Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all absolutely lovely. A good portion of this chapter was originally part of the previous chapter. However, I decided that there was no reason to do an 8000+ word chapter. I am trying to cut down on those. I have a writing problem.

Remember the old days when I thought I could wrap up this story's rewrite by chapter 50? I was wrong. I have no idea how many more chapters are left. We are heading towards some big moments. I do have an outline. I'm actually contemplating doing Daniel and Betty's wedding as a short (by my standards) sequel story to wrap up the series instead of doing a giant time jump. Let me know your opinions on that.

Chapter 50: What makes a father?

August 4, 2010, a little before 2 PM EDT

"Thank you for bringing my child," Marc said, grabbing Jade from Hilda and moving over to the meeting table. This was the perfect place to eat and feed Jade, who definitely wanted her bottle right now. "Also, sorry for moving into your childhood home without asking."

"It's OK. I brought food. Tamika told me that you haven't had a chance to eat yet. So I figured you can use a lunch break while you feed Jade. You don't have another meeting until 2:30 PM." She said, holding up a bag from Gio's deli.

"Which is definitely my responsibility because poor Cliff is in New Jersey today." Marc visibly shivered. Seriously he hates that his boy—co-parent is all the way in New Jersey today. And not just because he had to get Jade dressed on his own this morning.

"You're moving to Queens." Hilda pointed out as she took lunch out of the bag. She had a normal sandwich with chips. On the other hand, Marc had a turkey club on low-carb flatbread cut into small strips, carrot sticks, and melon slices. A.k.a. all things easy to eat when feeding a small child. Marc has already learned not to think about eating a salad while feeding the baby.

"It is still better than Jersey. Also, he's at the Jersey shore even if he's at Vivian's property there." Marc remarked while grabbing a carrot stick. Jade tried to reach for it, but he pulled away. " I'm glad you're interested in carrots. Unfortunately, you're going to need a few teeth before giving this a try." Note to self, Google when to start solid food.

"You have a point. Also, you need to wait until Jade is at least six months for the pureed version. However, you should talk to your pediatrician first before you begin introducing solid food. I can give you the number for Justin's old one if you're looking for someone in your new neighborhood." He is very thankful that Hilda is his parent friend right now.

"Yes, because I honestly don't want to keep using Jody's pediatrician on principal. Us moving to Queens is a good excuse to drop her," Marc says as he tried to juggle the baby and lunch.

"Eat your sandwich. I'll make the bottle." Hilda said, getting up and walking towards the kitchenette. "I still remember how even if my child is in London at the moment."

"Everything is on the shelves, including bottles. We stocked the kitchen last week, so there's plenty of formula and meal replacement shakes. However, there is also breastmilk in the fridge. Were trying to mix it up right now. Jody's going to be sending milk from prison. Still, we don't want Jade to be completely dependent on that, so we're trying to introduce formula slowly." Marc explained.

"We are adding more cereal and other quick things for you to eat. Four-month-olds are intense even when you're not trying to put out a magazine." Hilda remarked, making Marc think about how hard a four-month-old Justin would be to take care of. "Justin would start to cry every time I try to dress him in something green," Marc smirked at that.

"A fashionista since infancy. That is a surprise to no one. How are you handling Justin being in another country?" Marc asked.

"It's been OK. Justin has been sending me pictures even though he's still annoyed with me and mostly talks to Bobby. Although we did talk for an hour yesterday." Marc wondered about what but didn't ask.

"Because you wouldn't be OK if Betty was actually in a poly relationship with Daniel and Amanda." Marc has been briefed.

"Justin told you?" Hilda asked as she started to mix the formula together. He will do a breast milk bottle for her 5 o'clock snack. Thankfully there was a filter down here, so no bottled water would be needed. It was part of Monique's greening efforts.

"We text a lot. Probably more than we used to because one, he works at Mode now. Two, he's in another country. Finally, Justin has pretty much broken up with most of his other friends." More like they dumped him. He knows Justin is hurt that Ava hasn't even bothered to like any of his London pictures on Facebook.

"The move has been hard. Some of Justin's previous friends feel like there are 1,000,000 miles between Manhattan and Queens. 16 is a weird age." Hilda explained as she started to mix the formula.

"I think it's more that he is out and with Austin. Also, he has some big fancy job in the city and gets to live in London for the summer doesn't help. His stepdad is a rich guy who owns a luxury car dealership, and his uncle is a rich guy who owns a publishing empire. So they're not seeing him the same way." Marc explained.

"You shouldn't lose real friendships because of that." Hilda sighed as she placed the bottle in the bottle warmer. That was one of Monique's presents. She got one for the office and the house. Now that was one thing they didn't leave in Queens.

"You don't lose the real ones; you lose the fake ones, though. Maybe that's a good thing in the long run, even if it doesn't seem that way at 16. I am discovering that my real friends are the ones who are helping me through the Jade situation. The fake ones are sending my mother baby shower invitations because I allegedly took their job. Even though they don't even know how to work with Cliff properly." Marc is very unhappy with the entire Calista situation.

"I heard. Apparently, Calista was too stupid to realize not to talk in front of Austin. Did Monique fire her?" Hilda asked.

"I'm not surprised. Calista does good work, but she doesn't quite get the interpersonal aspects of this job. I'm not entirely sure if she was fired. I now have Katrina from Player in her spot on my team. Calista might just be going to Player in her place. HR and Monique are handling it, and I don't want to know." Marc doesn't have the energy to deal with this stuff.

"That's probably for the best. You have other things to worry about besides what HR does." Hilda told him.

"I think HR pretty much hates me right now between this and what happened with Troy." He was glared at in the elevator this morning despite cuddling with Jade at the time.

"They shouldn't be. When you first slept together, you were just Daniel's assistant, not Troy's supervisor. Plus, he violated the company's domestic violence policy." Hilda pointed out as she took a bite of her own sandwich.

"Which was one of the few things that worked in our favor. The other one was once I was in the YETI program, I was reclassified as Wilhelmina's apprentice, not just her assistant. The same happened with Daniel, so I've been studying how to be a creative director/editor more than just picking up dry cleaning and answering the phones." Marc explained.

"Everyone knows you know what you're doing. The article in the latest issue was good. So were the shoots in DC." Hilda told him just as the alarm on the bottle warmer when off.

"Which was a miracle considering everything that went wrong. I'm still mad we got kicked out of the State Department because of my horrible taste in men."

"You couldn't have known," Hilda said as she tested the bottle on her wrist. "Perfect temperature for a growing baby. OK, past me the kid. I'll feed, and you eat."

"You don't have to," Marc told her.

"I want to. Besides, I have to get my baby fix in some way." She said, grabbing Jade from him.

"I'm sorry." He said, remembering the miscarriage from earlier in the year.

"I'm not mad that you have a healthy baby right now." Marc wasn't so sure about that. "Actually, it kind of gives me hope that I will still have grandkids. You know, in 20 years, when Austin and Justin find the perfect surrogate." Hilda joked as she cuddled Jade closer to her.

"Although I hope said grandkids do not occur because Austin is forced to sleep with his supervisor," Marc adds. It shows progress that he can joke about it, right?

"This is true."

"OK, you're not mad at me for having Jade but are you angry at Amanda?" Marc asked as he grabbed a bite of his sandwich. He really was starving. "Because I know you haven't been speaking to your sister. Actually, I think per Amanda, you've talked to her more."

"Because Amanda called me about my alleged uncomfortableness regarding a poly relationship. She called to reassure me that my sister is 100% not interested in her sexually. Apparently, she tried to hook up with Betty before, and she turned Amanda down. Which Betty never told me about." OK, there's definitely some animosity toward Betty that Marc is picking up on.

"This happened when they were roommates. Although not very hard. Amanda was into the idea because she wanted to date someone who wasn't a total jerk. Her track record hasn't been the best." Marc explained, and they both were all aware that was an understatement.

"I'm well aware of her track record. Even if Daniel is with my sister, he's still the best boyfriend Amanda has had." Hilda added.

"That is unfortunately true, the second time around anyway. The first time, Amanda was just a physical outlet at best. The second time she was the port in the post-Molly storm. Or as Amanda put it, she made herself the rebound so that Daniel would be ready for Betty when the time came." Although nobody was expecting the condom to break. Not that it is always a bad thing, Marc thought as he looked fondly at Jade. Thankfully, she was taking her bottle. Sometimes she would be really fussy when Tamika would feed her. Apparently, Hilda is not having that problem.

"So, I should be thankful?" Hilda asked.

"I think you should probably call your sister and maybe apologize. However, since I am an only child, I'm just going to shut up now," Marc commented before grabbing another piece of sandwich.

"Thank you."

"I try."

"And just for the record, I am not upset about Amanda being pregnant." Marc was fighting not to give her Wilhelmina level glare right now.

"But…" Marc prompted.

"Maybe I am a little upset about Betty getting step kids, which seems weird. Dad is excited and can't wait to make plans to go to London. Of course, he'll go to London, and he won't come back here. I won't see him again." So that's what the real problem was.

"That's not true. My lease has a special clause where I have to let your dad stay in our guestroom anytime he comes to visit you." Cliff wasn't at all upset about that provision in their lease. "Which, of course, I agreed to because he will make breakfast. Jade, I can't wait until you're old enough for his cinnamon buns. It's so much better than that bottle you're drinking." In response, Jade sucked harder.

"He plans to make me some for the freezer. Actually, I ordered a deep freezer just because of that. He's coming over tomorrow to teach me how to make them with Austin. I'm bringing him along because he needs to acquire as many life skills as possible." Hilda tells him.

"Very true. That doesn't sound like a guy who's going to forget about you even though he's moving. I know my love for Jade won't change in 18 years when she decides to go to school on the other side of the country. I'll be there every weekend because she's my baby girl. Nothings going to change that." Because Marc plans to have a much better relationship with his daughter than he has with his biological mother.

"What if she wasn't your daughter? What would you say if the situation was reversed, and Jade was Cliff's biological daughter, and you two were just raising her together? Would she still be your little girl?" Hilda asked, and Marc wondered why she was asking this question.

"I feel like you should ask Cliff that question. But I will tell you that yes, I wouldn't love Jade any less if she was just my stepdaughter because that would just be a label. She would still be my daughter. I know that Jade is Cliff's little girl." Marc answered.

"I saw it when he handed her over to me to keep her away from your mom when she showed up Sunday," Hilda told him. "He also kissed you to prove that you two were real. Justin told me to asked you about that, but I'm going to avoid those conversations today."

"I appreciate that. Cliff, Jade, and I are a family. Even if our relationship never gets past this platonic phase, Jade is his baby girl." Just then, Marc's phone chimed with a message from Cliff.

Xxx

Cliff work: Good news Megan is competent. You made the right call to stay behind to work on the Christmas issue. Better news, the Wyndham West estate is beautiful and makes the perfect setting for our Thanksgiving shoot.

Marc: That's good. Does that mean you'll be home tonight? Getting the baby ready alone this morning was exhausting. I miss you.

Cliff work: I think so. Although honestly, I'm just checking to make sure you're eating. I'm worried you just skipped breakfast. So I made Tamika block off 30 minutes for lunch.

Marc: Yes. Hilda is feeding the baby and me. You may have been right about missing breakfast; I was going to miss the car otherwise. I had a granola bar when I got here.

Marc: [Image one attached.]

Cliff work: I see you already ate half your rollup in the pictures, so I will take that as a good sign.

Cliff work: I have to get you a better camera. She's so cute. I'll be home tonight. I miss you both.

Marc: I miss you too. I'll pick up dinner.

Xxx

"You know you might as well tell him that you love him," Hilda remarked. Marc wonders if she could see that he actually did type out love you and then deleted it.

"Have you talked to Amanda's adopted parents recently?" Marc asked, returning to their original conversation before Cliff interrupted. "They were completely freaked out when she went off the radar for those first few days after the wedding. I got so many phone calls until Daniel made her call them. It doesn't matter. Blood means little."

"Does it really?" Hilda asked.

"Wilhelmina is my mom now. I mean, granted, it was a bit of an abusive relationship at times. However, it is still less abusive than the relationship I have with my actual biological mother." Marc said darkly.

"I can't believe she said all that to you Saturday. I would never say any of that to Justin. Are you worried she will actually try to get Jade away from you?" Hilda sounded genuinely concerned.

"I'm not going to concern myself with it. My legal team will take care of it." And apparently, mommy Wyndham West is paying for it. "I would never treat Jade like that, but not every kid is so lucky. I've also heard that you're providing a safe haven to Austin." He's heard a lot from Monique about this.

"I want to tell his father to go fuck himself, but Monique won't let me. And there wasn't any parking Saturday night." Hilda explained.

"Because she doesn't want Austin to get pulled out of the program. Austin getting to stay here is a miracle in itself. Monique already had to move him to Player because the stepdad was afraid working at a fashion magazine would make him a fairy like me." Marc scoffed.

"Does he know about Cory? Or Matt, for that matter. I've heard he's bi from Austin." Even though he was still annoyed with Matt, Marc appreciated that he was more honest about himself with others. And honestly, Austin needed all the allies he could get.

"Not at all. Most people don't know about Player's long, illustrious history of having either GTPQ or female EICs. Your future brother-in-law has been the straightest one." And by straightest, Marc means a Kinsey 1.5 and the inability to donate blood in the US.

"This doesn't surprise me," Hilda said just as Jade pushed back her bottle and then proceeded to spit up. Marc quickly grabbed a baby towel out of the office diaper bag. Along with the baby wipes. Those things are miraculous.

"I don't know why I want another one when I get thrown up on all the time," Hilda whispered to Jade, but Marc still heard her. Which led to him giving her a questioning look when he handed the child to her.

"Bobby and I are trying to get pregnant, which is the other reason why I am not completely upset about Jade or the twins. If all goes well, maybe in a year or two, I will have my own baby to cuddle." Hilda explained.

"As well the vomiting apparently, I'm going to have to teach you the importance of not throwing up after lunch." Marc never thought he would say those words.

"Did your doctor gave you the OK to start trying again?" He asked as he moved Jade to his shoulder and pass the baby wipes to Hilda. It would probably be best to burp the baby a little bit before any more outfits are ruined. Marc already started wearing non-designer dress shirts at work after Jade destroyed two. He's telling everybody he's doing a fashion on a budget article. Although he might actually do an article about looking fabulous while parenting.

"I received the all-clear last week after going through a lot of tests. So we've been actively trying." Hilda smirked at him.

"It's the perfect time to do that with your teenager in Europe. At least one of us should be getting some." Because Marc only has Amanda's baby shower gift at the moment.

"I will acknowledge that Justin being gone for the summer has had some advantages. I was worried about him being gone, but apparently, the worst thing he's getting into there is picking up sex toys with Amanda." Marc stared at her for a moment. "Daniel told me. And now I feel extra embarrassed for covering Austin's eyes at the shower Sunday."

"I am not going to point out that Justin got those because his boyfriend is currently in another country." Marc retorted.

"It's still better than me at 16. Actually, I was pregnant with Justin not that long after that. So going to sex shops with a trusted friend is better, or at least that's what Daniel told me." Hilda rolled her eyes.

"You called Amanda to yell at her about that, didn't you?"

"Maybe a little yesterday." Hilda smiled.

"I hope it all goes well for you." Marc really meant that.

"I hope so too."

"If you're not upset or at least completely upset about your sister becoming a mom through nontraditional means, then why are you still not speaking to her?" Marc asked.

"You're not going to let this go?" Hilda said, grabbing a now burped Jade from him.

"No, Justin wants me to help you. Since I'm friends with the two of you, I feel like I have to try."

"Me getting pregnant at 16 is why me and Justin can be friends with the same person."

"Justin is emotionally 25 years old at a minimum. I am sure he will be a junior editor here before he graduates high school."

"At least," Hilda said as she gave Jade her bottle again. Apparently, she wasn't done yet. "And it may only be that long because of child labor laws. I've already gone over with Monique how many hours a week the kids are working and how many hours they're in class."

XXXX

"You're feeding my kid, and she's not going to let you let go of her until she's done with the bottle, so you might as well tell me everything." Unfortunately, it seems like her many attempts to avoid this conversation were not working at all.

"I regret grabbing the baby again." Because she did know better than to disrupt Jade while she was eating.

"I appreciate it, though, because I've only had half a sandwich so far," Marc said as he went back to his lunch. He would starve without her, Tamika, or Cliff bringing him food. Although taking care of a baby and being the creative director of a magazine is time-consuming.

"When I moved out, I found my birth certificate. Or rather, Bobby did. He pointed out that I was only born about four months after my parents arrived in New York. I didn't realize that before, or at least I never did the math. Math was never my strong suit." Hilda started to explain.

"You have good timing," Marc remarked, not getting it.

"I don't know how much Betty or Justin told you, but my parents came to this country to escape her abusive first husband. Or rather, my mom came to America, and my father helped her come here, and they fell in love along the way. Until Bobby pointed it out, I didn't realize the timing. That's the moment I figured out I can't be my father's daughter." Hilda confessed.

"That's not necessarily true. There could've been an affair or something like that. Maybe that's the other reason why your parents ran away." Marc suggested. Hilda knew he was just trying to make her feel better.

"Bobby said the exact same thing. But I had to know. So, therefore, I decided to get a DNA test." Hilda explained.

"When did you do this?" Marc asked.

"A couple of weeks after Betty left for London. I didn't tell her or anybody what was going on, not even Justin. Only Bobby knew." You don't keep secrets from your spouse.

"You obviously have the results by now, and I think I know what they were considering the question you asked me." This doesn't surprise Hilda because Marc is not stupid.

"I am the daughter of the abusive asshole who nearly killed my mother," Hilda confessed, hating that fact so much. Tears were streaking down her face at this point.

"No, you're not. You're still the daughter of the sweetest man I've ever met. He has been texting me parenting tips and offered us cooking lessons because otherwise, my baby will starve. That's a skill that near Cliff or me has." Marc joked as he handed her a tissue. He also ended up grabbing Jade from her.

"Your parents are the ones that raise you, not the ones that contribute to your DNA. So again, ask Monique who she thinks her mom is. For all her faults, Vivian has always had Monique's back." Marc explained.

"I know that." Marc didn't know it, but Vivian was helping them protect Austin because Monique asked. She's a good mom to Monique even though Monique exists because her then-husband preyed upon the babysitter.

"As for thinking you're a bad person, I don't think Jade is a bad person. It's not Jade's fault her biological mother forced me into having sex with her and embezzled a lot of money. Jade is Cliff's daughter, and he is the other sweetest man I know. He just texted me to make sure I'm eating. So I feel like maybe with Cliff helping me, Jade will be a pretty decent person. I think you're a very good person."

"You actually believe that?" Hilda asked between tears.

"You did feed my daughter so I could eat. That gets you a lot of points in my book." Marc smiled at her.

"That explains so much." Hilda gave him a tiny laugh.

"You've been so great with Justin. He's always known he could be himself with you. You didn't try to push him to be a certain way. You always support Justin. I didn't have that. I know that if all goes well, this new child will have the same. Ignacio will be ecstatic to have a new grandbaby." Marc tells her.

"Especially because I'll be married this time." Hilda joked.

"I think it's just a bonus. Your father loves you; your true father loves you." Marc emphasized.

"And yet he's moving to the other side of the country. Because it doesn't feel like that with him leaving me. His real daughter is gone, so what's the point of staying in New York." Hilda spat out bitterly.

"Also, his oldest daughter is married with a successful job here at Mode, and maybe he feels like he doesn't need to be here anymore. Betty's in London engaged and raising lots of kids with Daniel. It's not that he doesn't love you, but maybe it's time for him to have his own life?" Marc asked.

"You might have a point."

"That doesn't mean he's not going to be there for you. Again, he is making you sticky buns for the freezer." Marc said pointedly.

"And is making arrangements to have somewhere to stay when he comes to visit," Hilda said, remembering what Marc told her earlier.

"I expect my guestroom to be busy a lot, although Daniel and Betty can get a hotel." Marc joked.

"Or they might be able to crash at my place. I think we will be on better terms." She hopes so, at least. Of course, Austin might be living in her guestroom at that point. Matt told her about Tiffany getting fired. Hilda will try to get her to sign over custody of Austin to either her or Monique so she can leave Manhattan and let Austin stay behind.

"I hope so too. You need to tell Betty what's happening." Marc tells her.

"I know. And I will, but I probably should talk to my father first."

"That probably is a good idea. Maybe you could do it tomorrow." Marc suggested.

"That's not a conversation I can have around Austin." The poor kid does not need more family drama.

"You could not bring him?" Marc suggested.

"No, that kid needs to stay in that house as little as possible. Especially because his mom got fired last week and his asshole stepfather…"

"I'm aware, and I'm guessing maybe that has caused you even more anxiety." Marc interrupted.

"It's obvious that that man has no love for Austin," Hilda remarked.

"Some people are just not parents. Fortunately, you got a good one."

"Maybe."

"I'll come up with some work-related excuse for Austin not to be there. I will even ask Matt for help." Marc offered.

"That's going to be hard for you."

"You have been there for me a lot over these last few months, so I need to be there for you. Even if it means talking to Matt." Marc offered.

"Thank you."

To be continued…

GTPQ stands for gay, transgender, pansexual, and queer. Marc left out the L and B because there have been no bisexual or lesbian EICs at Player yet, but it's only a matter of time.