The next day, Kate was released from the hospital. Lin was overly protective and cautious, walking the carrier out to the car very slowly. As he drove, he stayed under the speed limit and kept looking back in the rearview mirror, as if his son might disappear.

They arrived home and found that Lin's parents and Madeline had decorated the apartment. There were congratulatory signs, balloons, and treats. Madeline was ridiculously excited that they liked the decorations. She bounced around the apartment, full of energy.

Rio continued to be a chill little baby. He only cried when something was wrong, and was perfectly happy being held by anybody. He seemed happiest when he was in someone's arms or laying on someone's chest.

Madeline was turning into a little mother. She wanted to help out with Rio as much as possible. Since she was only four, she couldn't be trusted with a lot, but she liked helping clean him in the tub and get him dressed. Sometimes he took a bottle, so Maddie delighted in feeding her younger brother. Having a brother brought up all sorts of conversations about the difference between a boy and a girl and how he was fed. She was very curious, and Lin and Kate decided to be as honest with her as they could.

That night, Lin ran his fiance a bath to help her relax more. She was still a bit sore, so the hot water helped soothe her muscles. Afterwards, she climbed into her jammies and laid down on the couch with Lin. He knew she wasn't ready to be intimate, but he was a very handsy guy. He let his hands wander over her body and felt her flinch a little when he touched her belly.

"What's wrong?" He whispered.

"My stomach is disgusting right now," she said. "I'd rather you not touch it."

Lin pressed a kiss behind her ear. "Okay. I won't touch it if you don't want me to. But you're beautiful."

"You keep saying that, but I don't feel that way," she said. "It's all squishy."

"That'll fade away," he reminded her. "Give yourself a break, you just had a baby."

"Exactly," she said. "I'm not feeling as attractive as usual."

Lin pressed several kisses to her head, neck and shoulder. "You're gorgeous," he reminded her again. Kate sighed and settled in a little more. She was pretty lucky. She had an amazing fiance who constantly showered her with affection.

"So..." he went on, changing the subject. "Big wedding or small wedding?"

"Small," she said immediately. "I'm talking less than 100."

Lin whistled. He had a lot of friends and a large extended family. He knew Kate wasn't a fan of huge numbers of people.

"Indoors? Outdoors?"

"I'd prefer outdoors but that can be a little unpredictable," she pointed out.

"Yes," he agreed. "Maybe we can start looking at venues online tomorrow."

"Okay," she said, closing her eyes and just enjoying laying with Lin. It was nice to not have anything to do, with both Maddie and Rio down for the night.

Lin was being a trooper helping out with the kids. He knew Kate was still exhausted. She pumped milk so Lin was able to get up with the baby at night so Kate could get a little more rest. He took the lead quite often with Madeline and was cooking up a storm. Kate felt so lucky to have him. His parents were over fairly often as well and had even taken Madeline for a couple afternoons. They loved their snuggle time with Rio. His favorite thing seemed to be lying on chests, sleeping.

Sometimes Madeline could want to help too much. She wanted to pick him up and carry him like she saw her mother and Lin do, but she wasn't old enough yet. A couple times she had tried, but had luckily been stopped before she could do any harm.

One morning, Kate nursed Rio in bed as Lin took a shower. Madeline wandered in, as she sometimes did in the morning. She'd always cuddled with her mother in the mornings before they both eventually got up. Some mornings, she was fine snuggling with Rio there, but some days she seemed a bit jealous, like this morning. She liked having her mother's full attention. Instead, she practiced somersaults on the floor.

Lin walked out, freshly showered, and scooped her up off the floor.

"What do you think you're doing, munchkin?" he teased her, tickling her sides. She laughed and squirmed in his arms. Lin carried her out to the kitchen to get her some breakfast.

"Why doesn't Rio eat cereal like me?"

"Have you seen his mouth?" Lin asked as he got out a bowl for her. "He has no teeth. It's kind of hard to chew without any teeth."

"When will he get teeth?"

"When he's about 6 months old," he said. "Do you want Cheerios or Rice Krispies."

"Rice Krispies please," she said politely.

"Good manners," he praised her. Kate wandered out with Rio propped up on her shoulder as she patted his back. He let out an impressive burp.

"Bad manners, Rio!" Madeline accused.

"He's allowed to burp," Kate told her daughter. "In fact, babies need to burp."

"Why can't I burp?" she countered as she got a spoonful of cereal.

"It's rude when you get older," Kate explained as she got two coffee mugs out of the cabinet.

"That's not fair," Maddie said.

Maddie took her time eating her cereal, like she usually did, and Lin and Kate both tried to hurry her along. They told her to go get dressed for preschool. It was Wednesday, so her father would pick her up from school to stay for the night. Since Rio had been born, she'd been a little reluctant to go with him.

Kate stayed home with Rio and Lin took Maddie to preschool. He knelt down and gave her a goodbye kiss, telling her he'd see her tomorrow. Lin walked back to the apartment, realizing he was going to miss the kid. It was strange when she was not in the house. She was such a tornado that her lack of presence was like a big hole.

That Wednesday afternoon Jason happened to be caught up in other endeavors so he arranged for his mother to pick Maddie up from school. Madeline didn't know her paternal grandmother very well, so she was a bit uneasy about the whole situation.

Jason was stuck at work for most of the afternoon into the evening. He'd told his mother that she went to bed around 8:00, so she tucked her granddaughter in. By the time Jason got home, he was exhausted and ready for bed. He collapsed onto his sheets and fell to sleep quickly.

In the morning, when Jason woke his daughter up, she was clammy and very tired. He realized that he hadn't warned his mother that she could get low blood sugar. Jason rushed out to the kitchen and grabbed her diabetic kit. He tested her quickly and saw that she was dangerously low. Jason picked her up and carried her to the kitchen, setting her on the counter.

He poured her a glass of orange juice and called her doctor right away. Jason was told to bring her in immediately.

Maddie took her juice to the car with her, sipping on the way. Jason tried to keep her talking, but she was obviously not feeling good. As soon as he got her to the doctor, she was seen immediately and given an insulin shot to get her levels up faster.

Jason felt horrible, seeing his daughter looking so out of it. He stepped out of the room while the nurse was attending to her and made the dreaded phone call to his ex-wife. She screamed at him over the phone, chastising him for letting this happen. Kate was all alone with Rio, so she packed him up and hailed a cab to the doctor.

Kate practically ignored Jason the whole time, not even wanting to look at him. How could he forget to tell his mother such vital information about her health? And if he was busy, why didn't he just send her back to Kate?

When Maddie was finally stable, Kate picked her up and carried her out to the reception area. She would not be going to preschool that day. After she'd signed the necessary paperwork, Jason opened the door and carried Rio out in his carrier.

"Listen, Kate-"

"Don't even bother," she told him, her voice bitter. "You'll be hearing from my lawyer."

Kate hailed a cab and quickly got the children inside, then took off for home. She continued to hold Maddie and didn't want to let go.

Maddie's clothes were soaked from sweating, so as soon as they arrived home, she stripped her daughter's clothes off and ran a bath. She texted Lin, livid at the situation, and he promised to come home soon. He arrived as Maddie was getting out of the bath. Rio started crying out of hunger, so he got a bottle ready and sat on the couch to feed him.

Maddie was feeling better, but was still quiet and subdued. She sat next to Lin on the couch and cuddled up into his side.

"How are you feeling, baby girl?" he asked her, putting his arm around her.

"Better," she said, playing with her lip.

"I bet a bath felt nice," he commented as he pulled up a Doc McStuffins show for her on the DVR.

Kate tested her blood sugar again just to be sure she was still okay. The rest of the morning she spent on the couch watching TV with a blanket.

After Kate had put Rio down for a nap, Lin met her in the kitchen. She was stress cleaning. Lin tugged on her upper arm and pulled her to him for a hug.

"Take it easy, Kate," he told her. She felt so tense in his arms. "She's fine, and she's back with us now."

"He just makes me so angry," she said into his shoulder. "How could he be so irresponsible?"

"I don't know, babe," he said, rubbing her back.

"I'm calling my lawyer here in a few," she decided, pulling back. "This is the second time this has happened. I don't feel like she's safe with him."

Lin couldn't argue with that. One time was a fluke, but twice was a real concern. He didn't want Madeline to not see her father, but if her personal safety was in jeopardy, he wouldn't hesitate. She wasn't biologically his, but to Lin, she felt like his daughter now.