"Dad?"

Alex's call made Miles pause at the top of the stairs. He slowly turned and walked back to the partially opened doorway, then poked his head into the room. His son was burrowed under his blanket, which was pulled up to almost his nose. The small lamp on top of the dresser acted as a night light so that a soft glow illuminated the room. Their eyes met and he frowned slightly upon seeing Alex wide awake.

"You were supposed to be asleep hours ago. What are you still doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep." he threw the blanket back and sat up, shoulders hunched. There was a furrowed expression on his face as Miles walked further into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "I-I was- I don't know."

He ended with a sigh, fiddling with his hands. The gesture caught his father's attention and Miles frowned further as he scanned the bed.

"Where's Ollie?" the toy had been Alex's companion since the first time they had met and was rarely out of sight come bed time. Now, it was nowhere to be found. The question resulted in a shrug but he noticed Alex's gaze shift towards the closet on the opposite side of the room. He turned slightly and saw the stuffed dog laying in a heap, as though it had been flung towards the door with very little care. "What is he doing over there?"

He stood up, ready to grab the toy, when Alex made a protesting noise.

"No, I-I don't want him." he muttered.

"Since when?"

"Since-" he broke off as he chewed on his lip. There was a sudden creak from the hallway, signaling one of the floorboards had been stepped on. They both glanced at the door but saw no one. Still, Miles was aware of Nora lingering just out of sight. "I just don't."

He wondered if someone had made a degrading comment about the toy, insinuating it was for babies or some garbage like that. In the years leading up to the blackout, he had hated the startling 'maturity' most kids had found. They hadn't acted like kids. If his son wanted to hang onto some raggedy dog, so be it. He'd rather Alex cling to a stuffed animal than suddenly turn to items beyond his maturity level. There was nothing wrong with him retaining his innocence, especially in today's society. He would see to it that that lasted as long as possible. Besides, it wasn't like he was dependent on the damn thing. It was a security object. Hell, he was pretty sure his own raggedy teddy bear was still hidden somewhere in his childhood home.

"Fine. That's your prerogative. Just seems like a sudden change, that's all. Still, he shouldn't be on the floor." he scooped the dog up and set it on the dresser, just to the side of the lamp. "Kind of looks a little lonely. Bet the bed is a lot more comfy."

"It's just a stupid toy."

"What makes you think that?"

"Cause it is. I don't want it." he frowned, ducking his head down. His fingers fumbled with the blanket, as though he was trying to find something to occupy his hands with.

"Seems to me like you do. Probably why you can't sleep, cause you're used to having him next to you." Miles replied quietly. He sat back down, this time next to Alex, and nudged him gently with his shoulder. "You know, it's okay to have something you like, even if it seems really dumb."

"I don't want to like him."

"Why?"

There was a moment of hesitation, then Alex whispered, "Cause it's from him."

The admission surprised Miles. They hadn't discussed Bass much- if at all. It had been as though Alex had forced him from his memory and wanted to act like Miles and Nora had been there from the beginning.

"That's okay too." he replied slowly.

"No it's not." he shook his head gently. "I shouldn't- I shouldn't-"

He sighed in frustration and possibly sadness as Miles observed him. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pressed his head against his.

"I don't want you feeling guilty." he muttered. Over the top of Alex's head, he saw Nora move more into the doorway, a concerned frown etched in her face. He waved at her, a warning that he would deal with this, and saw her eyes spark dangerously. She wanted to be the one to comfort their son but frankly, he wasn't sure Alex would admit this to her. After a moment, she relented and her shoulders slumped, then she nodded and continued on to their bedroom.

"I'm not guilty."

"Just a little yeah. We'll have to work on your lying skills. Don't tell your mother. She won't be too happy with me."

"I just-" Alex hesitated, frowning deeply. Miles could tell he was trying to come up with some way to explain himself. It must have been difficult- being so young, yet having to deal with such a difficult topic. "When- when you and Mom took me, I heard things about him and I thought everyone was lying. I didn't know who to believe and I felt bad because I liked you and Mom and I knew uh- um- R-Rachel, she didn't like that. She would say things and so did Uncle Jeremy and- and um- Bass, about how you and Mom were lying and you really didn't care but I didn't believe that. I don't know. I just... I trusted you. When I um- when I got back to him, I saw how mean he was to Mom and I didn't like that. He lied to me. A lot. I realized he did do things everyone said and you never did anything they said. But, I still-"

He scratched the side of his head, looking fully ashamed of himself.

"Dad,"

"It's okay."

"I don't want you to get mad."

"That would never happen."

"It's really confusing and I know I shouldn't like him or her and I'm sorry."

"Alex, I wouldn't expect anything less from you. You don't have to be sorry. They were a part of your life for a long time."

"But it's wrong!"

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I know you and Mom would get mad."

"We wouldn't get mad."

"She would. I know she gets sad. I don't want her to know."

"Sad and mad are two different things."

"Doesn't matter."

"It kind of does." Miles put his elbow on his thigh and leaned his head against his hand. He didn't have the answers, wasn't even really sure if there were any. If he could, he would erase the past seven years of their lives but he couldn't and he had to accept that Bass and Rachel had played a part in Alex's life, as infuriating and ridiculous as it was.

"They're bad people."

"Yes," he exhaled a slow sigh, trying to find some politically correct way around all of this, "but they weren't bad to you."

"They took me. I'm... I'm... I'm mad." Alex said, with a tone that made it seem as though this was a sudden realization. He lifted his head to meet Miles's gaze. "I'm mad."

"You have a right to be."

"But then I'm not."

"I know. Unfortunately, you had to see two sides of someone you thought you knew." he scratched the side of his jaw. He didn't know what to say without insinuating his life had been a total lie. "Still, as odd as this sounds, it doesn't diminish how they cared for you."

"But it was just a lie so it didn't mean anything anyway." he replied. That stopped Miles from responding as he stared with surprise and felt slightly impressed. Clearly, Alex wasn't as naïve as he tried to make him out to be. "So that's why I don't get why I still think about them."

"It'll get easier as time goes on. I hate to say it but you're never going to be able to completely get rid of them. Eventually, you're going to find something that reminds you of them, even if you're trying not to. Were you happy?"

"I think so. I don't know."

"Pretend you don't know what you know now. Were you happy?"

"Yes." he whispered, almost as though he didn't want to admit it.

"Then that's all that matters. I don't ever want you thinking that you need to forget those years or not want to remember. It's still a part of you. Could things have been better? Yeah, definitely. But they could have been a lot worse too and they weren't. You just... you need to accept things and move on. You can't change the past. You need to... embrace everything. That's what makes us who we are, even if we'd rather not dwell on bad experiences. I know from experience."

"It hurts."

"I know buddy. It's confusing and you want answers and your mom and I don't have some of them." Miles slipped his arm over Alex's shoulder again and pulled him in close. "I think the best thing, even if it's not the easiest, is to focus on what's going on now."

"I do love you." he mumbled. "I don't want you to think I don't."

"I know you do. Don't worry about that. I understand how you're feeling. I'm not surprised in the least. I don't want you bottling this up inside you. Talk to us. We told you that. We're going to listen."

"Mom will get sad."

"It may be difficult to hear but we'll handle it. We take care of you, not the other way around." he said quietly. He felt Alex turn his face against his shoulder and rub his cheek along his shirt, wiping off a stray, silent tear. "I love you kid. Don't ever think otherwise or think you could do something to change that. I'm not going anywhere and I promise that you can always trust me and count on me. Alright?"

The response was a simple nod but it was enough for Miles to give a nod of his own and pull away.

"Alright. I want you to go to sleep so back under the covers, eyes shut, all that good stuff."

"Can- do you think we could read another chapter?" he asked meekly as he fell back against the pillows. Miles smirked as he grabbed the book off the night stand but said,

"I get it. This was all a rouse. One chapter and that's it. Got it?"

"Okay."

Nora woke up the next morning alone and slightly confused until she remembered Miles had been speaking with Alex when she had gone to bed. She gave a small smile as she climbed out of bed and wandered down the hall to the other bedroom. The smile widened as she stood in the doorway and observed them. Alex was under his blanket but curled against Miles's side with an arm throw over his leg. Miles was propped up against the headboard, a hand over Alex's back, and his head sagged to the side. The book- a battered copy of The Prisoner of Azkaban- was propped on his leg with the spine facing up, as though he had paused momentarily and never picked it back up.

She knew he had to be stiff and would undoubtedly complain once he was awake. Yet the sight of them together was too much for her to ruin. She stepped quietly into the room, grabbed the throw blanket off the chest at the foot of the bed, and placed it over Miles. She ran a hand softly over Alex's hair, then leaned in, and kissed Miles's forehead gently. He stirred, turned his head, and opened his eyes partially.

"Go back to sleep." she whispered. He moved his eyebrows slightly, which she took as a sign of acknowledgment, and shut his eyes once more. He shifted his posture, rolling more towards their son, and threw his other arm around him in a protective hold. The novel slipped off his leg and she picked it up, folded the page, then set it on the night stand. She took one last glance at them, then turned the light off, and slipped out of the room.

It was later in the morning when he finally woke up and joined her in the kitchen. As far as she knew, Charlie and Jason were still asleep, as was Alex.

"You're a sucker, you know that?" she smiled. "How many chapters did he weasel out of you last night?"

"Well, we did two. He supposedly fell asleep, then when I walked by, we had a nice discussion, and I think I did another two before I fell asleep in the third." he replied, yawning loudly. "My neck is killing me."

"I could imagine." she set down the bowl she was cleaning, then walked behind the chair he was sitting in. She laid one hand against the back of his neck and began to rub gently, eliciting a quiet groan from him.

"It wasn't a hint."

"No but you earned it."

"What did I do?"

"Just by being you. Though, finding you and him cuddling this morning was a nice touch."

"We weren't cuddling."

"What do you call it then?"

"... manly sleeping."

"That was weak." she laughed, leaning over his shoulder to kiss him. "I love you."

"Thanks."

"I'm serious. I love watching you with him. I love that you stepped up last night and did the comforting."

"As much as it killed you." he smirked.

"Yeah," she nodded with a smile of her own.

"How much did you hear?"

"Not much." she admitted. He quickly filled her in on what Alex had confided in him, then waited as she digested the information. Finally, she said quietly, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"I don't think so."

"I kind of thought it was odd how quickly he took to us the second time around."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"I guess he has been struggling. I mean, he has Bass and that's life for him. Then we find him and tell him these things and he's forced to decide whether it's true or not. He can't imagine that Bass could be who he's hearing about. Just when he's starting to get comfortable with us, they take him back to Philly. Now he's even more confused because he's hearing another side to the story but he can't imagine that either because he's been with us and seen how much we care about him."

"I think seeing you captive in Philly was the catalyst. He was opened up to something he had never witnessed and even that young, he realized this person he thought he knew was a complete stranger."

"I would imagine that's why he was immediately so clingy with us. He's trying to keep a grasp on the only thing he understands now." she smiled a little- somewhat sadly. "I don't want to disappoint him."

"Funny, he says the same thing about you."

"What?"

"He worries about you. He thinks if he tells you this, it's going to upset you. He doesn't want to think about Bass or Rachel but he can't help it. He feels guilty, like we're going to be mad that he feels conflicted. The thing is, I don't think he fully understands it himself. All he knows is he had a family, they turned out to be bad, but they were still his family. He's upset with them and worst of all is he's questioning if any of it was real. As easy as it is to say let it go and realize what he has now and see that we're doing everything we can for him, there is this part of him that's theirs and he feels... neglected, I guess."

"I wish we could pretend it didn't happen."

"But we can't."

"I know that. I don't want him to think he needs to watch himself around me. He can come to me for anything."

"I told him that. I think he still sees it as all of us feuding and doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

"He shouldn't have to worry about that. He's just a kid. He shouldn't even realize what is going on." she muttered. The oven beeped, causing her to stand up and him to twist in his seat.

"What did you make?"

"Brownies for the party."

"Party?" he frowned deeply in confusion, then went blank faced. "Oh shit, that's today."

"Mhmm. So everyone better get up soon and get ready because she said to be there by twelve-thirty. I'd rather not be the first or the last people to arrive. That would just be awkward." she moved through the kitchen stiffly and mechanically, making him stand up and grab her gently.

"Nora, things are going to figure themselves out. It may feel like it's been forever around here but he needs time to adjust, really adjust. He can pretend all he wants but there are a lot of unresolved issues that we need to deal with."

"I know. I know that. It's just- things shouldn't be this way. He shouldn't have to deal with this. We shouldn't be second guessing ourselves."

"No, they shouldn't. But they are and we have to fight through it. All we can do is what we have been doing."

"And when does it stop? When do we finally get to say we're a family and he accepts that?"

"He does accept that. He's more than willing to. I think that's something that is bothering him because he understands that. He knows who we are, he loves us. We are a family. He wants it but this is holding him back. He doesn't want to seem ungrateful, like he's busy worrying over them when he has us."

"I get so angry when I think about all of this. Because you're right, we can't pretend like Bass didn't exist and this didn't happen. I just can't- I don't know." she shook her head, tugging on her ponytail gently in frustration. "We are standing here, trying to put these pieces back together again, and I'm terrified that we are going to screw it up, like we're going to do something that upsets him or things aren't going to be okay. It's not-"

"Morning," Alex yawned loudly as he stumbled into the kitchen. It seemed from his lack of reaction that he was unaware of the conversation they were having. He yawned again, then petted Stitch gently as he sat at the table.

"Hey sweetheart." she plastered a fake smile onto her face as Miles leaned in and kissed her forehead gently. "What do you want for breakfast?"