(The right story this time… oops.)

It took another two months before Atrus could even begin to cope with reality again. Luckily for him and Gabrielle he had been working very hard during his grieving time because it distracted him so much from his pain. Having only to support himself during that time he had accumulated a lot of extra money. That didn't stop him from not only not buying a gift but also not showing up for Anna's twin's first birthday. She only had a few people over for the party and tried to enjoy it the best she could but a dark cloud loomed over her head. She was thinking about how Kalia was there for her in her time of need one year ago and how much she missed her friend. She was thinking about how baby Toshi would be one year old today with his brother and sister but he wasn't here, he was another person she loved that was dead. Instead of focusing too much on those things she tried to remember the important things. She was safe, she had Yoh who loved her and she had two beautifully babies Sakura and Haru, who were now both walking around the room chasing around balloons and playing together. Gabrielle, her almost adopted daughter, was crawling around behind them. Kalia would have loved to see this and she was very disappointed that Atrus wasn't there to experience it as well.

It was only a couple weeks after their birthday that Atrus showed up at their door, having not seen his daughter in over a month. He said hi to Anna who was cleaning up while the kids played on the floor. He picked up Gabrielle and told Anna that he was taking her home today. She was shocked.

"What? Why are you taking her home?" she questioned nervously.

"She's my daughter, I'll do what I want with her."

"Do you even know how to take care of a child? What does she eat? How do you bathe her?"

"I'll figure it out."

"Your house is a pig sty."

"I cleaned it."

"But what will you do with her while you're at work?"

"I have a lot of money, I can afford a babysitter."

"But…"

"I'm taking her and that's that. I'm going to get her things." He put her down and began walking upstairs. About twenty minutes later he had everything of hers loaded up in his new car and picked Gabrielle up.

"Do you want and money?" he asked Anna.

"For what?" she answered, confused.

"Looking after her."

"I did it for Kalia." Replied Anna, not really like Atrus. He looked as if he was going to kill her at that very moment but she didn't care. He turned to walk out but she quickly added. "If you need anything you can call me." He didn't answer and just left.

Anna broke down in tears. That child was not only filling the gap of two missing people but she felt as if Atrus would do a horrible job taking care of her and maybe even kill her too like he did to her mother. Yes Anna blamed Atrus for Kalia's death.

At Atrus' house things really were different in appearance. His mother had come over and cleaned up the house and went shopping for him. She had done the laundry and went shopping for groceries. She also taught Atrus how to do things like get the food and bottles ready and when he got home with Gabrielle she showed him how to do everything else, everything Kalia did. She was kind enough to stay with her son and his baby until he got used to looking after her and she made a great babysitter. She wasn't the reason Atrus turned out the way he did, it was his father who continuously abused his wife and son. Unfortunately instead of resenting the man he turned out just like him.

Maybe there was hope for Atrus and Gabrielle. Maybe love could hold them together and maybe Atrus would pass as being a man and a father. Maybe.