AN: You guys are so wonderful. On top of all your wonderful praise from the last chapter, when I got on to check my stats last night I realized this story has nearly 100 people on the alerts list. 100? There are almost 100 people following this? Really!? I might have cried a little with happiness. So in response you get an update in a timely matter this time instead of taking forever, with drama and fluff and angst and music all in one in a way that only Glee can pull off. :)

Oh and I don't own the song used in this chapter anymore than I own Glee. It's a very pretty song though and while it's not exactly something I could imagine being on the show, I really like the lyrics and honestly Glee seems to take songs I would never expect and make them amazing so I figure it's safe to use it.

Chapter 20

"Lizzie's dating now."

"Really?" Tina asks in surprise. We've been maintaining pretty steady conversation for a little over two hours now, talking about anything that we can think of to keep the room from getting quiet. "I suppose I should have expected that but it's still hard to believe."

"Yeah," I say, shaking my head. "I mean, she's been out on dates before but this guy's different. They're actually going steady."

"And you're totally freaking out about it, aren't you?" Tina asks with a knowing grin.

"Well, yeah," I agree. "What kind of name is Drake anyway?"

"Drake like a guy duck?"

"That's exactly what I thought," I say, shrugging. "Who names their kid after a duck? It's ridiculous."

Tina laughs. "Artie, I think I remember a time where you wanted to name all of your kids after either members of the Beatles or names from their song titles. You don't really have much room to talk about strange names."

Even though my cheeks are burning, I laugh too. "Whereas you just have a touch for the ironic, symbolic and dramatic, right?" Tina just smiles and shrugs.

"Daddy?"

My heart jumps up into my throat at the whisper and I push myself up as well as I can to see over the edge of the bed. All I can see is a vague outline of Destiny's profile, just enough to see that her eyes are still mostly closed but her mouth is open.

"Hey Dee, are you awake?" I ask tentatively.

The corner of Destiny's lip curl upward. "I knowed it's you," she murmurs, tightening her grip around my finger. "Mommy's hands are soft, but yours is tough."

Tina lets out a quiet laugh and stands up, reaching over to place her hand on top of Destiny's and mine. "Hey Nee-nee, how are you feeling?"

"Sleepy," Destiny mumbles, her voice hoarse. "And sore. Why am I sleepy and sore?"

"You were sick, but you're going to be okay now," Tina says with a familiar catch in her voice.

"Is this the doctor place?" Destiny asks curiously, her eyes still barely squinted. "'Cause it smells like a doctor place."

I smile around the tightness in my throat. "Yeah, we're at a doctor place," I agree. "But it's okay, because the doctors made you better."

Destiny tilts her head to the side and her narrowed eyes find mine over the edge of the mattress. Her gaze is hopeful. "So now can I go back with you and sing again? Now that I'm all better, like you said?"

"We'll see, princess, okay?" I say, squeezing her hand.

Her lower lip pushes out in a pout and I can't help but smile as she grumbles, "M'kay."

"Look who's awake." All three of us look toward the door. The same doctor that talked to Tina and I earlier is standing the frame and he smiles. "Hi there Destiny, how are you?"

"Are you a doctor?" Destiny asks curiously.

"That I am," he says, walking in to stand beside the bed opposite Tina and I. "My name is Dr. Ryan, I've been taking care of you. Are you feeling better?"

"My hand hurts," she says, glancing down at the hand I'm not holding, the one with IVs taped in place. "Can you make the needles go 'way?"

"Sorry honey, not just yet," the doctor says sympathetically. "But really soon, okay? Anything else bothering you?"

Destiny frowns in concentration and then says, "My throat is itchy."

The doctor smiles and holds up a paper cup he is carrying. "I thought you might say that, so I brought along some ice chips for you to suck on," he says and then hands the cup across the bed to Tina. "How does your chest feel? Is it sore?"

"A little," Destiny says with another frown that wrinkles her nose. "But I don't feel like coughing no more. That's good?"

"That's great," he answers. "Well I'm just gonna listen to your breathing for a bit and make sure everything is good, is that okay with you?" When Destiny nods he pulls a stethoscope from around his neck and places the end against Destiny's chest. I feel a slight tremor in my chair that signals someone has grabbed the handles. Glancing over my shoulder I see Tina's free hand has a white knuckle grip on the back of my chair.

"Sounds like everything is really good," the doctor says, straightening up. "Your breathing has cleared up and sounds pretty normal now. If you start having any trouble breathing at all, even if it's just a little tickle in your chest, you tell someone, okay? We don't want you getting sick again."

"M'kay doctor," Destiny says with a small smile.

"Alright sweetie, I'll leave you with your family now," the doctor says and he pats her leg, nods to Tina and I, and then leaves.

"Do you want some of this ice, Nee-nee?" Tina asks and Destiny nods. "Okay. But no chewing, just suck." Destiny slips her hand out of mine to take the cup and she picks out a piece and puts it in her mouth, sucking on it with a determined look on her face. The room is quiet for a minute as she sucks down through a few chips of ice while Tina and I wait, neither of us really knowing what to do with ourselves.

Finally after a few minutes I make to pull my hand down off the mattress but I'm stopped by a very cold and wet hand grabbing onto my fingers. "Daddy, you camed to see me just like you promised you would," Destiny says with a smile.

"Of course I did," I say, flipping my hand over and squeezing hers. "I will always keep my promises with you, Dee, you can count on that." Destiny is still grinning but there's something slightly dazed about it and I recognize the look. She's trying not to doze off. "But you need to get some rest now."

"But you're here," she argues, pouting.

I laugh and from behind me I hear Tina make a noise that sounds like it's halfway between a laugh and a sob. "And I'll still be here when you wake up. Mommy and I both will be, okay? Maybe we can get Mommy to sing along with us too," I say and cast a glance up at Tina. Her lip is trembling but she smiles and nods in agreement.

"I will, but first you need to sleep and get better," she says, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from Destiny's forehead. "So why don't you go back to sleep and we'll see how you're feeling when you wake up again."

"I'm not tired," Destiny says stubbornly. Tina and I exchange amused glances while Destiny unsuccessfully fights back a yawn.

"Oh you're not?" I ask with veiled skepticism. "That's good then. You can help your mom and I out."

"How?" Destiny asks eagerly.

"We're having a little disagreement about a song," I say and I catch Tina's smile out of the corner of my eye. "We were trying to decide if it was the prettiest song ever. Why don't I sing it, and you can tell me what you think?"

Destiny seems to think this over for a second and then nods. Smiling, I clear my throat and start singing. "Moon so bright, night so fine. Keep your heart here with mine. Life's a dream we're dreaming…"

Just as I'm starting on the chorus a second voice joins mine. It's so abrupt that it should surprise me, but somehow it doesn't. Turns out that even after all this time, singing with Tina is still the most natural thing in the world. "I want to spend my lifetime loving you, if that is all in life I ever do."

Midway through the second verse I feel Destiny's grip on my fingers relax. "Through our joy, through our pain, we can move worlds again. Take my hand, dance with me." Tina places a hand on my shoulder and her voice dies off. When I glance up at her she's smiling. "She's asleep," she whispers.

"That was quick," I say, taking one last glance at our daughter who is now sleeping peacefully. Grinning, I take my weight off my elbows and relax more comfortably into my chair.

"Another trick you learned from your mom?" Tina asks quietly, slipping back into the empty chair next to me.

"Dad, actually," I answer, fighting back a laugh at Tina's expression of surprise. "Whenever I didn't want to go to sleep, he would sing to me until I fell asleep. Although it always took a lot longer with me."

"Probably because when your dad sings he sounds like a moose with a head cold," Tina murmurs, laughing under her breath. I raise an eyebrow and she shrugs. "Sorry Artie, but I've heard your dad sing and that's definitely not where you inherited your talent from."

I have to admit that she's right there and I nod with a grin. "Dad never had accompaniment though," I say, giving her a meaningful look. "I wasn't expecting you to join in."

Tina's smile turns sad. "It's our song, our duet, I couldn't let you sing it on your own." I bite my lip and look down at my lap. "Why did you pick it?"

"It was the first slow song that came to mind," I say with a shrug. Honestly, I'm not sure I want to know why that song came to my mind so easily. That song was the one we were supposed to sing at Nationals our senior year before she disappeared. Trying to change track, I smile and add, "It was either that or that theme song from Titanic."

Tina mock shudders and smiles. "Okay, good choice then," she says. Her expression becomes pensive and she adds, "Five years without practice and it still sounded pretty good though, if I say so myself."

"We probably could've taken Nationals with that," I agree with a smile. "Rachel even said so."

"She probably blames the loss on me, huh?" Tina asks, her smile slipping.

I laugh and shake my head as I remember Rachel's speech about it. "You know Rach. She always – okay well, she usually means well, but things just don't come out the right way with her. Right after you disappeared she made some comment about horrible timing but thankfully Finn shut her up pretty quick because Mercedes and Kurt were both glaring daggers and I think if she'd finished her sentence it might have ended in an epic catfight. She repented though, at the after competition party when she dedicated the trophy to you," I finish. Tina's eyes widen. "The whole team missed you; it didn't feel the same performing without you there. They all said so. No one was the same after you left."

"What about you?" Tina asks, and then immediately pales and looks like she regrets saying it. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. I don't know why I asked. I'm sorry."

"You mean what was I like after you were gone?" I ask, keeping my tone emotionless. Tina doesn't answer but her expression says it all. Putting on a sardonic grin, I shake my head. "You don't want to know. Trust me."

Even though she looks concerned at my answer, she just swallows and nods, silently accepting it. We sit quietly for a few minutes, both of us wrapped up in our own thoughts. I determinedly push away the memories of those days right after Tina vanished, not wanting to think about that time. It was bad enough living it once without having to relive it.

The adrenaline of the night is quickly wearing off and I stretch sleepily before resting my head against the edge of the mattress. I know there's no way I'll be able to actually sleep like this, but there can't be any harm in closing my eyes for a bit. Judging by how quiet it's gotten off to my side, Tina's already asleep. Not that I blame her; my last check of the clock said it's nearly six in the morning. Yawning, I set my glasses in my lap and tilt my head until I find another, more comfortable position. Yeah, I'll just rest my eyes for a little while…