Esha Napoleon: Thank you! firewing pegasus: Cooper and hugs aren't really the best mix. There are maybe a handful of people he'll accept them from but otherwise, it's smarter not to do it. NeroAnne: No ice cream really is a horror that should never be experienced *shakes head* I'm against no ice cream. Totally against it. And thank you : )

…

When Connor was set to leave the hospital he was very very sullen, still upset that Tiffany had chased Cooper away and even more upset that he could no longer avoid James and Mindy. Every time they had come to try to talk to him at the hospital he had screamed and cried and kept them at bay for the most part. But at home it was going to be much harder to get away from them. They were going to be on him until he made peace with James and then they could go on with loving each other more than him without any sort of guilt.

"Do you wanna watch a movie when we get home?" Tiffany asked, doing her best to sound as cheerful as possible to help lift his spirit. "We could have a Toy Story marathon again. Or we could watch one of your superhero movies. It's been forever since we've seen Batman-"

"Batman looks like Daddy," Connor said shortly.

"We could watch one of the older Batman movies," Tiffany quickly countered. "They don't look like Daddy do they?"

Connor shrugged apathetically. He really didn't want to be mad at Tiffany so this was killing him but she had made Cooper go away and he hadn't heard from his brother since. He didn't know whether he was okay or not and that really really bothered him. He didn't trust James to leave him alone even if he was gone. Actually, to be honest, Connor didn't trust James at all anymore. He knew that some people would say that was his anger talking and maybe it was but why shouldn't he be angry? He had been stabbed and Cooper was still an outcast and not allowed to come home. Shit, Mindy had forgiven him already for what he did but nobody else was cutting him a break. It angered him that nobody else seemed to give a shit that Cooper was probably in deep shit now. He wasn't good at taking care of himself at all. Cooper had said that himself and things weren't going to be any different now.

Tiffany let out a sigh and started playing with his hair. He hardly noticed though because James and Mindy were coming his way with all the babies and the only one he felt remotely happy to see was Tryg.

"Hey," James said, wincing at the look Connor was giving him. He was holding Chelsea in his arms (Elizabeth was in Mindy's) and he stopped a few feet short of Connor, sensing that he was not welcome to come closer. "How are you feeling?"

Connor shrugged and got up despite the fact that Tiffany was trying to slow him down. The hospital was worried about him pulling his stitches because of the way he normally ran around like a bat out of hell. He wasn't worried about it though. If he pulled the stitches then he pulled them. He didn't want them in him anyway and actually wanted to pull them out himself if he ever got the chance to do so. He doubted he would get to do that because nobody left him alone anymore but if he did get the chance he would take advantage of it.

"You ready to go home?" Mindy asked, trying to get some sort of response out of him.

He shrugged again. What did it even matter? He was going to have to go whether he liked it or not.

James and Mindy both exchanged looks. Connor knew he wasn't making them happy with his responses but he didn't care. Instead he waved at Tryg, who waved back at him. "Tryggy?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to have a meeting…a SECRET meeting." He glared at James, who looked like he was about to say something. "Okay?"

Tryg nodded and came over so he could hug Connor's leg. "Okay."

"You just gotta remember you can't play too rough or anything yet," Tiffany reminded him gently.

"Oh yeah, because I so totally forgot," Connor snapped, surprising everyone with his nasty sarcasm. That wasn't typically his style. "I'm only going to have a gigantic SCAR for ever and EVER to remind me of all this." He made sure to give James a particularly nasty look as he said that.

Mindy shook her head and reached out to try and touch him. "Connor baby please-"

"Connor's not here right now," he informed her just to be difficult.

"If you're not Connor then who is she talking to right now?" James asked, which was the wrong thing to do.

"Nobody who wants to talk to you!"

"Connor!" Mindy said, shaking her head while Tiffany groaned and shook her head. "That is enough! Your daddy is sorry-"

"That's what he says," Connor muttered under his breath. "But he also said he would never ever hurt me and we all know he lied about that."

"He didn't LIE!" Mindy said angrily, bringing the claws out because she was defending James's honor. "It was an ACCIDENT baby! We've told you a hundred times-"

James pulled her back and motioned for her to be silent so he could address Connor himself. "What do you want me to do Connor?" he asked, his voice so vulnerable and miserable that even Tiffany kind of softened-but not Connor. Connor saw it as an act and didn't believe any sincerity in it whatsoever. "Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness? Because I will. You just watch me I'll do it. Connor I fucking feel like SHIT for what I did, okay? And I know you're angry and you have a right to be but can you at least let me try to make it better? Please please please let me make it better."

Connor stared at him, unable to say what he really wanted to say because Mindy would probably just rip his head off anyway. "I have to take Snoopy out to potty," he announced, just avoiding the whole thing all together to make it easier on him. "Come on Snoopy."

Snoopy barked and followed him out of the room. Spike was close behind and all three of them ignored the looks they got as they left. Spike was too stupid to really notice it at all, Snoopy was blissfully in his own world controlled by Connor and Connor just didn't give a shit. He really didn't.

…

"I just don't know what to do Baby Doll," James lamented after they got home. Connor was up in his room with Tryg and he was being cold to everyone, even Tiffany. That was surprising to James because Connor was never that way to her. He was like a giant puppy dog with her but not now. Something must have happened between them and while he did want to know what it was, right now, fixing things between himself and Connor was much more important to him. "He won't listen to me. Every time I try to talk to him he just shuts me out."

"I think you might have to make him listen," Mindy said as she fed Elizabeth. "You can't let him shut you out Jamie. You'll never get anywhere that way."

"I know but I don't know how to make him listen," he said with a shake of his head. "Connor only hears what he wants to hear. He's like how I used to be, only a thousand times worse because he has no reasoning skills."

"I know but you're his daddy Jamie," she reminded him. "And he does still love you, even if he's saying mean things and not acting like it."

"I guess…" James ran his hand through his hair and tried to brood but she wouldn't let him. She loved him too much to allow him to drive himself crazy and make himself sad.

"I know I'm right," she said bluntly, allowing Elizabeth to feed herself like she had been trying to do the entire time anyway so she could get up and hug James tightly. "I do Jamie, I know I'm right."

"I know Baby Doll," he said as he returned her hug. "It's just so fucking hard, you know? Connor's impossible to talk to when he's like that."

"Nothing's impossible for you Jamie darling," Mindy said sweetly. "You're just so down on yourself that you're letting him win." She pulled his head down so she could kiss him. "He's very hard to talk to and very angry but you gotta keep trying. Just be the stubborn boy we all know you are and you'll win him back over. You'll see."

"Da da da!" Elizabeth chimed in, banging her fists against her high chair and attracting both of her parents' attention.

"See?" Mindy said brightly. "Lizzie Bear knows it too!"

James grinned and went over to his daughter so he could kiss her forehead. "You believe in me too Lizzie Bear? Huh? You believe in Daddy?"

"Da da da!" Elizabeth tried to wiggle out of her chair and reach for James's knife, which was somewhat sticking out of his pocket. His eyes widened a bit when he realized that. "No no Lizzie," he said gently. "That's sharp. That's too sharp for you."

"DA DA DA!" She grabbed the spoon Mindy had left on her tray and began stabbing her applesauce with it, giving him a rather impatient look as she did so.

"Oh my…" Mindy put her hand over her mouth and giggled. "She's just like you Jamie. You get that look all the time when you need to kill something."

James grinned and lifted Elizabeth out the chair so he could bounce her lightly. "When you get bigger I'll take you hunting Lizzie Bear. I promise."

Elizabeth blew a raspberry in response and then clapped her hands together and squealed as James blew one back at her, both of them missing the tears that welled up in Mindy's eyes as she watched them together.

…

"Okay, so my near death experience has severely impeded our work," Connor said to Tryg, who was sitting near him and listening very attentively like any good partner in crime should. "Bur our quest for world domination will not be denied!"

"It won't?"

"No Tryggy, it won't. And you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I said so, that's why." Connor grabbed his little marker board but then realized he had no markers to it, so he threw it across the room angrily. Spike jumped up and ran into the wall out of fright and Snoopy nearly peed on the bed because he was so startled.

Tryg winced and shook his head. "You know, after we take over the world, we need to make Mommy queen."

Connor resisted the urge to roll his eyes as best as he could. "Why?"

Tryg frowned at that question. "Why wouldn't we? She's Mommy."

Connor decided to not even continue with that portion of the conversation. Personally he was still mad at Mindy because if she had just kept her mouth shut about Cooper, everything would have been just fine. He couldn't ever say that to Tryg though. Tryg was too much of a momma's boy to handle it properly. "We need to take over the world fast though because I gotta neutralize Daddy so I can find Coopy."

Tryg made a face. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Want to do what?"

"Find Cooper. You know what he did-"

"No! Not you too Tryggy! I get that crap from everyone else I don't want it from you too!" Connor pulled Snoopy into his lap and hugged him tightly. "Coopy takes care of me. I need him back."

"Mommy and Daddy take care of you too."

"But they're not Coopy. And-" Connor stopped as there was a knock on his door and James let himself in without any other invitation.

"Hey boys," James said, looking much calmer and more confident than he had back in the hospital.

"Hi Daddy," Tryg said as Connor stayed defiantly silent.

James picked up Tryg and hugged him tightly. "Tarzan do you mind if I talk to Connor alone for awhile?"

"Okay Daddy." Tryg waited until James put him down and then he ran out of the room, probably going to find Mindy while he waited. James shut the door behind them and then sat down on the bed with Connor, who was not pleased because James was not invited to sit there at all.

"Look, we really need to talk," James said firmly.

"I don't wanna," Connor said grouchily.

"I know but we're going to." James grabbed Connor's chin and forced eye contact with him. "I know you're angry-"

"No you don't. You don't know anything!"

"Yes I do. I know you're very very upset with me and I know I deserve it. But as mad as you're going to be I'm not going to stop until I make this better, okay?"

"But you can't," Connor said stubbornly. "Not unless Coopy gets to come home."

"That's not gonna happen Connor," James said, getting kind of angry because they were having this conversation yet again. "You know what he did-"

"Mom don't even care!"

"She's sick, he takes advantage of her because she don't know how to hate him like she should!"

"No he don't!"

"Yes he does!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Connor stop, you don't have any fucking idea what you're talking about, okay? You're being so stupid about this-"

Connor's eyes widened. He hadn't heard the last part of that sentence or what else James said beyond that. He had only heard the "You're stupid" and he promptly burst into tears, which made James realize where he had gone wrong.

"Oh fuck, Connor no, I didn't mean-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Connor shrieked, shoving James away before climbing off the bed and running as fast as he could, springing down the stairs and bolting out the front door before anyone could stop him.