~Gabriel~

Holy fucking shit! I'm a dad! I'm a fucking dad! I don't know how to be a dad. I don't know the first fucking thing about being a parent!

Neither did Sang.

Shit! We left Sang alone for five fucking years to raise our kids! Fuck! What the fuck are we supposed to do? How do we fix this? Sang hasn't said a word to us since we've stepped foot in her house. And speaking of the house, who decorated? Because I definitely approve, but we'll come back to that later. Sang hasn't even looked at us!

In the hall, she talked to the Toma team, when the twins first came in the living room, she spoke to them. Why won't she talk to us?

Why do you think she won't talk to you idiot? You left her for five years without a moment's notice. Then you just pop back up? Do you really expect everything to just go back to the way it was?

No! But I do want to know how the hell I can fix it!

Great! Now I'm talking to myself.

I look over at Victor and Morgan playing with a rubix cube. How the hell is he not freaking out about this!? Cole is in my lap trying to show me his favorite truck, and all I can think about is how royally we've fucked up. There has to be a way to fix this.

A few minutes later, Sang and Axel walk out of the kitchen of Luke's dreams with trays of hot chocolate.

"Sang Baby, are you really going to let them have that junk this late?" North asks, while eyeing the chocolatey treat.

"Some things never change," I mumble.

Cole looks over my shoulder towards Sang, causing me to turn my head to look at her as well. Her shoulders are tense, and her head is bowed. Her shoulders rises up as she takes in a deep breath before raising her head to look at Cole.

"Cole, would you like to tell your dads why mommy's ok with you having chocolate this late?" Sang asks him with a tight smile.

"It's not real chocolate," Cole responds while reaching out for the cup in Axel's hand.

North goes speechless, while Sang and Axel hand out the rest of the cups.

"Cole, buddy?" Luke asks, looking suspiciously at the cup in his hand. "What do you mean it's not real chocolate?"

"There's no sugar, Daddy Luke," Morgan answers, since Cole is drinking. "The milk is Almond Milk, the chocolate packets are low calorie and sugar free, and the marshmallows, well, the marshmallows are real." She finished with a shrug before taking a sip out of her own cup.

"Oh, thank God," Luke breathes out a sigh of relief. "At least there's some sugar."

"That's why we only get two," Cole tells him.

North looks at his cup suspiciously before taking a sip himself.

"This is actually pretty good. I can't tell the difference."

"Of course it is North. You didn't think Sang would give her kids something bad, do you?" Marc instigates.

"I didn't say that," North growls out.

"Mommy, can you help me and daddy with the rubix cube?" Morgan asks, breaking the tension.

"I'd love to, baby, but I think your Daddy Kota would be more helpful. He's really good at those," Sang responds from her spot by the kitchen between Axel and Brandon.

She still won't look at us.

It's like it physically pained her to even say his name. I know we fucked up big time when we left, but for her to not even be able to look at us? Is this even fixable? I'm pretty sure the only reason she let us in was for the twins. They're probably our only hope of getting her back.

"I'm so sorry, Trouble."

~Sang~

My whole body freezes with Gabriel's whispered apology.

He's sorry? Sorry for what exactly? Sorry for leaving without a word? Sorry I went through my pregnancy virtually alone? Sorry their parents left me high and dry? Sorry I had to raise our kids without them!? That I had no answers to give them whenever they would ask where their fathers were or why they left!? What exactly are you sorry for, Gabriel!? What!?

"Sang, breathe," Brandon's whisper breaks through my hazed state.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, slowly releasing the anger. When I open my eyes, everyone is staring at me, but I can't bring myself to care. I clear my throat before putting on a tight smile.

"Kids, I think it's time for bed."

"Ok, Mommy."

They stand from their spots before going around and giving their fathers a good night kiss. When that's done, I take them by the hand, and lead them back to their room. Morgan stops us just inside the hallway and turns around.

"You'll still be here when we wake up, right?"

"You bet, Princess," Victor responds.

Morgan gives him a nod before letting us continue to the room.

"Hey, Mom?" Cole asks as I'm tucking him in. "Daddy Victor didn't lie, right? They'll still be here?"

"I hope so, baby, but let's worry about that tomorrow, ok? Get some sleep."

I wait for his nod before giving him a kiss on his forehead, then do the same to his sister. Walking back to the door, I think about how other mothers probably would've handled that situation. They'd probably tell their child whatever they think they would want to hear, or what they think will make them happy. 'Of course they'll be here sweetheart. They'll never leave you.'

I'd feel like the worst parent in the world if I were to tell them that. I make it a habit to avoid lying to my kids; they're too smart to be lied to and they can handle the truth. That's not to say that they don't still believe in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy.

Somethings should just be left to childhood innocence.

But things like this...I wouldn't lie to them, and that's exactly what I would've done if I said yes. I don't know if they'll still be here when the twins wake up. I'd like to think they would be, that they wouldn't do that to their children, but the truth is...I don't know. I don't know who these men are anymore. I don't know why they're here, I don't know what they want. Once upon a time I could have honestly said that they would never leave, that they wouldn't do that to me or the kids... but they've done it once already. They've already broken promises that they were supposed to keep.

I won't get my children's hopes up by telling them that they'll still be here in the morning, because it'd be my fault if they weren't. They would believe me as their mother if I said that they would be, and I'd be the liar, not the boys, if they weren't. So no, I won't do that to my kids, or to me, because they don't deserve that. And those men in my living room don't deserve my loyalty. I don't even know who they are. The men I fell in love with, never would have left me in the night. They never would have been ghosts in my children's lives for four and a half years. They wouldn't have broken my heart in such a monumental way. I don't know who those men are, but for the sake of our children, I'll try and find out.

~Victor~

We're all quiet while we wait for Sang to come back out. I can't believe how much she's changed, although I understand why. She's done an amazing job raising our kids, and it couldn't have been easy for her to see us after we've been gone for so long. Outside of her breakdown when we were in the hallway, she's kept herself very composed. Almost like she's in that bubble North used to threaten her with. It must have taken a lot for her to raise our kids without us, even with the help of the Toma team.

I don't know what's going to happen after we solve this Volto mess, but I do know that I'll do everything in my power to make life easier for Sang and our children. They'll never want for anything.

God, I'm a father. They look so much like Sang it's incredible. Maybe I should start a trust fund for when they get older. Money will never be a problem, whatever they want, it's theirs. I hate to think that I'm buying my kids love, but what else do I have to give them when I've been out of their lives for so long?

She really did an amazing job with them. Not for the first time tonight, I wonder what would've happened if we stayed.

Sang comes out of the hallway a few minutes later, not looking at anyone. That's another thing I've noticed tonight, she hasn't looked any of us in the eye.

Will she let us stay here? We already closed out the rental house, I mean, if we had to we could go back...but I promised my little girl I'd be here when she wakes up. Please don't make us leave, Princess.

"Sang-" Owen starts, only to be cut off by Sang's raised hand.

I can only imagine what's going on in her head right now.

"If you're staying here, there's a queen sized bed in the guest room. Also, the couch pulls out into a full sized bed. There are sheets and stuff in the linen closet, the guys can show you where. Otherwise, I'm sure you can stay in one of their guest rooms. I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. Brandon?"

That's it? She's really going to let us stay here? We don't even have to ask? Maybe she wants to make this work as much as we do...but why is she calling Brandon?

"I'll be there in a few," he responds.

Sang gives him a nod and turns around, heading back down the hallway.

"What the hell was that?" North barks out after we hear the door close.

I send a glare his way, which he ignores.

"Keep your voice down," Axel grits out. "The kids are sleeping."

"Why the hell did she ask for you?" North continues in a softer voice, albeit, no less angry.

"Probably because she's anticipating a nightmare," Brandon answers him.

She still has nightmares? They stopped after we all moved in together. Of course our leaving might have brought more harm than good. Oh, Princess...

"Gee, I wonder why," Marc adds sarcastically.

"Then it should be me in there, not him!" North counters.

North! Shut up! If she makes us leave, I'll never forgive you!

"Newsflash, you haven't been here for five years. Don't think just because you're back, everything is suddenly ok," Marc argues.

"Enough," Axel steps in. "It's late, we all need some sleep. Who's staying here tonight?"

Everyone on my team raises our hand. We'll have to figure out the sleeping arrangements.

"Alright, Brandon go to Sang." He nods to Axel then heads down the hallway. "I guess you all can figure out where you want to sleep. The linen closet is right there, and remember not to raise your voices. If those kids wake up, you'll have Sang to deal with," he finishes.

"Believe when I say, you do not want that," Raven adds.

We say our goodbyes and the rest of the Toma team leaves.

"So we're just going to let him sleep with her? What happened to them not being with her in that way?" North whisper shouts.

"We're not going to let him do anything," Owen states. "We've been out of her life for five years, who are we to dictate her coping methods."

"No matter how much we don't like them," Sean mumbles.

"You can't be serious," North grumbles.

"Take a good fucking look around, North," Gabriel exclaims. "Tell me exactly what you see. Because what I see is her, and them, and our kids. Not us, them! And so help me God if you fuck this up for us by having your head too far up your own ass, I'll yank it out just to replace it with my foot! Don't you dare fuck up our chance to get Trouble back just because you're too pissed off to see that we're the reason she had to make a life without us! So man the fuck up, keep your mouth shut, and maybe we can get through this Volto bullshit intact, so that I can see my kid and his mother whenever the fuck I feel like it!"

Gabe's right. All over the living room there's pictures of Sang with the Toma's and the twins. There's even pictures with Dr. Roberts! Birthdays, holidays, achievements...we've missed it all, but not anymore.

At the end of Gabe's whisper rant, North looks like he's about to lose it. In an effort to bring down everyone's stress levels, I step in.

"Gabe's right. Sang can't even look at us right now without looking like she just got the wind knocked out of her. We need to solve this Volto mess before we even think about trying to get Sang back."

"Might I make a suggestion?"

We all turn our heads to the hallway to see Brandon leaning against the wall in a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

He's so comfortable here...we're the ones who don't belong...for now.

"We'll take all the advice we can get." Kota replies.

"Startwith an apology. No excuses, no distractions, just apologize. I'm not sayingshe'll accept it, she had to deal with a lot when you left, but start there."He turns around to go back down the hall but stops short. "Oh, and Sang said totell you that if you wake up her babies with your piss poor excuse forwhispers, she'll make sure you can't talk above a normal speaking level for amonth. Night guys."