"But I'm not asking you to send him away."
Her eyes opened.
Daniel continued.
"Whatever happens between us, he doesn't lose another family because of me."
Emily started crying again.
Daniel looked exhausted.
"I'm going to figure out what comes next."
He left.
For the next month, Daniel lived in a strange space between departure and return.
He attended counseling through the Army.
At first, he talked almost exclusively about Emily's betrayal.
Then the counselor asked one question.
"What scares you more, that she made the decision without you, or that you might have said no if she had asked?"
Daniel did not answer.
That question followed him for days.
He imagined Tiana calling.
A dying mother.
A six-year-old boy.
A request that could change his entire life.
Would Daniel have said yes?
He wanted to believe so.
But honesty was harder.
He had been angry then.
Tired.
Still dealing with injuries.
Still grieving the child he and Emily lost years earlier.
He might have said no.
He might have told himself they were not ready.
He might have asked for time.
Time Tiana did not have.
And if Daniel had said no, Marcus might now be living somewhere else.
With strangers.
Separated from every connection to his parents.
Daniel hated the possibility.
It did not make Emily right.
But it made the truth less comfortable.
December arrived.
Then Christmas.
Daniel still had not moved home.
He visited twice a week.
Usually to see Marcus.
At first, he told himself this was because Elijah had saved his life.
He owed something to Elijah's son.
Then Marcus started asking Daniel to help with school projects.
Then to play basketball.
Then to repair the chain on his bicycle.
Then to teach him how to tie a stronger knot.
The relationship grew quietly.
Marcus never called him Dad.
Daniel never asked him to.
One afternoon, they were in the garage fixing a model airplane.
Marcus asked, "Did you want kids?"
Daniel nearly dropped the glue.
He looked at the boy.
"Who told you that?"
"No one."
Marcus shrugged.
"You just look like someone who wanted kids."
Daniel laughed.
"What does that look like?"
"I don't know."
Marcus concentrated on the wing.
"Sad sometimes."
Daniel stopped smiling.
Children noticed too much.
"Yeah."
Marcus looked up.
"I had another mom before Mom."
Daniel nodded.
"I know."
"I still love her."
"You should."