Jeff yawned as he stepped up to his mother's front porch. He was exhausted, although this time it was partially his own fault. Instead of attempting to sleep he had stayed up until the dead of night secretly looking through Annie's baby books. Not all of them, of course. She had somehow managed to accumulate a small library's worth of books in just under a week. She would be the most prepared first-time mom in history if she kept this up, which, come to think of it, was probably her goal.

Jeff brought his hands to his face and slapped his palms against his cheeks twice in quick succession, an attempt to make himself seem more lively before knocking on the front door. The week was wearing on him.

Moments later, the door was swinging inward. "Good evening, son!" George greeted happily, smiling at Jeff. Jeff tried not to roll his eyes at his step-father calling him 'son'.

"Hey, George," Jeff said, stepping inside. "How's the wife?"

George beamed. "Doing well. She's in the kitchen making cookies."

This time Jeff did roll his eyes. "Does Donna Reed know about you two?"

George chuckled as he followed Jeff into the house. Jeff intended to go into the kitchen to greet his mother, but one look at the couch had him changing his mind. It wasn't the most comfortable couch in the world, but right now it seemed like a cloud. He collapsed heavily onto the cushions and leaned back, closing his eyes.

"Tired?" George questioned.

"Just a bit," Jeff muttered. No point in denying it. He'd seen his reflection at airport. He looked like death. Or at the very least, insomnia incarnate.

"I'll go get your mother for you," George said after a short stretch of silence.

"Mm," Jeff acknowledged without opening his eyes. He heard George's retreating footsteps as he headed for the kitchen.

"Jeff?" His mother's concerned voice gave him a slight start. He really hadn't meant to drift off.

He sat up and forced his eyes open. "Hey, Mom." His voice came out more gravelly than was ideal and he flinched internally at the sound. That wasn't going to help his case.

"Are you okay?"

"Yup," he answered, smiling in a way he hoped was convincingly normal.

She eyed him skeptically. Clearly he had failed.

"How was Tyler this weekend?" Jeff asked, steering the conversation towards something more distracting. "Hopefully not too much of a handful."

"Are we talking about the same kid?" Doreen answered with a smile. "'Handful' isn't the word I'd use to describe him."

"Lucky you," Jeff joked.

"Jeffery!" Doreen reprimanded and Jeff grinned.

"I kid, I kid. Mostly." He stood up and stretched. "So, where is the little angel?"

"He's in the kitchen. He's been helping me bake."

Jeff froze mid-stretch, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Has he now?"

"Don't tease him!" Doreen said, trying to discourage Jeff from doing exactly what they all knew he was about to do.

"Mother," Jeff answered, feigning hurt as he moved in the direction of the kitchen, "It's like you don't know me at all."

He peeked around the corner to see Tyler standing on tip-toes, tongue out in concentration as he dolloped cookie dough onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. His blond hair was swept back out of his face and a bright blue apron was tied around his body. Jeff slowly leaned into the kitchen and lifted his phone to take a picture.

Tyler looked up, the digital shutter sound alerting him to Jeff's presence. His expression went from surprised to annoyed. "Dad," he complained. "Stop!"

"Stop what?" Jeff asked, stepping fully into the kitchen.

"Stop being you!"

"As your father, I think I'm allowed to take pictures."

"Delete it!"

Jeff grinned. "I don't think so. Nice apron, by the way."

Tyler looked down at himself and then back up at Jeff angrily. "Grandma made me wear this!"

"Leave him alone," Doreen chastised from the sitting room. "Come out here and talk to me."

Jeff shot his son one last teasing look while Tyler stuck out his tongue before he ducked out of the kitchen and made his way back into the sitting room where George and Doreen sat waiting for him.

"The cookies will take a while to bake," Doreen said, patting the spot beside her on the couch. "Have a seat. Tell me about your trip."

He hesitated. He'd woken up considerably now that he was moving around, but he was afraid if he sat back down he might fall asleep.

George seemed to notice his hesitation. "Or you could go lie down in the guest room, if you want. We'll let you know when the cookies are done."

Jeff didn't miss the look that Doreen shot at her husband. "I'm okay, George. Really. Tyler and I should probably just get going, if you don't mind."

George smiled kindly at him. "You're a good liar, Jeff, but not even you can hide how tired you are. You probably shouldn't drive if you don't even think you can sit without falling asleep."

Jeff sighed. "That obvious, huh?"

"Not as smooth as you think you are," George reminded him.

Jeff gave him a half smile and nodded once before heading in the direction of the guest bedroom. George was right. He was dead on his feet. A nap might do him some good.

He shut the door behind him and collapsed face first onto the bed, laying at a diagonal so that his shoes hung off the side. His eyes had closed before his head hit the mattress, but before he could fall asleep he heard George's voice outside the door.

"Let the man sleep," George hissed quietly to someone in the hallway. Clearly that person was ignoring his orders because seconds later there was a knock at the bedroom door.

Jeff groaned into the mattress and pushed himself up so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Come in."

The door opened and Doreen peeked inside. "Just checking on you," she said with a smile. Now he knew where his apparent lack of smoothness had come from. Real subtle, Doreen.

"Doing just fine, Mom," Jeff said, attempting to undercut the annoyed tone of his voice with a reassuring smile.

She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. "Something is going on with you. Don't think we haven't noticed."

"I'm fine," he repeated.

"So you said." She sat down beside him and looked at him closely, studying his face.

Jeff leaned away from her and glanced around uncomfortably. "Um…"

"You would tell me if something was wrong, right?"

Jeff looked at her then. Outwardly she looked like she was just having a casual conversation, but behind her eyes he saw her concern. She was just worried about him. If he'd seen Tyler walk in looking the way he had, Jeff would have had his concerns, too. "I would tell you if there was something wrong," he reassured.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"There's nothing wrong!" he insisted in half frustration. "I have a lot going on right now, but there's nothing wrong. Promise."

She nodded once, seemingly convinced. "Alright. Well, get some sleep."

"Yes, ma'am," he muttered, laying back on the mattress and shutting his eyes.

"Feel free to spend the night if you need to," Doreen's voice ghosted from the doorway. She sounded far away. "You know you're always welcome."

"Thanks, Mom." Jeff thought he'd said it out loud but he couldn't be sure. He was already halfway unconscious.

Jeff stretched and opened his eyes. He was lying on Doreen's guestroom bed, fully clothed and on top of the blankets. Outside, birds were chirping. He checked his watch. 8:00am. Clearly they hadn't woken him when the cookies had finished baking. He would have been annoyed if he didn't feel so damn rested. That was the best sleep he'd had all week.

He got up and shuffled to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and run his fingers through his hair. He looked better rested this morning but he definitely looked like someone who had fallen asleep somewhere they hadn't meant to. He leaned in close to the mirror and made a face. Two nights in a row without his night cream and it was showing.

Jeff walked into the kitchen and found Doreen, George, and Tyler all sitting around the table together, eating breakfast.

Tyler looked up and grinned. "Someone call Rick Grimes. It's the walking dead!"

"You're hilarious," Jeff commented as he took his seat at the table. "And thanks for waking me up for cookies last night."

"We tried," George said, smiling over his coffee. "You wouldn't budge."

"You don't eat cookies anyway," Doreen said, sliding a plate of bacon across the table for her son.

Jeff took a piece off the top, careful to grab the least greasy piece he could find.

"I'm kidding, mostly," he said as he took a bite of his bacon. "I needed the sleep more than I needed the carbs. Although I'm not sure this," he gestured to his face, "is what I would call beauty sleep."

"Well, then, it's a good thing you've already got a woman," Doreen teased causing Tyler to snort into his orange juice.

"Speaking of which," George said from across the table. "How is Annie? Did you have a nice visit?"

Jeff was mid-reach for another piece of bacon when George spoke. His movement stuttered slightly but he recovered quickly. George was smiling at him kindly, clearly believing himself to be rescuing Jeff from further bullying at the hands of his family. He couldn't know that Jeff would rather have sat through their mockery than stumble his way through an answer to his question. "Annie is fine," he answered.

"And your visit?" Doreen prompted. "Did you guys do anything exciting?"

Jeff held his breath for a moment, forcing calm into his voice. "Can't say I enjoy flying very much," he responded, not quite meeting anyone's eye. "But other than that, it was fine. It's always nice to see her."

"I'm glad you had fun," Doreen said. When Jeff glanced up at her, she appeared to be genuine. She gave no hint of suspicion. He felt his shoulders relax until she asked, "When will you get to see her again?"

"Um, well, I'll be heading back out there in a couple of weeks. Just another weekend trip." Jeff reached for a third piece of bacon despite not wanting it. It was an easy way to cover his nerves. Someone was bound to notice his lack of eye contact if he didn't try to cover it up.

"That's soon," George commented. "But I guess it makes sense. You guys have a big day coming up." Jeff's eyes shot to George's face. "Weddings take a lot of planning."

Jeff almost laughed out of relief. They kept accidently giving him the perfect out. "Yes, lots of plans to make," he agreed.

The subject changed and he leaned back in his seat, trying not to fidget. He had so far successfully managed to avoid their suspicions, he just needed to keep it up for a little while longer. He chanced a glance over at Tyler and found the boy watching him carefully, his eyes were guarded. It might have been possible to get past Doreen and George, but Tyler was a different. After almost five years together, flying under his son's radar was an almost impossible feat. Jeff met his eye and knew they were in for a challenging car ride home. His whole expression read: Busted.

"So, are we going to talk about it?" Tyler asked as the car doors shut. He wasted no time.

"Talk about what?" Jeff asked, keeping his eyes down as he buckled his seatbelt.

"Whatever's going on with you."

Jeff backed the car out of the driveway and paused on the street. "Wave goodbye to Grandma and George," he instructed, pointing at the couple standing outside the house.

Tyler rolled his eyes but turned and waved anyway. "Your excuses disappear as soon as we're on the road."

"Driving takes a lot of concentration, you know."

Jeff could feel Tyler's eyes on him as he focused his attention on the road in front of them.

"Why are you acting so strange?"

"I'm not," Jeff lied.

"I'd say I almost believed you," Tyler said. "But then I'd be lying, too."

Silence stretched between them. Jeff turned up the radio to fill it but Tyler reached out and turned it back down. "I don't like it when you don't tell me important stuff."

"How do you know it's important? How do you know I'm not just thinking about grading finals?"

"Because I know." Tyler paused. "It's not fair when you keep stuff from me."

Jeff sighed. "Life isn't fair."

"I know life isn't fair."

Jeff flinched slightly. Of course Tyler knew that. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel before throwing on his turn signal and pulling over to the side of the road. He switched on his hazards and twisted in his seat to face his son.

"Look, I will tell you, okay? I will. Just not right now." He held up his hand to stop Tyler's response before it had even started. "No amount of arguing is going to make it happen any sooner. You're just going to have to trust me."

Tyler sighed and let the anger slip from his face. "You swear?"

Jeff held up his pinky and waited for Tyler to curl his little finger around it. "Swear."