tom laughed.

"How about the other guys? It can be kind of a last shebang before we all leave." Bill suggested as he gently massaged his elbow.

"Georg is out with Kala but I don't know about the other Gustav." Tom shrugged. "I'll give him a call."

"I'll bang on his door on my way over." Bill smiled.

"And speeko!" Bradyn shouted as he bounced on Tom's feet.

"What's that?" Bill laughed. "What'd he say?"

"Sprinkles. On his ice cream."

"I'm down for that. I'll be over in a few minutes. Keep him calm until I get there, okay?" Bill laughed and set the phone back on the base.

"Pie appo here?" Bradyn gave Tom an inquisitive look as he tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, Bill is coming here and he's going to see if Gustav want to come too."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded as he bounced over to his bag and pulled Elmo out. "Goose-gog and Pie appo and Toke Hoh-tell and Emo and Daddy and me and Tayla?"

"You and me and Bill for sure. Elmo too." Tom laughed. "I don't know about the rest of them though. We'll have to see."

"I see all." Bradyn nodded matter-of-factly. "And eye keem."

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

Bill knocked on Gustav's door and waited for a minute. Bill heard the shower inside stop followed by Gustav singing to himself. "Gustav!" Bill shouted through the door. "Are you naked?"

"Uh huh."

"Wanna get ice cream?"

Gustav wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door. "With you? No."

"No, with Tom and Bradyn. Kind of a good-bye thing I guess. Tom's buying the ice cream. You can't really say no."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll be there. Let me get some clothes on."

"Yes, please. Cover that shut up." Bill smiled and reached in to close the door for Gustav. "See ya in a few."

Bill tapped the door frame and moved to the next door. He knocked on Georg's door a few times. "Yeah?" Bill head a thud come from inside and he winced as a curse followed it. "What?" Georg grumbled as he pulled the door open a few inches.

"What are- What was that?" Bill asked as he leaned over to peek into the room.

"What do you want, Bill?" Georg glanced over his shoulder quickly and tried to catch his breath.

"I just- I was- We're going to have ice cream-" Bill pointed down the hall as he noticed that Georg was only wearing his pants and just barely that by the looks of it.

"What?" Georg shook his head to make sure he heard him right.

"You've got a little something right there-" Bill leaned forward a little and wiped a smear of pink off of Georg's ear. "Got it."

"Bill?" Georg asked before shutting the door another inch.

"Yeah?" Bill bit his tongue and tried not to laugh.

"Get out of here." Georg said slowly as he shut the door completely and threw the dead bolt as well as the swing lock.

Bill giggled as he continued down the hall. "Boom chicka wow wow." He laughed and continued down the hall toward Tom's room and knocked. He tapped out the tune of Automatic and did a little dance.

"I get!" Bradyn shouted his new phrase as he ran for the door. He pulled on the handle but nothing happened. "Open?" He looked over his shoulder at Tom.

"Yeah, let me get it."

"No, I get."

"Okay." Tom sighed with a smile and flipped the dead bolt. "Now you can open it."

"Hi!" Bradyn shouted as he pulled the door open.

"Hi!" Bill gave Bradyn an excited look as he rubbed the little boys hair. "I just interrupted Georg and Kala." Bill snickered as he ducked into Tom's room.

"I thought they were going out?"

"There must have been a change of plans because they certainly were not out when I knocked." He laughed again then swooped Bradyn up in his arms. "What's up?" He shouted.

"What up, Pie appo?" Bradyn squealed as Bill tipped him upside down and tickled his tummy.

"So are they coming?" Tom asked.

"Well, damn it, Tom. I didn't get that close to them but it looked like they were only just starting." Bill frowned.

"Ew, Bill! Not Georg and Kala!" Tom rolled his eyes.

Bill laughed as he spun Bradyn around. "I'm gonna miss you. You're like a mini-me."

"A me?" Bradyn asked through his giggle.

"A mini-me. You look like me. You have awesome hair and the good looks." Bill rubbed Bradyn's head and set him on the floor to watch him walk like a drunk. "That saunter. It's all about me and mini-me."

"Don't spin him like that he'll be sick." Tom shook his head as Gustav bounded through the door.

"I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream!" Gustav danced into the room.

"Eye keem!" Bradyn was never going to get to bed if they kept hyping him up like that.

Bill picked up Bradyn. "Hey, Gustav, think fast." He turned around and gently tossed Bradyn three feet to Gustav.

"Hey!" Tom dropped the phone and grabbed Bill's arm. "He's not a fuckin' football! Don't throw him."

"He likes it." Bill argued.

"Again!" Bradyn shrieked.

"No." Tom shook his head and kept his hand on Bill's arm. "No more throwing."

"Your Dad's just no fun." Bill shook his head and took Bradyn back from Gustav.

"Yeah, mean old Dad doesn't want the kid thrown around. He doesn't want to have to kill two of his best friends for cracking his kid's head open. I'm so mean." Tom rolled his eyes and went back to the phone to order up the ice cream and toppings.

"Hey, Gustav, think fast!" Bill said as a joke.

Tom jumped up with a look that could kill and took two quick steps toward Bill before realizing Bill was still holding Bradyn and they were both laughing. "You're an asshole." Tom shook his head and turned his attention back to the phone. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean you. I need to order some ice cream. Just- I don't know. What do you have?"

"Get vanilla!" Bill shouted.

"No, get chocolate and topping stuff." Gustav shook his head.

"Have Legos." Bradyn walked over and handed Gustav the two he had in his hand. He opened his mouth and took a third out.

"Whoa! Hey!" Gustav dropped the Legos on the floor. "He drooled all over them."

"Bradyn, those don't go in your mouth." Bill knelt beside Bradyn and used his hand to open Bradyn's mouth. "You have any more in there?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head.

"Don't put them in there. That's not cool. You could choke or something."

"Go my tummy?"

"No, they'd get stuck right here." Gustav touched his throat. "That's not a good thing. Don't put those in your mouth, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged. "Ou-side?"

"Sure, you wanna go outside? Let's go." Gustav pulled himself off the bed and he, Bill and Bradyn headed out to the balcony while Tom placed his order.

"So where's Georg?" Gustav asked.

"He's, uh- Busy." Bill snickered.

"Busy with what? This is a group thing. He should be here." Gustav shook his head and tried not to laugh.

"He's busy getting busy."

"How do you know?"

Bill leaned on the balcony railing and laughed. "I knocked to invite him to come and he, well, he already was. Or something."

"Gross. Thanks, Bill. I needed to hear that." Gustav made a sour face and went back into the room. "Damn it. That's a mental image that'll linger." He pulled the drapes shut over the open doorway and whined. "Make him stop, Tom."

"What? What's he doing?" Tom asked.

"Bill's giving me mental pictures that are nasty." Gustav pressed his hands against his eyes.

"About what?"

"Georg." Gustav cringed.

"Say no more." Tom shook his head and opened the drapes. "Knock it off, Bill."

"All I said was that-" Bill started to defend himself.

"Shut up!" Gustav shouted.

"Come back inside. The ice cream will be here in ten minutes and I have to set down some ground rules." Tom waved everyone back inside.

"There are rules for ice cream?" Bill raised his eyebrow at Tom with a cautious look. "I don't like the sound of that."

Tom shook his head and explained that he was staying at the hotel for another two weeks and in that room so he'd appreciate it if the ice cream could be kept off the floor and walls. "And if you could please keep it off of each other, that would be amazing." Tom nodded.

"Well what's the point then?" Gustav asked as Bradyn climbed onto his lap.

"To have fun and celebrate you guys going home tomorrow." Tom pointed out. "Since you guys are leaving early tomorrow and I'm not getting up to see you off, I thought we could get the party out of the way now." Tom explained.

"Okay." Bill laughed. "Now let's eat."

The ice cream arrived a little while later and they dove into the chocolate, vanilla and mint ice cream with the wide assortment of toppings. "Who puts coconut on their ice cream?" Bill made a face as he stirred the coconut shavings in the bowl.

"Me have." Bradyn reached for the spoon and dropped the shavings across the table as he dropped a spoonful on his ice cream.

"You like coconut?" Bill gave him a look.

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and put both of his hands on the table to lean over and look at Gustav's ice cream. "Have one and two?"

"I have two scoops, yeah." Gustav nodded. "Chocolate and mint."

"I thought you wanted vanilla?" Tom asked.

"Yeah but then you got mint." Gustav took a bite of his ice cream.

"I have two?" Bradyn asked as he sat back down and looked at his half scoop of vanilla.

"You can have another one if you finish what you have there." Tom nodded at the bowl that was over flowing with toppings. "Why do I have a feeling we're all going to be sick tonight?"

"I'm glad I'm not one dealing with diapers tonight." Bill snickered and smothered his ice cream in strawberry syrup.

"Go easy on the syrup." Gustav warned with a raised eyebrow. "Those airplane bathrooms are tiny and not very well ventilated."

"You're not on my flight anyway, so shut it." Bill pointed his strawberry covered spoon at Gustav.

"I fly too?" Bradyn asked as he dropped three cherries into his bowl.

"Not yet, buddy. We'll go flying pretty soon though." Tom said softly. "In a few weeks."

"Yeah, ina week." Bradyn nodded and picked an M&M out of his ice cream. He stuck it in his mouth and wiped his sticky fingers on the table.

"So what do you guys have planned for the break?" Tom asked as a way to change the subject. He didn't even want to think about the court process and talking about whether or not Bradyn would be able to fly home only reminded him that he might not.

The three men sat around the table eating ice cream and watching as Bradyn got more on the table than in his mouth. Gustav and Bill talked about their plans and kidded each other about just how much time they were going to spend in bed, both with and without others in it with them.

Tom sat back and laughed. He thoroughly enjoyed the last night he'd have with his friends for a while. The only one missing was Georg but he understood why he wasn't there. Right about then Tom would have left his own party for some action but then he looked at Bradyn and laughed. "Yeah, right. And miss this?" He thought to himself as Bradyn carefully picked each shred of coconut out of his mostly melted ice cream and stuck it back in the coconut bowl.

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Between the four of them, they finished off almost all of the ice cream and, amazingly enough, kept it off of the carpet and walls. They turned to watching TV when they'd had their fill of ice cream and Bradyn schooled them all on the Team Umizoomi characters. As the sun set completely Tom turned on the room lights and stretched his arms over his head before he reached for his bowl again. The thought of taking another bite made his stomach lurch.

Bill checked his watch and frowned. "Tom, I have to get outta here."

"You're leaving?" Tom put his bowl of mostly melted ice cream aside and walked over to where Bill stood by the door.

"Yeah, I have to finish packing still." Bill cringed. "And I have to be at the vans in an hour."

"You have a lot of work to do then." Tom laughed. "Come on, Bradyn. Bill's leaving." Tom raised his voice to be heard over the hum of the TV.

Bradyn sighed and dropped Lello on Gustav's lap, "Go bye?" He looked up at Bill expectantly and took his hand.

"You're staying here with me. Bill is going home to Germany." Tom smiled.

"I'll see you later." Bill said as he headed for the door. He picked Bradyn up and bounced him on his hip as he rubbed his hair. "I like your hair short like this. It's cool."

"I cool." Bradyn nodded.

"Yeah, you are."

"And you?"

"Yeah, me too." Bill smiled. He caught Tom's eye and nodded toward the hall. "I have shit to do at home for a week or so but if you need anything just gimme a call, okay? It's nothing that can't be put off until later."

"Thanks. I think we'll be fine."

"I know you'll be fine. If you need back up or whatever though." Bill smiled and handed Bradyn to Tom. "Call me anyway. Let me know what's up with all this."

"I will." Tom nodded. "Have a great break."

"Of course." Bill laughed. "Do you have any idea when you'll be back in Germany?"

"No." Tom shook his head. "I go to court in two weeks. I don't know how long it'll take but I'll be home as soon as that's done."

"Let me know. We'll have a cook out or something." Bill nodded.

"I will. Thanks." Tom and Bradyn waved as Bill started down the hall. "Tell Bill what we practiced." Tom whispered with a smile.

"No, you say." Bradyn whispered back.

"No, you say it. Come on. He'll laugh." Tom smiled.

"Tschüss, Pie appo." Bradyn giggled into his hand and wiggled to be put down.

"Tschüss, Bradyn." Bill laughed and slid his key in the lock.

Tom and Bradyn went back into their room to start cleaning up and to kick Gustav out. "Its getting late and this guy has to have a bath and go to bed."

"You have sprinkles in your hair." Gustav said as he ran his hand over Bradyn's head. "Eww and chocolate sauce too. That should be fun to wash out."

"Yeah. Thanks, Gustav." Tom laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one with chocolate sauce." He pointed to Gustav's bowl that has residue of chocolate sauce in the bottom.

"Yeah but I didn't put it in his hair." Gustav argued.

"Just load everything up on the cart so I can put it in the hall." Tom yawned as Bradyn ran over to lick his leftover bowl of ice cream. "Don't lick the bowl, Bradyn. That's gross."

"Is eye keem." Bradyn frowned.

"No, you've had enough." Tom shook his head and carried the jar of peanuts over to the cart. "You wanna give me a hand here?" He looked over his shoulder at Gustav who was washing his hands at the sink in the mini kitchen.

"I just cleaned up." Gustav complained.

"You helped make the mess." Tom sighed and took the bowl from Bradyn. "Stop."

"Party pooper." Gustav pretended to pout as he helped clean up the rest of the mess. They finally got all the bowls and toppings back onto the cart and wheeled it out to the hall for housekeeping to pick up.

"Thanks. This was fun." Tom held Bradyn's hand as he leaned against the door frame.

"Yeah, we'll have to do this again when you get back home." Gustav nodded.

"You bet." Tom smiled. "What time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"The ass crack of dawn." Gustav yawned. "Flying out at seven in the morning."

"Why so early?"

"Because the sooner I leave, the sooner I get home." Gustav laughed and stopped at his door. "Give me a call when your stuff get settled."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"But if you need anything just call."

"I will." Tom smiled and swung Bradyn's hand gently. "We're gonna sleep in tomorrow a little so have a safe flight."

"Thanks." Gustav laughed and pushed his door open.

"Tschüss, Goose-gog." Bradyn laughed and bounced around Tom's feet.

Gustav laughed as he waved. "Tschüss, Bradyn." He shook his head and stepped into his room.

"See you in a few weeks, buddy." Gustav smiled and shut his door.

"Well, how about a bath?"

"And you?"

"Yeah, I think I'll need a shower too." Tom yawned. "Let's get a move on it."

Tom made a few last minute clean ups before he dunked Bradyn in the bath. Bradyn slipped into dreamland as Tom secured his diaper and dressed him like a rag doll in his pajamas. "You're like thirty pounds of dead weight." Tom lifted him as he slept and laid him on his bed before he tucked Lello under his arm.

Tom took a quick shower then went over his binder of tentative dates for the European tour until the pages began to melt together. He climbed into bed and fell asleep as he listened to Bradyn breathe deeply in the bed across from him.

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Tayla stood outside Tom's door the next morning and frowned. She just wanted to say good-bye to Bradyn before she left but what if they were still sleeping? "It's after nine, Tayla. They're awake." She whispered to herself as she knocked gently on the door. She heard Bradyn's giggles from inside and smiled as Tom opened the door. "Hey."

"Hey, Tayla." Tom smiled. "Are you- You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm heading out with the crew." She glanced over her shoulder to where some of the other crew was waiting by the elevators. "Back to good ol' Connecticut."

"I'll bet you're glad to be going home, huh?" Tom smiled as Bradyn nudged his way around Tom's legs. Tom picked him up and propped him on his hip as he held the door open with his foot.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged and tilted her head to the side slightly. "You'll be okay here?" Tayla asked as she reached out to rub Bradyn's back through his pajamas.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Tom nodded and hoped he was right.

Tayla sighed and thought about staying behind to help but she chased that thought from her mind. "Well, let me know what happens with- With, uh- Everything." She said softly.

"I will. I have your number in my phone."

"And take care of this little guy." She forced a smile as she leaned in to kiss Bradyn's forehead. "Bye, sweetie. I'm gonna miss you."

"He'll miss you too." Tom laughed lightly. "I'll definitely keep you posted on this whole court thing but we'll all get together before the European tour starts anyway, right? To try on the clothes and go over the wardrobe?"

"Yeah, I'll meet up with you guys a few weeks before." She nodded. "I haven't even gotten the dates yet though so I don't know what you'll be doing over there."

"Yeah, we'll be pretty busy." Tom smiled as Tayla sighed and patted Bradyn's back as if she just didn't want to leave.

"Okay, I'd better go. I have a bar hopping party in my honor tonight. Can't be late." She laughed and tried to look excited. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Tayla." Tom waved with his free arm. "Thanks again for all your help."

"No problem." She shook her head and hit the call button for the elevator.

"Tayla go bye?"

"Yeah, she's going to her home." Tom nodded as they watched Tayla step onto the elevator.

"We go home?"

"We'll be going home soon." Tom nodded and forced a smile as he turned to go back to his room. "But you know what?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"What?" Tom asked as he opened the door.

"What?" Bradyn asked in response.

"You're silly." Tom laughed and walked into the room to set Bradyn on the bed. "Guess where we're going today?"

"Hair cut?" Bradyn touched his extra short hair.

"No, we did that yesterday. I have something exciting planned for today."

"Go sroller?"

"Yeah, you'll get to ride in your stroller too." Tom laughed. "We're going to the zoo."

"A zoo?" Bradyn frowned. "Why?"

"Because it's fun." Tom laughed and looked at Bradyn's truck pajamas with an unidentifiable stain on the shoulder. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Tom gave him a bath and carried him to the bedroom wrapped in a thick hotel towel. Bradyn shivered as Tom rubbed him all over with the towel and covered his head. "Ahhh! Where's Bradyn?!"

"I here." Bradyn laughed as he pulled the towel off.

"Whew! I thought I lost you." Tom placed his hand over his heart and laughed as he grabbed a diaper and lay Bradyn on the bed. "We need to do something about these." Tom mumbled under his breath as he adjusted Bradyn on the diaper.

"Is a diaper." Bradyn pointed out.

"Yeah, it is." Tom nodded. "You're almost too big for these. We're gonna have to start thinking about using the toilet." He sighed as Bradyn continued to squirm. "Okay, buddy, are you ready to go to the zoo?" Tom asked as he fastened Bradyn's diaper and pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed. "And Tayla?"

"No, Tayla went home to be with her friends there." He knew that having Tayla gone would be confusing for Bradyn.

"I see?"

"No, we can't see her right now. But we'll see her again in a few weeks. I promise." Tom nodded and hoped he wouldn't have to break that promise. If Astrid got custody Bradyn wouldn't be going to Europe at all. "Here. Why don't you wear your safari outfit thing so you'll look like you're looking for animals."

"I look?"

"Yeah."

"And I see?"

"Yeah, you'll see a lot of animals today." Tom pulled the khaki shorts with a dozen pockets out of Bradyn's drawer and held them out for him to step into.

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and held Tom's shoulders as he buttoned the shorts. Tom pulled his animal print T-shirt over Bradyn's head and stood back. "We go now?"

"Yeah, we're about ready to go." Tom nodded and picked Bradyn up. "Wow, you're getting big."

"Yeah."

"No really. You're almost getting too big to carry."

"You carry?"

"Yeah, I can still carry you." Tom nodded and double checked Bradyn's backpack before he threw it over his shoulder. "I'd say we're about set." He caught his image in the mirrored closet doors on his way out and realized he couldn't spend a day in public without his hat and glasses. "Oops. Hang on." He set Bradyn down and dug through his bag. "I need these." He pulled his cap low over his forehead and folded the glasses on the neck of his shirt so he could get them when he went outside.

"Gases on eye?" Bradyn asked as he pointed to his closed eyes.

"Yeah." Tom nodded and picked him up again. "They go on my eyes so the sun doesn't hurt them."

"Me too?"

"Yeah." Tom smiled. "We can get some for you too." They'd have to do that when they got to the zoo. They'd have a matching set.

"Look lie Pie appo?" Bradyn asked as they headed for the elevators where Seppel was waiting for them.

"You don't look like Bill. He's crazy."

"Cwazy?"

"Yeah, Bill is crazy in the head." Tom laughed. "You look like me."

"No." Bradyn shook his head and laughed.

"I'm not even gonna try to explain identical twins to you." Tom chuckled and nodded to Seppel. "What's up?"

"Not much. Where we headed?"

"The zoo." Tom smiled. "Is the stroller in the car?"

"Yeah." Seppel nodded. "Everything is loaded up and ready to go."

"Cool. Let's get out of here."

They walked as a group down to the car and loaded Bradyn into his seat. Tom sat in the front to punch the address into the GPS for it to navigate while Seppel tried not to get lost in the maze of freeway separating their hotel from the zoo. By the time they made it to the parking lot, it was almost ten in the morning and Bradyn was starting to doze off in his seat.

"Hey! We're here!" Tom said excitedly as Seppel opened the driver's door and popped the trunk. "Are you ready for some fun?"

"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Have fun." He sighed and looked unimpressed.

"Just wait." Tom laughed and got out to help Seppel set up the stroller. He strapped Bradyn in and put the backpack on then they headed into the park.

They stopped at the first gift shop they came to and picked up a tiny pair of plastic sunglasses for Bradyn. He chose the ones with green lizards on the frames and giggled when Tom put them on over his own glasses. "For me?"

"No." Bradyn laughed and shook his head. "Is mine."

"Oh, okay. Let's see." Tom put the glasses on Bradyn. "Oh yeah, they look better on you." He nodded. "Okay, let's get those."

They walked to the register and paid for the little glasses then headed into the front part of the zoo where there was a large map.

"Where to first?" Tom asked Seppel as the two grown men stared at the pictures.

"What can see?" Bradyn craned his neck to look at Tom from his seat in the stroller.

"We can see everything." Tom nodded as Seppel looked around cautiously, forever in security mode. Tom tried to talk the security guard out of going but common sense got the best of him. One fan was all it took and, with Bradyn around, that could be dangerous if Tom was suddenly surrounded.

Seppel tried not to stand out but he was almost too noticeable to miss. "As long as we stay out of the reptile house, we'll be cool." Seppel said softly.

"You don't like snakes?"

"I'd deal with them if I had to but I'm not going around looking for trouble either." Seppel shook his head and smiled as Tom pushed Bradyn toward the primate exhibit.

"We see now?" Bradyn asked as he pushed his little sunglasses up on his nose. "Can get mokey?"

"Yeah, we're going to go see some monkeys and some gorillas and orangutans, maybe even a baboon."

"Baboo?" Bradyn laughed and shook his head. "Wassat?"

"It's a funny looking monkey type thing. If I see one I'll show you. Kinda resembles Georg."

"Kay and Lello."

"They resemble Lello?"

"No, eat Lello?"

"No, monkeys won't eat Lello. They like to eat fruit and vegetables, like bananas."

"Mokey eat nanas?"

"Yeah they do. Just like Georg." Tom smiled and popped a wheelie for Bradyn in the stroller, to get him up the curb.

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

They spent more than four hours at the zoo and Bradyn completely overshot his nap. He began to get cranky around two so Tom and Seppel decided to head back to the hotel, knowing that Bradyn would be asleep before they got there. They'd get something for dinner when they got back to the hotel. Tom's back ached as he leaned onto the handles of the stroller and pushed Bradyn out to the parking lot. Strollers were made for short people, not tall men. He'd walked semi-hunched over all day and would be paying for it the rest of the week.

As they began to load their gear into the van, Tom's cell phone rang. He fumbled through the backpack while trying to balance a very tired Bradyn on his hip. He finally answered it on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hi. Tom?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah?"

"This is Joshua Thompson. How's it going?"

"It's, uh- It's going okay." Tom nodded and dropped the backpack on top of the stroller before Seppel shut the trunk. Tom went to the back seat and leaned in to put Bradyn in his seat.

"I talked with Astrid today. She'd like to see Bradyn tomorrow if that's okay with you." Joshua said as Tom adjusted Bradyn's shoulder straps.

"Did she say what time?" Tom's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her name.

"What time is good for you?" Joshua asked.

"Any time after nine so I can get him up and bathed and stuff." Tom sighed.

"Okay, let's say ten thirty then?"

"That's fine." Tom nodded. "For how long?"

"That's up to you. I know she's expecting an hour."

"So at least an hour?" Tom tugged on Bradyn's seat to make sure it was secure and sat back in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, an hour is standard. It's up to you if you want to let her stay longer."

"Do I have to be there?"

"No." Joshua shook his head. "That's what I was going to ask next. Did you want her to go to your hotel? Or my office?"

"No, the hotel is fine." Tom shook his head. He'd look into getting another room for the day so that they wouldn't have to have the visit in his personal room.

"Did you want me there?" Joshua asked.

"I'll be here for the most part. We'll have to see how it goes."

"If you leave?"

"Seppel will be in the room the entire time." Tom shook his head. "Bradyn doesn't leave his sight." Tom shut the car door and fastened his own seat belt.

"Sounds like everything is set then. She'll call your room from the lobby and let you know when she's there." Joshua sighed.

"What if she's late?"

"Give her a fifteen minute grace period. After that the visit is canceled."

"Does she know that?"

"Yes, she does."

"Okay." Tom sighed and rested his elbow on the windowsill. "So all I have to do is let her up and visit, right? That's all?"

"That's all." Joshua nodded.

"Okay."

"If you want me there just say the word."

"Will her lawyer be there?" Tom asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Not that I'm aware of. As far as she said, it'll just be her."

"If he shows up then, yeah, I'll want you there. Can I call you?"

"Of course, you can call anytime."

"Okay."

"While I've got you on the line, are you busy Thursday?" Joshua flipped forward in his calendar.

"No. I don't have anything planned. Why? What's up?"

"I'd like for you to come by. We have some stuff to go over. That's a week before our court date and it's getting close."

"Yeah, yeah. I can come by. Can you call and leave me a time and directions to your place on my voice mail? I don't have anything to write with."

"Yeah, I'll call that right now." Joshua smiled. "Are you out and about today?"

"We hit the zoo. The poor kid is exhausted." Tom laughed lightly. "So tomorrow? Ten thirty?" Tom fiddled with the radio and tried to find a good station.

"Yeah."

"Cool. I'll call you later." Tom rolled down the window. He hung up the phone and tossed it into the empty seat beside Bradyn. "Beautiful." He mumbled.

"Astrid called?"

"Yeah, she has a visit tomorrow." Tom frowned as he looked out the window. "This sucks." He sighed and stuck his hand out the window to move it up and down like a plane. "Sucks, sucks, sucks."

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

At ten thirty exactly Tom's phone rang the next morning. "Is me?" Bradyn asked as he bounced toward the bed with Lello in his arms.

"Yeah, that's your special visitor." Tom tried to smile as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi. I'm here." Astrid said.

"Okay. Come up to the tenth floor. Saki will be waiting for you at the elevator."

"Saki?" Astrid asked.

"The security guard." Tom nodded. "We'll see you in a few."

"O- Okay." Astrid stuttered before she hung up the phone.

"Okay. Let's go down to our other room and wait."

"Who is?" Bradyn climbed up on the bed and jumped lightly before he fell on his butt.

"Who is it? It's your special visitor. Do you remember who?"

"Mommy?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "She's coming to see you today. You get to see your mommy today, huh?"

"Yeah. We go ou-side?"

"Maybe." Tom nodded. "You can show her some airplanes and stuff outside. Maybe you can have a snack out there."

"Cheese?"

"You want cheese?"

"Cheese fish?" Bradyn asked as he tucked Lello under his arm and slid off the bed.

"Oh, the goldfish cheese crackers? Sure." Tom grabbed the bag off the nightstand and picked Bradyn up.

"And Tayla?"

"No, Tayla isn't going to be here today. She's at home." Tom explained. "I'm going to hang out with you for a little while but then I might leave, okay?" He slid his cell phone into his pocket. He intended to call the guys to touch base.

"No say." Bradyn shook his head.

"If I leave it'll only be for a little while. I'm just going to go make some phone calls."

"No, say. Have to." Bradyn insisted as he placed his hand on Tom's cheek. "Daddy have." Bradyn nodded.

"You'll be there with your mommy and with Seppel."

"And Daddy." Bradyn nodded.

"You want me to stay there the whole time?"

"Yeah. Have to." Bradyn nodded and sighed as Tom let them into their room by the elevators. It was empty and chilly so he turned the air conditioner off and opened the window to let in the warm air from outside.

"I'll stick around then." Tom nodded. They got some of Bradyn's toys out of the backpack and put them on the bed for him to play with. They waited for a few minutes for Astrid to show up. She knocked hesitantly as Saki opened the door to let her and Seppel into the room.

"Hi, sweetie!" She laughed as she ran over to Bradyn. "Hey, big guy. How are you?"

"Hi." Bradyn said shyly as she squeezed him in a tight hug.

Tom stood up straight with a matchbox car in his hand. A million things came to mind and danced on the tip of his tongue. There were hings he wanted to say but for the sake of the two year old in her arms, he wouldn't. Tom bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood. He quickly licked his lips to get rid of the sharp metallic taste. He hadn't thought that just seeing her again would bring back all the same feelings from before. He had managed to keep his anger and frustration in check. But now that she was standing there holding Bradyn, it all came back.

"Hi." Astrid said as she looked up at Tom.

"Hi." Tom forced the single syllable from his mouth. The security guard placed himself against the wall by the closet, close enough to be effective in any situation. He watched with careful eyes.

"So what have you guys been up to? Did you go to the beach? It looks like you got some sun there, sweetie." She ran her hand over Bradyn's short hair.

"We go a mokey." Bradyn nodded and moved his hand to his head. Lately he'd been annoyed when people touched his hair.

"You went where?"

"A mokey." Bradyn nodded and wiped his mouth on his bare arm. "And ef-ant."

Astrid looked at Tom for clarification. "Where'd you go?"

"To the zoo." Tom spun the wheels on the car in his hand. "He saw the monkeys and the elephants."

"Oh wow!" Astrid laughed and looked down at Bradyn. "That's it? There are so many more animals there. One day I'll take you to the zoo and show you the hippos and the tigers and penguins, all of that."

"We saw the whole zoo. Those were just his favorite." Tom squeezed the matchbox car in his hand and took a deep breath. He didn't want to lose his cool in front of Bradyn or at all really. He just wanted to pull Astrid aside and talk some sense into her. This whole court thing was crazy. They were adults and they should be able to work something out. "Will you have time after the visit?" He asked quickly.

"Time? For what?"

"I think we need to talk."

"I have to drive back to LA tonight. I have to work you know." She shook her head.

"Astrid, we need to talk about this. You're taking me to court and-"

"And we can discuss whatever it is you want to discuss there. In court, I mean."

"I don't think it needs to-" He started.

Astrid shook her head and frowned as she scooped Bradyn up and headed for the far corner of the room. Tom looked from Astrid to Seppel with his eyebrows raised as he thought, "Did she really just blow me off completely? Was that how it was going to go?"

Seppel just shrugged and moved into the room a few more feet. Tom sighed and sat down on the bed as he flipped his cell phone open. He dialed Joshua's number and waited as it rang in his ear. "Hey, Joshua." He said softly as he leaned forward on his knees.

"Hey, what's up?" Joshua asked. "Did Astrid show up for the visit?"

"Yeah, she's here now. I asked her if we could talk about this whole thing and she just ignored me." Tom said just above a whisper.

"She wants to take it all the way." Joshua sighed. "She wants all contact to be through the lawyers which basically means that you can't discuss the case with her without her lawyer present."

"What?" Tom whispered loudly while trying to keep his voice down as Bradyn and Astrid investigated his bag of toys across the room. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"If we could just sit down and talk we could work this out. I don't want to go to court at all. Can't we just agree to visitation or something?"

"She and her lawyer won't settle for less than full custody. They will not negotiate visitation until after the judgment."

"Why is she being like this?" Tom asked softly as he stood up and headed for the door so he could have his conversation in the hall.

"Daddy?" Bradyn jumped up as Tom reached for the handle. "Say."

"I'm just gonna go talk on the phone for a minute."

"No here." Bradyn shook his head.

"I can't stay here. I'm going to be right outside this door. I'll be back in two minutes." Tom smiled. "Promise."

"I go?"

"No, you can stay here with your Mom and visit. Show her how Elmo laughs." Tom said as Bradyn ran over to the door.

"I show." Bradyn insisted. "Say?"

"I have to talk to my buddy on the phone. You can stay right in here with Seppel and your Mommy. I won't leave without you. Here." Tom dug in his pocket. "Hold my wallet for me. You know I can't go without that, right?"

"No, I go." Bradyn threw the wallet on the floor.

"Come on, buddy. I need three minutes on the phone." He lifted Bradyn and handed him to Seppel who was standing the closest. "I'll be right back."

"Now?"

"In three minutes." Tom nodded as he ducked out the door. He heard Bradyn start to cry as the door clicked closed behind him and he took a deep breath before going back to his phone. "Sorry about that."

"That's okay. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be okay." Tom nodded. "Why is she doing this? If she thought I was good enough to leave him with me, why doesn't she want me to have him now?"

"I don't know. I've tried to talk to her and her lawyer but it just ain't happening." Joshua shook his head. "All her lawyer has said is that Miss Sawatzke won't settle for anything less than what she's asked for. If the judge makes the decision to grant shared custody or visitation or any amended version of what she's asked for, she will go with that but, as for settling before the court case, that's not a possibility."

"You told me if I went in there asking for everything, I could end up with nothing." Tom said.

"Right."

"So what's this?"

"She's going in there asking for everything. She could very well end up with nothing. Most judges are fair but, if someone struts in there and gets greedy, they can turn the tables against themselves."

"Yeah." Tom sighed. "So explain this to me. If she's asking for all of that, what am I asking for?"

"You're essentially the defendant in this case. Astrid is saying she wants full legal and physical custody and your argument will be that that arrangement is not okay with you. That's pretty much where you stand. You're saying no to her request. You showing interest in raising the child will show the judge that both parties are willing to be involved. Most courts favor joint legal custody."

"So I'm not asking for it all?"

"You're saying you don't want her to have sole legal and physical custody."

"Then what am I asking for?"

"Joint physical legal custody."

"I can't ask for it all?"

"We've covered that, Tom."

"So, at best, I may get joint custody?"

"That's probably what's going to happen." Joshua nodded. "Like I said, most courts favor joint custody if the parents show an ability to communicate. You're letting her have these visits with him. You're showing an attempt at communication. I think that'll shine through."

"This is fucked up."

"Basically." Joshua agreed. "I'm going to need to meet with you this week to go over some questions."

"Questions?"

"If her lawyers get a chance to shoot you down, they will. I have a feeling they like to play hardball. I'd like to get you ready for that."

"Okay." Tom sighed as Bradyn pulled at the handle of the door from the other side and cried. "Can we do that Thursday?"

"Yeah, Thursday's fine. Whenever you can make it."

"Daddy go?"

"I'm right here buddy." Tom said loudly. "I'll be back in just a second."

"Why don't you give me a call a little later and we'll set something up."

"Okay." Tom nodded. "Thanks, Joshua."

"Anytime." Joshua smiled as Tom hung up and pulled the door open.

"Daddy?" Bradyn stared up at him with red, tear-stained eyes.

"Bradyn, why are you crying? Come on, I told you I was going to be right back."

"No say." Bradyn said forcefully as he clung to Tom.

Tom sighed and carried him into the room where Astrid stood with her arms crossed. She did not look happy. "What's that about?"

"He didn't want me to leave the room." Tom shrugged and held Bradyn close to stop him from crying. "He'll be okay in just a minute." Tom sat on the corner of the bed and stroked his head. "Okay, I'm going to sit right here. I'm not going anywhere." He said softly. "Why don't you take your Mommy onto the balcony and show her your goldfish crackers? Maybe she'd like some."

"You say."

"I'm gonna stay." Tom nodded.

"Here?"

"I'm going to stay inside. Right here on the bed, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and cautiously let go of Tom to walk across the room to where Astrid stood. Bradyn looked back over his shoulder to make sure Tom was still there before he dug into his bag of goldfish crackers and pulled a small handful out. "Is fish. And cheese." Bradyn said as he looked back at Tom before stepping out onto the balcony.

"I see. That's a goldfish cracker. Do you like those?"

"No sim." Bradyn sighed as he shook his head.

"No, they probably don't swim very well." Astrid smiled and sat on one of the chairs outside.

Tom fell backwards and lay on the bed with his cell phone in his hand while he listened to Bradyn and Astrid chatting back and forth on the balcony a few feet away. Seppel made his way toward the sliding glass door and gently kicked Tom's foot. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded though he didn't open his eyes. "I'm cool."

"Cool." Seppel nodded and leaned on the wall to keep an eye on Astrid.

"Can you tell me when an hour is up?"

"An hour from now? Or when she got here?"

"From now." Tom shook his head.

"Sure." Seppel pushed a dozen buttons on his watch before he dropped his hand to his side.

Tom listened to the mother and son chat on the balcony, more like friends than anything. He didn't know what he was supposed to do and he didn't feel right just sitting there straining to hear every word. Tom picked up the hotel brochure and read in detail all of the services they had to offer, from the glamorous salon off the lobby to the rooftop dining.

"Tom?" Seppel's voice broke through his concentration a little while later.

"Yeah?" Tom looked up from the booklet.

"It's an hour." He cleared his throat.

"Okay." Tom yawned and set the brochure aside as he pushed himself up. He arched his back and winced as it cracked. He straightened his shirt and ran his hands over his face. Tom leaned on the door frame leading to the balcony and squinted into the sun. "Hey."

"Daddy, hi." Bradyn smiled up at him as he sat on the ground mashing his goldfish crackers with his feet.

"You're making a mess." Tom smiled and shook his head.

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and stood up. He brushed his hands off and walked inside as if he knew the meeting was over.

"We have to get going." Tom said shortly.

"Right now?"

"Yes." Tom said without looking at his watch. "There is a recording studio I told Bill I'd check out for him while I was here."

"You're working?" Astrid scoffed as she stood up.

"It's down by the beach so we're going to check it out then walk around down here but, yeah, I guess that could be considered work." Tom nodded.

"When will you be back in LA?"

"I don't know." Tom shook his head. He hadn't decided when they would leave for LA but, if he had his way, it wouldn't be until the day before their court appearance.

"It's just hard for me to have to drive all the way down here." She said softly as she scooted past Tom and into the room.

"There are plenty of hotels in the area if you'd like to stay." Tom said. He knew full well she wouldn't go for that.

"I have a job in LA."

"Oh well." Tom shrugged.

"Can I come back this week?"

"You can call my lawyer and set it up through him. Sure." Tom bent to pick up a few of Bradyn's toys from the floor. "Come on, buddy. Help me pick these up so we can go."

"I hep?"

"Yeah, you're a good helper." Tom nodded and smiled as Bradyn picked up a few of his cars and dropped them into the backpack.

"We can't just set it up now?" Astrid asked.

Tom sighed and stood up straight. "Astrid, you're the one who wanted all the contact to go through the lawyers. If you want to change that then change it all the way, not just to accommodate your needs. If you want to discuss visiting him again this week that's fine but then I want to discuss this whole thing."

"It's just a hassle to have to make a dozen phone calls-"

"I wasn't the one that made it that way." Tom shrugged and leaned to zip the backpack. "Go ahead and call Mr. Thompson to set up another visit. As far as I'm concerned you can come whenever you want." He reached for Bradyn's hand and took a deep breath. "Say bye, Bradyn."

"Bye-bye, Mommy." Bradyn waved over his shoulder.

"Bye, sweetie. Can I get a hug?" Astrid knelt down beside the bed and extended her arms for Bradyn. He walked over and gave her a tight hug and kissed her cheek. "Bye, angel. I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and walked back to Tom. "Go ou-side?"

"Yeah, we're heading out." Tom smiled down at his son. "Let's go get Saki and we're outta here."

"Seppel here?" Bradyn looked back at Seppel as he stood against the wall.

"He'll come with us, yeah." Tom walked out into the hall and waited as Seppel followed Astrid out of the room and to the elevators.

Tom and Bradyn rounded up Saki and let him know that they were heading out to run a few errands. Saki was on the phone with the management office talking over security issues for the European tour and he told Tom to go on without him. "You have Seppel, right?" Saki asked as he covered the mouthpiece.

"Yeah."

"You'll be okay then. If you're heading out in big crowded areas give me a holler though. No malls, no movies, nothing like that."

"No, we're hitting a studio for Bill and that's about it, I think."

"Cool. Check in when you get back." Saki waved and returned to his phone call.

Bradyn and Tom met Seppel by the elevators and let him know that Saki wouldn't be joining them. He didn't seem surprised or worried so they headed out to get their tasks for the day done.

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

Tom, Bradyn and Seppel took a mini tour of the studio by the beach and Tom was impressed. It was small and comfortable feeling but completely decked out with all of the latest in sound equipment. He made a dozen mental notes to relay back to Bill before shook the owner's hand and thanked him for the look around.

"That's a nice looking studio they have." Seppel smiled.

"Yeah, it is. I'd love to be able to record for a few hours, then sneak out the back and walk to the beach. Bill is gonna flip when he hears how wicked this place is." Tom shook his head as they walked out to the van. "Hey, can we take a walk on down to the beach? We haven't really been there yet."

"Sure." Seppel nodded as he looked around. "You gonna stay right there on the walkway?"

"Yeah, I just want to walk down to the lifeguard station with the life boats on the wall." Tom pointed up the beach a little ways.

"Cool. I'll keep an eye from here." Seppel smiled and patted Tom's shoulder as the younger man adjusted his sunglasses.

"Thanks." Tom grinned and pushed the stroller toward the concrete walkway a few feet from the sand.

"Isa ossin?" Bradyn asked.

"Yeah, that's the ocean." Tom nodded. "We'll have to come back this weekend."

"Kay. See shark?"

"No, we won't see any sharks here. I don't think." Tom shook his head as the stroller wheels kicked up the sand that covered the walkway.

"Yeah, I see shark."

"Sharks are pretty scary though. You're sure you want to see one?"

"See no by." Bradyn shook his head.

"Oh hey! You know what? We can go to Sea World tomorrow and see a lot of sharks."

"No by?"

"No, the sharks at Sea World don't bite. They're behind glass so we can see them swimming and stuff like that. Do you want to go see that?"

"And else?"

"And dolphins and seals and otters. They have all kinds of fish and maybe even a manatee."

"A tee?"

"Yeah." Tom laughed.

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and sat back in the stroller.

"We should go get some food so we don't have to keep eating the same room service garbage." Tom said more or less to himself.

"Cheese?" Bradyn added from his seat.

"Yeah, we'll get more goldfish crackers." Tom smiled and mentally made a short grocery list as they walked toward the lifeguard station.

"Daddy a pane." Bradyn's tiny hand extended from the side of the stroller as he pointed up. "See?"

"Wow, look at that." Tom stopped the stroller and leaned on the handle. "That's a big plane."

"Is big?"

"It's huge."

"Big stage?"

"A stage? Oh, yeah it's bigger than our stage." Tom made a face. Bradyn always managed to amaze him with his vocabulary and knowledge.

"Big Goose-gog?"

"It's a lot bigger than Gustav." Tom laughed.

"I see Goose-gog?"

"We'll see him again soon." Tom hated telling Bradyn that when he couldn't promise that they would. He hoped with all of his heart that Bradyn would be able to see his Uncle Bill, the two uncles he'd adopted and Tayla again but everything was still up in the air and he didn't want to let him down.

"Kay." Bradyn yawned and sat back in his seat as Tom turned the stroller around and walked slowly back to where Seppel and the van waited.

Tom asked Seppel to stop at a grocery store on the way home so that he could pick up some food to keep in the hotel room. Seppel waited in the car as Bradyn dozed off so Tom could run in and get what he wanted without having to bother with tugging a cranky two year old around with him. He got some fruit, crackers, granola bars, breakfast treats and some juice boxes for Bradyn.

The three of them went back to the hotel and carried the four bags of groceries up to Tom's room where he stashed them in the mini kitchen and put Bradyn down for a late nap. Tom took that free time to look through the Sea World booklet to help plan out their trip to the theme park.

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

The group of men spent the entire day at Sea World the next day. Both Saki and Seppel came along for the adventure and proceeded in having just as much fun as Tom and Bradyn in all the little children play areas and gift stores. They saw all of the marine life Tom promised Bradyn they'd see and spent plenty of money on plush sharks and sweatshirts for souvenirs. Bradyn had the best time and napped in the stroller while the grown ups ate lunch. They stayed for the fireworks show that night then headed back to the hotel. Tom had his meeting with Joshua in the morning and he wanted to be well rested for that.

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

Thursday morning Tom awoke with Bradyn bouncing on the bed,. "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi!" Bradyn giggled as he jumped.

"Ugh, it's too early for this." Tom grumbled as he rolled over but the smile across his face gave him away. "Grrrrrr."

"Grrrrr!" Bradyn laughed and stopped bouncing long enough to slide off of his bed and climb onto Tom's. "Go bye?"

"You wanna go bye-bye? We're still sleeping."

"No seep." Bradyn shook his head and tugged at Tom's blankets.

"Where did you get this kind of energy in the morning? You're acting like Gustav."

"Goose-gog see?"

"No, Gustav isn't here."

"Yeah!" Bradyn jumped and fell flat on his bottom. "We go?"

"I have a meeting today with Joshua but Seppel is going to come and hang out with you. How does that sound?"

"Go Seppel?"

"No, I don't think you guys are gonna go anywhere." Tom shook his head. "But he'll come and play with you."

"Seppel pay Lego?"

"I'm sure he'll play with your Legos. He's cool like that." Tom grunted and sat up in bed. "Let me wake up for a minute then we'll get some breakfast and stuff." He yawned and rubbed his hands over his head.

"Daddy see shark?"

"We saw sharks yesterday, huh?"

"Yeah and pee-gin."

"You like the penguins?"

"Yeah, jump!" Bradyn jumped to demonstrate how the penguins jumped into the water from their icy ledges. "And splash."

"We'll have to go back, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "Have pop?"

"Pop?"

"Pop eat."

"You've lost me." Tom said as he stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "You want to eat?"

"Yeah, pop."

"Pop?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and slid off the bed to go over to the grocery bags in the mini kitchen.

"Oh, Pop Tarts?"

"Pop." Bradyn nodded.

"Okay, yeah we can do that." Tom nodded and walked over to the little kitchen area. He lifted the bags onto the counter and dug out the box of raspberry Pop Tarts. He opened the box and handed one to Bradyn for breakfast. "This isn't really balanced but it'll do. Do you want an orange too?"

"A bite."

"You want just a bite of an orange?"

"Yeah."

"I'll peel it but you have to have more than just a bite." Tom reached into the shopping bag and pulled out an orange. He stood over the trashcan and removed the peel in four wide pieces. "Here you go." He sectioned the orange and handed a piece to Bradyn while he ate a piece himself. "It's pretty good."

"Yeah." Bradyn set his Pop Tart on the table and took a bite of the orange piece. Tom sighed and sat back in the wide recliner chair and watched Bradyn nibble on his orange slice and Pop Tart. Bradyn carefully brushed the crumbs off of his hands and mouth after each bite before he would suck on the orange slice.

"Do you want more orange?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and smiled as the sticky orange juice dribbled onto his chin.

"You're a mess." Tom laughed and handed Bradyn two more pieces.

"You mess." Bradyn laughed as he held his hand flat with the fruit in his palm.

Bradyn turned around to return to the table where he had set the rest of his breakfast but as he turned he tripped over the strap of his backpack. The orange fell to the ground as Bradyn bumped his chin on the chair as he fell forward. Tom's stomach dropped as Bradyn hit the floor with a thud. "Oh buddy! Hang on." Tom dropped the orange and ran to Bradyn to lift him onto his lap. "Are you okay?"

Bradyn's mouth was wide open and his face was red but no sound came from him. Tom had seen enough movies to know that Bradyn would inhale in just a second and wail like siren. True to form, Bradyn did just that. When he paused to inhale, Tom noticed that there was a small trickle of blood across his lower teeth.

"Oh shit, buddy. Let me look." Tom's heart sped up as he held Bradyn's face between his hands. He used his thumbs to gently pull Bradyn's bottom lip down.

"No!" Bradyn screeched. "No, owie!"

"I have to see if you're hurt."

"No!"

"Just a second." Tom wiped away Bradyn's drool and blood to show a little cut on the inside of his lip, "Oh, you bumped your lip." Tom quickly drew his thumb over Bradyn's front teeth to make sure none were knocked loose.

"Owie, Daddy!" Bradyn cried and tried to claw up Tom's shirt. "My Tayla."

"Your what?" Tom asked as he relented and just held Bradyn close to let him cry it out. The nick on his lip would be sore for a day or two but all of his teeth were intact.

"My Tayla!" Bradyn sobbed even louder.

"Tayla?"

"I wan!"

"I-" Tom was at a loss for words. Bradyn had never asked for anyone other than himself or his mother when he was hurt and here he was asking for Tayla? "She's at home, buddy." Tom tried to calm him down.

"Daddy, owie."

"I know it hurts. Should we go get some ice? Maybe that'll make it feel better?"

"Eye keem?" Bradyn said through his tears.

"No, some ice. There's some in the hall. Let's go get a piece and it'll make your lip feel better." Tom awkwardly stood up while still holding Bradyn and grabbed his room key off of the table.

"Go ou-side?" Bradyn gulped for breath and rubbed at his teary eyes.

"We're just going down the hall." Tom shook his head and looked down at his pajama bottoms and T-shirt. There was no way he'd go outside in this. "Come on, we'll get a big bucket of ice." Tom grabbed the plastic ice bucket and they walked down the hall to the ice machine. He filled the bucket then juggled that and Bradyn in one arm as he grabbed a piece and held it to Bradyn's pursed lips.

"Come on, Bradyn. It'll feel better."

"I owie."

"I know you have an owie. The ice will make it feel better."

"I beed?"

"Yeah, a little bit but that's okay." Tom nodded and looked down at his white shirt with a small pinkish stain on the shoulder where the blood mixed with saliva.

"Have my Tayla?"

"Tayla isn't here right now." Tom shook his head and put the piece of ice into Bradyn's mouth. "Can you hold that right there?" He set it between Bradyn's lower lip and his teeth.

"Owie, Daddy." Bradyn sniffed around the ice cube in his mouth.

"I know, buddy." Tom rubbed Bradyn's head quickly then headed back down the hall to their room.

"Tom, what's the deal?" Saki asked as he slid his key in his own door.

"We had a little bump." Tom looked down at Bradyn's red-rimmed eyes and tear stained face.

"You okay, little man?" Saki tilted his head to look at Bradyn.

"I owie and beed." Bradyn removed the ice long enough to mumble his response before he put it right back.

"Is he okay?" Saki asked Tom.

"Yeah, he hit his chin on the chair and split his lip a little. It's a really small cut but you know how your mouth just bleeds."

"Can I see it?" Saki asked the little boy.

"No, owie." Bradyn frowned.

"You know what makes owies feel better?" Saki asked with a smile.

"Ice?" Bradyn ventured a guess.

"And suckers." Saki reached into the zippered pocket of his sweat suit and pulled out a purple Tootsie Roll pop. "You wanna try that when you're done with your ice?"

Bradyn nodded and rested his head on Tom's shoulder as the ice began to melt and trickle down Tom's chest. "What do you say?" Tom asked softly as he took the sucker.

"Anks." Bradyn said around the piece of ice.

"You're welcome, Bray." Saki laughed. "Tom, what time did you want to head over to your lawyers?"

"Um, in about an hour or so? I have to get him cleaned up and dressed and everything."

"You too." Saki nodded at Tom's attire.

"Yeah, me too." Tom smiled. "Let's say ten. Come by and get me around then."

"Okay." Saki nodded and pushed his door open. "Take it easy, Bradyn."

"Bye." Bradyn answered softly. They walked back down to their room and Tom sat on the bed with Bradyn in his lap. "Have candy?"

"You can have that a little later. Maybe when Seppel is here." Tom set the tub of ice on the nightstand with the room key and sucker. "Let me take a look at your lip."

"No, owie."

"I know it hurts but I have to make sure it's okay before we get dressed." Tom used his finger to turn back Bradyn's lower lip. "That looks okay." Tom nodded.

"I owie?"

"Yeah, that'll hurt for a little while but you're cool, right?"

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed deeply as the water from the melting ice cube ran down his arm.

"All righty then. Let's get you cleaned up with a bath. Seppel will come over and you guys can play with your Legos."

"And you?"

"I have a meeting today." Tom shook his head and helped Bradyn scoot off the bed. He walked into the bathroom to start the bath.

Bradyn followed him into the bathroom. "I go."

"No, you're going to stay with Seppel."

"No you."

"I have to go to the meeting but I won't be that long. You can stay and play with Seppel and when I get back we'll go swimming in the pool. How does that sound?"

"You say."

"I can't stay, Bradyn. This is important." Tom pulled Bradyn's damp shirt over his head and tugged at the little pajama bottoms Bradyn was wearing.

"Yeah, have." Bradyn nodded.

"You'll be okay with Seppel. You guys will have fun. Now lets get you in the bath and cleaned up so the fun times can begin. What do you say?"

"I say bass."

"Bath, that's right." Tom laughed and lifted Bradyn over the edge of the tub to set him in the warm water. Tom took a few minutes and washed the orange juice from Bradyn's arm then washed his hair. He let the little boy play in the bubbles for a little bit while he faced the mirror to shave and run some gel over his braids to tame them down.

When he was done, he wrapped Bradyn in a towel and carried him out to the bedroom so that they could get dressed while they watched "Blue's Clues," a show that was actually growing on Tom. He dressed Bradyn in clean jeans and a T-shirt and got out a similar outfit for himself. He was getting used to the warm San Diego days and had been daydreaming about buying a house in the United States.

Saki and Seppel showed up at Tom's room a short while later and greeted Bradyn with the excitement and humor that the little boy was growing used to. "Hi, guy." Bradyn smiled as the two men walked into the room.

"What's up, little man?" Seppel extended his hand for Bradyn to slap him a low-five.

"I owie." Bradyn reached up and turned his lower lips down to show Seppel.

"Ouch! How'd you do that?"

"I fall and boom."

"You're cool though, right? You didn't break anything?" Seppel asked with a look of concern.

"I bake orange." Bradyn sighed and shrugged.

Tom laughed lightly. "He had an orange slice in his hand when he fell and it kind of got squished."

"Oh, I see." Seppel smiled.

"Well, you have my secret healing stick right?" Saki asked softly as Seppel lifted Bradyn onto his hip.

"Have candy." Bradyn nodded.

"Don't give him that until he eats his lunch though." Tom warned Seppel.

"I won't."

"Seriously. You don't want him on a sugar high." Tom smiled and looked at Saki. "Ready?"

"I'm ready. Do you know where we're going?"

"Yeah, he gave me directions." Tom walked over to the table and dug around in his binder. "They're in here somewhere."

"Daddy say here." Bradyn said to Seppel.

"No, I think your Dad has a meeting to go to."

"No, here." Bradyn shook his head.

"No, I told you I have to go talk to Joshua for a little bit but I'll be home really soon."

"Kay." Bradyn looked down at his shoes.

"When I get back we'll call Bill okay?" Tom smiled. Bradyn had brought Bill up a few times over the past few days and he was sure he'd like to talk to his buddy on the phone.

"Pie appo?"

"Yeah, we'll call him on the phone."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded.

Tom sighed and watched Bradyn for a minute. "Okay, come here and give me a hug." He reached over and took Bradyn from Seppel for a minute. "I love you, buddy."

"Love too." Bradyn said into Tom's shoulder.

Tom handed Bradyn back to Seppel and smiled then waved as he and Saki left the hotel room to go to Mr. Thompson's office.

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

Tom hopped out of the rental car at the hotel by the zoo while Saki looked at the piece of paper in his hand. "It says bungalow B-12."

"It's right here." Tom nodded toward the room on the end. He tapped on the door and waited for Joshua to answer as he looked around the hotel. It looked more like a park with a bunch of little cottages in small clusters around the back which is where Tom and Saki were standing.

"Hey, good morning, Tom." Joshua smiled as he held the door open. "Sorry for the mess. I've had some of my workbooks sent out here so I wouldn't have to keep having everything faxed." He laughed and nodded for Tom and Saki to enter.

"Actually, I'll wait in the car." Saki shook his head and watched Tom step inside the room.

"You sure?" Tom asked with a hint of concern.

"Yeah." Saki nodded with a small smile. "I brought a book."

"Okay." Tom waved and let Joshua shut the door behind him. "So what's up today? What are we doing?" The two beds were littered with piles of papers and folders so Tom pulled up a chair at the bar in the kitchen.

Joshua sighed and ran his hand over his balding head. "It's time you got ready for court, Tom." He frowned and walked over to the bed to dig through the pile closest to the phone.

"I'm ready." Tom nodded.

"Not quite."

"What else do I need?" Tom asked as he took an apple from the fruit bowl and spun it between his hands.

"You need to be ready for the questions they're going to ask.

"Okay." Tom shrugged and set the apple on the counter to spin it like a top. "Do you have the questions?"

"No, not the ones they're going to be asking for sure but I've been doing this a long time and, with you being in the spotlight, they're going to go for a personal attack. I can almost guarantee that."

"It's not like we haven't been slammed in the tabloids before." Tom shook his head and frowned.

"This is going to be personal against you though, not the band."

"So what can I do to get ready?" Tom stopped spinning the apple and looked at Joshua. "What would you ask if you were her lawyer?"

"That's what I've been coming up with. Now for a custody hearing they're going to want to go after your lifestyle to show what Bradyn would be exposed to if he remained in your care."

"Yeah, a loving home and stability." Tom rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious." Joshua raised his eyebrow and sat at the table by the door. "I think it'd be a good idea for you to think about some of these questions. They could easily make or break your case."

"Okay." Tom sat up straight on the bar stool and ran his hand over his face. "Can we do it now?"

"I'm ready if you are."

"Yeah." Tom nodded.

"Yes."

"What?"

"If you're on the stand you need to say yes, not yeah."

"Okay, yes." Tom bit his lip to keep from smiling.

"How long are you on the road?" Joshua consulted his notes.

"This time?"

"Sure."

"Um, a little more than six months total. Off and on at the start though."

"And the six months before that?"

"We were recording a little and working on the new album. Designing the stage and things like that."

"Were you at home in Germany?"

"Yeah, for most of that time. We did some TV promo work in LA, Chicago and New York though."

"When you get home this time, once the court is done, what are your immediate plans?"

"To get the house ready for Bradyn. Get him a kid sized bed and things like that. I have a guestroom but it's- Well it's not geared for kids, you know?"

"But you'll be home for how long?"

"Um, a few months." Tom shifted on the stool and ran his fingernail along the grout between the tiles.

"A few months?"

"Yeah, about three and a half months before we start a seven week tour in Europe."

"So you'll be at home with Bradyn for three and a half months?"

"Yes." Tom nodded.

"By yourself?"

"I-" Tom thought for a second and furrowed his brow. "Tayla will be there."

"And Tayla is?"

"My girlfriend." Tom said after a moment's thought. He could have been straight with his lawyer, he should have been straight, but if having Tayla as his girlfriend would give him a leg up, he was for it.

"She is?" Joshua asked as he glanced down at his notes.

"Um, yeah." Tom coughed nervously and tapped his foot. "We're, uh- We don't, uh-"

"It's private. I got it."

"Yeah."

"There's no privacy in the courtroom." Joshua smiled at him. "Does she live with you?"

"Sometimes." Tom said. "She has, uh- She has her apartment in Connecticut but she has stuff at my place too."

Joshua sensed Tom's uneasiness and mistook it for overall nervousness. "They're going to get more personal than that, Tom."

"I know." Tom nodded and looked up at his lawyer. "I'm pretty used to having my life be under the microscope though."

"Maybe." Joshua nodded. "But you have more on the line now. More than just your reputation."

Tom nodded and cleared his throat. "I know. I need to be prepared so lay it on me." He sighed deeply and braced himself for the next course of questions.

"Have you ever done drugs?"

"No." Tom rolled his eyes and stared at a portrait on the wall behind Joshua.

"Look me in the eye." Joshua said sharply.

Tom sighed. "Yes. When I was younger. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen year old."

"That's it?"

"That's all."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive." Tom looked Joshua square in the eye. He was sure.

"Do you drink?"

"No more tha-"

"Do you drink?" Joshua cut him off. He wanted a straight answer.

"I drink about a gallon of water a day." Tom said sarcastically.

"Tom, come on. These are questions they're going to ask you and sarcasm doesn't fly in the courtroom."

"No, I don't drink."

"At all?"

"The most I would drink is a few mixed drinks or a shot or two with the guys but I haven't had anything in months."

"When was the last time you had a drink?"

"I had about a beer or two at a ball game about a month or so ago."

"Was Bradyn with you?"

"No, he was with Tayla back at the hotel."

"Okay, so before the beer when was the last time you drank?"

"Um, right before I left to go back to Germany the last time. Me, Bill and Georg went out." Tom smiled. "I went to Germany and that's when Astrid dropped Bradyn off with Gustav."

"So since Bradyn has been in your custody you've had a beer or two?"

"Yes." Tom nodded.

"Do you smoke?"

"Yes." Tom made a face then caught Joshua staring at him. "Not often though and never around Bradyn."

"Are you around people who smoke?"

"Some guys on the crew smoke, I think. And Bill smokes." Tom shrugged. "But the backstage area, hotels, buses and vans are all smoke free. So no, I'm- We're not around people who smoke."

"How many girls have you been with?"

"Joshua, come on."

"They're going to want to show that you recklessly sleep around. You have a reputation for being the German Playboy and you often brag about women."

"I don't sleep around much." Tom said defensively.

"Well?" Joshua shrugged. "I don't care how many chicks you've slept with."

"I'm not a man-whore." Tom rolled his eyes. "I've been with more than ten. I'll say that much."

"All in relationships?"

"Uh, no. No, I wasn't in a relationship with all of them." Tom blushed.

"In the last three years how many girls have you been with?"

"Two." Tom nodded.

"Two?"

"Astrid, obviously, and Carrie."

"Carrie?"

"She was who I was dating when Bradyn was abandoned with me. We dated for a few years."

"What about Tayla?"

"I, uh-" Tom blushed even deeper. "No, we, uh- No."

"So, two girls in three years?"

"Well, Astrid was a little more than three years ago now. Tayla is a recent development." Tom thought fast. "We've only been dating a few months, basically since right around the time when Bradyn showed up."

"And she's helped you raise Bradyn?"

"She takes care of him a lot." Tom nodded.

"Define a lot."

"Anytime I can't, basically. I'd say he was with her on an average, I guess three or four hours a day."

"Every day?"

"Well, some days are more, some days are less." Tom shook his head. "I mean, some days I have him all day and some days I need her to watch him for five hours or so. When we were on the road, I mean."

"Is that including the time you guys are together?"

"Excuse me?" Tom blushed.

"Does that include the time you and her are watching him together?"

"Oh, no." Tom shook his head. "We, the three of us, spend a lot of time together." Tom tugged on his lower lip and frowned slightly. "But of course now that the tour has ended he's with me almost constantly."

"And Tayla? Is she here?"

"She's in, uh- In Connecticut." Tom shook his head.

"Who is Bradyn with now?"

"His private security guard, Seppel."

"Tayla sounds like a good person." Joshua smiled. "Not many girls would take over mothering a child that wasn't theirs. Especially if their boyfriend was the father, you know?"

"Tayla loves Bradyn." Tom shrugged. That much was true.

"I'm going to do what I can to keep Tayla out of the courtroom." Joshua nodded and made a mark on his notepad. "I don't really think it'll get that far but, if so, you'll want her here."

"She needs to be here?" Tom's ears turned pink for a second. "I mean, I can call her. Sure."

"Just in case. One thing they're going to try to say is that you recklessly sleep around and if Tayla will be taking part in raising Bradyn they might want to bring her into it."

"Okay." Tom wracked his brain trying to remember if he'd kept her phone number.

"I'd say we're about done here." Joshua said as he stood up and stretched his hands out in front of him.

"I can stay." Tom shook his head.

"No, we've covered enough today." Joshua insisted. "I'll give you a call tomorrow to touch base as far as what we're going to do next week. Just take it easy and enjoy the rest of your week."

"Yeah." Tom scoffed sarcastically.

"Have you guys hit Sea World yet?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Bradyn digs the penguins."

"The zoo?"

"Of course."

"The beach?" Joshua smiled.

"Not yet." Tom shook his head. "We walked down on the ocean walk or whatever but I'm planning on actually spending some time there this weekend."

"There's a little cove in La Jolla. It's perfect for kids. No big breakers or anything. It's small and they have a tide pool."

"Cool, we'll check it out." Tom stood up and sighed. He shook Joshua's hand quickly and asked. "Have you heard from Astrid again?"

"Since when?"

"Since Monday? She had that visit on Tuesday but I haven't heard anything since then."

"No." Joshua shook his head. "I talked to Mr. Boyd, her lawyer, this morning. He was under the impression you two had set up a meeting for today?"

"Uh. No." Tom gave him a look. "No, all the meetings are set up through you."

"That's what I told him." Joshua nodded.

"Well then-" Tom stopped and reached for his cell phone. "Damn it." He dialed Seppel's cell phone number and waited anxiously until the man answered.

"Seppel here." He answered with a gruff tone.

"Seppel, it's Tom. Is Bradyn with you?"

"Yeah, he's hanging out with his dog and that red thing. They're taking apart my Lego creation." Seppel laughed.

"Has Astrid come around?"

"Astrid? No. No one's come around at all."

"She hasn't called or anything?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "No calls, no one knocking on the door, no nothing."

"No Legos." Bradyn added with a giggle.

"We do too have Legos." Seppel laughed at the child. "Why? What's up?"

"She thinks she has a visit today but she doesn't."

"She's not seeing him today unless you're here to clear it. Don't worry about that, Tom."

"No, I know. I just wanted to make sure."

"It's cool. It's all good." Seppel nodded and pressed two Legos together.

"Thanks. Okay." Tom took a deep breath. "We're about done here. I'll be back in a half hour."

"Okay, see you then." Seppel laughed as he clicked the phone off.

"Things are cool back there. If she thinks she has a visit today she hasn't called or shown up." Tom said to his lawyer.

"Well, that's good." Joshua nodded. "Because that could be a mess."

"Yeah." Tom looked around the little room.

"Okay, Tom, get out of here. I'll talk to you later." Joshua smiled and patted Tom's shoulder.

"Thanks, Joshua."

"No problem." Joshua smiled as Tom pulled the door open and stepped out of the room. The door swung shut behind him and he closed his eyes tight, silently wanting the day to be over.

Tom sighed and ran his hands over his head. "I need these things re-braided." He said to himself as he walked down the hall.

Saki followed a step behind as they exited the hotel. "Things go okay in there?" He asked softly as he disarmed the van in the parking lot.

"Uh huh." Tom nodded.

"You ready for court?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Tom shrugged with his hand on the door handle, waiting for the guard to unlock the door. "I'll give you two hundred euros to go in my place though." Tom smiled at the large guard over the hood of the van.

"I'd have to grow my hair out though. And lose like a hundred pounds. And be a short little punk."

"I think you could pull it off." Tom gave him a tired smile as he unlocked the doors.

"You have high hopes." Saki chuckled and slid into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, well, I have to." Tom nodded and opened the door on his side. He grabbed his sunglasses off the seat before he sat down and slid them on carefully.

Tom rolled down the window as they left the parking lot. He did have high hopes.

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

As soon as Tom got back from his lawyer's office, he began to get Bradyn ready to go to the pool. He needed a few hours of relaxation just hanging out with his son and the security guards. Tom felt like the whole week had been spent trying to keep his mind off of the impending court case but nothing was working. In every silence and every pause his mind wandered.

"Cawin Pie appo?" Bradyn asked as Tom reached for the phone to call Seppel.

"Bill?" Tom shook his head back into reality.

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and tugged at his shoestrings.

"Oh yeah, we were going to call him weren't we?" Tom smiled and cleared Seppel's number from the keypad of his cell phone. "Come up here. We'll call him right now."

"No you."

"Me what?"

"You here." Bradyn put his hand on the floor beside him.

"Oh okay, I see how it is." Tom crawled off the bed and lay on his stomach, facing Bradyn on the floor. "Do you want to say hi?"

"Yeah." Bradyn reached for the phone.

"Okay, just a second." Tom dialed Bill's home number and waited as it rang. After a half dozen rings, his voice mail picked up. "Uh oh, he's not home. Do you want to leave him a message?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and reached for the phone again.

The machine beeped in Tom's ear as he handed the phone to Bradyn. "Okay, say hi."

"Hi, Pie appo!" Bradyn asked into the phone. "Hi? Hi? Pie appo say hi?" Bradyn took the phone away from his ear and looked at it funny. "Is broke?"

"No, it's his machine. Tell him you miss him." Tom smiled.

"Ina maseen?"

"Yeah." Tom laughed.

Bradyn put the phone to his ear and said, "Hi? Miss you. Hi? Pie appo is broke?"

"Say bye, buddy. He have to get going."

"Say bye? Tschüss? Pie appo? Hi?" Bradyn looked at the phone with a confused expression. "No have." He shook his head and handed the phone back to Tom.

"Hey bro, I hope you're having fun in Germany. I'll give you a call a little later to touch base. If you see the others, tell them we say hi." Tom smiled and clicked the phone off. He then search through his contacts to call Seppel.

"Is broke." Bradyn sighed then went back to pulling on his shoelaces. "We go simmin?"

"Yeah, I'm calling Seppel to tell him we're going." Tom nodded and turned his attention to the phone when Seppel answered.

Seppel and Saki joined Tom and Bradyn by the elevators a few minutes later to go down to the hotel pool. Tom juggled Bradyn and his floaty things as they stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. "Daddy, take off." Bradyn whined.

"Take what off?" Tom asked as the elevator doors shut.

"My shoe."

"You've gotta leave your shoes on until we get to the pool." Tom shook his head.

"No, off."

"No." Tom shook his head and looked up to see the numbers light up as they descended.

"Yes off." Bradyn frowned and kicked his foot gently.

"Don't kick."

"I not."

"Yes, you are. You know better than to kick people. You need to keep your shoes on until we get to the pool."

"No, off. Is owie." Bradyn whined and kicked his foot again.

"Hey." Tom looked Bradyn in the eye as he grabbed Bradyn's ankle. "I said don't kick. If you want to keep this up we can go back up to the room." Tom dared him to keep kicking as the doors opened on the lobby.

"Daddy, go." Bradyn looked out to the lobby and urged Tom to get off the elevator.

Tom held his finger on the open button and looked at Bradyn. "Are you done kicking?"

"I no kick."

"Good." Tom stepped off the elevator and the group walked down the side hall to the pool entrance. Tom kicked his sandals off and put Bradyn's floaties on then blew them up so they wouldn't budge off of his arms.

Once Bradyn was inflated and unsinkable, they ventured into the shallow end of the pool where Tom held onto Bradyn and just bent his knees to get Bradyn wet. "I can sim." Bradyn insisted as he pushed Tom away.

"You want to float?"

"I sim." Bradyn frowned and tried to let go of Tom.

"Okay, here you go." Tom lower Bradyn into the water and let go while keeping his hands only a few inches from Bradyn's waist just in case. "Look at you! You're floating."

Bradyn kicked his feet a little bit and moved his arms back and forth while trying to dog paddle toward the edge of the pool. "Daddy, no."

"I have to stay right near you." Tom left his hands by Bradyn's side as the toddler paddled over to the side of the pool. "Look at you! You're swimming." Tom laughed.

"Yeah." Bradyn grabbed onto the ledge of the pool as he sat there out of breath. "I sim." He ran his hand over his face to get the water out of his eyes and smiled up at Tom. "Again?"

"Sure." Tom smiled and bent his knees so that he was at eye level with Bradyn as the little boy pushed away from the ledge to swim to the other side of the pool.

They played in the pool for a while with Bradyn doing laps then Saki got in the pool and Bradyn wanted to go back to his old tossing game that he used to play with Georg and Gustav. "Daddy, throw."

"Throw what?"

"Throw me." Bradyn laughed. "Saki can hold."

"You want me to throw you at Saki?"

"Yeah and Gay-og."

"What?" Tom gave him a look.

"Georg and Gustav would kind of push Bradyn through the water towards each other." Saki explained as he lifted Bradyn out of the water.

"They did what?" Tom made a face and vowed to have a talk with his friends. "I swear they think he's a football and not a kid."

"He had fun." Saki laughed and grabbed Bradyn under his arms. "Ready, Bray?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn screeched.

"Ready, Tom?" Saki looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't throw him." Tom said carefully.

"Relax." Saki laughed and pushed Bradyn in front of him as he practically ran through the water towards Tom. He stopped at the last minute and Bradyn tore through the water right at Tom's chest.

"Oof!" Tom laughed as Bradyn flew into his arms with a spray of water.

"Again!" Bradyn laughed and turned around in Tom's arms. "Again, Daddy." He giggled and coughed off to the side.

Saki clapped from the far side of the pool. "Come on back, big guy."

"You guys are crazy." Tom shook his head but placed his hands under Bradyn's arms to zoom him back to Saki.

After another hour, everyone was pruned and ready to go back upstairs to eat dinner and chill out. Tom dried Bradyn off as well as he could with the towel and wrapped Bradyn up to carry him back up to their room. They both took quick showers to get the chlorine smell off of them then changed into their pajamas to play cars on the bed.

"Hey, Bray? You wanna go to the beach tomorrow?"

"Beach?"

"Yeah, we can go to the ocean." Tom nodded.

"And a shark?"

"No." Tom shook his head. "We'll go where there are no sharks." He ran his little matchbox car up the curve of the pillow to the top of the "mountain."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and bounced Lello around on the bed as the phone rang.

Tom sighed and debated just not answering it. Curiosity got the better of him by the third ring so he reached over and answered it. "Hello?"

"Tom? This is Joshua."

"Hey."

"You got a minute?" Joshua asked.

"Uh, yeah." Tom nodded and sat on the corner of the bed.

"I need some clarification here. When we were talking this morning you said that Tayla doesn't live with you, right?"

"Right." Tom nodded.

"But she has some stuff at your house?"

Tom wracked his brain to try to remember. "Yeah?"

"And you were dating Carrie up until the time Bradyn was left with you, right?"

"Right."

"Were you cheating on Carrie with Tayla?" Joshua asked point blank.

"No." Tom said forcefully. "No, Tayla and I didn't start seeing each other until later."

"Okay." Joshua made a note. "And how many times have you been back to Germany since Bradyn was left with you?"

"I haven't been home at all." Tom shook his head. "Not since the weekend before Bradyn."

"Then explain to me how Tayla has some things at your house and stays there sometimes if you've only been dating since after you got Bradyn and you haven't been home since before you got Bradyn."

Tom was silent for a minute. He took a deep breath as he shook his head. "I haven't been completely honest with you, Joshua."

"I'm aware of that."

"Tayla doesn't have things at my house." Tom answered honestly.

"Okay."

"I just- I wanted to better my case by having the two parent household thing. I'm sorry."

"You need to be honest with me at least, Tom. I'm representing you and I don't want any surprises in the court room." Joshua sighed. "And, just so you know, a girlfriend is temporary and could actually damage your case. If you're relying too heavily on her that'll show that you're not sure of your own parenting skills. If things go south with the two of you, what kind of parent will you be to Bradyn? You need to show that you can raise Bradyn on your own."

"Joshua, I-" Tom's heart raced, "Tayla and I aren't dating."

"I need the truth, Tom. Don't just sit there and say that because I said it could hurt your case."

"I'm not." Tom shook his head. "We're- There's nothing really between us. Tayla and I are not dating. We're just friends. She's helped me with Bradyn, especially in the beginning. She's the one that made me see that I was terrible at it and she helped me get better with him."

"Tom."

"I swear, Joshua. I'm being a hundred percent truthful right now. I've never slept with her. That much is true. We're friends. She loves Bradyn a lot and he loves her too."

"And?"

"And I don't know where things are going to go with that but right now we're not dating. At all."

"She may still need to come out here."

"I know." Tom nodded.

"Because, if she's had a hand in raising Bradyn for the last four months, she's going to have something to say."

"I know."

Joshua paused. "Is that all you have to tell me?"

"Yes." Tom took a deep breath. He felt more relieved than anything. "Everything else I told you was true."

"I'm serious."

"I know you're serious. I'm sorry for lying to you. I just- I just don't want to lose this."

"Which is why you need to tell me the whole truth. The truth is something I can work with." Joshua nodded. "See if I go in there and find out that I've based my argument on a lie, I look like an ass and your credibility is crap. If I go in there with the whole truth, no matter how bad it may look to you, I can work it and tweak it to use it to our advantage and you're the good guy. You see?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded as his head drooped. "I'm sorry."

"So just keep it straight from here on out. I personally don't care who you're with or who you're not with. That's not my business. My business is to do all I can to get you custody, or shared custody, of Bradyn."

"I know." Tom acted like a scolded child.

"So if that's all I need to work around, I can deal with that."

"That's all." Tom nodded.

"Okay then." Joshua nodded. "Have you heard from Astrid?"

"No." Tom shook his head. "She knows she has to go through her lawyer though. I don't think she'll be calling me again."

"Well, you never know."

"I know." Tom sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"If she does call you though, I want you to let me know."

"I will." Tom nodded.

"Okay." Joshua nodded. "With court less than a week away I'm going to be pretty busy setting this up but if you have any questions or anything call me."

"I will."

"And I'll want to meet with you again before Thursday so let me know when you have a few free hours."

"Okay." Tom smiled. He had plenty of free hours.

"Have you talked to Tayla about her coming out?"

"Not yet." Tom shook his head. "Do I need to? You don't want me to wait and see if I need to?"

"No, it'd be better to have her here and not need her than need her and have to wait a few days for her to get here."

"Okay, I'll track her down and see what I can do."

"Alright. Anyway, I just wanted to get that cleared up. Give me a call Monday and let me know when you wanna get together." Joshua said, turning professional once again.

"I will. Thanks."

"No problem." He shook his head.

Tom hung up the phone and sighed deeply. "Well, I just got myself into a little bit of trouble."

"Uh oh." Bradyn frowned. "Get spankin?"

"No." Tom smiled slowly. "No I don't think I'll get a spanking but Joshua isn't too happy with me." Tom made a face. "I messed up."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, uh oh. Don't lie, Bray. It's not worth it."

"Isa no-no?"

"Yeah, it's a no-no." Tom smiled and reached for his car to run it over the top of the pillow and back down to the mattress.

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and sighed. As long as no one was getting a spanking he was okay with it.

Father and son played on the bed for a while longer before settling into bed with a movie on the TV to fall asleep to. Tom had seen Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory a dozen times but Bradyn got a kick out of it so he grudgingly sat through it for the thirteenth time.

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

On Friday morning, Tom and Bradyn kicked back in their pajamas watching children's TV shows until almost eleven. They got dressed for the beach and rounded up Saki and Seppel. They all stopped to grab lunch in the van on their way to the beach that Joshua had recommended the day before. Once there they set up their new beach towels on the sand near the water and got their snacks situated. "We're gonna go up that way a bit." Tom nodded to the right. They were in a little cove and it wasn't that busy.

"Have fun." Saki waved his hand in dismissal.

Tom took Bradyn's hand and they walked down by the water for a few yards toward the high cliff walls of the cove. "This is pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked out at the water. The waves that were rolling in were small but enough to creep toward them and scare Bradyn. "No shark?" Bradyn looked up at Tom with a worried expression as they neared the waters edge.

"No." Tom shook his head and let the waves roll over his feet. "The water is cold though. Feel it." Tom squatted beside Bradyn and put his hand in the water. "See?"

Bradyn bent over at the waist and put his fingers in the water. "Is code."

"Yeah, it's kinda cold." Tom smiled. "Have you ever been to the beach before?"

"No water." Bradyn shook his head. "Ina sand."

"You've been in the sand but not the water?" Tom asked. "The water is the best part." He laughed and stood up while he kept a firm hold on Bradyn's hand. They took a few steps closer to the water as another wave rolled in and soaked Bradyn up to his knees.

"Whoa!" Bradyn exclaimed as he jumped and grabbed at Tom with a smile on his face. "Wow! See?!" Bradyn giggled as Tom lifted him out of the water. "Daddy, see?"

"I saw that." Tom laughed. "You got all wet."

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and looked out at the water. "Wassat?" Bradyn pointed out to the horizon.

"I don't see anything." Tom shook his head. He has expected to see a boat or jet ski.

"I see." Bradyn pointed off to the right again and Tom smiled.

"That's a rock out there with some seals on it." He lifted Bradyn a little higher. "Remember we saw them at Sea World? These are seals too."

"In Sea Word?"

"Well these live in the ocean." Tom nodded.

"And a Mommy and a Daddy and a Gay-og?"

Tom smiled and shook his head. Bradyn was constantly surprising him. "Yeah, there's probably a Mommy and a Daddy seal out there."

"And Gay-og?"

"A Georg seal?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't know. I guess so." Tom shrugged.

"We say hi Gay-og." Bradyn waved his little hand toward the rocks.

"Do you miss the guys?" Tom asked as he tilted his head at his son.

Bradyn sighed, "Yeah. An Toke Hoh-tell." He nodded then wiggled to get down. Tom set him back on the sand with the water lapping at his toes. "We see Toke Hoh-tell?"

"We'll see them pretty soon." Tom nodded.

"We cawin Pie appo?"

"Yeah, we called Bill."

"And Goose-gog?"

"We can call Gustav later, sure."

"I see Gay-og?"

"Hopefully soon." Tom smiled and reached for Bradyn's hand as a wave rolled in.

"I see now?"

"No, not now." Tom shook his head.

"We go and come back?" Bradyn craned his neck to look up at Tom.

"We can't go and come back." Tom frowned slightly. He wished they could. "But maybe they can come and see us here. I'll have to ask them."

"Yeah ask." Bradyn seemed satisfied with that answer. "Can touch a see-uh?"

"The seal? No, we can't touch them. They're out there on that rock and it's too far out there for us to go. We can't swim that far."

"I sim."

"Yeah, you can swim but not that far." Tom smiled. "Remember when we were at Sea World? The only ones who can play with the seals are the people who work there and other seals, right?"

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed. "No touch."

"That's right."

"And no shark."

"No, no sharks." Tom laughed and shook his head. "Do you want to go in the water?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head and grabbed at Tom's knees.

"I'll carry you so you won't get too wet." Tom lifted Bradyn into his arms and smiled. "You're going to love it."

"You hold?"

"I'll hold you the whole time." Tom nodded as he waded into the water up to his knees. Tom talked calmly to Bradyn as they slowly walked out into the deeper water. "When we get home to Germany, we can go to the beach there too. It's different though. We can go to the North Sea or the Baltic Sea."

"I see?"

"Yeah, we'll go see it when we get home." Tom nodded as the water lapped at his waist. Bradyn kicked his feet lightly, splashing Tom's chest with the cold water. "See? This isn't so bad." Tom smiled.

"Is code?"

"Yeah, it's cold." Tom laughed and wrapped his arm tighter around Bradyn's midsection. "Now you can say you went in the ocean. Cool, huh?"

"I in ossin?"

"Yeah, right now you're in the Pacific Ocean."

"Cool." Bradyn laughed. "All done?"

"You're done?" Tom laughed and took a few steps toward the shore.

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked over Tom's shoulder at the seals. "Say by see-uh."

"Bye-bye, seals." Tom waved and smiled as Bradyn did the same. "We'll see you later!"

"See late-uh." Bradyn giggled and squirmed to get down as they reached the sand. Tom put him down as they headed back to where Saki and Seppel were hanging out by their towels. They had made themselves comfortable on the towels but headed for the water when Tom and Bradyn got back.

"It's a slow day here, Tom." Saki explained.

"No problem. We're just gonna play in the sand." Tom smiled and grabbed one of the sand buckets and a shovel. "Just don't go in past your shoulders and stay where I can see you." Tom playfully shook his finger at the two grown guards and laughed.

"Yeah, okay, Dad." Seppel chuckled as they headed for the water.

"Okay, Bradyn, let's build a sand castle."

"Casso?"

"Yeah, watch." Tom packed damp sand into the bucket and patted it down firmly. As he turned it upside down and lifted the bucket off, the sand held its shape to Bradyn's surprise.

"Wow!" Bradyn laughed. "Again!"

Tom laughed at Bradyn's expression and filled up the bucket again and again until they had a small community of little sand buildings. "You want to knock them down?"

"I knock?"

"Yeah, watch." Tom scrambled to his feet and jumped on one of the little sandcastles. "Like a monster."

"Isa scary monster?" Bradyn laughed and made his scary face. "I see?" He growled and brought his foot down on the sandcastle closest to him.

"Yeah, if you're a scary monster you can knock them all over." Tom smiled and watched as the monster went on a rampage. Bradyn fell into a fit of giggles when he was done and looked up at Tom. "Uh oh, you know what happens if you lay on the sand?"

"What?" Bradyn's eyes danced at the thought of one more fun thing to do at the beach.

"You might get buried under the sand." Tom raised his eyebrow and sat beside Bradyn. He filled the bucket with sand and poured it over Bradyn's little legs.

"No, you." Bradyn kicked his legs free.

"You want to bury me?"

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and stood up to grab the little shovel. "You sit."

Tom stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his arms. "Go for it." He laughed as Bradyn slowly dropped sand across his shins. At the rate he was going, it would take days to cover Tom's feet so he sat up and grabbed the bucket to help out.

"Daddy, you toe."

"My toes are hanging out, huh? That's kind of hard to cover my toes." Tom made a face as he tried to pour the and over his exposed toes.

"Yeah." Bradyn patted the sand down as Tom continued to add more to the top. It took a while, but soon Tom was buried in sand from his waist on down to his toes. "You suck?"

Tom snickered. "Yeah, I'm stuck."

"Uh oh." Bradyn frowned. "How go?"

"I don't know." Tom frowned and shook his head. "Maybe Seppel and Saki can take you back to the hotel and I'll just wait here."

"No. You have." Bradyn crawled over the mound of his legs. "Take a sand off."

"I can't take it off I'm stuck." Tom laughed lightly.

"I take." Bradyn used his hands and clawed at the sand by Tom's thigh. "I take and we go."

"You're ready to go home?" Tom asked.

"Go out." Bradyn dug around Tom trying to get him out of the sand. After minutes of watching him dig, Tom carefully moved his leg causing the sand to crumble. "Yay! You go out!" Bradyn laughed and jumped up. "Seppel?"

"Seppel and Saki went out to the water." Tom smiled and brushed the sand off of his bare legs. "See? Right over there. Saki is jumping in the wave."

"He sim?"

"Yeah, he's swimming."

"Kay." Bradyn stood up and grabbed the bucket. "We can get sow?"

"Sow?"

"Sow ina water?"

"I don't know what you mean." Tom shook his head and stood up slowly. He reached down and tried to brush as much sand as he could off of his butt and legs. Bradyn took a few steps toward the water before he stopped to look behind Tom. "In the water?" Tom asked.

"The sow." Bradyn nodded and ran a few steps to the very edge of the water.

Tom followed cautiously as Bradyn's toes were covered by a small wave. "Be careful, buddy." He said softly as he reached for Bradyn's shoulder.

"No, Daddy. A sow." Bradyn bent his knees and reached his hand into the water, surfacing triumphantly with a broken white sea shell in his hand.

"Oh, a shell?"

"Yeah, a sow." Bradyn nodded and picked up another piece. "See? Sows ina water."

Tom smiled and looked down at his feet. "Yeah, there are a lot of shells."

"I can have?" Bradyn asked as he dropped the pieces into his bucket. "I have all sows." He sighed and continued to bend and pick up the little shells.

Tom watched with wonder as Bradyn rinsed off each shell in the few inches of water before putting them in the pail with the others. In just a few minutes Bradyn had a small collection of rocks and seashells and seemed satisfied with that. "Kay, I have all." Bradyn sighed and ran his hand over his head as he yawned.

"Are you tired?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head as he finished his yawn. "Seppel tired." He nodded toward the towels.

Sure enough, Seppel was laying on his stomach with a spare towel rolled up under his head. "He's taking a nap." Tom smiled.

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled as they walked up. "Seppel a nap." He said to Saki as he set the pail at Saki's feet.

"Yeah, he's an old man. He's all worn out." Saki laughed.

"Are you guys about ready to head in?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready whenever you are." Saki nodded. "It's getting kinda late and it'll get cold here pretty quick."

"True." Tom looked up at the sky as the sun dipped lower. "You ready to go home, Bray?"

"Home ina aopane?"

"No, back to the hotel." Tom shook his head as he frowned. "We can't go on an airplane for a while."

"Go back to tell?" Bradyn asked.

"Yeah, are you ready?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and sat on the towel by Seppel. "Seppel too?"

"All of us." Tom nodded. "Can you wake him up and tell him it's time to go?" Tom asked as he picked up the other towel and carefully shook it out toward the water. The van was going to get all sandy no matter what he did but he wasn't going to intentionally bring in eight pounds of the stuff.

Bradyn woke Seppel by sitting on the older mans back and tapping on his head. "Seppel up go bye." He said in a normal voice. "Seppel?"

"Yeah?" Seppel's eyes peeled open and he instinctively tried to roll over, tossing Bradyn to the sand. "Whoa! You okay?" Seppel sat up all the way and reached for Bradyn.

"Yeah." Bradyn said as he flopped back on his butt. "I fall."

"I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't know you were sitting on me like that." Seppel laughed. "What's up? Are we leaving?"

"Yeah, go tell." Bradyn nodded as Tom snickered with Saki as they folded up the towels.

"Okay." Seppel stood up and picked Bradyn up off the sand. "Whatcha got there?"

"Sows."

"Wow, would ya look at all those pretty shells." Seppel seemed impressed. "Those are pretty cool. You'll have to show them to me in the car."

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"Okay, guys, are we ready?" Tom asked with the towels tucked under his arm. He and Saki had the gear packed up and ready to go.

"Yeah, I'd say so." Seppel yawned and bounce Bradyn on his hip. "Let's go." Seppel smiled as the four of them headed across the sand to where the van was parked. After a long day in the sand and sun they were all looking forward to a hot shower and a warm dinner.

As soon as they returned home from the beach, Tom turned the water on in the bathroom and started a shower. "Do you want to go first or me?" Tom asked as Bradyn reached for his toothbrush.

"You sower." Bradyn sighed and stuck the toothbrush in his mouth.

"Okay but you have to stay right here. Don't go in the bedroom."

"Why?"

"Because you're all sandy and I don't want to get it all over the place." Tom pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it under the sink.

"Make a mess?"

"Yeah." Tom laughed and stepped into the shower. He let the hot water warm him his cold hands. He washed quickly and shampooed his braids. "Hey, buddy, I think I need my braids redone."

"No, I cut." Bradyn shook his head from the other side of the shower curtain.

"You don't need a cut, you just had one." Tom smiled. "I need to do something with these though. They're getting out of control." He ran his hands over his hair and shook his head to release the droplets of water. "So what was your favorite part about the beach today?" Tom asked. If he kept Bradyn talking he'd be able to make sure he stayed in the bathroom instead of wandering around the bedroom getting sand everywhere.

"See a see-uh." Bradyn nodded.

"That was pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah. And see a casso."

"Oh, yeah the sand castled were fun, huh?" Tom smiled and stood under the water to rinse the lather of soap off of his body. He kept Bradyn talking about the beach as he pulled the stopper to fill the tub with water before he stepped out wrapped in the white hotel towel.

"My turn?" Bradyn asked as he jumped up with his toothbrush in his hand.

"Yeah, in just a second." Tom nodded and ducked into the bedroom to grab his sweat bottoms and T-shirt. He pulled them on over his still damp body then went back into the bathroom to drop Bradyn in the bath. "Don't forget your soap." Tom handed Bradyn the bright orange Scooby Doo soap they'd found at the store the other day and Bradyn wrapped it in his wash rag.

Tom laughed as Bradyn rubbed the soapy wash cloth over his legs. "Is sand."

"Yeah, that's a lot of sand buddy."

"Ina bass." Bradyn giggled as the sand ran towards the drain.

"Yeah, that's going to be a mess."

"I a mess?" Bradyn moved the wash cloth to his face, then grimaced as the soap dribbled into his mouth. "Yucky."

Tom smiled and used the large cup to pour clean water over Bradyn's face. "Soap tastes bad, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn spit into the water and smiled up at Tom as the phone in the other room rang.

"Damn it." Tom jumped up and lifted Bradyn out of the water. "Sit here."

"I sit ina bass?"

"No, sit on the towel for just a second." Tom shook his finger at Bradyn as he ran into the other room. "Hello?"

"Hi, Tom. This is Joshua again."

"Hi." Tom's brow furrowed into a frown. "What was it now?" He'd been completely honest.

"Astrid would like another visit with Bradyn tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Tom instinctively checked his watch and looked into the bathroom where Bradyn was sitting on the folded up towel with the wash cloth dripping water from his hand.

"Yes." Joshua nodded slowly. "But she'd like to take him out."

"You mean out of the hotel?" Tom's heart pounded in his chest.

"Yes. You don't have to, of course. But she hasn't done anything to make us think she'll take him and, with the court date being so close, you might not want to rock the boat. She was just talking about going to the movies or something, not far."

"She can't go by herself." Tom shook his head as the worst case scenarios flashed through his mind.

"Of course not. Bradyn's security guard is required to stay with him at all times."

"Y- Yeah." Tom stuttered as he sat on the hard chair at the table. "What about me?"

"That's your call." Joshua said carefully. "But you might want to stay home for this one. To let Bradyn have some time with his Mom while you're not around."

"He freaked when I left the room last time."

"Probably because he could see you. If you let her take him out of your sight, he might be fine."

"Shit." Tom sighed and rested his head in his hand.

"Daddy, ina bass?" Bradyn shouted from the bathroom.

"Just a second, buddy." Tom said as he leaned over to smile at Bradyn through the doorway.

"She'd like to come over at ten thirty again and have him until two."

Three and a half hours without Bradyn anywhere near? Tom couldn't imagine that. "Seppel has to like, fuckin'- Hold her hand the whole time."

"That's fine."

"Ten thirty?"

"If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, I guess that's okay." Tom took a deep breath. He was going to have to get used to letting Astrid be Bradyn's Mother if they were going to have any kind of partnership in raising him.

"Great, I'll let her know then. Call me and let me know how things go, okay?"

"I will." Tom nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem." Joshua smiled. "Talk to you later."

Tom hung up the phone and went back into the bathroom where he plopped Bradyn back into the bath and tossed the soaked towel into the sink behind him. "Guess what, buddy?" Tom tried to smile.

"What?"

"You get a special visitor tomorrow. Do you want to guess who?"

"Is Seppel?"

"No, Seppel isn't a special visitor. You see Seppel every day." Tom laughed lightly and poured water down Bradyn's back.

"Is Daddy?" Bradyn laughed and splashed his hands in the water.

"You're a big silly." Tom laughed and splashed him back. "You get to see your Mommy tomorrow."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and squished the softened bar of soap in his hands. "Isa soap." He held it up for Tom to see.

"Yeah, that's pretty cool huh? The water's so warm it melted the soap."

"Hot?"

"Yeah, it's hot." Tom smiled and reached for the shampoo. He washed Bradyn's hair then let the little boy play for a few more minutes. When Bradyn was cleaned up and the sand was washed down the drain, Tom lifted him out of the tub and they went into the bedroom to get ready for bed.

"Okay, which pajamas do you want? We have the blue ones, the green and red ones or- What are these? It looks like animals?"

"Amals." Bradyn nodded.

"Animals it is." Tom set the pajamas on the bed and got a clean diaper out. "Hey, how would you like to use the big boy potty? Like me and Bill and everyone?"

"Now?"

"Not right now but whenever you have to go." Tom shrugged. If Bradyn could use the bathroom, it would save a lot of time and trash. Besides, no one liked changing diapers.

"I have diapo." Bradyn patted his diaper as Tom fastened the sides.

"Yeah but don't you want to be a big boy?"

"Later. Ina week." Bradyn sighed and held onto Tom's shoulders as he stepped into the pajama bottoms.

"Okay." Tom laughed softly and shook his head. "It'd probably be easier to do when we get home." He nodded. "We'll try it then."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and forced his arms through the sleeves of his pajamas.

"Okay." Tom whispered and flopped Bradyn onto his back. "Okay, its time for bed. Do you want to read a story?"

"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and pulled at the comforter as he slid under it.

Tom dug around in the suitcase to find a book for Bradyn. His collection was getting bigger but Tom was getting tired of reading the same book over and over again. He chose one that he hadn't read before then joined Bradyn on the bed.

Tom leaned against the headboard and crossed his feet at the ankle as Bradyn shimmied up beside him. "Okay, this book looks cool." Tom said softly as Bradyn rested his head on Tom's arm. "Let's see. It's called The Giving Tree, isn't that a cool picture?"

"Isa boy?"

"Yeah, that's a little boy like you and his tree."

"Kay." Bradyn yawned as Tom flipped open the front cover of the book and found the start of the story. He read slowly and quietly so that Bradyn could fall asleep easily. As Tom read, he realized that the story was probably way over Bradyn's head but the little boy hadn't made a sound. "You okay down there, buddy?" Tom stopped reading for a minute.

Bradyn's eyes were closed gently and his mouth hung slack as he snored lightly. Tom smiled and scooted over a few inches so that Bradyn could lie flat on his bed. He finished reading the story out loud just out of habit and then he shut off the bedside light and stood up carefully. He cracked his back and yawned as he crossed the room to sit at the little table across the room to do some reading of his own.

Tom made himself a cup of hot chocolate, the only warm drink the hotel had available in the room that wasn't coffee, and opened the What to Expect - The Toddler Years book that he had picked up when they were out earlier in the week. Tom didn't want to kid himself by thinking he could handle everything that Bradyn was going to throw at him so he thought he'd study up just in case. Baptism by fire is how he'd describe his learning method up until then but, with potty training right around the corner, Tom was feeling more unsure about how to go about being a good Dad and he didn't want to mess it up.

The book held his interest for an hour or so before he too pulled back the blanket on his own bed and turned out all of the lights. He put Astrid's pending visit out of his mind as he fell asleep thinking about how he'd have to childproof his house.

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

Bradyn slept in until almost eight the next morning which was a pleasant surprise for Tom. "Hi, Daddy." Bradyn smiled as he hoisted himself up onto his father's bed.

"Hey, buddy." Tom cleared his throat and rolled over. "What's up?"

"We go ina ossin?"

"Not right now."

"Ina bit?"

Tom smiled and rolled onto his side so Bradyn could crawl up next to him. "I don't know when." He shook his head. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and grabbed his toes. "Have pop?"

"You want a Pop Tart again?"

"Yeah."

"I think we're going to have a real breakfast today." Tom shook his head. "How about some eggs or maybe some cereal?"

"And pop?"

"I'll tell you what, I'll get some eggs and stuff and if you eat some of that then you can have a Pop Tart."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged as he lay on his back with his head near Tom's pillow. He yawned softly then giggled as Tom tickled his side. "Stop." His tiny hand pushed Tom's away.

"Stop what?" Tom smiled and tickled him again.

"Ticko." Bradyn pushed his hand away again and tried to move away.

"I'm not tickling you. That must be someone else." Tom wiggled his fingers across Bradyn's tummy.

"Is you!" Bradyn laughed while he tried to tickle Tom.

"No, it's not! It must be the tickle monster! Ahhhhh!" Tom planted his face in Bradyn's tummy and blew a raspberry through his pajama shirt.

Bradyn screeched with delight as the wrestled in the covers for a minute. "Daddy, no!" Bradyn laughed and slid off the bed to stand by the window. "No pay." He smiled.

"You don't want to play?"

"No, want pop." Bradyn pulled on the curtains to climb behind them. "And you have egg."

"Okay, we'll get some breakfast." Tom sighed with a smile and sat up in the bed to order room service. That was one more reason he wanted to get home, real food.

"And a bay-go?"

"You can't eat all of that."

"Yeah, I big."

"You're big but there's no way you can eat eggs, a Pop Tart and a bagel." Tom shook his head.

"And orange."

"If you eat all that you'll explode." Tom laughed. "Kaboom."

"Kyboom?" Bradyn laughed and pressed his face against the glass looking out onto the balcony. "You eat?"

"I can't eat all of that either. I'll be sick."

"Yucky." Bradyn made a face as he turned around.

"Yeah, that would be yucky. That would be nasty."

"Nassy." Bradyn giggled. "Kay, eat now?"

"I'm working on it." Tom laughed as he held the phone to his ear. He called in their order then picked up the room a little so that they'd have room to sit when the food came. Bradyn arranged Elmo and Lello on the table so they could eat too. He sat quietly as they ate their breakfast.

"Do you want to wear your shorts today?" Tom leaned into Bradyn's suitcase.

"Dunno." Bradyn shrugged and stood beside him. "I have." He reached in and took out a little pair of swim shorts.

"Those are for swimming." Tom shook his head.

"I can have." Bradyn nodded. "I sim."

"No, you're going out. Remember?"

"Yeah but I have." Bradyn held onto the shorts. "Later I sim."

Tom shrugged. It didn't really matter to him. "Okay, you can wear those. Let's get you a shirt too so you match."

"Is red?"

"No, I don't know what happened to your red shirt." Tom mumbled. "How about white? That one is clean and it matches."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and raised his hands over his head to let Tom dress him.

"Your Mommy is going to come and take you out today. You're pretty lucky." Tom said softly as he pulled the plain white T-shirt over Bradyn's head.

"And you?"

"I'll see her, yeah." Tom nodded. He held the swim shorts down by Bradyn's knees and helped to balance him as Bradyn stepped into them.

"Anen we go a ossin?"

"Sure, after you see your Mommy then we can go to the ocean." Tom smiled. "It might be too cold to go in the water but we can go walk maybe."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and made a face as Tom lifted him to sit him on his behind. "See a see-uh?"

"Yeah, there are lots of seals. I'm sure we'll see another one." Tom strapped the little sport sandals on Bradyn's feet and adjusted the velcro straps.

"Kay." Bradyn smiled and hopped off the bed. "We go now?"

"No." Tom checked his watch. "She'll be here in about fifteen minutes. Why don't we get your bag together so it'll be ready to go." Tom stretched his arms over his head. "Where's Lello?"

"Seepin."

"Are you going to take him with you?"

Bradyn sighed and seemed to ponder that for a minute. "No. Lello say."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on him here. We'll watch out for alligators and stuff."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and dragged his backpack over to Tom. "Have a shoe?"

"You have shoes on your feet already."

"Ina bag?"

"You want another pair in the bag?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I think we can do that." Tom dug around in Bradyn's suitcase and came out with a pair of sneakers. "How about these?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and took them from Tom to put in the backpack. "And diapo?"

"Yep, we have diapers in there and wipes. We even have a jacket in there for you."

"Is code?"

"No, not yet but it might be where you're going." Tom nodded and added a little thing of fruit snacks and a juice box to the backpack. "There you go. You have a snack and everything. You're set."

There was a sharp knock on the door just then that startled Bradyn. "Whosit?"

"I'll bet that's your Mommy and Seppel." Tom said as he blushed quickly. "Let's see."

Bradyn beat him to the door and began to pull on the handle. "Hi?" He shouted through the door.

"Hang on, Bradyn." Tom turned the lock and pulled the door open for Seppel and Astrid. "Hi." He stood to the side to let them in.

"Hi, angel!" Astrid knelt in front of Bradyn and pulled in him for a tight hug just inside the door. "Guess what!"

"What?" Bradyn asked as his cheek pressed against her shoulder.

"We get to go out today." She smiled and leaned back before she scooped him up and bounced him on her hip. "Won't that be fun?"

"Ou-side?"

"Yeah, we get to go outside." Astrid smiled up at Tom. "Did your lawyer tell you my plans?"

"Yes." Tom nodded as he stood to the side. He carefully zipped Bradyn's bag and held it out to Astrid. "He has a snack in there and a jacket and diapers and stuff."

"And shuss."

"Yeah and a spare pair of shoes." Tom shrugged.

"He needs to change his shoes?" Astrid asked.

"No, they're just in case."

"Oh, okay." She set Bradyn on the floor so he could walk.

"So you, uh- You guys are going to the movies?" Tom asked as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, we're going to go see the new movie Cats and Dogs." Astrid smiled. "He loves dogs."

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Well, um, have fun." He just wanted her to leave already. The longer she stood there and chatted the harder it was going to be for Tom to let Bradyn walk out the door.

"We will." She smiled and took Bradyn's hand as she headed for the door with Seppel only a step behind.

"Daddy too?" Bradyn asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"No, I'm going to stay here and do some work stuff and keep an eye on Lello, remember? But you get to go to the movies." Tom tried to look excited. "Maybe you can even get some candy or popcorn."

"You say?"

"Yeah, I'm going to stay here." Tom nodded. "But you're going to have so much fun and you can tell me all about it when you get back."

"And Seppel?"

"Seppel's going with you."

"See a mooby?"

"Yep." Tom held his smile. "You guys are pretty lucky."

"Bye, Tom." Seppel waved as he pulled the door open.

"Bye, guys." Tom leaned against the counter in the mini kitchen and waved quickly.

"Bye, Daddy."

"See you later, alligator." Tom waited until the door was shut before he let out the breath he'd been holding. "Shit."

Tom ran his fingers over his face then pulled on his lip. "I need a drink." He said to himself as he bent over and pulled open the mini refrigerator under the counter. "Hmm. Milk, juice box or Coke? This is a tough call." Tom sighed and thought for a second. "Coke." He grabbed a can and popped the top as he walked over to the recliner chair where he sat and put his feet up.

If he could just keep his mind occupied for a couple of hours he'd be fine.

Tom clicked on the TV with the remote and channel surfed three times through the small selection of stations. He finally settled on MTV. The videos they played all looked new to Tom but he realized he just hadn't seen MTV in four months and had missed out on a lot of new music.

Tom sang along to the La Roux video that played as his mind wandered to Bradyn and where he was right then. He knew that Seppel had his cell phone on and that he could call at any time to check up on them but he didn't want to look desperate.

His tiny black cell phone sat on the counter by the refrigerator just barely out of reach as Tom stretched to grab it. He kicked the recliner back to it's fully reclined position and stretched his fingers as far as they would go before making contact with the phone. Once he had it in his hand he called Gustav just to say hi but got his voice mail. "That's right. You're on vacation, aren't you? Maybe you're not though. I don't remember. Anyway, I checked out that studio out here. It's sweet. You'd love it. It's seriously about two blocks from the ocean. The gear is high tech and the guys I talked to know what they're talking about. Next time you come out this way you have to swing by. I was impressed." Tom laughed lightly. "Anyway, I was basically just calling to say hey. So hey. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Tom hung up and dialed Georg's number. "Hola! This is my voice mail. I went to Mexico and left my stupid cell phone at home. It probably hates me now and will delete all my messages. So if I never all you back, you know why. Or I've decided to move to Mexico and change my name to Pablo and I never want to see you again. Or I'm in a Mexican jail and want to see you really badly so come get me. Leave a message. Hopefully I'll get back to you. Maybe. Bye." Tom laughed at the message but hung up before the beep.

"Come on, Bill. Be home so I don't go crazy here." Tom said under his breath as he used his thumb to find Bill in his contacts.

"H'lo." Bill answered on the fist ring.

"Hey!" Tom smiled and sighed with relief.

"Hey, what's up? How's mini-me?" He laughed.

"He's good. He's, uh- Astrid took him to the movies so I'm just, you know, just calling everyone while I have some real free time."

"You're pretty much going cray, aren't you?" Bill smiled though he knew he was right.

"Yeah, pretty much." Tom laughed nervously. "It's just too weird, you know? Bradyn's not here and I honestly have no idea where he is. How do parents do this all the time? I know that when we were kids we'd go off to the mall or whatever and mom and Gordon didn't know exactly where we were. How did they not lose their minds?"

"I don't know."

"And this is only for a few hours."

"How many down and how many to go?"

"One down, two to go." Tom sighed.

"See? Not a problem." Bill smiled and tried to think of something to get Tom's mind off of it. "So how's the beach out there? Is it like here?"

"No, it's different. It's more crowded actually but there's like sand, then grass and a playground, then the parking lot. It's pretty cool. Next time you come here I'll have to show you."

"Definitely."

"So how's the family

"They're cool." Bill smiled. "Mom's worried for you. She keeps asking how you're doing and stuff."

"Tell her I'm okay." Tom smiled.

"Hey, I heard Gustav is going out to LA this week."

"He is?"

"Yeah, he hasn't called you?"

"Not that I know of." Tom shook his head. "But I haven't checked my voice mail today so maybe."

"So what have you done out there so far?"

"Oh, uh- Just about everything. We hit the zoo and Sea World and the beach." Tom shrugged. "It's pretty cool but it's kinda hard to just hang out you know?"

Bill laughed. Of course he knew. "Yeah, I know. Just think, when you get home you'll be able to just chill in the backyard, go shopping and all that fun stuff."

"Yeah." Tom smiled. He couldn't wait. "Hey you don't have security or anything with you, do you?"

"No, it's low key around here." Bill shook his head. "By the time you get here, no one will even glance twice." He laughed.

"Cool." Tom smiled and suddenly missed Bill and the rest of the guys a lot. "Well, I'll let you go. I just wanted to touch base, you know?"

"Yeah." Bill sighed. "I have to go get my oil changed. Turns out if you don't drive your car for months at a time, it's not good for the engine."

"Genius." Tom laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Give me a call later though, okay? Let me know how things are going?"

"I will. Thanks, Bill."

"Anytime, Tom." Bill smiled as they hung up.

Tom tossed his cell phone from hand to hand as he took a few deep breaths. Two hours more to go and nothing to do. He frowned and tapped his fingernail against the display on his phone. He pursed his lips in thought.

He hadn't talked to his parents since right after Astrid showed up and he wasn't sure how things were left with them. His mom was supportive but kept leaving him alone as if this were his own problem. It was. Bradyn was his responsibility but he could use some support and he wasn't sure why he suddenly wasn't getting it.

Tom dialed his mom's number and waited anxiously until his mom answered after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom. It's me." He said softly as he tried to smile.

"Tom! Hi, Süßer! How are you?" Simone smiled happily at the sound of her son's voice.

"I'm okay." He nodded and cleared his throat.

"How's Bradyn?"

"He's good. Astrid came by for a visit today so they're, uh- She took him to the movies." Tom stood up and walked to the balcony doors. "It's weird though, you know? Without him here."

"I'll bet it is." His Mom smiled and knew exactly how he felt.

"How did you do it? There were so many times Bill and I would just take off and go to a friend's house or whatever. How did you stay sane without knowing where we were all the time?"

"I knew where you were." She smiled knowingly. "That's something kids never understood. Parents know everything."

"Not me." Tom shook his head. "What's going on Mom?" He asked after a moment's pause. "Are you disappointed with me?"

"Disappointed? Why would I be?" She sounded almost shocked.

"Because of Bradyn."

"Tom? No, of course not."

"He's been with me for four months and you haven't seen him once. That just- I don't know, Mom. That's just confusing." Tom said softly as he pulled the curtain back and slid the glass door open.

"Things have been crazy there with you, Tom. At the beginning you said things were too busy and you didn't want to scare him."

"But four months?"

"Honey, I'd have been over there a dozen times if I could but you sounded like you wanted to handle it on your own and that you didn't want any help or anyone to tell you what to do." She sighed and sounded genuinely concerned. "I didn't want to step on your toes. If you thought you needed time alone with your son then that's what I was going to give you."

"I'm no good at this stuff." Tom laughed as tears rose in his eyes.

"I'm sure you're doing fine, sweetie." His mom said softly. "Do you want me to come out there? Gordon and I can leave this week."

"No, I'm-" Tom stopped. He'd gotten so used to saying, "No, I'm fine." That he hadn't noticed people were listening. "Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'd love it if you guys could come out. Not just for me. I'm sure Bradyn wants to see you guys."

"And we want to see him too."

"You should've just come out here. Since when do you listen to me when I say Don't come, I'm fine?" Tom wiped at his eyes quickly and smiled.

"Since you grew up. Tom, you won't get any stronger if Gordon and I come bail you out every time. Part of becoming a parent and a grown up is asking for help when you need it. If you insist that you're okay, people will think you're right and let you be."

"I am okay but I'd still like you to be here."

"Then we'll come out as soon as we can arrange it."

"You will?"

"Of course we will." His Mom smiled. "I'm dying to see Bradyn in real life."

"I'm sure he'll be excited to see you too." Tom smiled. It all made sense now. Tom had been too good at pushing help away and, when it came to his parents, he didn't want them to think he couldn't do it by himself but, in the process, he closed them out.

"When does your court start?"

"Thursday." Tom took a deep breath. "Nine in the morning."

"In LA right?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded.

"Okay, well then we'll probably wait until you get to LA before we come. That way we don't have to worry about getting from San Diego to LA."

"It's not that far of a drive."

"It's only a few days." Simone smiled.

"Okay." Tom smiled. He was just happy that his mom would be coming to see them. "Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome." She smiled. "Is everything else okay there?"

"Yeah, things are fine. I can't wait to get home though."

"You're sure things are fine?"

"Yeah, things really are fine. I'm getting into the swing of things around here. I just think it'll be a lot easier when we have a real kitchen and his own room and stuff like that."

"Okay, well I'll let you go. I'm sure you have things to do now that you have a few hours without the little guy running around."

"Yeah." Tom said softly. "Give me a call when you know what's going on. I can't wait to see you."

"Me too. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Tom smiled slightly as he watched a jet cross the sky with a trail of white smoke behind it. He clicked his phone off and sighed as he watched until the jet was out of sight then he stepped through the sliding glass door and let himself onto the small balcony to get some fresh air. He pulled up one of the ornate chairs and sat with his feet resting on the railing as he dialed his cell phone. Tom wasn't sure what Tayla had planned for the time she was off and, deep down, he was scared that she would say that she couldn't come out.

"Hello?" A girl answered the phone.

Tom's mouth went dry as he began to speak. "Hi, Tayla?"

"No, this is Kaelah. Let me get Tayla for you." Kaelah smiled. "Can I say who's calling?"

"This is Tom." He said softly.

The silence on the other end was deafening. "Tom Kaulitz?"

"Yeah. Is Tayla there please?" He dropped his voice a notch.

"Is this really Tom?" She asked.

"Um." Tom fought the urge to laugh, "Yeah, this is Tom. Is Tayla there though? I need to talk to her."

"Oh my God." Kaelah's voice was muffled behind her hand.

Tom cringed as he waited for the shriek but instead he was met with silence. "Hello?" He asked softly.

"Hi." Kaelah whispered.

"Is Tayla there?"

"Yeah." Kaelah said slowly. "Just a second."

Tom held on the line waiting for Tayla to pick up. "What did you say to her?" She laughed when she got to the phone.

"Nothing. I just told her I wanted to talk to you." Tom shook his head with a smile.

"Well, she's running up the street right now to get some of her friends so you might want to make it fast." Tayla smiled. "How are things? How's Bradyn?"

"Um, good. Bradyn's great."

"Cool." Tayla nodded and hopped up on the counter in the kitchen.

"I need to ask you a huge favor."

"Okay?" She bit her fingernail and frowned.

"Joshua, my lawyer, thinks it would be good for you to come back out to California."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing yet." Tom shook his head. "But if this court thing doesn't get settled right away they might need to ask you some questions, you know? Just about Bradyn and stuff." Tom took a deep breath. "And also when I have to go to court I'd like to have someone he knows watch Bradyn."

"Oh." She was slightly taken aback. "I, uh- You want me to come out there?"

"If you could, yeah."

"When?"

"Monday?" Tom took his feet down from the railing and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"For how long?"

"I don't know." Tom said honestly. "I hope the court stuff doesn't take too long and you wouldn't have to stay the whole time if it got too long." He rushed through his words quickly. He hoped that she'd just say yes or no and be done with it.

"I just- I guess- Yeah, I can."

Tom let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Really?"

"Yeah, not for too long though." She shook her head. "I have some things I have to get done out here and stuff. Plus I got your date package for Europe so I'm going to be busy here for a while."

"Okay." Tom nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. That's fine. I'll go ahead and get your tickets and stuff all set up. You can go home whenever you want. I just- I really need some help here, I think." He didn't want to mention the fact that she might have to actually go to court.

"Okay." Tayla smiled. "I hear Kaelah and her buddies coming up the walk. I'd better let you go."

"Okay, give me a call tonight or tomorrow when you have a minute to yourself and I'll give you the details."

"Okay."

"Thanks, Tayla."

"Sure, no problem." Tayla hung up quickly as the three girls rushed into the kitchen anxious to grab the phone from Tayla.

"Hi." Kaelah smiled innocently as she and her two friends tried to look casual. "What's up?"

"Anything new?" Her friend asked.

"Yeah. Kaelah, I'm going to be gone for a few days. Can you give me a ride to the airport on Monday?" Tayla asked.

A tiny squeal escaped from one of her friends as Kaelah grinned. "Yes! Of course I can! Where are you going?"

"Los Angeles. I don't know what time or anything but I'll-"

"No, don't worry. I'll take you no matter what time." Kaelah giggled and looked at her friends.

"You guys, come on." Tayla said with a stern look to the three girls in her kitchen. "He's just a person. He's a person I work for. He needs some help."

"He's Tom." The blonde shook her head and bounced up and down.

"You're acting like you're 13." Tayla frowned though she secretly enjoyed it.

"Hey, my mom wouldn't let me go crazy over NSYNC so I'm making up for it now." The blonde shook her head.

"We're living vicariously through you." Kaelah laughed. "So go get some Tom action and fill us in when you get back." Her friends laughed with her as Tayla blushed.

"You guys need counseling." Tayla said softly as she shook her head and left them standing in the kitchen.

"Oh! Oh my God! Do the *69 thing!" One of the friends squealed.

Tayla cringed as she opened the door to her messy room. She had some packing to do and she still had to wash some of her clothes from the tour. Tayla frowned and scoffed at the pile of clothes by her hamper. "Get some Tom action? Ha." She grumbled under her breath. What were the chances of that?

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

Tom and Bradyn spent the rest of the day Saturday and all day on Sunday at the beach relaxing in the sand and playing in the water. Bradyn decided that there was nothing in the world he liked better than the ocean and it was all Tom could do to tear him away at the end of the day.

"Go see a ossin?" Bradyn asked as Tom strapped him into his car seat Monday night.

"No, we're not going to the ocean today." Tom shook his head.

"Yeah, I see sand." Bradyn frowned.

"Today is a special day. Guess where we're going."

"No ossin?"

"No, we're not going to the ocean."

"Yeah, we go." Bradyn nodded.

"No, we're going to the airport." Tom tugged on Bradyn's straps before he slid into the seat beside him as Saki started the car. "We'll see some airplanes up close and we get to pick up one of your favorite people."

"See pane?"

"Oh yeah, we'll see lots of planes."

"See Gay-og?"

"No, Georg's in Mexico but we're going to see someone else you know."

"Who?" Bradyn leaned over to look out the window. He put his hand against the glass and smeared his fingerprints all around.

"Tayla." Tom smiled.

"I see my Tayla?"

"Yeah." Tom laughed and rolled down his window a few inches to let in the fresh air. "We're going to go pick her up right now and she's going to hang out for a while."

"An see a ossin?"

"I'm sure we can talk her into going to see the ocean with us." Tom nodded.

"An see a pee-gin?"

"Yeah, maybe we can go to Sea World and see the penguins."

"Kay." Bradyn smiled and sat back in his seat. "Tayla my hair."

"She what?"

"She my hair."

"She cut your hair?" Tom asked.

"Yeah." He tapped his heels on his seat and sighed. "Fye daggo."

"Oh, that's right. You guys like to find dragons. I'll bet there are lots of dragons here, aren't there?" Tom rested his arm across the back of the seat.

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "We fye."

"Cool, you guys can find them." Tom smiled and leaned on his windowsill as they headed for the airport.

Saki pulled up to the curb at the main terminal at the San Diego airport to let Tom out. "Daddy, go?" Bradyn asked with a painfully worried expression.

"No, I'm going to go get Tayla. I'll be right back."

"I can go?"

"No, buddy, you have to wait here with Saki." Tom shook his head as he leaned in the open window. "Remember, we have to have Seppel with us if we go inside somewhere and Seppel isn't here."

"Go get?"

"We can't go get him." Tom squinted into the sun as he pulled his sunglasses from his pocket. "I'll be back in just a few minutes and then we'll have Tayla with us. How cool is that?"

"Ina minit?"

"Yeah, in just a few minutes." Tom nodded and reached in the window for the hat that was sitting on the backseat. "Thanks, Saki."

"No problem." Saki laughed as Tom pulled the hat over his braids and stood up straight.

Tom tried to blend in with the crowd by wearing plain jeans that were a little more fitted than he liked and a gray T-shirt but, somehow, he always felt like he looked different. He kept his face lowered as he walked through the security check point and located the correct gate for Tayla's flight. He stood off to the side by a gift shop and watched as her plane pulled up to the ramp. He'd made it just in time.

After a few minutes of waiting the passengers began to file off of the airplane looking tired after their nine hour flight. "Hey." Tom smiled as Tayla walked up to him. "The first one off, huh? You must be in a hurry." He laughed.

"I don't love flying." She laughed nervously and looked around. "Where's Bradyn?"

"He's in the car with Saki." Tom said softly as he pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. "Do you have luggage?"

"Yeah, I have a suitcase and your garment bag." Tayla nodded and cleared her throat as they headed down the escalator toward the baggage claim area.

"How was your flight?"

"It was okay. It's weird to think that I left at three in the afternoon and here it is barely nine thirty." She blushed and wished she would just stop talking. Without Bradyn there for a buffer she wasn't sure what to say.

"Yeah." Tom gave a short laugh and looked up at the lighted displays above the luggage racks to find the carousel where her bags would be coming. After a minute they located it at the far end of the baggage claim area and wove their way through the crowd to get there.

"That's it." Tayla pointed out her blue suitcase and leaned between two men who were standing at the edge. "Excuse me." She looked up at the first one.

He didn't move so she stepped between them and sighed heavily as she pulled her suitcase from the conveyor belt. It bumped against their legs as she set it beside her and reached for the garment bag that was coming around to her side again. "Here. I'll take this." Tom's hand brushed her thigh as he took the handle of the suitcase.

"Thank you." She said curtly as she yanked the garment bag between the two older men and rolled her eyes. "Can you believe some people? Is it really that hard to move four inches to one side to let a poor girl through?"

Tom laughed and reached up to readjust his hat as they headed for the door. "Bradyn is going to be excited to see you. You'll be amazed at how much he's talking now. It's weird."

"Yeah?" Tayla's mood lightened considerably.

"Yeah, it's like someone fed him a dictionary or something." Tom smiled over his shoulder as he stepped in the way of the automatic door to keep it open for her. "Right over there." Tom pointed and led the way as Tayla followed with the garment bag in her hand.

"Thanks for coming out." Tom said softly as he smiled and unlocked the trunk. He carefully placed her suitcase and garment bag beside Bradyn's stroller then slammed it shut. "How's Connecticut?"

"It's there." She shrugged and opened the passenger side door. "Hi, buddy." Tayla turned around in her seat to smile at Bradyn who was strapped into his car seat behind the driver. Tom slid in next to Bradyn and put his seat belt on.

"Tayla!" Bradyn bounced in his seat and reached out for her. "Tayla, hi!"

"Hi, sweetie." She laughed and leaned between the seats to kiss his hands. "I missed you." Tayla smiled and turned around to sit forward in her seat. "Are you having fun out here with your Daddy and Saki?"

"And Seppel." Bradyn nodded.

"Oh, of course. Seppel." Tayla laughed lightly. "It sounds like you have lots of fun."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed with a smile and ran his fingers over his window again.

"We're just going back to the hotel Saki." Tom said as he settled into the seat.

"So when is your first day in court?" Tayla asked as she flipped the sun visor down to look at Tom in the mirror.

"Thursday." Tom nodded. "My lawyer said it would be good for you to get out here a few days early just in case he needs to ask you any questions before we go in."

"We? I have to go to court with you?" She asked nervously.

"No, probably not." Tom shook his head and hoped that she wouldn't.

"Because I- We can't just lie in court." Tayla frowned deeply and bit her lip.

"You won't have to." Tom shook his head and glanced over at her quickly. "I told my lawyer that we aren't dating." Tom said softly. "But I don't think it's going to get that far anyways. Joshua just thought that since you knew Bradyn and had pretty much helped raise him for four months, you should be here for this. If anything you could testify to the fact that I was a loser of a Dad at the beginning but that I've gotten better. At least, I think I have." He smiled sweetly.

"You have." She nodded.

"I sim." Bradyn said with a sigh from his seat.

"You swim?" Tayla asked.

"Yeah, I sim ina ossin."

"In the ocean? Wow, that's cool."

"No sharks. No by. Only fish." Bradyn stared out the window with a wistful look.

"He really likes the ocean." Tom laughed lightly. "Every day he asks if we can go see it."

"It's a good thing you're so close then, huh?" Tayla smiled as the beach appeared on her left. "Isn't your court hearing in LA though?"

"Yeah, we're going to drive up on Wednesday." Tom nodded. "I wanted to stay down here as long as possible. It's pretty quiet and we've kind of gotten used to everything here."

"That makes sense." Tayla nodded. "Aside from the fact that it's absolutely gorgeous here." She watched out the window as they drove north on the freeway.

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When they got to the hotel Tom helped Tayla up to her room with her bags while Bradyn carried Tom's wallet so he could feel like he was helping. "You asked me to bring a suit but the only thing close to it was the sweater you wore to the Comets. I brought some black dress pants as well." Tayla frowned as she pushed her door open and stepped in to drop the garment bag on the bed. "I can always go get you a new suit though."

"No, I think that will work. It should still fit." Tom and Bradyn followed her into the room and set her suitcase on the floor by the bed.

"I brought my kit along just in case."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"And I'll go pick up a couple shirts and ties tomorrow so you'll be set."

"I can go get that."

"No, it's okay. I like to shop. It's my job." She smiled and lifted the garment bag off the bed and walked it to the closet.

"Yeah but you're not working right now."

"I love to shop. You'd be making my day if I could go to the mall and pick out shirts and ties." She smiled. "I'll even take Bradyn so you can meet with your lawyer in private if you need to."

"You don't-"

"Tom, I know I don't have to but I want to." She unzipped the garment bag and took the sweater and slacks out. She smoothed down the slacks and frowned. They had somehow managed to wrinkle during the flight. "I mean, if you don't want me to that's fine." She added quickly.

"It's not that I don't want you to." Tom shook his head. "I just don't want you to think you have to."

"I don't, it'll be fun." Tayla reassured him. "You can tag along if you want."

"No, actually I should go talk to Joshua again." Tom sighed.

"Great, that's settled. I'll come on by your room around, what? Ten tomorrow? Eleven?"

"Yeah, that'll work."

"Great." She smiled. "I don't suppose you have an iron and an ironing board in your room, do you?"

"Not that I know of." He shook his head.

"Okay, I'll call down and have some sent up."

"I can do it."

"You iron?" Tayla raised her eyebrow at him.

"I think I can figure it out."

"I'll do it." She laughed lightly. "I can have the whole thing done in a couple of minutes. Don't worry about it."

"We can always send it out."

"Tom, really, I can iron your pants." She gave him a strange look and shook her head. "I'll see you in the morning. Ten o'clock, right?"

"Anytime around there is fine." Tom nodded.

"Daddy, go ou-side?" Bradyn asked as he grabbed Tom's hand and swung it back and forth.

"You want to go outside?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "And Tayla."

"Tayla needs to get things put away here. Why don't me and you and Seppel go take a walk?"

"Ina sroller?"

"Sure, we can get the stroller out of the car." Tom nodded.

"Kay." Bradyn tugged on Tom's hand making his fingers crack.

"Ow, don't hang on me." Tom released his hand and massaged his fingers. "He's like a little monkey lately, climbing on everything." He smiled apologetically at Tayla.

"I see that." She laughed and buttoned the suit jacket before sliding the closet doors shut.

"Okay, we're leaving. You sure you're okay here?" Tom asked as he and Bradyn headed for the door.

"I'm fine." She nodded.

"Okay then." Tom seemed to reluctantly open the door for Bradyn. "We'll see you in the morning."

"See you then." Tayla smiled and watched as the door closed behind Bradyn and Tom. She fell backwards onto the bed with a heavy sigh. "You're here to help him with Bradyn and in court. You're here to help him and that's all." She whispered to herself. It was a mantra she'd been repeating in her mind since she stepped off the airplane.

Tayla shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She sat up and called down to housekeeping to have an iron and an ironing board sent up to her room. She had work to do.

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Tayla pressed Tom's slacks and made sure everything was in order in her room while she tried to keep her mind occupied. She mentally shopped for the shirts and ties and got together a game plan for the colors she was going to look for while they were at the mall. She got her things settled then ducked out to walk up the street to get a late dinner by herself.

Tom and Bradyn spent the rest of the evening walking around the downtown district near the hotel with Seppel. Tom pushed Bradyn around in his stroller as they both wore their hip sunglasses while Seppel stayed a few steps behind. Tom was more comfortable with taking Bradyn out in public on his own. The fans had all but gone away and so far no one had recognized him while he was pushing the stroller.

He enjoyed the anonymity for a few hours. They stopped into Fridays for a late night snack and Tom signed a few autographs for the fans that happened to wander in. For a split second Tom almost missed that aspect of being a celebrity but then he saw Bradyn pouting in his french fries and he remembered why he loved being a no one.

"Sorry bout that, buddy." Tom patted Bradyn's back as the girls walked away.

"They say hi?"

"Yeah, they just wanted to say hi."

"And me?"

"They wanted to see you too, I'm sure." Tom nodded.

"No say." Bradyn shook his head.

"No say?" Tom repeated.

"No." Bradyn shook his head and broke his french fry in half.

"They didn't say hi to you?" Tom's mouth twitched with a small smile.

"No say hi." Bradyn sighed.

"Next time we'll make sure you get to say hi, okay?" Tom smiled. Every day Bradyn was reminding him more and more of himself.

"Sounds like he's trying to steal your thunder." Seppel laughed softly.

"Yeah, he is. He's a born celebrity, I think." Tom laughed. Which suddenly made sense. A Mom who was an actress, or was trying to be anyway, and a Dad in a rock band? The poor kid didn't stand a chance. It was in his genes.

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They finished their snack and walked back to the hotel, enjoying the cool San Diego evening air. Tom wanted to bathe Bradyn so he'd be ready to go in the morning when Tayla came to get him so he set out his pajamas and started the water in the bathroom.

"No! Tayla." Bradyn pouted as he stood naked in front of the tub.

"Tayla is in her room, Bradyn."

"Go get."

"She's getting stuff ready and going to sleep. You're going to spend almost all day with her tomorrow while I go see Joshua."

"No." Bradyn frowned deeply. "Wan Tayla."

"I know you do but she is really tired right now." Tom leaned over and turned the water off. "Let's just take a bath then we can read a story and go to bed. It's already way past your bedtime."

"Tayla peese?"

Tom sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Not tonight, Bradyn."

"Daddy, peese? Have Tayla?"

"Tayla is busy right now. She's going to come and get you right after breakfast tomorrow though, I promise."

"See now?"

"No, we can't see her right now." Tom shook his head and lifted Bradyn into the tub.

"Caw her?"

"We can call her when you get done with your bath."

"I am."

"No, you're not done." Tom sighed and poured water over his shoulders and hair. "We'll finish up here, put on your pajamas and then we can call her, okay?"

"Kay."

"Then we're going to bed."

"Tayla morrow?"

"Yeah, you'll be able to see her a lot tomorrow." Tom nodded.

"Caw nigh?" Bradyn looked up and got water in his eyes. By then he was used to it and just wiped it away while Tom reached for his washcloth.

"Yeah, we'll call her tonight." Tom got Bradyn cleaned up and shampooed then let him play for a couple of minutes with his bath toys.

Tom removed Bradyn from the bath and let him drip dry for a second as the child wiggled. He wrapped him in a towel and sat him on the counter to brush his tiny teeth. Tom brushed his alongside his son before they went to the bedroom to change into pajamas.

"Say hi Tayla?" Bradyn asked from his position flat on his back.

Tom secured Bradyn's diaper then pulled him to his feet as he checked the clock. "Yeah, we can call her. Come here." He sat on the bed and patted his thigh for Bradyn to come sit with him.

"I say?"

"Yeah, you can say hi." Tom nodded as he picked up the hotel phone. He dialed her room extension number and waited as it rang down the hall.

"Hello?" Tayla asked after the third ring.

"Hi, Tayla. It's Tom."

"Hi." She smiled and brushed her hair off her cheek. The skin-refining mask she had on caused her hair to stick but at least it was clear.

"Um, Bradyn wanted to call and say hi so is it okay if I put him on?"

"Oh yeah, of course." Tayla laughed softly.

"Okay, buddy, here you go." He held the phone down to Bradyn.

Bradyn held the phone to his ear and Tom laughed. The handset was twice as big as Bradyn's head. "Hi, Tayla."

"Hi, Bradyn. What are you doing tonight?"

"Have bass."

"You had a bath, huh? Are you all clean?"

"Yeah, I keen and tees."

"You brushed your teeth?" Tayla asked with a smile.

"Yeah, see?" He smiled big into the phone to show Tayla his clean teeth.

"Wow! That's pretty cool." Tayla laughed and cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear, getting the clear mask on the mouthpiece.

"I see morrow?"

"What?"

"I see morrow?" He repeated.

"You want to see tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you."

"Oh, you want to see me tomorrow?" Tayla asked.

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked up at Tom.

"Sure. I think you and I are going to go shopping while your Daddy does some work." Tayla nodded.

"And Seppel?"

"Yeah, Seppel will probably come along too."

"Cut hair?"

"I don't think you need a hair cut, do you?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head. "I have book."

Tayla smiled at his rapid change of subject. "You have a book? What kind of book?"

"Has dog and spot."

"Wow, that sounds cool."

"Daddy say book." Bradyn sighed. "Go nigh-nigh."

"Oh, he reads you the book when you go night-night?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's nice of him."

"Yeah, I go nigh nigh."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Kay, bye." Bradyn handed the phone back to Tom and slid off his lap.

"Hello?" Tom asked into the receiver to see if she'd hung up yet.

"Wow, he is a talking machine! That's awesome."

"He's like those talking dolls only there's no on/off switch." Tom laughed and shook his head. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. He just wanted to call and say hi."

"Okay." Tayla smiled and rubbed lotion into her elbows.

"So we'll see you tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." She nodded.

"Great. See you then."

"G'night, Tom."

"G'night." Tom hung up the phone and sighed before he turned to Bradyn. "Okay, kleiner Kobold. Go get your book and climb into bed. It's late."

"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and grabbed his book from his backpack. He climbed up on his own big bed. "I Kobold?"

"Yeah, you're a kleiner Kobold. It's how you say 'little goblin' in German." Tom laughed and helped him pull the blankets back to slide beneath them. "Wow, this is a pretty long book." Tom flipped through a couple of the pages. "You like this one, huh?"

"Yeah, isa moster." Bradyn dropped his head on the huge pillow and looked up at Tom expectantly.

"There are lots of monsters in this one. You know what? I remember reading this story when I was a little boy. Where the Wild Things Are is a great story." Tom said softly as he turned back to the front page. "I have to thank Georg for getting you all these cool books."

"No bye." Bradyn shook his head.

"No, they don't bite." Tom smiled and scooted Bradyn over so that he could lean against the headboard to read Bradyn the story. He turned the page and began to read as his mind wandered.

He never in a million years thought he'd have a little boy who was just like him, sitting in a big bed in a random hotel room, while he read Where the Wild Things Are using all the fun voices and inflections that his Mom used with him. He looked at Bradyn closely every time he turned a page a slowly watched him fall asleep as his blinks became longer and further apart. As he read the last line in the story Tom yawned and ran his hand over Bradyn's short hair. "I love you, Bray." Tom leaned down and kissed Bradyn's forehead as the toddler slept.

Tom sighed and stood up to set the book on the table. He looked longingly at his own bed a few feet away. He took his book out of the nightstand drawer and lay on top of the covers to read until his eyes grew tired, which didn't take long at all.

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At ten thirty the next morning, Tayla appeared at Tom's door ready to head out for the day. "So where are you guys going?" Tom asked. He tried to sound interested instead of worried.

"Um, I talked to the concierge here and she gave me two malls nearby that I'm going to try but, if we find what we need at the first, we'll skip the second." She smiled. "Then after that." She shrugged. "What about you?"

"I'm meeting with Joshua in about an hour." Tom nodded. "My, uh- My lawyer. We're going to, you know, uh- Go over stuff and try to get ready. I didn't know this stuff took so much, you know? I hope I never have to go to court again." He smiled nervously.

"Me too." Tayla laughed. "I'll call when we're through shopping and if you're here, great. If not, we'll find something else to do for a few hours."

"Okay." Tom fumbled with Bradyn's backpack in his hands. "You've talked to Seppel?"

"He's waiting down the hall." Tayla nodded.

"And you have his car seat and stuff like that?"

Tayla smiled and tilted her head to the side. The man who at one time never knew where his son was or who had him, was now worried about him leaving with the one person he didn't need to worry about. "Yes, I have the car seat, all of your phone numbers, the poison control number, Benjamin's number, a helmet in case we have to use a motorcycle, Syrup of Ipecac in case we need to induce vomiting, a twelve pound first aid kit and a pair of kiddie cuffs to keep him locked to my side." She tried to joke.

"That's not funny." Tom said as a smile threatened his lips. "Okay, so I'm a little worried. Is that a bad thing?" He laughed lightly and shook his head as he dropped the backpack at her feet.

"It's not a bad thing at all." Tayla laughed. "I seriously have all of your numbers though and his car seat and Seppel. We'll be fine."

"I know you will." He ran his hands over his unruly braids. "I just have to say it."

"I know you do." She smiled and lifted Bradyn into her arms.

"Bye, daddy."

"Bye, Bradyn." Tom smiled and picked up the backpack to hand to Tayla.

"I go soppin now." Bradyn smiled at Tom then looked at Tayla. "Hi."

"Hi." Tayla laughed.

"Yeah, you're going shopping."

"Cool." Bradyn nodded.

"I'll call you when we're done." Tayla dropped the backpack over her shoulder as she and Bradyn headed for the elevators where Seppel was waiting.

"Have fun." Tom called after them.

"We will." Tayla waved over her shoulder and laughed as Bradyn imitated her. "Your Daddy is silly." She said softly with a smile.

"Yeah, he silly." Bradyn giggled and shook his head. Seppel kept his own comments to himself as they boarded the elevator and headed out for the day.

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Tayla and Bradyn hit the mall with Seppel by their side as they walked from store to store, window shopping and browsing. Bradyn was getting a little more color now that he was actually out in the sun and fresh air more and Tayla was glad to see that. They picked up a few shirts for Tom to wear, along with ties that could be mixed and matched with any of the shirts. She wasn't sure how long the court proceedings would go but he could always re-wear some of the clothes and dry clean them on the weekend.

After their excursion to the mall, Tayla and Seppel took Bradyn back to Sea World so he could show her the sharks and penguins and everything that he was so excited about. He only lasted a few hours but that was more than enough time for everyone. They made it back to the hotel in time for dinner with Tom so they met him down the street at the Cheesecake Factory.

Tom looked as tired as Tayla and Bradyn felt but he didn't say a word about his day other than that he had met with his lawyer and he felt like he was ready for Thursday. Tayla and Bradyn told Tom about their fun day shopping and at Sea World. They all headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep before the drive to LA the next day.

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Gustav called from LA that night just as Tom was putting Bradyn down for bed. "Hello?" Tom asked softly as he held his cell phone with one hand.

"Hallo!!! Wie geht's?!" Gustav shouted into the phone.

"Hey, Gustav." Tom laughed and stepped out onto the balcony so he wouldn't wake up Bradyn. "How are you? I heard you were coming out this way." Tom leaned on the railing and pressed his phone to his ear.

"Yeah, I got in last night. Where are you?"

"I'm at my hotel." Tom yawned.

"In LA?"

"No, San Diego."

"I thought you were going to be up here?" Gustav frowned.

"I will. Tomorrow." Tom explained. "The court and everything is up in LA but we've been down here just because it's a lot calmer, you know?"

"So you'll be at the Hilton, right?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded.

"Sweet. I'll catch up with you when you get here." Gustav laughed. "How are things going there?"

"Good." Tom nodded. "Tayla came out yesterday. I think Bradyn was getting damn tired of seeing me all the time." He laughed and tugged at his lip.

"Tayla?" Gustav asked slowly. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, since she basically helped raise him for like four months, they may need to talk to her. The lawyers, I mean"

"Uh huh." Gustav smirked.

"Joshua asked that she come out." Tom said a little quicker than necessary.

"And I'm sure you were devastated." Gustav rolled his eyes. "Come on."

"Gustav, I'm telling you. Joshua wanted Tayla to come out in case she needed to testify on my behalf or whatever because Astrid thinks she and I are dating. I told him we weren't though but he still wants to see her because she's been around us since the beginning."

"And?"

"And Bradyn digs her. He really misses you guys. So do I."

"Us guys? Or Miss Tayla?" Gustav laughed.

"All of you. He was around everyone for four months straight and suddenly you're all gone. He was really sad for the first week. It was sad to watch."

"He was sad?"

"Yeah, every time we'd go somewhere he'd ask if you were going to be there or if Bill could come."

"Aww, are you serious?" Gustav asked as he completely forgot his original train of thought. "That's cute. The little guy misses us."

"He's going to be so excited to see you. Are you gonna be in LA for a while?"

"Yeah, I'm woking with a guy for a custom made drum set until Friday kinda off and on but after that I'm on my own. So I figure I'll hang out here for another week or so, you know, to see Bradyn and entertain you between your trips to court."

"Ha, thanks."

"You're gonna owe me big time though. You know how much I hate California." Gustav said sarcastically. "All this sunshine and perfect weather, a kick back pace, like no humidity, the mountains, all that. I hate it." He laughed at his own humor.

"I'll take you out to dinner or something to make up for the inconvenience." Tom smiled. He'd missed the guys just as much as Bradyn. "So I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We should be up there in the afternoon sometime."

"Cool." Gustav nodded. "I'll track you down. I'll find a Tom fan. They can sniff you out better than a Bloodhound."

"No kidding! I'll see you later then."

"See ya." Gustav nodded.

Tom hung up the phone and let himself back into his room where he went over the custody worksheets Joshua gave him that week, just so he would know all the legal speak behind what the judge and lawyers were saying. He knew enough of the basics but he was definitely interested in knowing more.

He read the booklets and worksheets until his eyes dropped closed. He finally made his way to bed and crashed.

Chapter Six