I know I was originally planning to do just one chapter per year, but this chapter was getting away from me...it's almost 4,000 words and I have a lot more to cover in the chapter, so I'm splitting it up. I hope you enjoy this, and I really hope I got my portrayal of a seven year old pretty close. :)

"Logan!" Jude shouted from the base of the steps. "Buddy, you need to come downstairs so we can get going!"

"No!" was the sharp reply from Logan. Jude groaned, running a hand through his hair as he trudged up the stairs. He was very frustrated, considering he and Connor had had been going to battle with Logan over this trip all week.

"Logan, you have to come," Jude said flatly as he entered Logan's room. It was time to leave and he'd had enough of Logan's attitude.

"I don't wanna!" Logan answered, crossing his arms as he angrily plopped down on the edge of his bed.

"We've already been over this," Jude sighed, sitting down next to the boy. "Tommy can't come with us. He needs to be with his family, just like you need to be with yours."

"But why dad?" Logan whined. "Tommy wants to come with us!"

"I know, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to."

"Ugh," Logan huffed dramatically, his eyes narrowing back into a scowl.

"Look, your grandmas' have put a lot of work in getting this camping trip together. Do you really want to disappoint them by not coming?" Jude asked as Connor lumbered into the room, breathless from having just finished packing up their car.

"Yeah, and besides, aren't you excited to see all your aunts and uncles and cousins?" Connor added. Logan looked up at Connor, pondering his question for a moment before reluctantly nodding his head.

"Okay then sport, let's go," Connor directed, patting Logan on the back as he hopped off the bed and stomped down the stairs, still angry despite having relented about going. Connor stopped Jude, quickly pulling him in for a hug before following Logan out to the car.

"Who knew that separating them for even a few days was going to be so difficult?" Connor mused as they drove to the campground. They were two and a half hours into the three-hour drive and Logan was sound asleep in the back and had been for at least forty-five minutes, so Connor decided it was safe to have this conversation now.

"Yeah…I'm worried that they're spending too much time together. I mean—they're not making any other friends, Connor," Jude remarked, his expression contorted by worry.

"I understand Jude, but you say that and yet, I seem to remember that you didn't make any friends other than me until we went to college," Connor chided, giving Jude a slight side-eye look.

"Yeah, but you weren't just my best friend, you were also my boyfriend!" Jude protested.

"You still could've made other friends," Connor shrugged.

"I didn't make other friends because I didn't want to," Jude explained. "I didn't want to have to share my time with you any more than I had to."

"Maybe Logan doesn't want to either for the same reason," Connor suggested.

"Connor, you're not implying that Logan might—"

"It's at least a possibility Jude."

Connor knew he was just a little crazy for implying that, but if boys and girls were supposed to feel things like that for each other at Logan's age, then it made sense that boys could feel the same way about other boys too.

"Logan's only seven!" Jude exclaimed. There was a rustling in the back and they both froze, thinking that Logan had woken up. Jude quickly glanced over his shoulder, finding that Logan had simply turned over in his sleep.

"I know that, but look, I was only a year older than him when I had my first crush. For sure, he probably doesn't even know what his feelings mean, but they could still be there," Connor countered, lowering his voice slightly.

"No…no, I don't think that's it," Jude responded dismissively.

"Okay," Connor replied, deciding to trust his husband's judgment and let the matter drop. Jude did spend more time with Logan than Connor did, so Connor supposed that Jude would have a better feel for these things than him.

"I wonder how your moms got everyone to come," Connor said, changing the subject after a few minutes of semi-awkward silence.

"I'm not really sure," Jude admitted. "We haven't had the whole family together since Logan's 4th birthday party; everyone's just been too busy with their own lives."

"How much you want to bet that Stef blackmailed at least one of your siblings into coming?" Connor asked a little too gleefully, considering what he had just suggested.

"Connor!" Jude snorted, smacking him on the shoulder. He knew that Connor was probably right, but that didn't mean he should actually be voicing it. But thankfully, it wasn't too much longer before they pulled up to the family's campsite. Jude got out and greeted his moms while Connor shook Logan awake.

"So glad you could make it!" Stef beamed, wrapping her arms around Jude at the same time Lena did, squashing him in a mom sandwich.

"Well, it wasn't without a battle," Jude chuckled as Stef and Lena released him and Connor and Logan walked up next to him.

"I can see why, considering Logan's shadow is missing," Lena observed only half jokingly. The boys had hardly been seen without the other since they became friends, meaning the absence of one was usually noticed quickly.

"Logan really didn't want to come without him," Connor mentioned as Logan was dragged away by Mariana and engulfed by all his aunts and uncles. Logan glared at his dads for letting her, but Jude just shrugged. Mariana was not one to be easily denied what she wanted.

"Why isn't he here?" Stef questioned as she led Jude and Connor to where they would be setting their tent up.

"He had to go to a funeral for his grandma," Jude replied sadly as he tossed the bag containing their tent onto the ground. Jude knew that if it had been anything else, they could've dragged Tommy away from whatever their family was doing to bring him with them.

"Aw, that's too bad. We were really looking forward to Tommy joining us. Ah well, we'll still have a great time anyway. The whole family's here!" Stef grinned, giving Jude and Connor pats on the back before turning to rejoin Lena by the site's fire pit. Connor unzipped the bag, rustling through it, looking for the instructions.

"You need any help getting the tent set up?" Ryan inquired, wandering over in their direction as Connor triumphantly extracted the paper. Jude rolled his eyes and grinned at Connor before turning to address Ryan.

"Uh, I don't know," Jude shrugged. "I don't normally having anything to do with setting up the tent. Connor says I just get in the way, so that's what I'll do. I was actually going to go see if moms needed help with anything."

"Uh sure Ryan, I wouldn't mind having some help," Connor gasped as he was already struggling with the tent poles. "So how are things with Jesus?" Connor asked as they worked to pitch the tent.

"Oh it's uh—pretty good I guess," Ryan replied hesitantly. Connor immediately paused from pounding one of the tent stakes into the ground, glancing up at him questioningly.

"Pretty good? You guess?" Connor repeated, distress evident in his tone, as Ryan's hesitation in answering was quite worrying. The entire family had gotten very attached to Ryan, and there wasn't a question that Ryan was probably the best thing to happen to Jesus since the Adams-Foster family adopted him. At four and a half years, they stood as the longest lasting relationship in Jesus' life, and it was easy to see the good things being with Ryan had done for him.

"Look, our relationship is perfectly fine I'm just—I'm just being greedy I suppose," Ryan frowned, sitting down on a picnic table that was nearby.

"What do you mean?" Connor said quizzically, ambling over to sit next to him.

"Well it's just—after four and a half years, I would've thought that he would've at least been ready to discuss the possibility of getting married. And I don't mean like asking me, I'm thinking like even just talking about it! I've been dropping him hints for months," Ryan sighed, staring at his hands as he absentmindedly fiddled his fingers. Connor couldn't help but let out a hearty chuckle.

"Ryan," Connor said, patting him on the shoulder. "You of all people should know that Jesus is as thick as a brick wall and you should know that hints get you nowhere. And honestly, I think he's not thinking about marriage because that's a very 'in the future' thing and he's a very much 'in the now' person."

"I know! I know all of that. It's that I'm just—scared to ask him outright. What do you think I should do?"

"Look, if you want my honest opinion, you shouldn't wait for him to ask you. You should just ask him yourself," Connor replied. "He's not going to say no."

"Yeah, okay," Ryan mumbled.

"Now let's finish setting up this tent," Connor spoke before any kind of awkward silence could fall over them.

The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur as the rest of the family arrived. Stef and Lena, Jesus and Ryan, Mariana and her daughters Anna and Eva were already there; they were followed by Brandon and his wife Melinda and their children Samuel and Leah, and by Callie, Mike and AJ. All in all, there were 17 members of the Adams-Foster family scattered on three adjacent campsites.

Exhausted by an afternoon of setting up and catching up, Jude and Connor retired to their tent, collapsing on the air mattress after they put Logan to bed in a tent with all the other cousins. Jude rolled over onto his side, facing Connor who had a contemplative look on his face.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Doesn't being in a tent bring back all kinds of memories?" Connor mumbled.

"Yeah," Jude chuckled softly, lacing their fingers together as the thought back to the night that changed both their lives forever.

*Flashback – 21 years ago*

"Psst," Connor whispered, the noise easily cutting through the quiet air of the tent. Jude tried to ignore him; it was after lights out after all, and Jude didn't want to get into trouble.

"Juuuuuuude," Connor whispered again, slightly louder this time. Jude sighed, turning over in his sleeping bag; Connor wasn't going to leave him alone, was he? His breath hitched when he ended up on his other side, finding Connor's face mere inches from his. The tent was small and it was a tight fit for the two of them, but there was enough room to leave a small space between them and that space had been there, but apparently Connor had changed his mind and decided it was necessary for them to be as close as possible.

"What?" Jude murmured, sliding over to re-establish some distance between them. He did not need Connor to be this close to him right now. It was hard enough liking your best friend, but having him so close that you'd only have to slightly lean over and your noses would be touching? That was like an invitation to fuck everything up.

"I'm bored," Connor whined, his lips settling into an expression somewhere between a frown and a pout.

"What do you want me to do about that?" Jude asked grumpily. He had almost fallen asleep before Connor had started talking.

"I dunno," Connor shrugged.

"Then I'm going back to sleep," Jude quipped, moving to roll back over. Tonight was their last night, and the sooner he fell asleep, the sooner they could get home and the sooner Connor could stop pretending everything was fine.

"Come on Jude," Connor urged, putting a hand on Jude's shoulder to stop his motion. "What was the point of us sharing a tent if you're barely going to talk to me?"

"Just because I agreed to share a tent with you doesn't mean that everything is magically okay," Jude answered flatly, shrugging the hand off as he tried to ignore the electricity shooting up his arm from Connor's touch.

"How many times do you want me to say I'm sorry?"

"Connor, this is not about you apologizing, it's about you refusing to stand up to your dad," Jude sighed exasperatedly. "I'm not going to be a secret!"

"I thought I told you, it wouldn't matter if I stood up to him. It wouldn't change anything," Connor groaned. Both boys were thoroughly frustrated with what was happening to their friendship, but neither one was willing to compromise their position to save it.

"I understand that. Doesn't mean that I have to be okay with it."

"Why not?"

"I'm not okay with it because it means you don't care enough about our friendship to fight for it! Even if standing up did nothing, at least it would tell me that you cared! Instead you're perfectly okay with letting your dad jerk you around and try to control you without thinking about how I feel about it!" Jude replied in a harsh, but hushed tone.

"I—I'm just scared Jude," Connor said in a small and broken voice, his eyes squeezing shut as tears leaked down his cheeks. Jude felt all his anger and frustration draining from him in an instant, replaced by confusion.

"Wha—why?" Jude questioned, scooting in closer. Jude watched as Connor opened his eyes, biting his lip as his eyes flitted down to Jude's lips. But he was taken by surprise when Connor boldly leaned in, slotting their lips together. Connor's lips were impossibly soft, fitting perfectly over his, like everything Jude had imagined kissing Connor would be like—and more.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity, and when they pulled apart, everything came perfectly into focus for both of them. Everything about Connor's actions made sense to Jude, and everything Connor had everything he'd been feeling confirmed.

Connor's boldness faded in a matter of seconds as he shrunk away from Jude. His feelings became all too real and Connor was filled with terror.

"You can't tell anyone!" Connor said desperately as he turned over away from Jude. If anyone ever found out, he would be dead in a wink of an eye.

"Y-yeah, okay," Jude gasped, still feeling breathless from the kiss.

"What happened to not being anyone's secret?" Jude's brain scolded him. But his heart, his emotions ignored his mind. There was a glimmer of hope that Connor was into him the same way Jude was into Connor, and that was what Jude was choosing to latch onto.

*End Flashback*

Jude leaned over and softly pressed their lips together.

"I can't believe that we ended up here from that night," Jude said, staring deeply into his husband's eyes.

"I was so sure that something like this was only ever going to be a dream then: being married, having a family. I thought I was always going to be too scared to make 'us' a reality," Connor responded, distractedly running a hand through Jude's hair. "And not a day goes by that I'm not glad I was wrong."

"Me too," Jude answered, shifting his body so that he was curled up into Connor's side, his head on Connor's chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," Connor replied, shutting his eyes as they both drifted off to sleep.

Logan was up the next morning before his dads, stumbling out of the stuffy tent (none of the kids had thought to unzip one of the windows for fresh air) to find only one other person up, sitting in a camp chair by the fire pit.

"Morning Logan!" Mariana greeted him brightly.

"Hi Aunt Mari," Logan mumbled, returning the greeting as he walked over to a chair next to her.

"How did you sleep?" Mariana asked, taking a sip from her paper coffee cup.

"Fine," Logan lied, shrugging his shoulders. At only seven, he didn't have the words to understand or articulate how or why he felt so—well so bad without Tommy at his side.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Mariana giggled. "I've never slept real well while camping either."

"It's too bad Tommy couldn't come," Mariana remarked after a short pause.

"Yeah," Logan replied softly, his lips turning downward.

"It's so odd seeing you without him," Mariana chuckled. "I don't think I've ever seen two people closer than you and Tommy—well except for maybe your dads. But anyway, it's really cute."

Logan blushed, his cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. He hoped that someone else would get up and save him from the embarrassment. It's not like he thought Mariana was wrong, he just was embarrassed that she was pointing it out. The kids at school were already starting to tease him for refusing to leave Tommy's side, he didn't want his family doing it too.

Almost as if on cue, Jude came up and ruffled his hair.

"Morning buddy."

"Morning dad."

"You excited for a day at the beach?" Jude questioned (they had already talked about the plans for the day the night before around the campfire).

"I guess," Logan shrugged. Nothing was all that exciting without Tommy there.

"Daaaaad," Logan whined, trying to squirm out of Jude's grasp. The whole family was sitting on the small beach next to the campground's lake, fully taking up a good quarter of the available space all by themselves.

"If you would just stay still buddy, this would be a lot less painful," Jude groaned, fighting to hold him in place as Connor attempted to apply sunscreen to Logan's pasty white skin.

"But I don't like it!" Logan protested as one of his arms slipped free. "It's all slimy and icky!" he added, trying to shove Connor's hand away.

"I know sport," Connor said, gently pushing his arm back down while continuing to rub the white substance into Logan's skin in spite of his objection. "But you don't want the sun to hurt you. It'll be worse than having to put this stuff on."

"How can the sun hurt me?" Logan questioned, screwing up his face in confusion. "Mr. Peterson said that—that the sun is really far away."

"It is," Connor assured him. "But its rays can reach really, really far, and those are what hurt you."

"Oh."

"Alright Jude, I'm finished. You can let go now," Connor instructed. As soon as Jude did, Logan was tearing off towards the water to join his cousins.

"Logan!" Jude called. Logan slowed his pace but didn't stop to look at his dad. "Logan!" Jude called out harsher, and this time he halted and turned to face him.

"Whaaaaatttttt?" Logan griped, clearly upset at his dad for making him stop.

"You can't go deeper than where the water comes up to your shoulders," Jude warned sternly, to which Logan groaned. "Logan," Jude chided.

"Okay fine!" Logan grumbled.

"Hey, watch the attitude!" Jude reprimanded, but Logan ignored him, continuing to trudge through the sand to the lake's edge.

"We should really sign him up for swimming lessons when we get back home," Connor sighed, watching Logan closely as he entered the water.

"Yeah, he probably should learn," Jude agreed quickly. "It's not fun being stuck in the shallow end."

"Hey bro," Jesus said, spreading his towel out beside Jude. He and Ryan had proven impossible to get up (seriously, they all had tried to no avail), so they all headed down to the beach without them, figuring that, since they already knew the plans, they would join the family whenever they got up. At this point, the group had been down there for a good fifteen minutes before they had now finally shown up.

"Hey, I'm going to go in the water for a few minutes," Ryan alerted them, slapping Jesus on the back before he took his shirt off and ambled away.

"Are you guys ever on time for work?" Jude joked, nudging his brother playfully. "Jeez, I've never met any two people that were harder to get up!"

"Hey, we both get up when our alarms go off! We're almost never late!" Jesus replied defensively. "We were just taking advantage of the chance to sleep in today."

"Ha, what's sleeping in?" Jude snorted. "Sleeping in isn't an option when you're a parent."

"Sounds like fun," Jesus teased.

"It's definitely rewarding, it's just also really tiring," Jude shrugged, unconsciously letting out a yawn.

"I think I'm going to let the rest of the family reap those 'rewards'. I honestly don't really want kids."

"And Ryan doesn't either?" Jude inquired

"I don't think so, but we haven't really talked about it," Jesus admitted.

"Well you're not engaged yet, so I suppose having that conversation isn't important yet," Jude conceded. Jesus' eyes went wide, looking fully surprised at the mention of an engagement. "But—"

Connor scrambling to his feet and sprinting towards the water promptly interrupted Jude before he could continue on. Jude concernedly turned his eyes to the lake (as he doubted he'd ever seen Connor move faster), finding Logan bobbing up and down like a cork, looking as if he was struggling to keep his head above water. Connor reached Logan in a mere thirty seconds, swiftly plucking the boy out of the water and walking him back to where Jude was sitting.

"What did we tell you about not going in too deep?" Connor scolded Logan, who was coughing, still trying to catch his breath. Jesus snorted, earning a glare and a sharp elbow in the ribs from Jude. "You could've drowned if I hadn't been watching you!"

"I'm sorry daddy," Logan mumbled, staring at his feet to avoid Connor's eyes.

"Sorry doesn't quite cut it this time sport," Connor replied, his voice thick with disappointment. "You're going to have to stay out of the water for the rest of the day."

"But daddy!" Logan whimpered, turning to Jude and silently begging him to lessen his punishment. Jude simply shook his head and Logan hung his in defeat, crossing his arms as he plopped down in the sand. But Logan, being the restless seven year-old boy he was, eventually got bored of sitting in front of his dads and got up, wandering back down towards the water.

"Logan," Connor said threateningly.

"I wasn't going to go in daddy. Sheesh," Logan rolled his eyes, stopping at the water's edge, the gentle waves of the small lake lapping up over his toes. He was pushing it, but Connor decided to let it go, but not taking his eyes off his son. Logan kept glancing back over his shoulder, checking to see if Connor was still watching him, which, much to his chagrin, every time he checked, Connor was. Jude decided to let Connor keep handling it, and turned his attention back to chatting with his family.