I can't tell you how much I wish we could shut-up and smile!

The rest of the day passed by quietly. As the sun set on another day, Zelgadis nervously made his way down the hall to the dining area. The moment he had been dreading was upon him, and his resolve was shaky, he would admit. The idea of dinner with Amelia was fine with him, but that now included Phil and, more importantly, his son. He wasn't keen on having to face Phil, but Aiden was another story. What was he supposed to say? He'd never been good with kids, but he'd never had enough contact with them to really know this for a fact either. He sighed, feeling trapped, anxious and excited all at once.

"Here goes nothing." he muttered to himself as he rounded a corner, having been here enough times to know that he was nearing the dining hall.

The last time he saw Aiden was just before he passed out, and he hadn't exactly gotten a good look at him then. When Amelia came around from the opposite end with the small boy, he had to hide the twinge of reluctance threatening to leak out. He kept telling himself to maintain his cool as they met up at the door.

He hadn't expected Aiden to be so small, but he was only four after all. His jet-black hair was kempt and falling at the nape of his neck, a bang falling over his right eye. His eyes were such a strange gray-green, like a thin, wet sheet of moss clinging to deep blue-gray stone. Zel remembered seeing the stone around his eye the color of old scabs, and he suppressed a shiver of regret for the boy. His son would have to face the same struggle as he. He wore a blue shirt, hemmed with silver, with a white long-sleeved undershirt and a pair of black shorts and shoes.

"Aiden, this is my very good friend Mr. Zelgadis." Amelia told the boy, who looked up at him the way a small-town citizen marvels at a skyscraper.

The chimera-man couldn't help but smile amused. He hadn't heard that usage in a long time.

"Hello," he smiled brightly, his little fangs gleaming.

"Hello," Zel smiled back warmly.

That was all he could say before he saw Phil come up looking grim.

"Zelgadis," he grunted almost awkwardly.

"Hello, Phil." he replied uncomfortably. Here we go, he thought.

As they entered the hall and took their seats, Zelgadis guessed that the only thing keeping a lid on Phil was Aiden, because he fidgeted and finally sighed in defeat. He wouldn't say anything while the boy was here with them, and for that he was grateful.

The remainder of the evening was passed in uncomfortable silence. Nothing was said aloud, but it didn't take a telepath to understand the thoughts of everyone around. Aiden had been the only one un-phased and had eaten obliviously. Much to his relief, everyone had chosen to retire early, giving him a much-needed break from the drama.

It didn't matter though. His thoughts followed him all the way to his bed and loomed over him all night. He hadn't been able to sleep. All he could think about was Amelia and Aiden. The thoughts turned over and over in his head like pebbles in a river current. Amelia had carried his son. The notion blew his mind. What had that been like? Guilt tugged at his heart-strings. She had looked on him with such heartfelt longing. She had truly missed him. And what of Aiden? It hadn't appeared to hit him yet that he was missing a father, but children are naturally curious creatures. He would ask sooner or later, and what then? What would they answer with? Zel didn't know anything about being a father, his own family riddled with death and deception. He sighed as the sun began to rise and turned away from the light.

He must have gotten some sleep then, because the next thing he new, the light in the room had brightened considerably. He opened his eyes and found he was now staring at a pair of amber eyes looking back at him intently across a long black snout. Startled, he jolted up with a yelp, which excited the dog. It leapt up and tackled Zelgadis back down on the bed and, with its tail wagging playfully, swiped its slippery, pink-putty tongue over his face in a smattering of wet kisses.

Zel squirmed and sputtered in protest and, with some effort, manage to push the large canine frame off of him. He quickly got out of bed, furiously wiping the dog slobber from his face. The dog danced on its paws with a small whine.

"What?" he deadpanned, "I've got nothing for you."

It let out a small soft bark and waggled its rump in the air with tongue lolling.

"Sorry, I don't play." he looked to the door as a thought dawned on him, "Did…did you open that and get in here on your own?"

It rested on its haunches and whined bored, head tilting to the side as if to say, "Yeah, so?"

Zel's eyes popped. "And you were just watching me sleep this whole time!?"

The dog reared up and rested its front paws on his chest. It looked like a warrior in its own way. Light patches in its fur revealed old scars. Its ears were jagged with small cuts trimming their edges. Zel found himself almost intimidated by the intensity of its stare and pushed it back down forcefully.

"I've got my eye on you, creep." he warned, fully aware he was speaking to a dog.

He quickly dressed and walked out towards the courtyard in need of fresh air to clear his tired mind. The sun warmed him, and he was beginning to feel a little better when Amelia found him.

"Good morning," she smiled tiredly and laughed a little, "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"Not really," he answered.

"Yeah," she fidgeted, "I couldn't stop thinking."

"Me either," he sighed and looked to her, "Amelia, what are we going to do? Where do we go from here?"

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I mean will things ever be the same between us? Yesterday you said I was scared, and you were right, but I don't need my enhanced senses to know you're scared too. Ever since I got back, I've been feeling you slip farther away from me, and I don't know why."

She looked surprised and turned her face away. "I doubt things will ever be the same after all that's happened. Four years is a long time, Zelgadis. Things change. People change."

"I know that, but how much has this changed? I've been wondering if we can really work through this."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know." he shook his head, "I just feel like my whole world has turned its back on me."

"Zelgadis…" she placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically, "I know. I'm so sorry you had to find out this way."

He rested his hand over hers. "Don't you start apologizing now. You'll make me feel bad." he said kindheartedly.

"I can't let you go and take all the heat," she smiled tenderly and looked behind her, "Listen, um, I have something I have to do this morning. I'd really appreciate it if you could watch Aiden for a bit."

"A-are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course, silly!" she laughed, "You are his dad after all. You two didn't really get a chance to interact yesterday anyway."

He looked over to where she had glanced back and saw the little boy playing with the dog from earlier.

"He shouldn't be any trouble, but just keep an eye on him for me."

"Okay," he said slightly uneasily.

"Well go on, get going!" she laughed and gave him a good shove, "I'll see you later."

Zel watched her leave and turned back to the boys. Finally, he decided to take a seat at the table she had been sitting at before. It was close enough to see them, but he had room to think about what the heck he was supposed to do with them. Once he sat down, though, they spotted him and bounded up to him excitedly.

"Hi, Mr. Zelgo…Mr. Zella…" Aiden fumbled, his brow now level in deep concentration as he tried to sound it out in his head.

"Hey, Aiden," Zelgadis looked at him amused, "You can just call me Zel if you want."

"Really? Okay!" he grinned, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Your mom wanted me to watch you while she was gone." he explained.

"Gone?" he looked back almost fearfully, "Where'd she go?"

He could sense the boy's trepidation and frantically tried to ease his stress. "D-don't worry, she's coming right back! She just had to do something for work."

Aiden looked up at him uncertainly, but he seemed to know what "work" meant. "Oh," he brightened a little and pulled at the dog's collar, "This is my doggie, Dracu." he puffed out his chest proudly.

He gave Dracu a knowing stare. "He's your dog?"

"Yep! He's the coolest doggie ever! Wanna see his special trick?" by now he'd forgotten all about his fear and was now bouncing with energy.

He's so much like Amelia, he thought fondly. "Sure," he smiled. He was beginning to feel hopeful. Maybe he could get used to this.

"Dracu," Aiden spoke with as much authority as his tiny voice could offer and pointed to Zel, "Kissy-kiss!"

Instantly, the chimera froze. Maybe he'd need a little more time. Dracu, his eyes sparkling, jumped up and smothered Zelgadis' face with slobber, and Aiden erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Get off, you crazy mutt!" he almost whined out, sputtering in shock as the dog landed a kiss in his open mouth.

Suddenly, Dracu's ears flattened and his tail tucked. He quickly got off of Zel and backed away with a fearful whine.

"Oh great, even after all this time, the dog's still afraid of me." groaned a familiar female voice.

"Hi, Miss Lina! Hi, Mr. Gourry!" Aiden beamed and ran over to the sorceress and swordsman approaching them.

Zelgadis deflated. Great, as if things weren't already complicated.

Author's Note: I think that, so far, this chapter has been the most fun to write X3