"Not a bloody needle! You're a mean son of a bitch, Neil! How come I never saw that before?"

"You weren't looking, I suppose. Now shut up and grit your teeth like a man."

"Derryyyy!!!"

"What?"

"I changed my mind. I want you to get Sey."

"But Sey's with the kids. He can't--"

Neil heaved an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Derry, go stay with Sasha and Emmy so Birkoff can come and hold Declan's other hand. Before...I...shoot...him!"

Derry looked askance at her twin brother. "Dec, he's giving you an injection to kill the pain."

"But it hurts."

"It'll hurt more if I try to set your wrist without it," Neil said, trying hard to remain patient.

"Can't you just wrap it up in one of those bandage thingies?"

"No, it needs a cast."

Declan turned to his sister and moaned, "Are you still here? My bloody hand could fall off by the time you get Sey."

Derry muttered something about ungrateful brothers and stalked out. Declan frowned as Neil began to manipulate his wrist into place. "Ow! I felt that, Hunter! What kind of a painkiller did you give me?"

"It'll kick in any second now, Declan."

"Ha! You'd better give me some more."

"Look, I just gave you 50 mg of Demerol IM. You have to wait for it to work."

"It's *my* hand and it bloody well hurts. Give me more."

"You *want* another shot?"

"Fuck no! Can't you give me something that doesn't require a needle?"

"You Irishmen are all alike. All bluster and no balls."

Declan reached out with his good hand and grabbed Neil's balls in a vise-like grip. "Well, the way I see it, Neil, old boy, you've got two choices. Give me more drugs or else your boyfriend Ned is going to think you're a bloody girl."

"Pillock."

"Wanker."

Neil drew up an additional 25 mg of Demerol in a syringe and brandished it before Declan's face. "See this? It only goes in one way! So drop your trousers and kiss your ass goodbye!"

"You'd better not stab me with that fucking thing."

"You'd better take your hand off me or I'll tell Birkoff you were coming on to me."

"He'd never believe you. You're not my type."

"Oh, yeah? Try explaining that to *your* boyfriend." With that, Neil indicated the arrival of Declan's lover. Sey stood in the doorway glaring at both of them.

"You scream like a bull moose in the middle of the night to get me down here to hold your hand--"

"Sey, I can explain--"

"--and what are *you* doing? Holding Neil's balls."

"It's not what it looks like."

"The hell it isn't!"

"Okay, it *is* what it looks like, but that's not what I'm doing."

"Would you like me to break the other hand for you?"

"No!"

In the meantime, since Declan had released his grip on him, Neil made his way around the exam table to plunge the business end of the syringe into Declan's butt.

"Ow! That fucking hurt, Neil!"

"You asked for it, my Black Prince."

"You do like to live dangerously, don't you, Doc?" asked Sey, a bemused smile on his face.

Neil fixed Sey with a blue-eyed glare that was surprisingly intense, given the late, or early hour of the morning. "Don't fuck with the man who wields the needle!"

*****

By the time Neil was finished casting Declan's broken wrist, Declan was beginning to nod off. Sey told Neil, "His grip on my hand is getting noticeably weaker, Neil. What do you think is causing that?"

Neil laughed. "In about three seconds, you should have your answer."

Sey gave the older man a puzzled look.

"3...2...1..."

Almost on cue, Declan started to snore. Loudly.

"The good news is, Declan's not feeling any pain. The bad news is...Declan's not feeling any pain."

"Great. Now how do you suggest I get him back home, Neil?"

Faced with the prospect of Declan spending the rest of what was left of the night under *his* roof, Neil quickly replied, "I'll help you. Between the two of us, we can--"

"Urf!"

"Dropping him on the floor would *not* be a major improvement, Neil. Did you know the medication would affect him like this?"

Neil glared fiercely at the younger man. "Actually, I *hoped* it would, Birkoff. You saw what a fascinating conversation we were having when you arrived."

All of their attempts to keep Declan on his feet made for some fairly rough handling. With a noisy snort, Declan woke up and fixed his bleary-eyed gaze on his lover. "Acushla!" he cried out, trying to press an unfortunately wet kiss to Sey's cheek, but missing his intended target to land somewhere on Sey's shoulder.

"Ow! I think you broke my nose!"

Sey's normally full mouth tightened into a thin line. "No more broken bones for you tonight, Dec. Your coordination's shot to hell and so are my nerves."

Turning to Neil, Sey asked, "What are we going to do, Neil?"

"What do you mean *we*? He's *your* boyfriend. I'm just his doctor."

Sey's dark eyes narrowed as he fisted Neil's shirt and nearly lifted him off his feet. "How'd you do that, Birkoff? You're shorter than me!"

"I may be short, but I'm wiry."

"I noticed. So what do you want me to do with him? Plant him on the front lawn? He'll scare all the birds away."

"I want you to ask yourself one question. Do you feel lucky?"

"I may be English, but even *I* know you've got nothing on Clint Eastwood, son."

"Who the fuck do you think he's going to blame when the painkillers wear off and he wakes up all the way, Doc?"

"Me?" Neil made a face at the former Comm op. "You come by all that anti-terrorist stuff naturally, don't you, Birkoff? Bet they didn't have to teach you a bloody thing."

Declan kissed Sey's ear, his tongue swirling restlessly inside, much to Sey's embarrassment. "Stop that!"

Declan blinked, then looked stricken. "But I love you."

"I love you, too, Dec. I just can't think when you do that."

Declan brightened immediately. "You don't have to think, baby. Just let me make love to you."

Neil imitated a gagging noise. "Here in the hallway? Get a grip, Sunshine!"

Declan swayed ominously on his feet and Sey clutched at him, finally managing to wrap an arm around his waist. "You're not much for romance, are you, Hunter?"

Neil traded glances with Birkoff. This could get ugly if he didn't do something. Now.

"Let's get him into the guest room."

As they moved awkwardly down the corridor like a demented version of the Three Musketeers, a door opened to reveal a figure. "Neil? Can I help?"

Declan swore vociferously. "Oh, bloody hell, I'm surrounded by Englishmen now!

Neil smiled weakly in Ned's direction. "No, thanks, Ned. We've got things under control."

"We do?" Sey asked. "Hey, since when do *you* have a boyfriend, Neil? Did I miss something?"

"Yeah, I thought you two were going to have a world class courtship before you two hit the sack," Declan said, apparently completely unable to stop saying whatever came into his head.

"Jesus, Declan!" To the two men's amazement, Neil's face colored furiously. "We're *not* sleeping together! Ned came over to talk and we lost track of the time and I--why am I even trying to explain this to you? You don't even know what day it is right now!"

"I don't believe you anyway, Neil."

"Go back to bed, Ned."

"Aha! See? He's sleeping here!"

"I mean, go back to your own bed, Ned. Oh, shit."

"Yeah, that definitely didn't make it sound any better, Doc."

"*My* lovelife isn't up for discussion."

"I'm real sorry to hear that, Neil. Have you tried Viagra? I hear it works wonders for a man your age."

"I don't like him like this." Neil turned to Sey with a perplexed look on his face. "Do *you* like him like this?"

"Not really. But *you're* the one who made him like this, Neil. Isn't there an antidote?"

*****

With a heavy sigh, Neil resumed helping Sey get Declan into one of the spare bedrooms.

"I'll leave you two alone now."

"You going back to boff your little bunny?"

"He's not a bunny and I'm not *boffing* anyone."

"Dec, shut up."

"Sey? Did you just tell me to shut up? I--"

There was nothing else to be done. Someone had to make the ultimate sacrifice.

So Sey kissed him.

Sey pulled the covers up under Declan's chin and said, "There. Now you're as snug as a bug in a rug."

Declan regarded his lover with shining eyes and whispered, "Are you going to read me a story?"

"Um...hold that thought."

Sey bolted from the room and caught up with Neil, who was trying his best to disappear inside the bedroom where Ned was last sighted. "Neil!" he hissed.

"Whattttt?" Neil whined in an exasperated tone.

"That medicine you gave Dec? It can't, like, regress him...can it?"

"What the hell's he doing now?"

"He wants me to read him a story." Sey's all too expressive face said exactly what he thought of that idea.

"So? Make like Dr. Seuss and put him to sleep."

"You're kidding."

"If there's one thing I'm not at," Neil glanced at his watch and squinted, "4 am, it's kidding."

Sey looked vaguely horrified. "I don't think I *know* any stories."

"For Christ's sake, Birkoff, you own a fucking bookstore. How can you not know any stories?"

"I don't have to read them to sell them, Neil."

Neil crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And won't you be sorry?'

"Are you telling me this is the only way to get him to sleep?"

"Well..." Neil's grin was positively wicked. "...Not the *only* way."

"You *are* boffing Ned!" Sey exclaimed.

Neil inhaled sharply and almost choked to death. "Birkoff, have a heart! He can hear you!"

"Oh. But you *are*, aren't you?" Sey continued in a lower voice.

"Do I ask you what you do with Declan?"

"You two weren't just *talking*, were you?" Sey went on as if Neil hadn't spoken.

"I am *not* having a heart-to-heart with you in the middle of the hallway in the middle of the fucking night, Birkoff."

"He really gets to you," Sey said, slightly amazed that *anyone* could get beneath Neil Hunter's cool facade.

Neil closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them, their color suddenly so vibrantly blue that his entire face was transformed. "Yeah," he admitted finally, his voice husky with unexpressed emotion. "He really gets to me."

Sey smiled. "I hope he knows how lucky he is."

The young man in question peeked out his bedroom door at them and murmured soulfully, "He does."

"Neddy..." Neil whispered, his heart unexpectedly jumping in his chest at the sight of him.

"I'll just go...tell Dec a story then..." Sey's voice trailed off as he realized just how superfluous he was.

*****

But when he got back to the bedroom, he was surprised to find that Declan was already asleep. His face looked younger, softer, so much so that Sey found himself reaching out to touch his lover's cheek.

Only to find his wrist imprisoned in a steely grip that meant Declan was far more awake than he seemed.

"You left me," Declan accused.

"I...not really. I was coming back."

"You left me...to go talk to *him*."

"Who?"

"*Him*."

"Neil?"

Declan's eyes looked wounded. "Yeah." He stared at Sey, his silvery eyes growing dark even as they glistened with unshed tears.

"Hey, no fair crying. You know how much I love you."

"You wouldn't tell me a story," Declan said with a sniff that caused a lump to form in Sey's throat. If there was one thing he couldn't bear, it was seeing Declan in pain. And this, this Declan, seemed so vulnerable, so defenseless...it was as if Sey was getting a glimpse of the Declan that his lover kept hidden away from the world.

The Declan who was afraid of not being worthy of anyone's attention, much less their love.

"Close your eyes, love, and I'll tell you a story, okay?"

"Don't want to close my eyes," Declan muttered sleepily. "Want to see your face. Don't want you to go away again."

"I won't go away."

"Promise?"

Sey brushed a thick curl off Declan's forehead with his fingertips, then watched helplessly as Declan captured his fingers and kissed them. "Stay with me."

"Always."

"Scoot over," Sey said as he gently pushed Declan to the side to make room for himself in bed.

He lay his head on Declan's chest and closed his own eyes. He could feel Declan's fingers playing with his hair and he thought, God, there are no words that could do justice to this moment.

Well...maybe there were.

"I love you."

Declan's fingers stilled for a second, then resumed their restless stroking. "I love you, too, acushla."

Adam stood before his parent's bedroom door, his hand poised to knock. He didn't know why he hesitated. It was the right thing to do.

A moment later, his hand connected with the door.

Michael wasn't sleeping. He opened the door quickly, almost as if he were expecting Adam. "Nikita finally fell asleep. I don't want to wake her."

"Downstairs, then?"

"Downstairs," Michael agreed.

*****

Michael looked disheveled. For a fastidious man who rarely, if ever, allowed his clothes to look rumpled, that was a telling point.

Adam took a deep breath and said, "Um...you're upset."

Michael closed his eyes and nodded.

"Guess we should just get it over with, then. I'm old enough to know better. I should have stopped them before they even left the house. Someone could have gotten seriously hurt. Oh, and my attitude leaves a lot to be desired. Does that pretty much cover everything?"

"Adam--"

"I screwed up, Dad. I tried to keep Sasha from drinking, but he got drunk anyway. I even sent Jazz in to keep an eye on him and we both know how *that* turned out."

"Adam--"

"I *did* save Sasha from losing his virginity, but even *he* doesn't think a whole lot of that."

"It wasn't your fault, Adam."

Michael's cool, unremarkable tone floored Adam. "What?"

"You did the best you could."

Adam stared incredulously at his father. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes. I also heard from Birkoff. It seems he had a lot to say about what you did or didn't do."

"Then..." Adam frowned as if thinking had suddenly become a chore that was beyond him. "...I'm not sure I understand."

"I came very close to reading you wrong, Adam, but you should know, Nikita is very much in your corner. She made me see things...from your perspective."

"About this?"

"About a lot of things."

"Like?" Adam asked nervously.

"Jazz, for one."

"Oh." Adam shut his mouth and couldn't think of another thing to say that wouldn't jeopardize this inexplicable rapport they suddenly shared.

"I know where you were."

Adam's chin rose bravely as he met his father's eyes. "Then you know what we were doing."

"I can guess."

"It's not what you think."

"Then why don't you tell me what I think?"

"You think it's about sex, but it never was." Adam could feel emotion churning his insides, but he refused to succumb to its relentless assault on his control.

"We made love."

"You went back on your word," Michael pointed out with a curious lack of fire.

"Yes, but I don't think you understand how important Jazz is to me."

"I think I do."

"Do you?" Adam challenged, feeling his stomach clench. He saw himself standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast canyon. The canyon was filled with things of rare beauty, but in order to possess them, he had to jump.

He did.

Exhilaration sharpened his vision even as it blurred all of his other senses. "I asked him to marry me."

If Michael was surprised, he showed no sign of it. "Then it would be pointless to keep the two of you apart."

Adam blinked. That matter-of-fact response was his *father's*?

"You're not grounding me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"For what? In your own way, you were trying to keep everyone safe, weren't you?"

"Well...yeah." Adam's tone said what he couldn't. *I* knew that, but who expected *you* to understand?

"So I'm not grounding you."

"But everyone else is."

"That's right."

"I can go out?"

"Yes."

"But everyone else is stuck staying home."

Michael nodded.

"Pretty clever, Dad. You don't have to punish me, which gets Nikita off your back, but the effect is the same, which must make you feel *really* satisfied right about now."

"I'm not *un*happy now," Michael admitted.

"Neither am I, Dad. Unless you plan to stand in the way of me marrying Jazz."

"I would never get in the way of true love, Adam."

"Good," Adam said, his stomach settling. "Of course you realize that it'll probably be a few years before I can afford to get married," Adam said seriously.

"Of course," Michael replied, matching his tone to Adam's.

"I have to go to college first..."

Michael smiled.

"...then I have to find a job...what are you smiling about?"

"You. Even in the throes of true love, you don't ignore the practical."

"Just like you, you mean. That's what you're congratulating yourself about, isn't it?"

Michael colored slightly.

"Face it, Dad, you're *so* busted."

"Come here."

Adam glanced suspiciously at his father, but approached him slowly. "What?"

"I just need a hug, that's all. It isn't every day a man's son tells him that he's asked someone to marry him."

Adam wound his arms around his father's neck and sighed happily against his chest. "You're a hopeless romantic, Dad."

"Please don't tell your mother--I mean, Nikita."

"It's okay, Dad. I love her, too."

"Don't grow up too much faster. I don't think my heart could stand it."

"What do you mean he's not in his room?" Neil demanded.

Kady blinked her big brown eyes and stared at her father. "He's not there."

"Where is he?" Neil bellowed.

"I don't know, Daddy."

Neil was standing in his stocking feet, vaguely registering how cold the wood floor felt beneath him, when he realized that he was still in his pajamas. A sleepy Ned slowly came up behind him.

"What's wrong? I heard someone yelling."

"That was me," Neil snapped, wondering how the younger man managed to look so adorable when neither one of them had had any sleep.

"You're scaring your daughter," Ned whispered. Neil followed Ned's gaze to Kady, who was now chewing on the end of a long strand of her dark brown hair and eyeing both men with more than a little trepidation.

Neil crouched down and took Kady's hands in his. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Daddy didn't get much sleep last night. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Uh huh," she said, her eyes still impossibly wide and round.

"Forgive me?"

"What's for-give?" she asked with a puzzled look.

Ned knelt on the floor in front of her, unconsciously placing his hand on the back of Neil's neck. "Daddy doesn't want you to be upset with him, Kady."

"I'm not..." Kady stopped chewing her hair and gave Ned an eerily adult look. "Did you sleep with Daddy last night?"

"Umm..." Ned jerked his hand away from where he'd been rubbing Neil's neck. "What makes you say that?"

Kady almost rolled her eyes. "You're wearing Daddy's pajamas."

"Oh! He just...loaned me these. I didn't have any of my own with me and--" Ned cut himself off. Kady was a child. Admittedly she was a precocious six-year old child, but still a child. Giving her unnecessary explanations could only lead to...well, disaster.

Switching topics as if she was bored with the current one, Kady said, "I have to get ready for school now."

*****

"You know what everyone thinks, don't you? Including my own kids?" Neil said over the cup of fresh coffee that Ned made.

"That we're lovers," Ned replied, putting down the coffee pot.

"I'm sorry," Neil apologized.

"For what? I'm not the least bit bothered by being taken for your lover, Neil. I think you already know what I want. The question is, what do *you* want?"

Neil sipped his coffee too quickly and burned his lip. "Ow!"

"I suppose that's an answer of sorts."

"Stop putting words in my mouth."

Ned bent his head forward, the all too familiar lock of hair falling over his forehead. It was too much for Neil to resist. He reached out and pushed the errant strands back, then allowed his fingers to trail lovingly along the side of Ned's face. "I thought we agreed to take this slow."

Ned peeked at Neil from beneath luxuriant brown lashes. "Isn't that what we've been doing?"

Neil shrugged. "It sounded like you were pushing me, that's all."

Ned shook his head. "I wouldn't do that. I don't want to risk losing you, Neil. You're too...important."

Neil sighed heavily. "I'm being selfish, aren't I? I want you to respect my feelings, but I haven't been doing the same for you."

"I can wait, Neil. As long as I have to." The raw need in Ned's voice took Neil by surprise. He knew that Ned wanted him, of course, but he rarely allowed the younger man to show it. He *was* a coward. Madeline had crippled him, but he was capable of healing. Ned was right. Neil had to make a decision soon.

Were they going to be friends and nothing more? Or were they going to take this to the next level?

*****

"Oh, fuck. My head feels like the IRA's been using it for target practice."

Sey still lay sprawled across Declan's chest. Reluctantly stirring, he gazed sleepily at his lover. "Good morning to you, too."

"How's your wrist?"

Declan clumsily maneuvered his cast-bound arm into view. "Bloody hell. What did I do last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"Did I get drunk or something?"

"Or something."

"The last thing I remember is...oh, God. We've got to get back home, Sey. Sasha and Emmy are--"

"--with your sister."

"They are? But wait, they have to go to school!"

"She knows how to do that, Dec. She's got two kids of her own, remember? Is it all coming back to you now?"

"That's not what I mean. I have to see Sasha before he goes to school. I have to tell him..."

"Tell him what? That you overreacted? That you didn't mean to get so angry, you scared all of us half to death?"

"That I'm sorry," Declan whispered.

"Come here." Sey pulled Declan's head down and kissed him. "I've been meaning to do that ever since this whole thing got blown out of proportion."

"What do you mean?"

"I should have known that you were more afraid for Sasha than anything else. I know how much you love him. He knows, too."

"I don't want him to be afraid of me, Sey. I lived in fear of *my* Da for years and it ended badly. I couldn't stand it if he felt that way about *me*."

"It's okay. You can fix this."

"But--"

Sey wrapped his arms around Declan's neck and kissed him again, his agile fingers deftly threading their way through the long, curling tendrils of red hair that fell past his shoulders.

"I'm just glad you're all right, love. We'll talk to Sasha together, okay?"

Declan nodded without speaking. Sey knew what he needed. Sey always knew.

*****

"He didn't get punished at all," Faith growled as she stuffed her homework into her backpack.

Chris looked as if he hadn't slept at all. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"Well, don't bite *my* head off. I didn't do it."

"No...*Daddy* did." Faith wiped at her eye and examined her finger. Her fingertip was black. She was going to have to reapply her eyeliner. Otherwise, she would look like a raccoon. Not a good image for a fourteen-year old girl.

"Are you crying?"

Faith sniffed haughtily and turned her back on her twin brother. "Of course not! Why would I be? Just cause Daddy thinks Adam is more important than you and me..."

"Fee..."

"I'm not upset, okay?" She promptly burst into tears. Chris tried to hug her, but she wriggled out of his embrace. "Don't! I'll...be okay."

Connor cleared his throat as quietly as possible. But the moment that Faith knew he was there, she ran right to him. Just when Chris thought he couldn't possibly feel any worse, he watched his sister accept Connor's attempts to comfort her without flinching.

"Chris..."

"Don't say a word," Chris said miserably. He felt completely alone, cut off from family, friends...Emmy.