Wait to start the song.

Waiting for Ashley to arrive was stressful for everyone. Josh's knees were pulled up to his chest where he sat beside Tyler on the couch. They were sipping their coffee silently, leaning into each other. Occasionally, Josh would kiss Tyler's forehead softly before looking back at the kitchen, where the front door was located. Every time, it made him blush and smile. He loved his husband so much, and it was surreal to be sitting here beside him after a year of absence.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Tyler rested his head against Josh's shoulder. "It'll be okay," he told Josh finally. "She'll be mad for a minute and then she'll just be glad you're here. You know her."

Josh sighed, but pressed another kiss to Tyler's forehead anyways. "I knew her when she was a prisoner, Ty. By the time I found her, they'd already emptied her out. She wasn't Ashley anymore."

"You knew her when you were still in school too. Brendon said you two were friends," Tyler pointed out.

Josh chuckled morosely. "I'm not sure if making eye contact with me and sitting with me at lunch when I wasn't even allowed to talk to her counted as being my friend."

"You didn't talk to her?" Tyler asked curiously.

Shaking his head slightly, Josh took another sip of coffee. "Until we got wives, guys in The Family couldn't talk to girls we weren't related to. I wouldn't have even made eye contact if she hadn't been super assertive about it."

"Sounds like Ashley," Tyler replied with a smirk. "She's got a lot more attitude now. Unless she's having one of her bad days, she's kind of unstoppable."

"Bad days?" Josh asked, and Tyler heard the guilt in his voice. Instantly, he regretted saying anything.

"Everyone has bad days," he said quietly.

His husband sighed. "Yeah, well, I'm sure you guys have worse bad days than most people."

Tyler was quiet for a moment before looking up at his husband. After a moment's hesitation, Tyler took Josh's coffee and set it on the table before them. Before Josh could protest, he climbed into Josh's lap, hiding his face against the older boy's neck. He breathed him in, smiling against his skin.

"It doesn't feel bad when you're here," Tyler told him honestly. "I feel safe. It's like I can breathe again."

Josh's arms wrapped around his waist tightly. "You are safe," he assured the younger boy.

Those three words soothed him immensely, especially coming from the mouth that spoke them. His eyes drifted shut as he nuzzled Josh's neck, kissing the skin softly. "And so are you."

"I'm sorry, Tyler," Josh said quietly.

Tyler's eyebrows drew together in confusion as he sat up, looking his husband in the eye. "For what?"

"Letting you think I was dead. I thought I was protecting you. Part of me is still really paranoid about The Family finding you, but I know they won't. They can't. They're dead. I saw them die. There's no way they can hurt you now," Josh rambled anxiously.

A sinking feeling filled Tyler's chest as he pieced together what Josh was saying. "You watched them die?" He asked quietly.

Josh nodded, avoiding Tyler's eyes. "They didn't even question it, Ty. They just drank it. Only one guy took his kid and ran, and I don't even know if they made it out. Everyone else just...drank it. Men, women, children, babies. They all drank, and then...."

Tears were gathering in Josh's eyes, and Tyler wondered if Josh had talked about this yet. Given how hard he was shaking and how vacant his eyes looked, Tyler could only assume that he hadn't. Gently, he held Josh's cheeks in his hands. He brushed away the tear that rolled down Josh's cheek, but said nothing. He just let Josh keep talking.

"Pete didn't drink and neither did Patrick, but I haven't heard from either of them since that night. I have no idea if they lived. I should've paid closer attention, but it was all happening so fast. Abbie wasn't even conscious yet, and that girl's eyes were empty, and my dad was smiling, and they were crying and...." He trailed off, chewing his bottom lip before meeting Tyler's eyes. "I should've told them he was lying, Tyler. I could've saved them, but I didn't. I saved myself and let everyone else die."

"No, honey. It wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault." Tyler whispered.

He shook his head solemnly before kissing Josh softly. Their lips moved together slowly, and Tyler could feel Josh shaking. Their foreheads remained pressed together when the kiss broke. Josh's arms tightened around Tyler.

"Do you think I'll ever forget it?" He asked quietly.

"Honestly?" Tyler asked. His husband nodded. "No, I don't. I just think you'll learn to cope with it. You'll learn to understand that you couldn't have saved them. They'd never believe you over him. You're not dead though. You still have a chance to fix things."

"And if I can't?" Josh asked quietly, his voice breaking slightly.

Tyler kissed his forehead softly. "You will, Josh. I know you will. I'll help you, okay? I'm not going anywhere. We're still a family. I'll always take care of you."

"That's not your job though," Josh told him. "I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you, and instead I abandoned you for over a year. I left both of you to deal with all of this shit alone."

"We weren't alone," said a soft voice.

Start the song. It's My Boy Builds Coffins by Florence + The Machine.

Josh and Tyler both looked over at the source of the voice. Ashley was standing in the doorway, holding JJ on her hip. It had been a long time since Tyler had seen Ashley look this genuinely terrified. He didn't blame her. Josh had been dead for a year, and now they were just finding out that he'd been here all along. It was like seeing a ghost.

"Holy shit," Josh whispered shakily.

Tyler climbed out of Josh's lap and went to Ashley, who was shaking. Worry tugged painfully at his stomach. Sometimes just the memory of Josh was enough to send Ashley into a downward spiral, yet now she was here in front of him. Her grip on JJ was a little too tight, and Tyler wondered if she even remembered he was there.

Carefully, he took the baby from Ashley. JJ babbled cheerfully when he realised who was taking him. Josh looked just as terrified as Ashley, his eyes flickering from her to JJ and back again.

"I should knock you out," Ashley told him.

Josh nodded. "You can if you want to."

"No one is knocking anyone out, okay?" Tyler said quickly.

"But-" Ashley and Josh both started to argue.

"You're seriously going to hit Josh in front of JJ? That's how you want this to go?" He asked Ashley a bit too harshly. His attention went to Josh when she looked down shamefully. "And you! What the fuck did I just say? None of this is your fault. Neither of you consented to any of this. We have JJ now, and that's great, regardless of how he got here. You left us to protect us. That's fair. You don't need to be punished for this."

Josh's eyes shot away shamefully as well, and Tyler sighed. This wasn't what their relationship was usually like. In fact, he couldn't remember a single time they'd fought. It was, however, the second time he'd had to play mediator for the two of them in a traumatic situation.

"Tyler didn't eat or talk for the first two weeks after we saw it on the news," Ashley said quietly. "All he did was sleep. I don't even think he cried after that first day. You killed him for a long time."

"Ashley-" Tyler began quietly when he saw the guilt on Josh's face. She didn't allow him to say anything though.

"If it wasn't for JJ, I don't think he'd have tried to fight it either. I'm glad he did though because for the first few months we had this baby, I couldn't even look at him. Tyler was the first one to hold this baby. I didn't want to touch him. I hated him for the first few months. If it wasn't for Tyler, I wouldn't have kept him. Every time I looked at that baby, I had a panic attack because I thought you were rotting in the ground, and I didn't know if I could protect this baby if someone like Mathias came for us."

"There's no one left," Josh told her in a weak whisper. "There's just us."

Ashley shook her head. "No. There's not just us, because they aren't dead anymore when we wake up screaming every night after one of them visits us. You know, I started having nightmares about the sanctuary, but it was Titus instead of you. At one point, I brought JJ to Tyler's house and told him that the baby was officially his because I didn't want him anymore. I was that convinced that he was Titus's baby."

"That's not Josh's fault, Ashley," Tyler repeated quietly.

"No, it isn't. It is his baby though, and he never thought to check and see if there were any consequences for that day," Ashley said stiffly. "You thought leaving us would keep us safe? You're underestimating how dangerous we are, Josh. Nothing can hurt us worse than we can. We survived Hell, but now the devil is all around us."

They all jumped when JJ started to cry. It took Tyler a second to register what was happening before he remembered that the baby was there. He rocked their son carefully, trying to calm him down, but it wasn't helping. Ashley made no move to take the baby, stumbling backwards away from him. It was a bad day. It was one of the days where she couldn't handle being anywhere near JJ, and Tyler couldn't help but blame himself for that.

Josh looked like he was going to have a panic attack as he stared at the baby with wide eyes. A terrible feeling filled Tyler's gut, and he looked from Josh to Ashley. Neither of them were going to help him right now. They were too scared and overwhelmed.

Trying to keep from panicking, Tyler dropped down onto the couch, holding JJ close. He tried to ignore the way Josh flinched away from him. The infant continued to wail as Tyler checked his diaper, which was dry. He looked to Ashley.

"Has he eaten today?" He asked her quickly.

His wife nodded slowly, looking at their son with tear-filled eyes. She was trembling, and looked far too young to be a mother. Really, she was.

"What do you need then?" Tyler asked the baby shakily. JJ just continued to cry. Anxious tears were gathering in Tyler's eyes. He felt so helpless and overwhelmed right now that he didn't know what to do. He looked to Josh, whose eyes widened when he saw that Tyler was starting to cry. "Please help me," he sobbed out.

Before he seemed to register what he was doing, Josh took the baby from Tyler. As soon as his hands touched JJ, he stopped crying. He just looked up at Josh with wide eyes, and Josh's breathing became uneven as tears gathered in his eyes. The room was silent.

Ashley's steps were clumsy as she walked over to them, shock slowing her reaction time. "He knows you," she whispered.

Josh shook his head, holding the baby out to Ashley, who made no move to take him as she stared at Josh with wide eyes. "I can't," he told her. "I don't deserve him. I'll ruin him. You have to take him back."

Neither Ashley nor Tyler took the baby from Josh. They were both watching with wide eyes as the infant reached out for Josh, whimpering as he tried to get closer to his father. Josh was barely breathing.

Slowly, Ashley sat down next to Josh. She was still watching JJ with wide eyes. "You won't ruin him," she said quietly. "Look at him. He loves you. He knows you're his dad."

JJ smiled toothlessly at Ashley, giggling as he reached for Josh once again. Slowly, Josh brought the baby in close again, cradling him against his chest. Instantly, JJ began to relax. His babbling became softer and his smile became sleepy. Tyler smiled too as he rested his head on Josh's shoulder, letting JJ hold his finger when he reached for him.

"He's so little," Josh whispered in dismay.

Tyler smiled and nodded. "You should've seen him when he was born. He was seven pounds, three ounces."

"Wow," Josh whispered out breathlessly. He looked nervously at Ashley. "And you didn't...you're not hurt?"

Ashley shook her head. "No. I still have a C-section scar, but it's healing."

"What's a C-section?" Josh asked as he rubbed JJ's back softly. The baby was practically asleep.

"They had to cut him out of me because he was too big for my body," she explained. Relief flooded Tyler when she rested her head on Josh's other shoulder, wrapping both of her arms loosely around one of his. "I've got a gnarly scar, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

Josh nodded, smiling nervously at her. "You did a good job. He's beautiful."

She smiled back at him timidly. "Pretty sure you get fifty percent of the credit for that."

He shook his head. "You had to give birth. You get to keep as much of the credit as you want," he assured her.

A smirk crawled onto her face as she looked at Tyler. He blushed. "Josh just became my favourite husband again." She looked at Josh, who seemed surprised by that statement. "He complains when he has to wake up at night for JJ," she explained.

Josh smiled properly then. "Of course he does. He's a princess. He needs to rest."

Tyler beamed, nuzzling his face against Josh's shoulder. Josh chuckled as he wrapped one arm around him. "Yeah, Ashley. I'm a princess."

"Yeah, well, I'm a princess too, and if I don't get to sleep, neither do you," she told him amusedly.

"You're absolutely right," Josh agreed easily, trailing his fingertips along Tyler's arm lightly. Goosebumps rose along the exposed skin.

"Does this mean Josh is on diaper duty tonight?" Tyler asked her.

Ashley smiled, looking up at Josh sleepily. "Yes, it does. Congratulations, Josh. You get to stay up all night with him tonight."

Josh grinned widely. "Wait, really? I do?"

"Oh my god. Are you actually excited to wake up at two in the morning to change a poopy diaper?" Tyler laughed out.

His husband nodded easily, smiling as he looked down at JJ, who was fast asleep on his chest. "Yeah. I want to help. He can't take care of himself just yet, and we get to be the ones who help him. That's kind of amazing."

Some of the anxiety on Ashley's face visibly ebbed away as she looked up at Josh then. Tyler smiled, kissing Josh's shoulder. "Told you you're going to be a better dad than yours was." Josh's arm hugged him a little bit tighter at the words.

"You're going to be a great dad," Ashley confirmed. "And for the record, you've always been a great husband. You always keep us safe."

Relief flooded Josh's features as he looked at Ashley, and Tyler felt it too. Their family was safe, and everything was going to be okay. Josh kissed Ashley's forehead, making her eyes slip shut as she smiled. Tyler smiled too. She didn't look scared anymore. Josh would protect them, and she knew that. She held Josh's cheek softly, pulling him down so she could kiss him properly.

Tyler smiled as he rubbed JJ's back softly. The baby smiled slightly in his sleep, gripping Josh's shirt loosely in his tiny fist. Josh broke the kiss with Ashley at the movement, looking down at their son. He smiled as he removed the arm wrapped around Tyler to hold JJ more securely.

"I didn't know it was possible to love someone this much," Josh said quietly as he smoothed back JJ's soft hair.

"It's overwhelming, isn't it?" Ashley said quietly. "Like, I know it sounds cliché, but I know that if anyone ever tried to hurt him, I'd kill them."

Tyler nodded. "I'd die for him," he said easily.

"Me too," Josh said quietly. A slight smile tugged at his lips. "Baby Joshua," he whispered in disbelief. "Wow."

Ashley yawned, hiding her face against Josh's shoulder. Her body relaxed as her eyes fell shut. "Wake me up if he needs food," she mumbled quietly.

"Okay," Josh replied distractedly. "I love you," he told her.

She smiled. "I love you too." She reached around Josh to take Tyler's hand. "And I love you."

Tyler smiled. "I love you too." He slid an arm around Josh's waist before leaning against his other shoulder. A yawn escaped him as well. "And just so we're clear, I'm the cutest princess in this family."

Ashley laughed against Josh's shoulder while Josh chuckled. "You're both adorable."

"Especially me," Tyler decided as his eyelids became heavy. He and Josh hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night, and after a year of not sleeping well, he was exhausted. "Josh, tell Ashley I'm cute."

Josh laughed again, and it was easily the best sound Tyler had ever heard. "She already knows you're cute, Ty."

"You're adorable," Ashley agreed, sounding exhausted. "Josh, tell Tyler he's adorable."

"Tyler, you're adorable," Josh relayed on.

It had been a long time since Tyler had smiled this much. "I missed this," he said quietly. "I missed being with both of you. It was weird only having one."

"Better than none," Josh pointed out.

Tyler's grip on Josh tightened slightly at that. He heard Ashley kiss Josh's shoulder. "We're here now though, and we aren't going anywhere. We'll protect you," Ashley assured him softly.

"I know. Get some sleep, princesses. I'll protect our little family until you wake up," Josh replied, thinly veiling how much those words meant to him.

"You'll be okay with JJ?" Tyler asked, already drifting off.

"I've taken care of babies before. I got it," Josh replied calmly.

"You're an angel," Ashley yawned out.

They all stilled as the realisation that angels weren't really favourable characters in Josh's childhood bedtime stories dawned on them. Tyler cracked an eye open to find Josh seemingly struggling to wrap his mind around the concept of an angel being a good thing.

"Is there a way for that to be rephrased so I didn't just accidentally insult you?" Ashley asked quietly.

"It's okay. We don't-I don't really follow my dad's religion anymore. It's just still confusing to me. I'm used to the opposite of a lot of things," Josh explained. "I'm not offended. It's okay."

Tyler kissed Josh's neck softly. "Angels are supposed to be perfect beings who spread love and protect people," Tyler explained to him. "They're God's messengers sometimes too. That one isn't really you, but the loving and protecting people definitely is."

"Oh," Josh said quietly. He was smiling slightly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Ashley replied.

Tyler let his eyes close again, smiling as he inhaled the comforting scent of incense and patchouli. Everything was going to be okay now. They had their husband back, and their family was whole again. For the second time within a twenty-four hour period, Tyler drifted off into a peaceful sleep. He could get used to this.