"It was incredible, Shan. When I carried him...just the feel of his little body against my chest, holding him in my arms...I..." He couldn't continue. These waves of emotion kept hitting him. When he was teaching, standing at the board, talking about finding the emotion behind a song, he'd feel the tears welling. Every tiny thing seemed to mean so much more now. Now that he had a child.

"I'm really glad the visit went so well, Will. I am."

Will laughed. "Look at me. I'm an emotional wreck. I know they say becoming a father changes everything but I had no idea what that really meant. I mean, I think about him all the time, Shan. And that's great but also, I mean, I had this amazing day with him and then I'm looking at him and I know I have to leave. And that I won't see him all week...and I wanted to stay. I'm thinking another half an hour, time to play with him, maybe read a story, and then I'm overcome by this panic that I won't be able to leave him...like, if I don't leave that second, I just won't be able to bear it. I just won't be able to walk away."

He sighed. Shannon placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I know it's tough, Will, but it's going to be worth it, every moment you do get to spend with him."

"Yeah, I just... is it always going to be like that? His whole life I'm going to get to feel close to him... then have to walk away. And if it's like this now...I mean I'm only just knowing him, what will it be like when he's so completely... mine?"

"You love him, Will. That's..that's just how it is. When you really love someone, I think that's always gonna come with some hurt too. And you know, you and Emma, you'll work this out. When do you see him again?"

"Next weekend, they're coming to Lima for the weekend. Do you want to meet him, Shan?"

"You sure, Will? You don't have that much time with him. And it's all precious, that time you spend together. It can wait, if you want."

"Shan, I want him to be a part of my life here. And there's no one I'd rather have him meet."

"Better not let your parents hear that. They might have something to say about that. Their only grandchild."

She gave him a look.

"Will?"

"I haven't told them."

"Why not? Don't you think it's something they should hear from you? Instead of wondering who the little kid they see you walking down the street with is."

"I...I just wanted to keep this...as something good...because it is. But you know them, they won't see it that way. God, you know what they're like...what they thought about Emma and me."

Shannon nodded. He'd told her how they'd felt about that relationship. That he should have found a way to save his marriage. His mom stilll sent Terri Christmas cards, probably a gift too. They even met up for lunch now and then. When he was with Emma she never stopped telling him that Terri was his wife, that he should find a way to make it work. And he knew it wasn't easy on his parents, that Terri had been a part of their lives for so long, she was family to them, but he just wanted to scream at them. Didn't they care that she faked a pregnancy? Everyone makes mistakes was their answer to that. But now here he was with a child of his own, they had a grandchild, and he didn't trust them to be happy for him.

"I...I'll tell them. Just maybe not yet. Not until things are more settled." Maybe what he meant was not until he trusted this was real.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Emma drove along the familiar streets, following their journey to the park where Zac had first met Will. That was what they'd agreed, in their brief phone conversation, that they would meet in the park. Zac would have a chance to play, run around, it would be nice and relaxed. She took deep breaths as she gripped the wheel. Why hadn't she asked him who he was bringing? Why didn't she ask him how serious things were? She kept imagining him saying the words "we're expecting a baby of our own soon". She knew it was crazy but what if this relationship of his was serious, what if he did start another family? Would he have time for Zac then? Was this just filling time until that happened? Practising until his real child came along.

And why was she even doing this? Rushing things along. She couldn't even answer that question herself. Did she hope that if she integrated Zac fully into Will's life that it would be as though these years had never happened? That Zac had always been in his life. Did she want this for Zac? Or was she trying to satisfy her own awful curiosity about the state of Will's life? Answer a question that she wasn't brave enough to ask outright. That she didn't even want to admit that she still cared about.

As they pulled into the parking lot, she could see on the bench where they'd met before, Will, in the distance, and he was embracing a woman. And she felt that familiar twisting in her gut, that sickening feeling, and she knew it had to be an echo of what she'd felt before. That it wasn't real. It wasn't now. But it felt a lot like it. And she had to make herself turn around and look at Zac and smile. To remind herself why she was doing any of this.

"Baby, we're here. We're going to see Will and meet his special friend."

She smiled again. If she just kept smiling then she could do this.

Zac squirmed as she undid his harness and she kissed the top of his head as she lifted him out of the car and then watched him run towards Will across the grass.

Will was scooping Zac up into his arms, lifting him high in the air, as she started towards them. And when she glanced passed them she realized with shock that the figure sitting on the bench was Shannon. Her friend. Will's friend. McKinley's football coach.