"Royce, step away from the stove before you burn my house down and leave me homeless!"

I rolled my eyes at Frankie's fake cries and crossed my arms, "Fine, then get to cooking lunch before I starve." I replied.

Frankie got some things out of the fridge then set them down on the counter. "How about some teriyaki chicken and white rice?" he suggested with a smile.

I nodded in approval and started to wash my hands. "I'll help you." I offered.

"Don't worry I got it. Why don't you go check up on Chris? I think little Danny is giving him a hard time." Frankie said with a light chuckle as he washed the chicken.

I gave him a thumbs up and walked out of the kitchen. I headed upstairs to where the brat and I were staying.

Frankie was the only friend I trusted to bring Chris here. It put some ease to my worry so it was nice. I knew he wasn't going to choose favorites like Mario did.

I opened the bedroom door and stepped inside to find Chris curled up with Danny by his side. They were both sleeping peacefully with a children's book between them.

I quietly approached them and picked up the colorful book. I smiled once I read the name of the story.

No, David!

"Royce?"

I placed the book down and saw Chris gently placing Danny on the bed. He got up and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

"He kept running around so I needed something to entertain him but he ended up falling asleep then I soon followed." Chris explained as he pointed to the book.

"You're a great babysitter." I teased and pushed his messy hair back with my hand.

The brat smiled and gave me a playful shove, "Be quiet or you'll wake him u-" he started to say but was interrupted.

"Hiya bear!" Danny yelled in excitment as he rubbed a small fist on his sleeph eye. He lunged at me causing me to catch him in mid air.

"Hey rugrat, were you sleeping?" I asked and caressed his chubby red cheek.

"Noooo!" he lied with a cute angry face.

Danny was Frankie's youngest brother who was staying with him until his mom came back from rehab. She was a heavy drinker so she was in and out of rehab like nothing.

This time she was staying for a whole year so Frankie has been taking care of his three year-old brother.

"Let's go downstairs to eat babe." I told the adorable toddler in my arms and kissed his cheek.

Chris smiled at us and it made me happy to see his smile again. He no longer looked tired or sad.

"I ate a worm!" Danny proudly told me as we made our way downstairs.

"You're going to turn into a bird now." I gasped in horror causing him to frown, actually believing me.

"I don't want bird!" he cried as his light brown eyes started to fill with tears.

I laughed at his reaction and rocked him in my arms."Then don't eat worms." I stated.

Frankie placed some tasty looking plates of chicken and rice in front of us and scolded me for making Danny cry.

I sat on the high stool next to Chris and placed Danny on my leg. I shared my plate of food with him and fed him some smaller pieces he could chew properly.

"I swear you can pass for his dad." Frankie chuckled as he stared at us. "He has the same face structure like you and gets all the girls at school." he finished saying.

I ate some of my rice and shrugged. "I don't want to be a daddy until Chris is ready to be the mommy." I answered and looked at the blushing boy.

Frankie let out a loud laugh causing Danny to giggle not knowing what we were even talking about but just wanted to laugh along with his brother.

"This chicken is really good, Frankie." Chris complimented, trying to change the subject.

"Thanks, Chris. I'm glad you liked it. There's more in the pot so don't be shy for seconds." Frankie replied with a generous smile.

I adjusted Danny on my lap and fed him another spoonful of rice and chicken. Some fell on his shirt but he brushed it off to land on the floor without a care.

"Can you guys watch Danny tonight? I have to close up the bar so I won't be home until two in the morning." Frankie asked once he was done eating.

"That's not a problem with us, Frankie. We'll take care of him." the brat replied.

Frankie thanked us then went to get changed. I ate one last bite of my chicken then just waited until Danny was full.

I picked up the small boy and adjusted him on my hip while I grabbed our now empty plate. I walked to the sink and planned to wash my dish until Chris stopped me.

"I can wash our plates." he said with a smile and took my dirty dish from my hand.

"Thanks, brat." I replied and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Bear, me too!" Danny cried so I leaned him over to give Chris a kiss on the cheek which the brat happily accepted.

I have no idea why Danny calls me 'Bear' but I don't mind.

"Hey Royce, can you go to the store and buy some things we need? It's already four so I have to go. Here's the list." Frankie suddenly said as I walked to the livingroom.

He handed me the list of things and some money then gave Danny a kiss on the forehead before waving goodbye and rushed out the door.

Well okay then.

I put Danny down and he quickly sprinted to the collection of toys by the couch. I looked over at the list and hated the idea of going grocery shopping.

"I need a hot shower, can you watch Danny for awhile?" Chris asked once he finished washing the dishes.

"Frankie needs some things so might as well take him to the store with me." I replied and shoved the list in my pocket.

"Alright, be careful." the brat said and was about to walk away but I grabbed his arm before he could.

I leaned down and kissed his lips. He parted them giving me the opportunity to slip my tongue inside his warm mouth.

I gently grabbed his face and deepened the kiss into a heated make out session.

I would be lying if I said I didn't want to take the brat upstairs and make him moan my name over and over again until he was a dirty mess.

"Ewww Bear!" Danny giggled across the room causing me to laugh along with him.

Chris chuckled as I wiped his bottom lip. "We'll save that for later when we don't have a little intruder." I told him with a wink and stared back at Danny who had his small hands covering his eyes.

"Haha okay. Make sure you actually buy the things needed and not on junk food." Chris scolded as he headed upstairs.

I nodded then went to pick up Danny. "Let's go shopping buddy." I said and walked out of the house and made sure to lock the door.

I placed Danny down and let him walk. He held my hand as we walked down the block to the closest store.

"Look Bear a puppy!" Danny yelled, pulling at my hand and pointing to a pitbull not too far away.

"I don't think that's a puppy babe." I said and picked him up before he got the crazy idea to run to the unknown dog.

I walked faster to the store and once we were safely inside the cool air conditioned place, I grabbed a shopping cart and placed Danny in the front.

I took out the piece of paper that had the list of things Frankie needed and searched for the first item which was chocolate milk.

"I want cookie!" Danny screamed in pure delight when we passed by the sweets aisle.

"No cookies. We need to get some chocolate milk." I told him seriously and pecked his cute little nose.

Danny pouted and crossed his arms to show how upset he was. I smiled and continued to walk to the milk aisle.

I grabbed a gallon of chocolate milk and a regular one then continued on my search for the rest of the things.

As I was looking at the type of cheese brands somebody hit my cart with their own.

Danny started to cry and pointed at his finger. I looked over at the person and was surprised to see Angela.

"I am so sorry! My cart has a bad wheel so I lost control of it!" she started to apologize not realizing who she was apologizing to until she clearly looked at me.

"Royce?..oh my gosh.." she cried and covered her mouth in awe as her eyes filled with tears.

Her pregnancy hormones must be going crazy.

I was embraced into a tight hug causing me to feel Angela's round stomach. She was much bigger now which made the hug very awkward.

I got Danny out of the cart and inspected his tiny finger that luckily only had a small cut on it. I wiped his runny nose and tears with the bottom of my shirt then rocked him in my arms.

"We'll get you some cookies, okay?" I cooed into his ear as he placed his head on my shoulder and nodded.

If it was a stranger who caused the injury on his finger then I guarantee you it would of been a different situation.

But since it was Angela I knew she didn't mean to. She was too kind to ever hurt a child on purpose.

"Is he okay? I'm sorry little guy." Angela said in a sweet voice and gently rubbed Danny's back.

"He's fine, so how are you doing?" I asked.

Angela smiled and rubbed her belly, "We're going to find out the gender in a couple of days. Your father is very excited and I would really love it if you and Chris were there." she said with a frown now.

"We'll be home soon. I really want to make sure my future baby brother or sister is treated well." I replied causing Angela to tear up again.

"You're going to make a wonderful big brother, Royce. Just look at you! So gentle and sweet with children." Angela cried and pointed at Danny who was now snoring on my shoulder.

I smiled at the woman in front of me and didn't realize how much I missed her until her sweet words kept running through my mind.

"Thank you." I honestly said.

Angela nodded and wiped her eyes in embarrassment. "Please take good care of Chris and please come home soon. We all miss you." she said and gave me another hug.

The urge to touch her belly was getting to me causing Angela to notice. She smiled in delight and let me gently place my hand on her stomach.

I felt a lot of emotion run through me as I imagined the small baby curled up inside Angela's belly. It was a beautiful thing.

And too be honest I admired women for it.

I pulled my hand away and thanked Angela before she kissed my cheek before leaving.

I walked away as well and grabbed the last of the things I needed while caring a sleeping toddler in my arms that was covering my shoulder with saliva.

I made sure to grab Danny's cookies then made my way to the check out lane. Luckily, the sleepy boy woke up when it was my turn.

I put him down then waited for the cashier to finish scanning my items. "Let me see your finger." I instructed Danny and inspected his cut.

"Does it still hurt?" I asked him and he shook his head no. I caressed his warm cheek then crossed my arms.

Danny rushed to the toy section by the magazine stand and started to play with them as I continued to wait.

"Your total is $125.67." the cashier blankly stated.

I handed him the money and waited for my change. I looked over at Danny and didn't like that some stranger was talking to him.

The cashier handed me back my change then I rushed to Danny. The man had his hand on Danny's back and tried to play along with him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked and shoved his filthy hand off of Danny. I quickly picked the toddler up and carried him in my arms.

"I was just playing cars with him." the man defended.

"That doesn't mean you have to touch my damn child. I would punch the crap out of you but I don't want shit to get all over the place." I replied and kicked him in the balls.

He fell to the ground and groaned as he held his crotch in pain. I walked back to the check out line and quickly bagged my items.

"Bear, you mad?" Danny asked with a frown while he played with my hair.

"I'm not mad." I answered him as I carried all the bags in my arms along with him.

I put him down and gave him his cookies. He screamed in joy and shoved them quickly into his mouth. He grabbed on to my jeans as we continued to walk home.

"I love Bear." I heard Danny mumble causing me to smile down at the small boy.

Somehow I saw myself with my future baby brother or sister by my side..but most of all, I saw myself with my own child..

^*^*^*^*^**^*^**^*^

I rubbed my tired eyes as I tried to keep them open. Chris was sleeping on my chest while Danny was sitting beside him.

We were watching a whole marathon of Harry Potter which made me miss making fun of the brat's friend.

Too be honest I missed talking to my dad and sleeping in my room. However, I was really enjoying my time here with Frankie and his little brother.

"Hey babe, I think it's time for bed don't you think?" I whispered to Danny and made sure not to wake up Chris.

"Don't want, Bear." he replied and ate more popcorn.

I chuckled and threw some popcorn at him. He giggled exposing his new baby teeth and tried to throw some at me but failed.

"I'll read you a bed time story." I bribed causing him to nod and jump off the couch.

I carefully woke up Chris and helped him stand up. I turned off the t.v and made sure to lock the door and turn off the lights before heading upstairs with them.

"Good night my little Danny." Chris said and kissed the top of his forehead and headed to our room.

Danny ran to his room which made me follow close behind. I changed him into his pajamas and turned on his night light he loved so much.

I looked over at the books he had and let him choose his favorite one.

"How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" I suggested causing him to squish his stuffed animal in joy.

"Yesssss!" he yelled and got comfortable in his bed.

I sat beside him and opened the book. I started to read to him and not long after he was in a deep sleep.

I got up and placed the blanket further up his small body and kissed his cheek before I left his room, but made sure to not close it completely.

I went to my room where I found Chris sleeping with a soft smile. I was about to join him until I remembered I had left my phone on the couch.

Frankie called to check up on us so I didn't want him to think I was ignoring him.

I headed back downstairs and saw my phone light up with a message. I quickly grabbed it and read the message from my dad.

My heart dropped as I kept reading the message not able to understand it...

'Angela had a miscarriage...'

I fell to the ground and hugged my legs close to my chest. I felt like I couldn't breath no matter how much I tried to take deep breaths.

Everything just started to hurt...

"B-Bear?" Danny's sad voice spoke up.

I looked up at him and saw his stuffed animal close to him along with his blanket.

I put him on my lap and hugged him. "Bear, why you crying?" he questioned once he felt the burning teardrops fall from my eyes.

"Because it hurts.." I said in a broken sob and held him closer to me.

Danny tried to squish me in a hug as I felt my eyes burn in that familiar pain but it did not compare to the pain I felt knowing I had just lost a sibling..