just a place

Title: In My Dreams Tonight
Author: scoobydumblonde
Artist: sadwal1538
Pairing: Todd Bertuzzi/Trevor Linden
Rating: R
Warnings/spoilers: kid!fic.
Summary: Todd left Trevor without a word. He had a good reason though. Now he's back with his daughter and he wants Trevor to forgive him and to understand.
Link to art: The amazing artwork


Todd steps off the plane, frowning as he picks up his ten year old daughter. He'd left his home, his business and his husband when he'd gotten the call from his ex-girlfriend that she had his daughter and she-- his ex-- was sick and couldn't take care of her. He'd left everything, leaving no word behind and here he was seven years later, showing back up. Thankfully, his best friend was coming to pick him up.

He and Markus had kept in touch after the first six months. He hadn't been able to not call Markus-- though he never could bring himself to call Trevor. Now of course, Trevor is remarried but Todd needs to talk to him. He at least needs to try to explain why he left without a word.

"Daddy, I'm tired." Savannah lays her head on his shoulder. "When are we getting to our new home?"

Todd strokes her hair. "Soon, butterfly, but remember, we're just staying with Markus and his boyfriend until we can find our own house."

"'Kay, Daddy." Savannah hugs him, kissing his cheek. "And we're gonna be 'Nadians from now on?"

"Canadians, and yes, butterfly. We are Canadian. Well, you're half-Canadian and half-Puerto Rican." He shakes his head and carries her down to the luggage claim. "Okay, butterfly, you gotta hop down. I have to carry our bags and I can't carry you and our bags."

"How 'bout I carry the little lady?"

Todd growls, turning and he smiles suddenly. "Savannah Rose, this is Markus Naslund. My best friend. Marki, this is my baby girl."

Markus smiles and holds his arms out to her. "Hi beautiful."

Savannah giggles and goes to him. "Hi. You're pretty."

"Thank you. You're prettier." Markus smiles and looks at Todd. "She's an excellent mix of you two."

"She's perfect." Todd smiles. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Markus nods and Todd walks over, grabbing his and Savannah's bags. After Juanita had passed away from breast cancer, he'd stayed in Florida to take care of Savannah. And somehow, what was going to be a quick six month trip ended up being seven years. He still wasn't sure why he'd stayed in Florida instead of bringing Savannah back to Vancouver, but it had seemed easier on his little girl since she was just getting to know him to keep her in familiar surroundings. He couldn't regret raising his daughter, but he did mourn for the friendships and relationships that he'd lost. Especially Trevor who was still the love of his life. Todd knew he would never fall in love with another person. His daughter was the only exception.

He sighs and picks up the four bags-- the rest of their stuff is being shipped up from Florida within the next two weeks, which means he has to find a storage unit or two. He heads back to where Markus is being charmed by Savannah and he grins. Markus is totally smitten with Savannah.

"So, I've got our bags. We can head to your place. How's the boyfriend?"

"He's good. Brendan told me to tell you hi. He's off fishing for the weekend right now, but he'll be home on Monday. He and Brad headed off on their monthly retreat."

"Brad. As in Trevor's new husband?" Todd licks his lips. He doesn't have the right to be jealous. He left and he never explained why.

"Yeah. You remember him. You and he worked together on the golf course. Brad May?"

Todd snorts and shakes his head. "Mayday. Of course. He was always making eyes at Trevor. I'm surprised he waited until I was gone before he moved in."

"Todd, you sound like a jealous bi..." Markus trails off when he sees Savannah staring at him wide eyed.

"Yeah, I know. And I know I don't have the right to be jealous, but damn. Trevor is the love of my life and I miss him. I know I fucked up, but... I guess I thought maybe he'd wait and find out why I left."

"You wanted him to wait for seven years?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Markus, I still love him more than anything."

"I know you do. But you left without a word, Todd. You didn't even hardly talk to me for the first six months. You didn't tell anyone why you left, you just packed up and were gone."

"I know. I'm sorry, Marki. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"None to me, but you're gonna have to do more than say sorry to Trevor, bud. He's going to need more than sorry."

"I'm going to tell him everything. If he'll talk to me, that is."

"It'll take a while." Markus gets Savannah strapped into the car. "But I'm pretty sure he wants to be friends with you."

"Great. I want nothing more than to be his husband again and he wants to be friends." Todd loads the trunk and sighs, climbing into the passenger seat. "I don't think I can be just friends with him, Marki."

"I know. I know how much you love him." Markus climbs behind the wheel and starts towards his and Brendan's house. "And I know he still loves you on some level, but he's with Brad now, Todd. You have to let them be."

"I know. I'm not going to go swooping in, trying to steal Trevor back. I'm not that much of an asshole." Todd lays his head back. "I'm so tired, Marki. So fucking tired."

"When we get home, you go take a nap. Savannah and I will go for a walk on the beach and she can play outside with my pups."

"You have puppies?!"

Todd grins. "She loves dogs. We couldn't have one in our place in Florida. It was too small."

"I have three puppies. Well, one is old, but he still acts like a pup." Markus glances over at Todd. "Fred."

"He's still around? Wow. I wonder if he'll remember me." Todd smiles. Fred had been Markus' basset hound before Markus and Brendan had gotten together and had to be at least sixteen years old now.

"I'm sure he will. He never sees Dany but maybe once every couple years and he still remembers him."

"How is Clouts?"

"Good. Still dealing with hip problems from the accident, but he's good." Markus smiles. "He's living out in Alberta on a farm with his husband."

"He and Hank got married?"

"Yeah. Dany actually took Henke's name." Markus chuckles a little. "Dany Lundqvuist. Sad part is because of the way Dany's name is spelt, most people assume he's a woman."

Todd snorts. "Not a big surprise there. But wow. I'm surprised. I'm also sad I didn't know. I'd have tried to..."

"To what?"

"To call him and congratulate him. I couldn't just rip her away from the only home she'd ever known, could I?"

"No, but..." Markus shakes his head. They've gone over the same ground for years. "You never asked about anyone. So I didn't know if I should tell you about them."

"I would've wanted to know." Todd looks out the window and falls silent. Markus takes his cue and stays silent as well.

"I'm sorry, Todd. I should've told you, I guess." Markus reaches over after a few miles and touches Todd's arm. "I wasn't sure but I should've just told you."

Todd sighs. "I should've asked. I was just so wrapped up in Savannah... When will Dany and Hank be over?"

"Soon. In a couple of weeks, they bring Henke's little girl to the coast. His ex-girlfriend lives out here."

"They have custody?"

"Yeah they do. They lucked out." Markus smiles. "They get her year 'round, except for a three week period where they bring her back to the coast and she spends days with her mother and nights with her dads."

"That's pretty good. Hank must love that." Todd looks back at Savannah who has fallen asleep sometime in the last few miles. "She's my world, Markus. The only thing I ever would've given Trevor up for. I love her more than anything."

"It's good that you love her that much. And I do think Trevor will want to know why you left. I'm just not sure when it will happen."

Todd nods and lays his head back. "How much further?"

"About forty minutes still. Sleep Todd, I'll wake you up when we get there."

Todd nods and closes his eyes. "Thanks Markus. For everything."

Markus nods and glances over, watching Todd sleep. He sighs and a while later pulls into the driveway of his and Brendan's house. He frowns when he sees Brendan walk down the front walk. "Bren, what are you doing home?"

"Storm moving in so they canceled the rest of the trip. How's he doing?" Brendan asks, gesturing to the car.

"I don't know, Bren. He's mad and crushed and happy." Markus makes a face.

"Uh..."

Markus laughs a little at Brendan's expression. "I know, gorgeous. It's a contradiction. He's mad at himself, crushed that Trevor's moved on, but he's so happy with his little girl. He loves her so much."

Brendan smiles. "He always did love children."

Markus nods and walks over to the car, pointing to Savannah. "And she is just beautiful. A perfect mixture of Todd and that woman."

Brendan wraps his arms around Markus' waist. "Do you want kids, Mark?"

"Yes. We're neither of us getting any younger."

Brendan smiles and kisses Markus' neck. "True enough. We'll start looking into adoption, unless you want to try to find a surrogate, but if we do that, she has to be Swedish so our child is Swedish."

Todd had woken up and smiles as he listens to them. He'd never thought they'd work, but Brendan and Markus are perfect together.

He opens the door, smiling when they both jump back. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Hey Bren."

"Todd." Brendan hugs him. "How's it going?"

"As good as can be expected." Todd smiles a little. "Gimme a sec to get my baby out of the car and I'll introduce you." He reaches into the back, shaking her food. "Savannah, wake up."

"Daddy, 'm sleepin'!"

"I know, butterfly, but it's time to wake up. We're at Uncle Markus' house."

She opens one eye and scowls at him. "I don' wanna wake up, Daddy!"

"Savannah Bertuzzi, do not give me attitude." Todd scowls back and she rolls her eyes. "Savannah!"

She pouts at him. "Daddy, I wanna sleep!"

"You can sleep tonight." Todd pulls her out of the car, settling her on his hip. "I know you're tired, butterfly. It's been a long day, huh?"

Savannah nods, laying her head on his shoulder. "Daddy, I'm so tired. I just wanna sleep."

Todd sighs, stroking her head. "I know, butterfly. We'll get something to eat and then maybe you can lay down for a nap."

"Kay, Daddy." She wraps her arms around his neck and looks over at Markus and Brendan. "Who's that?"

"That, sweetie, is Uncle Markus' boyfriend, Brendan. He'll be your uncle too."

Savannah eyes him. "Hi Uncle Brendan."

Brendan grins. "Hi Savannah. You're adorable."

Savannah giggles. "Do you gots something for us to eat?"

"We'll go see. If we don't, we can always order you something." Brendan smiles and reaches for her. She clings to Todd. "Okay. You wanna hop down and we'll go look?"

Savannah looks at her dad. "Daddy goes with. I gotta have my daddy."

Todd grins. "Savannah, why don't you go with Brendan and Markus and I will get our bags inside?"

"But Daddy, I wanna be with you. I don't know them."

Todd smiles a little and kisses her cheek. "Okay, butterfly. Let's get our bags inside then we'll all go look to see what we can have for dinner."

Savannah nods. "Okay. I like that plan."

Markus smiles and pops the trunk on his car. "Brendan and I will carry Savannah's bags. You grab yours and carry her."

Todd grabs his bags and keeps Savannah on his hip. "Show us where we're sleeping?"

Markus leads them upstairs and into the guest bedrooms. "We have two guest rooms. If Savannah will sleep in her own room, you can have both."

"Maybe not tonight," Todd murmurs, looking at Savannah who's frowning at him. "You can sleep in my bed tonight, butterfly."

"Okay, Daddy." Savannah smiles and kisses his cheek. "I'm hungry."

Todd laughs and kisses her forehead. "Okay." He sets down the bags and looks at Markus and Brendan. "Food?"

"Let's go see what we have." Brendan leads them downstairs, into the kitchen. He opens the fridge and frowns. "Markus, what the heck do you eat when I'm not around?"

"Take out." Markus grins. "Sorry, but yeah. I guess I don't go grocery shopping a lot."

Brendan rolls his eyes. "Yeah, obviously. Okay, Savannah, what would you like to eat? We can call out for anything and I'll go get it."

"Do they have Puerto Rican food?"

Brendan wrinkles his nose. "I don't know."

Todd smiles. "There's not really any place that serves just Puerto Rican food, butterfly. How about Mexican?"

"How about no, Daddy?" Savannah looks at him, making a face. "Italian?"

"Pizza or..."

"Real Italian, please?" Savannah pouts. "Daddy!"

Todd laughs and looks at Brendan. "How about Italian Kitchen? We can order online."

"So, spaghetti and meatballs for the princess?"

Todd snorts and looks at Savannah. "Tell Uncle Brendan what you'd like."

"Occhi di Lupo, if they have it. Do they have it, Daddy?"

"I'm pretty sure they do. I'll have the Rigatoni Pomodoro. And go ahead and get us a Caprese Insalata to share."

"Okay, what have you done to that kid, Bert?" Brendan asks, making a face.

"The girl likes good food. I know, it's crazy. Just order for us, would you?" Todd grins as Brendan goes to make the call. He glances at Markus who smiles back. "She's got good taste for a ten year old."

Markus nods. "Have you ever had Swedish food, princess?" he asks Savannah.

She shakes her head. "I'll try some though. I'll try everything!"

Markus smiles. "I'll make Brendan get us the ingredients and we'll make something so you can have a taste."

"Thought you said you don't cook?"

"I don't cook when you're not around, Bren. I cook for you all the time."

Brendan rolls his eyes. "If you say so."

Markus swats him. "You're a brat, Brendan."

Brendan laughs and finishes placing the order. "We can go pick it up in an hour."

Todd smiles. "Good. Now, I think you should wake us when the food gets here. My butterfly and I need a nap. Do you agree?"

Savannah nods. "Nap please."

Todd looks at Brendan and Markus. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Head on up. We'll go get the food in a bit."

Todd smiles. "Thanks." He carries Savannah up to their room and lies down with her. She snuggles up close. "I love you, butterfly."

"Love you more, Daddy."


A week and a half later and Todd is ready to kill someone. Brendan and Markus are smothering him, Savannah is constantly whining, and Trevor will not answer any of his phone calls. Todd makes an excuse and heads out. He'll go try to find him and Savannah a place of their own as well as go over to Trevor's house and try to talk to him.

After checking out a couple of houses, he heads for Trevor's new house. He walks up the sidewalk, frowning at the lack of yard work that's been done. It's not like Trevor to let the yard go to hell like this. He reaches up, knocking on the door. When it opens, Todd licks his lips at the sight of Trevor standing there. "Hi Trev."

"Todd." Trevor frowns. "This isn't really a good time."

"I know. And I know you hate me, but please. Just give me five minutes."

"No. I don't have five minutes for you, Todd. You didn't have five minutes when you ran off seven years ago!"

"I know. I'm sorry. Juanita had my baby. I have a little girl."

Trevor closes his eyes. "The woman you cheated on me with?"

"Yeah. Trev, Savannah is mine. There's no doubt about it. Juanita passed away. She wasn't a bad person. Yes, I screwed up, but..."

"I'm involved with someone."

"I know. You married Brad."

"We never got married. He tells everyone we did, but we haven't gotten that far. You and I aren't all the way divorced. You never signed the papers and since you hadn't been dead or missing for seven years, I couldn't rush the divorce."

"I never got divorce papers, Trev. I thought you had just filed and they accepted it based on me walking away." Todd frowns. "So..."

"We're technically still married. And your five minutes are so far past up. Goodbye, Todd."

"Wait. Trevor, I stayed in Florida because Savannah was a baby when her mom died. She and I were just getting to know each other and she was so young. I didn't want to tear her away from the only home she'd ever known to go live with a stranger. I'd planned to move back sooner, but... I don't know. By then, it had been too long. I know I should've called you, Trevor. You are the love of my life and I will never love anyone like I love you."

"It's..." Trevor sighs as he trails off. When he feels a hand on his ass, he turns his head and smiles a little at Brad. "Hey."

"Todd. Long time no see. So, are you here to sign the divorce papers finally so Trevor and I can move on with our life?"

"No. I'm here to talk to Trevor." Todd scowls at the man he'd once thought was his friend. "Trevor, tell me it's too late. Tell me you hate me. Tell me I don't stand a chance in hell of winning you back."

Brad growls. "Trevor, just tell him, then get the papers for him to sign so you will finally say yes to me and we can get married."

Trevor looks between them, licking his lips. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Brad. I care about you, but..." He looks at Todd and sighs. "I was never going to say yes to marrying you, Brad. I've always loved Todd and I always will."

"Are you fucking kidding me? He runs off and leaves you alone for seven years with no word and you're taking him back?" Brad steps outside, shoving Todd back. Todd lets him, too stunned by what Trevor had said.

"No, Brad." Trevor steps between them, pushing Brad away from Todd. "I'm not just taking him back. He's going to have to work to get me to forgive him. I think you should go pack your things."

"Fine. You can have the dumb jock." Brad heads inside and Trevor sighs, looking at Todd.

Todd licks his lips. "I will make it up to you. Somehow. I'm staying with Markus and Brendan. You can come meet Savannah sometime soon."

"Okay. I think I'd like that." Trevor smiles. "Ask me out for dinner, Todd."

"Would you like to go to dinner with me?"

"I'd love to." Trevor reaches up and brushes his fingertips over Todd's cheek. "I like the scruff."

Todd chuckles. "You always did. I need to go find someplace for Savannah and I to live. Brendan and Markus are great, but they are making me crazy."

Trevor chuckles. "I know of a good place. It's a few blocks over. Decent price. Maybe a bit big for just you and your girl, but... Maybe you could buy her a puppy."

"Yeah, don't get started on that." Todd smiles. "Can you hook me up with the real estate agent?"

Trevor takes Todd's cell phone and inputs the number. "Ask for Maryse. She's the best and will get you the best deal."

Todd smiles. "Thanks, Trev. I'll pick you up tomorrow for dinner? Six?"

"Perfect. I'll be waiting."

Todd heads back to his car, calling the number Trevor had given him. After a few hours, Todd's starting the process to buy the house. He wonders if Trevor had mentioned it so they could someday have a place to raise their family. He smiles at the thought as he heads back to Markus and Brendan's house. When he gets there, he finds Savannah on the porch with Markus' three dogs. "Hey butterfly. I have some good news. I found us a place to live. It's a gorgeous house up near the mountains. A huge backyard where I'll build you as big a jungle gym as you want and where we can have a puppy."

Savannah smiles. "We can have our own puppy? Really?"

"Really. We'll go pick him out the day we move into our new home, okay?"

Savannah bounces out of her seat and hugs Todd. "Daddy, this is the best news ever!"

Todd chuckles and picks her up, swinging her around. "I know. And pretty soon you'll get to meet someone very special to me. Trevor is a very good friend and I love him very much."

"Like Uncle Markus and Uncle Brendan?"

Todd nods. "Exactly."

"Is he gonna be my dad?"

"Maybe someday, butterfly."

Savannah beams. "Awesome!"

"Yeah. Let's go tell Uncle Markus and Uncle Brendan the good news." He sets her down and takes her hand, laughing when the puppies all follow her into the house, Fred tagging after them.

Later that afternoon, Todd smiles as Savannah runs into the pound. Somehow, Markus and Brendan had talked him into taking Savannah to the pound to get a dog. Todd hadn't really wanted to let this go this far this soon, but when Savannah had looked up at him and pouted, he couldn't resist saying yes. She runs up to one of the workers. "My daddy is getting me a doggie! Can we go look at the doggies?"

Todd laughs and steps up behind her, smiling. "Hi. I'm Todd Bertuzzi. This is my daughter Savannah and we're getting a dog today."

The man smiles. "I'm Cam Ward. Nice to meet you. Follow me. We have lots of dogs. We're a no kill shelter, so we end up with a lot of the dogs around the city."

"Better here than somewhere else." Todd smiles. He laughs when Savannah's eyes go wide and she starts touching all of the cages. "Savannah, hands off the cages. I know these are probably nice dogs, but you're a stranger and they might not like you touching their home."

"Sorry, Daddy."

"It's okay, butterfly." Todd looks at Cam. "So, I know you usually have people asking for puppies, but I'd love for my little girl to have a puppy that will grow up with her."

"We had a litter of Shih Tzu crossbred with Lhaso Apsos. No one wanted them. We've got two left." Cam smiles. "If you could take one, that would be great for the pups."

"That's little dogs, right?"

"Yeah. But unusually well behaved. All the people who've adopted these pups have said how good they are. Quick and smart." Cam grins wider.

"Crap. Okay, I'll take 'em both." Todd makes a face. "If she has two puppies all the better."

Savannah bounces in place. "Daddy! I get two doggies?!"

Todd laughs. "Well, how about you get one puppy and I get the other?"

Savannah nods. "We need lots of stuff for two puppies. Let's do it!"

Todd looks at Cam. "Well, introduce us to our puppies."

Cam leads them over to the right cage and pulls the puppies out. "Here are the puppies. One boy, one girl."

Savannah scoops up one of the puppies. "Daddy! There's a boy and a girl just like us!"

Todd chuckles and nods. "So there is." He picks up the second puppy and nuzzles it. "Which is which?"

"The brown and white pup is the boy. The white and black pup is the girl."

Savannah beams. "Daddy, I chose the girl!"

Todd grins at Cam and nods. "You did. I guess that means the boy is my puppy, yeah?"

Savannah nods. "They're our puppies, Daddy!"

"Okay, butterfly. How about you hold my puppy too so I can pay for our pups and get their paperwork taken care of?" Todd hands his puppy over and follows Cam. After the paperwork is filled out, he takes back his puppy and leads Savannah out to the car. "Okay, now Cam told me we could go to PetSmart and get our supplies, plus we can take our puppies in with us. How about that?"

"Yeah! Savannah climbs into the backseat and buckles up while Todd takes the puppies. "I'll hold the puppies while you drive, Daddy."

"Okay, butterfly, thank you. And we'll get a couple of pet carriers when we get to the store so they can be safe too."

"Okay, Daddy." Savannah grins and takes the puppies, settling back.

Todd climbs behind the wheel and drives to the nearest PetSmart. He goes and gets a cart before he runs back to the car and lifts Savannah and the puppies into the cart. "Okay now, you have to stay calm and don't ask for too many toys for the puppies, right?"

"I won't Daddy. And we have to give them the best foods!"

"We will." Todd chuckles and wheels them into the store. "Do you want to get one of the kiddie carts and put the pups in that and you can follow me around?"

"Can I?" Savannah asks, eyes going wide.

"Yeah." He lifts her out and watches as she grabs one of the kiddie carts, then he lifts the puppies into the cart, smiling as the puppies yip happily. "Okay, don't let the pups jump out."

"I won't."

"Todd?"

Todd turns his head and smiles when he sees Trevor coming towards him. "Trev. Hi."

"Hi. What brings you here?"

"I bought my daughter and me a couple of puppies. So we need to get supplies. And thanks for the lead on the house. I bought it."

"Wow. You always were quick with decisions." Trevor looks over and smiles. "Oh god, she's beautiful, Todd."

Todd nods and picks up Savannah. "Butterfly, this is Trevor. Remember I told you about him."

"You said he gonna be my dad someday."

Todd blushes a little and nods. "Yeah. I said that."

Trevor grins. "Hi Savannah. It's a pleasure to meet you, beautiful girl."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Trevor. Did Daddy tell you my name?"

"He did and he told you about me, right?"

Savannah nods, smiling cutely. "Are you gonna be my new Dad soon?"

"I don't know about soon, but someday, yes." Trevor grins at her. "Your Daddy says you got some new puppies?"

"Yeah! We got a boy and a girl and we're gonna buy them lots and lots of stuff."

"So Daddy's going to spoil the new puppies?"

"Yes, he is." Savannah nods.

Todd smiles at Trevor. "I live to spoil my baby girl, so I guess now I have to spoil her puppies too."

Trevor grins. "That's so you. You love to spoil the people you love."

Todd nods. He can remember many times, spoiling Trevor by bringing him home presents-- things he knew Trevor wanted, but would never buy himself. He'd spoiled Markus when they were just becoming friends. He always spoiled the men and women he'd loved in his life. His parents, his sisters, his brother, his nieces and nephews, his lovers... everyone he loves, he spoils.

Trevor smiles and licks his lips. "How about you and the little princess bring your puppies over to my house and we'll barbecue? Then... maybe you and she can spend the night and stay. At least until your house is ready."

"Are you sure, Trevor? That's moving awfully fast, isn't it?"

"It is, but... We'll sleep in different beds for the first few days and we'll see after that."

Todd smiles and nods. "That sounds good. Thank you Trev. Not just for offering to let us crash with you, but for giving me a second chance. I know I don't deserve it, but you're giving it to me anyhow."

"I still love you, Todd. I want this to work. I want us to be together again. It's why I never tried to find you after you left and I filed for divorce. I knew if I found you and you went ahead and signed the divorce papers, we'd never be able to come back from that. This way, we're still married. We can have everything we always wanted."

Todd smiles and pulls him close, kissing him. "I love you, Trevor. I always have and I always will."

Trevor smiles against Todd's mouth. "Let's get your puppies their stuff and then we'll head over to Markus and Bren's and get your stuff, then we'll go to my place and get you settled in for the night."

Todd nods and pulls back, smiling as he sets Savannah back down. "Come on, Butterfly, let's go get our puppies stocked up."

Savannah bounces and starts to push her cart. "Daddy, maybe Mr. Trevor should get a cart too. We have two puppies, after all."

Trevor grins at Todd. "She's right. Two puppies probably means you need twice as much stuff, yeah?"

Todd lets out a little sigh. "I suppose you're both right. We need twice as much stuff for two puppies." He looks at Trevor and shakes his head. "You don't really need to convince me to spoil her."

"I know. I just think the expression on your face is cute when you've just been conned into spending more money than you planned."

"Should've seen my face when I bought the house. I bet I was downright adorable then."

Trevor laughs and rubs Todd's back. "How are you affording this, by the way? The house, the dogs, everything?"

"Remember I told you how much I love working at the golf course? I didn't just work there. I own it. I never told you 'cause you always seemed to hate talking about work and I didn't want you to know how much fun I had working on my own course and helping to maintain it. I've always received royalty checks and I'm receiving even more now that I'm not working there. The money that gets paid to play that course? About half of it goes to maintaining the grounds, a quarter of it goes to paying employees and the rest comes to me." Todd smiles a little. "I'm more than rich, but I didn't want you to know how much I loved my job."

Trevor smiles and kisses him. "Well, then maybe as soon as possible we'll move in to your house and be a family together."

Todd grins. "Well, it is a huge house. Plenty of room for you, me, Savannah, the puppies and any other children we may eventually have."

Trevor smiles as he leads the way over to the dog food. "I like the sound of that. Other children. Savannah is beautiful, but I'd love for us to be able to raise a child together."

"Me too." Todd kisses him and turns, checking the dog food. "We need puppy food, right?"

"Yeah. Puppy food for small dogs," Trevor adds, looking over the choices. "Maybe some soft food to mix with the hard for a while. I like this brand. I think it's what Markus and Brendan use."

Todd nods. "I think so too." Todd finds the puppy food and grabs a twenty-five pound bag, then spots the same brand in canned food, grabbing several cans. "This should do for a while. Let's go pick out some doggie treats, then we'll go look at leashes and collars. And then the fun stuff." He winks at Savannah who giggles and pets the puppies.

"Daddy, we need to get a third puppy for Mr. Trevor." Savannah smiles cutely at him.

Todd laughs. "Maybe someday, butterfly. We'll see how it goes with these two puppies."

Trevor grins. "Savannah, maybe we'll get me a kitten. How would you like a kitten?"

"Daddy! Can we have a kitten?!"

Todd looks at Trevor, making a face. "You are evil."

"I try, Todd." Trevor grins. "We should pick up stuff for our kitten too."

Todd closes his eyes and nods. "Fine. Let's pick up stuff for the kitten."

Savannah cheers and steers the puppies towards the kitten food aisle. "Daddy, Mr. Trevor, this way!"

Todd looks at Trevor and scowls. "You are cruel and I will pay you back."

Trevor leans over and kisses him. "I love you. Thank you for getting me a kitten."

"Do you really want a kitten or are you just sucking up to Savannah?"

"I would love a kitten. I think it'll make a nice addition to our family."

Todd sighs and nods and they head around the corner. "Maybe we should wait on the kitten food, Savannah. Just until we get the kitten. We'll get a litter box, litter, toys, bowls and all that stuff, but we'll wait for the food, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy. Let's go get the puppies treats, then we can get all the rest of the stuff."

Todd nods and lets Savannah lead the way to the puppy treats.

A short while later, Todd is leaning against the cart while Savannah picks out toys. He'd told her each puppy got five toys and the kitten they'd yet to get got five toys as well. Now he and Trevor are waiting as she picks through every single toy in the toy aisle. Todd smiles over at Trevor. "They have kittens for adoption here."

"I saw. I'll let Savannah pick out our kitten. Then you can go get us some kitten food." Trevor reaches over and squeezes Todd's hand. "We can wait on the kitten. This is already getting ridiculously expensive."

"It's fine," Todd says with a smile. "I want the loves of my life happy. And let's face it, if we don't get Savannah that kitten, she is going to cry."

Trevor chuckles and leans over, kissing Todd. "You're such a softie."

"For you and Savannah? Absolutely." Todd grins at him. "Savannah, pick some toys. We can always come back and get more later if you can't find five for each puppy."

Savannah sighs. "Daddy, this is important."

Todd closes his eyes and bangs his head lightly on the handle. "It's toys, butterfly. They can just as happily play with sticks and rope and tennis balls."

"Daddy, these are our puppies. We cannot just let them play with sticks and rope."

Todd sighs. "Okay. Well, they have kittens for adoption here and Trevor is going to go get the kitten by himself."

Savannah looks at Trevor, pouting. "Mr. Trevor?"

Trevor looks at Todd and makes a face. "Sorry, Todd. I'll wait for you, Savannah."

Todd scowls at Trevor. "Savannah, please. Just pick some stuff out."

Savannah looks up at him. "Daddy, no rushing me."

"Okay, you guys stay here. I'm taking the puppies out to go potty." He scoops up the puppies and their leashes and collars, heading to the front. He pays for the collars and leashes and takes the puppies outside, watching them crawl around in the grass, sniffing everything. He can't help but smile at how cute the puppies are. And he knows he'll go back in and sigh and grumble and try to get Savannah to hurry, but he also knows that she won't and he'll let her wrap him around her little finger and he'll give in. It's what he does. He gives in to his little girl.

After the puppies pee, he picks them up and carries them inside. "Here we go, pups. We have got to get names for you. I'll tell Savannah and see what she thinks."

He spots Trevor kneeling next to Savannah as they dig through some stuffing-free plush dog toys. "Here, 'Vannah. I found a purple and a pink for yours. Daddy's pup gets a blue and a green?"

"Yeah! Mr. Trevor, do you think Daddy would let me call you Dad?"

Trevor licks his lips and tilts his head, spotting Todd. "I don't know, sweetie. It might be too soon."

Todd blinks and licks his lips, clearing his throat. "Savannah, that's not something you should ask."

Savannah looks over and nods. "Sorry, Daddy. Sorry Mr. Trevor." She puts the toys in the basket. "Mr. Trevor, can you get each puppy one of the hedgehogs?"

Trevor pulls the smaller of the hedgehogs off the hook and adds them to the cart, as Todd puts the puppies back in the smaller cart. "How many toys is that you two?"

"Three for each." Trevor smiles. "I've got her convinced they don't need the hard plastic toys or the soft rubber toys. Stuffing free plush is the best bet for puppies, so we won't have to clean up stuffing. And... I'm sorry."

"For?" Todd raises an eyebrow.

"I convinced her we needed a box for all of the kitten and puppy toys. She found one. It's a toy chest, essentially. Shaped like a bone. It's twenty dollars, which is probably more than you wanted to spend for a toy box for puppies."

"Can the puppies get into it?"

"No. It's got a secure lid." Trevor smiles a little.

"Okay. We'll get like three of them. One for the toys, one for the dog food and treats and one for the cat food and treats." Todd smiles. "I might as well spoil our puppies and kitten since I'm spoiling Savannah and you."

Trevor hugs him. "You're a hell of a guy, Todd."

Todd smiles and wraps his arms around Trevor. "Thanks."

Savannah puts four more stuffing free toys in the cart. "I got all five for both puppies, but we need to go look at kitty toys!"

Todd laughs and picks her up. "Five toys. Make them count."

When he sets her down, she bounces over to the cat toy section and pulls a bunch of cat toys off the shelf, walking over and setting them in the cart. Todd looks at them and grins. Each package has at least four toys in it. "I think that's more than five toys."

"Five toys. There are five packages here." Savannah smiles sweetly.

Todd looks at Trevor for backup and Trevor shrugs. "Up to you, Todd."

He sighs and nods. "Okay. You win. Five packages can count as five toys." He smiles and bends, kissing her forehead. "Let's go get those toy boxes then we'll find some kind of scratching post and one of those climbing tree things."

"And beds for the puppies?" Savannah latches onto the idea of more stuff for the animals.

Todd nods again. "And beds for the puppies."

"And we still need pet carriers for all of them," Trevor adds, wincing a bit. He knows how much the cat houses can cost, since he'd gone with his younger brother to pick one out for Jamie's girlfriend a couple of years ago. Not to mention the carriers and everything else.

Todd nods. "Yeah, gotta get that stuff. Do you still have your truck, Trev?"

"Yeah. It's in the parking lot."

Todd licks his lips. "Good. We're going to need the room." He wrinkles his nose and looks at Trevor. "Why were you here to begin with?"

"Oh. I was thinking about getting a lizard or snake. I'm guessing Savannah will not like that, so I'll settle for a kitten."

"Let's get you a snake or lizard." Todd smiles at him. "We might as well have a full out menagerie."

"For a real menagerie we need birds and mice of some kind and some fish."

Todd laughs and shakes his head. "Those can come later. Oh, I know, let's get a turtle instead of a snake or lizard?"

Trevor grins. "You're something else. Can we get a fish tank too?"

Todd laughs harder as he follows Savannah over to the beds and furniture.

A couple of hours later, Savannah heads into the backyard with the kittens and the puppies as Todd and Trevor start unloading everything into Trevor's house. "You do realize we're going to have to move everything in a few weeks when the escrow clears on the house?"

"I know, but we need to have this stuff inside for the animals, right?" Todd looks at the box with the turtles and the box with the gerbils. He sighs, glancing at the cage where the four parakeets are chirping away. "I cannot believe I got myself talked into two gerbils, two turtles, two kittens, two puppies, two hamsters, four birds, a python and a water dragon. Not to mention the two fifty gallon fish tanks for fish, which we've promised to go pick out after we get settled in the new house." Todd looks at Trevor. "What the hell was I thinking?"

"You weren't. Your baby girl kept asking for more and more and you kept saying yes. And you probably spent as much on the animals and their habitats as you are going to on your new house."

"Probably." Todd shakes his head. "Well, let's get the animals inside. They can't stay out here all day."

"I always knew you were a pushover," Trevor mumbles, picking up the birdcage. "I'm going to teach our birds to say pushover whenever you're around."

Todd laughs and picks up the box with the baby python. "What are we going to do when this thing grows up?"

"Get it a bigger cage and never let the puppies, kittens, other reptiles, birds and everything else near it?" Trevor laughs and shrugs.

"Well, the new house does have like six bedrooms. We can have the master, Savannah can have one, then when we have another child-- who by the way I think you should father with a surrogate-- we'll make them up the third room. That leaves three rooms for our various animals and their habitats. Plus, we probably need a room for the lizards, fish, small mammals and birds that we can keep shut until we make sure the kittens know they aren't food."

Trevor nods. "When will you know how soon we can move into the house?"

"Tomorrow, when I go to sign some more paperwork."

Trevor smiles. "I'll watch Savannah. I don't go into the gym tomorrow."

"You still work there? Still teach classes?"

"Yeah. It keeps me busy. I'm also working with Jamie on building houses. Got to keep earning a living."

"Well, only if you want to from now on. Do you own this house?"

"Renting it." Trevor looks at him as they carry the rest of the animals in. "Why?"

"Just wondering if you were going to have to sell first."

"No. And my rental agreement states I can get out of it at any time." Trevor smiles. "And I want to keep working with Jamie, but not having to work at the gym would probably be good."

"Then you won't have to. I'll probably go back to work at the golf course once I get Savannah into school."

"Probably good. You always did tend to go a little crazy when you were without things to do. Although..." Trevor trails off and looks down.

"Although, what?"

"We're going to have a lot of animals to look after and Savannah will be coming home from school early every afternoon."

"I can work part time. I can go in early in the morning after I get Savannah to school and come back before noon to take care of the animals and go pick up Savannah after school."

Trevor smiles. "That could work."

"Plus, it means I'll be able to cook for you and keep house."

"And you want to do those things?"

"Hey, I've actually become a pretty good cook. I had to learn because of Savannah. I try to get her to eat healthy most of the time and she's very particular about what she eats."

"Picky eater?"

"No. She just has a very grown up palate. Like we ordered from the Italian Kitchen the other day. She ordered Occhi di Lupo and I ordered us some of the Caprese Insalata and she ate most of it." Todd grins. "She's not a typical kid who won't eat something 'cause it sounds weird or looks weird or she doesn't know the ingredients. The more unusual, the more she's likely to try it."

"Wow. Okay then. I'll learn to cook good foods too, I guess."

"She likes Italian food and Puerto Rican foods best. Though I'm sure since her new Dad is half Dutch, she'd love to try Dutch cuisine. She likes Markus' Swedish food." Todd makes a face. "Including blood pudding."

"Ew. I don't think anything Dutch is quite that disgusting, but I'll call my gramma and see if she can help me out with recipes."

"She'll love that." Todd smiles. "So, we barbecue tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll go thaw out some... steaks? Chicken?"

"Hot dogs and burgers, or just hot dogs. While she has a refined palate, she does love hot dogs."

"Well, sure. She'll eat blood pudding. She'll probably eat anything."

Todd laughs and goes to get more of the stuff, carrying it into the house. He puts together the cat tree and sets up the litter boxes as well as the water bowls and food bowls. Then he starts setting up the lizard and turtle terrarium. After that he starts on the habitats for the hamsters and gerbils. He shakes his head, smiling a little. They went way overboard with the animals for Savannah, but Trevor was right. He just couldn't tell her no.

After he gets everything set up and the heaters going under the terrarium, he starts putting the animals in their cages. He glances over when Savannah comes running in, the four animals chasing her. "Hey butterfly. Looks like you got yourself a zoo."

She giggles and hugs him. "Yeah. We gots lots of animals today, didn't we?"

"Looks like." Todd smiles and shakes his head as he lifts the gerbils out of their box and sets them in one of the habitats. "Okay. You wanna help me get the hamsters into their cage?"

"Yeah!" She climbs up on the stool and picks up one of the hamsters, setting it in the cage. "There's one. Where's the other one?"

"In the box." Todd takes the box from her and peeks in, smiling. "He's hiding under the bedding." He picks up the hamster and hands it over to Savannah, letting her put the animal in its cage.

He scoops her and the stool up, moving them both over to the terrarium for the snake. "You want to put him in the cage?"

"No, you." Savannah smiles at him. "He's too big for me."

Todd chuckles, picking up the snake and setting him in his terrarium. "He's just a baby now."

Savannah nods. "It's okay. You can take care of him."

Todd rolls his eyes. "Oh, thanks so much." He moves over to the turtles and lizard next, smiling a little. Pretty soon he's got all of the animals in their cages and he scoops up Savannah. "Let's go make some of that layered salad you like so we can have it with dinner."

"Okay! Daddy, can I mix the dressing!?"

"Of course, butterfly." He smiles when he sees Trevor mixing the burger mixture. "What kind of burgers are we having? Or is it your special recipe?"

"My special recipe. Since you said she likes quality food... Does she like spicy?" Trevor turns his head, a little startled to see Savannah. "Do you like spicy?"

"Of course. I'm half Puerto Rican." She grins at Trevor. "What are you putting in the burger?"

"I'll tell you the secret next time we make burgers, okay?" Trevor winks at her.

Savannah grins. "Okay. I'm helping Daddy make our favourite layered salad." She bounces a little. "What do you put in the burger that's spicy?"

"I add a little chopped jalapeno and sometimes I add a little cayenne."

"Ooooh. You should try a jelly bean hot pepper."

"I've never heard of those." Trevor looks at Todd.

"They're bright red, really spicy. Most salsas in Puerto Rico use them instead of jalapenos."

Trevor nods. "We'll check the farmer's market tomorrow. We need to go grocery shopping." Trevor smiles at him.

Todd smiles back. "Tomorrow?"

"Sounds good. Were you going to call Markus?"

"Yeah, I should probably do that. I'll do it after we make the salad. It needs to chill for a while." He sets some bacon in the microwave to cook and then hands Savannah the cheese grater and the cheese. "Start grating, butterfly."

"Okay, Daddy." She starts grating the cheese as Todd starts chopping the lettuce.

Trevor smiles as he watches them and he turns back to make the hamburger patties. "So, we should not start the grill just yet?"

"Probably not. Maybe we can finish the salad, then head over to Mark and Bren's?"

Trevor nods. "That works for me. And we don't need to get everything right now. We can get some of it now and then some of it tomorrow." Trevor tilts his head, watching as Todd layers the lettuce in a container and starts slicing radishes. "Lettuce, radish, cheese... what else?"

"Peas-- you have some frozen peas, right?"

"I should."

"Good. Shredded carrots and some green peppers. The dressing, which is pretty simple-- sugar and mayo. Cheese, bacon and green onions on top."

"Sounds... interesting."

"It's really good, Mr. Trevor." Savannah smiles at him. "It's my favourite way to have salad. Lots of veggies and a simple dressing. You can use light mayo and it tastes as good."

Trevor looks at Todd who grins. "I know it does sound a little weird, but it's good. It's a very good blend of veggies and lettuce and not too much dressing."

"I'll try it but I think you're both kind of weird."

"If you still think that after you try it, I'll do dishes for a week."

"And I'll help Daddy." Savannah smiles.

Trevor raises an eyebrow. "Okay, and if I like it, I'll do dishes for a week."

Savannah beams at Todd. Todd winks at her, knowing that once Trevor tries the salad, he'll like it.

A little while later, they're walking up the walkway to Markus and Brendan's house. Todd smiles when the door opens up and Markus steps onto the porch. "Hello."

"Hey Mark." Todd grins up at him. "How's it going?"

Markus smiles and shakes his head. "Good. You have no idea how good it is to see the two of you together again."

Todd chuckles. "Trust me, it's not half as good as it feels to be back together."

Trevor nods, sliding his hand into Todd's. "Hi Markus."

"Hey Trev. Come on in."

"Thanks, Markus." Trevor smiles and walks in, nodding at Brendan. "So, I'm stealing your house guests. I hope you don't hate me for that."

Markus looks at Todd and raises an eyebrow. "He's stealing you guys?"

"Yeah. We're moving in with him, then we're all moving into this beautiful house I just bought. And we bought a zoo."

"You bought a zoo?" Brendan looks at Trevor and Todd.

Trevor snorts. "Not really. We just bought some animals. A couple of puppies and kittens and fish and some other stuff."

"We gots turtles and snakes and hamsters and gerbils and lizards and birds and puppies and kittens. And we're going to get lots of fishies!" Savannah bounces happily. "We gots more animals than anyones!"

Todd looks at Savannah. "We have, not we gots, butterfly."

"Okay, Daddy. We have turtles, a snake, hamsters, gerbils, lizards, a bird, puppies and kittens! And we're going to get lots of fishies too!" Savannah repeats herself, bouncing.

Brendan grins. "Wow. Daddy spoiled you, a lot, didn't he?"

Todd nods. "I spoiled her and Trevor, because he's the one who wanted the lizards, the fish and the kittens."

"I just asked for them, you didn't have to buy them for me." Trevor grins and leans over, kissing Todd softly. "He also bought a ton of stuff for all of the animals. He's kind of amazing."

Markus, who was the only person in Todd's life who knew just how much money Todd had, raises an eyebrow. "Did you finally tell Trevor?"

"Not everything, but enough, yeah."

"What else is there to tell me?" Trevor asks, poking Todd lightly.

"More about the money side of things." Todd kisses him. "I will tell you everything, but not right now, okay?"

Trevor nods. "As long as you promise to tell me eventually."

"I will."

Savannah bounces between them. "Daddy! Trevor! Can we please get going?"

Todd laughs a little. "Okay, butterfly. I'll go pack our stuff."

"I'll help you," Markus says with a smile. "Trevor and Savannah can keep Brendan company out back while he weeds the garden."

Brendan makes a face. "Why do I have to weed the garden?"

"Because you said if you planted it, you would weed it and care for it. Now you two can help him, but make sure he does the work."

"I will, Mr. Markus." Savannah nods.

Markus laughs as the three of them head out. He looks at Todd. "She is amazing, Todd."

"She really is." Todd grins and they head upstairs to his and Savannah's room and start packing their things. "So, you're okay with this?"

"Of course I am. You and Trevor belong together. I wasn't going to push him but I'm glad that you did."

"I didn't. Not really, any way. I asked him if he wanted to get back together. Then we ran into him in the pet store and he offered to let us move in with him until the house is ready. Which will be soon, I believe. Then he's going to move in with us."

"Leave it to you to get everything you've ever wanted in one day, Todd." Markus smiles at him.

"Except it wasn't really just one day." Todd shrugs and smiles back. "I love him and I've never been happier, Marki. He adores Savannah and she adores him. We have a fucking zoo at his house and we'll move it all over to our house as soon as the house is ready. She is probably going to want to plant a garden now that she's helping Bren with his, and Trevor will probably help her plant it as soon as the new house is ready. I couldn't ask for more, honestly. I've never been happier and I can't wait until he agrees to marry me again, even if I haven't asked him yet and technically we haven't gotten divorced."

"But he'll love that. When are you going to ask? How are you going to ask?"

"I have a couple of plans, but I also want Savannah involved in the proposal." Todd smiles and finishes packing Savannah's stuff. "What would you think about me waiting until the house is prepared?"

"I think that would be great. A symbol to him that this is the start of your new life together. Were you going to have a big barbecue?"

"I was thinking about it. And thinking about proposing to him in front of all of our friends."

"I'm not sure how he'd react to that, but yeah. I like the idea and I do think he'll enjoy it at least."

Todd grins. "Maybe that's what I'll do. Since the house closing should be soon, I can even talk him into helping me plan the barbecue."

Markus laughs. "Yeah, probably a good idea."

Todd goes back to packing his stuff, shoving his clothes and shoes in bags. After he's done, he and Markus carry all of the bags downstairs and load them into Todd's vehicle. They then go out back and watch Brendan and Trevor pull weeds while Savannah dances around the yard with the dogs yapping at her feet. Todd laughs and scoops her up, spinning her around. "What are you doing, butterfly?"

"Dancin' Daddy. It's a pretty day and it's a good day to dance." Savannah grins at him.

"Okay. Do you want me to dance with you or are you good by yourself?"

"I'm good by myself. You should go get Mr. Trevor and Mr. Brendan some lemonade though." She kisses his cheek. "I think they're probably thirsty."

"How about I go get it, but you take it to them?" Todd grins at her, trying not to laugh.

"Okay! I like that idea!"

"I'll do that." Todd sets her down, chuckling when she starts dancing again. He heads in and gets five glasses of lemonade, carrying them on a tray outside. He sets the tray down and watches as Savannah dances over and takes two glasses before she dances back over to Brendan and Trevor, handing them their lemonade.

He hands Markus a glass and sits next to him. "Well, that's kind of great. Savannah is in love with Trevor."

"And he's in love with her. Look at the way he's playing with her." Markus smiles. "You're so lucky. She's amazing and Trevor is terrific."

Todd nods and smiles at Markus. "They're amazing together. I have no idea how I lucked out so much with both of them."

Meanwhile, Trevor laughs as he tickles Savannah. "You were supposed to help us weed, silly girl."

Savannah giggles and wiggles, trying to get away from him. "No, Mr. Mark said I was supposed to watch and make sure Mr. Bren weeds the garden!"

Trevor grins and hugs her. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Mr. Mark and Daddy said I was supposed to watch and you were too. Mr. Bren is supposed to do it by himself acose he promised Mr. Mark he'd do the work."

Trevor looks over at Brendan and grins. "The girl is right."

Brendan pouts at her. "But it's a big garden."

"That Mr. Mark said you wanted to plant." She eyes him. "You wanted the garden so you has to take care of it. Just like you has to take care of your puppies."

Brendan grins. "You're good, little girl. Very good." He looks at Trevor. "Take her to go get her lemonade. I'll finish weeding this section."

Trevor nods. "Okay. Join us as soon as possible, Bren."

Brendan waves them off and goes back to weeding as Trevor carries Savannah back to the deck. "This little girl is pretty convincing. She basically told Brendan he was supposed to do the weeding by himself and he's going to finish it off."

Todd chuckles. "Yeah, I believe that. She's pretty incredible that way."

Trevor sits next to Todd and leans in, kissing him. "She is. She's a lot like her daddy."

Savannah beams at them. "I wanna be like Daddy."

"You're already a lot like me, butterfly."

Savannah bounces then climbs onto Trevor's lap. "Daddy, can I has some more lemonades?"

"I'll go get you some more." He gets to his feet, kissing Trevor and Savannah before he heads inside.

Todd smiles at Trevor a few weeks later as they move their stuff into their new house. "I can't believe we're finally moving into our own house together. I'm so happy about this."

Trevor grins. "So am I and so is Savannah." He lifts another box out of the truck and starts for the house.

Todd steps back, watching as Savannah comes out and grabs a small bag, heading inside. They'd made sure to pack some stuff in smaller bags so she could help set up their new home. He smiles and grabs a couple of boxes, hefting them out of the truck. He's not sure when he'll ask Trevor to recommit to their marriage, but he knows that he wants that recommitment ceremony.

He smiles as Trevor passes him and he sets the boxes down in what's going to be the living room. He turns when Savannah heads back out and he sighs as he has to scoop up the puppies and the kitten-- though judging from the sizes they are, they're not going to be able to be called puppies and kittens anymore. He settles them in the bathroom and shuts the door, heading out. He looks at Savannah who's pouting. "Daddy!"

"They can't be coming in and out. They'll trip Trevor and I and then you'd have to do all the work." He scoops her up, tickling her belly. "Got it?"

"Fine." She kisses him and hugs him.

Trevor grins and kisses the top of her head, then the side of Todd's head. "Let's get the rest of this stuff moved in."

Todd nods and sets her down. He watches them head inside again and he smiles. He knows, as sure as he's standing there breathing, that he, Trevor and Savannah are going to make this last forever.