At two in the morning, Renee fumbled with the lock of her apartment door. She had stayed in the coffee shop until its closing at midnight and then spent the next two hours wandering the streets of Boston. Her feet were killing her, but that pain was numbed by the ache that penetrated her mind and tore at her heart. She had walked for blocks not caring that she was freezing or that there were men all over the city just waiting for their chance to becomeBoston's next headline murderer. She thought about Garret and where he had gone after he left her and what he had thought about. She thought about Jake and how much she wanted to stabilize his life. She thought about the last three years and how much she had grown in them. She had done alright for herself and now things were crashing down around her.

When she entered her apartment it was dark, save for the glow of small table lamp beside the sofa. In its soft light she saw a blond head resting on her couch's arm. Renee stepped out of her shoes and padded lightly across the cold wood floor. She sat in the small space made by the curve of Abby's body. She ran her hand over the girl's arm to wake her. Abby grunted in response.

"Hey," Renee whispered.

"Where's my Dad?" Abby mumbled.

"No idea," Renee admitted. With her eyes still shut Abby grunted and ever so slightly nodded her head as if she had known this would be the outcome of the night's events. "I'll dive you home in the morning," Renee sighed, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch and over the girl. She bent down and pushed the hair from Abby's head with her palm. She planted a kiss on her temple the way she would with Jake, "G'night, kiddo," Abby grunted once more in reply as Renee leaned over her and clicked the lamp off.

Renee made her way to her son in the dark. She had made the darkened trip from the living room to Jake's bed, so many times, that she no longer feared stubbing her toe or banging into a table. She had however stepped on many a Lego piece and more Hot Wheels cars than she cared to remember. She took each step tentatively, not only to avoid toys, but to calm herself down. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest that she feared its thump would wake her son. When she finally made it to Jake's room she was suddenly afraid. An enormous wave of guilt washed over her as she remembered all the times she had dodged his questions about his father. "I'm busy, hunny, ask me later," she'd said or changed the subject to the latest toy he'd been asking for. She leaned against the door frame and sighed, knowing that now that Garret knew the truth, Jake was next in line. She slid her back down the door frame and sat on the floor, watching her son sleep and wondering how she would finally tell him about his father.

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Garret woke up in his clothes from the night before. Wrinkled and exhausted, he pulled himself from his sofa where he had fallen earlier that morning. He glanced quickly at his watch and was silently grateful that it was Saturday and his day off. He had arrived home at nearly four in the morning, after driving for hours to try and clear his head. When he finally fell asleep his mind was just as fogged as it had been in the coffee shop. He had come to the conclusion that he couldn't sort out his feelings about this on his own. He had too many questions that needed answers. He wanted to see Jake again. He wanted to see what Renee saw. He wanted to see whatever it was that had convinced her that Jake was his son. And if he couldn't find it, he would turn to science, the one thing in his life that never let him down. Secretly, Garret knew that he would need forensic no test to prove Jake's paternity. Driving away from the coffee shop the night before Garret had looked into his rear view mirror at the spot where Jake had sat only a few days earlier. He had felt it then and he felt it now; a painful tightening of his stomach as if it were trying to tell him something his head had chosen to ignore.

After starting a pot of coffee, Garret pulled his telephone from its cradle and dialled a number he hadn't used in ages. Renee picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" she barked as if she had been interrupted at the most inconvenient moment.

"Is Abby there?" he asked getting right to the point.

"No, I took her to Maggie's about an hour ago."

"Oh," Garret stopped, not sure of what else to say. There was a long silence before either spoke again.

"Is that all you wanted, Garret? Because I've got some work to do."

"Is what you said last night still true?" Renee scoffed at his ridiculousness.

"What? You think I've changed my story since then?"

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"No, Garret, it's true. You're his father," she assured him.

"Does he know?" Garret asked shyly, as if he were afraid of the answer.

"No."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I want you to be here when I do."

"I see," Garret said simply, not really sure how he felt about that situation.

"Why don't you come over for dinner?" Renee suggested, "We can tell him together." Garret swallowed hard and agreed. Hanging up the phone he sighed and tried to get his breathing back to a normal rhythm. His coffee had finished brewing, and he paced his apartment with a steaming mug of it, tormenting himself with thoughts of what the dinner hour had in store.