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

Carefully, Adam drew the blanket over his daughter's tiny body. She was already unconscious, her blonde curls splayed out over the pillow behind her tiny head, but Adam continued to murmur sweet words of comfort to her. It was apparent to Randy that he was still having difficulty accepting the fact that she was alive and well, knowing that nobody would be able to take her from him. Randy could tell that he was still in that courtroom, afraid for his life and the life of Brielle.

Another minute passed, followed by Adam's shoulders trembling violently. Randy was at his side in an instant, sitting on the side of the bed (careful to avoid Brielle's tiny feet under the thick, woolen blanket) and wrapped an arm around Adam's shoulders. The blond turned to him suddenly, startled. He blinked rapidly, attempting to conceal the tears that streaked down his pretty face. But Randy could see it and it broke his heart. Reaching up, he wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb.

"What's the matter, baby?" Randy asked softly, making sure that he wouldn't wake up Brielle. "C'mon now, don't cry. You know that you can tell me anything, don't you?" He continued, cleaning Adam's face of any stray tears.

Adam shook his head, looking downward. Randy, thinking this was a rejection, was about to interject – that was, of course, until Adam opened his mouth and started to pour his heart out. "I was so… I was so stupid! Oh God – what did I do?"

Randy shushed him softly, rocking them both back and forth in the process. "Shh… hush now, baby boy. It's okay. You're not stupid. Just tell me what happened. C'mon, baby, it's okay."

Adam tilted his head back, staring at him with watery eyes. "I didn't tell her." And then the tears started to pour from his eyes. "I was so ashamed, I didn't… I was so convinced she would hate me, so I never told her. I never told her about… Brielle."

"Who are you talking about, Addy? Who didn't you tell?" Randy continued to lull him into a semi-conscious state where he was willing to confess just about anything, while still feeling safe and secure.

"I didn't tell… I didn't tell her. My Ma. Oh God, Randy, what did I do?" Adam started to sob into Randy's chest, his tears renewed. He had no mind for waking Brielle anymore, not that the child would have woken anyhow.

Randy held him tight to his chest, closing his eyes as he felt each of Adam's sobs like they were his own. He wished that he could take his lover's misery and make it his own, because then he could understand what made Adam hurt so much. It didn't matter how many times he heard the story. It didn't matter how long he sat there and held the beautiful blond as he cried. It wasn't his battle, it wasn't his pain. He could only endure it as a spectator, and that slowly killed him inside.

Adam then proceeded to tell him the small sliver of the story that the court didn't hear – it wasn't that he was withholding evidence, of course, but rather that it wasn't pertinent to the case. After Adam had been assaulted, he had been so sure that he had lost the baby… so terrified, in fact, that he hadn't even told Wade about it. He had scheduled an ultrasound as soon as he could, too mortified to go to the hospital, but by that time, Wade had already 'died'.

He said he had never told his mother because he didn't know how to. His mother had always raised him to believe that he could come to her with anything, but this was far beyond giving some boy a black eye in the playground or having a fall-out with his best friend. No, this was very different. And because of his inability to tell her about Brielle, he had lost all contact with her six years ago. She didn't know about Brielle's kidnapping, or the case, or that he was in Canada at all.

"I.. I miss her so much." Adam sobbed into Randy's chest, just now barely able to bring himself under control.

"If you miss her so much, then why don't we go and see her?" Randy proposed.

Adam drew back, the tears shocked from his eyes. He looked up into Randy's eyes, once again in awe of what this man would do for him. "You'd do that… for me? For… us?"

"Look at me, Adam." Adam didn't dare look away. "I love you. Both you and Brielle are part of my life now. I would do anything within my power to make you happy. And your mother will make you happy."

Adam scrubbed at his eyes, barely able to get any friction with the tears that were glistening there. "But… how do I know that I'll make her happy? What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"She'll want to see you because you're her son and she loves you. And she'll love Brielle too."

For the first time in a long while, a smile broke out on the pretty blonde's face. "You're an amazing man, Randy."

Randy looked down, more than a little embarrassed by the sudden compliment. "I try."

They had rented the room for another three days, not knowing how long the trial would take. Randy insisted, however, that they check out and find a hotel closer to Adam's mother's house. Adam had scoffed and replied that his mother would be insulted that he even insinuated she'd make them stay at a hotel. That had earned a rare, but beautiful laugh from the duo. So, Randy took his wallet and went downstairs. He paid for their stay (and the three extra nights), before he came back up.

By the time he had returned, Adam had all of their suitcases ready (not that they had all that much – it had been a spur of the moment trip, after all, and most of their stuff had been bought in Canada) and Brielle was wrapped loosely in her baby blanket. Her head rested in the crook of Adam's neck and her soft breath made the blond hairs there stand on end. She looked absolutely adorable. Randy smoothed her hair down and kissed her temple, smiling as she cooed softly and shifted in Adam's arms.

"Thank you again for this." Adam whispered now. Now that his emotions had been spent, he didn't want to run the risk of waking the child. "You don't know how much this means to us."

"If it means half as much to you as it does to me, then yeah, I think I do." Randy smiled, before he opened the door and let Adam wander into the hallway. It was the start of their new adventure… together.

Adam cuddled Brielle to his chest, standing in front of the door to his mother's house. He stared at it for several minutes, the look on his face depicting a man who was afraid that something was about to leap out of the dark and violently assault him. Brielle let out a soft cry and Adam started to rock her back and forth, having forgotten for a second how cold it was outside. The poor baby must be absolutely freezing.

Brielle's sweet eyes slowly flickered, and her long ebony lashes parted to reveal sleep-hazed eyes. "Momma?" She slurred, rubbing at her eye with one fat fist. "Momma, where are we?" She asked, her voice ever-so-innocent.

"We're at Grandma's house, baby girl." Adam answered nonchalantly. He was too busy staring into the memories of his childhood to notice the look of confusion on his daughter's face.

"Who's Grandma?" Brielle asked, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

Finally, Adam was broken out of his reverie. "She's my Momma, baby. And she'll be so happy to meet you."

Brielle looked uncertain. "Brielle doesn't like strangers." She almost stuck her thumb in her mouth, but at the last second, thought better of it and retracted it, choosing instead to knot it in her baby blanket.

"Now, Brielle – it's not 'Brielle doesn't like strangers', it's 'I don't like strangers'." Adam corrected her gently. "And Grandma isn't a stranger. She's a very nice lady and she loves us both very much."

Brielle cocked her head to the side, still confused. "Then why hasn't Momma knocked on the door yet?"

That was true. If he was so sure that she would be so happy to see them, why hadn't he knocked on the door yet? Looking back to Randy, who nodded from his position at the car, he took one last definitive step forward and knocked on the door. There was the sound of clatter from the kitchen, followed by the homely voice of a woman that he knew so well. It warmed his heart to think that nothing had changed. He hoped that that was the truth, anyhow.

A few seconds later, the door swung open. His Ma stood on the other side, still dressed in her favorite apron that he had bought for her for mother's day one year. Their eyes locked for a minute, his filled with wonder and awe, hers filling with tears, before she closed the distance between them and pulled him into the tightest, warmest hug that he had ever received. She didn't even notice the tiny bundle in his arms until she let out a semi-uncomfortable wheeze. Judy pulled away hurriedly.

"What was that?" She asked, her eyes wide and confused.

"Ma…" Adam took a deep breath. It was time to throw all of his cards down onto the table and hope for the best. "Ma, this is your granddaughter, Brielle. Brielle, meet your Grandma."