(( *whistles* It's 2900 words atm. Might split it into several chapters. This is what happens when I have nothing to do but plan my story for 5 days. I literally spent 12 hours editing this.))

Scott was still sitting in the living room when Dan came back downstairs.

"How is he?" Scott asked.

Dan sighed, "Wants some time alone. I think it still hasn't hit him properly. He's kinda, like... numb, you know what I mean?"

Scott nodded, "Yeah... Poor thing."

"Yeah," Dan said. "He was a total mess when I found him. Like, at that time he didn't know about his brother being, y'know, gone... but he had just had that conversation with you through those speaker-majigs in his room and he was bawling into his couch. It was actually the first time I knew he, like, had a full-on crush on you, man. But, damn. You were kinda his everything. So I kinda looked after him for a while, got him all cheered up... then that call came in at about 2am. We came here as soon as possible."

"You're a really good friend, Dan," Scott said, and then frowned. "Wait a sec- what were you doing at his house in the first place?"

Dan blinked for a second, "Well, uh, I was... Like..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I hadn't seen him in a while... So I thought I'd go... Check on him... What's that smug look for?"

Scott was grinning widely, "Daniel, you're wearing a shirt with no stains on it!"

Dan frowned, "And?"

"Aaand, pants that actually fit you. And, oh my gosh, is it possible? You brushed your hair?"

Dan rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Scott."

"You've got a crush on him, don't you?" Scott asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"I have a feeling that question's rhetorical," Dan replied.

"Are you gonna ask him out?" Scott asked.

Dan looked at him for a moment, then sighed heavily, "Nah. He's still madly in love with you, dude. Plus, he's, like, got enough to deal with, y'know? I don't want to put pressure on him while he's stressed out. It'd just confuse him. Sometimes... Sometimes it's just about making the person you love happy more than anything."

Scott stood up and clapped him on the shoulder, "You're a good kid, Daniel. Don't ever change." He smiled, "I'm sure it'll work out in the end. He'll move on from me, and you'll be waiting for him."

"I hope so..." Daniel said, a little wistfully.

"I'm going to go upstairs and check on him," Scott continued. "After all, I believed that Vincent was dead for over 5 years. I know what it feels like to lose someone really close to you."

Dan nodded, "Yeah, alright."

Scott walked out to the stairs, and Vincent passed him, walking into the room and spotting Daniel. "Oh. It's you."

"How's your nose?" Daniel replied darkly, shooting a glare at him.

"Well, it stopped bleeding," Vincent said. "And I don't think it's broken."

Dan folded his arms across his chest and stared at him coldly, "You know, I've been doing some research of my own. I'm kinda wondering, like, how come you haven't gone to the police yet? Once they see you're still alive, won't they have to, like, drop the charges on Scott?"

Vincent stared back at Daniel, not blinking. "Because they'll still blame him for the children's murders. It's safer for everyone if we stay low."

"Safer for everyone," Dan agreed, "Especially you. After all, you wouldn't want the investigation on you to resume now that you're alive, would you? They'd probably get the story of the deranged robots out of Scott, and then go and dismantle them to see what was wrong with them. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you, Vincent?"

Vincent was silent for a while, and then he spoke deeply and clearly. "I don't know what you mean by that, but I'd watch where you step, Daniel. You're expendable. Just remember that."

"So was Chris," Dan said. "It's a shame you got his twin instead."

They stared at each other for a long time, both glaring slightly. Finally, Vincent turned away. "You're smarter than you look, kid. But dumber than I thought. Try anything funny, and I'll know it was you. I won't hesitate to eliminate any threats to my plan, Daniel. See you later." He walked out of the room.

Dan glared after him and then cursed inside his head. He should have kept quiet. He'd given himself and his opportunity to stop Vincent away in his anger. He sighed and sat back down on the couch, idly wondering how Scott and Chris were doing.