Present Day: Bobby's POV

"Okay, guys…what do you mean by 'adult' conversation? My dad is a doctor, you know. If you're gonna talk about how Fiona's just being hormonal ...well, that's no big mystery. My sister's her age, and I have been given 'the talk.'" Fourteen year old Nick Belden was pleading his case to his uncle and cousins, trying to persuade them to let him stay and participate in the conversation they said would possibly be too adult for him.

"It's complicated," Will Regan said cautiously, as the others were getting comfortable on the wooden benches below the willow trees. "Candace and I were just heading back inside, too. We'll go with you." He gave his girlfriend a nod and she seemed to understand what to do.

"Yeah, Nick," Candace took up her boyfriend's cause, "Let's go back inside. I want to find out if Daniel's right about your brother Matt. Does he really look like Will?" She seemed to know that Will would explain everything later. Bobby Belden gave the young lady a really good look for the first time and was proud of his younger cousin for finding such a great match for himself.

To Bobby's relief, his nephew Nick finally gave in and allowed Will and Candace to walk with him back to the party. He knew Nick was probably old enough to understand what they were going to discuss, but he didn't think the boy was emotionally mature enough. He also knew that his brother Brian had not told Nick anything about Dan Mangan being Daniel's biological father. It was just too complicated for him to have to start at the beginning and explain right now; besides, he needed to repair the damage he had done when he'd upset Will's sister, Fiona.

Fiona Regan was sitting on the bench with her name carved on it, and she was clutching her cousin Lydia's hand. The two fifteen year old girls had a special friendship, and Bobby thought it was good that Lydia had stayed. Her presence seemed to be keeping Fiona calm. His niece already had an idea of what Bobby and Fiona had argued about, so Bobby was grateful that he didn't have to catch her up to speed.

Bobby turned to Fiona's brother Daniel. He was fidgeting nervously in his wheelchair and waiting anxiously for someone to explain to him why his sister had burst from the house in tears.

"Daniel, I didn't mean to upset everyone. Fiona, I'm sorry. I was just trying to explain how much I understood what you were feeling."

Fiona refused to look up from the grass beneath her feet. She just sniffed and bit her lip. Bobby felt as low as dirt.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked quietly. He seemed to want to encourage Bobby to continue the conversation he and Fiona had begun inside.

"I was telling Fiona how…when Dan died…I felt like everything I had ever known was…almost…like a lie. Like…someone should have told me that…I don't know. I felt…betrayed."

"And then you said our parents betrayed Dan." Fiona looked up with hurt in her eyes.

"No, I said that I had once felt that way, but you didn't let me finish with the rest of my point." Bobby said quickly, defending himself.

"You…you didn't like our parents getting together?" Daniel sounded as wounded as Fiona.

"I was just a kid and I didn't understand. What I was trying to say was…well, Fiona, I know you feel that way about Dan…like he almost doesn't have a right to suddenly be Daniel's father…"

"I…I didn't say that…" Fiona stammered. "I just don't understand why my parents thought it was important to…I mean, I thought they were complete enough without having to…never mind."

Everyone sat in silence for a moment, processing thoughts and feelings and trying to make sense of what was being said, until Lydia quietly took over as mediator.

"Fiona, are you mad because…maybe…you do feel the way he said…like you were lied to and you almost don't want Dan to be Daniel's father?" She looked at her cousin seated beside her and looked searchingly into her face.

"I..guess."

"Daniel, how do you feel?" Lydia asked softly.

"I'm surprised, right now. I …well…I thought Fiona was okay with it. She said she was…"

"I am okay with it, Daniel. I mean…I'm okay with you. And nothing's changed with us… our family… you're still my brother…this doesn't change who you are."

"But it does." Daniel said thoughtfully, as if it was the first time he understood the truth of his statement. Bobby interrupted them.

"Daniel, you are special and loved, and Fiona, so are you. Don't let this make either of you forget that." Bobby didn't know how to do this the right way. Uggghh! How do I make them understand! He felt himself getting frustrated.

"Uncle Bobby, you said Fiona didn't let you finish what you wanted to say. Why don't you say it now?" Lydia asked calmly. She would make an excellent counselor one day. Bobby was amazed at the maturity of Mart's daughter.

"I wanted to say that it's perfectly okay for you to feel this way. It's okay for you to be angry. It's okay if you feel betrayed. You didn't know him the way we did, and it must be so frightening to think about this stranger being such a big part of your family. It doesn't make you love Daniel any less if you question it." Bobby closed his eyes and tried to say everything his heart wanted to release out to Daniel and Fiona at this moment.

"Fiona, I wanted you to see that I had been there once too. I had questions I couldn't answer. I was running away from everyone and everything and I just didn't want to face it. And when I finally got over the shock and hurt, I saw that I wasn't lied to, I was just protected. Protected from things I wasn't old enough to understand. When I stopped feeling guilty about not understanding, I realized that I wasn't selfish for wanting people to leave me alone and let me be sad. When I finally saw the perfect love your parents shared, and I knew that it was stronger than anything Hallie ever had with Dan, I realized that Regan didn't betray him, he did the best thing a man can do for another man after he's gone: take care of those he loved."

Bobby opened his eyes and saw that Fiona and Lydia were looking down at the grass with watery faces and peaceful smiles playing at their lips. I think they understand. It's going to be okay. She's going to forgive me.

He turned his head to look at Daniel, but he panicked when he didn't see the boy beside him.

While Bobby had been speaking, Daniel had wheeled himself closer to the willow tree his parents had planted in memorial to his father and he was now leaning with his head against the trunk. His eyes were closed and silent tears were streaming down his face.

"Oh, Daniel, I didn't mean to…" Bobby again felt as if he had said the wrong thing.

"No, Bobby, you don't understand." Daniel whispered without opening his eyes. "I'm not crying for me. I'm crying for you."

The older man felt his chest tighten and he swallowed hard at the boy's remarks.

"I…I didn't lose Dan, like you did." Daniel now opened his eyes and gave his cousin a loving smile. "In fact, I haven't lost him at all."

"I…I've found him."

Later that night, in Daniel's room: Daniel's POV

"Mom, can you go get Dad?" Daniel asked as his mother, as she turned from helping her son climb from his wheelchair into his bed.

"What's wrong?" Hallie Regan asked, quickly. "Are you in pain?" Daniel could tell that she misunderstood his remarks, and he had to laugh at her jumpy state.

"No, you worrywart, I just want to talk to the both of you about something."

"Oh. Okay. I'll…I'll go get him." Hallie cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes.

"It's nothing bad. Come on, don't look at me that way. Good grief! I just have some more questions about…you know... about Dan."

"No problem." Hallie laughed thankfully and exhaled the breath she had been holding as she began to understand what her son wanted to discuss.

Daniel could feel her relief, and he shook his head.

"You'd think I was going to say I'd join the circus or something crazy like that."

Halllie stopped at the door and threw her head back in a laugh. "For you, that would be crazy."

Daniel smiled to himself as he watched his mother leave and he thought about what she had meant. Once, as a small child, his mom and dad had taken him and his siblings to see a circus, and Daniel was terrified of everything the entire time. He had cried nonstop, and whenever his older brother Will had wanted to scare him after that, he would say, "Hey Daniel, don't ya wanna go back to the circus?"

Yeah, I guess that would be crazy.

After a while, his mom returned with her husband and the two settled down on either side of him. Daniel knew what he wanted to ask them, but suddenly, seeing Regan's questioning gaze, he was feeling shy. How do I do this without hurting him?

"Um… I know you said I could ask anything, and you would tell me, right?"

"Anything at all, son." Bill Regan said gently.

"What were his last words?" Daniel came straight out with first one he could think of.

Immediately, he regretted it.

Pain flashed across Regan's face, and the older man stood up and paced away from Daniel quietly. The boy suddenly remembered once having been told that Regan wasn't there the moment Dan died. He kicked himself mentally as Hallie coughed nervously and took over answering the question herself.

"Well, it wasn't what he said…actually." She took Daniel's hand in hers and thought for a moment before she spoke. "Daniel, he…had been unresponsive most of that afternoon, and so he didn't say anything before he… but earlier that day…while he was still alert…he did something." She stopped and looked over at her husband. Daniel could see the silent way she was reaching out to him and comforting him. He felt guilty for doing this.

Regan seemed to have regained himself and he came close again to sit in the chair beside Daniel. "I remember that." He whispered to Hallie.

Daniel looked from one to the other and then asked the obvious question, "So, what did he do?"

"Well," Hallie's voice was soft as she spoke. "We were pretty much sitting just like this, and I was holding Dan's hand, like I'm holding yours. And…he…" The tears were starting to come quietly now and spilling down her cheek.

Daniel didn't want to do this, anymore. He suddenly felt like an invader in his mother's memories.

"He put my hand on his heart, like this…" Hallie moved her hand to her son's chest and smiled up at him sweetly. "Then, he took your dad's hand…"

Regan took Daniel's hand in his, and it made Daniel feel like a small child again.

"He put my hand on his heart, too." Regan said quietly. He put his large hand on Daniel's chest beside Hallie's. "And then…he…he put our hands together." Regan intertwined his fingers with those of his wife.

"And then he put his hands over yours, right?" Daniel asked quietly. He understood what this was all about. Wow! Daniel thought, He gave them to each other.

"Yes," Hallie whispered. The three of them sat there for a minute with all of their hands clasped together over Daniel's heart, and the boy felt the love flow into him and through him.

"We…we just didn't see how perfect his idea was…until years later…" Hallie said with a laugh.

The special moment passed and everyone reclaimed his or her hands. Dan could still feel the warmth of their touch on his skin, even through his shirt.

This is what Bobby learned too late. Daniel thought. This is what Fiona should understand.

"I get it." Daniel said reaching out and giving their hands a pat again.

When emotions had died down again, Daniel asked another question.

"How did he say goodbye to Mart?"

"Dan wasn't big on goodbye." Regan said gently. "He always said, 'later.'"

"Is that what he told Mart?"

"Something like that, I'm sure. They had time together the day before Dan passed, and I guess their discussion was their personal business, because Mart never told any of us what was said. Perhaps, that's as it should be." Daniel loved the way Regan just let some things be. He decided that would be his approach to this whole thing, too. Just love and let it be.

"How did he say goodbye to Bobby?" Daniel asked, after a few minutes.

Hallie and Regan gave each other a special smile.

"Apparently, Dan left him notes and special objects hidden away in secret locations. I think it was a sort of treasure hunt." Hallie said with a laugh.

"I wish he had really taken the time to read some of the messages more carefully, though." Regan mused quietly. "I had to help Dan write some of them when he got so sick that he couldn't hold a pen, and they should have helped Bobby deal with things a lot better than he has. Maybe he didn't find all of them."

"Do you think he'd be upset if I asked him about them?" Daniel wondered out loud.

"Couldn't hurt." Hallie tried to sound bright.

I don't know, you didn't see how lost he looked today, Daniel thought.

"Anything else you want to know?" Regan seemed ready for this conversation to end.

"Naa, it's getting late. I'm sure I'll have more questions later. Man, am I glad to be back home in my own bed tonight!" Daniel started getting comfortable to go to sleep as his mom moved the chair she had been sitting in back in its original place under his desk, and his dad leaned down to brush a quick kiss into his hair.

"I love you," Regan whispered at the door.

"Love you, too, Dad," Daniel didn't even hesitate at the word 'Dad.' Dan was now a very special and important part of him, but Regan would always be his dad. He felt happy at the thought and watched Regan disappear into the hall.

As Hallie came forward and kissed him, too, Daniel tapped her wrist gently before she could turn away.

"Mom?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, dear?"

"When did you know you loved Dad more than Dan?"

Hallie looked horrified at the idea, and she slowly sank down on the edge of her son's bed, looking at him in disbelief.

"Do you love your dad more than you love me? Or Will more than Fiona?" She asked.

"That's different. Don't tell me you don't love one more than the other. I mean, you should love Dad more, right?"

"There are different kinds of love, Daniel, and they can all be of equal value."

"But you were romantically in love with him, weren't you?"

"As much as I could be at that age, yes."

"Then, when did your feelings change?"

"They, didn't exactly change. Look… it's complicated. We need to save this conversation for another day."

"Why?"

"Because, there's something I would need to show you, first."

"Sounds, mysterious." Daniel said secretively.

"Oh no, now you sound like my cousin Trixie. Are you all good in here for the night, dear? Do you want some water or anything before I go down?"

"Don't try to change the subject with me, Missy!" Daniel teased his mother. "I'm curious about what you have to show me. What is it? Is it the place where you had your first kiss? Huh? "

Hallie laughed, pulled away from the bed, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You'll see, nosey. It's late, now. Go to sleep."

"I love you, Daniel." Hallie said at the door, smiling in.

"Love ya, Mom."

"Later…" Hallie laughed and stepped out into the hall.