Lin had to leave early the next morning for a meeting, before Maddie had gotten up, so she was disappointed to find that he wasn't there.  Kate smiled that her daughter was so in love with him, but she worried as well.  She really cared a lot about Lin, and she knew the feeling was mutual, but what if things didn't work out?  Maddie would be devastated to lose him.

"Mommy, can I have Lucky Charms?" She asked, her hair ruffled from sleep.

"Nope, only on the weekend sweetheart," she reminded her daughter.  Instead, she pulled out Cheerios and poured her a bowl.  Kate set it on the table along with a spoon and smoothed Maddie's hair back a little.  As Maddie began her breakfast, the doorbell rang and Kate went to answer it.

As the door opened, the person on the other side was not someone she was happy to see.

"Jason," she breathed out in shock as her eyes met the form of her ex.  He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, hands in his pockets.  He gave her a weak smile.

"Hi Kate," he said, knowing this was a complete surprise.

"What..." she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.  "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm in town and I thought I'd stop by and see my kid."

Kate sighed and rubbed at her forehead with her fingers.  "Jason, you can't just randomly stop by.  You're going to confuse her."

"How?  She remembers me."

"Are you sure about that?  It's been at least a year, Jason.  She's only four.  She has no memory of you."

"Well, I'd like to be in her life more now," he went on.  "I assume you got a letter about custody?"

"Yeah, thanks for that," she said, scratching the back of her head.  "I thought you lived several hours away."

"I'm moving back," he said.  "I'm looking for work this week and looking for an apartment.  A two bedroom, so Maddie can have her own room."

"Fantastic," she said.  "Well, Maddie's eating her breakfast right now, so it's really not a good time."

"How is it not a good time?"

They were interrupted by the door opening.  Maddie's blue eyes stared up at them, wondering why her mother had stepped outside.

"Mommy, can I have apple juice?"

"Sure, sweetie.  Just a minute.  Go back to the table, please," she told her daughter.  Maddie looked at the man in confusion.

"Who's that?"

"Nobody, sweetheart,"

"I'm your dad, Maddie," he said in a cheerful voice, kneeling down to her level.  "Don't you remember me?"

Maddie took her mother's hand and stepped a little closer to her.  She shook her head.

"That's okay," Jason told her, rubbing his hands together.  He supposed asking for a hug would be a bit too much at this point.  "Would you like to hang out a little later today?"

Maddie chewed on a fingernail and shrugged.

"What's your favorite thing to do?  Chuck E. Cheese?  McDonald's?"

That caught the little girl's attention.  "McDonald's!!" She said excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

Kate sighed.  "Actually, I try not to take her there," she said.  Jason stood up and gave his ex a look.  "Maddie, go finish your breakfast."

The little girl complied this time, skipping back to the breakfast table.  Kate looked back towards her husband.  "Two o'clock.  You can have her for three hours."

Jason nodded and smiled.  "Thanks, Kate.  I'll be back then."

Kate's shoulders slumped as she went back inside and closed the door behind her.  Maddie was eating her cereal again, excited about the prospect of going to McDonald's later.

"Mommy, is he really gonna take me to McDonald's?" She asked excitedly.

"I guess so," Kate said as she went to the kitchen to clean up.

"Is he my real daddy?" Maddie asked curiously.

Kate stopped what she was doing and walked over to sit at the table with her young daughter.  "Yes, sweetheart.  That's your father.  He's been away for a little while, so you probably don't remember him."

Kate played with her daughter's hair, straightening it out and tucking it behind her ear.  "Do you want to hang out with him later?"

"Yeah!" She said, and Kate knew the primary reason was because she'd been promised McDonald's.  She was a bit weary of new people, but Jason knew the way to her heart.

As the day went on, Kate tried to push the thought of the date to the back of her mind.  She hated the thought of allowing Maddie to go off with him for three hours.  He barely knew anything about her.  It was like giving her daughter to a stranger.  As the 2:00 hour neared, Kate began to feel more and more anxious.  With Maddie's diabetes, she was even more nervous about letting her go.  When the doorbell rang again at 2:00, Maddie rushed to answer it.

"Daddy!" She greeted him excitedly this time.  Maddie took his hand and led him over to some of her toys.  Kate walked into the room and watched them for a few moments.  He was very much hands-on now, but she had a feeling that would fade.  When Maddie was a baby, he would get irritated at her constant needs.  Kate usually ended up providing 95% of her care.

"Jason, I need to talk to you before you leave," she said.

"Sure," he said, giving a toy back to Maddie.  He stood up and followed Kate to the kitchen.

"You may have forgotten that Maddie's diabetic," she explained.  "You need to watch out for signs that her blood sugar is too low.  She gets tired and lethargic and a bit irritable.  I'll show you how to check her blood sugar now."

Kate picked up the device and walked over to Maddie.  "Alright, baby, we need to show your dad how to check your blood sugar."

Jason watched closely as Kate pricked their daughter's finger, collected a sample, and inserted it into the machine.  It showed a normal level.  Kate gave Jason several packets of fruit snacks in case her blood sugar dropped.  She should be okay for a few hours, but she didn't want to take any chances.  Kate needed to make this as easy as she could for Jason, for Maddie's sake.

A few minutes later, Maddie was waving goodbye to her and was out the door.  As soon as the door shut, Kate felt tears form at her eyes.  She was so worried and her gut wrenched.  Taking a moment to compose herself, she unlocked her cell phone and pulled up Lin's number in her contacts.  She pressed "call" and waited for him to answer.

"Hey, babe," he greeted her.

"Hey," she said.  He could immediately tell something was wrong.

"What is it, Kate?"

"Jason...my ex," she said.  "He came by this morning.  He and Maddie just left to hang out for a couple hours.  I'm a mess."

"Damn," he commented, putting his hands on his hips.  "I'm sorry to hear that Kate.  How was Maddie?"

"A bit uneasy at first, but he promised her McDonald's, so she soon came around."

"Yeah, that'll do it," he agreed.  "Look, I'm sure she'll be fine for a couple hours.  I'm just finishing up at the theatre, so I could stop by."

"That would be great," she said, not wanting to be alone.

"Alright, I'll be there within a half hour."

They hung up and Kate went back to her bedroom to lay down and relax for a few minutes.  Lin arrived about half an hour later as promised, finding his girlfriend teary eyed.  He immediately pulled her into his arms as she began to cry.

"It's okay," he tried to comfort her, running his hands up and down her back.  "She'll only be gone a few hours."

"But he said he's moving back," she told him, pulling away to look at him.  "He's going to want to see her all the time.  I can't handle that."

Lin took her face in his hands and brushed away some of her tears with his thumbs.  "I know," he said.  "That'll be really hard.  But I'm gonna be here for you. We'll get through this."

Kate rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him again.  It felt so good to have someone to rely on.  Someone who could help her.  She was so used to doing everything on her own.  They hugged for another minute before Lin kissed her temple and pulled back. 

"Come on, let's go lay down," he took her hand and led her back to her bedroom.  Lin guided her to lay down and he scooted up behind her, his front flush with her back.  He kissed her cheek and her shoulder as he cuddled her close.  They stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other.

After a while, Kate was finally ready to get up and face the world.  They moved out to the living room and watched some TV to take her mind off her daughter behind away.  Lin noticed her continually watching the clock, waiting for 5:00 to roll around.  When it passed and Madeline still hadn't arrived, she began to get very tense and worried.  She called Jason's cell phone and he didn't answer.  She called again 5 minutes later, and 5 minutes after that.  Finally, the door opened and they walked in.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" She immediately accused him.

Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise.  "I was driving, Kate," he explained.  "I don't like to talk and drive."

"Lin!!" Madeline ran to him in excitement.  Lin allowed the four year old to pummel him as he sat on the couch.  He pulled her up into his lap and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, Mads," he told her.  "Did you have fun with your dad?"

"Yeah!  I got a Happy Meal and he let me get ice cream too!"

"Lucky girl," he said as he stood up, picking Madeline up with him.  He walked over to Jason and held out his hand.  "Hi, I'm Lin.  Nice to meet you."

Jason looked him up and down, sizing her up.  "Jason," he said, then looked at Kate.  "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"It's not your business," she told him, crossing her arms.  "Madeline, how are you feeling?  Do you need a snack?"

She got down from Lin's arms and took his hand to lead him to her toys.  "Nope, I'm fine."

Lin followed and sat cross-legged in front of her toys as she began to hand him things and chatter away.

Jason looked back to Kate and breathed out.  "I guess I'm chopped liver now."

Kate walked him towards the door.  "If you want to see her again, you need to give me more notice.  I have work and she has preschool and other commitments.  You can email me."

She opened the door to let him out.  "Wow, good to see you too." 

Kate couldn't believe that he stepped forward with his arms out, expecting a hug.  She stepped back with her arms crossed.  "Goodbye, Jason."

He raised his eyebrows and turned to leave.  Kate shut the door and ran her hands through her hair.  Lin looked over at her and gave her a supportive wink.  Kate didn't want to let Madeline out of her sight, so they spent the evening hanging out at the apartment.  She and Lin made a nice dinner together, and then Madeline insisted that Lin read her a bedtime story.  After three stories, he tucked her in and they both kissed her good night.

After closing the door, they both went into the master bedroom and laid down.  Lin gently ran his hand up and down her arm.

"You doing okay now?' He asked her.

"Yeah," she admitted, giving him a small smile.  "Thanks for keeping me sane."

"You bet," he told her, giving her a kiss on the lips.  Then, he reached down and unbuttoned her jeans.  "Now can I drive you insane?"

Kate laughed, very much needing to feel good and take her mind off the day.  "Of course," she said, pulling his body closer to hers.