Thanks go out to Lois and Eka for their wonderful contributions. Justin’s POV “Brian I’m here so deal with it. I like spending time with Kyla but for some reason I care if you’re alright, even if you are grouchy as hell.” I tease trying to lighten Brian’s mood a little. Brian looks at me with a little, what I think is supposed to be a smile but looks more like a grimace and I rub his back until he falls asleep. Once he’s asleep I slowly climb out of the bed, so I don’t wake him and pull out my cell phone to call my sister. A couple of minutes later I hang up with Molly after getting her okay to spend the night because I’m going to make sure Brian is ok. Then I go around and clean up the loft, even though it’s pretty clean already and I make some soup for Brian because I know when he gets up he’ll need to eat. After that’s done I close up the loft, making sure the door is locked and all the lights are off. When I’m satisfied that is done I go back and climb into bed with Brian. I’m not in bed for more than a minute when Brian rolls over, still asleep and lays his head on my chest. Saturday I’m taking a few hours out of my Saturday to go see how Brian’s doing and because I always spend my weekends with Kyla I’m taking her with me. I have talked to her about Brian and what’s wrong with him and although I know she doesn’t really understand she seems to grasp that she shouldn’t touch him. It’s weird telling my daughter not to touch someone but he is after all radioactive and children have a way of having weird stuff happen to them. So even though I can’t think of how Kyla would come into contact with any of his bodily fluids I have been a father long enough to know that she would figure it out. So it’s just best that she doesn’t touch him. I know Brian has the same fears about Gus touching him so I don’t feel so bad but it’s still weird. I have come to see Brian every day since the first day and although he still grumbles when I come he has left behind the all-out hostility. I don’t know why I care so much about this man but he’s in my thoughts all the time and the fact that he’s sick and I can’t do anything about it is driving me nuts. I knock on Brian’s loft door seeing as the security door at the bottom was open once again. And before I even get through the first set of knocks the door is opened by Debbie and I hear her and Brian talking because she doesn’t seem to notice I’m here. “I can’t take care of him Deb, I can barely take care of myself.” “I’m sorry Brian I really am, but I have to take Vic to the doctor’s and we may be there all day and everyone else is busy too.” “But I can’t be around him too much, I could make him sick.” “I know Brian but there’s really nothing I can do.” I can hear the sorrow in Deb’s voice as she says this and I know she’s really sorry. “I’ll help take care of Gus.” I say as I move into the loft. Debbie looks at me extremely gratefully and Brian looks at me in that searching way he has when he’s trying to figure out if I’m telling the truth. After a minute of his perusal his gaze lands on my daughter and a softness comes to his eyes that I’m sure is rarely seen. While looking at my daughter Brian’s face carries a sort of light that I wonder if I could ever get directed at me. I shake the thought out of my head when I notice my daughters' face light up with her version of my smile and for a moment Brian looks dazed by, it but then his own smile grows bigger in response. Before Brian can agree or disagree I hear the thumping of little feet on the hard wood of Brian’s loft and look up just in time to see Brian’s son, cast and all come sliding to a halt in front of us. I have to laugh because I remember sliding on hard wood in my stocking feet when I was a child but I try to hold it in as Brian softly lectures his son. After Brian was finished talking to his son, he looks up at me for permission while he speaks to both of our children. “Why don’t you guys go watch some TV, I think Diego is on right now.” he says still looking at me and I nod my agreement. “Can I daddy?” Kyla asks while looking at Gus, obviously excited to be able to play with the little boy. “Sure hun go ahead but don’t touch anything that isn’t a toy,” I warn because although Brian has a son there seems to be expensive things in his living room. All three of us watch as the children go off through the room and plop themselves down in front of the TV. As soon as they are involved in the show we get back to the discussion at hand. “Are you sure you want to do this? You know what you are exposing Kyla to if you stay and I don’t really feel all that great about you taking off with my kid. I mean I know you and I would trust you with my life but as a father you have to know that it’s different when it comes to my kid.” “Oh don’t worry, I understand. I wouldn’t let you out of my sight with my daughter either but don’t worry about it I have already talked to Kyla about you and she knows not to touch you. Plus I will be watching her anyway.” It takes another couple minutes to convince Brian because he has some real trust issues and he doesn’t understand why I’m doing all this for him. It always seems he is waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for me to ask him for something or hurt him in some way and he can’t see why I would do these things for him if I didn’t get anything out of it. But finally he agrees and we send Deb on her way still professing her apologies and thanking me profusely when Brian slams the door in her face. When I turned back from the door I noticed Brian looking like he is going to fall on the floor and I realize just how much that scene took out of him. I know I need to now convince him to go to bed. A couple of minutes later I know just how tired he really is when Brian only gives a token resistance and he heads off to bed with a word to Gus, which Gus barely notices because he is concentrating on the TV and Kyla. Brian smiles gently at the kids and then drags himself up to bed, basically falling down on the bed when he reaches it. I stand in place for a few minutes watching Brian sleep and wishing that he wasn’t sick and also wishing the kids weren’t here so I could climb into bed and hold him while he sleeps as I have been doing everyday. I hear the joyous laughter coming from the children and I reluctantly pull my eyes from Brian and go into the living room to be with Kyla and Gus, excited to have this opportunity to get to know Gus better even if I’d rather be holding Brian. I sit down between Kyla and Gus and prepare to watch the show for the hundredth time when I feel Kyla’s eyes on me. I look down at my daughter and I know she has questions so I can’t wait to hear it, although at the same time I dread what she is going to say. When she doesn’t say anything even though I’m giving her my attention, I worry even more about what she is going to say but I still prompt her because I want her to always know that she can share anything with me. “What honey?” I ask in a gentle voice. “Is Brian him?” She asked quietly. “Him? What do you mean him?” “Is he the guy who’s going to be my other daddy?” Kyla asked a little shyly looking over her shoulder at Brian’s bedroom. Her question has me stunned into silence and although I know that I have to answer her I have no idea what to say. Just the thought puts thoughts in my head about Brian that I know I shouldn’t be having. Thoughts about us, thoughts about partnerships with whole different meanings and even though I try to fight it the thoughts make me so happy inside. As I think about it a scene flashes through my mind and I get lost in it. I walk in the door having obviously picked both Kyla and Gus up from school and they are both chattering in my ear about their days. “Poppa, you should have seen it. Kyla was showing her how to pet the hamster and she let it go. We all had to chase it all over the room.” Gus says giggling. “It wasn’t my fault she was scared of him.” Kyla defends while making a face at Gus. I’m trying to hold in my laughter as I look at my children and then the loft door opens and Brian comes through it dropping immediately to the floor and playing my game for me and Kyla with both of the children. I want to cry with joy as both children slam into his chest and ‘knock’ him to the floor. I am snapped out of my little fantasy when Kyla speaks again. “Daddy?” She asks again, impatiently. “I…don’t know…” I truthfully hope she excepts this as an answer because I really don’t know the answer to this because I know how much I want to be with him but I have no idea what he feels for me, if anything. “Do you want to marry my daddy?” Gus pipes up and I cringe, having thought he was immersed in the television while we were talking but apparently he was listening and now I have no idea what I’m supposed to say to Brian’s son. I look towards Brian’s bedroom and see that he is still sleeping and I’m stuck between being glad he is so he doesn’t hear this conversation and wishing he was awake to get me out of this mess. After a second I look back at the children and notice they're both riveted on me, waiting for my answer. “Hey you guys want a snack?” I ask in a last ditch effort to distract but if I know my daughter it won’t work, although I’m hoping it will work on Gus. “Daddy we aren’t hungry.” “Yeah and you didn’t tell us if you wanted to marry my daddy.” Gus says killing any hope I had of not having to answer this question. So I guess I will have to go with a version of the truth. “Gus you want your daddy to get married?” “Yes and you’re real nice and Kyla’s cool so I would get another daddy and a sister if you married him.” Gus answers excitedly. “Okay well kiddos the truth is me and your dad don’t know each other that well and so we couldn’t get married cause you don’t marry people you don’t really know.” “But do you like him daddy?” “Yeah cause if you like him and you got to know him you could marry him.” Gus adds. “Yes I like him but I don’t know him that well and I don’t even know if he likes me okay? So could we just forget about this?” I see disappointed little faces but they nod their heads and turn back to the TV and I breathe a sigh of relief that the inquisition is over. I sit there for a while and then I have to go to the bathroom. “Okay guys be good I’m going to go to the bathroom and I’ll be right back.”