By The Time You Read This (8/8)

[enochiansigils]

Title: By The Time You Read This
Author: enochiansigils and not_from_stars
Artist: weaselett
Fandom: Primeval
Pairing/Characters: Hilary Becker/Abby Maitland/Stephen Hart, James Lester, Jenny Lewis, Danny Quinn,
Rating/Category: PG-13
Summary: Abby had thought that after they came back from the anomaly, that the three of them could make a go of a relationship together. However, when Stephen and Becker fall into a pattern of doing nothing but fighting, it leads her to believe that they don't even care about her any longer. She leaves them a letter to say goodbye and disappears. Now, Stephen and Becker have to find a way to heal their old hurts between them in order to find Abby and convince her that they want to make a life together.
Warnings: This is a sequel to our casestory fic, From Where We're Standing, but can also be a stand alone story.
Words: 33,849
Notes: Written for au_bigbang 2011. Thank you very much to weaselett for the wonderful art that she made for us! We've loved writing this story and have very much enjoyed taking part in the challenge this year.








When she was alone, Abby sank back into the pillows and closed her eyes. The closed eyes didn't stop the tears that were determined to break free, though. It was over. The months of hurt and loneliness were over and she was finally going back home where she belonged. Her guys didn't hate her and they weren't angry with her for leaving -- or for keeping their baby a secret from them. It was more than she deserved, but she was going to hold onto this for all that she was worth. She didn't know how to explain it to the guys, but being away from Becker and Stephen had made her feel like she had been gutted and that pieces of her were missing.

Stephen managed to find one of Abby's doctors quickly. "She's already wanting to know when she can go home."

The doctor shook his head. "Not for a couple of more days. She may feel she's ready to go home, but that's from the pain killers. When they wear off, she is going to be in a great deal of pain. She needs to stay here so we can make sure that there was no internal damage done from the toxins that were released after her appendix ruptured."

"No, no, of course," Stephen agreed. "She just wanted to know, is all. And trust me, arguing with her when she wants to know something? Not a good idea." He smiled faintly.

"Mr. Hart, I don't think that Miss Maitland realizes that she almost died today. Even after we were able to safely deliver your child, there was still no guarantee that Miss Maitland was going to survive." The doctor gave him a sympathetic look. "She's not safe from the threat of infection yet."

Stephen went pale at that. "I... hadn't realized we'd come so close to losing her after all."

"I was going to tell both you and Captain Becker after I spoke with Sir James," the doctor said gently. "If you and Captain Becker hadn't found her when you did, she would have gone into a coma and possibly later died. When she arrived here, she was in labor and was suffering from the toxins that had built up in her appendix. We would have been able to save the child if she had gone into a coma, but we may not have been able to save Miss Maitland."

Stephen was still pale. "Is there any chance you can let me tell Captain Becker this?" he asked. "It's something he needs to hear from someone who loves him."

The doctor nodded. "I can do that. It doesn't hurt anything for him to find out from you."

"I'll tell him when he's done visiting with Leslee. Let the poor guy have his time with his daughter before I drop that one on him."

"Leslee is a miracle, such a sweet little baby," the doctor said fondly. "I'm glad that we were able to help her and if everything continues well, she'll be quite the healthy one."

"She's amazing," Stephen said, already thoroughly besotted. "I didn't want to put her down."

The doctor smiled. "Fathers are like that."

"Yeah, we kinda are."

"Well, I need to go apprise Sir James of our patient's condition. He and Ms. Lewis have been very adamant in the care Miss Maitland receives being better than the best."

Stephen laughed a little. "Yeah, that sounds like something Lester would do. I'd listen before Becker's sister gets in on the party, then you'll have three people annoying the living hell out of you guys."

The doctor looked like he would rather not have to deal with any more people questioning him. "I'll let them know that she'll be here for a few more days, and then when she goes home she will be on bed rest for a little while."

"Damn right she will be. Even if she won't want to be." Because it was Abby. She'd try and push herself.

"She can't return to her work, whether at the zoo or with the people with Sir James, for at least a month."

"We'll make sure she stays calm and relaxed."

"Good, because that's what she needs for her body to heal." His eyes twinkled. "I daresay that you'll have your hands full trying to get a woman used to always being active to stay down and rest."

Stephen laughed. "We'll manage. Somehow."

"Good. Good. You should get back to your young lady while I go talk to the ones in charge."

Stephen nodded slightly and made his way back to Abby's room.

Abby had almost fallen asleep in the short time he had been gone, but when she saw him, she smiled and tried to sit up more. "Can I go home?"

"Unfortunately, no," he said. "You have to stay another couple days."

She frowned. "Why? I'm feeling better than I have in days."

"That would be the painkillers talking," he said gently.

"But I'm fine," she said stubbornly.

"No, you're not." He was trying to keep the worry off his face and wasn't sure how well he was managing. "You're hurt worse than you think you are, love."

Abby frowned again. "But love, I really do feel fine. If they'd unhook me, I could even walk out of here on my own."

"No," he said firmly, simply. "You are not leaving."

"Stephen, I want to go home. I've been away for far too long."

"You can't," he said, his voice finally breaking. "They nearly lost you, Abby. They weren't sure if they could even save you after they managed to deliver Leslee."

Abby's eyes widened. "What?" Because the words didn't really make sense to her when she was feeling better than she had in months.

"Your appendix had been leaking toxins for a while now. When it ruptured, they flooded your system."

That caused Abby to turn pale. "Leslee?" Trust her not to process the fact that she could have died until she knew that their daughter was fine.

"She's fine," he assured her. "Absolutely perfect and absolutely healthy."

"Will they let Becker bring her down here?" Her eyes were full of pleading now. "They thought I was going to die?"

That scared her more than anything; that the guys would have had to deal with something like that right when they should have been getting the happiest news they could receive.

"They thought you might, yes," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "And I don't known if they will. Do you want me to find out?"

She nodded, clinging to his hand. Because that panic in her eyes wasn't going to fade until she saw all three of them in one room.

He leaned over to kiss her gently before pulling back to go seek out the doctor again.

Abby collapsed back against the pillows, fear causing her to shake. Died. She could have died. Even if the guys had gotten to her in the crucial time, she still could have died and left them and their child.

Stephen found the doctor again, though not as easily this time. Poor guy looked like he wanted to hide. "She wants to see Leslee. Now, I'm pretty sure we can't take the baby out of the NICU. Is there any way we could get Abby up there for a couple minutes? Because trust me, she's not going to rest and relax until she's seen us all together."

The doctor frowned for a moment and then nodded. "Let me get some things arranged and we'll bring a wheelchair and a portable IV in for Miss Maitland. A nurse will take her up there."

"She's going to love you for that," Stephen said with a faint smile.

"She can't stay long. The baby is not the only one in danger of catching germs or infection."

"She'll be fine with that. She just wants to see us all."

The doctor nodded. "I'll make sure I make the arrangements for her."

Stephen headed back to Abby's room, a little bounce in his step. Even if it was only for a couple minutes, he liked the idea of his family being all in one room for a little while.

Abby sat up quickly when he came back into the room. "Well? Will they let me see her?"

"The doctor's arranging for a wheelchair and a portable IV so you can be taken up to her," he said.

She nodded, relief showing in her eyes. "Stephen, it was really that bad? I remember getting sick all night and then pain... and then calling Becker's."

"It really was," he confirmed quietly. "The doctors can answer all your questions, but... from what they were willing to tell me, it was that bad."

"But it doesn't feel like I'm that bad," she said quietly. Her face, though, had paled when she realized just how close she had come to breaking her promise to Becker permanently. "Oh god. Stephen, does Hilary know?"

"No, he doesn't," Stephen said. "The doctors were going to tell us after they spoke to Lester about it."

"You can't let Lester or the doctors be the one to tell him, Stephen." Abby was getting over excited and one of her monitors started to beep as her heart rate jumped. "Please. They won't tell him in a way that won't scare him. I promised him before that the only way he'd ever really lose me was through death. If they tell him that they thought they were going to lose me after they saved Leslee..."

"Relax, Abby," he said gently. "I'll tell him. I promise, I'll tell him." And because he wasn't afraid to play dirty, he added, "You have to calm down or they won't let you go see our daughter."

That made her even paler and tears filled her eyes. "I've messed everything up."

Oh, God.

"Ssh, love," he said, moving to wrap an arm around her. "You haven't messed up a thing."

Abby buried her face in Stephen's shoulder and started to cry.

Stephen held her close and let her cry, rubbing her back gently with one hand. "We love you, Abby," he said quietly. "We always will. And we'll always love our daughter."

"We should be home with our daughter, and instead we're stuck here."

"If we weren't here, you'd still be at your new flat and Becker and I would still be alone. So really, being stuck here isn't so bad. Because at least it means we have you again."

That made her cry even more. "I missed you. I missed you so much. So many times I almost called you, almost came to see you."

"We missed you, too," he said. "Both of us."

"Never again," she whispered into his chest.

"No, never again," he agreed. "Because Hilary and I are never going to do that to you again. We're never going to drive you away again."

"I love you two so damn much," she whispered. "I didn't see any other way."

"It's all right, love," he said. "Because we're together again now." He smiled gently. "Now, come and dry those tears. You want to be calm when you see our baby girl, don't you?"

Abby nodded, trying to get herself calmed down. "She's really all right and safe?"

"She is," he said. "She's so tiny and delicate right now, but she'll get stronger as she gets older. She's fine, love."

She nodded, lifting a hand to wipe her eyes, but not moving away from the safety of Stephen's arms. "Good. That's really good."

He smiled encouragingly. "You might even get to hold her... if you can get Hilary to let go of her."

She sniffled and smiled slightly. "I wouldn't try to take her away from him right now."

"It's... strange," he said. "How six hours ago we didn't know where you were, much less that we had a daughter. And now... we know."

She chewed on her lip. There wasn't much that she could think of to say that.

"And I wouldn't change it for the world," he hastened to assure her. "It's just overwhelming to realize just how much your life can change in the space of a few hours. Because now I have this tiny little life that I would already die to protect, and I didn't even know she existed this morning." There was awe in his voice, though.

"I wish I could have told you guys when I first found out."

"I do, too," he admitted quietly. "But I understand why you couldn't."

"I was scared." She looked at him. "I was scared that you guys would only want to make things work with the three of us because of the baby... and I hated my own childhood too much to take that risk. I wanted her to know she was loved, but not feel like she was in the way or keeping people unhappy like I did."

"I hate that you were so scared, but I hate even more that it's my fault."

"It's not your fault, love. All three of us contributed to that fear of mine and that atmosphere." She reached up to touch his cheek. "You've more than made up for it."

"I hope so." He smiled at her touch. "You should relax a little until the doctor comes in."

"Could you sit up here next to me?"

"Of course," he said before sitting carefully on the bed with her, wrapping an arm around her.

Relieved, Abby leaned into him. Stephen and Becker always made her feel safe, and right now, she needed this assurance that everything was going to be all right.

"I'm glad you called us when things started going wrong," Stephen said quietly. "I'm glad that even though we hurt you, something inside you still knew that when it came right down to it, we'd make everything okay again."

She nodded. "I did. When the pain got so bad that it was so hard to breathe, all I could think about was calling and hoping I could reach you."

"I'm glad we were home."

"So am I, because at that moment, the flat phone was the only number I could recall. I hate to think of what might have happened to Leslee because I couldn't remember your mobiles."

"So don't think about it," Stephen said. "Just think about the fact that you remembered the number and that you and our daughter are safe."

He smiled. "It's strange to be saying that. Our daughter. But strange in a good way," he hurried to add.

She laughed softly. "Glad you guys are okay with being fathers."

"Becker's always wanted kids."

She swallowed hard. "And you?"

"Never really thought I was the type for it."

"But now?"

"Even now, I wasn't sure. But when Becker told them I was the father, I felt this... this rush."

"A good rush?"

"An amazing one."

Abby relaxed against him, closing her eyes.

"Scary, yeah," he continued. "But scary doesn't have to mean bad. And it didn't. It didn't at all."

"You'll be a good dad, both of you will."

"I hope so. Because we don't ever want to let you or Leslee down." If he thought like that, how bad could he really do?

"I know so," she murmured softly. "You'll do fine."

"And you'll be an amazing mother."

"I hope so, Stephen," she whispered. "God I hope so."

"I know so."

"I love you," she murmured against him.

"I love you, too," he said softly. "Go on, get some sleep until the doctor comes. I promise I'll wake you up."

It didn't take long before a combination of exhaustion, relief and the medications she was on to lull Abby into a sleep as she was held by Stephen.

He was still holding her when the doctor came in.

The doctor smiled. "We can let her sleep and come back later, or we can wake her up and take her up now for a few minutes. I guarantee you that she won't stay awake very long, though."

"She'll be so cranky if we don't wake her up." Stephen laughed softly. "C'mon, love, time to wake up and go see the baby."

It took a moment for Abby to open her eyes, but when she did, she smiled tiredly. "I can go see Leslee now?"

The doctor nodded. "But only for a few minutes. You need your rest."

"And we'll make sure she gets settled back in before we leave," Stephen promised the doctor as he moved off the bed before carefully helping Abby out of it.

Abby frowned as she was placed in the wheelchair since she thought she could walk just fine on her own. But looking the grim faces of Stephen and the doctor, she decided not to argue the point.

Smart Abby. Arguing meant no seeing the baby.

"You are going to fall in love with her even more the second you see her," Stephen said.

"Of course I am," she murmured, yawning a little. "She's a part of the three of us."

"You and me," he said. "Looks-wise, I mean. Wonder how she'll take after Becker." Because he just knew she would.

"By being protective and cute as hell when doing it?" She suggested.

"And the gun thing. I definitely see our little one knowing her weaponry."

She laughed softly and nodded. "Oh yes. I can see that, too."

"We're going to have to stop him from trying to buy her her first gun at a ridiculously early age, aren't we?"

"You're not exactly restrained when it comes to your weapons, love."

"Oh, hush up and let me blame him for something."

"No," she said tilting her head up to give him a cheeky grin.

"Brat," he said, making a face at her.

"But I'm your brat."

"Damn right you are."

"I'm kind of hoping I get to see you both act possessive of me at the same time. Very hot."

"Just so long as it's not aimed at each other, because that? Isn't pretty and helped get us into this mess." Stephen laughed softly.

"We'll do fine," she said with all of the confidence she hadn't felt in months.

"Damn right we will."

The doctor turned the chair and took them through a set of double doors where they gowned and masked the two parents. After that was done, he wheeled Abby's chair into the neonatal care room. Becker was sitting in a chair holding Leslee and watching her with awe.

"Hand over the baby," Stephen said, fondness evident in his voice. "Let the mama hold her for a while."

Becker smiled as he gently placed Leslee in Abby's arms. "Here you go, Mama. She was waiting for you."

"Beautiful," Stephen said softly. "Absolutely beautiful." He reached out to take Becker's hand in his. "Our Abby and our daughter."

Abby was completely focused on the baby in her arms. "I told you it would be all right," she whispered to Leslee. "I promised you that they'd figure it out."

Stephen moved forward, resting his free hand lightly on Abby's shoulder. "I'm just sorry it took us so long."

Leslee grabbed at Abby's finger with her hand and Abby smiled softly. "But you did and that's all that matters."

"She's beautiful," Becker said softly. "And she's mine." There was awe in his voice because, all right, not his biologically. But she was still his.

Abby nodded. "She's just as beautiful as her fathers." She was going to be stubborn about this detail.

Neither man was going to argue on that fact. "Thank God we're pretty," Stephen said with a grin.

That made Abby laugh softly, even as she closed her eyes for a moment. For the first time in months, she felt completely at ease and relaxed. Her family was together and everything looked like it was going to be all right.

"You look beautiful holding her," Stephen said softly. "Like this is what your life was leading up to."

"She's going to be the most precious thing ever," Abby said, looking down into the blue eyes of their daughter. "She'll definitely make returning to work quite a new adventure."

"Returning to work where?" Becker asked hesitantly.

"The ARC," she said calmly. "Lester held onto my job for me. That's where my family is. The nursery at the zoo was fine and all, but it wasn't home."

There was no mistaking the relief on his face. "He didn't want to let any of us quit."

Oh, not the time to bring that up. Quick, Becker, find a way to salvage!

Abby's eyes clouded as she looked up at him. "What?"

"I had a particularly stupid patch and tried to resign. Lester pretty much verbally flipped me off and said no way."

"Oh no," Abby whispered, her voice filled with sorrow. "Hilary..."

"So I took a few days off... and then you called."

She looked relieved at that. "You're not quitting?"

"Lester wouldn't let me."

"Good," she said softly. "You're too good to lose." She looked at him. "In any fashion."

He smiled faintly. "I've got a few more days before I actually go back -- he made me take two weeks. So I'll be able to spend plenty of time with you."

"I'll be so clingy you'll both get tired of me." There was a smile on her face when she said that, though.

"Nope, not gonna happen." Becker smiled.

"We'll all be able to spend time with you for a while," Stephen said. "I'll be able to wrangle a few days out of my bosses. Especially when I tell them my girlfriend just had a baby."

She smiled at them both. "I like the idea of having plenty of uninterrupted time with you two." She winced. "Well, after I get done being chewed out by Becker's men."

"They knew where you were." Becker's voice was quiet. "God damn it, they knew where you were." He was fighting to keep his voice low. "They knew and I didn't think to ask them. They knew and they didn't tell me."

"They knew because Lester thought I needed a security detail for some reason." She still didn't understand his logic on that. "They weren't going to offer the information because you've trained them too well to betray confidences like that -- and I didn't want to be found." She reached to touch his arm. "Had you asked, they would have told you the truth because you're their Captain and they respect you too much not to be honest. But love, you didn't know that they knew where I was. You had no reason to think that they would. After all, my best friends didn't know."

"I should have known," he said dully. "I know you're friends with some of them."

"I was really good at covering my tracks and disappearing," she pointed out softly.

"Which you are never to try doing again," Stephen said firmly.

Becker was pulling away from them again, emotionally and physically. "I should have known," he said again. "We talked to everybody. Why didn't I think to ask any of them?"

Abby's eyes were filling with tears as she reached her free hand towards him. "Don't." Her voice broke. "Please don't." As she got upset, Leslee picked up on it and started to fuss a little bit.

Leslee's fussing snapped him out of it... for the time being, at least. "I'm sorry, baby girl," he said. "And I'm sorry, Abby my girl." He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

Leslee was giving him a very annoyed look. Baby girls seemed to be very good at that and she waved the fist not tangled in Abby's hair at him. Then she smiled.

"Hi, honey," Becker cooed, reaching down to touch her fist cautiously. "Oh, you're beautiful, aren't you? Yes, you are."

Anyone that tried telling him this wasn't his daughter was going to quickly learn otherwise.

Stephen laughed. "She already has you wrapped around her finger."

"Oh, like she doesn't have you already there, too?" Becker retorted, pressing another kiss to the top of Abby's head. "I really am sorry," he said softly.

"I know," Abby whispered. "It's okay. I am, too."

Abby would have said something further, but that was when her doctor and a nurse came in.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but Miss Maitland needs rest, as does little Leslee." The doctor looked at Abby. "There will be no arguments out of you, Miss Maitland. I have already discussed this with Mr. Hart and Sir James."

And Becker was in agreement with the two of them.

"You can come back later, Abby," Stephen coaxed. Notice he didn't say how much later.

Abby looked at Leslee and then the two guys before nodding. She didn't want to argue and risk the doctor telling Becker what he had told Stephen. Stephen needed to tell him what was going on. She was worrying about that as she handed her daughter to the nurse.

Stephen could see the worry in Abby's eyes. He'd just have to hope they'd be able to get back to Abby's room and relative privacy so he could pull Becker aside and break the news himself.

The doctor smiled gently. "I'll let the gentleman take Miss Maitland back to her room. I think she'd be more comfortable and less difficult that way." His eyes twinkled as he looked at Abby.

Stephen smiled, stepping aside and letting Becker take the chair.

Becker curled his hands around the handles of the wheelchair and started pushing Abby down the hall and to the elevators so that they could get her back to her room.

Stephen waited until they'd gotten Abby back to their room and settled into bed before pulling Becker aside. "Hil, we need to talk."

Becker looked from Abby's bed where a nurse was taking her vital signs and then looked at Stephen. He noticed that they hadn't approached Abby's bed yet and that wasn't a good sign. Not wanting to bother the nurse, he frowned, gesturing Stephen outside. Once they were out in the hall, he looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"We came damn close to losing her."

Becker frowned. "I know, but we got her here in time, Stephen. You see her. She's okay."

"No, we came really damn close." He reached out to take Becker's hand in his. "As in, another hour and they probably would have lost her."

Becker stared at him for a moment, his face paling. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Her appendix ruptured, leaking toxins into her system. It'd been going on for over a day. If she hadn't called you, she would have died. They were barely able to save her as is."

"Oh my God."

"I asked the doctor to let me tell you."

Becker ran his free hand through his hair. "Yeah. That's good. Hell." He let out a sigh. "Does she know?"

"Yeah." Stephen nodded slightly. "She does."

"That's why she wasn't allowed to stay with Leslee very long, isn't it? Because they're not sure that she is completely all right now."

Stephen nodded again.

"Oh God." Becker's voice was quiet and even. It was the type of voice he used when he was trying to maintain his calm.

"It's why she wanted me to be the one to tell you." Stephen squeezed Becker's hand. "But she's going to be all right, Hilary."

"She is, because we're going to take care of her and make sure of it. She damn well isn't leaving here until her doctor tells us it's safe."

"Exactly," Stephen said with a nod. "No matter how many times she pouts at us."

"It's not going to work this time because she needs to do what the doctors say. Her pouts aren't going to work when we have to weigh them against her life."

"Which isn't going to stop her from trying. Which, to be fair, we wouldn't want her to not try it. Because it's such an Abby thing to do," Stephen said. "But we're not going to let it work. She'll stay in that bed if we have to bribe her into it."

Becker nodded, his jaw tightening. "One way or the other she will stay there and she will behave. We almost lost her and we are not risking her like that. We are not letting Leslee grow up without her mother."

Stephen squeezed Becker's hand a final time before letting go. "Leslee is going to have all three of her parents."

"Yes she will," Becker said with a decisive nod.

"Thank you for that, by the way. For... for telling them I'm the father."

"You are."

"Yeah, but... you didn't know that at the time. It could have just as easily been that you were the father."

"No. Whether I was or not, they were damn sure going to know you as the father and a part of our lives." Becker looked at him. "They know me and they know Abby here. You're still an unknown entity to them. Now you're not. Now they know you're the father and you belong here with Abby."

"I'd say you're missing out on getting to be a father, but you won't be. You'll be right there in the thick of it with us." Stephen smiled slightly. "And who knows? Maybe there will be other children in our future."

"As long as Abby and Leslee are safe and with us, that's all I need to know."

"Then everything's going to work out just fine."

He nodded, his face still a little pale from the news of how close they had come to losing Abby, and how much danger she could still be in.

"Hey..." Stephen said gently. "I know you're scared. If you want to talk about it, I'm right here."

"Her dying... or even coming so close..."

"It's scary," Stephen said with a nod. "I know. That's what I thought, too."

Becker pulled away only so that he could lean against the wall and run his hands through his hair as he tried to get his shaking to stop and get his thoughts to calm down.

Stephen just stood there, not sure what to do other than to simply be there for the other man. So that was exactly what he did. He stood there, close enough for comfort but enough space between them for Becker to not feel smothered.

"My men knew where she was this entire time," Becker said, giving voice to the other thing that was on his mind. "They knew and they didn't tell me a damn thing -- even when they saw how worried I was."

"Oh, love..." Stephen sighed. "That's a matter to take up with them, but... they like Abby. She's their friend. They just wanted to keep her safe."

"But how they have kept her from me? Especially when they found out she was pregnant. They've known... and Lester has known... for four months where she was while you and I have been worried out of our minds about her."

"I'm not thrilled about that part," Stephen admitted. "Maybe we had a lesson to learn... okay, we definitely had a lesson to learn... but it wasn't their job to help teach it."

Becker let the back of his head hit the wall with a soft thump. "No, it wasn't their job to do so. It makes me angry that we've been worried sick about her and trying to tear up the city to find her... and they knew this whole time that she was safe and nearby."

And that was when things clicked.

"Shit." Stephen's hands clenched for a second. "Lester told us. In a very cryptic fashion, but he told us."

Becker turned to look at him, an obvious question on his face.

"He said she could be working someplace close, working as a vet or with a security team. Enough clues that weren't quite entirely right but were close enough. God! He told us. Without actually saying anything, he told us where she was."

Becker closed his eyes with a groan. "And were were too bloody stupid to realize what he was saying. No wonder he kept treating us like sodding idiots."

"If we'd been a little smarter, a little less wrapped up in ourselves, we could have had her back weeks ago." Stephen was pale and trying to fight that. "But we weren't. It was still all about us and our pain, and we never stopped to think about hers."

"And I know she's still hurting and still so damn unsure where she fits with us. Oh, she loves the ring, loves that we want her to come home, but she's still hesitant and skittish about her place and how angry we're going to be with her once the newness and the shock wears off."

"She fits right between us, or in front of us, or wherever the hell she wants to be," Stephen said. "She's ours, damn it, and she always will be. Sure, we're hurting. But that doesn't change that we want her to come home."

"I have a feeling we'll have to keep making sure that she knows that's what we want from her. Because even though she was happy were were here and she was relieved about coming home, you could tell from her eyes that she hurting and skittish and unsure if we can really forgive her and accept her."

Stephen nodded. "We'll have to do something for her when she gets home to show her just how much she fits with us still."

"Yeah, because she's scared and I don't like that."

"And whatever we do won't magically make everything all better, but it'll be a start and I think if she sees us making that first overture, it'll help a little."

Becker nodded. "You're right and it keeps Quinn off our backs about her happiness. And Sarah, Jenny, Lester, Connor, Cutter... my men."

"So really, it shows her we mean it and it saves our sanity." Stephen frowned thoughtfully. "Now the only question is, what do we do for her?"

"Stay here as often as one of us can. Make the flat into a true home for her... or find us a bigger flat."

"A bigger flat," Stephen said. "Someplace without any memories attached, where the only memories she'll have of us are the good ones."

Becker nodded. "A place where she'll feel peaceful and won't have to remember the months that led up to this... or the months she was gone."

"Where she won't have to worry about anything except the life we're building together."

"I really like this plan, Stephen. It's a new start for our family."

"It's exactly what we need."

Becker nodded. "You're right. It is exactly what we need."

"Now, the important question." Stephen grinned. "Bedding -- one really big bed or no?"

The other man laughed. "Really big one. And a comfortable sofa for those nights one or both of us gets her pissed off."

"Oh, yes. A comfortable sofa is a must."

"Because it's going to happen that there are going to be fights. It's a normal thing with relationships."

"And face it, the three of us can probably come up with some real winners for fights."

"We're definitely not in the spectrum of boring."

"And this is a good thing." Stephen said with a nod.

Becker shook his head and ran a hand through his hair again. "It's not a bad set-up, as far as families go."

"No, it's not. And really, Leslee's going to have what every kid should have -- parents who love her."

"Oh hell yes," Becker agreed. "Parents who love her more than any child has ever been loved." He had kind of a goofy smile on his face when he said that. "We have a daughter."

Stephen grinned. "We do. An absolutely beautiful daughter."

Becker grinned back. "She gorgeous, just like her mum."

"I hope she takes after Abby."

Becker laughed. "Only Abby? Stop and consider what it would mean if she was a little carbon copy of our Abby?"

"God help us."

Becker smiled faintly. "Exactly. It's hard enough keeping up with Abby sometimes. If Leslee turns out to be just like her?"

"Okay, then I hope she turns out mostly like Abby."

Now he laughed. "Come on. We should probably get in there before she sweet talks some nurse or orderly into letting her discharge herself."

Stephen couldn't help laughing. "Oh, God, you know her so well."

"She so would without the two of us here to stop her," Becker groaned.

"So yeah, we better get in there and head it off at the pass."

He nodded, then shook his head. "Life will certainly never be dull with her back, that's for sure."

"With her back, life will be amazing," Stephen said before they walked into the room.

Wallpaper.



Seven.