Hola! Hope everyone is doing well! Don't hate me for this chapter alright?
As usual, I don't own anyone who appears on glee. Just Camden, Nathan and the plot. Don't steal it please. :)


Chapter 11
November & December 2022

She sat on the couch, her feet tucked under her with a tissue in her hands. Or what was left of the tissue as it was. She'd torn it to bits over and over as she sat there, waiting for something, anything to happen. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, reminding her that in fact yes, she was still living and no this wasn't a dream. Nathan sat at the other end of the couch, staring at her intently. She tried not to meet his eyes, which was becoming increasingly impossible. He was making her uncomfortable in her own home and she was beginning to question why she had even allowed him inside.

She hadn't invited him inside. He'd merely followed her into the apartment when she had tried to brush by him with a cranky Camden in her arms and she hadn't had the energy to fight back. Which led them here, sitting in an uncomfortable silence on her couch.

"What are you doing here?" She asked huskily, her voice sounding strange to her after the lengthy silence. She almost wished Camden would cry from his bedroom for her, so she could escape the torture she was involved in. But of course, he would choose tonight to sleep soundly.

"I'm here to see you. And...him." His voice sounded deeper than she remembered and it hit her right in the heart when he said him. He didn't even know his own sons name.
But he wasn't his son. He was hers. Camden was hers and hers alone.

"Camden." She said softly. "His name is Camden."

She heard him scoff under his breath as his blue eyes pierced into the side of her face. She looked up at him.

"Camden? Really?"

She returned his gaze. "I like it." She answered simply as he scoffed again.

"Poor boy."

"Nathan, why are you here?" She gave a sigh of exasperation as she looked at her ex-boyfriend.

"I told you. To see you. And Camden. But since he had to go to bed..." He reached over and touched her knee.

She immediately recoiled from his touch. "Two years? Two fucking years it took you to come around? What the hell do you want?" She paused. "You need to leave. You can come back and see him but..."

He reached out to touch her knee again. "But I'm not done seeing you."

"I'm seeing someone." She stated as she pushed his hand away from her again.

She didn't miss the skeptical look in his eye as a chuckle slipped from his lips.

"Please leave. You can come back this weekend. Another time. Just please leave." She untucked her legs and stood up from the couch. She looked down at him as he stared up at her. "Nathan."

"Alright." He stood up and towered over her, looking down at her. "I'll be back on Saturday."

She followed him out to the front door and slumped against the door when she closed it behind him. She rested her forehead against the painted wood and could feel the tears rising in her eyes. She wasn't sure what the tears were from, exhaustion or sadness. Either way there was no way she was going to stop them from flowing.

Her phone buzzed from the side table in the living room and she hurried to go get it. She slid the unlock button across the screen and sighed when she saw the 4 missed calls from Finn and half a dozen text messages. Each of them more increasingly more worried than the last. She found his number and clicked it before doing anything else.

"Rach. Thank God. I was getting worried about you guys I thought maybe you..."

"Nathan was just here." She said softly as the tears continued to cascade down her cheeks.

"What?" She heard him gasp on the other side of the phone as she began to fall apart.


He stayed true to his word and showed up on Saturday. Only apparently any of the directions she had given to him when he left on Sunday had fallen to deaf ears. The loud pounding on the door dragged her out of Camden's bedroom with a fussy toddler on her hip. She'd been trying in vain to put him down for a nap. They'd had a lazy morning lounging around the apartment because both the weather and Nathan's supposed visit had left them housebound. Days like this it was usually hard for Camden to go for his usual 2pm nap, and led to sometimes cranky outbursts that often led them both to tears. And at the moment they were well on their way to tears of meltdown proportions. He curled himself into her body as she walked towards the door where the insistent knocking wouldn't stop.

When she opened it, she found Nathan standing there with one hand stuck in the pocket of a very expensive looking wool coat.

"It's about time you answered the door." He sniped.

"You're late. I was trying to put him down for a nap." She snapped back. Camden wrapped his legs around her waist tighter, burying his head in her shoulder.

"You said 2 o'clock." He stated as she let him into the apartment.

"No. I said he goes for a nap at 2pm."

He shrugged off his coat, revealing his expensive looking sweater that looked to be worth more than her entire wardrobe combined.

She walked into the living room with him hot on her heels and sat down on the couch, cuddling Camden in her arms. He whined as he curled his small body into hers.

"So that's him?" Nathan asked as he perched himself on the other end of the couch. Rachel ran her fingers through Camden's hair, her eyes focused on her son before looking up at Nathan.

"Yes, this is Camden."She said softly. Camden tensed and buried his head into her more. "It's okay baby."

"Well, turn him around." The impatience wasn't hard to miss in his voice. Obviously Nathan was used to getting what he wanted. When she ignored his request, he said it again. "Let me see him."

"Nathan. It doesn't work that way." She stated, rubbing Camden's back as he tensed again. "He's tired and he gets cra..."

"Don't make excuses." He spat, his voice raising an octave.

Camden flinched and whined in her arms.

"Is he always like that?" He gestured to the way Camden was curled into Rachel.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. Whiny. Is he always such a whiner?"

Rachel sighed. "Like I told you, he's tired. It's his nap time and I should really..."

"Stop babying him."

Camden whined again and turned his head so he was facing Nathan for a brief moment, before burying his head once again into her shoulder.

"It's okay Cam." She kissed his head. "This is Mommy's friend Nathan. Can you turn and say hi?"

He released his head a little bit from Rachel's shoulder, but instead of looking over at Nathan, he looked up at Rachel. She tried to give him a soft smile. This whole situation was uncomfortable, and she knew he could feel it.

She heard Nathan scoff at the way she had described him to Camden but she chose to ignore it in favor of looking at her son.

"I'm your father Camden." He slapped. She knew it was more a comment directed at her, than at Camden himself. Or so she thought. Camden turned his face to look at Nathan and stuck his fingers in his mouth as he leaned against Rachel. "Can you say Dad?"

Camden continued to look at him with a skeptical eye. Nathan stared right back at him.

"He doesn't have a very big vocabulary." Rachel said softly. "We're working on..."

"Well why not? He's what, 2 and a half? Carl's boy is talking up a storm and he's barely 2..." He was obviously referencing someone he worked with. "What did you do to him?"

She cringed at his words. "I didn't do anything." She stammered, cuddling Camden to her.

"Mamamamama" He whimpered, clutching her shirt in his hand. "Mamamama seepy."

"I know you're sleepy baby. Let's go take a nap."

She stood up from the couch.

"I'll be right back." She whispered, not that Nathan was paying attention because he had already pulled his phone out of his pocket.

She was relieved he let her take Camden to his room. She placed him in his crib and rubbed his back for a few minutes.

"I love you Cam." She whispered as she stood up and turned around to leave the room, almost running smack into Nathan who had clearly followed her.

He gave her a critical stare.

She closed the door to Camden's bedroom 3/4 of the way before addressing Nathan. "What?"

He shook his head. "He's a little too old for a crib, don't you think?"

"Not according to his physical therapist." She answered shortly.

"Physical therapist?" Nathan all but chuckled. "Why is he seeing a physical therapist? He's a toddler!"

She marched into the living room and systematically threw the toys that were scattered on the floor into their basket.

"Because he needs one." She clutched the little fire truck in her hand. "You would know that if you'd been around."

"So he is sick then." He stated. Rachel felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. "Is that why his eyes are all squinty?" He crossed his arms as he looked at the framed photo on the entertainment unit before turning back to look at her.

"He has down syndrome, yes." Was her only, curt response.

"So the doctor was right then. When you had that scan and he said..."

"Yes. Nathan. He was right." She could feel her temper flaring. She stared at him from her spot on the couch. "If you'd been around you would know that."

"Well I'm here now." He stated.

She wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to respond to that.

They sat uncomfortably side by side on the couch for a few minutes. She played with her fingers before she looked over at Nathan.

"Why are you here?" She asked quietly. "Why did you come find me now? I haven't moved. I've been in the same apartment the entire time. Why now."

"I'm here to see you guys. You and Camden." He stated as if that was the only acceptable answer. "Figured it was time. And that you probably needed me."

"Needed you?" She felt her temper flare. "We don't need you. We've done just fine without you. Thank you very much."

"Is that why you still live in this shitbox? It was fine when you were a young twenty something but this isn't the kind of place I want my child to be raised in."

Her heart pounded in her ears loudly.

"Your child? He's your child now? Where were you when he was born, hmm? Or when he finally, finally after months of trying took his first steps just after his second birthday?" She asked him, exasperation dripping from her words. "Do you take him to his appointments? Pay for his nanny? Keep him in diapers? Cuddle him when he's sick? You weren't HERE Nathan because you left. You got up and left because he wasn't perfect." She inhaled sharply. "But newsflash. He IS perfect." With a shaky voice she added, "You didn't want him. So why do you want him now."

"I don't just want him. I want you."

She sucked in another breath. "I'm seeing someone. You left Nathan. You had your chance. But you showed me your true colors."

"I have money, you know." He stated. She arched an eyebrow at him. As if that was all it took to woo her "I've made it now. I've just made junior partner at Gibson and Jenkins. I can help. Pay for things. Things you can't afford on your own. Like good therapy and I can give your nanny a raise that I'm sure after putting up with you for a year and a half she needs."

She bit her lip as she stared at him. So this was his angle. Trying to swoop in and make everything okay.

"It's not about money. It's about Camden, Nathan. He needs more than a stack of bills thrown his way. He's worth more than that. He needs to be loved and cared for and..."

He cut her off.

"Let's get this straight." He pulled out his wallet and grabbed a check, mysteriously already made out to her to the tune of $5,000. "This is for you. For you and for Camden. I'm sure I owe you more than that but it's a start."

She took the check from him and hesitantly looked at it. $5,000. She could do a lot with $5,000. She felt sick to her stomach as she looked at the small piece of paper. She desperately wanted to talk to Finn right about now.

"I can't take this." She said softly, trying to hand it back to him.

"Yes you can." He pushed her hand back towards herself.

"Nathan."

"Rachel." He stated. "Do it for Camden" He played the Camden card, and at the moment she couldn't say no. Maybe she'd finally be able to get him into that bike she had had her eye on. She took the check and folded it into her pocket.

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She really wanted to talk to Finn.

"Does he sleep long, usually?" He asked as he looked up from his phone after a deafening silence had enveloped them. She felt uneasy with him right there, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do right now. Did she ask him to leave? Allow him to stay? She had nothing to say to him at the moment. The look of impatience on his face did nothing for the thoughts that were racing through her head.

"He usually naps for two hours. But I'm not sure how long he'll sleep given that he went down late." The biting tone of her voice was evident. He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment.

"Well I'm going to go then. I'll come back in a little bit with dinner." He stated firmly. "You still a vegetarian?"

She bit her lip as she looked at him. He'd always had an opinion about her lifestyle when they were dating. Nothing had changed there it seemed.

"For the most part."

"I'll get pasta from Mario's and bring it back." He looked down at his phone as he clicked a few buttons before looking up at her. She hesitated a few times, opening and closing her mouth. "What?"

"Camden only likes plain red sauce on his pasta." She said quietly. She heard him audibly grown. "And please make sure it's whole grain he..."

"I'll get whatever I want. You need to stop babying that kid." He slapped. "I've been here two hours and I can already see that you've turned him into a wuss."

"It's his diet Nathan." She gritted through her teeth. "Do you know ANYTHING about down syndrome? He needs to eat..."

Nathan held up his hand. "Whatever. Plain red sauce and whole grain pasta. I got it. Fine."

She collapsed against the couch when he saw himself out. What was she doing? She rubbed her hand against her face as the door closed behind Nathan. Just as Camden called out her name. He hadn't even been sleeping for an hour yet. Wonderful.

"Mommy's coming."


Dinner was just as awkward as the afternoon had been. Of course, Nathan had forgotten what she had mentioned about Camden disliking anything but plain red sauce for his pasta, and when the dish was placed in front of him he all but threw it on the floor.

"I told you what he liked." She mumbled as she tried to scoop what Camden had just tossed all over his tray back onto the plastic fire truck plate.

"I'm not going to buy a hundred different dishes because you've raised him to be difficult. Kid needs to learn." He forked some of the pasta into his own mouth loudly.

She dropped the fork. "His name is Camden."

Nathan rolled his eyes before shoveling more pasta back into his mouth.

"Mama soup?" Camden asked her with his fingers in his mouth. "Soup pease?"

She dropped his plastic plate on the counter after she finished scooping up his mess and smiled at him.

"Of course baby. I'll heat up some soup." Camden giggled and grabbed for his sippy cup with both his hands before taking a big swig of the apple juice that was inside. She didn't miss the scoff Nathan made.

"So we've talked about me all afternoon. You ever going to tell me where you're living now a days?" She asked as the microwave beeped and Camden's soup was ready. She got it out and put it in a plastic bowl before bringing it to the table. She tested it before putting it in front of Camden.

"Tank yew." He smiled as he picked up his spoon in his fist and attempted to spoon some into his mouth. She chuckled before turning to Nathan. He was staring at Camden before turning his attention to her.

"Over in the financial district. Right by my practice, in a penthouse condo."

Nathan had always had expensive taste. And apparently now he could afford it.

"And the last two years?"

"I've been building my career. Gaining respect as a criminal lawyer. It's been a lot of hard work but I've made it. And now..."

"Now what, it's convenient to have a son with special needs?"

"Rachel." He groaned. "Now I can take care of you. Both of you."

Why didn't she believe him.


That night, long after Nathan had finally left and Camden had been bathed and put to bed, she held her phone to her ear and waited for Finn to answer.

"Hello?" She heard his beautiful, husky voice on the other end of the phone. Her heart raced and she closed her eyes.

"Hey." She swallowed hard as she clutched the phone in her ear. "I really needed to hear your voice after the day I've had..."

"Rach." His voice audibly softened. "What happened?"

"I just...I really miss you Finn." She whispered into the phone.

"I miss you too babe." She heard him take a deep breath and some shuffling on his end. She closed her eyes. She'd probably interrupted him from something important.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked quietly.

"Rach..." He whispered. "You're more important to me than anything else. Now stop stalling. Tell me what happened to make my beautiful girl sound so sad."

Her heart soared as she listened to him. "Nathan was here today."

She heard his sharp intake of breath. He had had very strong opinions of what he thought of Nathan. Most of them weren't very nice. Not that she blamed him. She hadn't really filled him with any good information. Not that there was any.

"And how was that?"

"Well aside from showing up at 2pm like I asked him not to, I guess it was okay." She bit her lip.

"How was Camden?"

"Exhausted." She sighed. "Not exactly racing into his arms shouting Daddy, Daddy. Which I think pissed him off." When Finn didn't say anything, she continued. "But Finn...he...he gave me a check."

She heard him clear his throat. "How much?"

"$5,000." She paused. "He said he wants to help."

"So that's what this is about."

"Finn..." She sighed.

"Rach. The guy shows up and throws a pile of money at you. Kind of suspicious don't you think."

She actually groaned. "Finn, I don't think..."

"Look. I don't know the guy. I only know what you've told me. And I don't like the fact that he's suddenly coming around and I'm not there with you."

"I wish you were here." She said quietly.

Everything would be easier if he was here. Or it they were there. Finn always knew what to do.

"Just promise me something." He whispered.

"Anything."

"You won't let him come between us."


December 2022...

She stared out the window in her living room that looked out onto the street below, with her cup of tea cupped between her hands. The snow was falling steadily, and while it looked peaceful and serene, it made her sad. Finn loved Christmas. It was one of the things she had loved about him way back then, his childlike excitement for Christmas. Even at 28, he still had that infectious excitement.
Camden's squeal brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned around to see him coming at her as fast as his little legs could take him and threw his chocolate covered hands around her leg.

"Mommy!" He squealed, his eyes lighting up as he looked up at her.

"Oh Cam. I see Grandpa gave you another cookie..." She levelled a look at her Papa who came walking into the small living room after him. Hiram held up his hands.

"Your Daddy gave it to him. I'm just here to clean him up." Hiram laughed as he unpeeled the toddler from her leg and gently laid him over his shoulder.

"Mommy!" Camden squealed again, just as Rachel turned back to the window. Her phone buzzed in the pocket of the hoodie she was wearing and she hastily grabbed it with one hand. She smiled softly when she saw it was Finn.

"Tell me you're on a plane." She whispered, not bothering with niceties. The weather reports had been flooding in all morning, Ohio was being hit with a snow storm. New York was getting some snow, but apparently what she was seeing was nothing.

"I wish. Now they're telling me they're hoping to take off at midnight. I'm sorry babe, I don't think I'm going to make it for Christmas." Her heart broke a little at his words. She was really looking forward to spending Christmas with Finn. She was desperate to see him, touch him. He hadn't been able to make it up for her birthday, as he had been knees deep in the school Christmas play. They were going to celebrate together, this week since he was off on holidays until the New Year. But apparently mother nature had other plans.

"Damn it." She swore under her breath.

"Is it snowing there?"

"Light, fluffy snowflakes. What about there?"

"It's not pretty. That's for sure."

"Well stay safe. Stay inside, I guess." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"I will. I'll try to call you later babe. Say hi to your dads for me and gave Camden a high five."

"I will. Bye Finn."

She hung up the phone and took a deep breath before taking a sip of her tea.
So much for Christmas spirit.


She tried to enjoy Christmas. She really did. But without Finn, she was really finding it hard to get in the spirit. Sure, her father's were still here and they were in the middle of Hanukkah, but every time she passed by the small tree she had put up just for Finn, she felt sad. Never mind the pile of gifts Finn had sent ahead of his trip, that were there waiting for Camden to open. And Camden wanted to open them.

"Mama, pen. Pen, Mama." He pointed to the gifts that were distinctly professionally wrapped.

"We will baby. We just have to wait for Finn to come on Skype." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Camden huffed and sat down in front of the train set her father's had given him last night for Hanukkah. She watched him for a moment, smiling at his childhood innocence just as her computer chimed and Finn's call appeared.

"Finn." She sighed when his disheveled face came on the screen."Merry Christmas honey."

"Merry Christmas Rach." She could tell he hadn't been up long, his hair is still messy and the stubble that was lining his cheeks was adorable. She looked away from the computer when she heard Camden scrambling to his feet and towards the computer at the sound of Finn's voice.

"Inn!" He cheered and clapped his hands when he saw Finn on the screen.

"Hey pal." Finn grins. "Merry Christmas buddy."

Rachel smiled as Camden reached out to touch the screen. She watched Finn's face soften.

"Hi." Camden giggled as he stared at Finn before putting his fingers in his mouth.

"Hi...that's a new one! Good job pal!" She smiled when she saw Finn's excited face. It warmed her heart as she watched him interact with Camden. "Now how about we open some presents, huh? I hear there's quite a few there with a certain little boys name on it." He grinned. Camden clapped his hands.

"Yeah. We're going to have to talk about that." She laughed.

Finn shook his head. "Nope. We're not. I'm sorry though, I didn't have a chance to send yours babe."

She waved her hand. "It's fine. Yours is waiting for you here too." She smiled softly.

She brought the laptop over to where the gifts were, and helped Camden find the few that were from Finn. She heard him laugh as Camden ripped into a box that contained a new Elmo book and DVD. Another box contained a Cincinnati Bengals sweat suit that she thought was the cutest thing.

"Mama, rooooooarrrrrrr!" He squealed as he pointed to the tiger picture that was on the hoodie. Both Rachel and Finn laughed at his reaction. Finn had been hoping the outfit would be okay. He'd seen it when he was ordering a new jersey for himself and just couldn't pass it up. But the real squeals came from the t-ball stand Finn had gotten for him. She was shocked he remembered. She had mentioned in passing getting him one when the physical therapist had mentioned it would be great for developing his muscles, but she had gone with the bike instead.

"Finn, you really outdid yourself." She smiled as she looked at the computer. He merely shrugged.

"It's nothing really." He blushed as Camden ripped into another box that revealed a large, bright puzzle with Camden's name cut out of the letters. "I just...it's just stuff that reminded me of him and I wanted him to have and..."

"Thank you." She whispered, training her eyes on her son, before turning back to the computer where Finn's eyes were focused on her. "I don't know how to thank you..."

"Babe, you don't have thank me. For anything. I'm doing it because I want to. Okay?"

"Okay."

Nathan called after she got off the computer with Finn to announce that he was coming over. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She quickly texted her Papa to let them in on the change of plans. They weren't Nathan's number one fans so she hoped they would stay at the hotel for the time he was over.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Apparently his text had been literal. He was at her door now. She left Camden on the floor playing with his puzzle from Finn and went to answer it.

"Well don't you look festive." Nathan sighed. Rachel looked down at her black pajama pants with white snowflakes on it and black long sleeved shirt.

"Hello to you too." She stepped aside and let him into the apartment as Camden clapped excitedly when he got the D into the puzzle.

"What's he so excited about?"

"He got a new puzzle for Christmas from Finn. He loves puzzles." She said simply as Nathan shrugged off his coat before picking up the box he had brought and following Rachel into the living room. Camden stopped clapping when he saw Nathan walk into the room behind Rachel. He immediately scrambled to his feet and wobbled over to Rachel, wrapping his arms around her leg.

"Where is this Finn I keep hearing about?"

Rachel sighed. "Ohio got hit with a bad snow storm. He didn't make it out to come up."

Nathan chuckled but didn't say anything. He sat himself on the couch staring at the mess on the floor. "Don't you ever clean up around here?" He asked, spying the colorful paper that littered the floor.

"We just finished opening presents Nathan. I haven't had a chance to..."

He waved her off. "Whatever. Bring him here. I have something for him." He held up the package he had brought in with him. She bent down and picked Camden up and kissed his head before walking over to the couch. Camden tensed when Rachel sat down next to Nathan, a body length apart. He cuddled into her as she turned his body toward Nathan's. Camden stuck his fingers in his mouth and focused on the box in Nathan's hand.

"Here." He tried to hand the box to Camden. When he wouldn't take it, he placed it on his legs. Camden looked up at him and blinked before looking up at Rachel.

"It's okay baby. Open it." He gave her a hesitant look before tentatively ripping at the green and red paper. He looked quizzically at the box underneath. Rachel herself was unsure about the gift, and helped him open the box. Inside was an Ipad. Complete with a indestructible case. Rachel felt the gasp leave her mouth as she stared at the device nestled in the box.

"What?" Nathan stated. "Did I get the wrong color or something?"

"Nathan. This..." She stumbled over her words as she picked up the Ipad box and stared at it. She'd been doing a lot of research lately, about the benefits of using technology in therapy for children with down syndrome. And while she had recently been considering getting one, she wouldn't have gone this far or this expensive. He was a baby after all. "...this is too much."

"No it's not." He shook his head. "I got him the top of the line case for it to. Lifetime warranty so you should be good to go."

She bit her lip as she looked at the box.

"Well. Thanks." She said softly. "Can you say thank you Camden?" He looked up at her and blinked a few times before turning back to Nathan.

"Tank yew." He whispered against his fingers.

Nathan reached into his pocket and handed her the envelope he pulled out. She tentatively took it from him.

"Merry Christmas Rachel." He smirked as she opened the envelope and pulled out what was inside. Another check for $5,000.

"Thank you" She whispered. She didn't want to admit it, but the extra money was nice. She'd been able to do a lot in the last month, in terms of catching up on bills that she had been behind on and giving Jenna a nice holiday bonus. The extra cash had allowed her to not worry so much about her finances. She'd also used some of the extra cash to fund Hanukkah and Christmas. Including the nice few gifts she had picked up for Finn, which included a brand new day timer, a nice Nike vest and a new watch. She'd probably gone overboard but like he had said about Camden, she had seen the few items and had instantly been reminded of the boyfriend she missed desperately.


Her father's arrived moments after Nathan had left. By the look on her Papa's face, she could tell they had seen him on their way up to the apartment.

"What did he want?" Hiram asked as he stepped into the apartment.

"What?" She asked softly. Once Nathan had left Camden had relaxed and shimmied off her lap. He'd instantly picked up the puzzle pieces he had abandoned and gone back to playing with them. "What did who want?"

"Rachel." Hiram gave her a testy look. "Why was Nathan here?"

She bit her lip as she looked at her father's as Camden giggled. "He's Camden's father. It's Christmas."

"No." Hiram shook his head. "He's nothing to you guys. If anything, he's the sperm donor! He walked out when you needed..."

"I need to give him a chance Papa! He's still his father." She sighed. She all but stomped her foot. "And he's helping now..."

"He threw more money at you didn't he?" Leroy asked, interjecting his two cents into the brewing argument.

She looked down at the floor. Hiram pressed when she didn't answer the question. "How much Rachel? How much did he give you now?"

"Dads..." She whispered. She turned when she heard Camden clapping when he slipped the A into his puzzle.

"Answer the question Rachel." Leroy sighed.

"$5,000, alright? $5,000 that I'm going to use to pay our rent and pay Jenna...and maybe...maybe...I don't know. Live." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "It'll help me continue to take him to speech therapy and add a few more classes. It's money for Camden. To help Camden."

"What about Finn?" Hiram asked point blank.

Rachel's eyes widened. "What about Finn?"

"Are you still with him? What does he think of all this?"

"He's fine." She sighed. "He gets that Nathan is interested in being a part of Camden's life. Of course I'm still with him. Why wouldn't I be?"

"We don't know Rachel." Hiram held up his hands. "We're just worried about you. Nathan hurt you very badly when he left and we just want you to be careful."

"I am being careful." She sighed. "I'm an adult. I'm a parent. I can make my own decisions. But I also want my son to know his father despite the past. Camden deserves that. And Nathan seems to want that too." She left out the part about how standoffish he'd seemed when he gave him the Ipad earlier. "Despite what you may think there is nothing going on between Nathan and I. And there never will be. This is about Nathan and Camden. Their relationship. Not about me and Nathan." She rubbed her forehead.

"But does Finn?"

"This isn't about Finn! He knows how I feel about him." She stomped her foot as she looked at her fathers. "Look. I know you don't agree with this. And you're doing it because you love both me and Camden and you like Finn. But you have to trust me that I'm doing the right thing here. For everyone involved."

Hiram's face softened. "We just don't want to see you get hurt. Again. Any of you."

"Then just. trust. me." She pleaded just as Camden let out a giggle. Both her father's sighed.


Don't hate me.