A/N: Not apologizing for the late update. A lot of real life things happening right now + I have been writing, but I have been sitting on this for weeks because I wasn't sure it was right. I'm still not sure it's right, but it's now or never time. Just know I'm still writing this and working on it, but be prepared for some infrequent updates. Thanks for sticking with it!

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All weekend, he was miserable. He hated sending her away on Friday night, but he was also being real. What if she got sick? What if she was hospitalized while pregnant again? No, he couldn't risk it. Especially not when he'd been the one who was stupid enough to get them all sick. Still, that didn't stop him from almost asking her to come home when he talked to her on Saturday morning.

Thankfully, it was a quick bug. By Saturday evening, all of their fevers were gone. By Sunday morning, Annie was asking for pancakes. As they ate, both girls indicated their disappointment that Teresa wasn't there.

"Mama?" A rosy cheeked Charlotte had asked as she munched on her pancake bites.

"She's not here right now, sweetie."

"When's she coming back?" Annie asked.

"Probably tomorrow after she gets home from work."

"I don't like when she's not here. Last time, the bad man…"

"I know, honey. There was no bad man this time. You talked to her last night, remember?"

Pushing her pancakes around on her plate with her fork, she looked down. "Yes, but I like when she's home. Why did she have to go?"

"I do too. She'll be back tomorrow. We just have to make sure it's safe for her to come home." He leaned in and pinched her cheek. "Besides, we are just keeping her and the babies safe. See how quickly we got strong?"

"Yes. You said it's because we have a good community…"

"Immunity. Yes, that's right. Right now, she doesn't have that. It could make her very sick, even more sick than we were."

"Why?"

"Because the babies change how her body works."

Annie huffed. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

"Her body is trying to grow the babies, so sometimes, it doesn't handle other things very well. It's why she's a little more tired sometimes."

"If you say so."

He grinned. "But that's also why we are going to clean the house really well today."

"Clean the house?"

"It will be fun. I'll wash all of our bed clothes and towels and clean the bathroom and kitchen really well…while you girls watch movies!"

"Can we go swimming?"

He shook his head. "Not until tomorrow. We have to make sure our fevers are gone."

"Daddy…" Annie started to protest.

"I know. I know. That's just the way it is. We have to make sure we're all the way better before we go out or before we go swimming."

"Well, can I at least run the washing machine?"

He grinned. He'd read somewhere that making household chores sound like fun, instead of a series of responsibilities, was a way to help kids get into them. That seemed to work with Annie, as she was fascinated with both the washing machine and the dishwasher.

He ruffled her hair. "Sure thing, kid."

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On Monday morning, he called Teresa. "Please come home, baby."

"Right now?" She asked with a hint of concern in her voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Nah. Everything is fine. Just after work. Unless you're looking for some…mid-morning delight."

"Hmm. I don't think my husband would appreciate that."

"Well, we don't have to tell him. It can be our little secret. Besides, the girls are really into that new Sing movie. I'm sure they'd barely notice if we disappeared for an hour."

She laughed softly. It was so good to hear that sound. "Very funny."

"Likewise. How's my green eyed girl?"

"I'm fine. How are you all? What do I need to bring home tonight?"

"Nothing. I placed a grocery order last night. We're going to pick it up in a bit."

"I can grab it on the way home. I can be useful, you know?"

"You're always useful. More than that even! But I've got it. The girls are getting restless, so I'm going to take them to the park for lunch before swinging by to get the order. I can't wait to see you tonight."

He could hear her grin. "I can't wait to see you either."

Around midday, he packed the girls into the car and headed off to the park with some sandwiches he'd made for them. Today was one of the coolest days of the week, and they'd have some time to run around and burn off some of the extra energy that accumulated while they were sick.

Of course, Annie immediately ran to the slide while Charlotte pointed to the swing. "Shing!"

"Do you want to swing?"

"Yes, pease!"

He grinned. Her verbal development was going well. He lifted her into the toddler swing. He started pushing her gently, which led her to immediately erupt into giggles. He looked over to the slide where Annie was. She'd already found some other children to talk to on the slide. She always did well with other kids.

He smiled as he spotted Annie. She already had the markings of a leader. She tended to show up and organize the kids, getting them to follow her plans. He could almost see Little Teresa on the playground.

After letting them get some play time and some lunch, they headed back to the car. It was already getting incredibly hot. Getting into the car, he noticed he had a text message from Maya. He decided to check it because she rarely reached out to him outside of their scheduled check ins. As he knew beforehand, she was incredibly efficient and effective at running the business.

"Can you talk? It's urgent."

"Sure. Give me a few minutes." He responded.

Once the girls were settled, he gave her a call.

"Hey! How's everything going?"

"Um, good."

"Really? You sound a bit unsure." Maya was never unsure about anything.

"A guy claiming to be your father is here." Suddenly, he was glad he'd not left his parking spot yet.

"What?!"

"Yeah. I know you've never really mentioned him, and well, he's been here a few times the past few weeks looking for you. He only identified himself today. He said his name is Thomas Jane. He's looking to see you, and I don't know what to tell him."

His heart was hammering in his chest. "Tell him I'm not there."

"Well, I know that. And he knows that. I think he wants to get your private contact information."

"Absolutely not."

How the hell did he even find him? Well, that was easy. He had a business. He was connected. It was probably easy to find him publicly. Privately, though, they were not easy to find. Teresa's job required privacy. Why would he be looking for him now?

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. If he gives you any trouble at all, call the cops to get him out of there. Is everything else okay?"

"Yes, everything is good. I think we are going to exceed our sales this quarter!"

"Well, now, that's news I love to hear! Don't you have a vacation coming up?"

"Next month."

"Okay, well, make sure I have it on my calendar, so I can book child care."

"Sure. Are you absolutely sure you don't want me to give him your number?"

"No. No one should speak to him. I don't want to speak with him."

"Alright. I will send him on his way."

"Thank you." He hung up the phone.

He felt a little hand tap his shoulder. "Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Just sit back please. We're going to go pick up our groceries. I think there's some popsicles in there for two lucky girls."

"Popsicles!" Charlotte waved her arms in the air as she yawned.

Watching both Annie and Charlotte doze off in his rearview mirror, his heart hammered the entire trip home. What could Thomas Jane possibly want with him after all this time? He assumed he was dead, found a better con, or something. What would bring him back now?

A little while later, Teresa was home.

"Mommy!" Of course, he heard Charlotte's announcement before he actually saw her.

As always, she greeted both of the girls first. Then, she kissed him on the lips. "Hey, stranger."

"Stranger?"

"I've not seen you in days!"

His head was still running all of the possible scenarios that had led Thomas Jane to his doorstep, but he couldn't think of that right now. He needed to be here in the moment with his girls.

"I missed you." He wrapped his arms around her. Tightly.

Leaning out a bit, she smiled widely. "I missed you too. You know, I was thinking since pizza night was preempted on Friday and we're going to be on vacation this Friday…"

He interjected. "A very special vacation!" Was that why his father was here?

"Of course, it's your birthday." She shifted her eyes a bit. He could tell they were filled with concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine!" He tapped her back before releasing her. "Do you want to do pizza tonight?"

She narrowed her eyes a bit. "That's what I was thinking, but are you sure everything is okay?"

"Everything is fine."

No, it wasn't fine. Not at all. Throughout the evening, he continued thinking about Thomas Jane. Why did he show up after all of this time? How would he destroy his life this time?

After getting the girls to bed, he and Teresa sat out on their patio as was one of their usual routines on nights when neither of them was really feeling the tv. He was nursing a bit of whiskey while she was sipping her sparkling water.

"I meant to ask you if you want to do Game Night on Thursday night?"

"Game Night is fine."

"Are you sure? I know it's a tight turn around for our trip on Friday, but I was thinking it might be a nice way to kick off our vacation. We can just have pizza, wings, and drinks."

"I think we can handle game night! What game are we watching?"

"I was thinking about karaoke. You know, something low key."

He blinked. Low key? Game night was never low key. Maybe it's because they were headed onto a weekend getaway this week. "Yeah, sure. That's fine. I'll get some supplies later in the week."

She wrinkled her nose. "Let's just order in. Oh! We're adding a plus one!"

That piqued his interest. "A plus one?"

She had that look of mischief in her eye. "Well, there's this FBI agent I want to invite."

"For any particular reason?"

"I get the impression that he's into Madeleine, and the kids are currently camping with their dad."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh. And you're going to play matchmaker?"

"No!" She responded quickly before closing her eyes. Even she could hear how her quick response sounded. "I was just thinking it would be nice to observe them outside of the office. You know, so we could see what he's like."

"Sure. Sounds great. Does Madeleine know about this?"

"I'm not…entirely sure. I've not had a chance to talk to her about it, but it seems they enjoy each other's company. In any case, it's just a colleague inviting another colleague to hang out with us."

"Right."

She sat her glass down before taking his hand. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Hmm?"

She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. "Patrick, I know something is going on. You've been really off all night."

Of course, his dad was still on his mind. Should he tell her? He didn't know why he was there, and he didn't want that man anywhere near his family. Even given the comfort of this moment with his wife, he wasn't sure he could say anything.

"It's just some things at work."

"Things at work? Is Maya handling them?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"You think so? Patrick, you never just 'think' something. What's going on? What is it that you think you can't talk to me about? Whatever it is, I promise we can talk about it."

She squeezed his hand, reassuring him. They sat there in silence for a moment. His first reaction was to deflect and ask her what she was hiding from him. But thankfully, his rational senses took over first. That would just start an unnecessary fight that he didn't want or need.

He thought about whether he should tell her, especially if he didn't know the reason for his visit. Maybe he just wanted money. Maybe he just wanted to derail his life. Though, the softness in her eyes helped him make his choice. A woman as good as Teresa Lisbon Jane would never understand.

He plastered his best smile on his face. "It's nothing. I promise. All is fine."

"When you're ready to talk about it…"

"There's nothing to talk about."

She nodded. "Okay."

She picked up her phone off the table, and cued up "More Than Words." He took that as his sign, but he chuckled softly when he saw her holding her hand out to him.

"What? Women can lead too."

"I've never doubted that about you for a second." He took her hand as they danced around their back patio.

Dancing around their patio, he thought about how his family loved him unconditionally. With Teresa in his arms, he realized not much else mattered in the world than what was here and now: Teresa, his girls, and their new additions. They made him so happy.

Still, a pit formed in his stomach. What if she ever found out what a truly awful con man he was? Would she still think he was a good man then? Would she dance with him? Would she leave and keep the kids far away from him? Would his kids hate him?

He squeezed her a little tighter. He couldn't let that happen.

He wouldn't let that happen.

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When Thursday rolled around, he was gearing up for their vacation. Teresa had booked that oceanfront house they went to for their honeymoon. They both loved that place a lot, especially the little town it was located near.

Of course, he wasn't supposed to know that she booked it or that it was the little secret she'd been keeping. He figured it out on Tuesday. He would let her surprise him though. After all, she'd worked so hard on pulling that off, arranging things behind his back and putting it on her personal credit card.

But tonight, they'd be having their friends–and this new guy–over to their house. He got plenty of food ordered from the pizza place that Teresa found to be somewhat decent, including the breadsticks that Teresa texted him not to forget multiple times.

Teresa left work a little early to make sure they had the house in order. Now that she was in management, she had that perk…and he tended to tease her about that hoping to ease some of the tension she still felt around the job.

"Honey, did you get the breadsticks?"

He grinned to himself. "I did."

"The kind that are stuffed with cheese?"

"Yes."

"But did you order enough? Remember: we do have an extra guest tonight!"

"And two fewer children."

She seemed nonplussed by his answer. "Did you get enough or not? If not, I'll call and order more."

"As I gathered from the multiple texts you sent, I was sure to order plenty, enough to cover your rather obvious craving and to feed our guests."

"Perfect."

Annie ran into the kitchen where Teresa was chopping some veggies. "Mommy, I've been practicing my karaoke!"

She smiled at her as she handed her a piece of celery. "That's wonderful, Annie! You can sing a song for us!"

"Awesome!" Annie ran back out of the kitchen, presumably to her room.

Teresa grinned at him. "She loves to perform."

"She does. So, what are your plans for Madeleine and Mr. FBI? Are we going to turn the lights out and disappear, leaving them alone in the room for seven minutes in heaven?"

She tossed a piece of carrot at him as she laughed. "His name is Dennis. Dennis Abbott. And no. We are going to act normal. Like I said, we are just colleagues hanging out."

"Right…but that's a bit curious. Just colleagues hanging out?"

She sighed. "He's a little bit odd. I can't quite figure it out, but he seems to be into Madeleine. That's probably all it is."

"Hmm. Interesting." Maybe he could help figure this out tonight.

Madeleine was the first to arrive. She kissed him on the cheek after he opened the door. "Hi Patrick. How are you?"

"I'm doing fine."

A man walked up behind Madeleine as they spoke. He cleared his throat. "Hello."

"Oh!" Madeleine turned to greet him. "Agent Abbott, I didn't know you'd be here."

The man smiled congenially. "I seemed to have nabbed an invite from Agent Lisbon! It's just Dennis though. It's nice to see you, Agent Hightower."

"Madeleine is fine. It's nice to see you as well."

When Madeleine turned back to face him, he could tell she was blushing a bit. She also had a shine in her eyes. It wasn't immediately obvious to someone not trained to look for it, but he could tell.

"Teresa is in the kitchen."

"I'm going to go see if she needs any help." As Madeleine walked off, Dennis looked around the living room a bit.

"Would you like a tour? I could also get you a drink. We have nearly anything you could think of: beer, wine, liquor, soft drinks, whatever!"

"I'll just have some water." Dennis was a bit flustered after seeing Madeleine. Teresa was definitely onto something here.

Wayne, Grace, and Cho (he asked to be called by his last name) showed up together. As Grace joined Teresa inside, the guys floated outside to the patio to enjoy their drinks. He was going to invite Dennis, but he seemed lost in conversation with Madeleine.

"So, why is he here?" He noticed almost immediately that Cho spoke in his CBI voice.

"Dennis?"

"Yeah."

Wayne chuckled a bit. "Why do you think?"

"I think he's weaseled his way into our group, and I don't trust him. Something is off about him."

Interesting that Cho would note that. He could tell Teresa also sensed something might be off with him.

"Yeah, he's into Hightower. That's what."

"Hey, don't talk about her like that. She's our boss."

"Come on, man. I didn't mean it that way. I just mean that's his deal. It's why he's a bit off. I think he enjoys the opportunity to talk to her. I mean, look at them."

He pointed toward the house where Dennis and Madeleine were off talking together. They were smiling, and suddenly, Madeleine laughed at something he said. The cues were definitely there.

He took a sip of his own drink. "So, everyone knows except them?"

Cho sighed. "He's definitely into her. I just think something else is off about him is all. I caught him snooping around Grace's desk. When I asked what he was doing, he said he was looking for a file he thought she'd left for him. When I asked, she had no idea what I was talking about."

Wayne responded. "But things have been crazy."

"Yeah, but I don't want a repeat of…you know."

A moment of silence passed over them all. Even outside of his cop persona, he could tell Cho always had the spirit of a protector.

Maybe there was something he could do here. "I could talk to him if you want."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, talk to him. Give me five minutes and I can figure out what's up."

Wayne laughed. "Are you going to do your psychic thing?"

"No! There's no such thing as psychics!" Wayne's suddenly straightened facial expression told him he was more assertive than he'd needed to be on that point, but his dad turning up reminded him of the need for clarity on who he is. "I just mean I could look for cues."

Wayne looked at Cho who responded. "Couldn't hurt, but just between us? I don't want Hightower thinking I doubt her."

"Sure."

Wayne sat his drink down. "So, I have some news."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to ask Grace to marry me!"

"Congratulations!"

"Well, you know, she hasn't accepted yet."

"She will." He and Cho responded in unison before he caught the briefest hint of a grin appearing on Cho's face.

"But what if she doesn't?"

Cho groaned. "You have Maddy, and you've lived together for over a year now. You're already basically married."

"We decided we didn't want to marry just because we were pregnant. We agreed we could be co-parents if it came to that."

He frowned as he ran his hand through his dark hair, and he understood that frown. He would never want it to come to that either.

Cho interjected. "Sure. But she's going to say yes. There's no world in which Grace says no."

"I agree with Cho!"

"I know. It's right. I think it's right. I'm sure she does too, but it just makes me nervous. Any tips?"

He was both honored and taken aback that Wayne looked at him for tips.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Just be clear about it and be on the same page. You know, Teresa and I had talked about it before I asked. If you have doubts, you can always start a conversation."

Cho took a swig of his beer. "She's the mother of your child, and she reads wedding magazines. There's your sign."

He slapped Wayne on the back. "Then, I think you're ready!"

Cho laughed—he actually laughed—at that.

"I know. I'm probably just overthinking things. I want it to be perfect."

"Nothing is more imperfect and perfect at the same time as love. So, good luck."

Teresa came outside. "Guys, it's so hot out here. Why the hell are you out here? Come inside and get some food."

He smiled as he noted she was already eating a breadstick. He just wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek before they walked in.

He, too, wanted it to be perfect. It already was, but his mind was back on his dad. He'd been back at the dealership each day that week looking for him, which was a rather persistent thing for Thomas Jane to do. Whatever dad wanted would only get in the way of his life. He couldn't let that happen.

Almost immediately, Annie accosted him. "Daddy, when are we singing? Will you watch me practice?"

"Not now. It's time to eat."

"I want to sing! You promised I could sing!"

"And you will, but now, we are going to eat. What are you wearing?"

He couldn't help but notice she had on cat ears and a tutu. He wasn't entirely sure where that came from.

She huffed as she flared the skirt out with her hands. "It's my costume! I don't want to get food on it. I need to practice!"

"Okay. Well, why don't you sing for us while we eat? Then, you can go get changed and eat."

"Only one song? Without practice?"

"For now. But I don't think you need your special costume for all of your songs do you?"

"I do! I need it for all of them!"

"Annie…"

"Daddy, you said we are going to sing!"

"And we are, but…"

"I want to sing. You promised!"

"I know what I promised…"

"Then, why can't we go practice now?"

"Annie! Lay off the singing for a bit like I've asked you! Why don't you just eat some pizza?" He threw a slice of pizza on a plate and shoved it in her direction. "No one wants to hear you sing your silly little songs right now! If you don't want to do that, perhaps you can go play in your room on your iPad alone! Here!"

He hadn't realized he was shouting until his was the only voice in the room, and he could see the tears welling in Annie's eyes. As her lip quivered, he played his words back to himself and immediately he realized what he'd done. Suddenly, she ran away.

"Annie, wait…"

Teresa looked at him with a blank stare and her mouth slightly agape as everyone else busied themselves with the smallest tasks. "What was that about?"

He rubbed his forehead. "We just had a disagreement about singing. She wants to sing all night."

"Of course she does. She loves to perform. I think we should talk more about this later. I'm going to go talk to her."

"Teresa, I didn't mean…I didn't mean to yell at her. I should go talk to her."

"No, I'll go. I think you need time to cool off. Will you get Charlotte settled in her high chair? I broke some food up into pieces for her over there on the counter."

He nodded silently. After he got Charlotte settled, he grabbed his own plate.

"You know, parenting isn't always as easy as they say."

"Do you have children, Dennis?"

"I have a son. He lives with his mom in Texas."

"Oh."

"I can't tell you the number of times I reached the end of my rope for one reason or another and wished I'd handled a situation with him differently."

"Sure. I just…"

"It's probably a little embarrassing that it happened in front of guests."

He swallowed thickly. Beyond that, he'd just yelled at his little girl. "Kids need adults to support them, not scold them."

"True. But sometimes, you have to be the bad guy. Sometimes, life is doing the things we don't want to do and possibly hurting the people we care about." He couldn't help but note the somewhat distant look in Dennis's brown eyes before he snapped back. "She will be okay. So will you. Just make sure you apologize."

Dennis patted him on the shoulder before going to take his seat next to Madeline. Cho might be onto something. There was definitely something there with them…and with Dennis more specifically.

He looked down at the plate with a slice of the pepperoni and banana pepper pizza he was still holding. Annie's favorite. He slammed his eyes shut. His own actions made him sick to his stomach. He wouldn't be able to eat until he talked to Annie and made things right.

He excused himself before going upstairs. Why had he acted like that? Shouting at Annie was bad enough but in front of their guests was even worse.

He stopped at her partially open door where he could see Teresa cradling her. She was sobbing.

"Why doesn't daddy like my singing?"

"He does."

"Then, why is he being mean?"

That cut like a thousand knives.

"He's stressed out right now. He doesn't want us to know, but he is."

"But he always says because others are having problems doesn't mean they get to be mean to others."

"And that's true. I don't think he meant to be mean. I'm sure he's sorry. He will be here to say sorry later."

"No he won't! He meant it! He hates me."

"Annie…"

"No. Missy told us at school. She told us this happens."

"What happens?"

"When she got a new step-mom and her brother came, they didn't care about her as much anymore."

"What?"

"I know it's true. You don't have to tell me. He has his own real kids now."

"Annie, you're a part of this family. You are a real kid."

"Nuh uh. Missy told us…"

"I don't care what Missy told you. I doubt that's true in her own house. Daddy wants you here."

"Then, why did he say those mean things to me?"

"You know, I don't know the answer to that. You'll have to hear him out when he comes to apologize."

"I don't want to talk to him!"

Hearing those words come from her was the salt in the wounds.

"Now, Annie. You don't mean that, just like he probably didn't mean what he said downstairs."

"You don't know that!"

"No, but I can tell you what I do know. He thinks the world of you. He loves you as much as he loves Charlotte and these babies."

"How do you know that?"

"It's just something I can tell."

"Because you're a police officer?"

"Yes." He couldn't help but grin inwardly at that, even as he cursed himself. "And besides, you said he asked you to wait to sing, didn't he?"

"He did."

"Do you think you should have listened to his request? It's dinner time."

"I guess. But why was he mean?"

"I can't answer that. You have to tell him he hurt your feelings. Definitely. But we should also be listening and following directions. Annie, you're always going to be the big sister. They're all going to look at you and do what you do. If you set good examples, they'll follow."

"I'll do better. I just really wanted to sing. He said he wanted to hear me sing, but then, he said my songs are silly and no one wants to hear them."

Teresa brought her other arm around Annie. "I know. Just try to listen a little better next time. I'm going to talk to Daddy about his voice. He loves you, you know?"

"If he doesn't want me anymore, will I have to go back?"

"Back where?"

"To my other parents."

"No. No one is making you go anywhere. Is something else making you think that?"

She shrugged. "Just that he's got the other babies he likes more now."

That wasn't true at all. He adored Annie.

"And he doesn't want to hear me sing. We never have time to do anything anymore."

"I'm sure he wants to hear you sing, and we do things all the time. Remember when grandma was here and we went to see that movie?"

"Yes, but we used to do stuff. Just the two of us!"

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"I don't know."

"Well, maybe I can talk to him and we can arrange some time for the two of you. Would you like that?"

"I don't care. I don't want to sing anymore. Can I just stay here?"

"Sure, baby. If that's what you want." She kissed the side of her head.

As she walked to the door, he backed away a bit.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I should go talk to Annie."

"Not right now."

"What?"

"She wants to be left alone."

"I know, but I think if she hears…"

"That you're sorry? You told her no one wanted to hear her sing her silly little songs."

"I know. I was frustrated. I didn't mean…"

"Of course not. Doesn't mean that's what you said and that's how she took it."

"But if I…"

"No, Patrick. Just no! Leave her alone tonight. And while I know you're stressed right now about something you don't want to tell me about, don't you dare take it out on our kids! Especially not Annie! You know she's fragile!"

"I know. I know. I'm sorry."

"She's going to carry that for the rest of her life. No amount of 'daddy didn't mean it' will take away her hurt and humiliation."

"I know. I'm sorry. I know everyone is here, and maybe I should apologize to everyone."

"For what? They've seen someone be yelled at before. Hell, I've yelled at most of them!" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "It took Annie almost no time to start calling you 'daddy.' You've always built her up, and you have a special relationship with her. I know that tempers flare, and we all make mistakes. We just can't take that out on the kids, especially not on Annie."

"I know. I'm sorry. And I respect your position on this, but I want to talk to Annie now. She needs to hear my apology."

She shrugged. "Fine. Do what you want."

He knocked on the door gently. "Annie. It's me. Can I come in?"

"Go away!"

"I'd really like to talk to you about what I did downstairs."

"I don't want to talk to you!"

"That's okay. But maybe I can tell you I'm sorry."

No response.

He looked to Teresa who had her arms crossed across her chest. Suddenly, the door opened.

Annie had also crossed her arms across her chest and had a stern look on her face. He'd laugh but for the seriousness of the situation.

"Do you not like me anymore?"

He knelt down to her eye level and she looked away from him. "Of course I like you."

"Why don't you like my singing?"

"I do like it."

"Then, why did you say that?"

"Because I was frustrated, but that doesn't mean it was right to say. I'm sorry I said that and hurt your feelings."

"You didn't hurt my feelings!" Teresa cleared her throat. "You were mean to me!"

"I know that. I'm sorry."

"Really?"

He placed his hand on the back of her shoulder. "I really am sorry. I never wanted to be mean to you. I shouldn't have said those mean words or yelled at you. Will you forgive me?"

She looked over him at Teresa. He didn't look back over his shoulder, but he was sure she was nodding at the little girl.

All of a sudden, Annie's arms were around his neck. "I forgive you, daddy."

"Thank you. I love you so much, sweetheart."

"I love you too, daddy."

"Why don't you come sing one of your songs for us?"

Teresa intervened. "Aht aht aht. We're going to eat our dinner first. Okay, Annie?"

"Okay."

She ran off toward the stairs. "A word of advice, Patrick?"

"Hmm?"

"You averted a crisis there. You don't get too many chances to do that. So, don't use them all up."

Teresa walked away. "Wait, please."

She stopped. "What?"

"I'm sorry I acted that way. I know it must remind me of how you grew up. I didn't mean…I hope you know that was a fluke. I would never be like…"

"My father?"

"Yeah, I know how you grew up, and it's important for us to model better behavior for the kids. I get it. I will do better."

"He would've never apologized. He would've told me it's all my fault and found some lesson about the world to teach me."

"Yet, you're still upset with me."

"I'm not upset with you. Things happen. We're only human."

"You seem upset."

"I'm upset that instead of talking through whatever is going on with you, you've decided to take it out on your family. You're right. I thought we had a way of doing things."

"That's a bit harsh…"

"It's true though. I've never heard you speak to the girls like that. Hell, you've barely ever raised your voice to me!"

He sighed. "Listen, nothing is going on. Can't I just take some space? I never talk to you like this when you withdraw or just decide to not tell me things."

He could see the shift in her eyes. She threw her hands out to her side. Shit.

"When have I ever withdrawn from you?"

"There are times when you don't talk to me about things, and I assume that's because you want to deal with some things privately."

"Yeah, well, when I deal with things privately, I don't usually take it out on others, and you know what? Screw you! I'm not doing this right now. I'm going downstairs to sit with our guests. When you figure out whatever it is you're sitting on, feel free to join us. Or not. I don't particularly care right now!"

She stormed off. He rubbed his chin before letting out a loud exhale. Why was he fighting her? They had nothing to fight about. So, why were they fighting? He knew this would happen! Dad would fuck things up!

Eventually, he rejoined the group downstairs. He sat next to Teresa, but she was ice cold, keeping her hands folded in her lap. When he placed his arm on the back of her chair, she leaned out from him. He needed to make this right.

He motioned to Cho to put his name on the list. For some odd reason, Cho determined he would handle the lists. Though, that also meant he didn't sing.

Right now, Dennis was singing. He was really into the song he was singing, barely paying any attention to the crowd as he gave his performance to what he believed was an old Barry White song.

"I can't get enough of your love, babe!" He was practically on his knees as he belted out the song. And to his surprise, Madeleine was 100% smitten by this show. Of course, the guys were keeping their cool, but they were trying not to laugh. Grace and Teresa happily watched and supported his performance. If he was reading the signs right, the stars were 100% going to align for Dennis and Madeleine–but Dennis Abbott was a curious man to be sure. He glanced at Teresa who flashed him a slight knowing grin before she quickly remembered she was mad at him and turned away.

After Dennis finished, they all clapped for him.

"You're quite the performer, Dennis!"

He shrugged, wiping his forehead with a napkin. "I've done some singing."

"Well, you were wonderful!" Madeleine clapped her hands together. "You know, I once saw Barry White in concert. It was incredible!"

"When was that?"

Madeleine led him away, and he could see Teresa grinning again.

"Daddy, can I sing now?"

Cho nodded. "She's good."

Annie took the mic to sing a new song (to her) called "Call Me Maybe." He was almost certain she had no idea what the words meant, but she picked up on the part about asking someone to call her–in her quest for an iPhone. Briefly, he wondered if he would need to come through on that sooner rather than later given his earlier outburst.

When she finished her song, rosy cheeked and out of breath, everyone cheered for her.

"Patrick, you're up next."

Grabbing the mic, he cued up his song. He wasn't sure he'd do this again. After all, it was sort of their private thing. Would it sound stupid to those in the audience? Surely, they wouldn't mind after listening to Dennis's display for Madeleine would they? Hearing the first few bars and catching Teresa's green eyes with his own was all he needed to proceed. Pride be damned.

"It's not that I can't live without you. It's that I don't even want to try."

As he moved through the song, he saw the tears welling in Teresa's eyes as she rubbed her bump. He remembered the first and last time he'd sang this song to her: it's when he thought he'd lost her. Although a lot of time and hardly no time at all had passed since then, he knew that wasn't the current situation. He was singing it tonight because he was sorry for how he'd treated her. He should do better and be better.

When he finished, she took his hand without saying a word and held him tight the rest of the evening. Later, she would tell him that all was not entirely forgiven but that she saw what he was trying to do.

Still, Teresa made all the songs make sense. Perhaps he'd let his earlier anxieties get to him a little too much.

Screw everything else. This is all that mattered. Tomorrow, he would end this.