A/N: Legos and love brought to you by me but stolen from my brother who is the nice guy who gets dumped by a psycho and can still tell me about the state of his heart without sounding like a fruitcake.

Lindsay had chosen a spot in baggage claim that had a pretty good view of the arrivals hallway and despite being short, she was able to see everyone coming off of the planes. She'd been standing there for almost a half hour and was starting to get worried when she recognized the deep red hair, the happy eyes and the bright smile.

"Taylor!"

"Lindsay!"

They happily ran towards each other, hugging and crashing to the floor in an ungraceful, giggling mess of luggage.

"And we're down" Taylor giggled, shaking her hair out of her eyes. "How's your hip?"

"Shut up," Lindsay said, pulling herself off the ground.

"Oh my word, real air feels so good after a day of re-circulated."

"Just wait until you get outside. It's going to feel like breathing hot sludge."

"That's so lovely."

"Let's get your stuff and get out of here."

"Okay. Where are the boys?"

"I left them at home. Actually, we were all going to come and pick you up, but at the last minute Adam said he'd stay home so we could get all our squees and flails out."

"He actually said squees and flails?"

"He certainly did. I don't know what I'm going to do with him."

Taylor giggled and pulled her suitcase off of the luggage carousel.

"Geez kid, you moving in?"

"No, your family sent a bunch of stuff with me. Your mom was canning all last week."

"So your suitcase is going to look like December 31st 1999."

"Basically."

They made their way outside and into the car where Taylor buckled her seatbelt, then turned sideways in her chair, drawing her legs up underneath her as if she was sitting on a couch and not in a car.

"Okay, so," she started as Lindsay pulled the car out of the parking garage.

"So what?"

"I saw Thaddeus this morning."

"Interesting."

"On the way to the train station, your dad insisted that I needed a Danish, so we stopped at the bakery, and Thaddeus just got a job there so he was there."

"How'd that go?"

"Well at first your dad was like "Want to go wait in the car? Want me to give him a piece of my mind? Should I bring out my shot gun stare?" But then he settled down and it wasn't a big deal."

"My dad loves you."

"I know. So anyway, Thaddeus was kind of talking to me, asking where I was going and stuff, and I told him I was going to New York. And he just stood there and he finally goes "Forever?" Like really? What kind of a moron is he? Does he really think I could just up and move to New York? Like I have the money for that. So I told him I was just visiting you, and he started to say all this stuff about how he misses me and wants me back."

"What did you say?"

"I just took the Danish and left. I didn't know what to say. Especially since…"

"Since what?"

"I'm kind of seeing someone else."

"You hop-around," Lindsay accused good naturedly.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't want a relationship really. But I started those classes at the college and he goes there and we have a lot in common and he's really nice. I mean, he has a little bad boy streak in him, but more crazy than bad boy."

"Does bad boy have a name?"

"Jacob Mettler. You'd like him, Linds. He's really nice and super smart and he has good taste in music. And the bad boy crazyness is nothing worse than the things that you and your brothers used to do. And he's really polite. I mean, your mom and I were at the grocery store one day and he just walked right up and introduced himself and shook her hand like he'd grown up in England or something. And he's really supportive of studying abroad, even though he says he'll miss me. And it's different than with Thaddeus. He and I just kind of slipped into a relationship because we'd known each other forever. But Jacob, it's like he just liked me right away for who I was at that moment."

"Oh kid," Lindsay sighed. "You're not such a kid anymore."

"No, not really."

"You sound like you really like him."

"I really do. And even if I wasn't interested in him, he's still the kind of guy I would be friends with, you know? I can talk to him about anything and he's just… I've never had someone that supports me. I mean, I have you and your family, but I've never had someone that's my age, you know?"

"Yeah. You look so happy talking about him."

"I am. I really am."

"Then I'm happy too. Has he met dad?"

"Not yet, but your mom talked him up so well, I'm not worried."

"That's good."

Taylor nodded and looked out the window with a little sigh.

"You know, sometimes I wonder why I wasn't just dropped into your family to begin with. Your parents always tell me they love me. Your mom is just… well, you know how she is. And your dad always tells me that I'm their second chance at raising a normal daughter."

"I can feel the love."

"I know they will never love me like they love their own kids, but when they say I'm their girl or they hug me or something, sometimes I pretend that I really am theirs. Is that weird?"

"Not at all. They really do love you, Tay. I am pretty sure that they always will."

"I always worried that people would stop loving me. Because my parents seemed to, you know? And then you guys happened, and I've never really worried about it."

"Good, because you're totally stuck with us forever."

"I wouldn't change it."

They stopped for coffee, not that they needed it, and ice-cream, not that they needed that either, and arrived home almost an hour later. Adam was sitting on the couch playing the xBox while Colton sat next to him, chewing on the extra controller.

"Hey girls."

"Hey. We brought ice-cream," Lindsay said, closing the door behind him. "Have you been playing video games this whole time?"

"Yeah. Are you surprised?"

"Nope."

She took the ice-cream and put it in the freezer, pouring herself a glass of water before she came back.

"Mama!" Colton said, abandoning the controller and reaching out for her. She smiled and picked him up, wiping the drool off of his chin.

"You want to see your auntie Taylor?"

He grinned and looked at Taylor, then buried his face in Lindsay's hair.

"I guess he's going to flirt instead. Want to help me make dinner?"

"Yes. It's been forever since we've cooked together."

"And this time I promise not to spill flour on you."

"Thanks Linds."

They went into the kitchen and Lindsay put Colton in the high chair, where he banged against the tray and hollered happily.

"You want a banana, buddy?"

"Na!"

"Does that mean no or banana?" Taylor asked with a chuckle.

"I think it means "I'm not sure what to say so I'm just going to make noise and hope the message gets across." You want to cut this up for him?"

"Sure."

Colton watched the transfer of the banana carefully, squealing when Taylor dropped a few pieces onto his tray.

"The boy likes to eat."

"He takes after his father, the bottomless pit."

"I heard that!" Adam hollered from the other room. "Make me a sandwich!"

"Watch yourself mister."

Taylor chuckled and rolled her eyes, throwing the banana peel in the trash.

"You two sound like your parents."

"Aw man, don't say that!"

"What? It's cute."

"Oh okay."

Taylor smiled and jumped up to sit on the counter, earning a look from Lindsay.

"So what are we going to do for five whole days?"

"Whatever you want. This is your vacation."

"Can we go to the museum?"

"Which one?"

"Any one."

"You're easy to please."

"That is my calling. Want me to make the salad?"

"Sure, thanks."

Taylor hopped off the counter and got into the fridge, pulling out the vegetables before finding a cutting board and a knife.

"So how hard is this mommy thing?" she asked, slicing through a carrot.

"It's the best thing I've ever done. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. But it's totally worth it."

"And you love him like crazy, right?"

"Yeah. I can hardly stand it sometimes. You sound like you're fishing for something specific."

"I'm just trying to understand why some parents love their kids and some don't."

"Tay…"

"No, I know what you're going to say. I know that somewhere deep down my mom really does love me. But I don't know why I wasn't enough to make her remember that."

"Because your mom is selfish and immature and she never deserved you anyway. It's not that you weren't enough, it's that she wasn't."

"Do you think I'll do that? When I have kids someday, do you think I'll be like her?"

"No way. Your heart is way too big for that, kid."

"Thanks."

They continued to work in silence for a while, until Adam shouted from the other room.

"Taylor are you going to come and play me in Guitar Hero or are you just talk?"

"Whoa, those are fighting words. You'd better watch yourself man," she said, finishing up the salad. "I hope you've been practicing or this is going to be a quick death."

"You talk big but you're just a girl."

"Lindsay, you married a misogynist!"

Lindsay rolled her eyes and tuned out their banter, loving having a house filled with laughter.

"Linds, how long was it before you and Adam said I love you?" Taylor asked sleepily, stretched out along the couch. Adam and Colton had gone to bed hours ago, but the girls were running on a second helping of ice-cream and reruns of Friends.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to know. When did you say it? Why did you say it?"

Lindsay sighed thoughtfully and brushed Taylor's hair behind her ear.

"We said it before we were dating. Just like friendship I love you. Then we stopped saying it when we first started dating. I'm not sure if we were conscious of that or not. I guess it was about three weeks before we said it again."

"Tell me about it."

"Are you asking for a bedtime story or something?"

"No. I just want to know."

"We were taking a walk. It was kind of late. We weren't talking much, just kind of people watching. And he put his arm around me and he said it. And I said it back. And that was it."

"But how did you know that you loved him?"

"I don't know. I just felt it. I think it helped that we were friends first. Because I loved him as a friend and it just kind of grew. Now, at the time I said I love you, I wasn't sure if we were going to last. I didn't know if we were meant for each other. I didn't even know if I was in love with him. But I knew that that moment, standing there just felt right. It's hard to explain, and I want to give you more than that, but really, I just knew."

"I think I might love Jacob," Taylor started. "But I haven't known him that long. I want to say it though. Because I really do care about him. And I can't think of other words to use to tell him that."

"If you're looking for advice, I would say wait until you're sure."

"So don't go too fast."

"Yeah."

Taylor sat up and leaned against the couch, staring down at her fingernails and biting her lip.

"Can I ask you… how long was it before… I mean when did you…"

She sighed and Lindsay raised her eyebrow, trying to decode the stuttering.

"Did you sleep with him soon after that?"

"Geez, you've been hanging out with my mom too much."

"You always say I can ask you anything."

"You're right. And no, I didn't."

"Why not? Doesn't it make sense that you would?"

"Not necessarily. It's another one of those things that has to be right."

"So when was it right?"

"Oh my word."

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, I'll answer, I just can't believe we're having this talk."

"So when was it?"

"It was our wedding night," she confessed after a second.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that kind of abnormal?"

"Gee thanks."

"I'm serious. Don't grown adults usually… jump right in?"

"Maybe sometimes, but I don't think it's as prevalent as you think it is."

"Well certainly most people don't wait that long."

"No they don't."

"So why did you?"

"Because. We talked about it. And we wanted it to be special, and different than with anyone else, so we waited. I'm not saying that was easy, but it's something we both wanted, so we made it work."

"Was it worth it?"

"So much," she replied with a little grin. "Better than… well, I won't go into details, but it was very worth the wait."

Taylor cocked her head to the side, awaiting further explanation.

"When you love someone that much, when you wait that long, when you feel like it really is the first time… it's not just sex anymore. And that's when it's really right. That's when you never regret it."

"You cried, didn't you?"

"Maybe just a little."

"Do you think that everyone gets a love like that?"

"I hope so. I think that everyone has a love like that out there. I don't know if everyone finds that person, but I like to think they do."

"Do you think I'll find mine?"

"I hope so, sweetie. With all my heart, I really do."

"I'm glad you have that, Linds. You got the raw end of the deal for a long time."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't appreciate what I have now as much if I hadn't gone through all the bad ones first."

"Really?"

"You want some Adam philosophy?"

"Is it laughable?"

"No. He says that hearts are like legos. You're born with one of those big green base pieces, and all your life, every little bit of love you receive and every bit you give becomes a piece in the transformation of your heart. And one day you might give that heart to someone. And maybe all the pieces aren't there, and maybe they give you some pieces that you can add. But if they drop that heart, it's going to break. And sometimes it takes a while to put all the pieces back the way they were. All the pieces themselves are still intact, but sometimes they scatter and they're hard to find. The more whole your heart is, the harder it is to break. But when your heart is broken and then put back together, sometimes you structure it a little better than you did the first time. So when that right person finally gets your heart, they have something that is so strong and valuable that they are rendered incapable of dropping it. Everyone's heart is going to be different. Some might be lopsided or small, but they're all hearts. And they are the most complete and safe when they're held by the person who will never let it go."

"You really landed a good man didn't you?"

"That I did."

A soft cry came from the bedroom, and Lindsay stood up to go and get Colton. He was sitting in his bed, looking sad and forlorn. Normally this time of night he just needed a quick cuddle and to be tucked in again, but he seemed to be more awake than he usually was.

"Do you want a bottle?" she asked, lifting him out of the crib. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and looked around the room with a sigh. "I suppose that's a yes."

She took him into the kitchen and made a bottle quickly before returning to the couch.

"Midnight snack?" Taylor asked, looking up from the text message she was writing.

"Something like that. I don't usually give him a bottle this late, but he looked like he needed it. You want to feed him?"

"Think he'll let me?" she asked, closing the phone and setting it on the side table.

"If you've got the bottle," Lindsay replied.

Soon Colton was settled into Taylor's arms, smiling up at her around the bottle. She smiled back and leaned down to kiss his forehead. Quietly, Lindsay stood up and went back into the kitchen to do the dinner dishes.

"Hey Colton, I'm your auntie Taylor," she started softly. "Do you know how much I love you? I've loved you since before you were born. I probably won't be around much, but I'll always love you. I'm going to teach you things that will drive your mama crazy. And when you get older, I'm going to take you places and show you things and we'll be buddies, okay? And if you ever need anything, no matter what it is, you can always count on me. I'll always be there for you. Just like your mama is for me."

Lindsay smiled as she watched from the doorway, feeling like her two most important projects in life were turning out better than she had ever thought.