"Aust, we can't do this ever again," Lindsay said, grabbing a giggling Isa and giving her a hug as she passed.

"Do what?"

"Go this long without seeing each other. The kids miss each other too much."

"But you and I, it's no big deal."

"Oh of course not."

Austin chuckled and climbed off the chair where she had been changing a lightbulb in the kitchen.

"Okay, I think I have fulfilled my to-do list for the day. I mean, changing a lightbulb, you can attest to the difficulty of that," she said, picking Ben up from the couch cushion and sitting down.

"I totally agree with you there."

"We goin' in the room," Colton said, following Isa into the girls bedroom.

"Latah!" Isa shouted.

"Bye!" Sarah said with a smile and a wave. Three sets of feet pounded across the floor and the bedroom door closed behind them. Lindsay and Austin looked at each other and grinned, eyebrows up.

"In ten years that won't be cute anymore," Lindsay noted.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they won't do it when Danny's around."

"He's already been practicing his shot gun stare, I've seen it."

"He's really proud of it," Austin chucked. "I don't think he's going to have to worry about Colton though. He's going to be way too much of a gentleman."

"We hope so. He'll probably be jealous of any guy Isa even gives the time of day too."

"Maybe so. She's pretty irresistible."

"Sarah's gonna have boys lining up at the door, just waiting for her to look up from her book or whatever she's doing quietly in the corner to give them a smile."

"How did Danny and I manage to produce a Sarah?"

"You got lucky. Just imagine how life is gonna be with a second Danny Messer in the house."

"Everyone warned us."

"At least he's sweet now," Lindsay said, clucking her tongue at Junior who was quite content in her lap and making faces that Lindsay swore she had seen Danny make.

"Geez Linds, Ben looks like you."

"I think so too. He raised his eyebrows the other day and Adam about lost it laughing. He said all he needed was a hand on his hip."

"That is your trademark."

"One of them at least."

Austin chuckled.

"When do you go back to work?"

"Uhh, soon. I'm thinking about taking some more time though. I just don't feel ready yet."

"Me neither. After Isa was born I was pretty ready, but after Sarah it was too hard. And this time I don't want to even think about it."

"So that's why you kept getting pregnant."

"Oh yeah, of course that was it."

They both chuckled, somewhat tiredly.

"So, you doing okay?" Austin asked, picking some fuzz off of Ben's outfit.

"I'm exhausted. We had a rough few days, but we hit a good stride so we're doing better."

"Colton jealous?"

"Not so far, at least not outwardly. He's actually been a big help. He wakes up in the morning and the first words out of his mouth are "Where my baby mama?" which Adam thinks is hilarious and Colton can't figure out why we're laughin'. How're you guys doin'?"

"I'm tired. Danny's tired. The girls are just about beside themselves when they get to hold the baby."

"You love it."

"I know. It's weird, I always thought I would be bored by a simple life. It seems that it was actually what I was looking for all this time."

"You do seem more settled. You're still you but… I don't know, there's a little more calm in the storm."

"You think I'm stormy?"

"Just rain. A little lightning sometimes. A roll of thunder occasionally. And to stop you from making this face I have to include the fact that I mean all this as a compliment."

"How?"

"Because I love you?"

Austin gave her a look.

"Storms are my favorite weather."

"But you're comparing me to destruction."

"Okay I didn't call you a tornado. That's what I usually call you and you never get upset."

"I'm not upset, I'm just trying to figure this out."

"You're not a bad storm. You're those kind that come in the middle of summer. No one's expecting it and it comes out of nowhere and takes all the heat away and makes everything fresh again. It's the good kind of storm, I swear."

"How do you always see these things in me that I've never seen before?"

"Because you're my best friend and it's my job to see them."

"Ego stroker."

"Dirty."

Austin snorted and shook her head.

"We have issues."

"What gets into us?"

"I think there were some childhoods we missed out on," Austin commented.

"You are my later teenage years."

"We need a secret handshake."

"I'm too tired to think of one."

"Daddy, we home!" Colton shouted as they came through the door. He kicked his shoes off and ran over to the desk where Adam was sitting, checking his e-mail.

"Hey buddy. Did you have fun with the girls?"

"Yep. We was monsters, and then we play Toy Story. I Woody, Isa Buzz and Sa'ah be Slinky."

"That sounds like a good time."

"Yep. I not wanna come home, but mama make me."

"Well we'd miss you if you stayed there all the time."

"But I wanna play."

"Tell you what. Give me a little bit to talk to mama and then I'll come and play with you."

"Okay. I go get my toys out," he said, smiling and taking off into his bedroom. Lindsay smiled as she watched him go, then turned back to her seemingly out of sorts husband, running her hand through his hair.

"What's the matter?"

"Can you read this?" he asked, pointing to the e-mail he had up on the screen.

"Sure."

He pulled her down into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist as she read.

"Is this for real?" she asked once she had finished reading.

"I think so. I can't really verify it from here."

"He's claiming to be your brother. Do you think your dad could have had another kid?"

"It's completely possible."

"Wouldn't his sister know? I mean, you're still in contact with her."

"She took mom's side in the whole thing, so I don't know how much he talks to her. I mean, I know she's the reason he found me here, but I don't know. It sounds legit. He's got my dad's name."

"Timothy Ross. It's an awfully common name, honey. I think maybe we should do some checking."

"You're probably right."

"Want me to call Mac and see what he can do?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

She stood up and took the phone into the other room while he looked over the e-mail again.

Are you Adam Ross, son of Timothy Ross, born in Phoenix, Arizona? If so, I'm your half brother. I know this is a strange way to find you, but I've asked your high school and your college for your e-mail address and I finally found you through someone you went to grad school with. I always knew I had a brother out there somewhere and I really hope I finally found you. I'm sorry if I've contacted the wrong person, but if it really is you, I would love to hear back.

Timothy J. Ross Jr.

He sat back in his chair, his hands running over his beard in frustration. He didn't need this now. He had half a mind to write back and say he was the wrong person. Part of him also wondered if this was his dad again, trying out yet another way to get into his life. No matter what it was, he was certain that he didn't want to deal with it right now.

"Mac's running a trace on the e-mail address. He said he'll call back as soon as he gets some information."

"Okay. Thanks babe."

"You alright honey?" she asked, reseating herself in his lap.

"I don't know."

"Tell me."

"I don't think I want it to be true. It's just another reminder of everything. And I know I can't live in the past and most of the time it doesn't hurt but right now, I just don't want to deal with it."

"Then let's not deal with it for right now. Just leave it alone, wait until Mac calls back and then decide what to do from there."

"Alright. Thanks hon."

"That's what I'm here for."

"What should I do while I wait?"

"You wanna change a diaper? Thing Two's got one cookin' over there."

"Okay, I'll change him. And then I think I am going to go and spend some time with my other kid that I've hardly seen in two days."

"Sounds like a solid plan. What do you want for dinner?"

"Eh, whatever."

"Liver and onions it is."

"Evil woman."

She chuckled as he left the room with Ben, then turned back to the computer, reading the e-mail over a few more times. A knot settled in her stomach with every pass over the name. Timothy J. Ross Jr. If this was real, if this was Adam's brother, then his father had passed his name on to the second son. And even though Adam was not a fan of his father, that fact had to be eating away at him.

She signed out of his e-mail and checked her own, managing to send replies to her mother and sister-in-law before the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Lindsay, it's Mac."

"Hey. What did you find out?"

"I tracked back from his e-mail and found his driver's license. He lives in Long Beach. I went further and found his marriage license and his birth certificate. I can't do DNA, but with the resources I have, I have to say that this is Adam's half brother."

She sighed and leaned back into the chair, rubbing her eyes.

"How old is he?"

"He was born in 1987 in Ohio, went to NYU, got married this past fall."

"So he's been in the city for a couple years then."

"It seems he moved here about the same time Adam did."

"Okay."

"Do you guys want me to look for anything else? I ran all the checks that I was able to legally. He doesn't have a record, not even sealed juvenile documents. His financials look to be in order, so I don't think he's trying to dupe you or anything."

"Thanks Mac. We'll let you know if there's anything else."

"Alright. Good luck."

They hung up and she sighed again, staring at the phone on the desk and wondering how to go about telling Adam. As always seemed to be better with them, she decided on straight forward and immediately.

She went into the boys bedroom and found the three of them laying on their stomach on the floor. Ben was chewing on his hand while Adam and Colton pored over a dinosaur book. They were both laughing, delighted at being together and she stood in the doorway for a while, just watching them. Colton looked up after a minute and motioned for her to sit on his other side.

"Mama, come and be dinosaur with us."

She smiled and laid down next to him while he chattered about the dinosaurs on the page and which one would win in a fight. Adam caught her eye but she didn't give anything away, wanting instead to actually talk to him about it.

"I got this one!" Colton shouted, pointing at the page before jumping off the floor. "In my toys!"

He ran over to his toybox and began the hunt for the plastic dinosaur while Lindsay sighed and took Adam's hand.

"So is it true?"

"Yes."

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"What should I do?"

"I don't know, honey."

"Give me options."

"I think you've got three. You can either write him back and tell him he's got the wrong person, you can write him back and tell him you don't want to have anything to do with him, or you can wait a few days and let it settle before you decide."

"I don't think that I don't want to have anything to do with him, I'm just not sure if that would be a good idea. I don't know if he's in contact with my father, I don't know why he wanted to find me, and I don't know if he's someone that's safe for us to be associated with. If it was just me I might not be thinking about it so hard, but it's you guys too. What do you think I should do?"

"I can't tell you that, Adam. All I can say is that no matter what you decide I'm going to support you in it."

"I guess I'll think about it."

She smiled and ran her hand across his shoulders, wishing she could get inside his head and know exactly what he was feeling and what he was thinking about. She was pretty certain that he would give this guy a chance, and she knew that it could end up being a really good thing for him. He was going to have to reach those conclusions on his own though, or he would feel like he was forced into this and it would leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Colton, you want some grilled cheese for dinner?"

"Yes!" he shouted from the depths of his toybox. "And juice to drink?"

"Sure."

She gave Adam a little smile, then got up from the floor and went into the kitchen, giving him some space to think.

"I think I'm going to do it."

Lindsay looked up at him curiously, wondering how he had come to that conclusion so quickly. It had only been a few hours and she had figured he'd spend a day or two thinking about it at least.

"You're going to write him back?"

"Yeah. Not right this second. Tomorrow sometime."

"What are you going to say?"

"I don't know yet," he sighed, rolling over to face her. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm thinkin' you know?"

"Yeah. It's gotta be weird after this long, to find out that there's someone out there."

"I've never had a brother before. I always wanted one when I was a kid. Closest I ever came was my cousins, but they just liked to torment me."

"Are you going to tell your mom?"

"I don't know. Maybe after a while. You think I should?"

"I think it might be a good idea for you to wait."

"You think I'm doing the right thing, Linds?"

"I think that if you're comfortable, then it's the right thing."

"Thank you," he said, nuzzling his nose against hers. "How did I ever function before you came along?"

"Adderall," she replied seriously.

"You're better than drugs."

"Oh gag."

Chuckling he rolled them both over, pinning her gently to the mattress. She blew a strand of hair off of her forehead and grinned up at him, her eyes wide with amusement.

"Just for that smart remark…"

"Adam, don't even-"

His lips dropped to her neck and he blew a raspberry, causing her to giggle uncontrollably. She gave very little effort in trying to push him away, settling instead for pinching his side.

"Hey not fair!"

"You're not fair. You're bigger than me!"

"Yeah, but who here carries a gun and is a totally scrappy fighter?"

"I'm not fighting you, I don't want you injured."

Snorting a laugh he covered her lips with his, increasing the pressure until her now free arms came up and wrapped around his neck. She urged him closer and he gently let himself rest on top of her as her fingers drug through his hair.

"Adam," she started as his lips left hers and moved back to her neck.

"Lindsay."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He leaned closer, prepared to whisper something in her ear that was only ever meant for whispering when they heard a cry from the other room.

"Go back to sleep, go back to sleep," Lindsay chanted. There was a moment of silence and she sucked in a breath, hoping that luck was smiling on them. But then a second cry, louder than the first one came drifting over the air. She sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"I'm really, really sorry."

"It's okay. Go be mom. I'll be here when you get back. 'Course, I might be asleep."

"You're not funny," she said, tossing the covers off and getting out of bed.

"That's life baby. Deal."

The pillow that she lobbed across the room hit its target quite nicely.