When Patton arrived from a long trip after the passing of his husband, everything was sure to change.

Everything.

The others gasped in shock and horror as their friend clutched a toddler to his chest. Roman exchanged a concerned look with his friend before speaking up. "Patton? Who do you have there?" He asked curiously. The bubbly man hummed and smiled brightly despite having lost his husband some few months ago. "This is Virgil, he's my kiddo." He replied joyfully. Remy bit his lip and shifted his gaze. They all knew about Patton losing his husband which explained why he had left for a while and disappeared, though of course they never expected things to escalate so quickly. They all knew how heartbroken and depressed he was, but now, seeing him with an unknown child, and smiling. They were confused, and shocked to say the least.

Who was the child?

Who did he belong to?

Why did Patton have him?

"Kiddo? He's not yours is he?" Roman questioned further.

Patton pouted, seemingly offended by his question. "Well of course he's mine. I got the adoption papers to prove it." He stated firmly. Roman was flabbergasted, completely shocked. Remy cleared his throat and scooted closer to his boyfriend who had stayed stayed quiet the whole time, not really caring about Patton's decision. The toddler glared at Roman and took fistfuls of his father's shirt, he then huffed and buried his face in his chest. Patton giggled and ran his fingers through his hair. "My kiddo, he's only three, and he doesn't really talk that much." He sighed. "Patton, are you sure you're okay to be raising a child on your own? I mean, after everything that's happened." Roman pursed his lips.

Patton went rigid, clearly not yet comfortable to talk about the topic Roman brought up, his smile slightly faltered, but he kept his face on. He had to stay strong. "Yeah, honey, I have to agree with Roman here. You need time to heal, find yourself, time to explore. You're young, are you really sure you want to raise a kid at this age? A toddler at that." Remy butted in, not really agreeing with his friend's life choices. Patton hugged a now whimpering Virgil closer to his chest. "I want to do this, I'm happy with him. I've always wanted to raise a child-"

"Please don't tell me you're doing this for Logan." Remy stated quietly, his boyfriend flinched and grasped onto his arm.

Patton felt his heart swell and his blood run cold. Virgil shifted in his arms and wrapped his small arms around his father's neck, enveloped him in a small hug. "I didn't do this for him, or for me. I did it for Virgil and Virgil only. He needed me, I wasn't just going to leave him there were they neglected and bullied him." He said through gritted teeth. "And yes, Logan may have wanted children, but I didn't get Virgil to replace him or to fulfill a wish. I did it because I knew Virgil needed all the help he could get. I'm not going to change myself, I'm not going to pretend that nothing happened. These scars left behind are here to stay no matter what, and that doesn't mean I'm incapable of handling things on my own. I'm still me. The me that Logan fell in love with, I'm still the same person I was when he passed away."

Remy and the others were speechless, Patton took a deep breath and smiled when Virgil pulled back from the embrace and cupped his father's cheek with his tiny hand. The toddler smiled and Patton pressed his forehead against his own. "Hey there kiddo, you hungry?" He asked with a chuckle. The toddler patted his cheek lightly and then buried his face in the crook of Patton's neck, the man rubbed his back and excused himself as he made his way to the kitchen all while his friend's watched.

It took Roman a while to finally get used to the change but he soon came to understand what Patton wanted. They all came to understand their friend's intentions.

And maybe, they thought, this was for the best.

And if not.

The better.