Lindsay grinned and made car noises while she drove the toy Tonka truck over Colton's back. He giggled and chewed on his finger then sat up and patted her hand with a sigh. He was teething and had given up sleeping for the last two nights. She would take this over crying in pain, and was giving him consistent doses of baby Tylenol to battle the fever. He seemed happy enough, content to play with his toys while Lindsay tried to snooze.

The phone chirped and Lindsay grabbed it, already knowing who it was and why.

"You can't sleep."

Austin chuckled on the other end, her tone completely revealing how tired she actually was.

"Danny's at work. And Adam is too I am assuming."

"Got it."

"What are you doing?"

"Well Colton's up teething, so we're just hanging out on the hide-a-bed, watching trash TV and playing with toys. You?"

"Isa's doing that thing where she's up all night and sleeps all day, so I am pretty much in the same boat as you."

"Want to come over?"

"Yes please."

"I'll leave the door unlocked."

"Only so you don't have to get up to open it."

"I'm getting up to unlock it right now so either way I would have to get up just so you don't have to get out your key."

"Such sacrifice. We'll be there in a little bit."

They hung up and Lindsay walked back to the hide-a-bed and laid down with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes. She actually would have fallen asleep without Adam tonight for as tired as she was, but mommy luck would have it that Colton would be wide awake. She yawned and he mirrored her position, reaching over to pat her mouth gently.

"Mama."

"Hi baby. Are your teeth hurting?"

"Bay."

"Time for more Tylenol?" she asked, brushing his curls back behind his ear and ignoring the voice in her head that said it was time for a haircut. "Maybe we'll wait just a little bit for some medicine."

He sighed and grabbed a strand of her hair twisting it around his fingers the same way Adam did.

"You know how much I love you, little boy?"

"Mm-ba."

"Well I do. A lot, a lot. I don't know if you remember but I was pretty sad for a while. You made me better though. Whenever I would feel sad, you would give me this little smile. You really helped me, baby."

He gave her a happy giggle and they just stared at each other for a while. Twin sets of eyes bored into each other for a moment before he patted his tummy.

"Wa."

"You want something to chew on? How about a cold carrot?"

She got up again and took him into the kitchen, pulling the vegetable out of the fridge and washing it off before she handed it to him. He looked it over for a minute, frowning as he tried to figure out what to do with it.

"It's yummy," Lindsay coached, pushing it gently towards his mouth. Still a little unsure, he chewed on it for a second, working it around his gums. He smiled suddenly and nodded as if agreeing with her persuasions and they went back out to the other room and sat down. He cuddled into her and gnawed on the carrot a few times before pulling it out of his mouth and handing it to her.

"Oh, thanks bud," she said, wrinkling her nose. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

He chuckled and crawled off of her lap, finding some plastic farm animals and trotting them over his legs. His favorite was the pig, and he would search for that one determinedly before he would think about just settling for the chicken or the horse.

Lindsay sighed and flipped through the channels, wishing he would tucker out so she could get a little sleep. The only light on was the TV, which he rarely even noticed anyway. She'd dressed him in comfortable pajamas and given him a nice warm bath, but he acted as if there was not an ounce of tired in his body.

"Boo boo boo."

He sat there expectantly, holding out the plastic pig.

"Piggie," she said, taking his free hand and putting it over her lips so he could feel the sound. "P-p-piggie."

"Gwuk."

"Do you know what sound a piggie makes?"

He just stared at her and she gave him a gentle snort. He giggled and wrinkled his nose, trying to mimic the noise. All he could really do was gasp and after a while he gave up.

"Mama, gah."

She made the noise again and he laughed, blowing a raspberry in response as the front door opened.

"Look, it's auntie Austin."

"Ah ah!" he squealed raising his arms to her. She smiled and closed the door behind her then sat down next to him. He grinned at her and then peeked at Isa who was just as wide awake and playful as he was. They stared at each other for a minute, both of them happy to see another baby.

"You look tired," Lindsay noted. "How many nights without sleep?"

"Three for me, but I've slept during the day. You?"

"Two with one nap yesterday. Adam said he would stay up with him, but he does not do well on no sleep."

"You don't look like you do much better."

"Adam gets cranky and then he gets mad at himself for being cranky. I just move through life like a zombie."

"Ah ah!" Colton shouted again, bouncing on his knees.

"That's you by the way," Lindsay translated with a grin.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"C'mere bud, your cheeks need kisses."

She swept him into her arms and he giggled at the affection, burying his face in her hair. He loved to hug and cuddle, but there weren't very many people he trusted enough for that. Daddy, Mama, auntie Austin. That was about it.

"Can I see your teeth?" she asked, poking his cheek to get him to open his mouth. "Nice pearly whites bud. No wonder you won't sleep. It looks like you're cutting three teeth at once."

"Yeah, it's a pretty rough life," Lindsay agreed, sitting up to grab Isa who was about to fall to the floor. "Where do you think you're going little girl?"

Isa giggled while Lindsay kissed her and held her close.

"I've missed you, stinker face. Where on earth did your mommy get a baby sized AC/DC shirt?"

"Uncle Andy can find anything in California."

"She's cooler now at five months old than I ever have been in my life."

"And once she starts speaking she'll tell you that."

"She's you."

"God save the queen."

Lindsay snorted a laugh and picked up the remote, flipping through the channels for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight.

"I hate stupid graveyard shifts."

"We may be strong independent women, but we're not good at sleeping without our men."

"I think this might be a women's rights issue. Adam used to say that he couldn't sleep without me, but now he's singing a different tune."

"He never shoulda told you that. Now you're going to hold it against him."

"I should."

"Danny sleeps like a log without me. I'm sure it's because he doesn't have anyone poking him and telling him to stop snoring."

"You should invest in some clothes pins."

"I've actually tried that, but he's a throat snorer, so it doesn't do much."

"Hmm sad."

"Truly. Hey where did you get this blanket?"

"My mom made it out of my dad's old flannel shirts."

"Colton seems to love it," she noted, watching him chew on the corner of the blanket.

"I think at this point he will love anything he can gnaw on. When did this daughter of yours become a snuggler?"

"Eh, she just loves you."

"I'm cool with that," she said, pressing a kiss to Isa's dark hair.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Will you be there to pick up my slack if I mess up?"

"What're you talking about?"

"If one day she hates me and wants me to die because she's 13, will you be the one that she'll run to?"

"I can't make her run to me, but I will definitely be there and I'll do everything I can to make sure she knows that."

"Thanks. I never really had much of a place to run. At least not far enough away."

"I know the feeling. And kind of in a similar vein of discussion…"

"The look on your face says that it's something Adam said."

"He thinks we need to write our wills."

"Whoa."

"He's right, they're good to have, but it's so morbid to think about. But we were talking about who would get Colton if we both croaked, and we decided on you guys."

"Why?"

"Because you were the first people we thought of. And no one else felt right."

"What about your parents?"

"We don't want him to have to leave New York. It's the only home he knows. And we trust you guys and you love him and it just makes sense. You can say no if you want, but that just means hilarity will ensue when Mac and Stella have to share him."

"Let's pause for a moment and imagine the two of them trying to share a kid."

"It would be all fun and games until you remembered that I was dead."

"Don't say that word Lindsay Ross 'less you want me to smack ya upside your head."

"Goonies never say die?"

"Exactly."

"Sorry. So in the event that Adam and I… um… take a long vacation…"

"The ultimate long vacation."

"Will you guys consider raising our offspring to love the Yankees and classic rock and the merits of a good street corner hot dog?"

"I think we will."

"Thanks."

An hour later both kids were still awake and playing quietly while Lindsay and Austin zoned out to the Sci-Fi channel. It was beyond tired now, and they had both mentioned finding food at least three times, but neither one of them had even come close to moving.

"What about Steve?" came the voice from the TV. "It's a nice, honest name."

"Shut up Scully, Steve is a horrible name," Lindsay replied, chucking a tissue at the screen.

"Whoa."

"I have issues. Sorry you had to see them."

"You must really hate that name. Is it because of Urkel? C'mon Linds, you can tell me."

"It's not because of Urkel, though I am still disappointed in the Stefan story line."

"As are all women with good sense."

"Amen, sister suffragette."

"But really."

"Steve was a big mistake," she explained, shaking her head.

"Question mark."

"He was my rebound from Brian. Pretty much, it was like a total foul shot that didn't even hit the backboard. It like… smacked the camera man in the face and knocked over a cheerleader."

"She probably deserved it."

"Coulda been."

Austin only had to raise her eyebrows for Lindsay to resign herself to two facts. First, that she would be telling this story, and second, that she had to watch her mouth better, especially around Austin who could drag anything out of her.

"Take the genius of Hawkes, and then mix it with that one dude you arrested last week. The one that wore his hat to the side but inside out. Now pull up his pants and make him a little less "yo they be straight up trippin' over my untied shoelaces dawg" add a Metallica t-shirt and more womanizing and you've got Steve."

"Wow. So he was like a Montana thug."

"He was charming at first. That was part of his racket I guess. And I should have seen through it, but I was young and stupid and dumped. I don't know why he picked me to be his arm candy, but he did and I was happy to oblige. It's so stupid. I can't believe I was ever with him."

"Everyone has one of those."

"You don't. Of all people, you don't have one of those. Unless you count Flack, but that would be like pinning a murder on a puppy."

"I love that we don't have to explain our analogies. Actually though I did have one of those, but only lasted about as long as it took me to blink. Proceed."

"It's kind of hard to explain. He was just a jerk. He was at school on scholarships and didn't have a job, so he mooched off me until I just told him to move in with me. He was nice during the day, like doing chores, we'd study together, he'd tell me he loved me. And then once night fell he was a totally different person. He'd scream at me for nothing, he would go out to the bars and get plastered. I'd call it cheating if we had had a real relationship, but I was just his inn keeper and has been booty call or something. But he would pick up these random women, come home with phone numbers and lipstick and just… It was horrible. I felt like his trash, you know? I guess I'm lucky that he stopped sleeping with me and just got his jollies out at the bar because I could have ended up with something terrible. He made me believe I deserved it. I was strangely happy with him because I thought I was living the life I was meant for. You know, I got to survive the shooting, and then Brian left me, this was karma and life evening out. I was okay with that. I got to live. And it didn't matter that he was out living like he was because at least he came home to me."

"Linds…"

"I don't believe any of that now of course. It took me a while to not believe it, but eventually I just kicked him out and told him to get lost. We were just roommates by that time anyway. We'd never loved each other, it was as amicable as it could have been and I never regretted finally breaking free of him. I hardly ever think about him, but I hear that name and I just feel so dirty and used. It just signifies the worst part of me, the lowest of my lows, the molten creosote of my past and I just… I hate it."

"So can I shoot him in the face with a 12 gauge or maybe a bow and arrow? I might be able to procure a hand grenade for this worthy cause."

"No, it's okay. It's over."

Austin shook her head and reached over to quickly wipe away the tear that was running down Lindsay's cheek.

"It still hurts you."

"I'm not hurt so much as mad though."

"At him?"

"No, at me for being so stupid."

"You weren't stupid Linds, you were heartbroken."

"Yeah, but… it's totally sucky. Adam's past relationships were all normal. Neat and tidy. And then I have this. And I know he doesn't care and it's all in the past, but I wish that I was less… bruised. I wish I had a prettier past and I wish I could give him everything, but I can't. I wish I could completely forget about it though."

"Does Adam know?"

"Yeah, I told him a long time ago. Before we were dating even. He reacted much the same as you did. Got all protective."

"You didn't deserve how Steve treated you, Linds. You deserve everything good and wonderful in this world."

"So do you."

"Thanks. And I promise to never ever try and get you to tell me stuff when you don't want to."

"No, that's okay. I can tell you anything. Besides after this, I don't got nothing left."

"That's it, you're out of history?"

"Pretty much."

"That doesn't mean it's my turn to spill is it?"

"You don't spill, you spurt-"

"That's what she said."

"-and you don't ever have to tell me anything. We're just friends from where we're at. We never really needed more than that."

"I like that. We're simple."

"Or as Adam says we're like total confusion embodied in two polar opposites."

"We're not that different."

"No, but it sounds good."

"He's got a way with words, I'll give him that."

"That he does."

They fell into a silence and watched the TV, not really seeing it through eyes that were way past tired.

"Mama," Colton whimpered, crawling towards her and sniffling.

"Time for more medicine, huh?" she asked, grabbing the dropper off the side table and giving him a dose. He wrinkled his nose and shimmied closer to her, crying with the discomfort and wanting nothing but his mama. She rested him against her chest and he whined a little, his hand resting on her collarbone while she settled a blanket over him and kissed his hair.

"I think he's tuckered out. What do you wanna bet he'll teeter on the edge of sleep for the next couple hours?"

"Sounds fair. I think I need to make a scrapbook of all Isa's weird sleeping positions."

Isa was sleeping sitting up, her cheek resting on the plastic block sorter, her arms slack at her sides.

"She's going to have a mark on her face, poor girl."

Austin sat up and retrieved her daughter who woke up a little, but only enough to find her thumb.

"I should take her home."

"You can crash here. Everyone else is."

"I think I might be too tired to sleep."

"We can watch Comedy Central."

"Rock on."

The kids both slept on an off for the next few hours, Isa waking up to play and Colton waking up to fuss. No one was really that happy with the situation, but that was mommyhood, and they had to resign themselves to that fact.

Adam came home just after six a.m., not surprised to find them watching infomercials through bleary eyes.

"Hey girls. Rough night?"

"You have obviously never been a mother," Austin said, shooting a half glare in his direction.

"Nope. Who wants breakfast?"

"Me please and thank you," Lindsay said, clearing her throat and checking Colton's forehead for a fever. It seemed to have abated at least for now and she opened his mouth to check on the progress of his teeth.

"And we're three for three."

"I'm surprised he wasn't crankier than that. Are they all back teeth?"

"Yeah. I really hope we don't have to do that again for a while."

"Is Adam seriously making breakfast?"

"Mm-hm. He does it whenever he works graves."

"You're spoiled."

"I know."

"Hey Adam, did Danny leave work yet?"

"He got called to a scene about an hour ago."

"Nice."

"It just means we're going to feed you. Bacon or sausage?"

"Both!" they chorused, giggling.

"You two get more and more dangerous the more time you spend together."

"Oh my word, what is the Booty Pop?"

"Exactly what I mean," Adam muttered amusedly, getting the eggs out of the fridge.

"Butt inserts!" Lindsay laughed, shaking her head. "No, please tell me this is a joke."

"I dunno, that chick looks serious. I think butt inserts really did change her life."

"Do you really stick that in your underwear?"

"Oh no, they're built in!"

"I guess that way you can't lose one and walk around lopsided."

"Brings new meaning to the phrase half-assed, doesn't it?"

"Okay, as silly as it seems, some of these people actually do look a little better with some help."

"Lindsay you are NOT ordering one!" Adam shouted, coming out of the kitchen.

"Why not?"

"Because I like your butt just the way it is."

Austin snorted with laughter and pulled a pillow over her face.

"What? I'm not afraid to admit that. I like her boobs too."

Austin was chuckling silently now, not really sure what to do.

"Oh get back in the kitchen lady-man," Lindsay said with a flick of her wrist and a red face. "No one wants your input no matter how well intentioned it is."

"Don't order one."

"I won't, I swear," she promised, rolling her eyes while he leaned down to kiss her, then walked back into the kitchen.

"I cannot believe that that just happened and I witnessed it," Austin said, drawing in a breath. "I don't think I can ever look at him the same."

Lindsay just shrugged.

"I kinda get used to his statements like that."

"This is a normal thing?"

"He's never been shy with the compliments. It's not usually presented in such a way, but I am not a stranger to the fact that he is very happy with me."

"Well good. Adam is a butt man."

"Be careful of the context in which you say that."

"I'll make a note of it."

"So that was pretty much the best French Toast in the world and I would probably be able to write a song about it if I didn't need to get home," Austin said, wiping off Isa's syrupy hand.

"You can write it a song next time," Adam said, tying off the garbage bag and pulling it out of the can. "When you have a guitar with you."

"Oh yes of course," she chuckled bundling Isa up. "Hey Linds, go take a nap."

"Can't. I gotta go to work soon."

"That's disgusting."

"Yes ma'am. It's okay, I'll find some coffee."

"She'll find coffee just for fun and drink a Red Bull for the big time," Adam clarified.

"I expect no less. Thanks for the fake sleepover Linds."

"Anytime."

"I'll walk you out Aust. I gotta take the trash out anyway."

"Okay."

They walked out the door and down the hallway to the elevator before Austin turned around and gave him a half hug.

"Okay, the French toast wasn't that good…" he chuckled.

"Well it was, but that was just…thanks."

"For what?"

"For being the best for my best friend. You make her laugh and you love her and I am slowly learning that you are the first relationship she's ever had like that."

"She must have told you about Steve."

"Total scumbag."

"We can kill him together."

"Deal," she said holding out her fist. He grinned and bumped it with his before throwing the garbage down the chute.

"See you later Adam."

"Later. Oh, and thanks for everything you do for her too."

"Anytime."

They gave each other knowing looks and headed off in separate directions, both completely invested in the lifelong friendships they had forged.