A/N: I swear this chapter is happy. Then the epilogue will be posted by the end of the weekend. Please review. Thanks.

Sloth

Charlie disliked quite a few things, fences, locks, enclosed spaces, but the main thing, was lack of sleep on his day off. So when Dani threw open his curtains he made a noise that Dracula probably makes if woken up.

"Come on Charlie, you agreed to come."

"I was under duress when I agreed. This would never hold up in a court of the law."

"Come on, get up."

"Did you know the sloth sleeps for 15-20 hours a day?"

"I had no idea I was living with a sloth."

Charlie buried his head deeper into his pillow. He could hear her sigh.

"When your fur turns green from the fungus then I'll let you sleep," she said.

Charlie picked his head up and looked at Dani with a mixture of confusion then surprise.

"Charlie, I read Kevin's Zoo Books the same as you do."

"I knew it!"

"Congrats another case solved. Now get up!" she said and slapped him on the butt.

Dani walked out of the room and Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. She would luckily not see just how awake he really was.

Later that day they were sitting on a deck in her relative's backyard when her uncle said, "Hmmm I think public nudity is illegal."

Everyone followed his gaze, they saw Kevin age 2, his cousins Mark age 2 ½, and Danny age 3 running around naked. Kevin stopped and peed on her aunt's prize roses. All the while saying random words like, Pee, Wee, Tea, Lee, Glee, Chi.

Charlie couldn't help but smile. Kevin was already very verbal, he knew those zen tapes in the nursery worked.

"I think the mothers need to go get those boys," said her uncle.

"I'll go find Claire," said Dani, her jaw set, making a strange noise in her throat as she went to look for Mark and Danny's mother.

"I'll go help," said Charlie.

He followed her inside, he could see her back was tense and making that noise. He followed her downstairs. They walked into the downstairs and could hear both boys scrambling to get their clothes back on.

They walked into the main area and Kevin was somehow wearing his sweater as his pants and Mark had managed to put on Kevin's underwear, but only through one leg. And Danny had his pants on, backwards, but they were on. The former partners just stared and finally Charlie managed to catch Dani's eye to silently ask, what should they do?

However he did not see anger in her eyes as he expected, instead he saw that she was trying really, really hard not to laugh. But when her brown eyes met his blue, she broke down into a fit of giggles, he following her right over.

They walked into the room next door, both full on laughing, tears streaming down their faces. They could barely breathe, each one holding on to one another for support. Charlie had only seen her like this once before, when he had told her a really bad joke during a late night feeding. She never laughed like this for anyone else. Just her guys and before he knew it he was about to say something that caused the whole moment to change.

"I love you."

Silence. Wait did he say that aloud? That wasn't his voice. Did someone slip him something?

"Charlie, I love you," she repeated.

It was her, he looked at her and smiled.

"I love you too."

She then smiled at him. Wait was it really that easy? After everything? She linked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and he leaned down. How had he never noticed that she smelled like his orange orchard? Everything about her was completely surrounding him, he was centimeters away from her lips, they were breathing each others air and he was drowning in her.

"You better kiss me," she said, the breath of her words on his lips breaking him out of his spell.

Charlie then did exactly what he had wanted to do for a long time.