Looks like I'm going to be as slow with uploading this story as I was with the first part, really sorry about this. Gaby, thank you so much for reminding me that someone other than myself is enjoying the story, and motivating me to write!

Chapter 2:
Who's Your Daddy

''The answer to the question 'How many children do you have?' and the one to the question 'How many children are you raising?' are not identical in all cases: some men are not taking care of their own children, some are knowingly or unknowingly raising other men's children, and some do not even know that they each have a child, another child, or other children.'' Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Wednesday, August 23 2006.

Kayla heard the door close softly behind her as she made her way into the kitchen in the apartment she and Peter shared. He was in the kitchen cooking up some vegetarian version of something, she wasn't really sure.

''Hey honey,'' Peter looked up from the stove. They spend as much time together as possible, and living together certainly helped in that regard, but sharing a meal together was a rare occurrence. ''How was work?''

''Busy,'' she told him. She shook off her coat and wrapped her arms around him. ''Been thinking about you.''
Peter smiled, ''aren't you always?'' He teased her.

''Of course, just, you know, been thinking about… us. And our relationship,'' she started. It had been a while since she had found the ring in his bedside table, and after the talk they had had she had decided to put it out of her mind. But for some reason, the past few days it had popped right back into her mind.

''Our relationship?'' Peter asked.
''Yeah, just like how it's going and where we see it going,'' she tried to gently urge him to bring it up, without making it seem like she was urging him to propose right there and then.

Peter frowned at her, ''I thought everything was going fine.'' He had been in many relationships and his and Kayla's was definitely the best one he had. They had been living together for a while, and though they didn't always have a lot of time for each other, they didn't fight much and from what he could tell it had been nothing but blue skies and rainbows.

''It is, isn't it?'' She asked.
Peter squinted his eyes at her, ''what's on your mind?''
''Our future. Getting engaged, getting married, having kids, the white picket fence and stuff. I know that we talked about the ring, when I found it, but…''

''Look,'' he turned the stove off, focusing his attention on her. ''I bought it when we had been dating for about a month. I came across it and it reminded me of you, and I didn't think I would find a better ring.'' He took her hand, ''Kayla…''

She took a deep breath, ''Peter?''
''I fully intend on marrying you. One day. Some day. But like I said, I don't think we're there yet. And when I do propose, I want it to be a surprise.'' She smiled at him, ''and as for what comes after that… we'll see when we get there. I fully believe in living in the moment.''

It amazed her how easily he could calm her worries when her mind was racing. ''You're amazing, I should tell you that more often,'' she said with a smile.

He had his hands in his pockets as he stood in the doorway of the children's ward. It was late, only the last few rays of sunshine crept through the curtains into the ward. Soft snoring could be heard as all the children -including Samuel- slept.

Milo had never been the nurturing type.

Sure, he watched over his patients, treated them with kindness. He loved Andy, Daniel, his step-daughters, his nieces and nephews. But he would never be the first one to pick up a baby, and before he had married Andy he rarely spent time with children at all.

It was only now that some unfamiliar child- whom he had the vaguest of connections with- that his paternal side awoke. He had loved Daniel from the first moment he had laid eyes on him, of course, but it was different. He felt the need to watch over Samuel, for a reason he neither understood nor could explain.

Seeing the disheveled woman who was apparently Samuel's foster mother, he couldn't help but be worried. Samuel deserved better than that.

Bridget- Samuel's foster mother- had left nearly as soon as he had been admitted, needing to go home to look after the other children in her care. Milo had felt bad for her, but worse still, for Samuel.

When he had started dating Carrie Weston, which now seemed like a lifetime ago, he could have never guessed that it would pan out like this.

A son.

The thought stopped him dead in his tracks. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to gather his thoughts. A child. Not his child, a child. A child who was not in any way related to him. A child who had his complexion, his hair, his eyes, but wasn't his child.

Thursday, August 4 2006.

It was late when he got home. He was half asleep, already thinking about not 5 hours later when his alarm clock would go off. He frowned as he could hear a hushed voice coming from the kitchen, he didn't think Andy would still be up after he had blown her off for dinner.

Swinging open the door from the dining room into the kitchen, he was shocked to see Lizzy sitting at the wooden table, talking quietly on the phone whilst munching on some crackers. His jaw dropped as she quickly said goodbye and put the phone down.

''What are you doing up at this hour?'' He asked, making sure to keep his voice down. The walls weren't exactly soundproof and he was sure Andy was mad enough at him without him waking up Daniel in the middle of the night.

Lizzy stammered, ''I was hungry.'' She seemed unsure of every word that came out of her mouth.
Milo frowned at her, ''who were you on the phone with?'' He asked, putting the phone back in its cradle before sitting down next to her.

''Just a friend,'' she said, starting to sound defensive.
''Your friends pick up their phone at-'' he looked over at the clock which was silently ticking away on the wall, ''2:30am?''

''Look, it's none of your business,'' Lizzy said as she stood up, eager to get away and go back to bed.
''How is it not-'' his voice fell silent, ''why aren't you in your PJs?''

''It's none of your business,'' Lizzy repeated.
''You're thirteen years old-''
''You're not my dad.''

Milo swallowed, ''I know that. And I will never try to replace your father, but I am your stepfather and when you're on the phone in the middle of the night, looking like you're ready to sneak out, then that is very much my business.''

Lizzy gave him a stubborn look that he was oh so familiar with, except it usually came from two other Campbell women. ''I am going to bed.''

''Hey guys, sorry, I had to finish suturing a scalp lac,'' Kayla said as she made her way into the exam room.
''Lu, why have you brought us all here?'' Andy asked as she sat down on one of the chairs.
''Ehh, probably to watch her do another ultrasound,'' Lana said, she watched Lu grab the gel of the shelf.

''Been there,'' Peter said. The ultrasounds had been a regular occurrence since Lu had found out about her pregnancy. Andy looked over at him, she had only barely returned to work and had so far missed any ultrasounds her partner had had.

''Are you guys through?'' Lu asked, half teasingly. '''Cause if you guys just shut up for a minute I was gonna have you listen to my baby's heartbeat,'' she said as she sat down on the exam table.

''You want us to listen?'' Kayla asked, moved by it.

''Well I did,'' Lu said laughingly. ''And just so we're all on the same page here, if I do need another ultrasound Peter you're gonna handle it.''
''You need me, I'm there,'' Peter said with a smile.

''I'm counting on you to be, Tin Man,'' Lu said. ''And if I need a c-section, I'm coming to you Scare Crow,'' she said, looking over at Andy.
Andy gave her a smile, ''you got it.''

''Any middle of the night emergencies, you're my first call Glenda,'' Lu said to Kayla as she squirted the gel onto her stomach.
''Wicked witch,'' Kayla said, surprised but happy.
''Yeah.''

''Ehh, I better not be Toto,'' Lana said, giving Lu a look.
''You're my lion, and I couldn't do it without you. You're my emotional support with super-fudge-chunk ice-cream on top.''
''Lioness,'' Lana corrected her as she and Kayla inched closer to the exam table. ''And I guess it's true, it takes a clinic.

''Yeah, or at least one big ass extended dysfunctional family,'' Lu said and they all laughed. She put the probe on her stomach and it took only a second before a loud thumping sound could be heard.

''Kid's got a lot of heart.'' Andy said with a smile.
''Just like his mom.''

''When are you coming home?'' Lizzy asked through the phone, sorting through the pile of clothes on her bed.
''I don't know,'' Jesse said. ''Why are you so eager for me to come back? All we do is fight when I'm home.''

''At least when you're home they don't put me under the microscope,'' Lizzy said. ''I feel like they're watching everything I do, even more so than DJ.''
Jesse fell silent for a second. A few weeks after her mother had told them what their father had done she had come home, but that didn't last long. The only she regretted about that is that that had meant that she had missed the first few weeks of her little brother's life. She had been to see him a few days after he was born and a few random moments here and there after that, but that had been it. ''I'm sure it's not as bad as you think.''

''I miss having you here,'' Lizzy admitted. Sure, they mostly just fought when Jesse was home but between all the yelling they had grown closer over time, and it felt to be honest with each other.
''I don't think you remember what it was like,'' Jesse said.

''Even so. Even if we fought a lot I at least had you. Mom has her perfect little family and-''
''And you're still a part of that,'' Jesse told her.
''It's not the same,'' Lizzy said. It came out whinier than she had intended and tears were starting to form. ''DJ cries all the time and she just focuses on him. And when Milo comes home she focuses on the two of them. I have become completely invisible except when it's time to yell at me.''

Jesse frowned, ''why are they yelling at you?'' She was so used to her little sister being the miss little goody two-shoes while she was clashing with her mother.
''Not important,'' Lizzy said, not wanting to talk about the night before and what she had been doing.

''Come on L-z, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think.''
Lizzy swallowed hard at the sound of the old familiar nickname, her dad had been the one to use it mostly, and it had been a long time since she had hear it. She could hear her mother's footstep coming up the stairs, ''I have to go.''

They said their quick goodbyes in the five seconds it took Andy to get to her youngest daughter's bedroom. So far all she had heard was Milo's side of the story, of finding the child in the kitchen in the middle of the night. She had made sure Corrina watched after Lizzy all day and didn't let her leave the house, but she hadn't formally been grounded yet.

Lizzy sat down on the bed as her mother appeared in the doorway. ''Hi.''
''Eliza.''
''I didn't do anything, I swear,'' Lizzy said. There were tears left in her eyes from her conversation with Jesse, and she knew what was coming next wouldn't help.

Andy opened her mouth to speak before fully taking in the sight of her daughter. The phone lying next to her and her eyes glistening. ''What's wrong, why are you crying?''
''I'm not crying,'' Lizzy said. The last person she wanted to open up to was her mother.

Andy hesitated, ''who were you on the phone with?''
''Jesse.'' She could see her mother squint at her, not sure if she could believe her. ''I promise, you can call her if you want,'' she held out the phone to Andy.

Putting it down on the nightstand, Andy sat down next to Lizzy. ''Do you want to tell me what happened last night?''
''Nothing happened. I was hungry so I got some food, and I got bored so I called Missy,'' she said, referring to her best friend Melissa.

''And she was up at two in the morning?'' Andy asked, not believing the story one bit.
''Clearly,'' Lizzy said, ''otherwise she wouldn't have picked up and I wouldn't be on the phone with her.''
''And her parents were okay with you calling at that hour?''
''They don't know, she has a private line,'' Lizzy said, sticking to her story.

''Lizzy-''
''Mom.''
''I wish you'd be honest with me,'' Andy said.
''Right, 'cause you're always honest with me.'' Andy looked away, ''you didn't tell us what happened with daddy for a long time.''

''Honey,'' Andy looked over at her daughter who had gotten up and was sorting through clothes once again, hiding her face. ''You're thirteen, I don't want you to have to deal with that stuff yet.''

''I had a right to know,'' Lizzy said.
''You also have the right to be a child,'' Andy said. ''You had just lost your father, you didn't need to hear about some of the things he has done.'' She looked over at her daughter who was standing silently on the other side of the room, looking like she wanted to lash out at her mother. ''I know that you're mad at me, but that doesn't mean you can sneak out of the house in the middle of the night.''

''I didn't.''
Andy gave her a look. ''You're grounded. Two weeks.''

''He'll have to stay here a few more days for observation, I'll let you know when we're ready to release him,'' Milo told Bridget, Samuel's foster mother.

''Thank you,'' she said as she watched over her young foster son. ''You have been so amazing these past few days. We used to go to County and while fully capable they weren't as… personable,'' she said.

''My pleasure. He is a special kid,'' Milo told her. He had been watching over Samuel ever since he was admitted, and while he was sure it only existed in his mind he felt some kind of bond had been forged.

''He is, he's been in our care for a few weeks now and he and my sons are getting along like brothers,'' Bridget told him. ''Not all foster children are as easy unfortunately.''

''I can imagine,'' Milo said. ''He doesn't have any family left to take care of him?'' He hadn't thought to ask any more questions about his ex's family when they were at CPS a few months earlier, he didn't know much about Carrie's family at all.

''He has an elderly grandmother, she's too old to take care of him. Sad story really, his mom died unexpectedly and he didn't have anyone,'' Bridget said. She looked over at him, ''have you ever thought about being a foster parent?''

Milo gave her a slight smile before taking a deep breath, ''I'm starting to.''