"Don't you see, don't you see,

That the charade is over?

And all the best deceptions and clever cover story awards go to you."

-Dashboard Confessional

…

Greg stood before her not bothering to mask his feelings in a passive expression any longer. He made no motion to close the distance between them, made no attempt to voice an apology for the confession that had just slipped from his mouth. He hadn't expected sympathy, or comfort from her. He wasn't completely sure how she would react after the truth had finally come out of his mouth. But now that his well-guarded secrets hung in the space between them like a burnt marshmallow clings to a stick over a campfire, he found himself exhausted. He had spent so much energy on hiding his feelings from her happiness that once he had come clean, all he wanted to do was curl back up in bed and sleep away his adult years.

He held her gaze, but only because he feared that he'd never be able to look at her again, and he wanted to remember her as she looked right now, standing in his kitchen in one of Nick's button down shirts and her underwear, hair rumpled from sleep, her expression soft. He pursed his lips, trying to gauge her reaction, trying to relax his jaw so when she slugged him, it wouldn't break.

"That's, um. That's what's been on my mind." His eyes swept over her body, she remained still, and silent, and he nodded, as if making a decision. "Right. Well, now I feel better." He inhaled, regaining his composure, and as he stepped away from her, he felt her fingers on his arm. He stopped, and let her turn him toward her. Sara stepped closer to him, laying a palm against his cheek.

"Greg." Her voice was comforting, soft, soothing, but he winced, tears welling in his eyes. As he blinked them away, they scattered down his cheeks unceremoniously. He leaned into her touch only just, bringing his hand up to hold hers, and pressing a kiss to her palm before turning back to catch her eye, smiling.

"This is the part in my fantasy where you tell me you love me too, and then you kiss me, and I kiss you back, and I know that everything is going to be okay, because we have each other." His eyes flickered to her lips and back to her eyes, and he sighed. "But I gave up on those dreams, in favor of more professional goals."

Before he knew what was happening, she had placed her other hand at the base of his neck, gently pulling his lips to hers.

He froze at first, but she parted his lips slowly with the tip of her tongue, pulling him closer to her, and suddenly he didn't need any more encouragement. Greg laid one arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body, taking her bottom lip with both of his own. She pulled him closer still, and he laid a gentle hand against the slight swell of her abdomen.

This kiss was different from the one they had shared hesitantly a few months back. Sara had watched as he laid his troubles out plainly, no bullshit, no dancing, and no sweetened crusts to ease the pain of starting to move on. That's all this really was, moving on. She really did love Greg, and the feel of his arms around her waist, against her stomach, it was comforting, and she was hit with an overwhelming rush of the safety he provided. Greg was safe. He would never hurt her, or leave her. He already loved her child, and he was supportive and enthusiastic about the new baby.

Greg pulled away from her, breaking their kiss, a halfway panicked, concerned expression hanging across his features. He searched her eyes for any reaction, and when she smiled softly at him, he broke into a genuine grin. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and touched his nose to hers lovingly.

"Everything's going to be okay." His voice was soft, and she smiled, humoring him.

"How can you be so sure?" He didn't answer right away, pulling her into a delicate hug. He ran a hand reassuringly along the curve of her back, and smiled into her curly hair as he felt her relax against him.

"Have a little faith. You don't have to do this alone."

Maybe everything would be okay in the end, even if she was still tripping over the jagged shards of her broken dreams. He wasn't Nick, but then again, she had always known that. With Greg, it was a different brand of love. She loved Nick deeply, loved him still. The man had given her children, built with her a family, a home, a life. She no longer glanced at the address on her bills, and thought of it as a space with which to store her belongings, but as a loving environment to nurture her children, to make the kind of memories that become cherished keepsakes in dusty photo albums. Physical evidence of a happy life.

She'd be lying through her teeth if she said she didn't love Greg, however.

A few hours later found Greg back at Nick and Sara's, keeping an eye on Lauren while Sara had left for her shift. He normally couldn't think of a better way to spend his night off than hanging out with his little niece, but after kissing Sara back hours before, all he really wanted to do was lay out on the couch and sort through his feelings.

Loving Sara had never been easy, and loving her now was no exception.

Lauren Stokes, although only five years old, was keenly aware that her Uncle Greg was not actually paying attention to their game of Chutes and Ladders. The expression across his face told her that instead, he was mulling over a serious grown up thought. Probably lots of serious grown up thoughts. After sliding her game piece up the longest ladder, and claiming her victory, she turned her full attention to the man beside her on the couch. Her dad had a saying for faces like these.

"Uncle Greg?"

"Mmhmm."

"You look like you're tryin' to cut one from the herd." Getting no response, Lauren climbed into his lap, and burrowed into the front of his hoodie. Satisfied when he wrapped an arm around her, she knew he was going to start talking, Uncle Greg, most of the time, never shut up. He always had a way of explaining serious grown up things, and making them not so serious. Or grown up. She felt Greg laugh, and felt him press a kiss to her hair.

"Not so much cutting one loose, as they're wandering away from me I guess." Greg pushed the board game over on the coffee table, and rested his socked feet on the corner, crossing one ankle over the other, and leaning back against the back of the couch. Lauren frowned. Greg's heartbeat beside her ear was steady and even, but she had a suspicion that it was broken just the same.

"Mumma and me won't wander away, Uncle Greg."

"I hope not, baby." She listened to Greg take a deep breath, and exhaled shakily before leaning his head back. She needed to talk about something happy, or he was going to cry.

"I'm not going to be the baby anymore, Tio." Lauren sighed, and Greg smiled at her use of his nickname, from when Bill Stokes had tried to teach his granddaughter Spanish.

"Your mother won't stop loving you just because the new baby is coming, Lauren." He reached around her, and brushed her dark brown bangs out of her eyes.

"She won't love me as much."

"Why's that?"

"She has to love the new baby, too."

"She's always love you, you know that."

"What if the new baby looks even more like Daddy than me?" She breathed in his smell, like soap and laundry and lemons, as she rubbed her runny nose on his hoodie.

"Let's not worry about that, because even if the new baby looks like your Dad, the new baby won't remember him, but you'll have lots of memories. You can share them with the new baby, so that the new baby will know about your Dad, too."

"Mumma said you're going to be here a lot when the baby comes."

"Well, with your Dad not here, your Mom and I decided that she's going to need some help with the new baby, so I'll be hanging around here more often." Lauren nodded, but sat up, looking Greg straight in the eye. "What, honey?" Greg loosened his grip on Nick and Sara's daughter, considering her with a concerned eye. "What's the matter?"

"I don't want you to be here more." Greg sat up, holding Lauren in his lap.

"What do you mean, baby?" She looked up at him, and shrugged. She wanted to keep his attention as long as she could, when the baby came he would be too busy with taking care of her mother and helping with the baby to notice her. Lauren frowned, suddenly ashamed. She had never wanted to hurt Uncle Greg, she loved him; but she figured that little tear that had escaped down his cheek was because his heart was broken even more.

"If you're here more, the new baby will think that you are its Daddy."

"Lauren, your mother and I decided- oh baby, don't cry." Greg wrapped his arms immediately around the tiny child, and Lauren laid her head in the crook of his neck, unable to stop her little tears. He held her tightly, stroking her dark brown hair, waiting patiently for her tears to subside. "I don't want to replace your Dad, no one can ever replace your Dad, baby."

"No. I don't want you to go."

"I'm not leaving, Lauren." Greg crinkled his brow in confusion. First she didn't want him to stay, now she didn't want him to leave.

"Like Dad. I don't want you to go like Dad." Greg sat back against the cushions of the couch, suddenly understanding what she was talking about.

"Honey, I'm not going anywhere."

"That's what Daddy said." Lauren sat up again, and brushed Greg's halfway dried tear from his cheek roughly with her little palm. Greg winced, so as not to get an eyeful of fingers, and smiled sadly at his niece. "Daddy isn't here, but Mumma is okay, because she has you. If you go like Dad, Mumma won't smile ever. She'll be sad like when Daddy died, and they won't be anybody to make her remember to be happy." Lauren laid her arms around his shoulders, and hugged him tightly. Greg tried to remain as least visibly unshaken by Lauren's observations, but she probably knew all about his insecurities, his hesitancies. She let go of him, pressing a sweet little kid kiss to his rough cheek, and giggling softly as his five o'clock shadow tickled her.

"Thanks, Lauren." He smiled softly, amazed at how she shifted the mood in a matter of seconds. She reached up and touched his hair, pushing the long wavy curls out of his eyes. He glanced up at the clock, and then back at his niece. "Time for bed. Go brush your teeth really good and I'll be up in a minute to read you a story."

"We read them all."

"I'll tell you one then."

"About Daddy?"

"Sure."

"Uncle Greg?"

"Mmhmm?"

"D'you love Mumma?" Greg turned his head, and looked Lauren straight in the eye, completely serious.

"I love her very much, baby." Lauren nodded, giving him a toothy smile.

"Okay."

Then she scampered off to the stairs, noisily making her ascent to the bathroom, running the water and brushing her teeth, leaving Greg alone in the living room, wondering when his and Sara's troubles became so utterly simple. He smiled sadly to himself, glancing at the picture of Nick and Sara that he had taken just after Lauren was born. He picked up the game pieces, tossing them into the box before folding up the board, and stowing the box under the couch. He stood, stretching, and had started to make his way upstairs when he stopped and shook his head, looking again at the photograph.

"She's definitely you're daughter, Nicky. You're not all lost."

……

A/N: apologies for the delay… and for the short chapter... I'm a jerk. Was banking on 'spellbound' for inspiration for the muse... Unfortunately that was a bust lol.