Ivan drove to the police station while Yao was in the back with the baby. They did not own a car seat so Yao held the baby firmly and safely in his arms. The three arrived at the station after a short trip and went in. The station looked surprisingly busy. Yao looked around not knowing where to go. Yao went towards a desk as Ivan followed him like a loyal puppy. Yao saw a lady going through numerous papers with a sour look on her face. Yao walked up cautiously,

"Um, excuse me…" Yao started trying to get her attention

"What?" The lady asked with a snap. Ivan didn't like anyone talking to his Yao-Yao like that.

"I'd like to ask about the missing-" Yao was cut off

"If you want to file a missing persons report, you have to wait over there for an officer to be available." The lady said snootily.

"That's not what I was going to say. I wanted to-" Yao was one again cut off

"If you need something you're going to have to wait over there." The lady repeated.

"There's no one else here aru." Yao pointed out

"Sir, please sit down or I will have to ask you to leave." The lady said suddenly

"All I said was that no one is here?" Yao said, "How busy could you be aru?" Yao was starting to get irritated with this lady.

"Sir-" The lady was stopped this time

"I do not like the tone of voice you're taking with my Yao-Yao. When I look around I see officers sitting around eating donuts and drinking coffee. I think the ones you should be scolding are them not, my Sunflower." Ivan said starting to bring on a cold air in the room.

"Ivan, it's alright, I can handle this." Yao said trying to keep things calm

"I do not like her Yao-Yao." Ivan said bluntly.

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to wait one last time or-" The lady was cut off again, but this time it was by a different voice.

"That's quite alright, Ms. Rhodes, I'll take it from here." A British voice said. They all looked over to see Chief Arthur Kirkland.

"Chief," the lady stood to greet him, "I can handle this, you don't need to involve yourself in these small affairs."

"No, I insist." Arthur said, "Ivan, Yao, it's good to see you again." The lady seemed to be surprised that the chief acted so casual with the two men in front of her. Arthur shook hands with the two. "Gentlemen…." Arthur stopped upon seeing the baby in the Yao's arms, "I wasn't aware that you two adopted. You aren't married yet are you? Why wasn't I invited?" Arthur asked quickly.

"Slow down Arthur, the reason we're here is because of her. It's a bit of a weird story aru." Yao explained.

"Alright, explain in my office, follow me." Arthur said. He led to two to his well organized office where there was another familiar man with glasses and a burger in his mouth. The man brightened up at seeing Yao. He got up with a jump,

"Mmmhhff Mmmhhf mm!" the man said

"Alfred, take the bloody sandwich out of your mouth when you speak!" Arthur lectured his boyfriend. Alfred took the burger from his mouth and held it in front of Arthur's face,

"Burger, Iggy, it's a burger!" The younger man said loudly.

"Get that bloody thing away from me!" Arthur swatted the other man's hand away. The one wearing the glasses was Alfred Jones, one of the best officers in town, surprisingly enough. Alfred met Arthur when they were in school.

"Yao, Ivan! It's been a while and why do you have a baby, dudes?" Alfred asked quickly changing the subject.

"Long story aru." Yao said. Ivan and Yao sat in the two chairs in front of Arthur's desk,

"What are you doing in Arthur's office, Alfred?" Ivan asked curiously

"Well, I'm on my lunch break! I'm the best officer around here and I decided to spend my time with my lover!" Alfred said

"I'm not your lover you git!" Arthur said with a huff, "Just tell me your story."

"I found this baby girl not far from my house. No one answered my calls for help and Ivan and I have been taking care of her for the night." Yao said, "I wanted to ask about the missing persons report to see if anyone's reported a child missing aru."

"No, no one had reported a child missing from my knowledge. The report's been empty for a long time; no one's been missing lately." Arthur said

"Man she's cute, can I hold her?" Alfred asked out of nowhere.

"Alfred you're not helping, you twit!" Arthur said irritated

"I just wanna hold the baby!" Alfred defended. Yao smiled a bit, those two argued all the time, but they were still together. Yao let Alfred hold the baby and he kept her entertained in the corner of the room,

"Just don't feed her any of that burger!" Yao warned

"Don't worry I got ya!" Alfred said. The baby played with Alfred's face and laughed as he pretended to eat her fingers.

"Back to your story; I see the only option is to report her and hope someone claims her." Arthur said, "We'll put out a story on the news and adds around town, but I can't promise you that someone will claim her." Arthur said

"But I don't know if her mother or father claiming her would be a good idea." Yao said

"Why is that?" Arthur asked

"When I was bathing her the other day she was covered in bruises and scrapes aru." Yao said. He didn't want to be reminded of the baby's injuries. "They weren't the worst in the world, but it was still horrible to think that someone hurt her."

"You suspect child abuse?" Arthur asked

"Yes." Yao said

"I see, well if that is the case, she'll stay with social services. I'm still going to set out an ad to see if we can find the abuser." Arthur said

"That's not usually protocol, if a kid's abandoned then we just take the kid and don't worry about their parents." Alfred added

"Thank you Arthur." Yao said

"No problem, I hate people like that." Arthur said. Arthur took the phone, "Social services usually arrive an hour or so after a call."

"Wait!" Yao said suddenly. Arthur paused as he was about to hit a number, "You don't need to bother them…uh, we can watch her!"

"Yao?" Ivan asked, "I don't think we've discussed this? Unless you asked while I was delirious with exhaustion."

"Please Ivan, I really love having her around and I'd really like you to be around her too!" Yao begged again. Ivan sighed, whenever Yao used his begging voice he could deny the tiny man nothing.

"Alright, if it is alright with Arthur and if you are up to it." Ivan said with a small smile

"I've raised four kids, one more won't hurt. It's just for a while right?" Yao asked trying not to sound excited about the baby

"Yao, I don't know if I can-" Arthur said uncertainly,

"Please Arthur." Yao said quietly. Arthur sighed in defeat,

"You owe me." Arthur said.

"Thank you, Arthur!" Yao said happily hugging Arthur from across the desk,

"We'll give it a week, if no one that checks out claims her, social services will take her." Arthur said trying not to show his nice side. "Anyone who wishes to claim her will have to come here, so if someone shows up we'll let you know."

"Thanks again aru!" Yao said with a smile. He turned to retrieve the baby from Alfred only to see that the younger man was holding the baby girl a bit above him as he carefully twirled her like she was flying.

"It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Super Baby!" Alfred said loudly. The baby seemed to smile at this. Yao couldn't help, but smile a bit,

"Be careful." The Asian warned.

"Don't worry; a hero will never let his girl fall!" Alfred said as he held the baby closer.

"You're not a hero, you git!" Arthur said with a voice of irritation.

"Yes I am!" Alfred said confidently.

"Just give Ivan the baby and get back to work." Arthur ordered with a sigh.

"But I wanted to eat lunch with you Iggy!" Alfred whined

"Shut up!" Arthur ordered. Alfred gave the baby to Ivan and draped himself over Arthur,

"C'mon Artie, you know you love me." Alfred said with a snicker, "Give your hero a kiss!"

"I'll do no such thing!" Arthur said indignantly, "Yao, Ivan have a good day, damn it Alfred I told you to go back to work and get that bloody sandwich away from me!"

"It's a burger." Alfred corrected once more. Yao and Ivan slipped out of the room while the two lovers kept arguing. Arthur could be a good friend when he wanted to be. Alfred was always nice, but sometimes it brimmed into the annoying side. Ivan saw that the baby was playing with his scarf once more and wondered what to do now that they would be taking care of her for a while. How did he get roped into being a guardian in such a short period of time?

"What are we supposed to do now, Yao-Yao?" Ivan asked, "We don't have any means of taking care of a baby, da?"

"I think it'd be best if we went to at least get some baby food and some clothes for her. She can't wear that old thing forever aru." Yao said, "I want to take good care of her while she's with us."

"Where are we supposed to be going then?" Ivan asked as they got in the car.

"Well, first I think we should get a car carrier for safety." Yao said from the backseat, "I don't think it's safe to keep doing this."

"Alright, whatever you wish." Ivan said happily. The car started and they started off. The ride was relatively quiet. Yao was keeping the baby entertained by talking about various things outside of the car window. Suddenly the Asian man had a thought,

"Ivan?" He said to get the Russian's attention.

"Da, what is it Yao?" Ivan responded

"Do you think we should name her?" Yao asked with a small smile.

"Well, I do not see why not." Ivan said noticing the happiness in his lover's eyes

"What should we call her?" Yao asked excitedly as he nearly bounced up and down in his seat

"Whatever you would like, my Sunflower," Ivan said just happy to know Yao was happy.

"Can we call her Lin Mei? It's such a pretty name and it's meant for a pretty girl like her!" Yao said cuddling the baby girl closely.

"Da, it is a pretty name." Ivan said

"Do you like that name?" Yao asked the baby girl. The baby patted Yao's face in response and the Asian man laughed happily, "Then Lin Mei it is." The car pulled into a parking lot and the two men got out. The two started walking toward the door, but Yao noticed that Ivan fidgeted nervously. "Ivan, are you okay aru?"

"Da…" Ivan started,

"You don't seem alright." Yao said concerned

"I am fine, do not worry, Yao-Yao." Ivan said with a smile.

"I've known you since we were in high school; I know when something is bothering you." Yao said looking up at Ivan.

"Really, Yao, I am fine." Ivan said trying to lift his lover's worry. Yao didn't totally believe Ivan's little act, but let it go for now. He would have to ask him about it later. The two entered the baby store and saw shelves stacked to the top with baby stuff. It seemed overwhelming even to two men who raised younger siblings.

"Well, I guess don't have to make as many stops as we thought." Yao said looking around in astonishment. It seemed as if there was nothing that the store didn't have. Yao didn't even know where to start looking.

"Where do we go now?" Ivan asked curiously.

"I have no idea aru." Yao answered trying to find his bearings. The two were suddenly approached by an employee.

"Ohohohon you two gentlemen seem to need some assistance from the tres bien moi." A painfully familiar voice said. Ivan and Yao turned to see a man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and just a bit of stubble on his chin. "Well if it isn't mes amis Yao and Ivan and…un bebe." The employee said confused. The employee was none other than their old friend Francis Bonnefoy.

"Francis, I didn't know you worked here." Yao said surprised

"Forget that, why do you have a child with you? Don't tell me you two have adopted already, why didn't you tell me? How could you leave me out of the loop of friends you told?" Francis said dramatically

"Stop, she's not ours, we're just taking care of here for now aru." Yao answered to get the Frenchman to stop.

"Oh, she is cute non I could just eat her up." Francis said. "Bonjour mon petit!" Lin Mei lightly tugged at Francis' golden hair making the man laugh happily.

"Could you help us, we need to find a car carrier for Lin Mei." Yao interjected

"Well, is that case, what can I help you with?" Francis asked quickly switching the subject.

"We need a car seat for Lin Mei and perhaps some day-to-day stuff too." Yao answered.

"I see, let me show you where to look." Francis said leading the way. The Frenchman started off into the aisles of baby items expecting the other two men to follow him. Yao started to follow, but noticed Ivan was staring off into space.

"Ivan…are you coming?" Yao asked worriedly. Ivan has not been himself since they left the police station. Ivan snapped out of his daze and smiled.

"Da, I am sorry." Ivan said as he followed Francis. Yao was starting to worry about Ivan, but he could tell this was a matter to be discussed at home and not in public. Yao and Ivan followed Francis to an aisle dedicated to car seats. There were all sorts of seats for all sorts of kids.

"Here we are; the hall of car seats." Francis said gesturing to all of the merchandise.

"Wow, there are a lot to choose from." Yao said looking around.

"Oui I suggest this one, it seems to be in the highest demand and best quality." Francis said grabbing one that was suitable for babies of Lin Mei's age.

"Thank you Francis, I wouldn't have known what to chose." Yao admitted. Ivan took the packaged carrier from Francis and carried it easily. "Do you think you could help up find some other things we need?"

"Why of course, mon ami." Francis said happily. The Frenchman led the two around as they gathered various baby supplies from different shelves throughout the store. The three managed to catch up with each other. France started to lead the two men to the checkout as he continued to ramble on about this and that. Yao had been curious to know why Francis was there at all.

"Francis, may I ask you something?" Yao asked

"Of course, you do not have to ask permission for such things." Francis told his friend

"Why did you choose to work here? I though wanted to be a chef." Yao asked

"Oh, I understand. You see, I am a chef, but that is my weekly job. I come here on weekends mostly for something to keep me busy. I enjoy my job as a chef of course, but sometimes coming here reminds me of better days." Francis answered. The Frenchman seemed to have a sad look in his eyes. Yao knew the reason why.

"I see." Yao said hoping he didn't upset Francis too much.

"Being here reminds me of the days I used to take care of my baby brothers, Matthieu and Alfred." Francis said getting a distant look in his eyes.

Francis used to take care of his baby brothers more like a parent than a sibling. Their mother died and their father was never around so it was up to Francis to take care of Matthew and Alfred, but what was really sad was that Francis was only ten when he needed to take responsibility for the younger boys who were only six. Francis did everything and anything to take care of his brothers so they could have better lives than him. When the two younger boys left home for college they really left. Alfred hardly ever talked to Francis anymore as he was preoccupied with police work, not to mention that the Frenchman and Arthur didn't get along that well, and Matthew was working a few cities away and living with Gilbert Beilschmidt so it wasn't always easy to see each other as often. Sometimes he felt like the twins didn't appreciate all that he did, because they weren't aware of just how much he had to do just feed them. Even though he occasionally argued with his brothers, Francis was willing to do it all over again. Despite the harsh separation after so many years of being so close, Francis still loved his brothers very much and would still do anything for them if they just asked, "Never mind that, it looks like you're all checked out." Francis said quickly.

"Thank you aru." Yao said taking his bags.

"I hope that I will see you again soon." Francis said as he waved to his friends. Yao and Ivan exited the building and headed home after setting up the car carrier. Although Francis was usually perverted and stupid, he had a different side to him that only came out every so often. Despite Francis and his tendency to act like he had his head in his pants, Yao respected the work he put into raising Alfred and Matthew.

Yao and Ivan arrived home in only a few moments and Ivan unloaded all of the items into the house. They had gotten loads of baby stuff that Francis suggested and pushed into their arms. Yao set Lin Mei on the bed with a blanket for a nap. She had fallen asleep in the car, exhausted from the day's events. Yao found Ivan sitting on the couch waiting for something to do. Yao set next to his boyfriend and rested against the taller man's shoulder.

"I respect Francis' devotion to his brothers." Yao said to start up a conversation

"He is not unlike you and your siblings." Ivan said with a smile, but the smile quickly faded

"Ivan, you haven't been acting like yourself ever since we left the police station aru." Yao said worriedly. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I already told you that there is nothing wrong." Ivan said once again.

"I know that there is something wrong. Don't lie anymore, you promise you would never lie to me!" Yao said getting more upset

"I'm not lying, Yao." Ivan said looking away from Yao's honey eyes.

"Please, Ivan, tell me what's wrong." Yao pleaded as he grabbed Ivan's hand

"Please Yao…stop." Ivan said quietly

"Look at me and tell me that there's nothing wrong." Yao ordered desperately, "I won't let go until you tell me what's wrong." Ivan looked down at Yao with the slightest bit of sadness,

"I am not so sure about keeping Lin Mei here for long." Ivan said quietly

"What do you mean aru? You don't want her?" Yao asked nearly panicked

"No, it is not that. I do love having her here, but I…I am uncertain of me." Ivan answered honestly, "I do not know if I will be a good guardian even if just for a few days. I am afraid I will ruin her life…I'm afraid that I will fail her as a guardian as my father failed me."

"Ivan…" Yao started gently, "That will never happen. You are so much better than that horrible monster. You're a better man that he will ever be and you will make a great father one day. You are kind and gentle and you don't have anything to be afraid of. Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I just wanted to see you completely happy again Yao." Ivan said

"Ivan I've always been happy with you." Yao said

"But the way you looked at Lin Mei…you looked so completely happy and I couldn't be the one to take that from you." Ivan explained sadly, "I like Lin Mei just as much as you, but I don't want to be weak and scared in front of her either." Ivan said as if her were shrinking

"Ivan..." Yao started as he made the Russian face him, determined to get a point across, "Do you know what made me fall in love with you?"

"My cute face?" Ivan asked. Yao chuckled at the innocent look on Ivan's face,

"Well that and the fact that you confided your deepest fears in me and I learned that even after all the things your father did you still managed to keep going on with your life." Yao said, "That day I fell in love with the part of you that was scared and needed me in the moment of time and the fact that you were capable of falling in love with me is enough alone to prove that you are stronger than your father ever was."

"But being scared made me weak." Ivan said sadly

"You may be a lot of things Ivan, but weak is not one of them." Yao said strongly, "Being scared is very different from being strong. Everyone gets scared."

"Yao-Yao never gets scared." Ivan said

"You think I don't get scared?" Yao asked, "You don't think that taking care of a child doesn't scare me?" Ivan nodded, "Ivan I'm just as scared as you are, but I know that if we just stick together through this we'll be fine. I know that if you're here I won't have to be so scared."

"Yao…I'm glad that I found you. I love you, Yao-Yao!" Ivan said embracing the Asian tightly

"I love you too." Yao said kissing Ivan's cheek.