"How's it going? Had a busy day?" I didn't want to pry, but I was curious of why he'd dodged all my calls all day.

Justin snorted in laughter. "Just uh, checking out the bars, you know. Boy Toy. Meat Hook."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Those questions you asked…they reminded me of your lame pick-up line."

I rolled my eyes. "And you decided to reenact the night you lost your virginity."

He chuckled a little more. "To answer you, I had a busy, busy day. I'm sorry I kept rejecting your calls, but Simon introduced me to all these people. I felt like a puppet. Thankfully, now I'm back in my hotel room. Taking a bath, drinking wine, talking to my boo."

I choked on my spit, sitting up on the bed. "I'm going to wring your neck if you call me that again."

"It was so worth it hearing you get angry. What about you, dear? How was your day?"

"Filled with shit. Quite literally too."

"Aww. How's Munchkin?"

"Didn't my answer make it abundantly clear? He's a little shit machine."

"Naw, but you love him."

I smiled, sagging back against my pillow. "There's no doubt there. He's one weird kid, though. He was in one of his moods at the office today, but when I had Phil in my office, shouting at him for his incompetence, Munchkin quieted, watching me entertained."

"He was probably terrified."

"No, he wasn't. He even threw his noisy toy at Phil's head." I laughed. "If Phil wasn't aware of Munchkin's presence until the moment he got the plastic toy into the side of his head, he was when he turned to snap at whoever decided to hit him and noticed our grinning devil. Munchkin clapped happily when he realized he got our attention."

"Okay, he's weird."

"Told ya. But would we expect anything else from our son?"

There were a few moments of silence where I hear Justin sloshing in his bath. Then he sighed deeply.

"I miss you, Brian."

"Yeah, same here. Any idea how much longer are you going to stay?"

"I have three paintings to finish, and Simon's going to introduce me to an agent interested in my work, tomorrow. So maybe soon. We settled on three months, Brian. It's barely been two."

"Even Munchkin misses you."

"Stoooop. You pushed me to come here, you're not dragging me back before I make it out here. When I'm done with my bath, we can Skype."

"Actually, I'm tired. I have a feeling someone is going to wake up early," I joked.

"Oh, yeah. Well, we'll talk tomorrow."

"We will. Luck with your paintings."

"Another set of hands is what I need," Justin mumbled. "Love you both."

"We love you too. Goodnight, Sunshine."

"Night, Brian. Kiss Munchkin for me."

"Will do."

When Justin had finished college and got the opportunity to affirm himself in New York City, I was his biggest supporter, but as time passed I regretted my decision more and more.

At first he was set to stay only one month, then that Simon guy convinced him to stay three so he'd have time to get known.

The more time passed, the more I started to doubt everything. I knew Justin was going to come back, even if Munchkin wasn't a great factor, he'd have still returned to me.

Unable to sleep, I went to Munchkin's room and picked him up from his crib. He shifted, whining slightly, but settled against my shoulder.

I refused to do anything as stupid as cry, but feeling Patrick's warm body close and his heavy breathing, knowing Justin was miles away and he got further and further away with each phone call, I sighed loudly. I squeezed my eyes shut as a few tears rolled down my cheeks.

Fuck. I was so over this shit. Crying was overrated.

I grabbed a stuffed teddy bear, knowing Munchkin would want one of his toys around if he woke up, before I shuffled back to our bedroom. I laid him next to me, on Justin's pillow, throwing the blanket over his small body, then I cuddled him close and tried to sleep.

In the morning, I woke up with pain prickling at the top of my head. A headache was the last thing I needed, but soon I realized why my head hurt. Munchkin was tugging at my hair.

I searched blindly for his teddy bear, then put in his hands. "Play with this, why don't you? Can you not leave me bald?" I rubbed at my sore scalp.

Still not opening my eyes properly, I searched for my phone and found it on the nightstand. Squinting at the screen, I noticed many missed calls—five from Justin, three from Daphne, two from Jennifer, and two from Michael.

"What the fuck," I mumbled, dialing Justin's number.

Munchkin whined, the start of a meltdown, but I stuck the sucker in his mouth, distracting him for a short while.

"Brian! Why aren't you answering?" Justin's agitated voice greeted me.

"Uh, we were sleeping? What's up?"

"It's nine! You were sleeping?"

"It's Saturday! Munchkin didn't wake as usual at six…there's yet hope for him to let me sleep more."

"You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "The phone's on silent, you know?"

"Yeah. I better call around to let them know you're alive. I think I scared half of Pittsburgh."

"Why did you call, anyway?"

"Oh, right! I found this cute suit for Munchkin, but I need to know how big he is. Every time we Skype, he looks bigger."

I laughed. "He is bigger than when you left, definitely. And heavier," I added.

"So, how long is he? This suit says ten months, but I don't know," Justin said.

"Can you take a picture and send it to me? And take your arm's length as comparison."

"My arm? That tall? Christ."

"Almost. It's better if the suit is bigger, he'll grow up, but not smaller." I stroked Munchkin's head when he fussed, whimpering. "Look, I have to go. I guess he's hungry and we definitely missed his six o'clock meal."

"Okay, go and feed him. I'll call everyone, then go buy that suit."

"Bye."

"Bye. Love you."

Munchkin started crying loudly. "He says he loves you too," I joked.

After hanging up, I took him to the kitchen, bouncing him, but nothing helped.

"Shh. It's okay. We're going to eat. Hold on."

With him in my arms, I worked on his breakfast. He didn't like the blender's sound, but liked the fruit puree.

"Just a little noise," I whispered, kissing his head.

He wailed into my ear until the noise stopped, then bent over to grab the food.

In between feeding him, I made my coffee. Munchkin polished his bowl, demanding more when I put the empty bowl in the sink.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course. You're so much like Justin." He tensed up, flailing his limbs. "Hey, now. You ate. How about you let me eat something too?"

I managed only a sip of my coffee when the doorbell rang loudly. It was probably one of those who'd called and got worried.

On the other side of the door was an anxious Daphne. She sighed in relief when she saw me.

"Lookie, who dropped by! Auntie Daphne!"

Munchkin didn't seem impressed, crying harder.

"Aww. Why grumpy, sweetie?" Daphne took him from me. "Jeez. He's so heavy."

I kissed her cheek. "How did you know I needed a sitter?"

"I came over to see if you were okay. Justin called me worried when you didn't pick up."

"Yeah, we actually slept longer than normal." I stroked Munchkin's cheek. "And it pays off now when he's whiny."

Daphne pulled away a little to make faces to Munchkin who cocked his head to the side, watching her curiously.

Deciding he was okay with her, I went to finish my coffee. And cue loud wails.

"I don't think he likes me," she mumbled, following.

I sat at the table with my cup. I waved for Daphne to sit next to me. "Keep him. He has to get used with you too."

"Just say you need a break," she joked.

"I need a break," I mimicked, rolling my eyes. "Do you want a coffee, or something?"

"Oooow!" She shouted when Munchkin fisted his little hand in her hair and pulled.

"Hey!" I retrieved my son, disentangling his fingers from her hair. "That's not nice. We talked about hair-grabbing. He does it to everyone, me included."

"What do you feed him? He has so much force for a little man."

"Milk, formula, fruits, vegetables…"

Now, at a safe distance, she shook his hand, cooing at him. "Did you see pictures of Justin as a baby?" She caught my eye, smiling.

"No, I can't say I have."

"You should ask Jennifer. I'm sure she'd be delighted to show you Justin's fist nude pictures."

My eyebrows shot up. "His first? There are more?"

"Aren't there?" She giggled.

"How do you know about that? Wait. Don't tell me. I forgot you two talk about everything." I snorted.

"Oh, hush! You had fun during that naked photo shooting."

"Luckily I downloaded all the compromising pictures before I took the camera back to work the next day."

"Still, it was fun. I wish I was so lucky."

"What? Your boyfriend is a prude?" I nudged her leg. "Dump him."

"Sean is not a prude! And I think I finally found someone who accepts me as crazy as I am."

"That's good. Then he's a keeper." I winked. "But not for too long."

"Look who's talking. You were the epitome of forever single, and now…look at you!" She gesture to Munchkin.

"Look at me." I smiled at the little guy in my arms. "But I won't trade Munchkin for anything in the world."

"Exactly. And even if he wasn't part of your life, I doubt you'd have ever separated from Justin. You two are too invested in this relationship, and as much as you liked to praise your single status, you stopped being single from the second time you took Justin home."

"You remember that?" I was surprised.

"Duh! I was the designated driver. But I wasn't too upset. I got to see many hot guys that night in Babylon."

"Of course, you like it. Our personal fag hag." I smirked.

She shrugged. "I have to say, I wasn't your fan from the beginning."

I gasped in mock-shock. "Justin never told me."

"Like you two talked in the very beginning."

"We don't talk much now, either." I laughed. "So you didn't like me? I'm hurt, Daphne. I was your fan from day one."

"Flattering, as always." She blushed. "To tell you the truth, I thought you were too skinny."

"I looked fabulous, bitch!"

We both started laughing after my outburst.

"Seriously. I looked hot back down."

"Not anymore?"

"Someone made sure to destroy my perfect figure." I scowled at Patrick, who tapped my cheeks, smiling. "Of course, he's proud of it."

"So what are the plans for today?"

"Laze around. Why?"

"How about you come with me to the diner, then maybe to the park?" She smiled eagerly.

"The park?" I scowled.

"Come on, Brian! When's the last time you took Patrick to the park?"

"In case you haven't noticed we have the park behind the house."

"What a sad little life he has…" Daphne pouted, then tickled Munchkin's tummy. "No longer. Aunt Daphne is here to educate your daddy. We're going to the park."

"Give us an hour to get ready." I sighed, getting up.

"One hour? What the fuck do you need to do?" She looked scandalized.

"Why don't you tag along and see for yourself?" At her skeptical look, I pulled her up, dragging her upstairs after me.

The first stop was in Munchkin's room. The complicated process of changing the diaper took at least fifteen minutes, then came the even more complicated process of getting him dressed.

I especially picked the ugliest outfit he possessed, something Debbie got him when she was probably drunk.

Munchkin slapping my hands as soon as I approached him with the yolk yellow t-shirt. He scolded me in his baby language, slapping me until he saw me looking for something else.

"Well, he's got personality." Daphne laughed.

"Too much personality, if you asked me," I mumbled. "How about this?" I held a pale blue shirt to Munchkin. He threw me a killer smile. "What about your pants?" I held two pairs in my hands so he could see them.

"Can he choose? I mean he's not even one year old."

"Daphne, you're talking about my kid. It would have been a disaster if he hadn't inherited my fashion sense."

Patrick pointed to the jeans, making many excited noises.

"Okay and now comes the getting him dressed part. He hates being handled. If you would like to still be able to hear, you should step out."

"That bad?"

"You've no idea." I moved him into a sitting position and tugged an undershirt over his head. A high pitched wail followed my actions.

I glanced at Daphne, hovering by my side, watching Munchkin with wide eyes. "Can I help?"

"Really? Sure. Hold him still."

"He won't break, right?"

I snorted. "Come on, Daphne. He's not as fragile as he looks."

Tentatively, she put her hands around his little waist, while I maneuvered him in the t-shirt. Sadly, she let him go when I was halfway down his head, because he moved. She jumped back, startled.

"Christ, Daphne! He's alive, of course he moved. We'll be done faster if you allowed me to do this," I muttered to Munchkin. I tried not to let the crocodile tears get to me.

With his shirt on, I moved to his pants, which was even more complicated when he contorted his legs, refusing to let me pull the pants up. After a lot of struggling, I managed the impossible.

Daphne cheered, clapping. "I had no idea you possessed so much patience."

I sighed loudly. "I have to do it since Justin's not here. He is the one with endless patience. But we can't have Munchkin running around butt naked."

"Soon he'll actually be running around. Has he tried walking?"

"Not yet. He just crawls around, and if I lose him from sight, he loves to give me a heart attack by hiding in the craziest places. It takes me endless minutes to find him."

"Sounds like a little troublemaker."

"You have no idea. Do you mind keeping an eye on him while I go get dressed?" I deposited Munchkin in his playpen. "He'll be fine there, just make sure he doesn't try to escape from that…thing."

"Sure." She crouched by his side, picking a plush animal and playing with him. Despite her initial freaking out being around a baby, she warmed up pretty fast.

It took me less than half an hour to be ready.

When I stepped into Munchkin's room I saw him in his playpen with Daphne running after a plastic ball. She returned it to him, only for Munchkin to throw it away viciously. I stood there, watching amused as he started throwing various stuffed animals out of his pen.

I should have warned Daphne he preferred to retrieve his own toys and if someone brought them back earned a huge tantrum, but it was too funny how she scurried after them, scolding him lightly that he might get in trouble for making a mess.

When a plush dog narrowly missed my head, I decided to intervene.

"Hey, hey!"

"Shit, Brian!" Daphne rushed to me, arms full of toys. "Why didn't you say he's a little devil?"

"And ruin the element of surprise?" I scooped up Munchkin before he could burst in tears. "We're going to see Grandma Debbie, how about that?"

His lower lip trembled.

"No, no. Don't start crying," I begged, hugging him to my chest. "Can you find his teddy bear? I'll pack his bag, then we can go."

"Is it here somewhere?" Daphne looked around, dumping the toys in the playpen.

"It might be in our room," I explained. "Or downstairs?"

By the time we left, it was nearing noon. Daphne sat in the backseat with Munchkin, keeping him entertained with his teddy bear.

When we arrived at the diner, I opted for the basket, knowing it was going to be too busy in there for the stroller.

We found an empty booth by the window, and I slumped into the spot near to the window so Munchkin could look outside and stay entertained.

"Well hello! Long time, no see!" Kiki grinned, leaning to tickle Munchkin. "How's the little one?"

I really hated when people asked that. Couldn't they tell how he was? "Do we get some service?"

Daphne narrowed her eyes at me. "Could I have a menu, please?"

Kiki smiled brightly, probably happy some people still had manners. Not like I gave a shit about her feelings. "Right away, sweetie."

Sadly Debbie intercepted her on the way back, and rushed to our side. "My precious!" She picked Munchkin up, startling the poor kid. He stared at her for a long moment before promptly bursting in tears.

"For fuck's sake, Deb!" I pried him from her arms. "Can't you leave him alone when he's actually quiet? There, shush. Your grandma is crazy, you'll have to get used to that."

She sat next to me, stroking Munchkin's head. Her soothing touch seemed to do the trick. Once I was sure he'd stopped crying, I passed him to her.

"Gently," I hissed.

"Now, aren't you being an overprotective mother-hen?" She giggled.

"So what if I am?" I bit back.

"Have you talked to Justin today? You always get snippy when you haven't talked to him."

"As a matter of fact, I have."

"Yeah, at first he refused to answer him and poor Justin called me to ask if I knew anything of them," Daphne butted in.

Debbie raised an eyebrow at me.

"What? It wasn't my fault. Munchkin here decided to oversleep and I took advantage of that. We slept till nine."

"Aww! Is someone growing up?"

"If it means sleeping for longer than four hours without waking up for whatever reason, I say good radiance. Now, can we have some lunch?"

"What would you have? We have pea soup, meatballs or schnitzel, and mashed potatoes or rice. What would it be?"

"Pea soup," I decided. It was the less fattening thing on the menu.

"Meatballs and mashed potatoes." Daphne grinned. "And a milkshake."

"Only the soup for you?" Debbie gave me the brow.

"Yes, only the soup. A glass of lemonade, too."

She shook her head. "It was such a blessing to see you eat a few months ago."

"It was Munchkin eating. He demanded all that crap." I placed him back in the basket. "Do you happen to have a blender? I forgot to pack his food."

"Of course we have a blender. What do you want for him?"

"Do you have some carrots and apples?"

"I can make him something. We have fresh vegetables and fruits. Don't worry." She patted my cheek, before disappearing toward the kitchen.

I had a feeling she was going to make the puree herself, for which I was grateful. I trusted Debbie more than her cook.

oOo

In the park, I kept Munchkin in the stroller where he slept peacefully. Daphne hung by my arm, talking a mile per minute about anything and everything.

She told me about her work and how it occupied most of her time, about her boyfriend who she praised as being the one, but she said that every time, then she remembered about when she and Justin were little and their parents brought them to the park.

"I used to climb on all the available trees. Though, Justin never did it."

"Why doesn't it surprise me?"

She elbowed me in the ribs. "The only time I convinced him to do something dangerous…if you want to call it that…was when we climbed on the monkey bars. I taught him how to hang upside down…and he fell." She chewed on her lip, cringing. "It was like in slow motion. God, I never heard him wailing like that. Needless to say I felt so guilty, I couldn't even look at him for days."

"Did he break anything?" I could imagine how she felt.

"Yeah, his shoulder was dislocated and he had an ugly cut above his left brow. It healed," she added when I gave her a confused look. "Anyway, he had his arm in a cast and needed his best friend by his side. Of course, I thought he didn't want anything to do with me anymore after I injured him so badly."

"Silly Daphne," I joked.

"You're not one to talk, Brian!"

I pressed my lips tightly together, stopping at an empty bench. "You can't compare that accident with prom, okay? You just can't. You didn't almost kill him."

"Is that how you feel?"

"How else do you think I felt back then? I still believe it's my fault he got bashed. Can we not talk about this? Please, Daph."

She squeezed my shoulder, leaning closer. "Then let me finish my story."

"Sure." I slouched lower on the bench, rocking the stroller with my foot.

"After a few days of wallowing in self-pity that I hurt my best friend and that he hated me, my mom convinced me to visit Justin. Actually, she dragged me there. Jennifer was so happy to see me there, immediately ushering me to Justin's room."

"I bet he was just as happy to see you," I said through a smile.

"Oh, yeah! He kept asking if my parents grounded me for the accident. He was ready to go tell my mom it wasn't my fault he fell."

"That's Justin." I laughed. "He always takes all the blame. Selfless prick that he is."

"But we love him." She grinned.

I smirked, resting my head on the back of the bench and staring at the cloudy sky. "Yeah."

"You miss him, don't you?"

I shot her an annoyed look for making me talk feelings.

"You so do!"

"And you sound exactly like him. God forbid Munchkin inheriting his bratty nature. I'll move to the moon, far away from them."

She leaned closer to the stroller, staring at Munchkin with a smile on her face. "Has he gotten anything from Justin? Besides the blue eyes, which hopefully will stay."

"He's hungry all the time," I said seriously.

"Holy shit!" Her eyes widened as she starred at me, worried.

"I know. All he does is sleep and eat."

"No! There!" She pointed to our left.

I glanced over to see the reason of her worry. Oh, just fabulous.

Why do these things happen to me?

"Did Justin tell you about the last time we were around Ian?" I asked.

"Uh, he had that class with him…which is mind-boggling."

"I mean when the three of us were around him. Last October, if I remember correctly."

"No, he didn't tell me! What has he done? And what do you mean the three of you?"

"Are you being shallow on purpose?" I raised an eyebrow. I tried not to cringe when I became aware of the violin music in the air.

"He saw you back then…when you were…?" She frowned.

"Munchkin was born in September. Keep up, Daphne. We went to get Justin from college once…and Ian was following him around like the creepy leech he is. Anyway, Munchkin barfed all over him."

Daphne burst out laughing. "I can visualize it."

"It was spectacular." I brought the stroller closer and picked Munchkin up, cuddling him close. "I was so proud of him. My smart little guy."

"I still can't believe how much you've changed."

"I had to." I shrugged, kissing the top of Munchkin's head. "Can we go? I'm reaching my limit of hearing that."

"Sure. I was about to suggest the same thing."

After placing Munchkin back in the stroller, we started walking to the car. Sadly, we had to pass him.

Daphne kept her arm around mine, hurrying me along so I wouldn't be tempted to do something stupid. Not like I gave a fuck about the fiddler.

The interaction was brief. He narrowed his eyes at me, I shot daggers at him.

oOo

As the weeks and months passed and Justin kept pushing his returning home, I was slowly losing my mind.

It wasn't that I was alone with Patrick. I didn't mind it, but I missed Justin more than I thought possible. Our Skype sessions weren't satisfying enough. The five visits to New York left me missing him more.

The gang called an intervention when I refused to leave the house for a week. Munchkin and I were perfectly fine blissfully alone.

But then Debbie dropped by with food, bustling around the kitchen and making me miss Justin even more.

Then Emmett visited, bringing us sweets. Munchkin was too young for that, and I was on a diet, so the cookies were in the fridge, rotting away.

Lindsay brought Gus over one Saturday, insisting he missed me. For a few hours, I was grateful for their visit. I spent time with my older son, while Linz stayed with Patrick.

Even Ted came over under the pretext he needed my signature on some papers.

I thought that was the end of their intervention, but of course, I'd forgotten about Mikey. He hadn't been involved; until Ben called me to invite us to dinner. That was the beginning of the end.

If I'd known I'd become a fan of their spare bed, I wouldn't have accepted the invitation. Somehow, they helped me through my slight depression. I started going back to work regularly, and Munchkin spent quality time with his grandmas, but every evening, we were on Mikey and the Nutty Professor's porch.

"Any news from Justin?" Michael asked one evening over dessert.

Munchkin who was on my lap, refusing to sleep at a decent hour like a normal toddler, turned his head to me, then to Michael, babbling in his baby language enthusiastically.

"He's okay. We talked this morning. His last show is this Saturday. He said he's coming back by the end of the month." I stopped believing the moment when I'd have Justin in my arms in our home would ever come again.

It was clear even Patrick missed him terribly. He got this sad look in his eyes when we talked of Justin. Like at the moment. After realizing his other daddy wasn't around, and he was merely mentioned in the conversation, he visibly deflated, tears brimming in his eyes. It was becoming difficult to even look into his blue eyes.

"Well, that's great! Are you going to his show?" Ben smiled, trying to lift my spirits.

"Did I ever miss one of his shows? I'm thinking of taking Munchkin with me this time."

"That's a good idea. Come back with Justin. Show him what he's missing out." Michael nodded enthusiastically. "Just wait until he sees Patrick crawling and trying to walk. He'll be back in no time."

"That's the thing, Mikey! I don't want to bribe him to come back just because Munchkin is doing everything that is normal…without him around. Or because I miss him. I want him to be successful and make a name for himself, then come back."

"You're so full of shit, Brian! It's been nearly five months. He's had a few shows."

"And this is his first solo."

"Which means he's known enough," Ben interjected. "I agree. You should take Patrick with you. Besides them being happy to be reunited, it will show Justin what he's missing out. No parent would like to miss such important steps in their child's life… Trust me."

I looked at Munchkin, watching me intently. "You'd like to see your errant dad?"

Munchkin clapped, babbling excitedly, but I caught the word 'dada' in his gibberish word-vomit.

"It's settled." I kissed his head. "We're going to New York, and we aren't coming back without a written vow from Justin that he's coming back soon. In his blood."

"Ya! Da! Badoo! "

"Did you let him watch The Flintstones?" Michael laughed, tears springing into his eyes.

"No." I scowled, cuddling Munchkin close to my chest. "I'll put him down, then come back for a glass of whiskey. I need it."

"I'll be in the kitchen."

"And I'll be in bed. I have classes early tomorrow. Try not to stay up the whole night." Ben kissed Michael, patted my shoulder, then went upstairs.

"Be right back." I got up, ready to head to their guest room.

"You said so the other night and never made it back." He joked.

"Munchkin was agitated, but now I have a feeling he'll be out like the light. Debbie has a special charm to tire everyone."

oOo

"Hi, Dada! Stop being a twat and come home to us," I said in a high pitched voice from right behind Justin.

He whirled around, squealing loudly. "Brian! Munchkin!" He crashed us in a big hug. "God, I missed you so much!"

I kissed him wetly on the cheek. "Missed you too. Patrick insisted we come to your grand opening."

"Is that so?" Justin grinned, pulling Munchkin into his arms. "Hi, kiddo." He burrowed his nose into Patrick's hair, inhaling. "It feels like I haven't held him in months. He's so big."

"Told you. And you haven't been around him in months."

"Don't remind me. At least, I got to see you a few times during my time here, but I'm coming home. I can't do this."

"We miss you too. Now, go sell something. We'll mingle, sample the wine." I winked.

"Very funny."

Later that night, in Justin's hotel room, his home away from home, we were on the couch. He was burrowed into my side, glass of scotch in hand, nose firmly plated into the crook of my neck. I kept stroking his hair, reveling in the feeling of having him so close again.

"What's that?" His head shot up when a noise came from the master bedroom. "You don't suppose Patrick woke up?"

"I hope not," I muttered, getting up.

We were two steps away from the door when we saw Munchkin at the foot of the bed, a determined look on his face.

"Did he just crawl out of the bed?" Justin gasped.

"I'd say he rolled out of it. I even fucking showed him how to get out without falling, but he rolls around like a worm then bang. He's on the floor. Thank God for the plush carpet."

"What's he doing?" Justin took a step closer, frowning at Patrick who stared at us intently.

I grabbed Justin's wrist, anticipating Patrick's next move. "He's coming over. Brace yourself."

"He's walking?" Tears sprung into Justin's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because he's never done it until now? I have a feeling he was holding out to show off."

It was amusing how Patrick took a deep breath then lifted his right leg, planting it in front of his left, then his left in front of right, then he was face-planting on the carpet. He picked himself up, his lower lip trembling.

"Oh, no! Don't start crying," I begged, hurrying to his side.

Justin was still rooted in the doorway, so I angled Munchkin in his direction. "Go to Dada." I patted his butt.

He didn't need more invitation. A lot of stumbling later, and keeping his arms wide open, he arrived safely in front of Justin grinning proudly. "Dada! Miss Dada!"

Justin gathered him in a tight hug, meeting my eyes with tears brimming in his. "I missed you too, Munchkin." He raised an eyebrow at me when he noticed I wasn't particularly enthralled with the developments. Sure, I was happy Munchkin was walking, but it terrified me to think of him running around. "What's up?"

"You have no idea how he used to crawl around and hide in the craziest places, now he can walk. I'm close to raising the white flag and abandoning ship."

"Don't worry, Bri. I'll be there. I'm coming home with you."

"He's all yours. You run after him when he starts inspecting the house."

Munchkin twisted in Justin's arms, grinning at me, before tentatively making his way to me. I held out my hands, to catch him in case gravity wasn't his friend.

"There you go! You're walking," I praised, smiling when he was two steps away from me.

"Daddy!" He squealed, jumping into my arms, making me lose balance. I fell on my back, laughing, with him sprawled on my chest.

"My little human bullet." I kissed his tummy, making him squee gleefully. "Though, it's a little late for you to be up, so what do you say we sleep?"

"No sheeeep."

Justin laughed, crawling to us. He picked Munchkin from me. "It's way past your bedtime. Come on, sweetie."

"What are you doing?" I stared in disbelief when he got in bed with our kid.

"Go back to the sitting room. I'll be right there. It's my turn to put him to sleep."

I pecked his lips, returning to the couch and my abandoned glass of scotch. After half an hour it was clear Justin was fast asleep next to Patrick, and I was too tired to move, so I lounged on the couch. I hadn't been so relaxed in months. Justin was coming home. That alone gave me enough peace of mind to fall into a restful sleep.