He snuck out of bed without waking her. Olivia wouldn't be pleased with him when she woke up, but having her son back at home would make up for any frustration she wanted to direct towards him. The streets of Sunset Beach were deserted, Gregory watched the repair trucks from the power company line the sides of the road as he drove to the airport.

As the crisis of blackouts ended, the charming Mr. Deschanel had ridden in on his white horse and bought the power company. Now the new trucks would have to be labeled with a new logo. Deschanel Electric. Gregory turned up long road to the airport, wondering if he should have bought the beleaguered Electric company personally. Though he had no real desire to pick up another business venture, it would have kept AJ from firmly digging his claws into every part of Sunset Beach. Every light switch had AJ's fingers in it now.

Gregory shook his head at the thought and passed the airport security on his way to the arrivals. The 4:11 flight in from San Francisco was on time. The little connecting plane was already disembarking on the asphalt outside the window. A few other stragglers waited around him and the baggage claim, most of them had the same bleary look he was probably sporting. The darkness of early dawn was rarely kind to anyone.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Gregory paced slowly as the carousel started up with a whine. After a few moments luggage started to tumble down to the spinning surface. Sean's one bag was easy to pick out. The fancy Italian leather was nearly too nice for luggage, but his son deserved the best. He grabbed the handles of the satchel and dropped it at his feet. The neat brass nameplate made him smile.

"Sean Richards, One Ocean Avenue, Sunset Beach, California." Sean quoted as he snuck up behind his father. "Something I remember you recommending."

Shrugging, Gregory grinned proudly at his son. "You can always change the address when you get out of school, but I hope you know you'll always have a home here."

"Or wherever you and Mom are." Sean smiled back. "She told me."

"Oh I know." Gregory added as he extended his right hand as he picked up the bag with his left. "I just wanted to make it a united front."

Sean shook his father's hand without hesitation, surprising both men with his certainty. "Not at the airport though, huh?"

Tossing the bag over his shoulder, Gregory shook his head as he led the way to the car. "No, she's been a little tired lately. Thought it would be better if your mother got to sleep in. Sorry about that."

"You've been keeping her busy." Sean agreed as they dumped his stuff into the trunk of the blue Jaguar. Debating his reply for a moment, he decided it was easier just to be honest. "I was kind of surprised when I read that you'd made Mr. Evan's the CEO, even more so when the article said mom was on the board in your position."

Gregory raised an eyebrow as he tossed the keys over the roof to his son. He gestured him over to the driver's side. "I want you to feel the handling on this one. I've been reminded why I keep going back to English cars."

His son's awed expression as he hurried around the hood of the car was priceless.

"I must be slipping if you were only 'kind of' surprised." Gregory pointed out as he settled in on the passenger side. "I was hoping for stunned or shocked at the very least." His deadpan expression made his son burst into laughter.

"I was that too." Sean admitted as he started the engine. He turned to his father with an admiring smile as the car came to life. "It's a good sound."

Chuckling a little in return, Gregory buckled his seat belt and pointed to the parking lot exit. "I assume you know the way home."

"Oh yeah." Sean put the car into gear and made a sweeping curve across the parking lot. "But I hope you don't mind if we take the long way."

Gregory rested his chin on his hand and smiled out the window at the hint of a sunrise. "I promise not to notice any extraneous turns." He waited for Sean's attention to return inside the car before answer his son's questions. "You may not believe me when I say this, but even I can only be in one place at a time. I couldn't attend all those board meetings and still be in court as District Attorney. Your mother was kind enough to assume my board responsibilities and she's been doing an admirable job."

"She likes having something to do, new challenges, I think was what she said in her letter." Sean added as he accelerated into a winding curve along the coast.

"Try accelerating out of the next one." Gregory suggested as he echoed Sean's smile of amusement. "You should feel the way the wheels hug the road." Turning in from the window he dropped his voice a little. "This stays between us, but she told me her 'new challenges' kept her from gaining too much weight."

"That sounds like mom." Sean laughed as he tried to picture how much different his mother would look now that she was nearing the beginning of her sixth month. "Is she big now?"

"You also didn't hear this from me, but she's starting to get there. Your little brother's really made himself at home." Gregory missed the quietness that passed across his son's face as he fetched Sean's bag from the trunk.

Sean held up the keys with an innocent smile. "I promise not to even notice she's showing."

Gregory pointed to the hook on the wall near the hall closet. "Right there is fine." He dropped Sean's bag at the foot of the stairs and ducked into the kitchen. "Want anything?"

Following his father quickly into the kitchen, Sean made a beeline for the fridge. "What do we have for sandwiches? They didn't feed us on the plane and I'm starved."

Gregory's laughter echoed out from the pantry. "I forgot how jet lagged you must be. What time is it in that stomach of yours?"

Sean looked down at the watch he hadn't changed yet as he set a mound of ingredients on the counter. "Almost two-thirty." The sound of the coffee grinder surprised him. "Isn't it a bit early?"

Turning on the gas stove beneath the teakettle, Gregory smiled sheepishly. "I've never been able to go back to sleep when I should. I'll sit with you while you eat, provided you don't mind the company."

"No, dad, that's great." Sean tossed a dirty mayonnaise knife into the sink and moved on to piling ham and turkey on his bread. "I had some things I wanted to talk to you about anyway."

"Oh, what's on your mind?" Gregory poured cream into his coffee and pulled a stool up to the counter.

Sean picked up his sandwich and paused part way to his mouth before setting it back down. "Clomiphene."

"Ahhh..." Gregory sighed knowingly as he realized he was caught. He studied his coffee before turning back to his son. "Figured it out, didn't you?"

"Chester isn't known as the best medical school for nothing." Sean remind his father as he took a steadying breath. "I still can't believe you'd do that. Mom trusts you, she depends on you and you-" He stopped, for the first time in his life he was ready to take his father's side, and he couldn't. "You drugged her. You drugged her twice! Did you even think about how sick you made her? How dangerous it would be for her to be pregnant?"

Waiting for his son to finish, Gregory couldn't help being touched by his son's defense of his mother. It was comforting to know his protective streak hadn't been lost in the genetic shuffle. "I drugged her once, the second time was her idea-"

Sean started to interrupt, but Gregory insisted. "I swear I had nothing to do with it. I was as upset as you were when I came home from London." He took a slow sip of coffee and set his cup down. "You're just going to have to trust that I'm being honest with you. The first time was it was me. I wanted another child, I wanted your mother back. It was wrong of me, but there's little I can do about that now."

He was honestly apologetic and Sean relaxed enough to take a bite out of his sandwich. "But the second time was your mother's idea. She went to Roger and begged him for the damn things, and then she got Alex to help her. Alex told me about it and reminded me just how much your mother loved me. And how foolish I was to ever doubt that."

Sean pulled up a stool and sat down across from his father. "Does mom know?" He wondered quietly as he demolished his food.

"She knows the whole sordid tale." Gregory promised as he finished the last of his coffee. "I confessed a few days ago."

"And she forgave you completely, didn't she?" Sean reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup to chase down his sandwich.

Leaving his cup in the sink, Gregory looked out at the pale pink and orange ocean. "Of course she did. Your mother has a truly amazing capacity to forgive me for being myself."

"Suppose that's love." Sean shrugged back as he watched his father head for the door of the kitchen. "Going to be after all? I thought you couldn't sleep."

"Not being able to sleep doesn't mean I can't go back to bed." Gregory replied cryptically, before turning to smile at his son. "I've got a pile of case files to go over and for some reason, I have never been able to fathom, your mother can tell when I'm not there next to her."

"Even when she's sleeping." Sean finished. "Have fun."

Gregory smiled and raised an eyebrow and Sean started to laugh. "You really are going to have fun reading those case files, aren't you?"

"I think I'll plead the fifth." Gregory stopped before shutting the door to the kitchen and turned back to steal another proud look at Sean. "I'm glad you're home son."

Sean tried not to blush. His father was nearly a different person then the man he'd left. Perhaps it had been a gradual change like the growth of his unborn brother, and like his mother's figure, it was going to be most shocking to him because he had been absent. "Me too. Your anniversary means a lot. Cate and I used to wonder every year if this one would be the last one." Taking a sip of his coffee made Sean remember why he always had some sugar with his, and he made a face and reached for it. "Not anymore dad. I think this year's really something special."

Gregory tried to hide how touched he was by pretending to yawn, but both men knew better. "I'd have to agree with you son. Enjoy your morning back in town."

The door shut behind him on Sean's whispered thanks. Stirring his sugar into his coffee as he smiled, he couldn't help wondering if after all the terrible years, his family finally had everything right.