Sean and Emma were in the basement with the kids, and Emma looked around and said, "We're going to change out of our dressy clothes and get comfortable." She stood up and asked, "How about some ice cream?"

Drew smiled and said, "Maddie's too stuffed from dinner."

"We ate a lot, Drew!"

Sean looked at the remnants and laughed, "What did you get?"

"Pizza, garlic knots, and mozzarella sticks."

He nodded, "Nice. I'd be full too."

Drew asked, "How was your dinner? Where did you go?"

Emma answered, "We went to a place called Canoe."

Oliver, who was still eating, asked, "Canoe?"

Sean laughed and said, "Yes, the name is odd, but it's a pretty fancy place. It's on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower downtown."

Emma said, "We watched the sunset."

Maddie said, "That must have been so pretty."

Emma smiled, "It was."

Sean said, "I still say my view was better."

Emma playfully slapped his arm, "Oh, stop." She walked to the stairs and said, "So we'll do ice cream later, then?" All three kids nodded, then Emma asked, "Do you need anything while we're up there?" All three kids shook their heads, and Emma chuckled, "Okay. How about you all come upstairs? We can hang out up there for a while. We'll watch a movie or something."

Drew nodded, "We'll be up there in a little bit, mom."

Sean said, "Sounds good." He let Emma walk up the stairs ahead of him. When they got to the ground floor, Sean closed the basement door and said, "That poor kid."

Emma shook her head, "I'm so angry at his mom right now. How can she do that to her child?"

Sean shrugged, "I have no idea."

"I don't understand it at all. You are supposed to love and protect your child at all costs, no matter what." Sean smiled at her, and she asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you're an incredible mom."

Emma shrugged, "I don't know about incredible."

"You are." Sean wrapped his arms around her, "I'm in awe of you every day."

"Really?"

He nodded, "Yes."

Emma smiled and leaned her forehead against his, "You're pretty incredible yourself."

Sean said, "It's like you said, you're supposed to love and protect your child no matter what. I felt like that as soon as I found out about Drew." Emma kissed him, and Sean laughed into the kiss. When he pulled away, he asked, "What was that for?"

"It's because you're you."

Sean smiled and said, "Let's go upstairs, change, and come back down and have some ice cream with the kids."

"Okay."


Oliver finally finished his dinner and looked at Drew, "I know I say this all the time, but I really wish your parents were my parents." Drew smiled. "Seriously. They're so cool."

Drew began picking up the food boxes and said, "Maddie said it earlier, but it's probably because they're younger compared to other parents."

Oliver shrugged, "I don't know. Some younger parents can be assholes too."

Maddie laughed.

He stood up and said, "It's true."

Drew looked around and said, "I wonder where my parents are going to have you sleep."

Maddie asked, "Why can't he sleep in here?"

Oliver asked, "Where are you sleeping?"

"Upstairs in the guest room. All my stuff is already in there." Maddie smiled and said, "Plus, you can sneak into Drew's room from here." Both boys blushed. "Oh, come on, I'm kidding."

Drew rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Whatever."


As Emma got undressed, Sean sat on the bed and watched her. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes." She giggled and threw her dress at him. Sean said, "I had a nice time tonight."

"So did I." She put on a sweatshirt and leggings and sat next to Sean on the bed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He kissed her, pulled away, and sighed, "I really feel bad for Oliver."

Emma nodded, "I know."

"Should we bring him to Wasaga with us tomorrow?"

"Oh gosh, I forgot about that." Emma thought about it for a second and said, "Maybe we should. Drew won't want to hang out with a bunch of old people alone all day."

Sean chuckled, "You're probably right."

"We need to call his mom soon."

Sean nodded and asked, "Do you want to do it, or do you want me to do it?"

Emma looked surprised and asked, "You would do that?"

Sean scoffed, "Of course I would. You already said how angry you are at her, and I wouldn't want you to say anything you might regret."

Emma asked, "Aren't you angry at her too?"

Sean nodded, "Yes, I am, but I've never dealt with her before, and I think I can control my anger."

Emma raised an eyebrow, "You don't think I can?"

He shook his head, "Not right now. You're in momma bear mode."

Emma smiled, "You're right."

Sean stood up, "I'll change, and we'll go downstairs, and I'll call her."


Oliver looked at Sean and said, "Thank you for doing this, Mr. Cameron."

"You're welcome." He dialed Oliver's home number and waited for the phone to ring.

"Hello?"

Sean said, "Hi, Mrs. Middleton?"

"Yes?"

"Hi, this is Sean Cameron. I'm Andrew Nelson's dad."

She didn't even say hi back. She asked, "Is Oliver with you?"

"Yes, he is."

"Can he stay there with you?"

Sean furrowed his brow, turned away from everyone, and lowered his voice, "Yes, we don't have a problem with that at all, but why wouldn't you want him to come home?"

"Oliver can come home when he changes his mind about being gay."

Sean put his hand to his temple and said, "Mrs. Middleton, with all due respect, that's not how it works."

"Oh, so you're one of those people who think homosexuality is okay?"

"Yes. I do. I also believe it's not a choice, I believe our children are born that way, and I believe that we should love our children no matter what."

"I see. Well, my son can stay with you and your faggot son if he wants, but he's not welcome here anymore." She hung up before Sean could respond.

"Mrs. Middleton? Hello?" Sean ended the call, put his phone in his pocket, turned around, and looked at Oliver, "You're staying here with us for the foreseeable future." Oliver nodded. "I wouldn't make you go back to that house, anyway."

Oliver asked, "What about all my stuff?"

Emma said, "Maybe we can get my dad involved." She looked at Oliver, "You'll need your laptop for school, right?" He nodded. Emma put her hand on Oliver's shoulder, 'We'll figure something out."

Oliver cried, and Emma held him. "It'll be okay, sweetie. I promise."

"Thank you."

Sean put his arm around Drew, and Maddie looked around and said, "I should go home."

Drew said, "No, Maddie, stay."

Oliver pulled away from Emma and said, "Yeah, I don't want you to go."

Maddie smiled, and Sean squeezed Drew's shoulder then said, "Okay, I think it's time for ice cream."

Emma agreed, "Yes." She rubbed Oliver's back and said, "It's definitely time for ice cream."


A little while later, Sean and Emma were together on the loveseat while Drew, Maddie, and Oliver were on the couch. They were watching a movie that Sean was half paying attention to, and every once in a while, Sean would look over at Oliver to make sure he was okay. He couldn't believe how cruel Oliver's mom was on the phone, and he was glad Oliver came to them.

Emma could tell Sean wasn't into the movie and whispered, "Are you okay?"

He whispered back, "I'll be right back." Sean stood up, made his way through the kitchen, and walked to the house's back door. He stepped outside, closed the door, and took a deep breath. Sean walked over to the deck's back railing, leaned against it, and cried. He kept replaying the conversation with Oliver's mom in his head, and he couldn't believe how cruel she was.

Back inside, Drew asked Emma, "Mom, is dad okay?"

Emma turned and looked toward the back door, "I'll go check on him. You kids keep watching the movie." Emma stood up and walked to the back door. She could see through the window that Sean was crying. She opened the door, closed it, and said, "Babe?" She walked up to him and put her arm on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Sean wiped his face, "Em, that woman was so cruel. I couldn't believe it."

"What did she say?"

He shook his head, "I can't even repeat it. It was despicable, and it wasn't just about Oliver."

Emma asked, "Did she say something about Drew?"

Sean nodded. Then he took a deep breath and said, "I want Oliver to stay here for as long as possible."

Emma hugged him, "He will. We will take care of him."

Sean cried again, and Emma held him.

Oliver sat up and said, "I hope I didn't upset your dad."

Drew said, "I'm sure you didn't do anything."

Oliver shook his head, "I still feel bad."

"Well, don't." He put his hand on Oliver's and said, "Okay?"

Oliver nodded.

Maddie said, "Is anyone actually paying attention to this movie?"

Drew said, "Nope." He turned off the movie and said, "Maybe we can find something on Netflix."

Back out on the deck, Sean shook his head and looked into the house, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose it."

Emma caressed his face, "This just shows how much you care."

Sean nodded.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her and pulled away, "Let's go back inside."

When Sean and Emma made their way back inside, Oliver looked at Sean and said, "I hope I didn't upset you, Mr. Cameron."

Sean smiled, "You didn't."

Drew said, "We turned off the movie. No one was paying attention, anyway."

Sean nodded.

Emma said, "Maddie, you're all set up in the guest room upstairs, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." Emma looked at Oliver, "Oliver, will you be okay on the couch downstairs?"

"Um, yeah. That'll be great."

She asked, "How about I go, set it up for you?"

He shook his head, "You don't have to do that, Miss Nelson. You can just give me the stuff, and I'll do it."

"I insist."

Oliver smiled and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Emma winked at Drew and walked to the stairs, "Oh, are you allergic to anything?"

Oliver shook his head, "Nope."

"Great!" Emma climbed the stairs, and Sean sat back down on the loveseat.

Sean asked, "So, did you find anything on Netflix?"

Drew shook his head, "Not really."

Sean laughed, "There's gotta be something we all can watch." He looked at Drew and said, "Unless it's not that cool watching a movie with your parents on a Saturday night."

Drew scoffed, "You're not like regular parents."

Maddie added, "Yeah, you're cool parents."

Oliver said, "You're definitely cooler than mine."

Sean smiled.


After the movie, the kids all retreated downstairs. They were going to play video games. Sean and Emma told them they could stay up until 2 a.m. Meanwhile, they went up to their room to decompress.

"So, what did Mrs. Middleton say?"

Sean shook his head, "I can't say it. I'll just get angry." He took a deep breath and said, "Think of the most derogatory word someone can use about a gay person. That's what she called our son."

Emma's eyes widened, "That bitch."

Sean nodded his head. "Yep."

"She really said that?"

"Emma, I couldn't believe it. She was so cold and unfeeling, and it was disgusting." Tears formed in Sean's eyes again, and he shook them away, "I can't talk about it anymore."

"I'm sorry. We'll stop."

Sean wiped his face and said, "So I figure we can leave for Wasaga around 11 if the kids are up and ready by then."

"Sounds good."

"I also want to stop off and pick up some things like flowers for my mom and dessert or something."

Emma nodded, "Okay."

Sean looked at her and asked, "You're not still nervous, are you?"

"Yes, I am, and I will probably be a wreck the entire drive up."

"Babe, it'll be okay."

Emma smiled, "You really believe that, don't you."

"I already talked to my parents about this. They know how I feel about everything, and that's the most important thing, Em. I love you, I forgave you, and we're going to build a wonderful life together."

She nodded and smiled, "I know I've told you this about a hundred times tonight, but I love you."

"I love you."

"I'm so glad we're here."

Sean smiled, "Me too."


Later that night, as Maddie lay awake in the guest room bed, she heard noises. At first, she wasn't sure what she was listening to and then realized it was Sean and Emma. Maddie sat up and listened as Emma moaned, and she covered her mouth. She was both amused and curious. Maddie got out of the bed, walked over to the stairs, and sat down.

Meanwhile, upstairs as they made love, Sean whispered, "Em, Maddie's right downstairs. You gotta try to keep quiet."

"Oh, God, I forgot." She groaned again, "But this feels so good."

Sean chuckled and slowed down, "Let's make it a game."

"No noise?"

Sean nodded, "If you make a noise, you lose."

"What do I get when I win?"

Sean smiled, "Oh, you think you're going to win?"

Emma nodded, "I know I'm going to win."

"Yeah, we'll see about that."

A little while later, Emma was resting her head on Sean's chest. He stroked her hair and asked, "So how does it feel to lose?"

Emma laughed and looked up at him, "You cheated."

"I did not."

"Yes, you did. There was no way I couldn't make noise when you did what you did to me." She pinched him, and Sean yelped, "You fight dirty, Cameron."

"Ow! That hurt." Sean reached down and started tickling Emma.

"No! Don't do that!" Emma started laughing and squealing.

Sean said, "Shhh. We have to be quiet!"

"I can't be quiet when you're doing that to me."

Sean stopped and smiled at her. "We should go to bed. I want to go out and get some things for breakfast tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah?"

He nodded, "Things are going to be strange for Oliver, and I want him to feel loved and cared for."

Emma got up and straddled Sean, "We're not going to bed yet."

Sean chuckled, "Em."

She shook her head, "Nope." She leaned down and kissed him.


Drew lay awake in his bed, and Oliver quietly knocked on his door. "Come in."

Oliver opened the door, "Can I sleep in here? I'll stay on the floor."

Drew said, "Uh, sure. Is something wrong with the couch?"

"No, I just didn't want to be alone."

Drew smiled and said, "Okay. But are you sure you want to sleep on the floor?"

"Yeah." He threw his blanket down and put his pillow on top of it. "It's fine. I don't want to freak out your parents by sleeping in your bed with you." Oliver got onto the floor, "Especially when they're helping me out like this."

"Good point." Drew laid down on the edge of his bed and looked down at Oliver, "My parents will probably set up the guest room for you when Maddie leaves."

"That's fine. Your guest room is way better than being on the streets."

"Yeah." Drew reached his hand down, and Oliver grabbed it, "We'll help you through this."

"Thank you."

Oliver and Drew talked until they fell asleep, and they didn't let go of each other's hand.


The next morning, Sean woke up early, took a shower, and got dressed all before Emma woke up. He wanted to head out and get breakfast. Emma stretched and smiled as she watched him zip up his jeans. "Good morning."

"Good morning, beautiful."

"You showered already?"

"Yep." He sat down on the bed and said, "I'm heading out to pick up things for breakfast. Can you think of anything you need or want?"

Emma sat up, "Pancake batter. I want to make them for the kids."

"Okay. I'll pick up some fruit and yogurt and donuts, croissants..." He smiled and kissed her nose. "It'll be like a nice brunch for them."

"Oh, and can you get some coffee?"

"Yep." Sean stood up and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. "I shouldn't be too long."

"Okay. I'll probably shower while you're out."

Sean walked to the stairs and said, "Tease."

Emma giggled, and he made his way down the stairs. When Sean looked into the guest room, Maddie was sitting on the bed, fully dressed, and reading a book. "Maddie? Did you sleep?"

"Not really. I'm an insomniac. It's how I read so many books."

"Oh." Sean was about to walk out when he asked, "Would you like to tag along with me while I pick up some breakfast? I could use an extra set of hands."

Maddie's heart stopped for a second, and she said, "Sure!"

"Great, meet me downstairs when you're ready."

"Okay!"


Maddie was quiet during the ride to the market. She looked out the window and avoided looking at Sean. Sean could tell she was embarrassed, so he tried to break the ice.

"So Maddie, what book are you reading?"

"I'm rereading the Hunger Games trilogy." Sean nodded then Maddie asked, "Have you read them?" She immediately grimaced, knowing what Sean's answer would be.

He smiled and said, "No, but I caught one of the movies on TV once. It was pretty cool."

"It is!" Maddie described the plot for all three books, and when she finished, she was embarrassed again.

Sean asked, "So, you like reading for fun, huh?"

"Yes."

"That's good. I didn't enjoy reading all that much. I was too into cars to care."

Maddie smiled and asked, "How long have you had your shop?"

"A few years now. I had been dreaming about opening it since I was 18."

"Wow."

Sean laughed, "Yeah, I know, that's a long time ago." He pulled into the parking lot of the market and parked his truck, "So I figured I'd get some brunch stuff, and Emma wants to cook you all pancakes."

Maddie smiled, "Cool."

"Yeah, well, after the night Oliver had, we wanted to make things nice for him today." When they got out of the truck, Sean asked, "Have you met Oliver's mom?"

Maddie nodded, "She seemed like your typical, uptight mom. I didn't realize she was a bigot."

Sean shook his head, "That poor kid. She must have been saying nasty things all the time, and he had to hide who he really is from her."

"She didn't seem to like me. I think maybe she thought I was a lesbian because I hung out with the guys all the time."

"That's ridiculous. I had girl friends in high school who didn't like hanging out with other gi-" Sean stopped himself.

Maddie asked, "What?"

"The one person I was thinking of is a lesbian now."

Maddie started laughing, "I'm not. I like boys."

"You liked Drew, right?"

She blushed and said, "What an idiot I was, huh?"

"Nah. Not at all."

Maddie shrugged, "I'm glad Drew came to me to tell me he liked Oliver. I realized how silly my crush was on him, and we're definitely better off as friends."

"Drew is fortunate to have you as a friend, Maddie."

Maddie's crush on Sean grew even bigger as soon as he said that. "Thank you, Mr. Cameron."

Sean scoffed, "My dad is Mr. Cameron. You can call me Sean."

Maddie shook her head, "I don't think I can."

Sean smiled, "That's fine. But just know that you can. I know some parents can be touchy about that sort of thing."

Maddie smiled and said, "Thanks."