A few nights later, Charlie was sleeping soundly in the guest room – turns out dinosaur sheets were all he needed to feel right at home in there – and Michael and Fiona were getting ready for bed.

"You need to cancel whatever you've got going on Thursday morning," Fi called into the bathroom.

Michael rubbed a clear spot onto the glass shower wall. "What's that? I didn't hear you."

"Cancel Thursday morning," she repeated, walking into the bathroom. "We're going to the zoo."

"Why are we going to the zoo?" Michael asked.

"Because Charlie's class is going on a field trip and there's no way we're letting him be that exposed."

"Two year olds go on field trips?" he marveled, stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Evidently," Fi replied.

"All right, I guess we're going to the zoo. Been a while since I did a protection detail. Be good to get back in the saddle," Michael grinned. He brushed the water out of his hair with his fingers and started drying off.

Fi undressed and tossed her dirty clothes to the corner before climbing into bed. "Hey," she said, getting situated under the comforter, "did you call Ruth yet?" Ruth was slowly but steadily improving and was holding her own, all things considered, so the Miami Westens decided to let her know the situation with Charlie. Madeline had gotten in touch with her the day before and had asked Michael to give her a call as well.

Michael looked down, avoiding Fi's eyes. "Not yet," he admitted. "I don't know what to say."

"Uhhh, how about, 'Charlie's doing great and he loves it here.'?" Fi suggested.

"No, that part'll be fine. I'm just dreading a discussion about Nate."

Fiona sat up and extended her arm to Michael. He took her hand and sat down next to her on the side of the bed. "I know. It was awful for all of us to talk to my mom for ages after Claire died. Even if we were just talking about school or cooking or something. Claire was the unspoken subject of every conversation for probably a year.

"You just – you just do it. And it's not that it gets better or easier. You just get used to the horrible. And then one day it's a little less horrible, and the next day a little less, and . . . ."

Michael was quiet as he fiddled with his and Fi's interlocked fingers.

"Honestly, right now she probably just needs someone to listen, to let her say anything or nothing. She's fighting so hard to climb out of that hole to get back to level ground."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly.

Fiona looked at the clock. "It's five after eleven, which means it's five after eight in Vegas. You wanna call her now? I'll do it with you."

Michael looked up from his legs and turned to Fiona. "Yeah," he said, his voice quivering a little. "Thank you."

Fi squeezed his hand as she stretched to her night table for her phone. She scrolled through her contacts list until she landed on Ruth's name. "You ready?" she asked, pushing the green button and holding the phone to her ear.

Michael nodded.

"Two rings," Fiona said. "Three. Oh, hey, Ruth? It's Fiona. . . . Yep, it's me. How are you? . . . Mm-hmm . . . Mm-hmm . . . Well, absolutely, that's why we're calling. Charlie's doing wonderfully. . . . Yep, Michael's right here. Hang on a sec and I'll put you on speaker. Okay, you still there?"

"Yep, I'm here. Hi, Michael," Ruth said. Her voice was thin. Defeated.

"Hi, Ruth. It's good to hear your voice," he replied warmly.

"Yeah, well, I definitely still have my moments, but . . . ." She trailed off, as people do in these kind of conversations. "How's Charlie?"

"He's great. He's having a ball," Michael told her. "Loves his school. Loves to help us cook. He went to a birthday party a while ago and he's got invitations for two more in the next week. Kid's got more of a social life than we do." Michael laughed nervously.

"That's great," Ruth said, her voice breaking. "I wish I was there."

"Ruth, I've been taking pictures like mad. I'll text them to you, okay?" Fiona offered. "Got a few videos, too. There's one in particular you'll love. The boys are hula dancing."

"The boys meaning Charlie and Michael?" Ruth asked, giggling. "I'm sure Michael loved that."

"It's quite the sight to see," Fi agreed. With Ruth's giggle, Fiona knew they'd achieved the superficial bond and comfort women enjoy when they mutually tease or poke fun at a man they both know. It may be superficial, but it's an important first step in a relationship, and right now Fiona was happy to be able to give Ruth any comfort at all.

"Your mom said he's potty training already," Ruth said wistfully.

"Yep, he's doing great," Michael replied, hoping to leave it at that.

"He loves to watch Michael," Fiona chimed in. "Oh my god, Ruth, it's hysterical. He gets so excited and claps for him when he's done. We should all be so lucky to have a cheerleader in the bathroom."

Ruth laughed, her voice starting to gain some strength. "Yeah, Nate used to bring him in there in the mornings. I'd be taking a shower and Nate would watch him. This is when he was, like, six or seven months old. So Nate would move him in his Exersaucer or just put him on the floor or whatever when he went to pee. He used to talk about it like it was this great father-son bonding time, like teaching him to shave or something. He . . . ." Ruth stopped, too choked up to talk.

Michael's eyes filled with tears and he didn't say anything. Fiona broke the silence after three or four seconds. "He was a great dad. Nobody prouder to be a father than Nate," she declared.

The other end of the line was quiet except for the occasional sniff.

"Listen, Ruth, we're gonna let you go. Just know that Charlie is healthy and deliriously happy and he's giving us a real run for our money. We talk to him about you and we show him the pictures of you Madeline put in his little photo book.

"Call me anytime, okay?" Fiona said tenderly. "Michael, too."

Michael cleared his throat. "Absolutely. Anytime," he managed to say.

"Thank you, guys," Ruth said, crying but obviously trying to stop. "Thank you so much."

"No need to thank us, but you're most welcome," Fiona assured her.

"Kiss Charlie for me, okay? Tell him I love him so much."

"You got it," agreed Fiona. "Good night."

"Night, Ruth," Michael repeated, his voice still shaky.

"G'night."

Fiona pressed the red button and tossed her phone on her night table. She looked at Michael, waiting for him to make eye contact. When he didn't, she leaned her head on his left shoulder and put her arm around his back. They sat silently for a few moments.

"I'm gonna go out in the back for a bit, okay?" he said to the ground.

"Of course. You want to be alone?"

"I do. I'll be in soon." He stood and walked out of their room, never looking at her.

A/N: Short and sad. I wasn't planning to write a chapter like this, but it just flew from my fingers. Thanks for your continued kind words.