Back in the West Village.

The journey back from JFK to the West Village was a strange one in some ways for Niff. For once the traffic was light, and they made the journey in what felt like a record time; it was strange getting used to the traffic being back on what was the usual side for them at first, and just a little confusing after their long flight. Wes had fallen asleep on the plane journey, and though he was awake as they passed through security, he was sound asleep again as they were driven home. Their route to the city that day eschewed the usual midtown tunnel route, and brought them in over the Brooklyn Bridge, a route which made them feel at home in a few moments, as they saw all of the familiar skyscrapers clustered together at the tip of Manhattan. Nick sent Mike a text to say that they were almost home, and he replied that he was already in the house waiting for them, along with the other member of the little family…

For Caleb, it had so far been a confusing day. He had woken up at his usual time, and had after a few stretches sauntered into the kitchen to eat his breakfast; that morning he had been served scraps of chicken from last night's roast, and there had even been a spot of proper chicken gravy on them for good measure. With that eaten, he had been a little surprised to find the female human in an unusually solicitous mood with strokes that day, but there was no sign of Mike anywhere… He had then taken his mid morning nap, then had returned to the kitchen to have his lunch; it was a bowl full of a good quality cat food that he liked, with a bowl of water to help keep it all moist and slake his thirst. Once again Mike was absent from the room as he began, but before he had finished he heard his voice in the distance, so that was reassuring. Lunch eaten, he decided it was time for his early afternoon nap, but on returning to his bed, he found that it was gone…

A search in the immediate vicinity brought no joy, and so when Mike appeared in the doorway, he had meowed loudly in protest at being denied access to his comfortable bed at naptime. Mike had come over and crouched down next to him, and with a sadness evident in his voice, he said, "You are looking for your bed, aren't you? Well, it is exactly where it is meant to be, which means that you and I won't be seeing quite so much of each other from now on. I am going to miss having you around all the time so much, but Jeff will want you back home ASAP. He is nearly there himself now, so you had best come with me…"

Mike gently picked Caleb up, and the next thing the cat knew, he was being placed in his carrier. His initial reaction was to miaow, wondering why he was being moved again. In his mind, he had done nothing wrong, and now Mike was rejecting him too. His protests grew louder as he saw Mike picking up a bag which he realised contained all of his toys, and then the carrier. He howled as he was carried out into the street, and then along it, and then…

Caleb sniffed the air as they entered the house, and he recognised at once that he was actually home; this was his house, where he had lived with Mike, Nick, Jeff and the little human too. His howls ended and turned into a purr as he realised what it meant; his other humans were coming back to him. He looked around for them eagerly as he was carried down into the kitchen, where his bed was back in its old spot by the radiator. Mike gently set the carrier down, and opened the door. Caleb ran out and straight into his bed, relishing all of the old familiar smells in the house. He looked up to see Mike was unpacking his toys too, and then with horror spotted that he was crying as he did so. Instinctively he knew why; his Uncle Mike was going to miss him, and the feeling was mutual. He climbed out of his bed and walked over to him, nuzzling into his side as he was crouched on the floor. It was the best way he could express his love and gratitude to the human that had stayed. Mike's smile and the little strokes he got from him where all that he needed or wanted in return…

Eventually Mike got up and started to bustle about; Caleb returned to his bed as Mike filled and boiled the kettle, then switched on the coffee machine. He unpacked a store bought cake, then put out some cookies he had baked himself; not quite up to Nick's standard, but acceptable. Then he looked up as he heard a vehicle draw up outside, and then a car horn, and he was heading upstairs. Caleb pondered following him for a moment; a large part of him wanted to run up the stairs, to run at them, to nuzzle at the blond that had saved his life - but in the end, he stayed where he was. The other side of him was still angry that they had left without any thought of asking him if it was okay, and although his life with Mike and Tina had not been a bad one, he had been forced out of his home. No, he would make them come to him and grovel…

It was the small human that appeared first, although he was much bigger now than he remembered. He came over and knelt beside him, then with a gentle hand he stroked him. "I have missed you," said Wes softly, and Caleb had to admit that he had missed him too. He had not been consulted on the move either, he guessed, and had also been spirited away without warning…

Then they appeared at the door, his two humans. The brunette noticed the cake and smelt the coffee, and then the blond, his human, made a beeline for his bed. 'Teach him a short lesson,' said his inner voice. 'He left you, so you need to show him how angry you are at that…' As Jeff drew closer, Caleb got up, blanked the blond completely, and then stalked up the stairs, tail in the air. Hopefully his sunbeam was still in its old place in the room on the top floor…

As Caleb stalked up the stairs to the studio and his sunbeam, Jeff stood in stunned silence at the spot he had reached in the kitchen when his cat took off at speed. His face had not crumpled into tears yet, but Nick knew that they would not be far away, and if he began to sob, then Wes would probably follow his Papa's example. On top of that, he felt that at least some of what had just happened was down to him; after all, if he had not taken the job at the UN, then they would not just have spent a year in London and left Caleb behind. In retrospect, maybe he should have gone alone, leaving Jeff and Wes in New York to carry on in their normal home, and just flown home for a long weekend every month; that option had after all been given to him at the time…

If Nick was blaming himself, then so was Mike, and possibly even more so. His concern now was that he had been too nice to Caleb, had allowed him to grow too close, and had, by pandering to the cat's every whim, spoiled him for Jeff. There was just one ray of hope on the horizon; he had after all been concerned that this might happen, and had thus taken the opportunity to talk to someone that had more expertise with feline behaviour; her advice might be invaluable now. "Jeff," he said softly, stepping up to where the blond was standing, "I would not be too worried about what just happened…"

"Not worry!" exclaimed Jeff. "He hates me! Caleb will never, ever forgive me for leaving him for so long; it might just be for the best if you gather up all his things and take him back home with you right now."

Mike was taken aback at those words, and Wes wailed at the idea. Nick went to his son, and Mike spoke again to Jeff. "Listen, I was worried that he might end up being like this when you came back, so I had a word with Brittany. She told me that when she was away from Lord Tubbington for a while, he acts off, just as Caleb did now. It is a natural instinct in a cat; they have to show you that they disapprove of what you did. However, it soon stops, because deep down he loves you and he just missed you so much. Once you show him that you are sorry for hurting him and making him miserable, he will come round, particularly if said apology is accompanied by a food treat. To that end, well, we all know just how much he loves salmon…."

Five minutes later, Jeff was making his way upstairs to his studio, carrying a plate on which there was a generous portion of flaked red salmon, bought by Mike in anticipation of just such an emergency. The door to his studio was just a little ajar, enough for a cat to have squeezed through. He paused on the landing, took a breath, and then opened the door slowly, half expecting to hear a miaow of protest, and then the body of a cat rushing past his legs. That did not happen; Caleb remained where he was, up on the window seat enjoying the full beam of the sun. Jeff felt an immediate nostalgia for the room now he was there; the room he had been using as a studio in London had not been half as perfect as this one. He actually could not wait to be settled back in, and come up here to do his work back at his desk in the perfect light…

Just now though he had a much more vital task to perform. He walked slowly over to the window seat and sat down next to the cat; he did not move, no acknowledgement given that Jeff was there. With a sigh, Jeff began to speak. "I am sorry that I went away and left you for so long, and that I didn't warn you I was going. I should have come back a few times to see you in person; I wanted to, but I thought that would actually be worse for you, for me to return for a few days and then vanish all over again. I have missed you so much, my little friend, and I promise you here and now that I will never leave you alone for so long again. If we do have to go away, then I will insist that we only go somewhere that you are able to come with us. Anyway, I might have brought you a little bit of salmon as an apology…"

When Caleb had heard the footsteps coming up the stairs, he had sniffed the air, and knew at once that it was not Mike, as there was no faint scent of catnip; it was therefore safe to assume that it was his blond human. A part of his brain immediately said that he should find somewhere to hide, but the sun was too nice to miss after so long away from it, and anyway, he wasn't really all that cross with him. Still, he didn't move when he arrived, just lay there with his eyes shut as he came to sit at his side, and then spoke. He did not even pretend to understand the words he said, but he knew that the tone he was speaking in was a sad one, the one he had heard him use with the brunette when he had done something that he shouldn't…

He was only half listening when the voice stopped, and he opened one eye to see what was going on. He saw two things at once; firstly, the word salmon had just been said, and there was indeed a quantity of his favourite food sitting there; and secondly, the blond had tears in his eyes, and that he knew meant immense sadness. That made him sad too, and although he was still a little upset with the human, he could ignore that for now. He got up, stretched, then walked over to where Jeff sat; he jumped up onto his lap, and then settled there for a brief moment, just long enough for the blond to stroke him in that special way that Mike, try as hard as he might, just could not replicate. Then, he rose again, and headed for the plate of salmon, and began to eat. As far as he was concerned, the blond had apologised, and his offering was accepted. The apology from the brunette would need to come later…

Down in the kitchen, the brunette in question was catching up with Mike, the latter sharing all the little pieces of news that the limited time afforded by short phone calls and limited Skype sessions had left held back. It had been nearly a year since they had last seen each other in person, and Nick's sharp eyes couldn't help but notice that a handful of grey hairs had made an appearance now on Mike's head; if he was being honest, he had a few of his own too. With the gossip dealt with, Nick turned to more immediate issues. "So how is Tina doing? She must be nearly at the 20 week stage by now?"

"She is doing better than she was; she is no longer being sick every morning, thankfully, and she also says that she no longer feels as tired as she had been. Her boss has been pretty good about everything too. Tina decided to come clean, and she felt that it might make her a little unpopular around the place, but on the face of it, everything is as it was. The big change now is that she has started to look at baby stuff online, and the other day we might have spent an hour in the baby goods department at Macy's as she cooed over all the newborn stuff, so we are at the broody stage. Another sign of that is the fact that she has started to try and knit, which is a concern, because to be brutally honest, she isn't very good at it, and as a result, her blood pressure is getting raised as she gets more and more frustrated. It of course doesn't help that it turns out that I can knit quite proficiently. I was watching her one night as she attempted to knit, and when she gave up, I picked up the wool and needles, put on a Youtube video, and well…"

Nick laughed, but it did not surprise him in the least that Mike had such a talent, nor did the fact that he was actually using it; he had always been a new man. He had to admit that he thought nothing about picking up a needle and thread to sew a button back on or to mend a torn hem or seam. He had even made an attempt to darn a hole in a sock, although that had been less successful… He came back to the room as Mike carried on. "The first thing I noticed was that little Wes isn't quite so little now; he is growing up so fast! I guess that the change would not seem quite so extreme if you had been here instead of away. It is good to have you back; I have missed you guys being around."

"To be honest, we have missed our best friend too," replied Nick with a smile. "Don't get me wrong, London was a great experience, and we have done things and met people that I never ever imagined or dreamed of doing, but this city and this house, they're home. Once I have made a few batches of cookies, then it will be all the more perfect…"

"Did I just hear the magic word?" said Jeff, walking back into the room with Caleb now purring contentedly in his arms. Nick smiled, and ignored the little voice he could hear doing a very good Cookie Monster impression from where he was sitting, supposedly reading a book, at the dining table.

He gave Mike a quick glance to stop him laughing out loud, then said to his husband, "You certainly did, my love. I have a lot of storage tins that need to be refilled to their normal level, and there might even be a possibility of me baking some cramique whilst I am at it…"

"Oooh, yes please, daddy!" came the little voice at that, and his papa immediately wished that there was a monster on Sesame Street that ate nothing but that so that he could get his own back….

Dismissing those thoughts, Jeff walked up to where his husband was sitting, and said, "I have to admit that the house doesn't feel quite like home without the smell of your baking."

Nick nodded, then carefully held out his hand, and was pleased when Caleb deigned to let him stroke him gently. "First of all though I am going to make a stew for us to eat for our dinner tonight; thanks to our wonderful best non-Warbler friend here, there is some chicken in the fridge which will make a great casserole, and I am also assuming that there will be someone willing to help me dispose of all of the trimmings in his old way…"

Caleb's eyes popped open then and he looked directly at Nick, and then he purred, as he knew exactly what those words meant; although Mike and Tina had kept him very well fed, she had not allowed him to sit with her in the kitchen as she cooked, and she certainly did not let him catch the meat scraps like the brunette had always done. The fact that he was resuming that role for him at once was a more than adequate apology in the cat's eyes…

A couple of hours later and it was as if they had never been away. The kitchen was filled with the mixed aromas of the chicken stew that was simmering away on the stove top, with dumplings already made to be added to it in due course, and of the two large batches of cookies that he had already prepared; when the second came out of the oven, then the cramique would go in. Jeff meanwhile had kept their son occupied, and as he thought, Wes was more than a little dubious that the bicycle in the garden was the same one as he had been riding in London, as his papa claimed. It looked far too new, and in any case, they had not taken it to or from the plane. Still, it was every bit as comfortable to ride, and now he was here, he could even ask if he could ride it to kindergarten sometime.

Caleb had rubbed himself affectionately around Nick's legs as he had cut up the chicken, and strictly some of the scraps were not scraps at all, but it did not matter; all was forgiven, and he had headed to his bed for his second afternoon nap with a full stomach. He woke up again as the little family settled down to their dinner, the long day they had had now starting to catch up on them, even those that had slept on the plane journey. With dinner eaten, and the washing up done, Wes was quite happy to head up to his bed to sleep, and he was followed almost at once by his fathers, their body clocks telling them it was nearly one in the morning, and that they had been up for over 20 hours. They left the bedroom door slightly ajar, and sure enough, not long after they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, a small furry creature came in, and jumped up on the bed to join them…

Nick had set the alarm early the next morning, but it wasn't really necessary; his husband was woken by a cat half an hour before hand, as Caleb decided that the sun was high enough that they should be awake and tending to his stomach. Nick made a mental note that the bedroom door would be shut from that night on; they would not be at the mercy of the cat from now on. Breakfast that morning saw them sit down with their usual home foods, but with a pot of tea rather than the coffee they had drunk before, a sign that England had rubbed off on them. The fact that they were also streaming Radio 2 added to the effect, although it was Ken Bruce and not Zoë Ball that they were hearing, London being 5 hours ahead of them now.

Nick had plans for a trip to Brooklyn and a stock up at the Stop and Shop, the cupboards not being exactly bare, but not as well stocked as he would have liked, but they were delayed when the knock came at the door at 8am. They both knew who it would be in all likelihood, and sure enough Drew was standing there, with Evie at his side. Inviting them in, they headed down to the kitchen, where they introduced Evie to Wes. Like all young children, there was a moment of uncertainty, and then Wes asked her if she would like to come and play in the garden… A minute later and the two children were in the garden, being watched by Caleb. Nick made coffee, and brought out some of the cookies he had made last night, before they sat down at the table.

"I was going to come over last night, but I was warned by Ethan that you would be too tired after your trip. I just had to come and say thank you again for what you did for me. If it hadn't been for the two of you, then I might well not be around anymore, and as for Evie, well…" Drew fell silent, and neither Nick or Jeff spoke for a moment, both knowing what he meant.

Eventually Nick said "It was our pleasure to help you out, as Warbler brothers always should. I am just so pleased to see that you are here, and that you are happy. I take it that living here with Ethan is working out well for you both?"

"Much better than I expected to be honest. I thought that I might be a burden to him, that he might not adapt to having Evie around after being surrounded by adults for so long, but he is wonderful with her. The street is perfect, and having Beats upstairs is a bonus too; he and Elliott are a wonderful couple, and Dante is like a big brother to Evie and helps out with babysitting duties when we need someone. You won't have met Lachlan yet, but honestly, it is like sitting in the Senior Commons and watching Klaine all over again. Then of course there are the others - the New Directions folks barely knew me, but they are like old friends. Now that you are back, the street is complete."

"It finally is," said Jeff. "When you weren't here, things just seemed a little off kilter; Ethan was happy, but there was always that little touch of sadness in his eyes. The first time I saw it gone was on that wonderful day at Heathrow when we had managed to get you away from her, and you were heading home. I would guess that look hasn't come back since. The three of you will have to come over for dinner soon now we are home for a real catch up."

Nick nodded in agreement, already planning the menu in his head, then added, "We could invite Beats, Elliott and Dante too, and suggest that he brings Lachlan so that we can meet him in a convivial situation. A meal for 10 is just as easy to prepare as one for 6."

"That would be nice," agreed Drew.

The rest of the day was spent in getting back to normality; there were backs and boxes to unpack as well as the shopping to fetch, then it was back to the kitchen for Nick as he made cakes to place in his still empty tins, and a lemon drizzle one that he would send Jeff out to deliver to Drew later. He also made a chocolate fudge cake for Seth, knowing it was his favourite, but made it into a series of small buns, so he would not need to slice it up if his hands were bothering him. Jeff was sent with that too, and Seth was glad to have the chance to thank the blond in private for his new home, and gave him a tour. They made no mention of his condition, and Seth was grateful for that, as it spared him having to say that Artie was coming over later to show him how to manage the most recent delivery to his new home, that he had not shown to Jeff. He did not need it yet, but Ollie had arranged for the chair anyway, and getting practice in now would be no bad thing…

By the time then week approached its end, all was back in order in the West Village house, but they had to leave it again to head to the place where they had met for a renewal of wedding vows, and a birthday party. That party would, however, turn out to be the most memorable of days for one special reason…