Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle and Lilly.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Mpreg, Non-Con, Child Abuse, etc.

The next time that Hunter awoke, Mark and Lilly were in the room. Lilly sat on her father's knee, her stuffed dolly tucked safely away in her little arms. Mark fussed over her hair worriedly. Soon, he knew that he would have to tell her that Hunter was on life-support and after – how many months had it been now – it didn't look like he would survive. But Lilly had faith in Hunter, so Mark took her in to visit him every afternoon at one o' clock.

Lilly suckled on her candy, kicking her little feet back and forth as she watched Hunter stir. It wasn't unusual for him to move around. Mark said it was involuntary movement. Lilly didn't understand a word of it, but she had nodded anyhow. Her father was very smart, after all. He would know about this kind of stuff. But when he turned his head to the side, his hazel eyes fixed on her, she knew that this wasn't an 'involuntary movement'.

"Daddy!" She took hold of Mark's hand, excitement on her little face as she jabbed her thumb in the direction of Hunter's frail body. "Look! He's awake!"

"Sweetie, I know that that's what you want to see, but he's very sick. It's just another involuntary movement." He stroked her hair softly. "Now, come back here before you choke on your candy."

"No, Daddy! Look!" Lilly started to jump up and down, careful not to choke on her candy. Mark tried to reach for her, but Lilly slid onto Hunter's bed. Hunter's hazel eyes flickered down to her.

"Lilly, be careful! You don't want to accidentally hurt him, baby!" Mark exclaimed, worried for his baby and for his husband. "Come back here now."

Hunter took this chance to carefully remove his oxygen mask. "It's okay, Mark. I don't mind her being on the bed." He wheezed out. Without the mask, he was immediately breathless and woozy.

Now Mark could see what he had been blind to before. "Hunter!" Immediately, he was out of his seat and at Hunter's side. "Don't take the mask off, Hunt. Just relax. I'll call in the doctor, and -,"

Hunter cut him off. "No. Not yet. I want you… I want you to tell me about what happened to that little bastard. I want you to tell me what happened to Chris Jericho."

Mark was a bit surprised by the use of vulgar language in front of their precious flower, but he brushed it aside. Carefully, he slid the oxygen mask back onto his husband's face. He started in on the story about what had happened to Chris Jericho. He claimed that he had taken Brielle to Canada shortly after her life-saving operation and had nearly killed her. Hunter's eyes widened and he was thankful that Lilly didn't understand any of this.

Adam had left for Canada to be with Brielle and that was the last that he had heard of Adam for the week. Hunter swallowed hard and Mark decided to end the story there, but not before adding that Chris had been arrested for his crimes. He didn't want to be kicked out for getting Hunter too worked up. Not when he had waited forever for this moment that he feared would ever come. He was just so thankful to be able to see Hunter's eyes once more.

"I have to call the doctor in now, baby. I'm sure that she'll be ecstatic when she finds out that you pulled through." Mark said with a small smile. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like a truck ran me over and my shoulder burns like hellfire, but other than that, I feel amazing." Hunter chuckled dryly, before he slid the mask back on.

"Well, I don't want you to worry. As soon as your medically cleared, you'll come home with us and I assure you, Lilly is the cutest nurse ever." Mark turned to her with a small smile. "Isn't that right, flower?"

Lilly beamed at her two parents. She nodded enthusiastically, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders. "That's right, Daddy!" And then, she slid off of the bed and walked over to the chair that they had sat in earlier.

"What are you doing, baby?" Mark asked.

"I brought a present for you, Mommy." Lilly said. She took her dolly and placed it on Hunter's chest.

Hunter removed the mask and picked up the dolly carefully. "You didn't have to do this, flower. This is your special dolly from Aunt Stephanie." He said.

But Lilly insisted. "I want you to have it, though. So you won't be lonely." Lilly beamed.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Thank you, baby."

Mark lifted her into his arms. "You're welcome, Mommy."

Mark looked out into the hallway. The doctor came down the hall and was about to come inside. "The doctor is here, Hunter. I'm gonna take Lilly down to the cafeteria and we'll be back in a little while, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. Be safe."

Before all of this, Mark would have laughed and asked what was the worst that could have happened. But now, he only smiled and assured his husband that no harm would come to them in their short journey downstairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter clutch the dolly to his chest. Finally, his husband was awake and was going to make a full recovery. And to think, he would have lost hope had it not been for one very special little princess.

It had been one week since the birth of little Doan and his parents couldn't have been more excited. After three days in the emergency care unit, they were able to take the baby home to the little apartment that they shared. John was reluctant to leave his side. Mike didn't blame him. While it hadn't been too difficult of a birth, there had been a few complications post-birth that had had him fearful for the pretty ravenette's life.

Mike stood in the doorway, a small smile on his face as he watched the scene unfold. John shook little baby noisemakers outside of the crib, watching as Doan's eyes lit with curious wonder. He reached out for them, his little fingers curling reflexively into a fat fist. And when his arm would swing out toward the toy, he would look at it in fearful confusion. Which would be followed by the cutest rain of baby laughter that Mike had ever heard.

Mike loved his little family. If he were to be honest, he had always wanted to have a family with John. But John had always been reluctant. He was afraid that his past life on the streets would come back to haunt them somehow. And no matter how many times Mike tried to convince him that he didn't care how John had lived his life before, that what mattered was the here and the now, John sometimes had a hard time believing him.

"He's beautiful." John whispered after a moment of reverent silence. All noise had ceased and the baby had fell into a serene slumber. "I just… I still can't believe that he's ours."

"Well, you can believe it, Johnny. You're safe and sound and so is Doan. Nobody will take him away from you, from us." Mike assured him softly. He set a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"How can you be so sure? I don't… I don't deserve…" He looked down at the baby worriedly. "I don't deserve to have something as beautiful as him. You wouldn't lie to me about this, would you?"

Mike's eyes widened. Hurriedly, he shook his head, taking John's face in his hands. "No, baby. Never. You know that I could never lie to you. I only wish that you would trust me enough to tell me what has made you so untrusting."

John sniffled weakly, his eyes red-rimmed as tears shimmered within them. "Do you honestly want to know?"

"Yeah." Mike said, staring pointedly into the other man's chocolate eyes. "It will help you heal, baby."

"I was attacked at the dance club a few years back. It was before we met. I suppose all dancers are attacked in some way or another in their career, but this… it was brutal. When Hunter and Mark finally found me, I had almost bled to death. My attacker had taken it upon himself to carve his initials onto the back of my neck as well.

"They asked me if I wanted to file a police report. They had his initials and they had the room, which was practically destroyed and coated in my blood. But I turned them down. I didn't want to relive the whole mess in court. Besides, like Adam's case, men with money know how to make problems like us disappear.

"It was only after I had turned down the rape kit that I discovered that I was pregnant by the bastard. I wasn't ready to be a father, but at the same time, I knew that I didn't want to terminate the pregnancy. I had planned to give the baby up for adoption, but before I could find a family, I miscarried. And now, I've been given a second chance, and…"

Mike immediately took John into his arms and allowed the ravenette to sob into his chest. How someone could do something so brutal to someone as precious as John was beyond him. But, at the same time, it felt as if the divide between them had become somewhat smaller now that he knew the truth. And as he held the crying beauty, he promised himself that he would never let anyone hurt John again.

The nurse smiled down at the sweet little baby on the bed. Brielle offered a weak smile in return. She couldn't help but still think about her Mommy's earlier visit. "Nurse lady?"

"What is it, sweetie?" The nurse asked kindly as she checked the child's vitals. All seemed to be well within normal parameters. "Do you feel okay?"

"I feel fine." Brielle said. "I want my Mr. Fluffykins bear, but he fell under the bed. Can you get him for me?" She asked, batting her eyelashes sweetly. The nurse nodded.

She reached under the bed and retrieved the bear, tucking it safely under one of Brielle's tiny arms. "There you are. He's safe and sound. Is there anything else that I can do for you, sweetie?"

Brielle was silent for a moment, before she nodded. "Can you call my Mommy for me? I want to see him."

The nurse smiled and nodded, thankful that the child was finally speaking for a change. "Of course."