CHAPTER THREE
(chapter title - Start of Something New)

Six-year-old Sara Cohen-Davis let out a squeal of laughter as Mark pushed her higher and higher in the swing. Roger sat on a lawn chair not too far away from where Sara and Mark were.

"Higher Daddy!" Sara called, smiling at Mark as he pushed her higher.

"Sara, that's high enough. If Daddy pushes you any higher, you'll go right into space." Roger teased.

"Dad's right, Sara. Besides Daddy's getting tired." Mark panted, bringing the swing to a stop. Sara jumped off the swing and instantly made a beeline for Roger.

"Hey munchkin." Roger greeted her. Sara smiled and sat on Roger's lap as Mark walked over.

"Hi babe." Roger greeted the other man. Mark smiled and kissed Roger's cheek. The two of them had gotten committed when Sara was five-years-old.

"Hello boys!" Maureen greeted them, unlatching the gate and skipping inside, Joanne and nine-year-old Scott following right behind her.

"Hey Maureen. Hi Joanne and Scott." Roger, Sara and Mark greeted the trio.

"Hi Uncle Mark! Hi Uncle Roger!" Scott greeted them and showed them his new action figure.

"Aren't you gonna say hi to Sara, Scott?" Maureen asked.

"No, cause she's a girl." Scott told her. Maureen looked over to see Sara's eyes welling up with tears. Before any of the adults could say or do anything, Sara got off of Roger's lap and ran inside the house.

"I'll go." Roger told the others, running after Sara.

"Scott Kelvin Johnson-Jefferson, that wasn't very nice." Joanne scolded. The nine-year-old just shrugged his shoulders like he didn't even care.

"Scott!" Maureen was shocked - usually the nine-year-old had better manners than this. Walking over to him, she took the action figure out of his hand.

"You're not getting this back until you apologize to Sara." Maureen told him, putting the action figure in her purse. At that moment, Roger brought a crying Sara outside and put her on the lawn chair.

"I'll get started on the hot dogs - anyone seen Collins?" Mark asked, putting on an apron that read 'Kiss the Cameraman'. Roger had gotten it for him as an anniversary gift.

"I haven't seen him. Sorry Mark." Joanne told him, putting an arm around Maureen's shoulders. Maureen smiled and kissed Joanne's cheek. The two of them had their eye on Scott, who was slowly making his way over to Sara. She was now sitting on Roger's lap, making a daisy chain necklace.

"Sara?" Scott started. Sara looked up from her daisy chain necklace.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." he mumbled.

"What?"

"I'm sorry." he repeated a little louder.

"It's okay." Sara told him, smiling. Scott then ran over to where Maureen and Joanne were.

"That was nice of Scott to apologize to you." Roger told Sara, putting the completed daisy chain around her neck. She nodded and turned her attention to the gate - Collins and a blond-haired man had just entered the yard.

"Uncle Collins!" Sara shrieked. She jumped up and ran over to Collins. He smiled and scooped her in his arms.

"Aww. Aren't you a cutie." the blond-haired man from beside Collins told Sara. She shyly buried her face in Collins' jacket. Collins smiled and patted her back.

"Sara - this is Jeffery. Jeffery, this is my friend, Roger's daughter, Sara." Collins introduced the two.

"Hi Sara." Jeffery stuck out his hand for her to shake. She just looked up at Collins, confused.

"You shake it, silly." Collins whispered in Sara's ear. She smiled and shook Jeffery's hand. He smiled as Collins put Sara down and took Collins' hand in his.

"Hey Collins!" Mark called from the grill.

"Hey man." Collins called back.

"Whose your friend?" Mark asked.

"This is Jeffery Spelling. Jeffery, this is Mark Cohen-Davis." Collins introduced the two men.

"Hey Thomas!" Roger called, walking up to Collins and hugging him. Roger smiled and noticed Jeffery.

"Col, who's this?" Roger asked.

"This is Jeffery Spelling. Jeffery, this is Roger Cohen-Davis." Collins introduced the two men. Roger smiled and shook Jeffery's hand. Collins could tell that things were off to a good start between the new love in his life and his friends.

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"So Jeffery, how did you and Collins meet?" Roger asked as he took a bite of his third hot dog.

"Well, I'm Collins' assistant at NYU. We went out a couple times and we decided that we were perfect for each other." Jeffery told the group, squeezing Collins' hand. Collins looks so happy, just like he did when he was with Angel Roger thought to himself.

"What's your favorite color, Jeffery?" Sara asked as Mark helped her cut up her hot dog into bite-sized pieces.

"My favorite color is orange. What's yours?" Jeffery asked.

"Blue." Sara responded.

"What do you like to do in your free time?" Maureen asked.

"Well, I like to sing, play the piano, act and go to movies." Jeffery answered through large bites of hot dog. Collins smiled and wiped the mustard off of Jeffery's chin.

"Do you like to baby-sit?" Mark inquired.

"Yeah - I love kids." Jeffery said, helping himself to more fruit salad.

"Because the adults - meaning Roger, Maureen, Joanne and I - need a baby-sitter tomorrow and we were wondering…" Mark's voice trailed off as a large smile came across Jeffery's lips.

"We would love to, Mark!" Jeffery told him, smiling.

"Do I have any input on this?" Collins teased the other man. Jeffery laughed and kissed Collins. Collins smiled and put his hands on Jeffery's jaw, deepening the kiss.

"Um, guys. There are children present." Mark told the couple, indicating to Sara and Scott, who were playing in the sandbox under Roger's supervision.

"Sorry." Jeffery apologized.

"It's okay - just keep it in mind while you two are babysitting tomorrow." Mark told Collins and Jeffery.

"Don't be such a worrywart, Mark. I've babysat Sara and Scott before - they're good kids." Collins told his friend.

"I know." Mark really didn't know what else to say.

"What time should we be here tomorrow?" Jeffery asked.

"Will around noon work for you two?" Mark inquired.

"Yeah. That's perfect." Collins answered. Mark then went on to discuss bedtimes, favorite movies, what Sara and Scott can and can't watch and what they can or can't have to eat. He knew he was trusting the six and nine-year-olds in good hands.