"Looks like you're stuck with your old mom all day."

Adam turned around at his mother's voice, giving her a smile.

"Stuck? Nah. You mean I get to hang out with my relatively young mom all day."

"You're so sweet," she chuckled, patting his arm. "What time did the girls say they'd be back?"

"I'm not sure. Depends on how long Lindsay can stand Hannah's chatter."

"God bless her," Sharon said with a shake of her head. "I'm glad she agreed to take her riding. I get tired of going all the time."

"I think Lindsay was looking forward to it as much as Hannah was. She hasn't been on a horse since right before our wedding."

"You two have got to get out of the city more often."

"That's what we keep saying, but we never do it. Too lazy I guess."

"Hmm. Well, do you want to help me?"

"Depends. Help you do what?"

"Hannah's dance class is having a bake sale. I'm on cookie duty."

"Are you making snickerdoodles?"

"Probably."

"You need a taste tester? Because you know how good I am at that."

"I'll even let you sit on the counter."

He grinned and followed her into the kitchen, taking the baby monitor so he could hear if Colton woke up from his morning nap. He jumped up onto the counter and watched as Sharon gathered the cookie ingredients from the pantry, remembering all the times they had done this when he was a kid. Happy Saturday mornings after cartoons, when there would be flour all over and she would let him lick the spoon. He couldn't remember a time in his life when they didn't do this every once in a while. Even in high school, he remembered sitting in the kitchen and keeping her company as she cooked. It wasn't until he moved out that the habit fell by the wayside.

"How are Hannah's dance lessons coming? Is she getting any better?"

"No, I'm afraid she is too much like you. The grace of a hippo."

"Gee, thanks mom."

"I think it's cute. She looks so out of place, but she really loves it. They're going to start learning tap soon, so we'll see how that goes."

"She's a busy kid. Riding lessons, dancing lessons… what's next?"

"She wants to learn the piano."

"Yikes."

"Just because you hated piano lessons…"

"Boys shouldn't take piano lessons mom. That's the only reason I hated 'em. Lindsay loved hers. I think it's a girl thing."

"Possible. We'll try it out and see how she does. She's also mentioned karate, science club and painting. I think we need to work on narrowing her focus a little."

"Maybe so. She reminds me of me."

"You mean hyperactive?"

"I prefer excitably curious."

She snickered and poured some flour into a measuring cup, then handed him a bowl and a sifter. He smiled and began to sift the flour with a practiced hand, making sure not to spill any on the counter.

"Well either way, your sister thinks you're the most incredible human being on the planet, which only makes me that much more nervous."

"Oh don't worry. She's no where near as devious as I was."

"Even still. She's convinced you hung the moon."

"I did hang the moon mom, didn't you know?"

"You do have a lot of adoring fans that will attest to that fact."

"I guess I do."

"I suppose I did raise a pretty good boy."

"And all by yourself too," he added with a grin.

"Pretty much."

"Speaking of which," he started, clearing his throat. "A couple months ago… well, let me back up… somehow he… I guess that…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"He showed up a couple months ago."

"Your dad."

"My father," he corrected.

"Showed up where?"

"At my front door."

Sharon sighed and beat the eggs a little harder, the anger evident on her face.

"What did he want?"

"What he said and what he wanted are probably two different things. He claimed to want to talk, apologize for not being in my life. I think what he really wanted was a new foothold in manipulation."

"That sounds like him."

"I was mad at first, but I realize that it doesn't really matter. I'm an adult now, I have the power to make him go away."

"Yeah."

"But it kind of made me think…"

"About?"

"Why you didn't leave him sooner. Why it took… what it took for you to finally get out."

She turned away from him, grabbing the milk out of the fridge and spending quite a while looking for the vanilla without saying a word.

"Mom, I'm not trying to gang up on you or something. I just want to know. What did he do that made you so afraid?"

"Adam, it's ancient history."

"It's not that ancient."

"I was young. I married him when I was eighteen years old and I didn't know anything about the world. You were born and everything was fine for a while. He only hit me at first. I thought you would be okay. I didn't think we could survive without him. I had never had a job and if I left I didn't know how I would take care of you. So I stayed."

"But then he started hitting me."

"I was so stuck, Adam. I wanted to leave so bad, but I couldn't. I told him I would leave if he touched you again and he would be good for a while, but then something would set him off."

"That went on for years before you left. Why did it take CPS getting involved for you to leave?"

"Because that was when I finally found somewhere I could go, somewhere I could work and take care of you and not have to worry about him. I hate myself for not trying hard enough. Anything would have been better than living there, and I know that now, but I was so naïve at the time. I lived the first ten years of my life with my dad who was just like yours. My grandparents took me in after that, but I still didn't know any different."

"I guess I understand that."

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't wish I had gotten out sooner. I wish I could take back every pain you had. But I can't. I am so sorry that you had to go through that because I was too scared and too selfish to leave."

He nodded, looking down at his shoes before she walked over and placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her.

"But son, no matter what happened, no matter how much I messed up, I always loved you. I always have and I always will. You were the first perfect thing in my life and you still are. I didn't leave him because of my own fears. I let myself think I was protecting you and keeping you provided for. I am so sorry for that son. Do you know that? Do you know I love you?"

He slid off of the counter and wrapped her in a hug.

"Of course I know that, mom. I always knew that. And I don't blame you for what happened."

"Can you forgive me for not standing up for you?"

"You've been forgiven for a long time, mom. What really matters is that you did get out. You ran and you didn't let him come back. And then you married a man who showed me what a real father should be. Those two things make up for the rest."

"I've always been afraid to say anything. Afraid that you were mad at me or resented me for it. I was afraid you would never forgive me."

"Well now you know."

"Has your dad been back since?" she asked, slightly changing the subject when he let her go.

"He called once. Don't mention that to Lindsay, by the way."

"She doesn't like it?"

"She gets a little... protective of me."

"What did he call for?"

"Same thing. He asked about you that time though. I hung up on him. I just can't believe that he is truly trying to make amends. It's just a power thing."

"Probably."

"Anyway, that's probably enough about him. Are you just making cookies today or do you think you can make those pecan bars?"

"If you want to go to the store for pecans, you've got it."

"You're the best."

"Don't you want a cookie too Adam?" Hannah asked, dipping her cookie into the glass of milk that sat next to her. They were sitting on the side of the pool in the dark telling stories and laughing, something they had done many times before, but not in a long time.

"Nah, I already had some cookies today. A lot actually."

She nodded and drug her foot through the water then sighed.

"Do you really gotta leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah squirt. We do."

"But I don't want you to go."

"I know."

"Remember when you used to live here all the time? Don't you want to do that again?"

"Han, I can't."

"You moved to New York. Can't you move back?"

"It's not that simple. Lindsay and I have our jobs in New York and all our friends."

"But you don't got me there."

"No, you're right, we don't. And both of us wish all of our family could be in one place all the time. But we can't."

"Every time you come here you have to leave again," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Hey, don't cry sweetie. I might always have to leave, but I always come back too, don't I?"

"It's always a long, long time."

"I know."

"You're my only brother! I never get to be with you."

"I know Hannah. But remember what I told you when I moved?"

"What?"

"I'm always going to be your brother and I am always going to love you the most, no matter how big the world is and how far apart we are. If you ever need me, I'll be there. If you're happy, I'll be there. If you're sad I'll be there. If you get your heart broken, I'll be there. And no matter what happens, for the rest of your life, I will be there."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, sniffling a little.

"When will you come back?"

"I don't know. But I'm still going to call you a lot. And you can talk to me on Skype, and you can keep sending letters and I'll write you back. We're not really that far apart squirt."

"Okay. But I'm still going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too. But that makes it even better when we finally see each other again, right?"

"Yep!" she agreed with a watery grin.

"Good. You want to see if mom will let you watch a movie before bed?"

"Yeah! Can we watch Nemo?"

"Sure."

"Can Lindsay watch with us?"

"If she wants to."

"I am gonna sit in the middle and hold the popcorn so don't you get any funny ideas about hogging it all, got it mister?"

"I got it."

Smiling, they went inside where Lindsay and Sharon were finishing the dinner dishes and Dave was playing on the floor with Colton.

"Mom, can I stay up and watch a movie?" Hannah asked, putting her empty milk glass into the dishwasher. "Please, please, please?"

"Well… if you go and get in your pajamas first, I guess you can stay up."

"Yes!" she squealed, pumping her arm over her head in glee. "Lindsay will you watch with me and Adam?"

"You'll have to start without me because Colton needs a bath, but I'll come down after that."

"Okay. Adam, you gotta make popcorn."

"Yes ma'am."

He went to the pantry and found a bag of popcorn, putting it in the microwave while Hannah darted upstairs to change her clothes. She came back a minute later in princess pajamas, her baby blanket tucked securely under her arm. He could tell she was tired and knew she would probably fall asleep within the hour but he wasn't going to begrudge her one movie.

He took the popcorn out of the microwave and they went into the other room, settling in on the couch after putting the movie in.

"Hannah, do you remember when we went to the movie theatre to see this?"

"Nope."

"Well, you were only two. But you loved it. You didn't stop talking about Nemo for weeks."

"I bet mom and daddy didn't like that."

"They were less than amused."

They continued to watch the movie in silence, Hannah leaning forward, enraptured in the brightly colored undersea world. Adam watched her in amusement. She'd seen the movie probably twenty times, but still looked at it as if she didn't know what was coming next.

Lindsay slipped into the room after a while, sitting down on the other side of Hannah who smiled and leaned into her with a sigh. Adam caught Lindsay's eye and winked and she reached her hand across the back of the couch to hold his.

Hannah was asleep a while later, snoring gently, her hair spilling into her face.

"Should we put her to bed?" Lindsay whispered.

"Yeah, I'll take her."

He stood up and leaned down for her, lifting her gently into his arms.

"No," she murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I want Lindsay."

"How about I'll carry you upstairs and Lindsay can tuck you in?"

"Mmkay."

They went upstairs and Adam carefully lowered Hannah to her mattress, handing her the stuffed dog that she always slept with. She rolled over onto her side and Adam leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Night squirt."

"Night."

He traded places with Lindsay who repeated his action.

"Thanks for takin' me riding today Lindsay."

"You're welcome sister girl. I love you."

"I love you too."

They slipped from the room, closing the door softly behind them.

"So hey stranger for a day," Adam whispered, pulling her into a hug. "When was the last time I talked to you, this morning?"

"I think so," she answered, keeping her arms around him and her face buried in his shoulder. "Did you have fun with your mom?"

"Yeah, we got some talking done. It was good, we needed it. What about you?"

"I may be in shape, but I am not in shape to ride a horse."

"Sore?"

"Want to give me a back rub?"

"Let me go lock up."

She went into the bedroom and changed her clothes, then picked up a little and made sure they had everything they had brought with them in one spot so they wouldn't forget anything in the morning. She was almost certain some of Colton's toys had been stolen by the dog, but he hadn't seemed to notice.

She stretched out on the bed, pulling a pillow under her head and sighing sleepily. It was going to be weird to go from a king sized bed to a queen when they got home, but she was already thinking of ways to persuade Adam to upgrade. She's mentioned it once already and he had refused, saying most of the bed would go to waste since they both slept in the middle anyway. She couldn't fault his logic on that one, but she was working a way around it.

"You're not conked out already are you?"

"No, but I'm close."

She heard him slip out of his jeans and t-shirt, and he crawled onto the bed next to her, stooping down to kiss her cheek.

"So I've been thinking," he said, his hands kneading at her shoulders.

"Uh-oh."

"Don't uh-oh just yet. You might like this idea."

"Okay, continue."

"I was thinking that it might be time for us to start looking for a bigger place."

"Why?"

"Because ours is tiny. Colton's going to be more mobile soon and he's going to need some more room. And if we ever have another one, there is no way we can fit four people in what we've got now."

"You want to start looking?"

"Not immediately, but I want to think about it at least. We can afford something a little bigger than what we've got. It's worth looking into."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"You don't seem thrilled."

"Whatever we do is fine with me, honey. We could live in a cardboard box or a cave or a tent and I wouldn't care as long as I was with you."

"Queen of Hyperbole."

"You know what I mean. And it's definitely something to think about."

"Thank you."

"But can I ask you one question?"

"What?"

"Do you want this because you want it or because you miss having a yard and neighbors more than eighteen inches away?"

"Maybe both."

"Okay, we'll think about it. Under one condition."

"What?"

"We get a bigger bed."

"We'll think about it."

She giggled and rolled her eyes, then reached up and tugged on his wrist, encouraging him to lay down with her. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms tightly around her joining in her watching of the night sky.

"Geography, manicured lawns and square footage don't matter, Adam. Because this right here is home."