The Muses Within

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Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Eight

"Daddy." Bradyn whined from the hall as he rubbed his eyes.

Tayla's eyes flew open as she quickly took a step back and raised her fingers to her tingling lips.

"Hey, buddy." Tom tucked his hands in his pockets and licked his lips. He cleared his throat as his eyes darted from Tayla to Bradyn. "You're gonna be awake now, huh?" Tom stepped around the corner of Tayla's bed and knelt to pick Bradyn up.

"Yeah." Bradyn mumbled as he yawned. The indentation of his pillow was still fresh on his warm cheek. "Daddy, I have possik?"

"Sure, I think we can find some popsicles." Tom kissed Bradyn's temple and stepped out into the hall. "Want a popsicle?" He asked Tayla as he smiled flirtatiously.

"I, uh- Sure." She nodded and looked down into her suitcase. "Yeah."

"Grape or cherry?"

"Gape." Bradyn laid his head on his father's shoulder. Tom raised his eyebrow and looked at Tayla. She was the intended target of his question.

"Cherry." She smiled and took a pair of pants from her suitcase.

"One cherry popsicle coming up."

"And gape." Bradyn said with a little more enthusiasm.

"And one grape too." Tom laughed as he and Bradyn headed down the short hall to the kitchen.

Tayla spent a few more minutes unpacking her clothes as her mind raced. She had arrived more than an hour ago expecting nothing more than a position as his pseudo-girlfriend while Astrid was in town and suddenly everything was turned upside down. She certainly didn't mind that things were changing so drastically but she wasn't expecting this.

Her lips still tingled from the sudden pressure and action. She reached up to touch them again, not quite believing they were still there. She smiled to herself then ran her fingers through her hair before she took a deep breath and walked down to the kitchen. "Hey." She said as she walked up to the backdoor. Bradyn and Tom were sitting side by side on the edge of the little patio with their feet on the grass.

"Hi, Tayla. Have possick." Bradyn turned around to give her with a wide purple grin.

"Look at you!" She laughed. "You're all purple!"

"Hey, don't laugh." Tom smiled to show his own purple lips and handed her the cherry popsicle. "Hurry up before it melts."

"Thanks." She took the popsicle and opened it as the red juices dribbled down her hand. "I'm gonna make a mess."

"Ona grass." Bradyn giggled as his popsicle dripped onto the grass between his knees.

"Oh, I see. Good idea." Tayla laughed and leaned over so she'd drip on the grass as well. They ate their popsicles in silence as they watched birds launch and land on the fence surrounding the pool.

When they were done, Tom took the discarded sticks and threw them away inside while Bradyn took Tayla around the backyard to show her all of his playthings. "Can go sim?" He asked as he squinted up at her.

"Yeah, maybe. We'll have to see what your Daddy says."

"He say kay." Bradyn nodded and pulled her toward the play set.

"You think he'll say okay?"

"Yeah."

"If he does, we'll have to go swimming." Tayla laughed and watched as he expertly climbed up the ladder to the first landing.

She and Bradyn played on and around the play set for a while before Tom joined in and pushed Bradyn on the swings to see how high he'd go. They stayed outside for a while before Tom's stomach growled. "I think we need to go get some dinner."

"Have a kickin and toy?" Bradyn crawled out of the swing and landed on the grass in front of Tom.

"A chicken nugget happy meal?" Tom blushed sheepishly.

"And a toy!"

"Sounds good to me." Tayla smiled and met Tom's eye over Bradyn's head. "McDonald's, huh?"

"Yeah we, uh- We go sometimes. You know, when we've had one of those days." Tom nodded. "Usually we stay home and cook though. Macaroni and cheese or something. We have a barbecue so we spark that up sometimes."

"Uh huh." Tayla nodded, not believing a word he said.

"We do!"

"Tom, you don't have to try to prove yourself to me." She laughed. "So you go to McDonald's? Big deal." She smiled and shook her head. "I like McDonald's as much as the next person."

"Dippin fry." Bradyn added.

"You dip your fries?" Tayla asked.

"He's a ketchup hound. Who knew?" Tom shrugged and lifted Bradyn up onto his shoulders. "Come on, let's go get some food."

"And eye keem?"

"If you eat your dinner, maybe we can have some ice cream for dessert." Tom ducked so Bradyn wouldn't hit his head as they entered the house. "I thought we'd go get it and bring it back here." Tom turned to address Tayla.

"Sounds good to me. Do you want me to go get it?"

"No, it's cool. We can hit the drive thru." Tom continued through the house to the garage where he took Bradyn down from his shoulders to strap him in his seat.

Tayla followed behind them feeling like a third wheel almost. She climbed in the passenger seat beside Tom. "So Astrid is coming in tomorrow?" Tayla asked as they hit the road.

"Yeah, she actually flies in tonight so she'll be by tomorrow afternoon." Tom kept his eyes straight forward as he unconsciously clenched his teeth.

"Okay." She answered softly. She didn't want to upset him by talking about it. They drove the rest of the way to McDonald's in silence. They got their food and drove back to the house to eat around the kitchen table. Bradyn sat high in his booster seat and spent more time playing with the toy that came in his Happy Meal than he did eating his dinner. Tom had to remind him three times that his chicken was going to get cold if he didn't eat it.

Finally, after several bouts of bargaining, Bradyn finished two of his chicken nuggets and half of his fries. "I done." He took a sip of his milk before he slid out of his seat. "Oh, Daddy, I have big tummy." He stuck his tummy out as far as it would go then patted it.

Tom laughed and shook his head. "That's attractive, buddy."

"Have eye keem?"

"Look at how big your tummy is. Do you think you can fit ice cream in there?" Tom raised his eyebrow as Bradyn headed for the family room.

"Yeah, Daddy."

"I don't think so."

"I think." Bradyn nodded.

Tayla laughed and stood up with her trash in her hand. "Do you want to go get your pajamas on? That way we can have ice cream and watch Alladin downstairs?" She threw her bag into the trashcan under the sink and rinsed her hands.

"He won't last ten minutes." Tom laughed lightly and caught Tayla's eye.

"Yeah, but it'll be fun." She smiled back and extended her hand to Bradyn who was already yawning. "Come on. Let's go get some pajamas on."

"And you?"

"Yeah, I'll put mine on too." Tayla laughed as they walked down the hall and detoured into her room. She placed Bradyn on the huge bed and took her pajama bottoms and tank top into the bathroom to change. She pulled a brush through her hair and put it into a quick ponytail before she went out into the room and turned around to model her new attire. "What do you think?"

"Is red." He shrugged and slid off the bed. "My jamas now?"

"Yeah, let's go get yours now." Tayla took his hand again and they headed for the stairs. As they rounded the corner Tayla heard a recorded voice coming from the kitchen area. "This is Astrid. I just landed here in Germany. I'm staying at the Centro Hotel on- "

Tayla hurried up the stairs with Bradyn clambering to keep up beside her. "I have geen jamas." Bradyn panted as they reached the top of the stairs. "Geen and boo."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Bradyn rubbed his eyes and yawned again.

"So what kind of pajamas do you want to wear tonight?" Tayla asked as she crossed his room and opened one of the drawers in his dresser.

"I dunno." Bradyn shrugged and climbed up on his toy box to peer into the open drawer. "Have a die-sore?"

"A dinosaur? Hmm, let's see." She rifled through his clothes and came up with a blue pair that had a big dinosaur on the front. "Sweet."

"Swee." Bradyn said softly as Tayla moved the pajamas to the tiny bed. Bradyn got a pull-up out of the bottom drawer and handed it to her as he climbed up onto the bed. She got him ready for bed and spent a minute just watching him choose a toy from his toy box to take downstairs with him.

His diapered bottom pooched out just the slightest bit and his tiny hands wrapped carefully around his fire truck. "Kay, we see a add-in?"

"Alladin? Yeah, we're going to go watch Alladin. It's a story about a boy and his monkey."

"Mokey?"

"Yeah. His name is Alladin and his monkey's name is Abu. He meets a girl named Jasmine and her tiger named Rajah."

Bradyn laughed and tucked his truck under his arm as he took Tayla's hand. "A mokey an a tiger?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." She laughed as they took the steps one at a time down to the entry.

They joined Tom in the family room a minute later where he had the movie ready to go and three bowls of ice cream on the floor. "I hope you like mint chocolate chip."

"That's fine." Tayla smiled and sat on the floor cross-legged beside Bradyn.

"Cool pajamas." Tom nodded and sat on the opposite side of Bradyn. He pushed the play button and the movie started without any previews or credits.

Tom was right, within the first few minutes Bradyn was sound asleep with his head tilted back against the couch. His small bowl of ice cream melted slowly as Tom and Tayla finished theirs while watching the movie.

"He's completely out." Tom whispered as he pushed himself up off the floor. He reached for Tayla's bowl and carried them to the kitchen where he placed them in the dishwasher. When he returned to the family room, he put his hands on his hips and looked down at Bradyn who was beginning to fall over. "Okay, let's get you upstairs." Tom bent over and lifted Bradyn off the floor, being careful not to give the little boy whiplash.

"Can I put him down?" Tayla asked as she stood up and brushed her hands on the front of her shorts.

"Sure." Tom nodded as he stepped over the toys that were out on the floor. Bradyn lay like a rag doll in his arms as he carefully balanced on one foot for a second. "He's dead weight."

"That's okay." Tayla smiled and slid her hands between Bradyn's shoulders and Tom's chest. She lifted him onto her shoulder and adjusted him so that he was steadier. "I'll be right back." She whispered as she walked slowly down the hall toward the stairs.

Tayla took the stairs slowly. Bradyn had grown since the last time she saw him and he wasn't as light as he used to be. When she got to the top of the stairs she peeked into the first room and smiled. A little red Elmo nightlight illuminated the little corner of the room with a bright and cheery smile.

The door creaked softly as she prodded it open with her foot and stepped into the dark room. The light from the hall shone into the room so she wasn't in complete darkness as she walked barefoot towards the tiny bed on the far wall. Tayla placed her hand on Bradyn's head to support his neck as she leaned forward and laid him on his back in the middle of his bed. She slowly pulled the covers up to his chin.

She sat on the side of the bed and brushed his hair off his forehead. She thought he'd be needing a haircut pretty soon. The light from the hall fell across his face but he was too far into his dream world to notice. "You're one lucky little boy." Tayla whispered as she ran her finger over his dry lips causing him to pucker.

Tom stayed downstairs watching the TV on mute for a minute before he climbed the carpeted stairs quietly. He didn't make a sound as he reached the landing and stood in the doorway of Bradyn's room.

Tayla looked up as Tom blocked the light from the hallway and smiled. "Hi." She whispered.

Tom raised his hand in a half wave. "Hi." He whispered with a small smile. He watched as Tayla turned back to Bradyn and said a good night prayer for him, barely moving her lips. As he stood in the hall watching, Tom crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. This was how it was supposed to be, the Mom and Dad saying good night to their kids after a long day, bedtime prayers and that warm blushing feeling Tom felt. Only Tayla wasn't Bradyn's mom. That was the only part that didn't fit.

Tayla stood slowly and passed Tom to begin down the stairs where they could finish watching the movie. Just as her shoulder brushed his, Tom caught her arm and pulled her closer to him. She stood motionless as she looked up at him with a look somewhere between confusion and interest. Tom's arm wrapped around her waist and his heart pounded as he brought his lips down to hers in a delicate and unsure kiss.

"Tom, I-" As Tayla opened her mouth to protest Tom took that opportunity to deepen the kiss, moving her back two steps to the wall. She took a split second to get her bearings but, when she did, her hand found it's way to his neck and she held him closer with the other hand on his back.

Tom's hunger and desperation surprised even himself as his breath quickened to match his pulse. He slowly and carefully managed to walk them both to the end of the hall, using the wall as a guide, without losing his place or pace. As he pushed his bedroom door open he was already reaching for her shirt, anxious to feel the warmth of her bare skin.

They paused long enough to pull her shirt over her head and toss it carelessly toward the far window before they resumed their kissing and she back stepped to the bed. As she fell back onto the bed, Tayla held tight to his arms to pull him with her. He stood up for a moment to pull his own shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor before he returned to Tayla.

"Oh God." He said under his breath as he bent to kiss her again. Six months was a long time by any mans standards but for him it felt like an eternity. He couldn't get her pants off fast enough and spent precious seconds fumbling with his own belt in the rush. She laughed lightly as he cursed his belt before dropping it on top of his shirt. She pulled him down to kiss his already swollen lips.

"W- Wait." She said between kisses as he let his hands explore her body. "Wait, Tom."

"What's wrong?" Tom held his face inches from hers.

"Protection." She whispered with a smile though she was completely serious.

"Y- Yeah." Tom bit his lip gently before reaching into the nightstand for the familiar foil packet.

He smoothed her hair back and looked into her eyes, even though the room was dark. "Are you sure?" He whispered, knowing how cliché that sounded.

She nodded in response. She couldn't have been more sure of anything. He kissed her again, his hands resuming their exploration of her body. He tried to take his time with her but he found it impossible to slow down. He inhaled sharply as he rested his damp forehead against her shoulder.

"Wow." She whispered as she tried to catch her breath. Tom nestled his head in the crook of her neck as he lay perfectly still.

"My God." Tom rolled onto his side but left his arm resting across her stomach. He couldn't believe he'd just gone so completely crazy but, at the same time, he felt like everything was finally right and sane.

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

The awkward feeling in the morning was amplified by the fact that Bradyn woke them both out of a deep sleep at the same time. "Ugh." Tom said as he sat up in bed and pressed his hands over his eyes. He felt hung over while knowing he hadn't had a drop to drink. "I'll get him." He grabbed his boxers off the floor and pulled them on as Tayla lay rigidly on the far end of the bed.

She pulled the sheet tight around her body as she listened to Tom shuffle out of the room. She wanted to leave, to run downstairs to her room and to forget this whole thing had happened but that would almost be too weird. As if the situation wasn't uncomfortable enough.

She carefully leaned off the tall bed and found her tank top crumpled up half way under the nightstand. Tayla blushed as she pulled it over her untamed hair and quickly slid from the bed to grab her pajama bottoms that were by the window. She was standing by the window tying the waist when Tom knocked gently on the door. "Hey, are you up?" He asked from behind the halfway closed door.

"Yeah." Tayla ran her hands through her hair and turned around as her toes found her underwear hanging from the bottom shelf of the nightstand. She picked them up and folded them before tucking them in her back pocket. "Hey, sweetie." Tayla smiled brightly as Bradyn waddled into the room and tried to climb onto the big bed.

"Hi, Tayla." He gave her a small smile as she lifted him onto the bed while she straightened the covers with her other hand. He crawled up to the pillows and sat down between the two larger ones. "See Big Bird?"

"We watch Sesame Street in the mornings." Tom smiled sheepishly as he stood by the door.

"Oh, by all means." Tayla smiled grateful for the excuse to sneak out. "I'm going to go, um- Shower. Do you- What would you like for breakfast?"

"Pankays." Bradyn giggled and grabbed his toes as he sat cross-legged.

"Pancakes coming right up." Tayla smiled and averted Tom's gaze as she leaned over to kiss the top of Bradyn's head. "With syrup or powdered sugar?"

"Raises."

"Raisins? Well, okay." She stood up straight and looked down at the floor as she headed for the door. She'd have to walk right in front of Tom to exit the room but he moved to block the door completely. "What about you?" She asked softly as she looked down at her hands.

"Pancakes sound good to me. I'm sure you'll do better with them than I did." He smiled and waited for her to look up at him. "Tayla?"

"Hmm?" She looked up and stared at his collarbone.

"Hey." He said as he smiled shyly. He reached out and tipped her chin up. "As stupid as this sounds, thank you."

"Tha- What? You- What for?" She stuttered.

"Everything. And last night."

"I'm sorry about that, Tom. I don't usually-"

"Don't apologize." Tom shook his head and gave a short laugh, "If anyone should be sorry it's me. I don't- I shouldn't have just gone crazy like that but I'm not sorry that it happened." He smiled slowly.

"Daddy, come see." Bradyn bounced up and down on the bed.

Tom looked over at the bed quickly then back at Tayla. "You're cute when you're nervous." He smiled and looked her in the eye.

Tayla's cheeks turned a slightly deeper shade of pink as she tried not to smile. The corner of her mouth turned up slightly. "I'll let you know when the pancakes are ready."

"Okay." He nodded and leaned in to kiss her lower lip as she continued to try not to smile. Before the kiss could turn into anything more, Tom took a step back and watched as she blinked a few times. She silently headed for the stairs.

Tayla stood in the downstairs shower reluctantly washing any reminder of the night before away. She washed her hair with Tom's shampoo and tried to tame the butterflies in her stomach as she rinsed her hair and stepped out of the shower. She made a mad dash back into her room to dress in clean shorts and a tank top before she went to the kitchen barefoot.

She busied herself by looking through the cupboards to locate the necessary ingredients for pancakes. While she was looking for a griddle she saw a piece of paper taped to the message board in the phone nook. "Bill and Nadiehn's house of animal loooove" was scrawled in cursive with a number underneath. Tayla looked at the yellow sticky note then glanced at the cordless phone on the wall. She could really go for some girl talk right then and Nadiehn was about the only person who would completely understand.

Tayla picked up the phone and dialed before she could convince herself that it was too early to call anyone. "H'lo?" Bill's voice greeted her and she immediately cringed.

"Hi, Bill? This is Tayla."

"Tayla who?" He cleared his throat and she could tell she woke him up.

"Your wardrobe girl. I'm really sorry to call you so early but is Nadiehn there?"

"Nadiehn?" Bill now sounded confused.

"Yeah." Tayla mentally kicked herself in the butt.

"Hang on." She heard the blankets rustle over the phone. His his voice softened. "Hey, babe? Nay? Tayla is on the phone."

"Tayla?" Nadiehn mumbled as she rolled over. "Okay." She took the phone from Bill and buried it under the covers with her. "Hey, Tayla? You okay?"

"I'm sorry to call you so early but I didn't know what else to do." Tayla found a large bowl in the pantry and set it on the counter.

"S'okay. What's up?"

"I slept with him. With Tom. We had sex last night." Tayla said softly as she scooped the pancake mix into the bowl.

"Get out!" Nadiehn said in a normal voice.

"Nadiehn?" Bill grumbled as he rustled the sheets again.

"Hang on, Tayla. Let me go to the other room." Nadiehn swung her feet over the side of the bed and slid her feet into her slippers. She leaned over to kiss Bill on the cheek before she snuck out of the room and left him in the dark. Nadiehn greeted the dogs in the hall and dodged them as she made it to the living room where she curled up in the corner of the couch. "Okay, so tell me what happened."

"I don't know."

"Liar." She pet Chase as he laid his head by her feet on the couch.

"I know what happened. I'm just not entirely sure how." Tayla sighed and measured the milk.

"Tayla."

"You know what I mean." Tayla whined. "I was putting Bradyn to bed and Tom came up and was watching. The next thing I know we're naked and going for it. It was crazy."

"Crazy good or crazy bad?"

"Just crazy. It was all so fast but it seemed like it was forever. Ugh, does that make any sense?"

"Yeah." Nadiehn laughed lightly and turned the TV on with the sound muted. "So what exactly are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at home?"

"Yeah but Tom called and Astrid is coming into town today. Since she thinks we're dating he wanted me to come and play house or whatever so I flew in yesterday. But now I'm just like, what was that about? I mean, we talked yesterday afternoon kinda and we kissed again but-"

"You talked?"

"Well, yeah." Tayla sighed and pressed her eyes closed. "He just said stuff like now that he was home he saw how much I helped him and how much I meant to him and Bradyn and everything." She sighed. "It was confusing."

"Well, what did you say?"

"I agreed with him more or less. I don't know. He brought up the fact that he'd been attracted to me since that time we kissed in the hospital but that he didn't know what to do about it because he had to focus on Bradyn. Which is right. I mean, he did." Tayla mixed the ingredients together to keep her head on straight.

"Aren't you attracted to him?"

"Hell yes." Tayla whispered.

"So he's saying he felt the same way?"

"Basically."

"So you guys are kicking yourself in the ass for taking so long to figure it out?"

"I guess."

"And last night you were making up for lost time?"

"That's a hell of a way to put it." Tayla laughed and cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear to use both hands.

"Did he say anything this morning?"

"He said thank you." Tayla crinkled her nose and laughed. "And that I'm cute when I'm nervous."

"How cute is that? Tayla, you have give him a chance. He's one of the best guys out there." Nadiehn smiled proudly.

"Second only to Bill?"

"Naturally." Nadiehn nodded and looked down at her hand, "Speaking of which-"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I know I woke you guys up. I'll let you go so you can-"

"No, no, no. I'm up." Nadiehn laughed. "But there's news on the Bill front."

"Oh?"

"He proposed on Saturday." She dropped her voice a little as if she were trying to keep a secret from the dogs at her feet.

"Are you serious?" Tayla stopped stirring and dropped the spoon into the batter. "Nadiehn that's awesome! Congratulations! Why didn't you say anything? I've been going on about my issues when you had a huge announcement!"

"Your issues are important too."

"I want details." Tayla said as she dug the spoon out and rinsed it in the sink.

"Bill said they were all getting together over at Tom's this week to go over wardrobe stuff so I'll come over with him and I'll tell you all about it."

"Nadiehn this is really the best news! You're so lucky." Tayla pretended to pout. "You get to be engaged."

"Yeah, well, you got to have sex with Tom." Nadiehn shrugged. "Seems fair to me."

Tayla laughed out loud as Tom bounded down the stairs with Bradyn in his arms. "I have to go. They're up." She said quickly.

"I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye! Tell Bill I'm sorry."

"I will." Nadiehn laughed then hung up.

Tayla put the cordless back on its charger and spooned circles of batter onto the griddle beside the stove. "Hi, Tayla! Have pankays!" Bradyn giggled as Tom hung him upside down by the ankles.

"I'm making some just for you." Tayla smiled and avoided Tom's eye.

"And Daddy!"

"Of course! Daddy too." She turned back to the griddle and watched as they bubbled slowly.

"I can help?" Bradyn asked as Tom stood him upright. "Tayla?"

"Oh no, sweetie. I don't need any help. This is hot up and I don't want you to burn yourself." Tayla shook her head and watched him carefully as he danced around the kitchen.

"Here you go, buddy. Why don't you hop up in your seat and I'll get you an apple?" Tom patted the booster seat and helped the little boy up into it.

"Does he want the raisins cooked into the pancakes? Or on top?" Tayla asked as Tom opened the refrigerator.

"On top." Tom laughed. "Actually, he's going to pick them off anyway so on the side is fine."

"He picks them off?"

"Yeah, he's weird." Tom laughed and pulled a knife from the drawer. He stood with his back toward Tayla as he cut the apple into small pieces. "You're weird. Aren't you, buddy?"

"No, you." Bradyn giggled.

"No, you." Tom laughed back.

"No, you Daddy."

"Okay, I'm weird." Tom tossed the core of the apple in the sink then carried the slices to the table. "There you go. Dig in."

"I have pankays and raises?"

"Tayla is getting that for you."

"Is good?"

"I'm sure they're going to be good."

"Daddy's good?" Bradyn gave Tom a worried look as he bit into his apple.

"Oh, stop it. My pancakes aren't that bad." He reached across the table and messed Bradyn's hair. "A little crispy but they were okay."

"Is kay." Bradyn nodded as Tayla laughed from the kitchen.

She joined them at the table a few minutes later with a plate of pancakes. "I couldn't find your syrup."

"It's in the cupboard above the toaster. Hang on, I'll get it." Tom stood up and fetched the bottle of syrup and sat it in front of Tayla.

"I go see Dylan?" Bradyn asked as he popped a raisin into his mouth.

"Not today." Tom shook his head. "You'll go to school tomorrow and see him though."

"He come?"

"Yeah, I think he'll be at school." Tom shrugged.

"In my house?" Bradyn shook his head.

"No, Dylan can't come over today but you're going to have another special visitor." Tom cleared his throat and took a bite of the pancakes. "These are really good." He smiled across the table at Tayla.

"Thank you." She said softly as she concentrated on cutting her own breakfast.

"Dylan speso?"

Tom laughed lightly. "Yeah, Dylan is special but today you're going to have a different visitor."

"Is Tayla gan?"

"No, it's not Tayla again, silly. She's already here."

"And I see gan." Bradyn giggled.

"You're a goof." Tom's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled and looked at Bradyn.

Tayla watched in silence, seeing for the first time how Tom and Bradyn interacted with each other on their own. It was amazing for her to see Tom in this element. She'd seen him in the dad zone before but this was a whole new level. This was a father who knew every last inch of their child. A father who knew what his son was thinking even before the child knew. A father who truly enjoyed the silliness of a conversation with a two year old.

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

They finished their breakfast then Bradyn took off upstairs to pick out his own clothes for the day. It was a new found pleasure he'd only recently discovered. "What time is Astrid coming?" Tayla asked as she began to clear the table.

"I can do that." Tom stood up with his plate in his hand and walked it to the sink to stand beside Tayla. "She said she'd be by around noon. She's doing some sort or orientation today that's supposed to be over around eleven."

"Okay." She nodded. "Is she staying here?"

"What do you mean?" Tom held his plate under the water to rinse it off.

"For the visit."

"Oh, yeah." Tom nodded. "They can play in his room or outside or something."

"Okay." Tayla cleared her throat. "How do you feel about her coming here? I mean, you seem okay about it which is good but-"

"I'm okay." Tom nodded. "I think we've calmed down a lot since LA. I'm not mad like I was before. I can't be. I mean, no matter what, she's going to be part of my life forever because of Bradyn so, for his sake, I have to make it as easy as I can. She sounds better too."

"Really?" She asked with a hint of worry.

"Really." Tom turned the water off and set his plate in the dishwasher beside the others. "More mature, I guess." He shrugged. "She's almost apologetic, you know, and generally wanting Bradyn to be happy and to make things go smoothly. She wasn't demanding or stubborn like before."

"That's good."

"Yeah." Tom said softly as he turned around to lean on the counter. "Are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't know what to expect when she-"

"No. I mean you."

"Yes, I'm fine." She dropped her eyes to the floor and wiped her hands on the little yellow towel. "Have you gotten in touch with the guys yet to arrange a time to come over?" She asked quickly.

"They're all meeting here on Friday so you can do your measurements or whatever." Tom smiled as she took a step back. "Are you sure you're okay? You look nervous."

"I'm okay." She shook her head and looked up to meet his eyes with a half smile. "I'm fine."

"Tayla, last night wasn't just a thing, you know. That was something."

"No, I-"

"I mean it wasn't just a rush of hormones or whatever." He shook his head and ran his hand over his hair. "Okay, it was that too but it wasn't just that."

"Tom, you don't have to explain anything to me."

"I'm not trying to explain." He shook his head. "We're adults. Nothing needs to be explained. I know what happened, you know what happened. I'm just telling you that, for me, it was more than just a Wham. Bam. Thank you, ma'am."

Tayla blushed and cleared her throat. "I know it's been a while and I don't expect-"

"See, that's what I didn't want you to think." He shook his head and laughed lightly. "Yeah, it's been a while but I could have waited longer. I wasn't doing it just to do it. It meant more than that. That's all I'm trying to say."

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome." He nodded and tilted his head to the side as they stood in silence. "You still look perplexed."

"I'm fine." She smiled sincerely and briefly touched his hand.

"Promise?"

"Promise." She nodded slightly as her heart picked up its pace.

"Okay." He leaned down and brushed her lips with his to seal the agreement. "I need to go make sure he's getting dressed. He has this habit of running around naked until I get there, which can be hazardous since he's still kinda potty training."

Tayla laughed easily and shook her head. "You'd better get up there." Tom paused for a second before he placed his hand behind her neck and kissed her again. The night before had opened up the floodgates of feelings and he couldn't stop himself from touching her.

Tom ran up the stairs two at a time and Tayla heard him talking to Bradyn in his room as she shut the dishwasher and leaned against the counter. "This is going to be an interesting day. A very interesting day." Tayla whispered to herself as she laughed softly.

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

The three of them spent the morning in the backyard playing on Bradyn's play set and digging in the dirt. He'd discovered ants the week before and couldn't wait to show Tayla how easy they were to find. "I love the ants, Bradyn. They're cool. It's like you have a bunch of little pets in the backyard." Tayla smiled.

"As long as they staying the backyard, they're cool." Tom added softly.

"Yeah, they need to stay outside though." She nodded. "Do you mind if I get a drink?" Tayla asked as she stood up off the grass.

"Go ahead. Make yourself at home." Tom smiled and turned his attention back to the trail of ants crossing the little rock path Bradyn had set up.

Tayla brushed her hands on her shorts. "Do you want anything?"

"I'm okay, thanks." Tom shook his head.

"Bradyn? Do you want some juice?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head like his Dad and smiled.

"No, thank you." Tom said softly.

"No, danks you." Bradyn giggled up at Tayla before he stood up and grabbed his huge basketball and walked toward the play set.

A slow smile spread across her lips as she went back into the house to pour herself a drink. She'd just filled a glass with ice when the doorbell rang, echoing through the living room. Tayla took her ice filled glass to the backdoor to let Tom know there was someone at the door but he was too involved with chasing Bradyn to notice her. "Tom? There's someone at the door." Tayla shouted as she leaned against the backdoor.

"What?" Tom laughed as he rounded the corner, not even looking up at Tayla.

"Never mind." She shook her head and walked back through the house as the doorbell sounded again. Tayla looked through the peephole and the blood rushed to her face.

Standing on the other side of the door was Astrid. Tayla had only seen her that once at the show when she first showed up but it was not a face she'd soon forget. Bradyn looked very much like his mother.

Tayla frowned for a second. She thought she should really go get Tom to answer the door. She didn't want to let Astrid in. The doorbell sounded again followed by a few short knocks as Tayla remembered the whole reason she was there. She was there to play the happy girlfriend who is helping to raise Bradyn. She took a deep breath and reached for the handle. "Hi! You must be Astrid." Tayla said as she pulled the front door open.

"Yes, hi." She smiled nervously and looked past Tayla.

"I'm Tayla. Come in." She held the door open for her as she walked in cautiously and looked around. "Tom and Bradyn are in the back yard, straight back through the kitchen." Tayla pointed. Astrid looked different than Tayla remembered her. She looked more together and professional looking as if she'd put some effort into presenting herself.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Astrid blushed quickly and followed Tayla down the hall. Her thin sandals clacked on the tile as Tayla's bare feet hardly made a sound. "I'm a little early. The orientation was put off until tomorrow so I, uh- Well, I didn't have to go and I wasn't too sure how to get here. I wanted to give myself time to get lost, you know?" She laughed nervously and smoothed down the front of her skirt.

"It's kind of tricky." Tayla plastered a smile on her face as she turned around to look at Astrid. "Did you have any trouble at the gate?"

"Oh, no." Astrid shook her head and reached up to straighten her hair. "My name was on the list. Once I got through there it was easy enough to find. It was just getting to the gate." Tayla pushed the backdoor open and held it for Astrid to walk through.

"Hey, guys! Look who's here." Tayla let the screen close behind her as she stepped around Astrid and down the little steps to the lawn and play area where Bradyn and Tom were chasing each other on the huge play set.

Tom stopped abruptly and Bradyn almost plowed into the back of his legs. "Hi." Tom's smile fell for a second before he found it again and displayed it happily. "Hey, Bray! You have a visitor." He turned around and lifted Bradyn to see over the edge of the play area. "Look who it is!"

"Is Pie appo?"

"No, not Bill. Who is that, silly?"

"Is Mommy?"

"Yeah, that's your Mommy. Go down there and say hi." Tom said softly.

"No, I say." Bradyn hitched up the waist of his new shorts. They were a little big but he was between sizes and finding pants to fit was rough.

"No, you need to go say hi."

"You say hi and I say here." Bradyn shook his head and sat down.

"Bradyn, come on." Tom leaned down to pick him up. "You haven't seen your Mommy in a while. I'm sure she misses you." Tom maneuvered down the little steps with Bradyn in his arms. He set him down on the grass so they could walk over to the little patio where Astrid was standing.

"Hi." Tom smiled and reached for Tayla's hand.

Astrid's eyes trailed from Tom's eyes down his arm to his fingers interlocking with Tayla's. She held her smile as she tore her eyes away and knelt in front of Bradyn. "Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, Mommy." Bradyn shuffled his feet as he walked over to where she stood. He let her pick him up and give him a hug before he wiggled to be set down. "I pay onat." He pointed over his shoulder.

"I see that. That's really cool." Astrid nodded. "That's like having your own park in your backyard, huh?" She blushed quickly and took in the size of the play area. Her entire apartment could fit in the half of the backyard that wasn't blocked off by the gate around the pool.

"Is mine."

"I'm sure it is." Astrid said softly as she walked down the little steps to the grass.

"Why don't you show your Mommy how you play on the slide? Maybe she'll push you on the swings."

"And you?"

"No, I'm going to go inside and clean up or something." Tom gave Tayla's hand a quick squeeze for support and forced a smile.

"You can see?"

"I'll watch you, sure." Tom nodded as Astrid blushed quickly. He knew she thought he'd be keeping an eye on her and he would be. There was no way she could leave the backyard with him without hopping the nine feet walls or scaling the wrought iron fence that sealed off his side yards. Not that he thought she'd try but he couldn't be too careful.

Tayla excused herself and went to the garage where she opened the wardrobes and began to sort through the clothes. She put them in order from the ones she knew she'd have to alter to the ones she was pretty sure were good as they were. For the duration of Astrid's visit, Tayla stayed out of sight and let Tom do the nervous watching. He went into the house as Astrid lead Bradyn to the play set while telling him about her plane ride out from California.

Tom sat at the kitchen table then leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He took a piece of paper from the stack on the little desk behind him and meticulously folded and unfolded a piece of paper until it tore easily in half. As he watched Astrid and Bradyn played on the play set, he continued to tear the paper into perfect halves. He couldn't hear what was being said but he could tell by Bradyn's body language that he was just beginning to warm up to seeing his mom again. Bradyn kept himself at a safe distance from her and pretty much played by himself, only talking when she addressed him first.

As Tom watched Astrid circling the play set just trying to see Bradyn, he almost felt sorry for her. She was actually putting forth the effort and Bradyn wasn't interested. Half of him wanted to go outside and tell Bradyn to play with his mother but the other half knew that she needed to see the impact that her leaving had on Bradyn.

After more than an hour, Bradyn reluctantly jumped off the play set and took Astrid's hand as they walked up to the patio to sit at the little table there. Bradyn took a drink from his sippy cup and looked up at Astrid. "I go see school."

"I know, your Daddy told me you were going to school. That's cool." Astrid nodded rested her chin in her hand. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and wiped his mouth on his forearm. "I see Dylan and Muh-wee and Miss Headder."

"Are those your friends?"

"No, Dylan is."

"Dylan is your friend?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and fidgeted in his seat. He pulled himself up onto his knees and took another drink of his juice. "Where Daddy?"

"He's, uh- He's inside, I think." Astrid glanced into the house and caught Tom's eye through the glass. "Do you like living here?"

"Yeah." Bradyn perked up and licked his grape juice coated lips. "I have a car bed and a toys."

"Wow." Astrid's smile dipped at the corner. "Do you get to go in the pool?"

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and rambled on. "Gay-og can hold me up high anen he boom ina water." Bradyn held is hands over his head and imitated Georg throwing him in the pool. "And Daddy say no-no owie." He frowned to imitate Tom. "Gay-og say daddy a cwazy." Bradyn giggled and covered his mouth. "Daddy a cwazy and Georg a cwazy and I a cwazy."

"You guys are all crazy, huh?" Astrid blushed and stared at her hands.

"Yeah and Pie appo and Goose-gog and Nay-dee and my Tayla and a doggie."

"Wow, that's a lot of people."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed with a content smile. "Is mine."

"It's yours? Your family?"

Bradyn shrugged. "Yeah."

"That's, uh- That's cool you have a big family like that."

"And you?"

"Me?"

"Mine?" Bradyn cast her a confused look as he climbed out of the chair. "Isa Mommy and a Daddy."

"Yeah." Astrid said softly. "I'm part of your family too."

"Yeah." Bradyn shimmied off the chair and went to the backdoor. "See my toy?"

"I'd love to see your toys." Astrid wiped at her eyes quickly and followed Bradyn into the house.

"Are you guys done already?" Tom asked as he casually stood against the counter in the kitchen.

"He wants to show me some of his toys." Astrid nodded at the family room where Bradyn was taking his toys out of the box one at a time and setting them on the thick carpet.

"Okay." Tom nodded and swirled the ice in his cup. "I'd like to talk to you when he's done with that." He added softly.

Astrid looked up at him and held his stare for a moment. "Okay." She sat on the floor beside Bradyn and carefully examined his toys as he set them before her. Bradyn was thrilled with the new attention for his toys and told her all of the fun things he did with each of them. After a half hour, Bradyn stood up and looked around for Tom or Tayla. As a two year old, playing with one person for that long maxed out his attention span and he was looking for alternatives.

"Daddy? Come see now?" Bradyn asked as he ran his fingers along the cupboards on the way to Tom's legs.

"Why don't you go get Tayla and have her come inside for a minute?" Tom said softly.

"Where she?"

"She's in the garage." Tom nodded toward the front of the house. "Thanks, buddy."

"Tayla!" Bradyn shouted as he took off running down the hall. His tiny sneakers thumped on the tile of the laundry room leading to the garage as Bradyn peeled through the door. "Tayla, can come?"

"What's that, sweetie?" Tayla swung the door of the wardrobe shut and looked at Bradyn. "Are you done visiting with your Mother?"

"Yeah and you isside." Bradyn ran over and grabbed her hand to pull her back into the house. "Peese, Tayla."

"I'm coming." Tayla laughed and let him drag her through the laundry room and into the kitchen.

"I have my Tayla." Bradyn smiled as he let go of her hand and ran over to Tom's side. "I say peese and isside."

"Thanks, buddy. You have nice manners." Tom picked Bradyn up and bounced him on his hip. "Hey, baby?" Tom poured it on thicker than necessary as he addressed Tayla. "Can you take Bradyn upstairs for a little bit so Astrid and I can talk?"

Tayla looked mildly stunned for a second. "Yeah."

"We go bye?" Bradyn asked as he looked over at Tayla.

"Hmm? No, we're gonna go up to your room, I think." Tayla said quickly.

"Go see Pie appo?" Bradyn smiled as he wiggled to get down.

"Um, I don't know. Tom? Would it be better if we went to see Bill and Nadiehn?" Tayla asked, trying to play it off like this was something they did all the time. Bradyn bounced around her feet in a funky dance until she leaned down to pick him up.

"Sure, if you'd like." Tom walked over to the kitchen where the phone nook was. He scribbled the address and some raw directions on a scratch paper and slid it over to Tayla along with their phone number. "Thanks." He whispered as he inconspicuously slipped it into her hand while he brushed his lips over her cheek.

"No problem." She whispered back. "Where are the car keys?"

"Here." He reached into his pocket and placed the warm keys in her hand. "My cell is in the center console. Bill's number is stored in there. Give him a call and let him know you're on your way over."

"What if he's not home?"

Tom glanced at his watch and smiled. "He's home."

"Okay." Tayla nodded and smiled at Bradyn, "Are you ready to go?

"Yeah, I see Pie appo!"

"You bet we will." Tayla giggled and headed for the hall. "Nice to see you again." Tayla said without a hint of emotion as they passed Astrid. "Bradyn, sweetie, say bye-bye to your Mommy."

"Bye-bye, Mommy." Bradyn waved over Tayla's shoulder. "She go fly?"

"Not yet. I think you'll get to see her again in a few days." Tayla mumbled as they stepped into the garage. She buckled Bradyn into the back seat before settling herself in the driver's seat. They headed for Bill and Nadiehn's to give Tom some time to sort things out with Astrid, once and for all.

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

Tayla used Tom's cell phone to call Bill when she hit the main road toward his house. "Hey, Bill! It's Tayla."

"Hey, how are you?" He smiled.

"Good. You?"

"I'm good." Bill chewed on his gum. "Do you want me to get Nadiehn?"

"No, that's okay." Tayla shook her head. "First of all though, congratulations. I heard you popped the question over the weekend."

"Yeah, thanks." Bill blushed quickly.

"You're welcome. You guys are really lucky." Tayla laughed lightly. "Also, I, uh- I have Bradyn with me and I was wondering if you were busy right now?"

"Right now?" Bill looked over at Nadiehn relaxing on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV. "No, not really. What's up?"

"It's a long story. Can I come over and explain it there?" She glanced at the little map Tom had drawn and turned at the next light.

"Yeah, sure." Bill furrowed his brow. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." Tayla nodded.

"Where's Tom?"

"He's at his house with Astrid." Tayla cradled the phone by her ear as she turned onto Bill's street and slowed down. "I'm on your street now though, I think. Which house are you?"

"All the way at the end of the road. Just past the ranch looking house with a barn."

"A barn, huh?"

"Stable actually. They have a few horses. Mine is the driveway right after that on the left." Bill yawned.

"Thanks. I'll be there in a few minutes." She clicked the phone off and concentrated on the houses around her.

"Tayla, see Pie appo?" Bradyn mumbled from the backseat as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, we're going to see Bill."

"And Nay-dee?"

"Nadiehn? Yeah, I'm sure she's there too." Tayla nodded.

"An Chase?"

"Chase? Who's that?"

"Chase puppy."

"Oh, I didn't know they had a puppy. Is he big?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and pressed his hand against the window.

"This car is huge. I don't know how your Dad drives this all over the place." Tayla leaned forward in her seat as the ranch house came into view.

"I see! Is Pie appo and Nay-dee and doggies!" Bradyn perked up in the backseat as they pulled into the long driveway. "Tayla, see? Have one and two doggie!"

"Wow, they have two doggies, huh?" Tayla drove slowly as she steered the huge car up the driveway. She pulled to a stop in front of the front door and jumped out to help Bradyn get out of his seat.

"Hey, Bradyn." Bill smiled as he trotted out to the car. "What's up?"

"I see Mommy."

"You did? Cool." Bill took Bradyn's little hand in his then smiled at Tayla. "Hi, Tayla."

"Hi, Bill." She smiled back. She slammed the door shut and followed him up to the front door where Nadiehn stood just inside.

"Hey, you." Nadiehn laughed as the group walked in. "Do I get a hug before you go play with Chase and Jayda?"

"Yeah." Bradyn let go of Bill's hand and dove for Nadiehn's legs. She scooped him up and gave him a big bear hug and a noisy kiss before she set him down and watched him take off through the house to where the dogs were waiting in the living room.

"Thanks for letting us come over." Tayla sighed softly from the entry.

"No problem." Bill nodded quickly then headed for the living room as Bradyn squealed and the dogs began to bark.

"So what's the deal?" Nadiehn asked as she and Tayla followed the noise.

"Tom wanted to talk to Astrid alone so we left and this was where Bradyn wanted to come."

"How'd the visit go?"

Tayla shrugged and sighed again. "I don't know. Good, I guess. I was out in the garage arranging the clothes and stuff for Friday." She paused for a second. "Are you coming on Friday?"

"Yeah, I should be back by then. I'm leaving early tomorrow to go Magdeburg for a few days but I'll be back Friday morning." She waved her left hand in the air. "Mom wants to see the ring and hug her baby. You know how moms can be."

"Oh! Let me see!" Tayla took her hand and admired the elegant platinum diamond ring on her finger. "It's beautiful." Tayla whispered. "Bill has good taste."

"Yeah, he does. I can't believe I didn't have to pick it out myself." Nadiehn beamed as she looked at the ring. "This is exactly what I would have chosen though."

"It's gorgeous." Tayla pulled her in for a quick hug.

"How's Tom?"

"He's okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Tayla nodded and caught Nadiehn's eye. "Things are okay. We talked a little."

"Good." Nadiehn laughed lightly as they entered the living room where Bradyn was rolling on the floor between the two excited dogs.

"Now that looks like fun." Tayla laughed as Bradyn crawled over the dogs lying on the floor. They gently played with Bradyn as if they knew he was just a kid and were careful when they stood up to go outside. Once they got to the wide back door, Bradyn looked over his shoulder, waiting for Chase to follow. The three playmates ran out to the backyard to play ball.

"They're really good with him." Tayla sounded surprised.

"They really are great dogs." Bill nodded as he stepped out into the backyard to keep an eye on them. "I keep telling Tom he needs to get one but he's a stubborn, mean old Dad."

"Yeah, he is. I'll have to see if I can sweet talk him into it." Tayla sat on the couch and sighed. She was assured that Bill would be watching Bradyn. "So what did you guys have planned today before I barged in on your lazy afternoon?"

"Nothing." Nadiehn shook her head and sat beside Tayla. "We were just kicking back so it's cool you came over. Bradyn has a lot of fun here and we really like having him. Tom lets us baby-sit sometimes."

"Yeah?" Tayla raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, we get to play house every now and then." Nadiehn smiled sweetly and looked out to the backyard. "It's good practice for when we have kids, I guess." She looked over at Tayla quickly. "How scary does that sound?" She laughed and put her hand over her heart. "It's still weird to think about stuff like that."

"You guys will make great parents someday."

"Yeah, someday. Not any time soon. I can promise you that."

"Just keep using Bradyn and returning him at the end of the day. Trust me, you'll like that much better."

"That's for sure." Nadiehn laughed. "He's a great kid."

"Yeah he is." Tayla nodded.

"I'd take a dozen like him."

"Oh, me too." She smiled again and turned to watch Bradyn bend to pick up the ball then laugh. She sighed softly and whispered. "Me too."

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

"You didn't have to make her leave." Astrid said softly as she played with the fringe on the edge of the pillows on the couch.

"No, it's okay. We need to talk." Tom leaned against far end of the couch, trying to keep his distance while still being able to maintain eye contact.

"Okay." She looked into her lap like a scolded child.

"Thank you for coming to see Bradyn." Tom said before he could change his mind. He had decided to put the past behind them and focus on their future because that was what mattered but it was still hard for him. "He needs to see you and I can't always get to LA."

"I-" Astrid looked up quickly, expecting it to be a joke. "Well, I thank you for letting me see him. I know you don't have to so-"

"No, I don't have to but you're his Mom and that's important. I mean, you raised him for two years by yourself, that's got to say something." Tom paused for a moment. "I don't agree with some of the things you've done but, at the same time, I know that I could have reacted differently too. I'd like to start over as far as Bradyn is concerned. I can't get those years back and you can't get those months back." He stuck his thumbnail in his mouth and ran it over his bottom teeth. "I don't think he really understands what's going on right now but eventually he will and I want him to be able to look back and think that we did the right thing. We're his parents-" Tom's voice caught on the word parents. It was such a foreign term when referring to him and Astrid. "And we're pretty much all he has. There's only one thing that I'm going to ask of you."

"What?" Astrid asked softly.

"That you be there for him whenever he needs it. That you don't forget that, no matter how far away from him you are, you're still his Mother. I don't want to make a big mess about this but I need to know, for his sake, that you're not going to disappear again. Because he's a great kid and he doesn't deserve that. I'd rather have you leave right now and never come back than get his hopes up and have you leave in another year or whatever."

"I'm trying, Tom."

"I know you are which is why you even get the choice." He didn't mean for it to come out sounding nasty but he could tell by the look on her face that's how she received it. "I just meant that- Astrid, I know you're trying. You're here, you called. That's a big difference. If you hadn't bothered to do that it would have been the end, I think. I know that you've changed even in the last month."

"I have, Tom. I really have."

"I know." He nodded and paused for a minute. "But I can't settle for I'll try when it comes to Bradyn. It needs to be all or nothing. You're either committed to him or not. He's going to be taken care of and loved more than anything regardless of whether or not you're in his life but, when he's grown up and he asks, I want to be able to give him a good reason why things went the way they did. Good or bad."

"I want to be in his life, Tom. I'd take him back with me tonight if I could."

Tom's cheeks flushed as she mentioned taking him and his defenses immediately flew up. "I don't think so."

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I know that I can't take him and that's my fault. I'm just saying that, if I could, I would. I want to be in his life full time."

"Astrid-"

"But, short of me moving here or you moving to LA, that can't happen so I have to settle for seeing him every chance I get." She nodded. "That's all I wan, Tom. To be able to see him or call and check up on him. Just something. Anything. I can't just not know."

Tom paused for a minute and contemplated her plea. "We're going to be touring Europe in another few months and we'll be here for a while. I don't know if you'll be able to come out this way before then but, if you can, you're welcome to see Bradyn. If you can't, then when we get back I'll make a point to go out to LA for a few days."

Astrid caught her breath as she felt her pulse quicken. "I- Tom- Thank you."

"You're welcome." He nodded.

"I really don't think I'll be able to come back here. Once the training is done I'll be working full time and I- I won't be able to afford to take the time off of work. But can I- Can I call?"

"Of course." Tom nodded.

Tears rose in Astrid's eyes. She knew she'd just received her second chance from Tom. "I know that I messed up, Tom, and I know that I really made a huge mistake with the whole court thing." She sniffed and wiped her eyes quickly. "I love Bradyn though and I'll do anything I can to stay in his life. I can do that now."

"Good." Tom nodded slightly and smiled. "You and I need to get along for his sake and I think this is a good place to start."

"I think so too." She wasn't going to complain at that point.

"I don't want to have to go back to court again. I think that we can work this out by ourselves." Tom said softly. "But I will if I have to."

"I know." Astrid had no doubt that he would, not only take her to court if he had to, but he would win. "I don't want to either."

"Okay." Tom nodded. "Then we're cool."

"Yeah." She looked up at him with a small smile. "Thank you, Tom."

He nodded slightly. "You're welcome." Tom put his hands on his thighs and pushed himself to a standing position. "You have the number here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let me get you my management's number as well, just in case you need to reach me when I'm on the road."

"Okay." She stood to follow Tom to the kitchen and took the paper with the number on it. "I'd like to come back this week to see him if, uh- If that would be okay."

"That's fine. Do you know when?"

"I'm not sure. I should have time on Wednesday but I won't know until tomorrow."

Tom nodded but didn't meet her eye. "Just give me a call and let me know when you can make it. We don't really have any plans this week so it doesn't matter when."

"Okay." She tucked the paper in her purse then took a deep breath. "I should get going." Tom nodded and headed for the front door. "Tom, he-" She paused for a second. "He seems really happy here. Honestly, I've never seen him so outgoing and just happy."

Tom felt a pang of sadness. If this was the happiest she'd ever seen him, what were the first two years like? "Yeah he's a great kid. He has a lot of people that love him to pieces. There's a lot to be happy about."

"I didn't realize how bad I was for him until I saw him here." Astrid's voice caught as she lowered her tear filled eyes.

"You weren't bad for him." Tom said softly. "You just made some bad choices and right now is when you can change that."

"I will." She nodded and wiped her eyes. "I'll, uh- I'll call you later and let you know when I can come back this week."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then." He held the front door open for her as she left. Tom watched Astrid get into her car and back down his driveway. He was pleased with the way the visit and the talk went but he wouldn't go so far as to call her a friend. They were on speaking terms and had even reached an understanding but he would forever feel cautious around her.

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

As Astrid's car turned the corner at the end of the street, Tom turned slowly and went back into the house to call Bill's house. "Hey, what's up?" He asked when Bill answered.

"Not much. How'd it go?" Bill laughed and Tom heard his dogs barking in the background.

"Eh, it went." Tom shrugged though Bill couldn't see. "Is Tayla there?"

"Yeah, they're outside with Nadiehn and the dogs."

"Well, Astrid's gone so let them know they can come back now."

"Oh, they're allowed to come back now?" Bill smirked. "I'm kidding. Hey, we were talking about going out tonight. You know, to get some dinner or something to celebrate."

"Celebrate?" Tom ran his fingers over his brow.

"Yeah, what'd I tell you I was gonna do last weekend?" Bill asked softly.

"Huh?" Tom was confused for a moment before it hit him. "Oh shit! You did it?" He laughed.

"You bet I did. Nay and I are finally gonna get married." Bill nodded. "Bradyn's having a great time here and Nadiehn's enjoying the chick talk with Tayla so why don't you come over and we can hang out here then go?"

"Tayla has my car." Tom shrugged.

"You have at least one spare over there." Bill laughed.

"Yeah but then we'd have two cars over there and that's pointless." Tom argued.

"So take a cab." Bill laughed and opened the back door to where Nadiehn, Tayla and Bradyn were playing catch with the dogs.

"Why don't we do something this weekend with the other guys?"

"Because I wanna go out tonight and we're having fun. Don't be such a party pooper." Bill smiled and sighed into the phone. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Get yourself cleaned up and be ready."

Tom sighed in resignation. "Okay."

"Okay then." Bill smiled. They said good-bye and hung up. "That was Tom." He said to Tayla as he leaned on the door.

"Is he ready for us to come home?"

"I'm actually going to go get him." Bill nodded. "He's trying to be a party pooper but I'm making him come out and celebrate tonight."

"Cool." Tayla smiled and looked over at Nadiehn. "You see that? The man of the house is already making executive decisions. We're going out tonight."

"Works for me." Nadiehn smiled and threw the ball for the dogs again.

"Worksin me." Bradyn added from the grass.

"Do you want to go celebrate tonight? We can have a little party type thing?" Tayla asked Bradyn.

"Eye keem?"

"Maybe. We'll have to wait and see." Tayla laughed.

"Kay." Bradyn reached for the slobber covered ball and laughed as it slipped out of his hands. The girls and Bradyn played around in the backyard as Bill drove over to Tom's to pick him up.

"So Tayla, huh?" Bill asked as Tom slammed the car door.

"Huh?" Tom fastened his seat belt and looked at Bill. "What?"

"What do you mean what? You know what I mean. Tayla."

"Yeah?"

"Oh, don't even play stupid with me, Tom." Bill smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not playing stupid. I just don't know how to answer a one word question. Tayla? Tayla what?"

"You know what."

"If I knew what you were talking about I'd answer you."

"You and Tayla? What's going on there?"

"Oh, see when you speak human it helps." Tom smiled and looked out the window. "What's going on there? Well-" He shrugged. "I dunno."

"You don't know? Weren't you there?"

"There when?" Tom cast him a sideways glance.

"You're such a pain in the ass, Tom. Why all the secrecy? I'm still your twin brother."

"I'm not being secretive. There's just nothing to tell."

"Wrong. When Tayla calls at the ass crack of dawn and Nadiehn's shocked enough by the news to get out of the bed and leave me cold, something's going on."

"She called Nadiehn?" Tom blushed.

Bill nodded and gripped the steering wheel. "And, of course, Nadiehn is as stubborn as a mule and won't tell me anything because she said it's not my business." He laughed lightly and shook his head.

"Well, it's not."

"I'm not saying it's my business. I'm saying I'm curious." He looked over at Tom. "So, come on. What's going on there? I can probably guess and I'm probably right and, if I am, then hell yeah because she's awesome but just tell me. You've never kept secrets from me before."

Tom raised his shoulder in a half shrug again. "Yeah, there's something there."

"This is gonna be like pulling teeth." Bill mumbled as he pulled onto the highway.

"You're not gonna get details. Yeah, there's something there but she's only been here for two days so I don't know exactly what's going on here."

"Are you hooking up?"

Tom laughed and rolled the window down. "You're worse than Georg." Tom left it at that. That's all he needed to say.

"Ah ha, you are! You dog." Bill laughed and tapped on the steering wheel. "I knew it! Tayla's great. She'll be good for you and she's into Bradyn. You couldn't have found a better girl, I don't think. A better single girl, I mean."

"Thanks."

"For real, it's cool."

"Don't say anything."

"I won't."

"Bill." Tom gave him his best fatherly look.

"I'm not gonna say a word to anyone but Nadiehn, who already knows."

"As soon as we find out what's really going on, people will know but, until then, I wanna keep it quiet." Tom explained. "You know how it is. If people start finding out, she'll be hounded from here to next week."

"I know." Bill nodded.

"So?"

"So yeah, I got it. I'll keep my mouth shut." Bill turned onto his street and they drove in silence to his house.

"Where are we going to celebrate?"

"I don't know yet. Nothing fancy. Maybe just down to Copper House."

"A nice Asian place? With Bradyn? Tom laughed and opened the door. "You're pretty optimistic. You've seen him eat, right?"

"You don't think he'd be good there?"

"I think he's two." Tom shrugged and walked around the side of the house to the expansive back yard.

"Well, where would be a good place to go?"

"Chuck E. Cheese." Tom laughed.

"We don't have them here." Bill rolled his eyes and followed Tom.

"Daddy!" Bradyn threw the slobbery ball one last time then took off running for Tom. "I have baw"

"I see! You throw that pretty well." Tom caught Bradyn and picked him up expertly. "Have you been playing with the dogs the whole time?"

"Yeah."

"He loves the dogs." Tayla smiled as she stood up. "How'd it go?" She asked softly.

"It was alright." Tom nodded. "We talked it out and everything. We're starting over, more or less, with a clean slate."

"Yeah?" Tayla blushed. She wanted to ask more but she didn't want to pry.

Tom nodded. "We have to for you-know-who's sake. It'll be better this way I think."

"Cool."

"And when we get back home from this tour I'm going to take him to LA for a few days."

Tayla raised her eyebrow. "Wow, uh- Okay. No, that's good. She needs to be part of his life too." She swallowed quickly and tucked her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah." Tom looked at Bradyn. "So are you ready to party?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and looked over at Bill. "Pie appo potty?"

Tom laughed at Bradyn and shook his head. "Why don't you show me how you play ball. Did Bill teach you?"

"Chase."

"Chase taught you, huh?" Tom chuckled and sat Bradyn on the ground as the little boy ran to retrieve the ball the dog had dropped. The grown ups sat around outside and watched Bradyn and the dogs run around the yard as they got caught up. Tayla leaned back on the grass and smiled as she watched the others. They were all familiar with each other and knew where they stood, while she felt like an outsider of sorts but not for long. She blushed to herself and smiled over at Tom. He tilted his head slightly and stumbled over his words for a moment, "I don't th- I, uh- I don't think Gustav is, uh- Home this week." He blushed and averted his eyes from hers.

"Well, isn't he coming on Friday to get fitted?" Bill looked over at Tayla expectantly.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. I guess he is. Maybe he is home then. I don't know." Tom licked his lips and continued to blush.

Bill laughed and caught the look Tom gave Tayla. "Either way, eventually we want to have you all over at the same time to celebrate."

"Yeah, before we leave." Tom agreed as he stood up and brushed his hands off. "Cool. Excuse me." He said as he walked back into the house.

"Wow." Bill raised his eyebrows at Tayla.

"What?"

"He's flustered." Bill laughed and stood up to stretch. "I don't think I've ever seen him flustered like that before."

"Well, meeting with Astrid I'm sure-"

"No, I don't think it was Astrid." Bill smiled and shook his head. "In fact, I'd bet my left kidney that it was you."

"You think I make him flustered?" Tayla laughed as she and Nadiehn stood up.

"Um, yeah." Bill looked back into the house. "I'd say you make him real flustered."

Tayla smiled to herself. She was almost glad that Tom was reacting to her in that way. "Well, good."

"That's right." Nadiehn laughed. "Men are supposed to get flustered around women. Right, honey?" She batted her eyelashes at Bill and puckered her lips in an insanely cheesy pose.

"Y- Yeah. I, uh- Uh huh." Bill joked around as they walked into the house. "Bradyn? You wanna go see some horses?" He shouted as Bradyn ducked into the bushes at the edge of Bill's property.

"I see?" Bradyn poked his head up and tossed the ball he was going in after.

"Yeah, come on."

"Daddy?"

"Sure, he can come too." Bill waved Bradyn in and waited by the door as the girls went to get water.

Bradyn completely bypassed his nap that afternoon so that Bill could take them across the street to his neighbor's stables to show him the horses. They fed them carrots and apples while their owner cleaned the stalls and made small talk. After a short while they thanked the owner and headed back to Bill and Nadiehn's to get ready for dinner.

They decided to get carryout Chinese food and celebrate at home rather than try to make an outing out of it. If they went out alone it wasn't usually that bad but, with both of them out, it had the potential to draw a crowd and neither of them wanted to call out a security team just to go to dinner.

Tayla and Nadiehn went to pick up the food and bring it back while Tom, Bill and Bradyn stayed home to set the table and straighten up the house. "So how'd it go?" Tom asked as he got glasses out of Bill's cupboard.

"What? The proposal?" Bill grinned from ear to ear. "It went good. She was surprised."

"Yeah? Weren't you worried though? I mean, if she wasn't expecting it."

"No." Bill shook his head. "We'd talked about it, kind of. I mean, she's been around for as long as I can remember practically. There's never been a doubt in my mind that she was the one though."

"How about when you guys broke up?"

"No." Bill shook his head. "We didn't break up because we'd grown apart or anything."

"Then how come?" Tom asked.

Bill looked at him for a minute, knowing where Tom was going without him having to say so. "Because we were young and stupid and didn't want to really try to make it work." He shrugged. "We were still really good friends during that time so it wasn't like we were angry or anything like that. In fact, that time off was probably when we grew closer. So-" He raised his shoulder and smiled. "So this past year has just been great."

"I can tell." Tom smiled and reached for the stack of napkins in Bill's pantry to set them on the table.

"I wasn't worried." Bill shook his head. "I was nervous as all hell but not worried."

"Yeah?" Tom laughed.

"But as soon as it was over I almost pissed myself because I was so glad it was done."

"It's not done yet."

"No, trust me, I know that." Bill rolled his eyes. "The wedding she-devil is about to rear her ugly head, I think."

"Sucker."

"It's worth it." Bill said softly as he handed Bradyn two dog biscuits. "Here you go, buddy. Can you go give those to the doggies outside?"

"Yeah." Bradyn grabbed one in each hand and bolted for the door.

"Be careful." Tom shouted after him. "Bradyn, put them on the floor and let the dogs eat them there."

"They won't bite him."

"I know."

"But you're a Dad and you have to worry?" Bill gave him a half smile and watched as Tom leaned over the chair to look out the back window.

"Uh huh." Tom said without turning away. He watched as the dogs surrounded Bradyn, almost completely hiding him from view. Bradyn squatted on the grass and reached out to put the biscuits down but the dogs were right on top of him. Tom tensed noticeably as the dogs lowered their heads but smiled as Chase looked up at Bradyn and carefully licked the biscuit from Bradyn's hand. Jayda waited with her tail wagging for Bradyn to drop it on the grass before she picked it up and walked to the backdoor to lay down and eat it in private.

Bill laughed softly as Tom sighed and stood up, still keeping an eye on Bradyn outside. "Come back in, buddy. Tayla and Nadiehn will be back in a minute so we need to get you washed up."

"I dirt?" Bradyn brushed his hands off as he walked in the back door.

"Yeah, you're a mess."

"And you?" Bradyn looked up at Tom and smiled.

"Sure, I'll wash my hands too."

"And Pie appo?" Bradyn giggled and tugged on Tom's pants.

"Bill?" Tom looked up at Bill and grinned. "Are you going to come wash up too?"

"Yeah, sure." Bill laughed and followed them to the little bathroom by the garage. Tom balanced Bradyn on his knee as he turned on the water. They all took turns washing their hands.

"Daddy, see babo?"

"Yeah, the soap makes bubbles. Cool, huh?" Tom rinsed the bubbles down the drain as the garage door opened and the girls walked in.

"Is Tayla?" Bradyn wiped his wet hands on Tom's pants and raised his eyebrows at Tom.

"Yeah, go see what she brought for dinner." Tom reached for a towel to dry his hands as Bill moved to the sink.

"Cute." Nadiehn smirked as she walked by. "Group potty time?"

"We're washing up for dinner." Bill laughed and flicked water at her as she jumped out of the way.

"Tayla, have dinno?"

"Yeah, we have lots of food here. Are you hungry?" Tayla sidestepped down the crowded hallway with a bag in each hand.

"Yeah!" Bradyn shouted as he ran down the hall back to the kitchen. He climbed up into his chair with the phone book boosters that they'd used the last time he was over.

Bill finished washing up as Nadiehn and Tayla set the food out on the table. "That smells good." Tom licked his lips as he walked into the little dining room.

"It is good. Bok's has the best cashews and veggies in the world." Bill licked his lips in anticipation as he pulled up a seat across from Bradyn.

"Cool." Tom got everyone drinks and sat beside Tayla to propose a toast to Nadiehn and Bill. "To two of the nicest and most caring people I've ever known. I can't believe you made her wait so long for this." He said to Bill. "And I can't believe you said yes." Tom laughed as he looked at Nadiehn. "No, seriously. I'm really happy for you guys and I know you'll be even happier when you get married, if that's even possible. I'm excited to have you as a member of our family, Nay. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Bill and Nadiehn said in unison as the adult clanked glasses. Bradyn took a sip of his milk and smiled up at them as he picked at his noodles.

"I'll save the big long draw out and sappy speech for the actual wedding." The corners of Tom's eyes crinkled as he laughed, as they did when he was truly happy. The fake or forced smiles never elicited the same small lines.

They ate dinner at the table in the center of the dining room and afterward they gathered in Bill's playroom to shoot pool while Bradyn played a never-ending game of pinball. By the time the girls kicked the boys butts at pool, Bradyn was laying on the couch with Bill's Cat in the Hat stuffed doll under his head. "He's passed out." Bill laughed as he returned the pool cue to the rack.

"What time is it?"

"Almost seven." Tayla looked at the clock above the pinball machines.

"We should get out of here." Tom sighed and put his hands on his hips. "He must be tired. He's slept through all out noise."

"He definitely takes after you." Bill laughed and racked the balls on the table. "You can sleep anytime, anywhere regardless of what kind of noise is going on."

"True. Very true." Tom looked at Tayla. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure." She wiped the blue pool chalk off her hands and licked her lips anxiously.

"Thanks for dinner and everything. Congratulations, Nay." Tom gave her a hug and nodded at Bill as a good-bye.

"Thanks." Nadiehn patted his back and smiled.

"I have to go get this kid put to bed." Tom stepped back and lifted a very tired Bradyn off the couch. "You wore him out."

"He wore us out." Bill laughed.

"Bye, guys." Tayla gave them both hugs and followed Tom out to the car. "I'll see you Friday, right?"

"Yeah, we'll be there." Bill nodded. "What time is everyone getting there?"

"I don't know. Whenever." Tom shrugged and pulled the backdoor open to get Bradyn in his seat. Bradyn put up very little resistance to being strapped in but immediately laid his head to the side and closed his eyes. "Not too early."

"Hell no." Bill laughed.

"Why don't you count on being there around ten or eleven. We can get the grill going and make up some veggie burgers or something for lunch. How long is it going to take?" He asked Tayla.

"Um, I'm not sure. I'd say an hour each."

"Damn, so five hours?" Tom cringed.

"We can do yours before Friday if you want." She shrugged.

"Okay, we'll figure it out." Tom opened the driver's door as Tayla climbed into the passenger seat. "See you guys on Friday." He waved to Bill and Nadiehn as the dogs ran back into the house.

"Bye!" Bill waved as they pulled down the driveway and headed back to Tom's house.

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

When they got home, Tom took Bradyn upstairs and gave him a quick bath before he dressed him for bed and carried him downstairs. It was too early for him to go to bed so Tom tried to entertain him by bringing out his favorite card game and playing on the floor with him.

"Daddy, I seep." Bradyn yawned and lay on the floor beside his cards.

"Not yet, buddy. Help me find the other shoe. Which card here is the other shoe?" Tom held up the card to show Bradyn the picture and looked at the face down cards on the floor.

"Dunno." Bradyn shook his head and blindly reached for a card. He turned it over and showed Tom. "Isa shoe. I go now?"

Tom laughed. It was, in fact, the other shoe. He glanced at the clock on the on the wall and cringed. "It's only seven thirty, buddy, if you go to sleep now you'll be up before the sun."

"No, I seep." Bradyn yawned and curled his arms under his head.

Tom sighed as Tayla laughed softly from the couch. "Okay, let's at least get you upstairs." He picked Bradyn up off the floor and rested him on his shoulder. "I'm gonna go put him down."

"Okay."

"Unless- Did you want to?" He asked.

Tayla blushed quickly and shook her head. "No, that's okay."

"Okay." Tom smiled flirtatiously and tried not to laugh. "I'll be right back." She didn't respond she just nodded and kept her eyes on the TV.

As Tom carried Bradyn up the stairs, Tayla helped herself to a soda and sat back on the couch. She pulled the thin blanket from the corner of the couch and covered her legs as she channel surfed and landed on MTV. She watched the re-run of Teen Mom. It reminded her of her roommate back home. Tayla's eyes fell on the black cordless phone on the far end of the coffee table and she debated calling Kaelah.

She waited a few minutes until a commercial came on before she dialed her number back home and listened to it ring. "Hi! You've reached Kaelah and Tayla's house, only no one's here right now. Tayla is off schmoozing with celebrities and hopefully getting me a date with my dream lover. Tayla, if you're listening, don't make me sound like a psycho stalker. Just tell him I want to tie him up and do nasty things to him. If this is anyone else, ignore that and keep in mind I'm a Catholic school girl." Kaelah laughed. "Anyway, neither of us can come to the phone right now so please leave a message and someone will call you back. Maybe me, maybe Tayla, maybe our neighbor guy Casper. Who knows?" The machine beeped in Tayla's ear as she tried to control her laughter.

"Hey Kaelah, it's me. I'm, uh- Well, I'm here schmoozing with the celebrities. I should have called you yesterday to let you know I made it in one piece. I've already talked to your man and told him all kinds of crazy stories about you. He's at the magistrate's office taking out a restraining order on you as we speak. Anyway, Teen Mom is on MTV and it reminded me of you so I thought I'd call and tell you I'm watching it but you're not home. I'll be home this weekend. I'll call you when I know for sure what time. By the way, can you pick me up from the airport?" Tayla smiled and almost felt homesick. "I'll give you a call later to talk about the details. See ya." She clicked the phone off and set it on the table.

"Is that your roommate?" Tom asked from the kitchen.

Tayla jumped at the sound of his voice. "Yeah that was Kaelah. Or rather it wasn't her, it was our voice mail."

Tom nodded. "Sounded like it." He smiled and dropped himself on the couch beside her. "So who's her man?"

"Oh, um-" Tayla blushed and laughed, cursing Kaelah silently in her mind. "She has a thing for Bill. I haven't been able to dissuade her." She shrugged and smiled.

"Is she cute?"

"Tom."

"I'm just saying. Maybe you should bring her out."

"She'd embarrass the hell out of me. No, thanks." Tayla laughed and looked back at the TV as the show came back on.

"Well, you can, you know. If you want to. Bring her here or on the road to visit or something."

"I know and, next time you guys play anywhere near Connecticut, I'm going to hook her up with free passes." She smiled and adjusted the blanket over her legs.

"What's this?" He nodded at the TV.

"It's Teen Mom." She turned the volume down a notch. "Have you ever seen this?"

"The show? Yeah but not this one."

"You really watch this show?"

Tom gave her an odd look. "Yeah. I like to watch how they interact with their kids."

"Oh yeah." She laughed. "I sometimes forget that you're a father."

"It's okay." Tom smiled and couldn't stop looking at her. "Gustav was over here once when it was on. He was making fun of me for watching it and called me a girl."

"Yeah, I bet." Tayla laughed as a twinge of nervousness crept up into her stomach. After what had happened the night before, she wasn't sure what to expect from Tom. She was interested, to say the least, but she didn't want to just run and jump into his bed two seconds after Bradyn went to sleep.

"So what's on next?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I didn't check the guide."

Tom laughed and reached for the remote. He pressed the Menu button for the guide to appear on the screen. He scrolled through the guide for a minute. "How about Fear Factor?"

"Works for me." Tayla nodded and chewed a piece of ice from her glass.

"Have you ever seen this?"

"No." Tayla shook her head. "Gustav has talked about it before."

"He's a slacker." Tom smiled. "We'd all be out doing promo work and he'd be at the hotel watching shows on DVD."

"Really?"

"No, I'm kidding. We'd all be out partying and he'd be at the hotel watching TV." Tom laughed again. "Let's see what all the noise is about."

Tayla smiled and noticed him staring at her. "Okay." They settled comfortably into the couch and Tom swung his legs onto the couch to share the little blanket with her.

They spent an hour watching a group of grown-ups do some really gross things. Several times they had to cover their eyes to keep from getting sick themselves but, as soon as it was over, they laughed and talked about how there just wasn't enough money in the world to get them to eat any kind of animal genitals.

When the show was over they watched a few more shows as Tom's legs edged closer and closer to Tayla's until they were touching. Tayla extended her legs just the slightest so that her feet were closer to the back of his thighs and his were almost in her lap as she lay on her side.

Their body heat mingled as they watched the news in silence. When it was over Tom stood up and yawned. He stretched his arms over his head, exposing a flash of flesh just above his jeans. "I need to go to bed. Bradyn has school in the morning."

"Yeah, me too." Tayla smoothed her hair down as she stood up beside him. She reached for the remote and clicked the TV off.

"You can stay up if you want. I'll keep him quiet in the morning." Tom said softly as he set his cup on the kitchen counter and looked toward the stairs.

Tayla thought for a second. Her mind raced trying to figure out where she'd sleep. Just because she'd slept upstairs the night before didn't mean that she expected to do so again. A slight frown dashed across her face as she decided to sleep in the guestroom downstairs. "No, it's okay. I'm tired too." She nodded and gave Tom a small smile before turning to head down the short hall to the guestroom.

She stopped just outside the door and placed her hand on the handle. "G'night." She called to Tom.

"G'night." He said just a step behind her.

Tayla jumped as her heart leaped into her throat. "You scared me." She whispered loudly as she placed her hand on her chest. "I didn't know you were there."

"I see that." He whispered back with a small laugh. Tom reached out and placed his hand on her side just below her bra. He let it slide down to her hip as he leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. "You don't have to sleep down here."

"I probably should." She looked upward quickly, indicating Bradyn.

"Bradyn doesn't know and doesn't care." Tom laughed lightly as the warmth from his hand radiated through the thin material of her shirt.

"Yeah but I know and I care." She blushed quickly. "I just don't know what he'd think if he walked in and saw us in bed together."

"Okay." Tom shrugged and reached around her to open the bedroom door. The slight scent of cinnamon wafted from the room as he raised his eyebrow and looked in, clearly waiting for her to go first.

He gave her a gentle nudge with the hand at her hip and she stepped into the room. Tayla shuffled her feet in the darkness to feel for the low bed in the center of the room. Her bare toes met the side of her suitcase beside the bed so she knelt in front of it to pull her pajamas out, wishing for a moment that the lights were on.

Tayla took her shorts and tank top into the small bathroom to change and brush her teeth. She was almost surprised to see Tom in the room when she came out. "I'm exhausted." She whispered with a nervous smile. It wasn't that she didn't want Tom in the bed with her. She could already feel his arms working their way around her waist but, at the same time after what they'd talked about, she didn't want to be just that physical side either.

"Me too." Tom agreed a second later as he let his lips graze her bare shoulder. He moved to her neck and kissed her once. He pulled the blankets back on her bed to help her under them.

Tayla scooted all the way over to the other side in order to make room for him but instead he pulled the blankets up around her shoulders then laid on top of them. "I'll just wait for you to go to sleep." He whispered and kissed her lips softly.

He had waited months to get to where he was and he didn't want to rush anything. As much as he wanted to stay and nestle under the covers with her, he could tell she was feeling nervous. He'd matured enough to tell nervousness from anticipation and she was, without a doubt, nervous.

They adjusted to the dark and he caught her smiling at him. "What?" He whispered as he smiled back.

"Nothing." Tayla whispered. Her lips moved slightly, as if trying to say the words she was thinking, but instead she dropped her eyes and licked her lips quickly. "Tom, I'm- I don't know how to say this."

"Just say it." Tom's smile wavered at the corner for a second.

"I don't want to freak you out."

"Try me." He tilted her chin up to look at him.

"It's nothing."

"Tayla."

"I'm just- I'm really glad that this all happened." She laughed nervously. "But I'm a little worried about Bradyn."

"Worried about what?"

"Well, he has to be confused about seeing me and you together and then Astrid and everything."

"I don't think he knows what's going on."

"He's not blind, Tom."

"I know he's not." He continued in a soft whisper. "He likes you a lot. You're his Tayla. He's just excited that you're here. He's stoked that he gets to wake up and see you right away."

"Well, yeah, but I'm going to have to go home soon and then what's he going to think?"

"The same thing he thought last time you went away. That he'll get to see you later."

Tayla sighed softly. Laying that close to him and feeling his hand resting gently on hers wasn't the time or place she wanted to discuss this. "I guess I just mean- What then? What happens when we meet up again for this tour? He's so young. It has to be hard for him to grow attached to the people he sees every day only to have them taken away after a couple months."

"Yeah, it is." Tom squeezed her hand on top of the covers and sighed. His warm breath heating her cheek. "But I hope that after the tour we'll see more of you."

"You hope-"

"That's all I can do." Tom leaned in slowly and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep, babe. We can talk more in the morning." He ran his hand down to her side and smiled as their foreheads touched. "G'night."

"G'night." Tayla's eyes smiled as they closed and she settled into the pillow.

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

Tayla awoke the next morning to an empty bed and a feeling of contentment. Sometime in the middle of the night the feeling of Tom's finger tips on her cheek assured her that they were both on the same page and hoping for the same thing. She rolled herself out of bed and shuffled toward the kitchen at the end of the short hall.

Just before she turned the corner she heard Tom half-humming, half singing to himself. "Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go. I wanna be sedated." He bumped around in the refrigerator for a minute as he hummed the words he didn't know. "Just get me to the airport. Put me on a plane. Hurry, hurry, hurry before I go insane..."

"The Ramones, huh?" Tayla leaned on the corner of the pantry and watched him spread butter on two pieces of toast.

Tom glanced up at her with a smile. "Uh huh." He put the lid back on the butter and opened the refrigerator again. "I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain. Oh no, oh, oh, oh, oh..."

His voice was just above a whisper but it seemed to carry through the house like an amphitheater. Tayla hugged herself to hide the goosebumps that had risen on her arms as he sang and licked a smear of butter from his thumb.

"Did you already take Bradyn to school?"

"Yeah." He offered her a piece of his toast and kept on humming. "This song has been stuck in my head all morning. It wouldn't be so bad but I don't know all the words so it's driving me crazy."

"Thanks." She took the piece of toast and smiled. "You need to get another song stuck in your head."

"I like this one though." He laughed before he leaned over quickly and brushed his lips against hers, tasting the crumbs and butter from the toast.

"I see." Try as she might she couldn't stop herself from blushing at the touch of his lips. The feeling was so new but, at the same time, it was comfortable. "So what do you do while Bradyn's at school?"

"Kill time." Tom shrugged and took another bite of his toast. "The first few days, I would seriously come home and climb the walls until it was time to go get him. I even went and sat in the parking lot for an hour just so I could get him right at twelve." He shook his head and smiled as he popped the last bite of toast into his mouth.

"Aww, that's sweet."

"It's pathetic." Tom laughed. "But now I pretty much just hang out. Call the guys, turn on a movie, go grocery shopping, clean the pool, whatever."

"You don't have a pool guy?" Tayla kidded him as she leaned against the island in the middle of his kitchen.

He caught her eye for a second and raised his eyebrow. "It gives me something to do."

"Got it." She nodded with a knowing smile. "Is that what you were planning on doing today? Clean the pool, I mean."

"I wasn't planning on it, no." He shrugged and hopped up on the counter. "But if you want to-"

"I'll pass, thanks."

"So what do you want to do? We have another-" He checked his watch. "Two hours."

"Oh, is it really ten? I haven't slept this late in a while. Thank you."

"No problem." Tom unsuccessfully tried to suppress a yawn. "I, on the other hand, have been up since seven."

"Lucky you." Tayla laughed and went to the backdoor to let in the warm morning air. "I need to start going through all those wardrobes I sent down here." She mumbled half to herself.

"They're out in the garage."

"Yeah." Tayla nodded as Tom came to stand beside her. "What are the chances that you'll let me do you today?"

Tom choked on nothing and looked at her as he sputtered softly. "Excuse me?"

"Your wardrobe." She blushed quickly as she laughed. "Do your wardrobe."

"Oh, I was gonna say-"

"Hmm?"

"What?"

"What were you going to say?"

"Well, I was gonna say your chances were good but if all you wanted was to dress me up like a Ken doll, I guess we can do that instead."

"Tempting." Tayla couldn't believe her boldness as she batted her eyelashes at Tom. She'd never been one to make any kind of real advances. She was happy letting the guy make all the moves. "Maybe later."

Tom snickered. "Do you want to dress me up first?"

"It'd help out if I could, yeah. That way on Friday I can just go through the others and get it over with."

"Okay." Tom shrugged and reached for her hand to pull her back into the house.

"I need my stuff. Just a second." She detoured off to her room and got her kit out from under the bed. When she got to the garage Tom had already pushed his wardrobe to the front of the line and had it open.

"We're taking all of this?"

"No, not all of it. That's what I have to do. Weed out the stuff we don't want to take." She reached around him and pushed everything to the side. "Can you turn the lights on?"

"They're on." Tom looked up at the two fluorescent lights hanging from the rafters.

"Hmm. Okay, can you help me bring this stuff inside so you can really see it?"

"The whole wardrobe?"

"No, we can just carry the clothes in." Tayla reached for the first three garment bags and handed them to Tom. "Can you go put those on the couch? I think we'll have better light in the living room."

"Sure." Tom turned and walked back inside as Tayla picked up a few more stray jackets and shirts. She set them beside the garment bags and got a short stool from the kitchen for him to stand on.

Tayla opened up several of the bags and set the suits and outfits across the back of the couch, explaining what she had in mind for each one and where they'd be worn. Tom offered his input as he slipped easily into work mode, letting her know which pants he liked and which he would rather die than wear.

They narrowed the clothes down to three categories. She handed him the first suit and instructed him to change into it. Without a second thought, Tom dropped his pants and pulled the clean black pants on in their place.

Tayla averted her eyes like she usually did when the shameless boys got undressed but she couldn't keep from glancing at his thighs and almost too narrow hips. "Those look good." She nodded and tilted her head to the side. "They need to come in a little though." She stuck her fingers between his side and the waistband to show the excess room. "Hang on." Tayla reached for her pins and carefully slid one in to hold them in place.

"Can't you just get another size?"

"These are your size."

"Apparently not."

"Each designer has a different size scale and they'll all fit you differently. If I went a size smaller in this it'd be too tight everywhere else. Trust me." She looked up at him and went down on her knees to look at his cuffs. "I've been doing this a long time."

"You're what? Nine? How long have you been doing this?" He joked but held perfectly still.

"I'm 21 and I've been doing this forever. My grandma owns a tailor shop and my mom worked with her so I spent every afternoon in the shop."

"Really?"

"I was making my own doll clothes when I was eight and hemming customers pants in junior high. So trust me, if I go a size smaller they won't fit."

"I trust you." He laughed and let her go about her work.

Tayla spent more than an hour marking and pinning his pants and jackets while he laughed and held still when he was instructed. "So when are you going to sew all of these?"

"When I get home."

"You're shipping all of these back to Connecticut to sew them and shipping them back here to go to on the tour?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She nodded.

"What if there's a mistake and they don't fit right when we start the tour?"

"Are you implying that I would make a mistake?" She held a straight pin in her fingers, daring him to answer yes.

"No, I'm just saying, what if I gain another ten pounds before we go?"

"I have a little factory that goes with me on the road. A steamer, sewing machine, hand kits, you won't need to worry."

"Okay."

"So on Friday, when I get done with you guys, I'll need to make arrangements for the wardrobes to be sent back."

"Cool."

"And I, uh- I'm leaving on Sunday." She carefully folded the pants in her hand and placed them on the floor beside the others.

"You are?"

"Yeah. I figure I'll be done here by Saturday at the latest so that'll give me a day to hang out with you guys before I go home. I'll need a few weeks to do all of the alterations which will take me right up to the time we have to leave."

"Hmm. Okay." Tom frowned slightly and handed her the jacket that went with the pants she'd just folded. He checked his watch and sighed. "I have to go get Bradyn. Do you want to come?"

"Sure." Tayla zipped the garment bags and wiped her hands on her shorts. "One down. Four to go." She thought to herself as she lifted two of the bags to carry back out to the wardrobes in the garage.

They rode to Bradyn's school and picked him up together, much to the delight of the little boy who dropped his blocks and ran over to Tayla as they walked in the door. "Hi, Tayla!" He giggled and pulled at her hand.

"Hi, Bradyn! Wow, is this your school?" She looked around the room.

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and tugged her hand toward the cubbies.

"This is really cool." She smiled. "Wow, check out the beautiful trees on the wall over there. Did you draw one of those?"

"Yeah."

"That's really cool." She followed him to the wall and watched as he pulled his plastic tub out of the cubbyhole. "Do we need to take those things home or do they stay here?"

"Daddy have home."

"I'll carry it for you, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and took his old red backpack and his sweatshirt out. He handed the backpack to Tayla then held his sweatshirt in his hand. "Go ou-side?"

"You want to show me outside? Sure, we can go take a look but I think your Daddy wants to go home." Tayla looked back at Tom who just smiled with his hands in his pockets. "Can Bradyn show me outside?"

"Sure." Tom nodded and followed them out the side door. Bradyn ran around the empty play yard and showed Tayla all of the fun things he was able to do there.

"That's cool, Bradyn. This is even bigger than your play set at home!"

"Yeah but it's school."

"True." Tayla laughed and reached for his hand. "Okay, cutie. Let's get outta here."

"Have Don now?" Bradyn asked as he looked up at Tom.

Tom blushed and shook his head. "I swear we don't eat at McDonald's everyday." He laughed and messed Bradyn's hair. "You're going to make me look like a bad Dad."

Bradyn just giggled as Tayla smiled and led the way out of the school. "McDonald's works for me. Don't worry about it."

"I'm getting tired of it actually. How about pizza?" Tom strapped Bradyn into his seat then they headed out. "Let's get a pizza and take it home so we can eat it outside."

"Ina pool?"

"No, we can't eat in the pool but we can go swimming after we eat. How's that?" Tom glanced in the rear view mirror.

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and kicked his feet with happiness.

They swung by the pizza place near Tom's house and took it back to eat on the patio. Just like he promised, they went in the pool afterward and played around until it was time for Bradyn to take a nap. Tayla took him inside and laid him on the couch to nap while she and Tom spent the afternoon in the pool and lying out to get some sun.

"This is feeling more like a vacation than a work trip." Tayla said with her eyes closed to the sun.

"Good. You're technically on vacation so I shouldn't really ask you to do this anyway."

"I don't mind." She opened her eyes a crack and looked over at him laying on the deck chair in just his swim shorts. "This is nice."

"This is probably the first time I've actually sat back and enjoyed the pool since we got back off tour." Tom sighed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Bradyn doesn't really get the concept of tanning and relaxing." He laughed and Tayla watched the muscles in his stomach ripple.

"No, I bet he doesn't." She smiled and closed her eyes again. "He will though eventually. He'll probably be a surfer with as much as he loves the ocean."

"That's for sure." Tom sighed stretched his arms over his head. He hadn't realized until then just how much he missed adult conversations. He'd spent so much time alone with Bradyn, he'd almost forgotten that grown ups can actually make complete sentences and carry on actual conversations. The guys would come over every now and then but, for the most part, it was just he and Bradyn home alone.

"Is Astrid coming back to visit again before she leaves?"

"Yeah, she's not sure when but she's going to call."

"Okay." She nodded.

"Thanks for making me contact her. I mean, you didn't make me really but, when we were in LA and you asked if I wanted to have to explain to Bradyn that his mom wanted to see him and I wouldn't let her, that made me really think about it."

"Uh, you're welcome. I'm glad you guys could work things out."

"Me too. Bradyn's attached to her, even if he doesn't always show it. Plus, he needs her, you know? When he gets older he will and I'd feel like shit if I kept him from that."

"Yeah."

"Not that it's all about how I feel or anything." He added quickly.

"I know what you meant."

Tom nodded and paused for a minute. "Of course, you're probably the one he thinks of as a Mother figure. Just because you've been around and everything. So thanks for that too. You really mean a lot to him. To us."

"I'm glad I can be here." Tayla smiled and rolled onto her stomach to let the sun hit her back. She was glad that the summer heat hid her blush as she laid her head down on the towel facing Tom.

"Me too." He said softly as he opened his eyes and looked over at her. He was really glad she was there.

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

Bradyn, Tayla and Tom spent the next few of days together taking day trips to the beach and reorganizing Bradyn's room. He decided he didn't want his bed by the window because the lines from the light shining in through the mini blinds made him striped and he didn't like that.

Astrid called every day to touch base with Bradyn and say hi. He wasn't thrilled with the phone but he said hi and told her what they were doing every day, though he didn't seem like he was sure why he was doing it exactly. She wasn't able to come see Bradyn again until Friday, the morning she was leaving. She only had a short amount of time so she brought a bag of muffins and had breakfast with Bradyn on the back porch with him still in his pajamas. Tayla and Tom sat inside and tried not to stare out the window as Bradyn picked his chocolate chip muffin apart.

After an hour outside, Astrid picked Bradyn up and checked her watch. "My ride is going to be here in a minute but I have a present for you."

"Me?" Bradyn giggled as he kicked his feet against her thighs.

"Yeah. It's in my bag. Should we go get it?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn shimmied out of her arms and ran for the front door where her luggage was waiting. She opened her little carry on and pulled out a pale gray stuffed animal.

"Here you go, sweetie. Do you know what that is?" Astrid knelt in front of Bradyn to hand it to him.

"Isa fiss?"

"It's a manatee." Astrid smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"You have?" He handed the toy back to her.

"No, that's for you to keep." Astrid said softly as tears rose in her eyes. "So, when you see it, you'll remember that I miss you because you aren't in California."

"I go?"

"No, baby, you can't come with me. You're going to stay here with your Daddy and- And Tayla."

"Tayla?" His eyes lit up as he looked over his shoulder to where Tayla was sitting on the couch.

"Y- Yeah." Astrid nodded as she blushed. "But I'll call you okay?"

"Ina phone?"

"Yeah, on the phone. I'll call and see how you're doing and you can tell me all about your school and everything like that."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged.

A horn beeped outside signaling that Astrid's cab had arrived. "That's my ride." She stood up straight and opened the front door before looking back at Bradyn who was examining the manatee. "I'll call you next week." Astrid said as she stepped outside.

"Okay." Tom nodded and lifted Bradyn up on his hip. "Say bye, Bradyn."

"Bye, Mommy!"

"I'll see you soon, Bradyn." Her smile wobbled as she took three quick steps back to where they stood and kissed his cheek. "I'll call you and talk to you when I get home, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn giggled.

"Thanks, Tom." She added softly as the cab blared it's horn from the street.

"You're welcome." He nodded and meant it.

"Okay, I have to go." She blew another kiss as she trotted down the walkway toward the cab.

Bradyn waved and blew kisses as she got into the backseat and slammed the door. She waved through the window and Tom saw her wipe her eyes before the cab pulled away from the curb. "Mommy go bye?"

"Yeah, she had to go home." Tom nodded.

"I see?"

"Yeah, you'll see her again in a little while. Maybe when we get back from our trip with the guys." Tom smiled.

"Cawin?"

"Yeah, she can call you too." Tom nodded as he turned and stepped back into the house. "Let's go get ready. The guys are going to be here in a little bit." Tom smiled.

"Guy?"

"Yeah, the guys. Gustav, Georg and your favorite person of all time."

"Pie appo?" Bradyn giggled and ran up the front steps to where Tayla was waiting.

"You got it."

"They here?"

"They'll be here in an hour. Why don't we go get some clothes on you? Maybe we can help Tayla get her stuff set up." He looked up at Tayla, sensing her sigh of relief now that Astrid was gone.

"I could use a lot of help carrying stuff inside." She reached for Bradyn's hand and led him into the house and to the stairs. "But your Daddy is right, first thing we need to do is get you dressed, buddy."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked down at his pajamas.

The three of them walked up the stairs to Bradyn's room and went about getting him cleaned up and ready to go. He was getting better with the potty training so Tom let him wear just his Scooby Doo underwear under his shorts with instructions to tell an adult if he had to go to the bathroom. Bradyn seemed okay with that as he headed down the stairs to wait by the front door for his buddies to arrive.

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

Georg was the first to arrive as Tayla busied herself with organizing their wardrobes in the garage. They were too big and bulky to try to roll in through the house so she opened them in the garage while Tom and Georg pushed the couches in the living room to the side to give her a work area.

"Pie appo!" Bradyn shrieked as the front door opened. Tayla listened to the commotion in the hallway and smiled. It was going to be so much fun watching Bradyn interact with his grown up buddies again.

"Bradyn!" Bill shouted with just as much enthusiasm. "What's up, tough guy?"

"Hi, Nay-dee! We have Gay-og."

"He's here already, huh?" Bill picked Bradyn up and tossed him in the air. "Well, at least we beat Gustav."

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed hysterically as Bill caught him and tickled his sides. "You see?"

"Yeah, let's go see." Bill smiled as he and Nadiehn walked through the house. "Where is everyone? I don't think anyone else is here, buddy. I think it's just you, me and Nay."

"No!" Bradyn laughed and wiggled to be set down. He ran to the living room to make sure the others were there before he ran back to Bill and Nadiehn in the entryway. "Pie appo, see here." He grabbed Bill's hand and pulled him to the back of the house.

"Oh, here they are!" Bill laughed as he nodded hello to the others in the living room.

"Yeah, an Daddy an Tayla." Bradyn nodded and climbed onto the couch beside Georg.

"And me." Georg looked down at Bradyn as the toddler made himself comfortable.

"I say."

"What?"

"I say an you."

"You've lost me." Georg shook his head.

"He already said you." Bill explained.

"Oh, okay." Georg nodded. "So where's Gustav?" He asked Bradyn.

"Dunno. He seepin?" Bradyn gave Georg a confused look and sighed.

"Yeah, he's probably sleeping." Georg laughed.

"He seep ina car?" Bradyn laughed and kicked his feet. "Shhh. He seepin." Bradyn whispered and held his finger to his lips.

"I don't think he's-" Georg started.

"No! Shhh!" Bradyn frowned at Georg. "Goose-gog seepin. Shhh."

"He's not sleeping. He's just late."

"He seepin." Bradyn whispered and put his hands over Georg's mouth. Georg mumbled against Bradyn's hand and smiled. "Gay-og, no. Shhh." Bradyn put both hands over Georg's mouth to keep him quiet.

"Gustav is always late." Bill kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

"Shhh!" Bradyn giggled as Georg pretended to struggle under Bradyn's hands. "Goose-gog seepin."

"Who's sleeping? I'm not sleeping." Gustav said as he rushed into the room with his shoes untied. "Hey, Bradyn." He nodded at the little boy and checked his watch. "It's not my fault I'm late. My watch died."

"Goose-gog! You wake!" Bradyn launched himself off of Georg's lap using his thighs as a launching pad.

"Ow! Watch it, kid." Georg's hands protectively went to his crotch. "Careful."

"Yeah, I'm awake. I didn't oversleep. My watch just died." Gustav reiterated his lame excuse to Bradyn. "What's up, buddy?" He lifted Bradyn up and messed his hair.

"We have close." Bradyn smiled.

"Yeah, I know. Are you going to try my clothes on so I don't have to?"

"No." Bradyn laughed and tried to roll his eyes. "Is too big."

"You think they'd be too big for you?"

"Yeah, I small." Bradyn looked down at his tiny frame. "I small and you big."

"Aww." Gustav pretended to pout. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to do it." He smiled up at the others in the room and smiled. "Hey." He nodded as a greeting.

"You're only twenty minutes late. That's almost early by your standards." Tom laughed as he stood up and opened the refrigerator.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. My watch died." Gustav shook his head and dropped himself on the couch beside Georg with Bradyn on his lap. "So what's the plan, Stan?"

"San?" Bradyn climbed off Gustav's lap and looked up at him. "Bay-den."

"I know you're Bradyn. It's just a saying. Never mind." Gustav shook his head and yawned. "Hi, Nadiehn. How's it going?" He asked as he noticed her sitting on the floor beside the chair Bill was sitting in.

"Good. You?"

"Fabulous." He nodded. "So is that the rock? Are you gonna pass it around so we can all see it or something?"

"Rock?" Georg asked looking to the others for an explanation.

"On her hand?" Gustav kicked at Georg's leg. "He proposed this weekend. Where have you been?"

"Oh, yeah!" Georg jumped up and went over to where Bill and Nadiehn were sitting. "Let's see it. What kind of ring did he pick out?"

Nadiehn held her hand up for Georg to see and soon Gustav was gathered around as well. "How many albums do we have to sell to pay that off?" Georg asked Bill.

"Shut up." He blushed and shook his head. "It's not that big."

"It's the perfect size." Nadiehn smiled broadly.

"So it's official now, huh?" Georg patted Bill on the back. "Who knew you'd be the first to settle down?"

"I did." Gustav and Tom answered in unison.

Gustav rolled his eyes and laughed. "Congratulations, guys."

"Thank you." Nadiehn blushed quickly and dropped her hand back in her lap.

"Thanks." Bill nodded and ran his hand though his hair. The idea of getting married was still new to him and he wasn't used to people's reactions yet.

"Okay, who's first?" Tayla put her hands on her hips and looked around at the guys in the living room. No one said a word so she sighed and pointed at Gustav. "Okay, you. You got here last, you get to go first. Come help me bring your clothes into the guestroom down here."

"How come I have to go first? This isn't fair. I don't want to go first." He whined but followed her down the hall anyway.

"It's better to go first. My hands are less tired."

"So?"

"Less chance of slipping." She winked as she opened his roll around and reached for his garment bags.

"Then count me in." Gustav grabbed a few more of the bags then carried them into the guestroom. He looked around as he put the garment bags on the bed. "So where are you staying while you're in town? You know the Radisson Blu downtown has this awesome whirlpool thing."

"No, I'm staying here." Tayla unzipped the bag in front of her and pulled the first suit out. She hung it over the back of the bathroom door and smoothed it with her hands. "It's just easier for me to be right here instead of across town." She licked her lips. "With Astrid coming to visit and everything." She knew that Bill and Nadiehn knew about her and Tom but she wasn't sure what the others knew or if they were supposed to.

"Yeah, I guess so." Gustav nodded and looked over his shoulder at the made bed that was now covered with his garment bags. "How'd that go?"

"Astrid?" Tayla asked as she reached for another bag.

"Yeah."

"It went alright. She came to visit twice and she called a few times. She and Tom got to talk, I guess, and worked things out."

"How'd Bradyn take it?"

Tayla shrugged. She didn't feel comfortable talking about this with Gustav when she still didn't consider it her business. "He did okay. At first he was kind of leery of her but, then again, he hasn't seen her in a while so you can't really blame him but then he warmed up."

"Did he talk about her at all? To you or Tom, I mean."

"Not to me, not really." Tayla shook her head. "She just left this morning and he hasn't said anything yet. Usually when he leaves someone or if they leave, he talks about them for a while. Like we went to Bill and Nadiehn's this week and he talked about seeing them and the dogs for the rest of the day." She shrugged again and hung the second suit off of the closet door. "But who knows? He may have just been excited that you guys were coming over today and kind of forgot about his Mom leaving."

"Yeah." Gustav smiled. "Does he call her Mom?"

"He calls her Mommy, yeah."

"Hmm."

"Well, she's his Mom. What did you expect him to call her?" Tayla laughed lightly and put her hands on her hips as she looked down at the other bags on the bed.

"Well, I don't know. It's just- Well, she hasn't been around as much."

Tayla shrugged and sighed. "Oh, well. He's happy and doing great. That's all that matters." She nodded toward the suit hanging off of the bathroom door. "Go ahead and change into that and come out so I can do the markings and everything."

"I have to go out there?"

"Yeah."

"You can't do it in here?"

"There's more light and more room out there." Tayla pointed out. "And, this way, you can change in here so you don't have to get naked in front of me."

"Like you haven't seen it." He rolled his eyes.

Tayla blushed. "Not always by choice."

"Not always? You mean there were times you chose to see us mostly naked?" He laughed and nudged her arm.

"No. I didn't mean it that way." She blushed even deeper as she opened the door. "I just meant that you guys would change in front of me sometimes and-" She stepped out into the hall as he laughed in the room behind her. "Never mind. Just change and come out so we can get this started."

Gustav emerged a short while later in an almost perfectly fitted navy blue and black suit. Catcalls and whistles followed him as he stood on the step in the center of the room and let Tayla do the pinning on his cuffs. "Hey, Tayla. You know what?" He asked as he looked down at her.

"Hmm?" She pulled a pin from between her lips and slid it into the thin fabric.

"I'm too sexy for these pants."

"You think so?" She laughed quickly and removed the pins from her mouth to pin around the edges.

"Yeah."

"I think you're too sexy for that shirt." Georg added from the couch.

"Without a doubt." Tom nodded with a playful chuckle.

"I'm too sexy for this crowd. Do we really have to do this with an audience?" Gustav asked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Stop moving."

"Sorry." He mumbled. "Anyway, can't you send them outside?"

"They don't listen to me." Tayla shook her head.

"Sure, they will."

"Hey, guys, go outside." She said without looking up from his cuffs. No one moved an inch as she laughed softly. "See? They don't listen."

"Just wait. They'll be up here soon." Gustav said softly. Tayla nodded in response and finished up her pinning.

"Beautiful. The jacket is as close to perfect as I can get it. I'll have to remember that when I go to get you more." She reached up and patted is shoulder. "Okay, Gustav, go change into one of the other ones and leave these pants folded on the dresser."

"Okay." Gustav scurried back down the hall.

"Put on the black one next." She called after him. He nodded as he ducked into the guestroom and shut the door.

Tayla took the rest of the hour and worked on Gustav's clothes as the others soon lost interest and headed for the backyard. Nadiehn pulled the recliner chair closer to the middle of the floor and kept Tayla company while she worked. When she had finished the last of Gustav's outfits, she summoned Bill and got his clothes set up in the guestroom. "Okay, put these on and come on out." She checked her watch. Gustav had taken just over an hour. If she kept up that pace, she'd be there all day. "Hurry." She added as she stepped out into the hall.

Bill came out a few minutes later walking the catwalk model walk and goofing around with poses. "You should quit the band and be an underwear model." Gustav said as he passed Bill in the hall on the way to the bathroom.

"You think so?" Bill struck a body builder pose in his suit.

"I think so." Gustav rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him.

"Come on, sexy. Up on the step. Let's go." Tayla tapped her foot and nodded toward the center of the room.

"Okay, fine. You're no fun anymore, Tayla."

"I was never fun before." She mumbled with a small smile. Bill made a sound that could have started out as an agreement but ended up sounding more like a grunt. Tayla chose to ignore it for the moment. "So what do you think of this one?"

"It's silver." He crinkled his nose.

"It's lead."

"It's silver."

"It's the color of lead, Bill."

"It's shiny." He continued to complain.

Tayla sighed. "Nadiehn, help me out here."

"It's gray, hun." Nadiehn shook her head.

"You mean to tell me this isn't shiny?"

"I'm not saying it's not shiny. I'm saying it's not silver. It's shiny but it's not glitter." Nadiehn shrugged. "I think it looks nice."

"It could be worse, Bill." Georg raised his eyebrow. "It could be shiny and blue."

"I'll take blue." Bill perked up.

"You have gray." Tayla grabbed his knees and looked up at him. "Hold still and let me do this. You only have to wear this once so suck it up."

"Fine." Bill sighed.

Tayla reached for her pins and marker and sat on the floor. Ready to change the subject, she turned to Nadiehn. "So have you started planning anything yet?"

"Not really." Nadiehn shook her head. "My cousin wants to go dress shopping when she comes to visit. She just got married a few months ago so I think she's still in the wedding frame of mind, you know?"

"There's a wedding frame of mind?" Bill asked as he tried to remain still.

"Of course." Nadiehn and Tayla said at the same time.

"You get into the flow of buying everything white and satin. From pantyhose to bustiers to garters and all that."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to go in and say I wanna rent this dress and these things for the tenth?"

Tayla stood up straight and tilted her chin up to meet Bill's eye as he stood on the box in front of her. "Renting a dress? That's such a man thing to say. You should know better, Bill!" She clicked her tongue at him and shook her head as she turned to Nadiehn.

"I know, right?" She laughed.

"Yeah, well- No comment." Bill rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hey, Tayla." Tom raised his voice from across the room.

"Hmm?" Tayla kept her eyes on Bill's cuffs as she pinned.

"Did you tell Bill about your friend?" Tom smirked and leaned against the counter.

Tayla laughed and glanced up at Bill, then over at Tom. "No, not yet."

"Ask her about Kaelah." Tom smiled at Bill then turned and went out into the backyard.

"Kaelah?" Bill asked with a new found interest. "Enlighten me."

Tayla laughed and shook her head. She cringed as she began to tell him the story of how she came to find out Kaelah was a fan. She also delivered some important messages from her, causing them all to giggle and blush. She knew that Kaelah would be mortified if she ever found out that Tayla had told Bill.

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

Tom laughed and leaned against the door frame. He watched as Tayla blushed while talking about Kaelah and Nadiehn and Bill laughed. "So?" Gustav crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall inside the house.

"So what?" Tom asked as he kept his eye on Tayla marking Bill's pants to hem as she talked with her hands, a dangerous situation considering the pins she had in her fingers.

"So what's going on here?"

"Hmm? We're trying on tour clothes." Tom gave Gustav a look then reached for Bradyn's hand as the little boy ran into the house and headed for where Bill was standing on his step. "Stay in here, buddy. We need to let Tayla work."

"I see Nay-dee?" Bradyn grabbed at straws to be able to go bother Tayla.

"No, stay here."

"I help."

"They don't need any help right now. Where's Georg?"

Bradyn shrugged. "Gay-og ina potty."

"Well, stay here and wait for Georg then take him upstairs to show him your new dump truck."

Bradyn sighed and put his hands on his hips. "I help Tayla."

"Bradyn." Tom picked him up on placed him on his hip. "Tayla has to work right now. Remember how we talked about that? She doesn't need any help right now."

"Kay." Bradyn frowned and wiggled down. He sat on the box that his booster seat came in.

Tom shrugged and turned back to Gustav. "What were you saying?"

"You and Tayla."

"Yeah?"

"There's something going on there, isn't there?" Gustav smirked.

Tom smiled back and shrugged one shoulder. "Yeah, kind of. I guess."

"Kind of? You guess? Please." Gustav laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that."

"I don't know. I mean, yeah, there's something there." Tom shrugged and lowered his voice.

"She's living with you. Hello?"

"She's not living with me." Tom shook his head quickly and looked over to where Tayla was laughing with Nadiehn as Bill shook his head. "She's staying here while she's in town."

"And how long has she been here?"

"Like, a few days."

"Like, a week." Gustav laughed.

"She got here Sunday to help with the Astrid and Bradyn situation. She had to do some work with our clothes and stuff so she's just staying here so she doesn't have to get a hotel."

"Uh huh."

"You have a different theory?" Tom raised his eyebrow in question at Gustav.

"Yeah, I don't think she's staying in the guestroom." Gustav snickered under his breath. "This is a cool thing. Tayla rocks. We've known that for a while now." Tom gave a short laugh and looked down at his shoes. "Plus she digs Bradyn, so that's a bonus."

"Uh huh."

"So, come on. Am I gonna have to slap you around to get some gossip?" Gustav playfully swatted at Tom's head.

"I don't kiss and tell."

"Ah ha! So there's been some kissing?"

"Gustav, come on." Tom sighed with a smile.

"Just answer one question and I'll leave you alone."

"What?" Tom rolled his eyes but he was secretly glad to have Gustav's approval.

"Is she staying here until we leave for the tour?"

"No." He shook his head as he looked over at Tayla. She glanced up with a row of pins in her mouth and smiled as she put a dash mark around the cuff of Bill's pants while he moved his feet slightly.

"Your cuffs are going to be uneven if you don't stop moving, Bill." Tayla said as she turned her head to look at Bill.

"I just have to dance when I have these pants on." He gave her his million-dollar smile and tried to be smooth about it.

"These aren't dancing pants. These are press pants." Tayla laughed and pinned the cuff. "Okay, Bill, go ahead and take these pants off. We need to do the performance pants now so you can just put your T-shirt back on."

"How many girls on the planet would love to tell you to take your pants off?" Tom laughed at Bill.

"And actually have you do it." Gustav joined in.

"Yeah, ha ha." Bill stepped off the box and gave Gustav and Tom the finger. "You're just jealous because she wants to see me without my pants and not you."

Tom cleared his throat as Gustav tried not to laugh. "You're right, Bill. You're the stud." Gustav nodded.

Tayla's cheeks flushed deep pink as she licked her lips. "I've seen you all without your pants. I can't choose favorites."

"Awww, come on, Tayla. You know you love my legs." Bill dropped his pants around his ankles and modeled his bare legs for her.

"Damn boy, put your clothes on." Georg cringed as he walked into the living room. "Spider legs."

"Gay-og, go see a tuck?" Bradyn ran over to Georg and tugged at his hand.

"Go see what?" Georg looked down at Bradyn as the little boy hung off his pants. "Come here." He scooped Bradyn up and tossed him in the air. "You have something you want to show me?"

"A tuck." Bradyn giggled from high in the air.

"Sure." Georg dropped him to his hip and they headed down the hall.

"Don't go far, Georg. You're next." Tayla smoothed out Bill's pants and folded them in half.

"I'm just going upstairs for a minute." Georg laughed and ran up the stairs, bouncing Bradyn the whole way up.

Bill came back out of the guestroom in a pair of performance pants and a dress shirt and hopped back up on the step in front of Tayla. She wasn't expecting them to need any alterations for fit but she knew she would have to do some minor repairs along the way. After finishing up his seven pairs of performance pants, she patted him on his butt. "You're perfect."

"I know." Bill smirked and tossed his head back as he let out a loud goofy laugh that sadly was his own. "Can I be done now? I'm starving."

"Yeah, you're done. But don't pig out on pizza, you still have to fit into these outfits when we go on tour."

"I promise they'll fit perfect when we leave." Bill smiled flirtatiously as he hopped off the step and went back to the guestroom to change into the faded T-shirt he'd worn over.

Georg his turn next while Tom ordered pizza and Nadiehn ran to the store to grab sodas and some ice cream. It was almost four by the time they were done with the fittings and the late lunch. "Ugh, I can't believe we're leaving in three weeks. Where'd our vacation go?" Bill leaned back in his chair and patted his full belly.

"Tell me about it. We need another month off." Georg smiled.

"We have one more week then we're back at the compound for tour practice." Bill pointed out.

"Why?" Tom whined as he dropped his hand over his eyes.

"Because that's been the plan all along." Bill laughed. "We've had two months to rest our lazy asses and we need to get back in the show mode before we go."

"So?" Tom frowned then immediately smiled as he realized how much he was sounding like Bradyn. "I don't wanna go."

"Then call Benjamin and tell him you quit." Gustav laughed.

"He'd shit some kittens." Bill exclaimed.

"He wouldn't believe me." Tom laughed.

"Yeah, he would, which is why he'd shit some kittens." Georg smiled and stood up. "So we're just running through the show, right? Nothing new?"

"No, there's nothing new. We don't even know what the stage is going to be like until we get there so basically we're just running through the songs." Bill nodded.

"Like we'd forget, it's been pounded into our heads for a year." Gustav sighed.

"So what am I supposed to do with Bray when we're practicing?" Tom asked as he stopped whining.

"Tayla will be here." Bill nodded over to where she was sitting.

"I'm leaving on Sunday." She shook her head and glanced over at Tom.

"Then you can bring him."

"Doesn't he go to daycare?"

"Only two days a week and that's only half days." Tom looked over to where Bradyn was playing Legos with Nadiehn. "I guess he can just come with me. There's plenty for him to do at the compound. It'll only be for what? Two weeks?"

"I'll bring Chase and Jayda." Bill offered. "They'll amuse him for hours."

"Well, wait. Is it every day?" Tom asked. They all looked at him like he was crazy. Tom was usually on top of these things.

"It's whenever we need it." Bill cleared his throat. "Probably four hours a day, minimum."

"Fun." Georg rolled his eyes and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

"Okay, okay. Enough work talk. I've gotta get out of here." Gustav stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "See you later, Bradyn." Bradyn waved quickly and went back to his Legos.

"Hey, buddy. Say goodbye to Gustav. He's leaving."

"Bye, Goose-gog." Bradyn said without looking up.

"Gotta love those Legos." Gustav laughed. "I'll see you guys later." He waved to everyone else as he headed for the door. "Ang is flying in tomorrow so I have to clean my house." He rolled his eyes. "I swear I don't know how we can be together. She's a neat freak and I'm me."

"Have you turned slob?" Nadiehn asked as she pressed a blue Lego into place.

"No, I'm not a slob. I'm just not a neat freak. I don't get bent out of shape if the towels don't match or if there's a cup in the sink or whatever."

"She's like that?"

"No but she has the potential. She's like right on that edge. This month it's a dirty look when I leave my shoes on the floor, next month she'll lose her mind." Gustav laughed and shook his head. "Anyway, I have to at least clean up tonight or it won't be pretty tomorrow."

"Have fun." Tayla smiled and walked into the kitchen to put her dishes in the sink beside everyone else's.

"Tons." He smiled and winked at Tom. "I see you're not a neat freak."

"Not even a little." Tayla shook her head. "You and I would get along fine."

"Yeah?" Gustav smiled. He looked over at Tom. "Wanna trade?" He asked softly.

Tom nearly choked on his water and shook his head as he covered his mouth. "Funny." Tom smiled and gave Gustav a look while he wiped his mouth off.

"What?" Tayla asked.

"Nothing."

"Never mind." Gustav shook his head. "I'll see you in a few weeks. Have a safe trip home." He pulled Tayla in for a quick hug and gave Tom a thumbs up behind her back.

"Thanks." She said into his shoulder. "I'll see you later."

"Where's Gustav going?" Georg asked as he walked into the room wiping his hands on his pants. The front door shut behind Gustav as Georg asked, "And how come you don't have any towels in the bathroom?"

"Bradyn likes to play with them." Tom shrugged.

"Everyone is going home. The party's over." Tayla smiled.

"Oh, okay." Georg nodded. "Do you need a ride back to the hotel?"

"No, I uh-" Tayla looked over at Tom for a hint as to how she was supposed to answer that. "That's okay. I have it worked out."

"Okay." Georg shrugged then looked from Tayla to Tom. "Wait a minute." He smiled and put his hands on his hips. "Hang on just a second here. You're- She's staying here?" He asked Tom.

"You knew she was coming."

"Yeah but-" He waved his arm around. "She's staying here?"

"Georg." Tom sighed as Georg laughed and bounced up and down in the tiny kitchen.

"Kick ass." Georg laughed and bumped shoulders with Tayla. "Sweet."

"Gay-og, no." Bradyn frowned and shook his finger at Georg from across the room.

"No what?" Georg turned to look as Bradyn jumped up and put his Legos down on the floor.

"No say."

"Don't say A-S-S. It's a bad word." Tom smiled as Georg blushed. "We've had the bad word talk already. He's picked up some colorful ones."

"Hmm." Georg frowned quickly and tried to look innocent.

"I can't figure out where he's picked them up though." Tom said thoughtfully.

Georg looked around the room to see who wasn't there to defend themselves. "Gustav! He has a mouth on him, you know." Georg nodded then cleared his throat. "Anyway, that's cool you're staying here." He gave Tayla a sly little smile that made her laugh. "I'll catch you guys later."

"Bye, Georg." Tom rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Later, Bradyn!" Georg shouted to Bradyn who had already turned his attention back to his Legos.

"Lato, Gay-og." Bradyn mumbled as he pressed the little Lego person into the tower he'd made. "Nay-dee say?" He looked up at Nadiehn who was busy taking Legos apart on her side of the little table.

"Hmm? Oh, no, sweetie. I can't stay. Bill and I have to go home to feed the doggies and then we're going to go have dinner with some friends." She explained.

"I go?"

"No, I think you have to stay here."

"Feed Chase?"

"Maybe next time you come over you can help me feed Chase. Would that be okay?"

"I feed day?"

"No, we can't do it today. You need to stay here with your Daddy and Tayla." Nadiehn smiled as she stood up.

"I sink I go now. I go now and feed." Bradyn stood up and set his Legos on the table.

"Hey, buddy, you need to stay here with me." Tom hopped up on the counter and raked his fingers through his braids. "We're gonna go swimming."

"Ina pool?"

"Yeah, in the pool." Tom nodded.

"Have the lights on?"

"Yeah, we'll turn the underwater lights on and maybe we can even have popsicles again." Tom nodded and looked at Tayla for her okay.

She nodded with a smile and looked down at Bradyn. "I think we may have those chocolate popsicles too. That sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and ran over to hug Tayla's legs. "We have now?" He whispered up to her.

"We can't have them until everyone leaves." She whispered back.

"Nay-dee and Pie appo have?" He kept his voice low so others couldn't hear.

"They have to go home and feed their dogs and get ready to go out." Tayla shook her head. "When they leave, we can go get our swim suits on and have a popsicle."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and walked over to Bill. "Bye, Pie appo."

"Bye, Bradyn." He laughed and picked Bradyn up for a quick hug. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn giggled and looked at Nadiehn. "Bye, Nay-dee."

"Kiss me good-bye, Bradyn."

"Say it an sing." He covered his mouth and laughed again.

Bill laughed. "He knows the lyrics to Phantomrider?"

"I'm not singing the song." Nadiehn shook her head and grabbed her purse off the counter. "Have your Daddy sing it. He knows all the words."

Bradyn sighed and shook his head. "Daddy no sing anysing."

"He doesn't sing you anything?" Nadiehn laughed.

"No." Bradyn looked up at her with a sad expression and sighed.

"Oh, you big liar." Tom laughed and picked Bradyn up to throw him in the air. "I sing to you all the time, you goof."

"No, you no sing." Bradyn laughed hysterically as he flew through the air and landed back in Tom's hands.

"I do too! I sing to you every time you ask me."

"Sing kiss me bye song." Bradyn continued to laugh as everyone looked on.

"Yeah, sing it for us, Tom." Bill put his hands on his hips.

"A million sparks are falling down. I turn the wheel around-"

"No, Daddy! Sing kiss me bye." Bradyn placed his hands on the side of Tom's face and shook his head.

"That is the kiss me bye song." Tom argued.

"No." Bradyn sighed. "Is not my song."

"Yes, it is. I'll put it on when we go outside and you'll see." Tom blushed and bounced Bradyn on his hip.

"Well, thank you for the show, Tom. We'll see you later." Bill waved as he and Nadiehn laughed down the hall.

"Bye, guys." Tayla smiled and waved. "I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Okay!"

"Nadiehn, are you going to be there?"

"When? When they leave for the tour?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"I think so." She looked at Bill. "Am I?"

"If you want." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Okay, I'll see you then." Tayla waved again as Bill, Nadiehn and Georg ducked out the front door.

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

When they were alone again Tayla started in on the dishes in the kitchen. "I don't know how you can be around them so much. They're absolutely draining."

"You get used to it." Tom laughed and set Bradyn on the floor. "Hey, buddy, you wanna go get your suit on and go in the pool?"

"And have possick?"

"I'll get the popsicles ready." Tayla volunteered as Tom and Bradyn headed up the stairs.

"An you sim." Bradyn giggled.

"I will." She smiled and rinsed the dishes before setting them in the dishwasher. She started the dishwasher and went to the guestroom to change into her swim suit. When the boys came downstairs a few minutes later, she was standing at the freezer getting the fudgesicles out of the freezer. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Bradyn clapped and took one of the popsicles from her.

They went out to the backyard where Tom flipped the pool lights on as the sun set over the house. It was still warm outside and they were comfortable in their swim suits as they nibbled on the popsicles over the grass. When they were done with their snacks they got in the pool and played around as it got darker in the back yard.

When they finally got out of the pool, Tom took Bradyn upstairs to give him a bath and clean himself up while Tayla took a shower in the downstairs bathroom. When she had cleaned the chlorine off, she dressed in her shorts and tank top that qualified as her pajamas and went upstairs. She heard Tom's voice coming from Bradyn's room as she walked by on the way to Tom's room. She stopped and pushed the door open gently. Tom was sitting on the edge of the bed with one foot on the floor. He was reading Bradyn a book as the little boy struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Kanga and Roo joined Owl at the stream with a picnic basket in tow." He read softly before he turned the page. Bradyn yawned quietly then wiggled further under the covers beside Tom as his eyes drifted shut again. Tom looked down with a smile and continued to read. "They had a birthday feast and sang songs until the sun went down over the Hundred Acre Wood." He closed the book and gently laid it on the floor as he shimmied sideways to get off the bed without waking Bradyn up.

"He's out."

"Yeah." Tom smiled.

"You're lucky. He sleeps like a log."

"I know. I guess that's a good thing, huh? He can sleep through all the noise on the bus and everything." Tom nodded and turned the light off as he joined Tayla in the hall.

"Yeah, you'd be miserable if every move you made woke him up."

"That's for sure." He laughed softly then hopped down the stairs in front of Tayla. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to really go out this week."

Tayla frowned and shook her head, "No, don't be. This is fine. I didn't come here for you to entertain me."

"No, I mean-" Tom tugged on his lip as he fell back on the couch in the living room. He pulled his feet up on the cushion beside him and looked over at Tayla as she did the same on the other side. "I mean for us."

"Oh." She looked surprised for a moment. "Oh, no. That's okay." She insisted. "I'm low maintenance. Pizza and a movie at home is perfect."

"I just don't really have reliable babysitters except for the guys and, well, they're the guys so-" He shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow Bill and Nadiehn can watch him."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know but it'd be nice to have a night away from it all, you know?" He smiled. "I'll call them in the morning."

"You really don't have to. We can just stay in."

"Don't be a party pooper." Tom smirked as he turned the TV on. He hit play on the DVD and the movie they had started to watch the night before picked up where they left off. "Eventually we'll finish this movie." Tom laughed and slid down so that his head was resting on the arm of the couch.

"Eventually." She nodded and made herself comfortable in the thick cushions of the couch. Havoc played until it ended and the DVD replayed the start screen over and over again. Tayla stood up and yawned. She knew it couldn't be that late but her whole body was tired and her shoulders ached from hunching over the boys' clothes all day.

Tom pulled himself off the couch to put the movie away as Tayla went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. When she stepped into the hallway a few minutes later, Tom was leaning against the wall with a tired smile on his face. Tayla carefully pulled her hair back in a ponytail then secured it with a hair tie. "Can you hear that?" She looked toward the ceiling with a smile.

"What?" Tom asked as he reached the width of the hall and pulled her to him.

"Shh. Listen."

They stood in complete silence for a minute until Tom's face broke out in a smile and he laughed softly. "He must get that from his Mom or something because I don't snore that loud."

Tayla laughed and shook her head as Tom wrapped his arms around her middle. "Of course not."

"Are you saying I snore?"

"A little."

"I snore a little?"

"Yeah."

"Not like that though." Tom looked toward the ceiling again.

"Of course not." Tayla smiled again as she turned around in Tom's arms to face him. "How did it get so late? It's already eleven." She yawned.

"Time flies when you're having fun." Tom kissed her and brought his hand up to her hair.

"Maybe we should stop having fun so the time would last longer?" She smiled against his lips as he pulled her closer.

"I can't not have fun with you." Tom laughed lightly and kissed her again.

"I can think of a few times when we didn't have fun."

"I'd rather you didn't." He smiled and left his arms around her waist. "Live in the now. Accept the present."

"Are you a motivational speaker now?" She laughed.

"Not a chance."

"Good."

"But I like to think positive."

"That's fine."

"I'm positive you'll be coming upstairs with me tonight."

"Oh, you are?" Tayla laughed and pinched his side playfully. "That's not positive thinking. That's wishful thinking."

"Oh!" Tom leaned his head back with a pained expression. "Shot down in my own house."

"That's what you get for being cocky."

Tom raised his eyebrow and decided to leave his juvenile comment unsaid. "Wishful thinking, huh?" He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration. "I wish with all my heart that Tayla might find it in her heart to help a poor lonely guy out tonight."

"You're crazy." She laughed as she bounced up on her toes and kissed him while he kept his eyes shut. "But you weren't specific about which poor lonely guy. I understand that Georg went home alone tonight."

"I wish that the poor and lonely guy might be me tonight." He wished again. "I mean, that I'm the poor and lonely guy that Tayla might help tonight."

Tayla laughed again and shook her head. "Who could turn down a proposition like that?"

"So you will?"

"Sure."

"Yes!" He did a little happy dance in the hall and reached for her hand.

"Honestly, Tom, you've gone completely crazy."

"It's your fault. I was normal until you got here."

"Scary thought." She followed close behind him as they went up the stairs and stopped at Bradyn's room to hear the snoring up close. Tom opened the door about halfway and took a second for his eyes adjust to the darkness.

"It sounded louder downstairs." He whispered as he peeked in the room.

"It was echoing in the hall." Tayla smiled. "You have great acoustics."

"Thanks." He rolled his eyes and gently shut Bradyn's door.

Tayla walked down to Tom's room and went to the bathroom to get a tissue, leaving the room empty for Tom to turn down the bed and shed his clothes before she came back. When she walked into the room a minute later, Tom was laying on his side under the covers with the iPod dock on his nightstand playing softly. She pulled the covers back and slid in beside him, being sure to pull the blankets back over her legs. "You have the most comfortable bed in the world." She said as the mattress molded to the shape of her shoulder.

"Worth every penny."

"And then some." She closed her eyes in ecstasy as the stress from the day left her body. "If I were you, I would never leave this bed."

"Let's not." Tom pulled her to him and kissed her from her shoulder to her neck.

Tayla unintentionally giggled like a school girl as Tom trailed his fingers from her hip up to shoulder and moved his body against hers. Never in a million years did she think she would ever be quite this smitten with someone when, three months ago, she could have killed him. Hooking up with someone she worked with was never an option and a world famous rock star was even more out of the question but somehow there she was in his bed feeling more at home than anywhere else she'd laid her head.

She hungrily initiated the next kiss and he took it from there. He muffled any sound she might have made with his mouth and kept his movements slow and deliberate. She would have worried about Bradyn being so nearby if she wasn't so preoccupied with his father and where his hands were. To be honest, Bradyn was the last thing on her mind.

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

Tayla was startled awake a short time later by the piercing screams of a child. She flinched visibly and immediately reached to throw the covers back, ready to run down the hall. Just as her hand reached the side of the blanket, she saw Tom fling open the door and run down the moonlit hall to Bradyn's room.

"Hey, Bradyn, it's okay." Tom murmured as he crossed the room in two broad steps. "What happened?" Tom's eyes darted over the room looking for anything out of place.

"Daddy!" Bradyn cried as he sat up in his bed and held his arms out as Tom sat by his feet.

Tom pulled Bradyn onto his lap and cradled his head against his shoulder. "Shhhh, it's okay. Bradyn. It's okay. I've got you." Tom instinctively began to rock back and forth as Bradyn continued to cry. "What happened, buddy? Did you get scared?"

"A mosser ina ouside." Bradyn sniffled as he pressed his tear-streaked face into Tom's shoulder. "Make go."

"There's a monster outside?" Tom looked up at the window quickly.

"Yeah." Bradyn choked softly as he held tight to Tom's shirt.

"Is everything okay?" Tayla asked softly as she pushed the door open.

"Yeah, he just got scared." He slowly ran his hand over Bradyn's hair and continued to rock him back and forth. "He thought he saw a monster outside."

"Do you want me to go check?" She caught Tom's eye. If there were someone outside he'd want to know.

"No!" Bradyn shrieked. "No! Isa mosser!"

"It's okay. She won't go outside."

"It bite ina arm." Bradyn clawed at his arm to demonstrate as a fresh round of tears started.

"It's okay. The monster is gone." Tom kissed the top of Bradyn's head. "Do you want me to call the monster cops anyway? We can have them come and take a look around the house?"

"Mosser cops?" Bradyn tilted his head up.

"Yeah, we can call them right now." Tom looked at Tayla. "Can you get the cordless from my room?"

"Yeah." Tayla turned and quickly ran to the room at the end of the hall. She grabbed the phone off of the nightstand and returned to Bradyn's room. "Here you go." She handed him the phone then retreated to the doorway to watch how Tom was going to handle this.

With Bradyn still clinging to his shirt, Tom turned the phone on and dialed a number quickly. He held it to his ear and let it ring for a couple seconds. "Hi, is this the monster cops? Good. Yeah, we think we might have a monster out here at our house. Bradyn thinks he saw one outside his window. Can you come by and check it out? Okay, yeah. I think so." He moved the phone from his mouth. "How many monsters were there?" He asked Bradyn.

"One big." Bradyn held up his finger.

"No, there's only one. Okay, thanks. Yeah, you can just go around the house. Okay, bye." Tom clicked the phone off and looked at Bradyn. "The monster cops are going to come and see if they can find the monster, okay?"

"He go bye?"

"Yeah, they'll take him away so he can't scare kids anymore." Tom waved Tayla over and had her lean close. "Can you run downstairs in a few minutes and knock on the door?"

"Yeah." She nodded and tried not to smile. He was amazing. Tayla watched for another few minutes as Bradyn began to calm down in Tom's arms. She excused herself and crept down the stairs.

Tayla walked to the front door and knocked loudly on it. "I'll bet that's the monster cops right now." Tom said to Bradyn. "Tayla? Can you answer that? I think it's the monster cops."

"Sure." Tayla said loudly from the entryway. She opened the door and said, "Hi, monster cops. Did you guys find anything?"

""What'd they find?" Tom asked from upstairs.

"They found one big monster in the side yard. He was hiding in the bushes." Tayla said.

"Are they taking him away?"

"Oh, yeah. They're taking him back to the monster jail." Tayla thanked the invisible monster cops then ran back upstairs. "He's all locked up."

"You hear that, buddy? The monster cops came and got him."

"He go bye?"

"Yeah, he's outta here." Tom yawned and moved to lay Bradyn back on the bed.

"No, Daddy, say." Bradyn refused to let go.

"Okay, I'll stay here until you go back to sleep." Tom wrapped his arms around his son and rested his chin on Bradyn's head. "Give me a few minutes."

"Sure." Tayla smiled and turned the hall light off then walked down to Tom's room where she left the door wide open to hear if Tom called her. She climbed into the bed and pulled the soft comforter up to her shoulder. She lay on her side facing the door. Her eyes began to drift closed as soon as her head hit the pillow and, before she knew it, she was sound asleep.

Chapter Nine