Jake was struggling to tie his tie, carefully watching his reflection. His eyes darted around the mirror though, searching Ryder out in the room. He spotted him sitting on the bed, head in his hands. He was still wearing sweats and an old shirt.

Jake gave up on the tie, turning away from the mirror. He placed a hand on Ryder's shoulder. 'Ry, you need to get ready.'

'Hmm.' Ryder looked up at him without lifting his head.

'The babysitter will be here soon. It's nearly time to go.'

Ryder tilted his head back towards the ground. 'I don't think we should go.'

'What are you talking about?' He slipped his hand from Ryder's shoulder, down his arm to grip at his bicep and tugged him up. He pulled Ryder towards him, arms circling around his waist.

Ryder laid his head on Jake's shoulder. 'I don't want to leave her,' he whispered.

'She'll be alright, Ryder. It's only a couple of hours.'

'I still think we should cancel.' It came out as a mumble against his shoulder.

'We can't cancel, this dinner's for you, baby.' Ryder groaned his disagreement. 'It's not every day you get made a partner, Ryder. All your friends want to celebrate with you.'

'But why tonight? Can't we put it off till your mom's back?' Suddenly, Jake wondered if he could see where this was going. Usually his mom babysat for them. This was the first time that they were getting a babysitter in.

'No, Ryder. It has to be tonight. But Sophie will be alright. Jennifer came highly recommended, she'll do a good job.'

Ryder gripped at the beltloops at the back of Jake's pants. 'But you don't know that.' It was a panicked whine.

Jake ran a hand over Ryder's back, trying to calm him. 'Is this – ' He pitched his voice softer. 'Is this about what happened to you?'

He felt Ryder nod against his neck. His hand picked up speed, wanting in some way to reassure his husband. Over the years, this had come up a few times, affecting Ryder in ways that Jake could never anticipate. He was becoming experienced at getting him through these moments. He was relieved that it was less of a problem now, but he still hated to see Ryder hurting like this.

Ryder was speaking again now, lips moving against his neck. 'We should have asked my parents to come and stay.'

'It's a four hour drive, baby. We couldn't ask them.'

'Mmm.' It was resigned agreement.

'Ryder, baby, look at me.' He did, reluctantly. 'Sophie's gonna be ok. Just because you weren't, it doesn't mean anything's gonna happen to her.'

'What if it does, though?' There was panic flashing through his eyes.

'It won't. Jennifer babysits for Puck's kids all the time.' Jake smiled, hoping Ryder would accept his argument.

'That doesn't mean anything.'

Jake didn't know what to say, so he just pulled Ryder close again. He hoped that his presence could give him some comfort, at least until Jake could figure out what to say next.

In the distance, he could hear the arrhythmic slap of footsteps, getting rapidly closer. He wasn't surprised to see Sophie skip into their room, teddy in hand and the dog trailing behind her.

'Daddy, what's wrong with Papa?'

Jake thought for a moment, trying to decide the best way to explain it to her. There was no way he could tell her the real reason, not as a seven year old. 'He's just gonna miss you honey.'

'I'm gonna miss you too, Papa.' She was rushing forward, wrapping her arms around them both, face burying into their stomachs. Jake bent down to lift her up, holding her between them. Her arms wrapped around their necks, pulling their heads against hers.

'It's only one night,' Jake told them both. 'We'll be here in the morning, Sophie.'

'Will you be gone all night?' She looked panicked, wide eyes that were just like Ryder's.

'No, no, of course not.' Jake stroked over her hair. 'We'll get home while you're asleep. Jennifer will put you to bed, and we'll be home soon after that. Ok?'

She considered for a moment, forehead scrunching up as she thought. 'Can you ring me to say goodnight?'

Jake couldn't help but think how difficult that would be, having to excuse themselves from the table. It would be so much easier to just say no. But Sophie was giving him puppy dog eyes. He glanced over to Ryder. He was giving Jake the same look. Apparently this was the consolation he needed to feel ok about the babysitter.

'Of course,' Jake told her. 'Ten to eight. But you'd better be tucked up in bed, alright?'

'Ok,' she agreed, leaning forward to kiss him and then Ryder. She was squirming now, so Jake placed her back down. She tugged at Ryder's hand. 'Papa, can I watch tv?'

'Yup, but take Puppy with you too.' She scooped the dog up in her spare arm, skipping her way out of the room.

The two of them were still standing opposite each other, a slight space between them. Jake was worried that he could still see a sadness in Ryder's eyes. He lifted a hand to caress his cheek. 'You gonna get dressed yet?'

Ryder huffed a deep sigh. 'Yea, I guess.' He was reaching towards Jake's collar though. 'I just really need to fix your tie first.'

Jake found himself looking deep into Ryder's eyes as he tied the tie. 'We have to trust she'll be ok,' he told Ryder.

'I know,' Ryder agreed. 'It's just hard.'

'Yea, but that's part of watching her grow up. Now come on,' he shoved Ryder lightly, 'you really need to get changed.'

Make sure to check out the Jyder Week tag on Tumblr. And keep checking back in here for a new story each day this week.