I really shouldn't be here, but I've written most of this chapter in the span of a couple of weeks so might as well share.

Still, don't expect much from me until May.

Anyways, thanks for sticking around, I really appreciate it!

Now enjoy, I own nothing, and reviews are nice!


"Hey mom," Butters is on the phone in the living room. Eric sits next to him, Lee cradled in his arms. "Oh, we're both fine… Really? That's good to hear… Right… Actually, Eric and I have been talking about visiting you guys… Yep! That's kind of why I'm calling… I know, it has been a while, but we've been pretty busy… We were thinking next week… Yeah, that is soon, but Mom, I have something else to tell you… Everything is fine, but, uh, are you sitting down? …Haha, I'm not trying to scare you! … Is Dad there? … Okay, I just wanted to let you guys know that you have a granddaughter!"

Butters pulls the phone away from his ear and they can both hear the screams coming from the other end. They're both laughing at the reaction.

"Guys? … Yeah! … Well, it's a long story… I know, I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner… That's why we're going to visit next week, so you can meet her and we can explain! … Her name is Lee… Well you'll see her next week! … Okay, we'll call you later with flight details, but I'll let you go so you can soak in the news… I love you too… Bye."

"Holy shit," Eric says, a grin on his face.

"I'm kind of terrified to expose her to them," Butters says, putting a finger in Lee's hand so she can grab it.

"It'll be fine, but if they try to ground you for cheating on me, I'm not going to stop them."

"That's fair."

. . . . .

When they arrive at the airport they see their parents waiting for them. Linda pushes Stephen and Liane out of her way so she's the first to see the baby in Butters' arms.

"She's perfect," Linda says, her hands to her mouth and her eyes watering.

"Congratulations you two," Stephen says, patting his son's shoulder.

"What a little angel," Liane says, petting Lee's hair.

"Can I hold her?" Linda asks. Butters hands her the baby. "Oh, so cute," she coos, kissing Lee's temple. "How could you keep such a sweet thing a secret from us?"

"We'll explain everything back at home," Butters tells them.

. . . . .

They're sitting at the dinner table in the Stotch's home while Butters and Eric get Linda and Stephen up to speed on everything they've been through in the last year.

Liane has Lee in her arms, feeding her, while she watches different expressions color Linda and Stephen's face.

"Why didn't you tell us any of this before?" Stephen asks.

Butters shrugs. "It's not exactly something I want to share if I can help it."

"Liane knew," Linda says, reproachful and hurt that she isn't the go-to mother for problems.

"The only reason she knew is because I needed someone to talk to, it wasn't because we purposefully wanted to hide something from you two," Eric says, not wanting to hurt his parent-in-law's feelings anymore.

"Honestly, I'm just glad everything has been resolved and we have this little angel in our lives now. And they told me about her the same time they told you," Liane chimes in.

Linda sighs and rolls her eyes, not content with that, but taking what she can.

. . . . .

Later that evening, Liane is on the couch with Lee, and Eric sits next to her while he lets Butters and his parents talk in private so they can unleash all their fury onto their son alone.

"Her eyes are amber," Liane says when Eric sits with her.

"Yeah, it's funny, isn't it?" Eric says, taking Lee from his mother's arms.

They can hear Linda's shrill voice coming from the kitchen.

"No matter how old he gets, they'll always treat him like a child, won't day?" Liane muses.

"Probably," Eric shrugs.

"You're able to talk about it more easily. You both are," she acknowledges now that she has a moment alone with her own son.

"Because of her," he says, looking down at his daughter who's reaching a tiny arm towards him and he reaches a finger for her to grab. "None of that matters anymore. And what would be the point of wanting her if I'm just going to hold what Butters did over both their heads? It was something that happened, but we have Lee now, and I do not resent anything having to do with her coming into our lives." Eric blows a kiss into Lee's cheek, causing her to laugh in delight. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to change someone's diaper."

Eric gets up and head upstairs to Butters' old room, where they're going to spend the first two nights of their trip. The last two they'll be with Liane.

Liane watches him walk upstairs and turns her head towards the kitchen to hear Butters reason with his parents that he's too old to be grounded. She smiles.

. . . . .

"This is weird," Butters says in the dark of his old bedroom. He's cuddled next to Eric, Lee sleeping next to them, in his old crib his parents found in the attic. His mother diligently cleaned it in anticipation for their visit.

"What is?" Eric asks, an arm around him as he casually runs his fingers up and down Butters' side.

"I can still vividly remember you sneaking into my bedroom when we were teenagers just so you could sleep next to me. And you would leave before dawn so my parents wouldn't find out and ground me. Now we're adults who don't have to sneak around and our daughter is sleeping next to us in her crib. Weird."

"Yeah, I guess that is pretty weird," Eric agrees.

"Eric, I've been thinking, and obviously we'll need to really think about this, and I guess this isn't really an issue until Lee gets a little older, but, I don't know, what do you think about moving back to South Park?" Butters holds his breath. Eric is the one that had wanted to move away to begin with. He might not like this idea.

"Move back?"

"Like, when Lee is old enough to start school, we can move back and she can go to school here. And along with us she'll have her grandparents, and I just remember being a kid and being able to walk around and have it be safe. I don't know, it's just a thought."

Eric thinks about Butters proposal, and he thinks South Park is a thousand times more dangerous than Los Angeles could ever be, but that is mostly his own doing, he did always go out looking for trouble along with his friends.

"We should call Kenny tomorrow and see him," Eric says instead.

"Yeah! Wow, we haven't seen or talked to him in ages," Butters says, noticing the change in subject and allowing it. They have a few years to decide if they want to move back or not, no point in dwelling on it tonight.

. . . . .

Eric and Butters meet with Kenny at Café Monet the following afternoon.

"Holy shit, she's so cute," Kenny says, taking Lee from Eric's arm before sitting down. "I thought you were lying when you said you had a daughter now."

"Your wife couldn't join us?" Butters asks.

"No. She doesn't want to move at all. She's due in a month."

"Damn. Do you know what it's going to be yet?" Eric asks.

"A boy," Kenny smiles at them, and goes back to looking at Lee. "You guys were so adamant about not having kids. I'm glad you changed your mind."

A waiter comes and takes their orders and he hands Lee back over to Eric.

"Well, we really didn't have a choice in the manner. Lee was a bit of a surprise," Eric tells him.

"How the hell could she be a surprise?" Kenny asks, amused.

Over lunch, Butters and Eric explain to Kenny what's been going on with them for the past year. Lee is sitting in her car seat which Eric places on top of a regular seat, and Kenny holds her tiny hand while he's processing the tale he just heard.

"Fuck," Kenny says at last. He turns to his friends. "Well, if anyone can survive that shit, it's you two."

"Yeah, that's what we've been told," Eric says.

"Have you guys told Stan or Kyle?" Kenny asks.

"No. We haven't spoken to them in ages. Since they moved to New York," Butters says.

"Man, I haven't spoken to them either. It's crazy how easily you can lose track of people. I wonder if Stan and Wendy have a kid now, too?"

"Maybe. And speaking of losing track of people, Butters wants to move back to South Park," Eric says.

"That would be awesome. Nick will need a playmate," Kenny says, grinning and poking Lee's tummy.

"Well, we wouldn't move back right away, if we decide to do that. It would be in a few years," Butters clarifies.

Kenny shrugs. "Be rest assured that you two will be coming back to a much safer South Park, when you decide to."

"Is that so, Detective McCormick?" Eric asks, scoffing.

"I believe it," Butters says.

Kenny looks down at his watch. "Duty calls, gentlemen. I have to go, but I'm so glad you guys called me to have lunch. How much longer are you going to be here?"

"Three days," Butters says.

"Three days. Okay, well hopefully we can get dinner or something before you guys leave again," Kenny says.

He hugs both his friends and lightly tickles Lee's head.

"I'm glad you guys have her. I've always thought you two would make great parents. I'll see you later." Kenny heads out to his car.

"Well that's a lie," Eric says, picking at his dessert

"What is?" Butters asks, drinking the last of his coffee.

"That he always thought we'd make great parents."

"He really did, though. He started telling me that since high school."

"Really?" Eric doesn't believe him.

"I swear—Oh, can we get the check please?" Butters asks the waiter when he comes to clear their plates.

"Detective McCormick and his guests all eat here for free," the waiter tells them.

Butters and Eric look at each other.

"Shit, maybe we should move back," Eric says, handing his plate over to the waiter.

. . . . .

The two eat dinner with Kenny and his wife the third night at South Park and the fourth night they're in Liane's house. Butters has already fallen asleep in Eric's old bed, their luggage packed in the corner for their flight the following day.

Eric is sitting on the couch watching tv while his mom sits next to him, feeding Lee.

"So I heard you two talking about moving back to South Park," Liane says.

"Yeah, Butters wants to move back. It sounds like a good idea, but we have to talk about it some more," Eric says, not looking away from the tv.

"Well, if this is any incentive, I would absolutely love it if you decide to move back here. That way I would have you close again, and I would be able to see this little angel any time I want."

Eric turns to look at his mom and sees her wipe her eyes.

"Yeah, Butters was also saying it would be nice for her to have her grandparents close by."

"It would be nice, for her, to have all her family in one place," Liane says, leaning forward to leave the now empty bottle squeezed between the cushions of the couch.

She hands Lee over to Eric and gets up to wash the bottle. When she's done with that she goes back to the living room and kissed Eric's head.

"I'm going to sleep now, good night."

"Good night," Eric says.

Liane smiles and gently caresses Lee's head before going upstairs to her room.

Eric looks down at Lee, who's sleeping snug in his arms.

He feels embarrassed that it had never occurred to him that his mom would be lonely, living in South Park without him there. He lick the inside of his cheeks, thinking about sincerely moving back.

Lee squirms a little in his arms and decides it's time to go to bed.