Yay, so I'm getting a little better at the every two weeks thing- a day early even. This is a long chapter, lots of talking. I hadn't realized how long it was while editing and considered splitting it in two, but there wasn't exactly a spot for it. Oh, well, no one can ever accuse me of being at a loss for words when I have access to a keyboard.

As always, thank you so much for your feedback and messages. I appreciate it. :-)

"It is so nice to be home," Angela declared before she collapsed on the couch with Georgia in her arms. As soon as she spoke it hit her that she'd never felt that same welcome relief of being home any place else she'd ever lived before. It was a comfort and made her a little sad at the same time. She's lived a lot of places in her life. Before she could get too introspective, Georgia began to squirm and fuss in her arms. Angela smiled at her daughter, knowing she was a big part of what made this home. She unzipped the baby's thin fleece bunting and worked to free her from it. "I wish you were as excited about putting clothes on as you seem to be about getting them off. This had better not be an indication of your future, missy. Then again, daddy would be content to walk around in his underwear all day, so-"

There was a loud crash from the kitchen that startled both her and Georgia. She whipped around and saw that Eric was struggling to bring the rest of the bags from the car in one trip. "What are you doing? I said I'd give you a hand in a minute. I'm just getting Georgia's jacket off and am going to stick her in the pack and play." She lightly bounced the baby up and down and made some funny faces in an effort to circumvent tears. "I know, daddy's being silly, knocking stuff over and scaring us instead of letting mama help."

"I got it," he tried to insist in a not so convincing manner.

She rolled her eyes. "That would be more convincing if your face wasn't turning red. Don't expect any sympathy when you end up with a hernia." He dropped the bags. "Hey, be careful. Some stuff is fragile."

"It's clothes."

"And perfume, make-up, and gifts."

"We got gifts?"

"There might me some stuff for us, but most of it is for Georgia."

Eric tried not to appear too disappointed. "Oh."

"Did you really expect my network of model friends to not gift our daughter with the latest fashions?"

"She's a baby. She'll puke on an expensive outfit just as easily as a cheap onesie."

"I know and I'll probably only break them out for pictures and nice occasions, but it's still a very sweet gesture."

"I know. Sorry I'm being grumpy," he apologized and sat beside her on the couch. "I'm sleepy."

"That's okay, dopey. Sooner or later Georgia has to realize nights are for sleeping, right?" She noticed how he kept looking around the room, like something was missing. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Thor?"

"I thought I heard his collar before you took out the kitchen with our luggage, but-" No sooner does she start to speak, does that familiar jingle ring through the house and Thor is on the couch within seconds. "Speaking of our little orange devil…"

"Hey, he's a good cat."

"It's just an expression. I love Thor." She laughed as the feline went back and forth between his humans, sniffing and soaking up all of the attention he could get. "I think we were missed." Georgia's giggles filled the air when the cat turned his attention to her, rubbing his head against her body. "What's that, Georgia? Is that your Thor?"

"Ooh, no, no," Eric jumped in and removed Thor from the reach of her little hands. "No, we do not grab the cat's tail. That's not nice."

"She's a baby. Odds are that's a lesson she's going to have to learn the hard way no matter how often we tell her. That's how I learned with my grandfather's cat."

"I hate the thought of her learning anything the hard way. That happened to me a lot and it sucked."

"I know, but sometimes that's the only way kids will learn." Angela's phone chimed to alert her to a new message. "I hope that's not your mom wanting us to come to dinner tonight," she said, digging through her purse. "I want a day or two to unwind from the trip. Plus we have to try to get Georgia back on some sort of routine."

"Routine," he scoffed, "we have a girl that laughs in the face of routines. Isn't that right, Georgia?" Angela was frowning at her phone and paying no attention to what he was saying. "What, mom wants us to come to dinner and bring dessert?"

She scanned the email again, trying to process what she was reading. It was from her dad. He said he didn't contact her earlier because he knew she was working and he didn't want to distract her. Angela skipped his gushes over her articles and reread the last part. She knew he'd had a doctor's appointment last week, but thought everything was fine.

"Angela," Eric asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Apparently tomorrow my dad will be starting another round of chemotherapy and radiation and only just decided to tell me."

/

/

"Nina's still sleeping." Jack joined Rachel on the back porch. She moved over to give him room to sit beside her on the swing and they cuddled together under the blanket. Shawn would probably laugh at him for considering the current temperatures cold, but he's been spoiled by the Texas weather. "Most mornings she's up at the butt crack of dawn and chattering away, but today- the day we want her to be awake and talking to us- she sleeps in."

"Didn't some guy named Murphy have a law about that?"

"Probably. Did you call the school?"

"Yes. I said we had a minor family emergency."

"You lied?"

She turned to look at him. "I didn't think it was a lie. Nina- and maybe Evan, too- think we changed our minds about adopting them. That's the very definition of a family crisis."

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

"She called Naomi and asked if she and Shawn would adopt-"

"I know what she did."

Rachel detected the edge in his voice. "If you're so sure it's a misunderstanding then why are you getting defensive?"

"I'm not...we've done everything right- at least I thought we did."

"We screwed up somewhere. I knew we should've told them when we legally adopted Calum and explained why it happened that way."

"You were the one who told me it would be best to wait, that they could read into it the wrong way if they knew we adopted Calum."

"I was wrong. Who knew they'd go through your desk and find the adoption papers by mistake?"

"Kids get into things."

"You should've hid them better, put them in a lockbox."

"A lockbox? Better yet why not put it in the safe with the gold bars and that check from Ed McMahon we've been saving for a rainy day?"

"Jack..."

"Mommy! Daddy!"

They jumped up at sound of Nina's voice and met her in the kitchen. She was positively frantic. Rachel crouched down to her level. "Nina, what's wrong?"

"I am late for school. The numbers on my clock say eight, two, and one. We always have to be in the car by seven, four, and five. We missed it. Did you forget to set your buzzer to wake up?"

"No, honey, daddy and I didn't forget."

"Then why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because we decided that today is family day. We're all staying home. I'm not going to work, daddy's not checking his computer, and you and Evan aren't going to school."

"But I have to go to school," the little girl exclaimed. "I hafta play with my friends and I don't want to get bad behavior with Miss Pilar for missing."

"You're not going to get in trouble," Jack broke in.

"I'm not?"

"Nope, mommy already called the school and took care of it."

"What about Evan? Did you take care of it for him, too?"

"Of course I did." She picked Nina up and stood to her full height. "Daddy and I thought we needed a day at home: just you, me, daddy, Evan, Milo, and Calum."

"Why?"

Just then Evan came stumbling down the hall, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he went. "Nina, why are you yelling? And it's kind of bright in my room. Did we oversleep or is it Saturday again already?"

"Nope, not Saturday, but mom and I did decide that we're all staying home. We need a family day. There are some things we need to talk about."

Rachel lightly hit his shoulder. She had been hoping for a kinder segues to their conversation. "Jack!"

"No hitting, mommy."

"You're right, Nina. I'm sorry."

"Ha-ha, busted," Jack taunted his wife with a smirk on his face.

"Nobody likes a smart mouth, daddy. That's not nice behavior either."

Darn kids remember everything you say to them. "Sorry."

Evan was automatically suspicious. "Why do we need to talk?"

"Let's get some breakfast first. We have donuts."

"Yay, donuts!"

He trailed behind and wondered why they were going to the living room. They only ate in there on movie nights. Next he spied a big box of donuts on the coffee table. "Those aren't grocery store donuts. They're real. We only get real donuts on weekends."

They were confused by his accusatory tone. "We thought we all deserved a treat today."

Before she could grab her beloved chocolate covered sprinkles, Evan grabbed onto his sister's arm and pulled her back. "Don't."

"But my tummy is all growly."

"It's a trick. Don't you remember the last day we were at Mr. Bruno and Mrs. Carla's?"

"No. Who were they?"

Rachel frowned, not knowing why Evan was bringing up their previous foster home now. "They were the people who took care of you before you came to live with us, Nina."

"Oh, yeah, I remember them a little. They were nice."

"What did Bruno and Carla do, Evan?"

"Before the white van came to pick us up Mrs. Carla made a special breakfast to say good-bye." He stared at the floor, unable to face Jack and Rachel. "They were acting weird just like you guys."

"I don't want to go," she cried, her eyes filling with tears. "Please don't make us go. I promise I will only do good behavior. No more bad."

"Hold on. No one is going anywhere. That's what we want to talk to you about. Come sit here with us." Jack wasn't surprised by Evan's hesitation, but Nina's stung. She wasn't looking at them, but was instead waiting for her brother to make a move. "Please? I promise everything will make sense after we talk." There was a small nod of approval and Nina immediately dashed to the couch, squeezing in between him and Rachel. Evan opted to sit in a chair. Not wanting to waste any more time, Jack pulled out the file containing Calum's adoption papers, which he had stuck under the donut box. "It's okay. I know you know what's in here. I'm not mad you went in my desk."

"How did you find out?"

"That doesn't matter." They'd decided not to let on that Shawn called. While they weren't happy with the reason for it, that Nina knew she could reach out to Naomi and Shawn when she thought there was trouble wasn't a bad thing. They didn't want to break that trust.

"We were just looking for my Valentines, daddy."

"I know."

"Why do the papers say that you adopted Calum already?"

Rachel glanced at her husband before answering the eight year old's question. "Because we did adopt Calum. It happened before he came home from the hospital."

"You went to court? It happened in front of a judge?"

"No, they stuck us in a tiny conference room in the hospital with our lawyer, the social worker, your mom, and her lawyer. The social worker filed the paperwork for us. You guys know Megan. She's the one who would come to talk and visit with you when you first came to live here." She thought that was a more tactful way of saying Megan was supposed to supervise the court-appointed visits Kara never bothered to show up for. She always did her best to distract and cheer the kids up anyway. "She would make sure me and dad were doing a good job."

"She would bring us those cookies and play board games," Evan supplied.

She nodded. "Right, that's Megan."

"But, mommy, why did you adoption Calum and not me, Evan, and Milo? We had you first. I'm sorry if I did bad behavior and made you change your mind."

Jack lifted Nina into his lap. "Nina, trust me, we didn't change our minds. We love you, all of you," he paused momentarily to make sure Evan was paying attention, "very much and we are not giving you up, not for anything."

"Really?"

"I promise."

"Then why Calum first?"

Rachel took over once again. "Do you remember how we said that your mom-"

"Our old mom," Evan corrected.

"-do you remember how we said she came to us and asked, before Calum was even born, if he could come live with all of us here?"

"Yeah."

"That makes it different. She gave up Calum right away. That means that he never lived with her and was never taken from her by the police like you. She never signed any papers saying she was his mom." Trying to explain this in kid terms was more difficult that she thought. "But you and Evan and Milo found us through foster care. That means because your mom signed papers saying you belonged to her and you lived with her for a long time before you were taken away, it's going to take the courts longer. They wanted to give your mom a chance to try to get better to see if she could be your mommy again."

"But she didn't."

"She's trying to get better, but because she loves you so much and wants you guys to have a good life, she decided the best place for you to be is here with us."

"If she gave us up then why don't we just go to court already and see a judge," Evan asked, exasperated. "I'll even wear the ugly, dumb tie from grammy if I have to."

"It doesn't work like that. Unfortunately there are a lot of kids in Foster Care and it takes a long time to schedule court dates for everyone."

"Believe me pal, if it was up to us we would've done it months ago. Like Rachel said, these things take time."

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"We wanted it to be extra special and have a judge make it official for the entire family at the same time. We should've told you the truth from the beginning. That was our mistake. You're both old enough to handle it."

"So Calum is really yours'? He's your real son now."

"Hey, you are all our kids, all four of you."

"He's the only one no one could try to take away," the boy pointed out.

"Technically speaking, I suppose that's true, but your old mom made the final call and she put it in writing that she wants you to grow up together with us." Again, Rachel was being tactful. She knew there was no kind way to hear that your mother voluntarily signed away her rights and no other biological family was willing or able to step in long term. "Evan, trust me, this family is for keeps. We just need to have a little more patience and a whole lot of faith, okay?"

He slowly moved from the chair and sat beside her on the couch. "I guess."

"Good," she said, wrapping him in a hug.

"And we promise we won't keep stuff about the adoptions from you again. We were wrong to do it with Calum. We made a mistake."

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have a donut now? My tummy is still growly."

Jack laughed in relief. He'd been expecting a complicated, soul-searching question. He opened the box. "Dig in."

"Hey, save sprinkles for the rest of us!"

/

/

Eric moved in slow motion as he laid Georgia in her crib. She stirred when she hit the mattress- he held his breath in anticipation of cries- but fortunately her eyes fluttered closed again and she let out a squeaky sigh of contented slumber. He crept away and tiptoed to his bed. Angela had been in here for a while, unable to cope with the baby's fussiness and general pre-nap behavior after reading the email. She didn't have the greatest reaction when he suggested Georgia was picking up on her tension and told him to take over. "Are you mad at me," he asked quietly. Her back was to him and he didn't know if she was asleep.

"I'm not mad," she responded, not moving. "I'm not mad at you anyway."

He lay down beside her and ran his hand along her back. "Your dad?"

"He knew for a week and he…" She sat up and looked at him with watery eyes. "I guess it doesn't matter. Aunt Trish thought I knew. Dad told her I knew and was…taking it well. He was doing what he always does- whatever he thinks is best, damn how anybody else feels. Why should I expect him to change now?"

"Do you want-"

"Is Georgia sleeping?"

"What? Yeah, she's asleep."

"Does that mean there's an opening in your schedule to be my human pillow?"

Eric's answer wasn't verbal. He simply pulled her close and hugged her to his chest. He couldn't help the smile that came when Angela sighed. It sounded so similar to their daughter's squeaky sleep sighs. "Are you okay?"

She raised her head slightly and placed a kiss on his collarbone. "This is what I needed, thank you."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Right here, right now, lying here with you? Yes, I'm perfect."

"Angela-"

"No. I don't want to talk about it, okay? Talking won't change things so why bother. It just is." She snuggled closer and rested her head over his heart. "All I want from you right now is this. I know I'm safe here. I'm not going to be hurt or betrayed or have the rug pulled out from under me. All you do- all you've ever done- is love me unconditionally. I just want to block out the real world for a while and be here. Is that wrong?"

He kissed the top of her head and held her tight. "No."

/

By the next day Angela wasn't feeling any more at peace with her dad's situation. She thought about calling him, almost did, but then realized he may be in the middle of treatments. After that she broke out her yoga mat. Yoga had helped her manage stress with her dad a few years ago and she was hoping for the same benefits now. It was the only thing that helped to completely clear her mind. She always felt like a new person afterwards.

"Thor, no," she said with a sigh. "The pigeon pose doesn't automatically make me a bird you can pounce." She pushed him a way and tried to reach for a toy without totally breaking pose, but was unsuccessful and toppled to the side, narrowly missing the cat. "Don't meow at me like that. This is your fault."

It seemed as soon as she returned to her mat after properly distracting Thor with a few toys and treat did Georgia start to cry. She lay flat on the floor and groaned before going to the pack and play. "What's the matter, huh? Mama's trying to relax. You were supposed to nap a little longer." The sight of that little tear-stained face and arms outstretched for her broke Angela's heart. It always did, but now she felt worse for feeling frustrated at being disturbed. "Come here, baby." She retrieved her daughter from her nap space and was rewarded by Georgia's equivalent of a hug: she completely relaxed and laid her head on her shoulder. Angela kissed her bald head. "Were you feeling lonely? Daddy's back to work so it's just you and me again. What do you think about that?" Silence. "I know. It'll be less fun, but I think we can manage."

A while later Angela felt like screaming. Georgia was fed, changed, played with, and clearly tired yet cried whenever she was put down. That wasn't unusual and had happened before, but today she started to cry whenever her mother would sit down when holding her. The only thing that kept her happy was to be up and moving. "Seriously, you've got to give me a break here. Could we try being a big girl for a bit? I want to cry, too, but I can't. You see, after a certain age society frowns on a person having a tantrum and acting like they missed a nap." She realized how nuts she sounded and rubbed slow circles on Georgia's back. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault I'm frustrated. Cry your heart out. Mama's not going anywhere."

After twenty more minutes of pacing and crying Angela had another idea. Maybe they needed a change of scenery. Eric did say it was supposed to be nice out today, warmer than what was normal. She and Georgia should get out and take advantage of that. Unfortunately that meant enduring a little more crying.

"I know, I know," she soothed. The baby was in tears and arching against the straps of the stroller, making them difficult to buckle. "But trust me. You're going to love this. Fresh air will do us both some good."

By the second lap around the block there wasn't a peep coming from the stroller. Its occupant was sound asleep. Angela smiled to herself, satisfied that she had come up with a solution that worked for everyone. Georgia was getting much needed rest and she had peace and quiet to think. She did notice that the baby would shift around when she slowed her pace, so she moved faster. They both needed this break.

/

Alan took a seat behind the register and looked at the time. It was approaching dinner and he'd barely been able to take a break. His morning person called in sick and his evening crew were running late. It had been busy for a weekday, but he could hardly complain about that. He was making money. It was safe to say this end of season ski sale was a huge success. Just as he was going for the bag of chips he had stashed behind the counter, the bells above the door jingled. It wasn't a customer or even his employees like he had been hoping. Instead it was Angela and she was pushing his vocal granddaughter in her stroller. "You know, I'm going to start taking it personally if Georgia cries whenever she comes in here."

"I'm sorry, she wouldn't let me do my yoga and I was getting desperate. I popped her in the stroller and she fell asleep. I guess I enjoyed the peace and quiet too much because the next thing I know- when she woke up two hours had passed and I was here."

Alan was impressed that the jumble of words he just listened to had come out in one breath. He was, however, more concerned about the latter part of her statement. "Are you telling me you walked here?"

"Walked, ran…what's the difference?"

"You ran? It has to be ten miles from your house."

"Eight and a half actually, I only know because I have one of those trackers to help me lose the last of the baby weight." Angela removed the blanket she'd had covering the stroller to keep the chill out so Georgia could see her surroundings. "Shh, it's okay. You know where we are. We're at grandpa's store. You like it here." She pushed the stroller back and forth, hoping the motion would once again be soothing. "You helped him make a sale once."

He smiled at the memory. "We sold a top of the line sleeping bag." He came from around the counter and peeked in on his granddaughter. "You want to help grandpa work the register again? My carpooling employees are running late."

"Oh, so we're in the way…right. Like I said, this wasn't planned. When I finally stopped and looked around I realized we were just a few blocks away."

"Better to come here than try to go back immediately."

"I thought so. Still, since you have other things to do let me just feed her and then we'll head back."

He watched as Angela worked to get the buckles undone. They'd looked complicated to him, but she went so quickly Georgia was out of the stroller and in her mother's arms before he could blink. "You don't have to rush, really. It's fine."

She shook her head. "I don't want be in your way. Is there any place I can put this," she asked, gesturing to the baby's mode of transportation.

"I'll stick it in my office." He didn't like how jumpy she was…not paranoid, but clearly something was bothering her and she was on edge. "Are you okay? Anything you want to talk about?" He held up his hand to halt the counters that were already coming. "You're not in the way. There are no customers right now. It's just us. We can talk."

Angela sighed. While the run had helped to clear her mind, it didn't give her the peace she'd been hoping for. She was still twisted up in knots inside. "Actually, I-"

The bells jingled and a couple came in. Alan was tempted to throw them out. When he turned around again Angela was headed for another part of the store. "Angela, you don't have to-"

"Help your customers. I'll be over in women's sportswear showing Georgia her options should she decide to be athletic. We'll cover everything from point guard to goalie to head cheerleader."

She disappeared into the section before he could reply. A few minutes later, when his employees finally arrived, he announced he was going on a break and they were in charge.

/

"I'm sorry," Alan replied, setting her phone on his desk. After getting Georgia settled with the new toy he'd purchased for her- he'd planned to save the exersaucer for Easter, but it was needed now- Angela showed him the email from her father. He didn't know what else to say. I'm sorry felt trite, but it was all he could come up with.

"I-I just don't get it. He promises openness and honesty and swears he'll tell me everything immediately, but then sends me an email with only a days' notice of when he's beginning a new round of chemo? I knew he'd been to the doctor, but not that they'd decided to... Does that sound like openness and honesty?"

He was in awe as Angela continued to pace his office in an almost manic state. She hadn't stopped since she got to the store. Her frenetic movements slowed while she fed Georgia, but even then she opted to walk around. If he'd just run eight miles someone would have bring a wheelbarrow to cart him home. "Sit down. Just watching you is making me anxious."

"I can't. If I stop then I'm not going to want to get up again and I still have to jog back home."

"I'll give you and Georgia a ride. I'm certainly not going to make you run all that way with my granddaughter. It's going to be dark soon and the temperatures will be dropping, making the roads and sidewalks ice up. It won't be safe."

"But her car seat is-"

"Amy and I both have spares for our vehicles just in case, remember?"

"You really don't have to go out of your way to drive us home. I don't want to be a burden...which is what I'm probably being right now, showing up at your place of business and keeping you from customers and all." She went to take Georgia from her new toy.

"Angela, sit down," he ordered as nicely as possible. Alan still felt uncomfortable giving her his usual "tough love" approach to matters like he did with the rest of the kids. Tough love was his go-to. It was how he best knew how to deal with things. People expected it from him. He wasn't sure how to treat Angela in these situations though. While Alan knew she was capable of handling it, tough love never seemed to be what she needed when she sought him out.

"Okay." She did as she was told and practically melted into the couch. The adrenaline seemed to vacate her body as soon as she was off her feet and the muscles in her legs felt like jelly. "Oh, this was a mistake. Georgia may not be the only one you have to carry to the car."

He gestured to her bag of snacks. "Drink your water and eat something. You'll feel better. Between your run and feeding the baby your body is crashing."

"Food...right. You know, I never forgot to feed myself before Georgia came along." The baby seemed to look up with acknowledgement at the mention of her name- which wasn't something she'd ever done before. However, the new, loud toys in front of her were too tempting to give up just for her mother, something for which Angela was grateful. She couldn't have stood up now if she wanted to.

"Yeah, babies take over your life in ways you never thought possible. But I don't know if you can blame Georgia for this one. It's not like she was in the stroller cheering you on, was she?"

"No. Don't get me wrong, she slept and the quiet was a relief, but I'm fully responsible. I was too lost in my own head, thinking about my dad, and kept going."

Alan was relieved to see Georgia was still content to play with her new toy...the toy he picked out by himself. He was sure that would change relatively soon, but at least he'd get some of this out before his granddaughter decided to chime in with her squawking opinions. "Can I say something in defense of your father?"

Angela looked up, surprise fully evident on her face. "You're defending him?"

"Let me explain. Now, I disagree with about 99.8 percent of the decisions he's made in the past few years, but with this I kind of see where he's coming from."

"How?"

"He's your father. That means the moment he laid eyes on you he made a vow to protect you for as long as he was able. I know how that feels. I've made that vow myself: from the first time I saw Eric all the way to the first time I saw Georgia, and many times in between- whether those kids were mine by blood or not and no matter how old they were when we crossed paths. I promised to look out for them for as long as they needed."

"I think I can speak for all of us who aren't yours' by blood when I say we appreciate it."

"Yes, well..." He cleared his throat. "...the thing about this parental promise is knowing when to let go...you don't always know that. I'm sure you want to protect Georgia from everything, right?"

"I'd die before I let anything happen to her."

He nodded in understanding. "Exactly. And you've only had six months on the job. Put yourself in your dad's shoes. True, you guys have had your separations and difficulties, but regardless, for the last...twenty-nine years?"

"Twenty-eight," she corrected. "I'll turn twenty-nine at the end of June."

"Sorry. Every morning for the last twenty-eight years when he wakes up he's clocking in for his job as your dad. Even if that job is now remote and his responsibilities have been drastically downsized, he's still punching that time card every morning."

"Even when he cut me out of his life?"

"Even then."

"What does all this have to do with withholding the information about starting treatments again? No offense, but I never pegged you to be the one from whom Eric's ability to ramble came from. I'm not even going to get into some of Cory's tangents. You're lucky I don't charge you for having had to listen to those."

He chuckled quietly. "I'll get to the point."

"I'd appreciate it."

"He's still your father and he's still trying to protect you, even from things you may not need protecting from. We can't help it, us dads, it comes with the territory. We want to protect from all things real and imaginary. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What have you done since you read his email yesterday?"

"Aside from making sure Georgia's needs were met and avoiding Eric's questions that I'm okay?"

"Yeah, aside from that."

She sighed and ran her hands over her face. "I've pretty much been obsessing and wondering what this means for him and the future."

"So maybe he wasn't completely wrong to wait until you were home."

"Are you out of your mind?! Of course he was wrong. Any fool could see that."

Alan wasn't offended by Angela's choice of words, quite the contrary. After all, she wouldn't be calling him a fool unless she was secure in the tentative relationship they've built over the past year. "Or maybe he knows you well enough to know you'd obsess. And if you had found out earlier, you wouldn't have been able to focus and do your job."

"If I had known about his illness from the beginning maybe I would've developed coping skills for how to handle this. But I don't. How am I supposed to sit here and act like everything is normal?"

"Because it's what he wants. And once you push beyond all of your anger and hurt over what happened in the past and how your dad chose to go about things- which I still believe was wrong- you'll have to accept that he's the one with cancer. It's not about you right now. It's about your dad and whatever will help him get through the treatments move towards recovery."

"Recovery," she asked in a small voice.

"That's the goal, right?"

"Sure, yeah, I suppose."

He frowned. "What am I missing here?"

Angela took one of the pillows and hugged in to her chest. "He said when he was first diagnosed the doctors gave him a year...if he was lucky. That was three years ago."

"And he's still here and fighting. That's a good sign."

"He's still sick. No wondrous recovery, no miracle cure...nothing. Are you going to tell me that's a good sign, too?"

"I don't-"

"He's on borrowed time." Angela took a shaky breath and tried to keep her emotions in check. "Every day he's had beyond that one year expiration date from the doctors is borrowed. The universe is going to come to collect sooner or later."

"That's a pessimistic attitude."

"So I'm a realist with pessimistic tendencies." She used her sleeves to wipe away the stray tears, thankful she'd been able to stop herself from fully breaking down. Still, a few tears came. "Sue me. We can't all be like Eric and view the world through rose-colored glasses."

Alan looked around his office for tissues, but all he could find was a roll of paper towels. "Here," he said as he joined her on the couch. "Sorry, this is all I have. It's extra absorbent, if that helps. "

"That's okay. You gotta live up to the Brawny paper towel guy image to match the store." She ripped off a few sheets. "This bites."

"No doubt about that, take it from one realistic pessimist to another- it sucks. But if I may, can I offer one tiny bright spot?"

"You can try."

"The doctors wouldn't be attempting more chemo and radiation if they didn't think there was still a chance it could work, right? They'd cease treatment if there was no hope."

"I never thought about it like that."

"And your dad is a very proud man. That pride contributed to him lying to you. He wouldn't take treatment if he was looking at a lifetime stuck in bed, hooked up to tubes."

"No, he definitely wouldn't want to be seen like that, have people worrying and taking care of him. He wouldn't want to be a burden." In his email he'd mentioned to Angela putting a pause on his nightly Skype visits with Georgia- just a week...maybe a little longer, until he recovered from the side effects of the chemo. He asked that she text or email pictures instead. She'd wanted to argue that Georgia was just a baby and wouldn't care or even notice what he looked like, but now Angela was realizing she was the one her dad didn't want to face like that. "To be honest, that's the only thing stopping me from grabbing Georgia and getting on the first plane to Las Vegas."

"Good for you for respecting his wishes."

A loud squeal followed by a continued line of gibberish captured her attention. Georgia was having an animated conversation with the mirror. Whether she recognized her own reflection or thought it was another baby remained to be seen. "Oh, boy, talking to the mirror? Definitely takes after her daddy," she said with a chuckle. "I should record this for him." She dug for her phone.

"I can't get over how fast she's growing."

"She is. Too fast." Angela was watching her daughter through the camera when a sad realization hit her: odds were against her father being around to see Georgia grow up. She stopped recording and dropped the phone to her lap. "I hate this," she whispered.

Alan assumed she was talking about Georgia growing. "Yeah, but at least the older they get the more you can understand-" He stopped talking when he heard her sniffles and realized she was crying. "Are you okay?" He'd never been especially comfortable with crying. She wasn't hysterical or sobbing, just crying quietly as she watched her baby play. "Angela?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm sorry." She took a deep, steadying breath and wiped her eyes. "It's just that Georgia is so young and my dad might not…she won't remember."

Alan wrapped a tentative arm around her shoulders and was a little surprised when she slumped against his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself- and not in a good way. It's one thing to prepare for the worst, but you've got to leave yourself a little hope."

"I've spent so many years conditioning myself to not get my hopes up where my parents are concerned. Now I've finally found something stronger than the army that could take my dad away."

He hugged Angela a little tighter. "If you're having trouble finding hope for your dad, maybe you can find a little hope for Georgia's grandfather. Their relationship isn't tainted with lies and broken promises. They have a clean slate. There's nothing but hope there."

Her eyes once again fell to her daughter, who this time seemed to sense she was being watched and looked up at her mother with a wide grin that showed off her two new teeth. "Mama sees you, baby," she spoke softly and offered a small smile of her own. "God, how does she always seem to know when I need a smile?"

"Babies are very in tune with the ones they love the most."

She pulled away from Alan and wiped her eyes. "I'll try to be more optimistic about my dad, but it's hard. I've done the research on his type of cancer."

"All you can do is try and remember he is a very strong, stubborn man. He's got you and Georgia to live for. That's a lot."

"Thanks for listening. I didn't mean to show up and dump all this on you. I'm sure you had shipments to order, customers to help, or-"

Alan waved off her concern. "I'm always here if you need to talk. Me and Amy both, we're not going anywhere."

"I appreciate it."

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

"But don't you have to be here?"

"I have employees now, remember? They're closing up for me tonight."

"Only if you're sure it's not an inconvenience."

"I'm sure. And you are never a burden or an inconvenience. Remember that. In fact, I'll feel better giving you a ride. This way I don't have to imagine you wiping out on the ice and sending the stroller flying down a hill and into oncoming traffic."

She smiled again. "Thank you. Do you think you could get Georgia out of that thing?"

"Your legs still sore," he asked. He got up from the couch and moved to pick up the baby.

"Like hell, but that's not it. I don't want to be the one to rip her away from her new favorite toy."

"Sure," Alan scoffed humorously, "make me the bad guy."

/

/

When Eric came home that night he was surprised to find Georgia asleep in her crib. Teething had completely derailed any progress he and Angela had made towards getting their daughter to realize that sleep was good and sleeping at night was even better. Though he had to admit she came by her night owl tendencies honestly. He and Angela would never be described as morning people. It was hardly a surprise their daughter felt the same.

After ditching his suit jacket and tie he tried to locate Angela. The bathroom door was wide open and the light was on, so there was no mystery. He knocked lightly on the doorframe and waited for her to acknowledge him before entering. Witnessing labor and childbirth had pretty much removed any mystery that was left between them, but that didn't mean she wasn't entitled to her privacy. Eric found her in the Jacuzzi with the jets going, music playing softly, and her eyes closed. "Hey," he said, sitting on the edge of the tub.

"Don't be upset, but I'm seriously thinking of leaving you for whoever invented the Jacuzzi. They're a genius. These jets? Awesome."

He laughed, not expecting that response. "I don't blame you. Jacuzzis rule. Just promise me if you find the guy and become Mrs. Jacuzzi you'll get him to give me a discount on a huge one for the backyard."

"We're not putting one out there for the millionth time, but since this is a hypothetical world- sure, biggest one on the lot. Top of the line."

"Cool." He leaned forward and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "Did Georgia give you a hard time tonight?"

"No, she was great. She was so chill and relaxed, didn't cry nearly as much as the past few nights." It was almost enough to make her wonder if the baby sensed she needed a break after they got home. "Georgia was as close to perfect as a teething infant is capable of being."

"Ooh, so this is the start of you making up your little tease in New York? I like how you think. Nothing says I'm sorry and let's celebrate a sleeping kid like a tub for two."

She forced her eyes open in time to catch him working on the buttons of his shirt. "I'm sorry, but I can hardly move right now. I don't think I'd be much fun."

"You can't move? Did you hurt yourself? Are you sick?" He put his hand on her forehead.

"I'm not sick," she insisted as she removed his hand from her face and held it tight in her own. "I'm just suffering the side effects of my own stupidity."

"What do you mean?"

"After you went to work I was still thinking about my dad. I broke out my yoga mat and tried to get into that place where I block everything out, but of course that's when Georgia went into diva mode and Thor thought it would be fun to crawl and jump on me."

"I thought she loves it when you guys do the stuff from your Mommy and Me yoga classes."

"With the frame of mind I was in I needed a solo session. I didn't want her to pick up on my anxiety and like I said, I needed to get lost in my head for a while. But since that didn't work out and I had it on good authority from a certain weather guy that it would be warmer today-"

"Me, right?"

"I'm not giving up my source," she teased. "Anyway, since it was warmer and the sun was shining, I decided to use that nice jogging stroller we got at my shower for its intended purpose, not just lazy walking around the park."

"Lazy walking is strolling," he pointed out. "And let me guess, Georgia hated the stroller and cried?"

"Nope, she loved it…at least I think. Being out in the fresh air calmed her down and she was asleep within minutes. I decided to take advantage of the quiet and just started to run."

"I didn't even know you ran for exercise."

"Oh, I don't, not at all. But you see, between enjoying the quiet and actually being able to zone out I forgot that I am not a runner. I don't know what happened. Maybe I reached that runner's high people talk about? One minute I'm doing laps around the neighborhood and the next I don't recognize a thing. I had no idea where I was or how long I had been running."

"Angela-"

"I know, stupid. But don't worry, I got my bearings and realized I was near your dad's store."

"The store? But that's not close. It's a lot of miles away."

"Eight and a half to be exact."

"No wonder you're sore."

Angela nodded. "I figured since I was so close it was smarter to head there than to try turning around."

"Good. Did dad drive you and Georgia back," he asked, already knowing the answer. Eric knew his dad and how he'd react.

"Yeah, after a while. Obviously by the time I got there Georgia was crying to be fed so I took care of that. Then your dad wanted to show off this new toy he bought for her- some jumperoo or exersaucer type thing with all these musical instruments and a mirror."

"Is that what that thing was that I almost tripped over behind the couch?"

"Oops, sorry, I meant to move that. But the main thing is she loves it. I've never seen her so happy and entertained for so long."

"I bet the old man was thrilled."

"He was. It came in handy, too, so we were able to talk for a little bit and she was occupied."

"What did you talk about?"

Angela hesitated a little before answering, "I told him what's going on with my dad."

"How did that go?"

"He didn't really make me feel better, but talking to him did help."

"Good…I think, even if you're not feeling better."

"Are you mad?"

"No, not mad, but…" Eric paused, trying to pinpoint what he was feeling. "I wish I was able to help you with this."

She sat up slightly and reached for his other hand. "You do, trust me. More than you know. When I first read the email and you were just there with me and held me? That was exactly what I needed."

"But talking it out?"

"I can't explain it. It's just a perspective you wouldn't have been able to provide."

"I don't quite understand what that means, but I'll try to accept it."

"Thank you." Angela flashed him a grateful smile before she painstakingly raised a foot out of the water to inspect her toes. She was long past the point of turning into a prune. "You know, I do have one problem you can help me with. Just remember I'm very sore and not up for any kind of fun tonight."

"What is it?"

"Could you get me out of here," she asked, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "I put my robe and towels over there." She pointed to the counter behind him.

"Sure." He grabbed her robe and set it on one of the steps leading to the tub. "Can you stand at all- like if I set you on the rug will you be okay or do you need to go to the chair or bed?"

"I can stand and walk- though at this point I'd lose a footrace to a turtle. It's just getting up and out of the tub. I tried earlier and I swear my legs felt like lead."

"What if Georgia woke up before I got home?"

"Then I would've used her cries to summon superhuman strength like those moms that lift cars off of their kids."

He nodded. "At least you had a fool-proof backup plan. Of course it sounded like one of my fool-proof backup plans. Then again they do say the longer a couple is together the more alike they become."

"That's okay. I don't think it would hurt me to be a little more like you sometimes."

Eric put his hands over his heart. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Can I get that in writing? I want proof to show Feeny someone said it."

"I'll hire a skywriter if means you get me out of this water sooner. Please," she added.

"And now you're back to being you."