A/N. My brain is spinning after watching the new BTR episode. I can't even concentrate right now, you guys. Seriously. This is me trying to write while completely distracted. I don't own anything.

"Ready Logan?" Carlos asked as he opened the apartment door.

"I'm trying, Carlos, but he won't walk right." Logan appeared dragging Buddy behind him as much as he could without hurting him. He sighed in frustration. "Do you think he hates me?"

"What? Logie, no." Carlos left the doorway and walked over to Logan. "Listen, he's just not used to walking on a leash right now, that's all. He might be a little scared."

Logan's eyes grew serious and he nodded. "I would be scared too." He knelt down and stroked the puppy's head gently. "I feel sad for him now. I don't want him to be scared, Carlos." A smile replaced the worried frown on his face when Buddy looked up to lick his chin. "What if he gets scared of me then?"

A troubled sigh escaped Carlos. There were so many moments that were glimpses of "typical" Logan behavior. Today it was with Buddy and the way he constantly thought everything through before he moved on to the next thing. Before the accident he would have been doing the same thing except not for something as trivial as getting his dog to walk on a leash. Sometimes it was so difficult to think of the right words to say. "He won't be scared if you make him feel safe," he said finally. "But you have to teach him too."

Buddy, relieved that all the commotion had ceased, sat down on the floor and rested his chin on Logan's knee. Logan smiled again and scratched the puppy's head. "I just wish I didn't have to scare him. But I guess that lots of mommies and daddies have to do that, huh?"

"Right, Logan." Carlos agreed. "Sometimes they have to teach us things that scare us, but we don't have to worry because it's good to learn new things and they'll always take care of us. So Buddy here needs to learn how to walk on a leash and you are going to keep him safe."

"You and me and your daddy when he gets here." Logan said happily. "Because your daddy teaches doggies, right?"

"Sometimes," Carlos answered him. "He's a police man and he works with dogs. So he kind of has to know how to teach them stuff."

They were supposed to meet Carlos' father outside the apartment but Logan seemed content to be sitting on the floor with Buddy nearly falling asleep in his lap. "I love your daddy a lot, Carlos. I love everyone's mommies and daddies. It makes me not miss my mommy and daddy so much. Do you think my new mommy will ever get married again, Carlos?"

"Um," Carlos bit his lip, wishing that Kendall and James weren't at James' therapy appointment and that Mrs. Knight and Katie weren't out running errands. He wished his dad would come. He loved Logan but he wished he didn't ask the hardest questions when he was alone with him. "I don't know, Logan. Maybe, maybe not."

Carlos had been expecting Logan to be disappointed in his lack of a direct answer. But as usual, Logan surprised him. "I hope she doesn't," he looked around the room as if to make sure they were alone and then whispered the confession to Carlos. "Know why?"

Unable to speak, Carlos simply shook his head.

"Because I already have a new daddy," Logan said confidently. "James. He's my best friend but he's also kind of my daddy. He takes care of me like daddies are supposed to."

More than anything else, Carlos wished James could have been there to hear Logan say that. Even Logan hadn't even been oblivious to the way the James had cared for him. There was a knock at the open door then, bringing his attention momentarily away from Logan. "Hey, Dad." he greeted with a smile.

"Hi, boys." Mr. Garcia entered the apartment and knelt down in front of Logan so he could pet Buddy who wagged his tail eagerly at the newcomer. "I didn't see you outside so I came in here to make sure everything was okay." He looked up from the puppy, studying the boys carefully. Logan looked content and happy while his own son looked to be on the verge of tears and utterly exhausted. "Are you up for a little dog training?"

Carlos sensed his father's concern and nodded quickly. "Yup. It'll be awesome. Right, Logan?" He smiled when Logan nodded and jumped to his feet. "Okay, let's go." A strong arm slipped over his shoulders and he leaned tiredly against his father. "I'm glad you decided to stay for a little while."

"We all wish we could stay permanently," Mr. Garcia said sadly. "We miss all of you and we want to be able to help you with Logan. However," he smiled. "From what I've seen you're all doing just wonderfully with him."

"Trying," Carlos responded as he reached down to help Logan untangle Buddy' leash from around his ankle. "Here," he said taking the leash. "I'll hold onto him and you go get your helmet on, okay?" He scooped Buddy up in his arms and watched Logan closely as he went to get his helmet from the kitchen table. "You're going to take good care of him, right?" he asked the dog in a low voice.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Logan declared. "Papa," he said using the childish endearment he and his friends had once used to talk to Carlos' father, "I'm having trouble getting him to walk on his leash. I think he's scared of it. Will you help me?"

"Sure, Logan." came the easy reply. "Carlos, put Buddy down and we'll see what we can do. See, Logan, one of the things I've learned that works best with training dogs is that you reward good behavior and discourage bad behavior. Now, I don't mean that you outright punish Buddy. Not unless he needs it. But he'll soon find out that he'd rather you pet and praise him than speak to him sternly or ignore him."

Logan nodded seriously and gave a gentle tug on the leash. "Come on, Buddy." he said gently. "Let's go outside, okay? It'll be okay, I promise. I'll take care of you."

"Sometimes," Mr. Garcia broke in when Buddy still refused to move. "You have to give them a little bribe in the beginning." He took a small dog treat from his pocket and walked to the door. "Come on, Buddy!"

Buddy took Logan by surprise and lunged forward eagerly, dragging his owner behind him. "Whoa!" Logan laughed. "I guess he really likes his puppy treats."

"Good boy," Mr. Garcia said quietly to the dog. "Yes, but you have to be careful with him, Logan. Don't always give him treats when he listens to you. That might make him get really wild and hard to control. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, like if we got candy every time we did something good." Logan responded wisely. "Let's go outside now."

With only a little more coaxing, they managed to get Buddy all the way down to the lobby and outside into the sunshine. They were in LA but it was December and slightly chilly. Carlos turned to check that Logan was dressed warmly and then looked to his father. "What next?"

For the next hour, the three stayed outside, training the new puppy. Carlos mostly sat and observed the easy way his father interacted with Logan. He wasn't all that surprised since as a kid he remembered always having a great time with him and he knew that his younger sisters felt the same way. What did confuse him was the ease his father had adapted to the new changes. He hadn't been around nearly as long and yet he was already acting as if it had been years.

Years. Carlos had always been one to look back on the past only when he could learn from it. He only looked toward the future when it was relatively close. He had always been one to live in the present and enjoy what was happening in that moment. Now, so much was different and part of him could help but look down the road years from now and wonder where they would all be.

"Logan, I think we'd better stop for the day. Buddy is looking worn out and so are you and Carlos."

Logan was about to protest because Buddy had already learned how to sit and stay until his name was called. He wanted to play catch. But the words died on his lips when he saw two figures walking towards them. "Look!" he said, waving happily. "Kendall and James are back!"

"Hi, Logan!" Kendall grinned and hugged Logan. "How's the dog training going?"

"Well," Logan said. "I thought it was going well but Papa said that we should stop for today. Me and Buddy and Carlos are tired I guess. Can we play catch with him tomorrow though?"

Carlos felt James' eyes on him and tried to smile. He was tired. Emotionally drained. Looking ahead made him feel so exhausted. When his father pulled him to his feet and whispered in his ear a suggestion that they talk later on, he wasn't about to refuse. "Come on, Logie." he said quietly. "Let's go in. Tomorrow is another day."

"I hope tomorrow isn't a rainy day." Logan said seriously. "I want to play outside more with Buddy." But he didn't protest when the others led him back in the apartment and contented himself with telling Kendall and James all about the busy morning he had with Carlos and his father and Buddy.

Carlos and his father slipped into the other room for some privacy and as soon as the door was closed, Carlos started to cry. He pulled a pillow to his face to muffle the sounds of his sobs and allowed his father to wrap his strong arms around him, desperate for the familiar comfort. "It's just so hard sometimes," he said sorrowfully. "All the time. He shouldn't be so helpless, Dad."

"He's not completely helpless though," his father soothed. "He's learning more and more every day and he couldn't ask for three better teaches. You boys have done so well with him even though it's been difficult. We're all incredibly proud of you."

"That doesn't really help." Carlos admitted honestly. "When I was younger I loved it when people were proud of me. I was so clumsy and destructive that when I did something right I felt proud of myself too. But now it's just so hard to. . . to be strong for him. For everyone. It's so hard knowing that we all feel the same. And it has gotten easier because I know that we're depending on each other again. But Dad, I'm so scared of doing this because I don't know if I can keep going. I feel like at one point I'll just crash and I won't be able to pick up the pieces. I'm scared of the future. I don't know if I'm strong enough."

Mr. Garcia sighed and tightened his arms around his son. "Carlos, I promise you that it will get better in the end. I don't know when and I don't know what's going to happen until then but I do know that everything will be okay. As long as we stay together. Because Carlos, you're not strong enough. Not by yourself. None of us are. We need each other. As long as we remember that and hold to it, we'll be strong enough. Together."

"Kendall, can me and you do something?" Logan asked, looking up from where he sat with Buddy on the floor.

"Sure, buddy." Kendall glanced curiously over at his friend. "What did you have in mind?"

Logan shrugged. "Well, I don't really know," he admitted. "Because I don't want to leave James and Buddy alone and I'm tired anyway. But I'm bored so I want to do something with you."

Kendall took a moment to think. His mother and Katie were still running errands and Carlos had gone out with his dad before he left to return back to Minnesota that night. James was tired after the therapy appointment and had gone to lay down in his room. Kendall was pretty sure that he was fast asleep and he was hoping it stayed that way. "Why don't we watch Spiderman?" he suggested after a while.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Logan said with a grin. "Let's do it!"

"Okay." Kendall smiled at his enthusiasm. "Go sit down and I'll set it up." He stood from the couch and pulled the new DVD from the shelf. He opened the case and slid the disc in the player. Standing back up, he turned to find Logan sprawled out on the couch. "Hey!" he protested with a laugh. "Where am I supposed to sit?"

Logan grinned up at him. "On the floor!" he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. But when Kendall started to sit on the floor, he sat up quickly. "I'm just teasing, Kendall! Come sit next to me!"

Kendall sat down, smiling when Logan instantly curled up against his side and lifted an arm to wrap around his friend's shoulders. "Now, remember what I said before, Logie?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," Logan's eyes were on the screen but he nodded. "You said that it's kind of scary and I might get afraid. But I don't think I have to worry because it's just a movie and I'm right here with you. Even if it was real I wouldn't be scared because I know that you'll take good care of me."

Not for the first did Kendall wonder at Logan's trust in him and everyone else for that matter. He wasn't about to question it though because at the end of the day it was what kept him going. "That's right, Logan." he said softly. "You never have to be afraid." The movie started but Kendall couldn't concentrate. All he could think of was how much he wished that he didn't have to be afraid.

A/N. Well, it's been a while since I updated but now things should pick up a more regular pace because I'm done with school until September. YAY! So, let me know what you thought!