The Muses Within

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Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Seven

"So how do I know when they're ready to flip?" Tom grumbled under his breath as he furrowed his brow and concentrated on the off-white circles in front of him. "Hey, Bradyn? You're sure you want pancakes?" He looked over his shoulder at Bradyn who was sitting at the table munching on an apple that Tom had cut up for him.

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tom sighed and turned back to the stove. "Well, they may not be like the ones at the hotel though."

"Kay."

"Okay." Tom nodded and carefully slid the spatula under the first one. He flipped it over and cringed as it slopped over the side of the griddle. "I think they need to cook a little more."

"I cook?"

"No, I'll cook them." Tom shook his head. "You eat your apple."

"And Emo?"

"Elmo too." Tom nodded. "We have some shopping to do today. Are you up for some shopping?"

"We get toy?"

"I don't know about toys but we're going to get you some more clothes and a bed and a bureau and some other things to make your room look cool."

"A slide?"

"You want a slide?" Tom laughed and glanced at the little boy sitting on his knees. He grabbed the pen off the counter and added booster seat to his growing list of things to get.

"Yeah."

"In your room? That's crazy."

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and spit the apple peel out onto the plate. "We get pool?"

"We have a pool outside."

"Is big?"

"It's huge." Tom nodded and frowned. "I'll need to have a guy come and put a cover on it though."

"I see?"

"Yeah, I'll take you out to see it." Tom nodded and thought about all the child proofing he'd have to do in the next few days. "We're gonna have to do a lot of work around here, buddy. I've gotta move my office stuff out and clean up the room so we can make it all yours."

"I work?"

"Yeah, both of us."

"An Goose-gog?"

Tom laughed. "Gustav's still back in LA. I don't think he'll want to come help us around the house."

"An Pie appo?"

Tom shook his head. "I think it'll just be me and you." Tom flipped the pancakes over again and sighed. They were a little darker than usual but at least they kept their shape.

"Daddy, have juice?"

"You know what? I don't think I have any juice." Tom shook his head and set the spatula down to look in the refrigerator. "No, we don't have juice. We'll have to pick some up when we're at the store."

"Cawin have juice?"

"What?"

"Caw ina phone."

"Call on the phone?" Tom asked.

"Yeah and have juice." Bradyn nodded.

Tom laughed lightly. "There's no room service here. I can't just call someone and have them send up some juice."

"No caw?"

"No, there's no one to call." Tom shook his head and went back to the pancakes.

"Gay-og?"

"Georg doesn't want to bring us juice." Tom smiled and put the pancakes on the awaiting plates. "Okay, are you ready to eat?"

"Yeah."

"Sweet."

"Swee." Bradyn nodded as Tom slid the pancakes onto two plates and carried them to the table.

"Check it out!"

Bradyn lifted the corner of one of the burnt ones and frowned. "Is wrong."

"It's not wrong." Tom shook his head. "They're just different. I don't really know how to cook so this is as good as it gets."

"I eat it?"

"Yeah, you can eat it. It tastes just the same as the ones in the hotel." Tom smiled and poured syrup on Bradyn's pancakes then leaned over to cut them into bite sized pieces. "When we get done we're going to call Georg and let him know we're home."

"Cawin Gay-og ona phone?"

"Yeah, on the phone."

"He can pay?"

"I don't know if he can come over and play. We're going to be shopping today so maybe he can come over later this week."

"Yeah, lato." Bradyn nodded and took a bite of his pancakes, dripping syrup down the front of his shirt.

"Are they good?"

Bradyn looked up at Tom with his mouth full but didn't say anything. He swallowed hard. "We have juice?"

"They're that bad, huh?" Tom laughed and dove into his own pancakes. They weren't as bad as he thought but they were a far cry from the perfectly cooked hotel pancakes they'd grown accustomed to.

They finished their first breakfast and Tom took the dishes to the sink. He cleaned Bradyn's face with a paper towel then scooped him up in his arms and spun him around the kitchen. "This is your new home. What do you think?"

"Mine?"

"Yeah, all yours."

"And you?"

"Yours and mine." Tom nodded and kissed Bradyn's cheek.

"I say swee."

"Sweet." Tom laughed. "Okay, let's call Georg and let him know we're here." Tom grabbed the cordless and sat on the couch in the family room.

Tom bounced Bradyn on his lap as they dialed Georg's number. "Gay-og ina phone?"

"Yeah." Tom smiled. "Do you remember what you're going to say?"

"We home." Bradyn nodded.

"That's right." Tom smiled as they waited for Georg to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Georg answered with a yawn.

"Hey, are you asleep?" Tom smiled.

"I was, yeah." Georg scratched at his head. "What's up?"

"I have a message for you." Tom held the phone out to Bradyn.

"We home!" Bradyn giggled and covered his mouth. "Hi, Gay-og!"

Tom brought the phone back to his ear. "We're officially home."

"Yay!" Georg mustered up enough energy to sound somewhat excited.

"How was your vacation?"

"It was good." Georg smiled and pulled the covers up to his chin as he sunk deeper into his bed. "What are you guys up to today?"

"We're going shopping. My mom was keeping an eye on the place so I had a little bit of food here but I really need to hit the store."

"Sounds like fun." Georg yawned. "The gang's all here. When are you throwing a party for the little guy?"

"Gustav is still in LA." Tom shook his head. "Besides, it's gonna be a while before we're settled in here."

"Like you need to be settled." Georg rolled his eyes. "How does this weekend sound?"

"This weekend?"

"Yeah."

"That'll work." Tom nodded. "I can't promise what kind of state the house will be in."

"You should know by now that no one cares what your place looks like." Georg laughed. "But hey, call me later and we can discuss the details."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Tom held the phone out to Bradyn. "Say bye."

"Tschüss, Gay-og." Bradyn giggled and covered his mouth with his hands. "I say tschüss."

Tom laughed and said good-bye to Georg. "Okay, buddy. Let's go get some clothes on and go to the store. We have a lot to do today."

"Kay." Bradyn jumped off of Tom's lap and ran down the hall to the stairs. "I go up?"

"Yeah, hang on." Tom put the phone back on the charger and followed Bradyn up the stairs to the master bedroom where Bradyn had spent the night with Tom. They dug through his suitcase and came up with one of his last clean outfits.

"Okay, now it's my turn." Tom sat Bradyn on his king-sized bed and flipped the TV on to Sesame Street".

"I see Emo?"

"Yeah, I think Elmo's on this show." Tom nodded and let himself into his walk in closet. "Stay right there on the bed, okay?" He shouted out to the room as he pulled his old comfortable jeans off the shelf.

Tom dressed himself in a casual T-shirt and sneakers before he walked back out to the room. "Daddy, see Emo?"

"I see that." Tom nodded at the screen.

"No, sit. Daddy see." Bradyn slapped his hand down on the thick comforter.

"You want me to watch it with you?"

"Yeah, see." Bradyn nodded and laughed. Tom crawled up on the bed beside Bradyn and lay on his stomach to watch the rest of the program with Bradyn.

When Sesame Street was over, Bradyn sighed and slid off the tall bed then went to the door. "Okay, we shop?"

"You're ready to go now?" Tom laughed and stepped into the connected bathroom.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let me brush my teeth and stuff." He reached for his toothbrush and raked it over his teeth before rinsing it in the sink.

Tom picked up Bradyn and tossed him into the air. "Now we're ready to go." He bounced down the stairs with Bradyn on his hip and grabbed the car seat from the entryway as well as his keys.

Bradyn giggled as Tom opened the automatic garage door and disarmed the Escalade that was waiting for them. He loaded the car seat and Bradyn into the back seat and climbed in the driver's seat. "Daddy drive?"

"Yeah, I get to drive." Tom laughed and let the car idle for a few minutes to warm up. It'd been a while since he was behind the wheel of his own car and it took a minute for him to get his bearings. He mentally planned out their course of action and which stores they would have to hit before they came back home. "Groceries, Karstadt, the pool place, Fips. We have a lot of work to do." Tom sighed as he glanced in the rear view mirror at Bradyn who was checking out the new and larger car.

"Daddy, is big."

Tom laughed. "Yeah, it's big." He nodded and backed down his driveway to the street. "We'll be able to fit a lot of stuff in here for your room."

"Mine?"

"Yeah, yours." Tom nodded and headed for Karstadt, their first stop of the day.

Father and son cruised around the store picking up little things to decorate Bradyn's room with. A bright Blue's Clues decal border, a fuzzy red carpet, kid bed linens and a ceiling fan with primary colored blades.

"You like that?" Tom asked as he put the fan in the overflowing cart. "I think that'll look cool on your ceiling."

"Go roun?"

"Yeah, it'll go around and around." Tom nodded and pulled his baseball cap lower on his head. He hadn't been recognized yet but he couldn't stop the odd feeling he got when he was out in public alone.

They headed for the toddler clothes section next and picked up a few more summer outfits for Bradyn so he'd have something to wear when Tom did the laundry later that day. "Daddy! Is Toke Hoh-tell!" Bradyn bounced in the cart and pointed up at a large display for Tokio Hotel party supplies in a nearby aisle.

"Look at that." Tom said softly as he maneuvered the cart in the opposite direction.

"Is Goose-gog and Gay-og and Pie appo!"

"Yeah, I see that." Tom picked up the pace and ducked between the racks of baby clothes and supplies.

"Daddy, can see?"

"I saw it, buddy."

"Is Daddy!"

"Yeah, I'm there too." Tom blushed and turned the corner to where the car seats were on display. "Shhh." He held his finger to his lips to silence Bradyn's tiny voice.

"I have Toke Hoh-tell?"

"No, we can't buy that." Tom shook his head and imagined the looks he'd get walking to the register with Tokio Hotel party plates.

"Daddy, I have."

"No. Here, let's get you a booster seat." Tom pushed the cart toward where the high chairs and booster seats were set out. "Check these out."

"Me?"

"Yeah, let's get you one of these so you can sit at the table like a big kid." Tom changed the subject and tried to get him interested in choosing between the three booster seats that were displayed. "This one is cool." Tom picked up the box. "How about it?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"Cool."

"Yeah."

"Are we done shopping here?"

"Yeah, go home?" Bradyn looked up expectantly and grabbed onto the handle in front of him. "Daddy, we go?"

"Not yet. We've got to go to the pool place first and have them come put a cover on the pool and I want to go to the toy store to see about a swing set."

Bradyn heaved a heavy sigh. "I say home?"

"No, you can't stay at home. You have to come with me." Tom laughed lightly at his son.

"I say Tayla?"

"Tayla isn't here for you to stay with."

"Yeah."

"No, she's not here."

"I say Seppel?"

"Seppel isn't here either." Tom shook his head and tried to turn the cart around in the aisle.

Bradyn sighed again and looked frustrated. "Is bad."

"It's not that bad." Tom smiled slowly. "We'll have fun and, when we're done with all this stuff, you'll be so happy." He banged the cart against the side of the aisle and stopped. "Hey, check that out."

Tom moved the cart so that it wasn't wedged in the aisle and reached up to the top shelf. "It's a little kid's toilet." Bradyn gave it a look that said he clearly didn't now what the heck that could be used for. "See? You can go potty in here. It's small for little kids."

"No." Bradyn shook his head.

"Yeah, we're gonna get this. This is cool."

"For you?"

"Not for me." Tom laughed and balanced it beside the fan and booster seat. "I don't need a kid toil-" He stopped as the potty training accessories caught his eye. "Get outta here." Tom reached for a box of multi-colored floating targets. "That's gross." He flipped the box over and read the back.

"We go?"

"Just a second." Tom ran his hand over Bradyn's hair and continued to read. They were paper-thin floating targets that would sink when the boy's rang the target. They were flushable and came in a pack of 100. "We're getting these too. These look like fun."

"For potty?"

"Yeah, they're for the potty."

"For me?"

"Yeah, although I may have to try them out too." Tom laughed at himself.

Bradyn sighed. "Kay, go?"

"Yeah, I think we can go now." Tom nodded and pushed the cart down the aisle. They stopped a few more times to pick up kid sized utensils, bowls and plates as well as a twelve pack of sippy cups and some big boy Spider Man underwear just in case the potty thing was easier than expected.

Tom paid for his purchases then loaded everything into the back seat of the Escalade beside Bradyn. They headed for Fips to check out some toys.

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

Tom went a little crazy at the toy store with Bradyn leading the way. They picked up a toddler sized bed, a plastic indoor slide for Bradyn's room, a matching bureau and a toy chest to hold the collection of toys Bradyn already had and a few new ones he managed to sneak into the cart.

On their way toward the front of the store to pay for everything, Tom noticed outdoor play sets on display against the far wall. "Check that out." Tom pushed the cart over as Bradyn tried to turn around in his seat. "Whoa! That's awesome. That's ten times better than the rusty old aluminum ones Bill and I had when we were little." Tom ran his hand over the weatherproof material.

"Is too big." Bradyn shook his head.

"It's too big? Too big for what? This looks perfect."

"Too big ina room." Bradyn frowned.

"Oh no, this wouldn't fit in your room. How about outside though? Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Have ina pool?"

"We can put it beside the pool, yeah." Tom nodded. For the first time, he was pleased that his backyard was so huge. He'd complained at first that it was too much to try to keep up but if he put a play set back there, it'd be just right. "This is amazing." Tom placed his hands on his hips as he read the information card attached to the handrail.

Within a few minutes, a Fips employee was at his side offering to help Tom decide whether or not to purchase the play set. "Does your company provide delivery?"

"Yes. The manufacturers deliver and install it in your yard to assure it works to your satisfaction."

"Wow." Tom smiled and looked it over again. There was a short staircase on the right leading up to a platform with a fireman's pole and a slide. There was also a wide bridge leading to another landing with a steering wheel and pretend gauges around it to look like you're driving and finally, a set of two swings on the far end. "Do I pay here?"

"Yes, sir. Just take the slip to the register. Someone will contact the manufacturer to schedule a time for delivery and installation."

"Okay." Tom nodded and tore the little tag off. "Danke." He nodded and waved as he turned the cart around.

"Daddy, we have?"

"We're going to get that one, yeah."

"Ina car?"

"No, we don't have to put it in the car.

"Kay." Bradyn yawned gave Tom a tired look. "We go home?"

"We have some more errands to run." Tom shook his head. "But, once we get this stuff done, we won't have to get anything else."

Bradyn sighed and rubbed his eyes as they went to the register to pay for their purchases. The people who would deliver the structure gave him a delivery date almost three weeks out which wasn't going to work. He smiled as he took the phone and talked to the manager himself. He explained that he was only in town for a short while and would be willing to pay the extra costs of having it delivered sooner.

Never one to believe in throwing his name around, he avoided that until the very end when he had to give his name and address for the delivery. "Tom Kaulitz? From Tokio Hotel?" The lady asked.

"Yeah." Tom sighed silently.

"For you, I believe we can have someone there in a week." She giggled lightly.

"Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome. Someone will be at your house on Thursday. Is that okay?"

"Sure! Thursday is good." Tom nodded and placed his hand on Bradyn's shoulder to keep him from standing up in the cart.

"Okay."

"Thanks again."

They hung up and the cashier finished ringing up the other items in his cart.

By the time they got to the pool place, Bradyn was asleep in his car seat taking a late nap. "I'm sorry, buddy." Tom mumbled as he lifted the boy out of his car seat and cradled him on his shoulder. They walked into the little shop while Bradyn remained sound asleep in Tom's arms.

"Hello! Can I help you?" The man behind the counter asked.

"Hello. I want to get a cover for my pool." Tom explained as he adjusted Bradyn.

"Would you like a solid cover?"

"Yes, please."

"Is there a fence around the pool?" The man asked.

"No." Tom shook his head. "Do I need a fence?"

"The problem with solid covers is that children his age don't understand when it's gone. He will think it's there and go into the water."

Tom frowned. "I didn't think about that. I suppose I should get a fence then."

"That's up to you." The man nodded. "What kind of cover do you have on it right now?"

"Just one of those thin things that keeps the temperature pretty even. I don't suppose it would support any kind of weight."

"No, it won't." The man shook his head.

"What kind of fences do you have? I don't want a huge ugly thing-"

"We don't sell fences here but I can give you a brochure of the company we generally recommend." The man reached behind the counter and pulled out a folded brochure.

"Great! Thanks!" Tom nodded and carried Bradyn back out to the car, where they sat in the air conditioning as Tom looked over the brochure. He sighed and tucked it into the bag from Karstadt. He drove back across town to their neighborhood where he stopped at the grocery store. "Okay, Bradyn, this is the last stop."

"Go lato?"

"No, we're going to go now. It won't take very long, I promise. We can get some juice and popsicles and whatever else you want to eat."

"Have appo?"

"Yeah, we can get more apples too." Tom nodded and helped him out of his car seat. He placed Bradyn in the cart and pushed him into the store as Bradyn let out a big yawn. They cruised up and down the aisles, getting snack food and stuff to make quick and easy dinners. He didn't want to take forever so he just picked up the essentials and headed for the check out.

"Excuse me. Hi." A girl said as she got in line behind them. She giggled and nervously dropped her magazine and pack of gum on the conveyor belt behind Tom's groceries.

"Hi." Tom nodded and pushed his cart through.

"I, uh- I really hate to bother you but can I get your autograph?" She asked softly so that others in lines nearby wouldn't hear her.

"Sure." Tom smiled and looked around for something to write on or with. "I don't- I don't have a pen or anything." He pat his pockets.

"Oh, here." She dug in her purse and came up with a blank post card and a purple pen. She handed both to him with shaking hands and couldn't stop smiling.

"Thanks." Tom took the pen and post card and looked up at her. "What's your name?"

"Miranda."

"It's nice to meet you, Miranda." Tom scribbled a short message to her, then signed his name with a flourish. "Here you go." He smiled and handed her the pen and postcard.

"Daddy, have possik?" Bradyn asked from the cart ahead of him.

"Hmm? Yeah, we'll have a popsicle when we get home." Tom nodded and pushed the cart all the way through as the checker scanned the food items on the belt.

"He's adorable." Miranda said with a smile.

"Thank you." Tom smiled proudly and moved to the side. "This is Bradyn. Can you say hi, buddy?"

"Hi." Bradyn grinned to show all of his teeth then looked at Tom. "See have possik?"

"Um, I don't know." Tom laughed and turned back to Miranda. "Are you having a popsicle when you get home?" He asked Miranda, who was slowly calming down.

"I- I think I might." She laughed. "Do you like popsicles, Bradyn?"

"Yeah." He nodded and leaned over in his seat to try and grab them off the conveyor belt.

"No, leave those there. We'll have one when we get home." Tom removed his hand and scooted forward to swipe his card through the card reader. He punched in his code and waited for the receipt. "Nice to meet you." He smiled and waved as the bagger placed the last of his groceries in his cart and they headed for the exit.

"Bye." Miranda smiled and blushed as the checker rang up her purchases.

Bradyn fell asleep in the car on the way home so Tom took him up to the master bedroom before he began to unload the car. He brought the groceries in first and put them away before he got the other things in and carried them up to the office that would become Bradyn's new room. After a dozen trips up and down the stairs, Tom was ready for a nap himself. The thought of diving into the assembly process for the bed, dresser, toy chest and everything else seemed daunting.

"Yeah, I think it's nap time." Tom sighed and ran his hands over his face as he went to his room and collapsed on the bed beside Bradyn. It was almost four in the evening so he didn't want to sleep too long but he couldn't keep his eyes open once his head hit the pillow.

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

Over the next few days, Tom had a crew out to put up an ornate wrought iron gate to close off the far side of the yard where the pool was. It cut the grassy area almost in half but it would be safer for Bradyn and any other kids he had over. The play area was delivered and built on Thursday and they returned on Friday in the morning to make finishing touches. The set up crew worked alongside the fence installers as Tom and Bradyn transformed the office into a toddler's room. All of the action and people going in and out of the house brought back the same feeling of being on tour and Bradyn eased right into the busy schedule of noise and strangers.

Tom and Bradyn spent most of their time moving everything that was in the office to the little extra room across the hall where Tom had all of his Tokio Hotel memorabilia on display. They put together all of his furniture, well Tom put it together while Bradyn napped on the floor in front of the closet where he'd collapsed with Lello in one arm and his new stuffed Big Bird in the other.

When Tom was putting the final touches on the toddler-sized bed in the corner, Bradyn woke up and stumbled over to where Tom was tucking in the sheets. "Daddy, is my?"

"Yeah, this is all yours buddy." Tom nodded and looked around the room.

Plain white walls with the crown molding along the ceiling were trimmed with a brightly colored Blue's Clues design to compliment the red throw rug and the Sesame Street toy chest. Bradyn chose a car theme for his bed so his sheets looked like a map while his pillows had car and truck designs on them. The ceiling fan Tom chose fit perfectly and gave the room the exact amount of kid feel to it.

"This room is awesome." Tom stood up and smiled as he picked Bradyn up. "You have all your toys over there and all your clothes put away. You're set."

"You have a red?"

"No, I don't have a red rug in my room."

"You wan?"

"No, I'm okay without it. You can keep it." Tom smiled.

"I keep?"

"Yeah, you can keep it."

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and crossed his arms in an almost perfect imitation of Tom. "Daddy, we go ona bus?" He looked up at Tom with a concerned look.

"On a bus? Well, not right now." Tom shook his head. "We're going to stay here at home for a little bit."

"Anen we go?"

"We'll be here for a while and then we'll go."

"An a pane?"

"Yeah, we're going to be with the guys and we'll be on a bus." Tom nodded.

"And Tayla?"

"Yeah." Tom smiled slowly. "Tayla will be there too."

"Kay." Bradyn seemed satisfied with the answer. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"We go on swing?"

"You want to go on the swings? Let's go." Tom picked Bradyn up and tossed him in the air, then flipped the light off.

"You swing?"

"Sure, I'll swing with you too." Tom took Bradyn's hand as they walked down the stairs carefully. Bradyn ran out the back door and across the lawn to the new swing set in the corner. The manufacturer's delivery and set up crew had put their seal of approval on it earlier that morning and Bradyn had been itching to get out there and swing.

"I go here." Bradyn grabbed onto the toddler swing seat.

"Yeah." Tom walked over and lifted him into the seat. He made sure he was secure before he pulled Bradyn back and let him swing forward.

"Whoa!" Bradyn laughed and kicked his feet.

"So how about we talk about using the big boy potty?" Tom asked as he pushed Bradyn higher and higher.

"No." Bradyn shrugged and shook his head, completely uninterested.

"No?"

"No, I no have."

"I know you don't have to go right now but, when you do, can you tell me? Because, if you tell me, we can go to the big boy potty and try that." Tom smiled.

"Kay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah." Bradyn shrugged. "High, Daddy, high!" Tom smiled and pushed Bradyn as high as the swing would go. The little seat Bradyn was strapped into was secure but Tom still kept a close eye on him. Bradyn laughed and squeezed the chains as hard as he could.

Tom stopped the swing and held his finger to his lips. "Shhh. What's that?" He turned his head toward the house and smiled when the doorbell chimed again. "Uh oh. Someone's here!" Tom lifted Bradyn out of the swing and trotted into the house and to the front door.

Georg stood on the porch making a face as Tom looked through the peephole and laughed. "It's Georg. Should we let him in?" Tom asked.

"Yeah!" Bradyn bounced up and down and reached for the handle of the door to help Tom pull it open.

"Hey, guys!" Georg laughed and rushed into the house. "Look at you! You've grown a foot." He bent down and picked up Bradyn to toss him in the air. "How's it going?"

"Hi, Gay-og!" Bradyn squealed as Georg launched him into the air again.

Georg laughed and led the way through the house to the kitchen where he put Bradyn down. "Damn, you've been busy. Look at your yard."

"I know, we have the pool covered and gated off and a huge play set."

"I see that. Do you have a slide out there?" Georg asked Bradyn.

"Yeah, I slide and swing."

"Wow, you're one lucky guy." Georg smiled then looked at Tom. "He has a full park out there."

"Yeah." Tom sighed and looked out at the swing set.

"Crazy." Georg laughed and jumped up onto the counter. "So when's the party?"

"Tomorrow." Tom watched as Bradyn stepped out onto the back patio. "Bill was gonna put everything together but I think we're all just gonna end up over here for a cook out or something." Tom shrugged.

"That works for me." Georg nodded. "Will everyone be here?"

"Yeah, Gustav is supposed to get in today." Tom nodded. "Bradyn's gonna flip out when he sees everyone together again. You should hear him. I swear, he keeps asking when we're going on the bus and where Seppel and Saki are."

"He was born to tour." Georg laughed and they followed Bradyn to the swing set.

"Gay-og, swing?"

"I'll push you, how's that?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and grabbed onto his little seat. Georg lifted him in and made sure he was secure before he stepped behind him to push. "He's coming on tour with us, right?"

"Yeah, where else is he gonna go?" Tom smiled.

"True."

"He can't wait. He doesn't know what to do with himself without a dozen people running around the house." Tom leaned against the slide and watched Georg push Bradyn.

"How about school? Maybe he should do something like that to get out and be around other people."

"He's only two."

"I mean pre-school or whatever."

"Yeah, I don't know."

"He can't just hang out with you all day. I mean, no offense. You're cool and all but he needs kids to play with."

"That's what you idiots are for." Tom laughed lightly.

"We may act like three year olds sometimes but really, you should check out pre-schools or something. He's gonna go crazy. Hell, you'll both go crazy if you have to be around each other 24 hours a day. I know I'd come close to choking you if I only had you to play with."

"Thanks." Tom rolled his eyes with a slight smirk to his lips.

"Kala works at a daycare like two miles from here. Do you want me to give her a call?" Georg asked of his girlfriend Kala.

"Georg."

"I'll leave you her number. How's that?" Georg wasn't going to let this go.

"This is our time to be alone together, you know? Father and son."

"Yeah, I know that and that's cool. I'm just saying that little kids need to be around other little kids. That's why people have more than one kid."

"Yeah? What about people who only have one kid?"

"They play with cousins or neighborhood kids or they're messed up." Georg laughed and tickled Bradyn as he swung backwards. "Look at Bill. That kid's a bit crazed in the head. Why? Because he hung out with you when he was a kid."

"Bill's just fine." Tom yawned. "Besides, when did you become an expert on kids?"

"I'm not an expert, hell no." He shook his head and cringed at the thought. "But I have little cousins and all that. They need to be around other kids."

"Fine." Tom conceded. "I'll give her a call. How's that?"

"That's fine."

"I'm not promising anything though."

"Don't be a punk." Georg rolled his eyes and stopped the swing. "Hey, Bradyn, you wanna go to school?"

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and lifted his arms for Georg to take him out of the swing.

"See? He wants to go." Georg laughed.

"Hey, Bradyn, do you want to be a fire truck?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn jumped up and down.

"See? He doesn't know the difference." Tom laughed and picked Bradyn up. "I'll call Kala this week and see what she has to say about it."

"Cool." Georg nodded and followed Tom onto the patio.

"So, tell me about Mexico."

"Okay, but I want to hear about the whole court deal. It sounds like one of those TV movie things." Georg laughed and sat at the little table.

"Daddy, I slide." Bradyn shimmied down Tom's legs and hopped down the two shallow steps to the grass.

"Be careful." Tom said softly as Bradyn ran across the grass. He turned back to Georg and smiled. "So Mexico?"

The two men sat at the small table and shared their stories while Tom kept a cautious eye on Bradyn as he climbed up the stairs and slid down over and over again. The whole time Georg was talking, Tom was sitting back laughing and loving the way Georg told stories. Every facial expression and sarcastic side remark was totally Georg and Tom was amazed at how much he actually missed seeing his friends.

It had only been a few weeks since he'd seen Georg but it seemed like everything had changed since the last time they were in the same room. It had of course. Tom had transformed into a full time dad in a matter of days.

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

Georg stayed for a while longer and excused himself before the sun set. He had dinner plans with some friends but he assured Bradyn that he'd be back the next day to party with the little guy. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded as Georg lifted him up. "And Goose-gog and Pie appo?"

Georg nodded. "Everyone."

"An Toke Hoh-tell?"

Georg smiled and looked at Tom quickly. "Yeah, Tokio Hotel too." He laughed and ran his hand over Bradyn's head as the little boy wrapped his arms around his neck and squeezed him tight for a hug. Georg blushed quickly and caught Tom's eye over Bradyn's shoulder. His look said, "You're the luckiest man alive." Tom just nodded. He knew he was.

"Bye-bye, Gay-og."

"Bye, Bradyn." Georg cleared his throat as he set Bradyn down in the entryway.

"I see morrow."

"See ya tomorrow." Georg gave Bradyn a low-five and waved at Tom as he made his way down the front walk to where his car was parked.

Bradyn sighed and leaned against Tom's legs. "Das Gay-og."

"Yeah, that's Georg." Tom laughed and shut the front door. "Are you ready to take a bath?" He asked as he and Bradyn headed for the stairs.

"Yeah." Bradyn yawned.

"Cool." Tom scooped him up and carried him up to his own little bathroom to get him ready for bed. He'd had an adventurous afternoon and the next day was going to be just as busy for both of them.

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

Tom and Bradyn spent Saturday morning cleaning up around the house. With all of the work they were doing around the house, there were plenty of things out of place. Most of Tom's office was being stored in his memorabilia room upstairs, as well as partially in the guestroom downstairs. The glass top coffee table had also been moved to the guestroom, as well as anything else breakable from the living room and family room.

The others were supposed to show up that evening but Bill showed up early as usual. He arrived just after three with his hands full of their mom's home cooking. "Take this. My arm is gonna break."

"What is it?"

"Mom heard we were cooking out and she knew we'd only have unhealthy food and beer so she made some stuff." Bill sighed and handed Tom the bigger of the two bowls, then followed him into the kitchen. "Hey, Bradyn. What's up, buddy?"

"Vee gates, Pie appo?"

Bill laughed and turned to face Bradyn. "That's cute." He looked up at Tom. "Did you teach him that?"

"You're a bigger influence on him than you think."

"Scary thought but I didn't mean the Pineapple part. I meant the Wie geht's part." Bill laughed and cocked his head at Bradyn. "Mir geht's gut! So is your room done? Does it look cool?"

"Have a slide."

"Are you serious? A slide in your room?"

"Yeah, can see?"

"Yeah, I wanna see that." Bill took Bradyn's hand and smiled at Tom. "A slide in his room?"

"Yeah." Tom laughed and took the steaks out of the fridge for Gustav and Georg to make room for the food that Simone had sent. He did a few little adjustments, then put everything back as he checked the time. He still had a while before he needed to fire up the grill.

Tom busied himself getting the kitchen cleaned up while Bill and Bradyn stomped around upstairs. He could head their muffled voices coming from above. Bill's deeper voice followed by Bradyn's rapid child's voice. He let them play for a little while and enjoyed the few minutes alone before he went upstairs to see what they were up to.

When Tom pushed open Bradyn's door, Bill was on his knees by the bed zooming a little matchbox car over the sheets that were printed to look like roads. "These are the coolest sheets. I need to get some like this."

"You have?" Bradyn asked from the floor as he loaded his other matchbox cars into the back of his large dump truck.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Bill made car noises and ran the car up onto the pillows and squealed the tires. Tom laughed lightly from the doorway, Bill was always making weird sounds and he thought about putting his newly discovered car sounds onto the new album.

"Hey, can you do that on beat?" Tom asked.

"Do what?" Bill turned around quickly and accidentally kicked Bradyn's dump truck.

"Hey!" Bradyn frowned.

"Sorry, buddy."

"Car sounds." Tom nodded at the bright red Mustang in Bill's hand.

"Uh, no."

"Pie appo, I can swing." Bradyn stood up and pushed his truck over to the corner.

"You have swings?"

"We have everything." Tom nodded. "Come on. Let's go show Bill."

The three boys went downstairs and out to the swing set where Bill stood stunned. "Damn, this is better than anything we had as a kids. I wanna come play over here every day."

"You can pay?" Bradyn looked up hopefully. "Come pay marrow and marrow?"

"Well no, I can't come every day." Bill said quickly. "But this is cool." He put his hands in his pockets and circled the structure. "There's a fireman's pole and everything."

"We pay?" Bradyn ran up the little steps to the little platform, then jumped up and down. He couldn't get enough of his new play area and being outside was one of his favorite things.

"Sure." Bill pulled himself up onto the platform and stood up, standing well above the railing. "Is this strong enough to hold me?" Bill asked Bradyn.

"Yeah, Daddy go up." Bradyn nodded.

"Well, if it'll hold your dad, it'll hold me." Bill rolled his eyes.

"Watch it." Tom laughed and shook his finger.

"And Gay-og go up."

"Georg came up here?" Bill laughed.

"It's built for adults too. Relax." Tom squinted up at Bill as Bradyn bounded across the little bridge. Tom jumped up and caught the top bar holding the swings and did a pull up just to show off. He swung his legs up onto the platform and pulled himself up beside Bill. "See?"

"Sweet." Bill nodded and followed Bradyn across the bridge.

Georg arrived a little while later and joined them outside but instead of chasing Bradyn around, he took charge of the barbecue and started the briquettes at the bottom of the grill. When they were heated to perfection, he let Tom put the marinated steaks on it, then checked the time. "What time is the loser showing up?" Georg asked.

"Any minute now." Tom nodded. It was after four so technically Gustav wasn't late yet.

Just as he spoke, the doorbell chimed and echoed through the house. "I get!" Bradyn screeched as he left the grown ups in the backyard. He peeled through the house to the front door and hung on the handle. "Daddy, I open!"

"Just a second." Tom laughed and trotted to the door to help him open it.

"Hey, guys!" Gustav laughed as he swept into the room.

"Hi!" Bradyn launched himself against Gustav's legs and tried to climb him.

"Hey, Bray!" Gustav laughed and lifted Bradyn into the air. "You've grown a foot since I last saw you!"

"Have feet?" Bradyn looked down at his sneakers.

"Cute." Gustav dropped Bradyn onto his hip and turned to Tom. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Good." Tom laughed.

"Look at your house. It's like kid central in here. Ten bucks says you have a Barney the dinosaur rug in here or something."

"No, it's a plain red rug. But there's Blue's Clues stuff in his room."

"What?"

"Blue's Clues." Tom smiled. "Blue dog? Floppy ears?"

"You're scaring me." Gustav laughed as they walked through the house to the backyard. "Holy shit! Look at that!"

"Isa swing." Bradyn grinned.

"Yeah and then some. You wanna show me how that works?" Gustav asked as he put Bradyn down.

"Yeah." Bradyn sprinted across the lawn to the play area with Gustav only a step behind him.

"You should just have Gustav come over twice a week, hand out Pixi-Stix and let them chase each other around for a few hours." Bill laughed.

"No kidding." Tom rolled his eyes and nodded at Georg who was tending the grill. "How's it looking over there, Georg?"

"Pretty good. I don't know why you put me in charge of cooking though. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I can start the grill and all that but once you put food on it, forget it."

"When they look cooked, poke them with that thing and see how done they are." Tom pointed to the meat tester hanging off the side of the grill.

"If you know how to do it, how come you're not over here? I'm standing here getting smoke in my face every three seconds."

"Leave the cover down then." Tom shrugged.

Georg dropped the cover into place, then sat at the little table with Bill and Tom. "You have anything to drink inside?"

"Of course."

"What'll you have?" Georg jumped up and headed for the door. He took their drink orders, then went inside. He emerged a few moments later with a drink in each hand. He handed out the drinks and opened up the grill again. "These look done to you?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah." Bill said without looking.

"Stick them with the tester thing." Tom sighed.

Georg grabbed the meat tester and jabbed it into the first steak. "It says medium, almost medium rare." He frowned at the device in his hand. "It can tell?"

"Yeah. That's it's job." Tom stood up and fetched a plate from the kitchen. "Those are done."

Georg loaded them onto the main plate and reached for the veggie burgers for Tom and Bill to put on the grill. "Come and get it." He shouted to Gustav and Bradyn as they chased each other around the slide.

"Georg, can you help me out in here?" Tom nodded back inside. "I have some macaroni salad and stuff."

"You made it?" Georg raised his eyebrow at Tom, wondering just how domesticated Tom had become over the last week.

"No, my mom did. Bill brought it with him along with some fruity looking stuff."

"I love her. I need good home cooking more often. You think she'd let me move in with her?"

"I'm sure she would." Tom laughed and opened the refrigerator. "Problem is you'd have to live there. Curfews and stuff like that."

"Yeah." Georg squished his nose and reached for the bowl of fruit salad. He eyed the concoction and sighed. "But it'd almost be worth it." He laughed and carried it out to the patio for the others.

"Damn, there's real food here." Gustav bounced Bradyn on his lap as he sat back from the table. "If you have an apple pie back there somewhere, I'm moving in."

"No, no pie." Tom shook his head. "I have popsicles though."

"I have possik?" Bradyn perked up and looked at his father.

"After you eat." Tom nodded.

"Dad mode engaged." Bill made a motion like he was turning a key, then laughed. He helped himself to the food on the table and the others did the same.

The guys sat around and filled each other in on what they'd been up to for the last few weeks. Georg and Bill shared separate vacation stories. Bradyn got bored halfway through and went back to the play set with his Elmo and Lello.

"He's still carrying that dog around, huh?" Bill asked.

"That's Lello. Back off." Gustav shook his steak knife at Bill.

"Didn't you ever have a favorite blanket or dog or whatever when you were a kid?" Georg laughed and wiped his mouth.

"No." Bill shook his head as Georg looked over at Tom with a raised eyebrow.

"See? He's not normal."

"What?" Bill asked innocently.

"Nothing." Tom shook his head and ran his finger through the ketchup left on his plate. He licked his finger thoughtfully. "Georg likes to think he has a point sometimes."

"Ha!" Georg scoffed and shook his head. "Did you call her?"

"No, I'm gonna call on Monday." Tom said.

"Her? Call who?" Gustav asked.

"Kala." Tom and Georg said in unison.

"Kala?"

"To see about putting Bradyn in pre-school." Tom explained.

"Oh." Gustav nodded. "He'd have fun."

"See?" Georg sighed.

"Whatever." Tom shook his head and smiled. He knew that going to pre-school would benefit Bradyn. That wasn't the issue. He just wasn't sure if he was ready to let Bradyn go just yet. His lifestyle had to be taken into consideration and Tom wasn't sure if he was ready to let Bradyn out of his sight for any length of time. He was still getting used to not having a security guard around him 24 hours a day.

"Daddy! See!" Bradyn laughed from behind the swings. He knelt by the support post and reached for the tuft of grass.

"What is it, buddy?" Tom asked.

"Isa bug, Daddy. See?" Bradyn looked up and said. "And Goose-gog see?"

"I see who his favorite is." Bill laughed and stood up to walk inside as Gustav and Tom headed over to find out what Bradyn found so exciting.

Bill walked down the hall and into the bathroom but when he lifted the lid he stopped. Floating in the water were four red targets in varying sizes. "Hey, Tom! What are-" He stopped shouting and tilted his head. "Hmm." He thought for a second, then shrugged and went for it.

When Bill walked out a minute later, he had a big smile on his face. "What are you grinning about?" Georg asked.

"200 points." Bill said smugly as gave them a wide, cocky grin.

"What?" Gustav asked as he walked in from the back yard.

"I got 200 points." Bill smirked.

"In what?" Gustav gave him a look.

"In the bathroom."

"I don't want to know!" Georg laughed and covered his ears.

"Come here. I'll show you." Bill nodded toward the bathroom.

"Hell no, I don't wanna see that." Gustav shook his head.

"No, it's cool." Bill laughed and trotted down the hall. "Come on! You have to see it."

"Don't do it, Gustav! Stay away from the bathroom!" Georg laughed.

"Bill, I swear if I go in there and you've left a shit in the toilet, I'm going to choke you."

"It's just piss."

"I don't want to see it, Bill." Gustav stopped in the hall outside the bathroom.

"Oh, just get in here." Bill reached out the door and pulled Gustav into the bathroom. "Look." He laughed and pointed into the toilet where the targets were sitting at the bottom of the bowl.

"What is it?" Georg shouted from the family room.

"What is it?" Gustav looked at Bill.

"Targets."

"What the hell for?" Gustav's face puckered with a look of disgust.

"I don't know but I got 200 points." Bill laughed and reached for the handle.

"Well, wait." Gustav put his hand on Bill's arm. "How many points were possible?"

"250. I couldn't get the last one down. It sunk after I was done so it doesn't count."

"You've made rules?"

Bill shrugged and depressed the lever to flush the targets away. "There's a box." He nodded at the little shelf above the toilet and smiled.

"Yeah?" Gustav pulled the box down and turned it over to see if there were any directions. "What are these for?"

"I dunno. To be honest, I don't wanna know." Bill shook his head and took a few targets from the box and dropped them in the water. "Give it a shot." He slapped Gustav on the back as the targets floated in the water.

"This is not a spectator sport, man." Gustav looked over his shoulder as he reached for the top button of his jeans.

"Don't cheat." Bill shook his finger at Gustav as he backed out of the small bathroom and shut the door.

"I'm not gonna cheat." Gustav mumbled under his breath. He sighed and took aim.

He walked out of the bathroom a minute later laughing. "225 out of 275!"

"Not you too." Georg rolled his eyes and stood up. "What's going on in there?"

"Check it out." Gustav laughed as he and Bill went back down the hall.

"Did you flush?" Bill asked as he pushed the door open.

"You guys are sick." Georg laughed but followed them anyway.

"No, I needed proof."

"What in the hell is that?" Georg practically shouted as he looked in the toilet.

Bill laughed and explained the new game and scoring to Georg. He flushed and offered Georg the box of targets. "Think you can top that?"

"Shit yeah." Georg dropped 225 points worth of targets into the water and shooed Gustav and Bill out of the room.

They went out to the kitchen and got themselves a few drinks. "So you think you can just buy those things somewhere?" Bill asked.

"I doubt he special ordered them." Gustav laughed and dropped a few pieces of ice into his glass.

"Hey!" Georg shook his head as he came out of the bathroom. "No fair! That last one wouldn't go down at all."

"What'd you get?" Bill laughed.

"175." Georg placed his hands on his hips. "I want a rematch."

"You need a stronger stream." Gustav laughed and sat on the couch.

"Shut it." Georg smacked the back of Gustav's head that was visible above the back of the couch before he walked out the backdoor. "Hey, Tom? What's the deal with the things in the toilet?" He asked as he walked over to where Tom was starting to clean up the lunch mess.

"Things?" Tom looked confused as he picked up several empty cans from the picnic table. "What things?"

"In the bathroom." Georg laughed.

"In the toilet." Bill added with an evil grin.

"Oh! The targets?" Tom blushed and laughed quickly. "Yeah, they're supposed to help Bradyn want to use the big kids potty but it's uh- Well, it's not working. He's not too interested in getting points for peeing." He headed for the door then stopped. "Why?"

"200." Bill raised is hand.

"175." Georg raised his.

"225." Gustav added from inside.

"You guys need help. Seriously." Tom shook his head.

"Wait, hang on. What was your score?" Bill raised his eyebrow and gave Tom a knowing look.

Tom was silent for a minute as a blush spread from his neck to his ears. "200." He mumbled as he passed Bill.

Bill, Gustav and Georg erupted in laughter as Tom slid the screen door shut behind him. "I knew it! They aren't for Bradyn!" Georg shouted after him.

"Gustav is the pee target master!" Bill exclaimed as they all headed inside. He jumped over the back of the couch.

Tom laughed and bounced Bradyn on his lap as the little boy giggled and covered his mouth. It was after seven and he knew Bradyn must be getting tired but as long as the guys were there, he'd force himself to stay awake which was fine with Tom.

As much as he enjoyed the time off, he missed the three other guys and he knew they all felt the same way. Being crammed on a bus or van was work. Kicking back in his living room was play and he liked this. Tom sighed lightly but held his smile as he skimmed the room. He never wanted any of this to change. Not a single thing.

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

A week after the welcome home party, Tom called Kala as promised. He had spent the last few days thinking about sending Bradyn to pre-school and he figured it couldn't hurt. Bradyn was a smart kid and being in that kind of environment would only increase his vocabulary and social skills, as if he needed help with that. Tom also decided that he could use the time alone. No matter how much he wanted Bradyn around, there came a time when he just wanted silence for a minute.

Tom picked up the phone and searched for the scrap of paper Georg had given him with Kala's number on it. He finally found it tacked to his message board and dialed before he could change his mind.

"Hi, Kala?" Tom asked when she answered the phone.

"Yes?"

"Hey, this is Tom. Uh, Georg said I could call you to find out about pre-school?"

"Oh! Hi, Tom. Yeah, Georg said you'd be calling. Actually, he said he gave you my number but that you probably wouldn't call." She laughed easily and continued. "Are you looking for pre-school or daycare?"

"Well, I'm not sure." Tom sighed and looked at Bradyn sitting on his toddler size couch in front of the TV. "I- Well, I have a two year old son, Bradyn."

"I know. I met him, remember? He's a sweet kid."

"Thanks." Tom said quickly. "Anyway, we're home for the next few months and basically it's just the two of us hanging out here."

"I see."

"So Georg got all bent saying that Bradyn needed to be around other kids and I agree with him and everything but I'm just not sure how the school thing works."

"Okay, I work at Kleinesglück, which is near your neighborhood, I believe. You're near Schilleroper, right?"

"Yeah, that's not far."

"That's where we are. Now, I teach the older kids. I have the four to five year olds but probably what you're looking for is just a few days a week for a few hours, right?"

"I guess?"

"What I'd recommend is two or three days a week for a few hours in the morning. Maybe from nine to noon."

"Okay, we can do that?"

"Oh, sure." Kala nodded. "My nephew Dylan goes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and sometimes Mondays from eight to eleven thirty and he's almost three. In fact, he'd be in the class with Bradyn."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Kala laughed. "Why don't we all get together so Bradyn can play with Dylan for a little bit and get comfortable around other kids. Then I can take you to check out the school and we can go from there."

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Tom's stomach swam as he thought about dropping Bradyn off at school and leaving him there.

"Are you busy today?"

"Today?"

"Yeah, I'm babysitting Dylan in about an hour so, if you're not busy, I can bring him over."

"Oh, okay. Yeah. That'd be okay. Do you know where I live?" Tom asked as his palms began to sweat. He would have laughed at his own nervousness if he really stopped to think about it.

"No, but Georg does. I'll have him tag along." She laughed. "Dylan usually naps until about two so why don't we just come on over after that? Would that be okay?"

"Yeah."

"Will Bradyn be up from his nap by then?"

Tom thought for a second, Bradyn didn't have any kind of schedule, he basically just napped whenever he collapsed. "Yeah, he should be."

"Okay great. I'll see you this afternoon and we can talk about the school then."

"Okay, I'll see you later then. Thanks, Kala."

"No problem." She smiled and hung up. Now all she had to do was convince Georg to go with them.

"Hey, buddy. Bradyn?" Tom shouted as he trotted up the stairs. "Where are you?"

"I hide!" Bradyn screeched from his bedroom.

"Uh oh, are you hiding?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn laughed and Tom saw him laying flat on the ground beside his toy chest. "Can see?"

"No, I can't see you. Where'd you go? Bradyn?" Tom picked up a few of the toys on the floor to look under them. "Oh, I sure hope I find you soon. You're going to have some visitors come see you today. Bradyn? Are you here still?"

"I hidin." Bradyn laughed and scooted toward his bed still laying flat on his stomach.

"Georg's coming over this afternoon with some of his friends. They have a little boy for you to play with, won't that be cool?"

"He no see me."

"You're going to stay hidden when they come? Don't you want to play with them?" Tom pretended to look in the closet for Bradyn.

"I scare." Bradyn jumped up and made a scary monster face at Tom.

"Whoa!" He placed his hand over his heart. "Whoa, Bradyn. You scared me. I thought it was a monster!"

"Raaaaaaarrrr!" He clawed at Tom's legs as he giggled. "I see Gay-og?"

"He'll be over later."

"Now?"

"No, not now. Later. We're going to go get some lunch first, take a nap and then Georg will be here." Tom lifted Bradyn into his arms and blew a raspberry on his tummy.

Bradyn erupted in a fit of laughter as Tom carried him down the stairs and set him on his feet in the kitchen. "What do you want for lunch?"

"Eye keem."

"No. You can't have ice cream for lunch. Are you crazy?"

"You cazy."

"I'm not crazy. You're crazy if you think you're gonna have ice cream for lunch." Tom opened the fridge. "How about a bagel with cheese?"

"Bay-go?"

"Yeah."

"An cheese?"

"You bet." Tom held the bagel bag in his hand as he turned to see Bradyn making a face. "What's that look for? It's good."

"I have samich."

"A bagel and cheese is kind of like a sandwich." Tom pointed out.

Bradyn sighed and climbed into his booster seat. "No, is like bay-go."

"Okay, Mr. Smarty-pants. I'll make you a sandwich. You're so unadventurous." Tom laughed and rolled his eyes as Bradyn climbed into his booster seat by himself.

"Daddy, you have bay-go."

"Yeah, I'm going to have the bagel." He got everything out and prepared lunch for both of them. Tom stood at the counter to eat while he watched Bradyn meticulously take the sandwich apart. He ate the bread first, then the piece of cheese and finally, he took two bites of the piece of turkey.

"We can swing?"

"Sure, let me clean up." Tom wiped his crumb-covered lips on his forearm. He reached for the bread and sandwich supplies to put them away.

"No, we go." Bradyn frowned and grabbed the door handle to go outside.

"I have to clean up first." Tom shook his head and sighed. "Don't hang on the door, buddy."

"I no buddy." Bradyn scowled and continued to hang on the locked door handle.

"Bradyn." Tom said sharply. "Don't hang on the handle. You're going to break it."

"I no break."

"Yes, you are." Tom raised his eyebrow at his son. He was almost amused that he was arguing back. "We're going to stay inside if you keep hanging on it."

"No, is not break."

"If you don't stop, it will." Tom opened the refrigerator and put the lunch meat away. When he turned back to the door, Bradyn was still hanging like a monkey off of the door handle. "Hey, what'd I say?"

"We go ou-side?"

"What did I say about hanging on the handle?"

"You say to no."

"I said don't hang on it." He walked over and removed Bradyn's hands from the handle. "We're going to stay inside now."

"No, we go."

"No, if you won't listen when I ask you to do something, we're going to stay inside."

"I issen."

"You didn't listen." Tom shook his head and turned away from the door as he went to sit on the couch.

"Daddy, I issen. We go."

"No, you need to listen to me when I tell you to not hang on the door handle. We're going to stay inside now. Maybe we'll go out later."

"No, we go now."

"No." Tom hit the remote to turn the TV on and surfed to MTV to see what was on.

"Peese, we go?"

"No." Tom shook his head while keeping his eyes on the TV.

"Yes."

"I'm not going to argue with you, Bradyn. We're not going outside right now because you didn't listen to what I asked you to do."

"I do." Bradyn held his hands exaggeratedly away from the handle.

"Too late." Tom looked at Bradyn. "You can play inside before your nap today."

"I no nap." Bradyn crossed his arms over his chest.

"This is going to be a rough afternoon." Tom thought to himself as he pressed his hands over his eyes and sighed. "You can play with your toys over here, kiddo."

"I no kid."

Tom tried not to laugh. "Okay, Bradyn, why don't you come over here and play?"

"Wan go ou-side."

"I know you want to go outside but since you didn't listen to me, we're staying indoors for right now. Maybe we'll go out later."

"No now."

"No, not right now." Tom shook his head and watched out of the corner of his eye as Bradyn dejectedly heaved a heavy sigh, then stomped around the couch to where Tom was sitting in the far corner. He hauled himself onto the couch then nestled into the corner with a large pillow on his lap. He pat the pillow and looked toward the TV where a new music video was playing.

"Whosat?"

"That's Taylor Swift."

"Is my Tayla?"

"No, that's not your Tayla. Your Tayla is at home with her friends." Tom explained quickly. "She's kind of taking a vacation right now."

"I can see?"

"Yeah, you'll see her again. I just don't know when."

"Lato?"

"Yeah, maybe later." Tom nodded. He wished he knew when they'd see her again. They sat on the couch watching MTV for a little while before Bradyn's tiredness got the best of him and he began to snore lightly from his corner.

Tom carried his limp figure up the stairs to his own bedroom and lay him on top of the covers before he went down the hall to the room that was now his storage room. It had been a week since he and Bradyn had moved all of his stuff into the tiny room and boxes were piled high. Tom took one box and began to go through it, putting things away, if he could, and loading other boxes into the closet in the corner.

He worked for almost two hours on the room before a loud thump coming from Bradyn's room startled him. He dropped the lid of the box he was holding and ran down the hall just in time to hear Bradyn's cries coming from his room.

"What? What happened?" Tom flung the door open and rushed into the room. "What happened?" He asked again as he looked at Bradyn on the floor.

"I fall." Bradyn sobbed as his tears mixed with his drool on his chin.

"You fell out of the bed?"

"Yeah." He squawked.

"Oh, come here, let me check you out." Tom sat on the bed and pulled Bradyn onto his lap. "You look okay. Did you hit your head?"

"No, my bow." Bradyn touched his elbow and started crying again. "I fall."

"I know you fell, buddy, but you look like you're okay."

"I no buddy." He sniffled as Tom stroked his head.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Tom laughed quietly.

"No laugh."

"I'm sorry." Tom pressed his lips together and held Bradyn in his arms for a few minutes. "Are you ready to wake up now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, cool." Tom stood Bradyn by the bed, then stood up himself. "Georg is going to be here soon with some of his friends."

"Goose-gog?"

"No, not Gustav. This will be a new friend that you haven't met before." Tom explained as they headed for the stairs. "One of them is a little boy but I don't remember what his name is."

"Kay." Bradyn wiped at his eyes again and stepped carefully down the stairs as the doorbell rang. "I get?"

"Yeah, let's go get that." He checked his watch. They were right on time. "Hey, guys! Come in." Tom smiled as he opened the door. Bradyn hid behind Tom's legs as the new young boy entered the house.

"Hey." Georg nodded as a way of a greeting and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Hi, Tom." Kala gave Tom a one armed hug as she tugged at Dylan's hand. "This is Dylan. Dylan, can you say hi to Tom and Bradyn?" She asked the little boy.

"Hi." Dylan waved but moved a little closer to Kala's legs.

"Hi, Dylan. This is Bradyn."

"No." Bradyn frowned.

"Come on. This is Dylan. He's one of Georg's buddies. You like Georg right?" Tom asked softly.

"Hi, Gay-og." Bradyn scowled and grabbed onto Tom's hand.

"What's up, Bradyn?" Georg asked as he pulled the backdoor open and stepped out onto the patio. It was obvious that Kala dragged him with her today and Tom wondered what he'd be doing right then if he didn't have to be there.

"Do you have a car?" Dylan asked Bradyn as the toddlers sized each other up.

Bradyn didn't respond with much more than a sigh and a frown. "Do you have a car, Bradyn?" Tom asked softly as he swung Bradyn's hand back and forth.

"No."

"You don't? Well, what's that thing you play with out on the grass under the slide?"

"Isa truck." Bradyn said softly.

"Oh, wow! A truck, huh?" Kala smiled as they shut the front door and made their way through the house. "Can I see?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head.

"Don't be rude, Bradyn. She just wants to see your toy." Tom squeezed Bradyn's hand and gave him a fatherly look.

"No, is my."

"I know it's yours. She just wants to see it."

"No."

Tom looked up at Kala and shrugged apologetically. "He's had a rough afternoon." He smiled slightly and shook his head.

"That's fine." Kala smiled. "Hey, Georg says you have a whole park in your backyard. I'd sure like to see that."

"Have a slide." Bradyn grumbled.

"A slide? Wow, are you big enough to go on it?" Kala asked as she and Dylan made their way through the house toward the backyard.

"Yeah."

"Really?" They all stepped onto the back patio where Kala looked at the play set in the corner. "That's pretty big. Are you sure you can play on that?"

"I can. Is my." Bradyn's frown deepened.

"Go show her how you can climb up there." Tom nodded and let go of Bradyn's hand.

"Daddy too?"

"I'll watch you." Tom nodded. Georg was already sitting on one of the swings in the middle so Bradyn ran over and told him to watch too.

"Watch you what?" Georg asked.

"See me slide." Bradyn sighed and pulled himself up the stairs. He got to the top of the slide and shouted. "See? I here."

"Wow, that's cool." Kala smiled and shaded her eyes from the sun as Bradyn sat down and slid down the slide to the grass.

"See? I big." Bradyn smiled for the first time, apparently forgetting that Dylan and Kala were strangers. "An Gay-og slide."

"I don't wanna slide. I'm too big." Georg laughed.

"No, you slide and Daddy slide."

"I'll only go if I can bring Dylan with me." Georg shook his head and gave Bradyn a scared look.

The mention of the other boy's name sparked recognition in Bradyn's eyes. He looked over to where Kala and Dylan stood on the patio and made a face. "He big?"

"Yeah, I think he's big enough." Georg nodded.

"Only one." Bradyn shook his finger at Georg as Tom blushed. He didn't realize how much two-year-olds picked up from their parents as far as mannerisms went.

"Okay." Georg nodded, knowing that once the boys began to play together they'd be fine. He took Dylan's hand and they walked together to the steps by the slide. Bradyn watched with caution as the other little boy climbed the steps and laughed as he sat at the top of the slide. "Catch me?" He glanced over his shoulder at Georg.

"You don't need me to catch you." Georg shook his head. "See? It's just grass down there. You won't hurt yourself."

"Promise?" Dylan asked with a smile.

"I promise." Georg laughed and gave Dylan a gentle shove. The little boy zoomed down the slide and hit the grass feet first.

He jumped up and laughed as he clapped his hands. "Whoa! Now you!" He shouted to Georg. Georg took his turn, then stood off to the side to watch as Bradyn positioned himself at the top of the slide while Dylan went to the stairs again.

The three adults watched as the children tentatively approached each other and began to chatter amongst themselves before sliding down the slide.

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

Within minutes, Bradyn and Dylan were chasing each other around the play set, running up and down the stairs, sliding down the slide and bouncing on the bridge. "Look at that." Tom smiled and shook his head. "Can I just borrow Dylan for a few hours a day? At this rate, Bradyn will tire himself out in an hour."

"Which is why he should go to school." Georg pointed out. He sat at the little table and poked at the ice in his cup.

Tom looked over at Kala who kept a close eye on the children. "He'd do really well in school, I think. Now that he knows one of the kids. I think he'll adapt well."

"Yeah?"

"The first few days are usually rough but by the end of the first week, he'll love it." She smiled and watched as Bradyn let Dylan slide first. "Once you crack that little shell he has, he's incredibly outgoing."

"He's a people person." Tom and Georg said in unison.

"You should have seen him on the road. Anyone who came up was a friend as long as one of us was nearby. Until this morning, I don't think I've ever seen him act shy." Georg laughed as the boys knelt on the grass under the swings to examine something that only little boys found fascinating.

"Would you like to check out the school? I'm off on Tuesday but I'm going to pick Dylan up so if you'd like to come with me, we can do that."

"With Bradyn?"

Kala shrugged. "You can bring him if you want but you may want to find a sitter. That way you can talk to his teacher and possibly set up a schedule with them."

"Okay." Tom nodded. Just because he checked it out didn't mean Bradyn had to go.

"Great. I'm going to pick Dylan up around eleven thirty or twelve. Do you want me to come by and get you?"

"I can meet you there." Tom shook his head. "I'll see if Bill can watch him. He lives over that way."

"Okay." Kala smiled.

"You won't regret it." Georg laughed. "Think of what you could do with a few free mornings a week."

"I have no idea what I'd do." Tom smiled and shook his head.

"Anything you want."

"A lot of parents go grocery shopping or clean the house, go to the movies, work, make phone calls. You know, those little things you can't do with a two year old hanging on your hip."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Tom nodded and looked over at Georg. "How come you look wrecked?"

"Hard night." Georg mumbled under his breath as a smirk played at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, yeah?" Tom raised his eyebrow.

"Georg's friend is in town so this troublemaker took the other troublemaker and a handful of their troublemaking friends out for a night on the town last night." Kala laughed. "He should know better." She pat Georg's knee affectionately. "You're not as young as you used to be, Georg."

"Oh, bite me." Georg shook his head and brushed her hand off his leg. "I just didn't count on being pulled out of bed at the ass crack of dawn." He smiled and covered his mouth as he yawned.

"Georg, eleven thirty is not the crack of dawn."

"It is when you didn't stumble in until six in the morning."

"That's your own fault." Kala crossed her arms over her chest.

"I know it is but it's your fault that I had to wake up five hours later."

Kala sighed and rolled her eyes. "I swear, Georg."

"You guys should just get married and get it over with."

"Hell no." They answered in perfect unison.

"Don't even talk like that." Georg glared at Tom, then laughed.

"We're both too young for that." Kala chuckled under her breath and turned to look at the two boys in the little bridge.

"You can just step away from that subject, Tom."

"I'm just saying." Tom waved his hand to emphasize his lost point. "Anyway, I'll meet you at the entrance of the school Tuesday, right?"

"Yeah."

"I don't need an appointment?"

"No, I'll be there to sign you in as a guest. I'll introduce you to the teachers and stuff." Kala smiled.

"Cool. Thanks, Kala."

"No problem." She smiled, then stood up to go play with the kids on the swings so the guys could talk.

"You look like you need a nap."

"I do. Can I borrow your couch?" Georg yawned again and stretched his arms over his head.

"If you think you can get away with it."

"If she wasn't my girlfriend, I'd have made her walk over here today. I swear, it's not right to function on five hours of sleep when we're off."

"I hear ya." Tom nodded. "I have my own personal alarm clock that goes off before seven every morning."

"I'd invest in a lock and a sound proof room." Georg rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Don't think I haven't thought about that." Tom laughed and watched as Kala stood between the two swings pushing them at the same time.

A flicker of something new whisked through his chest as he watched her smiling down at the boys with a look of unconditional love and motherly pride. Tom blinked several times until the feeling went away. He turned back to Georg who had since dozed off with his chin resting on his chest. "Sweet dreams." Tom laughed lightly, then stood up and went to the play area to join Dylan, Bradyn and Kala.

They played for another hour until Georg jerked awake and started making noise about going home. Tom thanked them for coming as he and Bradyn stood by the front door waving. As they pulled out of the driveway and headed home together, they looked like a family which caused that feeling to spark again in Tom's chest.

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

On Tuesday, Tom left Bradyn with Bill and Nadiehn while he went with Kala to check out the daycare center for Bradyn. He was pleasantly surprised to see the security of the building and how no one got past the front desk without having their ID checked and signed in. All of the classrooms were toward the back of the facility without any access from the street, though he could hear the children playing from the entrance.

"Dylan's head teacher is Heather and she has two assistants that come in throughout the day, as well as several high school volunteers. Marie is here in the mornings, Louise in the afternoon. They're Heather's assistants. I'm not sure what the volunteers' names are. They change every quarter but there are three that come."

"Cool." Tom nodded.

"Chances are, you'll bring Bradyn in the morning so he'll get to play with Heather and Marie." Kala smiled and led the way down the brightly lit halls with children's artwork hanging proudly against the vibrant colored backdrops.

"How big is the class?"

"In the mornings, there are usually around six kids. Around ten or ten thirty, it goes up to about ten. They only allow twelve in the class at all so at any given time, there wouldn't be more than that."

"Okay."

"But if Bradyn's just here for the mornings, he'll be in a pretty small class."

"Okay." Tom nodded and shuffled into the class behind Kala.

"Hey, Dylan!" She laughed as Dylan dropped his huge cardboard brick and ran over from where he was building a wall with other kids. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah! I drawed an build a wall."

"I see that. That's great." Kala laughed. "You're going to come home with me today. Cool?"

"Okay." Dylan nodded and took off in a gallop toward the wall of plastic baskets in cubbyholes.

"Hi, Heather. This is Tom. He's looking for morning daycare for his son." Kala smiled at the teacher nearby.

"Hi, Tom. It's nice to meet you." Heather shook his hand and glanced over her shoulder toward Marie. She nodded at Tom and Kala and he answered back with a small wave. "I'm sorry I can't give you a full tour right now but I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have."

"Thanks." Tom blushed.

"How old is your son?"

"Two and a half. Bradyn."

"Great, we're running low on little boys around here." Heather laughed and looked back at the room dominated by little girls.

Tom smiled uneasily and cleared his throat. "I've never really done this before. I'm not sure what to ask."

"That's okay. Let me start by telling you a little bit about Kleinesglück. I'm sure Kala's filled you in on most of it though." Heather smiled and launched into a short synopsis of the educational goals and guidelines set up for the facility, specifically for the two to three year old age group. "We do a lot of creative work that also helps them learn colors and shapes. What hours were you thinking of coming?"

"In the morning, like eight or nine." Tom shrugged.

"Until noon?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "I mean, can we do that? Does it matter?"

"Sure, you can do that. Half-day rates charge for any four consecutive hours or part thereof so, if you sign up for a half day and only use three hours of it, the cost is the same."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"Were you thinking of every day?"

"No, just a few days a week."

"Okay, so basically just like Dylan?" Heather smiled.

"Yeah." Tom nodded.

"Okay, well for that time frame we'll be doing outside play, story time, a small snack and indoor imagination play or a craft depending on what the lesson plan is."

"Sounds fun."

"I think so." Heather laughed lightly and looked over her shoulder at the classroom behind her. "As you can see today we're doing indoor imagination play."

"Could I bring Bradyn by to try it out?"

"Of course." Heather nodded. "You'll have to arrange that at the front desk though. I'm not sure exactly how that goes. They'd be able to answer your questions regarding fees and things like that as well."

"And I can come by whenever I want?"

"Of course, we encourage that in fact. We like to have parents stop by to observe the classroom. It gives them a better feel for what their children do all day."

"What if I can't pick him up for some reason, can someone else?"

"If you know in advance that you won't be able to pick him up, you'll need to let us know so we can put a note in there as to whom is picking him up. If you don't know in advance, what we do is go by your emergency contact list. That's the list of people that you authorize to pick up your child. Unless, of course, you call in and give us your password and let us know who."

"So if something happens to me and I just call my friend or whatever to come and get him, he can't pick Bradyn up?"

"Not unless his name is on the list, no."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"That's for the safety of the child. With the kind of custody battles that are happening out there, we can't afford to let just anyone pick up the children." Heather explained in a lowered tone.

"I understand. That's a good thing. Trust me." Tom explained quickly. "I don't want just anyone to be able to come in here and get him, not even my friends."

"Of course not." Heather shook her head then looked over to where two little girls were fighting over a yellow blanket. "I'm sorry, I need to go break them up. Did you have any more questions?" She asked as she started across the room.

"No, thank you." Tom waved then turned to Kala. "This place is nice."

"Yeah, it is. And I can vouch for the security thing. The first time I had to take Dylan home they wouldn't let me leave with him since I wasn't on the list. I'm his Aunt and I work here and they still wouldn't do it. I think that says a lot."

"It does." Tom nodded. "That's one thing I was worried about, you know? Fans or something or even Astrid."

"His mom?"

"Yeah." He took a deep breath. "I just wouldn't want anything to happen, you know?"

"I know." Kala smiled, "Why don't I take you back to the front and you can set up a visit with Bradyn and talk about pricing if you want? Dylan won't be ready to go for a few minutes anyway."

"Okay. Thanks a lot, Kala."

"No problem. I hope that Bradyn gets to come here. I really think he'd have a good time."

"I think so too." Tom smiled as he looked up at the ceiling that was decorated with hanging rainbows. "Yeah, he'd like this."

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

"So, Bradyn, what do you like to do?" Bill asked as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Dunno." Bradyn shrugged. "We have canny?"

"We don't have too much candy here." Bill shook his head. "I think we might have some Skittles. Wait, they may be a choking hazard. Tom would kill me if I choked you to death with Skittles. Um, Cookies! How about cookies?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"Wait, did you have lunch?" He stopped quickly and looked down at Bradyn.

"Have cookie."

"I don't remember if your dad said if you had lunch or not." Bill said under his breath as he stared down at Bradyn, hoping to remember.

"He did." Nadiehn laughed as she walked into the kitchen. "But we don't have any cookies either. We have ice cream. Do you like ice cream, Bradyn?"

"And speeko?" His eyes lit up as he remembered the ice cream fun time he had with Bill before.

Bill laughed and shook his head. "No sprinkles."

"Ina pool?"

"No, we can't eat in the pool." Bill shook his head as he and Nadiehn moved around the kitchen, getting out the bowls and ice cream.

"Why?" Bradyn asked.

"Because if ice cream got in the water it would make the water gross."

"Make me gose?"

"No, it won't make you gross. Only the water." Bill caught Nadiehn's eye over the open half gallon of ice cream and smiled. "You're the cutest kid ever. You couldn't ever be gross." He smiled down at Bradyn as he scooped the ice cream into a small ball.

"I gose in a potty."

Nadiehn grinned. "Are you going to go there?" She asked Bill under her breath.

He winked at her. "Do you go potty in the big kid toilet?"

"No." Bradyn shrugged and climbed up on the chair at the table. "I no have."

"When you have to go, do you go in the toilet though?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head. "Have diapo."

"Then how are you gross in the potty?" Bill asked as he dodged the stabbing glance from Nadiehn.

Bradyn sighed and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Potty ina diapo."

"The potty in the diaper is gross?"

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed. "Is nassy." He made a face.

"Okay, kids, enough potty talk." Nadiehn laughed and grabbed spoons as she headed for the table. She lightly bumped Bill's hip as she walked by. "You're supposed to be the grown up here."

"I am."

"I grow up?" Bradyn asked as Nadiehn set the bowl in front of him.

"It looks like you are today." Nadiehn laughed. "I hope you like chocolate chip ice cream."

"Yeah." Bradyn looked at the bowl with wide eyes and grabbed the spoon as he stood up on the chair so he'd be able to reach easier.

"You need a booster seat." Bill frowned and looked around the kitchen as if he'd suddenly have a booster seat handy. "What can we use?"

"Couch cushions." Nadiehn reached over the side of the couch and grabbed two thick throw pillows. "Here you go, sweetie." She set them on the chair, then plopped Bradyn down on top.

"Tanks." Bradyn smiled with a white ice cream mustache.

"You're wel-" She stopped as the pillows shot out from underneath Bradyn and his spoon went flying in the air.

"Whoa!" Bill grabbed his arm before he followed the pillows to the floor. "Those are a little slippery, huh?"

"Owie!" Bradyn cried, more scared than anything.

"I'm sorry." Bill loosened his grip and set Bradyn on his bottom on the chair. "Here." He rubbed Bradyn's back, then wiped his teary eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Bradyn lip trembled. "I fall."

"I know. You almost fell out of the chair." Bill glanced up at Nadiehn as she blushed and bent to pick up the pillows. "Let's see if we can find something else."

"I can't remember what my mom used to use." Nadiehn frowned.

"Probably a booster seat." Bill raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

"Don't be a smartass."

"Watch your mouth."

"Hang on." Nadiehn reached for the phone and dialed her mother's home. "Hey, Mom!" She smiled when her mom answered. "Remember when Donnie and I were kids and we couldn't reach the table? What did you use for a booster seat?" She asked. "No, I just- We're babysitting Bradyn and he can't reach his ice cream. I know it's only noon. He's had his lunch, Mom. Yes, he did. I don't know what he ate. Tom fed him before they came over." She sighed heavily and immediately regretted calling her mother. "Mom, Tom's his dad and he can feed him whenever he wants. Maybe they get up and have breakfast at five? Come on, I don't control that." She heaved a heavy sigh again as Bill chuckled at the table. "Back on topic, Mom. Let's focus. What did you use for a booster seat? Really? How many? Okay. Okay! I will, thanks. I will, Mom. Okay, I'll see you later. I love you too. I will! I said I will! Okay, bye."

"You should know by now." Bill laughed.

"Don't feed the child ice cream this early in the day." She rolled her eyes. "There, I said I'd tell you and I did. She used phone books."

"Do we have phone books?" Bill gave her a look.

"I don't know. I don't live here, remember?"

"Nadiehn."

"Okay, before a month ago I didn't live here." She smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I think there are some in the garage. Let me go look." Bill stood up from the table went to the garage to look.

"Bill is crazy."

"Pie appo?"

"Yeah, he's fruity in the head." Nadiehn laughed and ran her hand over Bradyn's soft hair. "It fits."

"Hasa fruit ona head?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Nay, these are from last year." Bill said as he brought three thick phone books in from the garage.

"He's not gonna use them to get numbers."

"Well, yeah, but-" Bill shook his head. "Never mind. Here you go, Bray." Bill lifted Bradyn so he was standing on the chair, then slid the phone books against the back of the chair. "Try that." He plopped Bradyn on the phone books and scooted the chair up to the table. "How's that?"

"Kay."

"Is that better?"

"Yeah, is beto." Bradyn nodded and took the new spoon Nadiehn held out to him. He smiled as he dove into the ice cream as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Nadiehn and Bill joined him and they all finished their ice cream a short while later. Bill took the dishes to the sink while Nadiehn wet a paper towel and wiped Bradyn's sticky face and hands. "Is there a kid under all of this ice cream?" She laughed as she wiped his face.

"Yeah!" Bradyn giggled and turned his head toward her so she could get it all off.

"There is? All I see is chocolate chip ice cream. Is there a chocolate chip kid under this mess?"

"No, is Bay-den." He laughed and opened his eyes wide.

Bill stood perfectly still, holding his bowl under the running water as he watched from across the kitchen as Nadiehn continued with the joking. "I don't see a Bradyn under here. Are you sure there's a Bradyn in here?" She ran the paper towel over his already clean face and laughed.

"Yeah, I here!" Bradyn reached up and moved her hand out of the way. "See? Is me!"

"Wow, look at that! There is a Bradyn under all that mess!" She looked surprised and turned to Bill. "Do you see this? There's a little boy under that sticky ice cream mess."

Bill shook his head slightly as he focused on Nadiehn with a dreamy smile on his face. "Hmm?"

"There's a little boy under the ice cream mess." She said softly as she noticed the look in his eyes.

"I see that." Bill cleared his throat and set the bowl in the sink. He dried his hands on the towel as he crossed the kitchen and picked Bradyn up out of his seat. "He's a cute kid too. I think we should keep him."

"Yeah!" Bradyn cheered as he wiggled to get down. "I say here."

"Won't your daddy miss you though?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head. "I pay and doggies."

"I think your daddy would be sad if you stayed here with us though. You can come and visit anytime you want, okay?" Bill asked as his dog Chase walked up and licked a tiny spot of left over ice cream off of Bradyn's hands.

"Kay." Bradyn nodded then looked up at Bill. "Go ou-side now?"

Bill looked over Bradyn's head at Nadiehn quickly and nodded. "Yeah, let's go outside." He took her hand as he opened the backdoor and watched as the two dogs ran across the expansive back lawn in search of the bright yellow tennis ball.

Nadiehn gave Bill's hand a quick squeeze as she smiled and stepped outside. Chase swiftly returned with the ball in his mouth. He dropped it at Bradyn's feet and waited anxiously with a dog smile on his lips.

Bradyn picked up the slobbery ball and threw it towards the far end of the lawn. Jayda and Chase followed it the short distance it went, then returned with their tails wagging. Bill laughed and watched Bradyn play catch with the dogs as Nadiehn stood by his side, holding his hand tightly.

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

Tom made arrangements at the front desk for Bradyn to attend the morning classes, beginning in another two weeks before he left to pick him up from Bill's. As he walked up the driveway, he could hear the dogs barking inside followed by a chorus of laughter and a feminine squeal.

The front door burst open as Nadiehn and Jayda rushed through the door with Bill and Bradyn in hot pursuit. "Hey!" Tom laughed as the dog ran over to his feet. "Hi, guys! How'd it go?"

"Daddy!" Bradyn wiggled from Bill's arms and ran down the steps to where Tom stood petting the dog.

"Hey, Bradyn." He laughed and scooped Bradyn up as the dog bounced around his knees. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, I owie my head." Bradyn frowned and touched the top of his head.

"You hit your head?" Tom asked as he looked toward Bill and Nadiehn.

"Yeah, we had a little mishap in the kitchen." Bill nodded quickly and blushed. "He's okay though. He didn't hit hard."

"Let's see your owie." Tom ran his fingers over Bradyn's head to feel for any bumps. "Aww, you're made of steel. No bumps or bruises."

"I have eye keem?"

"You want ice cream?"

"He had ice cream." Nadiehn laughed. "Don't let him try to con some more out of you. He had a big bowl of chocolate chip ice cream."

"That sounds good." Tom licked his lips.

"Do you want some? We have it inside." Bill pointed back into the house.

"No, it's cool." Tom smiled up at them. "So, other than bonking his head, how'd he do?"

"He was fine. A perfect angel of course." Nadiehn grinned and wrapped her arm around Bill's waist. "You guys should come over more often."

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Thanks for watching him."

"No problem." Bill shook his head and smiled. "How'd your meeting go?"

"Really well actually. He'll be starting pre-school in two weeks."

"Wow, that soon?"

"Yeah. They had an opening and he could have started tomorrow." Tom shrugged. "But I have to prepare for this. Psych myself up, you know?"

Bill laughed with him. He knew what Tom meant. "He'll like it though. All those new people? He'll be cool." Bill nodded.

"Yeah, I know he'll have fun." Tom nodded. "And it's only for a little while. We go back on the road in like, 8 weeks, right?"

"Something like that." Bill nodded and looked at Nadiehn. However long it was, it would be too short.

"I'll see you guys later then. It looks like he's is ready to go." He glanced down at Bradyn who was dancing on the walkway leading to the driveway. "Thanks again for watching him. You guys are lifesavers."

"No problem." Nadiehn smiled and waved. She blew a kiss at Bradyn.

Bradyn brought his hand to his mouth, then threw his kiss at her. "Bye-bye, Nay-dee an Pie appo an Chase an Jayda." Bradyn giggled and ran down the walk to where Tom's car was parked.

"See you later." Tom laughed and followed Bradyn as he waved over his shoulder. He set Bradyn in his seat and they left for home. Tom filled Bradyn in on how cool the school was going to be and how he'd get to play with Dylan and a bunch of other children. Bradyn seemed half way interested in the idea of school but was really more concerned with the fact that Lello was a dog and doggies couldn't go to school.

"I think you can take him." Tom nodded.

"A doggie in school?"

"Sure. I think this one time it would be okay."

"He no by?"

"No, Lello doesn't bite. Has he ever bitten you?" Tom asked as they pulled into their driveway.

"No, he by lunch."

"Yeah, he bites his lunch and that's okay."

"Lello say home, Daddy."

"That's fine. You can leave Lello at home if you want. You still have a few weeks though. You don't have to decide right now."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and sighed. Two weeks was an eternity at his age.

"We need to go shopping this week." Tom said as he took Bradyn out of the backseat of the car. "We need to get you a lunch box and a bag or something for you to take to school."

"I take?"

"Yeah, just like a big kid."

"And Gay-og?"

"No, Georg already went to school."

"You?"

"I already went to school too. This is a school for little boys just like you and you know what?"

"What?"

"Dylan goes to school too so you can see him. Remember Dylan?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "I eat box?" He asked with a frown.

"You want to eat a box?" Tom asked completely lost.

"Have lunce box?" Bradyn gave him a confused look as Tom set him on the floor in the entry hall.

"Oh!" Tom laughed. "No, you don't eat the box, silly. I'll make you a lunch and put it in the box so you can take it to school with you."

"What can make?"

"I can make you anything you want."

"A samich?"

"You bet."

"A cookie?"

"Heck yeah, we'll put cookies in there." Tom nodded.

"And eye keem?"

"No, we can't put ice cream in the lunch box. It would melt and make a big mess."

"Is gose?" Bradyn made a sour face.

"Yeah, it'd be gross." Tom laughed as they walked through the house to the family room where Bradyn's little toy box was sitting open in the corner. "Did you have fun with Bill and Nadiehn?"

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed. "I go gan."

"You want to go again?"

"Yeah."

"What was your favorite part?"

"See a doggie and Nay-dee."

"Seeing the dogs and Nadiehn?" Tom smiled. "You didn't like seeing Bill?"

"Pie appo isa fruit head."

"I know that all too well, Bray." Tom said as he laughed. "We're all a little crazy sometimes. Even me." Tom made a silly face and laughed.

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled, then sighed again as he reached for his toddler-sized piano. "Nay-dee is like Mommy."

Tom paused for a second. "Yeah, it sounds the same kinda."

Bradyn looked over his shoulder at Tom and gave him an odd look that said 'You don't get it.' He put his piano down and touched one of the keys. "No, is like a mommy."

A blush flashed up to Tom's ears for a split second as his lips tingled. "Yeah, I guess she is like a mommy." He nodded slowly with a hint of sadness. As well as he was doing on his own, Bradyn missed having a mommy around. Whether it was his or not.

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

They spent a few days picking up little things for Bradyn to take with him to school while Tom tried to make a list of things he could do while Bradyn was gone. Tom's cousin Kitsune came to visit that weekend so they drove out to the beach to spend the day under the sun. Bradyn's eyes lit up when he saw the crashing waves and sand. He'd loved the beach so much in California but this was the first time he'd been to the Baltic Sea. The three spent the day in the sand, then packed it up and went back to Tom's house as the sun began to set. After a quick dinner, Kitsune crashed in the guestroom while Tom put Bradyn to bed in his own room upstairs.

With both of them asleep, Tom grabbed his phone book and sat on the couch with the TV on mute. All day, he'd been thinking about Astrid and Bradyn. He knew he'd have to call her to touch base soon. The last few weeks had opened his eyes a lot as far as how hard it was to raise a child on his own.

He could sympathize with Astrid a little more now that he understood what kind of stress she was under. Of course, he had money and a house and everything Bradyn could ever want so at the same time, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like for her. So many times over the last few weeks, he'd wanted to just go to the bathroom without worrying about what Bradyn was getting into, or to take a long shower in the middle of the day, or sleep in past seven in the morning. While he was on the road, he had a handful of helpers to keep an eye on Bradyn while he did those things but now, it was all on him and he began to truly appreciate the help.

Tom's mind drifted away from Astrid and toward Tayla and he smiled. A ripple of anxiety raced through his stomach as he thought about calling her. He ran his fingers over the buttons and tried to make up his mind. He couldn't just call her out of the blue for no reason. That wasn't the kind of relationship they had.

"Then again, we don't really have a defined relationship." Tom whispered to himself. "Which is really why you should call her and talk to her." He added silently in his mind. Tom kept up the internal argument for another minute. Finally, he decided to think of a reason to call Tayla before they met up again for their tour started.

A heavy sigh escaped Tom's lips and he turned his phone book open to the first page where Astrid's number was scrawled carelessly in the corner with a bright blue marker. He dialed the number quickly and waited patiently as it rang somewhere out in Los Angeles. The voice mail clicked on several rings later and announced in a mechanically monotone voice that no one was available at the moment to take his call.

"Hi, uh- Astrid. This is- This is Tom." He said quickly. He didn't know who might listen to the message and he didn't need rumors starting about him out there so he didn't leave his last name. "I just wanted to call and let you know that we're here in Germany and all settled in and, uh- And everything. I know things kind of left off on a bad note in LA and I- I'm sorry about that." He licked his lips and tried to remain focused. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Bradyn's doing great. He's starting pre-school next week with one of my friend's nephews and he can't wait. If you, um- I hope you get this. I'll talk to you later." He hung up and took a deep breath. That was the first big step into creating a working relationship with her and he was amazed that he could be so normal and mature about it.

Tom ran his hand over his face and sat back on the couch. Being mature wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

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

Over the next week, the two Kaulitz boys worked hard on potty training. Tom was excited but Bradyn wasn't really interested. By the end of the third day, Tom had reverted to subtle bribery. "Look at what I have here." Tom opened the little gift bag from the store and showed Bradyn the wide assortment of star stickers.

"Wow! Isa star!"

"It's a lot of stars." Tom nodded. "And these ones glow in the dark so if we put them on your wall and turn off the lights you can still see them."

"Ina dark?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." Bradyn reached into the bag just as Tom snapped it shut. "I see?"

"No, these are special stickers." Tom shook his head and put the bag on top of the refrigerator. "If you want to get a star sticker, you have to use the big kid's potty."

Bradyn heaved a deep sigh and put his hands on his little hips. "Why?"

"Because you're going to be going to school pretty soon and all the other kids will go potty in the big kid's potty. You don't want to be the only one in a diaper, do you?" Tom raised his eyebrow at his son. Peer pressure might work.

"Yes, I have dipo and speso."

Tom laughed and shook his head. There was no doubt Bradyn was his. "Yes, I suppose you would be special if you were the only one in a diaper."

"I speso." Bradyn nodded and turned quickly, leaving his hands on his hips. "Daddy have a dipo?"

"No, I don't wear a diaper." Tom made a face. "I'm a grown up. Grown ups don't wear diapers. Gross."

"Dipo gose?"

"Yeah, they're gross." Tom followed Bradyn to the family room. "You have to sit in your poop and your pee all day. That's gross, isn't it?"

Bradyn cocked his head to the side. He hadn't thought about it like that. "Little."

"It's not a little gross. It's a lot gross." Tom squished up his nose in distaste. "Nasty."

"I have a star?"

"If you tell me you have to go when you have to go and if you pee and poop in the toilet." Tom nodded, then looked pointedly at the bag above the refrigerator. "Those are some pretty cool stickers in there. I think I saw some glitter ones and some with your name on them."

"Bay-den?"

"Yeah, your name right in the middle of a star." Tom smiled and reached for Bradyn's little piano. He played a few notes then looked at Bradyn. "I wish I had a star with my name on it."

"Yeah." Bradyn frowned and stood by Tom's legs to play on the piano beside him.

And with that Bradyn began to potty train himself for stickers. He occasionally forgot to tell Tom he had to go but he wore a diaper just to be on the safe side. Within that first week he was into pull-up diapers and his second package of stars. Tom couldn't believe Bradyn was doing so well so fast, according to the parenting book he was ahead of schedule.

By the time the first day of pre-school rolled around, Bradyn had knocked it down to only two pull-ups a day that he'd go through. He was getting much better about telling people he had to go unless he was preoccupied with toys or in the car. Tom knew that potty training could take months to be completed so, if things kept going the way they were, he'd be almost completely trained by the time they started the European tour which would make things a lot easier.

Tom held Bradyn's hand in one hand with his backpack and lunchbox in the other as they walked into Kleinesglück Pre-School. "Wow. This is cool." Tom whispered after he'd signed Bradyn in and got him his sticker name tag.

"Yeah." Bradyn whispered back. He walked with his neck craned to see the ceiling. "Daddy, look." He pointed up at the rainbows.

"Maybe you'll get to make one of those."

"I make." Bradyn nodded.

Tom pushed open the door to Bradyn's classroom and walked straight through to the outside play area. He paused for a second before he pushed the door open and let Bradyn walk into the playground. "Okay, Bradyn, you're going to stay here at school and play with Dylan and the other kids, okay?" Tom knelt to Bradyn's level and surveyed the playground from that height. Kala and Georg had brought Dylan over to play again that weekend and the boys spent most of the afternoon together.

"You say?" Bradyn cast him a worried look that threatened to turn into tears.

"No, I'm going to go clean the house, I think."

"I keen?"

"No, you can stay here and play." Tom shook his head as he began to have second thoughts. "You'll have fun. Maybe you can paint too."

"No, Daddy. Say."

"This is a school for little boys, not for Daddies."

Bradyn looked around with an expression of apprehension. "Paint and Dylan?"

"You can definitely play with Dylan. I don't know if you'll get to paint though." Tom looked around for a teacher and immediately spotted three. "Will you be okay here?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and took a step away from Tom. "I see Dylan?"

"There he is." Tom stood up and lead Bradyn over to the picnic benches with trays of soap laid out to make bubbles. "Hey, Dylan."

"Hi!" Dylan jumped up with his wand and made a trail of bubbles. "Hi, Bwadyn!"

"Hi." Bradyn smiled and walked up to the table.

"Hi, I'm Marie. You must be Bradyn's father." A young woman walked up to Tom.

"Yeah, hi." Tom shook her hand then tugged at his lower lip. "He's never been to daycare before." Tom's eyes darted from Marie to the little boy and back again.

"He'll be fine." Marie laughed. "Are you going to hang out with us today?"

"Can I?" Tom asked.

"Sure, of course."

"I, uh- No, I shouldn't. He needs to do this, right?" Tom licked his lips then reached out to rub Bradyn's head. "Okay, buddy, I'm going to go home now."

"Kay. Bye-bye, Daddy." Bradyn laughed. "I bo?"

"Yeah, look at you blow your bubbles."

"An Dylan."

"Yeah, Dylan too." Tom kissed Bradyn's cheek. "Okay, I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and turned back to his bubble making.

"He'll be alright."

"I know." Tom nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Shit, this is harder on the parents than it is on the kids, isn't it?" He laughed nervously.

"Sometimes." Marie sat at the picnic table beside the group of children and smiled up at Tom. "Bradyn, have we met yet? My name is Marie."

"Hi." Bradyn giggled and dripped the soapsuds across the table as he went to blow. "I have bubs."

"You're a great bubble blower." Marie reached over and helped Bradyn hold the wand away from his lips to get the most out of his bubbles.

Tom watched for a minute then slowly backed away and forced himself back into the building where he dropped off Bradyn's bag and lunch then made his way to the front desk. He signed out and looked at his watch. Three and a half-hours until noon. He could make it.

The heavy glass door swung shut silently behind him as Tom stepped out onto the sidewalk. He stood at the entrance of the daycare for a few minutes, debating whether or not he should go back and get Bradyn. Part of him didn't want to leave and another part knew that Bradyn needed this time with other kids just as much as he needed time alone.

He sighed and shoved is hands in his pockets as he headed across the parking lot for his car. He drove home in silence and let himself into his empty house as his phone rang in the kitchen. "Shit." Tom sprinted down the hall. He just knew it was the daycare center calling to tell him something awful had happened. "Hello?" He jerked the phone off the charger. "Hello?!"

"Tom?" A girl asked.

For a split second Tom thought it was Carrie. "Yeah?"

"This is Astrid. I, uh- I got your message last week. I'm sorry it took so long to call. I, uh- I started a new job and I was in Del Mar meeting with my new supervisor and everything."

"Oh, it's okay." Tom's mind spun off in fifty different directions. He didn't know what to say or how to react to actually having her on the phone.

"Anyway, I was actually calling to let you know that I'll be in Germany in a few weeks."

"You- You're coming to Germany?" Tom asked softly.

"Yeah, the company is sending me there for some training. To Lübeck actually. I thought you might live close to there so I was wondering if I could come see Bradyn?"

Tom's heart raced. "Come see him?"

"Just- Just for a little bit." Astrid's voice was tinged with desperation.

"I, uh-"

"You and your girlfriend can be there the whole time or your bodyguard or whatever. I just want to see him."

"Girlfriend?" Tom frowned. "I've been single since Carrie dumped me-" Tom stopped mid-thought and blushed. "Tayla."

"I'm sorry. I forgot her name." Astrid said softly.

"What? I'm sorry. I just kind of-" He hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Yeah. Tayla. My girlfriend."

"I'll only be in town for five days and most of that will be in training." Astrid said softly. "I know you said you'd call when you were ready to let me see him but, Tom, I just have to see him. Please?"

Tom took a deep breath and thought about Bradyn. "Yeah. Sure, you can come see him." He nodded. "When are you coming?"

"In two weeks." Astrid gave a sigh of relief. "I'll get there Sunday night and I leave on Friday. I was hoping maybe one of those nights I could come by or maybe two nights."

"We can work something out." Tom's mind raced as he tried to think of every possibility.

"And, uh- We can either do it at my hotel or your house or somewhere else. I just- I really want to see him."

Tom nodded though she couldn't see him. "Yeah."

"Is he there?"

"No, he started pre-school today."

"Oh." Astrid sounded disappointed. "Okay, well I just wanted to make sure that would be okay with you. I didn't know if we still had to go through our lawyers or not. Anyway, thanks."

"Thanks for calling to ask." Tom forced himself to sound cordial as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"So can I call when I get in?"

"Yeah." Tom said quickly. "Just give me a call here when you get to Germany and we can set up times and things then."

"Okay." Astrid nodded slowly. "Thanks, Tom." She added softly.

"Sure." He took a deep breath. "I'll talk to you later." He gently hung up the phone and exhaled sharply. He amazed himself with how together he sounded. From the beginning he was sure he'd flip out if she called him at home demanding to see Bradyn but he hadn't. Then again, she hadn't demanded anything. She sounded so unsure and nervous asking for permission to see him. Tom just couldn't say no. Tayla's words from months before flooded his mind. "Do you want to have to tell Bradyn his Mom wanted to see him and you wouldn't let her?"

Tayla.

"Perfect!" Tom whispered as he smiled to himself. Having Astrid come to Germany gave Tom the perfect excuse to see Tayla again. He ran upstairs to his bedroom and grabbed his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans from the day before. He looked up Tayla's number. He dialed from his home phone and waited as it rang, praying she would answer the phone herself.

"Hello?" A familiar female voice answered in mid-laugh.

"Hi, Tayla?" Tom asked nervously.

"Yes?" She smiled, not paying attention to the voice on the other end. "Who's this?" Tayla's friend laughed and reached around her for the carton of ice cream.

"This is Tom."

"Oh, hi!" Tayla gave her friend a weird look and backed away from the kitchen counter towards the doorway. "What, uh- What's up?"

"I need your help." He said quickly.

"Why? What happened?" She immediately thought of all the things that could be wrong.

"Astrid is coming to Germany in two weeks."

"Oh." She sighed in relief. "Okay?"

"She thinks we're dating, remember?"

"Well, yeah." Tayla crossed the dining room and dropped herself into the overstuffed couch against the wall. "I thought you cleared that up with the lawyer though?"

"I did but Astrid never showed up at court so she doesn't know." Tom smiled slowly.

"Uh huh." Tayla raised her eyebrow even though he couldn't see her.

"So-" Tom paused. "Can you come out and play house for a few days?"

"What?" She laughed and almost dropped the phone. "I can't just- Tom, I have a- You want me to fly to Germany for that?" Her cheeks flushed quickly as she lowered her voice.

"I'll fly you down."

"Can't you just tell her we broke up?"

"No." Tom shook his head.

"No? Why not?"

"Because the whole basis of my argument was that I had a stable home here with two loving parental figures." He left out the fact that he actually wanted to see her himself and that this was just an easier and sneakier way to get her to come.

Tayla sighed and shook her head. "Your whole argument was based on a lie."

"Hold on now. Whose lie was it based on?" Tom asked with a sly smile.

He had her there. "True." She said softly.

"It's only for a few days. You can hang out with Bradyn and stuff. I know he misses you."

"He does?" Tayla smiled like a big sap as tears rose in her eyes. She hastily blinked them away and laughed at her overactive emotions. "I miss him too."

"So come."

"For a few days?"

"For as long as you want." Tom shrugged. He wasn't going to be picky.

"I have work to do."

"Yeah, picking out clothes for us. You can kill two birds with one stone. I know Bill was saying you could do this a lot better if you could see the clothes on him."

Tayla sighed. He was right. "You guys talk too much. You're like a bunch of old ladies in a knitting circle."

"Something like that." Tom laughed. "Seriously, can you do it?"

"Yeah. I can come to Germany. When do you need me there?" She reached over the arm of the couch for a pen and scratch paper.

"Um, Astrid will be here in two weeks on Sunday night so I'm guessing she'll come by on Monday. She's only going to be in town until that Friday morning so maybe Wednesday too."

"Okay." She scribbled on the paper and mentally packed her bags.

"I'll pick up your ticket though."

"You don't have to."

"I'm begging you to come down. Of course I have to." Tom smiled.

"I'd have to fly down eventually anyway."

"Stop arguing." Tom sighed and laughed. "I'll get your ticket and give you a call later with the details. You're sure this is okay though? I know this is technically your time off too."

"It's okay." She said after a moment's pause.

"Okay. Thanks a lot, Tayla. I'll be sure to let the guys know too so that we can all get together and do some fitting stuff."

"Okay but if I'm going to do that I'll need to ship the wardrobes down there. Is there a central location where I can store them?"

"Wardrobes?"

"The roll around closets we use on the road." Tayla explained. "Right now I have them in a storage unit here that I'm using for an office kind of." She laughed lightly.

"Oh, well yeah. You can send them to my house. I can stash them in my garage." He nodded. "Then the guys can just come over here and you can do your measurements and tailoring."

"Sounds good." She nodded and copied down the address he gave her. "Okay, I'll get these loaded out tomorrow so they should get there in a few days."

"Great. I'll call you tonight with the flight details, okay?"

"Sure." She nodded and ran her hand through her newly cut hair. "Where's Bradyn?"

"He's at daycare. It's actually his first day today. I think he'll like it though with all of those other kids and everything."

"That's cool. I'm sure he'll have a blast."

"I'm sure he will too." Tom smiled and drew squares on his pant leg. "I'm gonna go get your flight information and stuff so I'll call you later with that, okay?

"Okay."

"Thanks again, Tayla."

"No problem." She nodded as he hung up the phone. Tayla set her phone back on the cradle and sighed. "So I guess I'm going to Germany." She said softly.

"You're going where?" Kaelah asked.

"What?" Tayla blushed quickly and looked up with her pen in her hand. "Huh?"

"You're going to Germany?" She giggled and bounced into the room.

"You were listening to my phone call?"

"I was standing in the kitchen and you were talking." Kaelah shrugged. "So you're going to Germany? Are you going to see anyone I know? Or anyone I've heard of? Or anyone I've lusted after?"

"I'm going for work so, yes, I'll probably see the guys." Tayla nodded.

"Probably?"

"Yes, I will see them. I'm going for work. I swear, if I'd have known you were such a fangirl when you moved in I never would have told you I work for them."

"Oh, I'd have found out sooner or later." Kaelah laughed as she dropped herself on the couch across from Tayla. "Besides, when I moved in here, I wasn't a huge fangirl."

"Somewhere along the way you crossed over, huh?"

"You've seen Bill in leather pants, right?"

"I put him in leather pants." Tayla smiled.

"And that is why I love you to pieces." Kaelah leaned over and hugged Tayla tight. "Can I go with you?"

"No."

"Will you let me go to the concert next time they play anywhere near here?"

"You could have come last time but you decided that Ireland was more interesting." Tayla laughed.

"So not my fault. If I'd have known my sex machine was coming to Hartford, I would have never planned my trip." Kaelah scowled. "This is unfair. You've been living here for almost three years, you go on tour with them for months at a time when I basically have to live by myself, you get to see my man in leather pants and I never get to meet them. You suck."

"I get to see him in a lot less than leather pants." Tayla laughed evilly and mentally pictured Bill in the tight black leather pants she'd chosen just for him. Kaelah was right. He looked damn good in them but he looked even better with them around his ankles.

She laughed to herself as Kaelah scowled. "Stop picturing my baby naked!"

"I'm not picturing him naked." Tayla laughed, "I've never seen him naked. If the time ever comes when you're actually in town the same time he is, I'll introduce you and let him become your love slave."

"You rule."

"I know."

"So you're going to Germany?"

"Yes." Tayla stood up and stretched her back. "Tayla to the rescue. I'll be leaving in a few weeks and I don't know how long I'll be gone for."

"Okay." Kaelah sighed. "Are you sure I can't go?"

"I'm sure."

"Fine." Kaelah pretended to pout while Tayla tried to contain her giddiness as she jumped from the couch. She had lots of packing and preparing to do.

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

When Tom hung up the phone he had to wait for a minute for his pulse to return to normal. He smiled at the phone for a second. He placed the phone back on its cradle and opened the refrigerator. He'd been too nervous to eat that morning as he thought about dropping Bradyn off for his first day of pre-school so he grabbed a piece of cold pizza and took a bite.

Tom carried the pizza through the house as he walked around it in complete silence, taking stock of all the little changes that had been made since he and Bradyn returned after court. There were little plastic locks on the cabinets under the sink and a stray Lego on the floor by the stove. There was a collage of little hand prints all over the front of the dishwasher and a plastic action figure wedged into the gap between the dishwasher door and the counter top.

A smile crossed Tom's face as he removed the action figure and made his way through the rest of the house, picking up small toys and clothes along the way. The house was almost eerily quiet as he went from room to room. Tom realized that this was what his house was like before Bradyn. The deafening silence echoing through every room seemed so out of place. When Tom reached Bradyn's room he hit play on the little bright blue CD player thing Bradyn had just to hear noise.

"Rubber Ducky, you're the one! You make bath time lots of fun! Rubber Ducky I'm awfully fond of you!" Ernie sang out loud and totally off key.

Tom hit stop as he smiled and shook his head and left the room. He went back downstairs as he finished the crust of the pizza. He sat on the couch and leaned his head back as he yawned. He had another few of hours before he had to pick up Bradyn so he figured he might as well entertain himself with a movie he hadn't seen in a while.

He turned Youth in Revolt on and made himself comfortable. He tried not to think about Bradyn which he found was harder to do that he thought.

Just before twelve, Tom turned off his TV and walked quickly out to his car. It'd been long enough and all he wanted to do was get back to the pre-school to get Bradyn. He signed in at the front desk then walked quickly to the room at the far end of the hall.

When he pushed the door open he scanned the room to find Bradyn then felt a twinge of panic creep in when he didn't see him right away. "Hi, there! How are you?" Heather asked as she walked up.

"I'm fine. Where's Bradyn?"

"He's, uh-" She turned and looked around before her face broke out in a wide smile. "He's right over there in the playhouse. He's the puppy in their little playgroup, I think." She laughed and waved as Bradyn jumped out from between two little girls and barked.

Tom laughed nervously as his anxiety left almost completely. "Hey, buddy!"

"No, Daddy." Bradyn frowned as he stood up and walked over. "No I say."

"You- You want to stay?"

"Yeah, I say again."

"Well-" Tom scrambled for words. "You'll be back on Thursday. That's only two days away." He reached to mess Bradyn's hair.

"Morrow?"

"Not tomorrow. The day after."

"No, Daddy. I say." Bradyn's lower lip stuck out as he threatened tears.

Tom looked up at Heather and shrugged. "Is this normal?"

"Sometimes." She smiled. "This is a new and fun experience for him and he doesn't want to leave. But I think once he realizes that he gets to keep coming back, it'll be easier." She nodded and reached for Bradyn's hand. "Right now you get to go home with your Daddy and when you come back on Thursday you'll get to make a volcano! How does that sound?"

"Cano?"

"Yes, a volcano with Jell-O and cookies." She laughed. "But in order to do that you have to go home right now and rest. You can also think about other things you'd like to do so you can let me know on Thursday, okay?"

"Anen I can pay?"

"Yeah, and then on Thursday you can come back and play." Heather smiled and led Bradyn to his cubbyhole. "Lets get your things so you can go with your, daddy."

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and reached for his lunch box. "Daddy, I eat."

"You ate your lunch, huh?"

"Yeah, I eat all."

"Wow, you're getting big and strong." Tom nodded.

"We played with a parachute outside this morning so he really worked up an appetite." Heather handed Tom a little slip of paper with What I did today! printed across the top. Under that was a short description of Bradyn's time in pre-school including a silver star for going to the bathroom in the toilet.

"Wow, Bradyn! You went in the potty?"

"Yeah." Bradyn shrugged and pulled his backpack off the peg to hand to Tom.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about that." Heather said softly. "He used his pull-up this morning and there wasn't a clean one in his bag so right now he's not wearing anything. So far he's been good about letting us know if he has to go but you may want to include a spare pull-up in there."

"Oh, I forgot about that." Tom blushed quickly. "He's been doing good at home. I forget that he doesn't have it down pat yet."

"It's okay. Like I said, he's told us twice that he had to go when he wasn't wearing anything so it might be a good time to try underwear."

"Yeah, we've tried that." Tom nodded. "But that's a good idea now that I know he can do it."

"It'll make things a lot easier, huh?" Heather smiled.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Tom laughed and took the backpack from Bradyn. "That's cool. Way to go." Tom was still slightly stunned with the whole scene as they headed for the door. "Thank you." He smiled at Heather.

"You're welcome. Bye-bye, Bradyn. See you later."

"Bye-Bye Miss Hedder." Bradyn giggled and waved over his shoulder as they headed for the exit. Tom signed them out then went out to the car to load Bradyn into his car seat.

"So you had a good time?" Tom asked as they pulled out of the parking lot a minute later.

"Yeah. I go see lato." Bradyn nodded and yawned from the back seat.

"Yeah, you'll go on Thursday. I'm glad you like it. Pre-school is a lot of fun."

"Yeah, is fun and swee."

"Awesome." Tom laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. Bradyn was going to do just fine in pre-school. It was Tom that had to face the adjustment.

When they got home Bradyn headed straight for the kitchen and hauled himself into his booster seat. "I thought you ate your lunch?" Tom frowned slightly.

"Have juice?" Bradyn patted his hands on the table and looked at Tom expectantly.

"You want to sit in your chair for juice?" He asked as he pulled the refrigerator open and took out Bradyn's sippy cup of apple juice.

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tom set the cup in front of Bradyn then opened the little lunch box to clean it out and put it away.

Bradyn powered down his juice then smacked his lips loudly, "Love juice, Daddy."

"You love the juice, huh?"

"Yeah, is yummy." Bradyn licked his lips again then tried to get more juice out of the cup. "All gone."

"Yeah, you drank it all." Tom nodded and took the cup away to set it on the counter. "I'd say its almost nap time. What do you think?"

"Amost." Bradyn yawned and reached his hands up to Tom.

"Okay." Tom nodded and lifted Bradyn out of the booster seat. "Uh oh! What happened?" He tried not to drip pee across the floor as he held Bradyn away from himself.

"I forget."

"You forgot?"

"I forget I go." Bradyn shrugged. He didn't really care that he smelled weird. He knew Tom would hose him off and get him clean clothes. He'd be good as new in a couple minutes.

"How do you forget that you have to go to the bathroom?" Tom sighed but let a little smile escape.

"I dunno." Bradyn held still while Tom ran down the hall and dropped him into the empty bathtub. "I have bass?"

"Yeah, you need a bath." Tom made a face and looked the other way while he turned the water on. "Nasty."

"Nassy."

"That's right, that's nasty." Tom clenched his lips closed as the water began to fill the tub, soaking Bradyn's shorts and T-shirt.

"Uh oh, Daddy." Bradyn looked down at his wet clothes.

"That's okay." Tom shook his head and let the water run for another couple minutes. He peeled Bradyn's clothes off then washed him off real well. "I think it's time to put a pull-up back on, okay?"

"I say kay." Bradyn nodded.

"Okay." Tom pushed his sleeves up and lifted Bradyn out of the bath.

"Uh oh, Daddy." Bradyn repeated. "My hair." He brought his hands to his dry hair.

"No, we'll wash your hair tonight. I just needed to get the pee off you."

"No waas?"

"No, we're not going to wash it right now." Tom wrapped Bradyn in a towel and carried him upstairs to his room where he set the dripping boy on the bed and pulled out a clean diaper. "We've really got to work on this whole toilet thing buddy. When we go on tour later it'd be really cool if you could use the big kid's toilet all the time."

"No, I have dipo."

"Yeah but see if you can use the big kids toilet you can go potty with me and Bill and all of us big kids and we wouldn't have to worry about accidents." Tom tried to make it sound like fun which was harder than he thought.

"And Seppel?"

"Well I, uh-" Tom thought about that for a second. "Yeah, I suppose you could go with Seppel too."

"An maybe my Pie appo?"

"Yeah, Bill too." Tom yawned and helped Bradyn into some clean and dry clothes then pulled back the blanket on his bed. "I don't know about you but I'm ready for a serious nap."

"Me too. Is seerus."

"Seriously." Tom laughed as Bradyn rested his head on the pillow. He reached down and smoothed Bradyn's hair down and sighed. "I'm glad you like school, buddy."

"I no buddy."

Tom laughed lightly. "I'm glad you like school, Bradyn."

"Me too." Bradyn smiled with his eyes closed and flopped over to his back.

"Me too." Tom whispered as he ducked out the door and headed to his room where he fell across the cool sheets and let himself get lost in the nap land.

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

In the two weeks between his call to Tayla and her arrival, Tom spent a lot of time working. While Bradyn was at pre-school, he had to find something to occupy his mind so he rearranged his office and started working on songs with no one in particular in mind. It got to the point where he enjoyed the time alone and let Bradyn stay for the full four hours rather than picking him up after only a few hours. The guys got together as often as they could just to hang out and play in the pool or watch movies.

The wardrobes that Tayla sent arrived the weekend after she said she'd send them so Tom had hem set in the corner of his garage so they'd be out of the way. He never knew they had so many clothes but, when four large rollers showed up his jaw nearly hit the floor. Each one had the guys' names were stenciled on the outside along with their corresponding numbers, 1 of 4, 2 of 4 and so on so that they wouldn't get misplaced while being shipped.

Bill and Nadiehn watched Bradyn twice more so that Tom could go out with the others by himself and Bradyn actually preferred that to hanging out with Tom at home. Every time Tom began to get things ready to go, Bradyn would ask if they were going to Nay-dee an Pie appo house. When Saturday afternoon came, Tom realized that he didn't have any food in the house that would be considered real food. He called around to see if someone could watch Bradyn so he could go shopping the next day but his first few choices were already busy. "Daddy, I go see my Pie appo?"

"No, Bill and Nadiehn are busy. They're driving all the way to the beach to have lunch."

"I can go?"

"I don't think so, pal." Tom smiled and shook his head. "Why don't we call and see if Georg can watch you. That'd be fun huh?"

Bradyn made a face. "Gay-og?"

"Oh stop with the face, you like Georg." Tom rolled his eyes and picked up the phone as Bradyn tugged at the buttons down the front of his pajamas.

"I like but I wan go see Nay-dee and my Pie appo."

"I know you want to go see Bill and Nadiehn but they're not going to be there and I can't leave you home by yourself. How about Georg?"

Bradyn sighed and picked up his child sized fork to spear his macaroni. "Kay."

"Thank you." Tom chuckled.

"Welcome." Bradyn said as he stuffed his mouth with pasta.

Tom smiled as he dialed Georg's number and silently prayed he hadn't gone out for the night yet. "H'lo?" Georg answered after only two rings.

"Georg! Old buddy, old pal!" Tom said with a sly grin.

"What do you want?" Georg asked cautiously.

"What are you doing tomorrow morning?"

"Morning? As in before noon?"

"Yeah."

"Sleeping."

"Could I convince you to get up a little earlier?" Tom laughed lightly.

"Why?" Georg wasn't going to fall into some kind of trap.

"Because I need to do some quick shopping and anything with Bradyn isn't quick."

"I'm not shopping for you. You get all that cookable stuff." Georg shook his head.

"No, I know." Tom laughed. "Can you watch Bradyn?"

"You can't go shopping in the afternoon?"

"I'm going to the airport to pick Tayla up in the afternoon."

"So take-" Georg stopped. "Tayla?"

"Yeah."

"Tayla our clothes girl?"

"Uh huh."

"The same Tayla that's seen all of us almost naked?"

"Yeah, she's coming." Tom explained.

"To see you?"

"And Bradyn."

"What the hell kind of game are you playing here, Tom?" Georg smiled, thinking he was being left out of something.

"No game. Astrid's coming so-" Tom lowered his voice and leaned towards the little window beside the table.

"Wait. Astrid? Or Tayla?"

"Both of them."

"Talk to me." Georg prodded for more information.

"Astrid is coming out to see Bradyn."

"Right." Georg nodded.

"Well Astrid thinks that Tayla and I are dating. So when Astrid comes it would be helpful to have Tayla here to play the part of the girlfriend, right?" Tom asked softly.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So can you watch Bradyn?"

"What time are you picking her up?"

Tom sighed. "Her flight comes in at one twenty but I need to go to the store to get some real food because if she stays here she's going to want to eat."

"You don't have food?"

"I have food but not girl food." Tom shook his head. "I have guy food and kid food."

"What's girl food?" Georg asked.

"Can you watch him or not?" Tom sighed.

"What time?" Georg caved.

"Nine?"

"Shit, in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Can you bring him here at least?"

"You live like-" Tom started to complain that Georg's house was twenty minutes out of the way but stopped. "Yeah, I'll drop him off at nine."

"Okay, for how long?"

"Two hours. Tops."

"Okay." Georg nodded. "You're gonna owe me big time."

"I know, I know but I've already called the other guys and they can't do it at all."

"So I'm your last resort?" Georg tried to sound offended.

"When I need someone at nine in the morning? Yes." Tom laughed. "But thanks. I'll pick you up a little something special."

"Great. Listen, if I don't come to the door right away call me from your cell."

Tom laughed, knowing he'd end up having to call him. "I will."

"Okay."

"We'll see you tomorrow." Tom smiled and said good-bye. He looked at the clock, Bradyn would be going down for a nap shortly so that would give Tom about an hour to do a quick pick-up of the house. There was no way the house would be or stay spotless but she couldn't really expect that. Especially not with a two year old running around.

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

Early the next morning Tom dressed Bradyn in his favorite khaki shorts and elephant T-shirt. He loaded him in the car and drove the half hour to Georg's house in a neighboring suburb. "Daddy, I see a dog?"

"Georg's dog?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll see his dog. What's his name? I always forget."

"Gay-og?"

"No, his dog." Tom laughed.

"Doggie name dog."

"His dog is named Dog?" Tom raised his eyebrow at Bradyn in the mirror.

"I doe no." Bradyn shrugged and giggled. "Daddy, I have?"

"No, we don't have a dog. We're gone too much to have a dog."

"Lato?"

"Maybe later we can get one. Maybe after we get home from the European tour we can start looking for a dog or something." Tom nodded.

"Kay."

"What kind of dog do you want?"

"Bown."

"A brown dog?"

"Yeah and big."

"A big brown dog. I think we can do that." Tom laughed as he maneuvered his car through the traffic and onto the side streets that would lead to Georg's house. They pulled up a few minutes later and Tom helped Bradyn out of the back seat before dropping the backpack over his shoulder.

"Is Gay-og's?" Bradyn looked around the bare front walk.

"Yeah, this is Georg's house. We've been here before." Tom cleared his throat and pressed the lit doorbell button.

"Where he?" Bradyn asked as he danced around on Georg's doorstep.

"He's probably sleeping." Tom shook his head and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. "I'll call him to get his lazy butt up."

"His butt?" Bradyn laughed and swatted at is own behind.

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Do you have to go to the bathroom?"

"No." Bradyn sighed and jumped down the step with both feet.

"You're sure?"

"I sure."

"Okay." Tom sighed and found Georg's home number in his contacts. He heard the phone ring inside and imagined Georg stumbling around his bed to find the phone. "Don't forget to tell Georg if you have to go." Tom reached for Bradyn's hand to keep him still. Potty training was going pretty well but he still wore a pull-up just in case. He was known for forgetting to go to the bathroom.

"What?" Georg grumbled into the phone.

"Hey." Tom smiled.

"Tom, it's like-" Georg stopped as his mind caught up with his mouth. "Oh, I'll be right down." Georg hung up the phone and Tom flipped his shut.

"He's on his way." Tom laughed as he reached for Bradyn's hand.

"He here?"

"Yeah, he's here."

"I pay?"

"Yeah, you can play with Georg." Tom nodded as the front door opened slowly.

Georg rubbed his eyes then scratched at his stomach. "Hey." He smiled down at Bradyn. "Hi, Bray?"

"Hi, Gay-og." Bradyn sighed as he stepped into the house. "Isa dog?"

"Dog's sleeping." Georg yawned as he ran his hand over Bradyn's head. "Is he hungry?" Georg asked Tom as Bradyn walked down into Georg's living room with Lello tucked under his arm.

"He had breakfast so he should be cool. There are some crackers and stuff in his bag and his stars."

"He has stars?"

"We're potty training so, if he tells you he has to go, get him to a toilet and give him a star sticker." Tom smiled.

"I'm not gonna remember that."

"He will." Tom laughed. "You sure you're up for this?"

"Yeah, I'm cool." Georg yawned again and hitched up his sweatpants. "See you in a few hours, right?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the store and get some food and stuff and take it home to put it away. I'll be back here after all that."

"Okay." Georg nodded and looked into the living room where Bradyn was playing out of sight. "Hey, buddy, don't touch that. I'll put the movie on in just a second okay?"

"I hode?"

"You can hold it, just don't open it, okay?"

"Kay." Tom heard Bradyn's little voice from inside.

"Keep your phone on."

"I will." Tom laughed and dropped Bradyn's familiar backpack inside Georg's front door. "Thanks a lot, Georg."

"No problem." Georg waved halfheartedly and shut the door. It was Shrek time.

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

Tom got his grocery shopping done and hoped he'd bought things Tayla would like. He added a few pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream to the cart as an afterthought before he took everything home to unload. When things were settled he grabbed the bottle of MudSlide mix he'd picked up for Georg and headed back to pick Bradyn up.

Bradyn filled Tom in on all the fun he had at Georg's house while Tom was shopping and how he loved the movie. "And, Daddy, isa dokey."

"It's a what?"

"A dokey go eee aww."

"Oh, a donkey?" Tom laughed.

"Yeah and a dokey talked." Bradyn's eyes opened wide and he laughed hysterically. "Isa funny dokey, Daddy."

"It sounds like it's a pretty funny movie."

"You see?"

"Yeah, I'll have to buy that next time we're out." Tom nodded and smiled at Bradyn in the rear view mirror. Tom smiled with a slight feeling of amazement. He still found it hard to believe that he was a single father and was actually doing a pretty good job at it. Every time he looked at Bradyn and caught a new expression or any kind of smile he felt like the luckiest person on Earth. Not that raising Bradyn was easy,but the challenge made it half the fun and worthwhile.

When they returned home Tom nervously checked his watch. They only had a few minutes before they had to leave to go get Tayla at the airport so Tom took Bradyn to the bathroom and made sure he was set to go. Bradyn did his duty then ran out to the family room to play with his toys for a few minutes while Tom ran upstairs to go to the bathroom and clean himself up. If he was going to see Tayla, he wanted to look presentable. He grabbed a baseball cap and tossed it on over his braids then went back downstairs.

Tom knelt on the floor beside Bradyn and reached for the toys. "Come on, we have to to put this stuff away so we can go."

"We go now?" Bradyn sighed and held tight to Lello.

"Yeah, help me out." He looked at the toys scattered on the floor. It seemed like no matter how often he picked them up they always ended up on the floor.

"I kick asshole." Bradyn laughed as he brought his foot up to kick Tom's butt.

"Whoa! Hold on a second." Tom dropped the plastic truck in the toy basket and stood up. "Do what?"

"I kick asshole." Bradyn giggled again and pretended to kick at Tom's behind.

"I don't think so." Tom raised his eyebrow at the toddler and became serious. "Come here, buddy." He pulled Bradyn onto his lap and took a deep breath. Transforming into Dad mode was becoming easier for Tom but it was still weird. "We don't say that word."

"Say kick?" Bradyn gave him a confused look.

"No, we don't say asshole."

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"No, we don't."

"You say."

"I don't say that." Tom shook his head and tried as hard as he could to keep the smile off his face.

"I say asslick." Bradyn giggled and covered his mouth with his hands. "I say and you say."

"Whoa! Hey, now! No." Tom's jaw dropped in shock. "No, we don't say those words at all. Where on earth did you hear-" the phone ringing on the table beside him cut him off. "Hang on." He said to Bradyn as he reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Say asshole?" Bradyn asked as he looked at the phone.

"No, don't say that." Tom said softly to the little boy.

"What are you doing?" Georg laughed.

"What?" Tom asked as he remembered the phone in his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm explaining to my two-year-old why asshole is a bad word." Tom sighed.

"Oh." Georg laughed. "You're teaching him swear words?"

"I'm not teaching him to swear!" Tom shook his head.

"Yeah? So where'd he learn that?"

"I don't know. Maybe from one of his babysitters?" Tom asked sarcastically.

"Why? Who do you- Oh, come on! I didn't teach him that!" Georg immediately took the defensive.

"I'm not saying you did." Tom sighed. "Georg, I have to go finish this, can I call-"

"Knock it off, asslick!" Georg shouted to someone on his end of the phone before bursting out laughing.

"Yeah, that's another one of his favorites. Thanks." Tom sighed. "I'll call you later, Georg." He hung up the phone and turned back to Bradyn.

"Issat Gay-og?"

"Yeah that was Georg."

"Gay-og asslick?" Bradyn asked with a genuine frown.

"Bradyn, we don't say that." Tom shook his head and tried not to smile.

"Why?"

"Because that's a bad word and it's not for kids to say."

"You say?"

"No, I'm going to try not to say it either." Tom shook his head. "So no more, okay? Don't say that anymore."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and slid off Tom's lap.

"Okay." Tom sighed and stood up to hitch up his pants. He headed for the garage as Bradyn followed a step behind. "Okay, let's go get Tayla."

"My Tayla?" Bradyn asked as he reached for Lello.

"Yeah." Tom nodded and held the garage door open for him. He loaded Bradyn into his car seat and handed him a few of his favorite toys before they backed out of the garage and headed for the airport.

"I have my Tayla?"

"We're going to pick her up right now." Tom smiled into the rear view mirror. "She's going to stay with us for a few days and guess what else. You get to have another special visitor this week too. You're such a lucky boy."

"Anano speso?"

"Yeah, another special visitor. Do you want to know who?"

"My Tayla?"

"Someone else."

"Gay-og?"

"Georg's not special silly. You saw Georg today."

"Is Toke Hoh-tell?"

"No, not Tokio Hotel." Tom laughed and shook his head. "Your Mommy is coming to visit you."

"Mommy and Tayla?"

"Yeah." Tom cleared his throat. "Tayla will be here today and you can see your Mommy tomorrow. They're both coming to see you. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, is cool." Bradyn nodded and bounced Lello on his lap.

Tom drove them across town to the airport and parked out in the boon docks by a bright green sign that said 2D. "We need to remember where we parked, okay?" Tom asked as he grabbed Bradyn's hand.

"Kay." Bradyn nodded. "We park ina car."

Tom chuckled softly. "Yeah, we parked in a car. I just have to remember where." He smiled and looked around to memorize the parking lot.

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

They crossed the warm pavement to the walkway leading into the airport. They stood in front of the monitors to see which gate she'd be arriving at. Tom pulled his baseball cap lower and scanned the area to make sure no one recognized him.

"Daddy?" Bradyn sighed. "Can see my Tayla?"

"We'll see her in just a minute." He checked the time on the screen before he looked at the clock on the wall. They only had another five minutes before her plane was set to arrive. They walked quickly through the security checkpoint and around a small roundabout to find the right gate. By the time they located it, her flight was being announced and the passengers were starting to file off in small groups.

Tom stood on his toes to get a better look as he held Bradyn in his arms. He was still nervous having his son in big crowds and always felt better when he was in his arms. As he turned his head slightly he spotted her walking off of the plane, looking around the gate area for someone she might recognize. Without warning Tom's heart began to race and his palms began to sweat. Just seeing her standing there was enough to make his stomach clench tightly and his breath to come up short. "Look." Tom whispered into Bradyn's ear. "There she is."

"I see?" Bradyn asked loudly as he looked around for his favorite person in the world. "Daddy, I see Tayla?"

"She's over there in the green shirt." Tom smiled and headed over to where she stood to the side of the crowd. "See her now?"

"I see!" Bradyn laughed and wiggled to get out of Tom's arms. When they were close enough he set Bradyn on the ground and watched as he ran the last few feet to wrap his arms around Tayla's bare knees. "Hi!"

"Whoa! Hi, Bradyn!" Tayla looked startled for a moment but reached down and picked him up for a tight hug. "My goodness look at you! What a big boy."

"I big." Bradyn nodded.

"I see that." She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Where's your Daddy?"

"I'm here." Tom walked up beside her and reached for her carry on bag. "How was your flight?"

"It-" Tayla stopped as she turned to face him. "It was nice. Thanks."

"You brought more than this, right?" Tom dropped her bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah." She smiled and bounced Bradyn on her hip as he reached for her ponytail. "Did you get the wardrobes okay?"

"Yeah, they're in my garage ready to be used." His hand brushed hers as the stepped onto the escalator to take them down to the baggage claim area. "I didn't know we were taking so much with us."

"Not all of it will go." She shook her head as she stood on the step lower than him. "What I sent was pretty much just for us to see what we want to take and what will stay. Plus I want to make any alterations before we leave so I don't have to stress about it on the road."

"That makes sense." Tom nodded and tried not to stare at her as they crossed the main airport terminal to the baggage claim area.

"So I'll need to get in touch with the others and arrange a time to have them meet a your house, if that's okay."

"If what's okay?"

"That we meet at your house? Since the wardrobes are there."

"Oh, oh. Yeah, that's fine." Tom shook his head. "I have plenty of room. Plus the guys like to come play with the munchkin." Tom rubbed Bradyn's head as he rested it on Tayla's shoulder.

"I a muckin?"

"Yeah, you're a munchkin." Tom laughed.

"Daddy, you cwazy."

"I'm not crazy! You're crazy."

"No."

"Tayla's crazy." Tom smiled as they watched the luggage come around the conveyor belt.

"No." Bradyn giggled and smiled up at Tayla. "Tayla is Tayla."

"Oh, okay." Tom rolled his eyes and laughed. "Let me know when you see your suitcase and I'll grab it since your hands are kinda full."

"Thanks." Tayla smiled and rubbed Bradyn's back as he lay his head down. "You've really gotten so big."

"Yeah, I big now."

"Yes, you are." She kissed his forehead. "How do you like school?"

"I like it." Bradyn nodded. "I paint an Dylan an bwocks an snack."

"Wow, all that?"

"You can see it?"

"I don't know. Maybe. We'll have to ask your Daddy."

"Daddy, Tayla see my school?"

"Sure, we can take Tayla to your school when we drop you off on Tuesday." Tom nodded.

"That's mine right there." Tayla pointed to a dark blue suitcase as it rounded the corner. "I'd love to see your school. Do you have art up on the walls and all that stuff?"

"I have birds ona kitchen."

"You do, huh?" Tayla looked appropriately impressed though she had no idea what he was talking about.

"He painted a few birds and it's on the fridge at home." Tom smiled and lugged her suitcase off the belt. He propped it upright and grabbed the handle to pull it behind him.

"Yeah and a tree."

"Yeah, they're in a tree." Tom nodded as they headed for the exit. Tayla carried Bradyn while Tom managed the luggage on the way out to his car. He loaded her bags into the far back before he loaded Bradyn into his car seat behind Tayla.

"He looks tired." Tayla observed as she slid into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, it's past his nap time and he had a busy morning." Tom adjusted his rear view mirror to look at Bradyn. "He hung out with Georg this morning. That's always a fun time for everyone." He rolled his eyes and laughed as he backed out of the parking place. "He has picked up some colorful language."

"Uh oh. I can only imagine what Georg's taught him." Tayla cringed as she laughed lightly.

"He denies teaching Bradyn but this morning Bradyn said he wanted to kick me in my a-s-s-h-o-l-e."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah."

"Well, at least he knows what and where it is." She laughed and rolled her window down a bit. "I mean, it could be worse."

"I don't even want to think about that." Tom laughed and reached into his center console. "Do you want some gum?" He extended the pack to her as he glanced at Bradyn who had fallen asleep as soon as the car started.

"No, thank you." Tayla shook her head and looked out the window to the landscaping extending out for miles in every direction.

Tom popped a piece in his mouth and turned his attention back to his driving. They drove in silence across town to his house but he couldn't help but look over at her every few minutes. Something had changed since the last time they saw each other but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

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

By the time they got to Tom's house Bradyn's hair was plastered to the side of his head with sweat and he was snoring lightly. Tom lifted him out of his seat and carefully fit him onto his shoulder, being careful not to wake him. "I'll come get your bags in just a minute." He whispered to Tayla as she stepped out of the car.

"I can get them." She shook her head and opened the back. Tayla followed Tom into the house with her bags in tow then stopped in the entryway. She wasn't sure where she was supposed to go.

"He's passed out. Let me go put him down then I can help you get settled in down here." He nodded down the short hall to the guestroom door that was propped open with a heavy pewter figure in the shape of a sleeping dog.

"Okay." She whispered so she wouldn't wake Bradyn.

Tom climbed the stairs quietly and laid Bradyn on top of the covers on his own bed. He tucked Lello under his arm and smiled. "Just stay asleep for another hour, buddy." Tom whispered. Bradyn had been cutting his naps shorter and shorter lately and Tom was trying to get him back into the napping groove.

When he went back downstairs, Tayla and her luggage were missing from the hallway. He walked toward the guestroom and stopped when he got to the door. She was inside with her suitcase wide open on the bed in front of her.

"I hope you don't mind me unpacking. I just hate living out of a suitcase." Tayla said as she sensed him in the doorway.

"No problem." Tom shook his head. "You have the whole dresser there and most of the closet. I think I have some, uh- Some jackets in there but if you need more room I can-"

"No, I'm sure this will be fine." She pulled the drawer behind her open then tossed her bangs to get them out of her eyes.

"We've missed you." Tom said after watching her refold her shirts for a minute.

"I've missed you guys too." She looked up and smiled quickly before going back into her suitcase.

"You know, since I've been home here with Bradyn, I can totally sympathize with all of those stay-at-home moms out there." Tom shifted his weight on his feet. "It's also made me realize just how much you helped me out on the road."

Tayla stopped what she was doing and placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't really mind." She shook her head and took a deep breath as she looked down into her half-filled suitcase.

"I know you didn't and I know I've said thank you a hundred times already but I didn't really know how thankful I was until you weren't here. You know, when I had to run to the store or if I just wanted some private time. I couldn't just drop him off with you and know he'd be safe." Tom bit his lip and frowned slightly. "Anyway, I'm, uh- I'm really glad you're here."

"So you can leave him with me?" Tayla smiled playfully up at Tom.

"No." Tom shook his head. "That's not what I meant."

"I'm just giving you a hard time, Tom." She laughed softly and placed her shorts on the bed beside her shirts. "I don't know why I brought so many clothes. I'm not going to be here that long." She mumbled under her breath.

Tom took a few steps into the room and rested his hand on the bed across from her. "You can stay as long as you want."

"Thank you but I think I'll get the work I need done in a week or so. I know you want to spend time with Bradyn and bond and stuff. Which is great, by the way. Not too many fathers get to do that." She spoke quickly as she turned and slid her shirts into place in the open drawer behind her.

"Tell me I'm not seeing things, Tayla." Tom said softly after watching her in silence for a moment.

"What?" She turned around and met his eyes.

"Am I seeing things that just aren't there?" He gave her a questioning and almost sad look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean-" He sighed. He wasn't sure exactly what he meant but, from the moment he saw her in the airport, everything he was feeling inside made sense. He moved around the bed so that he was standing beside her. "I mean between you and me."

"Tom." Tayla licked her lips nervously. "There is no you and me."

"I'm not so sure about that." Tom pursed his lips in concentration. "Maybe it's always been there and I just pushed it away while we were on tour. I don't know how that works." He stopped his hand from reaching out to touch her by putting it in his pocket. "But now that I've had time to stop and really think about it, I want to kick myself." Tom watched her carefully as everything she thought showed on her face. She looked almost startled at first but that melted into embarrassment and she flushed before the confusion set in.

"You never paid any attention to me before Bradyn, Tom."

"I never paid attention to anyone before Bradyn." Tom shook his head. "But, as soon as he showed up, you became a huge fixture in his life and then in mine by default. When he was in the hospital- Tayla, I can't even begin to tell you how I felt. I know you were scared and angry with me and emotional and everything but multiply that by a billion and that's where I was. I had the stress of the tour on me, this new little boy that was counting on me and there was nothing at all that I could do to help him." He took a deep breath and looked up to smile slowly at her. "And you showed up to comfort me. To take care of me and make sure that I was okay."

"Tom, I-"

"No, I know you probably went there to check on Bradyn and probably scream at me too." He smiled and then shook his head. "But you did help me. Knowing that you actually believed in me and everything? That made all the difference in the world. I was falling apart and you jumped in and kept it together."

"You were doing okay." Tayla cleared her throat and closed the drawer slowly.

"No, I wasn't." Tom laughed lightly. "That night everything just kind of came together and I didn't know what to do with any of it but, on top of everything, was you." He removed his hand from his pocket and tugged on his lip. "So I, uh- I kissed you because that's all I could think of doing."

"You don't have to explain, Tom."

"I'm not trying to explain that. That's done. But from then on it was like, every time I saw you after that, I'd feel almost guilty for feeling attracted to you when I should have my whole focus on Bradyn. I couldn't make room for a girlfriend or anything like that. Bradyn took up all of my free time and my other time was spent working. I just pushed it aside as much as I could." He waited to see if she was going to say anything and, when she didn't, he continued. "But, like I said, now I'm here and I've had a chance to look back on everything. From the day I got to LA to find out I had a son until the last day of court, you were there for me when you didn't have to be."

"I was there for Bradyn." Tayla said softly.

Tom paused for a moment. "Is that all?" He gently reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder as she looked up at him. "Because, for me, the attraction is still there. That never changed. You're beautiful, inside and out." He smiled slowly. "When I saw you at the airport today it was like someone threw cold water on me and shouted, What are you waiting for?! There's no tour. Bradyn's into the groove of things. And everything just clicked." He shrugged.

"Clicked?"

"Clicked." He nodded. "You love Bradyn more than I ever expected. Right now Bradyn is my number one priority and you understand that. You wouldn't want it any other way."

"Of course not." She shook her head as her heart raced. A frown creased her forehead for a moment as a thought struck her. "If you're looking for a mother figure for Bradyn-"

"I'm not." He stopped her with a quick look. "I'm looking for a woman for me but she has to care about Bradyn and understand that he comes first no matter what."

"Tom, it's not that simple. Being there for Bradyn meant being there for you too but that wasn't always by choice. For a long time I would take Bradyn, not to help you but just so Bradyn wouldn't have to be around you." She cringed as he blushed and looked down. "When I first started with the tour I was attracted to you, of course. You were the hot young rock star that everyone was lusting after. That was nothing unexpected but then you became just one of the guys and work was work. When Bradyn showed up I- Well, I didn't like you at all."

"Okay." He exhaled suddenly as he heard Bradyn's door upstairs creak open slowly.

"The night in the hospital changed everything though, for me too." She nodded. "I saw all of the stuff you were dealing with and seeing that made it easier to want to help you and not just Bradyn."

Tom's eyes flickered upward as little sounds came from the room above them. "If I kissed you right now, what would happen?"

Tayla smiled and tried not to let the blush cross her cheeks. "I don't know."

"So am I seeing things when I think there might be more than just you helping me?"

"No." She shook her head as little feet made their way down the stairs.

"Thank you for coming here, Tayla." Tom said softly as he moved his hand from her shoulder to the side of her neck. His fingers toyed in her hair for a second before he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her slowly.

While she expected the kiss, she didn't expect the tumbling in her stomach or the wave of heat that swept over her as she tasted the lingering spearmint flavor of his gum.

Chapter Eight