Carol was sitting beside Ollie's bed while he was drifting off to sleep. Daryl had had a huge sleep and they went to the park in the late afternoon. Carol had played quietly with Ollie finally able to relax in her knowledge that he would not let anything happen to him. Also she wasn't alone anymore, she knew that even with all he did he wouldn't let anything happen to Ollie right now. It was good to feel safe she hadn't felt safe for a long time now especially now she had the threat of having him taken off her.

They then went out for dinner. It was an awkward affair Daryl was trying to help with Ollie in some way but the little guy was over tired and refusing to sit at the table, in the end Carol was eating one handed and she'd lost pretty much all her appetite because she kept seeing the look on Daryl's face, it was similar to the one he had when they lost their baby, he was realizing quickly that he'd lost a big chunk of this little boy's life. To be honest she really didn't have time to consider his feeling right now, she was too busy dealing with all her own.

They made their way back to the motel room, Carol brought back with her the food she hadn't eaten and used the tiny kitchen to make herself a cup of tea hoping that would calm her stomach. She just wanted to sleep and sleep for a very long long time without worrying about someone trying to get at her by using Ollie to do it. Carol wasn't able to shut it down, she couldn't help but worry what would happen when they caught up with her. They would work out quickly she was gone and when they put two and two together they would track her easily back to Daryl.

Carol had given ollie a shower in the bathroom then dressed him in a slept suit and went through a routine to put him to bed. She'd always put him to bed. If it wasn't Carol putting him to bed it was Tara. He was a easy going little boy, full of words and questions. He'd been firing questions to Daryl all day. Some of the questions raised her eyebrows to wonder how Daryl would answer them.

Carol explained it away because he hadn't been around men at all. She didn't date or introduced him to men anywhere and the fact that Daryl was one of the first men she'd let him talk to he wanted to know all about him from whether he stood up to pee and had a penis to did he brush his teeth with a tooth brush. Daryl didn't know what to do about the questions and Carol told him just to answer them straight forward like he would answer any question. Be honest.

'Do you have a penis?' Ollie asked Daryl.

'Yes, do you?'

'Yes because I'm a boy, boys have a penis and girls have a vagda, mum has one so does Aunty Tara but I have a penis,' He told Daryl like he was letting him into some trade secret as he dropped his voice for the last bit, Daryl went a little red at his explanation about his Mum and Aunty Tara. 'Your not sposed to show anyone so you just have to believe me ok,'

'Ok dude I believe you,' he glanced at Carol a little shocked about the way the conversation was heading. He seemed to have a big understanding of Stranger Danger which was good.

'Do you have a toothbrush?' Ollie asked.

'Yes, its a red one, what colours yours?'

'Yellow with ducks, you wanna see it?'

'Sure,'

'Do you have boy jocky's?' Ollie asked him.

'Yes, I've got black ones,'

'Mine have trucks on them,' Ollie was full of questions and wanted answers. 'You just have to believe me cos mum will growl if I showed anyone,'

'Do you have any kids?' Ollie asked him, Daryl clammed up and told Ollie he needed to take a nap, he was really tired. Carol saw the heartbreak flash across his face. He didn't know how to answer the constant questions. Ollie become interested in the facial hair on Daryl's face. He touched it every chance he got. When he got out of the shower Carol was trying to get him dressed Ollie was looking at Daryl lying on the bed, he was napping again.

'Is he like a baby, needs lots of sleep?' Ollie asked Carol.

'No he just drove all night long to find us, he's very tired and tomorrow we are going to go stay at Daryl's place for a bit,' Carol put on his pj's, 'would you like that?'

'Does he like children?' Ollie asked her, Carol looked across at Daryl and could tell by the way he was breathing he was faking it. He didn't want to intrude on their conversation. Carol did wonder if he did like children she had no doubt he'd had loved their daughter, finding out about Ollie was a shocker and he really didn't know where it was all going. She wondered if he was trying to get to know the little boy reluctantly at the moment. He seemed to be a little shocked about it all still. He seemed to be really struggling with the guilt.

'I think he likes you, that's all we need to worry about right now,'

'He's not going to scare us?'

'No, he's a good man, he's a nice man, Mummy wouldn't come with him if he was going to scare us,' Carol told him, she pulled him up to cuddled him. She rocked him a little before tucking him into bed, stroking his head and then when he fell asleep she looked across at Daryl. It was all that was keeping her sane at the moment that he was a good man he wouldn't hurt Ollie and would do his best to protect him, he drove all night to help her with Ollie and she had to separate the cheating from the helping her because it was all starting to muddle inside her head, 'He's asleep,' she told him quietly as she moved about tucking him down in the bed.

'You think I'm still a good man even though I did that to you?' Daryl asked her quietly.

'I think ... I think we made a lot of mistakes, I forgave you a long time ago, I'm not going to forget though,' Carol told him, 'I went to counseling for 2 years and a grief group for that long, I think you are still a good man, you drove all night for us without second guessing he might not be yours, and even if he wasn't yours you still drove all night to help us... that makes you a very good man, and I thank you for that,'

He shifted up in his bed looking at her. His expression was hard to read she knew he wanted to ask her more questions about it but Carol wouldn't let him go there, she had to make it though the next couple of days and get Ollie to the house where they could come up with some sort of plan to make it look like their marriage was back on track and if Social Services arrived they would arrive finding a couple who'd found love again living with their son. Planning a future together, even if it was all just a big fat lie.

'But it doesn't mean we are a thing, I know he's going to come after me again, send in people in this state. I can't get back with you but I need you to help me make them think that we are a couple, happily married again,'

'What did this guy do?'

'He works for the state, Phillip Blake, he wanted me to you know... and when I said 'No' it just turned to shit, he demoted me, I lost my job and our apartment and then he got me evicted from our last place and the old guy who was the landlord said he was going to send in Child Services because I was homeless... Tara sorted everything out for me, I guess she rung you too, I had no other choice but to go to a man for protection even though I ...'

'He tried to force himself on you?' Daryl sounded angry, he'd met guys like that before who thought they could get whatever they wanted. It made him sick that someone had threatened her and made it impossible to raise Ollie the way she wanted too. He was pleased she was back but he knew right in that moment he was a last resort which indicated how much she really disliked him. He didn't blame her, he disliked himself right now, he just never thought Carol would let him know outright how much she really really hated him.

'Carol... I'ma ... ' Daryl struggled to say something, she knew he wanted to talk about her and she just couldn't.

'Don't... I can't right now, maybe when we get home,' Carol said.

'I kept everything, I packed it away the way you wanted it, I finished the scrapbook thing, probably not the way you wanted it but... I ...'

'Please stop saying you're sorry,' Carol said, she moved off the bed and moved around. Daryl moved over on the double bed, she sat down for a moment, 'Stop saying your sorry, I know you are, I just can't go there anymore, I don't have those ... I don't know, I just don't feel that way about you anymore, it went when I saw you with her, but I think we could be friends,'

She stood up and went to her back pack coming out with a photo book she handed it to him and went to shower. When she come out he was really looking at the baby photos, she could tell he was trying to see a likeness between Ollie and Sophia. The dimples and the eyes and the little bow mouth was the same. He would see that soon she had no doubts he would see it. She had pj's on, she shoved him over a bit more to give her space and settled down to watch a movie for a bit. They fell asleep on the bed together somehow during the night become intangible with each other. Carol woke before him and wriggled out of his arms, rolled over and stared at the little bump in the bed beside the big one with the little boy she was trying to keep safe.