___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gavin squealed as the thunder roared outside. The rain was coming down pretty heavily making noise as it hit the roof. Lightning struck and lit up the sky. Gavin loved storms, as long as Nick was with him. He stood up and ran to Nick who was helping Kayleigh set up the fake fort.

Aaron was out with Hilary, and Nick had gotten the great idea to set up a fort in the middle of the living room and watch the storm. They had pushed two of the large chairs apart and tuned them around. They draped a large sheet overtop of them and then made a pallet under the fort.

Nick smiled to himself as he gazed at his handiwork. It wasn't perfect, but it would get them through the night. He picked Gavin up off the floor and went in search of flashlights as Kayleigh set pillows and blankets up for the trio.

"I wike torms daddy." Gavin said laying his head on his father's shoulder.

"I know you do munchkin, now we all get to watch them together. We're all going to sleep in the living room tonight, won't that be fun?" Nick said smoothing out Gavin's hair.

Gavin nodded and laid his head back down. He snuggled up more into Nick's chest letting his father know he was sleepy. Kayleigh and him hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to each other a lot since the arrest happened the other day. He had the idea to make Kayleigh stay the night, that way they could talk. He still wanted her to confine in him, the way he confined in her. He felt like she didn't really trust him.

Nick went through all the drawers in the kitchen before finding a couple flashlights buried behind a stack of old cookbooks April had given him. He momentarily made a note to call Howie and April. He hadn't seen them in forever. They actually didn't even know about Kayleigh. He wanted everyone to know about her. He grabbed a couple old candles Leighanne had left and a book of matches before heading back to the living room.

Gavin was trying to grab the matches. He knew they caused fire, and he liked it. The matches always brought back bad memories for Nick, actually fire in general, brought back bad memories he had tried hard to suppress. Somehow they always managed to resurface.

Kayleigh was messing with the stereo when the pair came back into the room. She turned around and smiled as she got it to play.

"Look Gavin, it's Bob." She said holding up a cd case.

Gavin squirmed out of Nick's arms and ran to Kayleigh. He loved Bob the Builder. She sat on the floor and placed Gavin in her lap.

"It's Bob's music. See it's got all the different songs from the show on it, buddy." She said handing him the case.

She was growing attached to Gavin much too quickly. She actually planned on seeing him every day. She easily could envision herself as his mother. She often wondered what it would be like to be Nick's girlfriend, his wife. She knew that Amanda was a very lucky woman before she passed. She loved both of them to pieces and she didn't really see her life without them in it. Which really surprised her since they had only got to know each other a few short weeks before then. She just grew accustomed to them. She knew she was going to have to open up sooner or later. She hated trying to keep her messed up past a secret, especially after knowing how terrible his own family life was. She saw his mother when she was arrested and dealt with the pain he was in after learning his father was cheating on his mother. It was only fair that she tell him how bad it had been for her growing up.

Nick went about getting things ready for their little camp out. He lit the candles and sat them on the coffee tables away from the sheets. He got a cooler and filled it with ice and pop. He carried it into the living room along with Gavin's milk and animal crackers. Gavin loved strawberry milk and animal crackers. Sometimes it was all Nick could get him to eat. He made sure the back and front doors were both locked. Aaron was staying at a friend's house when he got back from his date, so he made sure that the doors were locked.

He rejoined the two in the living room. Kayleigh was holding Gavin and they were standing by the bay windows in the far side of the room. Gavin had his hands on the glass making it difficult for Kayleigh to hold him. He walked up behind her and took Gavin into his arms. Gavin wrapped his arm around Nick's neck and kissed him.

"I wob you daddy. I wob you Kaywee." He said

They both told him they loved him and continued to watch the storm. Nick wrapped his arm around Kayleigh and crew her close to his side. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. For a small moment Nick imagined that they were a family. The three of them, happy, loved and content. He shook his head at the thoughts and closed his eyes. He was getting in over his head.

And it hits me when I reach for you
That I'm afraid you won't be there
Maybe I am in too deep
But I don't care