Lee

"Hey, wake up," Rose said, smacking at his face. Lee jerked back to consciousness and yanked his head back from her hand. Had he really just fainted? After everything he'd ever witnessed in his life, hearing that he was a father made him faint? It didn't make a lick of sense. At least he hadn't been out long, though.

"What?" Lee said, staring up at Rose in the semi-darkness. She put her hands on her hips. "What did you just say?"

"You have a son and a daughter," she repeated. "And you need to go see them."

"What the...how did...who?!" Lee spluttered, trying to make sense of it all. His head was still swimming.

"Who do you think?" Rose asked, lifting a brow. "Why else am I here?"

"Norah?!"

"No, my secret twin sister," Rose said sarcastically. "Yes, Norah!"

"When?" Lee asked dumbly.

"A month ago," Rose answered. "I didn't have your number, so I called my uncle Barney to have him tell you, but he never got back to me, so I decided to just come out here. I thought maybe you didn't want to see them, but I remembered the way you were around my sister, and I knew that wasn't the case, so I talked myself into coming to convince you that you need to be in their lives."

Lee had forgotten how much and how fast Rose liked to talk. It made his head spin even more.

"Slow down," he ordered. "You called when?"

"A month ago roughly. The day they were born."

Lee cycled through the events in his head. Then it clicked.

"Victoria," he said.

"Who?" Rose asked.

"Our friend...she'd taken her own life a month ago. Probably around the same time you called. Barney must've just forgotten about your message," Lee said with a frown. Although, that was a pretty big message to forget.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Rose said genuinely.

"Yea, it's been rough," Lee advised. "But still...Barney should have said something if you left a message telling him about Norah."

"Well, I'm here now," Rose said. "How soon can you come?"

"Did you drive or fly?"

"I flew."

"Got a return ticket?"

"Not yet..."

"Then come on," Lee said, gesturing for her to come inside. "Just wait five minutes, and I'll be packed up."

"Okay." She came inside and stood in the doorway as Lee went to hurry and pack a bag that didn't include weapons. Rupert was getting attention from Rose when he returned. He felt guilt at leaving the dog alone again so quickly, especially after already being gone for a few days. He felt it wasn't fair. He considered Char, but he didn't think she'd appreciate the big dog destroying her house either. In the end, he knew how much Norah would love to see him too, so it was decided.

"Come on," Lee said to the dog. "You're coming too." Rupert gave a slight bark of glee and pranced around.

"Oh, I don't know..." Rose started.

"Barney's got a plane," Lee interrupted. "He'll be fine."

"Oh."

Lee grabbed some things for Rupert too, and then he was heading for the truck. Rose went to her rental car. He put his bags behind the seats and snapped his fingers for Rupert to hop up into the passenger seat, which he did.

"Where am I meeting you?" Rose asked.

"Just stay close," Lee advised, getting into the truck and starting it. She rolled her eyes, just like her sister. Lee felt a pang of longing for Norah, and he was starting to feel a bit anxious about seeing her again. Would she want him there? Why hadn't she told him she was pregnant? Did she not want him to know? He didn't understand, but he was most definitely going to ask her when he got there.

Rose

She'd been so nervous about telling Lee he was a father, but it turned out he was anxious to meet them. As she followed him, she felt anxious about meeting her uncle for the first time since she was a child. She didn't remember him much. If she was honest, she felt worried that seeing him would bring up memories of what her mother had done, which she knew was possible.

She followed Lee as he went inside a tattoo parlor. When she went inside after him, she nearly stumbled from the semi-darkness and neon lights. The air was full of tobacco smoke too, which made her cough.

"Oye, Barney!" Lee called, making a man turn around to see him. He had a cigar in his mouth. Rose wondered if he knew that you weren't supposed to smoke indoors at businesses anymore. She surveyed her uncle in the low lighting and noticed how rough he looked.

"Miss me already?" he asked.

"We gotta go," Lee said without addressing the comment. "Now."

"Go where?"

"To Norah."

"Why? What happened?" Barney's voice was suddenly a bit fearful. That's when he caught sight of Rose, and he paused. She could see him staring at her. She stood still, watching him come closer to her. Her heart rate picked up a bit.

"You're Rose," he said after a moment, standing in front of her now.

"Yes," she confirmed, her voice a bit wobbly. He shared some features with her mother apparently. It was taking her off guard.

"You look like her," Barney said after a moment.

"So do you," she replied.

"Barney," Lee said a bit aggressively now. "We can play catch up on the way. Come on." Barney turned to look at him again, confused.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Norah has twins, and they're Lee's," Rose offered. Barney's eyebrows flew up to his hairline.

Barney

"Come again?" he said, stunned. Lee and his niece, Rose, were standing in front of him and telling him that Norah had twins that were Lee's. What the actual crap?! His brain was having a hard time processing that he was meeting his other niece again after all these years, that she looked so much like Marcy, and the fact Norah was now a mother.

"You're a great uncle; keep up," Lee ordered. "We need a ride."

"I'm not an air taxi service..."

"You wanna see them or not?"

"Well, yea..."

"Then shut up and let's go," Lee commanded. Rose looked a bit taken aback while Barney just sighed and shook his head.

"Sweep the floors, Cinderelly," he muttered. "Clean the chimney, Cinderelly. Drive my ass around, Cinderelly."

"Hurry up," Lee said bossily, heading to his truck again. Barney grabbed his always packed bag and followed, cramming into the cab with Rupert almost in his lap.

"Get down," he said as the dog tried to give him a Wet Willie. "No, thank you." Rupert was insistent, though, and he was fully sitting on Barney's lap by the time they got to his hangar, thoroughly washing Barney's face from neck to forehead.

"Come on, you," Lee said as he got out, and Rupert jumped out after him. Barney coughed and spluttered from all the dog drool, shoving his door open and grabbing his bag from the box of the truck. Rose was parked and out too, eyeing up the hangar.

"I have my car..." she trailed off.

"I'll have one of the boys take it back," Barney promised. "Just leave the keys inside."

"Okay."

Norah had twins. Barney couldn't get over this thought. He wondered what Lee was thinking and feeling as he climbed inside the plane and got things ready to go again. Poor beast barely got a break. He heard the dog rushing around and sniffing everything. He hoped the dog wouldn't take a piss in there or anything worse. He hated the idea of wiping dog vomit off everything. However, since it was Lee's dog, he'd make Lee clean it up, so there was that.

"I, um, called you," Rose said as she stood off to the side watching. Lee was at his post, flicking on switches and doing checks. Barney looked at her while reaching to turn things on too.

"You did?"

"Yea. I left you a message about the babies. You never called me back." There was a hint of accusation in her tone, and Barney wracked his brain to try and figure out why couldn't remember her message. Had he even listened to it?

"When did you call?" he inquired.

"About a month ago."

Right. When Victoria had died. Now that he thought about it, there had been a phone call he'd missed and hadn't checked the voicemail before it disappeared. He had completely forgotten about it.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized. "If I had heard it, I would have been there."

"It's okay. Lee explained what happened. I'm sorry about your friend," Rose offered, her voice genuine.

"Me too," Barney said. He finished the prep, and the plane was ready to go. Rose reached to hold onto something, looking nervous. Rupert was pacing and whining, having never been on a plane before. Barney wondered if Lee knew that. His concern about dog vomit was becoming a bit too real for his liking.

"Oh, it's okay, sweetie," Rose said to the dog now, sitting down finally and letting Rupert put his head on her knees. She stroked his head gently. "It'll be over soon."

"You're a dad?" Barney asked Lee now, still feeling shocked.

"Apparently," Lee answered. Barney could see his hands shaking slightly.

"You want to be?"

"Barns, it's all I ever wanted to be," he said honestly, finally looking at him. "I just never thought I'd get the chance or that I should."

"Well, congratulations."

"Yea," Lee said. "Thanks." He pulled out his phone before smoothing his thumb over the front of it a few times and putting it back. Barney figured he was contemplating writing Norah and then decided to wait until they were in person.

"I think she'll be happy to see you," Barney offered.

"I hope so," Lee sighed. "I really hope so."

Gunner

He barely made it to through the door before pulling a swig from his newly purchased pack of beer. He was feeling angry about Yang attacking him. The logical part of his mind was saying it wasn't the wrong thing for Yang to do, but his ego was crushed because he had wanted his team to be on his side. He knew they were all feeling anger and hurt from Victoria dying, so why didn't they want to take it out on garbage pirates who were willing to behead their hostages for money?

He sank onto his couch heavily, trying to stop the barrage of thoughts of Victoria. He was haunted by her. He couldn't get past it. He'd wanted to marry her...why hadn't he been enough to stay alive for? He knew Toll was having the same thought as her brother. It made no sense. Gunner almost wanted to find the person who killed her because he still couldn't fathom that she'd do it to herself.

You're nothing, his mind told him. You're just a piece of garbage yourself. You deserve to be alone. You deserve to suffer.

He let them come, faster and faster. He didn't care anymore. He didn't see a point to anything anymore. He reached for his supply, hoping it would numb him out forever.

Maybe he'd find himself dead on the bathroom floor too, just like her.

Toll

The hardest part was coming home to an empty apartment. He still hadn't put away her things. For some reason, he thought if he kept her running shoes by the door, she'd come back to use them. He felt like if he kept her half read book on the coffee table, she'd come back to finish it. Having her stuff made him feel like she was just on vacation, that she'd be back at any moment.

He knew it probably wasn't healthy.

He clicked on his answering machine, hearing a message from Dr. Sanchez. She was confirming their appointment tomorrow afternoon while recognizing she knew he wasn't home yet. She asked him to call in the morning if he couldn't attend. Toll thought about skipping it, but he knew that wasn't a wise choice. He needed to get this stuff off his chest somewhere; he couldn't keep dumping it on Caesar or Barney. He hadn't even really talked to Gunner about it. The man had shut himself up with drugs and alcohol ever since, and Toll didn't want to be anywhere near the shit that killed his sister. He couldn't understand why Gunner wanted to be.

Toll clicked on the TV, trying to just numb out. Eventually, he fell asleep.

Caesar

Sasha and Will were in bed finally, and Caesar found Char curled on the couch with her laptop. She gave him a smile as he sat down next to her.

"Glad you're still in one piece," she commented after he kissed her.

"They weren't so tough," Caesar replied. He didn't tell her about Gunner. He didn't want her to worry. He figured Barney was going to cut him loose soon regardless, so they wouldn't have to worry about Gunner freaking out and possibly costing them their lives.

"I hope you're around for a bit," she said, shutting her laptop down and snuggling into him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I think we should be okay for now. Tool didn't say anything about a job yet," Caesar noted. He could feel one on the horizon, though. There was always a job. He just hoped it wasn't a suicide mission. He hated those ones.

He put his attention on holding his wife. He breathed her in and smiled. He had no idea what he'd do without her.

Yang & Tool

He hadn't liked attacking Gunner, but it had to be done. Yang went over the events in his mind on replay, and he knew Gunner was in a bad spot, but he didn't like how it made him think it was okay to do shit like hang a pirate.

"I heard it didn't go well," Tool said, looking at him now. Yang had decided he needed some company that night, so he'd gone to see Tool. Barney had left for something apparently. Tool hadn't known what. Yang felt mildly curious, but he let it go.

"I think Gunner is in trouble," Yang advised.

"I know he is," Tool agreed. "He won't answer my calls."

"How do we help?"

"I don't know if we can," Tool sighed. "I think he has to come out of this on his own."

"What if he doesn't?"

"I don't like to think about that, Yang," Tool said sadly. "I really don't like to think about it." Yang didn't either, so he chose to think about something else for now so as not to stay stuck in the darkness all the time. Within a few moments, he was talking to Tool about something different entirely.

It just helped him to not feel so stressed out and anxious.

Rose

She practically fell out of the plane after they landed. She hit the dirt on her hands and knees, mock kissing the pavement.

"Land!" she gasped. "Precious land."

"It wasn't that bad," Barney retorted, hopping down onto his feet next to her. Rupert was next, rushing around to smell things and lift his leg to release a healthy stream of urine over every bush and plant he could find while Lee threw out the bags and then whistled for him. Rose moved out of the way just as the dog thundered past. She wondered how he was going to fit into her small house. Oscar would be ecstatic, though. He loved animals.

"You get used to the Bucket of Bolts after a while," Lee promised, smirking as he watched Rose do some deep breathing before getting back to her feet.

"I don't intend on riding in that thing ever again," she advised.

"You're welcome for the free ride!" Barney called over his shoulder. Rose hurried after him. Winston had dropped her off at the airport, so they had to get a ride back on their own. She let Barney arrange that. She stood outside with Lee as Rupert bounded around and sniffed everything.

"No leash for him?" she asked.

"No," Lee answered. "He was a stray. I didn't fully domesticate him."

Wonderful. A wild dog in her house...not even a trained one.

"She's really missed you," Rose said now, noticing Lee looked tense and worried. He met her eyes, and she gave him an encouraging look back.

"You sure about that?"

"Yes. I know my sister," Rose replied. Barney rejoined them in that moment. A cab came shortly after; Rose snagged the front seat to avoid getting squashed by the dog in the back. She smirked a little as Barney bickered with Lee about it. Rupert wanted his head out the window, so he was half on Barney's lap and doing just that. She found herself holding her breath more often than not from nervousness. She had a tiny fear that Norah would be angry at her for this, but she decided she shouldn't care.

Then she realized how ironic she was being...making sure Norah's children knew their father when she couldn't even do that for Oscar. It hit her hard, and she swallowed. Maybe it was time to go looking for him after all, but she had no idea where to even start.

Lee

His heart was pounding when they pulled up to the house. He got out of the cab and felt frozen. What would he even say? He looked to see Barney standing back with the dog, and Rose was heading for the door.

"It'll be okay," she promised, gesturing with her hand. "Come on."

He took one step, then two. His feet led him to the door whether he wanted to or not. Then he was inside, and Rose was pointing down the hall to where Norah was. Feeling like he could hardly breathe, he made his way to the semi-shut door. Then, he pushed it open.

Norah

It was late, and she was rocking Joey while Rosalee slept since he'd woken up again. Her little son was fighting sleep something fierce, but Norah understood. She didn't like missing out on things either. She sighed lightly, looking back at him.

"You gotta give in," she told him. "You can't stay awake forever. It's not good for you. And you're lucky. This is the time to sleep as much as you want without anyone getting mad at you."

She heard steps and figured Rose was back from Winston's. She didn't look when the door to the nursery opened.

"Are you properly banged out now?" she asked, smirking to herself. "Or did you break the bed finally?" She started to laugh at her own joke when she looked up and saw not Rose but someone else standing there.

Someone she'd wanted to see for almost a year.

Lee.

She felt like she couldn't breathe suddenly as she took him in. He was wearing dark jeans and a brown t-shirt with his black leather jacket on; his hands were tucked into his pant pockets. His eyes were on hers.

"You're here," she said stupidly. Joey was trying to see, craning his head around. "How are you here?"

"Rose," Lee answered.

"She...she called you?"

"She came to get me," Lee corrected.

"She what?" Norah felt shocked.

"I found her on my doorstep earlier tonight. She told me that I'm a father. Is that true, Norah?" His eyes rested on Joey now, and Norah knew he'd see the uncanny resemblance to himself.

"Yes," she half-whispered. "It's true."

She watched him work his jaw slightly, looking as though he was fighting back emotion. He looked at her again, and she could see plain as day how much he'd missed her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to feel obligated," she answered. "I didn't want you ruining your life because of this."

"Why would you even think that? This is not ruining my life," Lee said, gesturing to Joey. "This...this is the best thing you could ever give me. This is something that I want...that I've always wanted. Norah, I...I want this...all of it." He sounded very genuine, and Norah believed him.

"Really?" she asked, wanting to be very sure.

"Yes," he answered. "Without a doubt."

Norah felt like crying, but they weren't sad tears. She felt Joey squirm a little as he tried to make known that he was still awake and present. Norah looked at him and then at Lee again.

"Do you want to hold your son?" she asked.

"Very much so," Lee answered, strong emotion in his voice. Norah stood and went over to him, passing Joey to him carefully. Lee took him and held him close, standing there and looking at his son with a mix of pride and strong emotion. Norah didn't know what to think or feel. She hadn't realized how much she wanted this moment until it was happening. She found herself crying quietly, and even Lee had wet eyes.

"What's his name?" he asked, looking at her finally.

"Joseph Barney," she answered, wiping at her eyes and calming down again. "Joey for short." She watched him nod and look back at their son, who was making noises at Lee now.

"Hello, Joey," he said, smiling and trying not to cry. "I'm your dad." He looked at Norah again after a moment. "Rose said twins?"

"Yes," Norah confirmed, moving so he could see. "Your daughter is sleeping."

"Sleeping," he repeated, going to look. Joey gurgled as Lee leaned to see her better. He thought Lee was trying to put him down to sleep, and he began to fuss. Norah smiled at her son being fussy. He really did not want to go to bed.

"Come here, stinker," she said, taking him back. "I know you don't want to sleep, but we've been over this. You have to, so I will bore you to sleep. How's that?" She began to pace the room, watching as Lee reached to trace their daughter's cheek lightly with his finger.

"What did you call her?" he asked, not looking at Norah.

"Rosalee Marcy," Norah answered, doing swooping motions now to try and make Joey tired. It wasn't working.

"You named her after me and your sister," Lee said, getting it. He glanced at her over his shoulder now. "And your mother."

"I did," Norah agreed. Lee stood up straight, then, and came over to her slowly. She stopped moving, watching as he came right into her. She thought he was going to kiss her, but something held him back. She realized it was probably for the best.

"I want to be involved," he told her. "If that's okay."

"Okay," she said, feeling unsure suddenly. The original problem was still there, she realized. She didn't know how to get past it.

"I know things with us didn't work out like we thought," he said slowly, "and I understand if you think it's too hard to have me in their lives, but I really want to be."

"The biggest issue is your work," Norah reminded him. "I don't want our children to be used as leverage against you...ever."

"I know."

"So...how do we do this?" She looked at him, and she could see him thinking. His eyes never left hers.

"I'll quit," he said softly.

"What?" She was surprised. She never thought he'd give it up so easily. It was his identity almost.

"Yes," he confirmed. "It's not worth the risk. I will quit, and then I...I'll figure something out."

"You could always do crime scene clean up with Rose and my dad," Norah said, her eyes twinkling. He made a face, but he didn't disagree. He ran a hand over his head, looking at Rosalee, then Joey, and then her again.

"You're my family," he said, sounding emotional again. "I've always envied Caesar for having one, and he makes it work somehow, but I'm not willing to lose my family because we can't make it work with my job. I mean it, Norah. I'll do whatever it takes. I...I love you, and...I want to be with you. I don't want to do life without you anymore."

Norah felt herself tearing up again. This was what she wanted, and finally hearing it just seemed so surreal. She just felt like this decision was being made because he was now a father. If he hadn't found out, would he still want to be with her?

"Lee," she started. "I..."

"Oh God, it's not Randy, is it?" Lee asked suddenly. "Are you two back together?"

"No!" she yelped. "Lord, no. I just...I want to make 100% sure that you want to be with me because you want to and not because we now have children together." She watched him move in even closer until his mouth landed on hers, and it felt so familiar and comforting that she almost started crying again. His right hand cupped her face, and his left moved to hold her back and pull her against him, leaving room for Joey between them.

"Does that answer your question?" Lee asked after pulling back slightly.

"Yes." She kissed him back, wrapping her free arm around his neck with the other holding Joey. She could have kissed him forever if their son hadn't squawked in protest at being ignored. Then he promptly waved his hand and smacked Norah in the chin.

Norah started to laugh against Lee's lips, and they broke apart.

"What?" he asked, resting his face against hers.

"I don't think Joey likes watching his parents make out," she replied. Lee twisted his lips into a smile then.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" he asked the infant, reaching to rub the crook of his finger against Joey's cheek lightly.

"He's being stubborn," Norah informed him. "He woke up again and won't go back down." She moved back a little to shift Joey into her other arm since the other one was going numb. She went to sit back in the rocking chair, desperately wanting Joey to fall asleep so she could have some one on one time with Lee. He sat down on the stool in the corner, rested his elbows on his knees, and folded his hands together. A smile was on his lips as he kept watching them.

Eventually, Joey started to fall asleep. When he was completely out, Norah gave him a few moments before getting up and setting him into his crib. Then she left the room quietly with Lee going out first. She took his hand and led him to her room, closing the door behind her. He said nothing as she grabbed his arms and pushed him against the wall, kissing him long and slow. He moved to wrap his arms around her, cradling her neck with one hand and resting the other on her lower back. Norah wasn't going to be doing much more than that with him for now (she wasn't really feeling sexy, if she was honest), but just making out with him again was good enough. Just having him hold her and feeling him against her was enough.

"I love you," he murmured into her ear before kissing her jaw and neck.

"I love you too," she replied, holding his face in her hands and taking him all in. "You're really doing this?"

"Yes," he answered. "I'm really doing this."

A bark made her jump, and Lee laughed as a resounding hiss and yowl occurred shortly after. The sound of Rose, Barney, and Joe trying to break up the fight sounded seconds later.

"Rupert?" Norah asked, surprised.

"Yea," Lee confirmed. "I'd just gotten back, and I felt bad leaving him alone again. Also thought you might like to see him again."

"That's sweet. I did miss him. I think...I think we're gonna need a bigger place," Norah stated, knowing Rose wouldn't want the big dog in there with them.

"I can arrange that," he promised, kissing her again. Norah let go and got lost in him. She could hardly believe that her wildest dreams were coming true. She just hoped they wouldn't get shattered again.

Barney

Seeing Joe again had been a bit of a shock. At first, it looked like Joe might take a swing at him, but then they were hugging, and Barney could tell that Joe appreciated having the last link of Marcy standing in the house with him. Their hatchet was long buried it seemed. Barney was antsy to meet the babies, but he knew he had to give Lee his space. There was time later for his turn. He was talking with Joe about this and that when Rupert spotted Sassy and went nuts. Rose came from wherever she'd been hiding to help them end it, and Barney found himself laughing as Joe walked to Norah's room with the cat held high, tossing her into the room while Norah exclaimed at him, and then returned looking triumphant.

"It's just another day in the Lorkowski household," he advised, and Barney smiled.

Maybe he had another chance at a family after all.