**Sorry for the long hiatus, I was having a really hard time focusing on this story. But I think I've got it now. I had some help and then put it back on the back burner, and now that I'm working on 2 new really great stories, I thought I should finish this one off. Thank you for your support!***

Randy and Amanda stayed at the house long enough to have dinner and visit with everyone. Randy received a very stern lecture from his parents and to not take advantage of the opportunity that had been given to him not only by Vince but by Amanda as well.

Randy went over and picked up little sleeping Brandon and his beloved Tinky Winky. "Let's go home son." He whispered as he carried him out to the car.

Amanda smiled. Moments like that made her think that maybe she didn't make a mistake and very possibly could be the right decision.

They drove home and at first it was a bit awkward. Finally Amanda broke the silence. "So Randy, I think today went well…don't you?"

Randy looked over and smiled, "Yeah, I do too. I'm really looking forward to getting to know Brandon again. I'm also looking forward to getting to know you again too."

Amanda smiled slightly but didn't say anything. She was still worried about letting Randy move too quickly.

Randy knew exactly what she was thinking, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to push anything too far.

When they got to Amanda's place Randy got out of the car and picked up sleeping Brandon and he carried him into the house. Amanda grabbed his Tinky Winky and quickly walked ahead so she could unlock the door.

Once they were inside, Amanda showed Randy where Brandon's room was and he laid him into his bed. Randy saw the picture of him holding baby Brandon next to his son's bed and tears quickly filled his eyes. He had missed out on so much due to his stupidity and falling to drugs and alcohol, how could he have ever let his priorities get so out of hand?

He leaned down and kissed Brandon's forehead and started to walk out of the room. Suddenly he heard a little voice say, "Daddy? Will you be here when I wake up?"

Randy turned around and smiled, "I sure will. I'll help you get ready for school."

"Oh-tay. G'night Daddy."

"Good night Brandon. I love you so much." Randy said with tears still in his eyes.

"Wuv you too." And Brandon rolled over and burrowed into the covers.

Randy walked out of the bedroom and found Amanda sitting at the kitchen table with an old laptop and surrounded by papers.

He pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. Amanda looked over at him and smiled a bit, "Were you crying?"

Randy's head dropped, "That kid is so precious. Probably more stubborn than I'm aware of, and I can't wait to get to know everything there is about him. And it kills me that I screwed so much up."

Amanda reached over and rubbed his back a bit. "Now make sure that you don't dwell on the negative too much…use it to keep you clean and sober."

He nodded, "I will. Amanda, tomorrow I want to wake up and learn the routine from start to finish."

"What time do you need to check in at the outpatient facility?" She questioned.

"Nine. So I'll have plenty of time. Don't worry about me. What are you up to?" He asked as he watched her start working on her project.

Amanda shook her head, "Just running the household budget. I do this every Sunday."

"Ok, can I help?"

"No, not really. But you can watch if you'd like." Amanda scooted her chair over.

Randy pulled his chair closer and watched as she balanced out her checkbook and was very surprised.

Amanda calculated out which bills she could pay for now and which ones were going to have to wait until next time. She wrote down on a piece of paper $78.00 and started to put it into her checkbook.

"Wait, what's $78.00?" Randy asked.

"That's our grocery and gas budget for the week." She replied as she tucked her checkbook into her purse.

"$78.00 for groceries and gas? Oh no. Now that I'm back, we're living as a family. I'm paying the bills and you're managing the house." Randy replied.

"No…I didn't do this for you to come along and pay for everything so in a few months when you go back on the road. I did this so you can show me that you truly meant what you said when you told me you wanted to get back to being Brandon's dad." Amanda said sounding almost insulted.

"Calm down Amanda. I'm not trying to take anything away from you. You've done an amazing job as a single mom. I'm just saying that I want us to try and go back to being a family unit. Please Amanda, let me do this. Even if it's just for now. Let me do this…for us." Randy begged.

Amanda took her glasses off and looked over at Randy, "You want us to try and go back to being a family?"

"YES! That's exactly what I want. I want the three of us to be a family again." Randy said as he reached over and took her hand. "So, tomorrow when you get off of work we are going grocery and house shopping. Unless you want to move over to my place and then we'll do it for there."

Amanda instantly started shaking her head, "Whoa, whoa, whoa…slow down Randy. First you have Vince call me and pull his weight for you to get your way. And, you need to remember you've been out for less than 24 hours and you're talking about some major things here. First off, you were sent HERE to live. Not your place. Plus, we are NOT trying to move Brandon when you have no idea if you can even handle living with me and little man yet. SO…if you want to do grocery and house shopping, fine. I'll let you do that. You want to live as a family again…you're going to have to work towards that."

Randy smiled. Without missing a beat, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, "You won't regret this, I promise."

She closed the computer and finished putting stamps on the bills she was sending out. Then she looked over at Randy, "let's go out to the living room."

They turned on the tv and chilled out for a bit. Amanda explained what the morning would hold again and she asked Randy about what the entire outpatient program would hold. Then Amanda let out a big yawn. "Alright, I've gotta get to bed."

"Ok, show me to my room." Randy replied as he walked over by the door to grab his stuff.

"Well, here you are." She said pointing to the couch. "Here is your room. I only live in a two-bedroom apartment."

"No problem. I can handle a couch." Randy replied.

Amanda brought him out a sheet to lay on the couch and two blankets to cover up with. She also brought him an extra pillow. "Here you go. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sounds good Amanda, I have my alarm set. Good night." Randy said as he stripped down to his underwear.

"Good night Randy." And Amanda walked into the bedroom.

**PLEASE read and review! Let me know what you think. This story is almost done. Thanks for reading!**