Henry and Mouse thanked the Santangelos over and over, after the detectives left, while Henry held Leo in his lap. Mouse looked at this beautiful family up close, since she'd only ever seen them from across the lobby until now. They were a spectacular example of beautiful genetics in action. Every child had hair of a different color, though all had curls to a greater (Francie and Lottie) or lesser (Clio and Finn) degree.

Pete Santangelo was a complete and total hottie, of course. She'd known this for years, and seeing him up close did nothing to change her opinion. It made sense that his wife would be as beautiful as him, though in a completely different way. There was something of a Pre-Raphaelite madonna about her, a kind of peaceful beneficence, with her kind, placid expression and her beautiful smile.

Before they left, she motioned for the twins, and they came to stand in front of her, suddenly shy and holding each other's hands. They looked at her curiously, eyes large, wondering what she wanted.

"I want to thank you girls," Mouse said, smiling, even though her voice was serious. "Leo has been going through so much lately, and we're so, so grateful that he found you two, that you were there for him."

"We didn't do anything, though, we just talked at night on the talkie-talkies," Lottie explained, looking over at Leo and smiling. "It was really fun for us, too."

"Leo's really nice," Brina chimed in, as she, too, looked over at Leo and smiled a freckly, scrunchy-faced grin. "We only have sisters to talk to, 'cause Finn's still too little, so it was neat to talk to him, to have a boy friend." She heard her words and stopped, embarrassed.

Next to her, Lottie, too, laughed when she heard "boy" and "friend" said next to each other by her sister.

"Well, considering how things could've gone, I'm just really happy that he found you guys first, that's all I'm trying to say," Mouse reiterated. She reached out and pulled the little girls to her, hugging them.

Their arms came back around Mouse immediately, with strength and enthusiasm. These children were obviously used to being hugged and showing physical affection.

"Thank you, thank you so much, you guys," Mouse said. She couldn't stop the tears, so she just let them come while she hugged the two little people who had helped Leo through so much.

Suddenly Brina laughed and lifted her head from where she'd laid it on Mouse's shoulder.

"Hey!" she proclaimed. "I just felt your baby in your tummy! It moved! Lottie, did you feel it?"

Her sister nodded vigorously, her grin huge. "I felt it! I felt it too! Like when Finn was in our mommy!" She looked up at Mouse. "Leo told us it's a girl baby," she announced. "That's nice, isn't it?"

Mouse nodded, sniffing and releasing them so she could wipe her eyes. "It is nice, it's a really nice thing, and we're really excited that Leo's going to have a sister."

Henry and Mouse rose, with Henry still holding Leo.

"We can't thank you enough," Mouse said to Pete and Daisy. "We can never repay you for this, for keeping him safe, for giving him a place to go when he needed someone."

Pete and Daisy both demurred, saying they hadn't done anything.

"It was all them, wasn't it?" Daisy said with a laugh, gesturing at the twins. "We didn't even know he was here, you know?"

"Yes, but you raised them," Mouse insisted. "You made them the beautiful people that they are, who had the decency, the kindness to help him--when I think of what could've happened to him if he'd actually left the building--" she was unable to continue. Her throat got tight, and fresh tears filled her eyes.

"Oh, no, don't cry anymore," Pete begged. It distressed him to see her crying. "Please, everything ended well, that's all we should be thinking about, veramente."

"My wife is right," Henry put in, his voice low with emotion. "This could've ended so badly, and now it's just a wonderful story that they can tell their friends."

He put an arm around Mouse, and everyone walked back to the foyer, where they'd have to take the elevator down to the lobby before going back up to their own apartment.

"And now we're all friends, and you guys can come and visit us," Francie declared. "Or we could even come and visit you," she suggested hopefully.

"Yes, please, come visit us," Mouse agreed, smiling all around. "We'd love to have you. And bring Della, I'm sure Happy would love to meet her."

"Sounds wonderful, though I hope you realize you're inviting a cyclone of humanity," Daisy said as she laughed. "Five kids is a lot of company, even if their parents are with them.

"And of course, you're welcome here, anytime," she added. "It would be marvelous to have friends in the same building. We get so wrapped up in our lives that we don't even see people right next to us sometimes, you know?"

She reached out and stroked Leo's hair, and he smiled at her, making her smile back.

"Nice to meet you, Leo Gardener, please come and see us, okay?"

Leo nodded from his father's arms, and they stepped on the elevator.

"Wow, I can't believe we just sat around with Pete Santangelo," Mouse remarked as they headed for the lobby.

"Why not?" Leo asked.

"He's super famous, big guy, he's a rock star, and a movie star, too," his daddy explained. "And I believe he just signed up to be in Wicked, on Broadway, this spring."

"Really?" Leo was impressed. The rock star and movie star meant nothing to him, but Wicked he knew.

"Yeah," Mouse replied, laughing at Leo's response.

They walked across the lobby to the elevators to their apartment, waving to Mr. Bobby as they did.

"I'm hungry," Leo declared when they entered the apartment.

Mouse was about to respond when Happy came hurtling at them, throwing herself on Leo and knocking him to the ground. She was in paroxysms of joy at being reunited with him, and he laughed, trying to get her off him.

Henry and Mouse just watched, arms around each other, smiling.

"Happy, okay, okay, girl, I love you too," Leo kept repeating, giggling as she licked him all over. "Let me get up, Happy, get off!"

Henry covered his face with his hand, letting out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

Mouse turned to him, pulling his hand away, murmuring, "Oh, Henry, it's okay, he's okay, he's fine," and hugging him.

"I know," he answered, his voice thick. "But like you said up there, anything could've happened, and it would've been all my fault--"

"Shh, shh," Mouse soothed, trying to comfort him.

Leo, who'd finally been successful in getting his dog off him, looked up at his parents.

"I'm really, really sorry," he said, his giggles dying away as his face got serious. "I didn't think you guys would care so much that I was gone. I just thought you needed a break from me, like Dominick said." He stood up, looking so small to his parents. "And I was afraid that if I stayed, you might leave Mommy and the lil bean," he admitted, his voice growing soft as he confessed this fear.

"What? Leo, why would you think something like that?" Henry asked. He was horrified that such awful things were in Leo's head.

"That's what happened to Kenny," he explained. To him it made perfect sense. "His mommy married a new daddy, and they were going to have a new baby, and then his daddy said it was too much, and he left. He said Kenny's mommy put him in a trap or something." His confusion was evident in his tone of voice. "I mean, I don't know about a trap, but I got scared." He looked from his mother to his father. "I didn't want Beanie to not have a daddy because of me," he finished. "She's so little, you know? She needs both of you." He reached out and patted Mouse's growing belly. "And she does belong to you," he added. "Both of you."

Henry and Mouse heard the emphasis of Leo's words.

"Oh, Leo," Henry said, picking him up and moving to the sofa with him. "You belong to us, too."

Mouse sat on the other side and nodded, reaching out to stroke her son.

"We love the baby, of course we do, but we only wanted another child because we're so happy with you, because you turned out to be such a great kid," Henry said, looking intently into Leo's eyes.

"But you said I wasn't yours."

Henry closed his eyes at the simple words, said without any thought to casting aspersions or placing blame. Leo spoke matter of factly, simply imparting facts.

"Leo's not my child, not in any way," Leo repeated. "That's what you said." And in spite of the fact that things were really okay, and he was in his father's arms, Leo started to cry again.

"Oh god, what have I done?" Henry asked rhetorically.

"Leo? Leo, stop crying, son, and listen to me," he begged. "I was so upset that day, so upset, and I said things I shouldn't have said. I'm so sorry, so very sorry that I said them. I'm even more sorry that you heard me." He hugged Leo tightly, not knowing what else to say.

"What does it mean?" Leo asked, his voice muffled. "Dominick said it meant my first mommy was a--was a slut," he whispered, knowing that this wasn't a good word.

Henry and Mouse looked at each other over their son's head.

"What's a slut?" he asked. "Brina and Lottie said that Clio was like me, but that their daddy loved her anyway. But I'm different, because Mrs. Santangelo was her mommy for sure." He looked at Mouse. "You're not my real mommy, either, are you?" He took a shuddering breath. "I don't belong to either of you guys."

"Leo. Listen to me." Mouse's voice was strong. She spoke because Henry couldn't, vocalizing was beyond him at that moment. "You do belong to us, to both of us, as much as Beanie does, do you hear me?"

He was looking intently at his mother's face from his father's arms.

"We don't know how it happened that you don't share any genes with your daddy, and we'll probably never know." Mouse sighed. "But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter at all. We couldn't love you any more if we'd made you together, and I'd carried you like I'm carrying Beanie."

She leaned forward so her forehead was touching Leo's. "I wish I had, Leo, I wish your daddy and I had made you, and I'd been able to carry you. I love you so much, and Daddy loves you so much--" Then she, too, choked up, and had to stop.

"But you took down my wedding present that I made for you," Leo said miserably. He pointed at the fridge for emphasis.

Mouse let out a sound that was half-laugh and half a sob. "Oh, Leo, I'm getting it framed! I want to keep it forever and ever, so I'm getting it put in a frame, behind glass, so it will last forever. I'm going to hang it in our bedroom, across from the bed, so I can see it first thing when I wake up, every single blessed morning."

"Really?" Leo asked. He smiled through his tears, looking like sunshine.

Henry hugged him, finding his voice at last. "Son, we're probably never going to know how all this crazy stuff happened to us, but one thing I know is that your first mother loved you, very much. And I loved her, too. You have been loved since the day you were born, and your first mother wasn't a slut, or anything bad, okay?" He shook Leo a little for emphasis. "Okay?"

Leo finally nodded, laying his head back on his father.

Henry hugged Leo, hard, loving the feel of him in his arms. "It doesn't matter to me how it happened," he said truthfully. "I bless the day you were born, Leo Henry Gardener, and I'm so happy you're mine.

"We're so happy you're ours," he clarified, slipping an arm around Mouse.

"And please Leo, never, ever, leave us again," his mommy entreated. "Our little Beanie is going to need you so much, for everything, you know? She's going to need you more than she'll ever need us. You're her brother, you'll be with her longer than we ever will, and you'll be the one she comes to. Please be there for her, hm?"

Leo nodded firmly.

The three of them sat on the couch for a moment, just enjoying being together.

Then Leo spoke.

"I'm really, really hungry, Mommy. Can I have some lunch?"

Mouse and Henry laughed.

"Sure, big guy. What would you like?"

"Um, can I have chocolate chip pancakes? Even though it's lunch time?"

"Sounds perfect, Leo, just perfect."