A/N: Alright, I do apologize for the delayed update. A lot of crazy things have happened over the last two months, and again I do apologize for that. Hopefully, this longer chapter will make up for that. Thank you to Fox Teen and DarkWind13 for the reviews on the previous chapter. Hope everyone enjoys this update.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sing or any of the characters, Illumination does.

...

Lucy frowned as she heard Marcus's work boots thumping on the floor.

"Johnny just laid down for a nap a little while ago," she said, her tone laced with contempt. "You might try being a bit quieter. For once."

Marcus gave nothing but a frustrated huff in response as he strode past her.

"You're late."

Marcus fought back an annoyed growl as he turned to Lucy.

"I'm well aware of that, thanks," he said, glowering at her.

Lucy rolled her eyes and gathered her things.

"I'll be by tomorrow at the usual time," she sniffed. "And if you're going to be late again, I'd appreciate if you'd at least have the courtesy to call."

Marcus snorted in reply and noticed that Johnny was not in the room.

"Johnny's in his room, taking a nap," Lucy stated, as though reading her son-in-law's thoughts. "He misses his mother so much. Poor thing. Of course, she was the one raising him."

Marcus growled softly but chose not to say anything in response. .

"I'll be back tomorrow morning then," Lucy announced, knowing Marcus would not respond.

The elderly female gorilla still could never understand what her daughter had seen in her rough-hewn husband. But she remained cautiously optimistic that at least her grandson seemed to be more like his mother in terms of demeanor.

'Thankfully, he's nothing like his father,' she sniffed inwardly as she left the house.

…

Today had been a pretty rough one. So, the only thing on Marcus's mind, after getting changed and having a shower, was heading to his room and going to bed.

In a sort of odd way, he was actually glad for the extra work during the day. Sure, it meant coming home tired, but at least then he wasn't reminded of Megan.

But as he got closer to what had once been their room and was now his room, Barry's words came back to him.

"You didn't just lose your wife," he'd said. "Your boy lost his mum."

It was then that it occurred to the gorilla that he hadn't really seen much of his small son ever since the funeral. At the very beginning, Johnny had stayed in his own room and refused to come out. But then, as though a switch had gone off, he began trailing after Marcus.

It wasn't that the pair weren't close, but Johnny had usually spent most of his time with his mother. Though whenever he was home, Marcus did try to interact with the boy.

But he hadn't recently…

If he were being perfectly honest, the last few days had passed in a bit of a haze to him. He got up in the mornings for work, worked most of the day, came home, got cleaned up, went to sleep, then got up the next morning and did it all over again.

Looking back, he did remember Johnny greeting him at the door after work. At best, he had given the boy a nod or a pat before walking off and at worst, he had just walked right past him as if he didn't see him.

It hadn't been like that before. While Johnny had always been closer to Megan, the two of them got on well together. Marcus knew his son was a bit more gentle-natured, a trait passed on from his mum, he also possessed a decent amount of strength, which Marcus noted proudly he got from him. But he rarely ever used it unless he was wrestling with his dad.

He tried to recall the last time he had played with Johnny. It was definitely before the funeral. That's where everything tended to go a bit fuzzy now.

Maybe it was just a few days before Megan had died. Yeah, that was it. It was a little before that storm moved in. That night, Johnny had gotten scared and crawled into his parents' bed and slept there between the two.

Johnny had always been afraid of thunderstorms, and while it wasn't something Marcus himself was particularly thrilled about, he had to admit that Johnny was only four. There was still plenty of time for him to outgrow his fear.

He almost opened the door and walked into his son's room. But, if his son was napping, maybe it was best not to bother him.

The smell of the motor oil still clinging to his clothes and fur quickly made the decision for him. He'd grab a shower and then go check on Johnny. There'd be plenty of time left.

...

Marcus sighed and shook his head.

The extra work had indeed provided a distraction, but not just from losing Megan..

Stan and Barry had been right. That in and of itself was already nothing short of a shock.

But nothing could have prepared him for what awaited him when he returned to his room...

When he entered, he was greeted by the sight of Johnny lying curled up in the bed, almost unnoticeable among the pillows and bedding. Only the top of his furry black head was visible.

Marcus couldn't prevent a small smile from forming as he watched the younger gorilla sleep, occasionally stirring and nestling deeper into the covers. But then, he became confused. Lucy had said Johnny was in his room. Obviously, he snuck in without her noticing. But why? He hadn't come in here since...

Then, the realization hit him. Johnny hadn't come in here since just before Megan died. After that, he wouldn't set foot in the room. In fact, when the door was open, Johnny wouldn't even approach that part of the hallway. Almost as if he was afraid to even come near it. And yet, now here he was.

Barry had been right. Marcus had been so busy trying to deal with his own grief over losing Megan that he'd left Johnny to face his alone. He had loved his wife, and had lost her, but she had been Johnny's mother. And instead of being able to look to his father, he'd been left to deal with it himself. Sure, he had his grandmother, but that wasn't the same.

A deep sigh escaped Marcus as he sat down on the side of the bed. Carefully, he pulled the covers aside and slowly reached under the gorilla infant's torso and waist and lifted him.

Johnny stirred slightly and felt himself being shifted. As he opened his eyes to see what was going on, he was greeted by the sight of his father.

Johnny's eyes filled with tears as he sniffed dejectedly. Before the toddler knew it, he wrapped his arms around his father's neck, the tears now dripping down his cheeks and onto his father's shirt before he buried his face in Marcus's shoulder.

Marcus easily lifted his son's small frame into his arms, inwardly kicking himself. How could he have ever denied his own grieving child comfort?

The guilt only grew as Johnny's cries gained strength and his entire body shook as he sobbed into his father's shoulder, his tears soaking through the older gorilla's fur.

"Did I cause what 'appened?" he asked after an indeterminate amount of time, his voice muffled.

Marcus pulled him back and looked down at the boy.

"What?"

"Did...did I cause this?" Johnny asked softly. "Did Mum...d-die...because of me?"

Marcus's eyes widened.

"No!" he said, earning a slight flinch from Johnny. "Why would you think that?"

"I..." Johnny looked terrified. "I don't wanna make you mad..."

"Why would I be mad at you 'bout this?" Marcus asked, his tone a bit harsher than he intended. "And why would you think I would be?"

"You haven't noticed me since," Johnny replied, his gaze now on the floor, almost as if he was afraid of saying anything further.

Marcus turned slightly away, the full realization of the events of the last few days still sinking in. Johnny was right...any attempts the boy had made were always rebuffed...how long had Johnny been blaming himself? How long had he believed his father blamed him?

"See?" Johnny's voice snapped him back to reality. "You can't even look at me, can you?"

For a moment, neither said a word. Then Marcus sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Johnny," he murmured into his son's fur as he wrapped one arm around the infant's shoulders while patting his back with the other. "I shouldn't have made you deal with this by yourself. But it wasn't your fault, Johnny. Wasn't anyone's fault. It's just…one of those things. And you can't blame yourself for that. You understand?"

Johnny was silent, but after a few moments, he nodded.

"So you 'aven't been avoiding me because of that..." Those dark brown eyes filled with tears again. "Then why?"

Marcus released his son and looked down, but didn't answer.

Johnny turned to run from the room, but no sooner did his feet touch the floor when he felt Marcus's hands clasp his shoulders, whirl him around, and within moments he was engulfed in his father's arms once again.

Johnny didn't lean into the touch, nor did he pull away. Had he angered his dad?

"You just look so much like her, it hurts..."

"I'm sorry," Johnny murmured, nestling into the embrace, now afraid that if he didn't, it would be gone.

"Don't apologize," Marcus said. "Look, like I said, I shouldn'a left all this on you. I'm sorry for that."

"That's alright," Johnny uttered, moving closer. "So...does that mean we're okay then?"

"Yeah," Marcus nodded, a grin appearing on his face. "Now...come 'ere you!"

Before Johnny could react, Marcus pulled him into a headlock.

"Lemme go!" the four-year-old squealed as he tried to pull himself free, only to find his arms pinned to his side.

"Nope, you're not goin' anywhere," Marcus laughed as he held Johnny down with one hand and began tickling him with the other. "There's no escapin' this!"

"No!" Johnny was laughing so hard now, he could barely catch his breath. "No fair! You're bigger!"

"Guilty," Marcus shrugged as he resumed the tickle assault, earning a barrage of giggles from his son.

After a time, the pair settled back down, Johnny nestled against his father's side.

"I'm sleepin' here," he insisted.

Marcus nodded.

"Fair enough."

...

...

And that was chapter 3, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter will be out first thing on Tuesday, December 1st.

Until then, everyone.