A/N: Yay, longer chapter. :) Enjoy!

Chapter 4 - Explanation?

"It's Roni, right?" Mrs. Benson started after they'd all sat down in the conference room. Roni nodded. "OK, Roni, why don't you tell me what happened this morning."

"He's taking April, right?" Roni questioned, ignoring the social worker's request. She was looking at Don, who was holding April, who was smiling at her sister.

Don sighed, glancing back down at the baby in his lap, but didn't say anything.

Mrs. Benson kept looking at Roni though. "Yes. He's her father, there's no reason he shouldn't be able to take custody of her," she told the teenager patiently.

Roni nodded. "Good."

Don looked up at her curiously. Mrs. Benson seemed to be thinking along those same lines as well, but didn't push it for the moment.

"So, do you mind telling me what happened this morning?" Mrs. Benson asked Roni again.

"I woke up to get ready for school, but I heard April crying. When I went to check on her, I noticed Mom's stuff was gone. When I looked around the apartment Mom wasn't there either. I went down to see if her car was still there, but it was gone too. So, I guess she took off during the night or something," Roni answered.

Don and Mrs. Benson shared a quick glance.

Mrs. Benson sighed. "I talked to some of your neighbors, and they said they thought your mother might be suffering from postpartum depression," she started slowly. "Is that true?"

Roni shrugged. "I guess."

Mrs. Benson nodded, adding something to her notes. "So what did you do after you realized your mother was gone?" she continued, looking back up at Roni.

"Well, I had to take care of April, feed her. Then I got ready for school."

"And after that?" Mrs. Benson pushed.

Roni sighed. "Then, I started looking for April's birth certificate."

"So you were going to hand her over to me, just like that?" Don asked incredulously.

Roni rolled her eyes. "No, not just like that," she retorted defensively. "I care about my sister more than that!"

"OK, so what was your plan?" Mrs. Benson interrupted, shooting a warning look at both Don and Roni.

Roni took a deep breath, looking down at her hands. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I just figured that she should be with her dad."

Don sighed. "How did you even find me?" he asked.

"Well, I got your name off the birth certificate, then I got on the internet and did a search." Don chuckled a little, but Roni continued. "When I found information on you, I thought you might be the one I was looking for, it all seemed to fit. It's not like Mom told me much about you, but I figured it was worth a shot anyway."

"So why didn't you just call the police?" Mrs. Benson asked. Roni looked up at her. "They would've contacted us and we could've found him for you."

"Yeah, but I wanted to be sure," Roni said. "I didn't want her to get stuck in foster care while you guys might not have tried very hard."

Don couldn't stop the small smirk that spread across his face. Mrs. Benson was scowling though.

"We try to keep kids with their families," she said firmly through gritted teeth, looking at Roni sternly. Roni shrugged, but didn't argue. Mrs. Benson sighed, running a hand over her face. "OK, Roni. I looked into your records to try to find a family member for you to stay with," she started. Roni scoffed. "Yes, I didn't have much luck with that," Mrs. Benson admitted. "Is there anyone you could stay with?" she asked hopefully.

Roni shrugged. "Mom's family disowned her when she had me because she was so young and didn't go to college because she had to work to support me. I've never even met any of them."

"What about your father?" Mrs. Benson questioned.

Roni shook her head. "I don't know who he is. Mom wouldn't tell me. She just said he didn't want to be a father."

Don looked down at April. He realized now why Roni hadn't given him a chance to argue about taking April, she hadn't wanted him to say he didn't want to be a father either. He sighed. Did he want to be a father? It wasn't like he had a choice anymore. He couldn't exactly give up his kid, and it seemed that was what Roni had been banking on.

"Did your mother have any friends, or someone like that, that would be willing to take you?" Mrs. Benson inquired.

Roni just shrugged. "Mom didn't really have many friends. At least not that I knew about."

"Will you excuse us for a minute?" Mrs. Benson said abruptly to Roni after a few minutes of silence.

Don looked up and saw the social worker motioning for him to come outside with her. He nodded, and stood to follow her.

"You mind?" he asked Roni tentatively, gesturing to April.

Roni chuckled, shaking her head. "Not at all," she agreed, taking the baby out of his arms.

Don then followed Mrs. Benson out of the conference room, and she shut the door behind them.

"What's up?" Don questioned, wondering why she looked apprehensive.

Mrs. Benson took a deep breath. "I like to keep families together," she said straightforwardly.

Don looked confused for a second until he realized what she was talking about. "Whoa, wait a second. You're not seriously suggesting what I think you are," he said in disbelief.

Mrs. Benson sighed. "Of course, it would be up to you," she assured him quickly. "But think about it," she started firmly. "They're sisters, and I don't like separating families. Besides, look at them." Don reluctantly looked in the conference room where Roni was playing with April. "She's good with her sister, and she obviously knows how to take care of her."

Don looked back at her curiously. "What exactly are you saying?" he asked slowly.

"Well, you're a new father who hasn't been around kids much, she could help you adjust to taking care of April. This way they could stay together and you wouldn't have to do this alone," Mrs. Benson suggested carefully. Don sighed, running a hand over his face. "There shouldn't be a problem with you getting approved to be her foster parent."

Don looked at the social worker, who felt like she might shrink under his intense gaze.

A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I have classes all day tomorrow so I probably won't be able to update until tomorrow night or the next day. I'll have it up as soon as I can though. And as always, reviews are greatly appreciated! :)