Rachel stood in shock as she looked into the face of the man who once had her heart. She most likely looked absolutely ridiculous just staring at him. But she didn't quite believe it. Rachel almost felt like she was in a dream.
"Looks like I got the right house." Miles said with a charming grin. His voice, it was so familiar. Rachel couldn't help herself as she pulled him into a hug.
The hug felt so real, so unbelievably real. "What the hell are you doing here?" Rachel asked. It had been years since they last held one another, Rachel couldn't even remember. "How did you find us?" She let go of him and looked at him with eager eyes.
Miles chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Lots… and lots of searching."
"Well come in!" Rachel opened the door wider to invite him in. Miles hesitantly stepped inside and took a quick glance around the entry-way of the house. Almost immediately Charlie came running down the hallway and began to tug on Rachel's arm.
"Mommy! Danny needs your help!" Charlie whined and continued to yank on her arm. Rachel glanced down the hall to see Danny still struggling to get in the chair.
Rachel let Charlie lead her into the kitchen and motioned for Miles to follow. "Need help little man?" She bent down slightly to pick up her son and placed him gently down into the chair. Charlie jumped back into her chair and demanded for a bowl of cereal. Rachel reminded Charlie to be kind when asking for things and grabbed her box of cereal.
Placing Charlie's breakfast in front of her she asked Danny if he wanted a bowl of fruit. He nodded and she gladly began slicing up bananas. "You want anything, Miles?" Rachel asked as she put the slices into a bowl for Danny.
"No, I'm fine." Miles replied quickly and smiled at Charlie who was now half way through her breakfast. "You seem like you got your hands full."
Rachel sighed with a smile and gave the bowl of fruit to Danny and brushed his hair out of his face before he started in on his breakfast. "Some mornings are worse than others." She smiled and leaned up against the counter.
Miles nodded and glanced down the hall. "Bass here?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah." Rachel nodded. "He's upstairs." A soft smile still lingered on her lips.
Miles looked down at his shirt and pants. "I'm sorry, I probably look disgusting." He apologized sincerely. Noticing his shirt was stained with blood and other marks from being out in the world.
"He's gonna bring dirt into the house!" Charlie yelled through a mouthful of cereal. Danny whipped his head over to Miles and laughed sweetly. Miles couldn't help but smile at the two children. They resembled their mother quite a bit it was almost scary.
"Its alright, Charlie." Rachel attempted to calm her down. "We'll let him wash up when daddy's done." She added.
"Why is he here?" Charlie asked. Rachel realized she hadn't introduced Miles to her children amidst the chaos of preparing breakfast.
Rachel smiled at Miles and then looked back at Charlie. "This is my good friend, Miles." She explained. "And he's decided to stop by for a visit." Although, he was much more than a friend. They had a very complicated past full of heartbreak and unconditional love. Miles was, in fact, Charlie's father. But nobody knew that. Not even him. Rachel was the only one who knew and she intended to keep it that way.
Miles smiled again at Charlie and she smiled back at him and then started in again on her cereal. "They're beautiful, Rachel." He said softly and watched the children eat.
"Thank you." Rachel said, still not believing that Miles was standing in her kitchen. After a few moments of them watching Charlie and Danny Rachel spoke up again. "Once Bass is done I'll lay out a clean outfit for you and you can go ahead and wash up."
"Sounds fantastic." Miles said fanaticizing about actually being one hundred percent clean for a change.
Rachel smiled and poured herself a glass of water. "You'll have to tell me everything once you're all clean and these two go down for a nap." She nodded in particularly in Charlie's direction. Who had proven to be quite a handful already.
"Sure." Miles nodded. "If Bass doesn't kill me for being here first." He grinned. But was actually genuinely afraid of what bass was going to do when he found out he was here. They left things on pretty poor terms the last time they had seen one another. A lot of confusion and a lot of anger. But Miles hoped he managed to put all that behind him. He did get the girl after all, what more could he want?
"What the hell is this?" A very angry voice growled behind Miles and he spun around to face his old friend.